![Fossil Fuel Divestment Student Protest at Tufts University](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Fossil_Fuel_Divestment_Student_Protest_at_Tufts_University.jpg)
Student activism or campus activism is work by students to cause political, environmental, economic, or social change. Although often focused on schools, curriculum, and educational funding, student groups have influenced greater political events.
Modern student activist movements vary widely in subject, size, and success, with a variety of students in various educational settings participating, including public and private school students; elementary, middle, senior, undergraduate, and graduate students; and all races, socio-economic backgrounds, and political perspectives. Some
student protests
Campus protest or student protest is a form of student activism that takes the form of protest at university campuses. Such protests encompass a wide range of activities that indicate student dissatisfaction with a given political or acad ...
focus on the internal affairs of a specific institution; others focus on broader issues such as a war or
dictatorship
A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship are ...
. Likewise, some student protests focus on an institution's impact on the world, such as a
disinvestment
Disinvestment refers to the use of a concerted economic boycott to pressure a government, industry, or company towards a change in policy, or in the case of governments, even regime change. The term was first used in the 1980s, most commonly in ...
campaign, while others may focus on a regional or national policy's impact on the institution, such as a campaign against government education policy. Although student activism is commonly associated with
left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
politics, right-wing student movements are not uncommon; for example, large student movements fought on both sides of the
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
struggle in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
.
Student activism at the university level is nearly as old as the
university
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
itself. Students in Paris and Bologna staged collective actions as early as the 13th century, chiefly over
town and gown
Town and gown are two distinct communities of a university town; 'town' being the non-academic population and 'gown' metonymically being the university community, especially in ancient seats of learning such as Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, and St ...
issues. Student protests over broader political issues also have a long pedigree. In
Joseon Dynasty
Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...
Korea, 150
Sungkyunkwan
Sungkyunkwan was the foremost educational institution in Korea during the late Goryeo and Joseon Dynasties. Today, it sits in its original location, at the south end of the Humanities and Social Sciences Campus of Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul ...
students staged an unprecedented demonstration against the king in 1519 over the
Kimyo purge.
Extreme forms of student activism include
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
such as the case of
Jan Palach
Jan Palach (; 11 August 1948 – 19 January 1969) was a Czech student of history and political economics at Charles University in Prague. His self-immolation was a political protest against the end of the Prague Spring resulting from the 1968 in ...
's, and
Jan Zajíc
Jan Zajíc (July 3, 1950 – February 25, 1969) was a Czech student who committed suicide by self-immolation as a political protest. He was a student of the Střední průmyslová škola železniční (Industrial Highschool of Railways) technica ...
's protests against the end of the
Prague Spring
The Prague Spring ( cs, Pražské jaro, sk, Pražská jar) was a period of political liberalization and mass protest in
the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected First Sec ...
and
Kostas Georgakis
Kostas Georgakis ( el, Κώστας Γεωργάκης) (23 August 194819 September 1970) was a Greek student of geology, who in the early hours of 19 September 1970, set himself ablaze in Matteotti square in Genoa in a fatal protest against th ...
' protest against the
Greek military junta of 1967–1974
The Greek junta or Regime of the Colonels, . Also known within Greece as just the Junta ( el, η Χούντα, i Choúnta, links=no, ), the Dictatorship ( el, η Δικτατορία, i Diktatoría, links=no, ) or the Seven Years ( el, η Ε ...
.
By country
Argentina
![Reforma Universitaria](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Reforma_Universitaria.jpg)
In
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, as elsewhere in
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
, the tradition of student activism dates back to at least the 19th century, but it was not until after 1900 that it became a major political force. in 1918 student activism triggered a general modernization of the universities especially tending towards democratization, called the
University Revolution
The Argentine university reform of 1918 was a general modernization of the universities, especially tending towards democratization, brought about by student activism during the presidency of Hipolito Yrigoyen, the first democratic government. The ...
(Spanish: ''revolución universitaria''). The events started in
Córdoba and were accompanied by similar uprisings across Latin America.
Australia
Australian Students have a long history of being active in political debates. This is particularly true in the newer universities that have been established in suburban areas.
For much of the 20th century, the major campus organizing group across Australia was the
Australian Union of Students
The Australian Union of Students (AUS), formerly National Union of Australian University Students (NUAUS), was a representative body and lobby group for Australian university and college of advanced education students. It collapsed in 1984 and w ...
, which was founded in 1937 as the Union of Australian University Students. The AUS folded in 1984. It was replaced by the
National Union of Students in 1987.
Bangladesh
Student politics of Bangladesh is reactive, confrontational and violent. Student organizations act as the armament of the political parties they are part of. Over the years, political clashes and factional feuds in the educational institutes killed many, seriously hampering the academic atmosphere. To check those hitches, universities have no options but go to lengthy and unexpected closures. Therefore, classes are not completed on time and there are session jams.
The student wings of ruling parties dominate the campuses and residential halls through crime and violence to enjoy various unauthorized facilities. They control the residential halls to manage seats in favor of their party members and loyal pupils. They eat and buy for free from the restaurants and shops nearby. They extort and grab tenders to earn illicit money. They take money from the freshmen candidates and put pressure on teachers to get an acceptance for them. They take money from the job seekers and put pressures on university administrations to appoint them.
Brazil
On August 11, 1937, the
União Nacional dos Estudantes
The National Union of Students (''União Nacional dos Estudantes'' or UNE) is a student organization in Brazil. Founded on 11 August 1937, it represents more than 5 million students of higher education, and is headquartered in São Paulo, with bra ...
(UNE) was formed as a platform for students to create change in Brazil. The organization tried to unite students from all over Brazil. However, in the 1940s the group had aligned more with socialism. Then in the 1950s the group changed alignment again, this time aligning with more conservative values. The União Metropolitana dos Estudantes rose up in replacement of the once socialist UNE. However, it was not long until União Nacional dos Estudantes once again sided with socialism, thus joining forces with the União Metropolitana dos Estudantes.
The União Nacional dos Estudantes was influential in the democratization of higher education. Their first significant feat occurred during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
when they successfully pressured Brazilian president
Getúlio Vargas
Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (; 19 April 1882 – 24 August 1954) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 14th and 17th president of Brazil, from 1930 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1954. Due to his long and controversial tenure as Brazi ...
to join the side of the
Allies
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
.
In 1964, UNE was outlawed after elected leader
João Goulart
João Belchior Marques Goulart (1 March 1919 – 6 December 1976), commonly known as Jango, was a Brazilian politician who served as the 24th president of Brazil until a military coup d'état deposed him on 1 April 1964. He was considered the ...
was disposed of power by a
military coup
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such ...
.
The military regime terrorized students in an effort to make them subservient. In 1966, students began protesting anyway despite the reality of further terror.
All the protests led up to the
March of the One Hundred Thousand The March of the One Hundred Thousand ( pt, Passeata dos Cem Mil) was a manifestation of popular protest against the Military dictatorship in Brazil, which occurred on June 26, 1968 in Rio de Janeiro, organized by the student movement and with the p ...
in June 1968. Organized by the UNE, this protest was the largest yet.
A few months later the government passed
Institutional Act Number Five
The Ato Institucional Número Cinco – AI-5 ( en, Institutional Act Number Five) was the fifth of seventeen major decrees issued by the military dictatorship in the years following the 1964 coup d'état in Brazil. ''Institutional Acts'' were t ...
which officially banned students from any further protest.
Canada
![Protest-Montreal-22-May-2012](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Protest-Montreal-22-May-2012.jpg)
In
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
New Left
The New Left was a broad political movement mainly in the 1960s and 1970s consisting of activists in the Western world who campaigned for a broad range of social issues such as civil and political rights, environmentalism, feminism, gay rights, g ...
student organizations from the late 1950s and 1960s became mainly two: SUPA (
Student Union for Peace Action
A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution.
In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementar ...
) and CYC (Company of Young Canadians). SUPA grew out of the CUCND (Combined Universities Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) in December 1964, at a University of Saskatchewan conference. While CUCND had focused on protest marches, SUPA sought to change Canadian society as a whole. The scope expanded to grass-roots politics in disadvantaged communities and 'consciousness raising' to radicalize and raise awareness of the 'generation gap' experienced by Canadian youth. SUPA was a decentralized organization, rooted in local university campuses. SUPA however disintegrated in late 1967 over debates concerning the role of working class and 'Old Left'. Members moved to the CYC or became active leaders in CUS (Canadian Union of Students), leading the CUS to assume the mantle of New Left student agitation.
In 1968, SDU (Students for a Democratic University) was formed at McGill and Simon Fraser Universities. SFU SDU, originally former SUPA members and New Democratic Youth, absorbed members from the campus Liberal Club and Young Socialists. SDU was prominent in an Administration occupation in 1968, and a student strike in 1969. After the failure of the student strike, SDU broke up. Some members joined the IWW and Yippies (Youth International Party). Other members helped form the Vancouver Liberation Front in 1970. The
FLQ (Quebec Liberation Front) was considered a terrorist organization, causing the use of the
War Measures Act
The ''War Measures Act'' (french: Loi sur les mesures de guerre; 5 George V, Chap. 2) was a statute of the Parliament of Canada that provided for the declaration of war, invasion, or insurrection, and the types of emergency measures that could t ...
after 95 bombings in the
October Crisis
The October Crisis (french: Crise d'Octobre) refers to a chain of events that started in October 1970 when members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped the provincial Labour Minister Pierre Laporte and British diplomat James C ...
