machine that had been “monkeywrenched,” or sabotaged. This “critical mass” of students, representing approximately one percent of the overall student body, and one hundred percent of the black student body, had accomplished its goal of forcing the university to listen to them. Noble Harris, president of the AACO, and graduate student Jerry Durley presented President Smith with a list of seven demands. The list began with a sentence of just five words, five words that the students felt they already knew, but couldn’t convince anyone else of. The five words were simply: “NIU is a racist institution.” These words began a letter of seven grievances, two of which are important to the present state of NIU, because they, like the others, have been fulfilled. The two key demands were: the establishment of a Black Studies Program, and the lowering of admissions standards for inner-city blacks who showed academic potential. President Smith said that the grievances were “just, and a just solution to every one will be found.” Both demands were seen as inflammatory by many whites in the university. As one student said later,
“I pay my money to come here, and I have worked hard to get this money.
Is that what you call equal rights? No one gives me free admittance to this university. If I run out of money, will the school let me stay here?”
However, President Smith moved to meet the demands. He appointed Dr. John C. Mitchem as Chairman of a Task Force to study “all facets of university life, with special consideration to be given to providing equal opportunity to everyone.” As the university was unprepared to handle any student disruptions, President Smith moved to establish procedures where, in the future, students could present grievances to “appropriate” persons through “appropriate” channels, in an “appropriate” manner, instead of committing acts of civil disobedience.
The Term Paper on Higher Education Students University Universities
There have been many developments in higher education since 1992, including the rapid increase in student numbers, the introduction of tuition fees and the choice to study in different ways. These new options have been made available through new courses such as General National Vocational Qualifications (G NVQs) and the expansion of the Internet. This essay will discuss how these changes have come ...
To meet the demand of admitting black students who showed potential, Smith appointed three new black members to the university administration: William H. Brooks as Special Assistant to the President, McKinley ‘Deacon’ Davis as Administrative Assistant to the Vice-President of Student Personnel; and Jerry Durley to the office of Counselor for Special Projects. These three men became the backbone of what was to be called the Complete Help and Assistance Necessary for a College Education (CHANCE) Program.
‘Deacon’ Davis was personally recruited to NIU by President Smith from Rockford, and found only one person, a certain member of the small Dekalb Jewish community, a Mr. Katz, willing to sell him a home. Davis is remembered as a warm, intelligent, street-smart gentleman. Having played basketball at the University of Iowa in the 1950s, he knew firsthand the experience of being one of the few black students at a large public university in the Midwest. He also knew how to fulfill the needs of the students and the university. The requirement that all applicants to the CHANCE had to be personally interviewed helped to screen out students who had come to NIU for reasons other than education. From his standpoint, there was only one reason to attend a university, and he was not going to risk losing the CHANCE given to minority students because of the actions of those who weren’t going to be serious about their education.
The spring semester of 1969 saw NIU admit 50 students through the new CHANCE Program, and plans for a maximum of 250 in the fall semester. The question of funding was solved in part by a federal program aimed at doing the same thing, the Economic Opportunities Grant. In addition, personal loans to the students were made by the First National Bank of Dekalb, repayable upon graduation or other departure from the university.
The Essay on Challenges Face by First Year Students at University
Education can be referring as the pathway of success for students striving in the learning process of education system. However on the other hand this seems not true and easy for students that are beginning their first year of study at university level, as often there are several factors relating to the life at the university. These generally become a great deal of challenges especially for first ...
It is interesting to note that during the week of the first sit-in at president Smith’s office, similar events were occurring around the midwest, including Marquette, Northwestern, and Southern Illinois Universities. At the other institutions named, the tactics (sitting-in a university building to disrupt the flow of operations), grievances, and demands were nearly the same. Was there a nationally directed organization at the campuses, such as the miltant “Black Panthers,” leading students in the demonstrations? In almost every case, the answer is “No.” This evidence shows that what happened at NIU was happening across the nation, and that the actions of the black students were fairly spontaneous, and directed by themselves, and that black students everywhere shared many of the same gripes about their predominantly white institutions. Was every black student at NIU actively involved in the Movement? The answer is confusing. As Willard Draper states, “All black students went to these things. We had to show unity and support, because if we didn’t, we would be cut off from the black community, and that was a bad place to be in those days.” This theme of showing unity by at least attending the demonstrations, if not actually participating in them, can be found at the Black Student Movements at other institutions.
6. The End of Consensus: 1969-70
On the evening of Saturday, March 22, 1969, ten months after the sit-in at President Smith’s office in Lowden Hall, black students united again. Spurred on by both a rumor that a black student arrested for robbery had been beaten by local whites in the presence of and with the consent of police, and the accosting of a black female student by six pledges of the Alpha Kappa Lambda fraternity with squirt guns, approximately 200 students gathered behind the university’s Security Center, and proceeded to make their way to the Fieldhouse parking lot, where they dispersed. On their way to the parking lot, they had broken windows at the Security Center, Williston Hall, University Center, and library. In addition, four university automobiles had their windshields broken. Seven white students were treated and released at the Health Center for cuts and bruises.
