Alliance for Radical Change

Template:TOCnestleft Alliance for Radical Change was active at Stanford University in mid 1970s. Some members were formerly active in Venceremos.

Circa 1977 it merged into the Stanford Organizing Committee.

Beginnings

The "Principles of Unity" of the Alliance for Radical Change (ARC) state: "We support the liberation of all peoples at home and abroad. Therefore, we oppose all manifestations of racism, sexism and imperialism. To this end, we will work cooperatively on programs of political education and action." These may sound like broad, lofty goals, but the members of ARC, a radical student group which formed at Stanford University in September 1974, believe there are numerous issues related to Stanford whicb fit within those principles. "It's not really difficult to look around and find things which demonstrate American imperialism and which also show how Stanford is tied to that imperialism," according to ARC member Chris Gray, a junior. "Issues just fall into our lap." Protest Marine Recruiting ARC's first public effort at finding an issue which students here could relate to was its demonstration against Marine Corps recruiting at the Placement Center in October.

Although the group only has about 40 active members, 150 persons took part in the demonstration. While ARC member Dianne Doggett, a senior, thinks "we got a good turn-out at the Marine demonstration," she says "the group as a whole takes it for granted that students are apathetic. We just have to take small strides toward educating people and teaching them what's going on," she adds. Next quarter, ARC hopes to take such strides in two principle areas: continued efforts to bring South Vietnamese journalist Ngyuen Huu Thai here as an ASSU guest professor and opposition to a Communication Department contract to provide research for a communications satellite for Iran.

'Subtle' Issues Doggett admits that "the issues we're dealing with now are a little more subtle than the Vietnam War was. These are things that your good left-liberals can't really got into," she says. Issues such as the Iranian research contract are "just a little less blatant to the student body as a whole" than were the major "causes" of the 60s, Doggett adds. Consequently, she says ARC is "trying to make students aware of some of the injustices they are suffering, like tuition hikes and housing."

Gray says some ARC members were among those who campaigned against the Big Game Bonfire last month. "We're trying to pick issues that students can relate to and that we can build some momentum behind," Doggett says. ARC member Jim Regan, who also heads the Committee to Bring Thai to Stanford, says the group is seeking to "tread the line between being labeled a radical clique out on the fringe on the one hand, and avoiding political ideas as we see them, even though they may not be well received at first." On-Going Organization According to Doggett, the idea for ARC "came out during the United Stanford Employees strike last spring. Students who worked on the strike and members of the Committee to Invite Thai to Stanford decided that there should be an on-going organization, rather than having people get together from time to time for one project or another." Regan says ARC members "expected a slow, critical and sometimes apathetic response. "It was kind of a pleasant surprise at the beginning of the quarter when we got started to see that there were so many students willing to commit themselves on a regular basis to the sort of radical education which hasn't gone on here for several years," Regan remarks.

ARC will have "a good base to work from next quarter," according to Regan. In addition to the efforts in Thai's behalf and in opposition to the Communication Department contract, ARC expects to sponsor a film series. "The purposes of the series," Doggett says, "would be to raise money and to help educate people," ARC members, John Levitt and Cindy Elliott, a junior, will also teach an undergraduate special, "An Introduction to Marxism."

Goals/criticisms

The leading forum for radical thought at Stanford is the Alliance for Radical Change (ARCJ, founded in the spring of 1974 after the United Stanford Employees went on strike and united a group of people devoted to the idea of forming an activist organization. As one ARC member put it,"I looked around me and saw that out there in the 'big world' something was going wrong — things needed to be done — and nothing could change if I continued in the normal liberal 'patch up' type way." Three goals Since its inception, ARC] has been devoted to eradicating three principle "isms" — imperialism, sexism and racism. "We have a three pronged approach to these goals," said Larry Litvak, an active ARC member. "We want to educate people, involve ourselves in action and offer people alternative ways of living their lives." ARC itself is an alternative organization unlike other campus groups. "We're a supportive community for people who are dissatisfied with Stanford and want to integrate social activism into their everyday lives," explained Michael Kieschnick, another ARC member.

Challenging the student body to divert its awareness from collegiate preoccupations to a more worldly, activist outlook has been one of ARC's predominant aims. Among ARC activities last year were a 150-person demonstration against Marine Corps recruitment on campus, a benefit to raise funds for the Inez Garcia and Joan Little defense funds, a 600person demonstration objecting to financial aid cutbacks and a student march and sit-in to protest Stanford's contract to design a communications satellite for the Shah of Iran's "repressive" regime. Sharp criticism The contract protest exemplifies how ARC has drawn sharp criticism for its actions.

