TALKING BACK TO THE MAN; STUDENTS AND AUTHORITY ON HWS CAMPUS 1960S-70S WELCOMES YOU
Examining the past to better the future.
During the 1960s and 70s, college students across America rose up and joined the nations protests in a tumultuous era of change. Students protested against the Vietnam War, got involved in the Civil Rights movement, and generally looked at ways to challenged authority on college campuses. Hailing from small liberal arts institutions nestled in the heart of the finger lakes, were the students of Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Despite the small size of this campus, HWS students were not immune to these ideas sweeping the nation.
Around the late 1960s, early 1970s, HWS students began to outwardly question authority on campus. As students at larger campuses such as Kent State rioted against the Vietnam War draft, students at Hobart and William Smith held their professors and administration accountable for evolving into a more liberal institution. Students voiced their displeasure demanding a curriculum change from faculty, speaking out against administrative policies to the point where a president and other higher up administrative officials resigned, and even rioting when campus police worked together with an undercover FBI agent known as “Tommy the Traveler” to bust students during a surprise drug raid.
