ABSTRACT
Several perceptive leaders of the New Left were concerned about the dangers involved in the Movement's rapid growth through the years 1966-8, and discerned the roots of the subsequent crises in the developments in Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). Students entered SDS and became 'militant' radicals within months of existing in an a-political uncommitment. They were often recruited second-hand, not directly by the groups, but through the selective images and publicity of the media. The ambiguity and openness of SDS, its refusal to define itself or to exclude, was both its main attraction and its principal weakness. The interrelation between campus, community and peace issues was often obscure and uneasy, reflecting the fragility of the early SDS coalition. The fact that no single faction became predominant, kept the SDS coalition, albeit a changing one, in business.
