Thornburg, B: New Left at Cal State Fullerton and the U.S.

This work examines the impact and significance of the New Left on the conservative campus of California State College, Fullerton (CSF) during the 1960s and early 1970s. During that period, CSF exhibited a series of events just as radical as many other New Left activities across the U.S. CSF had its Vietnam teach-in, its campus riot , and its campus building take-over. This work not only documents the New Left's activities at CSF, but also compares and contrasts it with the actions of SDS nationally, and examines New Left events at other colleges and universities across the U.S. While a number of New Left events gained national attention during the 1960s and early 1970s, little has been written about such activities at smaller state colleges. It is my contention that the New Left activists at CSF were influenced by the Black Civil Rights Movement and SDS, and consequently were just as disorganized and amorphous as SDS and other New Left activists. Even so, the effects of the New Left, for good or ill, have contributed significantly to our current social, cultural, economic, political and educational conditions in America - and they continue to do so.