Title: COLUMBIA STUDENTS TO END ANTI-APARTHEID PROTEST - The New York Times
Headings: COLUMBIA STUDENTS TO END ANTI-APARTHEID PROTEST
COLUMBIA STUDENTS TO END ANTI-APARTHEID PROTEST
By Larry Rohter
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Content: If they do not, then we'll have to decide what to do.'' Mr. Townsend said that the students had reached their plan to end the protest ''before we knew what decision'' Justice Sherman would announce. But Mr. Townsend also acknowledged that the demonstrators had expected the court to rule against them. Safety Is Judge's Main Concern
He said the students recognized that ''the demonstration cannot continue with a corridor,'' and had decided it made more sense to take a different approach, one that remains to be determined. About 150 student demonstrators have blocked the entrance to Hamilton Hall since April 4, demanding that Columbia rid itself of $32.5 million in indirect investments in South Africa because of apartheid. They argued in court that their action constituted ''symbolic speech,'' and was thus protected by the First Amendment. Judge Sherman, however, ruled that these considerations had to give way to the more basic concern for the safety hazard that he said the demonstration presented. '' While the evil policy of apartheid is an affront to human rights, the narrow issue here is one of public safety,'' he said. The First Amendment, he added, ''does not permit the padlocking of a building which could result in endangering innocent lives.'' The judge's ruling came after more than a week of negotiations under his supervision between lawyers for the university and the students.