Post on 14-Nov-2021
transcript
THE IMPACT OF THE SIXTIES ON SAN JOAQUIN DELTA COLLEGE
(1960 - 1970)
A Thesis
Presented to
the Faculty of the Department of History
San Joaquin Delta College
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements
of History 10
by
Licia A. Wells
May 1979
TBLE OF COT=S
CHAP= PAGE
1. BCKGROUKD OF TT 7 SIXTIS 1
Student Protest . 1
Civil Violence 2
usic 3
Art . 3
Fashion 3
Political Consciousness Groups 4
The Youth International Party 4
Eartin Luther King jr 5
The Black Panthr Party 6
The Black uslims 7
The Stut7'ents for a Der(loc .-7ttic Society 8
The Weathermen 8
2. T-1'7 DF,LT COLLEB 7.1:FTION7.7NrP 9
The Histo-ry of San Joa-..uin Delta College 10
Factors Preventing the Formation of Student 7rotest
Grouns 11
The ?oliticl Athmosphere 14
The Quiet Cam.r,us 14
3. THOSE 7;7W CTIVI"Jv; 15
The .2,adicalizr3tim of The Colle7,ie.n 16
The aadicali'3ation of the Student Council 18
The SJDC Cha.oter of t'%e SDS 18
1
I
i
The Nexican- American Stv.dent Associatinn 19
Tjovimento Estutliantil Chicano de Aztlan 19
The Bobby Seale Speech 19
The Bail P,ond ReferenThm 20
4. ESCALATIW,.- E1T -2TTS ( 1968-1970) 24'
The SDS Draft Counseling Tent 24
The Brown Power 7)rotest 25
The Ylexican-Americall Protest of the California
Junior College Governmmt Conference 25
The Black Student Association Float Incident . . • 25
The 7-Locton Youth Liason Committee . . • • . • . • • 27
The Activities of the 1),SA 28
The Veterans Association 28
The October 15, 1969 Vietnm War Joratorium . . • 29'
The November 1969 Vietnam War Morator'um 30
The Controversy over "The Student as a 7.',i,s2;er" . . • 31
The Let Us Vote Ca'Ipaign 32
The Campus Unrest Commee 32
The Racism Committee 32
The -r-ent State Tragedy 52
The Stude-it Alliance Corn ittee 33
The lexic7-:.n-kmerican Ethnic Stu'lies Department . . • 53.
5. OVERVIEW 38
317,LI0RA7HY 40
CHAPTER 1
BACKGROUND OF THE SIXTIES
During the decade 1960-1970 the United States underwent
a mass social revolution which undermined social, political,
and economic values. The chief proponents of the movement
were the nation's youth, largely led by intellectual uni-
versity students. Under their tutelage, a large-scale chal-
lenge was directed at society's purpose. Foll-swing the way
of their peers, many college campuses condoned the movement,
San Joaquin Delta College being no exception. In fact,
"Delta College became the focal point in the valley for
change,"1 With this view in mind, San Joaquin Delta College
will be explored in terms of it's receptiveness to the impact
of national events that occurred in one of the most socially
active periods in America's history.
Student protest encompassed a wide range of reforms.
Their reforms demanded civil rights for minorities and women,
encouraged student input into school administration, embraced
environmental concerns for the air and water, and advanced
the search for alternative living styles in reaction to stag-
nant middle class values. The Vietnam War occupied center
stage of student protest and later pervaded the liberal camp
of the "establishment" under the wing of Adlai Stevenson,
lInterview with Richard I. Ricks, Stockton, California, April 17, 1979.
2
Eugene ;cCarthy, and George McGovern, Nationwide moratoriums
and campus protests on the was attest to the extent and influ-
ence of their protest.
Attempts to transform the status quo resulted in wide-
spread violence which erupted on such diverse school campuses
as Berkeley, Columbia, Wisconsin, and Kent State and in the
ghettos of Watts, Chicago, Cleveland, Brooklyn, and Baltimore.
Violence resulted in the deaths of student protesters and
blacks and in charges of police brutality, It also heightened
mistrust of government. In the climate of social unrest,
many radical underground leftist groups organized during
the Sixties and became a potent force for political
ad_tation, This agitation was largely carried out by such
groups as the Students for A Democratic Society, the
Weathermen, and the Black Panthers and often advocated the
use of violence.
Social consciousness paralleled political conciousness,
both questioning accepted standards. Basically, the Puritan
ethic, material success, and competition came under attack in
contrast to the alternative living styles which advocated a
communal society of brotherly love.2 "Hippie" communes, the
Haight Ashbury district, cohabitation, flower children, and
drugs became the way of life for a generation of seekers.
Oriental religion enjoyed a surgence of followers as many
2Editors of Time-Life Books, This Fabulous Century 1960- 1970, 3 (New Yorkaime-Life Books, 1970), p. 59,
3
young people attempted to find their uptopia through the rigor
of faith in Zen Buddhism, Hare Keishna sect, through meditation,
or by becoming intensely involved in Christianity, particularly
the concepts of Jesus.
Youth attempted to brand themselves with symbols of their
own identity- long hair, ragged jeans, beads, body paint, and
the mini-skirt which was legitimized by iary uant in London
fashion circles and popularized by "illod" model Twiggy,-'
The decade was also a search for exploratory expression
in art and music. The Sixties began with Dick Clark's American
Bandstand and was followed by Fo)kmusic, the Beatles, the
rrotest songs of Bob Dylan, and later by such musical groups
as the Jefferson Airplane, the Doors, Buffalo Springfield,
i-'lamas and Papas, Canned Heat, the Byrds, and Quicksilver
essenger Service whose music was inspired by the political
and social climate. Social and political conditions were.
themes utilized in much of the music, as does the following
excerpt:
'One generation got old one generation got sold this generation got' no destination to hold pick up your pride Now its time for you and me to start a revolution got to Revolution come on marching down to the sea.,. We are voluteers of America, volupteers of America, volunteers of America...'
3ibid p, 105.
4 RCA Records, Volunteers, The Worst of Jefferson Airplane,
The Jefferson Airplane.
L .
