Dr Howard Hiatt, dean of the Harvard School of Public Health and a leading anti-nuclear speaker, said in an interview last month. "One congressman told me that no one will be able to run for office this fall without taking a stand on the nuclear issue."

With public opinion polls showing as many as 70 percent of the American people supporting the freeze, some political experts believe the proposal could become a major issue not only for this year's faces but for the 1984 presidential campaign.

If so, Sen. Kennedy would be in a position to capitalize on his early support for the issue President Reagan and has acknowledged publicly that the issue could become a difficult one for him.

Kennedy wasted little time in drawing the Administration into Wednesday night's debate. Criticizing the President's call for increased arms spending along with give negotiations as inconsistent. Kennedy said, "The Administration wants to build more arms today to we can reduce tomorrow to later we can freeze."

Student Hecklers

The issue of nuclear arms control and the Soviet Union is an emotional one for many. Both senators were heckled by the crowd of more than 700, the majority of which supported Kennedy's pro-freeze stance.

Before the debate, a number of speakers, including Caldicott, addressed the crowd. During her brief remarks on the medical effects of nuclear war, another speaker, Soviet dissident Un Tuvim, rushed onto the stage and tried to shout down Caldicott. The action sparked an angry reaction from the crowd and a television producer led Tuvim off the podium. Caldicott finished her speech.

Contracting the gravity of much of the evening's discussions, one humorous exchange left both participants and audience laughing Kennedy illustrating his point that a freeze is verifiable, said, "If our satellites can read the license plates on Soviet automobiles traveling at high speeds they can surely detect Soviet nuclear weapons."

Humphrey responded, "They can't read the license plates when the cars are parked in garages. Kennedy interjected "I didn't know they fired missiles from garages.