Right From Jump Street

Right From Jump Street is the
title name that I used for my opinion/
commentary articles as a co-editor of
Lookout newspaper circa 1973-76(or 77)
at Boston State College(BSC). We were a
'Collective' :-)

BSC was a college and primarily for working
class students...no dorms...just commute.

In addition, after National Guard troops opened
fire on Kent State(Ohio) students (killing four and
wounding nine) who were protesting the invasion of
Cambodia BSC had a noble distinction of being one of
only four (4) colleges and universities in America to
vote to expel the Reserve Officers' Training Corps(ROTC)
from the campus.

But, it was only the fall of 1973 that the student newspaper
'Outlook' finally caame out against the Viet Nam war...1973!!!

It was promptly closed and we Mark, Bonnie, Jim, Leslie, Lou, Tom,
Chuck(Charlene), Neil(photographer)Debbie,and a revolving cast of
characters like myself (who called themsleves either revolutionaries
or radicals) joined together with John a former editor of 'Outlook' to
form 'Lookout' a new campus newspaper. We are indebted to Tom's desire
to get a newspaper out, and he was big enough to put that concern above
political differences.

The school immediately threatened us with expulsion for passing out
an 'unsanctioned' newspaper. John and I (I think-definitely John)
went to the ACLU, and the school backed off...and we had a good
run printing an anti-imperialist paper(much to the horror of the
administration that had closed the other paper. We had great
graphics from Liberation News Service (LNS)...
and put our own mark all over that paper.

No computers...type writers and the layout was done by hand.
I wasn't the best at that.

BSC was a good ground for anti-war, anti-Apartheid and other
protests. It made going to school a pleasure for this ex-marine
looking to get involved.

Many have never heard of another massacre of students
'The Jackson State killings' that occurred on the campus of
Jackson State College, Jackson, Mississippi. JSC was primarily
an African American college and the city and state police fired
upon unarmed students protesting the war and racial discrimination
and harassment killing two(2) and wounding twelve(12).
This received less coverage than the Kent State shootings.

At the time of the Kent State shootings I had one week (exactly 7 days)
left in the Marine Corps...and many, many of us were not going to obey
any orders to deploy on the streets of Washington D. C. or anywhere!

Right From Jump Street;-)