FREE PRESS: What were the major contributing factors to this
"rebellion" in Isla Vista that year?
FLACKS: There were several factors of many peoples' everyday
experiences that lead to this collapse, or at least reinforced
it:
1. The drug scene. People were involved with various kinds of
drugs (marijuana, LSD, etc.), and these were all illegal. And
it is revealed to you that the very practice of these very pleasurable
activities is all tied up with being an outlaw.
2. Movies in I.V. The movies at the Magic Lantern Theater in
I.V. that fall and spring included "Z" [the story
of a wonderfully honest, idealistic politician in Greece who
was assassinated: CL], "Easy Rider" [two guys on the
road who get wiped out by some red necks], "Alice's Restaurant"
[about a hippy commune that gets smashed by the forces of darkness],
"Medium Cool" [about some people who get caught up
in the demonstrations at the Democratic Convention in Chicago
and get killed], "The Baffle of Algiers" [which implied
that revolutionary violence was justified]. These were all powerful
and had a big impact.
3. The Bill Allen Incident. A popular anthropology professor
was fired and a lot of students thought it was because he talked
about Vietnam in his classes. This provoked major demonstrations
on campus with 7,776 people signing a petition asking for an
open 
hearing
on his firing, supposedly required by UCSB guidelines.
4. Ronald Reagan was governor at that time and both his language
and actions were very repressive.
5. The police repression in Isla Vista, which so many people
had experienced first hand.
6. The Generation Gap in values between these activists and
their parents.
7. The oil spill in Santa Barbara the year before.
8. The draft of young people to serve in an unpopular war was
accompanied by a general collapse of authority nationwide, especially
with Nixon's presidency. I mean, this wasn't a war supported
by a widespread, patriotic movement.
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