University of Virginia Library

Rob Buford

The Strike Gains Ground
With New Goals, Methods

As the last demonstrators filed
out of smoke-filled Maury Hall
early Thursday morning we thought
the strike was dead. The leaderless,
directionless crowd which marched
on Carr's Hill and then on to Maury
Hall seemed indicative of a movement
gone wrong.

Yesterday, things were different.
The dissipated energy of Wednesday
night came together again as
over 1000 students rallied on the
Lawn to discuss the direction of the
strike. And their very presence and
enthusiasm attested to the fact that
the strike is still a reality.

What is more significant was the
overwhelming vote to call for a
referendum Monday to determine
student sentiment on the Strike
Committee's nine demands. By
temporarily suspending action on
the demands, leaders like Jim
Roebuck, Bud Ogle and Buzzy
Waitzkin, among others, have made
it possible for a new sense of
solidarity to emerge. This is what
we need. There has been too much
polarization already.

Maintain Momentum

With attention focused on the
related issues of the war in
Indochina and the Kent State
killings, the momentum of the
strike can now be maintained until
Monday, when students will have
the opportunity to determine by
democratic means which issues they
wish to pursue.

The new developments shed
some light on the more general
question of the validity of "legitimate
channels" as effective means
in bringing needed change. In
following the proposal for a referendum,
the group assembled on the
Lawn chose the best means available
for making the strike amount to
something.

And the strike will amount to
something only when President
Shannon demonstrates some level
of cognizance of student concern
over local issues such as black
recruitment, ROTC and the University's
Defense-related activities. He
has not done so yet.

President Shannon's remarks
Wednesday afternoon at the library
were commendable only in so far as
they concerned the war. His awareness
of this critical issue was clear,
but his failure to address himself to
the other important questions can
only make things worse.

The fault is not all his own. The
leadership vacuum which, by Wednesday
night, had all but crippled
the strike, certainly encouraged Mr.
Shannon to believe that the whole
thing would blow over. It won't.

As we pass on from the context
of the original nine demands
toward a democratic referendum,
the pressure on Edgar Shannon to
make appropriate reply will increase.
The issues are yet to be
determined, but what is important
is that they be ascertained and
presented within the "legitimate
channels" in which Mr. Shannon
places so much faith.

At this writing, the rally on the
Lawn continues. Where the strike is
headed is uncertain. The emergence
on the scene of leaders willing to
deal with the very real questions
central to the dilemma of this
university and all others has already
given rise to new hope that
something productive will emerge.

Class Attendance Low

Meanwhile, the Indochina War
and the questions surrounding the
violent repression at Kent State and
elsewhere will provide the momentum
and the unifying force necessary
to keep the strike going. Class
attendance continues to be very
low. A new spirit is evolving which
redeems the counter-productive escapades
of Wednesday night.

As the leadership vacuum is
filled, the strike may be expected
to grow accordingly. No, Mr.
Shannon, it won't blow over. Too
much has happened already. Our
crisis is both national and local.
Events in Washington this weekend
will test the intensity of the storm
which engulfs the nation. What
happens Monday and afterward will
test the ability of this university to
deal with the problems.

If President Nixon can dismiss
the protests with an epithet, then
maybe President Shannon can do so
with silence. If that is his choice
following the referendum and further
strike activities, then he will
have done irreparable harm to the
University. The crisis calls for more
than that. Much more.