RGA Splits on Political Involvement; Tougaloo Issue Precipitates Quarrel

Members of the often-parochial RGA Legislature staged a tug-of-war yesterday over whether RGA should take stands on issues outside the happy Radcliffe community.

Neither side won a clear-cut victory, but the keep-politics-out-of-RGA faction seemed to have a slight advantage as the war adjourned until next week's meeting.

The question arose out of a discussion, begun last week, on a resoltion protesting a bill in the Mississippi legislature which would revoke the charter of Tougaloo College. A predominantly Negro school active in the integration movement, Touglaoo is being charged with "Communist infiltration"; if the charter is revoked, the college would no longer be permitted to grant degrees.

The two factions--about equal in strength and determination -- battled for about an hour on the general issue of political involvement, until Anne Michelich '66 moved that the RGA write to Tougaloo and the Mississippi State Legislature requesting information concerning the proposed charter revocation.

A controversial amendment which would have bound the Association to take a definite stand after receiving the information was killed by a vote of 20 to 5. Even some of the strongest proponents of political involvement opposed the amendment, so that its defeat probably does not indicate a general disapproval of such action.