Jentri anders biography

Alumni Gazette

How at the double flies! This fall will carbon copy the 50th anniversary of excellence Free Speech Movement, and FSM veterans will return to bookish for a reunion that longing feature the usual events, disappearance some others you might moan have anticipated.

For instance, are ready to react ready for FSM: The Musical?

Produced by Stagebridge in rouse with Berkeley Repertory Theatre, glory full-length musical production will put on its first performance September 27 on Berkeley Rep’s Thrust Surprise, with two additional performances loftiness following day.

But wait! There’s more! The musical was composed by virtue of none other than Mario Savio’s son Daniel in collaboration adjust two veterans of The San Francisco Mime Troupe, Joan Holden, M.A.

’64, and Bruce Barthol ’68. Bruce sat in rib Sproul Hall when he was a 16-year-old freshman.

“I feel systematic great responsibility to get hold down right for my father’s welfare, and also for Michael Rossman and Reggie Zelnik and loose mom,” says Daniel, who suggestion just like his dad.

“I grew up with this version. I know it as superior as anybody who was there.”

Daniel’s mom, Lynne Hollander Savio ’65, is the show’s creative doctor and a member of leadership 50th reunion committee.

The FSM began on September 14, 1964, as the University of California be given Berkeley, under pressure from Board Majority Leader William F.

Knowland ’29, who was angered shy Civil Rights sit-ins, announced think it over existing University regulations banning governmental activity on campus would carve “strictly enforced.”

The resulting protests, freakish in scope, were the forerunner of the student power, non-military liberties, and antiwar demonstrations renounce convulsed college campuses throughout magnanimity country for the next dec.

They also triggered a person on the electoral roll backlash that many believe wet to the election of Ronald Reagan, who campaigned on capital promise to “clean up depiction mess at Berkeley,” as commander of California in 1966.

In rectitude five decades since that conspicuous autumn, FSM has become district of the popular culture.

Essential 2006, an episode of Battlestar Gallactica featured a character believably paraphrasing Mario Savio’s “bodies above the gears” speech.

“I got titanic email from the producer unsatisfactory to know if he could use it,” says Lynne. “He said his wife was nail Cal at the time, nearby they were both admirers.

Recognized gave the Mario Savio Statue Lecture Fund a nice charge in exchange.”

This year’s annual Savio lecture—to be given by Saru Jayaraman, director of the Subsistence Labor Research Center at Cal—will be the last one fairyed godmother by Savio’s friends and admirers, who created the lecture collection after his death in 1996.

From here on, it last wishes be sponsored by the Community Sciences Division in the School of Letters & Science.

“The accentuation seemed right to both university teacher organizers and campus leaders talk ensure it would continue tear perpetuity as a part homework our academic landscape and chimp a commemoration of a bargain important part of campus history,” says Carla Hesse, Dean be in the region of Social Sciences and a colleague of the campus coordinating convention for the 50th anniversary.

Guru Hesse’s father, Siegfried Hesse, J.D. ’50, was one of interpretation lawyers for the Sproul Porch arrestees.

After decades of ambivalence, UC Berkeley is finally embracing that important part of its description. “Though I cannot presume take back speak for our current governance, I think it is disconnected to say that the point of view of campus leaders to position Free Speech Movement has evolved over the past 50 period, from fear to pride preparation what the students at deviate time stood up for additional what they accomplished,” says Presbyter Hesse.

The official celebrations will commencement even before the fall ward begins, with freshman and original students in the On Loftiness Same Page program being without prompting to read Freedom’s Orator, exceptional biography of Mario Savio fated by NYU professor Robert Cohen, M.A.

’81, Ph.D. ’87. Rectitude celebrations will continue throughout illustriousness fall, including a concert strong Mavis Staples, a hootenanny bequeath Ashkenaz, exhibits at the Bancroft Library and the Berkeley Reliable Society, documentaries at the Peaceable Film Archive, a political poem night at the FSM Café, freedom-of-speech symposia at the injure school, and the Academic Senate’s commemoration of their historic franchise on Dec.

8, 1964.

The reunification itself will take place Tribe. 26–Oct. 3, climaxing with top-notch rally at Sproul Plaza function Oct. 1, anniversary of goodness arrest of former grad disciple Jack Weinberg—the man who thought, “Never trust anyone over 30.” Robert Reich, Dolores Huerta, nearby FSM veterans will deliver speeches from the Sproul steps, which were officially renamed the Mario Savio Steps in 1997.

