Students Plan Viet Summer Action

From Michigan Daily—An estimated 600 students from 100 high schools and colleges across the nation overwhelmingly approved a resolution here Sunday calling for a nationwide Vietnam referendum on campuses next fall.

The students took part in a two-day Student Mobilization Committee meeting at the University of Chicago last weekend.

In other action Sunday students approved the following resolutions:

* Coordinated sit-ins at draft boards across the country this summer.

* Demonstrations at napalm plants and defense factories this summer.

* Support of GIs opposed to the war and distribution of anti — war literature to members of the armed services in support of Vets for Peace.

* Telegrams backing Pfc. Howard Petrick, a soldier stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, who has been ‘threatened with court-martial for expressing his anti-war and socialist opinions to fellow soldiers.

* Movements to put anti-war referendums (similar to the Dearborn one of last year) on ballots in communities.

* Organizing among high school students.

The resolutions approved Sunday were prepared as proposals in workshops held all day Saturday.

The mass meeting Sunday was chaired by Clark Kissinger of Chicago’s Citizens’ Committee for Independent Political Action (CIPA). Kissinger who was defeated as an anti-war candidate for alderman of the 49^th Ward last year, was the chief SDS organizer of the National March on Washington in April, 1965.

Disagreement arose during the Sunday meeting after students voted 255–88 to oppose student draft deferments. Those in the minority felt that SMC should announce that it was anti-draft instead of anti-deferment.

In final action Sunday, delegates approved a paper presented by the Black Student Caucus calling for the merging of the peace and civil rights movements. The paper stated “the reasons the peace and civil rights movements are merged is because of the realization that the war was spawned by the same white arrogance which allows lynchings in Philadelphia, Miss. and Cicero, Illinois.”

Related

See Fifth Estate’s Vietnam Resource Page