University of Virginia Library

The Protesters

Among the small minority of
students who view the act of protesting
as a serious and constant
occupation, a radical activist organization
was formed in 1962.
This was the Columbia chapter
of the Students For a Democratic
Society or SDS. In reality, the
formation of this group merely
gave University recognition to a
clique of students who had been
organizing demonstrations on the
campus for years. Although few at
Columbia agreed with the programs
of SDS, opposing its charter
by the University, given the tradition
of academic freedom, would
have been unthinkable. Even today,
most of Columbia's students
would probably support the grant
of recognition to such a group.