University of Virginia Library

The Pigs

We have nothing but contempt for the
state, city and county police who combined
early Saturday morning to disperse a crowd of
about 100 University students who were
already on their way home. To call these
officers of the law pigs is perhaps too mild. It
was difficult to tell who wanted the
confrontation more, the students or the
police. Certainly the crowd was not as violent
as the one that had assembled Thursday night.
They were not yelling much and neither
ourselves nor any of the other reporters on
the scene saw any bricks, bottles, or any other
missile thrown at the two intersections,
despite Commonwealth Attorney John T.
Camblos' assertion that such objects were
indeed thrown.

There was a warning given by Vice
President of Student Affairs D. Alan Williams
about five minutes before the police charged.
Those who were within ten feet of the speaker
may have even heard it. Certainly those
individuals who were dragged out of their
fraternity houses were unaware of the fact
that the Riot Act had been read.

The police claim they had to act to
preserve order. They were angry that the night
before they had had to retire in front of what
they considered a "mob." Since most of the
police involved in the charge were state police,
we expected them to show more restraint
than would the local variety. If anything they
were more upset than the county and city
police who are used to handling students. The
police claimed they were subject to verbal
abuse by the crowd, but some of the language
used by individual police officers in
conversations with students make David
Giltinan columns look like a Walt Disney
movie.

Perhaps the greatest proof of the mistake
that was made by authorizing the charge of
police is a glance at the list of individuals
arrested. A large percentage of those arrested
were marshals and legal aids who had been
trying to disperse the crowd.

President Shannon should never have
turned control of the situation over to the
police. The advice he had received from
students and faculty all week has been
excellent. He himself has praised the
effectiveness of the marshals. His speech
yesterday was extremely vague as to the role
he played in Friday night's activities. The
crowd would have appreciated an honest
explanation.

Students are rightly indignant over the
police action of Saturday morning. Those who
bothered to go down to the station were not
let inside, including members of the press. A
lawyer who tried to argue his way inside was
promptly arrested.

The small group of students who wanted a
confrontation with the police before Friday
night has now expanded as a result of the
invasion of the Grounds. Many students want
to show the pigs that they consider themselves
above their authority.

To invite a confrontation with the police
at this point would be to invite violence. Ask
the students who tried to reason with them
Saturday morning. President Shannon has
succeeded in having the police withdrawn
from the Grounds. They are still very close
by. Every night many students pray there will
be no trouble and the marshals try to avoid
any gathering because they know the pigs are
unreasonable.

We expect very little now from the police.
They have shown their mettle. But we do have
faith in the students and hope that they will
be responsible during these decisive days.