Racism and Western’s Late College of Ethnic Studies
Permalink +Mon, Jan 18, 2010, 5:00 am // Kamalla Rose Kaur
Opinions differ on whether C. Jerry Flora was a good president for Western Washington University (1967-1975). Many Western students felt Jerry shouldn't have pulled the plug on the strobe lights at the Jefferson Airplane concert. On the other hand, he and his secretary, Dolores Riley, spent a lot of quality time with students who were occupying his office during the sixties. Jerry says he enjoyed how engaged students were back then, including their electing a pig as homecoming queen. And Western’s College of Ethnic Studies was one of the first in the nation. But if you mention the riot…
According to Dr. Flora: It wasn’t a riot! Although I can't say I was thrilled when I received a call at four a.m. from Campus Security, telling me the students and faculty of the College of Ethnic Studies had taken over our administration building, Old Main. They had chained the doors shut and classes were set to start at 8 a.m. I leaped into my clothes and sped toward town hoping I could fix the situation before it became national news. There was no one on the road and I must have been doing 90 miles an hour until a cop saw me race by and took chase.
I pulled over, leaped out of the car and ran back to the officer.
"Young man!" I bellowed, "I’m president at Western and there’s a riot on campus! Follow me, I may need you!"
He took in my wrinkled clothes and looked at me like I might be a lunatic. He asked to see my driver's license.
"Tar and damnation! I left my wallet on the bedside table! You’ve got to listen to me: I’m Western’s president, there’s an emergency and I may need you. Put me in jail later!"
"How do I know you’re really Western’s president?" he asked suspiciously.
Thinking fast, I escorted him to the back of my car. "Do you see that official campus parking sticker?" I asked pointing at my back window.
"Yes sir."
"You see how it says ALL LOTS?" He nodded slowly. "Just how many of those stickers do you imagine they give out?" (Actually there were quite a few of us with those parking privileges.) But that did it—he let me go without a ticket! He didn't follow me though; he wanted nothing to do with a campus riot!
When I got to Old Main, they let me in, but were not at all polite. They called me a bloody racist! Holy hell, we were the only college in the region that even had an Ethnic Studies school back then and I was one of the main reasons for that! I was insulted, blazing furious in fact, but I finally herded everyone into a classroom to talk it out.
I asked them to list all their grievances on the blackboard. Most of the issues were general and vague, having more to do with the politics of the day than anything I could address. However, they had one very concrete complaint: they had not been allocated any new professors that term.
I knew there was a simple formula for deciding how many new professors any given program, department or school deserved. So I immediately called the relevant official, got him out of bed, and as soon as he arrived, had him calculate the formula on that blackboard with all the protesters watching. And they were right! They actually deserved two! They had been passed over, denied two new positions! They had a real complaint!
I know there are many closet bigots in this world. These individuals say all the right words and if they get caught they insist it was just a mistake. That was what had happened. There was this little 'mistake' that resulted in Ethnic Studies not getting their fair share of faculty. I looked at the blackboard and then at the protesters and said, "You deserve two faculty, how do you want them? Two immediately? Or one now and one next semester?"
They chose to take them both immediately. We shook hands, they released me, evacuated the building, and the riot was over, nice and easy. But when I walked outside, the media was there, along with the public outcry. People said I had given into the rioters, had buckled under pressure. I left the presidency shortly thereafter.
Being a college/university president had never been an aspiration for me and I pity those for whom it is. It was mostly an intellectually un-fulfilling pain in the posterior. The best part of my professional career was post-administrative, returning to the classroom; and the best part of that was teaching Coral Reef Biology on Maui, Hawaii for fourteen summers; and the greatest single teaching experience of my life was traveling to the central Pacific and studying living reefs. A teacher hasn’t lived until he/she has spent two hours sitting on a luggage cart while lecturing to a group of SCUBA weary students who struggle to take notes as they sit on the floor of the Rarotonga International Airport in torrid heat and humidity!
Comments (2)
To add a comment, click here to login or register.
