ROTC Telegrams

(President Pusey sent the following telegram to Vice Admiral Charles K. Duncan, Chief of Naval Personnel, in Washington on Monday).

The present policy of Harvard University is that NROTC must have extracurricular status only. We can accept NROTC midshipmen only if the NROTC program can be conducted in conformity with this policy.

(Yesterday, Duncan sent the following telegram to students accepted for the NROTC program in the class of '73. The text was obtained from a high school senior in California.)

The President of Harvard University announced that Harvard would accept incoming NROTC freshmen only on the condition that the NROTC will operate as an extracurricular activity. To accept these terms would cause the Navy to be in violation of the Public Law 88-647. Therefore, no NROTC freshman class will be enrolled in Harvard this year. You are therefore authorized to apply for admission to any other NROTC institution except Brown University. When accepted, and upon furnishing the Chief of Naval Personnel evidence thereof, you will be authorized enrollment in a regular NROTC program of such institution in excess of the initially entering quota. If you have not applied to any institution other than Harvard, you are urged to do so immediately. The Professor of Naval Science at any NROTC Unit will render all possible assistance to you in gaining admission to this institution. The Chief of Naval Personnel regrets the necessity of this action and resulted inconvenience to you.