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When Young steps before the regents late this week, he will have several tactical ploys open to him. He could declare the case so extraordinary that only the regents can make the decision—an unprecedented ceding of his authority. Or he could argue that Miss Davis should remain on the faculty until the case is adjudicated: the regents are, in fact, appealing the superior court's finding of unconstitutionality.
Whatever Young's decision, it will have repercussions beyond U.C.L.A. Firing Angela Davis may well trigger trouble at some of U.C.'s more combustible campuses such as Berkeley and Santa Barbara. Keeping her may well cause a backlash in the June primary election, when California voters will be asked to approve a $246 million bond issue for a badly needed health sciences complex at U.C.L.A. "I like my job," says Chancellor Young, who gets $41,000 a year. "I can't think of anything I'd rather do." But unless he finds a way to please everyone, he says, "I could see the board terminating me."