channels” if we want change, however, having tried, it is now understood that these “channels” change nothing and are very ineffective. We have tried numerous proposals such as opening up council meetings for all students to better communication throughout the VPI student body. Although, just as the results of all the other attempts by going through “legitimate channels” our proposal was struck down. The article also offers a possible solution to prevent future demonstrations from occurring through the creation of a “committee composed of students from various segments of student life at VPI”. The committee would then meet with administrators every month “to air their views” and this would help diminish the feeling of students who believe they are not represented (Evidence 1: Ed Miller, “What caused demonstrations,” April 1970). On April 30th 1970, …show more content…
The news was not taken lightly by student activist at VPI and other universities, therefore, resulting in a call for the strongest protest possible. Then in May of 1970 during a protest at Kent State national guards began to fire on the protesters killing four people. The tragedy spread like wildfire to universities around the nation and at VPI students organized a strike to close the campus. However, radical protesters supported a “hard strike” while moderate protesters supported a “soft strike”. Friday night, the student government passed the proposal for the “soft strike”. The soft strike called for students to “voluntarily strike his classes and ask the university administrators to give credit for those classes he would miss on strike” (Evidence 4:”Strike out?”). On the other hand, the “hard strike” was intended for a complete shutdown of the school for the remainder of the quarterly semester. The proposal for the “soft strike” supported by the Senate and the moderate protesters is one that will lead us nowhere. The whole purpose of implementing a