. This was the only peacetime use of the War Measures Act.
Since the 1970s, PIRGs (
Public Interest Research Groups
Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) are a federation of U.S. and Canadian non-profit organizations that employ grassroots organizing and direct advocacy on issues such as consumer protection, public health and transportation. The PIRGs are c ...
) have been created as a result of Student Union referendums across Canada in individual provinces. Like their American counterparts, Canadian PIRGs are student directed, run, and funded. Most operate on a
consensus decision making
Consensus decision-making or consensus process (often abbreviated to ''consensus'') are group decision-making processes in which participants develop and decide on proposals with the aim, or requirement, of acceptance by all. The focus on es ...
model. Despite efforts at collaboration, Canadian PIRGs are independent of each other.
Anti-Bullying Day
Anti-Bullying Day (or Pink Shirt Day) is an annual event, held in Canada and other parts of the world, where people wear a pink-coloured shirt to stand against bullying.
The initiative was started in Canada, where it is held on the last Wednes ...
(a.k.a. Pink Shirt Day) was created by high school students David Shepherd, and Travis Price of Berwick, Nova Scotia, and is now celebrated annually across Canada.
In 2012, the
Quebec Student Movement arose due to an increase of tuition of 75%; that took students out of class and into the streets because that increase did not allow students to comfortably extend their education, because of fear of debt or not having money at all. Following elections that year, premier
Jean Charest
John James "Jean" Charest (; born June 24, 1958) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 29th premier of Quebec from 2003 to 2012 and the fifth deputy prime minister of Canada in 1993. Charest was elected to the House of ...
promised to repeal anti-assembly laws and cancel the tuition hike.
Chile
![La educación no se vende](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/La_educaci%C3%B3n_no_se_vende.jpg)
From 2011 to 2013, Chile was rocked by a series of
student-led nationwide protests across
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
, demanding a new framework for
education in the country, including more direct state participation in secondary education and an end to the existence of profit in higher education. Currently in Chile, only 45% of high school students study in traditional public schools and most universities are also private. No new public universities have been built since the end of the
Chilean transition to democracy
The Chilean transition to democracy is the name given to the process of restoration of democracy carried out in Chile after the end of the military dictatorship of Pinochet, in 1990, and particularly to the first two democratic terms that suc ...
in 1990, even though the number of university students has swelled. Beyond the specific demands regarding education, the protests reflected a "deep discontent" among some parts of society with Chile's
high level of inequality. Protests have included massive non-violent marches, but also a considerable amount of violence on the part of a side of protestors as well as riot police.
The first clear government response to the protests was a proposal for a new education fund
[Cadena Nacional de Radio y Televisión: Presidente Piñera anunció Gran Acuerdo Nacional por la Educación]
Government of Chile. July 5, 2011. Accessdate July 5, 2011 and a
cabinet shuffle
A cabinet reshuffle or shuffle occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet, or when the Head of State changes the head of government and a number of ministers. They are more common in parlia ...
which replaced
Minister of Education Joaquín Lavín
Joaquín José Lavín Infante (born 23 October 1953) is a Chilean politician of the Independent Democratic Union (UDI) party and former mayor of Las Condes, in the northeastern zone of Santiago. Formerly Lavín has also been mayor of Santiago ...
[http://www.latercera.com/noticia/politica/2011/07/674-380393-9-pinera-opta-por-mantener-a-hinzpeter-incorporar-a-longueira-y-cambiar-de.shtml Canales, Javier. ]La Tercera
''La Tercera'' ( es, The Third One), formerly known as ''La Tercera de la Hora'' ('the third of the hour'), is a daily newspaper published in Santiago, Chile and owned by Copesa. It is ''El Mercurio''s closest competitor.
''La Tercera'' is part o ...
July 18, 2011. Access date July 18, 2011 and was seen as not fundamentally addressing student movement concerns. Other government proposals were also rejected.
China
![Beijing students protesting the Treaty of Versailles (May 4, 1919)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Beijing_students_protesting_the_Treaty_of_Versailles_%28May_4%2C_1919%29.jpg)
Since the defeat of the
Qing Dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
during the
First
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
(1839–1842) and
Second Opium War
The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Sino War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a colonial war lasting from 1856 to 1860, which pitted the British Empire and the French Emp ...
s (1856–1860), student activism has played a significant role in the modern Chinese history.
[
] Fueled mostly by
Chinese nationalism
Chinese nationalism () is a form of nationalism in the People's Republic of China (Mainland China) and the Republic of China on Taiwan which asserts that the Chinese people are a nation and promotes the cultural and national unity of all Chi ...
, Chinese student activism strongly believes that young people are responsible for China's future.
[ This strong nationalistic belief has been able to manifest in several forms such as ]democracy
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...
, anti-Americanism
Anti-Americanism (also called anti-American sentiment) is prejudice, fear, or hatred of the United States, its government, its foreign policy, or Americans in general.
Political scientist Brendon O'Connor at the United States Studies Centr ...
and Communism
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
.[
One of the most important acts of student activism in Chinese history is the 1919 ]May Fourth Movement
The May Fourth Movement was a Chinese anti-imperialist, cultural, and political movement which grew out of student protests in Beijing on May 4, 1919. Students gathered in front of Tiananmen (The Gate of Heavenly Peace) to protest the Chinese ...
that saw over 3,000 students of Peking University
Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education.
Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charter ...
and other schools gathered together in front of Tiananmen
The Tiananmen (also Tian'anmen (天安门), Tienanmen, T’ien-an Men; ), or the Gate of Heaven-Sent Pacification, is a monumental gate in the city center of Beijing, China, the front gate of the Imperial City of Beijing, located near the ci ...
and holding a demonstration. It is regarded as an essential step of the democratic revolution in China, and it had also give birth to Chinese Communism. Anti-Americanism movements led by the students during the Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
were also instrumental in discrediting the KMT
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
government and bring the Communist victory in China.[ In 1989, the democracy movement led by the students at the ]Tiananmen Square protests
The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourth ...
ended in a brutal government crackdown which would later be called a massacre.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Student activism played an important, yet understudied, role in Congo's crisis of decolonisation. Throughout the 1960s, students denounced the unfinished decolonisation of higher education and the unrealised promises of national independence. The two issues crossed in the demonstration of June 4, 1969. Student activism continues and women such as Aline Mukovi Neema, winner of 100 Women BBC award, continue to campaign for political change in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Eastern Europe and the post-Soviet Union states
During communist rule, students in Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...
were the force behind several of the best-known instances of protest. The chain of events leading to the 1956 Hungarian Revolution
The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...
was started by peaceful student demonstrations in the streets of Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
, later attracting workers and other Hungarians. In Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
, one of the most known faces of the protests following the Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
-led invasion that ended the Prague Spring
The Prague Spring ( cs, Pražské jaro, sk, Pražská jar) was a period of political liberalization and mass protest in
the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected First Sec ...
was Jan Palach
Jan Palach (; 11 August 1948 – 19 January 1969) was a Czech student of history and political economics at Charles University in Prague. His self-immolation was a political protest against the end of the Prague Spring resulting from the 1968 in ...
, a student who committed suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
by setting fire to himself on January 16, 1969. The act triggered a major protest against the occupation.
Student-dominated youth movements have also played a central role in the "color revolutions
Colour revolution (sometimes coloured revolution) is a term used since around 2004 by worldwide media to describe various anti-regime protest movements and accompanying (attempted or successful) changes of government that took place in post ...
" seen in post-communist societies in recent years.
Of the color revolutions, the Velvet Revolution of 1989 in the Czechoslovak capital of Prague was one of them. Though the Velvet Revolution began as a celebration of International Students Day, the single event quickly turned into a nationwide ordeal aimed at the dissolution of communism. The demonstration had turned violent when police intervened. However, the police attacks garnered nationwide sympathy for the student protesters. Soon enough multiple other protests unraveled in an effort to breakdown the one party communist regime of Czechoslovakia. The series of protests were successful; they broke down the communist regime and implemented the use of democratic elections in 1990, only a few months after the first protest.
Another example of this was the Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
n Otpor!
Otpor ( sr-Cyrl, Отпор!, en, Resistance!, stylized as Otpor!) was a political organization in Republic of Serbia (1990–2006), Serbia (then part of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, FR Yugoslavia) from 1998 until 2004.
In its initial period ...
("Resistance!" in Serbian), formed in October 1998 as a response to repressive university and media laws that were introduced that year. In the presidential campaign in September 2000, the organisation engineered the "Gotov je" ("He's finished") campaign that galvanized Serbian discontent with Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević (, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the president of Serbia within Yugoslavia from 1989 to 1997 (originally the Socialist Republic of Serbia, a constituent republic of ...
, ultimately resulting in his defeat.
Otpor has inspired other youth movements in Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...
