Billy Graham Discusses College Students, Race

The Rev. Billy Graham, who calls himself "a specialist in saying God loves you," explained at a press conference yesterday how he hoped to pass along his message to students at Harvard.

Graham, who will make four speeches and a number of informal appearances at the University this week, also answered questions from the Boston press.

The evangelist spent much of his time discussing college students. "The university and college student today has a greater sense of religious inquiry than in any generation before," he said. "The question they ask are completely different from the ones that were heard 10 to 15 years ago."

To Follow a Flag

In a week at the University of Michigan, where he addressed audiences of 2500 to 4000 students, Graham said "there was only one question the whole time about science and God. That was all they asked about a few years ago. Today they want to know about personal questions; they ask, 'How can I keep my intellectual integrity and believe in God?' There's a search for standards, for a flag to follow."

Inevitably, there was a question on college sex ("God isn't going around with a big stick saying 'You can't have pleasure.' But there is a deep happiness in marriage which those who are unfaithful can never achieve").

There was another on race relations ("The racial situation in the South is much better than in the North. In the South there are great personal friendships between members of opposite races that form a possible basis for better relations. Here you have de facto segregation and, won't admit it." Graham, a native of North Carolina, added that "the younger generation has for more tolerance than the older generation."

No "Crusade" Planned

The evangelist said his week-long stay at the University will not be a "crusade." His appearances will consist of 30-minute lectures, followed by long question-and-answer sessions.

Graham will speak in Rindge Tech Auditorium on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights at 8 p.m.