Agents of Change

The 1960s were a period of unrest on U.S. college campuses that was primarily spurred by opposition to the Vietnam War but also involved demands for substantive change in American society. This documentary by Frank Dawson and Abby Ginzberg focuses on an issue that arose from the more general Civil Rights movement—the adequacy of university admissions policies and curricula. Agents of Change contrasts how officials responded to student strikes at San Francisco State and Cornell in New York at the close of the decade as pushes were made for increased enrollment of African Americans and other minorities, along with the establishment of Black and Ethnic Studies programs. In California, newly-appointed university president S.I. Hayakawa, encouraged by Governor Ronald Reagan, responded with harsh tactics that resulted in arrests and convictions. In New York, on the other hand, administrators opted for negotiation rather than confrontation, a tactic that avoided violence but also drew criticism. Dawson and Ginzberg combine archival footage of the events on each campus with excerpts from present-day interviews with some who participated in the demonstrations (a few were sentenced to prison terms) and former administrators. The film also points out how these events in the ‘60s laid the groundwork for current campus movements related to equal treatment and curricular development. A solid historical appreciation of the origins of the student fight for meaningful changes on college campuses, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)