Fourth Symposium

Arizona State University

Archiving from the Intersections and Community-Driven Archives

Call For Papers

Deadline for Proposals

Arizona State University (ASU) Library is proud to host the final of four Project STAND (Student Activism Now Documented) forums on February 27 and 28, 2020. Project STAND brings together students, archivists, faculty, and community members from across the country to discuss the importance of student activism in academia and the need to preserve this history. This forum seeks to center the voices of historically marginalized communities, the varying intersections within these communities, and the need to create community-driven archives. We invite individuals or small-groups to submit a panel, paper, or poster presentation on the forum theme.

Notification of Acceptance

Student Projects on Student Activism

A.S. Living History Project

The Living History Project is a branch of Associated Students that tracks, archives, and narrates the history of student activism at UCSB.  It traces the origins of organizations such as BSU, El Congreso, A.S. Queer Commission, Associated Students, etc. and outlines how they were developed and integrated into our community.  This project shifts the historical point of view towards the students and shows how they enacted change on and off campus.  The Living History Project amplifies the voices of the students in the face of corruption, injustice, and inequity and will continue to serve as a platform as current social and political issues arise.

UCSD Student History

Submitted by Jessica Hatrick-Watson

This archive came out of my honors work as part of the Ethnic Studies Department at UCSD. When writing my paper, I found a lot of information was being cut/left out, and considering the institutional practices in place that work to erase student activism and student labor I created this website to serve as an archive.

This archive is devoted to past, present, and future student activists and organizers. You are all amazing and you are all working against something so much bigger than yourselves, I cannot tell you how much I admire you for that. You are amazing. The work you do is important. The institution will try to erase it, but know it changed lives.

SAA Council Resolution Honoring Project STAND

Featured Collection:

Allen Building Takeover Collection, 1969-2002, Duke University Archives

On February 13th, 1969, black students at Duke University joined the fight for civil rights and the equal treatment of African Americans in the United States. As part of Black Culture Week (February 4-12) at Duke University, 60 or so black students entered the Allen Building on the Duke University campus and barricaded themselves in. They renamed the building the Malcom X Liberation School. The occupation only lasted one business day, but it did not go unnoticed. By the end of the day, the initially peaceful protest turned into a scene of aggressive police intervention. It forced the administration to begin discussing the protestors’ demands. These demands included an African American Studies Department, representation as a legitimate organization on campus, protection from police brutality, and other support systems for black students on campus. Though the students exited the building the same day, an agreement between the administration and students could not be made. This led to a student strike and further protests which included students from other colleges and community members. These protests also ended in violence. Protests continued until a loose agreement was made in mid-March of 1969. In 2002, the event was commemorated with a lock-in of the Allen Building to reflect on the activism that has taken place at Duke University.

The Allen Building Takeover Collection contains materials including but not limited to photographs, flyers, correspondence, publications, and other ephemera. The materials document the events of February 13th, the aftermath, and the commemoration of the Allen Building Takeover. The collection contains materials representing the opinions and actions of both sides of the event.

The materials began to be transferred to the University Archives in 1973 and continued to be relinquished to the archives throughout the years, demonstrating a growth in trust between the students and the administration. The Duke University Archives also holds a collection of oral histories related to the Allen Building Takeover titled The Allen Building Takeover Oral History Collection.

Malcom X University of Liberation promotional flyer, 1969.
Flyer for student organized symposium to discuss racial tensions at Duke University, 1969.
Flyer for an event to unify students at Duke University in support of black student representation in college wide decision-making, 1969.

Citation: [Documents, March-April 1969], Allen Building Takeover Collection, Duke University Archives, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

IMLS Grant 2018

   
Project STAND receives a $92,096 National Leadership Grant for Libraries Program award from the Institute of Museum and Library Services On August 24, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) awarded Project STAND (STudent Activism Now Documented) $92,096 under the National Leadership Grant for Libraries Program.  Established in fall 2016, Project STAND is a nationwide consortium of more than 40 colleges and universities that is creating an online hub to heighten access to digital and analog archival and historical collections documenting student activism.   —-more—-

Collections

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

James Baldwin

Student activism has and continues to serve as a critical component to the development of a truly democratic society. The collections featured here are from various colleges and universities and they highlight the struggles, victories, and challenges of student movements throughout history.

Connect with these participating institutions to learn more.

About

History

In the fall of 2016, Project STAND (Student Activism Now Documented) was established to initially bring together academic institutions across the state of Ohio and discuss ways to share information about the collections and materials related to student activism on their campuses, with a primary focus on marginalized student identities (African American, LGBTQ, Chicano/a, differently abled, Asian Americans, indigenous populations etc.) This exciting initiative was initially conceived by Lae’l Hughes-Watkins, University Archivist at Kent State University who reached out to Tamar Chute, University Archivist at The Ohio State University, on the possibility of creating a centralized hub for academic archives focusing on underrepresented communities’ engagement in social justice activities on and off campus.

Project STAND is an online clearinghouse where academic institutions can provide researchers a centralized access point to historical and archival documentation on the development and on-going occurrences of student dissent. Project STAND focuses on digital and analog primary sources that document the activities of student groups that represent the concerns of historically marginalized communities (e.g., African American, Chicano/a, LGBTQ, religious minorities, disabled, etc.). STAND will also highlight the work of others (e.g., faculty, staff, and administrators) who advocate for or support the interests of those communities.

More information about participating institutions can be found here.

Join Us

Interested in joining Project Stand? Please submit some information about your institution’s collection.