HAMPTON UNIVERSITY REPRESSION
Students Not Expelled! …But Fight Not Over
By John Robinson
Hampton University students faced disciplinary hearings on Dec 2, 2005
at 9:00 am in the Student Center cyber lounge. As I arrived I
immediately noticed bands of protesters already picketing right outside
the University. By the time the six other students and I met with the
parents and lawyers in front of the room that the hearing was to be
held, there were already over 20 student supporters standing right
outside the door.
As we made last minute preparations to our cases, students continued to
pour into the student center. At about 9:20 the parents, character
witnesses, students, and administrators began to enter the room. After
everyone was seated, the Dean of Men and Dean of Women outlined the
rules of the hearing for everyone in attendance. They told everyone
that the only question-asking would be done by the administration.
Students did not have the ability to question the shabby evidence
presented against them and instead had to rely on the word of the
campus detective relating to what was actually on the video footage.
The administrators then decided to sequester the seven students and
question them individually. They allowed only the pre-selected family,
lawyers, and character witnesses to come in the students. Even though
the notice sent to students suggested they would have an opportunity to
present a case, the hearing amounted to not much more than a formal
interrogation. Shortly after the hearing had commenced it became
abundantly clear that Hampton University was no longer in control. As
was mentioned before, the Administration’s case was extremely weak. The
administrators seemed nervous as they listened to the chief lieutenant
clumsily describe the one piece of footage that he had an opportunity
to view and that he elected not to present. But things only got worse
from there for the Administration as the lawyers exposed the unfairness
of the Administrative Hearing process itself. Also the parents were in
strongly in support of their children and nearly every one lashed out
at the administration at some point. The parents made good points about
the procedural injustices inherent in Hampton’s administrative
hearings.
As discontent among the parents continued to mount, more and more
students stood in front of the door wearing paraphernalia that
blatantly revealed that they were in support of the student activists,
and more people grabbed pickets and duck tape and joined the free
speech demonstration. The administrators seemed flustered and nervous
as they had to continually defend the legitimacy of their Kangaroo
Court. It was so obvious that Hampton was a lot more accustomed to
handling things in ways that were unapologetically authoritarian and
not subject to many of the rules we take for granted. They were not
used to the “checks and balances” that the people themselves imposed on
Hampton. This caused the proceedings to degenerate to a series of
dramatic power trips. The students watching the hearing through the
glass witnessed the Dean of Students, who was supposed to have no part
in the hearing, angrily march from his seat in the back to the front of
the room and threaten to throw out a professor who spoke as a character
witness for the students. The administrative panel also threw one of
the student’s father out of the hearing, and threatened to throw out
another students mother and one of the lawyers. The administrator were
incredibly rude to students and parents alike, instinctively telling
them to “shut up” and threatening to dismiss them. Meanwhile, outside
the hearing, the police carried out the authoritarian practices of the
school on the student supporters. There were police EVERYWHERE and they
confiscated the posters and filmed students with reckless abandon. A
student DJ who supports the activists attempted to play music in the
student center, which happens everyday, and he was promptly stopped by
a university official fearing the music would further embolden the
students. At the beginning of the hearing we were told that we would
not receive verdicts today and we should expect them in the next 2-3
days. However after the strong show of support by the students and
community, the university decided to have the verdict ready mere hours
after the hearing had finished. The students were not expelled. To save
face, the university imposed 20 hours of “community service” on most of
the involved students. This is an illegitimate punishment for
legitimate protest. But it also represents the administration having to
back down from its most draconian threats in the face of opposition.
On December 2, Hampton University looked like I’ve never seen it look
before. The students, it seemed, realized that this was not a fight for
the Hampton seven but a fight for the student body. More importantly
they realized that they themselves could fight to make Hampton and the
world a better place. Students, who only days ago wouldn’t sign a
petition because they feared harsh repercussion, now boldly stood in
the defense of the activists against campus police. Teachers who were
previously silenced by the privacy obligations of the school now spoke
to their students in class and urged them to become involved. Black
students from other schools became more involved in the antiwar
struggle at their own schools. The students at Hampton for the first
time saw someone stand up against the university and they saw the
university do all it could to back down. At the end of the hearing, the
Dean of Men could not restrain himself from questioning me about the
article “Corporate Plantation”. Before I had a chance to answer the
Dean of Students interjected that it was not appropriate. I have no
doubt that if the school was not being so closely watched, that line of
questioning would have went much further. But the student movement
showed its strength and resilience. The students at Hampton greatly
appreciate the many people who joined with them in this struggle
against this repressive administration. We showed them something they
had not saw in a long time. However the school intends to downplay the
event so the controversy will go away. The atmosphere will probably
become worse after that as they will do all they can to prevent
activists from doing anything especially now that they can identify
several. That means that even though we were victorious in this battle,
the fight goes on. The actions of the administration has made Hampton’s
campus fertile ground for social activism. We must capitalize on that
and demand that our group be recognized and demand a more democratic
atmosphere at Hampton. Black students have infinite potential but the
program of Hampton MUST be counteracted. In recognizing the rising
repression at other schools against students and professors we do
consider this battle in the context of the larger struggle against
empire and war. This fight ultimately got many black students involved
in the student movement, and so long as we are able to organize on the
ground there will be many more. Let us continue our fight and make the
change we know is possible.
JOHN ROBINSON is one of the Hampton students assigned community service
and is the author of “Corporate Plantation: Political Repression and
the Hampton Model.” Contact him and the other students at
hamptonsolidarity@yahoo.com
For ongoing updates of the Hampton case – and another case of
university administrators threatening expulsion for peaceful protest,
at UW-Madison – see http://www.campusantiwar.net