Cal has a long-standing reputation of being an anti-war institution. What is interesting, however, is that the possibly fraudulent election of 1960 may have fostered this reputation. During that year, Senator John F. Kennedy defeated Vice President Richard Nixon in the closest presidential election to date in American history. It is fascinating to think about how that day in November may have essentially molded Cal's identity, especially as we move toward another election.

Kennedy defeated Nixon by slightly over 100,000 votes (34,220,984 to 34,108,157 respectively) and 303 to 219 in the Electoral College. There were vehement allegations of voter fraud in several states, however, that could have altered the outcome. In Illinois, for example, where Kennedy won by just 9,000 votes, local reporters posited numerous allegations of electoral fraud, including deceased individuals voting. In addition, an election judge would confessed to witnessing vote tampering in Chicago's 28th ward for which three precinct workers would serve short jail terms.

In Fannin County, Texas, 4,895 people were registered to vote, yet 6,138 actually did vote, with over 4,000 for Kennedy. In another Texan precinct in Angelia County, 86 people voted yet the final tally was 147 for Kennedy and 24 for Nixon. Operatives found similar allegations in several other counties and contended that a recount could have provided Nixon with 100,000 additional votes, enough for him to win. Had Nixon won Texas's 24 and Illinois's 27 electoral votes, he would have won the election 270-252.

And there were still other possibilities. Had Nixon won any of the contestable Midwestern states, namely New Mexico, Arkansas or Missouri, in addition to Illinois, he would have won the election. Had Nixon won New Mexico, Arkansas,and Illinois, but not Missouri, Kennedy would have fallen short of the required 269 electoral votes, and the election would have gone to the House of Representatives. As Nixon won more states than Kennedy, he still would have won. Nixon's aides urged him to pursue recounts and look into allegations of voter fraud. Nixon refused, fearing that doing so would compromise American prestige worldwide during the midst of communist hysteria.

So instead, John F. Kennedy became president and worked toward fulfilling campaign promises of containing communism. After being assassinated three years into his presidency, his successor, Lyndon Johnson, quickly put American ground troops in Vietnam to advance this goal. As we all know, this decision ultimately resulted in a military quagmire that was met with great disapproval amongst many Americans, particularly college students.

After the federal government banned on-campus political activity, student protests sprouted throughout the country. In 1964, under the leadership of Mario Savio, among others, Cal students demanded the university lift these bans and recognize their First Amendment rights of free speech. After the massive sit-in in Sproul Hall resulting in the arrest of over 800 students, acting chancellor Martin Meyerson established provisional rules for political expression on campus, which eventually enabled students to fully express themselves.

This Free Speech Movement has become a defining aspect of our great school's identity. One would do well to ask how things would have been different had Nixon actually defeated Kennedy. Nixon mulls over this very issue in his 1978 memoirs: "... had we won in 1960 we would have handled the Cuban Bay of Pigs crisis much differently, and would probably have faced down the Russians and saved Cuba from Castro ... I think also that we would have handled Vietnam quite differently and would have used our power effectively very early in the war if we had found it necessary to use it at all."

Had Nixon won, he may very well have quickly won the war in Vietnam, and the anti-war and Free Speech Movements would consequently not have had their resulting magnitude. As a result, Cal wouldn't have become so prominently known for its anti-war rhetoric, but rather almost solely for its stellar academic achievements in the arts and sciences that are already on par with, if not ahead of, the nation's most elite private institutions including Harvard, Princeton and Yale among others.

The effects of the election of 1960 are still manifested throughout campus today in areas such as the Free Speech Movement Cafe and the Mario Savio Steps in front of Sproul Hall among others. Some of these establishments may not have come to exist, at least certainly not in their present form, had Nixon won.

48 years later, we're in the midst of a comparable election between two great men, Senators Barack Obama and John McCain. In an election that may very well end up being just as close, it's important to realize how much every vote counts. And moreover, it's important to realize how much it matters who ends up in the White House.

Tags: ELECTIONS 2008 COMMENTARY