IN THIS ISSUE: DEMONSTRATION SHAKES UP GOVERNOR —P:i«e 3 IF FREE TUITION GOES, WE HAVE A the Comm 11 nicator LOT TO LOSE —Pago 4 STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE BRONX COMMUNITY COLLEGE DAY AND EVENING OF THE CITY UN I V E R SI T Y O F N E W T 0 R K : I * FINAL EXAM SCHEDULE —Page 6 VOL. XXIX — NO. 7 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 1976 232 BY SUBSCRIPTION President Is Retiring Two-Day Philosophy Hall Occupation After Ten Year Term Seeks Open Admissions Restoration Bronx Community College President James A. Colston A two-day occupation of has announced that he will retire on September 1, 1976. Philosophy Hall, which end- Dr. Colston, the senior President in the City of New ed late last night, marked York, has served as head of Bronx Community College the first demonstration of since 1966. At that time he was the first Black president on-campus opposition to the of a college in New York State. vice, Dr. Colston has been ab- death of Open Admissions. In a letter to Alfred Giardino, sent because of illness for only The sit-in put out a call to Chairman of the Board of one day. He will begin his an- students, faculty and camp- Higher Education, Dr. Colston nual leave on February 1 and us workers all over CUNY to stated that he will not r cqucst build a mass movement his retirement will become offi- centered around the restora- a second extension beyond the cial on September 1. Dr. Mor- usuol retirement age of (>.">, be- tion of Open Admissions and ton Rosenstock, Acting Dean of mobilization to block the im- ginning August, 1976, at which Academic Affairs, will serve as time he will bo 67 years old. pending threat of tuition. Acting President. The demonstration marked a "While I hate to think of Year of Growth high point in the alliance of stu- leaving the College," Dr. Colston dents and campus workers as a said, "I recognize that a period Under Dr. Colston's leader- significant number of CETA of ten years as President of a ship, Bronx Community College workers (tutors and counselors) college in the City University of grew from an enrollment of leant their support to the activi- New York, coming after 21 years about 7,000 to more than 13,- ties. The movement raised the of prior service as a college 800 students. He has been a broad demand of support for the ANNOUNCING TAKEOVER: Student demonstrator stands president, is long enough for strong advocate of Open Enroll- 14,000 CETA workers due to be at the door of Philosophy Hall, while members of the cam- any person to serve in such a ment in City University and he laid off by the city. pus community occupied building. rigorous capacity." expanded the college career and Four demands were directed bers in the movement. eductaion. "If people come here against the BCC administration: The College Senate Faculty/ transfer programs, adding four * Amnesty for all participants with an eighth grade reading new academic departments. * No faculty or other staff cut- in the action. level, the problem must be else- Staff Caucus has voted unani- backs. mously to 'have the title of In 1973, he presided over Supporters from other CUNY where" commented BCC student * BCC should not Cooperate in Denise Fazio. President Emeritus-bestowed, up- BfOnx Community College's or execute the firing of units and from the community on Dr. Colston. The group also move to its new 50-acre cam- also took part in the action. Ari Garcia traced the develop- CETA Remedial Assistants ment of the cutback movement moved to form a committee, pus at University Heights, and and College Counselors. The occupation grew out of a composed of (both faculty and was instrumental in developing mass meeting, held at noon on over the last year and how it * The closing of classes on one had failed to "understand that staff, to search for a new Presi- the College's Master Plan which day to be replaced by a gen- Monday, sponsored by the Strike will set the course of the col- Action Committee end the Open Admissions was always the dent. eral campus meeting on the CETA Workers Action Commit- key issue. And it was the issue During his ten years of ser- (Continued on Page 2) crisis in CUNY run by mem- tee. that was sure to divide students, The meeting, attended by over often along racial lines. Although 100 people, began by discussing everyone opposed tuition, many Skills Tests the Board of Higher Education's white students accepted the decision to kill Open Admissions idea that they could save free by instituting the new "skills tuition by abandoning Open Ad- 70% Of