U S Postage PAID Bronx, New York Permit No. 7608 Non-Profit Org. Thursday, November 12,1981 Volume 63 FORDHAM UNIVERSITY, NEW YORK Number 27 Sean Sands Speaks of S. Africa Meeting Canned; Bobby Opposing Group Formed byBobO'Keefe By Herman Eberhardt properly used the club's name on "You'll be thinking he was very down- A planned meeting of The Friends of the promotional literature advertising the hearted and sad," said Sean Sands, Republic of South Africa Committee was meeting. describing the last days of his brother cancelled barely an hour before it was After being notified of the cancellation, a Bobby's fatal hunger strike. "No way." z scheduled to take place on Tuesday after- group of about 70 students and teachers who Addressing a visibly moved crowd of 300 « noon in Room 234 of the McGinley Center. had shown up to protest the meeting held an | The cancellation was announced by the in Keating 3rd Tuesday afternoon, Sands "unofficial" hour-long discussion session to Is College Republicans Club after the club's of- recounted, down to the last painful breaths, talk about ways to fight apartheid and ficers discovered that the Committee's his brother's death in Ireland's Long Kesh racism. K leader, Brendan Mahoney, CBA 82, had im- prison camp. "And a holy death, too," he The anti-apartheid meeting occurred after declared, as the audience stood and Michael O'Brien, FC 83, the president of the apnlaudcd. , College Republicans told the protesters, who "Everybody has a cross to bear," Sands were gathered in the hallway in front of room Tip O'Neill Says Reagan 234 that his group had cancelled the event. continued, "and 1 have mine, to bear for the rest of my life." Apologizing for the hoarse- When O'Brien had finished, Dr. Nterk ness of his voice, he nonetheless spoke for the Naison of the Afro-American Studies depar- better part of three hours on the history of tment announced a counter-meeting and led Threatens American Dream a group of students and teachers into the Irish nationalism and the "H-Block" hunger room. strikers. by Leslie Munlronc istrators who had paid $30 for the privilege of Addressing the group, Naison recalled his To understand the Northern Ireland of House Speaker Thomas P. (Tip) O'Neill listening to O'Neill. fear when he first saw flyers announcing today, said Sands, "you've got to start 812 denounced the Reagan economic plan and "So far the supply side cuts have failed to Tuesday's meeting that an outside years ago." He proceeded to give a detailed accused the President's economic policies of trigger the new investment promised by its organization "might be using Fordham as a history of the British presence in Ireland, "threatening the very heart of the American proponents," he said. "There is a reason. trial balloon (for the formation of similar from the initial invasion to the Potato dream." Businessmen know that huge tax cuts and organizations elsewhere in the metropolitan Famine to the Easter Uprising and finally to O'Neill was the featured speaker of the huge increases in defense don't add up to bal- area) because Fordham has a reputation as the birth of the Provisional IRA in 1969. ' annual alumni business conference held last anced budgets. On tne contrary, they add up being a conservative campus." Sands' account was a history of oppression Friday at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall. to higher deficits and higher interest rates." He said that "To some degree they were and the subsequent "breeding of resistance." "At this moment, the economic fate of the O'Neill blamed the President for going reading Fordham wrong. This campus "The more you stomp down a man," he greatest democracy in the history of the back on a campaign promise, saying that does have a lot of progressive and socially said, "the more he's gonna come back up at world depends on a novel, unproven theory Reagan is deliberately using the recession to conscious people. If a meeting you." called 'supply side' , economics," the fight inflation. would be called it would backfire. And your He pointed to the demonstrations of 1969 Massachusetts Democrat told an audience of "When he was a candidate, he promised he presence here demonstrates this." in Ulster. According to Sands, what had more than 150 alumni and University admin- Continued on page 6 Naison suggested that the group form started out as a peaceful movement, an Irish some sort of "coordinating committee" to version of the American civil rights move- "deal in a more constructive way with the ment, suddenly turned ugly when Loyalist whole question of apartheid and relations mobs, spearheaded by the British police ROTC At Fordham with South