CRR Declares SDSer Guilty In May Sit-In

The Committee on Rights and Responsibilities, after a marathon six hours of deliberations, found Ellen J. Messing '72-4 guilty last night of charges brought against her by the Administration for her participation in a sit-in at Littauer Center May 10.

In a unanimous decision, the CRR ruled that Messing had violated the Resolution on Rights and Responsibilities, but agreed not to require Messing to withdraw from the University.

Under the procedures outlined in the Resolution. Messing would ordinarily be forced to withdraw from the University. The Resolution states that any student presently under suspension must withdraw if found guilty of a second violation.

Glen W. Bowersock, professor of Greek and Latin and CRR chairman, said that the Committee decided not to impose this ruling because of the "special circumstances" of the case. "Many of the participants (in the sit-in) did not intend for the sit-in to proceed in the way it did," Bowersock said.

Messing is still under suspension from a June 1970 CRR decision. In that case, the CRR forced Messing to withdraw for one year and placed her under suspension for the remainder of her undergraduate years.

Bowersock said last night that although the CRR decided not to punish Messing for her second violation, she will receive a one-year suspension if she attends graduate school at Harvard.

The CRR heard charges against Messing after receiving a complaint from James Q. Wilson, chairman of the Government Department. Wilson claimed that Messing was a member of a group that "broke into and physically occupied" his office.