John Servais // Tue, Jan 19, 2010, 10:40 am
Fascinating. Pray provide some specifics. Dates, for instance would be a nice place to start. “Sixties” does not give us much. Some names might be nice.
Me thinks there is another side to this story. And then there is the question of what happened the first week of May, 1970. Flora’s office was occupied and bolted again - but not by students.
NwCitizen format will be changing in the next few weeks and it will make it easier to comment on older articles. Perhaps some who “were there” will comment on this article. And if any who were there want to write a guest article, then please let me know.
K.R.Kaur // Tue, Jan 19, 2010, 3:40 pm
Hi John,
They say if you remember the sixties (1965-1975ish) you weren’t there. Certainly when I asked Dr. Jerry Flora for dates he said, “Hell I don’t remember!” and WWU appears to have forgotten about this incident as well. The College of Ethnic Studies existed from 1969-1975. It was the home of the Journal of Ethnic Studies with editor Dr. Jesse Hiraoka.
Asking around and checking my own recall, most agree the protest happened in 1974.
Dr. Loren Web wrote “It was the taking of Old Main that I remember as the pinnacle of the 60’s era and the confusion that came with it.”
Spring 1967 - Jefferson Airplane concert. The Furthers Bus full of pranksters visits campus.
Spring 1970 - Students protesting the Vietnam War block highway Interstate 5.
Students vote Grenalda the pig homecoming queen.
1974 - Protest at College of Ethnic Studies.
1975- Paul J. Olscamp appointed President. Shuts down College of Ethnic Studies.
Lummi Ferry Petition is Linked
Wed, Sep 01, 2010, 2:40 pm // John Servais
A petition to the federal government online at skookum.us. It asks they step in to resolve the impasse between the Lummi and Whatcom County.0 comments
Lummi Island - The Price of Admission
Thu, Aug 26, 2010, 3:01 pm // Tip Johnson
Legal or Political Football?4 comments; last on Aug 27, 2010
Politics & Ice Water: Part 1 of ?
Sat, Aug 21, 2010, 8:07 am // Larry Horowitz
Politics is like a pool of ice water. When men jump in their balls shrivel up.5 comments; last on Aug 26, 2010
Lummi Island Softball
Fri, Aug 20, 2010, 3:26 pm // Tip Johnson
Islanders need a new game1 comments; last on Aug 24, 2010
Cantwell Confused
Wed, Aug 18, 2010, 4:07 pm // Tip Johnson
Ignoring the real problem3 comments; last on Aug 19, 2010
Election Results
Tue, Aug 17, 2010, 8:05 pm // John Servais
A running blog this election night0 comments
The Political Downzone of Responsible Land Use Planning
Mon, Aug 16, 2010, 12:55 pm // John Lesow
John Lesow rebuts Jack Petree's Herald oped article that strongly criticized county planning.30 comments; last on Aug 25, 2010
Herald runs a beautiful smear of Rossi
Mon, Aug 16, 2010, 12:03 pm // John Servais
Headline and article paint U.S. Senate candidate Dino Rossi very badly on final day ballots are mailed. The Bellingham Herald editors print a perfect smear.5 comments; last on Aug 18, 2010
Mail your ballot by Monday, 3 p.m.
Sat, Aug 14, 2010, 6:51 am // John Servais
Mailing even late Monday evening is gambling on its being counted. Mail in time.1 comments; last on Aug 14, 2010
Deceptive Herald article on planning
Fri, Aug 13, 2010, 8:39 am // John Servais
Am looking for a writer to rebut Jack Petree's BIAW propaganda article the Herald saw fit to print.3 comments; last on Aug 20, 2010
The Way I See It - Time to change
Wed, Aug 11, 2010, 4:00 pm // Ham Hayes
Fear and attack-rhetoric are leading us in the wrong direction.1 comments; last on Aug 12, 2010
Candidate choices of John Servais
Mon, Aug 09, 2010, 3:15 pm // John Servais
Personal opinion and recommendations from an independent liberal and progressive. ADDED more on Tuesday, Aug 10.3 comments; last on Aug 13, 2010
And in the 40th we have…..