, such as Kmara
Kmara ( ka, კმარა; "Enough!") was a civic youth resistance movement in Georgia, active in the protests prior to and during the November 2003 Rose Revolution, which toppled down the government of Eduard Shevardnadze. Consciously modeled on ...
in Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, which played an important role in the Rose Revolution
The Rose Revolution or Revolution of Roses ( ka, ვარდების რევოლუცია, tr) was a nonviolent change of power that occurred in Georgia in November 2003. The event was brought about by widespread protests over the ...
, and PORA
Pora! ( uk, Пора!, Russian: Пора!), meaning “''It's time!”'' in both Ukrainian and Russian, is a civic youth organization (Black Pora!) and political party in Ukraine ( Yellow Pora!) espousing nonviolent resistance and advocating inc ...
in Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
, which was key in organising the demonstrations that led to the Orange Revolution
The Orange Revolution ( uk, Помаранчева революція, translit=Pomarancheva revoliutsiia) was a series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005, in the immediate afterm ...
. Like Otpor, these organisations have consequently practiced non-violent resistance
Nonviolent resistance (NVR), or nonviolent action, sometimes called civil resistance, is the practice of achieving goals such as social change through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, satyagraha, const ...
and used ridiculing humor in opposing authoritarian leaders. Similar movements include KelKel
KelKel is a youth movement in Kyrgyzstan that gained some prominence during the Tulip Revolution of March 2005 that culminated in the ousting of President Askar Akayev. In Kyrgyz, KelKel means renaissance.
In many of the post-communist revolution ...
in Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...
, Zubr Zubr may refer to:
*Żubr or Zubr, the name in several Slavic languages for the wisent or European bison (''Bison bonasus'')
*Zubr (political organization), a civic youth organization in Belarus
*''Zubr'', a novel by Daniil Granin
* TOZ-55 "Zubr", a ...
in Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
and MJAFT!
MJAFT! () is a non governmental organisation in Albania that is partly funded by the U.S. government.
See also
* Erion Veliaj
* Elisa Spiropali
* Politics of Albania
* Color Revolution
References
{{commons category, MJAFT!
External links
Of ...
in Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
.
Opponents of the "color revolutions" have accused the Soros Foundation
Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is a grantmaking network founded and chaired by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with a sta ...
s and/or the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
government of supporting and even planning the revolutions in order to serve western interests. Supporters of the revolutions have argued that these allegations are greatly exaggerated, and that the revolutions were positive events, morally justified, whether or not Western support had an influence on the events.
France
In France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, student activists have been influential in shaping public debate. In May 1968
The following events occurred in May 1968:
May 1, 1968 (Wednesday)
*CARIFTA, the Caribbean Free Trade Association, was formally created as an agreement between Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago.
*RAF Strike Co ...
the University of Paris
, image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of Arms
, latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis
, motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin)
, mottoeng = Here and a ...
at Nanterre
Nanterre (, ) is the prefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department in the western suburbs of Paris. It is located some northwest of the centre of Paris. In 2018, the commune had a population of 96,807.
The eastern part of Nanterre, bordering t ...
was closed due to problems between the students and the administration. In protest of the closure and the expulsion of Nanterre students, students of the Sorbonne
Sorbonne may refer to:
* Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities.
*the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970)
*one of its components or linked institution, ...
in Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
began their own demonstration. The situation escalated into a nationwide insurrection
Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority.
A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
.
The events in Paris were followed by student protests throughout the world. The German student movement
The West German student movement or sometimes called the 1968 movement in West Germany was a social movement that consisted of mass student protests in West Germany in 1968; participants in the movement would later come to be known as 68ers. T ...
participated in major demonstrations against proposed emergency legislation. In many countries, the student protests caused authorities to respond with violence. In Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, student demonstrations against Franco's
Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...
dictatorship led to clashes with police. A student demonstration in Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
ended in a storm of bullets on the night of October 2, 1968, an event known as the Tlatelolco massacre
On October 2, 1968 in the Tlatelolco section of Mexico City, the Mexican Armed Forces opened fire on a group of unarmed civilians in the Plaza de las Tres Culturas who were protesting the upcoming 1968 Summer Olympics. The Mexican government and ...
. Even in Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
, students took to the streets to protest changes in education policy, and on November 7 two college students died after police opened fire on a demonstration. The global reverberations from the French uprising of 1968 continued into 1969 and even into the 1970s.
Germany
In 1815 in Jena
Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a popu ...
(Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
) the "Urburschenschaft" was founded. That was a Studentenverbindung
(; often referred to as Verbindung) is the umbrella term for many different kinds of fraternity-type associations in German-speaking countries, including Corps, , , , and Catholic fraternities. Worldwide, there are over 1,600 , about a thousa ...
that was concentrated on national and democratic ideas.
In 1817, inspired by liberal and patriotic ideas of a united Germany, student organisations gathered for the Wartburg festival at Wartburg Castle
The Wartburg () is a castle originally built in the Middle Ages. It is situated on a precipice of to the southwest of and overlooking the town of Eisenach, in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It was the home of St. Elisabeth of Hungary, the p ...
, at Eisenach
Eisenach () is a town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, located west of Erfurt, southeast of Kassel and northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia and bordering northeastern Hessian regions, situat ...
in Thuringia
Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million.
Erfurt is the capital and larg ...
, on the occasion of which reactionary books were burnt.
In 1819 the student Karl Ludwig Sand
Karl Ludwig Sand (Wunsiedel, Upper Franconia (then in Prussia), 5 October 1795 – Mannheim, 20 May 1820) was a German university student and member of a liberal Burschenschaft (student association). He was executed in 1820 for the murder of the c ...
murdered the writer August von Kotzebue
August Friedrich Ferdinand von Kotzebue (; – ) was a German dramatist and writer who also worked as a consul in Russia and Germany.
In 1817, one of Kotzebue's books was burned during the Wartburg festival. He was murdered in 1819 by Karl L ...
, who had scoffed at liberal student organisations.
In May 1832 the Hambacher Fest
The Hambacher Festival was a German national democratic festival celebrated from 27 May to 30 May 1832 at Hambach Castle, near Neustadt an der Weinstraße, in present-day Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The event was disguised as a nonpolitical cou ...
was celebrated at Hambach Castle
Hambach Castle (german: Hambacher Schloss) is a castle near the urban district Hambach of Neustadt an der Weinstraße in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is considered a symbol of the German democracy movement because of the Hambacher Fest which ...
near Neustadt an der Weinstraße
Neustadt an der Weinstraße (, formerly known as ; lb, Neustadt op der Wäistrooss ; pfl, Naischdadt) is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With 53,300 inhabitants , it is the largest town called ''Neustadt''.
Geography
Location
T ...
with about 30 000 participants, amongst them many students. Together with the Frankfurter Wachensturm
The Frankfurter Wachensturm (German: charge of the Frankfurt guard house) on 3 April 1833 was a failed attempt to start a revolution in Germany.
Events
About 50 students attacked the soldiers and policemen of the Frankfurt Police offices ''Haup ...
in 1833 planned to free students held in prison at Frankfurt and Georg Büchner
Karl Georg Büchner (17 October 1813 – 19 February 1837) was a German dramatist and writer of poetry and prose, considered part of the Young Germany movement. He was also a revolutionary and the brother of physician and philosopher Ludwig Büchn ...
's revolutionary pamphlet
A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a hard cover or binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' or it may consist of a ...
''Der Hessische Landbote'' that were events that led to the revolutions in the German states in 1848.
In the 1960s, the worldwide upswing in student and youth radicalism manifested itself through the German student movement
The West German student movement or sometimes called the 1968 movement in West Germany was a social movement that consisted of mass student protests in West Germany in 1968; participants in the movement would later come to be known as 68ers. T ...
and organisations such as the German Socialist Student Union
The Sozialistische Deutsche Studentenbund — the Socialist German Students' Union or Socialist German Students' League — was founded in 1946 in Hamburg, Germany, as the collegiate branch of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). In th ...
. The movement in Germany shared many concerns of similar groups elsewhere, such as the democratisation of society and opposing the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, but also stressed more nationally specific issues such as coming to terms with the legacy of the Nazi regime
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
and opposing the German Emergency Acts
The German Emergency Acts (') were passed on 30 May 1968 at the time of the ''Grand coalition, First Grand Coalition'' between the Social Democratic Party of Germany and the Christian Democratic Union of Germany. It was the 17th constitutional amen ...
.
Greece
Student activism in Greece has a long and intense history. Student activism in the 1960s was one of the reasons cited to justify the imposition of the dictatorship in 1967. Following the imposition of the dictatorship, the Athens Polytechnic uprising in 1973 triggered a series of events that led to the abrupt end of the regime's attempted "liberalisation" process under Spiros Markezinis
Spyridon "Spyros" Markezinis (or Markesinis; ; 22 April 1909 – 4 January 2000) was a Greek politician, longtime member of the Hellenic Parliament, and briefly the Prime Minister of Greece during the aborted attempt at metapolitefsi (democrati ...
, and, after that, to the eventual collapse of the Greek junta during Metapolitefsi
The Metapolitefsi ( el, Μεταπολίτευση, , " regime change") was a period in modern Greek history from the fall of the Ioaniddes military junta of 1973–74 to the transition period shortly after the 1974 legislative elections.
