Student Activism at MSU Archives & Historical Collections : Archival Collections

Office of the President. Walter Adams Papers (UA 2.1.13) 

• Adams’ papers contain administrative subject files, speeches, and correspondence relating to student protests and unrest. 
• Adams was president of Michigan State University in 1969, following the retirement of long-time president John A. Hannah. 
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/78  

Associated Students of Michigan State University Records (UA 12.1.1) 

• Topics of interest include People’s Park, student protests and demonstrations, and Students for a Democratic Society. 
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/164  

Office of the President. Oscar Clute Papers, 1889-1893 (UA 2.1.5) 

• The Clute papers primarily consists of correspondence. 
• Clute was president of Michigan Agricultural College (now Michigan State University) from 1889 to 1893.  The college faced numerous crises from within as well as without during that time, including student unrest, large scale faculty turnover, and the populist revolt. 
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1976  

College of Arts and Letters Records (UA 15.9) 

• This collection includes information on Communist speakers on campus in 1966. 
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/64  

College of Human Medicine Records (UA 15.13) 

• Included in the collection is one folder about the 1970 student strike. 
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/87  

Department of Anthropology Records (UA 16.13) 

• Included in this collection is one folder about the 1970 student strike. 
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/389  

Lana Dart Papers (UA 17.263) 

• This collection includes newspaper clippings about the Paul Schiff case and Committee for Student Rights (1965), flyers for student protests (2009), and a working paper, “Black Activism Reappraised: Tactics and Strategies” (circa 1970). 
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/644  

Faculty Student Affairs Committee Records (UA 14.3.1.13) 

• Materials relating to the “Schiff Case” are contained in this collection.  Paul Schiff, leader of the Committee for Student Rights, was expelled from MSU in 1965. 
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/3078  

Fraser Family Letters (UA 10.3.441) 

• The collection consists of photocopies of letters written by William Fraser, Eugene Law and Fred E. Miller to John C. Fraser, his wife Mrs. Eliza M. Fraser or John Fraser (father of William and John C.) The letters describe their life at Michigan Agricultural College (now MSU), including descriptions of the student protests against Professor Samuel Johnson. 
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1710  

Grapevine Journal Records (UA 12.7.3) 

• This collection includes subject files on African American student activism in the 1970s. 
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/204  

Robert L. Green Papers (UA 17.20) 

• This collection consists of publications Green authored while a faculty member at the University. These items center for the most part on minority students in college, their admission and various programs utilized by them. Also included is the speech "The University and Society," centering around the unrest in higher education during and around the 1970s and what is to be done about it at a land grant college like Michigan State University. 
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1907  

Thomas H. Greer Papers (UA 17.21) 

• Included in this collection are materials relating to the student and faculty response to the Vietnam War, including newspaper clippings, speeches, and planning materials for the April 1965 Teach In at MSU. 
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/698  

Ruth Simms Hamilton Papers (UA 17.269) 

• The Ruth Simms Hamilton papers consist of subject files and research materials on African American issues, including civil rights and affirmative action at MSU and other universities.  The collection includes case studies of MSU conflicts and protests, newspaper clippings, files about other countries, files about university programs, and papers written by Hamilton and others. Also included are files about MSU student organizations which include Akers Black Caucus, Associated Black Students of Sociology, Black Brothers of Emmons, Black Brothers of Shaw, Black Liberation Front, Black Caucus, Black Med Students, Black Pre-Med (WAGANGA), Black Sisters of Rather, Black Student Alliance, Black Students of Engineering, Black United Front, Coalition of Black Athletes, Minority Pre Law, Pan African Students Organization of the Americas, United Blacks of Wonders Hall, and Office of Black Affairs.   
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/834  

Office of the President. John A. Hannah Papers (UA 2.1.12) 

• Of particular interest are subject files related to ROTC incidents, student demonstrations and riots, protests and demonstrations, Students for a Democratic Society, Paul Schiff, James Zarichny, and the MSU Vietnam Project. 
• Hannah was president from Michigan State (1941-1969) during a time of extensive growth of the University, in both physical size and enrollment.  
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/15  

Clarence H. Judson Papers (UA 10.3.126) 

• The correspondence in this collection describes the class strike of 1886. 
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/517  

Kamuyu-wa-Kang'ethe Papers (UA 10.3.112) 

• Kamuyu-wa-Kang'ethe was an international graduate student from Africa at Michigan State University studying anthropology. He refused his master's degree and instead of writing a Masters of Arts thesis, wrote a thesis of protest.  It decries western education, anthropology, and demands acceptance of African institutions as equal to European. 
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/383  

Madison Kuhn Collection (UA 17.107) 

• Kuhn’s collection includes information on the Samuel Johnson case, the Class Strike of 1902, the Paul Schiff case, and James Zarichny’s alleged involvement with the Communist Party. 
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/152  

Lansing Magazine Publication, 1979 (UA 28.11) 

• This issue of Lansing Magazine includes an article on Michigan Agricultural College student unrest on the night of February 22, 1911. 
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1584  

Media Communication Records (UA 8.1.1) 

