This post was written by Hatchet reporter Ruby Lee. It’s no secret that GW students are politically active. From privacy protests to presidential inaugurations, students are always engaged in the hot political issues of the day.

This reputation isn’t a recent phenomenon, either: In 1967, campus turned into a hotbed for protests, with sit-ins in Thurston and a station to tend to tear-gassed students. The advocacy efforts became more formalized and centralized in Nov. 1967, when the Student Association granted organization status to the anti-war group GW Students for Mobilization.

As a formal campus organization, The GW Students for Mobilization were given permission to proliferate their pro-peace message across campus and group students for marches and rallies, consolidating the anti-war effort among students.

Student resentments against war persisted decades afterward — as recently as 2009, students were seen taking part in protesting the United States’ invasion in Afghanistan.