1970s: Learning through activism
As 1970 begins, Micheal packs up his things and head for Britechester. It's far from home, and while he is excited, he's also nervous. His nerves lessens a bit when he's shown into his dorm and start to greet his new dorm mates. All men. Britechester in 1970 is still a place where women and men do not share dorms.
Michaels dorm-room is small, or rather, his side of it is small, but fairly cozy and it has everything he needs. He hasn't brought all that much aside from clothing, so unpacking is fairly fast.
Once settled, Michael starts to explore the area. He, like Anna, Alice, or his father before him, walk the grounds and try to get his baring. In winter, Britechester is colder than anything he's experienced before. There isn't any snow, but he could easily see how it would be.
He's grateful when he hears from his father. Some warmer clothes could definitely come in handy.
Gradually, Michael gets into a routine. Of studying - either at his dorm or at Darby's Den. In the mornings he sometimes stop by Darkwings House for a cup of coffee in the café. He also just like browsing the books in the bookshop. In the evenings, he either eats at Darby's Den or in the dorm with his dormmates. He's so busy settling in, that he barely watches the news, and had it not been for the fact that his professors loves talking about the just passed National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and how it would shape federal agency behavior he would probably not have had the energy to think much about either the law itself or it's effects.
As he writes in a letter to Linda: "Never have things felt like it mattered more. Here things are clearer, more alive, you can discuss matters among equals, and the professors listen and let you speak, and force you to form your arguments not from just passion but from law and judicial points of view. It's not always easy, and often scary, and many people disagree with each other on everything. But that is also what I love about it. I feel at home."
Michaels dorm-room is small, or rather, his side of it is small, but fairly cozy and it has everything he needs. He hasn't brought all that much aside from clothing, so unpacking is fairly fast.
Once settled, Michael starts to explore the area. He, like Anna, Alice, or his father before him, walk the grounds and try to get his baring. In winter, Britechester is colder than anything he's experienced before. There isn't any snow, but he could easily see how it would be.
He's grateful when he hears from his father. Some warmer clothes could definitely come in handy.
Gradually, Michael gets into a routine. Of studying - either at his dorm or at Darby's Den. In the mornings he sometimes stop by Darkwings House for a cup of coffee in the café. He also just like browsing the books in the bookshop. In the evenings, he either eats at Darby's Den or in the dorm with his dormmates. He's so busy settling in, that he barely watches the news, and had it not been for the fact that his professors loves talking about the just passed National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and how it would shape federal agency behavior he would probably not have had the energy to think much about either the law itself or it's effects.
That is not the case back home, where Susan is following matters closely. Now she is the one closely following the news and reading the papers. As the first ever earth day approaches, Susan is busy preparing. But in the house there are other matters at hand. Like who gets a room to themselves? Carl argues firmly that it should be him. He was the one sharing a room with Michael, who has now moved out, leaving the room to him. And he's the eldest in the house now.
Susan has a very different view of things. "I'm the only girl in the house, and I'm sharing my room with a boy! I'm too old to be changing clothes in front of a boy!" To Carl's great dismay, their parents agree with Susan, and so a delighted Steven gets to move in with Carl, who thinks his parents are highly unfair.
Even as she prepares for earth day, Susan takes the time to get a make over of her room, getting rid of the girly pink and adding more modern colors. Her parents won't allow for a full on psychedelic wall paper, so she settles for painting the room and adding some new furniture. Either way, it's her space, her room, and in here she can plan for earth day as much as she wants. Or dance. She does love to dance.
Susan has a very different view of things. "I'm the only girl in the house, and I'm sharing my room with a boy! I'm too old to be changing clothes in front of a boy!" To Carl's great dismay, their parents agree with Susan, and so a delighted Steven gets to move in with Carl, who thinks his parents are highly unfair.
Even as she prepares for earth day, Susan takes the time to get a make over of her room, getting rid of the girly pink and adding more modern colors. Her parents won't allow for a full on psychedelic wall paper, so she settles for painting the room and adding some new furniture. Either way, it's her space, her room, and in here she can plan for earth day as much as she wants. Or dance. She does love to dance.
