ncipal establishments for utilizing information. Another was the way skills of persuasion and exploitation learned in classes could be used. A fourth reason was the great socioeconomic diversity present on every college campus. Universities were optimal locations for nearly every thought and opinion from across the country to be expressed (Port 12). For these grounds, Students for a Democratic Society came together to ensure that universities stepped out of the shadows and straight into the political involvement they had for so long left up to their predecessors. They stated: As students for a democratic society, we are committed to stimulating this kind of social movement, this kind of visionand program in campus and community across the country. If we appear to seek the unattainable, as it has been said, then let it be known that we do so to avoid the unimaginable (Port 14). The University of California at Berkeley is yet another example of a college campus in turmoil during the 1960s. Before the war in Vietnam, students had already begun to organize nonviolent demonstrations to protest the administrations recent request for political activism on campus to end. Students saw this requirement as a violation of their freedom, and as a result they formed the Free Speech Movement, holding numerous public objections (Berkeley 1) In 1969, the university planned to construct new dormitories on a recently purchased piece of property. Students saw this idea as yet another opportunity for them to rebel, and they soon flooded the area in order to prevent building from beginning. In the end, the head of the university saw that the only way to end this hazardous ordeal was to cancel the plans, and so he did (Berkeley 1-2).Many American students were convinced that the colleges and universities they attended were failing to educate them on the world around them. Learning how to do industrial labor or desk work was hardly going to be effective in get...
