Forget class! The verdict's in

At 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, America held its breath and waited for the verdict -- and the look on O.J.'s face.

At SF State, the reading of the verdict in the O.J. Simpson murder trial took precedence over class instruction mid-morning as students, faculty and staff huddled around TVs and listened to personal radios.

With students skipping classes to hear the verdict and others bringing Walkmans and portable TVs to class, many teachers decided to forego the planned lessons in favor of the real-life civic lesson.

"My teacher let us out of class early to hear it," said psychology student Alexis Lanier.

In the Cesar Chavez Student Center, televisions were rolled out on every level. Students and staff gathered around, craned their necks to see and cocked their heads to listen.

In the center's basement, one woman chanted from the crowd, "Go O.J. -- Go O.J.!" after the verdict was read.

Meanwhile, many onlookers stared grimly at the tube. Others gasped in disbelief, while still others shrugged their shoulders in apparent resignation.

"I think O.J.'s a very lucky man, and Cochran can put another notch in his belt," said graduate business student Adam Raubfogel. "I should have gone to law school," he added.

Other students were not so acquiescent.

"I'm bitter," said kinesiology student Jeff Linton. "I feel so upset with the whole aspect of humanity."

Linton, who brought his portable TV to school Tuesday "just to see the look on Simpson's face," said the verdict made him feel sick to his stomach.

"I'm shocked!" said recreation and leisure studies student Matt Gruner.

Gruner attended the trial one day in August when attorneys were discussing statistical material. "The jurors weren't paying attention," he said.

Some expected to hear "not guilty" on Tuesday, but were not convinced by the verdict.

"I still think he's guilty," said Spanish student Karen Correia. "He was probably let off not because they thought he was innocent, but because they couldn't definitely trust the evidence. It's sad, but I guess it's the way the justice system works."

Ken Delman, a cinema student who brought his Walkman to school to hear the verdict, said he does not think Simpson is innocent. "Just being a rational person, you had to know he did it," he said.

Others were not so certain Simpson committed the murders.

"O.J.'s too sweet," said Lanier. Pleased with the verdict, she said, "It's for justice. Justice all the way."

"He got all the justice money can buy," said criminology professor Mike Rustigan. "Very few people can afford the big lawyers Simpson had. If this were anyone else, who didn't have the money, it would have been much different."

While the verdict in the O.J. Simpson trial continues to be debated, there are those who refrain from second-guessing the jury's decision.

"I thought he was guilty. I'm not upset," said international business student Darice Drefko. "It's worse, because he'll have to live with guilt."

Renita Sandosham, Alex Mullen, Forrest Miller and Lynn Mangione contributed to this report.

[ Golden Gater Online October 5, 1995 ]

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