Was Florida State Really the "Berkeley of the South"

J. Stanley Marshall. The Tumultuous Sixties: Campus Unrest and Student Life at a Southern University. Tallahassee: Sentry Press, 2006. xxvi + 316 pp. $27.50, cloth, ISBN 978-1-889574-25-7. Reviewed by David Lee McMullen Published on H-Florida (September, 2006) J. Stanley Marshall was president of Florida State during the late sixties and early seventies. State University from 1969 to 1976, during one of During that time I worked on the student newspa‐ the most fascinating periods in the university's per, The Flambeau, and served as its editor-in- history. These years were a period of conflict be‐ chief in 1971. As editor, I meet with President tween the old and new, when student life at the Marshall regularly to discuss some of the events university changed dramatically. As president, and issues presented in his book. Marshall faced student and faculty activism on a The Tumultuous Sixties will certainly be of in‐ variety of issues, including free speech, the Viet‐ terest to those familiar with the university during nam War, civil rights, the status of women, envi‐ this time period. More importantly, however, this ronmental concerns, labor, and the nomination of book provides a valuable perspective for students a Tallahassee judge to the U.S. Supreme Court. Be‐ of Florida history. For scholars, The Tumultuous yond this, there was streaking, famous and con‐ Sixties provides meaningful insights into the chal‐ troversial visitors to campus, including the Jorda‐ lenges of running a large state university under nian King, Helen Hayes, Jane Fonda, and Abbie the microscope of the numerous publics it must Hoffman. From the perspective of FSU today, it serve, including students, faculty, staff, parents, was also the beginning of the Bobby Bowden era. alumni, and major donors. Because it is located in There can be little doubt that this was a tumul‐ the Florida capital, FSU also falls under the watch‐ tuous period in the university's history and read‐ ful eye of a large capital press corps, a perspective ing this book helps to explain why Marshall be‐ that is often magnified by the demagoguery of came one of FSU's more controversial presidents. public officials. Further, this book provides a win‐ I approached the book with considerable dow into the thought process of a community knowledge of the events depicted. I know many of leader confronted with the challenges of a rapidly the key participants discussed in the book, includ‐ changing society. Interestingly, I found the univer‐ ing President Marshall. I was a student at Florida sity's response strikingly similar to what occurred H-Net Reviews in the 1920s and 1930s when labor unions at‐ than Champion wanted to deal with, so he passed tempted to organize southern workers, and in the the presidency on to Marshall. 1950s and 1960s during the civil rights movement. Suddenly thrust into the presidency, Marshall A primary strength, as well as a weakness, of was immediately faced with the resignations of this book is that it focuses intently on the exploits several other members of the universit's adminis‐ of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) tration, which helps to explain his preoccupation chapter at FSU, often short-changing far more im‐ with faculty and student activists. Beyond this, portant events. At frst I thought this was simply a given the far more serious student demonstra‐ marketing ploy to sell more copies of the book. tions occurring on campuses in other parts of the Then I discovered that approximately half of the country, Marshall focused his attention on issues book is devoted to SDS and realized that from related to campus security and holding the uni‐ Marshall's perspective this brief series of events versity to the letter of the law. The "Night of the overshadowed much of his presidency. While SDS Bayonets," for example, was ultimately the result was involved in the most dramatic student of trying to prevent SDS, an unrecognized student demonstration of the period--what became known group, from using a meeting room in the universi‐ as the "Night of the Bayonets"--SDS never repre‐ ty union, something the group had done several sented more than a few dozen of the more than times earlier. twenty thousand students attending FSU at the Looking back at the "Night of Bayonets," even time. Marshall suggests that the university played di‐ Marshall took over the leadership of the uni‐ rectly into the hand of SDS activists. SDS was versity unexpectedly upon the resignation of Pres‐ known for incendiary rhetoric and playing con‐ ident John Champion. Champion, a man Marshall frontational politics. Its members wanted to be ar‐ describes as a classic southern gentleman, ap‐ rested, they wanted to make headlines around the pears to have been overwhelmed by faculty and state. Even