SANE to Protest State Shelter

Nearly 100 people are expected to picket the Massachusetts State House Wednesday afternoon in protest against the construction in Framingham of the first state government bomb shelter in the United States. The picket is being organized by the Greater Boston Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy.

Gordon Levin, teaching fellow in English and chairman of the picket committee, said yesterday that he expected some help from the Tocsin group at the College. He added that all interested students were welcome to participate in the protest, which will be held from 4 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.

Present plans are for a series of demonstrations staged every Wednesday afternoon in an attempt to attract public concern. The group hopes to have a bill introduced in the legislature shortly which would revoke the funds for the shelter. Levin stated that he hoped the picketing this week would help swing Governor Volpe to the anti-shelter camp.

SANE opposes the construction of the shelter because it feels that such actions lead to a relaxation of efforts for disarmament. The group feels that the existence of an extensive shelter system would lull the country into a false sense of security "where there can be none."

Levin claims that the bill, which provides for a state appropriation of $1.2 million for the shelter, "slipped through" without being given adequate public attention. "Even the League of Women Voters missed it."

The Committee is optimistic about its chances for success, Levin claims, because the state may decide against the shelter to save the money if for no other reason.