The Death of the Nunan Bill (Vol. 1, Issue 2)

The killing of the Nunan bill last week in a legislative committee at Albany is for us, as students, an event fraught with significance. The bill, which would have required all students in colleges supported wholly or partly by public funds to take an oath of allegiance to the State and Federal Constitutions, presented a menacing threat to academic liberty, freedom of thought, and expression in the universities of this State In unmistakable tones, it heralded the approach of Fascism. That the organized protest of students throughout the State was instrumental in dealing the death blow is conclusive proof of the potent role that we, as students, can play in shaping the social and economic policies of our legislatures. Organized student opinion and action rather than the timorous resolutions of educational associations and faculty groups form today the staunchest bulwark against the onslaughts of the Hearsts, the Longs and the Coughlins. The student bodies of this country can become the most powerful creative social force in the land. This most recent student victory should serve as an example of what we can do if we would.