University of Virginia Library

Court Injunctions

Nonetheless, the report's recommendations
contain nothing stronger than a suggestion that
universities take pictures of riots and obtain
court injunctions against obstructive
demonstrations. The court injunction — not
used by the University and other schools before
the committee's hearing in July 1969 — has
become almost standard operating procedure
since then.

The University obtained an injunction last
Spring against the occupation of Maury Hall by
several hundred protesters following the fatal
shootings at Kent State University on May 4.

For its 1969 hearings, the committee
subpoenaed several leading university
administrators, including S.I. Hayakawa,
president of San Francisco State College, who
then told the committee his special secret for
handling disruptions: "When they said
the demands were non-negotiable, I took their
word for it and didn't negotiate."

In a minority view filed with the report.
Sen. Percy said that "it is clearly out of date,
has been overtaken by both events and superior
treatment of the subject, and might well make a
negative rather than a positive contribution. It
could well be charged that the Senate, by
issuing this report, simply does not understand
the issues involved."