Mon, Aug 09, 2010, 1:49 pm // Ham Hayes
Candidates, o candidates - where art thou? Monday Updates
2 comments; last on Aug 04, 2010
Where’s the Info?
Mon, Aug 09, 2010, 12:38 pm // Viki Warner
One week till the Primary, but no info?3 comments; last on Aug 09, 2010
Cooperation no substitute for small libraries
Sat, Aug 07, 2010, 8:18 am // John Servais
A library card from any Whatcom County library can now be used at any library in the county5 comments; last on Aug 15, 2010
40th District State Representative Pos 1 Primary - Tom Pasma’s Responses
Fri, Aug 06, 2010, 4:54 am // Ham Hayes
Tom answers our questions1 comments; last on Aug 08, 2010
40th District State Representative Pos 2 Primary - Rep. Jeff Morris’ Responses
Fri, Aug 06, 2010, 4:50 am // Ham Hayes
Jeff answers our questions0 comments
40th District State Representative Pos 1 Primary - Chuck Carrell’s Respones
Fri, Aug 06, 2010, 4:48 am // Ham Hayes
Chuck answers our questions0 comments
Act of War or Act of Congress?
Thu, Aug 05, 2010, 1:50 pm // Tip Johnson
Where, oh where, are our federal representatives?6 comments; last on Aug 06, 2010
A letter to the Bellingham City Council
Thu, Aug 05, 2010, 8:28 am // John Servais
We ask why the EIS extension was given to the Chuckanut Ridge developers when the city is negotiating to buy the property.0 comments
City bumbles on Chuckanut Ridge extension
Wed, Aug 04, 2010, 8:12 am // John Servais
Bellingham Planning Department is giving quiet extensions to the Chuckanut Ridge developer - propping up the property value.1 comments; last on Aug 04, 2010
Chuckanut Ridge Development Gets Extension
Mon, Aug 02, 2010, 1:30 pm // John Servais
Bellingham Planning Department gave a three month extension, till Oct 29, to Greenbriar2 comments; last on Aug 02, 2010
John Powers death, in the words of a friend
Sat, Jul 31, 2010, 9:29 pm // John Servais
John Powers died yesterday. Ted expresses his remembrance.0 comments
Raising a Village: Can the Bellingham Cooperative School be saved?
Fri, Jul 30, 2010, 10:54 am // Kamalla Rose Kaur
Mourning the loss of a valuable community asset
2 comments; last on Aug 01, 2010
The Way I See It - Mud resurrected
Wed, Jul 28, 2010, 4:39 am // Ham Hayes
It is time we gave “mud” back its good name.
0 comments
The Way I See It - En Garde
Wed, Jul 21, 2010, 4:42 am // Ham Hayes
“We have lots of robberies.” As I reported last week, that was the apocalyptic statement by the investigating officer to our recent plight in St.…0 comments
Greed: The Shadowy So-called Non-profit Taecan
Mon, Jul 19, 2010, 11:53 am // Tip Johnson
For-Profit Non-Profits - Pulling the Plug on Services0 comments
The Forsaken Constituents of Lummi Island
Mon, Jul 19, 2010, 11:20 am // Tip Johnson
Taxation without representation3 comments; last on Jul 28, 2010
Libraries are still very valuable
Fri, Jul 16, 2010, 8:18 pm // John Servais
The New Spice Man tells us why libraries are useful and valuable. This applies to all libraries.0 comments
Three Port Executive Finalists Withdraw
Fri, Jul 16, 2010, 1:30 pm // John Servais
In a surprise development, the Port of Bellingham is starting over again in their search for an executive director. Position now vacant for over a…1 comments; last on Jul 18, 2010
Book Review: Whole Earth Discipline
Fri, Jul 16, 2010, 4:44 am // Guest writer
Eric Hirst reviews this October 2009 book by Stewart Brand of Whole Earth Catalog fame. Stewart is critical of several mainstream environmental stances.
