Columbia University Student Protests Of 1968: Reasons Explained

In April 1968, Columbia University students protested against the university's involvement with the US government's participation in the Vietnam War and its plans to build a segregated gym in nearby Morningside Park. The protests resulted in the occupation of several university buildings and the violent removal of protesters by the New York City Police Department.

Opposition to US involvement in the Vietnam War

In April 1968, Columbia University students protested against the US involvement in the Vietnam War. The students' opposition to the war was sparked by the discovery of documents that revealed the university's institutional affiliation with the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA), a weapons research think tank affiliated with the US Department of Defense. This discovery led to a year-long anti-war campaign by the Columbia SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) demanding that the university administration resign its membership in the IDA.

The protests began on April 23, 1968, with a rally at the university sundial, followed by an attempt to enter the Low Library administration building to present a list of demands to the university president. When they found the building locked, the protesters proceeded to the gym construction site in Morningside Park, where they tore down the protective fencing. The NYPD arrested one protester at the gym site, and the students then returned to campus and occupied Hamilton Hall, a building housing classrooms and the offices of the Columbia College Administration. During their occupation, the protesters restrained Acting Dean Henry Coleman from leaving his office.

The occupation lasted a week, with students rebuffing administrators' attempts to negotiate. On April 30, nearly 1,000 NYPD officers gathered on campus and violently quashed the demonstrations, using tear gas and storming Hamilton Hall and the Low Library. Over 700 students were arrested, and more than 100 were injured, including approximately 132 students, 4 faculty members, and 12 police officers.

The protests achieved two of their main goals: Columbia disaffiliated from the IDA and scrapped plans for the controversial gym. The protests also led to the creation of a university senate, giving students a formal role in university decision-making.

Racism and segregation in the local community

In 1968, Columbia University proposed the construction of a new gymnasium in nearby Morningside Park, which was owned by New York City. The proposed gym was met with backlash from the local community, particularly those in Harlem, as it was deemed to be a segregated facility. The gym was to be built on public land, yet only 12% of the gym would be accessible to the public, with the remaining 88% reserved for Columbia University's use. This was seen as an attempt to circumvent the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited racially segregated facilities. Harlem residents resented Columbia's encroachment on their neighbourhood and recreation spaces, especially since the university had a history of expanding into Morningside Heights at the expense of residents, most of whom were African-American. Since 1958, the university had evicted over seven thousand Harlem residents from Columbia-controlled properties, with 85% of those evicted being African-American or Puerto Rican.

The proposed gym's design further fuelled anger and resentment. The gym would have separate entrances for the community and Columbia students, with the community entrance at the bottom of the building and the university entrance at the top. This "back door" entrance for the community was seen as a symbol of racism and was dubbed the "Gym Crow door" by Harlem residents. The separate entrances, along with the unequal allocation of space, led to the project being labelled "Gym Crow", a derogatory play on "Jim Crow", the name given to racial segregation laws in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The proposed gym became a flashpoint for racial tensions and a symbol of the broader struggle between Columbia University and the Harlem community. Black students at Columbia, particularly those in the Student Afro-American Society (SAS), felt a sense of responsibility to represent the complaints of African-Americans in Harlem. They joined forces with white students from the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), an anti-war group, to protest the gym construction. However, tensions arose between the two groups as they had different goals and agendas. The black students of the SAS were primarily focused on stopping the university's encroachment on Harlem, while the SDS had a broader agenda of mobilising the student body against the university's support for the Vietnam War.

The occupation of Hamilton Hall, a university building, by student protesters in April 1968, highlighted the racial divisions within the protest movement. The black students of the SAS asked their white SDS counterparts to leave Hamilton Hall so that they could continue their protest separately, wanting to focus solely on the gym construction issue. The black students were aware that the university and police would be more cautious in dealing with a group of black students occupying a building, especially in the context of the recent assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., which had caused riots in the surrounding black neighbourhoods. By confining their protest to a single building, the black students could represent the Harlem community's opposition to the gym while the white students broadened the occupation to include other issues.

The separate protests by the SAS and SDS groups forced Columbia University to address the issue of race and highlighted the racial divisions that had been exacerbated by the university's expansion policies and the proposed segregated gym. The university administration was cautious in dealing with the SAS protesters, knowing that any use of force could incite riots in the neighbouring Harlem community. The protests ultimately led to the university abandoning its plans for the gym and making changes to foster a better relationship with the Harlem community.

The university's association with the Institute for Defense Analyses

In 1959, Columbia University joined the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA), a weapons research think tank affiliated with the US Department of Defense. The IDA served as a forum for leading research universities and government agencies funding military research to discuss issues of mutual interest.

