College just isn't s

In the 1960s, Californias colleges and ur

the state into the world's seventh largest economy. Howerer e

Charles de Gaulle (1890 19

Berkeley, the University of California's main camp

s President of France fre

959 te) 1969. Beause of the

atmosphere of political radicalism. When Ronald Reagan ran fo

office as governor of California in 1966, he asked if Californians

would allow"a great university to be brought to its knees by

noisy, dissident minority". The liberals replied that it was the ability

tolerate noisy, dissident minorities which made universities

s On university campuses in Europe

Iss socialist or communist

movements gave rise to increasingly violent clashes between

the establishment and the college students, with their new and

mitment to fread

d justice. Much of the

protest was about the Vietnam War, But in France, the students of

the Sorbonne in Paris mana

form an alliance with the trade

about the resignation of President de Gaulle

It wasn't just the activism that characterized student life in the

Lenny Bruce (1925-1966) was

1960. Everywhere, going to college meant your first taste of real

the Junior Common Room

discussing the meaning of life. You used to have

William Wordsworth 1

to read your first forbidden book, see your first indie film, or find

1850)was an English poel

someone who shared your passion for Jimi Hendrix or Lenny Bruce

It was a moment of unimaginable freedom, the most liberating in

the downfall of

s But where's the passion today? What's the matter with college?

These days political, social and creative awakening seems t

happen not because of college, but in spite of it. Of course, it's true

that higher education is still important. For example, in the UK,

Prime Minister Blair was close to achieving his aim of getting 50 per

cent of all under thirties into college by 2010(even though a cynic