Student Unrest 1969
The following are excerpts from Leo Jenkins' 1969 Student -Faculty Convocation address. The speech addressed issues of student unrest on the campus inregards to racial inequality.
This and other speeches may be found in the records of the Chancellor's Office, Record Group CH1050, Series 2, Subseries 3, Box 10, Folder 1: Student Unrest in the University Archives. See also the Greenville Daily Reflector article in response to Jenkins' Convocation
Fellow members of the community of East Carolina University.I have invited you here today for two reasons: to describe for you the manner in which I propose to deal with the demands which were presented to this university on March 3, and to acquaint you with what has transpired since that date.
In a sense, the problem we face today is exactly like the problems we face everyday. It is different only because those who have presented it want to have it solved in extraordinary ways.
I know that you agree with me when I say that this institution is not perfect; but we have, for decades, been trying to improve it; and in doing this, we have developed democratic procedures for solving our difficulties. In evolving these procedures, we have favored the development of the Faculty Senate, and the Student Government Association, so that they might be effective bodies, capable of participating responsibly in the government of this university.For we hold that basic academic problems involve all of us. They are problems which must be faced by all segments if our university community, and not by top administrative officers, by some faculty members, or by a few students.These problems must be faced by all of us and all of us must bear the responsibility of resolving them.
We often have requests from various sources for changes in academic programs and curriculums.We welcome these requests, for all good programs of instruction are constantly under revision.Such is our means of improvement and we will continue to use it. But when I talked with representatives of our black students, I made the point that they must present their grievances in an orderly fashion, and that we will consider them by using the democratic procedures which we have all sought for so long to maintain.I know that these procedures of democratic government are valid; I do not intend them to be subverted or destroyed; I know that most of you agree with me in believing that they should be preserved.All of us have worked mightily for this university; it is a valuable institution in this society and it is worth preserving.If its democratic procedures of reasoned and deliberate search for the proper course of action are destroyed, the university itself will be destroyed, for it will then be merely an assembly of people, pursuing conflicting and selfish aims under the eyes of professional policemen, rather than a community of scholars seeking truth and justice.Let there be no mistake about it: I will not, by force or by fiat, order changes without following regular and orderly procedures.It is in this sense that I stated at the outset that the problems raised by the current demands are like all the other problems we face. We have and will continue to consider them only through the regular and democratic channels of this university.
A university proceeds best by the force of reason. We who live on the campus are not equipped to enforce the peace.Our function is to educate. The order that exists on this campus is accomplished by the willingness of each of us to respond to the reasonable rules and procedures. There is no place in this academic community for non-student, non-professional, or amateur rabble-rousers.When reason fails and disorder results, the regular agencies of law enforcement are our only recourse.This campus will not become a rest-haven for the indolent, a correctional institution for the undisciplined, a remedial center for the untrained, and most emphatically, it will not become a sanctuary for the lawless.I think it is very important that this be understood clearly. That is why I want to talk with you a few minutes regarding the procedures that will be followed if our orderly processes of discussion degenerate into unacceptable action.
In this period when small groups of students across the nation, often joined by professional agitators, have resorted to such forceful action as seizure of buildings, disruption of educational programs, interference with the activities of other students, and destruction of property, it was inevitable that universities found themselves forced to resort to reliance on the police. This is not the way these universities would have preferred to operate, but they had no choice. Neither shall we!The few individuals on this campus who have intimated that buildings might be burned should hear this and hear it clearly: force will be met with force, and lawlessness shall be prosecutes to the full extent of the law.
What I have said, however, does not apply to black students alone; it applies equally to white students, faculty, and administration. For it is imperative that others in this community listen seriously to all suggestions for change and weigh them carefully, accepting only those which enhance the growth of this great university. It is also imperative that those who present suggestions have patience and understanding while the appropriate groups in this university consider them. A casual perusal of daily newspapers will reveal that we have not shunned responsibility nor shown fear of assuming difficult obligations, and we shall not shun such responsibility nor show such fear today.
I promised to give you some accounting of what we have already done.
