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Campus "Unrest" demonstrations and consequences, 1970-1971

New Evidence on Campus Unrest, 1969-70 Page 3

mental pollution is perhaps the students' greatest single concern.^4

To recall the idea behind the moratorium observances: there would be one each month, with the first taking one day, the second taking two, the third three, and so on until U.S. military forces were completely removed from Vietnam. About one-third of the institutions experienced some protest in observance of the October moratorium, a slightly smaller number experienced protests during the November moratorium, and only a handful of institutions observed the December moratorium. 

Since the Cambodian invasion and the Kent State and Jackson State killings occurred close together in time, several institutions simultaneously experienced protests over two or even all three events. Wherever appropriate, these were counted as separate protests. In cases where more than one event was the subject of a single protest, the issue first raised was considered a primary issue. The Kent State killings resulted in more protests (24 percent) than the Cambodian invasion (16 percent), even though the Cambodian invasion occurred first. Apparently, the Kent State killings generated more widespread student concern. 

Outwardly directed protest

Some notable forms of outwardly directed protest this past year are included in the "other" category: support for the Chicago 7 (actually a protest of the trail results), antipollution protests, support for a breakfast program and day care center for children of nonacademic employees in the community, support for the California grape boycott, blood drives for Vietnam casualties, support for Biafra, anti-Agnew protests, rent strikes against off-campus landlords, support for a speaker banned from the university because his views were too liberal, and a demonstration by a " No-Sex-Before-Marriage Club" organized to promote a "stronger youth."

In spite of the emphasis on protest directed outside the institution, more than one-third

^4 Staff of the Office of Research, National Norms for Entering College Freshmen-Fall 1970 (Washington: American Council on Education,1970).

of all institutions still experienced at least one protest directed against the institution itself. Since many of these protests occurred during the first semester, the notion that 1969 was a " relatively quiet fall" appears to be unsupported by facts. The most frequent type of protest against an institution involved issues other than Vietnam or black demands. Specifically, these included hiring or firing professors, tuition increases, rent hikes, demands for representation on the boards of trustees, curricular requirements, and related issues. About one in seven of the institutions experienced protests involving black demands (black studies programs, separate dormitory facilities, special admissions policies, and related issues). One-tenth of the institutions experienced protests that were related to the war in Indochina (ROTC, military recruiting, government-sponsored research, and so on). 

When the more extreme manifestations of campus unrest- incidents with physical violence, damage to property, or arrests-are examined, the extent of institutional participation drops off considerably, Twelve percent of all institutions had protests that resulted in arrests. A smaller number-7 percent- had protests that involved destruction of property, and less than 4 percent had protests that involved physical violence. Still, one must remember that the estimate of 3.4 percent, when translated into the actual number of institutions, means that more than 80 colleges and universities experienced physical violence during one or more protest incidents in 1969-70.

As it turns out, the two-year institutions in the sample had relatively few protests during 1969-70. However, since the subsample of two-year institutions was relatively small (27 in all), the weighted and unweighted tabulations were recomputed using only data from the 196 four-year institutions. These new tabulations (Table 2) give a somewhat different picture of campus unrest, since the base rates for most types of protest are considerably higher. Among those four-year institutions experiencing some protest (80 percent), the average number of incidents per institution was seven. Of the various specific incidents, protests over the Vietnam war and

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mental pollution is perhaps the students' greatest single concern.^4 To recall the idea behind the moratorium observances: there would be one each month, with the first taking one day, the second taking two, the third three, and so on until U.S. military forces were completely removed from Vietnam. About one-third of the institutions experienced some protest in observance of the October moratorium, a slightly smaller number experienced protests during the November moratorium, and only a handful of institutions observed the December moratorium. Since the Cambodian invasion and the Kent State and Jackson State killings occurred close together in time, several institutions simultaneously experienced protests over two or even all three events. Wherever appropriate, these were counted as separate protests. In cases where more than one event was the subject of a single protest, the issue first raised was considered a primary issue. The Kent State killings resulted in more protests (24 percent) than the Cambodian invasion (16 percent), even though the Cambodian invasion occurred first. Apparently, the Kent State killings generated more widespread student concern. Outwardly directed protest Some notable forms of outwardly directed protest this past year are included in the "other" category: support for the Chicago 7 (actually a protest of the trail results), antipollution protests, support for a breakfast program and day care center for children of nonacademic employees in the community, support for the California grape boycott, blood drives for Vietnam casualties, support for Biafra, anti-Agnew protests, rent strikes against off-campus landlords, support for a speaker banned from the university because his views were too liberal, and a demonstration by a " No-Sex-Before-Marriage Club" organized to promote a "stronger youth." In spite of the emphasis on protest directed outside the institution, more than one-third ^4 Staff of the Office of Research, National Norms for Entering College Freshmen-Fall 1970 (Washington: American Council on Education,1970). of all institutions still experienced at least one protest directed against the institution itself. Since many of these protests occurred during the first semester, the notion that 1969 was a " relatively quiet fall" appears to be unsupported by facts. The most frequent type of protest against an institution involved issues other than Vietnam or black demands. Specifically, these included hiring or firing professors, tuition increases, rent hikes, demands for representation on the boards of trustees, curricular requirements, and related issues. About one in seven of the institutions experienced protests involving black demands (black studies programs, separate dormitory facilities, special admissions policies, and related issues). One-tenth of the institutions experienced protests that were related to the war in Indochina (ROTC, military recruiting, government-sponsored research, and so on). When the more extreme manifestations of campus unrest- incidents with physical violence, damage to property, or arrests-are examined, the extent of institutional participation drops off considerably, Twelve percent of all institutions had protests that resulted in arrests. A smaller number-7 percent- had protests that involved destruction of property, and less than 4 percent had protests that involved physical violence. Still, one must remember that the estimate of 3.4 percent, when translated into the actual number of institutions, means that more than 80 colleges and universities experienced physical violence during one or more protest incidents in 1969-70. As it turns out, the two-year institutions in the sample had relatively few protests during 1969-70. However, since the subsample of two-year institutions was relatively small (27 in all), the weighted and unweighted tabulations were recomputed using only data from the 196 four-year institutions. These new tabulations (Table 2) give a somewhat different picture of campus unrest, since the base rates for most types of protest are considerably higher. Among those four-year institutions experiencing some protest (80 percent), the average number of incidents per institution was seven. Of the various specific incidents, protests over the Vietnam war and