Trustees Drop Racial Barriers, The Skiff, February 4, 1964
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Title
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Trustees Drop Racial Barriers, The Skiff, February 4, 1964
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Description
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The Skiff, February 4, 1964
Trustees Drop Racial Barriers
Campus Remains Calm with Total Integration
Calmness, perhaps even a feeling of relief prevails on the TCU campus a fortnight after the University's Board of Trustees tore racial barriers from all phases of the school's program.
At most 12 Negro students had enrolled in the Evening College under the new ruling, according to Amos Melton, assistant chancellor, at the close of formal spring registration Jan. 29. No Negroes had entered day school at undergraduates.
Students from Brite Divinity School and Harris College of Nursing already have been attending day classes.
Confirming the prediction of school officials, there was no deluge of Negro enrollment. Upholding expectations, there were no incidents of the type that have marred other institutions and brought shame to their locales.
Dr. Sadler Credited
Much credit for the smooth handling of the integration problem has been directed toward Chancellor M. E. Sadler.
"I've never been prouder of him," Mr. Melton said, speaking of Dr. Sadler's participation in the Jan. 29 Board of Trustees meeting, which 32 of the University's 41 trustees attendend.
The called meeting, lasting two and one half spirited hours, had integration as its sole topic. Clyde Tomlinson of Hillsboro, vice-chairman of the Board, presided in the absence of Chairman Lorin A. Boswell of Fort Worth who was hospitalized.
In a 13-page statement which Mr. Melton terms "a masterpiece of its kind," Dr. Sadler said, "I am convinced that all members of this Board share a common view in one respect - that in the sight of God and the law of our land, all men, all races share equal rights."
Recommendation
He recommended that the Board:
1. Approve, effective Jan. 23, enrollment of students at TCU without reference to race, color, creed or nationality.
2. Charge and trust the Administration with the wise implementation of the new policy.
Acknowledging the less-than-unanimous approval of the recommendation, Mr. Melton commented, "Dr. Sadler's great leadership, patience, understanding and calmness in the face of a tough situation carried the day."
Mr. Melton noted that integration has been a topic of concern for many years, with the past 12 months' activities adding intensity.
Desire Integration
In late spring, 1963, TCU students expressed a desire for integration when polled at an election. Ninety percent of the faculty expressed this same desire when polled last semester.
Student Congress and other campus organizations and departments also have expressed concern in letters to Dr. Saddler.
A look at other determinants reveals that only two Southwest Conference schools - Rice and Arkansas - remain segregated. Mr. Melton explained that all government and many private research grants are provided only to integrated schools. TCU has been urged also by its churches and by local institutions to drop racial bans.
Trustee Succumbs
Clyde Tomlinson, TCU trustee who presided during the board's historic integration decision, was fatally stricken at his Hillsboro home Sunday.
Tomlinson, 67, vice chairman of the board, was a 1916 TCU graduate and, like his father, the late T. E. Tomlinson, was active lifelong in TCU affairs. The elder Tomlinson was president of the board from 1909 to 1917.
Funeral services were scheduled for 2 p.m. today at Central Christian Church, Hillsboro.
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Date
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1964-02-04
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Source
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https://repository.tcu.edu/handle/116099117/14959
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