UCLA Students. Student Activism materials., 1927-1986

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Summary

Creators:
UCLA University Archives
Abstract:
Record Series 259 contains materials related to student activism at UCLA throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries. Themes include communism, pacifism, World War II, the Vietnam War, civil rights, and freedom of expression.
Extent:
2.8 linear feet (7 boxes), 0.8 linear feet (2 unprocessed document boxes), 1 born-digital carriers (1 hard drive), 4.55 Gigabytes (2 files, 0 folders), and 0.4 linear feet (1 unprocessed document box)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], UCLA Students. Student Activism materials (University Archives Record Series 259). UCLA Library Special Collections, University Archives.

Background

Scope and content:

Record Series 259 contains materials related to student activism at UCLA from 1927-2014. Files contain materials generated by, or intended for, UCLA students.

Subjects include but are not limited to free speech, communism, pacifism, socialism, freedom of the press, resale of books/student book store, parking on campus, WWII, racial discrimination, Jim Crow, affordable housing, job security, the Loyalty Oath controversy, the Korean War, McCarthyism, the Rosenberg trial, the visit of the Shah of Iran to UCLA, the Civil Rights Movement, desegregation, Selma, the Vietnam War, draft resistance, labor rights, farm worker rights, women's liberation, abortion, Chicano/a rights, Martin Luther King Jr., the Black Panther Party, elections, and religion.

Materials include circulars, leaflets, fliers, pamphlets, newsletters, campaign materials, protest literature, clippings, publications, bulletins, letters, press releases, ephemera, correspondence; and meeting, demonstration, conference, and event documentation.

This is an active record series; additional University records are expected to be added.

Biographical / historical:

Since the university's early years, students at UCLA have been moved by situations at home and abroad to raise their voices in protest.

In the late 1920s and 1939s, student activism was fueled by the social and economic conditions of the Depression era, reaction to the rise of fascism in Europe, threat of war, and political repression at home, particularly against Leftist groups. Students held a strike for peace, and demanded the freedom to express their beliefs without enduring academic repercussion.

Academic freedom remained a much-discussed issue in the 1940s, as students reacted to World War II and its aftermath. Issues such as discrimination and labor rights took greater prominence as veterans returned to campus in the late 1940s.

Controversy over the Loyalty Oath at the University of California, brought on by national anti-communism sentiments, ushered in the 1950s. Discrimination, labor rights, and freedom of expression remained active topics.

The early 1960s saw students engaged in the Civil Rights Movement, protesting against segregation and for racial equality. Student activism during this period also critiqued the university system and the nature of modern American higher education, as evidenced in the Free Speech Movement which made its appearance at UCLA in December 1964.

Peace and antiwar movements, especially concerning American involvement in Vietnam, intensified during the late 1960s and early 1970s, resulting in a strike of students, faculty, and staff. Students were roused to action in support of Black and minority rights, with outrage and vehement protests by the UCLA campus community following the Angela Davis controversy. The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., the women's liberation movement, and police violence on college and university campuses inspired student action.

Student activism in the mid and late 1970s critiqued the University of California's association with international programs as students turned their attention to events in South East Asia and South America. At home, the labor rights of farmworkers, funding for higher education, and environmentalism took focus.

During the 1980s students protested in opposition to apartheid in South Africa, and the University of California's financial ties to supporters of apartheid. Protests were held in support of political movements in Central and South America. Concerns over nuclear war and nuclear energy also engaged students.

The cessation of affirmative action at UCLA prompted student activism in the 1990s, as did educational budget cuts enacted by the University of California Regents, and experimentation on animals. The 1990s also saw the establishment of a Chicana/o Studies Department at UCLA.

A resurgence of anti-war movements began in the 2000s, while concerns over the cost of higher education remained an issue.

Students at UCLA continue to engage in activism over local, national, and international concerns as they arise.

Processing information:

We are committed to providing ethical, inclusive, and anti-racist description of the materials we steward, and to remediating existing description of our materials that contains language that may be offensive or cause harm. We invite you to submit feedback about how our collections are described, and how they could be described more accurately, by filling out the form located on our website: Report Potentially Offensive Description in Library Special Collections.

Collections are processed to a variety of levels depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived user interest and research value, availability of staff and resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides a standard level of preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts more intensive processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards and best practices.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged chronologically. Folder titles refer to dominant themes of materials within a given period of time, but are not comprehensive lists of all subjects mentioned.

Physical location:
Record Series 259 is located in Library Special Collections Technical Services Annex, A1713 Charles E. Young Research Library.
Physical facet:
Transferred from 1 hard drive.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.

Terms of access:

Copyright of this collection has been assigned to The Regents of the University of California. The UCLA University Archives can grant permission to publish for materials to which it holds the copyright. All requests for permission to publish or quote must be submitted in writing to UCLA Library Special Collections Public Services.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], UCLA Students. Student Activism materials (University Archives Record Series 259). UCLA Library Special Collections, University Archives.

Location of this collection:
A1713 Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
Contact:
310-825-4988
AskLSC@library.ucla.edu
Website