30 March 1973
Dr. James S. Ferguson, Chancellor
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Campus
Dear Chancellor Ferguson:
In accordance with your request of 27 March that we determine
facts and offer suggestions with respect to the Student Senate's decision
of that date to reclassify the Neo-Black Society, we have now done
the following things: (1) Listened to tape recordings of the pertinent
parts of the Student Senate meeting of 20 March and to recordings of
all of both the "open" and "executive" Senate sessions of 26-27 March;
(2) heard appeals, rebuttals, and counter-rebuttals from delegations
representing both the Neo-Black Society and the Senate; and (3) interviewed at some length twelve individual witnesses. Two persons invited to appear as witnesses (Miss Karen Davis and Mr. Mark Carpenter)
refused to appear. Miss Charlotte Bennett, who at first agreed to
appear, did not in fact do so.
We have considered the evidence we have obtained, and wish
now to offer our observations, firstly, on the procedural aspects of
the case and, secondly, on the substantive.
Procedural aspects. We feel that the procedure followed by
the Senate was unacceptable in at least two respects:
1. New evidence of a substantial nature was introduced during
the executive session, beyond the scrutiny of the NBS
representatives. That evidence appears to have affected
the subsequent voting. We may note incidentally that we
have been able to investigate, to a degree, some of that
evidence, and we find it to be of doubtful validity.
2. It is the considered judgment of the committee that the
substance of the first set of charges (dated 19 February)
and of the second set of charges (by Mark Carpenter; undated, but presumably of 23 March) is essentially the same.
We therefore question the Senate's decision of 20 March
to exclude an NBS member (Miss Donna Benson) from voting
on the issue, when four Senators (Miss Karen Davis, Miss
Jeanelle Price, Mr. Tim Connoly, and Mr. Doug Harris)
having a close historical connection with the new charges,
as signers of the old, were allowed to vote.
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30 March 1973
Dr. James S. Ferguson, Chancellor
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Campus
Dear Chancellor Ferguson:
In accordance with your request of 27 March that we determine
facts and offer suggestions with respect to the Student Senate's decision
of that date to reclassify the Neo-Black Society, we have now done
the following things: (1) Listened to tape recordings of the pertinent
parts of the Student Senate meeting of 20 March and to recordings of
all of both the "open" and "executive" Senate sessions of 26-27 March;
(2) heard appeals, rebuttals, and counter-rebuttals from delegations
representing both the Neo-Black Society and the Senate; and (3) interviewed at some length twelve individual witnesses. Two persons invited to appear as witnesses (Miss Karen Davis and Mr. Mark Carpenter)
refused to appear. Miss Charlotte Bennett, who at first agreed to
appear, did not in fact do so.
We have considered the evidence we have obtained, and wish
now to offer our observations, firstly, on the procedural aspects of
the case and, secondly, on the substantive.
Procedural aspects. We feel that the procedure followed by
the Senate was unacceptable in at least two respects:
1. New evidence of a substantial nature was introduced during
the executive session, beyond the scrutiny of the NBS
representatives. That evidence appears to have affected
the subsequent voting. We may note incidentally that we
have been able to investigate, to a degree, some of that
evidence, and we find it to be of doubtful validity.
2. It is the considered judgment of the committee that the
substance of the first set of charges (dated 19 February)
and of the second set of charges (by Mark Carpenter; undated, but presumably of 23 March) is essentially the same.
We therefore question the Senate's decision of 20 March
to exclude an NBS member (Miss Donna Benson) from voting
on the issue, when four Senators (Miss Karen Davis, Miss
Jeanelle Price, Mr. Tim Connoly, and Mr. Doug Harris)
having a close historical connection with the new charges,
as signers of the old, were allowed to vote.
