Zanders v. Louisiana State Board of Education

• Citation: 281 F. Supp. 747
• Decision Date: 08 March 1968
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 13427.
• Parties: Willie M. ZANDERS et al. v. LOUISIANA STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION and Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones, in his capacity as President of Grambling College of Louisiana.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Louisiana

281 F. Supp. 747

Willie M. ZANDERS et al. v. LOUISIANA STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION and Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones, in his capacity as President of Grambling College of Louisiana.

Civ. A. No. 13427.

United States District Court W. D. Louisiana, Monroe Division.

March 8, 1968.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Richard B. Sobol, Donald Juneau, and Robert P. Roberts, New Orleans, La., Paul H. Kidd, Ruston, La., Collins, Douglas & Elie, New Orleans, La., for plaintiffs.

Jack P. F. Gremillion, Atty. Gen. of Louisiana, Thomas W. McFerrin, Asst. Atty. Gen., Baton Rouge, La., Robert U. Goodman, Asst. Atty. Gen., Shreveport, La., for defendants.

BEN C. DAWKINS, Jr., Chief Judge.

RULING

Unlike the great majority of civil rights controversies, this one, oddly enough, basically and exclusively involves a clash among members of the Negro race.

Except that the members of the Louisiana State Board of Education, all white, who reviewed the case in a full trial de novo, there were no racial overtones presented. From all that appears in the Record, the Board "leaned over backward" in hearing and deciding the case. As hereinafter noted, plaintiffs' counsel, an experienced expert in the field involved, conceded that the Board, having ultimate authority in the premises, acted entirely upon a fair and impartial basis.

Plaintiffs, twenty-six of some twenty-nine students who were expelled from Grambling College, a Negro educational institution of higher learning, established by the Louisiana Legislature in 1928 (See LSA-R.S. 17:10, Reporter's Notes, p. 165), located in North Louisiana, brought this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and 28 U.S.C. § 2201.¹ They sought declaratory and injunctive relief to redress alleged violations of their rights secured by the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.

In addition to a prayer for declaration of their rights, plaintiffs sought a temporary restraining order, as well as a preliminary and permanent injunction, reinstating them in good standing with Grambling College.

Our jurisdiction is based upon 28 U. S.C. §§ 1331(a), 1343(3).² For a full understanding and specific clarification, the whole background upon which this litigation rests must be set forth in substantial detail.

I. BACKGROUND

A. During the month of October, 1967, a relative handful of students, (a fractional portion of the approximately 4,000 plus enrolled), who were highly critical of the Grambling College administration, for reasons which are dubious, to say the least (Tr. 47, et seq.), began various cataclysmic demonstrations on the campus. The asserted basis of their complaints, said by them to be the stimulus for these demonstrations, was that the College Administration had placed overemphasis on athletics while grossly neglecting the academic growth and improvement of the institution.³

Wednesday, October 25, 1967, at the instigation of most of the plaintiffs, the series of demonstrations began which allegedly were organized to make the College Administration keenly aware of these students' complaints. It is uncontroverted that these demonstrations, as well as certain scurrilous circulars issued after they were expelled, were the work product of a student group known as the "Informers." Almost all plaintiffs in this action were members of that group or were working in active concert with them, and admitted being "leaders" in the campus disruptions which occurred then and thereafter.

On that first day, Wednesday, the demonstrations took the form of marches by one hundred to one hundred-fifty students or more, through classroom buildings, with chanting, clapping, shouting, stomping and obscenities being carried on by the marchers. This shortly followed a campus "sit-down," which drew few supporters from the student body as a whole. Their admitted purpose was to disrupt classes and gain additional numbers to voice dissatisfaction with allegedly unscholarly conditions at Grambling. Similar incidents occurred in various dormitories on the campus, as well as outside the Library. All students in classes actively were urged to boycott attendance.

While the exact number of students actually involved in these activities was subject to greatly varying estimates, the ultimate effect of the demonstrations was effectively to curtail teaching and administrative activities at the College, as more fully will be pointed out below.

