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Harvard Presses Charges Of Trespassing at Teach-In

The Administration filed criminal changes yesterday for trespass and disturbing an assembly of people during last Friday night's "Counter-Teach-In" against three former students who were previously dismissed, separated, or required to withdraw from the University.

This appears to be the beginning of a steady stream of disciplinary and legal action against individuals who allegedly disrupted the meeting.

Judge Haven Parker '22, presiding in East Cambridge District Court, issued warrants yesterday for the arrest of John T. Berlow '71, James T. Kilbreth III '69, and Ellen J. Messing '72. The penalty for criminal trespass is a maximum of 30 days in jail and $100 fine. Disturbing an assembly of people is punishable by a maximum of one month in jail or $50 fine.

Kilbreth served a nine-month jail sentence ending last December for assault and battery on Robert Watson, the former dean of students, during the April, 1969 occupation of University Hall.

Meanwhile, back at Harvard, 25 to 30 conservative students will meet privately tonight to review photographic evidence in hopes of identifying as many students as possible.

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President Pusey issued a statement yesterday calling the disruption of the teach-in "an abhorrent affront to the basic right of freedom of expression."

"The very fact that the speakers were individuals representing an unpopular view made it all the more important that they be allowed to speak and to be heard. We must not lose sight of this central issue," the statement added.

Pusey also urged "everyone in the University to stand in quiet resolution, so that we shall not be victimized by obfuscation, while our chosen representatives seek a just resolution of the present grave problem and work to insure respect for a basic article of our shared responsibility." He added that the "reprehensible occurrence in Sanders Theatre puts the whole community on trial."

An SDS leaflet distributed yesterday stated, "We demonstrated our solidarity with the people of southeast Asia by giving no sanctuary to their enemies.... The war will continue untilmasses of people take concrete actions to stop it. We think that stopping the teach-in on Friday was such an action, and that it will help to build future actions against the war, like shutting down the CFIA."

SDS gave two examples where, they said, the Administration perverted the free-speech argument. They cited the "facist riot-control course" which the Design School attempted to sponsor in 1969 and Pusey's termination in 1954 of three Faculty appointments of alleged Communists.

The Indochina Teach-in Committee began circulating a petition last night which deplored "the denial of freedom of speech and the right to listen" but which also reaffirmed "our absolute opposition to the United States' reprehensible policy in Indochina."

Richard Zorza '71, a member of the committee, said, "We felt YAF [Young Americans for Freedom] should not be allowed to co-opt the free speech issue, which can't be separated from the war."

Donald G. Anderson, chairman of the Committee on Rights and Responsibilities (CRR), said yesterday that no charges have been filed before the CRR at this point and that "probably none will be filed until late in the week."

He said that undergraduate membership in the CRR is still an open issue. "If the undergraduates change their minds, then the seats will be filled," he said. "If two Houses were to send two people each, then they would probably be selected to fill the vacancies," Anderson added.

The CRR is constituted to consist of five tenured Faculty members, two nontenured Faculty members, two graduate students, and four undergraduates.

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