A Report on the Status, Cause, and Future of Student Unrest on American College and University Campuses.

This study describes an effort to determine faculty, student and administrator opinions regarding the status, causes and consequences of student unrest in senior colleges and universities throughout the country. Questionnaires were sent to a student, faculty member and administrator at each of 612 accredited, four-year institutions selected at random. Completed questionnaires were received from 983 persons or 53.6%. The findings showed that student unrest has manifested itself on the majority of campuses during the past 5 years, but less than 5% of faculty and students participated in activities related to unrest. Student unrest tended to be expressed through legal and generally accepted protest activities. Administrators rarely ignored the protests and tended to engage in dialogue with the students. Relatively few resorted to the use of force. On most campuses, the situations that led to unrest no longer exist or are less severe. The lack of communication, especially between students and administrators, was most frequently cited as a cause for unrest, but lack of opportunity for student participation in policy formation also contributed significantly, as did objection to the principle of in loco parentis. Expectations are that student unrest will continue, that the amount and scope of demands as well as resistance to them will increase, but that many of the present demands will be met. (AF)