(Posted September 20, 2004)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. - David Harris, who became a national icon of the antiwar movement in the 1960s when he was jailed for resisting the draft during the Vietnam War, will speak at Juniata College on "Citizenship, Values and National Security: One Generation Talks to Another" at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 22 in Neff Lecture Hall in the von Liebig Center for Science on the Juniata campus.

The talk is free and open to the public.

Harris first came to national prominence when he joined the antiwar movement while a student at Stanford University in 1965. He was elected as Stanford's student body president in 1966 as a supporter of a "radical" platform that called for an end to the Vietnam War, equal rights for male and female students, and student control of student regulations.

As an outspoken student, Harris soon publicly refused to accept a student deferment from the draft. Shortly thereafter, he became a leading figure in the draft resistance movement. When Harris was notified that he was being drafted, he refused to report for military service by burning his draft card. He was subsequently tried and convicted of draft evasion and served 20 months in prison.

He continued working within the antiwar movement until 1973, when peace agreements were signed with Vietnam. He started a journalism career in 1973 and served as a contributing editor with Rolling Stone magazine, then based in San Francisco, until 1978.

He also served as a contributing editor and writer for The New York Times Magazine from 1978 to 1986.

Harris has concentrated on writing books in recent years and currently has eight books in print and is working on a ninth book project.

His books include "Our War: A Denunciation of U.S. Policy in Vietnam," "Shooting The Moon," a book detailing the pursuit of Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, "The League," "Dreams Die Hard," and "The Last Stand."

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.