7:1'-77usic began with hootenannies in small cafes and gained
a wider audience as folk artists Peter, Paul, and nary, Bob
Dylan, Jcan 3aez, Arlo Guthrie, and Judy Colins recorded.
In 'F.6= -beatlemania", struck the United States as millions
of listeners strove to imitate the Beatles' music, hair and
clothing styles, The period was marked by such artists of
outstanding originality and tragedy as Jim Ti.orrison, Janis
jonlin, and Jimi Hendrix whose early deaths reflected the
hyperactivity of the period.5
In art as in fashion, color and the unusual were the mode
and was termed "Pop art" by those who felt they knew better,
"Psychedelic" designs found themselves on nosters, buttons,
and 7clkswagon vans. The chief artists of "Pop art" were
Peter _ax and Andy Warhol.
The discrepancy between political promises and the absence
of social advance led to the formation of various political
consciousness groups, each demanding recognition of their
legitimate rights, Among the political spectrum were Tom
Hayden, Abbie Hoffman, and Jerry Rubin who were members of
the Chicago Eight, They were charged in September 1968 and
- later convicted of conspiracy to violently disrupt the 1969
Democratic National Convention.-6 The notority of this trial
stems from the political biases that it encountered, Abbie
Hoffman and Jerry Rubin, who popularized the phrase "Kill your
5Lecture of Western Civilization 4,b, instructor Delmar
Jason Epstein, The (Meat Conspiracy Trail, (New Yerkt Random House, 1970), p.--77
narentc,", founded the controversial Youth International 7;-..rty
or the "Yippie" party in 1967, 7 Tom Hayden was instrumental
in formulation of the Port Huron Statement, the rolitical con-
stitution of the Students for a Democratic Society.
blacks were no longer content to weather social,
political and economic subordination, The process of black
activism resulted in a cohesive black consciousness.
notable among the black leaders was oiartin Luther King Jr.,
a Baptist clergyman and a civil rights leader, whose policy
of Passive resistance brought him national prominence and a
Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. His assassination in 196r.:),, caused
national outrage and the void of his leadership allowed rad-
ical leaders to gain influence. Other black activists included
alcom X, one of the first to imbue blaci.:s with a seise of
nride, Stokely Carmichael, 'one time Chairman of the Student
Nonviolent Coordinating Committee", who coined the phrase
"black power", LeRoi Jones, a playwright whose work in voter-
registration met with success in Newark, Eldridge Cleaver,
author of "Soul on Ice", written while serving a prison sentence
in Folsom State Prison, and Angela Davis, an avowed Communist
Who first gained notority when she accepted a UCI. offer of
7Lynda Rosen Obst, (ed,) The Sixties; The Decade Remembered Nov.', 13v The People Who Lived in it Then, (New York: „Rolling Stone, Random House, 1977), p. 171
P -Ibid. p. 70.
Assistant Professorship of Philosophy, 9 There was mass public
disapproval of her link to the Black Panthers and her support
of extremist positions. On October 10, 1970 she was indicted
on charges of murder, kidnapping, and conspiracy and was
later acquitted on all three counts.1° •lajor radical organizations such as the Black Panthers,
Students for a Democratic Society, and the Weathermen were
also formed in the 1960-1970 period, The Black Panthers was
a black militant party founded in 1966 in Oakland, California
by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. The Black Panthers orig-
inally believed that violent revolution was the way to achieve
black liberation. In 1972, a split occurred in the Black
Panthers when 'Newton and Seale announced their rejection of
11 violent methods.
The Slack 1,:uslims led by Elijah ivluhammed was a religious
sect which prescribed strict moral conduct for the black man
in an effort to elevate him to a loftier, spiritual, social,
and intellectual level in the eyes of white America.
The Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the major
student organization of the Sixties, had multiple interests
9Editors of Time-Life Books, This Fabulous Century 1960.--1970, Vol, III (New York; Time-Life Books, 1970), D. 154-157.
Reginald Iajor, justice in the Round: The Trial of ftr,P:ela Davis. (New York: 'Third Press, 1973), P. 1 7.
11.1uey Newton, The New Columbia Encyclopedia, (New York: Columbia University Press, 1975), p. 377.
which enabled it to become involved in various activist move-
ments, it had a "loose" anti-capitalist ideology and stressed
a campus orientation. It accepted students as legimate parti-
cipants in social change in America,
The Weathermen were a faction of the SDS which was devoted
to urban guerilla warfare and violent confrontation with the
"system", The Weathermen were concerned with ending the
Vietnam War and causing major social change. The Weathermen
took their name from the words of a song, "you don't need a
weatherman to know which way the wind blows. “12
in spite of the turmoil of the Sixties, the vitality
of the Sixties was noble because of its attempts at movement
of comprehensive change. The spirit of awareness captured
the entire American audience. The German word, "Zeitgeist",
or "spirit of the times" was used by Lynda Rosen Cbst in her
introduction to "The Sixties" to express an all-encompassing
era when society is pervaded and directed by the electricity
of change, The Sixties was such an era.
12 Philio G, Altbach, Student Politics In ZiTieric.,at A
historical Analysis. ( New York; ;,c("raw-P:ii7 took Company, 1974), p, 222,
CHFTER 2
THE DELTA COLLEGE 71•VTFION.:,7 m
A typical community college during the sixties was San
Joaquin Delta College, The College was first established in
1935 under the management of the Stockton Unified School
District and was known as the Stockton Junior College, The
College operated under the laws of the Stockton 'Jnified
School District and the State of California and was financed
through public monies. It has remained a tuition-free instit-
ution until the present day. Until 1947, all classroom space
had been leased from the College of the Pacific, That year
the Stockton Board of Education acquired a Vi-acre site.
Construction began on-a new campus near the College of the
Pacific, and the name was changed to Stockton College,13
In part, due to a concern for future growth and educational
requirements, Stockton College ultimitely expandeci its educat-
ional orientation and established a community college service-
able to all areas of San Joaquin County and beyond. On June
30, 1963 Stockton College became San Joaquin Delta College
and began operating as the San Joaquin Delta College Distrot,
Today, Delta College serves Stockton and Lincoln school dis-
tricts, and the cities Lodi, Escalon, Ir.anteca, Tracy, and
I3San Joaquin Delta College Faculty Handbook.
