By Thea Jarvis

Ariela Gross, the 17-year-old Presidential Scholar from Princeton, N.J. who gained notoriety when she presented President Reagan with a nuclear freeze petition last May, appeared at Atlanta’s Catholic Center Aug. 23 as part of her five-city, 10-day tour of the U.S.

According to Kim Larsen, assistant in youth ministry with the Archdiocese of Atlanta, Ms. Gross’ visit was met, with appalling disinterest, if the Aug. 23 turnout was any indicator.

“Ariela’s mission is to educate the young voting public so that they will be better prepared to make decisions regarding their future, a future threatened by nuclear holocaust,” Mrs. Larsen said.

Unfortunately, only six persons were on hand to receive the message.

Ms. Gross, who was “not too distressed by the poor turnout,” according to Kim Larsen, and who “seemed to enjoy the casual give and take discussion among the few people present,” helped found the Save Our Future organization, officially named Students Allied for Voter Education for Our Future. She is currently the group’s national spokesperson.

The goals of the organization include uniting and educating young people to work within the system, particularly through the ballot box, to insure a secure future. The threat of nuclear war is particularly emphasized as an evil to be avoided.

“Ariela admitted that for all youth, a nuclear holocaust is not a burning issue — unemployment, stress, sexuality often take the forefront,” Kim Larsen recounted. But, the young scholar feels, “someone for whom the future threatened by nuclear war is an issue must begin awakening the consciousness of others.”

Ms. Gross feels that if sufficient individuals between the ages of 18-24 become aware and register to vote, they could constitute a viable voting block that would have to be dealt with in the next election.

The 1983 Presidential Scholar was one of 121 young people to receive such an honor last spring. Because of her efforts to circulate a nuclear freeze petition, however, a top White House aide threatened to withdraw the scholarship she had been awarded as a Presidential Scholar.

“Of course I was scared, a little surprised they were so blatant about it,” Ariela Gross remembered. “But when the news reached the press, they backed down. I received an apology from the head of the program.”

During her speaking tour of major U.S. cities, Ms. Gross received the largest and most active turnout in Chicago. Her reception in San Francisco, too, was impressive.

The Atlanta stop was last on the schedule and was greeted with mixed reactions. One television interviewer skirted the nuclear issue as “too controversial” to deal with, Ms. Gross indicated, although a local news radio station taped an hour-long, in-depth interview that allowed her to make clear her nuclear position.

“For years, peace hopefuls have posed the question: What if we gave a war and nobody came?” Kim Larsen said after Ariela Gross’ visit to the Catholic Center.

“In our age of arms proliferation and the growing threat of nuclear annihilation, I can’t help but pose another question: What if we tried to educate for a more livable world, enable others to choose peace through mutual disarmament rather than peace by intimidation or power plays – and nobody came?” She asked.