Incident

Incident Description

At a rally on March 11, 1970 the Strike Committee at the University at Buffalo issued an ultimatum to the university administration: "meet the strike demands by 9:00 p.m. the next day or face the outcome of a War Council." The Strike Committee demanded that the Buffalo Police leave campus, unconditional amnesty be given to all protesting students and an end to the ROTC program at UB.

Acting President Regan announced that a phased withdrawal of the Buffalo Police would begin March 17 in response.

1,000-1,500 people attended a nighttime rally on campus the following day. Mixed among the UB students were students from other colleges, high school students and other members of the local community.

The War Council began when the rally convened at Clark Gym. Demonstrators burned a bed sheet painted to resemble the American flag and chanted slogans in support of North Vietnam. Protesters then began to throw rocks, ice and other items at police officers gathered nearby.

The protesters moved from Clark Gym to Hayes Hall where they confronted 200 police who were lined up in front of the building. Both sides jeered at and taunted the other before the protesters moved on to the Themis site.

Protesters threw rocks at windows at the Themis site and were confronted by 75 police officers.

Approximately 1,000 protesters returned to Hayes Hall and again confronted the 200 police officers there. Rocks were thrown by protesters at already broken Hayes Hall windows, showering nearby police with glass. At this point, a number of officers charged the crowd and began to beat protesters, members of the Peace Patrol and non-protesting bystanders.

58 people were injured. Some received treatment from Student Health Services, while others were taken by ambulances to area hospitals. Six people were arrested.

Themis was a research project conducted by faculty from the Department of Physiology and was funded by the Department of Defense.