The Free Speech Movement was begun by students on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley under the informal leadership of Civil Rights activist Mario Savio. In protests unprecedented at the time, students demanded that the university administration lift a ban on on-campus political activities and recognize the students' right to free speech and academic freedom. The Free Speech Movement is often cited as a starting point for the many student protest movements of the 1960s and early 1970s. This pinback was circulated at Berkeley and worn by supporters of Savio.