Student protest is a long tradition that has been responsible for pushing societal concerns into the development of significant policies. In the United States, students have lobbied their state legislators to pass voting rights laws, and they’ve marched to end the Vietnam War. Today, college campuses are seeing a new wave of protests over the Israel-Hamas conflict and other social justice issues. Some schools are bending to the demands of these activists while others are cracking down.
While the Civil Rights movement and peace (anti-H bomb) demonstrations gave birth to student activism in the 1950s, it was the students of the 1960s who truly embraced youth culture and political expression. These students were a generation raised on anthems by the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan, on the lyrics of Joan Baez and Martin Luther King Jr., and on the ideals of second wave feminism and environmental consciousness.
The protests they led were a fusion of youthful energy and political activism, and they pushed the boundaries of free speech on college campuses. Students sat down at lunch counters to protest segregation, occupied buildings and set up encampments. They shook up the world of higher education and sparked a generational shift that has influenced how young people perceive their place in the community and in the world. It was during this time that the definition of student protest expanded to include not only anti-war and civil rights demonstrations but also environmental, racial and gender equality activism.