Professor Arrested on UMass's Boston Campus After Clash With Military Recruiter By PIPER FOGG
A faculty member at the University of Massachusetts at Boston was arrested Thursday and charged with assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest after an altercation with a recruiter from the National Guard.
According to The Boston Globe, eyewitnesses said that a military recruiter had told Anthony M. Van Der Meer, an adjunct professor of Africana studies at the university, that he and a student should be "shot in the head" for their antiwar views. Shouting ensued, and the police were summoned to restore order.
Mr. Van Der Meer did not respond to a telephone message seeking comment.
Police officers on the Boston campus declined to comment. A UMass spokesman, Ed Hayward, said the university is investigating the incident.
The confrontation, which began as a group of activists handed out literature on the campus, turned into a screaming match among students, members of the National Guard, and campus police officers, who were called when someone was reported to be "blocking the Guardsmen from handing out informational pamphlets," according to a police report. The report also said that Mr. Van Der Meer had shoved and elbowed a police officer in the chest, stating, "Get out of my [expletive] face." The report also said that he repeatedly resisted arrest.
Eyewitnesses told The Globe that three campus-police officers had tackled Mr. Van Der Meer and wrestled him to the ground, while students shouted, "Stop police brutality" and "Recruiters off our campus."
Mr. Van Der Meer was arraigned, entered a plea of not guilty, and was released on Thursday. He will return to court on May 28 for a pretrial hearing.
Mr. Hayward said the university would hold a forum today, moderated by the dean of students, that would deal with a number of issues brought up by the incident, including debate, tolerance, civil discourse, and the role of the campus police.
"The goal is to ensure discussion takes place under an umbrella of tolerance," he said. He added that UMass-Boston is "the most diverse university in the Northeast ... so there are a lot of viewpoints here." He also said that there is a history of military service at the campus and that 43 students have withdrawn from the university since January for military reasons.