Barbara Bernstein
Barbara Bernstein, BC ’71, remembers sleeping in on the morning of April 23, 1968 and missing the student march to the gym site in Morningside Park. She did not miss, however, the occupation of Hamilton Hall, the subsequent decision by black students to ask their white classmates to leave, and how John Jacobs, CC ’69, smashed a basement door of Low Library allowing students to occupy their second building. Bernstein recalls the communal camaraderie of the hundred people living in Low, the cordon formed by the opposing Majority Coalition, and the faculty’s attempts to keep the peace. During the police raid, one officer hit her head, for which she later received eight stitches. Bernstein now lives in Portland, Ore. and has been a community activist, musician, public-radio documentary producer, and talk-show host.
Harold Parker
Harold Parker came to Columbia in 1965 seeking what he described as the “keys to life.” “Life is about relationships, and not about accumulation,” Parker wrote. “All material and egoistic accumulations must be surrendered at the end of our time, individually and collectively, on the planet.” Having changed his first name to Rashid, Parker has been a civil servant over the last 30 years with the New York State Department of Labor. He is also a corporate and political communications consultant, photographer, and writer. “I enjoy my private business interests because I’ve always been an ‘image capturer’ in my soul, and I can satisfy my sense of art and life while making, sometimes, enough money to help me make do on my salary,” Parker said, describing his photography business.
Michael Jacoby Brown
Michael Jacoby Brown, CC ’69, was listening to “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction” around 4 a.m. in Fayerweather Hall when police burst into the building. It was April 30, 1968 and the bust had begun. He remembers the drive downtown in a paddy wagon, the booking procedure, and the tedious arraignment process. Writing about his experiences and reflections of 1968, Brown describes arriving at Columbia from a mediocre high school and the excitement he found in the campus’s intellectual environment. Like many of his fellow students at the time, Brown was deeply frustrated with the Vietnam War and Columbia’s proposed gym. When some of his friends joined the militant Weathermen group, Brown, concerned about how his family and neighbors back home would think and whether they would truly benefit if he got involved, became a high school teacher in California. He has since worked as a community organizer, construction worker, elected official of national organizations, and editor of a community newspaper. Brown currently lives in Boston with his wife and two children.
Mitch Sisskind
Having grown up in Chicago, Mitch Sisskind, CC ’68, was interested in writing and football when he entered Columbia with the class of 1967. He joined the freshman football team at Columbia, and later earned two varsity letters in lightweight football. When he left Columbia for a year, Sisskind received a draft classification and enlisted in a Navy reserve unit. He went through basic training and returned to Columbia in ’66 with the understanding that after one year he would serve 24 months of active duty, but he was later discharged from the Navy. He saw the film Bonnie and Clyde with his very radical friend and football teammate John Jacobs, who hoped the movie would provide at least a partial a blueprint for the future. Sisskind took part in leftist politics on campus to some extent in ’67 and ’68, but in hindsight he believes antipathy between jocks and radicals kept students divided and played into the hands of the administration. After Columbia, Sisskind returned to Chicago, worked as a high school teacher and football coach, and eventually continued his writing career.
Meredith Sue Willis
Raised as a Christian in West Virginia, Meredith Sue Willis recalls the first time she tasted alcohol and met an atheist at Bucknell University. The following year, Willis volunteered for AmeriCorps’ Volunteers in Service to America branch. Motivated by a desire to be closer urban life and world events, she later transferred to Barnard College and immediately got involved in the campus’ political scene. Willis has been politically active ever since and has written three novels, worked with Teachers & Writers Collaborative, and acted as a community organizer. She currently lives in Orange, N.J. with her husband and son.