History of Florida State University - Student Activism and Racial Integration

Student Activism and Racial Integration

During the 1960s and 1970s, Florida State University was known as a center of student activism especially in the areas of racial integration, women's rights and the Vietnam War. The school acquired the nickname 'Berkeley of the South' during this period, in reference to similar student activities at the University of California, Berkeley and is also purported to be the site of the genesis of "streaking," which is said to have first been observed on Landis Green. Governor Claude Kirk appeared unexpectedly one morning with a chair and spent the day, with little escort or fanfare, on Landis Green discussing politics with protesting students. Elements of free speech activism still exist at FSU today. The Center for Participant Education was established in 1970 as an alternative to traditional university academics. Its purpose is to allow students to "explore socially relevant topics and to foster a healthier philosophy of education through classes in which anyone could teach or attend. Since then, CPE has been investigated by the Legislature, suspended by the Board of Regents, and challenged by FSU administration. CPE has managed to hold strong through all of this, and remains today as one of the last free universities in the country." Florida State also established the Institute of Molecular Biophysics, Space Biosciences and the Programs in Medical Studies.

After many years as a segregated university, and partly due to the efforts of students starting in the late 1950s (including sit ins and an application to attend Florida A&M University by FSU student Alan Breitler in 1960{JET Magazine, Feb 25, 1960{http://books.google.com/books?id=xK8DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA51&lpg=PA51&dq=breitler+FAMU&source=bl&ots=89KRrLbhmY&sig=EZUv35pWT__E_tH1Nme42fieM38&hl=en&sa=X&ei=PnjWUNrfDIjx0wGv7IDICA&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=breitler%20FAMU&f=false}}), in 1962 Maxwell Courtney became the first African American undergraduate student admitted to Florida State. In 1968 Calvin Patterson became the first African American player for the Florida State University football team.

Tallahassee and Florida State were difficult places for African Americans even as late as 1968. When Calvin Patterson, a star player from Miami signed with the Florida State Seminoles he endured insults and threats from the beginning. Tallahassee, at the time, was very much still rooted in the Old South as Patterson was neither accepted by many white students and fans at FSU nor the black students at nearby historically black Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University who viewed Patterson as a traitor. Difficult history became triumph, however, as Florida State today has the highest graduation rate for African American students of all universities in Florida, including Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.

Today, Florida State University aspires to become a top American research university with at least one-third of its graduate programs ranked in the Top-15 nationally. Florida State University owns more than 1,530 acres (6.2 km²) and is the home of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory among other advanced research facilities. The university continues to develop in its capacity as a leader in Florida graduate research. Other milestones at the university include the first ETA10-G/8 supercomputer, capable of 10.8 GFLOPS in 1989, remarkable for the time in that it exceeded the existing speed record of the Cray-2/8, located at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory by a substantial leap and the development of the anti-cancer drug Taxol.

The Jefferson-Eppes Trophy is exchanged between the University of Virginia and Florida State University after each football competition in recognition of the common roots shared between the two schools.