CUNY DIGITAL HISTORY ARCHIVE

Like so many colleges across the country during the late-1960s, CUNY, too, was swept up in the wave of student unrest that took the form of protests, strikes, and sit-ins. This collection focuses on the events surrounding one incident at Queens College in the spring of 1969: the student occupation of the Social Sciences (SS) Building. The collection contains papers, correspondence, and flyers produced by many of the key figures, including faculty members, student activist organizations and the campus administration.

Beginning on March 27, 1969, the student led Ad Hoc Committee to End Political Suppression staged a sit-in of the SS Building largely in protest of the college's refusal to drop charges against three students from the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) who had forced the removal of a General Electric recruiter during a protest earlier in March. After holding the SS Building for several days, in the early morning hours of April 1st, college administration requested police assistance in clearing the students from the building, at which point thirty-nine were arrested, including one faculty member. Each was charged with trespassing. In subsequent weeks, activists from SDS and the Ad Hoc Committee continued their demonstrations with an increased vigor that contributed to the school administration's decision to temporarily close the college in early May.

The documents in this collection primarily concern the fallout in the weeks immediately following the April 1st arrests. While several items may give some hint to the other happenings on campus, it is important to note that simultaneous with those protests organized by the Ad Hoc Committee—the focus of this collection—were additional separate demonstrations organized by right wing student groups, and minority students from the college's SEEK program.