Tippett, who like Muste had moved away from a commitment to broad educational goals and toward a concept of Brookwood as a strike organizer training center for a nascent labor party and industrial union center. Muste offered a resolution to have Brookwood begin training a "revolutionary vanguard", but the board rejected the measure 15 to 4. The board then passed a resolution asking Muste to stay on as director, but only if he resigned as head of the CPLA. Muste refused, and both he and Tippett resigned on March 5, 1933. Muste's resignation nearly crippled Brookwood. Six administrators and 19 of the school's current class of 28 students walked out as well. (Another source says there were just 23 students.) This constituted most of the administrative staff, and nearly all the student body. Among the students who walked out were all three of the school's African American students. They were angry at Starr's role in the opposing Muste, and upset at losing Muste (who adamantly opposed racial discrimination). The board appointed J. C. Kennedy as the school's acting director while they searched for a permanent replacement for Muste. This appointment was criticized by many white and black students because Kennedy believed that African Americans must improve their economic status before being accepted as equals by whites or being accepted in white-only unions. In an era of rampant discrimination against blacks, this seemed position seemed senseless to African Americans. Brookwood reopened on March 8 with just nine students. On June 5, 1933, the Brookwood board of directors appointed Tucker P. Smith the new director of Brookwood Labor College. Smith said he would refocus Brookwood on education, with a particular emphasis on semi-skilled and unskilled workers and the unemployed. He also said Brookwood would return to a full educational program, which would involve not only resident training but also field activities, Chautauquas, summer institutes, and publications. Closure of Brookwood Brookwood stayed open four years after Muste departed. In many ways, the school returned to normal. There were 104 applications for admission in the fall of 1933, of which just 35 were accepted. These students came from 13 states and four countries, and represented 22 industries. Twenty-nine students graduated in April 1934. Brookwood enrolled a class of 32 for the 1934–1935 school year. The school also had more than 200 enrolled in its adult education courses in economics and public speaking in New