■ _ —UPI Telephoto THE CASKET of ihe late President John F. Kennedy is lowered from a plane at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., as Mrs. Kennedy and Atty. Gen. Robert Kennedy look on. . __ , VOL. 64, No. 43 vxfPTsr MOMS 't. '' • fef-' /'-V I g r. -.;: ! ;v - ” //,♦ 'VS/i% ' ’ y"/%\ .n, I '4t>, ‘V# \Z& ■ ?^v*4 \ "'%K\ # i.-r ,f“ y '■■■'lf'?¥'&%}■ v' -fjx' s ;.y " yp'-X^v^ sit THE UNIVERSITY'S flag stands at half mast at the news of the President's death. PRESIDENT SSASSINATE Campus Reacts with Shock To Kennedy's Assassination Reactions of the administration, faculty and students to President Kennedy’s assassination ranged from shock and disbelief to discussion of former Vice President Johnson’s capabilities as chief executive. No one displayed concern for the'fate of Texas Gov. John Connally. President Eric A. Walker said, “We are all stunned by the assassination of President Kennedy and there is nothing that can be said to lessen the shock and sadness we feel.” R. Wallace Brewster, professor of political science said, It will take us Americans and our friends all over the world a long time to adjust to the cold fact that he is no longer at the helm.” M. Nelson McGeary, assistant to President Walker, said . . a tremendous loss to the nation . . . we can merely hope and pray that President Johnson! can receive the cooperation needed to carry us on.” Solemn Groups Meanwhile, students all over campus stood in nervous, sol emn groups, commenting on the tragedy of the event. In the Hetzel Union Building the juke box was still. About 15 or 20 students were seen clustered about' a transistor radio near the lowered flag of Old Main. "I am deply sorry as 1 am sure the whole student body is . . . This is certainly a sad day for our nation and the world” commented George Jackson, president of the Un dergraduate Student Govern ment. Senior Class President Ralph Wise said, . . this will be felt throughout the country and the world. It’s tragic.” Paul McPherson, chairman of the Young Republican Club said “I would like to express our grief . . . and extend our sympathies to his (Kennedy’s) family . ..” Vicki Caplan, pres ident of the Association of Wo men Students, commented that she was ‘‘extremely upset ” First Reaction The first reaction of many students was one of disbelief. “We’d all been joking about it because we couldn’t believe it was true," Robert Kok (4th secondary. education - Blairs ville commented.' “I can’t be lieve it could happen in a coun try like this,” Judith Rost (sth elementary education-Teaneck, N.J.) said. Almost everyone expressed shock and despair. Voices were hushed; comments were simple and direct. “It’s a hell of a thing,” James (Continued on page four) UNIVERSITY PARK, PA., SATURDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 23, 1963 -UPI Telephoto VICE PRESIDENT LYNDON B. JOHNSON is sworn in as President of the United Stales by Federal District Judge Sarah T. Hughes. His wife Lady Bird (left) and Mrs. John F. Kennedy are present. FOR A BETTER PENN STATE i DALLAS (AP) A hidden gunman assassinated President Kennedy with a high-powered rifle yesterday. Three shots reverberated. Blood sprang from the President’s face. He fell face downward in the back seat of his car. His wife clutched his head and tried to lift it, crying, “Oh, No!”. Half an hour later, John F. Kennedy was dead and the United States had a new president, Lyndon B. Johnson. Within the hour, police had arrested a 24-year-old man following the killing of a Dallas policeman. Homicide Capt. Will Fritz said last night witnesses had identified the man as slayer of the policeman. But Fritz said it had not been estab lished that the man killed the President. Suspect Named He is Harvey Lee Oswald of Fort Worth, who four years ago said he was applying for Russian citizenship. He has a Russian wife. Oswald denied that he had shot anybody. The assassination occurred just as the President’s motor cade was leaving downtown Dallas at the end of a triumphal tour through the city’s streets. His special car—with the protective bubble down—was moving down an incline into an underpass that leads to a freeway route to the Dallas Trade Mart, where he was to Witnesses heard three shots. Two hit the President, one in the head and one in the neck. The third shot wounded Gov. John B. Connally o' Texas in the side but his condition was reported not critical. As the gunfire rang in the street, a reporter in the caravan screamed, “My God, they’re shooting at the President!” The motorcade slowed and then sped forward at breakneck speed to Parkland Hospital near the Trade Mart. Onlookers, terrified at the sight and sound of the assassi nation, dived face forward for protection onto a grassy park at the entrance of the underpass, fearing more shots. Police swarmed into the scene. At the hospital emergency entrance, AP reporter Jack Bell saw the President stretched out face down at full length, motionless on the back seat of the car. His suit still looked neat—but there was blood on the floor. The shots were fired at 12:30 p.m. and the President died at 1 p.m. He was 46 and the youngest'man ever elected president. - -Automatically;"-the-mantle of “the presidency .fell to Vice fflalbgiatt Motionless President Lyndon B. Johnson, a native Texan who had been riding two cars behind the chief executive. Johnson was sworn in as President of the United States at about 2:39 p.m. CST. He took the oath of office aboard the presidential plane at Dallas’ Love Field. The Secret Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Dallas police swung into action within seconds after the shooting and launched what was perhaps