1 comments; last on Jul 19, 2010
NwCitizen 1995 to 2008
Early Northwest CitizenNew
Citizen TedSkookum.us
WikiLeaks.org
Current Interest
Auditor election pageSkookum.us
WA State Elections
Local
Bellingham HeraldBham Politics & Economics
Bob Sanders
Carl Weimer
Cascadia Weekly
Citizen Ted
Ferndale R-J
Foothills Gazette
John Watts
KGMI
Latte Republic
Lynden Tribune
Mainstreampolitics
Northern Light
Northwest Review
Sam Taylor
Skookum.us
Twilight Zoning
Wally Wonders
Washington Outsiders
Western Front - WWU
Whatcom Watch
Local causes
Bham CofC political blogChuckanut Mountains
Citizens of Bellingham
City Club of Bham
Conservation NW
Cordata & Meridian
Futurewise - Whatcom
Lake Whatcom
N. Cascades Audubon
N. Sound Conservancy
Neighborhood Schools Coalition
No Leaky Buckets
NW Holocaust Center
RE Sources
Skookum.us
Transition Whatcom
WA Conservation Voters
Local Leisure
Adventures NWEntertainment NNW
Climate & Weather
Climate AuditWatts Up With That?
Weather by Cliff Mass
Cascadia
Crosscut SeattleJoel Connelly
Orcinus
Portland Indy Media
Seattle Indy Media
Washington Votes
Leisure
Am Cup - GGYC viewAm Cup legal fight
Worth checking out
Al-Jazeera onlineAlaska Dispatch
AlterNet.org
Antiwar.com
Arab News
Asia Times
Atlantic, The
Buzz Flash
Common Dreams
counterpunch
Daily Beast, The
Daily Kos
Daily Mirror
Drudge Report
FiveThirtyEight
Foreign Policy in Focus
Guardian Unlimited
Gulf News
Haaretz
Huffington Post
Innocence Project, The
Intrnational Herald Tribune
James Fallows
Jerusalem Post
Juan Cole
Le Diplo
Media Matters
Middle East Times
MoveOn.org
Nation, The
New American Century
News Trust
NMFA
numbers
Online Journal
Palestine Daily
Palestine News
Personal bio info
Politico
Progressive Review
Project Vote Smart
Reuters
Sea Shepherd
Slate
Talking Points Memo
The Onion
Tom Paine.com
truthout
War and Piece
WikiLeaks.org
ynetnews.com
Governments
Auditor election pageBellingham
Bham - PFD
Skagit County
The White House
WA State Access
WA State Elections
WA State Legislature
Whatcom Auditor
Whatcom County
Other - for whatever
BushFlash.comChickehhawks
Doonesbury
George Bush
Info Clearing House
Michael Moore
Reality News
The Crisis Papers
Third World Traveler
Unity08
Election 2009
- Candidate Forum - video- Mike McAuley endorsement
Bham #6 - Catherine Chambers
Bham #6 - Michael Lilliquist
Bham At Large - Orphalee
Bham At Large - Seth
County #1 - Dan McShane
County #1 - Kathy Kershner
County #2 - Ken Mann
County #2 - Mary B Teigrob
County #3 - Carl Weimer
County #3 - Michelle Luke
County At Large - Bill
County At Large - Laurie
Port #1 - John Blethen
Port #1 - Scott Walker
Port #2 - Doug Smith
Port #2 - Mike McAuley
2010 Winter Olympics
Amy Goodman InterrogationNo 2010 Olympics
No women ski jumpers
Olympics muzzle free speech
Olympics Resistance Network
Page of Links
Spectacle Vancouver
Zirin on Olympics
Less active
Eye on WhatcomPost-Oklahoman Confessions
The American Telegraph
Quiet, offline or dead
David HackworthGitmo prisoner 345
Mega Awesome
Not in my county
Parkenfarker
Pro-Whatcom