Historical Archive
1968–1969
A3M: SRI
October, 1968
Open Letter to Working People at SRI
Lletter which opens with, “We came over to SRI this afternoon to neither lecture nor disrupt. We came to learn.”
SRI SRI
This 26 page booklet discusses the relationship between counterinsurgency and economics, the mid-peninsula’s economic dependence on military spending, and the roles of Stanford and SRI in CBW and counterinsurgency research. Initially published by the SRI Coalition, it later was produced by members of the April 3rd Movement who added a credit at the end of the table of contents, a paragraph on page 23 (in the second column beginning “In addition …”), and the “Conclusion (As of April 12, 1969)” at the end of the document. This document also is available in the 1968-1969 SRI Coalition section of the Historical Archive.
April 14, 1969
Statement by Charles Anderson
SRI Press Release, with a statement by SRI President Charles A. Anderson.
Request for SRI Employees to See Trustee Hearing
An undated note from A3M to SRI employees saying that A3M asked SRI President Charles Anderson to allow all SRI employees to attend the closed circuit broadcast of the Trustees’ hearing on Stanford and SRI.
CBW at SRI
An undated, unsigned document with a list of CBW and Counter Insurgency research projects at SRI.
Some Information on the Cornell Aeronautical Labs
A look at what happened with war-related research when Cornell sold its Aeronautical Labs.
SRI Phone Directory
Phone number for nine individuals working in SRI’s Regional Security Studies Center (RSSC) which does “research intended to reinforce and broaden the US military presence in Southeast Asia,” and ten other SRI personnel “whose time and information are very valuable.” The flyer encourages people to call these individuals and ties up their phones with repeated calls.
Join the Picket Line
A3M flyer asking people to join the picket line to redirect SRI research to “further peace and social justice.”
April 11, 1969
SRI Finances and Controls
Hand dated April 11, this two-page document discusses the financing of work at SRI. The second page, done using a different typewriter, is signed, “Dorm Organizing Committee; The SRI Coalition.”
April 12, 1969
Palo Alto Times Editorial: Stanford Should Cut Cord to SRI
Palo Alto Times editorial calling on Stanford to sever ties with SRI.
SRI Board of Directors
Hand dated April 15, this document begins by noting, “The following information came from cards of David R. in October 1968. The cards were made at some earlier time and some of the data was entered at different times by various hands.” The document lists 43 individuals, their titles, and their corporate affiliations.
April 18, 1969
SRI Staff Member Speaks Out
Letter from a “concerned SRI employee” to SRI President Charles Anderson, stating that “we are guilty of doing the research that outrages the moral sense of the students,” that the students “deserve our respect, and they deserve to be listened to,” and that the solution is for Stanford to retain SRI along with new research guidelines.
April 19, 1969
Stanford Daily Editorial: Keep SRI
Stanford Daily editorial, originally published in a special Saturday edition, calling for SRI to be retained by the University.
April 23, 1969
SRI Intercom Extra
“Extra” edition of SRI’s internal newsletter, SRI Intercom, published to keep SRI staff informed about matters pertaining to the future relations between Stanford and SRI.
New Research Areas for Restrictive Considerations
Brief discussion of three areas of research at ARI.
Map of SRI
SRI campus in Menlo Park.
We Can Work It Out
Memo from A3M to all SRI Employees stressing commonality of interest between SRI employees and the A3M.
April 24, 1969
Proposals for Controlling Research at Stanford and SRI
Hand dated April 24, this document details a plan for oversight boards and rules to govern research.
April 28, 1969
Notes on SRI’s Counterinsurgency
A3M document asking that SRI’s Regional Security Study Center (RSSC) be eliminated and its staff redeployed to peaceful research.
It Pays to Advertise
A3M did not want SRI sold, so it planned to run an ad in the Wall Street Journal titled, “SRI is a Bad Risk.”
SRI and Electronic Warfare
This unsigned and undated document lists several contracts “still going on at SRI” and suggests that, should SRI be severed, AEK faculty might then consult for SRI.
c. March 1, 1969
Lunch in the Park with SRI Employees
Flyer, titled “What About SRI?,” asking the academic community to have lunch with SRI people in Burgess Park on Monday, May 5.
A3M Meeting with SRI Employees
An undated note from A3M to SRI employees announcing a meeting “today at noon at SRI to establish coordination between SRO employees and our Movement.”
Call for Direct Action on SRI
Flyer titled “Why SRI?” stating “we have no recourse but to act directly on our convictions, we must stop the lethal research,” following the trustees’ “arrogant statement May 13 that they would ‘terminate’ all ties between Stanford and SRI.” The back side contains an essay by Jacques Delacroix, titled “No Words Left.”
May 23, 1969
Stanford Research Institute: Campus Turmoil Spurs Transition
Science article which states, "In the New Left’s world view, U.S. industry views the developing countries as providing sources of raw materials, and outlets for investment capital. In this analysis, industry’s strategy is to counter nationalist revolutionary movements which might threaten U.S. business operations, and SRI is portrayed as working to make the world safe for American business. In this view, one man’s economic development project is another man’s counterinsurgency scheme.”
July 7, 1969
Stanford Institute Shifts Research Aims
Aviation Week article stating that SRI “is moving into a new era marked by its independent status and a fresh direction to its work…” A sidebar, “Firm Opposition Shown Dissidents,” Describes SRI President Charles A. Anderson’s testimony to the Senate Government Operations Subcommittee.