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February 18, 1969 - Image 3

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Michigan Daily, 1969-02-18

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

Tuesday, February 18, 1969
VIOLENCE AT MONTREAL UNIVERSITY:

THE MICHIGAN DAILY

Page Three

-- -- - -- i . n.

Faculty stubbornness leads to student frustration;

MONTREAL, Quebec (CUP-
CPS) - A two-week-old occupa-
tion at Sir George Williams Uni-
versity ended violently Tuesday
after police arrested 79 students-
blacks and whites-in the school's
computer center. '
The arrests and final clearance
of the center took over 10 hours
and, before the process ended, the
ocupiers had smashed over a mil-
lion dollar's worth of computers,
set fire to the ninth floor of the
school's Hall Building and des-
troyed a complete set of the
school's academic records.
The occupation began two weeks
ago after students, primarily
black, gave up on a hearing com-
mittee investigating charges of
racism made against a biology
professor by six blacks some
months ago.
The 'faculty hearing committee
initially had the students' ap-
proval, but after two members re-
signed, the administration ap-
pointed replacements without con-
sulting the students. The commit-
tee, which held its hearings the
week of February 2, was considered
illegitimate by the black stu-
dents.
They took over the computer
center and five days later were
backed up by another 200 whites
who seized the school's faculty
club.
Over the weekend, it appearead
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as if agreement might be reached black smoke filled the corridors
in the dispute. The administration and at least five policemen and
agreed to repudiate the hearing firemen were overcome with smoke
committee and to set another one and rushed to the hospital.
in its place that would be agree- The students, ringed by fire,
able to both parties, stayed in a back room near an
But this plan, which would have open window. Out in the corridors,
ended the occupation, was reject- newsmen and other students fled
ed early Tuesday morning by the the area to get away from the
faculty, who favored a more mili- smoke, unendurable even two
tant stand toward the occupation. floors away.
Shortly after the faculty's deci- The fire began to move in on
sion was announced, the students the students. The riot squad man-
seized the Hall Building (which aged to put out the fire and get
houses the computer center on its the students out before they were
ninth floor) and barricaded all all either burned or overcome by
entrances, exits and escalators. smoke.
The police were called immediately The police seized 79 and kept
and fought an hour's pitched them lined up against a wall for
battle against fire hoses and bar- two hours as they put out fires
ricades. and awaited instructions.
They finally drove to students Only a few of the occupiers
back to the computer center, and managed to evade arrest.
when Montreal's riot squad moved The university will press charges
in for the kill, the occupiers set against all the 79. "We'll hit them
fire to the barricades and took with every possible criminal
axey tossedcompu rds, print- charge," one official said.
outs, papers, research documents The students have been charged
-anything they could find-out with conspiracy, arson and public
the windows. These were followed mischief. Arson alone carries a
by'typewriters, portable computers, maximum sentence of life im-
adding machines. Nine floors prisonment, a minimum of seven
down, the city streets, now cor- years.
doned off by police for three At least 20 of the 79 arrested
blocks, were thick with paper. were women. The group is almost
Flames shot out 15 feet and the equally mixed, black and white.
police drew back. The blaze was The damage includes at least
visible for three city blocks. Thick $1 million worth of computers.
- - -The center itself won't be func-
tional again until next October.
HELD OVER $Total damage is estimated at
$8 million. t
The university will be shut down
2nd W EEK at least until Monday and may
take months to get back to nor-
mal operation.
it, you'll never again picture
Way you did before!" - LIFE _

-Associated Press
Occupying the ivory tower
Prague university students
demonstrate with discretion'

{ College Press Service
PRAGUE-In the early days of
last year it was the young Czechs
especially who caused the "Czech-
oslovakian question" to burst
upon the western press. They were

In the Faculty of Law (Prav-
nicka Fakulta), among the 1200
students enrolled in the five-year
course, support for Dubcek w a s
still very strong.

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the creators, or at least the pro- In Noverhber, when they were
moters, of the "new trend" for forced to abandon a mass anti-
that country of eastern Europe. Soviet demonstration, Prague uni-
In August it was youth, work- versity students held a "sit-in"1
ers and students together, w ho lasting for several days. This took
opposed desperate scorn to the place at the same time as the
Rsintanks invading the na- work of the Communist Party
tional territory. At the start of Central Committee, which was to
the year it is from them again, end with acceptance of the course
the unyielding students of Prague, of action laid down by Moscow.
that protest is heard-even if less On the 16th of the month the uni-
loud-against the directives laid versities of Olomouc and Leberec
dowvn for the government and the were occupied, as well as the Ag-
Czechoslovak party by the Soviet ricultural College in Prague where
occupiers. 3,500 students are enrolled.
Recent news gives ,some exam- There were continual meetings
ples: Halfway through October in the occupied faculties, action
teaching was resumed in the committees and committees for
Czechoslovakian universities; the coeainbtenuieste
students at once organized-with and factories.bethee nruives eeds
discretion--a check of the en- to show that the policy of liberal-
trances to prevent citizens from ization begun in January, 1968
other Warsaw Pact countries from and interrupted by the Russian
mixing with the students. tanks was still alive and kicking.
Second Class postage paid at Ann At a strictly university level -
Arbor, Michigan, 420 Maynard St., Ann which is all that is at present con-
Arbor, Michigan 48104. ceded to the combative young
Published daily Tuesday through Czechs -students and professors
Sunday morning University year. Suib- Ceh tdnsadpoesr
scription rates: $9.00 by carrier, $10.00 have drawn up a "list of claims"
by mail. in view of the proposed reform

