Dr. John P. Crocker, Jr. reminiscence - September 18, 2022

Good day, my name is Dr. John P. Crocker jr in the class of 1992 from Loyola Marymount University with a bachelors of arts degree and operatic voice, I was a music major and practically a minor for three years until I fell into uh my calling my

senior year where I had taken enough classes as a minor to become a major. So uh I know this will probably be a part two of an interview at some point down the road. Um but I lived on campus here from basically 1988 to 92. I

was either a resident or resident and then I became an R. A. My junior year, I was an R. A. And waylon hall and then I became a resident director, the Westchester apartments. And I don't know if LMU still has uh any angle with them now,

but they are off of basically Manchester and Emerson, just going east on Manchester but about a mile and a half and a right and then right into the neighborhood behind the mobile station. So um, I can tell you 1000 things so I'll probably have to come

back for part two. I was also involved not only with residents life. KXL U 88 9 F M K L U K L M U A M. Um gee, what else? I was a B. S. You President for a time during my sophomore year. Um I

was also part of a group called concerned student union that actually took over president lock horns office and demanded uh several things I would say, several were quite a few things from minority students here on campus and we actually were able to get those. Um Yeah,

during the time of Gosh, I think George morton dr George morton, he since uh moved on to another university now and retired, he was running the office of black student services nancy chow was running asian pacific islander students. And I believe at that time Leticia Vidal

may have been over chicano student services. But what we found is a group of students of color that the budgets were being very much compromised, funding for certain things weren't there. And with the numbers being what they were then funding should have been better. So we

got together and created a group called concerned Student Union and kind of fell on some deaf ears. And um that may of, gosh, I think it was my sophomore year um may actually been my freshman issue mid spring of 89. We took over the president's office

for about uh about an 8 to 12 hour meeting and we got some things ironed out. Um we did have some call them adjudicators come in, but we did have um dr john Davis from afro american studies came into to basically be a pacifist with that

group to help just iron out what it was we were looking for and we got it um is it is it different now? I'm quite sure it is, are the names, are the issues still the same? The names have changed. I would probably agree with that,

but you have to start somewhere. So, um, also survived a campus riot here. Uh, my senior year as a hall director. Um, it was racially motivated was over the hand in apartments and it was kind of a sad deal the way it went down. But I'll

share that one a little later too. And Also experienced a major body of racism in the music program and it wasn't anything aimed at any of the people here now, but we found out that one of the former department chairs was a card bearing member of

the Klan. He was a grand dragon and he did all he could in the spring of 92 to make sure I didn't graduate and he was denied tenure. He since dead and it's moved on. But those who are running the music department now very, very professional

people, they've been here for the last 30 years and uh, doing it justice. So, so I have nothing negative to say in that vein. Uh, even when that incident happened, they came to my rescue to make sure I was given credit for class. So I'll cut

to the chase with that. And 92 since the L. A. Riots had happened, a number of students protest that got with the provost here and the president and we were all allowed to take as the final grade in our class is the grade going into the

final exam And that was a godsend for a number of people. Um, even our spring concert for choir was canceled because we didn't have the 105 freeway then so the musicians couldn't get safely in to LMU. So that was a kind of a default, mainly because

you had a, a gentleman standing with an M 16 from the National Guard on Manchester and aviation giving the curfew time that you had to be back in Westchester or you wouldn't be allowed in. So, um, we couldn't do any rehearsing or whatnot. But again, dr

CIA mark and Virginia. Um, Barbara Bussey was around at that time, they came to my, my age to make sure uh, some injustices were taken care of. So, and again when we talk again, I'll give you some some further names. But to sum this up though,

I wouldn't trade this LMU experience or anything because it turns out it trained me for what I was going into. I ended up leaving here getting a graduate position as a Hall Director at Utah State. So I ended up staying there for years, but my master's

degree was totally paid for no student loans or anything, but it prepared me for what was about to happen in life. And uh, you know, everyone's not going to be your friend, but the terrible of the hero is if we're here for the same reasons, we've

got to unite no matter what color we are for the common good of mankind. So, and that's my story for now.