[Goose]

I was on campus at the height of the VN turmoil, which was exacerbated by the RFK and MLK assassinations, and the general social tumult of the times.  I had friends and relatives serving in-country, and friends throwing rocks at cops in White Plaza.  I do think that our country is just about as polarized now as it was 55 years ago, which is a sobering thought.

I can remember when members of a certain frat grabbed David Harris and shaved his head.  I can also remember when helicopters were buzzing Wilbur, Stern, and Branner and a few hundred folks lined up LSJUMB-style in the street to spell out an epithet for the searchlights scanning down (I was in the first "U" of that phrase).  

But aside from the Harris incident, I don't remember personal insults or threats.

I can only assume you didn't have any ROTC students in your dorm. I was not one of them, but I had friends that were. It got to the point most of them wouldn't walk across campus by themselves. It would be at least groups of 2. Some actually left the University because they felt they could never be "safe" and because they felt they were definitely not wanted.

It was more the whole boiling-cauldron vibe of the times that scared me.

I know what you mean. I seldom felt literally "unsafe", but when you have students throwing rocks and armed police all over the place it is a recipe for things to happen that nobody intended. I did spend many nights in the Durand building trying to ensure that people throwing rocks wouldn't come in and trash the computers in that building. There were lots of places where it would be trivial to get in through broken windows. One night they sent exactly one San Jose police officer to "help" us. He had been on duty all day, hadn't eaten, and was told to expect "hordes" of students rushing the building. His radio wouldn't work with what the rest of the campus was using (or there were buildings in the way), so he couldn't call for help if he needed it. He was terrified. He was about our age. I could easily see him shooting somebody by mistake. We assured him we had good comms via CB and we seriously doubted we were going to be overwhelmed by "hordes" of students. Fortunately we weren't and at 0600 the SJ police bus came and got him.

During the whole period of "unrest", we only had one bad night where we did have serious numbers of students throwing rocks and trying to get into the building.  Nobody got hurt and eventually the crowd moved on, but that wasn't a sure thing.

Yes, there are some free speech principles in play, but what Theo describes in the article is concerning to me.  Maybe that's just the way things have evolved in terms of behavior.  And yes, the university's role is difficult to determine.

Agree that the university's role is a difficult one. IMO the underlying dynamic now is pretty much the same as it was back in the Vietnam era and in between. Young people often adopt causes passionately and are willing to do things that are not "socially acceptable" (or worse) to further their adopted cause. One might hope that strenuous advocacy would be the limit of what would be done, but history tells us different. I think the problems now are exacerbated by the instantaneous communication via multiple (often highly distorted) channels. Nothing just dies out because nobody knew about it. Every incident is spread widely, often with a little embellishment.

[Goose]

I was on campus at the height of the VN turmoil, which was exacerbated by the RFK and MLK assassinations, and the general social tumult of the times.  I had friends and relatives serving in-country, and friends throwing rocks at cops in White Plaza.  I do think that our country is just about as polarized now as it was 55 years ago, which is a sobering thought.

I can remember when members of a certain frat grabbed David Harris and shaved his head.  I can also remember when helicopters were buzzing Wilbur, Stern, and Branner and a few hundred folks lined up LSJUMB-style in the street to spell out an epithet for the searchlights scanning down (I was in the first "U" of that phrase).  

But aside from the Harris incident, I don't remember personal insults or threats.

I can only assume you didn't have any ROTC students in your dorm. I was not one of them, but I had friends that were. It got to the point most of them wouldn't walk across campus by themselves. It would be at least groups of 2. Some actually left the University because they felt they could never be "safe" and because they felt they were definitely not wanted.

It was more the whole boiling-cauldron vibe of the times that scared me.

I know what you mean. I seldom felt literally "unsafe", but when you have students throwing rocks and armed police all over the place it is a recipe for things to happen that nobody intended. I did spend many nights in the Durand building trying to ensure that people throwing rocks wouldn't come in and trash the computers in that building. There were lots of places where it would be trivial to get in through broken windows. One night they sent exactly one San Jose police officer to "help" us. He had been on duty all day, hadn't eaten, and was told to expect "hordes" of students rushing the building. His radio wouldn't work with what the rest of the campus was using (or there were buildings in the way), so he couldn't call for help if he needed it. He was terrified. He was about our age. I could easily see him shooting somebody by mistake. We assured him we had good comms via CB and we seriously doubted we were going to be overwhelmed by "hordes" of students. Fortunately we weren't and at 0600 the SJ police bus came and got him.

During the whole period of "unrest", we only had one bad night where we did have serious numbers of students throwing rocks and trying to get into the building.  Nobody got hurt and eventually the crowd moved on, but that wasn't a sure thing.

Yes, there are some free speech principles in play, but what Theo describes in the article is concerning to me.  Maybe that's just the way things have evolved in terms of behavior.  And yes, the university's role is difficult to determine.

Agree that the university's role is a difficult one. IMO the underlying dynamic now is pretty much the same as it was back in the Vietnam era and in between. Young people often adopt causes passionately and are willing to do things that are not "socially acceptable" (or worse) to further their adopted cause. One might hope that strenuous advocacy would be the limit of what would be done, but history tells us different. I think the problems now are exacerbated by the instantaneous communication via multiple (often highly distorted) channels. Nothing just dies out because nobody knew about it. Every incident is spread widely, often with a little embellishment.