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Student protests against
the Vietnam War had their roots in 1965 when a chapter of the
Students for a Democratic Society was organized and received recognition
by the Student Senate.
The first massive
anti-war rally was a teach-in held in April 1967. A student rally
in the same month on the steps of the administration building
-- demanding a voice in academic issues and financial aid decisions
—turned into anti-war protest as students asked that the
Naval Reserve Training Officer program be discontinued. More than
1,300 Northwestern students had received their commissions through
the program since 1926.
The tempo of protests
took a more radical turn in 1969. In May demonstrators tried to
block entrance to the ROTC review which had been moved from Deering
Meadow to McGaw Hall.
In the fall of that
year, Chancellor J. Roscoe Miller issued a statement that the
University would not countenance any disruptions. A month later
the SDS stepped up their demands and tried for force their way
in to see the chancellor. Forced back by security, the students
staged a sit-in at the NROTC headquarters in Lunt Hall.
In February 1970 William
Kunstler, defense lawyer for the Chicago Seven on trial for disruption
during the 1968 Democratic convention, was invited to speak on
campus by the Northwestern Faculty Action Committee. After the
lecture, some people went on a rampage in downtown Evanston, smashing
windows and causing several thousands of dollars in damage.
Violence broke out
April 27, 1970, when an arson fire caused extensive damage to
the linguistics building at 621 Foster St. The Traffic Institute
building at Hinman and Clark was burned down by arsonists. A group
of SDS protestors tore up the NROTC offices.
Protests stepped up
the next month when President Nixon announced U.S. forces were
moving into Cambodia and four students were killed at Kent State
University by Ohio national guardsmen.
Chancellor Miller closed
Rebecca Crown May 6 as a symbol of NorthwesternÍs participation
in the national protest and then ordered all classes cancelled
for the rest of the week.
Two thousand students
rallied on Deering Meadow that night and called for a strike and
the cancellation of classes. Some militant students set u p barricade
to block Sheridan Road near Scott Hall. The City of Evanston diverted
traffic to prevent any violence. The barricade was removed without
any opposition on May 13.
A second rally was
held May 8 by students who organized a huge gathering that night
at Dyche Stadium. Evanston officials called in the National Guard
as a precaution. Approximately 7,000 people attended the peaceful
rally.
Classes resumed on
May 13and the campus enjoyed two years of relative quiet.
The 1970 events thrust
Eva Jefferson, the newly elected president of the Associated Student
Government, into the spotlight. She led the strike in Deering
Meadow and became a nationally recognized student leader. She
appeared on the David Frost television show with three others
students and Vice President Spiro Agnew. The campus remained peaceful
until May of 1972 when a rally to protest increases in room and
board rates tuned into an anti-Vietnam War rally at Rebecca Crown
plaza. Students again declared a strike and erected a barricade
across Sheridan Road. The barricade was removed after three days.
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