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“Now, I ask you to consider: if this is a firm, and if the Board of Regents are ...

Oct 11, 2023

“Now, I ask you to consider: if this is a firm, and if the Board of Regents are the board of directors, and if President Kerr in fact is the manager, then I’ll tell you something: the faculty are a bunch of employees, and we’re the raw material! But we’re a bunch of raw material[s] that don’t mean to have any process upon us, don’t mean to be made into any product, don’t mean to end up being bought by some clients of the University, be they the government, be they industry, be they organized labor, be they anyone! We’re human beings! “There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can’t take part; you can’t even passively take part, and you’ve got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you’ve got to make it stop. And you’ve got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you’re free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!” —Mario Savio, “Sit-in Address” (excerpt), the University of California at Berkeley, 1964 4. The address by Mario Savio, above, is an important text in which of the following movements? (A) The migration to the Sun Belt (B)The New Left (C) The labor movement (D) The New Right 5. Which of the following trends in the 1960s does the above speech best reflect? (A)Conservatives, fearing juvenile delinquency and challenges to the traditional family, promoted their own values and ideology. (B)Artists and writers increasingly rejected political activity, turning instead to more abstract forms of expression. (C)Groups on the left assailed liberals, claiming they did too little to transform the racial and economic status quo at home. (D)Working-class activists rebelled against unresponsive unions and took militant direct action against employers. 6. Which of the following economic or demographic shifts is most closely related to the movement that Mario Savio’s speech exemplified? (A) The growth of employment opportunities in heavy industry (B) The decline of the family farm and the rise of corporate agriculture (C) The spread of social mobility and the expansion of higher education (D) The increased visibility of immigrant communities in major urban areas

Key Concept

KC-8.1.II: The New Left movement emerged in the 1960s, advocating for a range of social issues including civil rights, gay rights, abortion rights, gender roles and drug policy reforms.

Explanation

Mario Savio's speech is a key text in the New Left movement. He was a student activist and a key member of the Free Speech Movement at the University of California, Berkeley. His speech reflects the movement's rejection of the establishment and the call for greater individual freedom and rights.

What is the New Left movement?, Who was Mario Savio?, What was the Free Speech Movement?

Key Concept

KC-8.1.II: The 1960s saw a rise in various social and political movements that challenged the status quo and called for radical changes in society.

Explanation

The speech reflects the trend of groups on the left criticizing liberals for not doing enough to change the racial and economic status quo. Savio's speech criticizes the university system and calls for students to take action, reflecting the broader trend of activism and calls for change during this period.

What were the major social and political movements of the 1960s?, How did these movements challenge the status quo?, What role did student activism play in these movements?

Key Concept

KC-8.2.I: The post-World War II period saw a significant expansion of higher education and social mobility.

Explanation

Mario Savio's speech and the movement it represents is closely related to the expansion of higher education during this period. The speech was given at a university and reflects the growing role of students in social and political activism during this time.

How did higher education expand in the post-World War II period?, What role did students play in social and political activism during this time?, How did the expansion of higher education contribute to social mobility?