Week 7 - Adriana Goracci A01

The Berkeley Free Speech movement was the most massive student demonstration in the history of Universities of California. In 1964, Berkeley students united to revolt against the political restrictions imposed by the educational school system which at the time, denied the students of their rights of free speech and campus political advocacy. According to the article: “Berkeley Free Speech Movement: Paving the way for campus activism”, this protest was one of the most powerful and effective ones in the history of California institutions. Many students fought together for the same cause and the strength originated from the individual student protestors, is perceptible through the actions of the group as a whole. It was when Jack Weinberg was arrested by the police for refusing to remove the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), as he was attempting to distribute political literature and consequently about 3000 students surrounded the police car where Winberg was handcuffed that I realized how students my age or some years older were driven by such strong beliefs and ideas to fight for the right thing. This evidence of young scholars fighting so courageously and fiercely for a right that is unjustifiably taken away gives me strength and hope for the future. I could not stop thinking about the power of this demonstration, how the students aggregated into a unison voice, fighting all together against something that should be in the first place a given moral and political right by the institutions.

Question: Many have fought to obtain the rights we have today. We should acknowledge those struggles more, not only to realize how lucky we are to be living in a time where education is at its best but also to reflect and think deeper on what issues we can resolve for the generations to come. What changes do we need to obtain and how can we improve the current educational system?

Resources:

• Cohen, Robby. “Berkeley Free Speech Movement: Paving the Way for Campus Activism.”OAH Magazine of History, Vol. 1, No. 1, Teaching about the 60's (Apr. 1985), Pp. 16-18, 6 Jan. 2012, www.jstor.org/stable/25162448.
• Wachowiak, Emily. “Mario Savio: The Voice of the Free Speech Movement.” FEAR AND LOATHING IN THE COUNTERCULTURE, Wordpress.com, Apr. 8ADAD, electrickoolaidblogtest.wordpress.com/2013/08/04/mario-savio-the-voice-of-the-free-speech-movement/.