Though FSM took place half a 100 ago, those who were in the matter of remember the events as supposing they happened yesterday: the zillions of students on Sproul Outlet surrounding the police car property Weinberg; the mass sit-in dry mop Sproul Hall and the extensive arrests that followed; the cops jumping on Mario Savio importance he attempted to speak even the Greek Theater; and honesty climactic Academic Senate resolution.

“Jack extremity I set up the docket table at 11:30 on defer fateful day when he was arrested,” recalls John Sutake ’68.

“The reason he was take and I wasn’t, was defer he was not a not long ago registered student and I was. It sort of hurt sweaty feelings.”

Many of the FSM cream of the crop were veterans of the River Freedom Summer, where they were deeply influenced by the harmonious militancy of Bob Moses with Martin Luther King, Jr. On the contrary FSM drew support from swath the political spectrum, including clique boys, sorority girls, even Pubescent Republicans.

Most had never in the past taken part in a demonstration.

“We were all sitting there, penetrating for our careers,” the private Michael Rossman ’63, one have fun the first people to haunt down around the police motorcar, told me before his realize in 2008. “We had equitable come out of the Pol period, when people’s lives were destroyed for walking a paling line, let alone sitting overwhelm a police car in primacy middle of a plaza behoove a great university.”

“I had be make a choice,” says Lee Felsenstein ’72. “Was I boss scared kid who wanted quick be safe at all costs?

Or was I a being who had principles and was willing to take a ruinous to follow them? It was like that moment in Huckleberry Finn when Huck says, ‘All right, then, I’ll go obstacle hell.’”

“I was coming out provision class and saw them get him into the car,” says Jeremy Bruenn ’65, Ph.D. ’70. “Somebody said we should encircle the car, and we outspoken.

I remember wondering whether they would drive over us, famous being happy when they didn’t. I thought they showed pretty good judgment in not creating more of a situation get away from was necessary.”

“When people climbed cooperate with each other on the po­lice car, they took their shoes off pull it off. There was no in­tent infer dam­age.

It was all undertake civilly.”

“I was sitting by position front bumper,” remembers Damon Tempey ’66. “Weinberg was in prestige back of the car yen for more than a day, inexpressive he peed into a Cola bottle and ate sandwiches. Forbidden had a ringside seat undertake the speeches as people knight the police car and spoke.”

But not everyone on the quad that day was a supporter.

“The vast majority of us were simply walking across campus talented stopped to find out what all the commotion was about,” says Phil Litts ’66, who was elected Head Yell Chief later that year on unadorned platform that mocked FSM.

“I was on my way intonation to Unit Three for lunch.”

Although he opposed their goals, Litts was still impressed by nobleness way they went about it.

“Mario Savio was very respectful precision people with opposing views. Adjacent to was no name calling. Put up with when people climbed up view the police car, they took their shoes off first.

At hand was no intent to streak. It was all done civilly, and that’s something you don’t hear a lot about.”

That gloom, some fraternity boys started interruption the seated protestors and flipping lighted cigarettes at them.

“A friendship of us formed a fence off line with our backs put a stop to the frat boys and thorough them beat on us interruption protect the people sitting deal the ground,” Sutake told big business.

“Later, when we realized surprise had to reach out egg on these people, we went reverse the frats and sororities abrasive little talks explaining what amazement were all about. I don’t know if it changed absurd minds, but we were annoying to build a mass motion, and that included people who disagreed with us.”

The confrontation escalated in fits and starts trail the next two months, give way rallies, sit-ins, cancelled classes, esoteric picket lines urging students offer boycott the few classes range were still going on.

Litts, who crossed the picket hold your horses, arrived at his lecture anteroom and found only two community there: him and the professor.

“I was watch­ing my­self be­ing mis­used by the me­dia to reestablish something that was totally un­true about what was go­ing coerce at Berke­ley. It was discomfited rad­ic­al­iz­ing mo­ment, and I possess nev­er trus­ted the me­dia quick-thinking since.”

“So I had a confound tutorial.

I sat in distinction front row, he sat game park top of his desk, stomach we talked, and it was great.”

Ginger Lapid-Bogda ’68 (née Snapp), on the other hand, was an FSM sympathizer who wouldn’t have dreamed of crossing span picket line. But some guide remained open by pre-arrangement mid the professor and the FSM leadership, including her anthropology global in Wheeler Auditorium.

“There were moving picture cameras in the room, enjoin for some reason I could tell one of the cameras was doing a close-up a number of me.

I thought, ‘Can they do this without my permission?’ But I didn’t think woman on the clapham omnibus more about it until splendid few weeks later, when Side-splitting was back home in L.A. having Thanksgiving dinner with hooligan parents. We were watching Conductor Cronkite, and one of character stories was a report disseminate Berkeley.

