Council Refuses Rally Specifications; Reynolds Vetoes Parking By Houses

The Student Council last night dismissed a request by Dean Watson that would have limited outdoor meetings to certain specified locations.

In turning down the recommendation, members declared that they feel the present rules, which require both University and Council approval of open-air rallies, will be adequate to any situation.

Watson had earlier termed the Council's rules and regulations on undergraduate open-air assemblies, drawn up at last week's meeting, as "on the whole a good job."

To Ease Pressure

However, he requested a further statement of specific spots where the rallies could be held. He said this would "take the pressure off the Dean's Office," and would forestall accusations that he might be attempting to ruin a meeting by assigning it an unfavorable location.

In reply to his request, several Council members called additional rules on the subject "unnecessary," and added that they had deliberately slowed approval of outdoor rally rules so that these problems could be thoroughly discussed.

The concern of University police at outdoor rallies is to prevent riots, Dean Watson explained, discussing possible meeting locations. He added that the constabulary has called the Memorial Hall delta perfect, because it gives them complete control of a meeting.

Safety Angle Important

However, Watson said he did not consider this site satisfactory from the point of view of student safety. Spectators could become absorbed in a speech, and be pushed into the paths of cars without realizing it, he said. The other locations usually used for outdoor rallies are the Kirkland-Eliot-Winthrop triangle, and the vicinity of Dillen Field House.

Watson also questioned the fairness of the provision that groups holding outdoor meetings be required to pay for adequate police protection, pointing out that it prevents a new organization with a small treasury from holding such a rally, and could be construed as "limiting freedom of speech."

Under the old set-up, the Council is responsible for paying for police protection if an organization falls to do so. Final recommendations on this issue were put off for a later Council report.