Mario Savio – 1964, University of California Berkeley, California – An Oration Defending Students’ Right to Free Speech
Today, universities are seen as a bastion of free expression, but that wasn’t always the case. In the ’60s, students like Mario Savio had to fight for their right to participate in political activities on campus. He is perhaps best remembered for the impassioned speech he delivered at the University of California Berkeley on December 2, 1964.
In front of an audience of thousands, he uttered the quote “put your bodies upon the gears” to rally his fellow students to oppose the operation of the machine that is the status quo. A year later, the school’s new acting chancellor established the location of the speech as a venue for free discussion.
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