Text / "The State of the Campus"

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Title: "The State of the Campus"
Creator: Third World Liberation Front
Date Created and/or Issued: 1969 February 26
Contributing Institution: UC Berkeley, Ethnic Studies Library
Collection: Third World Strike at University of California, Berkeley collection, 1968-1972
Rights Information: Copyright Unknown
Rights Notes: Copyright status unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owner. In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of gift agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Type: text
Identifier: CES ARC 2015/1 Carton 1 Folder 3
CES0003
Subject: Student movements
Student strikes
Third World Liberation Front
Place: Berkeley, Calif.
Source
Location: UC Berkeley Ethnic Studies Library
Transcription: THE STATE OF THE CAMPUS Yesterday, the Third World Liberation Front Negotiating Team met with Chancellor Heyns. There were no negotiations; Heyns simply informed the TWLF of his position on our demands. He is still considering the "feasibility" of a Third World College. He is also "investigating" the case of police brutality in the arrest of Cordell Abercrombie on February 4, 1969. Heyns clearly stated that there would be no amnesty for students who violate any University rule in conjunction with the strike. In fact, he promised that discipline will be much stricter against strikers and that EOP money will definitely be taken away from students who are suspended after hearings. As for interim suspensions, "interim suspensions will continue of they are desirable." (i.e., desirable to the Administration and Sheriff Madigan in their attempts to intimidate strikers). There will be another meeting with the Chancellor on Thursday, February 27, 1969 at 2:00 p.m., where the TWLF will submit the final proposals for the Third World College and Departments. In view of the Previous meetings with Heyns, we do not expect any concrete results, but TWLF will keep you informed on all developments. The Administration is obviously not interested in reasonable debate of the issues. The TWLF proposed to hold the first meeting of the Third World College, presenting detailed plans for the Departments and introductory lectures on the history of Third World people in the United States. In the interest of clarification the TWLF also reserved an hour of the meeting for the Administration representatives to present their point of view. The Administration refused the request for facilities and the proffered debate time. As an Administration representative told the press, the Chancellor's "general feeling is that the situation is so complex that it can't be resolved by meeting with 15,000 people." Instead of debating the issues publicly, the Administration has been trying to crush the strike through intimidation. Although claiming that rallies are not illegal, they then cite speakers for using "illegal sound equipment." This is curtailment of our rights to free speech and free assembly; as the Supreme Court has stated, in several cases the right to effective freedom of speech is inherent in the Constitution and obviously a rally without sound equipment is not very effective on this campus. The Administration has also violated strikers' civil liberties by issuing interim suspensions to those students who are arrested in connection with the strike. Students thereby face double jeopardy - punishment by the courts and punishment by the University for an offense for which they have not yet even been convicted. In addition, the Committee on Student Conduct before which students are judged violates due process. There are no Third World people on the Committee, so there is not judgement by one's peers. The Administration brings the charges, appoints the faculty members who sit on the committee, and then has final decisionmaking powers on the settlement of the case. During the last two days, Friday and Monday there have been no confrontations on campus between the strikers and police. This has been due mainly to the fact that the TWLF has not set up picket lines, not to the "fact" that the TWLF strikers and supporters have initiated the violence. When we have set up our picket lines, the police have provoked violence by dispersing us and charging into our lines to arrest individuals. They are often unnecessarily rough with arrestees, as yesterday when they arrested Jaime Soliz and stepped so hard on his foot that he had to be hospitalized. We will not be intimidated by the police; we will continue to picket until the strike ends. The violence on this campus clearly originates with the police; the violence of the strikers has been a defensive reaction to the initial violence by the police. The TWLF affirms the people's right to self-defense when attacked. The strike has lasted for five weeks now and has the perspective of being a prolonged struggle. It has been highly successful so far in mobilizing increasing support from the campus and the community. The presence of police and the repressive acts of the Administration leave no room for neutrality in the strike. Objectively, when you go to class, you become one of Heyns' "silent majority" of students who support the presence of police on campus and do not agree with the strike demands. You must choose either to attend class or to strike. TWLF February 26, 1969 (labor donated) JOIN THE LINE! POWER TO THE PEOPLE!

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