A History
by Michael Steiner

Year 1 (9/68–5/69), Part 5 One would've thought that Jack and Ben proceeded cautiously as a result of their pending legal difficulties. However; much to Ben's dismay the brief relative calm as 1968 ended would be short-lived as the second semester would begin in 1969. So in the beginning of February upon the release of an album of electronic music called “Two Virgins” by John Lennon and Yoko Ono with an album cover wrapped in a plain brown paper bag of front and rear nude views of the artists. Of course, Jack thought this would make a great cover for the paper. Ben was at least able to convince Jack to put the cover shots in the middle of the paper. Not to anyone's surprise; the letters to the editor were filled with outrage. To ben's relief no action was taken by either State or Federal Authorities. However, the newly appointed Dean of Students, Eugene Sweeney(who the Administration hoped would keep the paper “in line”) wrote a letter to the editor informing Jack and Ben the paper was suspended. Ben – holding the agreement with Prud'homme in his hands went to his office and told him he couldn't suspend them, he was the only one responsible for the paper and its content. He did agree to a meeting in the lounge with Jack and the Administration where Jack promised to open more channels of communication between the paper and the Administration. Ben told Prud'homme that he would not tolerate any further interference from Sweeney and that he would only negotiate with him. So the nest issue came out – with the letter from Sweeney saying they were suspended buried in the Letters to the Editor Section. Click any page to enlarge. Then – the Brownies. Well...It seems there was a blizzard and none of the Cafeteria employees made it in...so Ben volunteered to put together a staff of Students to make a dinner for the students one Sunday night....including a “special dessert” Marijuana Brownies......We think it was a great meal –but for some reason we can't quite remember...... While all this was going on; a freshman Hartford Art School named David Wenzel began publishing a weekly series of comics in the underground style of R. Crumb. These were roughly based on the issues including the Nixon Cartoon and arrests, Two Virgins Cover and attempted suspension, and other aspects of UH life such as the Administration all the way to racism. It gave the paper a more sophisticate look that pioneered on-campus paper style for years to come. Click any page to enlarge. Next: Year 1 (9/68–5/69), Part 6 [ UH NEWS Liberated Press | A History ] Presentation created and maintained by Hank Mishkoff ©2018-2019 Michael Steiner