University of Massachusetts Amherst - Index Yearbook (Amherst, MA)

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Knapp Sworn In David C. Knapp was inaugurated as UMass ' 19th president in late Oc- tober. Knapp, 50, former provost of Cor- nell University in New York, was in- stalled at a ceremony inside Faneuil Hall in the revitalized Quincy Market. Knapp replaced Robert C. Wood, who gave up the UMass presidency earlier this year and subsequently became Boston School Superinten- dent. Knapp officially began his du- ties September 1st. We in universities need to renew our sense of social purpose, Knapp told the gathering. We have turned inward. We have become concerned with our disciplines per se than with their meaning for learning. Putting science, technology and society back together again lies at the heart of solving the problems we face, he added. And doing so re- quires that study related to this end must be at the core, not the fringe, of this university. United Press International David C. Knapp A Year of Campus Violence Violent is perhaps the most ade- quate way to describe the UMass campus from September 1978 to May 1979. The year began with the unsolved death of a 20-year-old UMass student, Seta Rampersad, in- cluded various incidents of sexual assault and vandalism and ended with set fires in the New Africa House during May. The violence was not only direct- ed at others and University proper- ty, but self-inflicted. Four UMass stu- dents killed themselves, three while living on-campus. In September whispers of an 18- year-old woman hanging herself in her Central Area dormitory room shocked the campus. Vice Chancel- lor for Student Affairs Dennis L. Madson told a Collegian reporter, these things come in rashes. And when another 18-year-old woman plunged to her death from the 21st floor of a Southwest tower after be- ing on campus for only five days, the entire campus stopped and ab- sorbed the news as it spread from Southwest to Northeast in a matter of hours. Students who were often under the pressures of academics, life and career goals and romantic relationships, were stunned by the decision of a peer to do what every person considers at least once dur- ing a lifetime. Other incidents of personal vio- lence marked the year, such as a rash of reported and attempted rapes during the early spring. Most of the attacks occurred at night in dimly lit areas such as park- ing lots and walkways on campus. Many women were more afraid than usual to walk alone at night, and es- cort services sprang up around cam- pus as well as sales of rape alert whistles by the rape counselor ad- vocates. Various marches and rallies protesting violence against women were held during the year. Lighting surveys were done and task forces on violence formed, yet there were very few modifications made, most- ly due to lack of funds. And no won- der, because over a quarter of a mil- lion dollars was spent on repairing University property that had been destroyed by vandalism. Walls, Doors, Windows, And Lights: Anger at the administration, the frustration of leading the life of a stu- dent, as well as alcohol abuse com- bined to move UMass students to destroy windows, lights, doors, ele- vators, furniture, fire alarms and walls. A study by the UMass Alcohol Education Project showed that 30 percent of reported incidents of van- dalism involved alcohol use. One UMass worker ' s job actually entailed repairing doors only in Southwest. Nothing escaped. Star Trek, biblical quotations, perversions and hate notes covered the library walls of a University that had a reputation for being aware, as the silent major- ity expressed itself. Residence Heads Threatened: Violence was also directed at Heads of Residence on campus, who were often the most personal representatives of the University ad- ministration that students came in contact with. The door of one head of residence was set ablaze as he slept, while a brick was thrown through the window of another. In late spring, several fires were set in the New Africa House, which housed the Afro-American Studies Department as well as other Third World related offices. At the close of the semester, the death of Seta Rampersad was still unresolved, and the violent tensions that marked the spring and fall semesters were aban- doned for summer skies. Seta Rampersad Seta Rampersad was a 20-year- old black woman student at UMass, scheduled to graduate in December of 1978 with a degree in Political Science. On the morning of Septem- ber 13, 1978 Seta was left alone to die at the Motel 6 in South Deerfield. An inquest was convened on No- vember 13 to determine the cause of Seta ' s death, and although Seta had not been alone in the immediate 18