CUNY DIGITAL HISTORY ARCHIVE

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"Umbrella Strikes Again!" Flier

This flier promotes an April 14, 1937 student protest against City College President Frederick B. Robinson's decision to ban the "Oxford Pledge" from the CCNY campus. The pledge, an American adaptation of the British original, comprised an oath in which students stated: "I refuse to support the Government of the United States in any war it may conduct." The oath had been a part of protest gatherings in the prior years, though with the new decision, the administration would refuse use of campus facilities to student organizations that employed the pledge.

The "umbrella" mentioned on the flier was used in reference to CCNY President Robinson who, in May 1933, allegedly struck multiple students with his umbrella at an anti-war rally on campus. Students adopted the umbrella as a symbol for Robinson for the remainder of his presidency.

Source | CCNY Archives & Special Collections
Creator | City College Strike Committee
Date Created | April 14, 1937
Rights | Obtain From CCNY Archives & Special Collections
Item Type | Text (Flier / Leaflet (1 or 2 page handout))
Cite This document | City College Strike Committee, “"Umbrella Strikes Again!" Flier,” CUNY Digital History Archive, accessed March 19, 2024, https://cdha.cuny.edu/items/show/3672.

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