Occidental College Sit-In Ends : Protests: Students call off 5-day demonstration. President agrees to discuss their demands for more involvement in campus affairs.

About 70 Occidental College students, demanding more student involvement in how their Eagle Rock campus is run, ended a five-day 1960s-style sit-in Monday at the school’s administration building after the college’s president agreed to convene a forum next week.

Protesters at the sit-in, which began last Thursday at the Coons Administration Building, left about 5:30 p.m. after President John Slaughter approved a Nov. 28 discussion on student participation in policy making.

“People are happy, but tired at this point,” said Jennifer Trochez, a senior majoring in psychology. “They finally acknowledged that we do have a voice and that we can organize things.”

More than 150 students began the sit-in Thursday after Dean of Students Brigida Knauer canceled a free rap concert and graffiti art show organized by several student groups. The students had planned to invite high school students from throughout Los Angeles to the college last Friday to hear rap bands, watch mural art demonstrations and visit information tables set up by ethnic organizations.

Knauer said the event had become larger in scope than what had been approved and that she was concerned about potential gang fights and lack of security.

Last week, disgruntled students charged that the cancellation symbolized an unwillingness by Occidental administrators to work more closely with northeast Los Angeles communities and to make the campus more culturally diverse.

On Monday, the protesters presented Slaughter with a broad list of demands, including improved financial aid policies, more student involvement on the board of trustees and a process for evaluating officials--such as Knauer--who routinely deal with students.

“Students want to force democracy into the administration so their voice can be heard,” said Stephanie Steele, a senior majoring in English.

The students also called for a campuswide forum to discuss the demands. They proposed that administrators be given two minutes to respond to each question posed by students--a suggestion that Slaughter initially opposed but approved Monday afternoon.

Slaughter, who spoke briefly to the students Monday, said in an interview that the students should not have employed a sit-in to bring up their concerns--some of which he called exaggerated.

“They certainly didn’t need to go to these extremes to get my attention,” Slaughter said. The sit-in “certainly points out some issues we need to address. But I think there’s a fair amount of overstatement in terms of their perceived lack of involvement.”