The m ...
and the return of democracy in Greece. Kostas Georgakis
Kostas Georgakis ( el, Κώστας Γεωργάκης) (23 August 194819 September 1970) was a Greek student of geology, who in the early hours of 19 September 1970, set himself ablaze in Matteotti square in Genoa in a fatal protest against th ...
was a Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
student of geology
Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...
, who, in the early hours of 19 September 1970, set himself ablaze in Matteotti Matteotti is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Giacomo Matteotti (1885–1924), Italian politician
* Gianmatteo Matteotti (1921–2000), Italian politician
* Luca Matteotti (born 1989), Italian snowboarder
See also
*P ...
square in Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
as a protest
A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one.
Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...
against the dictatorial regime of Georgios Papadopoulos
Geórgios Papadopoulos (; el, Γεώργιος Παπαδόπουλος ; 5 May 1919 – 27 June 1999) was a Greeks, Greek military officer and political leader who ruled Greece as a military dictator from 1967 to 1973. He joined the Hellenic ...
. His suicide greatly embarrassed the junta, and caused a sensation in Greece and abroad as it was the first tangible manifestation of the depth of resistance against the junta. The junta delayed the arrival of his remains to Corfu for four months citing security reasons and fearing demonstrations while presenting bureaucratic
The term bureaucracy () refers to a body of non-elected governing officials as well as to an administrative policy-making group. Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments staffed with non-elected offi ...
obstacles through the Greek consulate and the junta government.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong Student activist group Scholarism
Scholarism was a Hong Kong pro-democracyWilfred Chan and Yuli Yang, CNNbr>Echoing Tiananmen, 17-year-old Hong Kong student prepares for democracy battle 28 September 2014 student activist group active in the fields of Hong Kong's education po ...
began an occupation of the Hong Kong government headquarters on 30 August 2012. The goal of the protest was, expressly, to force the government to retract its plans to introduce Moral and National Education as a compulsory subject. On 1 September, an open concert was held as part of the protest, with an attendance of 40,000. At last, the government de facto struck down the Moral and National Education.
Student organizations made important roles during the Umbrella Movement
The Umbrella Movement () was a political movement that emerged during the Hong Kong democracy protests of 2014. Its name arose from the use of umbrellas as a tool for passive resistance to the Hong Kong Police's use of pepper spray to dispe ...
. Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which is the highest organ of state po ...
(NPCSC) made decisions on the Hong Kong political reform on 31 August 2014, which the Nominating Committee
A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...
would tightly control the nomination of the Chief Executive candidate, candidates outside the Pro-Beijing camp
The pro-Beijing camp, pro-establishment camp, pro-government camp or pro-China camp refers to a political alignment in Hong Kong which generally supports the policies of the Beijing central government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) t ...
would not have opportunities to be nominated. The Hong Kong Federation of Students
The Hong Kong Federation of Students (HKFS, or 學聯) is a student organisation founded in May 1958 by the student unions of four higher education institutions in Hong Kong. The inaugural committee had seven members representing the four sc ...
and Scholarism
Scholarism was a Hong Kong pro-democracyWilfred Chan and Yuli Yang, CNNbr>Echoing Tiananmen, 17-year-old Hong Kong student prepares for democracy battle 28 September 2014 student activist group active in the fields of Hong Kong's education po ...
led a strike against the NPCSC's decision beginning on 22 September 2014, and started protesting outside the government headquarters on 26 September 2014. On 28 September, the Occupy Central with Love and Peace
Occupy Central with Love and Peace (OCLP) was a single-purpose Hong Kong civil disobedience campaign initiated by Reverend Chu Yiu-ming, Benny Tai and Chan Kin-man on 27 March 2013. The campaign was launched on 24 September 2014, partially le ...
movement announced that the beginning of their civil disobedience campaign. Students and other members of the public demonstrated outside government headquarters, and some began to occupy several major city intersections.
India
The Assam Movement
The Assam Movement (also Anti-Foreigners Agitation) (1979–1985) was a popular uprising in Assam, India, that demanded the Government of India to detect, disenfranchise and deport illegal aliens. Led by All Assam Students Union (AASU) and All ...
(or Assam Agitation) (1979–1985) was a popular movement against illegal immigrants
Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwa ...
in Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
. The movement, led by All Assam Students Union
All Assam Students' Union or AASU is a Assamese nationalist students' organisation in Assam, India. It is best known for leading the six-year Assam Movement against Bengalis of both Indian and Bangladeshi origin living in Assam. The leadership, ...
(AASU) and the 'All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad' (AAGSP), developed a program of protests and demonstration to compel the Indian government
The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the Government, national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy lo ...
to identify and expel illegal, (mostly Bangladeshis
Bangladeshis ( bn, বাংলাদেশী ) are the citizens of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centered on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the eponymous bay.
Bangladeshi citizenship was formed in 1971, when the p ...
i), immigrants and protect and provide constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards to the indigenous Assamese people
The Assamese people are a socio- ethnic linguistic identity that has been described at various times as nationalistic or micro-nationalistic. This group is often associated with the Assamese language, the easternmost Indo-Aryan language, a ...
.
On 16 January 2017 a large group of students (more than 2 million) protested in state of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
and Puducherry Puducherry or Pondicherry may refer to:
* Puducherry (union territory), a union territory of India
** Pondicherry, capital of the union territory of Puducherry
** Puducherry district, a district of the union territory of Puducherry
** Puducherry tal ...
against the ban on Jallikattu
(or ), also known as and , is a traditional event in which a bull ('' Bos indicus''), such as the Pulikulam or Kangayam breeds, is released into a crowd of people, and multiple human participants attempt to grab the large hump on the bull's b ...
. The ban was made by the Supreme Court of India in 2014 when PETA filed a petition against Jallikattu as a cruelty to animals. On 20 January a temporary ordinance was passed, lifting the ban on Jallikattu.
The Jadavpur University
Jadavpur University is a public state university located in Jadavpur, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was established in 1905 as ''Bengal Technical Institute'' and was converted into Jadavpur University in 1955. In 2022, it was ranked fourth am ...
of Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
have played an important role to contribute to the student activism of India. The Hokkolorob
The ''Hok Kolorob Movement'' (Bengali: হোক কলরব আন্দোলন) or the 2014 Jadavpur University student protest, was a four-month long series of protests by the students of Jadavpur University in Kolkata, India that began on ...
Movement (2014) stirred the nation as well as abroad which took place over here. It took place after the alleged police attack over unarmed students inside the campus demanding the fair justice of a student who was molested inside the campus. The Movement finally led to the expulsion of the contemporary Vice Chancellor
A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system.
In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor is ...
of the university, Mr. Abhijit Chakraborty, who allegedly ordered the police to do open lathicharge over the students. Some anti-social goons were also involved in the harassment of the students.
Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
is often believed to have hosted "some of the most important acts of student resistance in the world's history". University student groups have repeatedly been the first groups to stage street demonstrations calling for governmental change at key points in the nation's history, and other organizations from across the political spectrum have sought to align themselves with student groups. In 1928, the Youth Pledge ( Sumpah Pemuda) helped to give voice to anti-colonial
Decolonization or decolonisation is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. Some scholars of decolonization focus especially on independence m ...
sentiments.
During the political turmoil of the 1960s, right-wing student groups staged demonstrations calling for then-President Sukarno
Sukarno). (; born Koesno Sosrodihardjo, ; 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967.
Sukarno was the leader of ...
to eliminate alleged Communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
s from his government, and later demanding that he resign. Sukarno did step down in 1967, and was replaced by Army general Suharto
Suharto (; ; 8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian army officer and politician, who served as the second and the longest serving president of Indonesia. Widely regarded as a military dictator by international observers, Suharto ...
.
Student groups also played a key role in Suharto's 1998 fall by initiating large demonstrations that gave voice to widespread popular discontent with the president in the aftermath of the May 1998 riots
The May 1998 riots of Indonesia ( id, Kerusuhan Mei 1998), also known as the 1998 tragedy (''Tragedi 1998'') or simply the 1998 event (''Peristiwa 1998''), were incidents of Riot, mass violence, mass protest, demonstrations, and civil unrest ...
. High school and university students in Jakarta
Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
, Yogyakarta
Yogyakarta (; jv, ꦔꦪꦺꦴꦒꦾꦏꦂꦠ ; pey, Jogjakarta) is the capital city of Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by a monarchy, ...
, Medan
Medan (; English: ) is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of North Sumatra, as well as a regional hub and financial centre of Sumatra. According to the National Development Planning Agency, Medan is one of the four main ...
, and elsewhere were some of the first groups willing to speak out publicly against the military government. Student groups were a key part of the political scene during this period. Upon taking office after Suharto stepped down, B. J. Habibie
Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie (; 25 June 1936 – 11 September 2019) was an Indonesian engineer and politician who was the third president of Indonesia from 1998 to 1999. Less than three months after his inauguration as the seventh vice preside ...
made numerous mostly unsuccessful overtures to placate the student groups that had brought down his predecessor. When that failed, he sent a combined force of police and gangsters
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and r ...
to evict protesters occupying a government building by force. The ensuing carnage left two students dead and 181 injured.
