Patience Pending…
“If we do not have some type of serious satisfaction, and some type of action on our demands, between the president, the rest of the administration and the Board of Regents, it will not be business as usual at Georgia State University.”
Student Organizer Lawrence Philpot
Signal https://digitalcollections.library.gsu.edu/iiif/2/signal:28436/full/full/0/default.jpg
On the morning of November 9, 1992, having received no resolution to their calls to action over the weekend, the Concerned Students decided it would not be business as usual at Georgia State University. With the knowledge that many students would need to reconcile their school accounts, the Concerned Students chose Sparks Hall’s first floor to sit-in, blocking access to the financial department and eventually requiring the cancellation of classes in the building. The number of student demonstrators reached over 80. Filling every corner of the floor, queer student demonstrators would resort to taking over the cafeteria. Signage was eventually posted on the door to notify arriving students of the closure of Sparks Hall.
Despite the threat of restraining order if the did not disassemble by 930am, students continued their demonstration, filling up the first floor of Sparks Hall and demanding a meeting with President Patton.
”Demonstrators were peaceful and organized throughout the day, carefully orchestrating plans to smuggle food, communicating by walkie talkie and sneaking in several additional protestors through an ‘underground railroad’.”
Robert Vickers, AJC
Students continued their peaceful demonstration for nearly 12 hours before President Patton agreed to meet with a hand full of Concerned Students about the demands. Of the 11 demands, President Patton agreed to support students with 5 demands.