Salt, Later annexation has, included Grant, Holt, isleton,
11U, Cp Venice, 7.ie Vista, and San Andreas, L4 •,1.
San Joaquin Delta College until 1976 leased campus
facilities from the Stockton Unified School District, The
drive for a permanent campus failed with a 1966 bend issue
but plans for a new campus received a support of 78g in a
1969 bond election of $19,850,000, The new campus was built
on the 165-acre site of the former headquarters area of the
California State Hospital Farm in Stockton, The partially
constructed new campus opened during the 1973 Sumner Session
and the building of the campus continued until 1 ,77. 15
Due to the magnitude of the sixties, it's imnact,
however small, penetrated into the smaller communities that
were not direct participants in the major manifestations of
the period's turbulence, The organization, the multiplicity
of communities serviceable to the college, and the environment,
Prevented a cohesive student body, which in turn,
motivated student activist groups, The Zeitgeist
Sixties, however, permeated the college although
ism did not.
From 1960-1966, the students
inhibited
of the
the radical-
of San Joaquin Delta College
were relatively unconcerned with events on a national scale
and were instead, more or less preoccuppied with scholastic
events and student extracurricular activities. However, even
7,
10
events of this sort did not occupy the primary attention of
Delta College students in general. Attendence at school
plays, school elections, and homcoming parades failed to
elicit a substantial student support and because of this, the
homcoming parade was later discontinued.16 School events
attracted so little attention that they caused a Collegian
article to comment, "Student support at Stockton College is
very lax these days. Not only lax in supporting the team
but also lax in voting for class officers. "1?
• Charges of apathy were made by students themselves,
While Delta apathy was chastised, the bombasters often gave
reasons why a prevailing apathy existed, reasons that success-
fully discouraged any significant protest. Basically
the main reason cited was that the college was "just a pass-
ing scene", a transitory base, until students transferred to
a four-year institution,15 The fact that Delta College con-
tained no student residencies also prevented a feeling of
solidarity among students. The Delta campus, in turn, was
occuppied by many older students whose philosophies were
fundamentally different from those of younger students. This
16Interv1ew with Dr, Edward Raleigh, April 17, 1979, ; homecoming parades on college and high school campuses were discontinued during the later sixties because of student unrest,
17The Collegian, November 2, 1962, ,c Raleigh, loc.. cit;
inhibited a cohesive ideology for a student 1,ovemc,,,t,l';
college was also situated in a basically "agricultural" region
and was near enough to the Area for those interested
students to narticinate in the events srark1nF national
controversy, 20
In The Colie.cian, journalism student Pam Curlee explained
Delts 'S relunctance to join in nrotest activities such as
those occurring at the University of California in 3erkeley,
The wrote that there is n0 need to fear that "Delta is 'headed
for the same unruly state that U,C, :Lierkeley has found itself
in," Two year colle7es "do not become involved enough to
form an interested, active body with a substantial opinion
that they remember over two weeks," She continued that non-
residence schools are not conducive to student 1-,ovements,
Furthermore, Stockton was not a large metropolis and lacked
"individuals who have nothing better to do than cause trouble"
as "on 0,C, campuses" and noted that Delta students are "too n,
muchA'Itelligent to listen to agitators,
The environment of the community colle7e was not the only
D7.ctor in disuading the disturbances that were happening else-
Stockton was not a metropolis and because there is
tenden3y for the larger nopulation centers to be more liberal
1b1d.
23Ibid. 21pam Curlee , "The Better Half", The Collegian,
November 1903, P. 8.
r.osmopolitan in their outlook, it is conceivable
Stockton, in comarison, was not a receptive environment to
raiCal thoug,ht. Viewing Delta College in the context of its
.r.rep.tr surroundings, the campus can be seen as a reflexion
0-r the community itself. Gan Joaquin Delta College is cur-.
round ?d by an agriculturally oriented community that has
foctered a conservative philosophy in keeping with its
irterests. This is illustrated by the following Collegian
article which describes the attitude of Stockton and .environs.
We can only say in the first reaction to the Negro unrest in Stockton :onday afternoon, that we asked for it. Stockton is not a cosmopolitan city. It is a San Joaquin valley town with its roots strongly F-et in agriculture, and we have the uneasy feeling that it is simply not equipped to handle its long-simmering racial problems.
Stockton has far too long held the attitude that it can't happen here. .Well it has„.. 22
A survey on SJDC marijuana was conducted in 176F; during
the he i ght of Delta's responsiveness to outside events. The
su-!-ve was carried out by the Psychology Department under psy-
C-Loloy instructor F.ichard ,;:aslow and showed that one-fifth
ef 2.E:lta students had smoked marijuana and that "most
Y;o.dents are not sufficiently induced to even try marijuana
ancl of those who do, most of them are not prone to continue
it. The poll indicated a campus relatively free of dis-.
ru-otive drug use, This was not reflective of other campuses
12 J- U
nL 1968,
...py 10,
13
afflicted by serious drug problems.24
Commenting in 1967 on the political atmosphere of Delta
in comparison with the Bay Area was Connie Fanos, a former
Collegian staff member who later attended San Francisco State.
The political atmosphere here is a completely dif-ferent one, where the Students for a Democratic Society and the Young Socialists are taken quite seriously and indeed, seem to dominate the campus scene.. 25
From earlier Collegian articles written in regards to the
Free Speech Movement at U.C. Berkeley, the political attitude
had not changed.
The evil beast is raising its head here at Delta campus in the form of petitions which are intended to change administrative attitudes toward student publications.
Before the rational students at Delta College allow this disease to infiltrate student life, let's examine our motives and be absolutely certain we have a reason to protest.26
Indicative of both the early and later Sixties were those
critical of apathy and those who beseeched change. Typically,
they were journalists or students who were interested enough
24A youth culture as here orientated toward drugs and infused with ideals of peace and brotherly love as that of the Haight Ashbury District in San Francisco, was absent from the area. The mild drug abuse and typical dress of the period was copied by Delta students but did not reflect their life style. Commenting on this idea was Glen Kennedy, who noted, "As I recall they were the dirtest and slouchiest looking bunch of kids I had ever seen, trying to be hippie but didn't know how."; Letter to Delmar McComb, March 30, 1979.