Us Would Have Failed tests." Speakers focused on the missions. In the end, they should You wouldn't .be here. CUNY admissions to every New portion of those who would be racist implications and on the now see that free tuition is also And BCC, as we know it, won't York City high school graduate excluded under the new plan effects of the tests on Black down the drain and that's what exist. by establishing new "admissions were, nevertheless, persisting in and Spanish-speaking students happens when we accept the These are two common con- standards," "skills testing" in college." (see story this page) as well as racist ideas of our rulers as our on the Board's refusal to ac- own." clusions reached in the wake of reading and math as well as Legal Action the Board of Higher Education's "other standards to be devel- knowledge the inferiority of Discussion on how to build a Meanwhile, the two dissenting New York City's high school (Continued on. Pago 2) decision to kill Open Admissions. oped." black members of the Board are Dr. Richard Trent, President The study, authored by Leh- considering issuing a legal chal- of CUNY's predominantly black man College Professor David lenge to the Board's decision, Medgar Evers College, predicted Lavin, also stressed that 44 per- 'based on the withholding of the CETAs May Avoid Firings Friday that the eight CUNY cent .of those students who en- Lavin report. "The first I knew There is a good chance that CETA workers in CUNY, units with the largest percen- tered CUNY with scores below of the impact of the study," who have demonstrated militant resistance at campus and tage of Third World students, eighth grade reading levels had stated Board Vice Chairman city actions, will be spared from the wholesale city-wide BCC among them, "will proba- either earned an Associate De- Franklin Williams, "was when I firing of 14,000 CETA workers scheduled to take place in ibly be wiped out." gree or had gone on to a four- read it in the New York Times monthly installments from now to June. According to a study recently year senior college. Lavin con- —after the vote was taken." The City University and the cluded that " a substantial pro- Williams, joined by fellow Board of Higher Education are and finally subject to the ap- released by the Board, 70 per- proval of the Department of La- cent of the BCC student body Board member Vinia Quinones busy drawing up a plan which and other educators, did go to would postpone the layoff of bor, the new plan will lay off would have failed the new ad- BEFORE AND AFTER all CUNY CETA employees for missions "skills tests" that have OPEN ADMISSIONS State Supreme Court last Friday CETA workers in CUNY until to overturn the Board's decision the end of the Spring semester. the entire month of June and (been proposed for September ap- in percent o-f possibly the entire summer. plicants. The study, entitled on what they call "technical Some 207 Remedial Assistants "The Effects of New Admissions grounds." The suit focuses on and 115 College Counselors had The Communicator has learned Criteria Upon the Ethnic Com- 30k the Board's failure to provide been scheduled to be let go by that all remedial assistants re- position of CUNY," found that sufficient notice of its impending February 28. ceived a college appointment 72 percent of black students and action to students and other The new layoff plan is itself through June 30. These docu- 65 percent of Puerto Rican and concerned citizens. controversial as it calls for lay- ments, labelled "Job Action Latin students world have failed At the Board meeting on De- ing off all remedial assistants Forms," are on file in the col- to gain admission because they cember 15, people in the audi- during any period when classes lege's Personnel Office. would not have passed the tests. ence, led by a vocal group from are not in session between now CETA coordinators at the The study, verifying what ob- BCC, began disrupting the meet- and October. First suggested by various CUNY colleges discussed servers have termed the racist ing, .calling for a full public Staten Island Community Col- the final details at a closed door nature of the Board's decision on hearing on so vital an issue as lege Dean Abe Habenstreit, the meeting yesterday. Among other Open Admissions, was withheld Open Admissions. Williams then plan trades off the outr! -ht fir- things, , the coordinators dis- from the public until a week af- moved that the Board's action ing of 30 percent of the tutors cussed whether the remedial as- ter the Board's crucial vote.