The States: Though the Heavens Fall

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As the climate of violence receded. Meredith's campus guard shrank to three or even two marshals, without helmets or visible weapons, hovering discreetly in the background. Meredith even saw direct signs of thaw. As he climbed the steps of a classroom building on his third day of classes, a student seated on the steps said hello to him (the student later got punched in the face for his courtesy). In the cafeteria next day, a student from his home town of Kosciusko came over to his table and chatted with him briefly. And in a political science class, a student asked the instructor to tell Meredith that he was welcome to use the student's notes to catch up with the work he had missed because of his late registration.

But such signs may have been perilously deceptive. And it will be a long time before Meredith can safely walk around the campus with no escort at all.