DOCUMENT RESUME ED 028 767 JC 690 118 By-Lombardi, John Student Activism in Junior Colleges: An Administrator's Views. American Association of Junior Colleges, Washington, D.C.; California Uniy., Los Angeles. ERIC Clearinghouse for Junior Coll. Information. Pub Date 69 Note-83p. Available frcer American Association of Junior Colleges, 1315 Sixteenth Street. N.W., Washington. D.C. 20036 (S2.00) EDRS Price MF-SO.50 HC-S425 Descriptors-*Activism, Black Power, *Junior Colleges, Mexican Americans, Negro Orvnizations. *Student Behavior, *Student College Relationship, *Student Participation, Student Teacher Relationship Identifiers-*California Beginning with an overview, the author traces the history of activism from the Berkeley Free Speech Movementto the present. noting that, while junior college activists are influenced by senior institutions, their activitiesare typically more moderate. Defining several activistgroups and their special interests, he then discusses the new left (primarily the Students fora Democratic Society), the rightists. black students, Mexican-American students, and the elected student officers involved in the National Student Association. As for student government, he notes it has been bypassed by the activists, 'and efforts to participate in institutionalgovernance are largely-unsuccessful. Moving to student rights, hereviews the statements on this topic by the American Association of University Professors, the American Councilon Education, and the organizationspreparing the comprehensive "Joint Statement on Rights and Freedoms of Students: Thelast topics are commurity relations and relationships between students, faculty, and administration, where he discusses campus violence, the use Of police, non-studentactivism, reactions to Student excesses, and probable consequences. In conclusion, he assesses the effects of activism on curriculum and instruction andon students, and reviews areas of future concern, induding the possibility of backlash. (MC) c -J//-11 aft,. Ohs . STUDENT ACTIVISM IN JUNIOR COLLEGES: An Administrator's Views By John Lombardi EFalCIearinghouse for Junior College Information / AmericanAssnciation of Junior Colleges MONOGRAPH SERIES Salvage, Redirection, or Custody? Remedial Education in the Community Junior College. By John E. Roueche. 1g68. $2.00. Junior College Institutional Research: The State of the Art. By John E. Roueche and John R. Boggs. 1968. $2.00. Personality Characteristics of College and University Faculty: Implications for the Community College. By Florence B.Brawer. 1968. $2.00. Measuring Faculty Performance. By Arthur M. Cohen and Florence B. Brawer. 1969. $2.00. Institutional Administrator or Educational Leader? The Junior College President. By Arthur M. Cohen and John E. Roueche. 1969. $2.00. Student Activism in Junior Colleges: An Administrator's Views. By John Lombardi. 1969. $2.00. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION & WELFARE OFFICE OF EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRODUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGINATING IT.POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONS STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT OFFICIA! OFFICE OF EDUCATION POSITION OR POLICY. STUDENT ACTIVISM IN JUNIOR COLLEGES: An Administrator's Views By John Lombardi UNIVERSITY 0:2 CALii. LOS ANGELES APR 1 4 1969 CLEARINGHOUSEFOR JUNIOR COLLEGE ERIC Clearinghouse for Junior College Information INFor^."-'014 American Association of Junior Colleges Monograph Series Price: $2.00 American Association of junior Colleges 1315 Sixteenth Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036 Printed in U.S.A. - FOREWORD In bringing a focus on student activism in the junior colleges, John Lombardi and the editors of the ERIC Clearinghouse monograph series are to be congratulated for exploring an area overlaid with confusion, misunderstanding, and emotional extremes. The author's first step is to assist his readers in understanding some of the distinctions between the goals Wand styles of different activist groupings. He includes: the New Left, Black Power, Mexican-Americans, rightists, student body offi- cers, and others. Lombaidi notes that student government has been bypassed by the activists. "Student body officers are considered, at best, part of the administrative process and, at worst, stooges for the adminis- tration...." Our author then perceives that "The potentially stabilizing force of peer disapproval does not operate to effectpeace on campus." From considerations of anomie and the generation gap, Lombardi systematically discusses the events, the issues and thecauses.Dr. Lombardi anticipates a trend which spreads as if by contagion and in which the students at the junior colleges imitate their counterpartsat four-year institutions. Sometimes the style