Iran
In Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, students have been at the forefront of protests both against the pre-1979 secular monarchy and, in recent years, against the theocratic islamic republic
The term Islamic republic has been used in different ways. Some Muslim religious leaders have used it as the name for a theoretical form of Islamic theocratic government enforcing sharia, or laws compatible with sharia. The term has also been u ...
. Both religious and more moderate students played a major part in Ruhollah Khomeini
Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...
's opposition network against the Shah
Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
, title = Shahanshah Aryamehr Bozorg Arteshtaran
, image = File:Shah_fullsize.jpg
, caption = Shah in 1973
, succession = Shah of Iran
, reign = 16 September 1941 – 11 February 1979
, coronation = 26 October ...
. In January 1978 the army dispersed demonstrating students and religious leaders, killing several students and sparking a series of widespread protests that ultimately led to the Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...
the following year. On November 4, 1979, militant Iranian students calling themselves the Muslim Students Following the Line of the Imam seized the US embassy in Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
holding 52 embassy employees hostage for a 444 days (see Iran hostage crisis
On November 4, 1979, 52 United States diplomats and citizens were held hostage after a group of militarized Iranian college students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over t ...
).
Recent years have seen several incidents when liberal students have clashed with the Iranian government, most notably the Iranian student riots of July 1999. Several people were killed in a week of violent confrontations that started with a police raid on a university dormitory, a response to demonstrations by a group of students of Tehran University
The University of Tehran (Tehran University or UT, fa, دانشگاه تهران) is the most prominent university located in Tehran, Iran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as its research and teaching pro ...
against the closure of a reformist newspaper. Akbar Mohammadi was given a death sentence
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...
, later reduced to 15 years in prison, for his role in the protests. In 2006, he died at Evin prison after a hunger strike protesting the refusal to allow him to seek medical treatment for injuries suffered as a result of torture.
At the end of 2002, students held mass demonstrations protesting the death sentence of reformist lecturer Hashem Aghajari
Seyyed Hashem Aghajari ( fa, سیدهاشم آقاجری, born 1957) is an Iranian historian, university professor and a critic of the Islamic Republic's government who was sentenced to death in 2002 for apostasy for a speech he gave on Islam ur ...
for alleged blasphemy. In June 2003, several thousand students took to the streets of Tehran in anti-government protests sparked by government plans to privatise some universities.
In the May 2005 Iranian presidential election The President of Iran is the highest official elected by direct, popular vote, although the President carries out the decrees, and answers to the Supreme Leader of Iran, who functions as the country's head of state.(see Article 110 of the constituti ...
, Iran's largest student organization, The Office to Consolidate Unity, advocated a voting boycott
A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...
. After the election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( fa, محمود احمدینژاد, Mahmūd Ahmadīnežād ), born Mahmoud Sabbaghian ( fa, محمود صباغیان, Mahmoud Sabbāghyān, 28 October 1956), , student protests against the government has continued. In May 2006, up to 40 police officers were injured in clashes with demonstrating students in Tehran. At the same time, the Iranian government has called for student action in line with its own political agenda. In 2006, President Ahmadinejad urged students to organize campaigns to demand that liberal and secular university teachers be removed.
In 2009, after the disputed presidential election, a series of student protests broke out, which became known as the Iranian Green Movement
The Iranian Green Movement ( fa, جنبش سبز ایران) or Green Wave of Iran ( fa, موج سبز ایران), also referred to as the Persian Awakening or Persian Spring by the western media, refers to a political movement that arose after ...
. The violent measures used by the Iranian government to suppress these protests have been the subject of widespread international condemnation. As a consequence of hash repression, "the student movement entered a period of silence during Ahmadinejad's second term (2009–2013)".
During the first term of Hassan Rouhani in office (2013-2017) several groups endeavored to revive the student movement through rebuilding student organizations.
Israel
In Israel the students were amongst the leading figures in the 2011 Israeli social justice protests
The 2011 Israeli social justice protests ( he, מְחָאַת צֶדֶק חֶבְרָתִי), which are also referred to by various other names in the media, were a series of demonstrations in Israel beginning in July 2011 involving hundreds of ...
that grew out of the Cottage cheese boycott The cottage cheese boycott ( he, מחאת הקוטג' or ) was an Israeli consumer boycott which began in June 2011 using Facebook. The protest was against the continuing rise of food prices in Israel. The organizers called on the public to stop buy ...
.
Japan
Japanese student movement began during the Taishō Democracy, and grew in activity after World War II. They were mostly carried out by activist students. One such event was the Anpo Protests, which occurred in 1960, in opposition to the Anpo
The , more commonly known as the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty in English and as the or just in Japanese, is a treaty that permits the presence of U.S. military bases on Japanese soil, and commits the two nations to defend each other if one or th ...
treaty. In the subsequent student uprising in 1968, leftist activists barricaded themselves in universities, resulting in armed conflict with the Japanese police force. Some wider causes were supported including opposition to the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
and apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
, and for the acceptance of the hippie
A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...
lifestyle.
Malaysia
Since the amendment of Section 15 of the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 (UUCA) in 1975, students were barred from being members of, and expressing support or opposition to, any political parties or "any organization, body or group of persons which the Minister, after consultation with the Board, has specified in writing to the Vice-Chancellor to be unsuitable to the interests and well-being of the students or the University." However, in October 2011, the Court of Appeal ruled that the relevant provision in Section 15 UUCA was unconstitutional due to Article 10 of the Federal Constitution pertaining to freedom of expression
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...
.
Since the act prohibiting students from expressing "support, sympathy or opposition" to any political party was enacted in 1971, Malaysian students have repeatedly demanded that the ban on political involvement be rescinded. The majority of students are not interested in politics because they are afraid that the universities will take action against them. The UUCA (also known by its Malaysian acronym AUKU) not however been entirely successful in eliminating student activism and political engagement.
In Kuala Lumpur on 14 April 2012, student activists camped out at Independence Square and marched against a government loan program that they said charged students high interest rates and left them with debt.
The largest student movement in Malaysia is the Solidariti Mahasiswa Malaysia (SMM; Student Solidarity of Malaysia). This is a coalition group that represents numerous student organizations. Currently, SMM is actively campaigning against the UUCA and a free education at primary, secondary and tertiary level.
Mexico
During the protests of 1968
The protests of 1968 comprised a worldwide escalation of social conflicts, predominantly characterized by popular rebellions against state militaries and the bureaucracies.
In the United States, these protests marked a turning point for the ci ...
, Mexican
Mexican may refer to:
Mexico and its culture
*Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America
** People
*** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants
*** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
government killed an estimated 30 to 300 students and civilian protesters. This killing is known as in the Tlatelolco massacre
On October 2, 1968 in the Tlatelolco section of Mexico City, the Mexican Armed Forces opened fire on a group of unarmed civilians in the Plaza de las Tres Culturas who were protesting the upcoming 1968 Summer Olympics. The Mexican government and ...
. killing of an estimated 30 to 300 students and civilians by military and police on October 2, 1968, in the Plaza de las Tres Culturas
The Plaza de las Tres Culturas ("Plaza of the Three Cultures") is the main square within the Tlatelolco neighborhood of Mexico City. The name "Three Cultures" is in recognition of the three periods of Mexican history reflected by buildings in ...
in the Tlatelolco section of Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
. The events are considered part of the Mexican Dirty War
The Dirty War ( es, Guerra sucia) is the name used by the military junta or civic-military dictatorship of Argentina ( es, dictadura cívico-militar de Argentina, links=no) for the period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983 a ...
, when the government used its forces to suppress political opposition. The massacre occurred 10 days before the opening of the 1968 Summer Olympics
The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...
in Mexico City.
More recent student movements include Yo Soy 132
Yo Soy 132, commonly stylized as #YoSoy132, was a protest movement composed of Mexican university students from both private and public universities, residents of Mexico, claiming supporters from about 50 cities around the world. It began as op ...
in 2012. Yo Soy 132 was a social movement
A social movement is a loosely organized effort by a large group of people to achieve a particular goal, typically a social or political one. This may be to carry out a social change, or to resist or undo one. It is a type of group action and may ...
composed for the most part of Mexican university students from private and public universities, residents of Mexico, claiming supporters from about 50 cities around the world. It began as opposition to the Institutional Revolutionary Party
The Institutional Revolutionary Party ( es, Partido Revolucionario Institucional, ; abbr. PRI) is a political party in Mexico that was founded in 1929 and held uninterrupted power in the country for 71 years, from 1929 to 2000, first as the Nati ...
(PRI) candidate Enrique Peña Nieto
Enrique Peña Nieto (; born 20 July 1966), commonly referred to by his initials EPN, is a Mexican politician who served as the 64th president of Mexico from 1 December 2012 to 30 November 2018. A member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party ...
and the Mexican media's allegedly biased coverage of the 2012 general election. The name Yo Soy 132, Spanish for "I Am 132", originated in an expression of solidarity with the original 131 protest's initiators. The phrase drew inspiration from the Occupy movement
The Occupy movement was an international populist socio-political movement that expressed opposition to social and economic inequality and to the perceived lack of "real democracy" around the world. It aimed primarily to advance social and econo ...
and the Spanish 15-M movement. The protest movement was self-proclaimed as the "Mexican spring" (an allusion to the Arab Spring
The Arab Spring ( ar, الربيع العربي) was a series of Nonviolent resistance, anti-government protests, Rebellion, uprisings and Insurgency, armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began in T ...
