Student activism in the context of "Student protest"

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⭐ Core Definition: Student activism

Student activism or campus activism is work by students to cause political, environmental, economic, or social change. In addition to education, student groups often play central roles in democratization and winning civil rights.

Modern student activist movements span all ages, races, socio-economic backgrounds, and political perspectives. Some student protests focus on the internal affairs of an institution (like disinvestment); others tackle wars or dictatorships. Student activism is most often associated with left-wing politics.

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👉 Student activism in the context of Student protest

Campus protest or student protest is a form of student activism that takes the form of protest at university campuses. Such protests encompass a wide range of activities that indicate student dissatisfaction with a given political or academics issue and mobilization to communicate this dissatisfaction to the authorities (university or civil or both) and society in general and hopefully remedy the problem. Protest forms include but are not limited to: sit-ins, occupations of university offices or buildings, strikes etc. More extreme forms include suicide such as the case of Jan Palach's, and Jan Zajíc's protests against the end of the Prague Spring and Kostas Georgakis' protest against the Greek junta of 1967–1974.

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Student activism in the context of 2019 Indonesian protests and riots

A series of mass protests led by students took place at major cities in Indonesia from 23 September 2019, to rally against new legislation that reduces the authority of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), as well as several bills including a new criminal code that penalises extramarital sex and defamation against the president. The protesters consisted of mostly students from over 300 universities, with no association with any particular political parties or groups. The protests were the most prominent student movement in Indonesia since the 1998 riots that brought down the Suharto regime.

In several cities including Jakarta, Bandung and Padang, protesters clashed with the Indonesian National Police (Polri), resulting in the riot police firing tear gas and water cannons. In the capital city of Jakarta, the police confirmed that at least 254 students and 39 police officers are injured or being treated in hospitals. In Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, two students died, one of them allegedly being shot during the violent clash. Another three protesters died in Jakarta.

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Student activism in the context of Velvet Revolution

The Velvet Revolution (Czech: sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution (Slovak: nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia included students and older dissidents. The result was the end of 41 years of one-party rule in Czechoslovakia, and the subsequent dismantling of the command economy and conversion to a parliamentary republic.

On 17 November 1989 (International Students' Day), riot police suppressed a student demonstration in Prague. The event marked the 50th anniversary of a violently suppressed demonstration against the Nazi storming of Prague University in 1939 where 1,200 students were arrested and 9 killed (see Origin of International Students' Day). The 1989 event sparked a series of demonstrations from 17 November to late December and turned into an anti-communist demonstration. On 20 November, the number of protesters assembled in Prague grew from 200,000 the previous day to an estimated 500,000. The entire top leadership of the Communist Party, including General Secretary Miloš Jakeš, resigned on 24 November. On 27 November, a two-hour general strike involving all citizens of Czechoslovakia was held.

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Student activism in the context of COINTELPRO

COINTELPRO (a syllabic abbreviation derived from Counter Intelligence Program) was a series of covert and illegal projects conducted between 1956 and 1971 by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) aimed at surveilling, infiltrating, discrediting, and disrupting American political parties and organizations that the FBI perceived as subversive.

Groups and individuals targeted by the FBI included feminist organizations, the Communist Party USA, anti-Vietnam War organizers, activists in the civil rights and Black power movements (e.g., Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and the Black Panther Party), Student organizations such as Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), environmentalist and animal rights organizations, the American Indian Movement (AIM), Chicano and Mexican-American groups like the Brown Berets and the United Farm Workers, and independence movements (including Puerto Rican independence groups, such as the Young Lords and the Puerto Rican Socialist Party). Although the program primarily focused on organizations that were part of the broader New Left, they also targeted white supremacist groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan and the National States' Rights Party.

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Student activism in the context of Konkani language agitation

The Konkani language agitations were a series of protests between 1961 and 1987 that advocated for Konkani as the official language. Protests were led by Goans in the former territory of Goa, Daman and Diu. It involved citizen journalism, student activism, and political demonstrations; as Konkani was denied official status, even after it was established that Konkani is not a dialect of Mahratti in 1975.

The civil unrest ceased after Konkani, in the Devnagari script, was granted premier official status and Marathi was declared an associate official language of Goa.

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Student activism in the context of National Progressive Front (Syria)

The National Progressive Front (Arabic: الجبهة الوطنية التقدمية, romanizedal-Jabha al-Waṭaniyyah al-Taqaddumiyyah, NPF) was a Ba'athist Syrian state controlled coalition of left-wing parties that supported the Arab nationalist and Arab socialist orientation of the now defunct Assad regime and accepted the "leading role" of the ruling Syrian Ba'ath party. The coalition was modelled after the popular front system used in the Communist Bloc, through which the Syrian Ba'ath party governed the country while permitting nominal participation of smaller, satellite parties. The NPF was part of the Ba'ath party's efforts to expand its support base and neutralize prospects for any sustainable liberal or left-wing opposition, by instigating splits within independent leftist parties or repressing them. The coalition was officially outlawed by the Syrian transitional government on 29 January 2025 after the collapse of the Ba'athist regime.

The NPF model was created by the Ba'athist system to enforce a highly centralized presidential system. The satellite parties within the NPF had smaller political power and largely functioned as networks for mobilizing loyalty to the government. Student activism and political activities in armed forces were strictly prohibited for non-Ba'athist parties in the NPF, amongst other restrictions.

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Student activism in the context of 1986 Chinese student demonstrations

Student demonstrations took place in a number of Chinese cities from December 1986 until mid-January 1987. The demonstrations started in the city of Hefei before spreading to other cities such as Shanghai and Nanjing. The movement was heavily influenced by the Chinese intellectuals Fang Lizhi and Wang Ruowang, who were critical of the Chinese government's lack of political reforms. The demonstrations quickly dissipated by mid-January before achieving any of its stated goals. The lack of response from Hu Yaobang, who was the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) at the time, would result in his removal from power on January 15, 1987, and his replacement by Zhao Ziyang.

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Student activism in the context of Communist Party of Brazil

The Communist Party of Brazil (Portuguese: Partido Comunista do Brasil, PCdoB) is a political party in Brazil. The PCdoB officially adheres to Marxist–Leninist theory. It has national reach and deep penetration in the trade union and student movements.

PCdoB shares the disputed title of "oldest political party in Brazil" with the Brazilian Communist Party (PCB). The predecessor of both parties was the Brazilian Section of the Communist International, founded on 25 March 1922. The current PCdoB was launched on 18 February 1962, in the aftermath of the Sino-Soviet split, initially having a Maoist guideline, which would later substitute with Hoxhaism in 1978. Outlawed after the 1964 coup d'état, PCdoB supported the armed struggle against the regime before its legalization in 1988. Its most famous action in the period was the Araguaia guerrilla (1966–1974).

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Student activism in the context of Students for a Democratic Society

Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was a national student activist organization in the United States during the 1960s and was one of the principal representations of the New Left. Disdaining permanent leaders, hierarchical relationships and parliamentary procedure, the founders conceived of the organization as a broad exercise in "participatory democracy". From its launch in 1960, it grew rapidly in the course of the tumultuous decade, with over 300 campus chapters and 30,000 supporters recorded nationwide by its last national convention in 1969. The organization splintered at that convention amidst rivalry between factions seeking to impose national leadership and direction, and disputing "revolutionary" positions on, among other issues, the Vietnam War and Black Power.

A new national network for left-wing student organizing, also calling itself Students for a Democratic Society, was founded in 2006.

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