1000 in Square Sign Cards Urging Support For Segregated Girls

Nearly 1000 people out of the football crowd in Harvard Square Saturday afternoon signed a "friendship card" showing their support for four Negro girls who are attending (formerly) segregated schools in New Orieans.

The girls' entrance into the schools last Monday caused outbreaks of violence in New Orieans streets, and a boycott of classes.

The purpose of the card is to "offer human contacts to the girls and their parents, and show them that they have friends," according to Alan Gartner 5G, one of two students who organized the Harvard Square display.

Gartner and Charles Hartman MG appeared on radio and television and spoke to priests, rabbis, and secondary school teachers last week in an effort to enlist support for their "friendship" campaign.

May Extend Campaign

So far, the campaign has been limited to the four girls in New Orleans, but Hartman is thinking of beginning a college scholarship fund which would be available to all Negro students in the South.

Those signing the friendship card "ranged from Harvard professors to cops on the beat," Gartner reported.

The girls' full names and home addresses must be kept secret, Gartner said, to insure the girls' safety and prevent threatening letters from reaching them. One of the girls received a funeral wreath C.O.D. in the mail last week. Later, a man arrived at her front door in a hearse to ask for the coffin.