Draft Protest

About 300 people gathered outside the Boston Recruiting Center Saturday morning to protest military recruiting practices.

Carrying signs with messages like "No Recruiting for Murder," and chanting anti-war slogans, the protesters handed out leaflets listing three demands:

I When recruiters are operating in an area, they should notify a local anti-military group.

I When a person considers enlisting, he should be given a list of qualified draft counselors and encouraged to contact them before committing himself.

IA formal meeting with "someone holding real military authority" should be held to discuss recruiting practices.

Citing high unemployment among teenagers and minority youth, one leaflet stated that "no one should be forced into the position of choosing unemployment or joining the armed forces."

The leaflet also warned against the "advanced, slick advertising and sales techniques" used by recruiters.

The Boston Area Alliance Against Registration and the Draft (BAARD) sponsored the rally. BAARD, formed last year when former President Jimmy Carter first advocated draft registration in his State of the Union address, organized protests against registration renewal last January and July, including one at Harvard Square in which police arrested 18 persons for "idle and disorderly conduct."