Statement on Establishing the President's Commission on Campus Unrest.

THE UNITED STATES has the greatest system of higher education ever developed by man. But in the past academic year, the integrity of this system-involving more than 2,500 colleges and universities and nearly 8,000,000 students--has been threatened. While the overwhelming majority of those who live and work in the academic community are dedicated to nonviolence, there have nevertheless been over 100 campuses on which violent acts have recently occurred. The tragic results have included loss of life, vast property damage, and serious disruption of the educational process. This situation is a matter of vital concern to all Americans.

Today I am appointing a Commission on Campus Unrest to study this serious situation, to report its findings and make recommendations to me. William Scranton, the former Governor of Pennsylvania, will be the Chairman.

The following are among the purposes of the Commission: ---To identify the principal causes of campus violence, particularly in the specific occurrences of this spring.

--To assess the reasons for breakdown in the processes for orderly expression of dissent.

--To suggest specific methods and procedures through which legitimate grievances can be resolved.

--To suggest ways to protect and enhance the right of academic freedom, the right to pursue an education free from improper interference, and the right of peaceful dissent and protest.

It is my hope that the Commission will help us discover what practical steps can be taken by all levels of government-including law enforcement agencies--to alleviate the dangers involved in this situation. I hope, too, that the Commission will explore ways in which university administrations and student leaders can contribute more effectively to the control and elimination of campus violence. There is nothing that any of us can do now to restore the lives that have been lost or to undo the other effects of past campus violence. But the Commission can help us to avoid future incidents of the sort which occurred this past spring, the most appalling of which were the tragedies at Kent State University in Ohio and Jackson State College in Mississippi.

The Commission will receive assistance and support from its own staff and from the investigative facilities of the various Federal departments. I will ask the Congress to provide the Commission with the power of subpena.

I have asked the Commission to begin its work immediately and to report to me before the beginning of the coming academic year.