Richard Lyman, President Emeritus of Stanford University and J.E. Wallace Sterling Professor of Humanities Emeritus in Stanford's history department, outlines in his recently released book, Stanford in Turmoil Campus Unrest, 1966-1972, a picture of the controversy which erupted on Stanford's campus in response to the Vietnam War. A recent article in Stanford Magazine summarizes the book, giving lengthy excerpts of the text to provide a peek into the story.
Stanford
in turmoil is a semi-autobiographical work which gives rare personal
insights into an important time in Stanford's history. It not only
describes events and situations which helped to forever shape the
political atmosphere of Stanford, but also provides a story which is
important to the context of the history of the United States. From
Professor to Provost, to President, Lyman witnessed a vast change in
Stanford. Sparked by the civil rights movement and disdain for the
Vietnam War, the uproarious period which Lyman describes included a
"half dozen major cases of arson...significant damage to campus
buildings" and the summoning of police, repeatedly, to end various
sit-ins and disruptions. Lyman recounts how he and faculty were torn
over being sympathetic to the protesters and having to make decisions
about how to end their violent methods.
Lyman's personal
account of the events which transformed the Stanford campus into a
violent protest ground is intriguing not just in reference to the
atmosphere at the University itself, but also in consideration of the
youth reaction to the Vietnam War in the US from 1966 to 1972.
"In
many ways, Stanford’s experience was the same as that of other
campuses. The same self-destructiveness that was noted elsewhere was
visible at Stanford on the far Left. As has been said of the
Weathermen, there was “a moral urgency that precluded consideration of
political effectiveness and a desire to display one’s personal
commitment, especially if it involved risk or injury.”
The
book is an exciting story in US history as well as a commentary about
cultural response in wartime from someone who witnessed the turmoil
firsthand.
"Some barriers were broken in those years that
have never been restored. Civility returned, for the most part, but
formality did not, for better or for worse—mostly I would agree that
it’s for the better, but there is more to be said for adhering to some
prescribed forms of behavior than our culture is generally willing to
admit."
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