CONFRONTATION — Students who spent Wednesday night in the ROTC Air Force building were confronted Thursday morning by Campus Security and
Protest ends at ROTC building
By LAURINDA KEYS	^
News Editor
The occupation of the Air Force ROTC building ended at 5:15 Thursday night when students who had controlled the second floor for about 20 hours left without much explanation.
Cecil Hoffman, campus minister for the United Ministry, said after the protesters left, “We left the House of the Dead. Now they’re (the protesters) going to plan new strategies.” Hoffman was involved with the students in strike activities.
The lack of unity among the protesters was vividly apparent at a meeting attended by about 50 students, which began at 7:30 p.m.
Thursday in the Student Activities Center.
A handful of students wanted to go to the Coliseum to protest at the spring football game, which was in progress. Others wanted to disrupt traffic today, center the protest around the suspended students or send representatives to all classes. A final decision was made to have a joint march and rally with UCLA and other schools Monday. The USC march will begin at Tommy Trojan at 9:30 a.m. and will join UCLA marchers at Wilshire Boulevard.
Some students said Thursday’s protest was a failure because there was no unified action. But others claimed that it was a symbolic victory7 and that their point had been made.
After the protesters left, Col. Phillips J. Copeland, commander of AFROTC, said, “We’re delighted they left. We hope they don’t come back.”
Copeland said damage to the property was minor. Slogans were spray-painted on the walls. Some doors were broken. Holes were poked in one wall and in the ceiling. Glass panes in two doors were broken. Food packages, beverage containers and AFROTC materials were scattered on the floor.
John Lechner, director of Campus Security and Parking Operations, said that last night, the building was “made difficult to get into. Any building can be entered if there are enough people.”
Lechner said some students were expected to clean up the building today and repair some damage, “because their fellow students did the damage.”
President John Hubbard released a statement Thursday afternoon saying that students illegally occupying the building at 5:50 a m. that morning were suspended from the university. “The suspension action was necessitated when the students refused to leave this academic building after requests from Robert Mannes, dean for Student Life, and statements from Dr. Daniel Nowak, Acting Vice President (for student affairs), had ordered them to do so,” the statement said.
“The students were advised that their assembly constituted a disruption of the university, and that their individual participation in the event was cause for suspension.”
Hubbard said, “These suspensions, which I authorized because of disturbance of classes and occupation of a university building, are subject to appeal. This appeal has been made and accepted. When it is possible, hearings will be held by the Student Behavior Committee.
At 5:45 Thursday morning, Nowak had gone to the students and said, “This assembly, the illegal occupation of this building and the conduct of each participant is seriously disrupting the operations of the university ... You are directed immediately to terminate this
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Nixon supporters sign petition, burn Vietcong flag in protest
asked to leave. It wasn't until 5:30 p.m., however, that the 35 students gave up their vigil on the second floor. DT photo by Tony Korody.
University of Southern California
__ ._______ _
DAILY# TROJAN
VOL. LXIV NO. 122
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA FRIDAY, MAY 12, 1972
McGovern, strike supported
1,000 rally near center
By BERNARD BECK Focus Editor
A joint rally in support of Sen. George McGovern’s campaign for the Presidency and in support of strike activities drew more than 1,000 persons to the Student Activities Center patio Thursday noon.
After speakers for the Democratic presidential candidate strike supporters came to the microphones. After a few brief
By MIKE REVZIN Staff Writer
Pro-Nixon students stepped up their activities Thursday, gathering more names for a petition to support the blockade of North Vietnam and burning a Vietcong flag.
At 11 a.m., Colin Kurata, a junior in political science, lowered the American flag on the island in front of the Administration Building and began to walk away with it.
A group of Nixon supporters, led by Brian Cox and Stu Moll-rich, ran over and scuffled with Kurata and his friend.
After some pushing, shoving and name calling, the flag was raised again.
Anti-Nixon protesters urged the students not to resort to violence. ‘What do you consider more important—a piece-of-shit flag or someone’s face?” shouted one.
“I think this is a good example of what the people who want to close down the university are trying to do,” said Cox.
Cox said that the protesters were inciting violence by bringing the flag down and were in-
Protest set
A demonstration against President Nixon’s North Viet-nam blockade and for immediate U.S. withdrawal from Southeast Asia will be held at Pershing Square, 6th and Hill Streets, at 11 a.m. Saturday.
fringing on students’ rights by suggesting that they be prevented from going into the dorm cafeterias.
When questioned later, Kurata said, “That flag does not represent what we think is the Asian population in this country.
