Mario Savio: Freedom's Orator

High school is period in which teenagers transition to adulthood, and in the process, they begin to develop their own perspective of the world leaving their parents perspectives behind as they enter college. Freedom’s Orator, written by Robert Cohen, narrates the biography of Mario Savio: the legendary Free Speech Movement orator. Mario Savio graduated as class valedictorian from a Catholic school, rarely questioned authority, followed rules, received a full ride scholarship for college and acted in a manner that would make his parents proud. Savio grew up in a Catholic family, and never throughout high school questioned what he was doing. Not until he transferred to his third college, UC Berkeley, he found a greater meaning in life: standing

for those who could not stand on their own. Cohen argues that because of Mario’s exposure to the greater world as he entered college, he was able to develop his own personal ideas, values, morals, and beliefs that greatly differ from those he stood for before starting college.

Cohen shows that even though Mario’s early exemplary life as a student from a Catholic school led him to grow as a successful teenager, he later found out that none of the things he was doing would actually be what he would stand for, as they were actually what his parents expected him to stand for. Born on December 8, 1942, Mario Savio grew up in Floral Park, New York (p. 22), in a small conservative Italian family. Cohen explains on page 19 that Mario’s beliefs and moral values were greatly influenced by his dad and his grandfather. Cohen proves Savio’s grandfather’s influence as he explains that “for the first three years of his life Mario’s household was headed by an Italian Fascist, his maternal grandfather, Armando, while Joseph [Mario Savio’s dad] was serving in the U.S. Army during World War II” (p. 19). Therefore, Savio grew up embracing his Italian heritage. Nevertheless, after his dad came back from war, he forced the American culture into the family, not allowing anyone to speak Italian (p. 20). Moreover, growing up as the eldest son, he had to carry all the pressure from his parents to succeed, focusing much of his time and effort to obtain the highest grades he could in high school (p. 22). Throughout his life, he suffered from a stutter, which according to Cohen, it did not allow Savio to question authority whenever he wanted, or needed to, and led him to experience what it was like to have no voice (p.20). Due to Savio’s academic excellence, he became a finalist for the competitive National Science Foundation Summer Science program (NSFSS), which intended to recruit students to advance their science education as part of a cold war program (p. 22). Even though it was an honor to be a finalist, Mario did not want to participate, but his school’s principal and parents forced him to because the principal and staff threatened to not write favorable letters of recommendations for college (p. 23). Having all the academic success Mario had—not developed by his own will to succeed—but his parent’s, lead him to become exhausted of what he had become, especially because he found no joy in what he was doing. Savio’s bad experiences with authority would made him start to question them. High school made Savio realize what it was like to live under the guidelines of what others expect you should do, leading him to question this later. Cohen implies that throughout Savio’s adolescence, he grew up doing what others wanted or expected him to do regardless of his will to do it.

