Interview with Gail Grubis

Partial Transcript: So this is Stephanie Hoff, on October 19th, 2017, interviewing Gail Grubis...

Partial Transcript: Hi. The Dow demonstration was only a part of a number of things that were happening at that time.

Segment Synopsis: Question: What is your story surrounding the events of the Dow Demonstration? What happened on October 18th, 1967? Answer: Gail begins her story by noting that the Dow Demonstrations were a result of numerous political problems that followed the assassination of John F. Kennedy. She walked out of a class to people being tear-gassed and clubbed by police. She joined the protest movement after this event.

Keywords: Martin Luther King, Jr; police; tear gas

Partial Transcript: We had the National Guard come in and set up posts, a command station up on Bascom Hill.

Segment Synopsis: After the protests, police presence on campus increased. As riots at Madison became more active and more people were being drafted, the Kent State Massacre occurred. She believes that, after Kent State, she was "fully radicalized."

Keywords: Kent State Massacre; National Guard; Vietnam War; riots

Partial Transcript: Madison was always considered a very liberal place to go and I was told that I shouldn't go there...

Segment Synopsis: Gail talks about the liberal reputation of Madison (that her family stood against) and how various radical protests shaped her time on campus. She became a profound activist and feminist as she became friends with other radical activists on campus.

Keywords: Black Power; Sterling Hall; TA Strike; activism; feminism

Partial Transcript: And I went back and got a second degree at the University...

Segment Synopsis: Gail went back to UW to get her second degree in the 1970's and noticed that the University began to renounce "liberal education" of the humanities in favor of schools of engineering and business. She believes this to be the result of division between departments and administrative power during the Vietnam War era.

Keywords: humanities; liberal education

Partial Transcript: When you walked out of your communications class, if you didn't see what was going on...

Segment Synopsis: Question: If you hadn't been at the protests, would you have still become involved in the anti-war effort? Answer: Gail believes that she would have due to her progressive personality. She discusses being in an interracial marriage in the 1970's and a desire to escape her childhood in a middle-class, white suburb. There was "too much" surrounding her for her to be able to not join the war movement.

Keywords: Memorial Union; Vietnam War; interracial marriage