Building Taken by Blacks In Dispute With Brandeis

Seventy-five black students seized a Brandeis University building yesterday to protest "racist policies" of the university and demand a "redistribution of power on the campus."

After occupying Ford Hall, which houses the university switchboard, the black students sent university officials a tape recorded message listing ten demands which it termed "non-negotiable."

Black Demands

The demands, in brief, called for the establishment of an independent African studies department administering its own budget, more black students, more black faculty members, more black administrators, more black scholarships, and "expulsion of the white student who shot a black student before the Christmas holidays."

The shooting incident in which a black student was slightly wounded was widely considered to be the spark that set off the trouble. Charges against a white student, however, were dropped by police for lack of sufficient evidence.

In addition to the black students' demands, the black students also asked for "complete amnesty."

Brandeis President Morris B. Abram, out of town at the time of the seizure, flew back to Boston late yesterday. In a press conference last night, shortly after his arrival, he said the university would use "sufficient force to clear the building if necessary."

Abram charged that the students "have acted without prior complaint to the administration and even now refuse all discussions regarding the ten demands which they have made upon the university."

"The lines of communications within Brandeis have always been open and have been blocked only by the force employed by those who have seized the facilities," Abrams said. He went on to defend the university's record in dealing with black programs.

Student council president Eric Yoffie said at an open meeting last night that the demands of the black students had some merit. "The university is dragging its feet," Yoffie said.

The tactics, however, are not supportable, he said. After talking with administration officials, Yoffie said that he feared police action would come "sooner rather than later."

At a special meeting yesterday, the faculty voted 153-18 to "utterly condemn the forcible takeover of the university premises. We demand that the students involved vacate Ford Hall and enter negotiations of any grievance with the university administration."

Five hundred students attended an SDS-sponsored meeting and decided to hold a supporting demonstration early today demanding amnesty for the blacks. Should the university not respond. SDS promised an unobstructive sit-in the administration building opposite Ford Hall.

The black students remained militant. Black student council representative Ricardo Millet said that when the police came to "evict the black students, they would have "to crack heads, and when they start to crack heads, we will fight them.