University of Virginia Library

Close Vote

President Jim Roebuck cast the deciding
vote on the issue, realizing that, if the Council
were to have any credibility as the student
governing body, he had no other choice.
However, as the 11-10 vote indicates, that
group was far from satisfied with the demands.

Most observers felt that, had there not been
so many demonstrators present, the Council
would have examined the demands one by one
and then endorsed those that had received
majority support. The Council however had put
itself in a position in which it either had to
endorse the demands or reject them, and too
many of its members supported enough of the
demands to back down.

President Shannon had been warned by
councilman Buzzy Waitzkin that Council might
vote to forward the demands. Mr. Waitzkin also
advised the President to make "some sort of
positive response" to the demonstration, at
least on the Cambodia-Kent State issue.

At the evening address at Alderman Library,
Mr. Shannon ignored that advice. For the
second time in 20 hours, he listened to the
students but said nothing to satisfy the