Allen Building Crisis: Tape #7
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Transcript
Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.
(fanfare) | 0:02 | |
- | Good morning for WDBS Contemporary News, | 0:07 |
this is David Christy | 0:09 | |
with a report on the events of the day. | 0:10 | |
Yesterday morning, | 0:13 | |
about 75 members of the Duke Afro-American Society | 0:14 | |
took over Allen Building, | 0:17 | |
the administration building of Duke University. | 0:18 | |
They had presented the university | 0:20 | |
with a list of 13 demands | 0:21 | |
which they said must be fulfilled | 0:23 | |
before they would leave Allen Building. | 0:24 | |
These demands were, one, | 0:26 | |
they wanted the right of establishment | 0:28 | |
of a fully-accredited department of Afro-American studies. | 0:29 | |
They want the right to establish a black dorm on campus. | 0:33 | |
Since Duke claims to be representative of the Southeast, | 0:36 | |
and since the percentage of blacks in the area is 29%, | 0:39 | |
they want the black student population to reach that figure | 0:42 | |
by the Fall of 1973. | 0:44 | |
They want the reinstatement of black students who, | 0:47 | |
because of the stiffening social | 0:49 | |
and educational environment at Duke, | 0:51 | |
were unable to achieve the required academic standing | 0:53 | |
and were forced to leave the university. | 0:56 | |
They wanted financial reassurance for black students, | 0:58 | |
decreased scholarship threatened | 1:00 | |
to limit the number of students returning in the fall. | 1:02 | |
They want a black advisor selected only | 1:06 | |
by direct consultation with the black students. | 1:07 | |
They want black student fees | 1:10 | |
which were presently paid to the student union | 1:12 | |
to be embarked for a black student union. | 1:14 | |
They want academic achievement in high school | 1:17 | |
to be the criterion for black students | 1:19 | |
for admission to this university. | 1:21 | |
They believe the criteria for entering black students | 1:22 | |
are oriented toward the white middle-class students | 1:25 | |
and therefore are inadequate | 1:27 | |
for determining academic potential. | 1:29 | |
They want the non-academic employees | 1:31 | |
to have their power to determine | 1:35 | |
the basis for their working conditions, | 1:37 | |
rights and other employment matters. | 1:39 | |
They want an immediate end to the tokenism | 1:41 | |
of black representation in the university power structures. | 1:43 | |
They want an immediate end to police harassment | 1:47 | |
of black students and demand protection | 1:48 | |
for all black students at Duke. | 1:50 | |
They want an end to the grading system | 1:52 | |
for Duke black students | 1:54 | |
and they wanted a complete amnesty. | 1:56 | |
The students renamed Allen Building | 1:58 | |
the Malcolm X Liberation School, | 2:00 | |
and their first official statement released read, | 2:02 | |
"We seized the building because had been negotiating | 2:05 | |
"with the Duke administration and faculty | 2:07 | |
"concerning different issues that affect black students | 2:09 | |
"for two-and-one-half years, | 2:11 | |
"and we have no meaningful results. | 2:13 | |
"We have exhausted the, quote, | 2:15 | |
"so-called proper channels, unquote." | 2:17 | |
That statement was released this morning | 2:19 | |
from the Malcolm X Liberation School. | 2:21 | |
After the takeover became fully realized on campus, | 2:24 | |
a forum was organized on the main quad | 2:26 | |
to discuss the effect on the university. | 2:28 | |
Dr. Rainey commented on the commitment of the faculty | 2:31 | |
and read the context of a petition | 2:34 | |
which was being passed through the faculty. | 2:36 | |
That commitment was... | 2:38 | |
- | We came in the front door. | 2:39 |
There wasn't any physical violence. | 2:40 | |
All that secretary and the man, they lied. | 2:42 | |
We escorted them out. | 2:44 | |
They walked on their own two feet. | 2:45 | |
They roped the doors off. | 2:48 | |
They chained the boards up... | 2:49 | |
I mean, put chains on the door. | 2:51 | |
They board the doors up with, | 2:52 | |
you know, boards and nails. | 2:53 | |
We moved furniture and things like this. | 2:55 | |
This took us | 2:58 | |
one minute and 59 seconds, they barricaded everything. | 2:59 | |
- | That... | 3:04 |
Excuse me, that statement was made | 3:04 | |
by the girls who were released this afternoon at 4:30 | 3:06 | |
and that statement was concerning | 3:09 | |
the takeover of Allen Building at 7:30 this morning. | 3:10 | |
The rumors had it that the takeover had been violent | 3:12 | |
and that they had carried out of Allen Building | 3:15 | |
a secretary and another man in the building, | 3:18 | |
but as was said by the Duke blacks, | 3:22 | |
these people were allowed to leave under their own power. | 3:24 | |
As I said earlier, | 3:28 | |
there was a forum on the Duke campus | 3:30 | |
at which a spokesman for the Afro-American Society was there | 3:33 | |
and he made their points clear | 3:37 | |
as to what they plan to do. | 3:39 | |
The spokesman said this. | 3:41 | |
- | What we hope to accomplish by, | 3:42 |