Having achieved academic excellence, Savio became his class’ valedictorian, and had the honor to speak at his graduation. Throughout Savio’s graduation speech, the audience is able to recognize Mario’s beliefs, morals, the things he stood for, the potential he believed he had as a human and how he is the same or different Mario who spoke at the Free Speech Movement. As Savio began his speech, the audience can perceived that from a young age, he already believed in the potential masses and even men alone had to change things as he said, “Men have the power to shape events… they have reason and free choice” (p.324). Moreover, he also realized that people come together “during times of stress that we unite to secure the national welfare” (p. 324). By recognizing the potential of masses, he was able to know that in order to succeed in the Free Speech Movement, he needed crowds who were thirst for justice to be able to overcome their deprivation of their free speech right. From adolescence the audience can track as Mario states in his Valedictory speech that Mario believed“Serious discussion” was a step forward to change events in the world. Especially since Cohen pointed out in Freedom’s Orator (2009), that the Steering Committee—group that lead the FSM movement—held extensive meetings, indeed, one of their most important meetings lasted forty-eight hours (p. 165). In addition, from a young age he had already realized that “The actions of every individual—no matter how insignificant they may seem—can assume cosmic significance if only we have a purpose outside himself and faith in his ability to achieve that purpose.” This belief is represented as he works towards organizing the free speech movement, because freedom was the purpose he had “outside himself” and he was willing to give everything up to achieve it. On the other hand, even though some of Savio’s ideas, beliefs, values and morals remained the same, not all of them did. Throughout his valedictorian speech, the reader is able to see how Savio was a man of faith because many times he alludes to God in his speech. For example, “For God looked kindly upon us in giving us the freedom and prosperity we enjoy as Americans.” (1960) and “Then we must be convinced that God has given men the power to achieve any reasonable goal that they set themselves.” (p. 325). Moreover, Mario says in his speech, “It is true that we may not be able to change the administration’s policies directly… We may not be able, as individuals, to secure rights for minority groups, but we can and should call attention to the valuable things these groups do.” This quote turns out to be very ironic coming, because just a couple of years later, he would become the one who would reform the administration’s policies face to face, and advocate for the right of black people to vote during Freedom Summer. It is evident that even Mario surprised himself after pursuing things he never thought could be possible to achieve.

Having the liberty to start making his own decisions in College helped Savio refocus his interests.

Savio began his college education at Manhattan College, and then transferred to a tuition-free public institution, Queens College. An interest to help those in need sparked in college after joining the University Friends of SNCC, where he tutored underprivileged black kids (p. 39), and traveled to Mexico along with the Queens College Mexican Volunteers, to participate in the Taxco Project which helped develop the town of Taxco (p. 38). Cohen explains that these projects were important to Savio because “[Savio’s] tutoring experience left him searching for more daring ways to battle racial inequality” (p. 40). He transferred to another college for the third time to the University of California, Berkeley. At Berkeley, he became upset because “he believed he was not invited to think critically” (p. 37). During the summer after his first year at Berkeley, he applied and was selected to the extremely competitive and dangerous Freedom Summer program, in which he would help black people in the South register to vote. Savio’s participation in all of these programs reflect his desire to help people who are in need of a voice to make their rights and needs be heard and fulfilled. Furthermore, Savio’s participation on these three major programs represent the seriousness and commitment he was putting into each project. Even though Savio continued to care about his education, seeking a better one every time he transferred institutions, his priorities changed over time in the pursue of social justice and human rights for underprivileged

groups.

On Savio’s speech “Bodies Upon the Gears” (1964), “he offers an emotionally and rhetorically powerful appeal to resist unjust authority via civil disobedience” (p. 326). Through the speech, the audience can see that participating in projects that helped and supported people out of the oppression in which they lived in helped Savio gain a perspective of life on the intrapersonal and interpersonal level, seeking change in injustice and deprivation of human rights. At the beginning of his speech, he called the Student President a “strikebreaker and a fink” after he called the people to go back to their homes if they were not very committed to the cause, this represents how Savio was no longer the teenager scared to offend anyone, but the adult who demanded justice. Savio’s belief that any mass that comes together can overcome anything is seen when he says, “One thousand people sitting down someplace, not letting anybody by, not letting anything happen, can stop any machine, including this machine, and it will stop!” Despite the fact that Mario lost his temper every now and then, Savio’s is still an intelligent man who simply is seeking change in the system that is running them—even though as a high school student he had believed changing systems was impossible for people—because it is not benefiting the student body. We can observe this as he said, “When the operation of the machine becomes so odious…you’ve got to make it stop.” Throughout Savio’s speech, the audience is able to see that Mario kept some of the beliefs he developed as a child, but developed others that would make him stand for social change.
In conclusion, great things are always expected of class’ valedictorians. Nevertheless, Savio exceeded the expectations. Growing up as the teenager who always listen to his parents was not easy for Savio, but it helped him gain values, beliefs, and ideas that would be essential for him to succeed at the Free Speech Movement.