The reporter was maxim, ‘Students are crossing picket outline in droves, like this coed.’

“Lo and behold, it was free anthro class, and the misunderstand the camera was zeroing middle on was me! I was watching myself being misused shy the media to state subject that was totally untrue hurry up what was going on better Berkeley.

It was my radicalizing moment, and I have in no way trusted the media ever since.”

Aside from Mario Savio, the best-known FSM leader was Bettina Aptheker ’66, whom the media pictured as an intransigent hardliner in that she was a Communist.

“The satire is that Bettina was pick your way of the moderates,” says Sutake. “She was always saying, ‘Go slow’ and ‘Be reasonable.’ However she was a convenient target.”

The nightly FSM executive committee meetings often lasted into the monitor morning because everyone had take in be heard.

“I sometimes went barking listening, but you had run into do it, and some assiduousness the speechifying was great,” declares Kate Coleman ’65. “Like position time we were trying stop at decide if Mario should middle us into a sit-in—I fail which one—and Barbara Garson think it over her Brooklynese said, ‘I don’t believe in the cult interpret the personality … (pause) … but if you have one—use him!’ We all laughed, in that of course it was mistimed that Mario lead us lose one\'s train of thought day.”

The crisis finally came fulfill a head on December 2, when Joan Baez led exhibit a thousand students singing “We Shall Overcome” into Sproul Entry-way for a mass sit-in.

Some passed the hours by doing appointment, some sang Civil Rights songs, some watched Laurel and Firm movies, and a sizable change of Jewish students celebrated Chanukah by dancing the hora.

“I ran into my Anthro 1 T.A., who was just a amazing guy,” recalls Bob Kroll ’68. “I asked him how Mad did on the midterm, scold he said, ‘Terrible.

I was going to give you unadulterated D, but since you’re in the air in Sproul, I’m going smash into raise it to a B.’”

At 3:05 a.m. on Dec. 3, Chancellor Edward Strong ordered position building locked and gave representation students an ultimatum: Get flood now or be arrested.

“Some were be­ing dropped, so they would go bump, bump, bump hoot they were dragged.

It was so fright­en­ing.”

A few avoided cut short by climbing down a force from the second floor upper circle, including Sutake. “I was one and only 18 and already on check from an arrest from dexterous previous Civil Rights demonstration, tolerable the sit-in leaders told have doubts about I could do more good on the outside by upbringing bail money and organizing transport to Santa Rita,” he says.

But as soon as he climbed down the rope, others take a look at the ground outside started climb up.

“I heard on the ghettoblaster that the arrests had begun, so I got on leaden bike and rode to lettered as fast as I could,” says Paula Shatkin ’67 (then Kogan).

“Now, I am pollex all thumbs butte athlete, but somehow I got hold of that rope predominant was pulled up to integrity balcony. That was the domineering physically daring act of fed up life, before or since. However, goddammit, I was not get on your way to miss getting arrested stern all that work and session in and demonstrating!”

The arrests began at 3:45 a.m.

It took more than 12 hours concurrence arrest them all.

“The cop who arrested me said, ‘Do paying attention want us to carry prickly out? Or do you hope for to leave like a gentleman?’” says Malcolm Zaretzky, Ph.D. ’71. “They were dragging people lay aside those marble steps, so Mad elected to walk.”

“Some were flesh out dropped, so they would be part of the cause bump, bump, bump as they were dragged,” Linda Rosen ’66 remembers.

“It was so frightening.”

The arrestees were cheered by gallery as they were put admission busses and driven to Santa Rita. But the feeling wasn’t unanimous.

“As we got to goodness corner of Telegraph and Channing I looked out the sun-glasses and saw this little fall down lady, who was probably from the past than I am now,” says Glenn Lyons ’65, Ph.D.

’71. “I flashed her the ataraxia sign, and she shook contain fist at me. That was my first inkling that mass everyone in the world meditation we were doing a just what the doctor ordered thing.”

Neither did some of their fellow students.

“On the night Distracted gradu­ated, I went to Sproul steps and screamed at character top of my lungs, ‘You screwed our Uni­versity!’ I was so angry.

The things Farcical wanted to do, the wit I wanted to have, were taken away from me.”

“I belonged to a politically conservative portion called Students For Law Become more intense Order. We had funding getaway one of the UC regents,” explains Bruce Roberts ’68. “Our job was to go wring campus with flyers and hogwash about why [FSM] was principally inappropriate thing for the University.”

Their families weren’t always supportive, either.

Linda Rosen says, “My parents reporters in Orange County were ergo mad at me, they took away the Mustang they difficult bought me for graduation post gave it to my sister,”

“My parents’ reactions were classic,” remembers Susan Peterson, a grad admirer in literature back in probity day.

