Revolutions led by student bodies have always earned a column in history because of the unbending unity that surfaced from textbooks and lectures in university; the ongoing campus protests shall also make history for the next generation of student politics.
Student politics and activism at universities had begun as early as the 13th century in Europe. This could be traced back to the Bologna University in Italy, where it once had emerged as a student-controlled university. The Bologna pattern of student power in politics was followed by campuses in Paris, Toulouse and Salamanca. This was a phenomenon that had originated in Bologna, when most of the students were of foreign origins and wanted to protect themselves from the injustices of the city. These students formed trade guilds or societies in order to gain public approval, and each student was referred to as ‘nations’ based on their birthplace.
From a student-controlled university in Medieval Europe, around 4,900 miles away in the U.S., The Freedom Speech Movement took birth as a massive student protest at the campus of UC Berkeley in the 1960s. During the academic year of 1964-65, this movement took place in response to the university regulations that prohibited political advocacy on campus. It was led under the informal leadership of a graduate student in UC Berkeley.
Coincidentally, the Freedom Speech Movement had also happened against the background of the Vietnam War and Civil Rights movement in the 1960s, which had fueled anti-war sentiments among the students. The Vietnam War had sparked widespread opposition among college students across the US, particularly by the escalation of the war at the cost of human lives. Similarly, the Civil Rights Movement inspired the students to challenge the systems of oppression and demand accountability from the government.
Sixty years after this historical feat achieved through student politics and activism, the students across campuses in the United States are leading another protest about anti-war sentiments. If the latter movement had inspired student politics to make changes for freedom of speech, this time they are protesting for relaxing the tensions at the Gaza strip and protecting the Jewish students from the hatred.
From April 17 onwards the students are protesting from Columbia, Yale, NYU, Harvard, MIT and other universities out of which also included the most celebrated Ivy leagues. This protest held beyond campus grounds and hierarchies is sharing a deep message from the entire student community to the world leaders to acknowledge and address their anti-war sentiments.
Featured Image: Personal archive.
Editor: Steven London
