DEFIANCE- Fighting Elitism and Racism at LSU in the '70s - Paperback

by Theodor Schirmer (Author)

"This book is about the impact a long-haired hippy student activist had on the Old South, elitist, racist culture that prevailed at LSU in the '70s. I frequently spoke out at Free Speech Alley, organized protests, fought for student rights, and was elected president of the Student Government Association, to the dismay of the Greek fraternity and sorority members who usually dominated student politics.

In the fall of 1976, Cynthia Payton was running to be the first Black Homecoming Queen at LSU. On election day, a group of Black students rushed up to my lunch table yelling that they had just tried to vote for Cynthia but were told students had to vote for three candidates or their votes would be thrown out. Someone was trying to manipulate the election to prevent Cynthia from winning. As the recently elected SGA President, I felt it was my duty to ensure this SGA-sponsored election was conducted fairly and not corrupted by elitism or racism.

I wrote this book to honor the many students, mostly from lower and middle-class families, who did not turn their backs on injustice and fought at my side against the LSU administrators and Greek organizations.

And to make it a true account of my life in the '70s, I included a number of my adventures with sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll-like smoking pot at a rock concert with the notorious Jerry Rubin, a social activist and anti-war leader."

After graduating from LSU in 1978, Theodor "Ted" Schirmer worked as a case manager for the Illinois Department of Welfare in the South Side of Chicago, and then enrolled in the Southern University Law Center. After graduating in 1983, he opened a law practice in Baton Rouge that focused on civil rights and handicap discrimination. Due to a family health issue, Ted moved to California where he worked for New Directions, a long-term drug and alcohol rehabilitation center for homeless veterans, helping his fellow veterans with their legal issues. In 2006, Ted joined the Los Angeles County Public Defender's Office where he worked until he retired.