May 1935
State University of New York (SUNY)
I am a student at the State University of New York (SUNY). I am a senior studying to become a teacher one day. I would like to speak about my experience as a college student during the 1930s. When I first came to college I was an optimist. I wanted to earn a degree that would help me get a meaningful job after graduation. My family was very happy to see me go to college. I am from a long line of
college graduates. My family is upper to middle class people. My father used to run his own business and my mother did not have to work. College life started off great for me. Although it was two years into the Great Depression my family and peers had not been too affected yet. I had so much fun going to football games and even joined a sorority.
However, this year things began to change. Over the summer my father lost his job and my parents have been struggling to make ends meet. I now pay for a large sum of my tuition which is very difficult. When I came back to school after the summer it seemed liked so many of my peers were having financial struggles. The crash was starting to really affected us. To make matters worse the University had to cut financial aid and scholarship funds more than in half. It seemed liked everything on campus was being cut. Some of the sororities and fraternities on campus had to close due to lack of funds. The university administration did little to help students. However, professors were very supportive. One of my history professors Mr. Thomas spent most of our class time discussing how we were feeling about the current economic situation. He would listen to our complaints and help us understand what was going on. Everyone loved his class because it was nice to have a place to vent about what was going on. Students really needed a space to talk about their problems.
It was my involvement in greek life that got me involved in the radical movement at SUNY. One of my greek brothers was an editor for the student newspaper The Student. This was a student lead newspaper. The students who started this newspaper did not like being censored by faculty advisors. The newspaper covered topics that students wanted to write and read about. My greek brother was covering a rally organized by the Student League for Industrial Democracy (SLID) and the Young Peoples Socialist League. He asked me to tag along and help him report on the event. The rally was amazing. Nearly 200 students from New York Universities attended. They were protesting college ROTC programs. I was struck by all the student speakers. Like me they were frustrated with how the Great Depression was effecting their lives. And they did not like how the government and high education institutions were handling the crash. What was even more exciting to me was that the SLID was actually doing something about it. They were taking action steps to create change. Their determination and vision for a better world persuaded me join the movement.
I continued to help my school’s chapter of the SLID organize anti- ROTC demonstrations. Many students were expelled for participating. The President of our school referred to us as guttersnipes, and soon many students were sporting buttons that said, “l am a Guttersnipe.” My family was also concerned about my involvement. My father especially feared that to have a daughter who was known to be a radical would endanger his job. He made me promise not to do anything that would get me into trouble.
I was lucky to be apart of the radical student movement during 1934 and 1935. During this year the Student Strike Against War was organized. This campaign consumed our lives. We spent hours organizing and contacting student groups across the country. The first strike was small but in 1935 many students across the nation participated. The success of this campaign brought together the SLID and communist-led National Student League, to form the American Student Union (ASU) to unify the anti-war struggle.
As I get ready to graduate I am grateful that I have found the radical student movement. I plan to continue my involvement with the movement when I graduate. Right now this movement makes sense. Our country is crumbling. However, I have learned that students can make a difference.
Monologue adapted from SLID Autobiographies: http://newdeal.feri.org/students/autobios.htm
Youth Visioning: Then and Now 