Herrington, Marvin L. and Schwartz, John J.
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Marvin L. Herrington, former chief of police at Stanford from 1971-2001 was interviewed with John J. Schwartz, a former physics faculty member in 1968 and later Vice President and General Counsel at Stanford from 1981-1993. Schwartz discussed his role as a “point person” on the Student Disciplinary Committee during the Vietnam War. Schwartz described the “heady experience” of making decisions about the university’s response to protests; described as being “extremely violent” at times. He cited students protesting “classified” war-related research at the Stanford Research Institute, while Herrington noted students also were protesting the draft. Schwartz saw the then active “ROTC” as being a “symbol of militarization” at the university. Schwartz described daytime crowds gathering and then occupying campus buildings at night. He described the riot response by the Santa Clara sheriff that looked like “an armada clad in riot gear.” Schwartz said the university opted to have its own peace officer force in 1971; noting classes were being taught with officers present in riot gear. Schwartz hired Herrington, who had been the “coordinator for police” at 19 campuses in the California State University system. Herrington was “very impressed” by then Stanford president, Richard Lyman. He agreed to accept the job, since he “trusted” who he talked to, while Schwartz found him to be “very savvy” about university-specific issues. Herrington described an understaffed and poorly paid Public Safety force with minimal police training. Although he disarmed them initially and had to renegotiate a labor contract with a newly formed union, he positioned guards at faculty members’ homes to deal with riot threats. The two interviewees discussed following campus “chatter” to assess threat severity. They reviewed not letting issues grow in “intensity” while closing buildings at 5 pm to avoid entrenchment. They described how 250 students all were booked into the county jail after occupying the Dean of Students’ area, intending to be arrested. Schwartz emphasized that President Lyman did not want to encourage “chic arrests” to garner publicity or involve the DA’s office in negotiations. Stanford opted to provide no guidance to the DA about student releases, since the acts were committed in public places as crimes. Schwartz and Herrington also discussed how the university developed a policy against “disruptions.” Herrington gave the example of people yelling during a speech made by Henry Cabot Lodge, which would have represented a disruption. They observed that Vietnam protests ended in 1973, while students moved on to demonstrations about social issues such as the university investments in South Africa during apartheid, the Women’s movement, Civil Rights, and the recruitment of minorities. In addition, Herrington described being sued for physical injuries of students who had to be dragged out of buildings until he purchased a cot that made student arrests look less dramatic. He shared that he “tried not to take it personally” when students protested, which perhaps made the university safer for Stanford students relative to students involved in shootings at other places including Kent State.
Description
| Type of resource | mixed material |
|---|---|
| Date created | December 18, 2012 |
Creators/Contributors
| Publisher | Stanford Historical Society | |
|---|---|---|
| Author | Herrington, Marvin L. and Schwartz, John J. | |
| Contributing author | Devaney, Patricia L. |
Subjects
| Subject | Marvin L. Herrington |
|---|---|
| Subject | John J. Schwartz |
| Subject | Stanford Police Department |
| Subject | Palo Alto Police Department |
| Subject | Vietnam War |
| Subject | student protests |
| Subject | civil rights movement |
Bibliographic information
| Related item |
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|---|---|
| Location | https://purl.stanford.edu/jg926ry9434 |
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- The materials are open for research use and may be used freely for non-commercial purposes with an attribution. For commercial permission requests, please contact the Stanford University Archives (universityarchives@stanford.edu).
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved.
Preferred citation
- Preferred Citation
Marvin L. Herrington and
John J. Schwartz (2012). Oral history. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at:
http://purl.stanford.edu/jg926ry9434
Collection
Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program interviews, 1999-2022
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