About 150 Harlem high school students broke into the campus on Friday afternoon, April 26. Black students at Columbia helped prevent possible vandalism and mayhem, however, and the teenagers left without incident.
cern for the work of this institution and and were headed for Hamilton Hall. the safety of its members." A law pro- The police responded quickly, stationfessor, irked at SDS demands for total ing 40 patrolmen very prominently on amnesty or a tribunal over which they the steps of Low Library "as a show of would have complete control, said "It is force" to deter possible violence. About 1,500 students and teachers wrong to allow anyone who has broken laws and grossly violated people's civil (and aln~ost 100 members of the press liberties to dictate who will try them and the TV networks), were gathered for their infractions." Finally, one outside Hamilton Hall waiting to hear what Brown and Carmichael would say scholar rose, and finished his brief denunciation of the revolutionary strikers to the Columbia community. At 1:55 with the sentence, "Those who play the two black militants emerged from with Yiolent revolution have to expect Hamilton and a hush spread through counter-violence as part of their game." the crowd. Behind the two stood a corCheers and applause broke out, but don of facultv members, including govthere were also a few cries of "Shame!" ernment professor Bruce Smith with a handful of daffodils. Brown, wearing a and "No, No!" Professor Seymour Melman, a pro- black turtleneck shirt, a dungaree jackstrike member, tried to halt the mount- et, and blue jeans, repeated the four ing disillusionment with the rebels by demands of the group inside Hamilton, switching all the blame to President said the college students inside were Kirk. "The kids are reasonable but the "fighting against the racist policies of Administration's position is rock-hard," this university and for the rights of the contended :\Ielman. He partially suc- black community," and threatened ceeded; but Professors Dallin and Wes- that, "If Columbia doesn't deal with tin reminded him and his supporters the brothers in there, they'll have to that President Kirk had given in on at deal with the brothers in the streets." Brown was surprisingly brief and lukeleast a few points, but the Strike Steering Committee seemed to be adopting warm, and to everyone's astonishment, Carmichael chose to say notlung at all. an all-or-nothing approach. Then, the Ad Hoc Faculty meeting "Holy cow," exclaimed one awed gradbroke up again at 1:30 because it was uate student, "the Hamilton guys told announced that SNCC leaders H. Rap them to cool it too!" Brown and CarBrown and Stokely Carmichael, accom- michael promptly left the campus, panied by 100 young Negroes, had never to return. :\Ieanwhile, Professor Alan Westin surged past the police at the Amsterdam gate, knocking a professor down, and several other hopeful professors of 46
the Ad Hoc group negotiating comm:ttee went to Strike Central on the third floor of Ferris Booth Hall to talk again with Rudd and his comrades. Rudd received them sitting back with his stocking feet on the desk, looking like a tired Fidel Castro receiving a half dozen bloated sugar plantation owners. vVith :Budd's black socks only 18 inches from their noses, the seated professors again pleaded that the rebels empty the buildings and submit to the just agreed upon tripartite tribunal, "prepared to be as lenient as possible." Rudd, emboldened by the increased number of students in the buildings, the presence of Rap Brown and Stokely Carmichael on campus, and tlle possibility of a thousand peace marchers coming up to .\1orningside the next day, scoffed at the idea. He said that in addition to amnesty for all and the other demands, the strikers now demanded also the immediate resignation of President Kirk and Vice President Truman, and a change in the corporate structure of the Universitv so that the students and faculty would have all the power, and the administrators and Trustees none. The Ad Hoc representatives were stunned. Far from being willing to compromise, the SDS leaders had escalated their demands. The scholars told Rudd of their fears of another right-wing student reaction, worse than that of the previous night. Rudd disCOLUylBIA COLLEGE TODAY