Eugene Days

After finishing at Portland Community College, Shilts took the expected next step and enrolled in the University of Oregon in the eclectic town of Eugene. In the 1970s the UO campus was a “liberal oasis” in a still mostly rural and conservative state. Tension existed on campus, however. In 1969 the university’s football coach backed down from a demand that some of his black players dramatically trim their afro haircuts into a more “acceptable” short buzz. Even graduation exercises were subject to protest: a Black Panther Party interloper interrupted the 1969 spring commencement with an impromptu speech about racial inequities