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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 19, 2000)
Protest continued from page 1 Student Senator and an ROTC cadet at the time, and he remem bers the protest as if it happened yesterday. “It was quite tense there for a lit tle bit,” he said. Some students sat in at then University President Robert Clark’s office in Johnson Hall and hundreds more protested outside the building in an effort to express their opposition to the Senate’s de cision and the U.S. government. “Students spent that first night on those hard floors in Johnson Hall,” Clark said. “Our conversa tions were not hostile or bitter, but I was concerned.” Clark said he had told protest ers they could stay for a night, but had to vacate the space on the sec ond day. But on that same night, Johnson Hall protesters became increasing ly riotous and a group of about 400 protesters rallied in front of and at tacked ROTC facilities on campus, throwing fire crackers and torch es, apples and oranges with razor blades, breaking windows and smashing doors, leading Clark to ask Eugene Police and Oregon State Police for support. Against Clark’s wishes, Oregon Governor Tom McCall sent in the National Guard to stand by. Mogan said he had volunteered to stay in side and protect ROTC facilities even though ROTC leaders had alerted cadets that the situation was dangerous and they were not ask ing anybody to stay. Mogan said he and fellow ROTC cadets had anticipated some disor der following the Senate’s decision, but they had not expected the level of turmoil the protests reached. “Our worst expectations were realized,” he said. “All we wanted was to earn our commissions and be able to go out into military serv ice. We wanted to exercise our right to be in the program.” Father Robert Young, who was a University student and a ROTC cadet at the time, had also come to help protect ROTC facilities. “There was an expectation of great violence,” said Young, now a church pastor in Granbury, Texas. “The crowd was increas ingly nasty.” “I don’t remember being pan icked at all,” Young said. “I think there was kind of a feeling of resig nation: ‘If this is the day I die, this is the day I die’.” The protest escalated more. Mo gan said an ROTC sergeant pulled him out of the building through a window just in time to protect him from an exploding fire bomb. “We were worried about our own safety at that time,” Mogan said. “It was absolutely brutal.” He said emotions were flying so high among protesters, observers, Eugene and Oregon State Police and the National Guard that he is almost surprised there were no major injuries that night. “Had things got out of hand just a bit more on the night of the [April] 15, God only knows what would have happened,” Mogan said. The protests outside ROTC fa cilities and Johnson Hall were also the first time police used tear gas on campus in addition to pepper spray, which was used to disperse the crowds. Both Clark and Mogan said the events on the chaotic night were some of the most heated in the University’s history. “I think they were intensely emotional moments,” Clark said. Mogan said the University has seen many protests come and go throughout the years, but in the 30 years since the Vietnam War and ROTC protest, the way protesters and police act has changed. “The Oregon campus has always been a hotbed of activism and that’s not any different today,” he said. * CRIME WATCH Reported April 11 through April 18: April 8: Theft, suspect cut boot device off his truck's wheel, 1300 block Agate Street April 11-13: Harassment, 1300 block Franklin Boulevard, threatening let ters sent to University chemistry de partment April 12: Theft 1,200 block West 8th Avenue, attempted reselling of stolen violin and case April 13: Burglary II, 500 block East 13th Avenue, window broken, items stolen April 14: Forgery I, disorderly con duct, harassment, 1400 block Colum bia Street, subject resisted arrest and had a forged driver’s license April 14: Theft, 1100 block Willamette Street, reselling stolen CDs April 14: Trespassing, 1100 block Franklin Boulevard Crime tips of the week from OPS Off i cer Bob Guse: 1. Don’t let someone follow you into a locked area (like a resident hall). If you feel uncomfortable asking if they belong, call us at 346-5444 with a de scription and we will talk to them. 2. If someone doesn’t have a key to get in, don’t let them in. They might not have a key for a reason. Tim Wise Join Tim and your fellow students in exploring the many aspects of diversity and its role at the University of Oregon. Lunch & Discussion: Tuesday, April 18th, 12:30pm Multicultural Center, EMU Keynote Address: “Beyond Diversity: Challenging Racism in an Age of Backlash.” EMU Ballroom - Tuesday, April 18th, 7pm Community Town Hall Panel Discussion: Wednesday, April 19th, 7pm Ben Linder Room, EMU Also watch for discussions with Tim in select classes! All events are free and open to the public. t SO *-s arc. Sponsored by Friars and the ASUO Bonny Bettman is endorsed by: Organizations Members of the Campus Community Campus Green Party Oregon League of Conservation Voters Oregon Natural Resources Council Sierra Club Elected Officials Bill Dwyer David Kelly Scott Meisner Floyd Prozanski Gary Rayor Peter Sorenson Betty Taylor John Baldwin Jerry Berk Shawn Boles Howard Bonnett Tom Bowerman Suzanne Clark Paul Engelking Joan Fariel Eben Fodor Linda Fuller Jerome Grzybowski Chuck Hunt Robert Long Greg McLauchlan Sandi Morgen Robert O’Brien Chris O’Conner Paul Prew Cheyney Ryan Nathan Tublitz Ray Wolfe Authorized and Paid for by Bonny Bettman for City Council r mASiCAL MiNS?HeI. sIP rLVhSiti POK'I'H V' < (JO Cultural Forum presents ... Chris Chandler a»d /Vla^da Hiller Wednesday April 19 9:00 pm • Agate Hall $5 UO Students, $7 General Public Tickets available @ UO Ticket Office For information, call 346-4363 Pick up an Emerald at 93 campus & community locations.
