University of Virginia Library

Students Stage Walkout
During Griswold's Speech

By Tim Wheeler
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

Photo By Roy Alson

Erwin N. Griswold

Solicitor General Spoke Here

Approximately eighty students
silently walked out of the Chemistry
Building Auditorium Tuesday night while
Erwin N. Griswold, Solicitor General of
the United States, was speaking.

The students gathered in front of the
Chemistry Building, where they held a
meeting to organize anti-war activities in
Washington, D.C. and Charlottesville.
After the meeting, many of the students
returned to the auditorium to question
Mr. Griswold on the government's
handling of anti-war demonstrators in
Washington and on the case of Walter
Collins, a black draft resister.

Emergency Rally

Prior to Mr. Griswold's speech, an
emergency rally was held at 8 p.m. in
front of the Chemistry Building. The rally was
called to gather people to attend Mr. Griswold's
speech and to organize support for the
demonstrations in Washington. At 8:15 about
60 chanting students marched through
McCormick Road dormitories up to the
Alderman Road dormitories, and back to the
Chemistry Building, blocking traffic briefly on
Alderman Road.

The marchers, by then numbering about 90,
entered the Chemistry auditorium for the
speech.

No Pause

Mr. Griswold, delivering the first annual Ota
B. Smith Memorial Lecture, never paused in his
speech despite the walk-out. He did repeat
himself once when interrupted by protests from
the audience following his statement that "in
the past 48 hours, no one has been injured" in
the demonstrations in Washington.

A question-and-answer session following Mr.
Griswold's speech was punctuated by shouts
and heated protests of Mr. Griswold's responses
to some of the questions from the audience.

One question from the gathering, "What is
the source for your statements about no
injuries in Washington?" was answered by.
"Pretty good;" this response drew a mixture of
applause and protests from the audience. More
discussion of the Washington demonstrations
followed.

Mr. Griswold answered one student's
objection to police driving squad cars into
crowds to disperse the protesters by asking "Is
that surprising?," which brought shouts of
"No!" from students gathered in the back of
the auditorium.

"What is the necessity of spraying mace in
their faces after they were arrested?" another
student asked.

"To get them off the street."

"But thirty people in a ditch were maced..."

"It doesn't bother me at all," Mr. Griswold
responded. At this point shouting from the
audience broke out. When it subsided. Mr.
Griswold continued, "...it seems to me the
methods used were of extraordinary
gentleness..."

Other questions after the speech centered on
the Walter Collins draft resistance case and the
government's handling of the Vietnam Veterans
for Peace anti-war demonstrations in
Washington two weeks ago. In both cases Mr.
Griswold was involved in his capacity as
Solicitor General of the United States.

On the question of Mr. Griswold's part in
the government dealings with the Vietnam
Veterans. The solicitor general replied. "I think
every decision at the time it was made was the
right decision." The Justice Department had
earlier drawn criticism from the Circuit Court
judge involved and from the Washington Post
for mishandling the veterans' anti-war
demonstrations.

Mr. Griswold, discussing in his speech the
duties and activities of the office of solicitor
general, described several of the Supreme Court
cases on which his office had worked. Among
these cases were ones dealing with selective
conscientious objectors to the Vietnam war and
the use of wiretapping by the Justice
Department for matters of internal security.

Photo By Roy Alson

Students Walk Out On Griswold

Eighty People Protest War And Treatment Of Demonstrators