On this day in 1969, students and community activists clashed with the police over a three-acre plot owned by the University of California, Berkeley.

What began as a disagreement over use of the land — a site known as People’s Park — resulted in the most violent confrontation in the university’s history, a day that became known as Bloody Thursday.

Mr. Reagan responded by sending in the National Guard.

Berkeley, home to the University of California’s flagship campus, has long been a center of cultural disputes and civil unrest. The Free Speech Movement began there during the 1964-65 academic year, and protests erupted on campus this year over planned appearances by the right-wing activists Milo Yiannopoulos and Ann Coulter.

The recent controversies over campus speakers has reignited a debate over freedom of expression, again testing the city and university on two fronts: speech and safety.

Inyoung Kang contributed reporting.

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