Title: A History of Student Activism and Protests | BestColleges
Headings: Student Activism in College
Student Activism in College
A History of Campus Protests
Student Protests Throughout History
The Fight for Civil Rights on College Campuses
Students Protest Administrative Policies
The Push for Campus Safety
Fighting Tuition Increases and Rising Costs
Student Activism in 2020 and Beyond

Content: In response, the students rioted, destroying lecture halls and attacking faculty members to vent their rage. This early form of student activism apparently worked — or at least, schools didn't try to cancel spring break again. A 17th-century depiction of Carnevale at Piazza San Marco, Venice, by Sebastian Vrancx. For centuries, student life has been a flash-point of campus activism. Only two years after the founding of Harvard College, the first class of students protested against President Nathaniel Eaton for his leadership. Specifically, they objected to Eaton's practice of beating students as a form of discipline. Eaton's wife, charged with feeding the students, also faced scrutiny for her practice of serving "mackerel … with their guts in them, and goat's dung in [the] hasty pudding." In 1639, the students successfully pushed the Eatons out in a court case. Harvard students rioting over dining hall food in the 18th century. In the Harvard Butter Rebellion of 1766, food once more became the defining issue in campus activism.