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Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, colleges and universities have seen heightened tensions on campus as student protesters demand change from their administrators.
Antiwar protests on college campuses are not a new phenomenon, as many institutions saw similar unrest during the 1960s and 1970s during the Vietnam War. The University of South Carolina was one such institution, which saw a general unrest among its student body amid racial tensions, the antiwar movement and other institutional grievances, which came to a head in May 1970.
USC officials took an unconventional approach to mitigate student frustrations, which included implementing a comprehensive University 101 course to infuse feelings of belonging among participants. The initiative was largely successful, and the university experienced no student riots for another 50 years.
In this episode, host Ashley Mowreader speaks with John Gardner, one of the professors who helped create the first-year seminar at USC and founder of the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education, to reflect on past protests and share the importance of belonging in the first-year experience.
Listen to the episode here and learn more about The Key here.
