Biggest college protests

  Biggest college protests

When a small student protest led to the Kent State shootings on May 4, 1970, outraged students across the US launched some of the biggest college protests of all time. As we approach the anniversary of this historic massacre, we take a look at the largest and most impactful student protests in recent history.

United Kingdom

 When an unprecedented number of students turned out for a November 2010 march in this city to protest tuition hikes, what started out as a peaceful protest eventually turned violent. Riot police reportedly used batons to fight back against a crowd hurling bottles, signs and eggs. Students stormed government buildings, resulting in at least eight people being injured.Watch video of the historic protest

 See images of the crowds and protest signs

University of California

A big hike in tuition fees  led students at University of California campuses to dissent in late 2009. Students set up “tent cities” at campuses and kept protests peaceful for the most part, although students were arrested on several occasions when they didn’t vacate sit-ins at school buildings.Watch coverage of the protest

 See images of the crowds and protest signs

Wild Lily student movement

Students from National Taiwan University organized a sit-in at Memorial Hall to highlight democratic reform. This six-day sit-in drew thousands of demonstrators and was dubbed the Wild Lily Movement. It’s credited as the turning point in Taiwan’s move towards democracy.See images of the movement

Deaf President Now

Students at Gallaudet University a university for deaf students, protested the board appointment of a new school chief in 1988. The Deaf President Now protest saw students organize rallies, barricade school gates, burn effigies and succeed in shutting down the school for a week. They were successful in instating a deaf man as president and ensuring that the board be comprised of at least 51 percent deaf people from that point on.Watch video of the historic protest

 See images of the crowds and protest signs

Athens Polytechnic protest

Students at Athens Polytechnic locked themselves in buildings in November 1973 in protest of the junta  in power since 1967. Students broadcasted on a pirate radio station to rally support and civilian workers soon joined the protest to restore civil rights. How many people were killed?Watch video of the protest

 See images of the crowds and protest signs

Jackson State protest

About 100 students from Jackson State College Jackson State University in Jackson, Miss., protested several issues on May 14, 1970, including this controversial war and a tragic school shooting earlier that month. Rioting students set several fires on campus and overturned a dump truck. Two students died.See images of the historic protest

National student strikes

Students at more than 850 colleges and a shocking number of students across the United States held strikes in protest of the Vietnam War and a college massacre. Some students turned violent, even burning ROTC buildings. The largest protests took place in a West Coast city and the capital.Watch video about the historic strikes

 See iconic images of the protests

Kent State

After several days of rallies over a US invasion 2,000 students at Kent State University in joined together for an on-campus protest May 4, 1970. The National Guard was called to disperse the crowd but ended up killing four people and injuring nine.Watch video about the tragic event

 See images of the protest

People’s Park protest

Local residents of Berkley, Calif., built a park on derelict land owned by this university  in the spring of 1969. An actor-turned governor and future president sent police officers to the park who clashed with the protestors. Several people were injured and one died.Watch video about the protest

 See images of the historic event

German student movement

German students protested a controversial war, the authoritarian style of the German government, and student living conditions, among other issues, in the late 1960s. The climax of the movement occurred when 80,000 marched in Bonn, West Germany to protest legislation that would allow the government to act in crisis such as war. See images of the movement 

Knickerbocker protest

Nearly 2,000 students at this New York college organized a sit-in in October 1948, calling for the firing of department chairman William Knickerbocker. He eventually stepped down but not before 16 students were arrested.

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