Psychedelic music, free love, "hippies, drugs, the Vietnam War and rock and roll" usually define the 1960s. But the forces of movements that truly define the time were also civil rights, women's rights and free speech.

The first History Symposium, hosted by the History Club Hindsight, "1960s: Then and Now," sought to raise questions and push accepted ideas, said senior Alissa Walter, resident of Hindsight.

The symposium, which featured student and faculty presentations, was held yesterday in Bertona Hall 4 at 7:30 p.m. with about 65 people in attendance.

What is an American?
Michael Thomas, vice president of Hindsight, said in his presentation that being an American changed dramatically in the 1960s. Thomas used copies of the textbook "A History of Free People" from 1961 and 1969 to emphasize the changes that took place.

Cultural community, shared first language, a similar taste in food, and religious affiliations usually define a nation, Thomas said, but it is not the same for America due to differing immigrant background.

Native Americans and African Americans did not fit in the ideal of the 1961 textbook, Thomas said. There are three ways to deal with misfits: ignore, marginalize or paint in a positive light, and by 1969, America redefined what it meant to be an American, Thomas said.

Out of One, Many: Minority Rights
"The civil rights are not a thing of the past," junior Ashley Reese said.

Reese said that, in the 1960s, the baby boomers of the 1950s became teenagers and started challenging authority. Students, such as the members of the Freedom Bus Riders, sought ways to protest laws they felt were unfair. The Riders peacefully sat on buses to enforce desegregation, Reese said.

"Everything that happened in the 1960s is still rolling and it's our turn to step up to the plate," Reese said.

Susan Lane, director of Multi-Ethnic Programs, spoke of her past in 1960s Seattle.

"I was always aware of justice," Lane said.

Lane is a third generation Japanese-American and said many of her family members were in the internment camps in America during World War II.

Lane invited the Black Panthers to Lincoln High School in 1968 for a Human Relations assembly, and it did not go very well, Lane said.

Lane said that she researched the Black Panthers and found that they were an in-your-face group that challenged bureaucracies of the day.

Dalillah Bernal, founder of SALSA, gave her presentation on the Hispanic/Latino Movement in America of the 1960s.

"There was a pressure to assimilate into the American culture," Bernal said.

Bernal touched on different migration movements from various South and Central American countries and explained how the 1960s showed a move from labels such as "persons of Spanish surname" to Latinos and Hispanics.

Cesar Estrada Chavez was a political activist Bernal mentioned who formed the Farm Workers Association. Bernal quoted Chavez, saying, "Once social change begins it cannot be reversed."

Students Speak: Student Press, Free Speech and College Campuses
Back when Seattle Pacific University was Seattle Pacific College, there was very little being done to promote relationships between white and black students, Walter said.

Walter said that The Falcon Newspaper was shut down in January 1969, but resumed three weeks later with issues approved by a faculty member. Before the change, a bi-weekly article promoting black power ran in The Falcon, causing a lot of negative opinion, Walter said.

"Seattle Pacific came out of the 1960s with both of its ideals [a liberal arts education and a Christian community] intact," Walter said.

Mike Hamilton, associate professor of history, gave his presentation on the student free speech fight at Wheaton College from 1960 to 1965. Hamilton said that student opinions were not allowed in the school's literary journal at that time, so an opinions journal was made.

"Every college is worried about their public image," he said.

The Vietnam War
Norman Anderson, a World War II veteran and current SPU student, gave his presentation on the striking similarities of the Vietnam War and the Iraq War.

Anderson said that some of the similarities were the primal fear of the opposing nation, the ambition of nation-building and no exit strategy. Anderson said that America is not equipped to fight with nations that have been defending themselves against invaders for thousands of years.

"We all have conscience and courage. It's all a matter of using them," he said.

No Longer a Christian Nation? Eastern Religions and America

Jennifer McKinney, associate professor of sociology and women's studies director, presented on the cult explosion that never really happened. McKinney said that Eastern Mysticism was introduced in the 1960s and got a lot of hype due to its outspoken ways.

"The hype is bigger than the actuality," McKinney said.

McKinney said that, in 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson rescinded the Asian Exclusion Act, bringing a lot of Asian people into the country, along with their religions.

Women Redefined
Senior Abigail Stahl said that it is a misconception that the women's movement began in the 1970s and that it really got started in the 1960s when the women started to rejoin the labor force.

"There was a boiling frustration in the 1960s that led to the women's movement in the 1970s," Stahl said.

Stahl said that women reentered the work force in the 60s and were met with limitations that men did not have. The discussion of women's rights is still prevalent today because of the inequality of women's wages, Stahl said.

Music
"Playlists enable us to self-medicate," senior Bethany Walrad said.

Walrad gave a presentation on the listening habits of the 1960s opposed to the listening habits of now. She said that there was a transition from listening to an album as the artist intended for you to listen to it, to the "singles" that Americans hear on the radio and download.

Walrad said that today is a more highly engineered environment but that we can still actively listen and take part.

Brandon Hunter, a junior, gave his presentation on the transformation of the Beatles and the song "Let it Be." Hunter said that music producer Phil Spector used a music wall to overdub guitars, vocals and more, until McCartney's song, "The Long and Winding Road," turned into the chart-topping "Let it Be."

"It's a unique opportunity to see what a producer can do to an album," Hunter said.