Other formats

    Adobe Portable Document Format file (facsimile images)   TEI XML file   ePub eBook file  

Connect

    mail icontwitter iconBlogspot iconrss icon

Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Vol 36 No. 12. 6 June 1973

Professor Eysenck Attacked (Literally)

page break

Professor Eysenck Attacked (Literally)

Artwork of a man in a trench coat turning away from open mouthed babies

One of Britain's most controversial psychologists, whose views on genetics and race have provoked argument on both sides of the Atlantic, was attacked at the London School of Economics recently, less than a minute after he had begun his lecture.

Professor Hans Jurgen Eysenck, Professor of Psychology at London University, who is 57, was pulled to the floor in the LSE's new theatre when he was attacked by a group of about 26 people. He was punched, kicked and spat upon. His spectacles were broken and the side of his nose cut before, shocked and bewildered, he was dragged clear by members of the student executive.

Professor Eysenck was taken by taxi in a dazed state to the Maudsley Hospital, Denmark Hill, where he was treated for shock and cuts, but was found to be otherwise uninjured. He is also Director of the Psychological Department at the Hospital.

Three hours later other student leaders were attacked in the same lecture hall when they tried to address a meeting called by the LSE's AfroAsian Society, a left-wing dominated body with more Asian than African support.

Mr. Joe Cummings, one of the 'mature' students, who tried to calm the meeting, called after the incident involving Dr Eysenck, was thumped by militants and forced to flee for the exit door.

His colleagues, who attempted to clear a way for him, were similarly attacked. One of them was severely bitten on the left arm; another was thrown down a flight of stairs; and a third person had his arm trapped in a door.

One of the student executive said: "This has put the LSE back several years. Even in the days of protests and demonstrations, sit-ins and talkins, there was nothing like this".

Professor Eysenck had been invited to speak on "Current Theories of Intelligence", by the LSE's influential social services department. Be cause of the expected controversy his appearance was largely unadvertised and only a hand ful of interested students was supposed to know of his visit.

But the word got out and between 450 and 500 packed the new theater; most of them intending to listen to what he had to say.

Before he arrived two votes were taken on whether he should be allowed to speak. Only about 20 sought to prevent his being given a hearing. But once the professor opened his mouth a girl rushed to the platform and began punching him about the face and body. Immediately behind her were two young men who dragged him to the ground and assisted in the attack.

A student said later: "Within seconds the whole platform was a mass of struggling and heaving bodies. Everyone was throwing punches at everyone else.

"The student executive members were desperately trying to get the professor out of it. Several student leaders were punched but they eventually managed to drag the professor clear and hurry him through one of the exits.

"They managed to shove him into a taxi. The meeting was in uproar, particularly as most of the troublemakers were not LSE members. We understand they all said they were from Birmingham University. Certainly a lot of them spoke with Midlands accents".

Miss Emma Hamilton Brown, who works for the students' union at the LSE, said: "We are convinced they were from Birmingham University and it now seems pretty clear that they were members of the Communist Party of England (Marxist Leninist). They must not be confused with the other Communist Party, who hate their guts".

At the Afro-Asian Society's meeting, and after Mr Cummings and his friends had been unceremoniously thrown out, about 80 students were addressed for more than two hours by a young man wearing rimless spectacles who described himself as "Comrade Paul".

He later told the meeting, after much heckling and almost persistent interruptions, that his name was Paul Rowe, that he was a member of the executive of the Communist Party of England and was a printing worker.

The students' union executive committee stated that Professor Eysenck had been invited to speak at a meeting of the Social Science Society of the union. "An unfortunate incident instigated by a group from Birmingham took place which we, together with the majority of students, regret. It has never been the policy of the union to deprive any individual of the right to express his or her views in an open forum".

Speaking from his South London home. Professor Eysenck, nursing scratches on his forehead and nose, said he had been invited to talk to a social science group. The subject was the latest developments in intelligence testing by electronic measurement of the brain. He did not intend to speak about his controversial theories on race and intelligence.

Professor Eysenck said he had uttered about one sentence when the trouble started. "Someone snatched the microphone and threw it on the floor. I saw that the first two rows were packed with demonstrators, and they swarmed over the table and started to attack me. Two or three other people on the platform came to my aid".

The organisers apologised profusely and the police had asked him whether he wished to prosecute. "But there is no point in that. I think I will now publish my books and live in peace".

Although Professor Eysenck is probably best known for his work in explaining theories about measurement of intelligence, in recent years he has been drawn into the fierce debate over the relationship between race, intelligence and heredity.

To some extent he has picked up the torch lit in the United States by Professor Arthur Jensen, who has argued that the observable differences in measured IQ between whites and blacks in the United States is more attributable to heredity than is usually realised.