October 15 Moratorium.
In response to a formal request by the Clarkson Student Senate,
President Graham issued a statement about student and faculty observance of National Vietnam
Memorial Day. His statement supported the recommendations of the
ad hoc
Moratorium
Committee of the Faculty Senate that all classes would be offered as scheduled for students
wishing to attend them, but that make-up instruction also would be provided for those students
wishing to attend the Moratorium activities. Students missing classes on October 15 would be
provided with official excuses for their absences.
On Tuesday, October 14, the first events of this two-day demonstration began at 6:00
a.m. with the reading of the first of the 45,000 names of US servicemen killed in Vietnam. A
constant stream of readers, including Potsdam Mayor John Hayes, took part in the reading
throughout the night and into Wednesday morning. At 12:10 p.m. on Wednesday, after the last
name had been read, Mayor Hayes announced that the village board unanimously had decreed
that for October 15, the park in front of Snell Hall was to be called the Frank Billings Kellogg
Park, since Potsdam was the birthplace of Frank Kellogg, Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1929 for
his outstanding work on behalf of peace. He had been co-author of the Kellogg-Briand Pact
which outlawed war as means of settling international disputes.
Following remarks by several central figures in the demonstration, the crowd,
numbering some 650 people, was lined up by the Moratorium marshalls, and marched to the
ROTC building at 49 Elm Street. Carrying a coffin containing the list of names of the Vietnam
casualties, they paused for a moment of silence before proceeding to the US Armed Forces
Recruiting Office on Elm Street.
There they were confronted unexpectedly by a hastily assembled honor guard of
veterans from all branches of the service standing in front of the recruiting office. Moving
slowly and quietly through the veterans, the four pallbearers placed the coffin on the steps of
the recruiting office, and in silent response to pleas from the organizers of the march urging the
participants to refrain from exchanging taunts with the veterans, the pallbearers turned and
moved quietly away. Most of them returned to "Kellogg Park" for songs led by students from
Clarkson and State.
Three weeks later, the organizers reassembled to plan for demonstrations to be repeated
on November 14-15, and for interested students to join in the "March on Washington on
November 15." Other activities included a "community teach-in" at SUCP, and a petition from
North Country college students asking the district's Congressional Representative, Robert
McEwen, to hold open hearings in Washington for people of various views to testify regarding
their opinions of the Vietnam War. Two chartered buses carried students to Washington to join
the 500,000 participants in the November 15 "March on Death."
Rifle Team Undefeated.
Led by its captain, David Waterman, Clarkson's rifle team won its
first six matches to retain its position as the top team in the New York State Intercollegiate
Rifle League. It finished the season with a 16-0 record to win the New York State
Intercollegiate Rifle League title. Larry McCune '71 set a League record of 288 out of a
possible 300.
A match consists of each member firing 10 shots in each of three positions-prone,
kneeling, and offhand-at a distance of 50 feet at a target with a 1/16 inch bull's-eye in the 10
ring. The top five scores are added to obtain the team score.
