Reading the article
done about the Berkeley strikes in the 1960s was very inspiring and
commendable. Within the article they mentioned how amazing it felt for students
to be able to create such change even though they are so young. Their fight for
free speech was not easy, and these students had various run ins with police
and administration at the university.
Berkeley is fairly close to Davis so it gives off this feeling of
solidarity with those students who paved the way for other universities to be
daring and voice their opinions through non-violent protest tactics. It really
makes you think about today, and how without the Berkeley Free Speech Movement,
students in university would not be able to freely express themselves without
administration or authorities coming to shut them down. When reading the
article, I couldn’t help but to think back to when students were doing sit ins
to remove Katehi from her office. I personally knew people who took part in
this sit ins and protests of Katehi and its amazing how their acts of free
speech was able to force her to step down from her office. This just goes to
show that you don’t need violence or force to make a difference. This also
makes one look back at the infamous pepper spray incident. If those Berkeley
students saw or were to have seen what had happened to the students in Davis,
it would be interesting to see their reaction or how they would have approached
the situation.
Question: What would
be other ways that students could express their beliefs and concerns, other
than protests and sit ins?
References:
Chong, E. (2017,
March). [Digital image]. Retrieved November 2, 2017, from https://i1.wp.com/utdmercury.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/freedom-of-speech-opinion-piece.jpg?resize=740%2C459
Cohen,
R. (1985). Berkeley Free Speech Movement: Paving the way for campus
activism. OAH Magazine of History, 1(1),
16-18. doi:10.1093/maghis/1.1.16
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