Board disciplines 5 black activists

The Law School Administrative Board yesterday disciplined five black students, including the president of the Organization for Black Unity (OBU), for participation in seizures of University Hall.

Philip N. Lee, a third-year student who led two OBU seizures in December, was placed on probationary status until graduation. The Board said "probationary status carries with it the notice that further misconduct of the sort involved in this proceeding will lead to separation from the Law School."

A second-year student, Gregory K. Pilkington, whom the board said participated in all three University Hall disruptions last semester, was suspended for one term.

Pilkington termed the board action "no different in kind, only in degree, from what racist institutions like Harvard have done against black people for hundreds of years."

Another law student who participated in OBU seizures Dec. 5 and 11 was placed on probation with Lee. He also will be on warning status for the following two terms.

The remaining two students, who took part in one OBU seizure, were placed on warning status for one term.

The Board's action was detailed in a 2,000 word report written yesterday in a four-hour session that lasted until nearly 9 p.m.

Faculty discussion of the decisions was deferred until a special meeting Friday.

Pilkington's penalty was most severe because the board found he took part in the Nov. 19 SDS protest in which Dean Ernest May was obstructed, as well as the two OBU seizures.

Students were informed of the board's action in letters hand-delivered last night.

Referring to Pilkington, the report noted:

"The Committee on Rights and Responsibilities reported to the Administrative Board that they (sic) had found that the student not only participated in the obstructive demonstration despite orders to leave but had individually and in concert with others forcibly interfered with the freedom of movement of the Dean..."

The Board said comparable suspensions had been levied against Arts and Sciences students who participated in the Nov. 19 protest.

Dean May originally filed charges against three of the students, including Pilkington. In an independent investigation, William L. Bruce, vice dean of the Law School, found sufficient evidence to charge two more students with participation in the OBU demonstrations.

In two days of hearings last week, Bruce presented the evidence against the students, none of whom appeared at the time.

The Board said the disciplinary action would take effect Friday. It called a special meeting of the faculty for Friday to discuss its findings and said the students would be given the option of voluntarily appearing before the faculty or offering a statement.