you might say seizing a part of Allen Building this morning, | 3:46 | |
we just got rid of the U-Haul truck | 3:50 | |
and brought a few people over and sneaked them in. | 3:52 | |
That's all there was to it. | 3:55 | |
This is supposed to be a sort of a power play. | 4:00 | |
We have to have something, you know, | 4:02 | |
if we're gonna try to make some demands | 4:03 | |
upon the university. | 4:05 | |
With nothing, you know, | 4:06 | |
you don't have anything to... | 4:07 | |
No inner ground to bargain from. | 4:08 | |
Our play right now is to | 4:12 | |
show the trustees that we are together on this thing. | 4:14 | |
We are aware that they were supposed to be in town | 4:19 | |
for a meeting of the board of trustees | 4:20 | |
and we thought that it was most appropriate | 4:23 | |
that we should try to take part of Allen Building | 4:25 | |
while they were in town so they | 4:27 | |
wouldn't have to rely on the news media, | 4:29 | |
which would sometimes | 4:31 | |
distort our purposes. | 4:33 | |
- | During the morning, | 4:35 |
certain rumors spread concerning the intents | 4:36 | |
of the black students in Allen Building. | 4:38 | |
A report arose that if police were called in | 4:40 | |
to forcibly remove these students, | 4:42 | |
they would burn the university records, | 4:43 | |
but this was later found to be untrue, | 4:45 | |
and when we talked to the Afro-American Society, | 4:47 | |
they said that they were, quote, | 4:49 | |
"Not there to destroy or to mutilate | 4:51 | |
"but they would defend themselves any way necessary." | 4:53 | |
The situation settled down until around 3:30 | 4:57 | |
when the university administration issued a statement | 4:59 | |
which contained an ultimatum | 5:02 | |
ordering the students to leave the building | 5:04 | |
or to suffer the consequences. | 5:06 | |
We talked to some black students | 5:08 | |
who were located in Allen Building | 5:10 | |
and asked them what they thought | 5:12 | |
of the ultimatum and the possible consequences | 5:13 | |
of a police takeover of the building. | 5:16 | |
They said... | 5:17 | |
- | Well if the man's gonna send 85 or 70 cops | 5:18 |
on a bunch of flimsy | 5:22 | |
things he thinks that are happening inside, | 5:25 | |
I don't think at the moment | 5:27 | |
we can say that we're gonna get 'em. | 5:29 | |
But I could say this much: | 5:30 | |
we're gonna fight all the way to the end to get 'em | 5:32 | |
or we're gonna leave this goddamn rat hole. | 5:34 | |
- | A faculty meeting was called for 4:00 this afternoon | 5:37 |
to discuss the situation which had arisen on campus, | 5:40 | |
but by this time students were already assembling on West | 5:43 | |
to defend Allen Building against any police takeover. | 5:46 | |
The faculty meeting ended in confusion | 5:49 | |
when certain members walked out and returned to West. | 5:52 | |
WDBS reporter Tom Fine reports on the faculty meeting. | 5:55 | |
- | Alright, there was a faculty meeting this afternoon | 5:59 |
starting at 4:00 in Baldwin Auditorium. | 6:01 | |
The... | 6:04 | |
The ultimatum was read to the assembled faculty members. | 6:06 | |
A motion was made | 6:10 | |
that the ultimate not take effect | 6:12 | |
until the faculty had time to deliberate upon it, | 6:13 | |
at which point Dr. Douglas Knight, | 6:17 | |
the president of the university, | 6:18 | |
arrived at the faculty meeting | 6:20 | |
and said that the... | 6:22 | |
The motion was out of order | 6:25 | |
since the process had already been set in motion | 6:27 | |
and it could not be retarded. | 6:29 | |
At this point, | 6:31 | |
one of the | 6:33 | |
faculty members got up and | 6:34 | |
moved that the meeting be adjourned | 6:37 | |
since there was nothing it could do. | 6:39 | |
This motion was defeated, | 6:40 | |
at which point approximately 50 members of the faculty | 6:42 | |
who had voted to adjourn the meeting walked out. | 6:45 | |
- | The faculty meeting ended in the confusion, | 6:50 |
and meanwhile on West Campus at 4:30, | 6:52 | |
the police failed to arrive as threatened. | 6:54 | |
The people waited and waited. | 6:57 | |
Around 6:00 the students in Allen Building, | 6:59 | |
having been threatened with suspension, | 7:01 | |
voluntarily left the building | 7:04 | |
and proceeded to walk peacefully | 7:06 | |
down the street leading off of the main quad. | 7:08 | |
As they walked down the street chanting | 7:12 | |
"Hell no, it's ain't over," | 7:13 | |
they ran into police cars moving into the main quad | 7:15 | |
as the beginning of the threatened police takeover. | 7:17 | |
During the hustle, | 7:20 | |
a girl was bumped by a police car | 7:22 | |
and the students began to pound the police car | 7:24 | |
to prevent from reaching the main quad. | 7:25 | |
While the students were confronting | 7:28 | |
the police cars in the street, | 7:29 | |
the main body of the police | 7:30 | |
had moved around behind Allen Building | 7:31 | |
and had seized the empty building in the confusion. | 7:33 | |
The students then returned to the quad | 7:35 | |
and found that the riot police had barricaded the building | 7:37 | |
and were standing all around it, protecting it. | 7:40 | |
