Module 09: The 1960s: Who Won? Student Protest and the Politics of Campus Dissent

Evidence

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The Protesters
Speak Out
Voices of
Moderation
The Silent
Majority
Protesting
the
Protesters
The Most
Pressing
Concerns

The following evidence, drawn primarily from the pages of VPI's student newspaper, The Collegiate Times, provides insight into the complex politics that defined and influenced student life and priorities during the 1960s and 1970s. Student publications such as The Collegiate Times provide a unique and, in many ways, comprehensive view of the values and interests of college and university students. Because they exist in large part to report on campus news and events, student newspapers provide extensive coverage of what students, professors, and university administrators did and discussed. Just as importantly, campus periodicals must appeal to as broad a segment of the student body as possible, so their editorial pages and letters-to-the-editor sections often present a multiplicity of views, especially on contentious campus events. The documents and images below highlight the variety of responses among VPI students to the antiwar protests of April and May 1970. Organized according to position along the spectrum of student political beliefs, the evidence raises a number of questions about the nature of student politics during an era generally characterized as a period of youthful dissent.

The Protesters Speak Out

1. "What caused demonstration"
The Collegiate Times, April 15, 1970

2. "Free the University!!!"
Flier distributed by students, April 1970

3. Photo: Protest at War Memorial Chapel
April 15, 1970

4. "Strike Out?"
The Collegiate Times, May 13, 1970

5. Photo: Student Activist With Student Strike T-Shirt
May 1970

6. Photos: The End of the Williams Hall Occupation
May 13, 1970

Voices of Moderation

7. "The right to speak, the power to punish"
The Collegiate Times, April 17, 1970

8. "SGA Senate calls for soft strike"
The Collegiate Times, May 13, 1970

9. "From Cambodia to Williams Hall"
The Collegiate Times, May 15, 1970

10. Letter to the Editor
The Collegiate Times, May 27, 1970

The Silent Majority

11. Guest Editorial
The Collegiate Times, May 8, 1970

12. "Crowd of dissenters rallies in Wash. D.C."
The Collegiate Times, May 13, 1970

13. "101 fasters seek support"
The Collegiate Times, May 20, 1970

14. "Protesters called a minority on campus"
The Collegiate Times, May 22, 1970

Protesting the Protesters

15. "Drill practice stopped by protesting students"
The Collegiate Times, April 17, 1970

16. "Anti-corps demonstrations debated"
The Collegiate Times, April 24, 1970

17. "Demonstrations and Williams occupation bring pro and con reactions"
The Collegiate Times, May 15, 1970

18. Photo: Protester Supporting Troops
May 1970

19. Letter to the Editor
The Collegiate Times, May 20, 1970

   

The Most Pressing Concerns

20. Letter to the Editor
The Collegiate Times, May 15, 1970

21. "Students protest Council's changes"
The Collegiate Times, May 26, 1971

22. "...to change the rules"
The Collegiate Times, May 28, 1971

23. "Students employ new tactics"
The Collegiate Times, November 17, 1971