ROTC Students Turn Out Doves; Only 1% Favor Escalation of War

Over fifty per cent of Harvard ROTC students stand to the left of the current administration's Vietnam policy, according to a survey conducted by two freshmen.

Thomas W. Cooper and Mitchell P. Marcus drew up a 20 question survey and sent it to the 200 member ROTC contingent. They hoped "the questionnaire would supply the general public, specifically SDS and ROTC instructors, with some concrete facts about the thinking of a ROTC student," Cooper said.

The survey focused around two questions; what the ROTC student feels about his training, and to what extent has this training stereotyped the student's thinking.

When asked what they considered to be "the best policy for the settlement of the Vietnamese situation," the students answered:

* 1% escalation to reach a successful military conclusion

* 4% a policy to some degree more hawkish than the administration's policy

* 13% the present administration's policy

* 47% a policy to some degree more dovish than the administration's current policy

* 18% immediate and unilateral withdrawal from Vietnam

* 14% other

In answering questions on ROTC itself over fifty per cent stated that they had joined the military program to take care of their service obligation. Thirty-three per cent cited financial reasons, nine per cent a desire to pursue a military career, and seventeen per cent cited patriotism as reasons for joining the program.

In answering questions dealing with the academic quality of the ROTC program the majority of students found their instructors adequate but felt that the ROTC courses were easier than regular Harvard courses. Sixty-five percent called the ROTC courses less difficult than other courses while only three per cent felt they were more difficult.

When asked if they felt academic credit should be withdrawn, forty-four per cent of the students said no but thirty-two per cent felt it should be.

Only four per cent said they would withdraw from ROTC if academic credit were withdrawn. Twenty-eight per cent said they would not remain in the program if financial scholarships were no longer given.