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Vashon College Students Threaten Mass Walkout After Student Assaulted

A campus engineer is accused of violently attacking a student; the student body now demands the employee's immediate termination.

The story, cleaned up

A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.

Victor Adams, a member of the electrical engineering class of Vashon College, lies severely injured in his room at the school, and the boys of the college are worked up to the highest pitch of excitement and anger as the result of an attack made upon Adams Friday night by a man employed at the school. The school faculty is accused of shielding the employee after the incident, claiming it was merely a slight brawl. The trouble occurred late Friday evening while Adams was studying; he went to the engine room to investigate a disturbance, where he was chased by the engineer to the center of the school grounds. In full view of students, the engineer allegedly struck Adams about the head with a sharp object, knocking him unconscious. The attending physician says the gashes indicate the use of a knife or broken glass. The student body has stated they will quit the school in a body unless the man is discharged. Adams intends to swear out a warrant for the man's arrest once he is able to leave the school.

“The student body of the school did not attend classes today, and stated to the Times that they would quit the school in a body unless the Japanese is discharged.”

— Printed in The Tacoma Times (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1909
Then · 1909117 years apartNow · 2026

This 1909 incident at Vashon College reflects the intense racial hostility prevalent in the region during the early 20th century. Today, the site of the former Vashon College near Burton remains a point of historical curiosity on Vashon Island, serving as a reminder of how private institutions navigated the period's volatile social landscape.

The original page

The Tacoma Times (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1909-04-26. Library of Congress, Chronicling America.

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About this story

From
The Tacoma Times (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, APR 26, 1909, Page 6
Rights
Public domain
Place
47.42088, -122.47371 · placed automatically
The paper in the Library of Congress catalog ↗