Southern Illinois University - Obelisk Yearbook (Carbondale, IL)

Page 26 text:

iot amages to S U Properties L 'L '44 Mx, ...rf v, U Biff we , W M . . , ,, A ,Ao- M .4141 Preparations for the May Fest to be held on May 9 were terminated by court order just one week before the planned celebrations. Most arrests were made for curfew violations, un- lawful assembly or destruction to public property.

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Leaders ol' the Student Mobilization Committee were among key speakers at each demonstration. Crowds ol' students gathered around the site of construction near Woody Hall's cast side. Q rf! u Qu' f ' 'lawii Q' 1 , YV F -my - l fb 'f Z 1 i 'W' 4- -fi' 5 umpnn 5,3338 as eawww A group of about 75 blocked the lllinois Central tracks on Thursday until they were forced off by police. The first demonstration at the library pro- tested the killing of four Kent State students.

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Surpass 888,500 Memorial services were held for the Kent State victims on Thursday, May 7 at ll a.m. That night disturbances began when 2,500 stu- dents blocked the intersection of Main and Illi- nois for two hours. Violence resulted when a portion of the crowd, estimated at 75. sat on the railroad tracks and halted two trains. Tear gas was fired into the crowd at the intersection: the small group on the tracks did not resist the police efforts to disburse them. The crowd split into two groups. one of which traveled down Washington and the other down Illinois. Windows were broken along the way back to campus. At ll:l0 the crowd convened around Brush Towers. Scattered gassings and numerous broken win- dows were reported throughout town. On May 8, the mayor set a curfew for the time period 7:30 p.m. through 6 a.m. The sale of liquor was prohibited, liquor stores were closed and gasoline could not be sold in small containers. Friday night was relatively calm. The number of National Guardsmen rose to 850 with the addition of 200 more men overnight. National Guard troops lined the streets of Wash- ington and Walnut and State Policemen patroled the area in search of curfew violaters. That evening's offenders were hauled to the William- son County jail, because no vacancies were available at Carbondale or the Jackson County jails. More than 350 arrests were made over the weekend for curfew violations. On Monday. May ll, the civil emergency was ended although assembly of groups of more than five persons was prohibited. A meeting was set for Tuesday morning between the city and University of- ficials. Late Monday evening fires were reported near University Park and Brush Towers after a trash can barracade had been set up. Sporatic gassings were reported throughout the night. 1 Students risked their physical safety if they violated the police order to evacuate the library premises. During the tearing down of the fence and subsequent seige of Wheeler Hall numerous injuries were reported. W IJ 'Q 2 Students group together to aid one of their own who was hurt in a conflict with the police. 23 nd