University of Wisconsin Madison - Badger Yearbook (Madison, WI)

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First Wisconsin Withdrawal Although the complimentary bookmarks urged customers to Take your money and run. a mass savings withdrawal probably wasn't what the bank officials had in mind. Protesting First Wisconsin National Bank of Madison s service charge increases, about 75 students gathered October 1 for a noon rally in library mall, which ended with a march to the bank s campus branch office at University Avenue and Park Street. First Wisconsin had recently imposed charges for savings account withdrawals and checking account balances under $300. Led by students Michael Zarin and Jeff Olson, protesters sang songs ridiculing the bank and promoting the University of Wisconsin Credit Union. Then with a chant of One. two. three, four, we ll grab our money and slam the door. the group began a march down Park Street following banners and an effigy of the bank carried by leaders. Inside the bank, smoke filled the air as students shouted. They say increase — we say decrease! and burned bankbooks, deposit slips, and play money Zarin further antagonized frowning bank tellers by urging students to close accounts. Police extinguished small fires, but made no moves to end the protest. According to bank officials, service charge increases were designed to eliminate long lines of students and reduce the number of savings withdrawals. Students reportedly avoided opening checking accounts by putting money in savings accounts and making numerous withdrawals instead of writing checks EAST LOBBY 29

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Anti-Pardon Rally Photos By Bob Margolies With the country still wallowing in Watergate after Richard Nixon's late summer resignation from the presidency. the campus' 1974-75 political activity blossomed early last term when President Gerald Ford granted Nixon a full and unconditional pardon. The September 9 evening rally to protest Ford's action drew a crowd of nearly 2000 persons. Since the anti-Vietnam demonstration years of the late '60s and early ‘70s. campus protests had become nearly extinct, and when they did occur, attracted sparse crowds. But the outrage at Ford's pardon of the ex president again brought UW students into the streets. Led by Michael Fellner of the newspaper TakeOver, the crowd gathered at the library mall, wound its way through the southeast dorm complex where several hundred others joined the marchers, and proceeded towards the capitol square where several speakers addressed the demonstrators. While gathered at the library mall, a Guerilla Theatre skit entitled Let's Make a Deal was presented, followed by a speech by Mayor Paul Soglm's assistant. James Rowan. Expressing the suspicions of many in attendance. Rowan remarked. I would be willing to bet my life that Nixon was granted the pardon on the day he appointed Ford. Other speakers who addressed the spirited crowd near the First Wisconsin Bank's glass structure on the square voiced a similar questioning of the ethics of the pardon. Al Gedicks. a member of Community Action on Latin America, spoke of Nixon's international interventions. When Richard Nixon resigned his office. said Gedicks. he resigned not only as a mass murderer in Vietnam. but m Latin America as well. Prof. Finley Campbell addretted spirited anti-pardon crowd. When Phil Ball, a Vietnam veteran and a committee coordinator for the mayor, addressed the crowd he proclaimed. It's good to see thousands on the street again out of gut outrage against this hypocrisy.” He demanded total amnesty for all Vietnam war resisters and political prisoners. A UW Afro-American studies professor. Finley Campbell. was the last and most vehement speaker. “We threw the bum out and another bum took his place.” said Campbell angrily. We don't care how high he is. he said of Nixon, we want to indite his ass. The rally concluded with a flag burning on the capitol steps and a visit to the police station for some of the demonstrators. A small confrontation between protesters and police officers after the rally resulted m the arrests of Rick Cap-row. Masel Bennet. Rick Serra. and Michael Fellner. 28

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The Madison Reel World One of the most noticeable characteristics of the Madison campus is its proliferation of 8V by 11 multi-colored pieces of paper Posters are everywhere — in shop windows, on bulletin boards, even on street signs or the backs of people who stand still too long. A majority of the posters are advertising the products of one of Madison's more than a dozen film societies, which are successful and growing enterprises. According to Sandy Smoller, a former UW film coordinator. about 20 to 25 films are shown weekly. I’ve heard film distributors call Madison the 16mm film capital.” he said. In travels across the country. Smoller saw how various campuses handle film showings. Most, he said, operate like the Memorial Union Play Circle. In that organization a student committee decides on the films to be shown and allocates student funds in the process But that system is atypical of Madison, because, according to Smoller. it by far has the most extensive ad hoc. free lance society system . It is that free lance” quality which has contributed to making Madison such a film conscious campus. Film societies started as a means of providing older films, art films, and foreign films the kind not regularly shown uptown.” according to Reid Roosefelt of the Wisconsin Film Society (WFS). WFS. founded m 1940. is believed to be the second oldest society in the country. Film societies shouldn't be surrogate competition for uptown. he said. But with film being popular among students .. with the whole nostalgia kick, and film consciousness created in film courses, and media buildup of recent productions, and the whole cultural awareness of film as art. there's been a snoballing effect and some societies have attempted to exploit it. Roosefelt explained. In recent years, the prospect of being financially successful has helped to swell the ranks of film societies. A break soon developed between societies that were primarily motivated by the desire to be alternatives to thea- 30