“It’s our brothers and our sisters who are being killed off indiscriminately in the name of American pride and self-righteousness, which is the cheapest form of rmperialsim.”
At 12:30 p.m., the Nixon supporters moved into the intersection of University Avenue and Childs Way to burn a Vietcong flag.
“We don’t want to cause an incident. But I don’t think burning the flag of our enemy who is killing thousands of our troops is offensive,” said Mollrich.
Jim Lacy said that the group made the flag specifically for the purpose of burning it. The first two times the flag was lit the flames went out. Finally, amid cheers, it burned.
A group of South Vietnamese students stood by watching. They said that they agreed with the burning of the flag because it was the flag of their enemy.
Cox said that the flag was burned as a protest against North Vietnam and to show support of President Nixon’s blockade.
As the flag lay burning on the ground, a student opposed to the group’s actions walked by and tried to stomp out the fire.
Throughout the day, the Nixon supporters stood near their table in front of Tommy Trojan and called out their views through a megaphone.
“No one could deny who the real aggressors are. It’s the North Vietnamese Communists,” said Lacy.
“Let’s stop giving the news media the opportunity to lie to
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statements of support, the protesters divided on what tactics should be used. Arguments continued as the microphones were removed and students drifted away, most to the Air Force ROTC building.
The rally, which had been scheduled before the strike, featured a band and speeches by entertainment personalities. John Voight, the actor who starred in “Midnight Cowboy,” was the first speaker. He was followed by a speech and songs from Johnny Rivers, folksinger and recording company executive. George Takei, an actor on the television series “Star Trek,” was the final speaker for McGovern.
Voight, quiet and reserved, said that McGovern had given him new hope. He urged the crowd to look at McGovern’s record and said, “I hope that someday the dissent that is being registered is not necessary.”
Rivers said, “It’s a time of
choosing between consciousness and unconsciousness.” He said that McGovern is the last hope. Rivers played two songs, which were received well by the crowd.
Takei attacked Nixon’s concept of honor in the new Vietnam policies. He told the crowd that their action was the most honorable thing to do. He said that McGovern offers the oppor-tunity of giving the nation a choice.
Jim Korsen, a student worker for McGovern, closed the McGovern portion ofthe rally by urging students to go and canvass for McGovern.
Then the strikers took over. Several speakers called for various courses of action. Milton Wolpin, professor of psychology, discussed the Nixon administration policy and said, “We are going to defeat their strategy and we are going to win.”
Rick Saslaw, one of the students who occupied the Air
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50 arrested at UCLA
Los Angeles police officers occupied the UCLA campus Thursday, arresting some 50 persons, including Bill Walton, the UCLA basketball star, as antiwar demonstrations continued at many of the nation’s colleges and universities.
Approximately 150 police officers took control of Dixon Plaza. Royce Quad, and Murphy Hall, the university’s administration building, at the request of Charles Young, UCLA chancellor.
Young asked for assistance at the request of the state fire marshal, who declared Murphy Hall a fire hazard because of gasoline poured over lumber, furniture, and debris used to block the entrances.
Firemen would not be adequately protected by the campus police in the event they were needed. Young was told.
The entrances were blocked by some 60 students, who occupied the building during the night until 9 a.m. when they were ordered to leave the building by campus police.
There were no injuries to police or students during the arrests, police said.
In addition to the debris, there was also an overturned car in front of Murphy Hall, a spokesman for the Daily Bruin, the UCLA student newspaper, reported.
When asked how long police intended to remain on the UCLA campus, a police spokesman said, “We
will stay as long as the youngsters remain disorderly.”
Protests against the mining of North Vietnamese harbors occurred at various campuses Thursday. Some schools were forced to call in national guardsmen and some chose to shut down for a temporary cooling-off period. The number of arrests since President Nixon’s decision to blockade North Vietnam is 1,500 persons.
About 70 persons were arrested after 300 gathered at the Institute for Defense Analyses at Princeton University for the second time in two days.
In East Lansing, Mich., 2.000 Michigan State University students blocked Grand River Avenue at midmorning Thursday. Local police moved up the highway and cleared it.
National guardsmen patrolled the University of Minnesota campus, where Gov. Wendell Anderson ordered 715 men. Minneapolis Mayor Charles Sten-vig reported his city’s situation as very critical after a violent outbreak by 2,000 demonstrators.
The University of Kansas student-faculty senate responded to student demands that schoolwork be reduced to give time to demonstrate against the war in Indochina by saying students had the right to drop out of school without penalty, but also without credit if they missed final exams.
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