Firing Line with William F. Buckley Jr.; 149; Cornell and the Conflict of Generations
- Episode Number
- 149
- Producing Organization
- WOR-TV (Television station : New York, N.Y.)
- Contributing Organization
- Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford University (Stanford, California)
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip/514-8p5v699146
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- Description
- Episode Description
- Professor Berns, as WFB introduces him, was one of several faculty members "who quit Cornell in protest against the capitulations of President Perkins to the guerrilla students who took to dictating academic policy a while ago." This passionate exchange begins with the details of current events, but it goes much deeper, to the nature of the university itself. WB: "Various visitors to the Cornell campus ... remarked what was certainly true, that is to say, there was something unique at Cornell, and what that thing was, was the extent to which the administration was actually on the side of the militant students. That is unique.... Mr. van den Haag is right, that the President did manipulate the faculty, he failed to assert any authority ..." WFB: "Why?" WB: "That's an interesting question. Why would a man stand by and see his university destroyed? Of course, he will deny that it's being destroyed. He referred to this fascist-like scene that took place ... as the most constructive event in the history of Cornell.... Academic freedom doesn't mean a doggone thing to him. And he can't recognize it when it's gone." Currently there is only a digitized transcript available for this episode.
- Series Description
- The television series Firing Line with William F. Buckley Jr. was a venue for debate and discussion on political, social, and philosophical issues with experts of the day. Firing Line broadcasts from 1966 through March 1971 were produced and syndicated by WOR-TV, a commercial station in New York, but some of them were also broadcast on noncommercial television stations. Starting in April 1971, Firing Line broadcasts were produced by the Southern Educational Communications Association, an arm of South Carolina Educational Television. Hoover Institution Library & Archives' Firing Line collection guide can be found at: https://www.hoover.org/library-archives/collections/firing-line.
- Date
- 1969-05-19
- Asset type
- Episode
- Genres
- Talk Show
- Topics
- Public Affairs
- Subjects
- United States; Student movements; Cornell University; Student strike, 1969
- Rights
- Copyright held by Stanford University. This copy is provided for educational and research purposes only. No publication, further reproduction, or reuse of copies, beyond fair use, may be made without the express written permission of the Hoover Institution Library & Archives on behalf of Stanford University.
- Media type
- Moving Image
- Credits
-
-
Guest: Van den Haag, Ernest
Guest: Berns, Walter
Host: Buckley, William F., Jr.
Producing Organization: WOR-TV (Television station : New York, N.Y.)
- AAPB Contributor Holdings
-
Stanford University
Identifier: 80040.149 (Hoover Institution)
Generation: Proxy
Duration: 0:50:00
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- Citations
- Chicago: “Firing Line with William F. Buckley Jr.; 149; Cornell and the Conflict of Generations,” 1969-05-19, Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford University, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed August 6, 2025, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-514-8p5v699146.
- MLA: “Firing Line with William F. Buckley Jr.; 149; Cornell and the Conflict of Generations.” 1969-05-19. Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford University, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. August 6, 2025. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-514-8p5v699146>.
- APA: Firing Line with William F. Buckley Jr.; 149; Cornell and the Conflict of Generations. Boston, MA: Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford University, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-514-8p5v699146