Northern Illinois University - Norther Yearbook (DeKalb, IL)

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A muffled sound swept the still- ness of the DeKalb night. lndistinct at first, it soon developed into a not- so-distant roar- 2, 4, 6, 8, We don't want a facist state. 2, 4, 6, 8, WE DON'T WANT A FACIST STATE. Before May I9 ended, there would be fires, rocks, bottles, epithets, loot- ing, injuries and 54 arrests. The May violence at NIU was sense- less, but not altogether meaningless. It had three catalysts - Cambodia, Kent, Jackson. These three words were not only rallying points, but posed desperate questions. Why us? .lf we're not sent to- another country to die for some- thing that we don't believe in, must we die in our own country for some- thing that we do believe in? Critics of the disturbances raised a counter-question. Can violence ef- fectively protest violence, or does it only breed more of the same? Last spring, Americans felt confi- dent that troop reduction in Viet Nam was imminent. President Nixon had ordered cutbacks. Therefore, on April 30, citizens listened in disbelief to Nixon saying that we would now be- gin a new offensive in Cambodia. . The President said this was neces- sary in order to insure the contin- ued success of our withdrawal and Vietnamization programs. Many cyn- ical Americans were only able to view it as another big balloon being pricked. They quickly responded. The radical movement gained sup- port rapidly. Feelings at college cam- puses across the nation flared. Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, was one of these campuses. Fires and violence tore apart the Uni- 0 versity for several days. On Monday, May 4, the Ohio National Guard fi- nally fired into the crowd. Four stu- dents were killed, ll injured. The repercussions of this tragic event were enormous. Students of col- leges across the country reacted. NIU was no exception. There were strong feelings of kinship between Kent and Northern. The two schools were comparable in size and scope, they played in the same conference. NIU radicals and conservatives were shocked by'the killings. On Tuesday morning the Center for Southeast Asian Studies was the cen- tral target. Cambodia and Kent State protests overlapped. Windows were broken and a firebomb caused rela- tively light damage. As the day continued, raids picked up momentum. Occupants of the Pow Wow and Tune Rooms deserted their usual perches to the follow the gos- pel of the fiery-eyed radicals who stood on tables and preached to them. Central campus was the hardest struck with hit-and-run raids staged at Williston, Lowden and Altgeld. Ac- tions taken were basically senseless. Emptying fire extinguishers, breaking windows and files and pulling fire alarms hardly express a meaningful statement. These actions were solely for the sake of venting fury. The Ad Hoc Committee on Social Justice was the next target. It was scheduled to vote on the establish- ment of the controversial College of Police Science. Hundreds of students who were present when the motion was defeated cheered. Students were now gaining sup- port and further momentum. Roughly 1,500 were present at a special SA meeting that night when senators voted to abolish ROTC' and close NIU. Hundreds of students celebrated the move by breaking more campus windows. Downtown DeKalb was very quiet. Most people, afraid of trouble that evening, had stayed home. Theaters and restaurants were deserted. 9:30 - students began pouring across the Lincoln Highway Bridge which had previously separated the violent campus from the fearful town. They yelled themselves hoarse while adrenaline pumped mob energy into their bodies. A window was broken. A mo- ment's pause. More broken windows. Shattered glass covered Lincoln High- way. ' Mayor Jesse .Chamberlain im- posed a hasty curfew. The mob dis- solved into small groups making sporadic raids. By the end of May 5, there were 37 arrests and two in- juries. The next day, President Smith de- calred a moratorium on classes for May 7-8. That night there was perhaps the most meaningful expression of the whole violent period - the Spirit of May 6. Between 8-l0,000 students gathered on Greek Row. Streets were blocked off, student marshals were plentiful and the marchers moved peaceably through the chilly night chanting slogans on their trek through campus. Radio broadcsters, TV announcers and newspapers praised the Spirit of

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life-g ' b ' lt happened last May in the mid- u r 0 dle of a conservative corntield. A torch was lit. A spirit was tired. Issues were confused, Nothing was explicit. And the conservative cornfield went wild. The quiet was broken. Fires, Marches, Torches, Stillness . . . and it was shattered. A college town that had never seen anything more violent than a barroom n .bfmlvilefmgse .... bra S.fr1Q'L9599PcOf VOCQL3T3.f3l9.f1fSf bf9'1d'Sl1'f1Q focks and burning cars. News reports, some accurate, some expanded, told parents at home that their children were rioting. This was DeKalb, May, l97O. It happened ' ' me of-Q conservative cornfield.

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May 6. IT was an isolaTed example of peaceful proTesT. One Thousand sTudenTs mer in The Fieldhouse The nexT day To hear Smirh speak and argue poinTs on RCTC. On Monday, if was decided To hold an ROTC referendum on May l8. So began a series of debaTes on The value of The milifary on campus. YeT The mood of The UniversiTy re- mained calm - unTil The announce- menT of The slayings of Two black sTudenTs aT Jackson STaTe College in Mississippi. AlThough SmiTh quickly imposed anofher moratorium for May T8-l9, There was an unsuccessful fire- bombing aTTempT aT AlTgeld. STudenTs rejoiced Monday nighT as The University Council vofed To op- Tionalize final exams and reopen and expand The pass-fail opTion To any Two non-maior courses. The same evening, FaTher James Groppi, a civil righTs acTivisT from Milwaukee, spoke and led nearly l,5OO sTudenTs on a march which he lefT before iT reached The Free Speech Area. STudenTs again headed Toward The clownfown area yelling Peace now! A sound Truck followed The sTu- denTs while one of iTs occupanTs, a lib- eral professor, begged The marchers To realize The impending dangers and Turn back, He was ignored. The famed Lincoln Highway Bridge siT-in began aT midnight Police ar- riving in rioT gear only served To fur- Ther anTagonize The proTesTors, CiTy officials arrived, making unsuccessful aTTempTs To lead The sTudenTs back To campus, SmiTh saT down wiTh The crowd To discuss complainTs. Finally, The police moved in and The scene of earlier weeks was repeaT- ed -M raids, arresTs, injuries. 20 US. inTervenTion in Cambodia and The shoorings at Kent STaTe brought concerned sTudenTs inro The sTreeTs To voice Their disgust A mask may be This parricipanrs aTTempT To seporafe idenTiTy from acrions.