1960: Four black students take their seats at a food counter in the US. After being denied service for the colour of their skin, they remain in their seats, peacefully waiting until the store closes that evening. The next day, they come back again. More students join them this time. Patiently waiting at the counter, unprovoked by the taunts and threats of angry white mobs forming around them. Day after day, the movement grows. Inspiration zips from store to store, town to town, rooting itself between the cracks of a society that works to suppress it. In the space of 6 months, the Greensboro sit-ins sparked a revolution across the US. Four students started the unstoppable wave that would ensure no one would be denied service for the colour of their skin again.
1970: A crowd of students gather on the green fields of Kent State campus, US. Feeling disillusioned with horrifying images of the Vietnam War and watching siblings and friends being enlisted in a hopeless cause, their anger turned to action. As crowds of hundreds grew to thousands, the state turned to the National Guard to break up the group of angry protesters. Escalating tensions bubble to a head, and on May 4th, shots ring out across the grassy field. The National Guard had opened fire on the protesters, killing four students. This tragedy sparked fury across the States, encouraging more and more college towns to join the movement against the expansion of the Vietnam War. As the population became disillusioned with their government and disgusted at the people meant to protect them, political observers attributed the events of May 4th to the downfall of Nixon’s presidency and, eventually, the withdrawal of the US from Vietnam.
2024: Songs of protest echo through the halls of university campus’ once more. This time, a global movement from New York to Sydney stands with Palestinians as Israel continues its relentless assault on Gaza.
Israel’s war in Gaza began following the Hamas attack on October, 7th, 2023, and has since killed around 34,700 people, with a further 77,700 injured. A huge amount of these fatalities are children. Devastating images flooding out of this conflict have touched audiences across the globe, leaving university students questioning: what can they do?
By the end of April, students from Columbia University, New York, had gathered in the courtyard, demanding their university divest funds from arms companies
Comments