Gilbert Heads Region's NSA; Cliffe, College Delegates Back From Parley

Radcliffe and Harvard walked off with the two top spots in the 55-college Northern New England region of the National Student Association during elections at the NSA August convention at the University of Wisconsin.

Alice B. Gilbert '40 will serve as a regional chairman for the next year and Frederic D. Houghteling '50 will assist her as vice-chairman. Both have full voting strength on the organization's national executive committee.

NSA sessions in Madison's Memorial Union Building along Lake Mendota brought together more than 1000 delegates and observers from some 500 educational institutions in the United States.

Five-Man Crimson Unit

Representatives of the college rested with a five-man delegation elected last spring. In addition to Houghteling, the contingent included Alfred M. Goodlec, Jr. '50, Robert L. Fischelis '50, Robert C. Fisher '51, and Paul L. Wright '49, an alternate originally who replaced Frederick L. Deane '50.

Wright and Houghteling entered their names for chairman when the balloting for officers began in the region's first caucus. Outgoing regional chairman Lawrence Jaffa 2Div had not at that point filed for reelection in view of his candidacy for national vice-president. His subsequent defeat for the national office set off an intricate chain of political complications:

1. Jaffa was nominated for regional chairman and accepted.

2. All other contenders, including Houghteling and Wright, withdrew from the race.

3. Violent dissension followed as a result of agitation against Jaffa from several delegations. He has made a definite issue of alleged Communist connections of certain active NSA members in these delegations and had consequently become a storm center.

4. Miss Gilbert was nominated in an effort to achieve harmony.

5. Jaffa withdrew.

6. Houghteling, an ally of Jaffa's, decided to oppose Gilbert, who had not committed herself on the controversy which had built up around Jaffa and had remained unaware of factional competition.

7. Harmony candidates Gilbert trounced Houghteling.

Regional Confirmation Necessary

A provision in the regional constitution makes it necessary for the annual fall regional assembly to ratify national convention caucus choice for officers, often hastily reached, with careless attendance check, in the midst of other affairs.

Chief issue before the convention was the relation of NSA to the Russian oriented International Union of Students. This body carries on many non-political world student projects and NSA sought, and finally evolved, a way to work in these without involving itself in the affairs of IUS as such. Prior to the Czech crisis, NSA had been affiliated with the Prague IUS headquarters.

The regional assembly will be called by Gilbert for sometime in October.