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Emil L. Rinderspacher newspaper clippings, 1972

SDS New Left Notes Page 2

                                               p. 2
BAN RACISM NOT SDS

RIGHT NOW SDS IS "BANNED" BY ADMINISTRATIONS AT A NUMBER OF SCHOOLS. At Berkeley we led thousands against ROTC. So they outlawed SDS. At Circle Campus (U. of Illinois) they banned SDS for holding "an illegal rally on state land" to support laid-off campus workers. Now, at the U. of Iowa, where SDS just led 650 students against racist Harvard professor Herrnstein, the deans are weeping for poor Richard's right to spew racist filth, and they've banned SDS.

IT SEEMS WHENEVER WE MOVE ON AN ISSUE, they try to stop us. How should we take this? We shouldn't take it lightly. It does make it harder to organize when SDS is banned - there's more harassment, it's hard to get rooms, etc. When they try to ban SDS, we should throw their ban right back in their faces. Build a fight against the ban, involving as many people as possible. And that's pretty much what has been happening. For example, at San Francisco State, the Dean of Student Affairs set up a meeting of the Student Legislature to consider whether SDS is "a positive organization." SDS counter-attacked with leaflets, rallies & a giant banner, & came to the meeting with 40 people. The dean was too scared to even show up! Another example - at U. of Buffolo an arch-reactionary professor named Halstead has gotten several SDS'ers arrested, one barred from campus and is now trying for a second, John Spritzler. SDS has answered this by demanding Halstead be fired. Organizing is going on to back Spritzler at his trial. And the barred-SDS'er is back on campus, defying the ban. A ferocious struggle is being waged at Trade Tech in L.A. against the racist banning of SDS.

SO WE FIGHT BACK. At the same time, we realize that in a way, these attacks are a compliment. These schools push racism. They're centers of all kinds of imperialist research. They shaft campus workers. They're anti-women. When these rotten administrators attack us, is that such a bad thing? It means we're on the right track. When we move, they attack us to protect and justify their own interests. Like keeping ROTC at Berkeley, or spreading racism through Herrnstein or Edward Banfield's [underline]Unheavenly City[/underline] (When they're really hard-up, they turn to the press for stories about "SDS bombings" - although we're 100% against terrorism & always condemned it.)

AS A NATION-WIDE ORGANIZATION, SDS has the [underline]power[/underline] to take on nation-wide issues like the racist offensive in the schools. When your hand is spread out, with each finger apart from the others, it's easy to break. But make a fist out of those five fingers - now it's very hard to break, and it packs quite a punch. It's the same with SDS growing nation-wide, and that's what's got these deans so upset.

A NATION-WIDE ORGANIZATION LIKE SDS is united through struggle. Members can and do exchange ideas all the time. We learn from each other's successes and failures in fighting oppression. For example, there will be a workshop at the convention on fighting racism in the dorms, led by people from Northeastern SDS, where they're doing it. We can all learn from each other's experiences. 

WE KEEP TALKING ABOUT A NAITON-WIDE SDS. Up to now, that's how it's been. But quite a few people should be coming to the SDS convention from other countries - including many foreign students from other countries - including many foreign students studying in the U.S. One of the biggest groups should be from Canada. So perhaps, very soon, SDS will begin to grow on an INTERNATIONAL scale. (If you know any foreign students, here or abroad, who are thinking of attending the convention, at Harvard, March 30 through April 2, please let us know. Just drop a note to the P.O. Box in Boston.)

IT'S EASY TO SEE WHAT SIDE SCHOOLS' administrators are on - when they let Shockley teach, at Stanford, that nature has color-coded humans according to intelligence: the blacker you are, the dumber you are (!!) On the other hand, they hate SDS, and for a "good" reason. Because SDS fights every attempt the trustees make to use the schools for their own gain, & to spread ideas that divide the people. So it isn't surprising that they try to ban SDS. Just like it's not surprising that while the government talks about peace, they drop more bombs on Vietnam.