Because it was Homecoming Week at Grambling College, many alumni, parents and friends were scheduled to visit the campus on Saturday. Thus, apparently this particular week was chosen for demonstrations in the name of "academic excellence" to inform outsiders of the widespread "discontent" of students at the College.

Wednesday night many students gathered in the auditorium for a meeting. A number of women students ignored established curfew hours for dormitory residence and remained in the auditorium all night. Although they had no curfew, men students acted in the same fashion.

The demonstrations took on a new element Thursday, October 26. Prior to opening of the Administration Building Thursday morning, hundreds of students, following the "leadership" of the Informers, sealed the building off by blocking all entrances through sheer force of numbers, thus denying Administration officials entrance to the building and thoroughly paralyzing the College's activities. Besides housing the administrative offices charged with operating the daily affairs of the College, the Administration Building contained a number of classrooms as well. Thus classes scheduled in that building were completely inoperative.

Various officials attempted to enter the building but were repeatedly met by a refusal not only in terms of physical force, but also by shouting and songs to the effect that no official was going to turn them the demonstrators away. When Dr. R. W. E. Jones, President of the College, arrived, he received a similar welcome and also was presented a list of "mandates" which contained the alleged reasons for the student demonstrations.

B. Realizing that normal activities of the College had been seriously halted or totally obliterated by the blocking of the Administration Building, College Officials called for an assembly of interested students in the Auditorium Thursday morning. At this meeting, President Jones urged an end to the blockade and requested that students return to their normal activities at the school. Upon conclusion of this convocation, the Administration asked that the demonstration "leaders" meet with the school officials at 1:00 that afternoon.

At that time the Interdepartmental Council of the College met with a group of students who had responded to the request for "leaders" to attend. Mr. Willie Zanders, the lead plaintiff in this action and at that time President of the Grambling College Student Council, acted as spokesman for the students. Notes taken at this meeting⁴ reveal that several persons, faculty and students alike, voiced complaints and suggested remedies. Proposals for orderly consideration of student grievances were rejected. Instead, Mr. Zanders demanded a meeting of the entire student body and members of the Faculty. He proposed that at this time the faculty and staff, accused in the "mandate" handed to President Jones, be allowed to defend themselves. Zanders further declared that the Administration Building positively would not be reopened until action was taken on the "mandates" handed to President Jones that morning. All other "leaders" present with him tacitly condoned this.

Thursday evening the demonstrations continued with speeches in the Auditorium, which now had been sealed off completely to "outsiders." Many students again slept the entire night in the Auditorium and also in the square outside the Administration Building.

Friday, October 27, brought little change except that students also blocked the Education Building, further preventing classroom attendance. No progress was made toward restoring the school to proper operation.⁵

Saturday and Sunday apparently went by without serious incident, after a unit of the State National Guard was called forth by the Governor, and bivouacked a few miles away, and a substantial number of Negro sheriff's deputies from throughout the State took up stations on the College campus. Saturday was Homecoming Day and Sunday was relatively quiet, as admitted by all parties.

However, Monday morning, October 30, the marches were resumed in various buildings on campus and general disruption began again. At this point, the Administration decided to let the Interdepartmental Council consider what action should be taken to restore order. Later that day the Council announced that some twenty-nine students, including the twenty-six plaintiffs herein, involved in the demonstrations, had been expelled. Those expelled were not notified of the disciplinary charges against them nor were they given a chance to present their individual defenses to the Council at the hearing held by that body.

C. November 16, 1967, eighteen of the plaintiffs named in the present action filed a complaint⁶ in this Court alleging that their expulsions were violative of their rights, secured by the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, as interpreted in Dixon v. Alabama.⁷ Dixon required that, prior to expulsion from an institution supported by public funds, a student was entitled to be notified of the charges against him and also was entitled to a "fair" and "reasonable" hearing on those charges. That same day, after finding that the mandates of Dixon v. Alabama had been completely ignored and that plaintiffs would be subjected to immediate and irreparable injury, if expelled under those conditions, without notice or hearing, we granted ex parte plaintiffs' application for a temporary Restraining Order immediately reinstating them in good standing with the College. The Order preserved the right of the College to take further...