The FSM's Support and Growth of Activism

Response to "Berkeley Free Speech Movement: Paving the Way for Campus Activism" (Week 2 Reading)

Post Date: April 10, 2014

This article describes how important campus activism was during the 1960s, especially in UC Berkeley. Students on-campus had started to protest for free speech on campus, helping produce the Free Speech Movement (FSM). The civil rights activists used peaceful methods of protest to also show other issues with the University. These protestors even risked their own lives and well-being in order to make a stand for what they desire for. Mario Savio had to talk to the administrative heads at UC Berkeley, thus creating the risk of being ignored and being arrested by campus police. However, the student protestors and the FSM eventually succeeded in obtaining their demands. The FSM, supported by the UC Senate for the beliefs this group was founded one, went to protest against the Vietnam War and gave these protestors confidence.

I feel protests play an important role in modern society, since this act has renewed the desire for individuals to fight for their rights in a hegemonic society that ignore rights that are supposedly given. Protests have been used by not only university students, but Asian-Americans have utilized a political voice in order to get their demands heard via protesting. Asian-Americans would not be in the position they are in today if there were no protesting to allow for ethnic studies. Many other ethnic groups, including African-American, Puerto Rican, and others have used protesting in order to gain attention for their cause and to drum up support. Thus, protesting remains an important method to be heard in today’s society for ethnic studies, in addition to other groups on campus. Today, protests have grown larger and are prominent in American society.

Question: How have the FSM’s protests inspired other groups to support various causes, such as  protestors fighting for basic rights?

Posted by: Eric Yu

Section A01

Berkeley students gather to protest Napolitano and her history of injustices. Picture from the Daily Californian. [Original Citation: Protests happened around campus intermittently to voice their discontent against UC President Janet Napolitano's visit to UC Berkeley.]