The students then harassed the police, | 7:42 | |
screaming such quotes as "fascist pigs" at them. | 7:44 | |
In the confusion, | 7:48 | |
some policemen | 7:49 | |
threw a tear gas grenade into the crowd. | 7:51 | |
At this point, | 7:53 | |
everything broke into confusion, | 7:54 | |
and for approximately 45 minutes, | 7:56 | |
the police chased students around the quad and into dorms, | 7:57 | |
indiscriminately throwing tear gas grenades | 8:00 | |
and spraying gas from a generator. | 8:02 | |
WDBS news reporter Kip Vosburg was on the scene | 8:04 | |
and had this to say about the situation on the main quad. | 8:07 | |
- | I'm right now in the Canterbury Hall | 8:10 |
overlooking the main quad | 8:12 | |
and out the window I can see | 8:14 | |
a little bit of smoke still going on. | 8:16 | |
The students regrouped. | 8:18 | |
There goes a grenade right in front of us. | 8:20 | |
The smoke I can see is pouring up out of it. | 8:22 | |
Several people are dispersing, running. | 8:25 | |
The students evidently regrouped about 10 minutes | 8:27 | |
after they were dispersed, | 8:31 | |
regrouped and charged again toward the police. | 8:33 | |
The police then retaliated with the gas and... | 8:37 | |
Some of the students now are going into the building. | 8:41 | |
I hope in a moment... | 8:44 | |
I hope in a minute to have | 8:45 | |
a student up here in just a second, | 8:46 | |
possibly to tell us exactly what's going on. | 8:48 | |
I don't know, maybe you can hear in the background | 8:51 | |
some of the students now are downstairs below me, | 8:52 | |
as they come in upstairs. | 8:55 | |
You got one? | 8:56 | |
Alright, just a minute. | 8:57 | |
We have here in just a second | 8:58 | |
a student who was involved just a moment ago | 9:00 | |
and saw exactly what happened. | 9:02 | |
Your name, please. | 9:04 | |
- | Bill Roof. | 9:05 |
- | And Bill, | 9:06 |
where were you when this latest activity broke out? | 9:07 | |
- | Standing out in front of FF Dorm. | 9:10 |
- | And exactly what did you see? | 9:12 |
- | Smoke. | 9:15 |
- | Smoke. | |
And that in a word is just about what we see right now. | 9:16 | |
Are the students still out there? | 9:19 | |
Are they in any way charging the police, | 9:20 | |
or are the police charging the students? | 9:22 | |
Can you give us a description of what was going on? | 9:24 | |
- | Small groups started getting close to the police | 9:26 |
and calling them names and provoking them to some extent, | 9:29 | |
mainly 'cause a lot of people were run out of the rooms | 9:32 | |
because of the tear gas in the rooms. | 9:34 | |
- | I see. | 9:35 |
Alright. | 9:36 | |
We still see... | 9:37 | |
There went another grenade, I believe, over there. | 9:38 | |
That might just be the little bit of smoke still going on | 9:40 | |
from one that had just recently gone off. | 9:43 | |
I see also a lot of photographers out there, a lot of bulbs. | 9:46 | |
A cheer going up. | 9:49 | |
I'll try to see what exactly is going-- | 9:50 | |
- | Thank you. | 9:51 |
The guy just threw it back to 'em. | 9:52 | |
- | One demonstrator picked up a grenade, | 9:53 |
threw it back at the police, still smoking, | 9:56 | |
and that evoked a great cheer from the crowd | 9:58 | |
and the spectators surrounding them. | 10:00 | |
I see now that it looks like there's some activity | 10:03 | |
going on right in front of me down below. | 10:05 | |
A lot of students and... | 10:07 | |
are regrouping and... | 10:10 | |
Are those students or police | 10:12 | |
going toward Allen Building there? | 10:13 | |
- | Those are police. | 10:15 |
- | Those are police. | |
They're heading back toward Allen Building. | 10:17 | |
- | They're just cops. | 10:18 |
- | Just police right at the moment out there. | 10:20 |
There's... | 10:21 | |
Well right now it's kinda hard to say | 10:24 | |
exactly what is happening. | 10:25 | |
I see some more students falling back. | 10:26 | |
Perhaps a threat was put out for another | 10:29 | |
smoke bomb or whatever that is | 10:33 | |
that is being thrown out there. | 10:34 | |
- | It's a mild tear gas. | 10:37 |
- | Is it very mild tear gas? | |
- | Mild tear gas. | 10:38 |
- | Thank you. | |
And I hear two or three grenades go off. | 10:41 | |
There's lights on all outside in front of here now | 10:42 | |
as the students once again are charging inside the building. | 10:45 | |
There's another smoke bomb going off right between | 10:47 | |
here and Allen Building in that quad. | 10:50 | |
There went something. | 10:52 | |
I couldn't tell exactly what that was. | 10:53 | |
There's... | 10:55 | |
Evidently there still is a lot of activity | 10:57 | |
going on out there, | 10:59 | |
which is the understatement of the year. | 11:00 | |
It's a little quieter now out there. | 11:03 | |
There went another grenade. | 11:06 | |
I can't see from my vantage point | 11:07 | |
exactly what is going on down there. | 11:09 | |
I see a lot of smoke flowing around. | 11:12 | |
A lot of people running. | 11:15 | |
I hear a lot of cheering out there. | 11:16 | |
But at this moment, | 11:18 | |
I can't exactly describe what is going on, | 11:19 | |
for the windows are just to my left, | 11:21 | |
