University of Washington - Tyee Yearbook (Seattle, WA)

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Al Zeller, the campus voice of the radical right, believed the campus should be politically neutral insofar as possible. 29

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YAF challenges campus radicals in an awakening of the right Croups such as the Seattle Eight (repre- sented below) were precisely what the YAF opposed. ... if women want to work they should assume that responsibil- ity, said Al Zeller, campus con- servative and member of the YAF. The Young Americans for Free- dom is a conservative organiza- tion that some take as seriously as Women's Lib. In the past, it has challenged the rights of so- called radical movements. YAF, like other organizations, is also concerned with education on this campus in relation to the outside world. Over the past year it was very much concerned with class- room disruptions by radicals and the University taking a politi- cal stance on any issue. We must realize that education is a privilege, not a right. said Zeller. It is a contractual agree- ment with the University. We pay our fees to attend classes, there- fore, we have a right not to have those classes interrupted. I am opposed to violence as a means of demonstrations, but I will fight anyone who refuses to allow me to enter a class. The University has to remain in a politically neu- tral atmosphere. When it aban- dons this, there is no free investi- gation. While some contend that the presence of ROTC on campus constitutes taking a political stance, Zeller feels it is a necess- ity. It's for the defense of the country—merely a matter of pri- orities. YAF took part in a campaign for peace on campus by distributing blue buttons. The buttons were to serve as a constant reminder that the student majority opposes violence on campus, said Mike Sharp, chairman of the University YAF. It is sort of a moral con- sensus. Zeller believes that the majority of students on campus are apa- thetic, but he feels like the rest of the nation they are awakening to the sounds of disruptions. Spiro Agnew, according to Zeller, has his thumb on the pulse of the nation. YAF was also part of a broadly-based campaign to make the ASUW a voluntary organiza- tion. 28

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SRE and SOS: the political center wakes But the organization that really pushed the voluntary ASUW was SRE, Students for Responsible Expression. This group claimed to represent the silent major- ity on campus. SRE hit the ASUW with a restraining order during the spring strike to halt political funding by the ASUW to the Strike Center. SRE con- tended that the ASUW took a political stand by funding the pro- gram which consisted of a day care center and communication and printing facilities. This pro- gram, according to SRE, did not represent the majority opinion of students on campus. SRE wants to educate students on campus as to where their money is going. According to President Craig Rhyne, it wants to keep the campus open, which the strike didn't do. The campus is controlled by the radical group, a hard core which does not re- present 33,000 students. While the purpose of the University is to educate, it shouldn't be one of formulating an opinion. It is re- pression wnen your are forced to belong to an organization which does not reflect what you think. Therefore, the answer is a volun- tary ASUW. SRE hopes to achieve this through legal means as any- thing in a system should be, the law will provide the means. Though Rhyne feels that the strike did not represent the majority of the students, he feels that apa- thy has to be conquered. The whole story is apathy. We pro- 30