Africa." force, attacked Catholic demonstrators and After speaking, Naison turned the meeting ravaged their neighborhoods. The PIRA was over to Colleen Wright, an officer of the formed in reaction; their slogan, "Out of the Afro-American Club. Wright then took ashes of'69:" -/V? questions and comments from the crowd, Sean Sands told of his brother Bobby's which was composed of both black and white gradual radicalization in reaction to the students and several faculty and ad- violent Belfast environments ministrators. Several speakers questioned "In 1972," said Sands, "Bobby Sands did whether groups like Mahoney's should be not know who the IRA was." The family allowed to speak on campus. lived in a housing development alongside Assistant Dean of Student Michael Protestants. "All of mine and Bobby's Sullivan, who had allowed the group access Inendswere Protestant," he said. to the campus because of its association with I" the Sands' neighborhood, the Ulster the College Republicans, responded that he uetense Association, a Loyalist paramilitary thought his office should not "decide what Pup, would pick from a hat the names of issues should be discussed" on campus. 'w Catholic families to beuscared, burned, "There is concern for censorship," he said. °f bombed out" of their homes. The Sands' Nerine Webb, president of the Third *e caft>c, and one night a trash can was World Association echoed this view. "A "irowii through the window and five slugs university is a place where ideas are Pumped through the front door. The police discussed... we shouldn't suppress him were called, but dismissed the affair as (Mahoney)." A large portion of the audience applauded Webb's statement. young hooliganism." In another incident, Bobby was forced During the meeting a flyer asking for the om hls Job when two men levelled hand- names and addresses of students "interested suns at his head and told him to get out. in helping to form a political awareness woy Sands joined the PIRA late in 1972. group at Fordham" was circulated. The Man recalled how Bobby was arrested flyer, which was handed out by Peter Amato, a lc r FC 84, was signed by about 40 people. c°°" ! ' > and tortured until he signed a u" essi°" t0 the charge of armed robbery. Amato said he hoped the group would act as a "Forum" for students of all political e was sentenced to five years, but was al- views to debate and discuss issues. "There is wen status as a political prisoner of war and a need for an organization at Fordham that «as Paroled in April of 1976. In 1975, after a students can turn to to inform themselves !. , U)| '""eased PIRA activity, the British and express their views on a wide variety of • . ,,',',l0 ^credit them [the PIRA] as th political issues," he said. „ ugs\ said Sands. They were labelled He said the possibility of group actions or iishm°nsls"in a move t0 Justifythc estab" statements also existed. "We hope not to be DiniT1 Ol lllc "Diplok" courts. Under the an anti-group," he stressed. "We want to , * system, political POW status was make positive plans." He said he hoped to al0 • • «g with the right to trial by jury. have an organizational meeting some time rt c i r of 1976' BobbySands was ar- next week. • u .jlang with five other men for being in Speaking after the meeting, Naison said he "iRted tar iin which a .22 revolver was d U dc was "pleasantly surprised" at the large tur- !cn"!Ull ' " c'r ttle D < «il to 14 ycar'P'°'s eac courtsh [R, Aal lmem six t,wererse nout of students protesting the appearance of Were n '•' 14 years eacn> 1RA '"embers Mahoney's group. He was particularly j ,w olli<--ially regarded as terrorists and crjniii , g • Finances... p.9 pleased, he said, at the bi-racial nature of the 9DoesItBelong?...p.7 "latviiv "'"' pr'SOn contmions reflected • Its Past...p.7 crowd. Naison also would not rule out the 9 Academics...p. 10 possibility that Mahoney's group was Kesh"K S iUHl ttlc olhcrs were senl t0 Lone receiving support, possibly of a financial Prison ? rc.namcd bVth e British as MaK Continued on page 4 • ^';w Sands compared Long Kesh to Continued on page 4 2/THE RAM/NOVEMBER 12,1981 Friday, November 13 present a slide presentation by "Women Against Por- Friday, November 20 nography" followed by a discussion. Concert Committee presents a Showcase Series with two Concert Committee presents Here Comes the CBA Pre-registrationpick up packets inThebauld Hall. Night... David lohansen in concert, 9 pm in the Cafeteria. bands in the Ramskellar at 8:30 pm. SAC Budget Meeting 3-4 pm, Dean Sullivan's office, WAC and The Commuter Council continue their Faculty Tickets in advance: $5 w/ID; $6 w/out; at the door: $6 McGiniey Center.