University of Virginia Library

Armed Guards

Some apparently saw the student's
nature as being close to
innately evil. The City College of
New York, for example, stationed
armed security guards in the building
where students were registering
for classes. Temple University
formed its own 125-man campus
police force.

The University of Wisconsin and
University of Michigan both have
developed over the summer vital
defense plans to employ in the
event of building occupations or
violent demonstrations. Michigan
also fire-proofed and bomb-proofed
files containing important documents.

Other instutitions, while
following the law and order on the
campus theme so overtly, equipped
old discipline codes with new ones
aimed at chomping down on
so-called disruptive activities.

Cornell University, which endured
an armed building occupation
by militant blacks last year
added a disciplinary clause prohibiting
"misconduct sufficiently serious
as to constitute a violation of or
threat to the maintenance of the
public order." The clause covers
faculty members as well as students,
and the maximum penalties
are the dismissal of the former and
expulsion of the latter. A 21-member
hearing board with four
student members will have jurisdiction
in misconduct cases.

The University of Illinois sent a
letter to parents of undergraduates
warning: "When . . . a student is
found to have knowingly engaged
in a disruptive or coercive action,
including knowing participation in
a disruptive or coercive demonstration,
the penalty will be dismissal
or suspended dismissal." Other
schools, including Ohio, Indiana,
Purdue, and North Carolina have
released similar conduct statements.

At the State University of New
York at Stony Brook - the scene
of several mass drug busts during
the past two years - students now
face suspension for an arrest on a
drug law violation and expulsion
for a conviction. On many campuses,
including Stony Brook, students
have demanded in recent
years that administrations stay out
of the policing business, particularly
when drugs are involved.