The Bust > The Bust
Front page of the Columbia Daily Spectator, April 30, 1968.
To read the entire issue from April 30, 1968 please link to Crisis at Columbia: An Inside Report on the Rebellion From the Pages of the Columbia Daily Spectator.
THE BUST: Tuesday April 30, 1968
2:00 a.m: police, under the operational control of Chief Inspector Sanford Garelick, peacefully removed black students from Hamilton Hall, after entering the building through underground tunnels. Alerted to the imminent police action, the students chose not to resist. The police made 86 arrests.
2:15 a.m.: police entered Low Library through tunnels, removing occupying students. Again, police met no violent resistance, and made 93 arrests.
2:30 a.m.: police entered Avery Hall through the main doors to clear the building of occupying students. The police met moderate resistance, and some students received injuries. The police made 42 arrests.
2:45 a.m.: police entered Fayerweather Hall through the main doors to clear the building of occupying students. There they met scattered resistance inside and outside the building. A number of minior injuries occurred. The police made 268 arrests.
3:00 a.m.: police entered Mathematics Hall, where they faced the strongest student resistance. The clearing of Mathematics resulted in several student and police injuries. The police made 203 arrests.
3:15 a.m.: police on Low Plaza loading arrested students into vans began to charge spectators gathering in South Field. The subsequent stampede resulted in the most significant violence of the night - and the greatest public outcry.
By 4:00 a.m. the police had cleared all five occupied buildings and made 712 arrests. There were 148 reports of injuries.
The Bust, April 30, 1968.
Students being chased by police during the bust, April 30, 1968.
Interior of one of the occupied buildings, perhaps Mathematics, after the police bust.
May 7, 1968 telegram (facsmile) from Grayson Kirk and David Truman to Mr. Edward Robinson of the Strike Coordinating Committee demanding the return of documents stolen from President Kirk's office in 202 Low Library.