Student Unrest and The Growth of Repression on Campus: A Comparison of Administrative Responses to Student Activism at The University of Connecticut

This paper sheds light on how university administrations have historically used instruments such as police, policy and punishment in order to deter and control student protests on campus. Students at the University of Connecticut’s Storrs campus have an undeniable relationship with activism that integrates global issues at the local level, allowing them to play visible roles in international anti-war and anti-racist movements of different eras. The University of Connecticut (UConn) is used as a case study by assessing the ways the administration has responded to anti-Vietnam War and Civil Rights movements of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s in comparison to the actions taken against the Pro-Palestinian Anti-Apartheid movements of the 2020’s. By setting UConn’s history of protest and response within the broader national context of each era, it becomes clear that university administrations have become more aggressive in their tactics, ultimately at the cost of student freedoms. Modern student activists can better safeguard their rights and advance their movements forward by understanding the development of universities reliance on police, policy and punishment to deter student protest.