Summer in Review: A Reflection on the US

Anti-war demonstrators gather opposite the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., Oct. 21, 1967.

Associated Press

by: John Minyen

The more things change, the more they stay the same. While it’s hard to visualize the changes we see occurring in our everyday lives, when we take a step back to look at the historical trends that mirror our current political dynamic, things become much clearer. The age of information we live in gives us the opportunity to connect to movements worldwide, new windows into how students react to the changes that are affecting all our lives. Looking at these students should be seen as a benchmark for political discourse in the world, the standard against judging how divisive events have been. Political analysis in the modern age revolves around the principle that liberalism, conservatism, and nationalism come in peaks and troughs. When liberalism reaches a certain, there is a dramatic swing in the other direction, and vice versa. This process takes decades to run its course, and can be directly correlated to student action in the United States.

The 1950s and 1960s in the United States were defined by the Vietnam War, Jim Crow Laws and the Civil Rights movement. It was the middle of the Cold War, and conservatism mixed with anti-Communist leanings defined the politics of the time. The political divide in the country was at an unprecedented fervor, and the protests against injustice perpetrated under these systems live as hallmarks of their movements. In 1960 in the college town of Greensboro, North Carolina, African- American students staged a sit-in at a segregated luncheon to raise national awareness of segregation in the South. This form of protest spread to many other college towns across the South, and is still considered one of the most important events of the Civil Rights Movement. By bringing attention to the oppression they faced through civil action, these students created sympathy and gave voice to their cause peacefully.

Many universities also became indirect bastions for civil liberties, providing safe spaces for students to learn and educate themselves about the issues facing almost half the nation. Students were a defining factor in almost every civil conflict during the Cold War, and gave an emotional glimpse into the American psyche. Looking at the surrounding political culture during these protests, it is clear why the protests themselves were necessary. Without those courageous enough to put themselves on the line for their beliefs, the world we live in could look very different.

Comparing the political situation of the 1950s and 1960s to the 2000s and 2010s would seem to be mismatched, but in reality change has brought more issues to the forefront. The War on Terror after 9/11 led to the exact same culture that bred the House Un-American Activities Committee and anti-Communist sentiment, only replaced with anti-Muslim sentiment. The gross oversteps by the US government in surveillance and privacy breaches led to protests and the formation of the Student Net Alliance in 2013. The issues do not limit themselves to government though; other civil liberties have been brought into focus in the modern day, especially when it comes to the LGBTQ+ community. The legalization of gay marriage in the United States was a momentous step, backed by demonstrations across the whole of the country in support of the decision. Once again, universities acted as staging grounds from where greater movements could take off, and are often credited as a facet of the beginnings of the movement. Even in this past summer, there has been a dramatic increase in the amount of protests organized by students due to the passage of Roe v Wade. At the Yale law school, students put together a protest draft decision when the draft majority opinion was handed down to vehement opposition.

The dramatic shift away from the counterculture and internationalism of the 1980s and 1990s was sudden, and spoke to a trough of conservatism that had taken root. Comparing the two time periods, there are striking similarities in the tone and structure of what is happening across student bodies. The relative silence leading up to these protests, the overall effect and the root causes are all comparable. Observing the link between student activity and political divide gives some of the best insights into how the two interact and reflect on each other. As situations across the world continue to worsen, they will be reflected in movements across universities. The dichotomy of American politics continues to deteriorate, and as the politics change, the protests will change with them. As long as there are political issues that are causing divides in America, the student body will provide a good outlook on how these issues apply to the greater politics of the world.