then, the event would have failed if it student protest over his decision to burn an edi‐ were not for the heavy-handed approach taken by tion of the campus literary magazine because it Leon County Sheriff Raymond Hamlin, who enlist‐ included a short story that contained the words ed the support of 35 volunteer riot police. The "shit" and "fuck." Interestingly, those same two sheriff and his men came on to campus with load‐ words could be heard in the movie version of ed M-1 rifles and fxed bayonets to arrest a small Ulysses, which was being shown at a local theatre group of non-violent students--58 according to during the "Free Speech" demonstrations at FSU. Marshall's account. Protests centered on the First Amendment right I was not on campus when this event took and generated considerable debate among stu‐ place, but students who were, and whose opinions dents and the faculty of the College of Arts and I respect, felt strongly that Sheriff Hamlin--an old- Sciences. The confrontation drew statewide media school southern lawman who liked to chew unlit coverage and a great deal of political rhetoric. I cigars--made an excessive and unnecessary dis‐ was a reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat dur‐ play of force. If anything, the actions of the sheriff ing these events and remember how Mallory exacerbated the situation. Such a confrontation is Horne, a prominent legislator, told our capitol re‐ reminiscent of numerous encounters between lo‐ porter, "The whole thing makes me goddamn cal southern law enforcement and labor and civil mad. If I used language like that they'd throw my rights demonstrators during earlier decades. ass in the poky." The heat was apparently more Scholars will fnd the numerous parallels of con‐ siderable interest. 2 H-Net Reviews "Night of the Bayonets," perhaps more than which were totally noncontroversial. Lieberman any other event in Marshall's presidency, was re‐ proposed teaching a course called "How to Make a sponsible for driving a wedge between him and a Revolution." The course, I suspect, would have vocal minority of faculty and students within the been rather harmless and attracted mostly Lieber‐ university. It is for this reason that I believe the man's groupies and a few curious students. Unfor‐ author goes to such lengths to explain his thought tunately for Jack, the course was discovered by process during the period, inflating the dangers State Senator Dempsey Barron who turned it into facing the university in order to justify the actions a statewide scandal, and half the capital press he took. Personally, I think he would have been corps showed up for his frst class meeting. If better served to let the matter die and focus on there was ever a mountain created from a mole‐ the numerous other events that occurred during hill, this was it. his years at the helm of the university. However, Perhaps the most revealing comment in the because these events are the subject of an unpub‐ book is when Marshal recounts a confrontation lished doctoral dissertation by Stephen Parr,[1] it with a group of anti-Vietnam war protestors who appears that Marshall felt a need to offer his side displayed a Vietcong fag. Marshall said, "[M]y re‐ of the story. Regardless, as someone who has stud‐ action was a mixture of anger and fear" (p. 98). ied radical protest, I found Marshall's thought That probably explains much about why Marshall process extremely fascinating. made many of the decisions he did during his SDS at Florida State, according to Marshall, presidency. It was a period of dramatic change, was lead primarily by two students--Phil Sanford, and fear and anger are two emotions that were an Australian, and Jack Lieberman, a South Flori‐ shared by many Americans during this period. dian. "Radical Jack," a student Marshall said was The second half of the book is a collection of "the leading fgure in the FSU protests," was con‐ snippets--accounts of other groups on campus, sidered "comical" by most of the students who tales of visiting dignitaries, anecdotes about knew him (p. 68). Jack was a nice guy with a few prominent fgures on campus, the hiring of Bobby groupies, mostly young women. He enjoyed the Bowden, the basketball team that made it to the limelight and was willing to do almost anything to national championship game in 1972, and the stay in it. If he was a serious threat to the safety of time a member of the Florida Board of Regents the university, I never saw it. As Marshall sug‐ called FSU dormitories "Taxpayers' Whorehous‐ gests, although he never comes out and says it di‐ es." This is the part of the book that will be of rectly, Radical Jack was probably a pawn of San‐ greatest interest to those who are familiar with ford, who appears to have been the one serious Florida State during this period.

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