Chi Phi Fraternity on High Street, West Virginia University
Date:
1970
Description:
This photo of the Chi Phi fraternity was done for the 1970 WVU Monticola. In an effort to get interesting group hosts for the Greek Section, we held a contest for the best idea for their group photo. We didn't ask permission. We picked a Saturday afternoon. I got the 4 x 5 camera ready with tripod while we watied for the traffic light to turn red. Everyone took their chairs into the street. The first thing that I see upside on the ground glass is the police car that had just come up Pleasant Street. Imagine what they thought seeing the guys sitting in the street. A friend of mine, another photographer, yelled "take the picture." I got four shots as the police started moving people off the street. The guy in the white jacket didn't even know the police were there. When they tried to lift him up he slipped on the wet pavement and said something like, "leave me alone, let's finish this picture." They got him for resisting arrest. We had a write up in the paper about a sit in staged on High Street for the benefit of a photographer source unknown. - Dave Smith