25The Collegian, October 13, 1967.
26Ibid., December 11, 1964.
14
to write letters to The Collegian. This suggests .a relatively
small percentage of the student body. That is not to say
Delta college students were oblivious to national events, es-
pecially during the later Sixties, but national problems did
not preoccupy their interest and motivate a desire to imple-
ment reforms. In light of the momentous activity happening
on other campuses, SJDC was a quiet campus. Supportive of
this idea, is one teacher's recollection of that period.
"My classes were calm. Most of our students went home"27
27Raleigh, loc. cit.
CHAPTER 3
THOSE FEW ACTIVISTS
During the early Sixties while interest in national
events was low, there was campus mention of Francis Gary
Powers, violence in the South, the injustice of racial pre-
judice, the Bay of Pigs fiasco, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and
the promise of Kennedy, "the dynamic young man."28 Such
topics were not typical however, and it appears that the
isolation of Delta students frustrated a small percentage
of students. A prime example is an excerpt which gives one
journalist's disenchantment while polling SJDC students for
the "Let's Question" column:
It is becoming increasingly difficult for me to believe that I am attending an institution of higher learning. My job on the Collegian staff includes interviewing three students a week to get opinions and viewpoints on subjects of general interest, and this week I was able to get exactly two intelligent answers to my question concern-ing the Peace Corps (see front page). I attempted to interview at least a dozen people on the sub-ject...most knew next to nothing about its func-tions, and also every one of these acted like a giggling sixth grader.29
By the mid-Sixties the tone of The Collegian began to
change from a campus orientated to a national issues student
newspaper monopolized by such national events as the Vietnam
war, racial prejudice, and campus riots. It also began urging
28The Collegian, October 26, 1960.
29I5id., April 17, 1961.
16
student involvement in political affairs. A minority of
politically aware students chafted at the conservatism of
The Collegian and helped to pass control of the paper to
more liberal journalists. For example, in a letter to the
editor on November 3, 1967, Dick Elizondo, who later became
editor of The Collegian, complained of this conservatism and
chided it as being "a lost, insecure youngster" and added
"In youngester's minds are thoughts of war in Vietnam; newly
elected Governors that proclaim they are anti-intellectual,
misanthropic slobs, in each an every speech designed to lead
to the Presidency...Will the Collegian prepare us for that
so-called burden by letting us tell the world how we think
and feel? Or do you think it will offend Santa Claus."30 In
another letter to the editor on November 17, 1967 a student
criticized The Collegian. He sarcastically began by stating,
"while happily skimming through your November 10 edition of
your All-American, Grade A, Triple-Strength newspaper. "32
In still another letter to the editor, a writer complained,
"Read your editorial on the underground newspapers and found
it disgustingly conservative (as expected)... The very fact
that there are people on this campus who have the guts to air
their gripes is remarkable when considering the apathethic
conservatism prevailing at Delta."33 While managing editor
32Ibid., November 10, 1967.
33Ibid., September 29, 1967.
17
of The Collegian in 1968, Doug Curlee came under attack for
his scathing editorial on the SJDC chapter of the Students
of a Democratic Society. Curlee appeared as an ultra-conser-
vative representative of The Collegian in comparison to the
liberal theme of the "marketplace of ideas" advocated by
then Superintendent-President, Dr. Julio Bortolazzo. Many
students wrote attacking Curlee for the following excerpt
of his editorial.
While we agree wholeheartedly with Dr. Bortolazzo's vision of a college as a "marketplace of ideas", we are unalterably opposed to the idea of an SDS chap-ter on this campus. The reason-simple. We do not feel that SDS advocates any worthwhile ideas or philosophy.34
By 1969, the Collegian had passed into more radical
orientation in politics and did not embrace the majority
political attitude of Delta students. Many of the Collegian
staff of the later Sixties were members of the SDS and their
political ideology appears to have altered their journal-
istic objectivity.35 Editor, Dick Elizondo who helped to
usher The Collegian in a new direction, realized the dis-
parity of thinking between the journalism staff and the
34M - in., September 27, 1968; Under Sunerintendent- President Dr. Julio Bortolazzo, The Collegian was encouraged in the new direction it was taking. Managing Editor, Dick Elizondo writes "The day that Doctor Bortolazzo arrived there to assume his duties as President, we of the Collegian staff were somewhat excited--we expected a man who would let us Print a student newspaper worth writing! At last, we could be free to print a real newspaper with real news in it!; Editorial in The Collegian, March 21, 1969.
35Interview with Richard I. Ricks, April 21, 1979.
18
student body. Elizondo wrote, "The Collegian has become an
instrument of the radical left", and vowed to include "all
views of the political spectrum in upcoming issues." "Journ-
alistically", he. wrote, "we are leaning too much to the left,
without any mention of the far right or moderate political
belief--this must be corrected."36
Corresponding to the "liberalization" of the Collegian
was a similiar radical absorption of the Student Council by
SDS members and other activists.37 The Student Council was
so effective in manipulating opposition and using the apathy
of the SJDC campus that it successfully eradicated opposition.
This was done by instituting a coalition among the SDS,
Black Students Association, and the Chicano students.38
During elections, the SDS, BSA, and the Chicanos put forward
a slate naming the conservative opponents running for Student
Council. Delta students were so apathetic that they voted
for the SDS faction, believing that they were voting for the
more conservative element of the student body.39
The SJDC chapter of the SDS was comprised of a membership
of about thirty students. It was led by Dennis Parker, an
36Editorial in The Collegian, May 2, 1969.
37Interview with John A. Walker, May 1, 1979.
38Ibid.
391bid.; The more conservative faction on campus was com-posed of police science and agricultural students.
"Interview with both Dr. Edward Raleigh (April 17,1979) and John Walker (May 1, 1979).
