"The test on the twenty slides of Medieval art we covered last week will be this Friday. You may review the slides in the lab with the study guide during the week at your convenience. I just ask that you replace the slides in the tray in their correct order when you finish studying them, and unplug the slide viewer before leaving the lab." Mattie smiled at her class of thirty students, and gathered up her papers in the semi-darkness of her classroom. "I'll see you in class Wednesday morning for an introduction to a few contemporary artists and their work - as a preview for the next major period of art. I think you'll be very interested in seeing the paintings. Remember, art reflects the period of time in which it is created. I want you to see the connection between Lorenzetti's frescoes from the thirteen hundreds and the paintings of artists of our decade."
"Are you coming to the protest tonight, Professor Shaw?"
Her heart skipped a beat as she glanced at her class to see who had asked her the question. She reached over behind her and turned on the overhead lights.
"I wasn't aware that there was a protest planned." Mattie brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and squinted as she scanned her students' faces. "Who asked that?"
"I did."
"Well, Matthew, that's the first I've heard of it." She blinked at him thoughtfully. "Has it been cleared with President Buckley? Any large gathering has to be approved by the college president, you know."
"Professor Shaw, as citizens of this country, we have a right to protest, and an obligation to demand that the war come to an end."
"Yes, you do, Matthew, and in a peaceful way." Mattie stood up from her chair and leaned on her cane, looking at the tall young man in the third row. "You have the right of peaceful assembly, but remember that this is a private college. The president and board set the rules. Look how violent and dangerous the demonstration turned out in Pennsylvania. Do you want that here? Do you want the National Guard at Brooksford? They're using guns now on the protesters." She eyed each of her students in turn. "When I watched the horrific news this past weekend, all I could think of was how could I keep all of you safe? We can't have that kind of violence here. What would it solve?"
"No one is listening to what the people want - for the war to end. The establishment doesn't want the war to end." Matthew stood up and ran a nervous hand through his dark hair, looking around him as he spoke to the class. "I'm nineteen - old enough to be called up in the draft next month, and I don't want to go to Vietnam. We have no business being there. It's not our fight." He paused and looked at her, his eyes blazing . "Can you keep me safe once I'm there, Professor Shaw? No. No one can. They say that some soldiers are killed within minutes of getting out of the helicopter."
"The war has dragged on, that's true. We can both agree on that." Mattie tried to keep her voice calm, and she realized that she was shaking as well, and she saw the other students turn from Matthew to her. "Kennedy sent in advisors. After his assassination, the war, unfortunately escalated under President Johnson, and now, we're mired in a conflict that seems to have no end in sight. That's true, and, as I said, Matthew, I agree with you on that point. But, at last, President Nixon has vowed to pull out of Vietnam and bring the troops home honorably. We have to trust him to keep his word. It can't be accomplished overnight."
"Honorably? Honorably?" Matthew's voice rose as he looked around at his classmates, his blue eyes blazing. "Nixon said that nine months ago, and he's sent in even more troops since then. Three hundred soldiers killed in just one day last month. One day. How is that honorable? How is that winning? Thousands of Vietnamese women and children - babies- killed as well. Have you seen the pictures of the massacres? It's a hell hole of certain death - pure and simple. It has to end."
Mattie exhaled and swallowed hard. What could she say that would diffuse the situation before it got out of hand? She walked toward the rows of students, now beginning to look worriedly between her and Matthew, and looked at him soberly.
"If the protest is approved, Matthew, I'll be there. To make sure that you're all right." She felt her eyes sting, and she blinked hard. "I want you all to be safe. Be careful...please....be careful."
"It's at eight o'clock on the quad," he nodded to her, then he looked around him. "I'm asking all of you to join the anti-war protest as well. Our voices need to be heard." The rest of the students stood up and she could hear their worried discussions as they left her class. When the room was empty, she turned back and sat down in the chair, running her hand across her forehead. She had a couple of hours before her next class. She needed to talk to Fran.