Give Speech a Chance
A brief history of the Free Speech Area at California State University,
Chico
by Linda Moore and Casey Huff
Clockwise beginning from top left: Political
science professor George Wright speaks at a Teach-In in the
late 1980s; a Palestinian student group protest in 1989 (that's
barbed wire in the shape of the Star of David); campus community
rallies after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks; Pioneer Days award
ceremony in early 1980s; antidraft march in early 1970s (dig
the shades and love beads); an antinukes Die-In in the late
1980s (is that former A.S. president Tim Bousquet in the Keds?);
voter registration table in 2003; a "Take Back the Night"
marcher, probably in the mid-1980s; and reenactments of the
Crucifixion by student Christian groups in the early 1990s. |
"It is often said that the student union is the living room
of a campus. I like to think of the Free Speech Area as the kitchen
table of the campus," says Rick Rees, associate director of
Student Activities at CSU, Chico. Since 1980, he has worked in the
Student Activities office and has been responsible for scheduling
and supervising activities in the Free Speech Area.
"As in our homes, it is everyone's space where we discuss,
argue, and debate -- where we find out what is going on in the family
and what our issues are," notes Rees. "It's where we
conduct our fund-raisers, talk with friends, and host guests. It's
where we gather to celebrate and where we gather in more troubled
times. It is our most common, most casual, most multiuse space.
It's our hearth -- where we wind up in good times and bad, and where
we test the waters, try new things, and toss out ideas."
Born of the Free Speech Movement begun on the University of California,
Berkeley campus in the summer of 1964, CSU, Chico's free speech
policy evolved slowly in the late 1960s. In November 1967, in response
to political protests and violence on several state campuses, California
State Colleges (now the California State University system) Chancellor
Glenn S. Dumke stated that legitimate opportunities for dissent,
protest, and free debate would continue to be provided on campuses.
But he also instructed the college presidents to enforce the California
State College policy that institutional programs not be disrupted
or interfered with by student protest demonstrations.
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Photo by Kathleen McPartland
When Politics and Policies Collide
The passion of student activists doesn't
always mesh well with the policies of an academic institution.
For example, in mid-February, 20 to 40 war protestors, including
many from the Progressive Student Union, set up tents in the
Free Speech Area for a "Peace Camp." Students
wanted to stay in public view until a resolution was reached
in the conflict. Determined to fight war with information,
they used pamphlets and posters to educate the public about
the effects of war.
"People are feeling confused,"
said PSU president Rhonda Pearson. "They're uninformed
and uneducated. This is the most serious issue … people are
resisting the war in every way they can."
The Peace Camp, however, was in conflict with
Speech and Advocacy Advisory Board policy on use of the Free
Speech Area. Students living in tents overnight violated the
8 am-to-sunset limitation.
On Tuesday, Feb. 18, the students were informed
via a letter from Herman Ellis, assistant vice president for
Student Life, that the university expected them to remove
the tents by Friday at 8 am. The letter cited concerns about
the students' safety and complaints about public urination.
Here's where things could have gotten ugly.
Picture a dozen or so protestors, tired but determined, daring
the administration to force them to break camp. Imagine an
administrator determined not to let a small band of angry
students break the rules. A peaceful demonstration of free
speech could easily have turned into an ugly lesson on power
and politics. But peace prevailed -- at least on campus.
The protestors responded to the administration's
letter with one of their own, requesting in a "polite
but passively defiant" tone, according to Rick Rees of
Student Activities, an extension and presenting plans to address
the concerns.
The PSU's passion for their cause was clear
in their letter, as was their familiarity with John Lennon's
work: "Imagine just one small gazebo, one table, and
two small tents. … Imagine the whole free speech area cleared
out except for one small organized area. Imagine each of us
able to stop the war."
In an interview with the student newspaper,
The Orion, Ellis said: "In
their letter, they gave us how they plan to deal with the
safety issue. … [T]hey really paid attention to the concerns
we had." So, at the PSU's request, the university extended
the deadline to the following Tuesday, when the Associated
Students government was to vote on an antiwar resolution sponsored
by the PSU that would have to be approved by students in April.
The group then converted the camp into a peace vigil, sans
tents and overnight stays.
PSU faculty adviser Mark Stemen, Department
of Geography and Planning, said he was satisfied with the
way the student group responded to the request to vacate the
Free Speech Area. "They might not have done everything
right, but at least they did something," Stemen was quoted
in The Orion. And he was
pleased with the way the university responded. "The president
of the university has acted extremely pro-student," Stemen
said.
