News
Lecturer reflects on ‘dow day’
JAKE NAUGHTON/Herald photo
Looking for a print version?
Simply use your browser’s ‘Print’ command and a printer-friendly document will be generated automatically.
Also by Elissa Goffman:
- Lecturer reflects on 'dow day' (October 17, 2007)
- Speakers discuss animal research programs, uses (September 27, 2007)
- New designs for UW hockey rink (September 25, 2007)
- Concrete canoe paddles to Dutch win (September 14, 2007)
- Students vow to never forget (September 12, 2007)
Sharing tools:
E-mail this article:
A Brown University senior lecturer told students Tuesday about the 1967 "Dow Day" anti-Vietnam War riot and its impact on Madison politics.
Paul Buhle, author and editor of 30 books on American history, was invited by the University of Wisconsin Havens Center to speak as part of a series of three lectures remembering the riot that "changed Madison."
The Dow Riot, which occurred on campus in the fall of 1967, was a student sit-in against the makers of napalm used in Vietnam by U.S. forces. However, the sit-in provoked a police assault and the political atmosphere on campus changed immediately following the incident, according to the Havens Center website.
Buhle reflected on the specific day of the student strike, describing it as the dream of a revolutionary social ideal.
"The Dow Day in Madison marked a high point that went past all left-wing radical expectations and transformed politics in Madison as well as social life in Madison," Buhle said.
According to Havens Center administrative director Patrick Barrett, the riot has had a significant impact on the evolution of Madison politics. The events 40 years ago were the center of anti-war protests and student activism.
Buhle continued with a discussion of significant events in Madison and the different views Madison has taken on politics throughout history. He said in the early 1970s, Madison was a cultural magnet for a new population wave because the city was accepting of gays, lesbians and hippies, unlike most parts of the country in those times.
Many of the attendees of the lecture were former UW students, some of whom lived on campus during the riots.
UW sophomore Abram Shanedling said he attended the lecture for a journalism class paper but still found it extremely interesting.
"I came intending to get additional information for a class paper, and I left with a better understanding of the history of Madison politics and the influence students have had on campus," Shanedling said.
Barrett said Buhle approached the Havens Center about commemorating the Dow event because its significance and relevance to the current Iraq war.
"I think history counts, and it all still seems to be here in a frozen form," Buhle said. "I am very excited to come back to work and discover the history of Madison politics and culture."
Buhle concluded the lecture with a question-and-answer session where members of the audience discussed their views on the protests and how they remember the events leading up to the riot.
The Havens Center will hold two more events commemorating Dow Day, including a panel discussion with Paul Buhle, Frank Emspak, Vicki Gabriner and Betsy Lawrence
Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Room 1100 Grainger Hall. A lecture also in Room 1100, “The Radical American Tradition,” will conclude the events at 7:30 p.m., featuring Tom Hayden, Chicago 1960s Vietnam protester and co-founder of Students for a Democratic Society.
2 Comments | Leave a comment
Leave a comment
Herald Blogs
The Beat Goes On
Muckrakers
President’s Visit Marked a Speech to One of the Last Groups Not Critical of Him
Extra Points
Top Classified Ads (view all)
HOUSES FOR Fall 2010. All houses are on W Dayton or N Bassett. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 bedrooms. All have parking. madisoncampusrentals.com
Dow Day was a major factor in the claimed motives of the Sterling Hall bombing in 1970.
It was big win for the fifth column that eventually caused the defeat of the USA in Viet Nam.