Regional Oral History Office University of California The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California Joseph R. Johnson Six Weeks in Spring UC Berkeley Management of Campus Protest Oral History Project Interview conducted by Julie Shearer in 1985 Copyright © 2013 by The Regents of the University of California Since 1954 the Regional Oral History Office has been interviewing leading participants in or well- placed witnesses to major events in the development of Northern California, the West, and the nation. Oral History is a method of collecting historical information through tape-recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well- informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. The tape recording is transcribed, lightly edited for continuity and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewee. 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Excerpts up to 1000 words from this interview may be quoted for publication without seeking permission as long as the use is non- commercial and properly cited. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to The Bancroft Library, Head of Public Services, Mail Code 6000, University of California, Berkeley, 94720-6000, and should follow instructions available online at http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/ROHO/collections/cite.html It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Joseph R. Johnson, “Six Weeks in Spring: UC Berkeley Management of Protest Oral History Project” conducted by Julie Shearer in 1985, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 2013. Table of Contents—Joseph R. Johnson Tape 1 Orientation for student groups, rally schedules — Early anti-apartheid presentations, BART alerts — Negotiating cooperation with campus rules — Monitoring Sproul Plaza rallies — April 9-12 demonstrations, black police officers’ interest — Thoughts about arrests — African Students Association and United People of Color — Observers — April 24 forum, community participation Tape 2 Clean-ups of Sproul steps, more non-students present — Questions of police review — Suggestions for ex-student Craig Palmer — Regents meeting at Lawrence Hall of Science — Productive decisions, police morale —Thoughts on student coalition 1 Interview 1: July 31, 1985 [Begin Tape 1, Side A] Shearer: What is your position with the University of California Police Department? Johnson: At the present time I am the Student Liaison Officer with the campus Police Department. Shearer: What does that mean? Johnson: That means that I work with all student groups on campus and the fraternity and sorority groups on campus. I liaison information to the student groups and the Office of Student Activities and Services and the Police Department. I’m a link of communication between those three entities. Shearer: At what point do you typically see the student organizations or the fraternities? When something goes wrong, or do you typically make regular visits? Johnson: At the beginning of each school semester, we have an orientation session with a representative from every group. One or more representatives from each group must attend the orientation session to receive a pamphlet concerning the rules and regulations. It also gives them a chance to meet with the representative from the Office of Student Activities and myself. We go over some of the do’s and don’ts, some of the information or highlights of what the different organizations on campus have problems with that are more likely to come up during the school semester. And it’s a chance and opportunity for them to ask questions that are not clear or they may have had a problem with in the past school year. Shearer: So you’re the front line; you are the link to the University for student organizations? Johnson: Yes, with the Police Department. Shearer: When student organizations come to sign up for rallies, for example, or other public events, do you routinely have any contact with them? Johnson: Not directly. Shearer: Not necessarily. Unless there’s a need? Johnson: Well, I get a copy of the rally schedule for the upcoming week. For instance, on Friday I go up to the Office of Student Activities and pick up the rally sheet for the coming week. Most of the time the student group signs up for, let’s say, a rally 2 next Wednesday or Thursday, you do it the previous week. So the Office of Student Activities and Services types a rally schedule for the coming week, also the activity on Lower Sproul Plaza; that mainly consists of music. So usually by noon on Friday I will have some idea of what type of rally schedule we will have for the coming week. At that time the student organization also turns in a guest list, or speakers’ list, I should say. If they’re inviting well-known speakers or they’ve invited a speaker from a foreign country or whatever, I have an idea of what type of crowd the speaker might draw, what type of security may be needed for that type of a crowd, or whatever precaution needs to be taken. It would give the department some type of idea as to what’s going on on campus. Shearer: So the routine, then, is for the rallies list to be typed up, for you to see a copy of it and sort of look it over to see whether ay particular security measures ought to be taken? Johnson: Exactly. Shearer: Do you then report that to the Student Activities Officer, or do you take that back to the Department and it goes from there? Johnson: I take that information to the Department and share that information with other members of the Department; the watch commander, the Chief if it’s something that he needs to be aware of. Shearer: Is your input sometimes the basis on which they make a decision to either include observers or not? You know, the observers for the rallies and the demonstrations and so forth. Do you recommend—? Johnson: Yes. From time to time, yes, I’m asked my opinion whether or not observers are needed or should be present. I think this past school semester we talked over the need for observers at some of our rallies, and it was a joint decision. Shearer: Of the Department and SAS? Johnson: Yes. Shearer: How long have you been in your position? Johnson: Two years. Shearer: And you’re mainly based in the field; that is, on the plaza and around the area, so you see a lot of what’s going on? Johnson: Yes. My main responsibility is Sproul Plaza. 3 Shearer: Do you have a pretty good idea of who the students are who usually appear in the student organizations? Johnson: Yes. Shearer: So you recognize most of the student organizations which were active earlier this spring? Johnson: Yes. Shearer: When did it occur to you that we might have demonstrations on the anti-apartheid issue? Johnson: Personally, I had a hunch, and it was just a feeling, that the apartheid-South Africa situation would be the number one focus of campus unrest for 1985. Personally, I had been following the South African situation for several years. I noticed that in late 1984, at several rallies, a couple of the speakers—not South Africa being the main part of the rally but South Africa and apartheid being interjected into either the middle or the tail end of the presentation. At that time not very many people, I think, paid that much attention to what was being said. The focal point at that time was either the nuclear weapons or animal rights or racism here in this country. My recollection is that the speaker, for whatever reason, interjected the South African situation into his or her presentation. Kathy Campbell was the student body president at that time. There was another young lady, Francesca Kuglen; she was on Kathy Campbell’s cabinet, and I can remember her speaking at one of the rallies. She either started or concluded her presentation with the topic of racism here in America and the apartheid situation in South Africa. I was somewhat surprised because I think that was the second time in a week someone had mentioned the South African situation. That was around October or November of ‘84. Shearer: Oh, that far back? Johnson: Yes. Shearer: Now, in December there were a series of arrests at University Hall [UC Office of the President]. \ Johnson: Yes. Shearer: Did you link those two events? Or were you surprised? Johnson: Well, I think that in other parts of the country things were starting to happen, but it wasn’t very publicized here on the West Coast. I think some people started really getting involved with the South African-apartheid situation towards the end 4 of the year, around November-December. I think, if I remember correctly, there were something like forty people arrested, and I think that triggered off the news media to pick up the report more on what was happening across the country in other cities and at other universities.