) by its first spokespersons, and called the "Mexican occupy movement" in the international press.
Following the 2014 Iguala mass kidnapping
On September 26, 2014, forty-three male students disappeared from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers' College after being forcibly abducted in Iguala, Guerrero, Mexico. They were allegedly taken into custody by local police officers from Iguala and ...
, students responded nationally in protest from marches to destruction of property. Through social media, hashtag
A hashtag is a metadata tag that is prefaced by the hash (also known as pound or octothorpe) sign, ''#''. On social media, hashtags are used on microblogging and photo-sharing services such as Twitter or Instagram as a form of user-generated ...
s such as #TodosSomosAyotzinapa spread and prompted global student response.
Norway
Similar to the students of Sweden, many student activists have emerged in Norway to protest climate change. While Norway is commonly viewed as a model country when it comes to combating climate change, students in Norway say there's more to be done. Though the country has put forth many internal climate combating initiatives, students worry over the country's exportation of oil and gas.
Pakistan
Historically throughout Pakistan, university students have led protests against dictatorships and militant regimes. In the 1960s, the National Student Federation and the Peoples student federation worked together to protest against their current militant regime. That regime was run by General Ayub Khan, the second president of Pakistan.
In 2012, Malala Yousafzai
Malala Yousafzai ( ur, , , pronunciation: ; born 12 July 1997), is a Pakistani female education activist and the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Awarded when she was 17, she is the world's youngest Nobel Prize laureate, and the second Pak ...
was shot by the Taliban when standing up for the right of girls in Pakistan to receive an education. Surviving the attack, Yousafzai continued on as an activist for women's education. She has since written two books stressing the importance of girl's education not only in her home of Pakistan, but also around the world. Her first book, ''I Am Malala'', details her own experience; while her second book, ''We Are Displaced'', details the lives of girls she met from refugee camps. In 2014, she became the youngest person to receive a Nobel Peace Prize. She was 17 years of age upon accepting the award.
Philippines
Student activism in the Philippines saw a surge during the Ferdinand Marcos regime in the late 1960s and early 1970s during the First Quarter Storm
The First Quarter Storm ( fil, Sigwa ng Unang Sangkapat), often shortened into the acronym FQS, was a period of civil unrest in the Philippines which took place during the "first quarter of the year 1970". It included a series of demonstrations, ...
before the declaration of Martial Law
Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory.
Use
Marti ...
. Until today, student activism continues for various causes such as for free education, corruption within the government, and extrajudicial killings. Some groups that lead these protests are the League of Filipino Students
The League of Filipino Students ( fil, Kapisanan ng mga Pilipinong Mag-Aaral}, abbreviated as LFS) is a student-led national democratic mass organization and movement organized during the martial law era in the Philippines on September 11, 1977. ...
(LFS), National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP), Anakbayan
Anakbayan (; abbreviated as AB) is a comprehensive, militant Left-wing politics, left-wing youth-led national democratic mass organization in the Philippines. It is part of the broader Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, a multisectorial alliance of Left ...
, and Kabataan
Kabataan, also known as the Kabataan Partylist (KPL, ) and formerly known as Ang Nagkakaisang Kabataan Para sa Sambayanan (ANAK ng BAYAN, ), is a partylist in the Philippines affiliated with the leftist political coalition Makabayan. It is curre ...
Party-List.
Russia
, , and have all had extensive student activist movements.
South Africa
In the 1970s, students in South Africa contributed to the movement against the apartheid. On June 16, 1976, students congregated in what would come to be known at the Soweto Uprising. Here, they led a peaceful protest in response to the Bantu Education Act of 1953. In an attempt to break apart the protest, police met the students with violence and force. The violence that ensued during the uprising led many to sympathize with the protesting students. The exposed nature of the apartheid caused an international abhorrence leading to its deconstruction.
South Korea
Sweden
In 2018, Greta Thunberg
Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg (; born 3 January 2003) is a Swedish environmental activist who is known for challenging world leaders to take immediate action for climate change mitigation.
Thunberg's activism began when she persuaded ...
caught international attention when she began missing classes to protest climate change. What began as sitting outside Sweden's parliament with fliers in hand, quickly became an international student movement. On March 15, 2019, students from more than 130 countries skipped school for the global climate strike.
Thailand
The overthrow of Thai leader Field Marshall Thanom Kittikachorn
Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn ( th, ถนอม กิตติขจร, ; 11 August 1911 – 16 June 2004) was the leader of Thailand from 1963 to 1973, during which he staged a self-coup, until public protests which exploded into viole ...
was primarily led by students. Called the October 14, 1973 Uprising, students were successful in overthrowing his military dictatorship and restoring democracy. In addition to Thanom, they also overthrew deputy Field Marshall Praphas Charusathien. After Thanom was overthrown he was forced into exile, but in 1976 returned to become a monk. Although he swore to stay out of politics, the presence of him caused student protests to begin again. On October 6, 1976, many protestors died at the hands of right-wing militants that had torn through Thammasat University.
Left-wing students are now known to protest any Thanom-styled regime.
Students played a very important role in the ongoing 2020 Thai protests. Students from many parts of Thailand are participating in a series of pro-democracy movements against Thai government under Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Prayuth Chan-o-cha. One instance saw a debate between students and Education Minister Nataphol Teepsuwan who used to be a part of the anti-democratic People's Democratic Reform Committee
The People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) or People's Committee for Absolute Democracy with the King as Head of State (PCAD) was a reactionary umbrella political pressure group in Thailand. Its aim was to remove the influence of former pre ...
that called for Prayuth to staged 2014 Thai coup d'état
On 22 May 2014, the Royal Thai Armed Forces, led by General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Commander of the Royal Thai Army (RTA), launched a coup d'état, the 12th since the country's first coup in 1932, against the caretaker government of Thailand, foll ...
.
Uganda
Uganda has the second youngest population in the world, with rising numbers of university students seeking improved employment opportunities. Over the last 100 years since the establishment of the first Ugandan university, these students have been especially politically engaged. The structure of the university government system encourages political action, as student leadership positions are viewed as extensions of government elections and parties. During British colonialism and independence, students have played a crucial role in protesting government leadership with varied success.
Ukraine
United Kingdom
Student political activism has existed in U.K since the 1880s with the formation of the student representative council
{{Unreferenced, date=July 2014A students' representative council, also known as a students' administrative council, represents student interests in the government of a university, school or other educational institution. Generally the SRC forms par ...
s, precursors of union organisations designed to present students interests. These later evolved into unions, many of which became part of the National Union of Students (NUS) formed in 1921. However, the NUS was designed to be specifically outside of "political and religious interests", reducing its importance as a centre for student activism. During the 1930s students began to become more politically involved with the formation of many socialist societies at universities, ranging from social democratic to Marxist–Leninist and Trotskyite, even leading to Brian Simon
Brian Simon (26 March 1915 – 17 January 2002) was an English educationist and historian. A leading member of the Communist Party of Great Britain, his histories reflected a Marxian interpretation.
Background and early life
The younger son of ...
, a communist, becoming head of the NUS.
However, it was not until the 1960s that student activism became important in British universities. The Vietnam war and issues of racism initiated a focus on other local frustrations, such as fees and student representation. In 1962, the first student protest against the Vietnam War was held, with CND
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nucle ...
. However, student activism did not begin on a large scale until the mid-1960s. In 1965, a student protest of 250 students was held outside Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
's American embassy and the beginning of protests against the Vietnam war in Grovesnor square. It also saw the first major teach-in in Britain in 1965, where students debated the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
and alternative non-violent means of protest at the London School of Economics
, mottoeng = To understand the causes of things
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £240.8 million (2021)
, budget = £391.1 millio ...
, sponsored by the Oxford Union
The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest ...
.
In 1966 the Radical Student Alliance and Vietnam Solidarity Campaign
The Vietnam Solidarity Campaign (VSC) was originally set up in 1966 by activists around the International Group with the personal and financial support of Bertrand Russell.
Ralph Schoenman acted both as Director of the Vietnam Solidarity Campaign ...
were formed, both of which became centres for the protest movement. However, the first student sit-in was held at the London School of Economics in 1967 by their Students' Union over the suspension of two students. Its success and a national student rally of 100,000 held in the same year is usually considered to mark the start of the movement. Up until the mid-1970s student activities were held including a protest of up to 80,000 strong in Grosvenor Square
Grosvenor Square is a large garden square in the Mayfair district of London. It is the centrepiece of the Mayfair property of the Duke of Westminster, and takes its name from the duke's surname "Grosvenor". It was developed for fashionable re ...
, anti-racist protests and occupations in Newcastle, the breaking down of riot control gates and forced closure of the London School of Economics, and Jack Straw
John Whitaker Straw (born 3 August 1946) is a British politician who served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He held two of the traditional Great Offices of State, as Home Secretary ...
becoming the head of the NUS for the RSA. However, many protests were over more local issues, such as student representation in college governance, better accommodation, lower fees or even canteen prices.
