Mock war with imitation blood marks protest
March upsets voting
By MINA RELPH
and
GLORIA VOBEJDA Kansan Staff Writers
Protesters sprayed by one of their own
Photo by Halina Pawl
Demonstrators streaked with imitation blood yesterday surged into Strong Hall and the Kansas Union, breaking a ballot box in Strong and temporarily disrupting voting for the student senate in both University buildings.
In Strong Hall, Larry Green, Lawrence, sprays students with a fire extinguisher during yesterday's protest demonstration.
The participants followed leaders of SDS and other campus radical groups into the buildings after they had staged a mock battle on Jayhawk Boulevard near Strong.
The Strong rotunda was filled with the sound of drum beats and intermittent shots from toy artillery while painted bodies swarmed through the line of students waiting to vote.
Two members of the group took a ballot box from the voting table to the balcony overlooking the rotunda, and returned it minutes later with one end battered in.
While onlookers were being pushed toward the door, one member of the demonstrating group, Larry Green, Lawrence, who was standing on the balecony, emptied a fire extinguisher on the students in the rotunda.
Students and administrative officials gave the group limited attention as participants ran up and down corridors shrieking and banging on doors.
Limited attention
The demonstrators remained in Strong for about ten minutes, clapping and shouting.
The group then marched in rough formation down Jayhawk Boulevard toward the Military Science building clapping and shouting, "Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Minh."
The march continued through the building, but met no opposition from instructors or students. Participants declined to visit a classroom into which they were invited by one instructor; they did not stop inside the building.
One student removed the U.S. flag from the standard
Phrases from a parody on "Battle Hymn of the Republic" followed the demonstrators to the Kansas Union where they scattered student voters.
outside' the Union because "we just wanted to take the flag into the Union."
On to 2nd floor
The formation continued to the second floor of the Union invading a room where about 70 law enforcement officers from across the state had assembled for a seminar on criminal investigation.
The officers did not attempt to stop the shouting students. They sat quietly listening to verbal taunts; some were smiling. The students left the room and disbanded about ten minutes later leaving three broken tables as the only apparent damage to the Union.
The tables were broken by a member of the group. Don Jenkins, Kansas City, Mo., junior, who beat them with a stick.
During the entire demonstration, neither University police nor administrative officials made any attempt to interfere.
Mock battle 'funny'
William Balfour, dean of student affairs, said he had heard rumors concerning the demonstration and had expected it. He said the University would not try to keep the students out of the buildings. "The whole thing is just foolishness," he said.
Students who witnessed the episode said they thought the mock battle which started the demonstration was "funny." One truck driver, stopped on Jayhawk Boulevard by students sprawled in the street said he thought he was amused, but added that he was mainly just bored.
Another spectator commented, "I'd probably be more impressed if I knew what the demonstration was about."
Onlookers were not the only ones who were confused about the demonstration. One participant said the students were protesting military action in the Presidio 27 affair.
The majority of the demonstrators agreed that they were demonstrating against the Vietnam war. One girl, who carried the group's black banner during the entire demonstration said the black flag "symbolizes the deaths of more than 30,000 troops in the Vietnam war and thousands of civilian deaths our
troops have inflicted on villages-women and children."
No real purpose
Other participants declined to comment about the purpose of the march. One screamed, "Go to hell, warmonger!"
Another dismissed all questions with an obscene gesture. Many didn't know why they were demonstrating.
"I don't know what we're trying to do," one student commented, "I guess this is sort of a student revolution. I just came along for the ride."
Another participant, John Writt, Akron, Ohio sophomore, said, "I like it—I think it's the best thing that's happened here this year."
The demonstration which ended with the disruption of the law enforcement school lasted two hours.
The demonstrators made noise but did little damage. A meeting for voting officials was called after the group left Strong to determine the extent of damage to the ballot box and to decide about the validity of the ballots already cast.
Ballots weren't damageg
Clif Conrad, Bismarck,N.D., senior and student body president said none of the ballots had been damaged or
Greater University Fund assured of donations
Protesters march down Jayhawk to Union Photo by Hallina Pawl
A record high of more than 17,000 donors in the 1968-69 year of the KU Greater University Fund (GUF) is assured already, reported John A. Emerson of Lawrence, the
Apr. 24 1969 KANSAN 13
retiring chairman of the GJF Advisory Board.
"The 17,000-mark had been broken by April 14 with the remainder of the month to go. Emerson said. The contributors have been alumni, parents and friends.
Michael E. Chalfant of Hutchinson and Gary Padgett of
Greenleaf were elected chairman and vice-chairman, respectively, for the 1969-70 year at the annual spring meeting Saturday morning.
Chancellor W. Clarke Wescoe praised the board members for their roles in mobilizing private support for public higher education.
lost; none of them had been removed from the box. "The election is valid," he said, "and all the ballots which were in the damaged box will be counted."
The only other damage was at the law enforcement conference in the Union. Harold Rusk, Lyndon sheriff, said one student hit the table so hard the stick went right through it, and threw three of the officers' papers on the floor.
Never again on campus
Maynard Brazeal, director of police training at KU said, "We won't have any more school (police training) here after this. We'll have it off campus."
"We have to work with the police officers," Louis Fox, Overland Park assistant city manager, said, "and picketing them is a reflection on city government.
"The ballot box is another method of picketing," Fox said. "That's the one we follow. The ballot dictates what we do, not the demonstrators. They have means available as everyone else does to protest laws.
"The world is not run by the dissonent minority. These people don't reflect the majority opinion—when they are the majority, then change will come."
The lion has his mane, the tiger his stripes—you, a suit like this. Crisp, commanding in cut, quietly arresting in pattern. It's a plaid in our own tradition, we trust, you intend to do some asserting.