19
over-thirty, ex-marine, who had attended U.C. Berkeley and
Sacramento State.41 According to one instructor, Parker was
"a master at manipulating" .42 He seemingly used the Delta
campus as a playground for his political strategies. The
second lieutenant of the SDS was Glen Christmas, known as the
"mad bomber", because of his advocacy of violent problem sol-
ving. In spite of this, "he was very well informed" as were
all the SDS students.43 This was in contrast to the majority
of Delta students. "The.most intelligent and supported" act-
ivist was Pat Haynie, an ex-marine who was endorsed by the
ESA, the Chicanos, and the SDS. In many respects, he was
"more radical that Dennis Parker. "44 Haynie was able to
unite the tripartite coalition and smooth over differences.
Remarks one instructor, "the members of the SDS were naive,
innocent kids who followed leaders who were capable of organ-
izing and inspiring their following."45 Their ability at in-
spiring is illustrated when a campus demonstration erupted
in the Delta cafeteria under the provocation of Parker, Haynie,
and a black student activist Lee Bryant. The triple leader-
ship was in effect espousing a movement to close Delta down.46
4 -Interview with Dr. Edward Raleigh, April 17, 1979.
42Interview with John Walker, May 1, 1979.
43Tbid.
44Ibid.
45Ibid,
46 Ibid.
20
These three showed themselves to be capable of captivating
the attention of a substantial number of the student body.
Other campus activists were the leaders of the Black Student
Union, (BSU) a group founded in 1968, and led by Glasgow and
Lee Chilton. The Chicano students formed the Mexican American
Student Association, (MASA) and later the Movimento Estudiantil
Chicano de Aztlan (MECHA) organizations to promote Chicano.
interests on the campus. It was largely through their agit-
ation that an Ethnic Studies Department was formed at Delta.47
The Delta Democrats was also formed about this time (in 1967);
however, they were not a radical group and mainly conducted
community services and invited various Democratic politicans
to speak.48
It was under the auspices of the Student Council that
Bobby Seale, co-founder of the Black Panthers Party, was
invited to speak on campus. His fee was $500.49 The Bobby
Seale speech, filled with obscenties, caused a current of
shock waves to generate weeks after his departure. Due to
his abusive language and the subsequent reaction on campus,
the district speaker policy still effective today, was set
47Interview with Roberto Vallejo Pantoja, April 29, 1979.
48One important community services conducted by the Delta College Democratic Club was the Big Brother-Sister Pro-gram which involved work with young children.
49The Collegian, November 15, 1968.
21
for all future speakers to conform to an accepted standard of
language. Violation of the policy was a serious infraction
which could result in loss of payment to the speaker. Pro-
fane language was not the only controversy caused by Seale's .
speech. Due to the infamy of the speaker, the community was
"alienated" and it was feared that the bond issue under con-
sideration at that time, would fail. Under Bortolazzo, a
promotion of public good will began with the cooperation of
Delta students and Delta public relations man, Phil Esler.
The combined forces met with success. One of the public
relations promotions was a poster depicting a Delta student
along with a caption which in effect said, Delta students
do not bomb their camPus.5°
The bail bond referendum was another controversial
issue which caused students to question the amount of control
students held over the Student Association Fund. The con-
troversy began on April 9,1969, during a noon rally to raise
bail bond money. It was suggested that money from Student
Associations funds be used for a student bail bond fund.
Later that afternoon a special meeting of the Student
Association Council approved by 5-0-2 vote a $8,000 fund.
50Interview with John Walker, May 1, 1979.; The trustees of the Lodi school were so disturbed by the Seale speech that they voted to set the date for the Lodi bond issue a few days before that of Delta's. This was intended to "Kill Delta's chance to move it's own campus." However, the Lodi bond issue was defeated on November 4.; The Collegian, November 14, 1968.
22
The bail bond fund was to be available to any Delta College
student who needed the ban bond money. This allowed the
student to continue his classes without interuption until
the time his case came to trial, At another meeting on
April 10, it was decided that the Coke stand at the Fun Fest
be utilized by the BSA for the bail bond fund. Another special
council meeting was held the following day to reconsider the
establishment of the fund and it was abolished by an 8-4-0
vote, This caused crieS of indignation by many students who
felt that the Student Council had conducted secret meetings.51
On April 17, the Council Parliamentarian found the recon-
sideration of the bail bond fund illegal since only a council
member who has originally supported an issue can move for
reconsideration. At an April 18 meeting of the Council, the
bail bond issue was discussed as to the recent information
received from the Business Manager, Mr, DiRicco, who found the
fund to be such an. "unsual expenditure" that its legal status
was "clouded4 " Approval of the fund would therefore be delayed.
The Council then froze all Student Association funds "until
more ii-formation could be gathered on the limitations to be
applied to council-authorized expenditures," It was decided
that the bail bond fund was an administrative matter at a
April 22 student council meeting since, according to the
From a statement issued by President and Superintendent Dr, Julio Bortolazzo to all members of the San Joaquin Delta
Cellege Community, including a statement by the President-Superintendent and a Chronology of Student Concern over .2.stab-
;ishment of a Bail Bond Fund, April 24, 1969,
23
County Counsel, no precedents on a student bail bond fund
existed in the law. The County Counsel advised that a
student referendum be held in the advent of a court case
where strong support would be needed to win approval. The
Student Council decided instead to seek Dr. Bortolazzo's ap-
proval. The Student Council adjourned and later the outer
office of Dr. Bortolazzo was occuppied by thirty students.
Although the Stockton Police Riot Squad was ready to come
on campus, the matter was settled peacefully five hours
later.52 Dr. Bortolazzo then issued a statement whose in-
tention remains controversial, and reads:
I, Julio Bortolazzo, as Superintendent of San Joaquin Delta Junior College District, hereby agree that the student bail bond fund of $10,000 as approved by the Associated Student Council, be implemented immediately with the further understanding that this bail bond fund may be rescinded if not approved by the student body at a free election at a date to be determined by the Student Council as soon as practical.
Further, I agree to negociate with the, Student Council, the larger Associated Student finance problems as related to the Cafeteria, Book Stall, Lounge and other sources of student funds.
