On Saturday, President Shannon addressed a crowd of 4000 people from the Rotunda steps. At first meeting with jeer, he gained the crowd’s support when he condemned the Nixon administration’s decision to invade Cambodia and the National Guards’ actions at Kent State. He expressed his intention to keep the University of Virginia open despite the strike, noting that it was the only university on the East Coast that had remained open during the week. He then expressed his pride in students’ recent activism, expressing support for those who “in an agony of conscience . . . want to act, not to study.” Shannon received a standing ovation from the crowd of students, faculty, and alumni. Although some alumni and local press immediately denounced Shannon, he ultimately won the support of the Board of Visitors, largely because he had kept the University open with no violent unrest.