October 24, 1974 letter Frank Bonilla, head of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College to Brooklyn College President John Kneller Supporting the Student-led Struggle on the campus
Item
Centro de Estudios Puertorriquenos
500 Fifth Avenue, Room 930
New York, New York 10036
212/354-5410
October 24, 1974
President John W. Kneller
Brooklyn College
Bedford Avenue and Avenue H
Boylan Hall
Brooklyn, New York 11210
Dear President Kneller:
The faculty and students of the Departments of Puerto Rican Studies
in CUNY colleges and Puerto Rican community agencies firmly support demands
for self-determination of Puerto Ricans at Brooklyn College.
The gross disregard of the right of a Department to select its ow
chairperson and the denial of the right of students to participate in that
decision represents a regression to an archaic and despotic form of gover-
nance that should not be tolerated by any segment of the university community.
It is all the more intolerable when that policy is applied selectively and
differentially to a Department of Puerto Rican Studies.
We are appalled at the use of police force against protesting members
. This has in no way resolved this situation and has only served
vate a conflict generated by the arbitrary use of authority.
action on your part that respects the
College campus. The repressive action
d a violation of their rights was
ise the indignation of the entire
earliest possible moment is a
have stated. The names
for this purpose. Please
from numerous Puerto
ernment officials, We
500 Fifth Avenue, Room 930
New York, New York 10036
212/354-5410
October 24, 1974
President John W. Kneller
Brooklyn College
Bedford Avenue and Avenue H
Boylan Hall
Brooklyn, New York 11210
Dear President Kneller:
The faculty and students of the Departments of Puerto Rican Studies
in CUNY colleges and Puerto Rican community agencies firmly support demands
for self-determination of Puerto Ricans at Brooklyn College.
The gross disregard of the right of a Department to select its ow
chairperson and the denial of the right of students to participate in that
decision represents a regression to an archaic and despotic form of gover-
nance that should not be tolerated by any segment of the university community.
It is all the more intolerable when that policy is applied selectively and
differentially to a Department of Puerto Rican Studies.
We are appalled at the use of police force against protesting members
. This has in no way resolved this situation and has only served
vate a conflict generated by the arbitrary use of authority.
action on your part that respects the
College campus. The repressive action
d a violation of their rights was
ise the indignation of the entire
earliest possible moment is a
have stated. The names
for this purpose. Please
from numerous Puerto
ernment officials, We
Title
October 24, 1974 letter Frank Bonilla, head of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College to Brooklyn College President John Kneller Supporting the Student-led Struggle on the campus
Description
In this October 24, 1974 letter from Frank Bonilla, head of the recently formed Centro de Estudios Puertorriqueños (Center for Puerto Rican Studies) at Hunter College, expressed the center's support for Brooklyn College (BC) faculty and students demanding the right to self-determination for the BC Department of Puerto Rican Studies . The letter expressed support of the Puerto Rican and African American students who had taken over the BC Registrar's office for several days in protest of BC President John Kneller's decision not to hire María Sánchez as the Department of Puerto Rican Studies chairperson.
This item is part of the Puerto Rican Studies at Brooklyn College (PRSBC) Collection, which covers the largely Puerto Rican-led student movement at Brooklyn College (CUNY) during the late 1960s and early 1970s that fought for the creation of the Puerto Rican Studies Department at the college. The collection includes oral history interviews with pioneering student activists, photographs of participants and their struggles, and other archival materials on the fight to create the Puerto Rican Studies Department drawn from the Archives and Special Collections library at Brooklyn College.
This item is part of the Puerto Rican Studies at Brooklyn College (PRSBC) Collection, which covers the largely Puerto Rican-led student movement at Brooklyn College (CUNY) during the late 1960s and early 1970s that fought for the creation of the Puerto Rican Studies Department at the college. The collection includes oral history interviews with pioneering student activists, photographs of participants and their struggles, and other archival materials on the fight to create the Puerto Rican Studies Department drawn from the Archives and Special Collections library at Brooklyn College.
Contributor
Brooklyn College Library, Archives and Special Collections
Creator
Bonilla, Frank
Date
October 24, 1974
Language
English
Relation
14112
14102
14092
14072
14062
14082
14042
Rights
Public Domain
Source
Brooklyn College Library, Archives and Special Collections
Original Format
Correspondence
Bonilla, Frank. Letter. “October 24, 1974 Letter Frank Bonilla, Head of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College to Brooklyn College President John Kneller Supporting the Student-Led Struggle on the Campus”. 14112, CUNY DIGITAL HISTORY ARCHIVE, accessed March 10, 2026, https://stephenz.tailc22a4b.ts.net/s/cdha/item/2131