The pact

The USO was the United Students Organization.

From the text:

Students from several Newark public schools belonged to USO, which began to meet at Essex County College to plan strategies for improving the schools.

The USO organized rallys, protests, and walk outs. Their work served to unite rival schools to fight for a common cause. One of their walk outs served to initiate the choice of African American studies, as well as curriculum choices about the history of other minority groups.