Faculty Will Criticize Vietnam War In SDS "Speak-out" Protest Tonight

Twenty-eight Faculty members will criticize administration policy in a "Speak-out" sponsored students for a Democratic Society.

Twenty of them will personally deliver five-minute statements expressing individual objections to the present U.S. commitment in Vietnam. Eight others, unable to attend the Speak-out, will have their statements read.

Nadav Safran, associate professor of Government suggested the Speak-out. Its purpose, he said, was "to keep the fires of dissent and protest alive in America." It is definitely not to be a teach-in, a debate, or even a discussion, he added, asserting that people already have enough factual information about Vietnam.

The distinctive feature of Speak-outs, which have never been tried at an American university before, are their "individualism," Safran said. "Collective statements of protest must all too often take a stand on the lowest common denominator. The Speak-out will provide a forum for professors to express their individual opinions--it must be made clear that they are not speaking with a single voice."

No Policy Change Expected

Copies of the statement will be sent to Congress, the President, and to colleges and universities throughout the country. Safran said however that he "cherished no delusions" that the Speak-out would change administration policy.

Included in the list of speakers are David Riesman '31, Henry Ford II Professor of Social Sciences; H. Stuart Hughes, professor of History; Robert G. McClosky, professor of Government; Benjamin Schwartz '38, professor of History and Government; George Wald, professor of Biology; and Juan Marichal, professor of Romance Languages and Literatures.

The Speak-out is part of the Second International Days of Protest program, to be held in Boston this weekend. The program, which will include demonstrations throughout the city, represents the cooperative effort of a number of student anti-war movements.