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STEPHEN DONADIO
Administration than by the students . . . OK, we are against the
Administration's law and order - as they, I assume, would be against
ours were we
in
power. As to "a tiny minority imposing its will
upon," etc., again the facts have been distorted.
J.
Edgar Hoover
used to say that any figures on the number of Communists around
should be multiplied by a hundred. Doesn't Grayson Kirk respect
Hoover anymore? SDS had only about 70 members, but membership
means very little in those circles, and in any case it was proven that
several thousand students rallied to the cause at Columbia. The
Counter-Commencement, for which SDS got the credit in the Left as
well as the Right press (they confirm each others' lies ) , was organ–
ized in
toto
by Students for a Restructured University, a group which
is rather unfriendly to SDS - but is still fundamentally opposed to
the Administration. (Several thousand people attended.) Would you
repeat your question about ramifications again?
INTERVIEWER:
Do you think that the ramifications of what has hap–
pened at Columbia will be positive in the long run?
BENTLEY:
Yes, well, some of my colleagues are saying : what happened
was terrible, but we will turn it to account, and create a positive out–
come, in that NOTHING LIKE THAT MUST EVER BE ALLOW–
ED TO HAPPEN AGAIN. I am trying to define a very different
position. First, I think the outcome will be negative if we don't look
sharp. Second, though I think it can be positive, I would not regard
a return to what was as positive at all. A positive outcome means not
only a better university but - in some degree at least - another
kind
of university.
Mark Rudd and Lewis Cole
INTERVIEWER:
Do you regard the conflict at Columbia as essentially a
conflict between students and Administration?
Runn:
I'd say it's a lot more complex. You start with the Administra–
tion as the basic antagonist, representing the status quo. On the other
side you have a core of students, and mostly only students, who stand
for progressive change-for historical progress. The mass of students
joins in at one point or another, either earlier or later. The faculty–
to show how complex the picture becomes-joins with the Administra–
tion by and large, so at that point you're not sure whether you're
fighting the Administration or the faculty
and
the Administration.
COLE:
Well, objectively what the faculty does might be more helpful
Mark Rudd, Chairman of the Columbia University chapter of Students
for a Democratic Society, was until recently a junior in Columbia College.
Lewis Cole is one point shy of graduating from Columbia College be–
cause he flunked the swimming requirement. He is an active member of
Columbia SDS.
