This event was organized in response to the expansion of the Vietnam War into Cambodia, the killings of students at Kent State University, and the use of the university to establish a space to protest.

Institutional response: President Odegaard, president of the University of Washington, sent a telegram to President Nixon to recognize the tragedy that occurred at Kent State and to reevaluate the current policy, listening to the protesters to develop a foreign policy that reflects the wants of the American People.

Student strategy: 6,000 students attended the strike rally and then marched off campus. These students charged the freeway and blocked traffic for hours as they marched downtown. This strike continued for the next two weeks with more freeway marches and other demonstrations (Altaras, 2014).

This protest was organized in response to American involvement in the Vietnam War.

The demands from the students were for President Nixon to end the "war on communism" and his “war on communism” in Vietnam, and President Richard Nixon’s suppression of domestic protest and civil rights.

Institutional response: The university responded to the growing protests by deploying officers from the Kent police force, the county, and surrounding communities. As protests continued, Mayor Satrom asked Governor Rhodes to send members of the Ohio National Guard to respond to the escalating nature of the students' protests (Lewis & Hensley, 1998).

Student strategy: On May 2, 1970, at Kent State University, students began peacefully protesting, which then escalated into increasingly violent events. Campus unrest escalated from street riots and property damage to the burning of the ROTC building, prompting the Ohio National Guard’s intervention. Peaceful protests were met with tear gas and violence on May 3rd, and the confrontation on May 4th culminated in a 13-second gunfire exchange, with at least 67 rounds fired. Four students were killed and nine were wounded (Kent State Massacre | EBSCO, 2024).

At Columbia University, the Students for a Democratic Society, the Student Afro-American Society, and others began a peaceful occupation of campus buildings for nearly a week. Protesters demanded for the university to cut its ties in research for the war in Vietnam and end for the university to end construction of a gym in Morningside Park. These demands were enabled by public opposition to U.S. involvement with Vietnam and the proposal of he gymnasium in Morningside Park that continued segregation and racism (April 23, 1968: Columbia Student Occupation, 2025).

Institutional response: By the sixth day, about 1,000 police were sent into the occupied buildings, and afterwards, the university was temporarily shut down. Ultimately, Columbia University ended up terminating its contract with the Institute for Defense Analyses and did not continue he project to build a gym in Morningside Park. The university suspended thirty students for their occupation and protest.

Student strategy: Columbia students held a “Sun Dial Rally” on April 23rd. For this rally, they marched to the gymnasium site and staged a sit-in at Hamilton Hall to demand the end of construction and that President Kirk cut ties with the Institute for Defense Analyses for its ties with Vietnam. The protest quickly spread across campus with students occupying multiple buildings for a week (Altaras, 2014).

This project was performed by Emma Sulkowicz as part of her senior art thesis, as a response to the university taking no action and dismissing her rape case filed with the university, and determining that the other student involved was innocent (Smith, 2014).

Institutional response: Suzanne B. Goldberg, Columbia’s adviser on sexual assault prevention and director of the Law School’s Center for Gender & Sexuality Law, stated that the university has recently strengthened its policies and resources for addressing gender-based misconduct. While declining to comment on specific cases, she emphasized that Columbia welcomes the attention students and others have brought to the issue. The university also dismissed Sulkowicz's case.

Student Strategy: Emma Sulkowicz, a graduate of Columbia University, carried a 50-pound mattress with her throughout campus. Other students, when seeing her on campus, help to carry the weight, symbolizing that she accepts help but does not ask for it. This piece inspired many other student-led protests across other universities. This project is a political performance art, effective in protesting campus inaction for rape victims (Smith, 2014).

The Oxy Sexual Assault Coalition presented the school with a list of 12 demands in October 2012, including how to deal with the definition of consent in the process of reporting assaults.

This coalition thought the agreement had been upheld, but national outrage occurred when, on February 24th, the campus reported assaults four days after the incident occurred. The handling of this case sparked student revolt.

Institutional response: After a three-year investigation, Occidental College's handling of sexual assault cases did not violate Title IX. In 2016, President Jonathan Veitch announced the end of a federal investigation and a voluntary resolution agreement with the Office for Civil Rights. He stressed that the school’s efforts were ongoing. He called for continuing progress in addressing campus sexual assault but emphasized the need to further support survivors, to change campus culture, and go beyond legal requirements to ensure student safety and well-being Office of Civil Rights Ruling: Oxy Complies with Title IX, 2016).

Student Strategy: March 1, 2013: Almost 300 students gather in the Quad to protest their policies on sexual misconduct, placing this school on national watch for their Title IX compliance (Office of Civil Rights Ruling: Oxy Complies with Title IX, 2016).

The protest was caused by the lenient sentencing of the rapist, Brock Allen Turner, a former student at Stanford University, and the outrage over sexual assault on campus. At this demonstration, they also flew a plane over commencement with a sign to ban Aaron Persky, the judge who imposed Turner's sentence.

Institutional response: In December 2016, Stanford responded to the article that popularized the case and brought the university to national attention over the issue.

Stanford’s statement rejects the article's portrayal of how the university handles its sexual assault cases, arguing the article included inaccuracies and overlooked reforms the university had made to its Title IX process. The university detailed its commitment to fairness, cited higher rates of findings of responsibility and expulsions than reported, and defended its procedures as consistent with national standards (Stanford University Statement on New York Times Story of Dec. 29, 2016, 2016).

Student strategy: At Stanford’s graduation ceremony, commencement, dozens of seniors protested sexual assault by placing “1/3” on their graduation caps, symbolizing the ratio of students they say will experience assault before graduating. Other students carried signs reading “125 years of rape culture,” “One in three,” and “You’re a warrior,” to honor the woman who was assaulted by Turner (Asimov, 2016).

Furthermore, Emma Sulkowicz’s senior art thesis, which involves carrying a 50-pound dorm mattress, is symbolic of the university's inaction in her case (Smith, 2014). The protests of the 2010s often included Title IX complaints and federal investigations, and involved university action, whereas the 1990s were a way to protest war and involvement with a foreign power. Protest methods and messages have evolved since the 1960s as social media has become a tool to allow campaigns to utilize these platforms to spread their message on a larger scale and beyond their campus. Social media campaigns have become central tools, allowing students to organize quickly, amplify the voices of survivors, and raise awareness beyond campus boundaries. The MeToo movement, a part of the campus sexual assault protests, originated on social media and gained traction during these campus protests to indicate how this issue not only affects campus communities but is a national issue needing to be addressed.  

Through both of these protests, college campuses have learned that student activism is a powerful tool for gaining national attention, holding campus communities accountable for their involvement and inaction, and transforming campus culture. Through the campus sexual assault movement, campuses can be more conscious of support programs and the actions they take for students. From these protests, administrations can learn the importance of dialogue and engagement with their students, and understand that suppressing issues can escalate tension and lead to student revolt, potentially on the national level.