April Third Movement

February 17, 2009

Rutgers University in Newark also had a major takeover of a building in 1969. And we too are having a 40th anniversary celebration of the event.  In dramatic contrast to Richard Lyman's condemnation of our movement at Stanford, given official standing by its appearance in the Stanford alumni magazine, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, is actually sponsoring that celebration and officially recognizing the courage and achievement of the "liberators" who took over the building and held it for 72 hours.

So I am forwarding the statement by the Chancellor of Rutgers–Newark, which, thanks to these liberators and others who have come after them, has become the most ethnically diverse Ph.D.-granting university in the nation (as recognized for each of the past 12 years by U.S. News and World Report).  The President of the entire statewide Rutgers University system will participate in the celebration, and the keynote for one of the major events— "40 Years: Liberation of Conklin Hall Reunion"—will be delivered by the Chair of the Rutgers Board of Governors.

One can lose perspective on how shameful Stanford was back then and has remained for decades.  Comparison with Rutgers–Newark might give some perspective.   I for one am proud to have been a teacher at this university ever since it hired me in 1975, after my years of being blacklisted and unemployable. But I am more proud of having been part of the movement against Stanford's role in U.S. imperialism and the war against the peoples of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

Bruce

The John Cotton Dana Professor of English and American Studies
Rutgers University–Newark
http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~hbf

THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CONKLIN HALL TAKEOVER:
An Invitation to the Campus Community

From: Chancellor Steven Diner

On Feb. 24th, we mark 40 years since a single act of courage by a group
of committed African-American students forever changed Rutgers
University.  On Feb. 24, 1969, young men and women from the Black
Organization of Students, along with some supporters, occupied Conklin
Hall, declaring it to be Liberation Hall. They were protesting the
scarcity of black students, black faculty and minority-oriented academic
programs on campus, and wanted changes, not only here in Newark but in
the entire University.  The event lasted only 72 hours – but the new
programs and policies that it triggered are responsible for transforming
Rutgers in Newark into the most diverse national university in the
United States.  The University as a whole is, today, a stronger, more
accessible and more diverse institution, thanks to the Conklin Hall
liberators.

This month we are remembering that day through a series of special
events that will celebrate the courage of the few who paved the way for
opportunity for many.  The complete schedule for Celebration of
Diversity: The 40th Anniversary of The Conklin Hall Takeover is online
at  www.newark.rutgers.edu/announcement.php?anncId=597&userId

Please join us at these events.