I was reading Physics Today, and saw an article on Mario Savio. It is kind of unusual to
see something in Physics Today, however short, on someone who was not known for one's
research accomplishment in Physics.
Who, then, is/was Mario Savio? Well, those of us who were on the Berkeley Campus in the
early 60s would certainly remember him for his role in the Free speech movement. This
movement eventually led to the anti-war movement for an entire generation of Americans. I
remember the events of stopping the troop trains in Oakland, burning the draft cards,
girls burning bras, beatniks burning American flags and the finally the occupation
of the city of Berkeley by the national guards. In parallel with these events, UC
president, Clark Kerr, got fired over the incidents led by Mario, by the then Governor
Ronald Regan, and of course the Ken State massacre.
Quite a few lighters and I had listened to Mario's speeches on the Sproul steps. He was a
mesmerizing orator and a philosophy major then. Before he could finish his degree, he was
expelled from the University, and went on to the San Francisco State University across the
bay and to major in Physics, of all things. The 60s is a turbulent era in which the
Lighters grew up. In recent months, there were at least three TV programs about the 60s (
two specials on the 60s and one on " Sonny and Cher"). All three programs
brought back bittersweet memory to this Lighter, and to others, I am certain.
Why was Mario in Physics Today? Not because he received any Physics prizes or any great
discoveries, but because a new Physics Fellowship has been established at SFSU to honor
this Free Speech activist,Mario Savio, who was a Physics major, and had received BS
and MS degrees in Physics.
After his MS degree, he decided to go into teaching of
Science. From time to time I would read about Mario in the newspapers. At one time, I read
he was a bar tender in SF in addition to being a Science teacher.
A year or two ago, I read in the California Monthly that Mario had passed on at the tender
age of 53 due a heart failure. It was quite a shock to me, and it was totally unexpected,
especially when it happened to someone with whom I went to school. In this issue of
California Month, a special article was written by a former black panther in remembrance
of Mario. It was about this panther put in jail with a bunch of black guys and a white dud
who was walking the floor of the cell. The panther was irritated by this guy's pacing and
asked him who he was, and he replied "I am Mario". The story unfolded on how the
panther was going to intimidate this white dud, and Mario started talking about civil
rights and the war issues with the panther in a matter-of-fact way and gradually the
panther found out that this Mario was The Mario Savio whom the panther respected Immensely
but had never met and did not recognize him due to his rugged appearance in jail. They
ended up walking the floor together and spent the entire night talking in jail.
It was a moving story, and i wish I could relate the deep and sad feelings of former
panther expreesed in the article. It was only fitting that Mario Savio was remembered on
his passing by Berkeley, an university lost a president, a chancellor, and forever changed
because of Mario.
Gone are the days and gone is the 60s. For this lighter and perhaps others, Mario Savio
lives.
Written in fond memory of Berkeley and in the names of those Lighters who were there---
Chang Hon (C34)
Cheung Po-Kwung (D23)
Lam Tik-Man( C23)
Lau Siu-Wai ( C21)
Lin Hung-Yu ( D27)
Mok Yiu-Wah ( D18)
Ng Kam-Sik (C11, and Ph.D. student of Melvin Calvin, Nobel Laureate)
Ong kwok-Yung (F2)
Wong Hung-yul ( C15)
Tse Shun-Kai (C10)
Yeung Ding-Yeu ( D32)
Zai Yook-Fung (D33, Ph.D. London University, Post-doc, UC Berkeley)
and Kwok Tuen ( B10), the California College of Arts and Crafts Oakland , CA.
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