April 6, 2006
35-Year Club
Last summer, University Week wrote to faculty and staff who have worked here at least 35 years and asked for their reminiscences. Several who responded recalled images and moments from the era of the Vietnam War and the student demonstrations that opposed it.
“The Vietnam Era was a particularly difficult time on campus,” wrote Alan Klockars, a professor of educational psychology. “Having an office that overlooks the Quad we would watch the demonstrations marching down the center of the Quad and, on occasion, marching through our building. One of the events that most clearly brought out how conflicted the times were was when Henry Buechel had a highly covered confrontation with demonstrators who had attempted to interrupt his class. At once one wanted to be with the demonstrators working to end the war and with Dr. Buechel asserting the sanctity of the classroom.”
Music Professsor William McColl wrote: “A memory: I’ve moved here from balmy Puerto Rico. Nixon invades Cambodia. Lots of students don’t like it much. A huge march proceeds through the campus and passes the Navy ROTC building. (This march would tie up the freeway later.) I’m looking down at the building and at the march. A single flag flies proudly from the flagpole, the sailors’ weather flag: Gale warning. A hero from the march climbs the mast and tears down the flag to the cheers of the crowd, I think, ‘That made sense — they’re protesting the weather!'”
Among many other memories of campus changes over the decades, Oscar Vilches, professor of physics, wrote, “Undergraduate education has changed, too. In 1968, in spite of being the rebellion, non-conformist years of the Vietnam War, on average students were more serious scholars than today, or perhaps they took fewer things for granted. The average student had much less material goods and opportunities than today.” He added that with today’s consumerism and higher tuition forcing students to work, “There are plenty of brilliant undergraduate students at the UW today, but I feel there are not many strong global thinkers.”
