The Center for Participant Education

Florida State established the Center for Participant Education (CPE) during the spring quarter in 1970. The CPE was FSU’s version of the “free university” that originated at Berkeley during the Free Speech Movement. The concept of CPE, introduced to the Student Senate by former SDS member Rick Johnson, was for student-planned and organized credit and non-credit courses that the university did not offer as part of the regular curriculum.

In its first semester of operation the CPE offered fourteen courses, four of which were for credit. More than 150 students participated in such classes as macramé, motorcycle repair, women’s issues, and meditation. By allowing students to take courses that were relevant to their lives, the Center was in accordance with the principle of participatory democracy. The CPE at Florida State is still in operation today, making it one of the last free universities in the nation.

In the fall semester of 1970, student and radical activist Jack Lieberman faced retribution from university administration and state officials when he attempted to teach a CPE course titled "How to Make a Revolution in the U.S.A." Marshall and other moderate members of the administration clashed with conservative members of the state legislature over whether or not Lieberman could continue to teach the course.

Marshall maintained that the CPE was a university approved student organization and the students had the right to practice free speech in the courses they chose. Legislators challenged that it was an improper use of state funds and that a known radical could not teach a course about revolutions. After numerous trials and a year of debate, Marshall ultimately decided to dismiss Lieberman from the university.

Larger Issues: 1970
The Center for Participant Education