Synopses & Reviews
The founding of the U.S. National Student Association (NSA) in September of 1947 was shaped by the immediate concerns and worldview of the GI Bill Generation of American Students, returning from a world at war to build a world at peace. The more than 90 living authors of this book, all of whom are of that generation, tell about NSA's formation and first five years. The book also provides a prologue reaching back into the 1930s and an epilogue going forward to the sixties and beyond.
After World War II, thanks to the help of the GI Bill, millions of returning veterans more than doubled enrollment in the nation's 1700 colleges and universities. Thousands of young American students joined international clubs on campus, and many traveled abroad to help in post-war reconstruction, and learn about people in other countries. The student leaders who emerged during this period were intent upon dismantling the old ways of paternalism, elitism, discrimination, and segregation. Believing strongly in the nation's founding principles of liberty and justice for all, they brought this vision into their religious, social, and political organizations-and into the halls of student government.
American Students Organizeputs a human face on that pivotal time in American higher education-the time of the Cold War and the Red Scare, of the desegregation of the campus and of social organizations, and, especially, of creative engagement by students in civic and world affairs. In order to tell this important story, the anthology project recruited the book's authors, who, over a period of nine years, researched over 150 college archives, and corresponded with long-lost colleagues around the country. The resulting book covers the transformation of student life, offering a unique social history in a form not to be found elsewhere.
Review
[C]hronicles the founding of this vast and influential movement. Schwartz is a publishing consultant and president of Consortium House. He and more than twenty contributing editors have put together this collection of photographs, newspaper clippings, and articles from ninety former members of the NSA. It presents a powerfully comprehensive history of the organization, from its influences before and during the war to the programs and projects it undertook.ForeWord Magazine
Review
The anthology describes how members of the so-called GI Bill generation promoted academic freedom, social justice, and student self-governance during a pivotal period in academe's history, when millions of war veterans went to college, doubling national enrollments and jolting the collegiate status quo. Told a half-century later, the tale of the nation's oldest and largest student group traces the emergence of a contemporary ideal: the college student as a highly engaged engine of civic action. Part time capsule and part narrative, this whopping compilation weighs in at 1,200 pages and contains the personal accounts of 85 former student leaders. The contributors include six former college presidents and chancellors, as well as more than 20 former deans and professors.The Chronicle of Higher Education
Review
An absolutely indispensable reference work....This is a story book of almost magical dimensions...a lasting contribution to our understanding of the post World War II era, and the history of higher education in that era.Thomas Ehrlich President Emeritus, Indiana University Senior Scholar, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
Synopsis
The first comprehensive social history about the World War II GI Bill generation of student organizations and leaders, this work combines, in one volume, an anthology of memoirs and a sourcebook of archival documentation and of clippings from student newspapers of the time.
Synopsis
The first comprehensive social history about the World War II GI Bill generation of student organizations and leaders, this work combines, in one volume, an anthology of memoirs and a sourcebook of archival documentation and of clippings from student newspapers of the time.
Synopsis
After World War II, thanks to the help of the GI Bill, millions of returning veterans more than doubled enrollment in the nation's 1700 colleges and universities. Thousands of young American students joined international clubs on campus, and many traveled abroad to help in post-war reconstruction, and learn about people in other countries. The student leaders who emerged during this period were intent upon dismantling the old ways of paternalism, elitism, discrimination, and segregation. Believing strongly in the nation's founding principles of "liberty and justice for all," they brought this vision into their religious, social, and political organizations-and into the halls of student government. American Students Organize puts a human face on that pivotal time in American higher education-the time of the Cold War and the "Red Scare," of the desegregation of the campus and of social organizations, and, especially, of creative engagement by students in civic and world affairs. In order to tell this important story, the anthology project recruited the book's authors, who, over a period of nine years, researched over 150 college archives, and corresponded with long-lost colleagues around the country. The resulting book covers the transformation of student life, offering a unique social history in a form not to be found elsewhere.
About the Author
EUGENE G. SCHWARTZ In order to tell this story, the anthology project committee and its editorial director, Eugene G. Schwartz, over a period of nine years, recruited the book's authors, researched over 150 college archives, and corresponded with long-lost colleagues around the country.
Table of Contents
Preface
Foreword
Prologue to NSA: Student Organization Before and During World War II
The Setting for Student Organization
Prewar and Wartime Predecessors
Part 1: The Launching of NSA: Chronology of Events, 1946-1952
London, 1946-46, and Preparations for Prague, 1946
The World Student Congress, Prague, 1946
The Chicago Student Conference, December 1946
The Constitutional Convention, September 1947
NASA's First Year, 1947-48
NASA's Second Year, 1948-49
NASA's Third Year, 1949-50
NASA's Fourth Year, 1950-51
NASA's Fifth Year, 1951-52
Part 2: Domestic Programs: Toward Equal Rights and Opportunities
Student Government, Student Life, and Educational Affairs
NSA's Educational Affairs and Student Life Programs
Student Rights, Discrimination, and Academic Freedom
The South, Civil Rights, and Segregation
The College Press and NSA
Women and NSA
Part 3: International Programs: Searching for Paths to Peace
Developing the International Program
NSA and the Cold War
Reaching Out to the World
Student Aid and Relief Programs
NSA Student Travel and Exchange Programs
Other Student Travel and Exchange Programs
Part 4: Student Voices Influencing NSA
The Veterans
The Protestant and Catholic Student Organizations
The Fraternities and Sororities
The Political Movements
Part 5: NSA'S Regions: Creating Intercollegiate Networks
New England
Metropolitan New York
New York State/New Jersey
Pennsylvania/Mid-Atlantic
The Midwest
The South
The Rocky Mountains and Southwest
California
The Northwest
Part 6: Epilogue: What Happened Later
Moving East, 1952
1953 and Beyond
Appendix
Reference
Index