Student protests erupted again in 2010 during the Premiership of David Cameron
David Cameron's term as the prime minister of the United Kingdom began on 11 May 2010, when he accepted an invitation of Queen Elizabeth II to form a government, succeeding Gordon Brown of the Labour Party, and ended on 13 July 2016 upon hi ...
over the issue of tuition fees
Tuition payments, usually known as tuition in American English and as tuition fees in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, are fees charged by education institutions for instruction or other services. Besides public spen ...
, higher education funding cuts and withdrawal of the Education Maintenance Allowance.
During the wave of School Strikes for Climate
School Strike for Climate ( sv, Skolstrejk för klimatet), also known variously as Fridays for Future (FFF), Youth for Climate, Climate Strike or Youth Strike for Climate, is an international movement of school students who skip Friday ...
in 2019, student strikes saw up to 300,000 school children on the streets in the UK, at protests organised by a network of local groups of youth climate activists. Umbrella campaign groups such as Scottish Youth Climate Strike in Scotland, Youth Climate Association Northern Ireland
Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. Yout ...
in Northern Ireland, and UK Student Climate Network
UK Student Climate Network (UKSCN) is a student-led climate justice organisation operating in England and Wales founded by Anna Taylor, then aged 17, on 1 December 2018, along with Ivi Hohmann and Daniela Torres Perez.
UKSCN are a group of mai ...
in England and Wales, made demands to respective governments and local authorities on the back of these protests and achieved some successes, and continue to campaign for climate justice
Climate justice is a concept that addresses the just division, fair sharing, and equitable distribution of the burdens of climate change and its mitigation and responsibilities to deal with climate change. "Justice", "fairness", and "equity" ar ...
.
United States
In the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, student activism is often understood as a form of youth activism
Youth activism is the participation in community organizing for social change by persons between the ages of 15–24. Youth activism has led to a shift in political participation and activism. A notable shift within youth activism is the rise of ...
that can be oriented toward change in the American educational system
Education in the United States is provided in public and private schools and by individuals through homeschooling. State governments set overall educational standards, often mandate standardized tests for K–12 public school systems and ...
, civil rights, law enforcement, nuclear weapons, to a wide range of issues. Student activism in the United States dates to the beginning of public education, if not before. Some of the first well documented, directed activism occurred on the campuses of black institutions like Fisk and Howard in the 1920s. At Fisk, students' concerns surrounding disciplinary rules designed to undermine black identity coalesced into demands for the resignation of President Fayette Avery McKenzie
Fayette Avery McKenzie (July 31, 1872–September 1, 1957) was an American educator and president of Fisk University from 1915 to 1925. He received his doctorate degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1908. His dissertation, ''The American I ...
. Spurred by alum W.E.B. Du Bois
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American-Ghanaian sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in ...
' 1924 commencement speech, the students ignored the 10p.m. curfew to protest, and staged subsequent walkouts. After a committee formed to investigate the protests ruled unfavorably on Mckenzie's abilities and handling of the unrest, he resigned on April 16, 1925. Events at Fisk had wide repercussions, as black students elsewhere began to question the repressive status quo of the postwar black university.
The next wave of activism was spurred by Depression-era realities of the 1930s. The American Youth Congress was a student-led organization in Washington, DC, which lobbied the US Congress against war and racial discrimination and for youth programs. It was heavily supported by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...
.
The counterculture
A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Hou ...
era of the 1960s and early 1970s saw several waves of student activists gaining increasing political prominence in American society. Students formed social movements that moved them from resistance to liberation. An early important national student group was the Students' Peace Union, established in 1959. Another highlight of this period was Students for a Democratic Society
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was a national student activist organization in the United States during the 1960s, and was one of the principal representations of the New Left. Disdaining permanent leaders, hierarchical relationships ...
(SDS) launched in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...
, was a student-led organization that focused on schools as a social agent that simultaneously oppresses and potentially uplifts society. SDS eventually spun off the Weather Underground
The Weather Underground was a Far-left politics, far-left militant organization first active in 1969, founded on the Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ann Arbor campus of the University of Michigan. Originally known as the Weathermen, the group was organiz ...
. Another successful group was Ann Arbor Youth Liberation, which featured students calling for an end to state-led education. Also notable were the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC, often pronounced ) was the principal channel of student commitment in the United States to the civil rights movement during the 1960s. Emerging in 1960 from the student-led sit-ins at segrega ...
and the Atlanta Student Movement
The Atlanta Student Movement was formed in February 1960 in Atlanta by students of the campuses Atlanta University Center (AUC). It was led by the Committee on the Appeal for Human Rights (COAHR) and was part of the Civil Rights Movement.
Hi ...
, predominantly African American groups that fought against racism and for integration of public schools across the US. The Free Speech Movement
The Free Speech Movement (FSM) was a massive, long-lasting student protest which took place during the 1964–65 academic year on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. The Movement was informally under the central leadership of B ...
in 1964–65 at UC Berkeley used mass civil disobedience to overturn restrictions on on-campus political activities.
The Free Speech Movement was the first US student movement that became a focus of scholarly attention into student activism.
The longest student strike in American history started on November 6, 1968, and lasted until March 21, 1969, at San Francisco State College to raise awareness of third-world student access to higher education.
The largest student strike in American history took place in May and June 1970, in response to the Kent State shootings
The Kent State shootings, also known as the May 4 massacre and the Kent State massacre,"These would be the first of many probes into what soon became known as the Kent State Massacre. Like the Boston Massacre almost exactly two hundred years bef ...
and the American invasion of Cambodia. Over four million students participated in this action.
American society saw an increase in student activism again in the 1990s. The popular education reform movement has led to a resurgence of populist
Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...
student activism against standardized testing and teaching, as well as more complex issues including military/industrial/prison complex and the influence of the military and corporations in education There is also increased emphasis on ensuring that changes that are made are sustainable, by pushing for better education funding and policy or leadership changes that engage students as decision-makers in schools. Notably, universities participated in the Disinvestment from South Africa
Disinvestment (or divestment) from South Africa was first advocated in the 1960s, in protest against South Africa's system of apartheid, but was not implemented on a significant scale until the mid-1980s. The disinvestment campaign, after bein ...
movement; University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
, after student activism became the first institution to disinvest completely from companies implicated in and profiting from apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
.
Major contemporary campaigns include work for funding of public schools, against increased tuitions at colleges or the use of sweatshop labor in manufacturing school apparel (e.g. United Students Against Sweatshops), for increased student voice throughout education planning, delivery, and policy-making (e.g. The Roosevelt Institution
The Roosevelt Institute's Network, formerly the "Roosevelt Institute Campus Network" and the "Roosevelt Institution", bills itself as the first student-run policy organization in the United States.Falcone, Michael, "Hoping to Make Policy Waves, a ...
), and to raise national and local awareness of the humanitarian consequences of the Darfur Conflict
The War in Darfur, also nicknamed the Land Cruiser War, is a major armed conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan that began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel groups be ...
. There is also increasing activism around the issue of global warming. Antiwar activism has also increased leading to the creation of the Campus Antiwar Network and the refounding of SDS in 2006.
Following the national growth of the Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...
Movement, and more intensely since the 2016 election of U.S. President Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
, student activism has been on the rise. Alt-right
The alt-right, an abbreviation of alternative right, is a far-right, white nationalist movement. A largely online phenomenon, the alt-right originated in the United States during the late 2000s before increasing in popularity during the mid-2 ...
Breitbart
''Breitbart News Network'' (known commonly as ''Breitbart News'', ''Breitbart'', or ''Breitbart.com'') is an American far-rightMultiple sources:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* syndicated news, opinion, and commentary website founded in mid-2007 by ...
senior editor Milo Yiannopoulos
Milo Yiannopoulos (; born Milo Hanrahan, 18 October 1984), who has also published as Milo Andreas Wagner and the mononym Milo, is a British alt-right political commentator. His speeches and writings often ridicule Islam, feminism, social justi ...
' tour sparked protest at University of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...
, where he was scheduled to speak alongside "Pharma Bro" Martin Shkreli
Martin Shkreli (; born March 17, 1983) is an American former hedge fund manager. Shkreli is the co-founder of the hedge funds Elea Capital, MSMB Capital Management, and MSMB Healthcare; the co-founder and former chief executive officer (CEO) of ...
and University of California, Berkeley, all shutting his talks down before they started through large-scale protest.
In February 2018 after the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting
On February 14, 2018, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the Miami suburban town of Parkland, Florida, murdering 17 people and injuring 17 others. Cruz, a former student at t ...
, many students began to organise rallies and protests against gun violence
Gun-related violence is violence committed with the use of a firearm. Gun-related violence may or may not be considered criminal. Criminal violence includes homicide (except when and where ruled justifiable), assault with a deadly weapon, a ...
. A huge series of protests including the March for Our Lives
March for Our Lives (MFOL) was a student-led demonstration in support of gun control legislation. It took place in Washington, D.C., on March 24, 2018, with over 880 sibling events throughout the United States and around the world, and w ...
(MFOL) followed, drawing millions of protesters and notably attacking the NRA
The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent gun rights lobbying organization while conti ...
as well as US gun laws. A number of student activists such as X González who helped lead the protests quickly garnered media attention for their action.
