The Evolution of Campus Activism: From the 1960s to Today

Political activism within campuses has remained a significant driving force for social justice, policy, culture, and politics for many years. The student activism may be dated back to the civil rights as well as the anti-war protests of the 1960s to the present day. The theme of justice and equality has not changed but the problems, the campaigns, and the organization of students’ movements have been reinvented to address the challenges of each period.

The 1960s Campus Activism:

The Birth of Modern Campus Activism

It can be safely stated that campus activism, as it is known in contemporary America, began in the 1960s. The decade also saw the largest social movement, with students protesting for civil rights, free speech, and anti-Vietnam War movement. Historic actions, including the Student and Free Speech movement at the University of California, Berkeley in 1964, as well as anti–Vietnam war protests that levied student power as the definitive cog in American society.

People wanted an integration of blacks in schools, free speech on political issues, and no Vietnam War. Such actions, including peace sit-ins, outlawed protests, teach-ins, and seizure of administrative properties, provoked abrasive reactions from university administrators and law enforcement agents. Still, during this period, students expressed passion and determination that ultimately paved way to future activism.

The 1970s and 1980s:

The available literature indicates that globalization leads to the creation of new issues as well as the expansion of the agendas in the nation-states.

As the protests of the Vietnam War subsided in the early 1970, new issues took over rather quickly. These social issues included women rights, activism for the environment as well as the rights of the people of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. The demand for women’s rights in education, reproductive healthcare decisions, and employment opportunities for women further fuelled the fight for gender equality on college campuses.

The 1980s happened to be a focus on global concerns such as the disinvestment campaign from South African related companies due to apartheid. South African issues claimed the campus of college and university institutions in the United States of America becomes a dictatorship of anti-apartheid conflicts as the students demanded that their colleges disengage from the regime’s funding calculations.

The 1990s:

Identity Politics And Social Justice

Identity politics became much more apparent on campus during the 1990s as seen in the above excerpt. With the quick advancement of the globalization process and the appearance of different cultural aspects, students dealt with race, sex, sexual minorities, and socio-economic statuses. The period marked a change from great societal and global concerns to those issues that were closer to home or of identity politics.

The call for multiculturalism in education, ‘employment quotas’ for people of color and women, and anti-discrimination laws began at this time. Regarding this aspect, students called for changes aiming at developing diverse, friendly settings across colleges, colleges, and Universities, insisting that the institutions accept their roles in implementing alterations that address the prejudicial contexts.

The 2000s:

Technological and Globalization Elements in Activism

Digital activism was, however, ushered in early 2000. With the advancement of the World Wide Web, student movements started adopting new forms of mobilization such as blogs and social media accounts, as well as online petitions. Such a digital transformation enabled activists to join forces across the world, which put campus movements under the banner of internationalizing.

With the 9/11 attacks, change was also noted in activism focused on countering terrorism and civil rights, as well as anti-war demonstrations, especially against the Iraq war. Students kept on demonstrating but now they had the internet as a platform where they could share with the common public and also gain support.

The 2010s:
Based on the two articles read, it can be presumed that the Era of Hashtags and Intersectionality refers to the current generation’s advocacy of women’s rights and its nuances.

Such social justice hashtags as #BlackLivesMatter, #MeToo, and #OccupyWallStreet appeared in the 2010s and became more popular with the help of the internet and social networks. In the campuses, these movements, as a part of them, inserted an idea of intersectionality where students saw that racism, sexism, and poverty were linked.

Environmental justice became another area of student concern, as well as the desire to divest from fossil fuel and addressing the challenge agenda of student debt. The ideas of «safe zones» and request for psychological services on campuses appeared as the students were more concerned with their well-being and diversiveness.

Campus Activism Today:

Different Perspectives and New Challenges

From here it is, campus activism of today might be less flamboyant but it is more strategic in planning and execution. Today’s students are informed and concerned about numerous global, national, and local social, political, and environmental problems and causes: climate change, racial justice, same-sex marriage, income inequality, and others. The COVID-19 pandemic also made issues of health disparities and school access prominent as students, parents or guardians, teacher educators, and communities wrestled with the effects of remote classes, financial instability, and mental health strains.

Social media still remains very important, through which students can mobilize faster and get awareness to go around the world. However activist struggles are no longer a matter of occupying campus quad or administrative offices. Even remote protest actions like hashtags online addressed protests, and distantly distributed campaigns favor just the same as the traditional ones.

CAMPUS ACTIVISM:
THE NEVER SETTLING PROCESS

It is thus evident that the spirit of campus activism has not faded while resisting to give up the fight against different challenges of every generation. It is from civil rights marches of the 1960s to today’s hashtag campaigns that students are not relenting in their effort to demand change and transformation from organizations, companies, and governments. Campus activism will definitely develop in accordance with the new local and global processes occurring in the world.