Membership in Republican Clubs Takes Off on Massachusetts Campuses

Activity and membership in Massachusetts college Republican organizations has increased "spectacularly" since the election of President Reagan. Jack A. Abramoff, president of the Massachusetts College Republican Union, said Saturday.

Abramoff, a Brandeis senior, spoke to more than 100 students from 15 colleges who gathered in Emerson Hall this weekend to elect officers, hear speeches by Republican gubernatorial candidates and debate policy resolutions at the group's tenth annual convention.

"Massachusetts college Republicans played an important role in Reagan's victory--according to Bill Brock [chairman of the national Republican committee] we put Reagan over the top in this state," Abramoff said.

Membership in college Republican organizations has increated from 300 to 5000 members in the past year, he added.

The convention, which included delegations from Harvard. Wellesley, Tufts, MIT. Smith and Boston University, unanimously approved several policy statements, including resolutions calling for:

* condemnation of Soviet expansionism in Angola and Afghanistan, as well as potential Soviet action in Poland:

* support for Reagan's decision to give the F.I Salvadoran government military aid:

* the use of nuclear power and synthetic fuels as sources of energy: and

* support of the Reagan administration's economic policies.

"There's definitely been a move to the right among students," John A. Hawkins '82, president of the Harvard Republican Club, said Friday. The Harvard club has grown to 290 members since "the Republican bandwagon began to move," he added.

The convention voted the Harvard club the "most improved" college Republican organization in the state. Delegates said other clubs with large membership increases include Wellesley. Tufts and Smith.