This had the effect of assigning to positions of great importance people who lacked the temperament or the right qualifications, but possessed the necessary appointments for political connections.

Lucas Luis Velez, St. John, informed the dean that students of this faculty had agreed not to pay their debts related to deposits of materials laboratory equipment.

The Faculty of Law adopted a resolution which determined that the actions of Dean St. John "have not been conformed as per the due consideration to be afforded to students, and therefore expressed their solidarity with them in protest".

Students of the College of Pharmacy, who were still under suspension, were outraged upon learning about this decision of the board of trustees and made their displeasure public in the newspaper La Democracia.

After information about these events reached the Commissioner of Education, and amidst the insistent rumors of a strike, the Dean ordered in November 1 the closure of that Faculty.

Students of the Board, preparing for a possible strike, create a commission for the purpose of raising funds, comprising this committee, among others, Isaias M. Crespo and Antonio R. Barceló.

On December 17, 1923, the strike leaders Pelayo Román Benítez, Felix Ochoteco, Isaiah M. Crespo, P. Wilson Colberg, Alfonso Paniagua and Mario Polanco gathered under a gum tree in the grounds of the University of Puerto Rico and founded the fraternity Phi Eta Mu, for the purpose of granting protection and mutual loyalty in the face of repression from the university authorities.

They managed thus to establish within the university one of the most serious and more solidly grounded student organizations ever, including a wise Constitution, a comprehensive set of regulations and a refined blend of traditions have placed the fraternity Phi Eta Mu in a place of excellence among Puerto Rican student organizations, a solid grouping of mind and spirit known to have succeeded the test of time.