Chapter Chronology

Quiz for Documenting the American Promise: “Student Protest”

Select the best answer for each question. Click the “submit” button for each question to turn in your work.

Question

1. Why did Edward Schwartz, a leader in the National Student Association in the 1960s, argue that students should create the rules and policies that govern student behavior and experience on campus?

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B.
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Correct. The answer is c. Schwartz argued on behalf of the National Student Association that “he who must obey the rule should make it.” Since students were the subject of university rules and policies, they should at least be part of the conversation regarding what those policies should be, and ideally should be the ultimate decision-makers on policy issues. The students, faculty, and administration should work together on all aspects of university policy.
Incorrect. The answer is c. Schwartz argued on behalf of the National Student Association that “he who must obey the rule should make it.” Since students were the subject of university rules and policies, they should at least be part of the conversation regarding what those policies should be, and ideally should be the ultimate decision-makers on policy issues. The students, faculty, and administration should work together on all aspects of university policy.

Question

2. For the students who supported “student power” on college campuses in the 1960s, students having more influence in university decision-making would make American universities more

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B.
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D.
Correct. The answer is d. As Edward Schwartz said on behalf of the National Student Association, “student power is not the elimination of authority, it is the development of a democratic standard of authority.” The conservative group Counterthrust echoed this sentiment, even though they did not agree with it, when they wrote that university students “are told by the Left that ‘student power’ merely means more democracy on campus.” Committed to democracy at all levels, student activists also hoped to bring democratic control to the way university campuses were governed.
Incorrect. The answer is d. As Edward Schwartz said on behalf of the National Student Association, “student power is not the elimination of authority, it is the development of a democratic standard of authority.” The conservative group Counterthrust echoed this sentiment, even though they did not agree with it, when they wrote that university students “are told by the Left that ‘student power’ merely means more democracy on campus.” Committed to democracy at all levels, student activists also hoped to bring democratic control to the way university campuses were governed.

Question

3. Why did conservative students who criticized student protestors, like those involved with Counterthrust at Wayne State University in the 1960s, argue that the protestors’ attack on private business was wrong-headed?

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Correct. The answer is a. Counterthrust pointed out that the protestors’ crusade against private businesses—which, the “Leftists” claimed, were engaged in “a sinister plot…to train students for jobs at taxpayers’ expense”—was a poorly thought-out position. Counterthrust argued that “private enterprise is also the biggest single taxpayer for [public] schools,” and without private business, none of the student protestors would be able to attend Wayne State at all, let alone protest against it.
Incorrect. The answer is a. Counterthrust pointed out that the protestors’ crusade against private businesses—which, the “Leftists” claimed, were engaged in “a sinister plot…to train students for jobs at taxpayers’ expense”—was a poorly thought-out position. Counterthrust argued that “private enterprise is also the biggest single taxpayer for [public] schools,” and without private business, none of the student protestors would be able to attend Wayne State at all, let alone protest against it.

Question

4. How did members of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) believe Columbia University had mistreated local residents of Harlem, New York in the 1960s?

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Correct. The answer is b. SDS opposed Columbia’s recent expansion into land in Harlem where many black New Yorkers had once lived, and the eviction of those tenants. They claimed that the university had “grabbed part of Harlem for a student gym,” suggesting that the purpose for which the land had been used was frivolous and unimportant. SDS’s opposition to this expansion was one important factor in the violent protest that erupted on Columbia’s campus in 1968.
Incorrect. The answer is b. SDS opposed Columbia’s recent expansion into land in Harlem where many black New Yorkers had once lived, and the eviction of those tenants. They claimed that the university had “grabbed part of Harlem for a student gym,” suggesting that the purpose for which the land had been used was frivolous and unimportant. SDS’s opposition to this expansion was one important factor in the violent protest that erupted on Columbia’s campus in 1968.

Question

5. What do these documents suggest about the kinds of issues student protest organizations focused on during the 1960s?

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Correct. The answer is d. The statements by the National Student Association and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) demonstrate how different student protest organizations focused on very different kinds of issues. While the National Student Association essentially confined its grievances to the way the university was administered, SDS was far more interested in how Columbia operated as an institution in a local, national, and international context. Differing agendas and priorities likely created tensions or conflicts between different student protest groups.
Incorrect. The answer is d. The statements by the National Student Association and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) demonstrate how different student protest organizations focused on very different kinds of issues. While the National Student Association essentially confined its grievances to the way the university was administered, SDS was far more interested in how Columbia operated as an institution in a local, national, and international context. Differing agendas and priorities likely created tensions or conflicts between different student protest groups.