Ninjapundit
Two Explosions Rock Claremont College (February 25, 1969)
Timothy Peebles, San Francisco State freshman is blown up by his own bomb
Tags: timeline 1969, Timeline 1950 To 2008, School Incidents, bombing, injury, Vietnam war protest, not terrorism, unconnected events, political terrorism
March 5, 1969
Timothy Peebles, San Francisco State freshman, sets off a bomb in the Creative Arts building at night. It explodes in his hand, and his hands and face are injured.
February 25, 1969
1 woman maimed and blinded. At Claremont College in Claremont, California, two explosions, first at Scripps and then at Pomona, left Claremont rattled. 19-year old Mary Anne Keatley picked up a shoebox wrapped in brown paper a mailbox which instantaneously exploded in her hand, spewing shrapnel. The bomb “essentially tore her right hand apart and blinded her in one eye,” said Government Professor Leo Flynn, who taught constitutional law at Pomona from 1967 until his retirement in 2008. An identical bomb had exploded in the basement bathroom of Scripps’s Balch Auditorium just 40 seconds before which broke windows. No one was indicted or arrested in the ensuing investigation. But documents held in Denison Library, nevertheless, seem to indicate that the bomber was Timothy Peebles, a 19-year old black freshman at San Francisco State University (SFSU) who made headlines when he was critically injured by the suitcase bomb he was trying to plant at SFSU.
“I believe myself, and so did the district attorney, that the person who was blown up at San Francisco State was the person who planted the bombs down here,” noted Scripps President Mark Curtis in 1990, decades after his retirement from Scripps. “We have some reason to believe he was the problem… Someone believes that they saw him down here.”
Keatley – who did not respond to multiple interview requests – works as a speech-language pathologist and helps individuals return to productive lifestyles after traumatic brain injuries as President of the Brain Injury Hope Foundation. Today at age 64, Peebles resides about 100 miles from his childhood home in East Palo Alto which was a black ghetto at the time (now developed as part of Silicon Valley) . No documents indicate that Peebles ever had children or a partner.
“We have some reason to believe he was the problem… Someone believes that they saw him down here.” As life returned to normal in Claremont, Peebles made national headlines when he was critically injured while surreptitiously planting a bomb at SFSU. Aided by his accomplice William Pulliam, Peebles entered the Creative Arts Building carrying a briefcase during an evening opera rehearsal on March 5th. When the bomb detonated in his hands, Timothy Peebles was found “staggering bleeding and screaming through a dust-filled corridor,” reported United Press International.
Alternative Viewpoint: The fact that people were successfully recruited to bomb colleges in the 1960s motivated by the Vietnam war and fight for civil "rights" suggests a possible underlying reason other than mental illness for people to recruit people to murder school and college students today for the war on / of terror which is ravaging the world today. The Boston bombers were motivated by the "war on terror" the modern version of the Vietnam war.
Jihad at San Francisco State - Free Republic
www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1279859/posts
Free Republic
Nov 8, 2004 - Another member of the SFSU College Republicans who was present ..... March 5, 1969: Timothy Peebles, San Francisco State freshman, sets ...
Ahhh, isn't tradition a beautiful thing?
Chronology of Events
September, 1966.
Dr. John Summerskill is appointed seventh President, San Francisco State College. He is young, liberal, and has the reputation of being able to get along with faculty, administration, and students.
May 2, 1967.
Sixty students "sit in" in Dr. Summerskill's office, protesting the college practice of providing students' academic standing to the selective service office.
June 22, 1967.
Students and faculty picket campus administrative offices to protest Chancellor Glenn Dumke's directive to the campus to continue supplying academic standing records to the selective service office.
June 22, 1967.
A "major corporation" (the Carnegie Corporation of New York) invites San Francisco State College to apply for funds to develop programs for teaching black history, art, and culture on campus. This information is divulged during a discussion of Black Student Union activities on campus in the Spring, 1967, semester.
November 6, 1967.
Several black students attack James Vaszko, editor of the Gater the campus newspaper. Mr. Vaszko had stated in an editorial that he had written to the Carnegie Corporation asking them to cease any plans they might have had to grant money to the college's "service programs," which included Black Student Union sponsored programs.
The Gater, November 7, 1967
November 11, 1967.
Six of the black students who attacked James Vaszko are booked on felony charges.
November 17, 1967.
The Black Students Union members hold a press conference and discuss their programs, which have been designed to awaken and develop black awareness and consciousness.
November 18, 1967.
San Francisco State College's Board of Appeals and Review holds closed hearing on the suspension of students accused of assaulting Vaszko. Sympathetic students picket outside.
November 29, 1967.
Dr. Summerskill appoints ten faculty members to a committee to investigate the causes of campus tension which resulted in the Vaszko attack.
December 2, 1967.
Two writers for the campus literary paper, Open Process, are suspended after publishing a poem which uses offensive language and contains sexual connotations. 450 students protest and attack Summerskill's "liberalism" and the Vietnam War.
