Untold
U L OF
Stories
Richard Wutzke being taken into custody.
Officials arrive at Southminster United Church for the U of L’s first convocation.
Protesters make their way down Fourth Avenue.
SU PRESIDENT ARRESTED A combination of youthful enthusiasm, righteous indignation and an activist student culture led to one of the most significant nights in the early history of the University of Lethbridge and the young life of Richard Wutzke (BASc ’72). It was May 1968 and determining the future site of the fledgling university was the topic of the day. While University administration, faculty, students and the City of Lethbridge all agreed that a west-side location matched the vision of the University’s founders, the provincial government did not originally accept this recommendation, and instead proposed a local referendum to determine the site.
With philosophical lines drawn, University students took to the streets, and on one fateful night, to the avenue in front of Lethbridge MLA John Landeryou’s house. “Today I’d be embarrassed to go forging out on an expedition like this with the kind of information we had,” chuckles then Students’ Union President Wutzke, recalling an evening meeting with University faculty as the impetus for a placard-waving group to descend upon Landeryou’s home. “We felt that somehow Mr. Landeryou was in cahoots with landowners surrounding the junior college who all stood to make very handsome profits by the expropriation of their property.”
When police arrived, they quickly identified Wutzke as a ringleader and put him into a police cruiser. “I was taken into the police car and then the car was surrounded by students,” says Wutzke. “Everybody sat down on the asphalt to prevent the police car from moving. Finally they basically threatened to run people over and they left with me.” His good friend, Arthur Joevenazzo, would be brought in later but the two were not actually charged, fingerprinted or put into a cell. University President Sam Smith got out of bed, drove down to the police station and vouched for the duo’s character. Wutzke’s father eventually came to drive him home.
Two days later, following the University’s first convocation, a street march was held, culminating with a rally at Galt Gardens. Days later, with provincial eyes now on Lethbridge and its rebellious students, the government backed off and the westside plan was ratified. “If I hadn’t been there, somebody else would have been there,” says Wutzke modestly. “What’s important is that at that time in history, the students, even though they would not be the recipients of this glorious new campus, acted and didn’t sit on their hands, and change occurred. When I look back at that, there is a sense of pride.”
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