ACTIVISM AMPS UP

Free speech during a decade of unrest

Compiled by Coleman Cornelius | Jan. 3, 2024

During the tumultuous 1960s, Colorado State University shifted from a generally quiet and conservative campus into the setting of more frequent political protests, according to Democracy’s College in the Centennial State: A History of Colorado State University, by James E. Hansen II. The campus was not a hotbed of activism during the decade defined by the Vietnam War, countercultural movements, and civil rights era, which sparked protests and civil disobedience on campuses nationwide. Still, CSU’s enrollment boomed from 6,131 in 1960 to 17,045 in 1970; that growth, coupled with civil unrest coursing through the country, helped generate demonstrations, marches, controversial speakers, and fiery editorials on the Fort Collins campus. Important U.S. Supreme Court cases upholding student freedom of expression would be decided in 1969 (Tinker v. Des Moines), 1972 (Healy v. James), and 1973 (Papish v. Board of Curators of the University of Missouri). But even in the runup to those decisions, students at CSU exercised their First Amendment rights to push for – and against – change.

Here are a few events that made headlines.

1960

Spirited debate arose over the tradition of compulsory military training for all freshman and sophomore men. On the question of mandatory ROTC training, CSU President William Morgan deferred to the U.S. Department of Defense, which soon announced that fewer reserve officers were needed nationwide. ROTC training then became voluntary at CSU.

1960

1962

The Rocky Mountain Collegian published a polemical editorial critical of racial integration at the University of Mississippi, where African American student James Meredith broke the color barrier. Shortly after, Meredith was set to speak in Denver, and two CSU students, Charles Fager and Dennis Lone, spearheaded an effort to bring Meredith to the Fort Collins campus. They succeeded. Meredith’s talk drew some 1,500 people, an impressive crowd at the time.

1962

1963-1964

Interest in race relations continued. Nationally known figures visited campus, including Dick Gregory, a Black comedian and social critic; Mississippi Gov. Ross Barnett, a well-known segregationist; and George Lincoln Rockwell, founder of the American Nazi Party.

1963-1964

1964

Student media employees placed a huge tree stump on the Lory Student Center Plaza to anchor a come-one, come-all free speech zone. Firebrands of all varieties have visited through the years. The Stump once was carried to the state Capitol for a protest over higher education in Colorado; 3,000 people attended. The Stump remains a symbol of free speech on campus.

1964

Student Vicki Hays defied university policy requiring that female students live in residence halls or approved housing and abide by 11 p.m. weekday curfews. In contrast, male students could live where they pleased and stay out as late as they wished. Hays used the Collegian to rally student activists. They challenged the university’s gender-based double standard in housing rules. Hays transferred out of CSU, but the issue persisted. During a stay-out demonstration at Moby Gym in 1967, about 2,500 students flouted curfew together. Two weeks later, the university amended its rules.

1964

1968

Student Doug Phelps, president of student government, led a campaign for more student input into decisions about education and campus life, including operation of the Lory Student Center. He sought to “liberate” the student center from administrative oversight; its liberation, he argued, could be proved through beer sales. The university’s governing board disagreed. Phelps then roused an occupation of the student center by dropping pamphlets on campus from a helicopter; organizers passed out balloons, flowers, candy, and popcorn to students who attended. A week later, Phelps arranged a second aircraft drop of flyers to rally students for a “beer-in” at the student center; dozens came. It was a partial success: A student-led board gained policymaking input for the student center. Later, the university’s governing board approved the sale of 3.2 beer. But Phelps lost the next election. He was criticized for using student fees to rent the helicopters.

1968

An antiwar group called Peace Action Now organized at CSU and paraded about 1 mile from the Oval to a war memorial on College Avenue. Several hundred people participated, making the march the largest peace protest yet in Fort Collins. The march turned violent when a truck tried to run down protestors. There were no injuries, and the procession continued. Yet the protestors faced unrelenting hecklers, whom police dispersed with pepper spray.

1968

1968-1969

During the civil rights movement, concerns grew over racism and discrimination targeting minoritized students on campus. After a series of scathing editorials in the Collegian, the Colorado Civil Rights Commission conducted a hearing to examine the issues; more than 60 witnesses reported problems including housing and job discrimination, a dearth of CSU courses in ethnic studies and race relations, and failure to recruit students and faculty of color. The commission directed the university to prioritize academic equity and opportunity, prompting what many critics viewed as insufficient responses. Students then formed CSU’s Black Student Alliance and Mexican-American Committee for Equality. The groups united to present CSU leaders with a list of demands, which The Denver Post editorial board called “reasonable and just.” Then followed a series of sit-ins, protests, and a heated task force meeting attended by more than 1,000 people; student activists Manuel Ramos and Paul Chambers confronted CSU President William Morgan and demanded that he lead a university delegation to the Colorado Capitol to argue for state funding for programs that could improve educational equity and inclusion. They called the governor on the spot to schedule the trip. In April, Morgan, a group of administrators, and some 300 students made their case before the Joint Budget Committee and Gov. John Love. But the state Legislature rejected CSU’s special budget request. Vocal activism continued around the issues we now know as diversity, equity, and inclusion.

1968-1969

1970

Fury mounted across the country over racist practices within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (The practices were rescinded in 1978.) Black students in Fort Collins planned a formal nonviolent protest, sanctioned by university officials, at the start of a home basketball game pitting CSU and Brigham Young University, the private school affiliated with the church. That went smoothly. But at halftime, a group of Black students returned to the court. A melee broke out; a firebomb and angle iron were among items hurled from the stands. The police department’s riot squad was called to break up the crowd. Tension between CSU leaders and Black students continued through the academic year.

1970

On May 4, the Ohio National Guard shot and killed four students and injured nine others during an antiwar demonstration at Kent State University. Three days later, CSU students rallied in response, and more than 2,000 people marched from the student center to Fort Collins City Hall. Many students boycotted class to protest expansion of the Vietnam War and the shootings at Kent State. Then, on the evening of May 8, student protestors held a peaceful concert at the College Avenue Gymnasium. As the concert ended, a police officer reported smoke coming from Old Main, the university’s original academic building just off College Avenue. Fire soon destroyed the building that had opened in 1879. Investigators determined it was the result of arson. Protestors and CSU President A.R. Chamberlain rejected any notion that student activists started the fire. Its cause is an enduring mystery, and the historic building’s ruination seemed to dampen activism on campus.

1970

Source: Democracy’s College in the Centennial State: A History of Colorado State University, by James E. Hansen II.

ACTIVISM AMPS UP

Free speech during a decade of unrest

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