"They (ARC) are dead wrong," insisted Electrical Engineering Prof. Bruce Lusignan, one of two scientists working on the project, in a recent interview. "They said what sounded best instead of what was accurate." Lusignan stated that ARC's action "stopped some students from participating in the educational aspect of our program by putting them under heavy pressure." As to ARC's role in the university he conceded, "They have a legitimate role, but 1 wish they'd be more responsible in their research." Jonathan Marshall, a senior history major who has written extensively on radicalism, commented on ARC's role, "I think ARC is needed, but I don't think they have reached the student body to try to present a coherent philosophy." Explaining that he was involved in ARC only during its initial stages, Marshall said, "In ideological terms, simplistic Marxism was becoming dominant in the group, and things weren't organized."

Recent criticisms Students For Equity (SEE), a group formed to prevent what its members see as minority aid cut-backs, also criticized ARC. According to Josie Jaramillo, SEE member and an ASSU vice president, "ARC wasn't telling us all their plans when they asked for our endorsement." SFE endorsed last year's ARC protest against aid cut-backs and the Iranian contract and was surprised when the incident turned into a sit-in, she implied. Leftist groups and administrations have never made congenial bedfellows and ARC is no exception for Stanford administrators. President Richard Lyman, reflecting on last year's controversies in which ARC was involved, suggested that more "academic debate rather than antagonistic bickering" should have taken place. ARC member, Seth Foldy, said that "rational communication is no good if he (Lyman) doesn't act on what we suggest." No impact ARC's effect on university decisions seems minimal. "In terms of the direct impact of the organization I'd have to say it doesn't have any," stated Provost William Miller. He said he believes that most faculty and administration members "wouldn't even know what ARC is."

Certainly ARC isn't as visible as its counterparts in the '60s. "The movement is in a process of maturity." commented Foldy.in comparing ARC to the last decade's movement. "We can't limit ourselves to popular issues but must confront the entire capitalist system as it stands today and offer alternatives."

Open town meeting

Student speakers Michael Kieschnick, Brett Cook, Terry Bright, and Larry Litvak, address White Plaza crowd in an "open town meeting."

Contending that October 14 1975 Board of Trustees meeting was closed to "meaningful student participation." the Alliance for Radical Change (ARC) sponsored an open town meeting to discuss the role students have in shaping the character of the university. Approximately 150 people assembled on the grass in White Plaza to hear three student speakers address the implications of the Board's closed meeting on student power. Following the presentations, there was an open forum. ARC member Terry Bright questioned whether trustee interests are geared to student needs. She said. "The Board is composed almost entirely of corporate businessmen. There are 30 trustees who collectively hold some board of directorships in this nation's corporations." She admitted that some Board members are sympathetic to student needs but they "clearly are not in the majority." She asked, "How long are we going to let them control this power?"

Brett Cook, the only non-ARC member who formally addressed the gathering, outlined areas in which students might concentrate in the future. She included University land use policy, saying "Students should be involved in such planning as whether or not the Stanford Shopping (.center will receive funds from the endowment." She predicted another "round of campaigning" if Provost William Miller decides to terminate the SWOPS I and SCIRE programs which were dealt severe economic cut-backs last year. Michael Kieschnick, an ARC' member, told the group that "radicals of the past made the mistake of centering all their discontent on the Board of Trustees." Urging the group to take a broader look at where power if concentrated, he opined that the trustees indirectly control power through the faculty and the administration. 'A deal' "The faculty and trustees have a deal," claimed Kieschnick. "The faculty understands that the trustees give the University funds to pay them and, in turn, they give the trustees what they need." The trustees benefit from the faculty's technological research and professional skills, he said.

He went on to criticize the role of corporations in university education, saying, "Stanford teaches students to think analytically and creatively, but the social system, through high paying johs, bribes students not to use those skills to critically analyze the system." As another example of the Board's indirect control over the University, Kieschnick charged "Richard Lyman is president of the University because in 1969, when he was the provost, he was willing to call in the Santa Clara County sheriffs to quell sit-ins and demonstrations, whereas ex-president Kenneth Pitzer was too nice." Kieschnick believes that this action "earned Lyman the admiration of the trustees." When the initial speakers finished the microphone was left open for public discussion but only a handful of individuals responded to the invitation. Students 'inept'? One student, Tom Craham, commented, "Students don't have any power because they have done nothing to gain power." He went further to declare, "Students have been inept at coming up with alternatives to the power structure." At (he close of the town meeting, petitions were circulated proposing that the student body, faculty and staff be granted voting membership in the Board of Trustees. ARC intends to present the petitions to the Board at its next meeting.

Student speakers Michael Kieschnick, Brett Cook, Terry Bright, and Larry Litvak, address White Plaza crowd in an "open town meeting."

