Student Activism in the 1930s
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ASU Memoirs

American Student Union Memoirs


50th and 25 National Reunion—ASU and SDS—1986

Joseph Lash

(Joe couldn't be with us because of ill health but sent in this brief message.)

1. "To live is to function," said Justice Holmes. For many of us the thirties is the period when we functioned better than we ever had before—and perhaps after. The spirit of the times and our relationship to it through the student movement evoked greater strength, touched deeper sympathies than we thought we had in us. Moreover, we were young then, capable of explosions of energy and passion that surprise us even now, as we remember them. We were a part of American history in one of its creative moments and to feel a responsible participant in history is an unforgettable gift. We made mistakes speaking at least for myself—I find it difficult to forgive myself for having tarried, even fleetingly, with Stalinist totalitarianism. But that was part of the process of growing up. If one tries to do things, mistakes are inevitable. The question is whether we face up to the mistakes. The reformist impulse in the American character is both blessing and curse. Most of us, beginning with our experience in the American Student Union, have recognized its ambiguities and sought to transcend them whether by work with the women's movement, the unions, in civil rights, education and other callings; benefiting from our experience in the student movement and rooted in a sense of compassion for our fellow men and women. It was the same compassion that originally brought us into the movement except that it now seeks more modest goals. And some of us, I want to say, have turned out to be pretty good organizers. I wish I could be with you. Salud.

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