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Show Professors Protest Campus Protest By WALTER GRANT Collegiate Press Service WASHINGTON (CPS) The American Association of University Univers-ity Professors has condemned recent re-cent student deonstrations designed design-ed to stop campus interviews or to prevent speakers invited to the campus from speaking. The AAUP, which has long been one of the most liberal organizations organiza-tions in the academic community, warned that recent protests at several campuses across the nation na-tion are destructive to the principles prin-ciples of academic freedom. NSA Agrees The AAUP position was issued : in the form of a resolution adopt ed by the AAUP Council, the or-ganzation's or-ganzation's policy-making board, which consists of 30 elected representatives. repre-sentatives. National Student Association As-sociation President Edward Swartz endorsed the resolution, when he was asked for comment. The resolution says "action by individuals or groups to prevent speakers invited to the campus from speaking, to disrupt the operations op-erations of the institutions in the course of demonstrations, or to obstruct and restrain other members mem-bers of the academic comunity and campus visitors by physical force is destructive of the pursuit of learning and of a free society. All components of the academic community are under a strong ob ligation to protect its processes from these tactics." The resolution, through its vague wording, refers to faculty members . as well as students. Faculty members have joined students stu-dents in several recent protests. The AAUP position comes in the wake of a series of protests against recruiters from the armed services and from other organizations organiz-ations connected with the military. mili-tary. Some of the demonstrations have been successful in keeping recruiters from conducting inter-. views or in temporarily shutting down a building where military research is conducted. Robert Van Waes, associate secretary sec-retary of the AAUP, said, "We're all for dissent. But we think all persons, regardless of their beliefs, be-liefs, should have the same freedoms. free-doms. Our concern is that the larger freedom (freedom of speech) not be eroded away by particular forms of protest which we think may be a challenge to that larger freedom." "Can't Support" Van Waes emphasized that the AAUP has been promoting greater great-er academic freedom for students. stud-ents. The organization is one of five behind a joint statement on the rights and freedoms of students. stud-ents. This statement endorses such rights as a student role in policy-making and due process for students in disciplinary cases. In endorsing the AAUP stand, Schwartz said, "While there are some points where we (NSA) would support a student strike if it was necessary to achieve a tactical tac-tical objective for student power or educational reform, we can in no way support demonstrations where the goal is to prevent students stu-dents from seeing recruiters or to expel recruiters from campus because be-cause of the organization which they represent." Open Forum Schwartz explained his view by asking, "In what way does the left's attept to rid the university of recruiters whom they oppose differ from the right's frequent attempts to ban Communists from the campus?" He added that there are ways of confronting recruiters, even sitting sit-ting down in front of them, without with-out blocking the passage of students stu-dents who want to speak with them. Schwartz said he has proposed that "any recruiter coming to campus be required to participate in an open forum to answer questions ques-tions if students so request." If the recruiter refuses to meet this requirement, then he should not be permitted on the campus, he added. Schwartz' proposal would seriously seri-ously affect military recruiters, who generally are not permitted to discuss important military policies pol-icies like the Vietna war. The war is the primary concern of the student protests. Explaining his proposal, Schwartz said, "The grounds here would reflect the recruiter's unwillingness un-willingness to adhere to the standards stand-ards of an academic community rather than the nature of the recruiter's re-cruiter's political affiliation." The AAUP resolution, adopted by the Council during a closed meeting last weekend, did not mention any institutions where protests have been held or any particular organizations, such as students for a Democratic Society, So-ciety, which have been sponsoring sponsor-ing the demonstrations. |