I.V. Reunion 2013

The best and greatest reunion of IV activists took place in the summer of 2013.

Here's the link to many images from the reunion, courtesy of Robert Bernstein: http://swt.org/events/islavistareunion2013/

1968 DNC Organizing

‎44 years ago, Bob Fass, Abbie Hoffman, Paul Krassner and many others stormed Chicago during the DNC. Here's excerpts from a powerful film by Newsreel documenting those events:

FBI's 'Dirty Tricks'

What many of us felt at the time turns out to be more true than we feared:

Student 'Subversives' And The FBI's 'Dirty Tricks' : NPR

When America Burned By The Sea

Ski Gajewski has done a fine documentary on the student unrest and burning of the Bank of America branch bank at Isla Vista in 1970. It is located here: https://vimeo.com/36123261


Ski wrote about his "rough cut," in 2012:

Hello All,

I realize that many of you have not heard from me since I interviewed you or tried to interview you for my documentary about the IV riots I was working on in 08. For this I would first like to apologize. The reality is life, school, and a mishap got in the way of me sending you a copy of the film which in various ways all participated in. Sadly when I was moving from one apartment to another in NY my friends car which contained my media drive, caught fire do to what seems to be from an oil leak in the engine. At the time I had though the fire had destroyed the only copies of the film. Though about two months ago I found a very early rough cut of the film and posted it to vimeo.com (I have attached the link below) as part of my body of work in post production. And to be honest largely forgot about it as it was in essence an incomplete version.

But about two weeks ago I joined the UCSB alumni linked in group and thought maybe someone would enjoy it. I figured that a few people would watch it and that would be the end of it. But the response, even though it is very rough and still contains place holder graphics and titles, has been very positive from both alumni and current students alike. The topic itself remains one of the top topics in the alumni forum, so i would assume the number of people that seen it will continue to grow for the near future.

This coupled with the fact that I have spent the last year working freelance got me thinking maybe now is the time to pick the project back up again and actually make it into a feature. Obviously I would have to raise money and apply for grants, but with the rise of crowd sourced funding such as kickstarter and I hope some private funding I think I could realistically raise the money in which to make the film. Now in order for me to do this I would have to ask those of you that have interviewed in the past to sit down with me again on camera. And those that I could not meet the first time to be interviewed for the first time. Obviously I do not have a time frame for when this would happen but I would hope if I could raise the money all of you would be interested in being interviewed again. As I do not think it would be possible to move forward with this if you feel the time for this has passed and you are no longer interested in being a part of this project.

Obviously, there is no pressure to commit to this as I do not know if I will be able to raise the money which would be required produce a film which is up to not only my standards but yours as well. But obviously I hope to find the financial support and have your support too. Below you will find the the link to the video which has a runtime of just over 30 minutes. Feel free to share it with whom ever you like. And I would also like to hear your feed back on things that could be improved upon. Though please keep in mind that this was a very early version so the titles and graphics are nearly all place holders which were replaced in the final version I handed in for grading. It also has not been color corrected and a few of the cuts are abrupt. So just keep that in mind.

I hope you enjoy it and I hope to hear from you.

Sincerely,

Matthew M "Ski" Gajewski.

Birth of The Environmental Movement

A nice video about the birth of the Environmental Movement that began with the Santa Barbara Oil Spill of 1969, which was a backdrop to the Isla Vista Bank Burning:

IV Reunion Photos

Robert Bernstein shot some great photos of the reunion, July 31, 2010, at Anisq'oyo' Park:

Isla Vista Reunion - 31 July 2010

Bob Potter (1934-2010)

Bob Potter passed away in July 2010, after having given so much to the communities he was an active participant in, including Isla Vista and especially UCSB. Please follow the links to learn more about Bob:

SB Independent: Bob Potter, 1934-2010, In Memorium

SB Independent: Bob Potter obit

Bob Potter’s Speech
Dedicating the Monument to the Anti-War Movement, in Isla Vista’s Perfect Park, June 10, 2003

"For years I watched him find the light in dark moments, provide clarity amid complexity, and express courage when threatened with violence. As a man of letters and action, he was truly a man for all seasons and those he touched will miss him forever." -- Carmen Lodise, July 2010

IV Reunion, 7/31, 12-8pm

The biggest reunion of Isla Vistans and mostly former Isla Vistans takes place Saturday, July 31, 2010 and goes from noon to 8pm:

You're invited to Isla Vista Reunion - July 31, 2010 on Jul 31, at 12:00PM

The Real ’70s

Community Builder and longtime Isla Vistan Carmen Lodise recently wrote in to the SB Indy about the true legacy of the Isla Vista Riots:

The Santa Barbara Independent: The Real ’70s, by Carmen Lodise

ISLA VISTA RIOTS Radio Series

KCSB-FM has been re-airing newly remastered and interview-supplemented episodes of Don’t Bank on America, Malcolm Gault-Williams’ 36-part radio documentary on the history of Isla Vista and its three 1970 riots, well-known as I.V. I, II and III.

Explained Ted Coe: "Rest assured that the KCSB crew is not simply pulling the shows, last aired in the late 1980s, out of the mothballs and throwing them on the air. The episodes are being newly remastered straight from their original reels of quarter-inch audio tape, and augmented with conversations featuring the shows’ creators and subjects. The first chapter features a discussion between series creator Malcolm Gault-Williams, who DJed on the station in the 60s and managed it through the 80s; KCSB development coordinator Ted Coe; and Art of Peace host Philip Levasseur. The three discuss the origins of the series, the challenge of capturing and conveying the times in audio, and what it felt like to be right there in the midst of so much social change.

"'I had begun commercial broadcasting in 1968 as a freshman in Arkansas,' Gault-Williams says in the segment, recalling his beginnings in the medium. 'When I transferred to California, I was a City College student. The station let me in the door even though I wasn’t a UCSB student. I started filling in over Christmas break 69-70. It was my first experience with freeform radio; it made a big impression on me, that style of programming, and I tried to continue with that through my radio career. Unfortunately, the changes in radio and formatting as time went by made the opportunity to do that less and less. But when I was here at KCSB, it was mostly as what we called a "night owl" DJ, holding down the FM shift between midnight and eight in the morning.'"

Colin Marshall, in his column in the Santa Barbara Independent, March 15, 2010, gave some more detail on the series, its re-airing, and the context of the Isla Vista Riots of 1970.

The remastered Don’t Bank on Amerika currently airs every Friday morning from 8-9 a.m. on KCSB-FM, 91.9 (streaming on Internet, also.