University Students have a long history of being involved in activism because the first case of student activism can be traced back to 1766 when students at Harvard University protested against the rising costs of living in what is referred known as Butter Rebellion. For students, protest has often been a means of expressing anger or concerns over certain policies or actions either by the government or the university administrations. The contemporary university student is more empowered in the sense that they have various platforms that they can use to voice their concerns and call for change. For example, they can use the social media to not only mobilize but to express their frustrations. Additionally, students today have privileges and rights that their peers did not have, and this is one of the reasons why a student can freely speak against issues such as fee increment.
Certainly, some of the issues that triggered protests in universities in the past are the same issues that continue to cause protests, and this reflects the human nature to respond against certain decisions that make them uncomfortable or against decisions which they feel are oppressive. Students continue to seek to assert their views, calling for revamp of how colleges and universities are managed. However, there are certain instances in which students’ protests have been driven by the need to tackle serious national issues like racism. During the 1960s, for example, segregation in public schools was prevalent, and majority of the schools in the U.S. only admitted white males. This means that universities served as conduit for helping drive the government’s agenda of secluding certain Americans from essential services. When the Civil Rights movements started, thousands of university students joined in the protest. From pushing for policies at national level, to calling for the abolition of the discriminatory policies in universities, students made a significant impact on social reform in the country.
Recently, the emergence of the Black Lives Matter including the recent protests associated with the movement has roots in higher learning institutions. Students have actively participated in these movements, and they have used their voice to speak against what they feel are discriminatory policies. In certain instances, students, through protests, have succeeded in calling for the resignation of their principles. In 2015, for instance, Tim Wolf, who served as the University of Missouri’s president, resigned when African American students protested against the university’s policies that encouraged discrimination of certain groups of students. Many students equally took part in organizing protests and carrying out campaigns to call for the social justice for victims of police brutality especially in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. Some filed petitions, calling for the social reform while other put up banners and gave donations. These efforts paid off because as the message spread, people in different parts of the world including Germany joined the protests.
Some of the recent protests have been triggered by the growing security concerns in higher learning institutions. Cases of the students being sexually abused or disappearing have caused concerns among campus students, prompting some of them to organize protests to call for reform of the universities’ policy on security. In South Africa, for example, a wave of rape incidences rose in different universities in the country, and in order to call for securing of the learning facilities, students went to the streets, calling for the government to take stringent measures to protect female students. Moreover, the gun violence which is deeply rooted in the American gun culture, has affected students in higher learning institutions because some shooting incidences have happened in these institutions. In May 2020, there was an incident in which a gunman entered Virginia Tech and shot students, killing some of them. In response, the students at the university called for reform on the gun laws. However, students have also been involved in organizing processions focused on advocating for such reforms.
Raising of tuition fees is one of the factors that have contributed to the students’ protests, yet universities raise fees to counter the effects of the skyrocketing costs of teaching resources. The amount of money students pay as fees has significantly increased in the past four decades. Universities rarely involve students when raising fees and this lack of involvement of the student is one of the reasons why majority of them tend to protest hiking of the fees. The Million Student March in 2015 is just of the cases in which students have responded, calling for a stop to raising of the fees. The protests due to the doubling of the tuition fees did not start recently because Tufts University students engaged in protests when it was proposed that the fees be raised.
The protests by university students is something that educators, administrators and governments should support because voicing one’s concerns can help universities and the entire society to thrive. Listening to students, and incorporating their ideas into the university programs can help prevent tension between students and the administration.