Outcries of Dissent

CAMPUS COMMUNIQUE

The pulse of protest quickened on U.S. campuses last week. Some old issues took new turns. Black Power, for example, increasingly involved black athletes and black campus workers. Anti-war demonstrators focused on military research. At the same time, administrators seemed more assured and rational in containing student unrest without violence. Items:

> At M.I.T. the issue was the November Action Coalition's demand that military research be canceled at two off-campus laboratories and the Center for International Studies (TIME, Nov. 7). Relying on law rather than force, M.I.T. President Howard W. Johnson got a court order barring demonstrators from disrupting school activities. The tactic was partly successful. About 1,000 protesters milled outside while others marched through the first floor of the administration building, made speeches, voted not to seize the president's office, and left peacefully after several hours. The next day, about 350 protesters picketed the Instrumentation Laboratory to prevent scientists from entering. They were swept aside by 300 helmeted policemen, but not before ten people were injured. The following day, agitators again occupied the administration building but left peacefully at closing time. More than anything, it was a victory for self-controlled school officials, who refused to be goaded into a violent confrontation.

> At Yale, S.D.S. members climaxed weeks of agitation against the university's alleged overworking of dining-hall employees. At issue was the case of Mrs. Colia Williams, a Negro cafeteria waitress. Offended by a student supervisor's rude remarks, she threw cranberry juice in his face and was fired for "due cause." Result: 200 protesters occupied the personnel office and held four officials. Following the guidelines of President Kingman Brewster's "riot scenario," Yale warned the activists to vacate or face suspension. While most obeyed, 47 stayed put and were expelled. As for Mrs. Williams, she was rehired with back pay.

> At the University of Wyoming, 14 blacks were dismissed from the football team after protesting an upcoming game with Brigham Young University. Reason: Brigham Young is affiliated with the Mormon Church, which bans Negroes from church offices. Now the Black Students Union at the University of Arizona has demanded that Brigham Young be expelled from the Western Athletic Conference. Similar discontent is spreading among other black athletes, who presented assorted demands and staged protests at Indiana University, the University of Washington and the University of Minnesota.

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