Armistice at S.F. State

The worst student disturbance in the recent history of U.S. education seemed to be nearing an end last week. After a violent, 134-day boycott of San Francisco State College, representatives of the Black Students Union and the Third World Liberation Front signed an armistice. It was partly inspired by declining support for their cause and secretly worked out during ten days of negotiation with a faculty committee appointed by the school's acting president, Dr. Samuel I. Hayakawa. Governor Ronald Reagan called it "a victory for the people of California," but that remains to be seen.

The dispute began over B.S.U. and T.W.L.F. demands for more black students and more black studies. On these points, the strikers could claim some success: under the terms of the agreement, San Francisco State will increase minority-group enrollment, but only "as far as resources permit," and establish a department of black studies, though it will not be an autonomous department as the strikers had originally demanded.

Still at issue, though, was a key demand for amnesty for 400-odd students. In a press conference, Hayakawa cautiously refrained from claiming victory, and promised to withhold decision on disciplinary penalties involving more than probation until after April 11. "This commitment," he explains, "is made in order to give the B.S.U.-T.W.L.F. the opportunity to demonstrate their leadership in establishing peaceful conditions on campus." Until then, a force of more than 150 riot-equipped San Francisco police will continue to patrol the troubled campus.

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