The OCS representatives, Lt. Joseph Heimbold and Sgt. Erwin L. Brady, were the first military information officers allowed onto the campus after College Council banned on-campus army recruitment in October. The decision was a response to Gen. Lewis B. Hershey's 1967 letter to the local draft board recommending that they classify anti-draft demonstrators as eligible for active duty. The ban was rescinded a week prior.
The confrontation resulted and drew support from an anti-war protest. Picketing outside Alumni House started at noon that day. Within an hour, about 150 students and 15 faculty members had joined the picket line. At 12:45 p.m., Professor John Ratte of the History department, a supporter of the cause, rallied the marchers, saying, "The war in Vietnam is not a threat to any real national interest of ours. We do not have the means to carry out this war. We cannot win this war."
Capitalizing on Professor Ratte's speech, Jim Outman '68 called out to the picketers to join him. He said, "I say that those who are curious about what the Army does, about how it is carrying on this immoral war, should come with me [into Alumni House]."
Some 80 students and several faculty members responded to Outman's call and followed him into the seminar room, where they came upon 10 students discussing the OCS program with the two officers. The protesters proceeded to attempt to engage both the officers and the students in a discussion about the war.
However, the officers refused to answer any questions. Lt. Heimbold repeatedly declared, "I'm not here to make national policy. I'm here to answer questions about the program." After 15 minutes, realizing that they were at an impasse, most of the students returned to the picket line outside.