College of the Holy Cross - Purple Patcher Yearbook (Worcester, MA)

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When did it really begin? What was the first sign that Holy Cross was to have, just before Christmas, 1969, one of the most decisive weeks of its 125-year history? Was it the walkout of the black students, or the conviction of the Holy Cross 16 for violation of the campus rules on demonstrationsg or was it the original confrontation itself? Perhaps it really began at the December 1 faculty meeting which was to consider the issue of an open campus, though afterwards many doubted that the issue had been dealt with adectuately, if at all That meeting was of course preceded by the visit of the Marine recruiters, ln addition to objecting to the lvlartnes because of their role in the Viet Nam War, members of the Revolutionary Students' Union saw them as the front ltne ot the imperialist, exploitative foreign policy of the United States The HSU is another name for the SDS, a group which first formally appeared at Holy Cross in the fall of 1968 after another long, hot summer - this time Chicago was the primary focus ot attention Expression ol student opinion against the war was not completely new at Holy Cross. The previous spring had witnessed the McCarthy phenomenon in Worcester, along with reaction to the assassination of Martin Luther King and the increased recruitment ot black students to Holy Cross, Perhaps it somehow began as much as 10 years ago, as Holy Cross tmpeicepttbly began to move away from its rigid, classical curriculum, its Tridentine religious orientation, its monastic dorm life, and Raymond J, Swords became the 24th President of the College As one of his first acts, Fr. Swords asked about 30 students not to return to the campus after the summer, Now that same man, in that week in December, granted amnesty to sixteen students who had been suspended for the remainder of the academic year by the College Judicial Board, Crises, in particular, and historical events, in general, are the product of the inextricable course of events and the actions of given individuals at critical times, It was society, which Holy Cross reflects in its own Jesuit, liberal arts way, with its problems, fissures and complexities, that set the stage for the events of the week, Individuals, by their actions, were able to reflect upon that society and transcend the limitations of the absurd theatre of legalisms and intransiitent principle and give meaning to the situation. lt was, in a real way, the response ofa person, Raymond Swords, to other persons, the individual Bldcl, students, which brought the crisis to an end. His was the truly Christian response Any other response would have been out of character for the school and-for its President, Those of us at Holy Cross claim to interact with persons and learn as individuals, giving not only of our knowledge but also of ourselves. His decision was a moral one - ln this as in all human decisions, the morally right course ot action is also the honorable one. lRJS, lb October 19693 In retrospect, the mosaic of that weelf is composed ot personal vignettes interspersed with decisive actions taken by recognizable individuals. lt was, alter all, the radical clown the hall and the quiet, longahaired fellow in Intermediate French who put their Who pn.- y, .K W -v,s:f-.u- 5 A L. --':'...---...

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