Strike closes down campus ^11 campus functions were to ‘play into the hands of those halted yesterday as the city’s who will smash our heads, ar­ police tactical squad took con­ rest us and take our freedoms s o l of SF State following an away.’ Invasion of classrooms by When the meeting ended triking members of the Black shortly after noon, about 100 Students Union. black students broke up into The campus was closed short­ small groups and dispersed a- ly before 2 p.m. by adminis­ cross the campus, particularly tration officials, though most the BSS, HLL and Science activities had stopped earlier buildings. jjue to the black students’ One group entering the HLL action. building was led by Nathan The shutdown order was en­ Hare, chairman of the college’s forced by the tactical unit, black studies department. yhich had assembled at 1:30 The classroom invasion lasted at the corner of Holloway and about an hour. Barela across from the campus. While the classroom invasion At 1:40 two squads of 16 was in process Students For a policemen each marched a - Democratic Society, been sup­ cross Holloway to the campus porting the BSU strike, held a administration building where rally near the Commons and- they were directed by Ferd then marched to the adminis­ R.eddell, dean of students, tration building. to close the BSS and HLL As they crowded the stairway buildings. to the building’s main entrance The invasion of classrooms college President Robert Smith by black students followed a appeared and spoke to them BSU strategy session in the main through a bullhorn. auditorium, at which the tac­ ‘This is not the time or place tic was agreed on. to resolve the issues you have At that meeting, black stu­ been talking about,’ Smith said. dents responded to a sugges­ He immediately went back in­ tion by BSU Chairman Benny side. Nathan Hare and black students 'dismissing Stewart that ‘we enter class­ The group then retired to the class in H L L rooms and ask students whe­ Gallery Lounge, where they ther they support us, and if so, decided to hold further strategy why are they attending classes.’ sessions. They vowed to con­ Stewart was referring to the tinue the strike today. campus-wide strike in progress By 2:30 most campus build­ to force administration accep­ ings had been secured by police tance of ten BSU demands. The strikers, particularly black Vol 2, No. 6 Thursday, the Seventh Day o f November, MCMLXVIII Eight Pages Stewart urged black students students, had dispersed. to ‘keep their cool’ in order not (Continued on Page 4) Power plays continue--widen gap between students, officials SF State, like colleges a- reaching into economically his call for armed student round the globe, has turned deprived communities of the revolution on campus is anti­ into an arena for continual city and trying to equalize thetical to the American system. power plays and almost in­ opportunities. SF State President Robert evitable conflict between Politically, the radical students Smith is caught in the middle students, administrators and are basing much of their rhetoric of these two opposing views. state officials. and action on the revolutionary Early in the semester Dumke Wednesday’s student strike, philosophies of Stokely Carmi­ ‘requested’ that Smith transfer which prompted the closing chael, Huey Newton, Frantz Murray to non-teaching duties. down of the campus by the Fanon and Che Guevara. Smith refused. city’s police tactical squad, ' The radical students’ apparent Weeks later, following ‘inflam­ regrettably has become a goals in life-even their whole matory’ speeches by Murray, familiar phenomenon on this life style-is alien to the estab­ Dumke ordered Murray’s sus­ campus. lished, complicated procedures pension as a teacher and student • Students, particularly white of the college. Stokely Carmichael Smith complied. and black revolutionaries, But to Dumke, Reagan and view the college in a different the Board of Trustees the college Smith’s move gave momentum So the spectre of the Board of light than do officials who in­ means something else. It is one clude State College Chancellor to the Black Students Union’s Trustees again hangs heavily over of America’s many institutions 10 demands, focusing on the the future of SF State. Glenn Dumke and Governor which perpetuate the established black studies program and used The board soon will make de­ Ronald Reagan. system-economically, politically Radical students are using as a basis for Wednesday’s strike. cisions on several proposed re­ and militarily. the college as an instrument The lack of sincere negotiation solutions aimed at repressing In Dumke’s view, a man like of change. Through programs between the BSU and the admin­ student dissent and student Black Panther Party Minister like Community Involvement, istration, plus the belligerence of educational-political programs. of Education George Murray Experimental College, Tutorial those engaged in ‘classroom edu­ In the face of this anticipated has no business teaching or and Black Students Union, they cation,’ turned the strike into a- action, further division between studying at the college. are freeing teaching methods nother meaningless confrontation student activists and administra­ Murray’s blatant defiance and subject matter from tra­ which precipitated the calling of tion is the last thing the college ditional restrictions. They are of established authority and police to the campus. needs. Smith on the strike-. Our record is clear...’ Following is the text of Pres­ and that it be evaluated and re­ ten demands on the College form­ person to whom the demands ident Smith’s statement on the viewed as rapidly as possible ulated by the Black Students were to be made. The intent November 6, 1968, strike called through established procedures. Union. These were made public to strike in behalf of the demands by the Black Students Union^ This information has been made in the already tense atmosphere was made clear in each above “The record is clear that the available on campus as action of the campus generated by the instance. J&jjSK “Yesterday, on the eve of the " - f e * College has moved more rapidly has progressed. controversy over pending action in support of a program of Black “The controversies surround­ concerning George Murray, part- strike, the demands were pre­ Pickets at doors of HLL Studies at San Francisco State ing the program and other con­ time instructor of English. On sented to me and to the Deputy |imimiiiiiiiiiimiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiRiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiif(^ College than it has on any other cerns of Black students and facul­ November 4, in a news confer­ President at 4:00 p.m. by a com­ program in recent years. The de­ ty have resulted in a strike called ence, Black officials of the Col­ mittee of seven. I was asked to % velopment of Black Studies on for today (Nov. 6). My percep­ lege and two leaders of the Black agree to them on the spot. I was this campus has been actively tion of the immediate situation Students Union presented the ten also told that the strike would I INSIDE PHOENIX I supported by the Academic Sen­ follows. demands to the public. proceed in any event. My propo­ ate, the Center for Educational “In late October both major “The press conference was sal to use the meeting to esta- Innovation, the Council of Aca­ San Francisco newspapers carried closed to me, presumably the ( Continued on Page 5) demic Deans, and the President 1 Alioto versus Murray j and his immediate staff. “A Department of Black Stu­ | --page 5 j dies at San Francisco State Col­ lege was authorized by the Col­ lege in September of this year to be staffed and supported as the 5 = program was approved and nec­ | History of demonstrations | essary positions made available. This record has been termed by strike leaders as foot-dragging, | --page 3 I and a racist effort to destroy the whole concept of Black Studies. “The above actions have taken I I priority over a large number of Problems of black studies other important pressures for re­ 3 E allocation of resources. The Aca­ demic Vice President, with my | --page 4 \ support, has insisted that the Black Studies Program be devel­ oped within the instructional af­ S.F. Tactical Squad moves on campus at | ] President Sm ith's request. ^illllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllilllllllllllllllllillllllllllllllllllllHHItP fairs framework of the College PHOENIX Page 2 PHOENIX Thursday, November 7, 79^ Editorial Black students, Dumke strike similar chord A black students’ strike yesterday culminated in the same subtlety shown in State College Chancellor Glenn Dumke’s suspension of SF State instructor and Black Panther Party Minister of Education George Murray last week. What began as a legitimate strike backing 10 demands by Black Students Union soon turned into near disaster for 18,000 SF State students. After a morning of peaceful picketing Wednesday by Students for a Democratic Society, who struck in sympathy with BSU, the situa­ tion worsened. BSU members came from a meeting at about 12:30 p.m. and par­ aded through all campus buildings and disrupted classes, heralding the end of peaceful demonstrating. Typewriters were thrown out of windows, photographers were chased in an effort to confiscate film in their cameras, and instructors and students were intimidated in T\?T»LET classrooms. Classroom doors that were locked were banged On and windows in the doors occasionally were smashed. General chaos re­ igned for nearly an hour. President Robert Smith then called the city’s police tactical squad in an effort to end the disruption on campus. We believe, along with many SF State students, that there .is the right to strike peacefully, but not to the extent that it closes down the college.