In February 1936 he was threatened with expulsion from the university, along with 'U Nu, for refusing to reveal the name of the author of an article he had run in the student newspaper called "Hell Hound at Large", which criticized a senior university official. After refusing to give the name of the student who had authored the article, Aung San was expelled from the university. His friend U Nu was also expelled for giving anti-British speeches, leading to the three-month long Second University Students' Strike, after which the university authorities subsequently retracted their expulsions.