Anti-war demonstrations hit schools

1969

Student protests

As in the rest of the country, civil unrest took a toll on the Riverdale/Kingsbridge area. Student protests over a number of issues, including the Vietnam War and social and racial inequalities, were reported at both John F. Kennedy and DeWitt Clinton high schools, leading to a number of arrests.

Near the Bronx High School of Science and Walton High School, police responded to reports of students seen wielding bats and throwing rocks. The trouble began six weeks earlier, after students saw a play that discussed the ongoing social upheaval from the perspective of whites, blacks, and Puerto Ricans, according to The Press.

Students submitted a list of demands to Walter Degnan, then the principal at DeWitt, requesting, among other things, no more censorship of the school newspaper; that all classes be open to parental observation; and the freedom to distribute any literature in the building.

A month later, several Manhattan College students chose a non-violent protest to communicate their demands to the administration of the college. The students asked for the school to provide financial aid opportunities to people from poorer backgrounds to help the school better reflect the ethnic composition of the city. They also protested the government’s recruitment techniques for the ROTC program on campus. Students suggested to the administration that military, governmental or industrial recruiters conduct recruitment only in areas designated by the school.