On Monday, May 11, 1970, 73% of the student body turned out to vote on the Strike and the nine demands. Follow the thread below for flyers posted around Grounds against and in favor of the strike, the referendum results, and other events of the day. #maystrikeincontext#1970UVA
The @cavalierdaily published a list of polling places on Grounds:
The referendum drew an unprecedented 73% turnout.
68% of voters approved the chief provision backing the Strike. The results, via May Days: Crisis in Conflict:
—"In what was considered an upset, six of the demands won approval and Rugby Road-Mad Lane precinct ballots were cast by a margin of 20-1 in favor of striking."
Three demands failed to win endorsement—severance of all connection between the University and ROTC, the JAG School, and the Dept of Defense via research grants.
Only 964 supported the University's exclusion of women on the basis of sex in recruitment and admission. UVA would go co-education the follow Fall semester, 1970.
(photos from search.lib.virginia.edu/catalog/u40384…)
Over 4,500 supported a commitment by UVA to set 20% as a goal for the enrollment of black students throughout the University, a goal still not yet achieved today.
(photos from search.lib.virginia.edu/catalog/u40384…)
That night, 2000 rallied on the Lawn; a rock band played, and the dean of the College announced three academic options for students participating in the strike, responding to the educational reforms advocated by the Strike Committee:
1. Postpone the final exam until no later than October 16 2. Take the May 1 grade as the final grade 3. Submit alternative work in lieu of the final exam, subject to agreement between student and instructor
It has been a week! Tomorrow, we'll wind down our commemoration of the 1970 May Strike. We welcome your questions, reflections, and contributions.
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This #Pride Month, we recognize the voices and contributions from our past starting with Julian (Hartridge) Green, the earliest known member of the LGBTQ+ community here at UVA. Green came from Paris as a first-year student in the College in 1919, after serving in World War I.
A prolific journal writer, Green began to note his attraction to men while at UVA. After two years as a student, and a year as an assistant professor of French, he returned to Paris in spring 1922.
Apart from 14 volumes of published journals, he also wrote 10 novels and a “frank” four volume autobiography.
Julian and his sister Anne, MSS 9188-f
"Diary," PQ2613 .R3 Z533 1964
Roll out your best news anchor voice and zoom back to June, 1966 in Roanoke, VA: "Preliminary runs for the Roanoke Soap Box Derby took place tonight and will continue tomorrow at the Roanoke Drag strip." #ArchivesOnWheels
"Some 15 entrants put their home constructed races through their paces tonight some of them reaching speeds of up to 31 miles and hour."
"The preliminary runs will continue tomorrow morning for the main event which is schedueld for July 16th. The winner will get a trip to Arkon, Ohio where the finals of the US Soap Box Derby is held each year."
Fifty years ago, the May Strike protests erupted at @UVA: student activism & anti-war protests intertwined with the civil rights, women’s rights, & other progressive movements #maystrikeincontext#1970UVA
As we prepare our forthcoming exhibition and mark the fiftieth anniversary of the May Strike, over the next four weeks we will "live” tweet the events as they unfolded in 1970, day by day (sometimes hour by hour).
#OTD on April 21, 1970, the UVA chapter of the Southern Student Organizing Committee (SSOC) announced the start of The Ten Days …