Savanna Hoffman
In April 1968, Columbia University students began a nonviolent occupation of campus buildings, protesting the university's affiliation with the Vietnam War and its plans to build a segregated gymnasium in nearby Morningside Park. The protest, involving over 700 students, lasted nearly a week and resulted in a violent clash with police, leading to a campus-wide strike that shut down the university. The students' grievances also included Columbia's treatment of Black and brown residents in the community and the atmosphere for minority students. The protests achieved two of their goals, with Columbia disaffiliating from the Institute for Defense Analyses and abandoning plans for the controversial gym.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Year | 1968 |
| University | Columbia University |
| Location | Morningside Heights, New York City |
| Protesters | Students, Community Residents |
| Protest Sites | Hamilton Hall, Low Library, Columbia College |
| Protest Issues | US Involvement in Vietnam War, Institutional Racism, University Expansion into Harlem |
| Protest Actions | Building Occupation, Sit-Ins, Rallies, Leafleting, Hostage-Taking |
| Police Response | Violence, Arrests, Use of Flash-Bang Grenades |
| Outcome | University Disaffiliated from IDA, Scrapped Gym Plans, Passing Grades Given |
| Impact | Decline in Applications, Endowments, and Grants |
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What You'll Learn
Protests against Columbia's affiliation with the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA)
In 1968, a series of protests erupted at Columbia University in New York City, sparked by the discovery of documents revealing the university's affiliation with the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA). This weapons research think tank was linked to the United States Department of Defense, and the university's connection had not been publicly disclosed prior to this revelation.
The discovery of the IDA documents triggered a Columbia SDS anti-war campaign between April 1967 and April 1968. Students demanded that Columbia University terminate its institutional membership with the IDA. The protests also opposed Columbia's plans for a gymnasium in Morningside Park, which activists deemed as a segregated facility that circumvented anti-segregation laws.
The first protest occurred in March 1968, eight days before the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Columbia SDS activists and the Student Afro Society (SAS) collaborated in a confrontational demonstration, expressing their opposition to both the university's affiliation with the IDA and the proposed gymnasium.
The protests escalated, with students occupying university buildings, including Hamilton Hall, and detaining the acting dean of Columbia College, Henry Coleman, as a hostage for over 24 hours. The New York City Police Department eventually intervened, resulting in the arrest and injury of numerous students.
The protests achieved two significant outcomes. Firstly, Columbia University severed its ties with the IDA, officially disaffiliating from the weapons research institution. Secondly, the university abandoned its plans for the controversial gymnasium in Morningside Park, opting instead for a subterranean physical fitness center on campus.
As a consequence of the student demonstrations, Columbia University adopted more liberal policies, and classes were cancelled for the remainder of the week. The protests also had a lasting impact on the university's reputation, with a decline in applications, endowments, and grants in subsequent years.
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Opposition to Columbia's expansion into Harlem
The 1968 Columbia University protests were sparked by several factors, including the university's links to the Vietnam War and its plans for a segregated gymnasium in nearby Morningside Park. However, another significant issue that fuelled the protests was the university's expansion into Harlem, which had been ongoing since 1958.
Since 1958, Columbia University had evicted more than seven thousand Harlem residents from properties it controlled, with 85% of those evicted being African American or Puerto Rican. Many Harlem residents also paid rent to the university. This history of discriminatory housing practices contributed to the tensions between the university and the Harlem community.
The university's plans for expansion into Harlem faced strong opposition from residents, who feared displacement and the loss of their neighbourhood's character. In 2004, Columbia unveiled a $6.38 billion plan for a 17-acre research campus in Manhattanville, which would span from 125th Street to 133rd Street. While the university framed this expansion as necessary for maintaining its competitiveness and revitalising a "blighted" area, community members saw it as a continuation of the university's history of racist and inequitable development.
West Harlem residents proposed an alternative vision for the expansion, calling for the preservation of well-paying industrial and artisan businesses and the development of more affordable housing. They also criticised the university's use of eminent domain, arguing that it had antagonised the community by insisting on its right to acquire properties through this process.
The protests in 1968, which included the occupation of university buildings and the detention of administrators, sent a strong message to the university about the community's concerns. As a result, Columbia officials were discouraged from pursuing expansion plans into Harlem for more than thirty years.
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Demands for Columbia to cut ties with the Vietnam War effort
In 1968, Columbia University students protested the university's ties to the Vietnam War effort, occupying several campus buildings, including Hamilton Hall, home to the university's administrative offices. The protests were led by the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and the Student Afro-American Society (SAS), with over 700 students participating in the occupation of five buildings on campus.
The students demanded that Columbia cut its ties to the war in Vietnam, specifically calling out the university's association with the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA), a weapons research think tank that worked with the Department of Defense. The protests also opposed Columbia's plans to build a segregated gymnasium in nearby Morningside Park, which was seen as a racist act that would exclude Black Harlem residents.
The protests began on April 23, 1968, with a rally in the center of campus, and the occupation of Hamilton Hall soon followed. The students held the acting dean of Columbia College, Henry Coleman, hostage for over 24 hours. After negotiations failed, the university administration called in the New York City Police Department, who violently removed the protesters, injuring many and arresting over 700. This sparked a campus-wide strike that shut down the university.