The Essay on Black Like Me White Griffin Man
Greg Trumbold Black Like Me In the Fall of 1959, John Howard Griffin set out on a journey of discovery. A discovery of his own nature, as well as a discovery of human nature. With the help of a friend, Griffin transformed his white male body into that of an African-American male body. Through a series of medical treatments, the transformation was complete. He spent the next several months as an ...
President Smith requested assistance from local law enforcement agencies. Approximately 200 police offers and four police dogs arrived on campus at 15 minutes past midnight to patrol the grounds and prevent further vandalism and injury. By that time, the crowd at the field house had dispersed. The outside police had left the campus by within four hours. No arrests were made, and this became a point of contention between some of the white students and the administration. In a statement issued the following day, President Smith stated that racial violence committed by either side would not be tolerated, and that he would not hesitate to call in outside forces for help. He stated that NIU had “the machinery to negotiate any grievance and there is no valid excuse for a resort to violence.” President Smith had shown that he was capable of requesting outside assistance, but he had also learned that when the students were left alone, they would disperse themselves.
Many white students became vocal about racial tensions on campus as well. An editorial that appeared in the newspaper referred to Smith’s statement, saying that “negotiation was no alternative to the blacks who reacted Saturday night.” and that “If this is what is going to be meant by dialogue then the white students may rise up and “tell” the blacks something also.” Late Monday night, the Inter-Fraternity Council (IFC) met at the Alpha Kappa Lambda house to discuss the disturbance. According to AKL member Gus Coroneos, a proposed demonstration was
“in support of law and order. I want my wife to be able to go to a night
class and not be afraid to walk home at 8:30. We are sick and tired of
having [white] students and [white] couples on dates robbed and beat up
with no reason [my words in parenthesis]” Mr. Coreonos didn’t say if he desired his wife to be attacked with squirt guns by six members of a black fraternity. Perhaps if it had happened, he would have understood that the black pledges, like their white AKL counterparts, were “goofing around,” as an AKL spokesman referred to the actions of their white pledges against the black female student. Tuesday morning, the President of the IFC met with the leaders of the AACO and the Student Senate at the Black Student Union, and the three leaders issued a joint statement that once again referred to “NIU, like all other major institutions of this country,” as “racist,” and that they would do what they could to remove the signs of the racism. Tensions cooled for a while, but they would be raised again almost nine months later after a third event of direct action by black students.
The Term Paper on The Second Amendment Vs. A Police State
The Second Amendment vs. A Police State The United States of America has taken drastic steps in taking away the American peoples God given rights and Constitutional rights. The United States government is supposed to be a government of the people, by the people, for the people. There are very clear signs of a cancerous growth within our government and the citizens of America need to take ...
More than a year after the initial sit-in at president Smith’s office, the Black Studies Department had not yet been realized. Accordingly, over 175 students once again conducted a sit-in at Lowden Hall. Unlike the first sit-in, the reasons why may be confusing. According to Lee Wade, counselor for the CHANCE program, it was Jerry Durley’s responsibility to formulate the plan for the Black Studies Department, and he had not formalized his plans yet. Wade gives the impression that Durley was more responsible for the seemingly slow movement to implement a Black Studies program than the administration. Durley is also remembered by another as a person very different than McKinley Davis. Some viewed him as “more of a talker, and less of a doer,” someone always involved in a struggle with Davis and others to be the “Head Guy in Charge.” It is perhaps due to his personality that he was transferred as a coordinator of the CHANCE program to coordinator of the Black Studies Program.
The students occupied President Smith’s office while others stood outside of the building in a sign of support and unity. What happened inside the building has since become a matter of contention. One Dekalb resident, in an anonymous letter to the city newspaper, the Chronicle, wanted to “bring out in the open the true facts of what happened and to let the taxpayers and citizens of Dekalb know what sort of characters are being “mollycoddled” at the university;” the “true facts” being that the demonstrators typed a threat to President Smith’s life on a typewriter, ransacked some offices, and stole items.
This letter prompted President Smith to respond that the reason he didn’t call the police was that he never witnessed any threats made to himself nor any property being damaged or stolen. He also stated that he needed to address the underlying problems that caused the demonstration, and not the demonstration itself, saying “if we do focus our moral energies on the surface issues we shall miss the more profound ones and we shall make superficial and petty responses.” As if remembering the violence of the previous March, Smith said that to call the police before when they are not needed can be worse that not calling them when they are needed.
The Homework on The Challenges Faced by First Year Students at a University
Title: The Challenges faced by first year student at the university. Introduction: Context: Low performances observed from the first year students at the University. Subject: Challenges. Limiting Subject: a). Challenges. b). Student. c). University. Issue: It is very important to recognize that first year student at the university, faces challenges. Thesis: The cause of low performance of first ...
