Free Speech Movement

The Free Speech Movement (FSM) was a massive, long-lasting student protest which took place during the 1964–65 academic year on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. The Movement was led by Berkeley graduate student Mario Savio. Thousands of students took part in this movement. The Free Speech Movement was the first mass act of civil disobedience on an American college campus in the 1960s.
Students said that the university should lift the ban of on-campus political activities and support the students' right to free speech and academic freedom. The Free Speech Movement was inspired by the New Left. The Civil Rights Movement and the opposition over the United States involvement in the Vietnam War were also key factors in the movement.