San Francisco State Shut Down

American revolution....page 6 N'S KAID: THE SPARK STILL SMOLDERS Insides San Francisco State shut down By Connie Ullman State in Spring, 1969. (In San Francisco, classes to argue for the strike and NIC report: 70% of all primary and high school explaining the ten demands. A three- A strike led by black students at students are black, but at San Francisco minute film was also made and shown analysis of San Francisco State College is in its State only 4% of toe entire student body in toe classrooms. third week and still going strong. are black.) While disruptive actions were played election action, Because of overwhelming student and The Third World Liberation Front up in the local media (two smoke bombs faculty support for the strike, the (composed of groups representing thrown into classes, a bomb set off in Administration was forced to close down Japanese, Chinese and Filipino students) a concrete basement corridor, a few strategy for the college a week after the strike and toe Mexican-American Student typewriters thrown out of windows), began. And the price was not as high Confederation immediately announced the strategy was to avoid massive future, misc. as at Columbia: fewer than 20 students support of the strike and added a set confrontations in order to maintain have been busted. of demands for programs of their own, wide support for toe strike. similar to toe Black Studies Program. During the first week of the strike plainclothed cops were all over toe The strike began Nov. 6 in response White Support to the summary suspension of teacher campus and the San Francisco Tactical Page 3. George Murray, who is also the Minister The strike was also supported by Squad created minor incidents Nov. 6 of Education for the Black Panther white student groups, ranging from SDS and Nov. 8, the first incident Party. to "the Programs,"., a collection of precipitating President Smith into Murray has been systematically college-financed left-liberal activities closing down the campus for the day. Work, study, attacked by the San Francisco press including the Experimental College and But mass meetings, classroom since he travelled to Cuba last summer. various tutorial and community ventures. education and rallies continued to The San Francisco State trustees and SDS people saw their task as pull in more and more sectors of the get ahead, Chancellor Glenn Dumke (who organizing toe less radical white campus. The Administration claimed administers the 19-campus state students into support for the strike that toe first week of toe strike college system) advocated firing and an understanding of racism. As well was only "2-3% effective" yet were Murray in October but College as manning picket lines they organized required to call toe Tactical Squad onto kill! President Robert Smith refused at toat "classroom education" (sometimes campus to "keep it open." time since there were no "legal means" "classroom disruption")—going into (continued on Page 2) to do so. When Murray made a speech on • NEW LEFT NOTES RETURN REQUESTED! Pages 4-5. campus Oct. 28 advocating armed self | Room 206 Second-class postage defense of the black community (hardly 1608 West Madison Street rate paid in Chicago, a new speech), Smith agreed to suspend ! Chicago, Illinois 60612 Illinois Cleaver and Murray on the charge of "unprofessional conduct." the Panthers BSU Makes Nine Demands The Black Student Union (BSU) called fight for the strike and issued nine demands in addition to toe reinstatement of survival. Murray. The demands centered around making autonomous the Black Studies Program (including the ability to hire anti fire faculty, grant degrees and control finances) and that all black Page 8. students wip*-*ng to be admitted to SF 2 November 19, 1968 New Left Notes ii Getting bad" in Claremont by Barb Arnwine but when you come down to it, they all followed by chants such as "dump Humph, marching. The chanting stopped until toe Scripps College say the same thing, and that's 'Oink'." lick Dick and Fuck Wallace" and "We march had passed toe voting place shall not be moved". and was out of the violation zone. Tuesday, Nov. 5, the small town of Vote on Mills Avenue About twenty minutes later it was A new chant was started "Vote in the Claremont was sharply awakened by After a few speeches of toe same announced toat toe police were on their streets, the streets belong to toe shouts and screams, and the sight of nature, on different subjects ranging way; toe crowd laughed. Since the street people", and with the last sentence in two hundred students linked arm in arm from black oppression to the power of wasn't worth getting arrested for, mind toe crowd moved from toe marching down toe middle of toe main the Board of Regents, toe chairman of a plan was announced for everyone to sidewalks and started marching straight street, stopping traffic and ^looking the BSU spoke. He began his speech move to toe crosswalks and cross the down toe streets. "Bad". Imagine a small, conservative, by thanking toe students who had come, street continually as pedestrians (in The crowd marched through the and usually dead town of 9,000, in (about one hundred by now), and cursing California pedestrians have right of colleges and down toe streets of Southern California. Half the population the students who walked by without even way). Another five minutes and toe Claremont straight to the City Hall. consists of Claremont residents who stopping. His speech was similar to police showed up. At toe City Hall toe purpose of the show, for toe most part, little or no those previously given, but he ended by protest was announced, as the town of evidence of thinking, and the other half saying, "The rest of you can stand here College Function Claremont locked its house and car consists of students enrolled in toe and complain, or sit there and stare, The police parked their 1968 GTO's doors and stared out its windows. Claremont Colleges who show little but I'm going to go and cast my vote and stared. Finally one policeman got political awareness of any kind, in any by sitting in toe middle of Mills out of his car, walked to toe intersection At 2 p.m. the march finally ended form, and who are mostly apathetic Avenue". further down toe street, and started on Claremont Men's campus where it about non-academic issues. The The crowd stirred uneasily and directing traffic. Five minutes later had begun. Once more toe BSU chairman Claremont Colleges are six small watched as he began to walk down toe the crowd received word that the thanked everyone and voiced toe need residential, private liberal arts steps. A girl grabbed the microphone, demonstration had been declared a for unity with and support from the institutions of "higher learning". How and hollered "Yes, students of college function. The crowd laughed. white radical groups on toe campuses. did two hundred "Bad" students arrive Claremont, we're always complaining— A plan was suggested to let the whole Once more the students were reminded in the middle of its main street voicing our little sympathies with this town of Claremont see toe nice little of what had been done and the shouting "We will - Kill America"? and that, but when, when, are we going "college function". The plan was consequences toat might come. Well, it all began that morning with to take risks, when are we going to opposed and toe leaders hastily However, toe crowd, black, white and the interruption of classes, and the make ourselves heard? I don't know organized a march, warning toe brown just stood, proudly standing, announcement toat toe BSU would hold about you, but I'm joining Danny", and marchers that they would be passing a unified, voicing support for each other. a funeral at 10 a.m. for the death of she started down toe steps. The crowd voting place and there would have to be For toe first time in the undisturbed America, as a protest against toe began to rise, some people shaking their silence while passing. history of Claremont somebody had elections. At 10, about 75 students met heads in disapproval, others voicing the The crowd split up one hundred on gotten "Bad", and this was just the in front of Claremont Men's College usual sympathies, and others just each side of toe street and started beginning. Student Union. The speakers were silently marching toward toe street. mainly from the usually moderate After ten minutes, about one hundred Black Student Union, and the very and fifty students were sitting, and all liberal Student Committee for Social four lanes of toe busy street were Change. completely blocked. The BSU chairman However, something was amiss: toe began explaining why they were in the BSU sounded pretty damned militant, streets to those passing by. At this time SF Statblacks and browns and whitees had bee n (continued from Page 1) and the SC SC sounded pretty damned SDS members gave speeches voicing perfectibg a working alliance; knew toat radical. The speeches were calling toe their support of the BSU protest, and Over one-half of toe faculty as the Administration lost ally after elections a hoax. As one speaker so their contempt for the System. They participated in a meeting Nov. 13 in ally, as it shed legitimacy like a dead kindly put it: "Humphrey's a pig, were heartily cheered by the fast- which they demanded toe resignation skin, brute force had to come into play.

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