The Free Speech Movement

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the Free Speech Movement.  The whole thing began when thousands of U.C. Berkeley students blocked a police car and used the roof of the car as a platform to make speeches.  

Jack Weinberg was in the back seat of the car.  He had been arrested for staffing a table that gave out information on the civil rights movement.  I repeat—he had been arrested for staffing a table that gave out information on the civil rights movement.

Life was different then.  The students who climbed on the car to speak removed their shoes to avoid scratching the paint.  

Ronald Reagin, a candidate for governor, said the Berkeley campus had become a “rallying point for Communists.”  When asked if he was inspired by Communism, Weinberg stated, “We have a saying in the movement that we don’t trust anyone over 30.”

Weinberg is now 74.  

Fifty years ago I was a grad student at Penn State.  I was deeply impressed with the Free Speech Movement, and I continue to be impressed.  The advice not to trust anyone over 30 remains valid.

The quotes and much of the information came from an article in the Times by Carol Pogash.  The opinions are all mine.