By Elizabeth Kantrowitz

“Naturally, we feel that we would like to get out and do something – anything, so long as it smacks of action.”

Quote from ‘Restlessness’, an editorial published in Hamilton Life, May 15, 1917. Retrieved from Isserman, 187.

Students at Hamilton College have long stood up for their beliefs. The quote above is a response to World War 1, and conveys a strong student desire to get out there and take action. Early in the College’s history, students expressed patriotism and the desire to fight for and represent their country as means of making change. However as social issues emerged both on Hamilton’s campus and in national policies and decisions, students shifted to social activism. This project documents movements Hamilton students have participated in, protesting to speak up for individual rights and against greater social injustices.

The collage below is a collection of headlines from The Spectator, photos found in On The Hill, and public posts from Hamilton College’s Twitter and Instagram accounts. The images reflect the numerous protests for both individual rights specific to Hamilton and against greater national problems such as racism and climate change. This collage attempts to capture the continuous strength and dedication with which Hamilton students responded to social issues and engaged in activism on campus. Descriptions of the protests shown in the collage are below as well.

Protests in order to gain individual rights and personal freedoms specific to campus: 

• 1941: Students attempted to persuade President William Harold Cowley to keep his position as President of the school with demonstrations in front of the Chapel and a signed petition (Isserman, 207). 
• 1964: Students spoke out against compulsory chapel on campus, believing the requirement to attend chapel once a week to be a violation of religious freedom (Isserman, 269). 
• 1970s and 80s: Students gathered and campaigned for the College’s endowment funds and trustees to divest from companies doing business in South Africa as a protest against South Africa’s system of apartheid. These protest gatherings led to 12 student suspensions (Isserman, 326).

Protests against national problems and inequalities: 

• 1960: During the Civil Rights Movement, students picketed stores in Utica in order to show support for the peaceful demonstrations against segregation occurring in the South (Isserman, 255). The Hamilton community was also personally involved with national organizations working to combat racism through Bob Moses, Class of 1956, who was an activist heavily involved SNCC, and John Paul, Class of 1965, who participated in Freedom Summer (Isserman, 266). 
• 1970: In opposition to the Vietnam War, an SDS (Students for Democratic Society) chapter was founded at Hamilton. In other anti-war movements, students walked out of class and down to the Clinton village green in order to protest the invasion of Cambodia and the Kent State shootings (Isserman, 296). 
• 2015: Students joined the Utica-based activist group entitled Stand Up and Speak Out  in a staged walk out to protest and confront continued racism and inequality on college campuses (Love and Rage Media). 
• 2016: Students walked from campus down to the Village Green to participate in the “Our Power Rally” in protest of then President-elect Trump, specifically holding signs calling out policies of hate and silence. (Utica Observer Dispatch). 
• 2019: Students participated in the Global Climate Strike, protesting climate change and raising awareness for environmental issues. This strike called to attention both Hamilton’s individual responsibility towards sustainability and reducing the carbon footprint, but also to the greater national and global implications of the climate crisis. (Militello).

Sources:

1. Isserman, Maurice. On The Hill: A Bicentennial History of Hamilton College 1812-2012. Clinton: Trustees of Hamilton College, 2011.
2. Militello, Libby. “Global Climate Strike: A Call to Action on the Hill.” Hamilton College, September 20, 2019. https://www.hamilton.edu/news/story/global-climate-strike-call-to-action.
3. Scarlino, Derek. “Gallery: The Movement’s Student Walk-Out at Hamilton College.” Love and Rage Media, November 19, 2015. https://loveandragemedia.org/2015/11/18/gallery-the-movements-student-walk-out-at-hamilton-college/.
4. Utica Observer Dispatch. “Photos: Gallery: More than 500 Protest President-Elect Trump at Hamilton College.” Uticaod, November 16, 2016. https://www.uticaod.com/photogallery/NY/20161116/NEWS/111509998/PH/1.