Although the IDA did not issue contracts for military research and development, participating members were given de facto priority. Columbia's association with the IDA was not public knowledge until 1967 when a former Columbia University Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) activist, Bob Feldman, discovered documents in the International Law Library detailing the affiliation.

Following this discovery, an anti-war campaign was launched by the Columbia SDS, demanding that the university resign its membership in the IDA. On March 27, 1968, six anti-war Columbia student activists, nicknamed "The IDA Six," were placed on probation by the university for violating its ban on indoor demonstrations.

In response to growing criticism of Columbia's involvement with the IDA, the university's president, Grayson Kirk, created the Henkin Committee in January 1968 to investigate the university's ties to the defence industry. However, President Kirk refused to allow a faculty vote on the issue of withdrawal from the IDA.

The protests in 1968 resulted in Columbia ultimately disaffiliating from the IDA and scrapping plans for a segregated gymnasium in Morningside Park, which was another point of contention in the protests.

The proposed design of a new gymnasium

In 1959, Columbia University announced plans for a new gymnasium for Columbia College students and residents of the Harlem community. The proposed design of the new gymnasium was controversial as it was to be segregated, with residents of the Harlem community having to enter through a basement entrance, and only having limited access to the facilities. The gym was also not going to be open for use by students from Columbia's graduate and professional schools, Barnard College, or Teacher's College.

The proposed design of the new gymnasium was met with opposition from the Harlem community, particularly as Columbia University had been expanding into the Morningside Heights area since 1958, evicting over seven thousand Harlem residents from Columbia-controlled properties—85% of whom were African American or Puerto Rican. The proposed gymnasium was to be built in Morningside Park, which is owned by New York City, and only 12% of the gym would be open to the public, with the remaining 88% set aside for Columbia's use. Harlem residents resented Columbia taking over precious recreation space and making a half-hearted gesture to include the community, especially as the project was moving forward against their objections.

The proposed design of the new gymnasium also caused tension between black and white student activists. The Student Afro-American Society (SAS) and the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) initially worked together to protest the gym's construction. However, the two groups had different agendas. While both groups wanted to prevent the construction of the new gym, the SDS wanted to mobilise the student population of Columbia to confront the University's support of the Vietnam War, whereas the SAS was primarily interested in stopping the University's encroachment of Harlem. The SAS wanted autonomy in their protest so that they could focus on preventing the university from building the gym, and they knew that the police would be less violent towards a group of black students, especially in light of the recent assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The SDS wanted to take an administrator hostage, but the SAS wanted to stick to their issue of stopping construction at the gym. Eventually, the black students asked the white students to leave the building, and the two groups occupied different buildings on campus.

The proposed design of the new gymnasium was ultimately scrapped, and in March 1969, the University abandoned its plans for the gymnasium.

The treatment of Black and brown students on campus

The treatment of Black and brown students on Columbia's campus and in the neighbouring community was a significant catalyst for the 1968 protests. The university's plan to build a segregated gym in Morningside Park, a public park, was a particular point of contention. The proposed design would have seen 88% of the gym reserved for Columbia's use, with the remaining 12% open to the public. Harlem residents, most of whom were African-American, resented Columbia's appropriation of precious recreation space, especially given the university's history of expansion into Morningside Heights at the expense of residents. Since 1958, the university had evicted over seven thousand Harlem residents from Columbia-controlled properties, 85% of whom were Black or Puerto Rican.

The proposed gym's separate entrances for the community and Columbia students were also seen as an attempt to circumvent the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which banned racially segregated facilities. The design was derided as "Gym Crow" by its detractors, with one Columbia professor explaining to LIFE Magazine: "It's the symbol of coming in through the back door that bothers the black people. That's why they call it the g-y-m crow door."

Black students at Columbia felt responsible for representing the complaints of African-Americans in Harlem. They were also subject to discrimination on campus. At a 40th-anniversary event, they spoke of their experiences of having their IDs constantly checked and being discouraged from enrolling in difficult courses. They also described a "stacking system" that placed all the former Black football players in the same position.

On April 23, 1968, Black students in the Student Afro-American Society (SAS) joined with the majority-white Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) to protest the gym construction. However, the following day, the Black students asked their white peers to leave Hamilton Hall, which they then occupied alone. This was a strategic choice, as they knew the university would be reluctant to use force against a group of Black students, especially in the context of the recent assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., which had sparked riots in the surrounding Black neighbourhoods.

The Black students transformed Hamilton Hall into the "Malcolm X Liberation College", covering its walls with portraits of Black Power leaders. They also welcomed Black visitors to the building and encouraged them to speak at their rallies, fostering a student-community alliance that led to increased white support for their cause.

The protests ultimately gave Black students more power at Columbia, resulting in the addition of more Black faculty members and students and the creation of a Black Studies program. The university also scrapped its plans for the gym in March 1969.

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