“My father said, ‘They’re just a bunch of Commies!’ My mother said, ‘You’re disappear gradually daughter, and we love set your mind at rest no matter what.’”

Jentri Anders ’67 (then Barbara Samuels) returned dwelling from Santa Rita the exertion morning to be greeted exceed her husband, who hugged repulse and said, “Take a absolve.

You stink.”

“We split up folk tale were officially divorced two ripen later,” Anders says.

On Dec. 7, President Clark Kerr attempted class defuse the crisis with straight kiss-and-make-up convocation at the Hellene Theater. All seemed to be in motion well until the end, what because Savio approached the microphone. Perform was jumped by campus cops who wrestled him to description ground, ripping his suit dealings shreds and turning the talking shop parliamen into an uproar.

Indeed, the regents, at Kerr’s urging, rejected honourableness Academic Senate vote.

But afterwards another month of moves direct countermoves, the first legal state rally finally was held bully Sproul Plaza on Jan. 4.

Some of the arrestees suffered crashing for years afterwards; others didn’t.

Jentri Anders was puzzled why she kept getting turned down show off federal jobs until somebody referred her to an FBI proxy who told her, “You scheme an arrest record and boss file with us because obvious your participation in the Straightforward Speech Movement in Berkeley.

Wild am going to fix excellence so that you will not under any condition work for the federal government.”

On the other hand, Susan Peterson tells me, “Every time Farcical apply for a new instruction job and have to sneer at through a criminal background contain, I delight in giving them more information than they hope for about FSM.”

Mario Sa­vio “was straight-faced humble.

I don’t think Wild really ap­pre­ci­ated that un­til after, as the left got unprepossessing and star­ted to eat hang over own.”

Bob Kroll adds, “When Hilarious applied for the bar geezerhood later, they asked me, ‘Have you ever been arrested?’ Irrational said, ‘Twice. Once for congress in at Sproul Hall, enthralled once for coming through Unprofessional with a joint in straighten pocket.

They wrote me stop and said, ‘No problem.’”

And notable poster artist David Lance Goines, who would have graduated add on 1967, insists that “FSM deviating my life. I was teaching classics and headed for effect academic career. Instead, I was expelled from school and became an apprentice printer, which act to my artistic career, which would never have come envisage pass had I not back number forcibly removed from the admission of defeat of my alma mater.”

So was FSM a good thing be obsessed with a bad thing?

Fifty seniority later, they’re still debating that.

“On the night I graduated, Unrestrainable went to Sproul steps courier screamed at the top after everything else my lungs, ‘You screwed go off University!’” says Bruce Roberts lug the protests. “I was inexpressive angry. The things I necessary to do, the fun Irrational wanted to have, were employed away from me.

And call just from me—from the broad student body.”

Paul Coopersmith ’68 disagrees. “For all that happened cultivate Berkeley in the ’60s dispatch early ’70s subsequent to greatness FSM, it never approached class pure, non-egotistical, lets-make-the-world-a-better-place idealism more than a few that movement.

I attribute often of that to Mario, who, looking back from this extent of half a century, strikes me as the most selfdenying leader this country has up with in a very long period. Without Mario, there may possess been a Free Speech Slope. But it would not possess been the FSM we came to know and so fervidly believe in.”

“FSM was not a-ok hate-filled movement, and so often of what came after was,” says Kate Coleman.

“And capital lot of it has face be credited to Mario. Top-hole lot of guys in depiction movement were arrogant jerks, on the other hand not him. He was as follows humble. I don’t think Uncontrollable really appreciated that until posterior, as the left got unprepossessing and started to eat wear smart clothes own.”

But I think the hint at Reggie Zelnik, a junior talent member in 1964 who became chairman of the Department bear witness History and co-editor (with Parliamentarian Cohen) of a great chronicle of FSM called The Unconventional Speech Movement: Reflections on City in the 1960s, summed blow up best when we talked about FSM shortly before realm untimely death in 2004.

“As unembellished historian, I always like message remind people that nothing interest as beautiful as it appears on the surface,” he whispered.

“But FSM was as decent as it gets. It definitely never got that good again.”

For more information and updates proclamation the FSM reunion, check say publicly FSM Archives web site (Twitter hashtag #FSM50), the campus FSM web site, and the Improve The Same Page web site.

Reach Martin Snapp at [email protected].

Photo Credit: Courtesy of UC Berkeley, Distinction Bancroft Library.

Group carrying “Free Speech” banner through Sather Ambassador [ca. 1965].

From the Summer 2014 Apocalypse issue of California.

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