Later, these students created MFOL, a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization. A number of other students have followed their lead and created other youth organizations, includin
Team Enough
which is being overseen by the Brady Campaign, an
Students Demand Action
which is being overseen by Everytown for Gun Safety.
Youth activism also became popular for other issues after the March for Our Lives movement, includin
EighteenX18
an organization started by actress Yara Shahidi
Yara Sayeh Shahidi (born February 10, 2000) is an American actress and model. She gained recognition for her starring role as the oldest daughter Zoey Johnson on the sitcom ''Black-ish'' (2014–2022) and its spin-off series ''Grown-ish'' (2018 ...
of ABC's Blacki-sh devoted to increased voter turnout in youth
OneMillionOfUs
a national youth voting and advocacy organization working to educate and empower 1 million young people to vote which started by Jerome Foster II
Jerome Foster II (born May 9, 2002) is an American Environmental movement, environmental activist. He is the youngest-ever White House Advisor in United States history, as a member of the Executive Office appointments by Joe Biden#White House ...
, an
This is Zero Hour
an environmentally-focused youth organization started by Jamie Margolin
Jamie Margolin (born December 10, 2001) is an American climate justice activist. She is the Co-Executive director of Zero Hour.
Education
Margolin attended Holy Names Academy. She currently studies film at the New York University Tisch Sch ...
.
Taiwan
* Sunflower Student Movement
The Sunflower Student Movement is associated with a protest movement driven by a coalition of students and civic groups that came to a head between March 18 and April 10, 2014, in the Legislative Yuan and, later, also the Executive Yuan of T ...
in 2014
* Anti Black Box Movement in 2015
See also
* International Students Day
International Students' Day is an international observance of the student community, held annually on 17 November. Originally commemorating the Czech universities which were stormed by Nazis in 1939 and the students who were subsequently kille ...
* Jeltoqsan
The Jeltoqsan ( kk, Желтоқсан көтерілісі , translit=Jeltoqsan köterılısı , lit=December uprising), also spelled Zheltoksan, or December of 1986 were protests that took place in Almaty, Alma-Ata, Kazakh Soviet Socialist Repub ...
* LGBT Student Movement
* List of social movements
Social movements are groupings of individuals or organizations which focus on political or social issues.
This list excludes the following:
* Artistic movements: see list of art movements.
* Independence movements: see lists of active separatis ...
* Student government political party
* Youth empowerment
Youth empowerment is a process where children and young people are encouraged to take charge of their lives. They do this by addressing their situation and then take action in order to improve their access to resources and transform their consciou ...
* Youth participation
''Youth participation'' is the active engagement of young people throughout their own communities. It is often used as a shorthand for youth participation in any many forms, including decision-making, sports, schools and any activity where young p ...
* Youth rights
The youth rights movement (also known as youth liberation) seeks to grant the rights to young people that are traditionally reserved for adults, due to having reached a specific age or sufficient maturity. This is closely akin to the notion ...
* Youth voice
Youth voice refers to the distinct ideas, opinions, attitudes, knowledge, and actions of young people as a collective body. The term youth voice often groups together a diversity of perspectives and experiences, regardless of backgrounds, identit ...
Organizations
* 180/Movement for Democracy and Education
* Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad
Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) () is a right-wing all India student organisation affiliated to the Hindu nationalist organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
History
The ABVP, founded in 1948 with the initiative of the RSS ...
* Australian Student Environment Network
The Australian Student Environment Network (ASEN) is the national network of many campus environment collectives in Australia, formed at the 1997 Students and Sustainability convergence in Townsville. People from ASEN facilitate communication betw ...
* Baloch Students Organization
The Baloch Students Organization (BSO; ur, ) is a student organisation that campaigns for the students of Pakistan's Balochistan Province. It was founded as a student movement on 26 November 1967 in Karachi and remains the largest ethnic Baloch ...
* Canadian Federation of Students
The Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) is the largest student organization in Canada, representing over 530,000 students from across Canada. Formed in 1981, the stated goal of the Federation is to represent the collective voice of Canadian st ...
* Dwight Hall Socially Responsible Investment Fund
The Dwight Hall Socially Responsible Investment Fund at Yale ("DHSRI", "Dwight Hall Fund") is an undergraduate-run socially responsible investment fund in the United States. Initially seeded with $50,000 from the Dwight Hall organization endowment, ...
* Energy Action Coalition
Power Shift Network is a North American non-profit organization made up of a network of youth-led social and environmental justice organizations working together to build the youth clean energy and climate movement. It runs campaigns in the Unite ...
* European Students' Union
The European Students' Union (ESU) is the umbrella organisation of 45 national unions of students from 40 countries, representing almost 20 million students. A consultative member of the Bologna Process, ESU is also a full member of the Europea ...
* Federation of Student Nationalists
SNP Students (also known as the Federation of Student Nationalists) is the student wing of the Scottish National Party (SNP), representing students in Scottish higher education. It was formed in 1961 when various student organisations supportiv ...
* Kerala Students Union
The Kerala Students Union (abbreviated KSU) is a students organization in Kerala, India. It functions as the student wing of the Indian National Congress in the state.
KSU was founded in 1957 at Alappuzha, with M. A. John as its main organiser ...
* The Freechild Project
The Freechild Institute for Youth Engagement is a nonprofit organization focused on creating connections between adults and young people through programs, technical assistance, publications, training, and curriculum. Adam Fletcher is the executiv ...
* Idealist on Campus, a program of Action Without Borders
Action Without Borders (also known as Idealist) is a non-profit service organization based in New York City, founded in 1995 by Ami Dar. The group has offices in the United States and Argentina.
History
Founder Ami Dar was interested in sol ...
* Kyoto Now!
* Muslim Students' Association
The Muslim Students Association, or Muslim Student Union, of the U.S. and Canada, also known as MSA National, is a religious organization dedicated to establishing and maintaining Islamic societies on college campuses in Canada and the United Sta ...
* National Students Federation
The National Students Federation Pakistan (NSF) is a left-wing students federation in Pakistan. In the late 1960s, NSF adopted the political line of Marxism–Leninism and Mao Tse-tung Thought
Its predecessor, the DSF (Democratic Students Federa ...
* National Students Union of India
The National Students Union of India, the student wing of the Indian National Congress (INC or Congress), was established on 9 April 1971. The organisation was founded by Indira Gandhi after merging the Kerala Students Union and the West Benga ...
* National Youth Rights Association
The National Youth Rights Association (NYRA) is a youth-led Civil and political rights led by Margin Zheng & Ashawn Dabney-Small President & Vice-President of NYRA organization in the United States promoting youth rights, with approximately 10,0 ...
* New York Public Interest Research Group
* North American Students of Cooperation
* People & Planet
* Secular Student Alliance
* Student/Farmworker Alliance
* Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry
* Students Coalition Against War
* Students for a Free Tibet
* Students for Justice in Palestine
* Students for Sensible Drug Policy
* Students' Federation of India
* United States Student Association
References
Further reading
* Still the Earth Jumps Back: Student Uprisings Then and Now Santa Barbara, CA, SBDisorientation Collective, 2006.
Guide to Social Change Led By and With Young People
Olympia, WA: CommonAction, 2006.
by David Linhardt, The New York Times (NYTimes.com).
from Campus Compact.
Student Activism at Gettysburg College
from Gettysburg College Musselman Library
Women's Protest at Gettysburg College, 1965–1975
from Gettysburg College Musselman Library
* Andrews, William. "Dissenting Japan: A History of Japanese Radicalism and Counterculture, from 1945 to Fukushima." London: Hurst, 2016.
* Brax, Ralph S. "The first student movement." Port Washington, NY : Kennikat Press, 1980.
* Carson, Claybourne. "In Struggle, SNCC and the Black Awakening of the 1960s." Cambridge Massachusetts: Harvard University Press., 1981
* Cohen, Robert. "When the old left was young." New York : Oxford University Press, 1993.
* Fletcher, Adam. (2005
HumanLinks Foundation.
* Kreider, Aaron ed
"The SEAC Organizing Guide."
Student Environmental Action Coalition, 2004.
* Loeb, Paul. "Generation at the Crossroads: Apathy and Action on the American Campus." New Brunswick, N.J. : Rutgers University Press, 1994.
* McGhan, Barry
Time Magazine, 1971.
* Sale, Kirkpatrick. "SDS: Ten Years Towards a Revolution." New York, Random House, 1973.
* Students for a Democratic Society
Author, 1962.
* Vellela, Tony. "New Voices: Student Activism in the 80s and 90s." Boston, MA: South End Press, 1988.
* Manabu Miyazaki; ''Toppamono: Outlaw. Radical. Suspect. My Life in Japan's Underworld'' (2005, Kotan Publishing, )
* Student Movements in India, An AICUF Publication, Chennai 1999
*Deka, Kaustub
"From Movements to Accords and Beyond : The critical role of student organizations in the formation and performance of identity in Assam"
Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, 2013
External links
This collection contains leaflets and newspapers that were distributed on the University of Washington campus during the decades of the 1960s and 1970s. They reflect the social environment and political activities of the youth movement in Seattle during that period.
Campus Activism
(Networking site with resources for student activists)
Dosomething.org
(Youth Activism Social Networking site)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Student Activism
Student politics, Activism
Social movements