STUDENT ACTIVISTS OF THE 1930S AND 1960S - A COMPARISON OF THE SOCIAL BASE OF TWO STUDENT MOVEMENTS

• NCJ Number: 26236
• Journal: Youth and Society Volume: 6 Issue: 4 Dated: (JUNE 1975) Pages: 395-422
• Author(s): J R DEMARTINI
• Date Published: 1975
• Length: 28 pages
• Corporate Author: Sage Publications, Inc
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THIS STUDY PROVIDES DESCRIPTIVE DATA ON RADICAL STUDENTS OF THE SOCIALIST AND COMMUNIST MOVEMENTS OF THE 1930'S AND 1940'S, AND COMPARES CHARACTERISTICS OF THIS GROUP WITH THOSE OF STUDENT ACTIVISTS OF THE 1960'S.

Abstract

FOCUSING ON POLITICAL PROTEST AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, URBANA, THIS STUDY PRESENTS SOCIAL-BASE DATA ON 134 MEMBERS OF SOCIALIST AND COMMUNIST STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS ACTIVE ON THE CAMPUS BETWEEN THE ACADEMIC YEARS 1932-1933 AND 1941-1942. ACTIVISTS ARE DESCRIBED ACCORDING TO THEIR STANDING ON FOUR VARIABLES: RURAL-URBAN BACKGROUND, MEASURED BY SIZE OF HOME CITY; SOCIAL CLASS, MEASURED BY FATHER'S OCCUPATION; SOCIAL INTEGRATION, MEASURED BY DEGREE OF PARTICIPATION IN EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES AND ACADEMIC MAJOR; AND RELIGION. ACTIVISTS' PROFILES ARE THEN COMPARED TO THE STUDENT BODY AS A WHOLE FOR THIS PERIOD, AS WELL AS TO ACTIVISTS OF THE 1960'S. IT WAS FOUND THAT ACTIVISTS OF THE 1930'S WERE MORE URBAN, MORE UPPER-CLASS, MORE LIKELY TO BE OF JEWISH HERITAGE, AND LESS INTEGRATED INTO TRADITIONAL STUDENT CULTURE. IN SPITE OF THE VERY DIFFERENT NATURE OF THE TWO STUDENT MOVEMENTS, STUDENT ACTIVISTS OF THE 1960'S EXIBITED SIMILAR SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS TO THOSE OF THE 1940'S. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)