or the activity is just to the left of the windows | 11:24 | |
and I can't see around that corner. | 11:26 | |
- | The violence subsided around 7:15 this evening | 11:28 |
and the students regrouped in front of Allen Building. | 11:30 | |
At the suggestion of Dr. Rainey, | 11:32 | |
the students adjourned to Page Auditorium | 11:34 | |
for a meeting to be held at 8:30. | 11:36 | |
At 8:05, 131 policemen left Allen Building in... | 11:37 | |
Allen Building through the rear door. | 11:42 | |
Four of these policemen were injured, one quite seriously. | 11:44 | |
The hospital has reported 21 minor injuries. | 11:47 | |
18 people have been released | 11:49 | |
and three are being held for observation. | 11:51 | |
The meeting at Page, | 11:53 | |
which was held at 8:30, | 11:54 | |
reached these conclusions. | 11:55 | |
One, that the black students suspended this afternoon | 11:57 | |
due to their occupation of Allen Building | 12:00 | |
be granted complete amnesty; | 12:01 | |
and two, that the black students | 12:03 | |
who have flunked out of the university be reinstated. | 12:04 | |
This is in accordance with their original demands | 12:07 | |
given this morning. | 12:09 | |
In order to enforce and effect | 12:10 | |
a fulfillment of these demands, | 12:11 | |
the students have voted for a three-day Duke student strike | 12:13 | |
for Friday, Saturday and Monday. | 12:16 | |
During the boycott, | 12:19 | |
the students plan to hold classes in Page Auditorium | 12:20 | |
having instated a free university there. | 12:22 | |
It was also revealed at the meeting | 12:25 | |
that the five students arrested in the action this afternoon | 12:26 | |
would be placed on trial | 12:28 | |
at the Durham Courthouse sometime tomorrow afternoon. | 12:30 | |
Two of these were arrested on charges | 12:32 | |
of carrying concealed weapons | 12:34 | |
deriving from picking up and throwing back at the police | 12:36 | |
tear gas grenades. | 12:40 | |
Plans are being made at this time | 12:42 | |
for a march from East Campus to the courthouse | 12:43 | |
to coincide with their trial. | 12:45 | |
There is also talk of student picketing | 12:47 | |
of both campuses tomorrow. | 12:49 | |
Bond for the imprisoned students is set at $200 each. | 12:50 | |
And that's the report from West Campus | 12:54 | |
that's making contemporary news. | 12:56 | |
For WDBS Contemporary News, this has been David Christy. | 12:58 | |
Now back to more music on WDBS 560 Durham. | 13:01 | |
- | David Christy reports, February 15th, 1969. | 13:09 |
- | For WDBS Contemporary News, this is David Christy. | 13:16 |
This afternoon at 12:30 in Page Auditorium, | 13:19 | |
there was held a convocation | 13:21 | |
to replace the meeting supposed to be held | 13:23 | |
in the indoor stadium at which Dr. Knight would speak. | 13:24 | |
Dr. Knight was requested by the adjutant general's office | 13:28 | |
to not hold the convocation | 13:31 | |
to keep a mass of Duke students | 13:33 | |
from centering at any one place. | 13:35 | |
This meeting was held in Page | 13:37 | |
as a substitute for that meeting. | 13:39 | |
At the meeting, various different speakers spoke. | 13:41 | |
The president of the Afro-American Society | 13:43 | |
was the first one to speak. | 13:45 | |
He spoke on the purpose of the black people. | 13:46 | |
- | Black people aren't willing to compromise | 13:48 |
because all this belongs to us. | 13:50 | |
We don't compromise. | 13:52 | |
All this belongs to us. | 13:53 | |
Ain't no such thing as watering down no demands. | 13:54 | |
We water this stuff down, we ain't got nothin'. | 13:57 | |
All this belongs to us. | 14:00 | |
We shouldn't even have to ask for this. | 14:01 | |
When they first brought black students on this campus, | 14:02 | |
they were supposed to make this atmosphere here | 14:05 | |
so black students could relate. | 14:06 | |
They were supposed to make this thing here | 14:08 | |
so black students could get an education. | 14:09 | |
All we get is indoctrination. | 14:12 | |
(crowd cheering) | 14:13 | |
- | That was the black president in the Page Auditorium. | 14:16 |
He also spoke on the amnesty for the black students, | 14:19 | |
and he had this to say about that amnesty. | 14:23 | |
- | So we want complete amnesty | 14:26 |
for all the black students on this campus. | 14:28 | |
Because we had a right to do what we did | 14:30 | |
because we were fighting for our humanity. | 14:34 | |
We were asserting our humanity. | 14:36 | |
You better get together and fight for yours. | 14:38 | |
(crowd cheering and applauding) | 14:40 | |
- | After that, Wade Norris, | 14:44 |
the president of ASDU, made a speech, | 14:46 | |
and he asserted many of the same points | 14:48 | |
discussing the purpose of the university for... | 14:50 | |
The purpose of the university for | 14:54 | |
calling in the police on Thursday afternoon. | 14:57 | |
Wade Norris had this to say on the use of pressure. | 15:00 | |
- | Quite frankly, I still believe | 15:03 |
the ends have to be just, | 15:05 | |
but I don't think in all cases | 15:08 | |
those ends can be achieved in this present process | 15:10 | |
