8C
Penalties
HOMECOMING
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN MONDAY,OCTOBER 5,2009
RADICAL TRADITION
Students gather at the Gaslight Tavern, a popular bar for students in the 1960s and '70s; the bar was known as "Hippie Haven," according to a University Daily Kanan report from 1970.
Tension between students and authority ran high, with police sometimes having to step in. President Richard Nixon was forced to call in troops after violence escalated in August 1970.
Photos courtesy of Spencer Research Library
In July 1970, Rick "Tiger" Dowdell was shot while fleeing police. Another student, Harry Rice, was shot later later while protesting Dowdell's killing.
A look back at a turbulent time for the University
BY SHAUNA BLACKMON
AND SABRINA LIEDTKE
sblackmon@kansan.com,
sliedtke@kansan.com
In the past few years, being an eco-friendly hippie has changed from a lifestyle accepted by few to a widely marketed trend accepted nationwide. Though it is possible to spot a genuine hippie from the '60s and '70s on Massachusetts Street, for the most part, the references in our generation can be seen solely in peace sign-covered graphic tees telling one to recycle or go green.
This year's homecoming theme is "Peace. Love. Jayhawks", a theme very much tied to Lawrence's hip, liberal community. Despite the popularity of it all, however, much of the energy of the 1960s and 1970s gets forgotten. These decades were about a lot more than just fashion and drugs; they were about a revolution and finding, or creating, a place in society for those who didn't fit into the standard box. Similar to areas like the Haight-Ashbury district in San Francisco, Lawrence was a place for young people to
come and voice their opinions.
Disapproval of the Vietnam War sometimes culminated in protests. In addition to the war, students also gathered to confront issues such as women's rights and racial equality. Though many of these events were peaceful, the period also saw incidents of violence, with roughly 50 acts of bombing or arson occurring between April and June of 1970.
The Vietnam era is frequently associated with nationwide drug experimentation, especially the spread of marijuana usage. Along the Kansas River, miles of marijuana were grown, protected and harvested by a group that came to be known as the Kaw Valley Hemp Pickers.
Dan Bentley was in his early 20s when the Kaw Valley Hemp Pickers got started. He remembered them as a small group with a large social presence.
of hemp to make rope for the war.
I'm sure some people sold it, but it wasn't worth anything."
"It seemed more like a theatrical thing used by people for whatever ends they had, or just to raise hell." Bentley said.
Maps were conveniently sold to these hampaves in many' of the town's most popular hangouts and
Though marijuana usage was prominent in Lawrence, students were not distracted from standing up against what they perceived as the injustices of the University and the United States. In March of 1965, hundreds of students participated in a "sit-in" in front of then-Chancellor W. Clarke's Wesco office protesting racial exclusion as
"I think Lawrence is still a socially conscious place to go to school ... Some of that might have begun back in 1969."
DAVE MEREDITH 1973 graduate
head shops, including the Rock Chalk and the Gaslight.
"The ditches were full of hemp," Bentley said. "But most of it was worthless. They were growing a lot
well as The University Daily Kansan's use of racist advertisements. Around the same time, women's rights issues were surfacing and becoming a cause for protest on campus. Back then, KU women endured strict regulations, including a mandatory three years in the residence halls, restrictions in
parking privileges and a required course in lady's etiquette and manners.
In the early 1970s, things went from heated to a full-on war
between the students and the establishment. Between April and June of 1970, approximately 50 bombs and acts of arson occurred in Lawrence. Bentley recalled one night when the violence was particularly bad.
"It was a really foggy night and you could just see the glow of all of the burning buildings and hear the gunshots," he said.
The largest of these bombings occurred in the spring of 1970, when a bomb was placed in the elevator of the Kansas Union and set to detonate in the ballroom during the middle of the night. Dave Meredith, 1973 graduate, was at a friend's apartment just off campus when the bomb exploded.
"We heard sirens, not just one siren, but many fire engines and police vehicles. We went up to campus to see what was happening and as we walked up to the Union, we saw flames and smoke," Meredith said.
Seeing fires and violence was nothing new around Lawrence, but this was different.
"I think the only thing that people generally felt and still feel was that it was not a student that had started the fire; it was definitely somebody that knew what they were doing and were responsible for that," Meredith said.
Though no one was killed in the union bombing, after a year filled with revolution and violence, the University had finally had enough.
"I think the administration at the University thought the best way to handle the situation was to send everybody home," Meredith said. "They spread the word that all students and faculty members were to convene at the football stadium and Chalmers came out and explained that they were thinking of ending the semester early and were going to give students the option of either taking a final or going home. Well obviously not many students wanted to take their finals."
The vote was taken by a vocal yay nay system. The yays won by a landslide.
"Literally within a few days everybody had left and that did the trick. It temporarily ended what was going on at that time." Meredith said.
African-American student, was shot by a police officer after police were called to investigate gunshots heard from what was known as the Afro- House. Dowdell and Frankie Cole were seen leaving the premises in a Volkswagen when the police started to follow the car. Dowdell and Cole ran two stop signs and refused to pull over after the police turned on their sirens. Dowdell then got out of the car and started to run while the exchange of gunfire occurred; it was then that he received a fatal shot to the back of his skull.
Only a few days later, Harry Nicholas Rice, a white 19-year-old student, was shot and killed while participating in a protest of Dowdell's murder. These frequent acts of violence between youth and authorities only increased the tension and widened the division between the two generations.
action negotiation team included a women's studies program, female staff on the financial aid committee, women's health care, free childcare and basic equality, all of which were met 13 hours later. This group of women came to be known as the February Sisters.
A few months later in July, however, the violence returned. Rick "Tiger" Dowdell, a 19-year-old
Things got so heated in Lawrence, that in August 1970 President Richard Nixon was forced to send some of his men to evaluate the sources of violence in Lawrence, as well as ordering National Guard troops to help reinforce the local police.
Arguably one of the most defining moments in Vietnam-era Lawrence history occurred in 1972, when 30 women took over the East Asian Studies building, located a bit south of Corbin Hall at the time, barricaded the doors and demanded equal rights for female students. The demands of the women's affirmative
"I think Lawrence is still a socially conscious place to go to school," Meredith said. "I know my son graduated from KU and he was involved in a lot of political organizations. I think some of that might have begun back in 1969."
Homecoming is about having fun and enjoying our youth, but the past should not be forgotten. What the men and women of the 1960s and 1970s did greatly affects our day-to-day existence.
According to Ryan Weaver, recipient of the graduate certificate in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, the whole event was very spur of the moment. The day before the takeover, Robin Morgan, an internationally known radical feminist, spoke on campus and helped students decide how to face the injustice they were dealing with.
"It is amazing to me that the event, which was organized in less than 24 hours, was carried out successfully. I sometimes wonder if the organizers were themselves surprised with how successful they were on that day," Weaver said.
— Edited by Jonathan Hermes