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Toward free speech on campus
A Dec. 1, 1967, Wildcat student newspaper article indicates
that President Robert E. Hill soon enforced Dumke's policy on the
Chico campus. A student group, Chico Liberal Forum, had planned
a "Vietnam Observance" for Nov. 29. However, President
Hill objected to the placards and other items used by the participants,
claiming they presented a "likelihood for disruption of the
orderly and peaceful conduct of the academic objectives of the people
and programs of Chico State College." He also noted that California
law gave state college presidents the "right to control the
time, place, and manner of any speech given on the campus."
The group decided to cancel the program.
Although a loosely defined "Open Discussion Area"
existed on the Chico State College campus by 1967, activity advisers
Mike Hurley and Cleo Bash expressed concern that a potentially volatile
situation might arise if two philosophically different groups wanted
to use the area at the same time. On Jan. 7, 1969, they sent a formal
request to Dean of Students Betty Lou Raker for the establishment
and designation of four Open Discussion Areas.
By October 1969, a Speech and Advocacy Advisory Board had been
established, and Dean Raker issued a memorandum to the campus: "On
September 2, 1969 the President's Cabinet approved of an interim
policy establishing a new open discussion area across First Street
from the Bell Memorial Union. …"
In December 1986, President Robin S. Wilson issued an executive
memorandum revising the Guidelines for Speech and Advocacy. It states,
in part, "A Free Speech Area has been established to facilitate
the exercise of freedom of expression by the university community.
… The Free Speech Area is defined as the area bounded on the north
by Trinity Hall, on the east by the driveway into Trinity Hall,
on the south by the First Street Mall, and on the west by the sidewalk
adjacent to Meriam Library. … Hours of use are 8:00 am until sunset.
…"
Sign of the times
Throughout its existence, the Free Speech Area has reflected the
times. During the Vietnam War years, it was an arena for debate,
but it also served as a communication center where students met
to express concern and exchange information about friends and family
in the war. In the early 1970s, the area became a venue for entertainment,
with bands playing several times a week. And in 1975, it became
a center for heated debates about a new policy that allowed campus
police to carry firearms (see "Chico's Radical Past"
at www.csuchico.edu/pub/cs/fall_00).
During the 1980s, the area became popular with vendors who paid
a fee to reserve space and hawk their wares.
The 1988-89 school year saw renewed student activism. A student
political group, the Progressive Student Union, staged several rallies
and a cardboard box sleep-in to bring attention to the plight of
the homeless. On April 12, 1989, between 1,000 and 2,000 students
gathered at a noon rally to protest Governor George Deukmejian's
proposed California State University and University of California
fee increases. Later that summer, Chinese students organized a Friday
noon rally in the middle of June, a time when the campus is ordinarily
deserted, that drew at least 300 people protesting the massacre
at Tiananmen Square.
As social issues change, students continue to use the Free Speech
Area to express concerns. Each fall since the early 1970s, the campus
Women's Center has staged a "Take Back the Night" rally
to raise awareness of sexual assault and violence. After the attacks
of Sept. 11, 2001, almost 2,000 people gathered in the Free Speech
Area for a memorial. Christian evangelists, including Brother Jed
and Sister Cindy, well-known figures on the college circuit, make
regular visits, shouting at passersby of the certain damnation of
fornicators and engaging students in heated debate on the subject.
Local and touring bands, from hip-hop to reggae to hard rock, still
perform during noon concerts. When a U.S. invasion of Iraq seemed
imminent last spring, students aired their views, both for and against
the looming war, in the area. (See sidebar for more on this subject.)
A little too free?
Rees has seen some interesting events in his 20 years as monitor
of the space, but he says the "weirdest" event happened
just this last spring. "During dead week, we got several simultaneous
reports one afternoon that a man was taking his clothes off and
running around in the Free Speech Area," recalls Rees. "Without
pausing, I called the university police. When I did arrive at the
area, the young man had put most of his clothes back on but was
still stalking around the area with a large plastic bowl from which
he would take bits of something like bread crumbs into his mouth,
doglike, and spit them out again on the ground. He was making bizarre
noises and movements. He was truly wild. Just about the time police
officers showed up, I noticed a small group of people sitting on
the corner of the lawn. On second glance they appeared to be his
audience. When approached by officers, the young man quickly broke
character, the audience applauded, and he conversed normally with
the officers. Seems the young man was an art student, and this was
a not-so-impromptu piece of street performance art. I sense it was
not class related!"
Since its inception almost 35 years ago, the Free Speech Area
has been the site of protest, memorials, entertainment, and debate.
Even as the campus has changed around it, including the building
of Meriam Library and the new Bell Memorial Union, it remains an
important venue for communication and expression.
Share Your Memories
Remember an interesting event in the Free Speech Area when
you were on campus? Know something we don't about one of the photos
in this article? Please share your memories about the FSA with us.
Send them via e-mail to publications@csuchico.edu
or mail to Marion Harmon; Public Affairs and Publications; CSU,
Chico; Chico, CA 95929-0040.
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