Black Student Union Walk-Out of 1969
1960s, in October of 1968, fifty-five OSU students established the Black
Student Union (BSU) with the mission to give African American students a
united voice regarding their educational experiences and needs. (1) Just a few
short months later, a controversy involving an African American student
athlete sparked the newly formed organization into action. As a result, the
BSU walk-out of 1969 forever changed race relations on campus.
The controversy began on February 22, 1969, when head football coach Dee
Andros told Fred Milton, a linebacker on the team, he needed to comply with
the team’s no facial hair policy and shave his “Van Dyke” mustache and beard.
Andros threatened Milton that if he did not comply within 48 hours, he would
be expelled from the team, which also meant that his athletic scholarship
would be revoked. Milton refused because it was the team’s off season, while
Andros felt that as coach he should have authority over his players year-round.
(2) It was then that the BSU took on the cause to support Milton.
Over the course of the next three weeks, the BSU organized a sit-in and a
class boycott, led a walk-out, and created an underground newspaper. The
peaceful protesting began on February 25th when the BSU staged a sit-in and
took control of a centennial lecture to make their statement. In the next few
days OSU President James H. Jensen attempted a reconciliation, but on March
1st the BSU issued a statement declaring they would stand firm in their cause
of ensuring the rights of the African American students. On March 4th, with
support from hundreds of students and numerous faculty and staff, the class
boycotts began. On March 5th, forty seven BSU students walked through the
campus main gate and out of campus. (3) In opposition to the BSU’s cause,
several thousand students gathered in support of Andros and when the BSU
felt that the Daily Barometer began to favor the Administration’s perspective,
the students created their own newspaper, The Scab Sheet, to give voice to their
concerns and perspectives. (4)
Unfortunately, as a result of the controversy, several African American
students, including Milton, transferred to other universities. However, the
BSU’s actions were not in vain; within the next few years OSU established the
Educational Opportunities Program specifically designed to support students
of color, and three cultural centers were established for minority groups
on campus to build their own communities and educate the broader OSU
community about their cultural heritages and histories. (5) The BSU students’
actions symbolized the determination of students of color in their pursuit of
equality and justice, and decades later OSU students are still benefiting from
the changes initiated because of their actions.
