Opinion ID: 323207
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Prelude to the Disturbances

Text: 5 During the course of the 1972-73 school year certain grievances and complaints arose among the students at Grambling and other Louisiana colleges. In late October 1972, appellants Scott and Jenkins traveled to the Southern University campus in Baton Rouge and announced their support of a student protest there. Upon their return to Grambling they discussed with fellow students what had occurred at Southern and, assisted by appellant Acorn, spread the word that the first public meeting for a boycott of classes at Grambling would be held at 9:00 a.m. on November 1, 1972. The three tried to rally support for the boycott by addressing students at a Halloween Party in the Student Union Building and by chanting 'organize' and 'unite' in the women's dormitory area. 6 At 9:00 a.m. on November 1, a large group of students assembled in the college auditorium to discuss their complaints against the Grambling administration. Scott, the president of the student body, introduced various speakers, including Jenkins and Acorn, who urged the students to boycott classes as a means of expressing their grievances. Appellant Pitre was in attendance at this meeting but there is a conflict in evidence as to whether he was on stage or in the audience. No kind of violent activity was discussed at this meeting. 7 At approximately 10:00 a.m. a group of 150 to 200 students walked the few blocks from the auditorium to the administration building, where a list of grievances was presented to Grambling President Jones. The students came to the administration building en masse, briefly impeded access to the building, but upon request opened up a pathway to provide ingress and egress. President Jones asked some of the students to come to his conference from to discuss the matter with him. He informed them that he would have to call a meeting of his administration prior to giving any concrete response to the grievances listed in the document presented to him. While this meeting was in progress, Acorn instructed other students to come inside the administration building, which crowded the halls and the President's office momentarily, but again, upon request the students departed the building and waited outside. The students meeting with President Jones agreed to return later in the day to receive his response to the grievances. Except for the temporary occupation of the space in front of the administration building and the momentary overcrowding inside, all activity at the administration building was nonviolent and without incident. 8 Around 2:00 p.m. Scott and Acorn, among other students, met with President Jones to receive his response to the grievances. The administration witnesses complained that both students acted 'impatient' with the progress of the meeting and left before its completion. The students admitted leaving early, but justified their departure on their having to report back to the remainder of the students who were in the auditorium for a meeting previously called for 3:00 p.m. 9 At the 3:00 p.m. meeting Acorn informed the other students what response had been given by the administration to the grievances. She stated her dissatisfaction with the meeting and the administration's sincerity. At this meeting Dean Whittaker tried to speak and present the administration's position but was heckled by the students, despite Acorn's advice to 'Let the dean speak.' 10 One additional meeting was held in the auditorium at 10:00 p.m. on the evening of November 1. At this meeting there was a discussion and debate as to whether it would be proper to try to stop the buses which were scheduled to leave early the next morning to carry the Grambling football team and band to Dallas to catch a flight to Hawaii for a football game. Pitre actively participated in this meeting by serving as a moderator of the debate. 11 Later that evening, Scott and one or two other students went to President Jones' home to request that he not leave for Hawaii the next day. Several administration officials and these students discussed the Grambling situation with the President from approximately 11:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. The students committed themselves to take all action they possibly could to prevent any disturbance, specifically to prevent any interference with the buses. President Jones intimated that as long as there was no disturbance or violence, he felt sure it could be worked out so that boycotting students would not be penalized for missing classes. The meeting ended amiably, after which Scott spent a substantial amount of time and effort in going from dorm to dorm trying to pass the word to all students to make certain that no interference with the buses or disturbance resulted. He was successful and no interference or disturbance did in fact result. After being assured by his administrative staff that no danger of violence existed, President Jones departed for Hawaii later that morning. 12 Thus, the entire day of November 1, 1972, consisted of three student assemblies and a series of meetings with the administration to discuss the grievances. Scott, Jenkins and Acorn had exposed themselves as leaders of the boycott, and Pitre had, at least, actively participated in the day's activities. There was no testimony regarding Little or Aikens' activities on November 1.