Not a Funny April Fools: The first rejection and the first fire

Wednesday, April 1, 1970

At 2:22 a.m., a fire was ignited at the ROTC building on campus. The fire burned through a wall before being put out by a patrolman minutes later. The Houston Fire Department declared it arson.

After the sun rose, Frederick Weirum, dean of students, rejected the SCB’s event request for the first time. According to Weirum’s broadcast on KTRU, that same day, offices in Lovett Hall and a trustee’s car parked outside the Sallyport were vandalized with orange paint spelling out “free speech” and “Hoffman.” This vandalism was not reported on in the Thresher or elsewhere in the KTRU broadcast.