During the Vietnam War, there were several anti-war student activist groups and many student-led protests. This period of time was a very high-intensity time, and everyone at the university had had enough of the war. It was time for the young people of the nation to stand up and fight for what they believed in.
One popular anti-war group was the Students for a Democratic Society. The SDS was one of the newest and most popular representations of the New Left. Student Chapters of SDS began to arise after President Johnson escalated the war in Vietnam by bombing North Vietnam. After the bombing, student chapters of SDS from all over the country began to lead small demonstrations against the war, University of Illinois included. The SDS gained overwhelming popularity after an anti-war demonstration in Washington D.C. occurred in which the president of SDS, Carl Oglesby, gave a very impactful speech. The SDS did not know how to handle to increasing numbers of members and held a conference at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign over Christmas vacation in 1965 to discuss a more organized and coherent group. Over 360 people from 66 different chapters attended the conference.
Another big anti-war group on campus was the Du Bois Club. The Du Bois Club was another national group with student chapters at various universities throughout the country. At the University of Illinois, the Du Bois Club hosted anti-war demonstrations, though most of them were not well attended. In Washington D.C., The Du Bois Club hosted a national conference on August 27-28, 1966. Over 200 participated in a protest on the Vietnam War at the White House gates.
Throughout the war, there were also several independent student-led protests on campus. In both February and October of 1967, students had a protest sit-in against the recruitment of the DOW chemical. At the October protest, two hundred students occupied the East Chemistry Building, which is now called Roger Adams Laboratory. They sat for five hours in this building. By the end of it, seven students were expelled from the university for their involvement in the protest, but were later readmitted into the university.
Next, on October 15, 1969, students held a moratorium, or a temporary prohibition of an activity. In this case, said activity was going to class. This moratorium demonstration encouraged thousands of people to join the anti-war movement, and on this day, nine thousand people marched from the Illini Union to West Side Park.
In 1970, the so-called “March Riots” took place. During these riots, the ROTC lunge was firebombed, and two more firebombs were also discovered in Altgeld Hall. These were the first protests to become violent. Protests over the presence of GE recruiters began which resulted in many arrests and vandalism.
On May 4, 1970, the Kent State Killings occurred. This event sparked a series of nationwide protests. On May 6, thousands of students protested and went on strike. A strike against the expansion of the Vietnam War into Cambodia in May of 1970 lasted a week long and resulted in 105. Thus, the National Guard mobilized on campus.
Lastly, on May 4, 1972, two years after the Kent State Killings, about two thousand students, faculty, and staff at the University of Illinois led a silent march in protest of the Vietnam War.
Throughout the war, thousands of students took a stand and spoke out against what they believed in. I admire the determination and passion that the so strongly had and that they did not give up for several years. Although it got ugly and violent at some points, they seemed to have handled every protest, sit-in, and march with organization and respect. At this point in time, everyone in the country was feeling heavy weight upon them and much stress and sadness. The men at the University were all being drafted, and if men were not being drafted, they were always worried about it. This, coupled with not being around family, watching their friends and family be shipped off to war, and several other factors, would have caused huge amounts of burden, stress, and anger to the students. However, the students at this time displayed this stress and anger is such impactful and admirable ways. Throughout the time I have spent researching the anti-war activism on campus, I have had an increasing amount respect and love for this university and the students here, past, present, and future.