ASA 2 Section 2
My only note on the "Berkeley Free Speech Movement: Paving the way for campus activism" article is that there is always room for progressive action as there is no such thing as a perfect system. In this case, the students of UC Berkeley were silenced when mobilizing to support political causes surrounding the civil rights movement. The university administered police forces to arrest Weinberg because he refused to cooperate with their demands of removing himself and his table from the premises. Several thousand students rallied together and surrounded the vehicle, thus, immobilizing the officer from arresting Weinberg. The fact that these students were able to prevent Weinberg's arrest shows the sheer power of numbers in social justice activism. A greater population equates to a greater level of unrest and a greater demand for change. When everyone is upset, there must be something wrong with the system, NOT us! What we can take from The Free Speech Movement (FSM) is that there is strength in numbers and that this movement should be utilized as a template for future activism in that it abides by the rhetoric of nonviolent protest.
How has activism changed since FSM? For example, what can we say about the Pepper Spray Incident and the problematic way the administration handled the situation? Do we see a pattern in rising police action and greater systemic oppression perpetuated by the university?
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