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Syracuse University Student Activism Collection
An inventory of the collection at the Syracuse University Archives
Finding aid created by: Anna E. Shuff
Date: 2025
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| Return to finding aids search |
Finding aid created by: Anna E. Shuff
Date: 2025
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Summary |
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| Creator: | Syracuse University. |
| Title: | Syracuse University Student Activism Collection |
| Dates: | 1896-2023 |
| Size: | 1.5 linear feet |
| Abstract: | Memorabilia, fliers, handbills, reports, and other printed materials concerning student activism at Syracuse University |
| Language: | English |
| Repository: |
University Archives, Special Collections Research Center Syracuse University Libraries 222 Waverly Ave., Suite 600 Syracuse, NY 13244-2010 |
The history of student activism at Syracuse University reflects much of the history of student protest in the United States. Some of the earliest records of student organizing at Syracuse University date back to the late 19th century and document students' desire for greater involvement and self-determination in University decisions regarding class schedules and breaks. Student involvement in activism across the country reached a peak in the 1960s and 1970s as students rallied in support of causes such as the Civil Rights Movement and in opposition to the draft and the Vietnam War. Many student movements around this time, including those at Syracuse University, placed an emphasis on nonviolent protest and civil disobedience, which took the form of national boycotts, sit-ins and strikes. Student activism at Syracuse University has also included labor organization and unionization, political causes and campaigns, as well as concerns specific to University operations, policy and culture.
This collection contains materials that users may find objectionable due to racist imagery. The representations contained in this collection were conventional at the time of their creation, although no less harmful and inaccurate than they are today. The collection is preserved and presented for its historic and research value.
The Syracuse University Student Activism Collection comprises materials concerning student organizing, protest, and activism. The collection includes materials created by student activists, as well as items documenting or responding to student organizing. The collection consists of five series:
The Antiracist activism series contains material from the 1940s to the 1990s and consists of fliers for protests and events addressing racism and racist violence.
The Anti-war activism series contains materials from the 1930s to the 1970s and consists of memorabilia, fliers, handbills, pamphlets, reports, court documents, and other printed materials concerning student organizing against the Vietnam War, the draft, and the presence of the military and affiliated institutions on campus.
The Labor organization and unionization series consists of correspondence, resolutions, agreements and reporting on the formation of Syracuse Graduate Employees United, a union representing graduate student teaching assistants and workers in 2023.
The Political activism series consists of materials from the 1930s to the 1990s concerning national, state and local political campaigns and causes, including promotional materials for presidential, senatorial, and mayoral campaigns, as well as materials concerning broader political causes, such as reproductive rights and educational funding. These items include memorabilia, fliers, handbills and other printed materials.
The University culture and policy activism series contains materials from the 1890s to the 2000s which relate to issues specific to Syracuse University, including concerns over the University course calendar, commencement speakers, campus social and cultural life, student governance, and availability of books and educational materials. These materials include handbills, petitions, fliers, correspondence and other printed materials.
Access Restrictions:
Please note that the collection is housed off-site, and advance notice is required to allow time to have the materials brought to the Reading Room on campus.
Due to its fragile condition, the item "Petition to keep the start of winter break on December 18" in Oversize 1 is restricted and not available for research. Please consult with an archivist if you are interested in this item.
Use Restrictions:
Written permission must be obtained from the Syracuse University Archives and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.
Further information on student activism at Syracuse University can be found in the Syracuse University Clipping Files, the Syracuse University Poster Collection, the Syracuse University Photograph Collection, the Syracuse University Student Publications Collection and the Syracuse University Yearbook Collection. The University Archives also holds collections for larger student protests and movements, notably the 1970 Student Strike at Syracuse University Collection, the #NotAgainSU Collection, the Syracuse 8 Collection, and THE General Body Collection.
Names
Syracuse University -- History.
Syracuse University.
Subjects
Anti-war demonstrations.
Boycotts.
Civil rights.
Harrisburg Seven Trial, Harrisburg, Pa.,
1972.
Labor unions -- Organizing.
Peace movements.
Political campaigns.
Student activities.
Student movements.
Vietnam War, 1961-1975.
College students.
Graduate teaching assistants.
Higher education.
Types of Material
Armbands.
Bumper stickers.
