Natalie Sadighi
The Story of Sproul Plaza
The Birth of Activism on Sproul
Sproul Plaza is an active place on the U.C Berkeley campus where students can advertise clubs, have musical performances, and advocate their political, social and religious beliefs. The rise of student activity at the place of Sproul Plaza actually came from the intersection of the Free Speech Movement during the sixties. Prior to gathering on Sproul Plaza, the site of students political activity was located on ‘The Strip’ which was a 25 feet wide and 60 feet long strip of pavement at the intersection of Bancroft Way and Telegraph Ave. The location of the strip was considered “off campus” area city property and therefore out of the reach of campus restrictions regarding political activism.¹ Conflict amongst the student body arose when the US Senator placed regulations on ‘The Strip’ claiming it was a traffic hazard for students to gather in that area. Students created a United Front where they challenged the campus wide rules and they chose to relocate their meeting space from ‘The Strip’ to Upper Sproul Plaza in front of the Sather Gate. The relocation of student activities from the strip to upper Sproul Plaza in September of 1964 created the foundation for the future political activism that would take place on Sproul Plaza.
¹ The Evolution of a Political Space
Sproul Plaza and the Free Speech Movement
http://texts.cdlib.org/view?docId=kt00000917&doc.view=entire_text&query=0
The Story of Sproul
During The Free Speech Movement
The process of obtaining Sproul Plaza as a location for student activity foreshadowed the grit and determination that University students would soon display when fighting during the Free Speech Movement. During the FSM, students demanded the university lift the ban on on campus political activities and agree to students' right to free speech and academic freedom. The Free Speech Movement transformed Sproul Plaza from being a place on the map to being a location of community that provided students with a sense of belonging for decades after the movement. Student anti-war activist Jane Brunner claimed that despite facing repercussions from demonstrations on Sproul, “It was a lot of fun to be in Berkeley in 1968, in the early ‘70s,” Brunner said. “We had passion, we were excited about what we were doing … and we had a good time.” ² FSM activist and student body anti war activist president Dan Siegal explained a time when conflict arose when the University tried to regulate student activity at People’s Park. Siegal's speech ended with “ ‘Let’s go down there and take the park’ — and the 3,000 students assembled in Sproul Plaza took him at his word, heading to the park before he could finish his speech.”³ Although these incidents may seem insignificant in regards to Sproul Plaza as a place, I believe these incidents of the sixties allowed Sproul Plaza to become a place of bravery and belonging for students for decades to come. Students obtained Sproul Plaza as ‘THE’ location for activity by being brave, ambitious and not conforming to the restrictions that authorities had put in place.