is imitated and sometimes the content. For example, students at one junior college demanded that the school nurse dispense birth control pillsa popular rallying point at universitieswhen, in fact, she is not authorized to dispense aspirin. Further, Dr. Lombardi undertakes the exploration of paternalism and authoritarianism on the part of administrators. He demonstrates the pervasive ambivalence toward change through activists' methods which they generally consider unacceptable. Yet throughout this monograph one is made to realize that the long overdue need for change persists despite one's view of the selfappointed champions. Significantly, Lom- bardi reminds us that administrators do "not (have)a license to return to the preactivist era." I A facile approach is denied thereader in exchange fora multidimen- sional description of challenging,irritating, and provocative phenomena, presented by the mildly dissidentto the wildly unreasonable, andsome- times violent and destructive,students and nonstudents. Theinflexi- bility of the Establishment inthe face of needed updating of theeduca- tional system is exposed.The problem is traced from theinception of student activism at Berkeleyto its infiltration of the junior colleges. This monograph is carefullydocumented. Chapters relating to the "Joint Statementon Rights and Freedom of Students" and theA.A.U.P. statement "On Student Status" (in whichDr. Lombardi lists majorcon- cerns of students and discusses currentsuccesses of the demands) offer not only interpretation but thereprinting of the important documents themselves. Thereare a tremendous number of useful insightsint& the functioning and malfunctioning ofthe American college and university. Educators must bewary lest they join forces with elements ofthe outside community whomay put forward parochial attitudes about activ- ism. This paper takesus away from the idea of classifying all dissidents as psychopaths and all of conformityas normal or even in the best public interest. Ina society of total conformity the mind and bodyare imprisoned. Whereonce we had wilderness for rugged individualism, the campuses have becomefrontiers for the spirit, but frontiersare disturbing places. jolm Lombardi has writtenan erudite and dispassionate review of student activism. Themonograph is a significant contributionto the literature at all levels. Dr. Lombardistimulates us to rethink our own attitudes and thus helpsto promote a rational approachto this highly, volatile subject. Robert S. Berns Consultant in Social Psychiatry University of California, LosAngeles II 1. PREFACE This monograph, ihe sixth in theClearinghouse/AAJC series, represents a departure from the pattern set by the firstfive lit that it does not report results of a surveyor series of experiments. Rather, it brings together the views ofa concerned, respectcd leader ona topic of great import today. The monograph is a conciseoverview of all forms of student "activ- ism," its causes and theresponses to it. It places activism ina context of history and the broadersociety, and is itself a plea for avoidingover- reaction to the situation. Ofparticular note are the author'scomments regarding the "Alice in Wonderland"nature of officially sanctioned stu- dent activities and relationshipsbetween those and activism. Curiously, as he points out, only about 5per cent to 10 per cent of the students on any junior collegecampus are involved in student activitiesor in student activismalthough,of course, it is not thesame students who take part in both sets ofhappenings. John Lombardi, assistantsuperintendent of the Los Angeles City School Districts, is well knownnationally in the junior college field.He has been an instructor,dean, and president prior to his comingto his present position and has servedon many AAJC commissions. Robert Berns, who prepared theforeword, works with students, faculty,and administrators at U.C.L.A. This monograph followsa Clearinghouse topical paper, Student Activ- ism and the Junior CollegeAdministrator: Judicial Guidelines, inwhich Dale Gaddy, a member of theClearinghouse staff, reviewed judicial deci- sions involving student rights.Taken together, the publications bringcon- sidered opinions to bearon the issue. Copies of the topicalpaper are available from the Clearinghouseon request. Our thanks to the AmericanAssociation of Junior Colleges and the U.S. Office of Education'sERIC project for making thesepublications possible. Arthur M. Cohen ERIC Clearinghouse for JuniorCollege Information M , CONTENTS Page Foreword I Preface III Introduction VII Chapter I. Overview 1 Chapter II. Student Activist Groupings 12 Chapter III. Student Body Government in Today's Colleges 26 Chapter IV. Student Rights Defined 34 Chapter V. The College Campus: A Community Institution. 45 Chapter VI. Student-Faculty-Administrator