Columbia University Student Demonstrations

Columbia University in New York City is an Ivy League college with a progressive history that dates back to before the formation of the United States of America. Initially formed under the name King's College in 1754 the twentieth century included numerous noteworthy anti-establishment rebellious acts on the Manhattan campus.

In the late 1960s on campus demonstrations that required the assistance of New York City police officers received national media attention when a 1968 rally included students that barricaded themselves in university buildings in a sign of protest to school policies. Distraught by Columbia University participation in a Pentagon weapons research program and even more so by a proposed construction plan that was deemed to be racially charged, empowered students effectively shut down the school for weeks by occupying classrooms and administrative offices around the clock.

At the heart of the racial unrest was a proposed plan to build a new gymnasium in an area known as Morningside Park. Under the suggested layout the building would provide west and east entrances that were positioned in such a way as to provide a convenient entrance/exit for the historically black Harlem neighborhood on one side while offering a separate entrance/exit on the other side of the building which the predominately white students from the university would likely use. Although Columbia University completely denied any segregation motive in terms of the layout of the building, angry students refused to believe the explanation provided by the school which emphasized that the additional services provided would benefit the Harlem neighborhood. In the end the student voices were heard and the project was scrapped.

Additional protests advocating racial equality continued on into the 1970s and 1980s where hunger strikes and further barricading efforts were common ways for students to make their collective voice heard. A frequent cause of friction between students and administrators was due to a student initiative insisting that Columbia University divest its holdings in companies that were believed to be either directly or indirectly supportive of the legal racial segregation that was going on in South Africa at the time under the Apartheid regime. Through a number of demonstrations like picketing and political efforts such as blocking appointments the student body at Columbia set a precedent that was repeated at numerous colleges around the US and eventually led to the divestment of investments in South Africa at hundreds of universities.

An old issue that has been brought back into the news over the last couple of years has to do with the ROTC ban that has been in place at Columbia since the Vietnam War. In 1969 a revolt against all things considered to be in any way supportive of the continued loss of life in the Vietnam War led Columbia University to forbid the United States military from having its Reserve Officers Training Corps (commonly referred to simply as ROTC) program on its campus. While the ban has continued for decades following the conclusion of the Vietnam War the story was brought back to front page exposure in November 2008 when both Republican and Democratic Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama urged Columbia University to consider reinstating the ROTC program. The current rationale as to why reinstating the ROTC program is not part of the foreseeable future is because of the current anti-gay policies in place in the military.

Columbia University has established itself as a national leader in the realm of student demonstrations that bring to light important issues that might not otherwise be discussed. Regardless of what issues face the world in the twenty-first century and beyond it is safe to assume that the outspoken student body at Columbia University will have their voices heard with regards to the issues of tomorrow.