When earth day is finally here, Susan and her friends take to the park. Even as people volunteer for trash clean up, Susan and her friends stage a die in at the Park to dramatize pollution related deaths.
"I'm not sure of the effectiveness of those kinds of actions," her mother later says. "Wouldn't it be more helpful to volunteer and clean up."
"I'm not sure of the effectiveness of those kinds of actions," her mother later says. "Wouldn't it be more helpful to volunteer and clean up."
"You mean like you wouldn't let me with the Santa Barbara oil spill."
"Why do you have to go somewhere else. Clean where you are!"
"Because there, birds were dying! And either way, I can pick up trash any day, today I had people's attention in the park. Creating awareness. What good is it if only I clean up trash if others continue to drill for oil and drive their cars everywhere?"
In Britechester, Earth Day does not go unnoticed. There are lectures on air and water pollution. Workshops on pesticides, overpopulation, and waste and student-led cleanups and tree-plantings. In the square in front of Darby's den, students are gathering to make murals and talk about pollution. Even Michael whose never been an environmentalist are pulled into the conversation.
And yet this is nothing compared to what is to come. As the US invades Cambodia, massive new anti-war protests erupts on campus, not just in Britechester but across universities all over the country. When the protests lead to the Kent State Shootings, where four students are killed by the National Gard, protests get even more intense, and this more than environmental issues are things that make Micheal react. A Student Strike Steering Committee is formed, pushing for university reform, walk-outs and sit-ins are organised.
Simultaneously there are discussions about civil rights, a matter close to Michael's own heart. As police raids against various black radical movements and especially Black Panther hide outs intensifies, more and more, especially at universities, see this as a part of a larger problem of targeted repression and pattern of police brutality. As nine people are arrested after a shoot out in New Bedford there are legal fundraisers and letter writing campaigns. In this turmoil, Michael gets more and more involved, leading him to join the debate team to better be heard on these issues, but also to hear others speak. Others that are more knowledgeable than he as a freshman is. More than ever his choice of career feels important, like it could actually matter. Once a lawyer he can help people like the New Bedford Nine, offer them legal representation and fight against the injustices in court.
"Why do you have to go somewhere else. Clean where you are!"
"Because there, birds were dying! And either way, I can pick up trash any day, today I had people's attention in the park. Creating awareness. What good is it if only I clean up trash if others continue to drill for oil and drive their cars everywhere?"
In Britechester, Earth Day does not go unnoticed. There are lectures on air and water pollution. Workshops on pesticides, overpopulation, and waste and student-led cleanups and tree-plantings. In the square in front of Darby's den, students are gathering to make murals and talk about pollution. Even Michael whose never been an environmentalist are pulled into the conversation.
And yet this is nothing compared to what is to come. As the US invades Cambodia, massive new anti-war protests erupts on campus, not just in Britechester but across universities all over the country. When the protests lead to the Kent State Shootings, where four students are killed by the National Gard, protests get even more intense, and this more than environmental issues are things that make Micheal react. A Student Strike Steering Committee is formed, pushing for university reform, walk-outs and sit-ins are organised.
Simultaneously there are discussions about civil rights, a matter close to Michael's own heart. As police raids against various black radical movements and especially Black Panther hide outs intensifies, more and more, especially at universities, see this as a part of a larger problem of targeted repression and pattern of police brutality. As nine people are arrested after a shoot out in New Bedford there are legal fundraisers and letter writing campaigns. In this turmoil, Michael gets more and more involved, leading him to join the debate team to better be heard on these issues, but also to hear others speak. Others that are more knowledgeable than he as a freshman is. More than ever his choice of career feels important, like it could actually matter. Once a lawyer he can help people like the New Bedford Nine, offer them legal representation and fight against the injustices in court.
As he writes in a letter to Linda: "Never have things felt like it mattered more. Here things are clearer, more alive, you can discuss matters among equals, and the professors listen and let you speak, and force you to form your arguments not from just passion but from law and judicial points of view. It's not always easy, and often scary, and many people disagree with each other on everything. But that is also what I love about it. I feel at home."
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