Today Cornell plays Wisconsin in the NCAA tournament. Cornell, though an Ivy League school, is quite good. But the similarities in the match-up are actually more socio-political than sporting.
Cornell was founded late (meaning 1860s') for an Ivy. Its founder, the Simpsons-sounding Ezra Cornell, was of course anti-slavery, and pro-womens rights (it was to be the first Ivy to admit women).
My aunt and uncle live up there, near Lake Cayuga, and I've been for a visit. Very much like Madison or Ann Arbor. A little San Francisco in the hills. Crystal shops, new age stores, and all manner of whole earth/natural food co-ops.
But few blacks live there, and that contributed to one of the most notorious incidents of the 1960s.'
Black students decided to take over the student union. A largely while fraternity tried to rush the building and kick them out. Needless to say, they had their butts kicked.
Fearing a further attack, the black students armed themselves, then demanded concessions from the university (ie a black studies department, their own on-campus "house.") The administration caved, and there is that famous photo of black students leaving the building with rifles and bandoleers across their chests.
At Madison, black students had already called for a strike that Winter, in which mostly white students were supposed to block people from going into buildings at all. The National Guard was called, complete with helmets, rifles, and bayonets. The strike eventually ended.
But this is ancient history for the NCAA. Go Badgers, eh?
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1 comment:
Yes, thank you.
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