Columbia University 1968
Huge antiwar demonstrations took place in Washington DC (and/or at the
Pentagon) from 1965 (when the war first escalated) until the end of the war in
1975. The crowds often exceeded half a million (but the headcounts were
always a numbers game). The demonstrations grew increasingly violent with the
years, at least by domestic standards; the ones in the 70s generally were
marked by police phalanxes with swinging clubs and tear gas. Columbia
students would ride down in a caravan of chartered buses festooned with
antiwar and political placards. On one such occasion, the tear gassing was so
bad that the bus drivers left without us. Eventually when thousands of
stranded demonstrators found their way to the DC bus station on K Street and
lined up at the ticket window, their clothing was so saturated with gas that
the ticket agents had tears streaming down their faces.
Columbia was also
well represented at the frequent antiwar demonstrations at Wall Street, the
Times Square military recruiting station, and the Induction Center at
Whitehall Street (immortalized in Arlo Guthrie's Alice's
Restaurant).
Frank da Cruz / fdc@columbia.edu /
Columbia University 1968 / Jun 2001