Word: caucused
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Even for those who agree to speak about the strike, the subject remains sensitive. The term "conservative," for instance, still irritates some former members of the caucus, who claim they were moderates. "There was no such thing as a 'conservative' caucus except in the eyes of those who wanted to tar their colleagues," asserts Arthur Maass, professor of Government and a participant in the meetings. "The only thing that united them (caucus members) was loyalty to the University, not outside forces...
Wilson, a prominent member of the conservative caucus, recalls that the group's aim was not specifically to bolster the University administration. Its objective, he and other participants say, was "to keep the University do-politicized"--an aim that--in view of the political nature of any caucus--even the late Robert G. McClosky, professor of Government and leader of the caucus, admitted was somewhat "paradoxical...
Ernest R. May, professor of History, labels the caucus as "a group of people who had procedural concerns--we got together Faculty members who could decide language of legislation in a group smaller than 500. When legislation was written on the floor of the Faculty meeting, it was ill-considered. We wanted to impose some kind of order...
...April of 1969 the substance of that voting--in one complicated parliamentary form or another--came down to what the Faculty believed was more significant: the students' seizure of University Hall or the police bust. The conservative caucus was split on the bust ("Some of us believe it was unwise. Some of us believe it was unavoidable though regrettable," one of their resolutions read), but all its members agreed that the overriding issue was the SDS's unwarranted seizure of a University building...
...retrospect, members of the caucus still stand by their judgment in the period. "I still think that the seizure was the decisive issue," Wilson says. "It became the dominant radical tactic of the time...