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STUDENT MOVEMENT, SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY 

of capitalism and racism in this country. For they began to systematically suppress these struggles. In 1968 four Blacks were murdered at South Carolina State in Orangeburg. At North Carolina A.& T. in 1969 another Black student was murdered in a struggle to transform that institution. Jackson State followed in 1970 where two students were murdered. It is important to note that all the murders took place at land-grant colleges. These colleges which had spear-headed both the Civil Rights and "Black Power" Movements have over 50,000 students in them today. The majority of these students come from working-class backgrounds. As a matter of fact 37.4% come from families making less than $4,000 a year. Increasingly linking their struggle with that of Black workers, the unemployed, and welfare mothers, students' struggles at Black colleges are also becoming increasingly anti-establishment.

Black students are coming in conflict with the state in another way. Black schools suffer from unequal appropriations, both from the state and the federal government. For example during fiscal year 1970 the state appropriations to white and black land-grant colleges were $1,585 and $1,180 per student respectively. In 1971 it was $1,763 per white student and $1,260 for blacks. Federal grants were no better. Between fiscal years 1966-1970 the grants from the Federal government actually dropped by six percent. Thus when Blacks at these schools struggle for better facilities, more appropriations, or the removal of a feudal-like president, they are locking horns with the political and economic forces that seek to maintain the national and social oppression of Black people. The struggle at Southern is such a struggle.

As mentioned earlier, the Southern University system is one of the last strongholds of the feudally run universities. Headed by Dr. G. Leon Netterville, the system includes three campuses. The main campus is in Baton Rouge with over 8,000 students, the New Orlean (SUNO) campus has close to 2,000 and the Shreveport campus has nearly 1,500 students. Vice-Presidents control the day-to-day operations of the three campuses while Dr. Netterville supervises the overall system. However, an all-white State Board of Education exercises final authority over the Southern system as well as the other all Black state college, Grambling. The State Board of Education, however, doesn't exercise control over the predominantly white Louisiana State University which has its own board. 

Characteristic of a feudal lord, Dr. Netterville runs the system dictatorially. As President of the system, Netterville is located in Baton Rouge, and from here he supervises the entire Southern University

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---------- Reopened for Editing 2024-02-21 09:33:37