Biographical Information:
Scope and Contents
Arrangement of Materials:
Conditions Governing Access:
Conditions Governing Use:
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Accruals:
Preferred Citation:
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives
Title: Dr. Richard Abcarian Campus Unrest Collection
Creator:
Abcarian, Richard
Identifier/Call Number: UAC.DRA
Extent:
5.19 linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1964-1971
Abstract: In 1967, California Governor Ronald
Reagan issued several financial cuts in an attempt to balance the state budget, which deeply
affected the salaries and educational goals of the CSU system. Professors at SFVSC took an
active stand against the proposed budget cuts by joining with the American Federation of
Teachers in the 1967 Teachers Strike. Abcarian's campus unrest papers document the turmoil
facing CSUN and the nation at large during the late 1960s. The issues of academic freedom,
civil and student rights, teacher's salaries and the Vietnam War are central to the
collection.
Language of Material: English
Biographical Information:
As a member of the CSUN faculty, Dr. Abcarian took an active role throughout the last half
of the 1960s supporting several key protest movements that occurred on the campus of
California State University, Northridge, then called San Fernando Valley State College. In
1967, then Governor Ronald Reagan issued several financial cuts to balance the state budget
which deeply affected the salaries and educational goals of the CSU system. Professors at
SFVSC took an active stand against the proposed budget cuts by joining ranks with the
American Federation of Teachers in the 1967 Teachers Strike. Dr. Abcarian, along with other
members of the faculty and activists in the student body, also actively supported fellow
English professor Barry Sander during his retention case following his unexpected firing by
the University's administration.
Dr. Abcarian also supported the minority student protest movements that hit the campus at
the end of the decade. The students were seeking racial equality and the establishment of
the departments of Chicano Studies and Pan African Studies, as well as protesting against
U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Dr. Abcarian also joined in off-campus demonstrations against
the Vietnam War which led to a violent confrontation with police outside the Century City
Plaza Hotel in July 1967.
Scope and Contents
The
Dr. Richard Abcarian Campus Unrest Collection contains
administrative records, broadsides, correspondence, flyers, minutes, news clippings, news
releases, photographs, and statements documenting the turmoil facing the University and the
nation at large during a painful period in America's recent history. The issues of academic
freedom, civil and student rights, teacher's salaries and the Vietnam War are central to the
collection. The collection has been divided into four series:
Administration (1966-1970),
Faculty (1964-1970),
Student Unrest (1965-1970), and
Off-Campus
Demonstrations
(1967-1971). Each of these series is arranged roughly in
chronological order.
Series I,
Administration,
consists
of correspondence, memoranda, minutes, and resolutions documenting the perspective and
polices of the University administration during the period of campus unrest.
Series II,
Faculty,
includes
correspondence, flyers, minutes, and statements documenting the issues of the 1967 Teachers
Strike, campus unrest, protests against the Vietnam War, and the firing of Dr. Barry
Sanders.
Series III,
Student Unrest,
consists
of clippings, correspondence, policy proposals, committee files, campus speaker notes,
programs, student body statements, flyers, petitions, and newspapers.
Series IV,
Off-Campus Demonstrations,
contains mostly newspaper clippings documenting a variety of protest movements. Of
particular interest is community involvement during the period of campus unrest. The files
also include documentation of anti-war activities in Los Angeles during the Vietnam War.
Arrangement of Materials:
Series I: Administration, 1966-1970
Series II: Faculty, 1964-1970
Series III: Student Unrest, 1965-1970
Series IV: Off-Campus Demonstrations, 1967-1971
Related Material
Other collections documenting California State University, Northridge's history are
available in the
University Archives.
Conditions Governing Access:
The collection is open for research use.
Conditions Governing Use:
Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of
this collection has not been transferred to California State University, Northridge.
Copyright status for other materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials
protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires
the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be
commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any
use rests exclusively with the user.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Department of English, 1980s
Accruals:
1980s
Preferred Citation:
For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style manual,
or see the
Citing Archival Materials
guide.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Documents
Photographs