John Brelsford oral history interview Digital Version Available

The Scope and Contents note of this oral history was originally generated by feeding the electronic transcript into OpenAI’s ChatGPT 3.5 on 2023 September 01. It was then reviewed and edited by a human.

Oral history interview with John Brelsford, class of 1972. Brelsford describes his early childhood and adolescence, discusses his arrival at Dartmouth and the challenges of adjusting to academic life. He talks about joining Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and participation in the protests against William Shockley as well as the growing anti-ROTC sentiment at Dartmouth. He discusses SDS demands that led to the Parkhurst Takeover and the planning and staging of the takeover, along with public opinion. Brelsford describes his removal from Parkhurst and subsequent sentencing, followed by details about his time spent in prison. He discusses the year after Dartmouth and his decision to drop out, as well as his jobs and education afterward. Brelsford concludes by discussing his family life and current pastimes.