The Draft: Reflections and Opinions

The issue which has been raised by the students in asking that ranks should be withheld is one which is involved in a tangle with other issues. Among these are the issues of the rightness of student deferment altogether, the rightness of the war in Vietnam, and who is the “boss” among students, faculty and administration. Recognizing that these issues are involved (the last one, in my opinion, not the most seemly for a great university such as the University of Chicago), I would like to deal principally with one: Should the University of Chicago compute rank in class and submit such information to draft boards even if the student gives his consent? I think that it should not.

It is worth recalling that the very act by ...