Anti Shah protest

May 13 1975, about 350 demonstrators sat in the lobby of the Old Union for over an hour, protesting a University research contract with Iran and changes in financial aid programs for minority students. About 150 of the protestors, including many Iranians, chanted and marched in a picket line outside the building. They later joined the others in the lobby. Inside the building, the relaxed crowd sang protest songs, listened to speeches, and cheered at the arrival of a "lemonade brigade."

Earlier, at least 600 persons, mostly students, marched across White Plaza and rallied outside the Center for Research and Development in Teaching (SCRDT), in which the Board of Trustees was holding its monthly meeting. Co-Sponsors The protest was co-sponsored by three groups: the Alliance for Radical Change (ARC), the Iranian Students Association (ISA) and the Revolutionary Student Brigade (RSB). Other campus groups, including Students for Equity, endorsed the rally. Through University officials ARC issued a statement asking the trustees to terminate a three-year, $1 million contract to develop a satellite system for National Iranian Radio Television, and to restore "cuts made in minority student financial aid."

The demands were presented to the trustees' Committee on Academic Affairs by President Richard Lyman. The trustees asked Lyman some questions about the issues but took no action, said Robert Rosenzweig, vice president for public affairs. Rosenzweig said the trustees probably did not discuss student demands or the protest at their afternoon meeting "because it wasn't on their agenda." No Response The trustees' failure to respond to the demands influenced the decision to march on the Old Union, an ARC source said. A "Tactical Committee" apparently planned and directed the demonstration. "The Committee is made up of three people from ARC and two people from each of the other [co-sponsoring) groups," the ARC source said. Seth Foldy, an undergraduate who functioned as the Tactical Committee's press secretary, said its official policy was "to avoid confrontation with police and to avoid arrests." Various factors, including the size and composition of the crowd, influenced the Tactical Committee's decisions about which of several contingency plans to use, the ARC source said.

ASSU Sen. Maria Echaveste of Students for Equity said, "The organizers of the rally put the financial aids issue on the bottom. The Iran contract was the main issue." However, another speaker, Michael Kieschnick of ARC, said the issues are related because both show the University's interest in "education for profits, not for people." At 1 p.m. the crowd formed a column and marched in the direction of the SCRDT building. They were met by 120 Iranian students from Southern California and San Jose, in the middle of a march from Los Angeles to San Francisco to protest the Shah's upcoming visit to the U.S. Members of the ASSU Council of Presidents escorted some trustees to the building. "The Council of Presidents took no part in planning the demonstration," Foldy said. Once all the trustees had entered the building, the marchers convened on a nearby lawn, where speakers read prepared statements and compard the Stanford protest to others around the nation.

On The Move At about 2 p.m. ARC member Jan Jacobson instructed the crowd to "stay together and march through the campus." Minutes later, the crowd reached the Old Union Courtyard. Information and transcript windows were closed when protestors entered the Old Union lobby. "I believe it was Bob Houghton's decision based on normal procedure when large numbers of people enter the building," Registrar Sally Mahoney said. Houghton, the associate registrar, said it was Mahoney's decision. Mahoney said the protest "has shut us down, at least for now." But business as usual prevailed on the upper floors of the building, observers said. Rosenzweig, standing with other administrators in the doorway, said he did not consider the protest a "sit-in" because the building was still open for business.

Stanford Public Safety Officer Nick Bruno arrived at the Old Union shortly ahead of the bulk of the crowd and ordered personnel to close windows and doors. Three plainclothes personnel from the Santa Clara County sheriff's office circulated freely through the crowd. Lt. Robert E. Lees said all three officers were from the sheriff's Community Relations Office and were "just observing." Lees said he had known about the demonstration for several days and "couldn't recall" whether Stanford officials had requested his presence on campus. Although ARC spokesman stressed a desire to avoid confrontation with police, some demonstrators harrassed Bruno outside the building when he attempted to lock doors to the Student Accounting Office. They jeered at him and flashed a mirror in his face. Although there was no official response to the demands yesterday, ARC member Gerald Koblentz said Vice Provost for Research William F. Massy told him that the University Committee on Research might meet "sometime next week" to reconsider research contract guidelines adopted in 1971.

Members

Alliance for Radical Change 1974 spokesman Jim Regan.

In 1975 Alliance for Radical Change members included Stephanie Woolhandler, Don Zweig.

In 1975 Seth Foldy, was a spokesman for the Alliance for Radical Change. Ann Schwartz, was another ARC member.

In 1975 Terry Bright, was a member of the Alliance for Radical Change.

In 1975 Jan Jacobson and Michael Kieschnick were active in the the Alliance for Radical Change.

In 1976 Dave Hawes, a senior in economics, and Steve Vettel, a senior in American Studies, active in Alliance for Radical Change.

Alliance for Radical Change 1976 spokesman Wayne Sachs.

In 1976 Blythe Mickelson was an Alliance for Radical Change member..

In 1977 Steve Hansch was an Alliance for Radical Change member.

References

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