Black B-School Students Strike, Call HBS 'Racist'

The 90 black students at the Business School have all gone out on strike indefinitely to protest the murder of blacks at Jackson State College and Augusta, Ga, and to point out what they term "psychological atrocities of similar magnitude" at the Business School itself.

The strike began Monday morning when black students picketed the main classroom building, Aldrich Hall and distributed a statement entitled "Murder at Jackson State and Murder at HBS."

The statement charged the Business School with the "application of conscious and subconscious racism" in general and "selective measures" against individual black students.

Racism at the Business School was cited in many areas, including the following:

subjective grading and academic standards "used to control black students";

discriminatory hiring policies;

perpetrating a slanderous image of black MBA candidates.

Specific instances of racism were cited in the cases of two black students who were flunked by the school and denied readmission even though "during their one year leave of absence they made many contributions to the Business School."

In addition, the Publications Board, responsible for selecting concessionaires, was charged with discrimination in voiding the application of two black students who wanted to run the Business School Pub.

Grover Walker, co-chairman of Business School Afro, said "We felt that on the basis of the injustices that we had highlighted, that we should concern ourselves in part with trying to solve some of the problems of racism on the Business School campus."

Roxbury March

Yesterday-Malcolm X's birthday-black students held a solidarity rally at the Business School and then went to Roxbury in the afternoon to participate in a solidarity march. "We indicated at that time to the Roxbury community that we, the black students of the Harvard Business School, were on strike and urged them to manifest support." Walker said.

The full Business School Faculty voted yesterday to allow Afro leaders to meet with the MBA Faculty on Thursday.

Asked about his reaction to the black student strike, Lawrence E. Fouraker, dean of the Business School, said, "I'm concerned. I'm not angry. If you're asking whether the Administration or Faculty is out of control, they're not, that's not my reading. We are interested in talking."

Fouraker said that he is willing to consider the strike a legitimate reason for students to take incompletes on their grades this Spring and make them up in the Fall. "I'm quite prepared to take the initiative and I regard this as a period where this alternative should be available." he said.

With few exceptions, white students roacted with apathy to the strike. Second-year MBA students began taking final exams last Friday. First-year students exams will begin on Saturday.

Two petitions circulated among white students yesterday and got more than 200 signatures combined. The moderate petition called for verbal support of the strike, a meaningful Faculty and Administration response, and no reprisals against striking students.

The stronger petition, signed by at least 50 students, called for a strike of white students to support the Afro strike in order to devote time towards improving Business School attitudes and policies toward blacks.

Robert Barrett, a first-year MBA student, said, "It's my impression that very very few white students are supporting the strike in any real way. I'm sorry it had to happen this time of the year [exam time] because it's hurting their efforts."

At 1 p. m. today. Afro is sponsoring an open meeting in front of Baker Library with Thomas Atkins, Boston's one black City Councillor, as the keynote speaker.

The Business School student association will hold a 2 p. m. mass meeting today to hear two special committees report back on the charges of Business School racism.