University of Virginia Library

Maury Hall

The student protest against United States
policy in Southeast Asia, which wasn't
scheduled to begin until today, arrived quite
unexpectedly late Monday night as a group of
students occupied Maury Hall, the home of
the Naval ROTC unit. At the University and
other schools around the nation news of the
"Kent massacre" spurred thousands of
students to demonstrate their anger. At the
University a few students somehow entered
Maury Hall, which contains the Navy unit's
records as well as guns and ammunition, to be
joined by a few hundred other students who
heard the news on the radio and decided to
investigate. The politics of confrontation, it
appeared, had finally made an appearance on
the Grounds, as worried administrators
gathered in Pavilion V to plan their strategy.

Actually, it was not all that spectacular.
The revolutionaries in Maury Hall were, for
the most part, students who were attracted by
the novelty of it all, not hard-core
revolutionaries. The open session of students
in the Naval wardroom, passing demand after
demand, appeared as if their only training had
come from the viewing of a few Newsreel
films.

Over at Pavilion V, the decision to seek a
temporary injunction was made fairly soon
after all of the administrators had gathered. A
model for the document which was on file
was brought up to date and a judge was found
to issue it.

The confrontation, when it came, was
more humorous than tense, and the students
left promptly after it was read to them,
marching to the now empty Pavilion V, and
then on to Carr's Hill before they dispersed.

Other colleges and universities were not as
fortunate as we. At scores of campuses last
night violence erupted.

What the Maury Hall takeover showed,
among other things, was that the elected
student leaders had virtually no influence over
the crowd. But then neither did the radical
leaders.

President Shannon had to face the political
realities. As much as we may like to think of
the University as a bastion of academic
freedom in a state not known for its
tolerance, President Shannon was quite aware
that he had very little time in which to take
action before control passed out of his hands.
He chose to pass control on anyway, through
a temporary injunction that is broad enough
to include any person who might wish to
occupy a building or two. The injunction was
not as broad or prohibitive as it could have
been, and leaves plenty of room for any
student who may wish to dissent.

The occupation of Maury Hall will not be
the only confrontation that occurs this week.
President Shannon's memorial service for the
students who were killed at Kent State
showed the sincerity of his sorrow, we believe,
but did not satisfy many students. Today
there will be thousands of people coming to
the University, many of whom probably don't
care what happens, and would like nothing
better than to have something to tell their
friends back home.

Students on the Grounds who think
violence is a viable means of expressing their
dissent should be willing to accept the
consequences of any action they may take.
Certainly in any confrontation with law
enforcement authorities the lessons of
Chicago and Kent State should not be
overlooked. Police, although they are
expected to keep their heads, are not always
able to do so.

We certainly hope the University is able to
avoid any violent confrontation this week. To
do so moderate students cannot afford to
withdraw from this week's activities. They
need the education as much, if not more, than
the radical students.

For those who think protest is not listened
to where it matters, we think that state
authorities in Richmond were suitably
impressed with the peaceful actions Monday
night.

We think some healthy results have already
come from this week's activities. Early
Tuesday morning many administrators had a
much closer understanding of student thought
and ideals. Some student problems rubbed off
on the all too often aloof administrators. We
hope this education continues. This week can
turn out to be one of the proudest in the
University's history. But the emotions of the
hour could also make it a sad one, indeed.