Closed Committee Will Meet Today On ROTC Issue

The University ROTC Committee will meet privately today for the first time this academic year to discuss the attempts of alumni and students to keep ROTC on campus.

In calling today's meeting, R. R. Baxter, professor of Law and chairman of the Committee, referred to a mail campaign of Harvard's ROTC graduates and stated, "Since these letters and cards [from ROTC graduates] represent serious responses by Harvard alumni, I hardly see how we can simply chuck the whole lot in the trash basket." The meeting today will take place at 1 p. m. in the Faculty Club.

Malcolm Marshal '41 and Franklin N. Cunningham '41 polled more than 1500 ROTC graduates from the classes of 1923 to 1965. Cunningham said the response was "almost universally favorable."

Petition Result

The University ROTC Committee may also discuss the results of a petition circulated by John Scovell, a second-year Business School student and Army ROTC Battalion Commander. Scovell's petition to keep ROTC at Harvard yielded 1620 signatures (20.4 per cent) out of 7929 students enrolled in the College, Law School, and Business School.

The petition received 620 signatures (13 per cent) from the College, 173 signatures (10.5 per cent) from the Law School, and 827 signatures (54.8 per cent) from the Business School.

If ROTC is reestablished at Harvard, it seems certain that either the Law School or Business School-which now have the majority of ROTC students-will have to sponsor the program. Referring to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Thomas C. Schelling, professor of Economies and a member of the University ROTC Committee, said, "I know of no Faculty sentiment to change the stand on ROTC."

Rudyard L. Istvan '72, a ROTC student trying to save the program, said, "We concluded amongst ourselves that it wasn't going to be so hot to do something among Arts and Sciences."