1969–1970 Harvard University anti-Vietnam War protests

As part of the wider anti-war movement of the 1960s, student organisations such as the Harvard chapter of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) ran anti-war activities on campus. In November 1966 for instance, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara was prevented from leaving the campus by a group of about 800 students. Forced from his car, he was hoisted up on the hood of a convertible, where he agreed to answer questions from the crowd on the Vietnam War. A letter signed by 2,700 Harvard undergraduates apologising to McNamara was sent to him a few days after. A year later, in October 1967, a recruitment visit by Dow Chemicals, which supplied napalm to the military, was interrupted by protests. The Harvard Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) programs drew particular attention, with sit-ins disrupting their meetings. Although the faculty was willing to reduce the programs’ privileges, the Harvard Corporation refused to terminate it. These developments, alongside the creation of a degree program in Afro-American studies, led to the events of April 1969. == 1969: Occupation of University Hall ==

in 2007 On the night of April 8 to 9, a group of about 300 students, led by the SDS, tacked a list of demands on the door of the home of Nathan Pusey, then President of Harvard. Not only did it call for the abolition of ROTC, but also for lower rent and student involvement in designing the curriculum for the Afro-American studies degree. The demands were later rejected by Pusey as baseless. At noon on April 9, a group of 30 and 300. Amongst them were a number of press people, who got released immediately. In the aftermath of the occupation, a series of reforms began. The ROTC lost the privileges not held by other extracurricular activities by a vote of the faculty later endorsed by the Harvard Corporation. == 1970: Harvard Square riots ==

in the 1970s, Harvard Yard is in the background.|left After the Students for a Democratic Society fractured in 1970, multiple groups emerged from the Harvard chapter, the more moderate of which was the November Action Coalition. It secured a permit to organize a parade on April 15, 1970, protesting the trial of Black Panther leader Bobby Seale, as well as being part of a broader anti-war effort. The date was significant, because the rally also protested against using tax money for war efforts and April 15 is the final day to file federal income tax returns in the United States. The march to Harvard Yard was described by The New York Times as largely peaceful, The number of protesters was estimated to be around 1,500 by the time they entered Harvard Square at 7pm. == Bombing of the Harvard Semitic Museum ==

in 2008 The Harvard Semitic Museum, now the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East, housed the Center for International Affairs (CFIA) on the top floors of its building. It provided economic advisory to developing countries and conducted research on international issues, but it was accused by the Students for a Democratic Society in 1965 as supporting the anti-Communist regime in Indonesia. Henry Kissinger was an Associate Director at the Center, These factors made the CFIA and by extension the building in which it was housed a prime target for anti-war groups. On October 14, 1970, a few minutes after 1am, a bomb placed in the desk of an Army colonel visiting Harvard for independent study, exploded on the third floor of the museum. Roughly 25 minutes earlier, a woman telephoned a warning to the Harvard Police. No one was in the building at that time. Museum staff had seen two unidentified young women in the building about 4 pm the day before the bombing. The FBI investigated but the case was not solved. == See also ==