13 March 1954:
The Viet Minh, a group formed by Ho Chi Minh to fight for Vietnam's independence from France, begin their siege on the French Garrison at Dien Bien Phu. By early May, the Viet Minh take control of the base.
The decade of 1965 to 1975 brought with it campus protests that ranged from large to small, peaceful to violent. Student activists protested issues relating to civil rights, race and gender, poverty, and the Vietnam War. During larger protests, students even occupied campus buildings, essentially shutting down parts of the school in an effort to bring about change. While most colleges and universities experienced some level of protests in this era, some in particular encountered larger, more violent movements, including Columbia University; Cornell University; Harvard University; Jackson State University; Kent State University; University of California, Berkeley; University of Georgia; University of Michigan; and University of Texas at Austin. University of California, Berkeley’s protest movements gained ground with the Free Speech Movement starting in 1964. In May of 1965, the first teach-ins at Berkeley attracted around 35,000 participants in 36 hours. The next few years saw continued protest: on October 23, 1968, Berkeley students barricaded themselves in a building to protest the Regents’ refusal to allow Black Panther leader Eldridge Cleaver to teach a course. By February 1969, California governor Ronald Reagan had declared “a state of extreme emergency” on the UC Berkeley campus. Demonstrations took a tragic turn at Kent State University and Jackson State University in May 1970. On May 4th, around 3,000 demonstrators and 1,000 Ohio National Guardsmen gathered on Kent State’s campus. While it remains unclear if the troops were given an order to shoot, Guardsmen opened fire and 4 students were shot and killed. Dubbed the Kent State Massacre, it inspired 4.35 million students at 1,350 universities to participate in demonstrations in the days that followed. One such protest occurred at Jackson State. Rioting on campus during the night of May 14th brought police to the scene to disperse crowds. As the police approached Alexander Hall, they fired into the building, killing 2 and wounding 12 others. It is also worth pointing out the difference in media attention that these two campus attacks received; Kent State, a predominantly white university, gained significantly more press nationwide than Jackson State, a largely African-American university.
Its been 50 years since President Nixon announced the U.S. invasion of Cambodia, igniting a protest of Union students through downtown Schenectady in the spring of 1970. The era of the Vietnam War brought with it an unprecedented wave of campus protests at universities across the country and Union experienced its own fair share of reactions to the war, counter culture, and going co-educational. This exhibit, using Union College as a case study, examines the importance of protests on college campuses during this time period. By shedding light on the various protests at Union during these years, current student visitors will be able to compare and contrast their experiences. What made this era unique? What are campus protests like today? While not as intense as protests at Kent State University or UC Berkeley, those at Union College during this decade affected students personally, took various shapes and forms, and fueled a strong generation of student activists. While not every student at Union considered themselves an activist, a large percentage of the student body was active in some way for various campus protests during these years. In addition, anti-war protests were not the only campus protests to take place. Previous decades also brought with them the Civil Rights Movement and the Feminist Movement that affected Union students as well.
Union students march towards the Schenectady Selective Service System office from General Electric (seen in the background). Credit: Dr. Lester Kritzer ’73
Union College students march from campus. Their route included: Nott Terrace, State Street, Schenectady Community College, General Electric, Schenectady Selective Service System offices, and the intersection of State Street and Erie Boulevard. Credit: Dr. Lester Kritzer ’73.
Dennis Peskin ’66, teaching in the English department at the time, carries a Vietcong flag into the Commencement ceremony. Credit: Special Collections, Photographer Unknown.