I further agree to negociate with the Student Council concerning traditional expenditures which have been assumed as budgeted items.5.3
The ColleFian summarized the sentiments of managing
editor, Dick Elizondo. "It was business as usual for all
Delta student operated facilities-it was loud and clear that
our student council did not have any power at all. All this
5Interview with John Walker, May 1, 1979.
53Statement issued from the Superintendent-President Dr, Bortolazzo, loc. cit.
24
talk about the democratic process was nothing but rhetoric
to keep the students in line,"54
However, in "the largest turn out of Delta students to
vote since Delta and formerly Stockton College came into
existence", the student referendum was voted down by a 4-1
margin with 1,610 students voting against while 421 students
voted for the baid bond. Ironically, in a following student
election only twenty-two percent of the students voted-55
54Editorial in The Collegian, April 25, 1969,
55Phe Collegian, May 2, 1969.
CHAPTER 4
ESCALATING EVENTS 1968-1970
Events from 1968 to 1970 escalated as the SDS and min-
ority groups increased their activity. One incident invol-
ved a confrontation between opposing students regarding the
draft counseling tent set up by SDS members, The conflict
arose when curiosity seekers gathered around the tent. One
student was pushed into it, encouraging anti-SDS agricultural
students to continue the process. The event not only exem-
plifies the hostility of some Delta College students toward
the formation of the SDS but also illustrates the multi-
plicity of factions on campus and the friction between them.
Students at Delta were divided into conservative, mod-
erate-activist groups as well as along the lines of ethnic
background, discipline areas, and associations based on
ties to community high schools. Segregation induced by the
students themselves inhibited a mixing among the population
and contributed to the loss of solidarity,56
By 1968, minority organizations designed to promote
ethnic awareness and minority rights, were active and well-
organized. The same year a "brown-power protest" was
staged by concerned Chicanos who picketed, at the front of
the Kensington Way campus, the dismissal of a Mexican-American
56Interview with John Walker, May 10 1979.
26
from a work-study job.57 The protest rally was successfully
utilized again in 1969, when Mexican-American students voiced
their disapproval of the absence of minority representation
at the California Junior College Government Association
Area 8 Conference. The conflict began when a picture of the
conference hostesses illustrated the lack of minority part-
icipation. Due to the absence of Mexican-American involve-
ment in the conference, the spokesman for the Mexican-American
club, Ponce Ruiz, resigned his post on the Student Court. He
urged minorities to select their own student body president
and cabinet. The magnitude of minority protest caused several
resolutions favoring ethic priorities to pass at the confer-
ence. It also allowed for the appointment of nine minority
representatives for the remainder of the conference.58
Mexican-American students, one of the most active groups
on campus, extended minority support on campus by hosting
conferences for visiting organizations and by taking
active part in more traditional campus activities,
The most explosive situation causing racial tension
Occurred when an offensive BSA float was ordered removed
from the 1969 Homecoming Parade by the Stockton Police.
The float depicted scenes showing the police characterized
as pigs assaulting blacks. In addition, some members of the
5r7The Collegian, October 18, 1968.
cn March 28, 1969.
27 BSA float were armed with five unloaded rifles and one unloaded
pistol. Police reserves, whose function was to patrol the
parade, "threatened to leave" if the float was not removed.59
Police Chief, Jack O'Keefe maintained that "the authority for
removal of the float was contained in Chapter 10-012.5 of
the Stockton Municipal Code, which states in part, 'The Chief
of Police must be guided solely by consideration of public
peace... “60A Collegian article pointed out the injustice
of the act when a Prarie Schooner float was allowed to dis-
play a shotgun "to protect whites against Indian attack".
This was equally offensive to Indian minorities. 6i
Strained relations led to many BSA students flocking
to a City Council meeting. The City Council members supported
the actions of the police. A rally had previously taken
place at the College to protest the BSA float incident.
Superintendent-President Blanchard spoke at the rally and
"asked for definite guidelines so that future incidents of'
this nature would not occur. 62 Conflicts arising from the
BSA float incident resulted in the formation of the Stockton
Youth Liason Committee to improve communications between
59Ibid., October 31, 1969.
"Ibid.
61Ibid.
62Ib1d., November 7, 1969.; President-Superintendent Joseph Blanchard began his office as of July 1, 1969 and ended it in July 1, 1976. Dr. Julio Bortolazzo served as Superintendent-President from July 1, 1968 to July 1, 1969.
28
city government and students. A few members of the City
Council first met the proposal with suspicions that it was
a "plot to overthrow the established city governmenl,."63
The committee, which became fairly active, was composed of
five Delta students selected by the Student Council and
high school delegates elected by their student body. The
committee was formed with the idea that it would represent
all "ethnic, econoMio, political and social backgrounds" in
order to prevent misunderstandings such as the BSA float.64
Other beneficial effects resulting from the BSA float was
the attempt of the agricultural students to sympathize with
the BSA. The agricultural students hosted a barbeque and
invited all BSA. members to attend and discuss the BSA float
incident. Through discussion', they formed a "semi-coalition .
mutal bond to aid and give comfort to each other."65
The BSA, like its Mexican-American couterpart, attempted
to solve the minority problem through a holistic approach.
The BSA was concerned with community service and helped to
co-sponser a Black Student Union Conference with the University
of the Pacific's BSU. The conference hosted about 250 students
from Northern California and included speeches and workshops
which dealt with all aspects of the black dilemna.66 When
63The Collegian, January 30, 1970.
64Ibid.
65Ibid„ October 30, 1969.
March 21, 1969.
29
racial conflicts flared at Franklin High L_hool, Delta's BSA
lent support to the BSU of Franklin in order to implement
solutions to the racial problem.67
The Vietnam issue on Delta's campus was met by a variety
of organizations to deal mainly with the student as a possible
draftee and to help former servicemen deal with civilian life.
The Veteran's Association was formed on the Delta campus in
1968 in order to help the more than 600 veterans attending
Delta. The Veteraris Association was founded by former Student
Association President Pat Haynie and was composed of less than
thirty veterans.68 Pat Haynie later led a group of veteran
unaffiliated with the Veterans Association in a protest on
;arch 10 and 11,1970 against recruitment on campus by the
illarine Corps Officer Training Program. The group of veterans
passed out literature examining the "negative aspects of
military life" and also position sheet listing their objectives.
