Reed Club Still Active; Has No Official Charter

The John Reed Club in still operating within the University.

In a letter to Dean Watson last week, Arthur J. Sockol '51, spokesman for the group, revealed that fear of retaliation had forced the left wing group to give up its charter as an official University organization although it was still actively functioning.

Sockol wrote ". . . . the time may not be far off when the Government will require the colleges to turn over the membership lists of all political organizations . . . (and) we are unwilling to jeopardize the futures of our members by submitting their names to the Dean's office."

Sockol's letter was written to explain to Dean Watson that the John Reed Club had not gone "underground" or dissolved. According to the letter, "neither alternative describes the real situation."

According to the present rules for undergraduate organization, the Readers will no longer be able to use University buildings for meetings or refer to themselves as a Harvard organization.

Summer School Action

Sockol stated that "in time such as these, when widespread hysteria infringes upon the rights of minorities, it is essential that people realize the importance of maintaining an objective view. The only way this objectivity can be preserved . . . is if the minorities themselves are allowed to speak out. . . . If that end can be accomplished only by waiving the membership-list requirement, then we feel such action should be taken."

During the summer a group calling itself, the John Reed Club was denied the use of University buildings because only one of the group was a regular member of the Club.

This move was incorrectly taken to be an official banning of the John reed Club, but this interpretation has since been refuted by the Dean's office which has explained its action as a move to prevent a bunch of "outsiders" from using University facilities.