WE'RE NOT SURPRISED, BUT WE'RE not fooled either. These deans TALK a lot about "freedom of speech" (especially for super-racists) but their actions make clear that what they really want is the freedom to oppress people and spread filthy lies about minority groups. Why should they be surprised when more and more people learn to hate them, and organize to BAN RACISM, NOT SDS.
______________________
______________________

In LA:  SDS FIGHTS BACK
   More than 50 determined members of SDS and friends picketed outside the Los Angeles Junior College board of trustees office on Wed., March 1. We shouted out our demands: 1) No racist texts or teachers; 2) Recognize SDS at LA Trade Tech. No suspensions or expulsions;  3) No EOP cuts;  4) Free Day Care center;  5) No campus police harassment;  6) No non-union lettuce used at any school (support United Farm Workers).

   United, we went inside the board meeting room carrying out demands on signs and we filled that room ready to fight the racist, repressive policies of the Board. Seeing us as a threat, they tried petty restrictions against having placards in the room (alleged fire hazards). This failed. Then they tried to evict students who were standing along the wall or in the doorway. We began chanting: "BAN RACISM, NOT SDS!" The Board members, knowing they had a real fight on their hands, changed their tactics. They put on the 

{photo of woman holding sign reading: FIGHT RACISM come to the SDS NATIONAL CONVENTION MAR.30-APR.2 HARVARD UNIV. in courtroom}
SDS demonstrators stormed the British Consulate in Boston after the Londonderry Massacre. In the fight, Mary Perkins and Ira Helfand were arrested, charged with assault and battery. At the trial, over 100 supporters packed the courtroom. Mary and Ira defended themselves. While they exposed the cops' wild lies (the cops claimed they'd jumped 10 of them, no less), they didn't deny their political ideas. As a story in the BU News put it: "both defended themselves brilliantly, challenging & casting doubt on police testimony...At times it seemed as if the judge, the entire court system, and the police officers were on tril rather than the defendants."  (2/24/72) The trial became an indictment of the British Government as well, for the racist murders of Irish and Rhodesian workers. This was linked to the need for an international anti-racist fight. At one point, Mary held up "Exhibit A" - a poster that read: "COME TO THE SDS NAT'L CONVENTION AGAINST RACISM, MARCH 30 THROUGH APRIL 2." "Did you see this sign," Mary asked the cop on the witness stand, "and hear people talk about building demonstrations like this into a national movement against racism?" The judge turned blue trying to shut up the "defendants" and their witnesses. Despite his threats, he ended up backing down. They ended up with just $60 fines. FIGHT RACISM - BUILD THE CONVENTION!

cloak of superficial liberalism, allowing our people to speak and pretending to listen to our grievances. When one militant black student told them how he was tired of the racist treatment he got in school and how mad he was at the administration for depriving SDS of the right to organize on campus, the chairman said to him, "You are out of order." He shouted back, "You're the ones who are out of order!" and the assembled students clapped their approval. 
   All of the issues raised by our speakers described the many racist practices in the schools, but they were either totally ignored or made fun of. When the board members finally voted on the issue of whether or not SDS would be recognized at Trade Tech., NO was the answer. The students rose to their feet shouting angrily, "RECOGNIZE SDS NOW" and "BAN RACISM, NOT SDS". We left the room and formed a picket line in the hall outside, chanting and marching. The Board recessed in fear, unable to resume their meeting, and turned to their police for help. Without any warning or dispersal order, the cops arrested 3 of our members. We left the building and raised the money to bail them out. However, we announced, "We will return again to the next board meeting with even more students and teachers, until all our demands are met." 

{Text in box: FLASH......from Quebec
French & English speaking students from the U. of Quebec, U. of Montreal, McGill U., Sir George Williams U. & CEGEPS (Junior Colleges) in Montreal have joined together in a movement to support striking workers at Remi Carrier. Full story in next issue of NLN.}

Ban Banfield in Atlanta
SDS at Georgia State U. is leading an attack on racist books taught on campus, especially Banfield's Unheavenly City. In 2 days, over 200 signed a petition to ban racist books. Professors using Banfield's books are being challenged to open debate by other professors who back the SDS attack. This fight is spreading: SDS has held forums on racist education at Emory, Morehouse, and DeKalb Jr. College.