Additional support for students confronted by the possibility
of draft was promised by the President-Superintendent to help
students keep their deferment until at least the end of
school semester." Other support was given by the ill-fated
SDS draft-counsuling tent, informative articles in The
67Ibid., March 7 1970.
March 20, 1970.
69Ibid., March 13, 1970.
70Help was promised by President-Superintendent Dr. Julio Eortolazzo.; The OolleEian, November 1, 1968.
30
Collegian, two war moratoriums organized on campus, and by the
following "We Won't Go Statement" printed in The Collegian in
anticination of the Anti-Draft Week (March 16-22;1970)1
We, the undersigned, are college students who are eligible for the draft, Believing that the United States is waging an unjust war in Vietnam, we can-not in good conscience cooperate in anyway with the military. We therefore declare our determination to refuse induction as long as the United States is fighting in Vietnam.71
The first war moratorium at SJDC occurred on October 15,
1969, one among the other 500 projected campuses across. the
nation that would take part in the one day moratorium:72
The program was organized by the Student Council Committee
in order to inform students of the Vietnam issue, The mor-
atorium was designed to be a three part program. The first
part entailed two movies, one pro-Vietnam, the other con,
The second section featured a debate composed of four
speakers and one moderator. The topic was "Resolve: that
Congress should prohibit unilateral military intervention
in foreign affairs."74 The last part of the program invited
representatives from different political clubs and the VeteraA
.Association to give their views on Vietnam, The moratorium
met with several criticisms, one being cited by journalist,
Ron Ezell. He maintained class attendence was confused by
71The Collegian, March 13, 1970.
72Ib1d„ October 10, 1969.
73Ibid.
74Ib;d,
31
leaving it up to the prerogative of the teacher. The topic
of the moratorium was also criticized, deeming a debate
centered on Nixon's policy to be more pertinent.75 Despite
the criticism , the Vietnam War Discussion Assembly lasted
for two hours before a "packed house" in the Speech Arts
Auditorium. 76
The second war moratorium (November 1969) was a three
day affair which included speeches, a march through Stockton,
and a concluding rally. The moratorium began with a speakers
forum staged in front of the Speech Arts Auditorium. The
speakers incluced political science instructor and Delta
Faculty Senate Chairman, John Walker, Reverend H. D. Skiller,
J.C.C., Vice Chancelor of the Diocese of Stockton, and Reverend
Stan Stevens of Anderson YMCA. Student Association President'
Pat Haynie acted as moderator. The Function was frowned
upon by President-Superintendent Blanchard who felt the col-
lege should remain neutral on the question of war. The
moratorium also featured a march which consisted of a group
of nearly "600 students, faculty, and community members" who
"walked, chanted, and sang their way down Pacific Avenue to
Center Street. "7? The march halted at the Police and Fire
Alarm Central Station where the participants were met by
751b1d., October 24, 1969.
76Ibid., October 17, 1969.
77Ibid., November 21, 1969,
32
speakers and a mariachi band, Speakers included ex-Army
officer Jim Brigham, U.C. Berkeley social psychology professor
Edward Samson, Ponce Ruiz, spokesman for the Mexican-American
Club and a forensic debater, Dr. Paul Hayward and Reverend
Stan Stevens. Volunteers were asked to distribute leaflets
concerning President Nixon's National Adult-Youth Communications
Week (September 28 - October 4) around the city after the con-
clusion of the speeches.78
In 1969, students also championed the cause of "imperiled"
academic freedom when a similiar reaction as that of the Bobby
Seale speech occurred.7 -q The furor started when Delta Afro-
American history instructor, James Buntin, was criticized by
one of his students, Packard Polin, for objectionable words
used in a reading assignment entitled, "The Student as a
Nigger". Believing Buntin had been arrested, students turned
out for a rally to champion Dr. Bortolazzo's "marketplace of
ideas",80 Students supported Buntin's right to academic free-
dom. Bortolazzo threatened to resign at a Board of Trustees
meeting if he did not get full support from the Board. The
Board acquiesced; however, certain elements on the campus
persisted in attempting to ban vulgarity.
Other socio-political activities occurring in 1969 were
Let Us Vote (L.U.V.) campaign on the Delta campus to promote
78Ibid.
79Ib1d„ April 11, 1969.
80Ibid.
33
the eighteen year old vote, and the Campus Unrest Committee
which was approved by the Delta College Board of Trustees on
September 16. The committee was to be composed of students,
faculty, and administrative representatives. "Colleges in
California" were "called upon to initiate policies on campus
disturbances.... Also established was a Racism Committee
"to investigate and recommend changes on charges of racism."82
The Kent State tragedy of May, 1 970 marked the turning
point of the turbulence of the era. Many activists gave up
in dispair and repudiated society. It also marked a widening
rift between the parent generation and their children because
of parental condonning of repressive actions taken at Kent
State. Commentating on the disillutionment which penetrated
SJDC, political science instructor John Walker recalls students
who gave up in "quiet disgust", became "Jesus freaks", or
"dropped out of society" because of the feeling of futility
in attempting to work within the existing political system.83
Angry denouncements of government action appeared in The
Collegian citing similiar repressive measures used in the
People's Park demonstrations and in a Black Panther raid.
non-violent group organized the Student Alliance Committee,
headed by Ted Gregory, in direct reaction to the Kent State
deaths and to United States involvement in Cambodia. The
BlIbid., September 26, 1969.
82Ibid.
831nterview with John Walker, May 1, 1979.
34
great increase in membership was attributed by Gregory to
"Nixon's involvement in Cambodia. “84
The minority push for an active social and political
change was more typically the product of the Sixties' aware-
ness. Minority organizations were very active on campus in
contrast to "whites" who "were apathic". Minority students,
especially Mexican-American students, were a "tremendously
cohesive group" and it was under minority pressure that the
Department of Ethnic Studies. was formed on the Delta College
campus. in 1969. The Department was subdivided into three
A grow-Ds, black, Mexican, and Filippino, whose agitation
caused its creation.85
The Ethnic Studies department was formed on a strong
philosophical basis. The Mexican-American division believed
that minority students had been "maligned and taken advantage
by the establishment!". "Establishment" meant banks, teachers
the schools, even grocery stores where minority students had
investigated them and. found prices to be significantly higher
in southern Stockton than in the north.86
However, making minority students aware of prejudice and
social restrictions was no the only goal. Awareness was to be
tempered with and understanding of how and why prejudice was
allowed to ferment and to boost minority students "to help
84The Collegian, May 15, 1979.