December 6, 1967.
Students protest over suspension of the black students in the Vaszko incident and break into the administration building. Summerskill closes the campus rather than calling in the police.
December 10, 1967.
Dr. Walcott Beatty, Chairman of the Academic Senate, says that campus demonstrations and disturbances will not end because of the causes, including Vietnam and racial tension. He says, "the campus is a microcosm of society."
February 22, 1968.
Dr. Summerskill hands in his resignation, effective in September, even though the Trustees of the California State College system have given him a vote of confidence.
February 29, 1968.
300 high school and junior college minority students come to the campus to ask for waivers of admission requirements for the fall semester. Dean of Admissions Charles Stone says that he does not have power to grant waivers. Sociology professor Juan Martinez is influential in inviting the students.
March 1968.
Black Panther Minister of Defense Bobby Seale speaks in the main auditorium at San Francisco State and tells the audience (mainly white students) that the only power blacks have is with a gun.
March 23, 1968.
The Third World Liberation Front (a coalition of the Black Students Union, the Latin American Students Organization, the Filipino-American Students Organization, and El Renacimiento, a Mexican American student organization) occupies the YMCA office on campus, and moves YMCA staff out.
March 26, 1968.
Several San Francisco State College student leaders call on State Superintendent of Schools Max Rafferty to protest campus activities of the Black Students Union and the hiring by the student government of black playwright LeRoi Jones, who was a visiting professor in the Spring, 1968 semester.
March 31, 1968.
Summerskill tells the Third World Liberation Front to move out of the occupied offices. Professor Juan Martinez has not been re-hired for the following year, and this factor complicates the eviction process.
May 21, 1968.
Police are called in to remove students from the Administration Building after a nine-hour sit-in. Approximately 400 students were protesting: (1) An end to Air Force ROTC on campus, (2) Retention of Juan Martinez, (3) Programs to admit 400 ghetto students in the fall semester , and (4) The hiring of nine minority faculty members to help the minority students. 26 persons are arrested.
May 23, 1968.
Students again protest for campus reform. Demonstrations are led by Students for a Democratic Society and the Third World Liberation Front.
May 24, 1968.
Chancellor Glenn Dumke asks Dr. Summerskill to resign immediately.
June 1, 1968.
Dr. Robert Smith becomes President, San Francisco State College. He is a professor of education.
September 10, 1968.
George Mason Murray is rehired as a teaching assistant. He was a graduate student in English, and was hired to teach special introductory English classes for 400 special students who were admitted to the college.
September 18, 1968.
President Robert Smith announces the creation of a Black Studies Department. Dr. Nathan Hare is named Acting Chair.
September 26, 1968.
California State College trustees vote to ask Dr. Smith to reassign Black Panther George Mason Murray to a non-teaching position. At a Fresno State College rally he allegedly had stated that, "We are slaves and the only way to become free is to kill all the slave masters." At San Francisco State College he allegedly had said that black students should bring guns to campus to protect themselves from white racist administrators. President Smith refuses.
October 24, 1968.
Chancellor Dumke orders President Smith to suspend Murray temporarily.
October 31, 1968.
Chancellor Dumke orders President Smith to suspend Murray after Smith refuses to carry out the trustees' request. President Smith delays. The Black Students Union threatens a strike on November 6, and presents their 15 demands.
November 1, 1968.
President Smith suspends George Murray.
November 6, 1968.
Student strike begins. Strike is led by Black Students Union and Third World Liberation Front members, as a protest for a larger black studies program and for the reinstatement of George Murray. Most students attend classes. Police are called in after students march on the Administration Building.
November 13, 1968.
The campus is closed after a week of confrontations between students and police. During the week there has been widespread minor damage by striking students all over the campus. Some faculty members are considering striking.
November 14, 1968.
At a faculty meeting in the Main Auditorium, Dr. S. I. Hayakawa, Professor of English, speaks on racism. He urges the faculty to support Dr. Smith. President Smith appeals to Dr. Dumke to reinstate George Murray. The Academic Senate debates the issues, and requests Chancellor Dumke's resignation.
November 15, 1968.
The faculty meets to consider the problems. Dr. Smith asks the faculty and administration to consider plans under which the campus could be reopened.
November 18, 1968.
Governor Ronald Reagan wants the campus reopened. The trustees order Dr. Smith to reopen the campus immediately. President Smith wants the students to return for discussion, not formal classes. A faculty grievance committee says that George Murray was suspended without due process.
November 19, 1968.
The faculty do not want to reopen the campus, but want to have a convocation to discuss the issues.
November 20, 1968.
Approximately 10% of the students return to campus for departmental discussions. Few classes are held. The convocation begins.
November 26, 1968.
Convocation continues. Black Student Union leaders confront the faculty panel and President Smith at the convocation. BSU leader Jerry Varnardo calls President Smith a 'pig,' and is booed by the audience. President Smith resigns. Dr. S. I. Hayakawa is named Acting President. His first official act is to close the campus.
