Talk:Zip to Zap

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It was by no means a Riot as the term is correctly used. And the sequence of events recorded on this page is incorrect as to what happened within Zap. It was cold that evening, and after several hundred students left the bars, the Veterans' Clubs of both UND and NDSU built a fire from some scrap wood that was the result of a building having previously been torn down. The bonfire was large, and several of the intoxicated vets were seen urinating into it. But no -- as in No buildings were torn down by the students. That is an urban myth promulgated at the time by a somewhat overwrought and breathless radio reporter for KFYR in Bismarck, The evening had actually gone on quite well. Most of those who were coming hadn't yet arrived, and so comparatively few were actually within Zap, Meanwhile, Bill Guy had mobilized the National Guard (many of whom were themselves college students who had been planning to attend the event). Various local groups had set up vending booths to sell food, but there was a problem with the two local bars. One had been shut down previously, but a group of folks from Dickinson, if memory serves, leased it for the weekend. At both bars, the price of beer rose as the evening progressed. The bars were both small and crowded, and the "crowds" within them were mostly Vets Club members. They became increasingly upset at the price increase, and did some shouting here and there. But they did not "destroy" the closed bar, and did little damage at all to the other one. Poor old Norman Fuchs. I spoke with him many times as the event grew, and he really did want it to become something good. But rather than remain within his town, he ended up encamped at the NG "headquarters" about a mile away. KFYR was playing, and the radio reporter kept trying to sensationalize the whole thing by the tone of his "live" broadcasts. But what he was saying on the air didn't jibe with what was happening on the ground. But Fuchs didn't know that -- and at the NG HQ, he had a Major who kept saying to him repeatedly, "You just give the word, Mayor, and we'll move in and move them out!" After a long night, and being tired, and having no reliable information on which to base his decision, he told the NG to go ahead. But when the order was given, the town was pretty much quiet! Most of the students had gone to sleep (whether or not voluntarily is problematic in many cases) in the tents or vans or cars that were in a nearby field. Overall, save for the occasional shout here and there, nothing was really happening. The bonfire had long since died down. As morning came closer, the NG moved into the field. They had bayonets (!) on their rifles, and their name tags hidden under tape. And mostly they just rousted the sleeping students from a sound (some sounder than others, obviously) sleep and told them to Get Out RFN! Problem was, no one had a plan on how to move them out. There was no traffic control on the field. Sleepy, hung over and confused students started for the exits and there were several minor collisions. That's when the Real fun began. Breathless Live Reports from KFYR indicated that the students were going to Hazen and Beulah, and being hotly (no less) pursued by the NG in their jeeps and 4-bys. Visualize that. V-8 powered student cars (it was a less expensive time to own a car) being chased by military vehicles. It simply didn't happen that way, but that's the report that went out and got picked up worldwide. One group of students stopped in Beulah and Hazen. The son of the local banker was on the roof of the bank tossing beers down to his friends in the crowd. The NG came forward resolutely, bayonets at the ready. One student who was slow was allegedly stabbed in the rear end. The tale is that he had stitches applied by a local doctor without the benefit of anaesthetic. Eventually they left -- and there was no particular problem. Another group and some elements of the same group - along with some still en route from various places here and there -- decided to stop at the park in Bismarck. It was an "event sociologicale" - students sitting around peaceably, roasting weiners and marshmallows, while white-knuckled parents drove by disapprovingly to see The Students with their families. The kids in back were smiling and waving the Peace sign as they drove by. Some of the folks who got it started were embarassed, but others were not. The Student Senate at NDSU offered to pay for any verifiable damage caused by the students to anyone in town who had suffered any. There was one plate glass window crackied and one picket fence that got knocked down. That was it. No one ever claimed damages on the alleged building that was supposedly "destroyed" though. Clearly what happened was an odd set of expectations on the part of the news media and the political types in North Dakota. Since other student events elsewhere seemed to have gone all political, they expected this to go political too. Nothing could be further from the truth. There was Nothing -- just nothing at all -- political about it. The news media and political types expected it would be Violent. It wasn't. It was rowdy, but nothing like the sort of anti-war violence experienced elsehwere happened in Zap, or Beulah/Hazen or Bismarck. It's just simply not what really happened. Dr Laurel Loftsgard, the NDSU president, and his Dean of Students, Les Pavek, flew into Zap that morning. They were given a full tour of the area, but neither of them could see any damage either. Only the remains of the previous night's bonfire were visible at all. And in the end, the students made good on both claims filed. The Zip to Zap has become its own sort of "urban" (for odd values of that term) legend in North Dakota. Those who were there still smile and chuckle about it, and know that the reports were simply incorrect. Those who were Not there tend to believe the reports -- many of which were filed by those who were likewise not there. Unlike the major news media, the Spectrum (the NDSU student newspaper) had a group of perhaps two dozen student journalists on the scene, taking pictures and notes of what actually happened. (I happen to know that, because I was then the editor of the Spectrum and made a point of deploying them widely in the area.) So what we now have is a dichotomy -- what really happened and what was reported. Inevitably the History of it will be confused, because of the conflicting tales that got told about it. The best, though, was the clipping from all around the world I got from friends - including those with whom I had served while in Viet Nam through August of 1968 - less than a year before. Of all of those, the one from Pravda ("Truth" in Russian) was by far and away the very best. It reported that a group of elitist college students (Elitist? They should have Seen the folks who were there!) were oppressing the poor workers in the town. Ah well! Lots that could be said, and little that will be and less than will ever be heard and understood. It was a near thing. It could/might have been really good! And if it hadn't been for some inappropriate over-reporting, and for the NG types who were just Begging Mayor Fuchs to let them roust the students, it might have been. The Cow Belles would have sold a lot of fleischkugle, the students would have listed to a lot of music, the vets would have had one of The best beer parties they'd ever had, probably a bunch of folks would have gotten laid, and a good time would have been had by all. It just didn't happen to work out that way, though. A pity -- truly! Don Homuth Salem, OR Editor of The Spectrum, NDSU 1969-1970

Last edited at 21:13, 6 April 2009 (UTC). Substituted at 11:17, 30 April 2016 (UTC)