We have met several times with those black students who have presented demands.In the first meeting, when the list was presented, we noted then that some, such as requests for increased pay for maintenance workers and more financial aid for black students, dealt with matters outside our institutional control.Federal and state monies come to us with definitely prescribed stipulations which govern their use and which we cannot violate.In all fairness to the officials on this campus who administer these funds, I would like to point out that of 67 petitioners, 45 receive financial aid ranging from $300 to $1846 per year.Other items were sent to those persons and committees who could best deal with them. For example, some, such as the request for funds so that black students could travel to meetings, the request that staff privileges to extracurricular events be extended to our maintenance workers, and the request that "Dixie" not be played at university functions, were referred to the Student Government Association, for it is this agency that has responsibility for these matters. These and all other aspects of student life are the proper concern of student Government. For the University Administration to interfere unduly in student affairs would be a denial of all that the administration, faculty, and students have helped to shape in the way of democratic procedures at this university. The black students were told that this institution has no reluctance to employ black professors. We have sought the best minds available and have not been concerned with origin, religion or color. But the Black American PhD is in short supply and in great demand.As a matter of fact, I asked the black students to assist us in seeking such people, and we are presently negotiating with two. But we cannot, and no good institution can, accept the idea of a pro rata number to match certain religions, colors, or places of origin.
After that initial meeting, copies of requests were sent to all faculty members to acquaint them with the problem and to solicit their reactions and suggestions. No faculty vote was taken, but the informal response of the faculty indicated an accord with the basic position I have developed for you today and a willingness to continue to discuss these propositions in the reasonable and regular democratic manner.
In a second meeting with representatives of the black students, we were joined by officers of the administration, the chairman of the faculty senate, and the president of the S.G.A. I assured the black students that the administration would follow up any specific complaints that are reported dealing with discrimination by professors because of race.At the suggestion of several faculty members, I asked the faculty senate to consider the establishment, on a permanent basis, of a senate committee perhaps with student members to hear all complaints of unfairness by a professor.Let me say, however, that only two professors have been specifically accused of discrimination.One of these is no longer with us, and the other is leaving at the end of this year.But certainly two out of a faculty of almost six hundred is not a bad record. This institution and its faculty do not stand on trial today; our record is good. . .
Subsequent discussions between the black students and the administration have been helpful, but their insistence that change be instituted be executive decree will not be honored.Their demands must be handles by the established machinery of this university.This procedure may appear to some to be slow, but you must understand the unreasonable ingredients of the situation.I am presented with demands which call for immediate solutions, when immediate solutions are next to impossible, In the meeting of March 19, I also stressed that all parties would have to exhibit mutual courtesy if progress is to be made. I am pleased that recent meetings have proceeded in a polite fashion, and I feel certain that if this pattern continues, further progress will be made. . .
When rumors and provocations become common on campus, we can expect people to make errors in passing on facts to others.You all know that a taunt, delivered in jest and light spirit, or a joke carelessly offered, can be taken as a serious provocation.We must all make a serious effort to question the validity of a rumor and not pass it carelessly on.We must be especially conscious that thoughtless words can be taken seriously. A little caution on our part would be good insurance against hard feelings and disorder. . .
No citizen or student in this university, black or white, should want to damage this institution that strives so valiantly to improve everyone’s chances for a better life. Any group who would say or do anything that leads to disruption and disorder on this campus cannot have the best interest of this community at heart.. .
We will settle what we can here, but on matters requiring a broader consensus, we must be patient and we must take into consideration that we do not get everything we want.I am aware that this may be taken as a statement for the maintenance of the status quo in a time of change.But you are well aware that I do not have the reputation of a defender of the status quo. Most emphatically, I am not suggesting to you that there should be no change here. I believe that inequities suffered by any student or group of students on this campus must be rectified. As I have said to you on many occasions, we must consider an affront to the least protected of us as an affront to all of us.
I stress that this system requires that minority and majority groups limit themselves to peaceful procedures. I also admonish all students to consider, in all seriousness, the possibilities of fitting these demands into the broader pattern of campus life. In a free society, we must make every effort to do this, for majority rule does not preclude respect for minorities. We must always weigh the pleasure of our own actions against the pain and frustration they bring to others.Fair men do not gain pleasure from actions which give pain to others.
Think soberly on what I have said. I have said it with all the candor at my disposal and the best interest of this institution in my heart. You owe it to this great university and, most of all, to yourselves to consider the current situation just as candidly and just as seriously. I feel certain that you will, and that you will settle for nothing less.