85Interview with Roberto Vallejo Pantoja, April 29, 1979.
"Ibid.
35
themselves". Due to this philosophy, the Me:dcan-American
students became "not a closed group but a nucleus" with a
philosophy of "one for all, all for one". The group was
a "live, viable thing" with a definite sense of "belonging",
and pledged with the promise that if "we helped ourselves
it would be together". With this philosophy in mind, a work
study program was initiated as were tutor sessions. Here
students were to help each other. There was also a con-
scious drive to make students aware of scholarships, and
then help them apply. Assistance was given in college
placement and training in writing resumes, "teaching them to
.succeed a little bit." In all the group interaction and with
the rapport between students and teachers, it was feared that
students would become too comfortable at Delta after a time
and would not move on to a lour-year institution. After a
certain length of time when the student was believed to hake
mastered the necessary skills to graduate, he was Urged to
87 move on.
The goals of the Mexican-American division of the Depart-
ment of Ethnic Studies were seen as a series of steps. The
first step was "to hire a faculty with a teaching body empathic
with the student body". The second step was to absorb the
teachers into the various departments of the school as psy-
chological reminders of greater achievement and to prevent an
island of Mexican-Americans being congregated into one area
8711Y;(1.
36
of the school program. The push was for absorption of the
well-rounded Mexican-American into society capable of
achieving any goal he chose to master.88
Instructor Roberto Vallejo Pantoja remembers, "we were
just as fcolish and naive as the students". "Our mistake was
that we had hired too many teachers too fast." Their goals
and philosophy were often not associated with those of the
existing faculty, sometimes not even concerned with minority
Problems. As a result "the student body lost its positive
impetus". Part of the conflict arose over large lecture
classes. It was the feeling of some of the department heads
that classes of these types would deter minority students -
because they were less capable of receiving individualized
help. It was these fundamental differences in philosophy
that eroded the cohesive spirit which had originally founded
the Mexican-American section of the Ethnic Studies Department."
Nevertheless, their activity illustrates a campus response to
the issues of the Sixties.
S8 Ibid.
2STbid.
CHAPTER 5
OVERVIEW
It was the "Zeitgeist" of the Sixties rather than its
radicalism that influenced the Delta campus. The underlying
Philosophy of the era advocated the need for "relevancy" which
affected the orientation of traditionally taught classes.
Mandatory physical education classes were dropped and place-
ment exams which deprived the individual of the right to
fail" were eliminated." In step with the spirit of the
times, the dress code was relaxed at Delta. Concern for air
and water pollution resulted in the formation of two ecology
clubs, WASTE and the Delta Ecology Club, one of the first
community colleges to implement a recycling program. The
arts at Delta were also profoundly affected by the Sixties
with the organization of Chicano and Black theatre.
Of the radical groups that did exist on campus, the
minority organizations were more the statement of inspired
Sixties. Minority groups were cohesive, active bodies with
immediate attainable goals. Their movement appealed to a
receptive audience and reflected the currents of social re-
form that were being directed by Martin Luther King and Cesar
. 91 Chaviz.
90interview with Richard Ricks, April 21, 1979.
91 -Union Organizer of Mexican Laborers.
38
Conversely, the SDS had a membership of thirty at it's
height and did not have a directed program. Their activities
centered on unrelated issues. They were at one time concerned
with the bail bond which was an issue of BSA origin. The SDS
was also preoccuppied with the question of prohibited parking
on Kensington Way. Interested in the Vietnam War issue, the
SDS attempted to set up a draft counseling tent to inform
students on the different aspects of the problem. However,
the Veterans Association offered a more effective program
and was more instrumental in helping the veterans and student
face the prospect of the Vietnam War. Furthermore, the major-
ity of Delta's student body did not support the SDS. Students
were apathetic and for those interested students there was
a variety of clubs that competed for their interests. This
multiplicity of interests prevented a Unified student movement.
The incidents of radicalism such as the BSA float incident,
the bail bond, and the Chicano protest were isolated events
and were not reflective and supported by the Delta student
body.
The environment also hindered an active student body.
Delta was surrounded by an agricultural environment and served
many different communities. In addition, students varied
in ages and there was an absence of student residences.
Stockton was also located near enough to the Bay Area for
those interested students to participate in the social and
political protests occurring there.
39
Playwright Lillian Hellman best sums up the student
activity during the Sixties. "God knows many of them are
fools, and most of them will be sell outs but they're a
92 better generation than we were."
09 771ooks, on. cit., p. 59.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Altbach, Philip G., Student Politics in America: A H's-,-orical Analysis.; New York: Mc Graw-Hill Book Company, I----
Editors of Time-Life Books, This Fabulous Century, 196--107n • -, Vol. VII, New York: Time-Life Books, 1970.
Epstein, Jason, The Great Conspiracy Trial., New York: House, 1970.
Hans, William H.and Judith S. Levey (ed.$), The New Columbia Encyclopedia., 4th ed., New York: Columbia UnI7Ersity Press, 1975.
Interviews: Dr. Edward Raliegh (April 17, 1979); Rich., , Ricks (April 21, 1979); Roberto Vallejo Pantoja (April 5, 1979); and John Walker (May 1, 1979).
Malor, Reginald, Justice in the Round: The Trial of Angela Davis., New York: Third Press, 1973.
Obst, Lynda Rosen (ed.), The Sixtie : The Decade Rembered by The People Who Lived it Then., New York: ROTTIFE---Stone, Random House, 1977.
The Collegian, September - May 1960-1963; Vol. 1-2, September May 1963-1965; Vol. 3-4, September - May 1965-1967; Vol. 5-6, September - May 1967-1970.
Random