December 2, 1968.
Campus is reopened. Sound truck incident occurs. Striking students position sound truck at corner of 19th and Holloway Avenues to urge other students to continue the strike. Hayakawa climbs on the truck and tries to disconnect the speakers. A crowd pulls his tam o'shanter from his head. He allegedly yells, "You're fired!" to noted author Kay Boyle, and she calls him "Hayakawa Eichmann" in return.
December 10, 1968.
Ronald Haughton, University of Michigan professor and labor arbitrator is called in to mediate the strike. Mayor Joseph Alioto has also organized a citizen's committee to help settle the strike.
December 11, 1968.
The campus American Federation of Teachers local seeks strike sanction from the San Francisco Labor Council. More than 50 AFT members have set up an informational picket line around the campus, urging the trustees to negotiate with the students.
December 13, 1968.
School is closed for the Christmas holidays one week early. Campus offices remain open.
December 15, 1968.
Trustees meet with AFT representatives to hear their grievances. Mayor Alioto's citizen's committee works on mediation efforts.
January 4, 1969.
Acting President Hayakawa bans meetings and gatherings on the central campus, says no unauthorized persons will be allowed to set foot on campus, and states that picketing must be limited to the perimeters of the campus.
January 6, 1969.
Campus reopens. The San Francisco State College local of the American Federation of Teachers goes out on strike, and puts a picket line around the campus. About 350 teachers are involved. They wanted educational reforms, removal of police from the campus, agreement to student demands, and a collective bargaining contract for the California State College teachers.
January 8, 1969.
Judge Edward O'Day of the San Francisco Superior Court orders the AFT teachers to call off their strike. The strike continues.
January 19-20, 1969.
Striking students, including some student library workers, initiate a "book-in" in the library. They take books off the shelves and bring them to the circulation desk, leaving them there in order to clog library operations.
February 3, 1969
Acting President Hayakawa speaks before a Subcommittee of the House Education Committee concerning campus unrest
February 4, 1969
Judge Henry Rolph of San Francisco Superior Court orders the San Francisco State AFT local to end the strike. The strike continues.
February 24, 1969
The San Francisco State AFT local announces a tentative strike settlement.
February 29, 1969
Black Studies Department Chair Nathan Hare and English instructor George Murray are not rehired for the following year. The strike continues.
March 5, 1969
Timothy Peebles, San Francisco State freshman, sets off a bomb in the Creative Arts building at night. It explodes in his hand, and his hands and face are injured.
March 20, 1969.
An agreement is signed between "representatives of the Third World Liberation Front, the Black Students Union, and the members of the Select Committee concerning the resolution of the fifteen demands and other issues arising from the student strike at San Francisco State College."
March 21, 1969.
Strike ends.
Paradise Lost
By Saahil Desai
May 7th, 2014
from http://www.claremontportside.com/print-edition/2013-2014/may-2014/paradise-lost/
“Frank, Frank, am I going to die Frank?”
Mary Anne Keatley’s frantic cries for help to former Pomona Government Professor Frank Tugwell are as poignant today as they were 45 years ago. On February 25, 1969, two explosions, first at Scripps and then at Pomona, left Claremont rattled and seeking answers with few to be found.
Earlier this year, the Port Side received an anonymous tip urging us to investigate this event, which – especially among students – has largely been lost to the annals of time. Little public information exists detailing this paramount moment in Claremont’s history. While unearthing the specifics of that fateful Tuesday is hard enough, making sense of the bombing in terms of the present day is perhaps even more challenging.
Shaken and Stirred
19-year old Mary Anne Keatley was nearing the end of her workday as secretary for the Pomona Government Department when she went to check the faculty mailboxes at the right of the main entrance to Carnegie Hall. Keatley picked up a shoebox wrapped in brown paper from the mailbox of Professor Lee McDonald PO ’47 when it instantaneously exploded in her hand, spewing shrapnel in all directions.
Windows of Carnegie Hall blown out after the bombing. (Claremont Collegian)
Frank Tugwell was attending a faculty meeting in nearby Carnegie 107 when the explosion shook the building.
“I happened to be the first one out,” he told the Port Side in a phone interview. “Mary Anne was very badly hurt… I used my necktie and my belt as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. I didn’t recognize her because she was such a bloody mess. When I first got to her, she was still conscious, and we spoke for a little bit. I tried to calm her down, and then she went into shock.”
About 40 seconds before the bombing in Carnegie, an identical bomb exploded in the basement bathroom of Scripps’s Balch Auditorium. While windows were broken, no injuries were recorded.
Considering the severity of her injuries, it’s a miracle that Mary Anne Keatley managed to survive the vicious incident. The bomb “essentially tore her right hand apart and blinded her in one eye,” said Government Professor Leo Flynn, who taught constitutional law at Pomona from 1967 until his retirement in 2008.