ABSTRACT BROADHURST, CHRISTOPHER JAMES. The Silent Campus Speaks: North Carolina State University and the National Student Protest, May 1970. (Under the direction of Paul Umbach). May 1970 became a pivotal moment in higher education. In that month, the backlash over two events, the announcement of the American invasion of Cambodia and the National Guard killing four Kent State University students protesting that military offensive, triggered the largest student protest in history. Across the nation, hundreds of thousands of students protested on hundreds of campuses. The scale of the reactions shocked America. This work explores the development of a student protest subculture at North Carolina State University and connects the campus’s outburst of student activism to the national student protests of May 1970. The images from campuses such as Berkeley, Wisconsin, or Columbia during the late 1960s has helped propagate the myth that student activism dominated college life in the period. While some campuses, particularly elite universities, did possess active protest cultures, many of the nation’s colleges and universities leaned more toward conservatism. Yet even on these conservative campuses, as the 60s progressed, student activism began to gain a stronger presence. Students increasingly voiced their concerns over national issues, such as civil rights or the Vietnam War, and challenged long-standing doctrines of in loco parentis. By placing one campus, North Carolina State University, within the broader national context, this research explores how students began voicing their views on a traditionally conservative southern campus, culminating with thousands expressing their outrage over the slaying of students at Kent State. © Copyright 2012 by Christopher James Broadhurst All Rights Reserved The Silent Campus Speaks: North Carolina State University and the National Student Protest, May 1970 by Christopher James Broadhurst A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of North Carolina State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Educational Research and Policy Analysis Raleigh, North Carolina 2012 APPROVED BY: _______________________________ ______________________________ Paul Umbach Kathryn Moore Committee Chair ________________________________ ________________________________ Alyssa Rockenbach Duane Akroyd ________________________________ John M. Riddle ii DEDICATION This work is dedicated to every student who had the courage to try to change the world: audaces fortuna iuvat (fortune favors the bold)! iii BIOGRAPHY I have always possessed a passion for studying history and other cultures. The highlights of my years as a primary and secondary school student included meeting an array of individuals from other nations, exploring the ruins of a 17th century Spanish fort, spending time with the Kuna people of Panama, and visiting various historical sites. I remember, as my fellow students were engaged in the traditional activities of high school, I was immersing myself in books about Iron Age civilizations, Greek mythology, and Bronze Age archaeology. This love for history continued into my postsecondary education: I received my bachelors from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington in 1994 and my masters from North Carolina State University in 1999. With both degrees, I specialized in classical and medieval history. Following eight years of teaching history at Methodist University, I enrolled in North Carolina State’s Higher Education Administration doctoral program in 2008. During the past four years, my research has focused on student activism and campus cultures in post-WWII America. I plan to continue pursuing this research and will only stop investigating the past when I retire from academia. And perhaps not even then! iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS So many individuals contributed, in some way, to the completion of this work. Friends and fellow students have provided comments and constructive criticisms throughout the entire research and writing process. While the list is too long to fully enumerate, a handful stand out for their steadfast support throughout the past few years: Kerri Mercer, David Bucci, Amanda Williams, Frim Ampaw, Jeremy Tuchmayer, T.J. Willis. I have benefitted immensely from my frequent conversations with each of them. I must also issue a special thanks to friends and family for not only their various forms of support, but also their patience. Too often my response to their requests to getting together was “Sorry, I’m working on my dissertation.” Their understanding went beyond the normal bounds of friendship and their persistence in providing some brief respite from research and writing was always welcome. A debt of gratitude is extended to Peter Kerstetter, Adam Greeson, Denise Ryan and Jerome Wenninger. My parents must also be thanked for the frequent financial contributions during my four years as a poor graduate student. Not having to worry about replacing worn-out tires or a broken television lessened the stress related to writing a dissertation. And to Medea, who provided endless entertainment: you are missed every day. I would be remiss if I failed to acknowledge the continual help provided by the Department of Leadership, Policy, and Adult and Higher Education. The staff helped navigate the sometimes murky waters of pursuing a doctoral degree and the support network provided by my fellow graduate assistants often equated to a shelter in the storm. I had the v pleasure of working with a number of departmental faculty, each of whom contributed to my intellectual growth: James Bartlett, Paul Bitting, Tuere Bowles, Audrey Jaeger, Julia Storberg-Walker, and Tamara Young. Three faculty members must be singled out for their role as committee members: Duane Akroyd, Alyssa Bryant Rockenbach, and Kay Moore. Their guidance and advice was invaluable and I am a better scholar because of them. This work would never have been completed without the continual aid offered from the staff of the Special Collections Research Center at North Carolina State University. Fondly known as “The Archives”, they provided a second home for the many months of research for this work and endured countless requests for material. Two in particular, Jennifer Baker and Genya O’Gara, exhibited a passion and professionalism for their work that made the many hours of research welcoming. Finally, three individuals have shaped my development as a scholar. First is Larry W. Usilton at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, who instilled in me a love of primary sources and taught me how to research history. Next is John M. Riddle at North Carolina State University, who showed me how to examine the tapestry of the past and made me a better writer of history. Last is Paul D. Umbach of North Carolina State University, who provided a roadmap to explore the world of academia and educated me how to publish history. Together, all three form a triumvirate that would rival that of Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Pictures ........................................................................................................................ vii Introduction: Setting the Stage...................................................................................................1 Chapter One: The Nature and Evolution of Campus Activism, Part1: ....................................35 Student-Involved Movements Chapter Two: The Nature and Evolution of Campus Activism, Part 2: ..................................91 Youth-Centered Movements Chapter Three: From Apathy to Activism: ............................................................................151 The Development of Campus Protest at North Carolina State University Chapter Four: The National Student Protest of May 1970 ....................................................229 Chapter Five: The Emergence of a Campus Leader ..............................................................285 Chapter Six: The Movement Grows: .....................................................................................306 The Convocation and the March to the Capitol Chapter Seven: The Peace Retreat .........................................................................................334 Chapter Eight: The Declining Protest? ..................................................................................368 Conclusion: The Story Ends ..................................................................................................396 References ..............................................................................................................................409 Appendices .............................................................................................................................431 Appendix A ............................................................................................................................432 Appendix B ............................................................................................................................433 Appendix C ............................................................................................................................434 Appendix D ............................................................................................................................435 vii LIST OF PICTURES Picture 1 ...................................................................................................................................22 Picture