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p. 2 BAN RACISM NOT SDS RIGHT NOW SDS IS "BANNED" BY ADMINISTRATIONS AT A NUMBER OF SCHOOLS. At Berkeley we led thousands against ROTC. So they outlawed SDS. At Circle Campus (U. of Illinois) they banned SDS for holding "an illegal rally on state land" to support laid-off campus workers. Now, at the U. of Iowa, where SDS just led 650 students against racist Harvard professor Herrnstein, the deans are weeping for poor Richard's right to spew racist filth, and they've banned SDS. IT SEEMS WHENEVER WE MOVE ON AN ISSUE, they try to stop us. How should we take this? We shouldn't take it lightly. It does make it harder to organize when SDS is banned - there's more harassment, it's hard to get rooms, etc. When they try to ban SDS, we should throw their ban right back in their faces. Build a fight against the ban, involving as many people as possible. And that's pretty much what has been happening. For example, at San Francisco State, the Dean of Student Affairs set up a meeting of the Student Legislature to consider whether SDS is "a positive organization." SDS counter-attacked with leaflets, rallies & a giant banner, & came to the meeting with 40 people. The dean was too scared to even show up! Another example - at U. of Buffolo an arch-reactionary professor named Halstead has gotten several SDS'ers arrested, one barred from campus and is now trying for a second, John Spritzler. SDS has answered this by demanding Halstead be fired. Organizing is going on to back Spritzler at his trial. And the barred-SDS'er is back on campus, defying the ban. A ferocious struggle is being waged at Trade Tech in L.A. against the racist banning of SDS. SO WE FIGHT BACK. At the same time, we realize that in a way, these attacks are a compliment. These schools push racism. They're centers of all kinds of imperialist research. They shaft campus workers. They're anti-women. When these rotten administrators attack us, is that such a bad thing? It means we're on the right track. When we move, they attack us to protect and justify their own interests. Like keeping ROTC at Berkeley, or spreading racism through Herrnstein or Edward Banfield's [underline]Unheavenly City[/underline] (When they're really hard-up, they turn to the press for stories about "SDS bombings" - although we're 100% against terrorism & always condemned it.) AS A NATION-WIDE ORGANIZATION, SDS has the [underline]power[/underline] to take on nation-wide issues like the racist offensive in the schools. When your hand is spread out, with each finger apart from the others, it's easy to break. But make a fist out of those five fingers - now it's very hard to break, and it packs quite a punch. It's the same with SDS growing nation-wide, and that's what's got these deans so upset. A NATION-WIDE ORGANIZATION LIKE SDS is united through struggle. Members can and do exchange ideas all the time. We learn from each other's successes and failures in fighting oppression. For example, there will be a workshop at the convention on fighting racism in the dorms, led by people from Northeastern SDS, where they're doing it. We can all learn from each other's experiences. WE KEEP TALKING ABOUT A NAITON-WIDE SDS. Up to now, that's how it's been. But quite a few people should be coming to the SDS convention from other countries - including many foreign students from other countries - including many foreign students studying in the U.S. One of the biggest groups should be from Canada. So perhaps, very soon, SDS will begin to grow on an INTERNATIONAL scale. (If you know any foreign students, here or abroad, who are thinking of attending the convention, at Harvard, March 30 through April 2, please let us know. Just drop a note to the P.O. Box in Boston.) IT'S EASY TO SEE WHAT SIDE SCHOOLS' administrators are on - when they let Shockley teach, at Stanford, that nature has color-coded humans according to intelligence: the blacker you are, the dumber you are (!!) On the other hand, they hate SDS, and for a "good" reason. Because SDS fights every attempt the trustees make to use the schools for their own gain, & to spread ideas that divide the people. So it isn't surprising that they try to ban SDS. Just like it's not surprising that while the government talks about peace, they drop more bombs on Vietnam. WE'RE NOT SURPRISED, BUT WE'RE not fooled either. These deans TALK a lot about "freedom of speech" (especially for super-racists) but their actions make clear that what they really want is the freedom to oppress people and spread filthy lies about minority groups. Why