without the application of pressure. | 15:12 | |
(crowd cheering and applauding) | 15:14 | |
- | After Wade Norris spoke, | 15:16 |
the high point probably of the afternoon, | 15:18 | |
Howard Fuller came and made a speech to the students. | 15:20 | |
Howard Fuller presented the problems of the black community | 15:23 | |
and also had to say various different things. | 15:26 | |
He talked on why the students acted as they did. | 15:28 | |
- | That's what it's about. | 15:31 |
It's about human being. | 15:32 | |
All men are created equal | 15:35 | |
with certain unalienable rights. | 15:38 | |
And that among these rights | 15:41 | |
are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. | 15:43 | |
That's what it's about. | 15:47 | |
(crowd cheering and applauding) | 15:49 | |
- | He followed up his statements | 15:52 |
with comments on | 15:54 | |
why he would react in a violent way | 15:57 | |
if he was opposed, | 15:59 | |
or if any blacks were opposed in their trial for freedom. | 16:01 | |
- | And anybody who stands in my way | 16:04 |
of me being me | 16:08 | |
is committing a crime against humanity. | 16:10 | |
I don't care who he is, | 16:13 | |
and I don't care what he uses | 16:15 | |
as his rationalization for doing that. | 16:17 | |
- | Howard Fuller then went on to talk on the administration | 16:20 |
dealing with the black students | 16:24 | |
as they existed on Duke University. | 16:26 | |
He said this. | 16:28 | |
- | Let me pose a question. | 16:29 |
Why is the administration | 16:31 | |
and the board of trustees | 16:34 | |
uptight about 13 demands | 16:37 | |
that relate to people being people? | 16:40 | |
You know why? | 16:42 | |
Why?! | 16:43 | |
First off, 'cause they black people. | 16:44 | |
First off, 'cause they black people, | 16:46 | |
and understand that first off, 'cause they black people. | 16:48 | |
And second of all, | 16:51 | |
because they are beginning to act in their self-interests. | 16:52 | |
In other words, they're beginning to understand | 16:56 | |
how America operates. | 16:59 | |
And so the man has said, | 17:00 | |
"You know, they're getting educated. | 17:02 | |
"They're beginning to see what we've been doing | 17:04 | |
"and we don't want that." | 17:05 | |
But you know what the real reason is? | 17:06 | |
Know what the real reason is? | 17:08 | |
They worried | 17:10 | |
that if they have to deal with the black students, | 17:11 | |
and they gonna have to deal with 'em, | 17:14 | |
that some of y'all are gonna wake up and say, | 17:15 | |
"Damn! | 17:18 | |
"If they gettin' that, | 17:19 | |
"why ain't I got something to do with myself?!" | 17:20 | |
(crowd cheering) | 17:23 | |
- | The meeting continued and Dean Griffith made comments. | 17:26 |
Afterwards, Doctor... | 17:29 | |
Dr. Rainey made comments | 17:31 | |
and then Dean Griffith made comments | 17:32 | |
promising that Dr. Knight would make a speech | 17:33 | |
from WDBS at 6:30 this evening. | 17:35 | |
The students, however, were dissatisfied | 17:38 | |
with this way of communicating with them | 17:40 | |
and they moved to march to Dr. Knight's house. | 17:43 | |
The WDBS reporters were on the scene at Dr. Knight's house | 17:46 | |
and they covered the story. | 17:48 | |
The students posed questions to Dr. Knight | 17:51 | |
which he tried his best to answer, | 17:53 | |
and then finally the president of the Afro-American League | 17:55 | |
suggested that they adjourn for the afternoon | 17:57 | |
due to the inclement weather and that the | 18:01 | |
blacks and the administration, | 18:03 | |
as represented by members of the faculty, | 18:05 | |
members of the administration and Dr. Knight himself, | 18:08 | |
meet this evening at 8:00. | 18:10 | |
They would decide later where this meeting will be held. | 18:12 | |
Dr. Knight, in commenting on the rational situation | 18:15 | |
which could be posed tonight at a meeting, said this. | 18:18 | |
- | And you've got to give us a reasonable chance | 18:20 |
to go at that one. | 18:23 | |
And it was that reasonable chance, by the way, | 18:24 | |
that was denied when you moved in on Allen Building. | 18:28 | |
(crowd reacting negatively) | 18:31 | |
Two days, this list turned up two days before you moved in. | 18:35 | |
- | What time? | 18:38 |
- | Dr. Knight is meeting with the black students tonight. | 18:39 |
For WDBS Contemporary News, this has been David Christy. | 18:42 | |
Now back to more music. | 18:46 | |
- | David Christy's special report made 8:00 PM, | 18:50 |
Sunday, February 16th, 1969. | 18:53 | |
- | WDBS Contemporary News, this is David Christy. | 18:59 |
This afternoon at 2:30, | 19:03 | |
there was a meeting held at Page Auditorium. | 19:04 | |
Dr. Knight was originally scheduled to be at this meeting | 19:06 | |
to read a list of the agreements made | 19:08 | |
between the administration and the Afro-American Society | 19:10 | |
at a meeting last night at Dr. Knight's house. | 19:14 | |
Dr. Knight, however, did not come to this meeting. | 19:17 | |
Dr. Kerckhoff was there in his stead, | 19:19 | |
and Dr. Kerckhoff presented a list of these agreements | 19:22 | |
which had been made. | 19:24 | |
The meeting was opened by Chuck Hopkins | 19:26 | |