What is interesting about this sit-in is the response it received from the administration as well as the outside community. President Smith did not call the police to clear the building of the demonstrators, and some saw his inaction as a sign of Smith not responding as he should have. The city wanted the police called in immediately, and President Smith displayed restraint. The reasoning displayed by President Smith, that calling the police only brings more disruptions and protests, and possible violence, shaped the response to the demonstrations not only by Smith, but also by other university and public officials as well. However, in less than 6 months, President Smith would be subjected to the most difficult test of his will.
The shooting deaths of four students at Kent State University in Ohio by the Ohio National Guard during a demonstration against US involvement in Cambodia served as a catalyst for severe campus disruptions across the nation. The nation watched as students took to the streets, breaking windows and burning buildings (the ROTC offices were particular targets).
NIU was no different. The night of the event at Kent State, 150 students at NIU took direct action against the “Establishment,” destroying property on and off campus. Local police and state troopers arrested thirty-seven people. On the 6th of May, President Smith shut down the university for two days in an attempt to restore calm. That night, over eight thousands students marched in support of non-violence, the largest demonstration in the history of NIU at that time, and perhaps ever. President Smith realized the students were concerned with the events of the world around them, and may have identified himself with them, but he also wanted to remind them that violent behavior was inappropriate in an academic setting. His plan worked. Relative calm was restored, until 14 May, when two black students were killed by police at Jackson State University in Mississippi. Students demanded another two day moratorium (cessation) of classes, as had been given for the deaths at Kent State, and President Smith complied. A march was led for the victims at Jackson State over the same path that had taken place on 6 May. Approximately 1500 students were led by a visiting speaker, Father James Groppi of Milwaukee. Students marshals wearing armbands led the peaceful march.
The Essay on Pennsylvania State Police
STATE TROOPER My interviews with three State Troopers gave me a lot of information About what it takes to be a trooper and various reasons for becoming one. I interviewed Trooper King,Trooper Dregan and Trooper Laufer. I found out there is no one reason that a person becomes a State Trooper. Officer Dregan went to college to become a teacher. When he went to a graduation party, a friend s uncle ...
At the conclusion of the march, the crowd dispersed, except for 200 students, who continued on towards downtown Dekalb. They were stopped at the bridge on Lincoln Highway, the main thoroughfare at the time. The students sat down, the police stood still, and the two groups waited for the other to move. Both sides gained members. Students, hearing of the blockade, joined the ranks of the protesters, while the local police called other agencies, including the state police.
What happened next was not surprising, considering President Smith’s prior experience with student demonstrators. In the early hours of Tuesday morning, President Smith awoke to a phone call alerting him to the sit-in standoff at the bridge. Wearing a sweater and red “NIU” baseball cap, President Smith proceeded to join the students, sitting down and talking with them, trying to convince them of the danger they faced and to leave the area. Furthermore, by placing his body among the demonstrators, President Smith prevented the state police from rushing the students. Failing to achieve his goals, he left the students, and the state police moved in. The students dispersed towards the campus, breaking windows on university grounds as well as at the Village Commons Shopping Center, resulting in the arrest of thirty-five persons, including non-students.
The next day, a group of students going to once again blockade the bridge. The state police sent them away with the use of tear gas. The result was more windows broken on campus, cars overturned, and other forms of destruction. Looting and damage occurred at the Village Commons Shopping Center, and police around the high-rise dormitories of the west side of campus had to deal with objects being thrown at them by students in the “towers.” President Smith said that it was the “first time we had a full-scale riot on our hands.” The next day, more violence was committed to both university and private property, but the violence seemed to ebb.
President Smith and other university leaders were looked upon by many citizens of Dekalb and the rest of the state as weak. A state government task force was developed to investigate the leadership at the schools. President Smith was temporarily on the hot seat, but like the others, this issue died down.
7. Conclusion
The Black Student Protest Movement at NIU was similar to the movements at other universities across the nation, particularly in the North. The students, armed with the knowledge of previous techniques of the Civil Rights Movement, sheared many of the same concerns of their fellow black students at other institutions, because the institutions themselves were similar. De facto segregation in the public school systems led to a continuation of low minority enrollment at the public universities.
Universities, unprepared to handle the tremendous growth of their student populations, were also unprepared to handle the growth in the numbers of minority students, albeit within the same percentage of the student population. The universities, including NIU, were also unprepared to handle the activism, not always peaceful, of its students, including the minorities. The decisions of the administration of the university could determine the level of disruption that occurred. Some universities, such as Kent State and Jackson State, decided to handle their protesters with clubs and the National Guard. On the other hand, other university administrators, including President Rhoten Smith of NIU, decided to handle the demonstrators with restraint, hoping that the main issues could be addressed as quickly as possible, and thereby avoid further violence.
At NIU, the gamble appeared to have paid off. A Black Studies Department and Black Student Center was implemented, along with programs for increased minority recruitment, acceptance, retention, and graduation. The events at NIU were typical, even though the university in some ways was atypical. Led by both students who refused to stand quiet when faced with injustice, as well as a president described by his colleagues as “liberal” and “flexible,” and having an “excellent rapport” with the students, NIU rolled with the punches and lasted the storm, to become a more truly public university.