The University of California, in Berkeley, was established in 1881. Sometime after that, Sather Gate was erected, to mark the southern boundary of the campus, at the end of Telegraph Avenue. Political speech making, soliciting, and passing out literature was not permitted on campus; so orators and political advocates set up just outside the gate. In the nineteen thirties, the University acquired property on both sides of Telegraph Avenue, extending the campus one block, to Bancroft Street. An administration building, named for University President Robert Sproul, was built on the east side of Telegraph. On-campus political organizations continued to set up their card tables in the area south of Sather Gate. In 1961, the Student Union Building was erected on the west side of Telegraph. The space between the buildings became Sproul Plaza. On September 14, 1964, Dean of Students Katherine Towle, wrote a letter to all on-campus political organizations. "No tables, fund raising, recruitment or speeches for political or social action" would be permitted. Mario Savio was an undergraduate student at Cal. He had spent the summer of 1964 in Mississippi, teaching black children to read. On October 1, he and Jack Weinberg were in Sproul Plaza, manning a card table for CORE, the Congress on Racial Equality. At 11:45, they were approached by a UC dean and asked to leave. They refused. Jack Weinberg was arrested and placed in a UC police car. This was 1964. There were no cell phones. There was no internet. But a crowd gathered. Then a large crowd Soon the Plaza was filled with people. Jack Weinberg and the police car, weren't going anywhere. The crowd remained through out the afternoon, evening and night. By the next morning there were 7000 people in the plaza. Sproul Plaza, from the Sproul Hall steps, October 2, 1964. UC student leaders and the administration were finally able to negotiate a six point settlement. In the evening of October 2, thirty-two hours after the initial confrontation, Mario Savio took off his shoes, climbed up on the police car and addressed the crowd. "I ask you to rise quietly and with dignity, and go home." Which they did. (to be continued)
Stop. Hitting. Enter. At. The. Edge. Of. The. Text. Box. This is an internet message board, not a typewriter.
Nautica disagrees: why does it matter? It's still readable. Jus cuz sumt1ng r33dbl3 dnt m33n 1t ant noy'n.
Neither is it spoken by most of us today, but Anc, in his usual arrogance, was noted for posting alphabet soup and expecting the rest of us to use the Google to decode it. Needless to say, most of us were not impressed.