who made a statement to the convocation. | 19:28 | |
Chuck said this. | 19:30 | |
- | Black students have agreed to a joint statement | 19:32 |
which will be read by Dr. Kerckhoff. | 19:34 | |
Although in some instances, | 19:38 | |
the university appears to have been addressing themselves to | 19:40 | |
some aspects of black students' problems, | 19:43 | |
the lack of effective communications | 19:47 | |
and black student involvement | 19:49 | |
in the processes needed to deal | 19:51 | |
correctly with these problems, | 19:53 | |
has led us to where we are now. | 19:56 | |
It is the hope of black students | 19:59 | |
that the constructive results obtained | 20:01 | |
will make Duke University | 20:05 | |
more relevant to the needs and aspirations of black people. | 20:07 | |
(crowd applauding) | 20:11 | |
- | Dr. Kerckhoff then spoke, | 20:14 |
and before he listed the agreements which had been made, | 20:16 | |
he outlined the three areas | 20:19 | |
where these agreements were being worked on. | 20:21 | |
The first area is where the demands of the black students. | 20:23 | |
Plans had been made to remedy these | 20:27 | |
problems that they presented. | 20:29 | |
The second area, progress has already been made | 20:31 | |
remedying the problems. | 20:33 | |
And in the third area, | 20:34 | |
Dr. Kerckhoff said the demands of the black students | 20:35 | |
were initially unclear. | 20:37 | |
This first area where plans had been made included | 20:40 | |
the choice of a black advisor | 20:43 | |
who was going to serve the purposes of the black students. | 20:45 | |
In respect to this black advisor, | 20:48 | |
Dr. Kerckhoff said... | 20:50 | |
- | The felt need for an advisor for black students | 20:51 |
has led to the commitment by the university | 20:53 | |
to employ such a person, | 20:57 | |
and the person employed will be, must be, | 21:00 | |
mutually acceptable to the students | 21:03 | |
and the administration. | 21:05 | |
- | He then went on to discuss the demand | 21:08 |
that a black dorm be | 21:10 | |
built or be instituted on campus | 21:13 | |
where the black students could live together | 21:15 | |
and enjoy themselves together. | 21:17 | |
Dr. Kerckhoff said this about the possibilities | 21:19 | |
of having a black dorm. | 21:22 | |
- | The decision has already been made | 21:23 |
to establish such a unit next fall | 21:26 | |
on West Campus. | 21:28 | |
The specifics of the arrangement must wait | 21:31 | |
for two things, however. | 21:34 | |
The first, | 21:35 | |
and I'm sure most important to you, | 21:37 | |
is the active participation of the Afro-American students | 21:39 | |
in the organization of the unit. | 21:42 | |
And the second, | 21:44 | |
which may not be as important to you but is very important, | 21:46 | |
is the clarification of the technicalities | 21:50 | |
involved in the fact | 21:52 | |
that the Department of Health, Education and Welfare | 21:53 | |
is associated with the fiscal support | 21:56 | |
of the housing units on this campus. | 21:58 | |
- | He then went on to discuss the second area of the demands | 22:01 |
and the first problem that was presented here | 22:05 | |
was the possibility of having a section of the university | 22:07 | |
devoted to the study of Afro-American affairs. | 22:10 | |
He said that certain proposals have been outlined | 22:13 | |
to implement this demand. | 22:16 | |
He suggested possibly a two- | 22:18 | |
or three-day meeting would be held. | 22:19 | |
Discussing this meeting, he said... | 22:21 | |
- | The meeting would involve some of the students, | 22:23 |
Afro-American students, | 22:25 | |
the Duke faculty members involved in the current plans, | 22:26 | |
members of my committee, | 22:29 | |
and one or two outside consultants | 22:31 | |
who have had experience with such programs | 22:32 | |
at other universities. | 22:35 | |
- | This meeting will be held around March 1st | 22:37 |
and Dr. Kerckhoff expressed a hope that the | 22:40 | |
resolutions of this meeting be | 22:43 | |
concretely decided upon by April 15th | 22:45 | |
so that they could go into effect next year. | 22:47 | |
Commenting on the Afro-Americans | 22:51 | |
who were forced to withdraw from the university | 22:53 | |
due to poor grades, | 22:55 | |
Dr. Kerckhoff said... | 22:56 | |
- | The review of these students cases is in process | 22:57 |
and efforts are being made to involve | 23:01 | |
as many of them as possible | 23:02 | |
in the recently announced summer program this summer. | 23:04 | |
Although the program was conceived of | 23:08 | |
as primarily for entering freshmen, | 23:10 | |
the hope is that it can be organized in such a way | 23:13 | |
as to serve with dual purpose. | 23:15 | |
- | He then went on to discuss the third area of the demands. | 23:17 |
That was the demands which were not clearly understood | 23:20 | |
by the university officials. | 23:23 | |
The first one of these demands he talked about | 23:25 | |
was the grading of black students. | 23:27 | |
- | The concern expressed about the grading of black students | 23:29 |
is viewed by those with whom we talked last night | 23:32 | |