law. Such concepts as autonomy,
co-management and participation
are insisted upon.
In Czechoslovakia there exist
student parliaments at university,
city and national levels. The most
politically-oriented organizations,
they were formed last May from
the split with the Union of Soc-
ialistic Youth to emphasize the
new trends toward democratiza-
tion. But the base committees,
springing from the November oc-
cupations, do not recognize this
association which is now headed
by obscure provincials who a r e'
cautious and reformist and who
have replaced the leaders of 1968
such as Tous and .Zboril who were
from Prague.
Tous says: "We should like to
establish contact and collabora-
tion with other >students of t he
world. But we are critical of a
certain ideological imperialism of
groups of the Student Movement
in western Europe,"
Last spring Prague was invad-
ed by scores of members of t h e
German Socialist League, follow-
ers of Rudi Dutschke, who w e r e
all convinced they could teach
the young Czechs "how to start
a revolution." "But we," continues
Tous, "have no intention of free-
ing ourselves from the Stalinistic
myth to fall afoul of the totali-
tarian Maoist concept."
This it appears that Czech uni-
versity students are aiming to
democratise the socialist society
in which they live. But the facts
seem to give the lie to such am-
bitions and the students as well
seem to be in for heavy pressures
"to normalize the situation also in
the Czech universities.",
1-

the.
news toda
I '1 he Associa/d Press and Cnilee Press Service
BRITISH AUTHORITIES IN HONG KONG have at-
tempted to free 15 holidaying yachtsmen believed to be
held by Communist China.
The yachtsmen, of which four were Americans, were ap-
parently captured Sunday as they sailed in three vessels from
Hong Kong to Macao, a Portugese colony.
W. E. Collard, Hong Kong's Director of Immigration yes-
terday said contacts have been m a d e with the Chinpse
"through the usual channels."
In Washington, spokesmen for the State Department ex-
pressed guarded hope that the Americans would be released
soon.
SECRETARY OF STATE WILLIAM ROGERS will urge
senators today to promptly ratify the nuclear non-pro-
liferation treaty.
He plans to make the statement during his scheduled
appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Administration officials foresee early ratification of the
treaty. However, ratification may be delayed if the hearings
or floor discussion develop into a debate over the much-dis-
puted U.S. missile defense program.
Only nine nations have ratified the pact thus far. The
approval of 43 nations is required before it goes into effect.
FRANCE yesterday withdrew indefinitely from the
Western European Union (WEU).
Her withdrawal threatens the future of the alliance form-
ed in 1954 in order to contain a re-armed West Germany.
WEU is the only grouping that includes Great Britain and
the six member states of the European Common Market.
After intensive consultations with other member coun-
tries, British Secretary General Maurice Iweins dEckhoutte
announced that the council meeting scheduled for 'Tuesday
will be held anyway. In the House of Commons Foreign Secre-
tary Michael Stewart said "It is not our desire to isolate the
French but we cannot take the view that no progress at all
can be made without their agreement."
* . 0
SOVIET AND EAST GERMAN party leaders met in
East Berlin yesterday to plan their next moves to prevent
West Germany from holding its presidential election in
West Berlin.
At the meeting, Soviet Party Chief Leonid Brezhnev and
East German President Walter Ulbricht charged West Ger-
many with "seeking to create a focus of dangerous tension in
Europe."
The meeting followed a week of mounting Communist
pressures to move the election from the divided city. Both
East Germany and Moscow sent statements to West Germany,
the United States, Great Britain, and France protesting the
intended election.
In another move by East Germany, a ban on overland
travel to West Berlin by West German legislators went into
effect Saturday.
THE ARAB STATES have stepped up their propagan-
da campaign against Israel.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Riad said he is tour-
ing Middle East capitals to "rally Arab power," in the face of
Israel's refusal to pull back from Arab soil it took in the June
1967 war. "This clearly means that from Israel's point of view
there can be no peaceful settlement," Riad said.
In New York, Secretary General U Thant circulated a let-
ter from Iraq accusing Israel of "perpetrating the most bar-
baric acts." In London British Foreign Secretary Michael 6te-
wart indicated that Britain wants a curb on arms sales to the
Mideast.
THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT is investigating
possible breaches of contract in the construction of a $40
million mail processing complex.
Investigation of the New Jersey based project began yes-
terday following disclosure by the Associated Press that one
major contract went to a firm that may be linked to the
Mafia. Two other contracts went to firms with ties to the
Hudson County's Democratic Machine.

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