Essays : A Campus Divided

Learn about the global, national, and local political and social issues and movements that shaped University of Minnesota students’ lives in the 1930s.

Student Activism in the Context of the 1930s

Learn about the decade-long effort to keep student housing racially segregated by University administrators, and how activists defeated them.

Segregated Student Housing and the Activists Who Defeated It

Learn about the ways that Jewish students were marginalized at the University, and singled out for political surveillance.

Antisemitism at the University of Minnesota

Learn about the relationship between the Dean of Students and a Republican Party operative to spy on students and circulate this information for political ends

Political Surveillance of the University

Learn about the issues that student activists fought for, and the efforts to suppress them.

Student Movements on Campus

Learn about the 1938 fight over the appointment of regents.

Regent George Leonard and the Political Fight Over Selecting Regents

Learn about the remarkable lives led by these student activists after they left college.

Student Activists’ Lifelong Commitment to Service and Justice

Learn about how historical memory was raised by the exhibit, the press coverage, and the activism that followed on campus to rename its buildings.

How the History of the University of Minnesota is Remembered

Learn about the websites that address the history of slavery on United States’ campuses, as well as student activism.

Websites on Racism in Higher Education