Interview with Edward Groth III : The Movement Oral History Project

Ned Groth (1973 PhD Biological Sciences) shares memories of his time as a graduate student in biology at Stanford, including his participation in anti-Vietnam war protests, his switch from neurophysiology to environmental research, and the impact that his Stanford Workshops on Political and Social Issues (SWOPSI) course on air pollution had on environmental policy in the Bay Area. He also describes his career at the National Academy of Sciences and the Consumers Union.
Groth describes growing up in New Jersey and attending Princeton University for his undergraduate education. He recalls his growing political awareness while at Princeton where he learned more about the civil rights movement, witnessed overt racism toward fellow students, and pondered the justice of student deferments for the Vietnam War draft. Citing the draft as one of the reasons for pursuing a PhD, Groth arrived at Stanford in 1966, where he was a graduate student in biology under future university president Donald Kennedy.
Groth shares memories of draft resistance activities on campus and his participation in sit- ins at the Old Union and Encina Hall, a debate with Stanford trustees, the takeover of the Applied Electronics Laboratory, and a protest at the Stanford Research Institute. Groth also describes teaching courses on environmental issues at the Free University and in SWOPSI and reflects on how he and the students in his SWOPSI workshop shaped the work of the Bay Area Air Pollution Control District. Groth also recalls the reporting he did for the Peninsula Observer on environmental issues, including the water fluoridation controversy, efforts to Save the Bay, and other pollution problems in the Bay Area. He concludes by reflecting on what it means to be an activist and how activism has changed over the last fifty years.