Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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VU K VOL LXWV NO. 68 - UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CA ROLINA, COLUMBIA. S.C. 29208 Jul7 11, 197 By Lynne Perri Gamecock Staff Writer Twelve years ago Southern born and raised Thomas F. Jones, his wife, Mary, their five children, a cat and a dog piled into their 1958 "Pink Peril" Cadillac and a Karmann Ghia and drove from Lafayette, In diana to their new home on the University of South Carolina campus. This new home, located on the Horseshoe at USC, was called "the big house" by Mary Jones; students and faculty knew it as the president's mansion. The family arrived in Columbia in the summer of 1962 after Jones left his position as head of the School of Electrical Engin neering at Purdue University to become USC's 23rd president. In July 1962, he said, "My job here is to do everything possible to develop higher education in the state through the University of South Carolina ." He continued by outlining his goals. His educational emphasis was increasing graduate and research programs. Ad ministratively, he stressed the need to secure more funds for USC in order to hire more professors, raise their salaries and expand the campus physically. "I think it was a little harder to get money out of the legislature at first," Jones said. "The first couple of years were pretty grim that way. But after that it came along fine." By the end of his first summer, Jones was faced with the proposal of building a two-year medical school at USC. But in August he said the facts of available money and study course excellence had to come first. He said he was an opponent of unnecessary duplication of course offerings among state supported schools. "Foard seei due process ThoJi By the middle of his twelfth political, academic, admin frontations. Meanwhile, enrollment at USC was up as students across the country were urged to attend college. "War babies" were now 18; education was a sought after, fought-for goal. The 8,000 students on six campuses were "very, very proper," Jones said. "In the early 1960's the dress of students was very much prescribed by the norms of students. Goodness gracious, you had to wear a raincoat over slacks. There was a rule like that. It got laughed off the campus in time. But it was very serious." And, in order to encourage serious studying as well as serious fashion, freshmen were not permitted to have cars. But such restrictions did not work with everyone. In March 1968, six USC students were arrested on drug charges. Jones told the students and the community that the University would not tolerate such unlawfulness. He did not, however, want the Columbia police to become involved. He ned to want to throw the students We didn't buy it... year, Jones had weathered strative, and social con said there was "no need for a full scale investigation" of the use of marijuana. Jones said the drug issue was an important one to the students, especially with regard to their rights. He said students were concerned about the rules of search and seizure. "We do a drug survey every couple of years to look at the patterns and it shows that it is pretty stable and it fits into the patterns of the graduating high school seniors," he siad. "The incoming freshmen had almost the same usage as the continuing students. This identified the problem as social rather than one of institutions. It's everybody's problem." Less than two months later, in May 1968, Jones found himself dealing not with the drug situation but with an organization called Truth About Civil Turmoil (TACT). This white organization from Orangeburg, South Carolina, demanded Jones' resignation and charged the ISOL out without rears University with financing Negro agitators by providing them with USC autos and gasoline. The group, which used a USC automobile and gasoline, was the Association of Afro-American students who were attending a conference in Mississippi. Student fees paid for their trip. Jones said no taxpayer money was involved. But George Malcolm, chair man of TACT, and his fellow members, refused to remain silent. They also called for the resignation of Charles Witten, Vice President and Dean for Student Activities. In an effort to end the conflict, USC policy was changed. From then on, students who wished to travel on any trip in a USC vehicle outside a 12-mile radius would have to be accompanied by a member of the faculty, staff or athletic department. It was the faculty, which in October 1968, gave Jones a new test. Headed by Dr. Richard L. Walker, the Institute. of In ternational Studies prepared a syllabus on democracy and communism." Board of Trustee member, Hugh O. Hanna, of Hampton condemned the syllabus and called for the firing of the professors who prepared it. But Dr. Jones felt that firing the , professors would be questioning academic freedom at Carolina. In April 1970, students questioned the stifling of their personal freedom, not their academic freedom, when they protested against law officers arresting students on narcotics charges. Student protestors said some of the arrests and searches were illeeal. As the drug law enforcement problem continued, the University was expanding and the war in Vietnam was ongoing. Jones attributed the cause of campus unrest in May 1970 to the U. S. involvement in Cambodia and the deaths at Kent State. USC campus unrest flared up during a sit-in at the Russell House. Students were arrested when they refused to leave. Students also occupied the ad ministration building and destroyed records and furniture. People were charged with con spiring to destroy state property. Reflecting in July 1974 on the riots of 1970, Jones said, "I think one of the most beautiful things about that terrible era is that for the first time on this campus, students and faculty really came close together. The faculty rallied around the students to comfort them in this very trying time with the guards on the campus." Not only did the faculty support the students, but the Board of Trustees, the faculty, the students and the student senate joined together to support President .Jnnes. However, 5th Circuit Solicitor, John Foard, said Jones should be fired for showing weakness in dealing with student demon strations. Regarding University problems, Foard said, "I am convinced they will never be resolved as long as he (Jones) is president." Jones said, "Foard seemed to want to throw students out without due process. He came to a Board meeting and proposed a scheme of getting out the radicals and drug users. It would not have been due process. We didn't buy it and ever since, he has been mad at me." Mad is an understatement ac cording to Mary Jones. In Sep tember, 1970, she said Foard had "tried every way he knows, ethical and unethical to rid the University of a fine educator." She added that Foard seemed to have a "personal vendetta" against her husband. But pressure from Foard con tinued especially with regard to the drug situation. Columbia's UFO coffeehouse operators were tried and convicted of maintaining a public nuisance after several days of conflicting testimony con cerning drug usage. Please Turn to Page s