the biggest, deter mined manhunt in the nation’s history. Oswald was arrested in a theatre four miles from the assassination site. He fled to the theatre after killing Dallas policeman J. D. Tippet, who stopped him on a street, police said. The suspect admitted owning the pistol \vhich killed Tippet but denied under intense questioning that he had any part in the assassination. Police said other employees of the building' from which the shooting occured confirmed that Oswald was seen in .the building at the time. . ■ Funeral arrangements for Kennedy, whose body was flown to Washington yesterday in the plane which carried the hew President, were announced by the White House last night. Today, the body will be placed on view in the White House for members of the family and government officials. Kennedy’s body will be taken to the Capitol tomorrow, where it will be placed in the Rotunda for a public viewing. The funeral will be held at St. Matthews Cathedral in Washington where a high mass will be celebrated at noon, and the body will be interred Monday afternoon in Brookline, Mass. President Kennedy was riding in the lead car of what had been a triumphal motorcade when he was shot through the head and neck. In the same fusillade of shots, at about 12:30 p.m. CST, Gov. Connally was struck with three bullets —one each in the right arm, right' leg and back. (Continued on page four) State, Pitt Cancel Game; Classes To Meet Today President Eric A. Walker and University of Pitts burgh Chancellor Edward Litchfield announced last night that the football game scheduled for today be tween the two schools has been canceled “out of respect” for President John F. Kennedy.' FIVE CENTS A sellout crowd of 57,000 was expected to watch the contest, which has been rescheduled for Saturday, Dec. 7, in Pittsburgh. Penn State will have an open date next week but Pitt will meet the Miami Hurri canes. President Kennedy’s assassi nation will have no effect on the schedule of today’s classes, ex cept that those of the Depart ment of Speech have been dis missed. There were no other official cancellations among the 32 de partments contacted yesterday afternoon. , Dixon Johnson, director of the University public information de partment, said the University will probably follow whatever policy President Lyndon B. John son sets up regarding a nation al day of mourning. Several of the college deans and department heads said until President Eric A. Walker makes a declaration of University poli cy, all classes and functions will proceed as usual. The Hetzel Union Social Com mittee announced the cancella tion of Nickelodeon Night as a result of the President's death. Commonwealth Campuses A spot check of the Univer sity’s 14 Commonwealth cam puses yesterday indicated a pat tern of cancellations of social events following the news of President Kennedy’s death. None of the four campuses contacted, however, said classes will be canceled officially today. Jay L. Chronister, dean of student affairs at McKeesport! campus,* said the news of the President’s death "has put a damper on the Pitt game.” McKeesport students canceled a bonfire and pep rally, sched uled for last night, in support of the Nittany Lions. ' Mil Ball Canceled Kenneth M. Bailey, dean of student affairs at the Ogontz campus, said that campus’ mili tary ball set for tonight, has been canceled. “It has not yet been decided whether or when the military ball will be rescheduled,” Bailey said. An Ogontz facility meeting last night was also canceled. • No classes at Ogontz were can celed on an official ba?’'j yes terday although individual pro fessors did cancel their classes. “Classes will be held tomorrow (today) in the view that the busi ness of the nation must be car ried forward,” Bailey said. 1 (Continued, on page jour) Oswald Arrested U.S., World Mourn with First Family From the Wire Services Reactions to the President’s death yesterday in the imme diate family and from' leaders all over the world took the form of shock and sorrow. A stunned Senate adjourned until noon Monday after a prayer by its chaplain. The House was not in session. The President’s younger brother, Sen. Edward M. (Ted) Kennedy, D-Mass., was presid ing over the Senate when he received word of the shooting. Atty. Gen. Robert F. Ken nedy, the President’s other brother and closest adviser, was having lunch at home when word of his brother’s shooting reached him. He met his sister-in-law, Jacqueline Kennedy, at the airport when she arrived from Dallas. Edward Kennedy has flown to Boston with his sister Eu nice Shriver, to comfort their parents. Speaker of the House John McCormack, who is now sec ond in line to the Presidency, remarked: “It is a staggering loss.” Around the World From Soviet Premier Khrush chev came an immediate ex pression of sympathy to Mrs. Kennedy; he is sending an official message to the people of the United States. French President Charles De Gaulle also expressed his sor row, as did British Prime Min ister Sir Alec Douglas-Home in private messages to the Ken nedy family. President De Gaulle said, “President Kennedy will nev er be forgotten,” and pledged the friendship and support of the French people to President Johnson. West German Chancellor Ludwig Erhard, who was to come to Washington tomorrow to confer with Resident Ken nedy, immediately canceled his travel plans, but later said he hoped to attend the funeral. In West Berlin, over 25,000 Germans staged a mass torch light parade in memory of the President. In most of the European capitals, radio and television broadcasts were interrupted (Continued on page three)
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