Back in January the authorities had arrested Huynh Tan Mam, chairman of the Saigon Student Association, and scores of others. The arrest of one of the most influential university students in the city set off ripples of protest, which were immediately quelled by the police. According to subsequent reports, Mam had been severely beaten, was struggling to walk, and his face was swollen and peeling from hours of close exposure to a 200-watt bulb. Through another arrestee, he passed a note hidden in a cigarette package with a list of other students who were also in prison.
