Berkeley Students Demand Free Speech: The Movement Begins
Police arrested 773 students inside UC Berkeley's Sproul Hall on December 3, 1964, in the largest mass arrest in California history. The students had occupied the administration building to protest the university's ban on political advocacy on campus. The Free Speech Movement, led by Mario Savio, had been building since September when the university tried to enforce restrictions on distributing political literature near campus gates. Savio's speech on the steps of Sproul Hall, declaring 'There's a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious that you can't even passively take part,' became the defining statement of 1960s student activism. The faculty senate voted overwhelmingly to support the students' demands. The university rescinded the restrictions. The victory at Berkeley inspired student movements across America and Europe for the next decade.
December 3, 1964
62 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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