as part of a more general problem area | 23:36 | |
relating to the grading system at Duke. | 23:38 | |
- | This was-- | 23:42 |
- | Other students have expressed concern about | 23:43 |
and dissatisfaction with the grading system here, | 23:45 | |
as you know. | 23:47 | |
- | On the problem of the lack of concern | 23:49 |
of the student union toward black interests, | 23:52 | |
Dr. Kerckhoff said... | 23:54 | |
- | They wish to form a committee on black activities | 23:55 |
within the student union, | 23:58 | |
having its own budget. | 24:00 | |
Those of you who have supported their cause in the past | 24:03 | |
are in a very strong position | 24:05 | |
to help bring about this possibility. | 24:07 | |
Again, my committee would be happy to assist | 24:10 | |
in the process of communication, | 24:12 | |
but as a faculty committed, | 24:15 | |
it is naturally not in a position | 24:17 | |
to take direct action in this area. | 24:19 | |
You are. | 24:21 | |
- | This was later verified | 24:22 |
by the Chairman of the Board of Governors | 24:24 | |
of the student union | 24:25 | |
who said that a committee was being formed | 24:26 | |
to take care of the black demands | 24:30 | |
and the black interests in society, | 24:32 | |
and he also said there will be a meeting held Sunday night | 24:34 | |
to discuss this problem. | 24:36 | |
The next problem which Dr. Kerckhoff discussed | 24:38 | |
was the admission policies. | 24:40 | |
He admitted that SAT scores are known | 24:42 | |
not to be effective with some students | 24:44 | |
from various backgrounds. | 24:46 | |
Dr. Kerckhoff acknowledged this | 24:48 | |
and said that the university... | 24:50 | |
- | That admissions are only in part based on such scores. | 24:51 |
This is true for all students, | 24:56 | |
not just black students. | 24:59 | |
In addition to such scores, | 25:01 | |
high school performance | 25:02 | |
and recommendations are strongly weighted. | 25:04 | |
These latter sources of evaluation | 25:08 | |
are more strongly weighted in the case of those students | 25:10 | |
whose backgrounds are such that the SAT scores | 25:14 | |
are more likely to give a faulty picture. | 25:16 | |
- | He then went on to discuss the demand | 25:19 |
that the university eventually have 29% | 25:21 | |
of its enrollment black students. | 25:24 | |
On this problem, he said... | 25:26 | |
- | The university is committed to a significant increase | 25:27 |
in the number of black students on campus. | 25:30 | |
Recruit-- | 25:34 | |
(crowd applauding) | 25:35 | |
Recruitment of such students is continuing | 25:39 | |
and the more active involvement of black persons | 25:42 | |
in that recruiting process will occur. | 25:44 | |
- | On the charges | 25:48 |
that the police have harassed black students | 25:49 | |
on the Duke campus, | 25:51 | |
Dr. Kerckhoff went on to say this. | 25:53 | |
- | It is agreed | 25:55 |
that my committee should act as a point of contact | 25:57 | |
for filing documentation of any such incidents. | 26:01 | |
We are seriously, | 26:04 | |
completely committed to | 26:06 | |
learn about and do something about such actions. | 26:09 | |
- | He went on to pledge that a meeting will be held | 26:13 |
of the Duke University Employee Relations Committee | 26:16 | |
to help the non-academic employees, | 26:18 | |
which was also one of the demands of the black students. | 26:20 | |
He finally reached the issue of amnesty for the students | 26:23 | |
who took over Allen Building last Thursday. | 26:27 | |
On this issue, he commented... | 26:30 | |
- | It is understood by all parties | 26:31 |
that the university has already initiated due process | 26:34 | |
under the Pickets and Protest Regulations. | 26:38 | |
The students involved | 26:41 | |
have expressed the desire for the proceedings to begin | 26:44 | |
as soon as possible, | 26:47 | |
and the administration has agreed that they will begin | 26:50 | |
as soon as possible. | 26:52 | |
- | Later on in the meeting, | 26:54 |
Chuck Hopkins commented that | 26:55 | |
the black students had voluntarily agreed | 26:57 | |
to be subject to the Pickets and Protest Regulations. | 27:00 | |
He said that they were not ashamed of what they had done | 27:04 | |
and they would stand up for it. | 27:06 | |
Dr. Kerckhoff went on to pledge that long-range action | 27:09 | |
on the part of his committee would be taken | 27:12 | |
to improve the situation of the black students. | 27:14 | |
He then wanted to clarify the position of his committee | 27:16 | |
to the Duke students. | 27:18 | |
- | We're a committee representative of the university faculty | 27:20 |
and its educational values and concerns. | 27:23 | |
We are charged with understanding and reconciling | 27:27 | |
manifest concerns of the student body, | 27:30 | |
at this time by the black students primarily, | 27:33 | |
with the educational mission of the university. | 27:36 | |
We are concerned with maintaining | 27:40 | |
academic values of learning, | 27:42 | |
objectivity and evaluation of ideas and persons, | 27:44 | |
and these are paramount in our educational mission. | 27:47 | |
We will make every effort | 27:50 | |
to be responsive to interests | 27:52 | |
