Students
and administrators of today may be surprised to
learn that the first universities were in fact founded
by students themselves, who understood that banding
together could protect their interests and 
amplify
their power. According to author Mark Boren, the
early medieval universities were little more than
student guilds or collectives, and they used their
bargaining power to force cities like Paris and
Bologna to grant them tax exemptions, along with
a raft of legal rights and privileges. When townsfolk
tried to gouge them on rent and board, as the Bolognese
did in 1217, the students simply removed their university
from the town, and returned only when city officials
agreed to their demands.
While those of us in the conflict resolution field
like to think of the Fourth R as conflict "Resolution",
the author of this book suggests instead we should
think student "Resistance". In this book,
Mark Boren chronicles more than 500 years of strife
between activists and academia and demonstrates
that students have confronted governments, society
and their own universities for as long as institutions
have existed. From the Middle Ages to the present,
Boren highlights major student rebellions throughout
the world.
While kind of power that students exert has changed
dramatically over the centuries, it looks like students
may continue to make waves if current research is
on track. The February 1 Issue of the Chronicle
of Higher Education reported results from the recent
annual
survey of college freshmen. The survey, given
every fall since 1966, is normally conducted during
freshman orientation and the first week of classes,
and reflects students' attitudes and behaviors in
their last year of high school as well as their
expectations for college. The 2001 report is based
on the responses of 281,064 students at 421 four-year
institutions.
Results show that the 2001 crop of college freshmen
are more left-leaning politically and more likely
to participate in organized demonstrations than
their predecessors. Though 49.5 percent of the freshmen
surveyed considered themselves "middle of the
road" politically, the percentage of students
who said they were "liberal" or "far
left" hit a 20-year high (29.9 percent) --
outnumbering those who said they were "conservative"
or "far right" (20.7 percent). Given the
fact the the survey was conducted before the September
11 attacks, we may have to be somewhat cautious
in interpreting the results. But in any case, students
are feeling feisty.
While there are many books on the student activism
of the 1960's, and a few about the student antiapartheid
movement of the 1980s and current antisweatshop
and antiglobalization agitation on campus, few provide
the breadth (worldwide) and scope of Boren's book. Three
chapters are devoted to the period from the Renaissance
through the
nineteen century; three to the first six decades
of the 20th century; three to the 1960's; and one
each to the 1970's, 1980's, and 1990's.
While the tales of struggle are generally interesting,
in order to cover the kind of ground he sets out
to, Boren falls back often on a no-frills, worldwide
summary of political events in which students were
centrally involved. If you are interested in student
power and group conflict, or are looking for a place
to start some research, you might really appreciate
a concise book of popular history such as this.
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Page
last updated
11/27/2005
A
project of Campus Conflict Resolution
Resources.
Supported by a FIPSE grant from the US Department of Education
and seed money from the Hewlett Foundation-funded CRInfo
project.
Correspondence
to CMHE Report
(Attn: Bill Warters)
Campus Conflict Resolution Resources Project
Department of Communication
585 Manoogian Hall
Wayne State University
Detroit, MI 48201.
Please
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© 2000-2005 William C. Warters & WSU,
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