Tarr Announces 195 Draft Limit; II-S Holders May Change Status

If you are a student between the ages of 20 and 25 and your lottery number is above 195, you may now escape the draft by changing your status to 1-A.

Curtis W. Tarr. national director of the Selective Service System, said Monday that registrants with numbers over 195 will not be drafted this year. He ordered all draft boards to accept requests for changes in draft status.

Formerly, students have not been able to change their 2-S classifications until they graduate or turn 24.

Students with borderline draft numbers below 195 will be aided by Tarr's order. They may retain their student status for this year. If, next year, their numbers exceed the national ceiling, they can change to 1-A and so move into the second priority at the end of the year.

First priority includes all registrants between the ages of 20 and 25 who are physically fit and are not deferred for other reasons. When a student deferment runs out, the student is reclassified 1-A and placed in the pool for that year with his original lottery number.

Second Priority

Second priority registrants are those who were not drafted while in first priority. They are not called unless all first priority men for that year have already been drafted.

"If a man's number exceeds the ceiling for the year and he's 1-A on December 31, he will have been exposed for the year and will revert to second priority." Edward R. Hill, a member of the Manpower Division of the Massachusetts State Selective Service Headquarters, said.

Each draft board has its own ceiling that depends on conditions within its district, but now no draft board may have a ceiling above 195 this year.