College students of the 60's were anything but passive. Consequently they were ready to exercise their powers and to be vocal when their ideas did not agree with those around them. In 1964 at the University of California, Berkeley the Free Speech Movement was launched in response to a campus ban on political activity.
To understand the protests we must put it in context with the
happenings at that time. In 1964 Berkeley enrolled 37% more freshman
than the previous year. Majors in the humanities and social sciences
had jumped from 36 to 50% over a period of less than 10 years.
Although Berkeley was fairly liberal they were confronted by a
new radicalism that they did not know quite how to handle. They
had traditionally allowed students to hand out pamphlets, solicit
names for petitions, etc. on the street just outside the main
gate to the Berkeley campus. Students were no longer just handing
out pamphlets, but there were also demonstrations, some against
the local businesses. Therefore the conservative university Regents
pressured Clark Kerr, the president of the University of California,
to ban political activity. Students were very upset by this action
and on September 29, 1964 defied the ban and started a demonstration
in front of the main gate and refused to leave. Five protesters
were ordered to appear for disciplinary action and instead 500
showed up. Eight students were suspended which converted a protest
into a rebellion. On October 1, 1964 the protesters surrounded
a campus police car that was making an arrest and refused to move
for 32 hours. The Free Speech Movement (FSM) was formed to assure
that the administration was dealing with the students. They proposed
that the First Amendment be followed in campus. The graduate students
also joined the FSM. December 2, 1964 they decided to go on strike,
which meant no TA's, and four to five thousand protesters. Six
hundred California highway patrolmen arrested 773 people. This
was the most people ever arrested at one time in the history of
California. The Free Speech leaders produced thousands of pamphlets
and were critical to continue their fight against the administration.
The next month the Regents fired the Chancellor and replaced him
with someone who was a supporter of the Free Speech Movement.
He agreed to most of the Movement's demands including distributing
literature outside the Berkeley main gate.
As can be seen, this time of activism spread to many areas.
College campuses were very noisy in the 1960s. Not only were there
the antiwar demonstrations but also the questioning of campus
policies. The ultimate success of the Berkeley students and the
Free Speech Movement gave students across the country optimism
that they could overcome college administrations and should be
vocal and pursue their causes. This Movement at Berkeley allowed
future students to stand up for what they believe in without the
threat of punishment. This has carried on into the present time.
Many opposing points of view are now represented at today's colleges.
We thank these pioneers for their courageous efforts that benefit
us all today.
Work Cited
Enfield, Ron. Berkeley Free Speech Movement. N.d. Berkeley Free Speech Movment. 20 May 2003
<http://home.att.net/~enfield/fsmhist2.html>.
Enfield, Ron. Berkeley Free Speech Movement. N.d. Berkeley Free Speech Movment. 20 May 2003
<http://home.att.net/~enfield/fsmhist4.html>.