THE
ANTIWAR "TEACH-INS"
By Doug Jenness
New York -o
The February bombings of north Vietnam by the United States government sparked an antiwar protest movement in the United States that continues to grow. At no previous time in American history has such a large antiwar movement developed against a war in which the U.S. was involved while the war was going on.
The protests against the war in Vietnam have taken many forms, ranging from the traditional rallies and demonstrations to the new and more novel "teach-in." The teach-in movement that swept across American campuses this spring was a surprising but welcome phenomenon. It was born at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on March 24 and spread like wildfire, reaching dozens of campuses and involving several hundred thousand students and professors, .
The teach-ins are usually organized by committees of professors -- most often young professors and instructors. On most: campuses, however, students have played an active role in publicizing the teach-ins and in some cases have done all the organizing. The form the teach=ins take is usually a long series of talks by professors, ranging from five minutes to thirty minutes each. The normal practice is to start the teach-in about 8:00 in the evening and to continue it until early the following morning. Plenty of time is allowed for asking ‘questions. .
When the teach-ins were first initiated, many professors found them attractive because they were "objective" forums presenting many different points of view about the war in Vietnam. However, it became obvious after a short time that to openly raise questions about the war in Vietnam and to tell the truth about U.S. involvement there brought the professors into inevitable conflict with the Johnson administration,
The Johnson administration, like the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations before it, has consistently lied to the American people about the purpose and conduct of American aggression in Vietnam. .To dig into Vietnamese history and dissect American foreign policy piece by piece is a form of protest in itself. The dispatch of "truth squads" from Washington to tour campuses in order to defend administration policy demonstrates the nervous sensitivity the .Johnson clique has toward open discussion on the war in Vietnam.
. When the professors and students learn that they have been lied to about. Vietnam, they begin to wonder if the government hasn't been lying all-along during the "cold war." The students especially soak up every piece of knowledge about Vietnamese history, the Vietnamese war, and the "cold war" that they possibly can from the teach-
ins. There is a powerful tendency to be open-minded and listen to all views on the war.
At the massive Berkeley teach-in in May, thousands of students stayed up all night in order to hear Isaac Deutscher speak, Ten thousand students listened attentively | and then gave him a standing ovation when he was finighed.
Despite the New York Times reports which tried to depict the Berkeley teach-in as a monstrous picnic with thousands of young — people. frolicking on the grass, there was intensa interest in what all the speakers had to say. and an attitude of wanting to learn,
Besides the professors, there were representatives from political organizations, including revolutionary socialists, At the Berkeley teach-in the more radical speakers received the best response. Staughton Lynd who has become the chief spokesman’for the © new militants in the antiwar movement received the best response of any of the speakers when he attacked coalitionism with the Democratic party as "coalitionism with the marines,"
Although many of the teach~ins have not dealt directly with the origins of the Vietnamese war, they have raised many important questions. For .example at the National ‘Teach-In in Washington the question of whether or not the United States is capable of supporting nationalist movements was discussed. Another question that has received much attention is why does President Johnson have -the “pight" to involve the U.S. in a land war in Asia without consulting congress or broader layers of the population? There is a strong feeling that the ordinary American is not represented when it comes to the question of war and peace.
The administration has reacted very defensively to the teachins and has been condescending in their attitude to the professors. For example when McGeorge Bundy, special assistant to President Johnson, was asked to participate in a teach-in at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, he replied, "I find strange your assumption that a public official is somehow accountable to the profession in which he worked before coming to the government..."
He closed by saying that if the invitation which raised questions about American policy in Vietnam "came to me for grading as a professor of government, I would not be able to give it high marks."
‘This correspondence. became national news and after failing to show up for the National Teach-In in Washington, Bundy was soon dubbed "the teach-in drop-out of the month." LA "drop-out" is a student who abruptly leaves school because of failure in studies or for other reasons.|
When students at Cornell University peppered Averell Harriman with questions that he was unable to answer, he defended himself by
screaming, “How many of-you are Communists?" This did not sit well with the students and they continued to demand anSwers to their questions.
The .Johnson "truth squads" found that facing up to the students' questions was too much for them, They usually became the focal point for anti-administration protests...
So far the government's condescension and red-baiting have only served to aggravate the conflict between the administration and the antiwar movement. The professors have not sought refuge from administration attacks by excluding or red-baiting the more radical elements.
An ‘interesting example of this attitude is evident in the case of Professor Eugene Genovese. Genovese speaking at a teach-in held at Rutgers University said, “Those of you who know me, know that I ama Marxist and a socialist. I do not fear or regret the impending victory in Vietnam. I welcome it." These remarks which in effect declared support to the “enemy” while the country is at war would have been considered close to treason in any previous war. Yet when his right to teach at Rutgers was raised by two New Jersey legisla-~ tors, both the university administration and the governor of New Jersey defended his right to teach and hold his opinions. — .
After the. National Teach-~In in Washington a permanent committee was set up nationally to coordinate activity among the various committees of professors that had developed in the course of the teach-in movement. The next major project of this organization is an International Teach-In to be held in Toronto on October 8.