First Published: The Stanford Daily, Volume 197, Issue 62, 22 May 1990.
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Paul Saba
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Why did the League of Revolutionary Struggle article make the front (or any) page of the May 18 Daily? To find that article in The Stanford Review would have been amusing, but to see it printed on the front page of The Daily was a rude shock.
The Daily seems to hope that bluster and cold-war scare tactics will frighten readers into ignoring the fact that the entire article is nothing but smoke and spy lenses. It insinuates a great deal without producing a shred of evidence. How the information was secured from a “highly secretive nationwide organization” is left unclear.
The not-so-subtle accusation that labor unions, student of color groups and progressive student groups have all been infiltrated by outside agitators is unfounded and designed to sow suspicion. The insinuation that ASSU travel money was spent on Marxist-Leninists bent on destroying our proud country (Hands over hearts or else!) is likewise a little too McCarthyesque to be funny. By the way, who cares that Unity magazine is bilingual? Does that make it more dangerous or, more importantly, more likely to be subversive?
I did, however, like the assertion that students recruited by the league were often unaware of the recruitment process. The subtle logistics of this insidious operation certainly guarantee secrecy, but I fail to understand their efficacy. The incriminatory use of the phrase “study groups” would also have been laughable if it weren’t so chilling. I have been in a number of “study groups.” Does that mean I am at risk of being a Marxist-Leninist?
Probably not. I doubt I could pass the essay test to get in. I’d send them my SATs, but they’re a secret organization and I couldn’t find a school code to send scores to.
James Couture Senior, history