and concerns of black students | 27:54 | |
and to special problems of acculturation | 27:57 | |
to the academic environment. | 28:00 | |
We are committed to action. | 28:03 | |
Thank you. | 28:05 | |
- | At this point, | 28:06 |
Dr. Kerckhoff ended the formal part of his speech, | 28:07 | |
but he agreed to answer questions | 28:09 | |
which would be presented to him from the floor. | 28:11 | |
During this time, | 28:13 | |
certain students had the opportunity | 28:14 | |
to voice their opinions. | 28:16 | |
One student voiced his opinions of the... | 28:17 | |
Of a way to solve the problem | 28:20 | |
of having a repetition of the violence on campus | 28:23 | |
which took place Thursday afternoon. | 28:25 | |
- | But it seems to me that the question is | 28:28 |
that the administration | 28:30 | |
has got to relinquish what it must see, | 28:31 | |
whoever in hell has responsibility here, | 28:33 | |
had to relinquish the power to the students | 28:36 | |
to decide that this is going to happen | 28:38 | |
in a given place and at a given time, | 28:40 | |
and that this will occur. | 28:43 | |
Now, you've come out and you've answered | 28:45 | |
a lot of the black demands and everything, | 28:47 | |
but you haven't changed the power structure. | 28:48 | |
So what in effect you've done | 28:50 | |
is given sanction to everything that's happened | 28:52 | |
over the last couple of days | 28:54 | |
because this does get things done. | 28:55 | |
It gets specific things done. | 28:57 | |
Now if they would change the goddamned structure, | 28:59 | |
maybe it wouldn't result in things... | 29:01 | |
(crowd applauding) | 29:03 | |
- | One girl commented | 29:05 |
that she wished to know how many students | 29:07 | |
could be incorporated into the Kerckhoff committee, | 29:08 | |
and if they could possibly be elected | 29:11 | |
by the student body by Friday. | 29:13 | |
Dr. Kerckhoff responded... | 29:15 | |
- | We are a committee that has been appointed. | 29:16 |
We are not in a position to add members to the committee. | 29:18 | |
However, we are in a position | 29:21 | |
to work with students. | 29:24 | |
And if you want to elect a committee to work with us, | 29:27 | |
there's no reason why that shouldn't be done. | 29:32 | |
- | After Dr. Kerckhoff left the stage, | 29:35 |
Chuck Hopkins got up to say | 29:37 | |
that Howard Fuller would not be there. | 29:39 | |
However, about five minutes after that, | 29:41 | |
Howard Fuller arrived at Page Auditorium | 29:43 | |
and made these comments to the student body. | 29:46 | |
- | I sincerely hope that | 29:49 |
the white students who are here, | 29:51 | |
and all students for that matter, | 29:54 | |
for those of you who are faculty members, | 29:56 | |
that we begin to realize | 29:58 | |
the significance of involving | 30:00 | |
all people | 30:03 | |
in whatever's gonna happen to their lives. | 30:04 | |
And I think that it's very important | 30:07 | |
that white students at Duke, | 30:08 | |
and on any other campus, | 30:10 | |
that they be involved in the things | 30:13 | |
that are deciding their existence on this campus. | 30:15 | |
And I hope that all of us are gonna begin | 30:18 | |
to take a whole new look | 30:20 | |
at our whole process of education. | 30:21 | |
'Cause one of the problems that we're having in this country | 30:24 | |
is that those things that we're learning | 30:27 | |
are fast becoming irrelevant | 30:29 | |
to the people who are outside of these walls. | 30:30 | |
So I hope that the whole educational process | 30:33 | |
will take a new look at itself, | 30:36 | |
and that out of this will come the chance | 30:39 | |
to have a country | 30:43 | |
that not necessarily has to be integrated in the old sense, | 30:45 | |
but at least a country | 30:49 | |
where there will be some respect | 30:51 | |
for people | 30:54 | |
as people | 30:55 | |
and a belief in humanity, | 30:56 | |
and that this country will begin | 30:59 | |
to set some priorities for the education of its people | 31:00 | |
and for the growth of its people, | 31:04 | |
rather than for the destruction of people | 31:05 | |
in other lands and within this country. | 31:08 | |
So I hope that this is a beginning of that kind of stuff. | 31:10 | |
(crowd applauding) | 31:12 | |
- | After Fuller spoke, | 31:13 |
the floor was then thrown open | 31:15 | |
to allow concerned students and faculty members | 31:16 | |
to discuss the problems which had been presented | 31:19 | |
to the student body and to possibly reach | 31:21 | |
ways they could help in | 31:24 | |
adding to the Kerckhoff committee's decisions. | 31:26 | |
So in retrospect, | 31:30 | |
the meeting this afternoon was held | 31:31 | |
so that the student body could be informed | 31:32 | |
of the accomplishments made at the meeting last night | 31:34 | |
at Dr. Knight's house. | 31:37 | |
There were some students who expressed a dissatisfaction | 31:38 | |
that Dr. Knight was not allowed there himself, | 31:41 | |
but Dr. Knight is making a speech tonight on WDBS. | 31:44 | |
For WDBS Contemporary News, this has been David Christy. | 31:48 |
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