Mass Protest

The scene was reminiscent of the '60s, but this time the sit-in was peaceful and the administration sympathetic. Upset by recent racial incidents, including an alleged attack by five white students on two blacks, nearly 200 minority students at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst took over the school's Afro-American Center for 5 1/2 days and demanded greater efforts to fight campus racism. Last week, after 14 hours of negotiations with University Chancellor Joseph Duffey, the protest ended when Duffey agreed to many demands, including a new disciplinary procedure that would make involvement in & a racial episode cause for immediate expulsion. Duffey praised the protesters' "leadership and courage."

The protest reflects a worrisome increase in racial incidents on U.S. campuses, including Columbia and the University of Michigan last year. At UMASS, tensions have run high since a 1986 black-white brawl among 1,500 students. Five months ago, an independent report criticized the university for a "historical denial" of the racial problems. Black students, who constitute 2.7% of the 26,400 student body, hailed the new agreement as a turning point.