• The subject files include student protest activities for the years 1968-1971, the Central Intelligence Agency controversy in the 1970s, the May 1989 black student occupation of the Hannah Administration building.   
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/102  

Michigan State University Student Strike Files, 1970 (UA 26.1) 

• The records consist of materials related to student demonstrations and strikes in 1970.  Materials include news clippings, copies of student flyers, and press releases.  There are also notes of damage to buildings, class attendance, and a timeline of events. 
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/2011  

Office of the Ombudsperson Records (UA 2.13) 

• In this collection are newspaper clippings about the 1989 student sit-in of the Hannah Administration Building. 
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/484  

Office of the President. Robert S. Shaw Papers (UA 2.1.11) 

• This collection includes papers regarding the Social Problems Club, and the ill-fated 1935 Peace Rally. 
• Shaw was the eleventh president of Michigan State, serving from 1928 to 1941. 
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/205  

Special Senate Committee to Investigate Colleges and Universities Report, 1970. (c.00483) 

• This is the final report of a special Michigan Senate committee that dealt with campus unrest in Michigan. 
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1617  

Sports Information Records (UA 8.1.3) 

• The collection includes records related to the African American athletes’ boycott in 1968, and a player strike in 1975. 
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/431  

Forrest W. Starrett Papers (UA 10.3.77) 

• The collection includes copies of newspaper clippings related to a student riot after a baseball game between M.A.C. and the University of Michigan, circa 1925. 
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/1789  

State News Records (UA 12.7.2) 

• The State News records include photographs of student demonstrations and riots. 
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/107  

Don Stevens Papers (UA 1.1.2) 

• Student activism subjects in this collection include Vietnam War, Civil Rights, ROTC, and MSU’s Vietnam Project. 
• Don Stevens was a member of the MSU Board of Trustees from 1958 to 1978.  He was active on local, state, and national levels in the areas of education, religion, youth, employment, civil rights, and labor and industrial relations. 
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/72  

 Vice President for Student Affairs. Student Protest Files (UA 7.0) 

• The records document the activities of a number of protest groups and organizations.  MSU Students for a Democratic Society, the most prominent protest organization on campus, was active in virtually every area of protest.  Newspaper articles concerning their actions and SDS literature are prevalent throughout the protest files.  Also included is coverage of the SDS national convention which was held at MSU in 1968.  The Committee for Student Rights, another protest group, concerned itself solely with student rights.  Organizations such as the Black Liberation Front and the Black Students Alliance surface in civil rights material mainly concerning racial incidents in residence halls.  Also included in the civil right protests are groups protesting the Chicago Conspiracy trial in 1970.  Other groups include the Committee to Abolish ROTC, United Students, and the Student Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam. Publications include protest newspapers such as the “National Guardian, “The Student Mobilizer,” “Logos,” “Swill & Squeal,” and “State News” articles which cover the major events on campus during this period. 
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/716  

Vice President for University Relations Records (UA 8) 

• The Subject Files (boxes 3039-3040) include information about student demonstrations, campus unrest, and activism.  Specific topics include civil rights, Vietnam War, ROTC, James Zarichny, and Paul Schiff.  The “Special Senate Committee to Investigate Colleges and Universities Report to the Michigan Senate” (a.k.a. the Hubert Report on Campus Unrest) from August 1970 may also be of interest to researchers. 
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/274  

Wesley R. Fishel Papers (UA 17.95) 

• Included in this collection is the “Ramparts” magazine article, “University on the Make,” which alleges CIA involvement in MSU’s Vietnam Project.  There are also files on student protests. 
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/238  

Office of the President. Clifton R. Wharton, Jr. Papers (UA 2.1.14) 

• Of note are subject files related to Demonstrations, and his speech on “Campus Violence and the Indochina War.” 
• Wharton was president of MSU from 1970 to 1978.  His term of office was often a turbulent one, featuring student demonstrations focusing on the war in Vietnam and Civil Rights. 
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/52  

William A. Wiltberger Papers (UA 17.283) 

• William Wiltberger was a visiting lecturer in criminal justice at Michigan State University in the later 1950s.  His collection includes a file of research materials titled “Articles on Student Protests, “Dissent,” and “Subversion”” from 1968 through 1970. 
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/705  

James Zarichny Collection, 1949 (UA 10.3.284) 

• The collection consists of the document "The Case Against James Zarichny." James Zarichny attended Michigan State College (now Michigan State University) and was placed on disciplinary probation for being involved in the American Youth for Democracy organization. The AYD had applied to be a recognized student organization but was denied. The members of the organization continued to meet for which they were placed on disciplinary probation when this was discovered by the college. Zarichiny was one of the members and as punishment was not allowed to be involved in extra-curricular activities as a student. Later he was found to be in contempt of his probation because he continued to be involved in extra-curricular organizations. One of the organizations was a Communist organization which the college objected to, not because of political party affiliation, but because of Zarichny's involvement in extra-curricular activities. Zarichny contested the decision based on grounds that his civil rights had been violated. The document in the collection outlines the details of the case. 
• Finding aid to the collection: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/2/resources/2490