This page was created by Rachel Boyle.
Northwestern University, 1968
Occupying Higher Education
At 618 West Clark Street stood the business building and bursar's office of Northwestern University, a private, predominantly white institution just north of Chicago. The number of black students on campus began to grow in the 1950s and 1960s, but many experienced exclusion and discrimination. As attempts to communicate black student needs with the school's administration failed, a sit-in provided a way to force the conversation. Occupying the bursar's office in particular guaranteed to disrupt the daily financial operations of the University and draw attention to black students' demands to equal education.
Students held the location for 38 hours. Their careful planning ensured an effective communication network and strong support system beyond the walls of the business offices. Signs reinforced a narrative of black self-determination, as did the fact that black students occupied the building while a growing crowd of white students stood outside in solidarity. The administration faced a choice: respond to student demands or deploy city police to forcefully remove protestors. Columbia University in New York had chosen the latter tactic just days before against student anti-war demonstrators and drew substantial negative nationwide press. In contrast to anti-war protests dominated by white college students [IIT], however, black student protest often proved less reactive and utilized effective strategies learned from the Civil Rights movement.
Northwestern's administration responded to black students' demands seriously while stopping short of appearing to appease every item. Like black student protests on campuses across the city and country [link], the bursar's office takeover led to the creation of black studies programs, housing for black students, and more inclusive admission policies. At the same time, the seemingly mass politicization of both black and white students contributed to an emerging narrative that conflated all student protests into a generalized generational desire to protest for the sake of protesting.
