Harvard AVC Disbands; Will Join Local Chapter

The era of the organized veterans group at the University came to an abrupt end yesterday when Roy F. Gootenberg '49, teaching fellow in Government, and a past chairman of the University chapter of the American Veterans Committee, announced that the chapter had disbanded.

He also stated that the remaining veterans would join the Cambridge A.V.C.

Gootenberg claimed that the group's small membership of 21 caused its dissolution. He added that there had been little chance to continue even with that small number. The chapter once boasted over 980 members.

Gootenberg felt that Harvard men would have a lot to gain by joining the city group, since it 'would be a strong united chapter and could keep up the fight for veteran participation in politics and voting and at the same time fight for civil liberties."

Endicott Peabody '42, chairman of the Cambridge A.V.C. termed the move "more of a merger than a disbanding, in that there would be the same policy, and the same action for both units." Peabody stated that the tremendous number of veterans coming to Harvard after the war required two separate chapters.

Peabody added that he thought that the "merger" would be beneficial because "there are a lot of faculty veterans at Harvard who wouldn't join the University chapter because they felt it was the students' organization and at the same time wouldn't join the Cambridge one, because it would be slighting the University." He felt because of this addition the A.V.C. would benefit a great deal.

Gootenberg also announces that the last official act of the Harvard chapter will be the presentation of the annual, Evans-Carlson Scholarship award. The date for the ceremony has not been set.