Petition for College A.Y.D. Chapter Goes to Faculty Committee Tonight

If the Faculty Committee on Undergraduate Organizations at its meeting tonight approves the AYD petition to form a chapter here, Harvard will become the second college in Massachusetts with an official branch of the American Youth for Democracy. Smith already has an AYD group recognized by the administration.

After going over the information supplied to him by members of the AYD yesterday, Robert B. Watson '37, assistant dean of the College, said that he would submit the petition for an official chapter of AYD at Harvard to the committee tonight.

Meanwhile, the Harvard Liberal Union, anticipating that attempts might be made to prevent AYD from obtaining a charter in view of the recent statement by a House Committee declaring them Communist, came out strongly in favor of the group's request. Backing "the fundamental right of students to organize for political action," the HLU executive committee made it clear that it had different principles from and had no connection with the AYD, but believed that its point of view should be heard. The statement added: "We further believe that if AYD receives a charter, its attempts to express its own viewpoints through other organizations will no longer be justified."

Information Still Missing

Several gaps still remained in the facts to be supplied under College regulations, but Watson said that he had enough to start at least preliminary action. Harry Mendolsohn '48, pro tem president of the AYD members here, asserted that Francis O. Matthiessen, professor of History and Literature, and Kirtley F. Mather, professor of Geology, had agreed to sponsor the proposed AYD chapter, but Watson had no confirmation of this.

Also lacking were a provisional constitution and a new name for the group, since, under College rules, they could not use the name of a national organization. Lee Marsh, intercollegiate director of AYD, who has been here for two days, affirmed that the local chapter would be autonomous, "deciding all its own policies."