As a result of the protests, Columbia University terminated its contract with the IDA and scrapped plans for the controversial gym. The protests also had a lasting impact on the university, making it much more liberal in its policies. Additionally, applications, endowments, and grants for the university declined significantly in the following years.
The 1968 Columbia University protests were part of a series of student demonstrations that occurred globally that year, reflecting a broader trend of student activism and a desire for social and political change.
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Anger over the proposed segregated gymnasium in Morningside Park
In 1968, Columbia University in New York City witnessed a series of student protests that were part of the broader global student demonstrations that year. One of the key issues that sparked these protests was the university's plan to build a segregated gymnasium in Morningside Park, which was met with anger and resistance from the student body and the wider community.
The proposed gymnasium in Morningside Park was intended to be a monumental concrete structure built on public land in the park, which was owned by New York City. However, the plans allocated only 12% of the gym for public use, while the remaining 88% would be reserved for the exclusive use of Columbia University. This allocation sparked outrage among the residents of Harlem, especially given the university's history of expanding into Morningside Heights at the expense of local residents, many of whom were African American and had been evicted from their homes.
The proposed gymnasium was viewed as a racist endeavour by the students and the community. The Student Afro-American Society (SAS), a group of Black Columbia students, felt a strong sense of responsibility for representing the complaints of African Americans in Harlem. They actively opposed the construction of the gym, seeing it as a symbol of the university's racist actions in their neighbourhood. The SAS wanted to ensure that the gym construction was stopped and that the university's expansion policies, which had displaced many Harlem residents, were addressed.
The protests against the segregated gymnasium in Morningside Park were not isolated incidents but were part of a broader set of grievances that students had with the university's administration. The students were also outraged by Columbia's links to the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA), a weapons research think tank that supported the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War. The protests culminated in the occupation of university buildings, including Hamilton Hall, and the eventual violent removal of protesters by the New York City Police Department.
As a result of the protests, Columbia University terminated its contract with the IDA and scrapped the plans for the controversial gym in Morningside Park. Instead, they built a subterranean physical fitness centre under the north end of the campus. The protests had a significant impact on the university, leading to a decline in applications, endowments, and grants in the following years.
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Racial tensions and discrimination on campus
The 1968 Columbia University protests were sparked by a range of issues, including the university's links to the Vietnam War and its plans to build a segregated gymnasium in nearby Morningside Park. However, racial tensions and discrimination on campus also played a significant role in the protests.
Columbia University has a history of racial tensions and discrimination, with a particular focus on the treatment of African American and Puerto Rican students and residents in the surrounding Harlem community. Since 1958, the university had evicted more than seven thousand Harlem residents from Columbia-controlled properties, 85% of whom were African American or Puerto Rican. This displacement of residents, many of whom paid rent to the university, contributed to long-standing racial tensions between the university and the predominantly African American community.
Black students at Columbia University experienced various forms of discrimination and racism on campus. They reported that their identifications were constantly checked, and black women were discouraged from registering for challenging courses. There was also a "stacking system" in the football team that placed all the former black football players in the same position. These issues led to resentment and anger among black students, who felt their experiences at Columbia were shaped by discrimination.
The protests in 1968 were a culmination of these racial tensions and discriminatory practices. The proposed construction of the segregated gymnasium in Morningside Park, which was mockingly nicknamed "Gym Crow," became a symbol of the university's racist policies and actions. The gymnasium was intended to be built on public land in Morningside Park, with only 12% of the facility accessible to the public and 88% reserved for Columbia's use. This plan was strongly opposed by the Harlem community, especially considering the university's history of expansion into Morningside Heights at the expense of African American residents.
During the protests, racial tensions on campus escalated further. On the night of April 23, 1968, African American students asked white students to leave Hamilton Hall so they could continue their separate protest, highlighting the racial divide among the protesters. Tensions also arose between the black Student Afro-American Society (SAS) and the majority-white Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). The SDS wanted to take an administrator hostage to draw attention to their anti-war efforts, while the SAS wanted to focus on stopping the construction of the segregated gym. These differing priorities and strategies added to the racial tensions within the protest movement.
The 1968 Columbia University protests brought to light the racial injustices and discrimination experienced by African American students and residents in the Harlem community. The protests served as a catalyst for addressing these issues and sparked a broader conversation about racial equality and justice.
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Frequently asked questions
Columbia University students protested in 1968 over the university's links to the US government's involvement in the Vietnam War. They also protested the university's plans to build a segregated gym in Morningside Park, which was seen as an attempt to steal land and resources from the nearby Harlem community.
The protests resulted in the student occupation of several university buildings, including Hamilton Hall, and the eventual violent removal of protesters by the New York City Police Department. The university terminated its contract with the Institute for Defense Analyses and scrapped plans for the controversial gym. However, Columbia suffered in the aftermath, with a significant decline in applications, endowments, and grants in the following years.
The 1968 Columbia University protests are considered a significant event in the history of American student activism. The protests led to increased liberalisation of the university's policies and contributed to a wave of similar demonstrations around the globe in 1968.
