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Campus "Unrest" demonstrations and consequences, 1970-1971

1970-05-12 Newsletter: MEASURE: Emergency Supplements No. 2 Page 2

munity, or CAC, issued a statement at a press conference, which read in part:

"We reaffirm our commitment to the right of teachers to teach and students to learn. Each student has the right to decide for himself what role he will play during the present national crisis, but he may not decide for others what role they must play. The right of students, even if they are a minority in a class, to continue to meet with their teacher is not subject to vote; indeed under present circumstances, the right of a minority to attend class is another form of the right to dissent. 
"No teacher should abandon his responsibility in teaching his course by altering its content in order to satisfy the political interests of a segment of his students - whether they are a minority or a majority of his class. A teacher's right to teach is ultimately grounded in his professional competence in his intellectual discipline. Teachers who compromise thee proper contents of their courses for political purposes betray the trust of their students, their colleagues, and the ethics of their profession - indeed the essence of their calling as academic men."

Contrary to the reports supplied by the office of President Neumaier, a building did burn last Thursday night at SUNY - New Platz. 

TO CLOSE OR NOT TO CLOSE

To close or not to close has become hard dilemma at certain institutions, Boston university being one of the prime examples. When violence exceeds what is humanly bearable and threatens thee mere physical safety of students and teachers, the closing of a school may have to be contemplated. So extreme a move may also become necessary at places which cease to be educational institutions and become converted into politicalized propapandistic beach heads. 
Nevertheless, wherever possible, the educational process set in motion last autumn should be brought to a satisfactory conclusion. This is important not only for the sake of students, some of whom have suffered educational disruption more than once, but also for the well-being of society as a whole. A steady flow of qualified graduates from our colleges and universities is an absolutely essential ingredient of our national life. 

Among the more startling aspects of the recent demonstrations in New Haven adjacent to the Yale campus is the fact that New Haven had been targeted for disturbances on May 1, 1970 , many months, perhaps a year in advance; also that many people in other places had known of the plans; but that the faculty and student body of Yale did not learn what was in store for them until the first or second week of April 1970. It was the discovery that all the world already knew what they at Yale ought to have known that created so strong an atmosphere of dread at the university. 

At Adelphi University on May 5, the faculty passed a resolution, later published in a paid political advertisement in the pres, which included the following expressions:
"We endorse the national student strike and we therefore cancel all classes.... The faculty pledges to turn our University into a center along with all other schools in the country, in which all resources of the University will be directed to the solution of the present national and international crises. "

MEASURE Emergency Supplements will be published while the present, extreme emergency phase of the university crisis continues. Recipients of the Supplements are invited to xerox or otherwise reproduce them for wider distribution. Information suitable for publication in the Supplements should be telephoned or mailed to UCRA (address and phone on opposite side of the sheet), or in the evenings and on weekends to Editor, MEASURE (212) 663-8371

Checks, made out to UCRA and intended to help print and mail these Supplements, would greatly facilitate their continuation.

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munity, or CAC, issued a statement at a press conference, which read in part: "We reaffirm our commitment to the right of teachers to teach and students to learn. Each student has the right to decide for himself what role he will play during the present national crisis, but he may not decide for others what role they must play. The right of students, even if they are a minority in a class, to continue to meet with their teacher is not subject to vote; indeed under present circumstances, the right of a minority to attend class is another form of the right to dissent. "No teacher should abandon his responsibility in teaching his course by altering its content in order to satisfy the political interests of a segment of his students - whether they are a minority or a majority of his class. A teacher's right to teach is ultimately grounded in his professional competence in his intellectual discipline. Teachers who compromise thee proper contents of their courses for political purposes betray the trust of their students, their colleagues, and the ethics of their profession - indeed the essence of their calling as academic men." Contrary to the reports supplied by the office of President Neumaier, a building did burn last Thursday night at SUNY - New Platz. TO CLOSE OR NOT TO CLOSE To close or not to close has become hard dilemma at certain institutions, Boston university being one of the prime examples. When violence exceeds what is humanly bearable and threatens thee mere physical safety of students and teachers, the closing of a school may have to be contemplated. So extreme a move may also become necessary at places which cease to be educational institutions and become converted into politicalized propapandistic beach heads. Nevertheless, wherever possible, the educational process set in motion last autumn should be brought to a satisfactory conclusion. This is important not only for the sake of students, some of whom have suffered educational disruption more than once, but also for the well-being of society as a whole. A steady flow of qualified graduates from our colleges and universities is an absolutely essential ingredient of our national life. Among the more startling aspects of the recent demonstrations in New Haven adjacent to the Yale campus is the fact that New Haven had been targeted for disturbances on May 1, 1970 , many months, perhaps a year in advance; also that many people in other places had known of the plans; but that the faculty and student body of Yale did not learn what was in store for them until the first or second week of April 1970. It was the discovery that all the world already knew what they at Yale ought to have known that created so strong an atmosphere of dread at the university. At Adelphi University on May 5, the faculty passed a resolution, later published in a paid political advertisement in the pres, which included the following expressions: "We endorse the national student strike and we therefore cancel all classes.... The faculty pledges to turn our University into a center along with all other schools in the country, in which all resources of the University will be directed to the solution of the present national and international crises. " MEASURE Emergency Supplements will be published while the present, extreme emergency phase of the university crisis continues. Recipients of the Supplements are invited to xerox or otherwise reproduce them for wider distribution. Information suitable for publication in the Supplements should be telephoned or mailed to UCRA (address and phone on opposite side of the sheet), or in the evenings and on weekends to Editor, MEASURE (212) 663-8371 Checks, made out to UCRA and intended to help print and mail these Supplements, would greatly facilitate their continuation.