Civil Defense Plans Mass Exodus of College in War

In the event of war, the University would probably be a secondary target in an area of total destruction and would have to be evacuated immediately, Edmund H. Burke, Cambridge Civil Defense director said at a City Hall meeting last night.

New Civil Defense plans call for complete evacuation of all people within six miles of Central Square, the theoretical center of destruction for the Greater Boston area. Local industry, the primary target, is considered the 11th most important enemy objective in the country by the Civil Defense Agency.

The Hydrogen bomb has made the old "seek shelter" plan useless, said Burke, and all hope for survival would lie in a mass movement out of Cambridge to the north and west.

Student Wardens Necessary

Private vehicles would be required to pick up people who have no transportation and have gathered at "pick-up points," such as Cambridge Common, along exit routes. University students would follow the same directions as regular Cambridge residents, Burke said.

The University is responsible for teaching students evacuation procedures and for working out plans for emptying classrooms, according to Burke. He also said that student wardens would probably be necessary in the college and suggested the formation of student car pools for emergency use.