should they be surprised when more and more people learn to hate them, and organize to BAN RACISM, NOT SDS. ______________________ ______________________ In LA: SDS FIGHTS BACK More than 50 determined members of SDS and friends picketed outside the Los Angeles Junior College board of trustees office on Wed., March 1. We shouted out our demands: 1) No racist texts or teachers; 2) Recognize SDS at LA Trade Tech. No suspensions or expulsions; 3) No EOP cuts; 4) Free Day Care center; 5) No campus police harassment; 6) No non-union lettuce used at any school (support United Farm Workers). United, we went inside the board meeting room carrying out demands on signs and we filled that room ready to fight the racist, repressive policies of the Board. Seeing us as a threat, they tried petty restrictions against having placards in the room (alleged fire hazards). This failed. Then they tried to evict students who were standing along the wall or in the doorway. We began chanting: "BAN RACISM, NOT SDS!" The Board members, knowing they had a real fight on their hands, changed their tactics. They put on the {photo of woman holding sign reading: FIGHT RACISM come to the SDS NATIONAL CONVENTION MAR.30-APR.2 HARVARD UNIV. in courtroom} SDS demonstrators stormed the British Consulate in Boston after the Londonderry Massacre. In the fight, Mary Perkins and Ira Helfand were arrested, charged with assault and battery. At the trial, over 100 supporters packed the courtroom. Mary and Ira defended themselves. While they exposed the cops' wild lies (the cops claimed they'd jumped 10 of them, no less), they didn't deny their political ideas. As a story in the BU News put it: "both defended themselves brilliantly, challenging & casting doubt on police testimony...At times it seemed as if the judge, the entire court system, and the police officers were on tril rather than the defendants." (2/24/72) The trial became an indictment of the British Government as well, for the racist murders of Irish and Rhodesian workers. This was linked to the need for an international anti-racist fight. At one point, Mary held up "Exhibit A" - a poster that read: "COME TO THE SDS NAT'L CONVENTION AGAINST RACISM, MARCH 30 THROUGH APRIL 2." "Did you see this sign," Mary asked the cop on the witness stand, "and hear people talk about building demonstrations like this into a national movement against racism?" The judge turned blue trying to shut up the "defendants" and their witnesses. Despite his threats, he ended up backing down. They ended up with just $60 fines. FIGHT RACISM - BUILD THE CONVENTION! cloak of superficial liberalism, allowing our people to speak and pretending to listen to our grievances. When one militant black student told them how he was tired of the racist treatment he got in school and how mad he was at the administration for depriving SDS of the right to organize on campus, the chairman said to him, "You are out of order." He shouted back, "You're the ones who are out of order!" and the assembled students clapped their approval. All of the issues raised by our speakers described the many racist practices in the schools, but they were either totally ignored or made fun of. When the board members finally voted on the issue of whether or not SDS would be recognized at Trade Tech., NO was the answer. The students rose to their feet shouting angrily, "RECOGNIZE SDS NOW" and "BAN RACISM, NOT SDS". We left the room and formed a picket line in the hall outside, chanting and marching. The Board recessed in fear, unable to resume their meeting, and turned to their police for help. Without any warning or dispersal order, the cops arrested 3 of our members. We left the building and raised the money to bail them out. However, we announced, "We will return again to the next board meeting with even more students and teachers, until all our demands are met." {Text in box: FLASH......from Quebec French & English speaking students from the U. of Quebec, U. of Montreal, McGill U., Sir George Williams U. & CEGEPS (Junior Colleges) in Montreal have joined together in a movement to support striking workers at Remi Carrier. Full story in next issue of NLN.} Ban Banfield in Atlanta SDS at Georgia State U. is leading an attack on racist books taught on campus, especially Banfield's Unheavenly City. In 2 days, over 200 signed a petition to ban racist books. Professors using Banfield's books are being challenged to open debate by other professors who back the SDS attack. This fight is spreading: SDS has held forums on racist education at Emory, Morehouse, and DeKalb Jr. College.