Correspondence.
Handbills.
Judicial records.
Leaflets.
Magazines (periodicals)
Memorandums.
Mimeographs.
Newsletters.
Notes (documents)
Petitions.
Political buttons.
Political fliers.
Reports.
Resolutions (administrative
records)
Preferred Citation
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Syracuse University Student Activism Collection,
University Archives,
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries
Acquisition Information
The materials in this collection were previously part of the Syracuse University Student Activities Reference Collection and the Syracuse University Memorabilia Collection and were gathered by the University Archives from various sources, including student organizations and alumni.
Processing Information
Materials were placed in acid-free folders in an acid-free box. Memorabilia was housed in acid-free tissue paper in an acid-free box.
Materials are arranged chronologically within each series.
Anti-racist activism
Anti-war activism
Labor organization and unionization
Political activism
University culture and policy activism
| Anti-racist activism | |||||||||||
| Box 1 | "Strange fruit" anti-lynching Youth for Progress meeting flier circa 1940s | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Protest against the administration's racial policies circa 1980s-1990s | ||||||||||
| Anti-war activism | |||||||||||
| Box 1 | Anti-militarist handbill distributed at a Reserve Officers' Training Corps (R.O.T.C.) parade 19 May 1933 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Open letter to President Lyndon B. Johnson calling for cessation of bombing in Vietnam 26 March 1967 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | R.O.T.C. and industrial recruitment protests 1968, undated | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Vietnam War March on Washington bumper sticker circa 1969 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Armband-"stop the killing" with buttons 1969 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Vietnam moratorium 1969 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | "Syracuse University student boycott (April 23, 1969)" paper by Jaclyn Kras, Dr. T. Acete, and Dr. M. Troyer 29 May 1969 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Power economics student boycott of Coca-Cola 1970 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Report to campus by David Ifshin, Student Government President 10 February 1970 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Peace Relay-Telephone relay network 1970, undated | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | The defense committee for the 13 individuals charged with the attempted kidnapping of Henry Kissinger 1971 - This group of activists are later known as the Harrisburg Seven. | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Sit-in at the R.O.T.C. offices in Archbold Gymnasium 1971 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | May Day demonstrations 1971 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | "A call for a demonstration to oppose the air war against Vietnam" handbill 1972 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Faculty commitments to education during student unrest 1972 | ||||||||||
| Labor organization and unionization | |||||||||||
| Box 1 | Syracuse Graduate Employees United 2023 | ||||||||||
| Political activism | |||||||||||
| Box 1 | Campaign buttons circa 1930s-1960s | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Committee for the Legalization of Abortion form letter circa 1960s-1973 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Table grape boycott circa 1965-1970 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | James L. Buckley "March for America" senatorial campaign bumper sticker circa 1968-1976 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | "Resolve 1968" Democratic Party leaflet 1968 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | DeCrow, Karen- Liberal Party candidate for mayor 1969 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | McGovern/Shriver presidential campaign bumper sticker 1972 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Movement to Reinvest in Education (MORE) 1994 | ||||||||||
| University culture and policy activism | |||||||||||
| Oversize 1 | Petition to keep the start of winter break on December 18 1896 - Petiton written and signed on a continuous scroll of paper requesting that Syracuse University administration not change the start of the Christmas Recess (winter break) to December 24th and instead keep it on December 18th so that students would have sufficient time to travel home to their families before the holiday. | ||||||||||
| RESTRICTED: Due to its fragile condition, this item is restricted and not available for research. Please consult with an archivist if you are interested in this item. | |||||||||||
| Box 1 | Committee of One Thousand 1927-1928 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | "D.O. is biased" flier circa 1960s | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Hearings on student participation 1968 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Teach-out flier 6 February 1968 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Memorandum of Dean Ralph A. Galbraith regarding the governance of Syracuse University 1969 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | "Central New Yorker" town meeting article March, 1970 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | "Gay SU" button circa 1980s-1990s | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | "Move it, Mel" button circa 1982 - Worn by students protesting the construction of the Sheraton University Hotel and Conference Center (now known as Orange Hall). | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Student empowerment rally 1986 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Commencement speaker Mayor Rudy Giuliani 2001 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Bird Library book removal student protest 2009 | ||||||||||