Blog 2: section A01: Pahnia Vang

Berkeley Free Speech Movement: Paving the way for campus activism

The article discusses the free speech movement and how it came to be that today, campuses all over are given the right to enjoy free speech as do all citizens in regards to students’ interests on campus and around the world. It is critical to look at this article because for one, it shed light on how the free speech movement started and two, how with the solidarity of all students, faculty, and in addition to those within and out of the area are able to make change within the system despite the hurdles of the Cold War era and other factors such as school administration and police force. The article provides its readers that to bring the change you want to see, you have to step up and make the change yourself. And that is what the Berkeley students did. Seeing the effects of the Civil Rights Movement and the change it brought  to the people, the Free Speech Movement was sought out to remove and get rid of universities political restrictions such that it prohibited “campus political advocacy” (Cohen 16). In addition to it, to be able to voice their opinions on matters of warfare, politics, economy, government, and so forth brought many people the confidence and courage to speak out and able to realize that one person can make a difference towards building a better tomorrow.

Question: As the article also stated, the generation of the early 1960s were known as the "silent generation" due to the Cold War era and McCarthyism, thus those who involved themselves in radical political activities were branded as disloyal and un-American. What would have happened if the Free Speech Movement have not succeeded?     

Cohen R. Berkeley Free Speech Movement: Paving the Way for Campus Activism. Organization

of American Historians 1:16–18. Available at: https://smartsite.ucdavis.edu/access/content/group/5902c451-0f87-416b-b885-bd1286638fba/class readings/week2/uc berkeley free speech.pdf. Accessed January 2015.

http://www.berkeleybyte.com/2014/10/12/new-media-the-new-frontier-for-free-speech/