Interview with Dana Schreiber

Partial Transcript: "Tell us your story from the Dow riots 50 years ago..."

Segment Synopsis: Dana was already involved in campus activism and had protested against Dow Chemical Company prior to the 1967 Demonstration.

Keywords: Dow Chemical Company; anti-war movement; demonstrations; political activism

Partial Transcript: "The San Francisco Mime Troupe came to the Union Theatre..."

Segment Synopsis: The night before the demonstrations, Dana saw a performance by the anti-establishment San Francisco Mime Troupe, who told their crowd (of mostly student activists) that they supported the Dow Demonstrations and promised to march with students.

Keywords: San Francisco Mime Troupe; Union Theatre; liberalism; morale; protesters

Partial Transcript: "So the next day, we met at the library mall..."

Segment Synopsis: The day of the demonstrations, Dana attended a rally and marched with fellow protesters. The crowd went into the commerce building. Dana began to panic and left the building as police entered. Dana details the noise and bloodiness of the police attacks against the protesters. None of the students knew what tear gas was until they were attacked. People helped wounded protesters get down Bascom Hill, and campus was in a state of shock.

Keywords: Dow Demonstrations; Library Mall; Paul Soglin; police brutality; protesters; shock; tear gas

Partial Transcript: "I was taking a course at the time..."

Segment Synopsis: Dana discusses a course on politics that she was taking at the time and how its rhetoric influenced her understanding of how the buildup of the protest led to violence. All of the protesters became “radicalized” against the war after Dow. Many of them have also kept in contact with one another and have remained committed to progressive activism. When the demonstration was over, professors in the School of Liberal Arts promised to support the protesters.

Keywords: School of Liberal Arts; UW Madison; courses; radicalism; riots; violence

Partial Transcript: "Now that I'm on Facebook..."

Segment Synopsis: Dana talks about using social media as a way to connect with fellow Vietnam War Era protesters. Social media is bringing bystanders and protesters “out of the woodworks.”

Keywords: counterculture; facebook; protesters; social media

Partial Transcript: "Well you said you were involved, at least..."

Segment Synopsis: Dana learned about political parties and divisions during her freshman year. She joined a group of left-leaning friends who talked about politics in Der Rathskellar. She states that her Jewish identity helped her understand the “fight of the underdog.”

Keywords: Der Rathskellar; Jewish Identity; friendships; history; left-leaning politics; liberalism; politics

Partial Transcript: "Did you feel that change, over time? Or..."

Segment Synopsis: Change in protest style and activism was gradual. Dana talks about the Beatnik and Hippie movements. These movements, she says, were flawed and took radical sides. She doesn’t equate the Dow Demonstrations to either of these movements in terms of radicalism/polarity. Many of the student speakers were Jewish and experienced a large amount of anti-Semitism during the Vietnam War Era.

Keywords: Vietnam War; activism; anti-semitism; beatniks; change; civil rights movements; counterculture; hippies; radicalism

Partial Transcript: "But that was a coincidence... but, you know, Soglin..."

Segment Synopsis: Dana talks about the rhetoric of protest leader Paul Soglin. His words were always intentional and concise. He became mayor of Madison, and that was what “made local government real” to Dana. Dana and Paul were neighbors and friends.

Keywords: Madison, WI; Paul Soglin; UW Madison; local government; protests; rhetoric

Partial Transcript: "I lived on Mifflin Street, and I was there for the riots..."

Segment Synopsis: Dana lived on Mifflin Street and describes her neighbors as “radicals.” She recalls how two men slept with shotguns over their beds. She talks about marijuana use in the community and how her house had a television (protests that she participated in would be on the news at night). Mifflin Street had become the progressive hub after the Dow Demonstrations.

Keywords: Mifflin Street; counterculture; marijuana; news; radicalism; television

Partial Transcript: "Well, I wanted to ask you a couple more questions..."

Segment Synopsis: Communities started forming at rallies and amplified with adult involvement in protests. Dana discusses her father's lack of empathy towards protesters and her boyfriend's involvement in underground politics. She discusses differences between reactions from her peers and from her family. Dana discusses desperate measures that her peers took to avoid the draft.

Keywords: activism; communities; draft dodging; political movements; protesters; reactions; relationships

Partial Transcript: "So I was listening, too, yesterday - NPR had a story on the morning..."

Segment Synopsis: Dana described how Liberal Arts Students became further involved in protests whereas Engineering students denounced the movement. She believes that her peers thought that the demonstrations were effective in the moment but unimportant in retrospect.

Keywords: Dow Demonstrations; UW Madison; campus culture; divisions; influence; radicalism

Partial Transcript: "I'm thinking about the Women's March..."

Segment Synopsis: Dana describes the emergence of Women's Rights and her own involvement in women's healthcare. She talks about the lack of female leadership in the anti-Vietnam War movement. She then discusses the emergence of the feminist movement in Madison around the time of the Sterling Hall Bombing.

Keywords: Dow Demonstrations; Sterling Hall Bombing; Women's March; anti-War movement; feminism; women's rights

Partial Transcript: "That was a major turning point..."

Segment Synopsis: Dana discusses how the Sterling Hall Bombing of 1970 ended the campus' anti-Vietnam War Movement. Her political focus shifted towards feminism. She believes that society has turned against the Women's Rights Movement and that a new generation of women must fight to maintain their rights as women.

Keywords: Sterling Hall Bombing; Vietnam War; Women's Healthcare; Women's Rights; reflection