College enrollment reached 9 million by the end of the 1960s . Colleges and universities in America had more students than ever before , and these institutions often tried to restrict student behavior to maintain order on the campuses . To combat this , many college students became active in causes that promoted free speech , student input in the curriculum , and an end to archaic social restrictions . Students joined the antiwar movement because they did not want to fight in a foreign civil war that they believed did not concern them or because they were morally opposed to all war . Others disliked the war because it diverted funds and attention away from problems in the U.S. Intellectual growth and gaining a liberal perspective at college caused many students to become active in the antiwar movement . Another attractive feature of the opposition movement was the fact that it was a popular social event . As one student said , antiwar demonstrations were the places to " get laid , get high , and listen to some great rock . " Most student antiwar organizations were locally or campus-based because they were easier to organize and participate in than national groups . Common antiwar demonstrations for college students featured attempts to sever ties between the war machine and universities through burning draft cards , protesting universities furnishing grades to draft boards , and protesting military and Dow Chemical job fairs on campus . From 1969 to 1970 , student protesters attacked 197 ROTC buildings on college campuses . Protests grew after the Kent State shootings , radicalizing more and more students . Although the media often portrayed the student antiwar movement as aggressive and widespread , only 10 % of the 2500 colleges in the United States had violent protests throughout the Vietnam War years . By the early 1970s , most student protest movements died down due to President Nixon 's de-escalation of the war , the economic downturn , and disillusionment with the powerlessness of the antiwar movement
Kent State shootings
Kent State shootings
Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War