The University of Massachusetts Amherst
Robert S. Cox Special Collections & University Archives Research Center
CredoResearch digital collections in Credo

Radical Student Union (RSU)

Radical Student Union Records

1905-2006 Bulk: 1978-2005
22 boxes 14.5 linear feet
Call no.: RG 045/80 R1

Founded by Charles Bagli in 1976, the Revolutionary Student Brigade at UMass Amherst (later the Radical Student Union) has been a focal point for organization by politically radical students. RSU members have responded to issues of social justice, addressing both local, regional, and national concerns ranging from militarism to the environment, racism and sexism to globalization.

The RSU records document the history of a particularly long-lived organization of left-leaning student activists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Beginning in the mid-1970s, as students were searching for ways to build upon the legacy of the previous decade, the RSU has been a constant presence on campus, weathering the Reagan years, tough budgetary times, and dramatic changes in the political culture at the national and state levels. The RSU reached its peak during the 1980s with protests against American involvement in Central America, CIA recruitment on campus, American support for the Apartheid regime in South Africa, and government-funded weapons research, but in later years, the organization has continued to adapt, organizing against globalization, sweatshops, the Iraq War, and a host of other issues.

Historical Note

The Radical Student Union (RSU) first appeared at UMass Amherst in 1976 as the Revolutionary Student Brigade (RSB). Founded by Charles Bagli, a Boston University graduate who had moved to Amherst to capitalize on the political momentum on campus, the RSB emerged out of a 1969 schism within the Students for a Democratic Society that produced The Revolutionary Youth Movement 1 (later to become the Weather Underground) and The Revolutionary Youth Movement 2. This latter organization, comprised of Communists and Socialists of various ideological persuasions, quickly divided and regrouped, leading to the creation of several groups including the Revolutionary Union in 1971, which set up a youth wing in 1972 called the Attica Brigade, which itself split off and formed its own organization in 1975, the Revolutionary Student Brigade.

The UMass Amherst Chapter of the RSB began slowly, with Bagli and other activists distributing material in the Campus Center during the 1975-76 school year. By the spring of 1976, the organization achieved official recognition as a student organization, with the mission of promoting the struggles and consciousness of students through the concrete application of Marxism-Leninism-Mao-Tsetung thought. Taking an office on the second floor of the Student Union building, they began to receive funding from the Student Government Association and a developed a core group of students.

The next thirty years of RSU history can be divided roughly into three phases: the founding and early development of the organization; the robust years of the mid- to late-1980s; and the slow waning of the organization since. Across this time, several principles of the group have remained constant. First, the RSU has always intended to be a multi-issue group whose focus is determined by its membership. Second, the RSU is committed to working with other groups on campus and in the community. Third, the RSU has consistently examined the actions of UMass in a global context, trying to ensure that the University acts in a socially responsible way. Fourth, no member has to subscribe to any particular ideology to be involved. These principles, however, have typically been coupled with other, seemingly contradictory factors. From the beginning, the RSU membership has been drawn primarily from white and middle to upper class students, while few of the people of color who have joined the group stayed active for long. The group has faced similar difficulties in developing women in leadership roles, even though the membership has been roughly balanced between men and women.

By 1980, the RSB had achieved a degree of stability on campus and a relatively high visibility. When the Revolutionary Student Brigade officially joined the Revolutionary Communist Party (changing its name to the Revolutionary Communist Youth Brigade), the UMass chapter was one of several that struck off on its own, adopting the name Radical Student Union. Despite this break with the national leadership, the RSU maintained some aspects of the earlier party-based organization, continuing to distribute revolutionary readings at meetings for future discussion, and having a secret collective into which only some members of the broader group were invited and which only a few even knew about. On its won, the RSU gradually evolved into a less doctrinaire organization, shedding the secret collective and affiliating with a variety of organizations. From 1981-1987, for example, the RSU joined the Progressive Student Network, a loosely linked coalition of campus-based student groups that sought to share resources and ideas and lend assistance when needed. They have subsequently worked with groups ranging from the American Friends Service Committee to the Students Coalition Against Nukes Nation Wide, United Students Against Sweatshops, Palestinian Action Coalition, the Five College Peace Network, and People for a Socially Responsible University.

On campus, the RSB and RSU worked on a long succession of issues. Among its mobilizations, the RSB organized protests around the 1978 death of Seta Rampersand, a black UMass student who was murdered in South Deerfield and whose death was never properly investigated. They were also active in protesting the decision at Kent State University to build a gymnasium on the site where four Kent State students were gunned down by National Guardsmen during an anti-war protest in 1970, organizing buses to take protestors to Kent State.

Among the most consistent threads in RSU activism has been a steadfast opposition to militarism and imperialism. Opposition to reinstatement of the military draft became a focus of concern after the return of Selective Service registration in the mid-1970s, and organizing around the issue of draft reinstatement has returned repeatedly, most recently in 2005, when a shortage of volunteers and wars on two fronts made it seem as if a new draft was imminent. Similarly, the RSU was deeply concerned with the realities of nuclear proliferation during the Reagan years. The Three Mile Island incident in 1979 highlighted the problems of nuclear power and the bellicosity of the Reagan administration led the RSB to join with national and local groups and organize around these issues through at least the early 1990s.

During the Reagan years, the RSU was active in opposition to American “imperial” expansion, and particularly to intervention in Central America, support for the Apartheid regime in South Africa, and the militarization of research on campus. In a series of demonstrations and marches, both locally and in Washington, D.C., RSU members protested the government’s funding and training of death squads in Central America, the efforts of the Central Intelligence Agency to recruit on campus, and the use of Department of Defense funds in weapons research on campus. These protests came to a head with two major waves of sit-ins. In 1987, a group of students and community members occupied Memorial Hall, leading to sixty arrests, including Abbie Hoffman and former president Carters daughter, Amy. All were eventually acquitted. Two years later, students sat in at some of the labs in the Graduate Research Center where Defense Department research was taking place, and then moved to Memorial Hall, the chancellors office, and back to the Graduate Research Center. Organizing against apartheid, the RSU lobbied for UMass to divest from corporations based in and operating in South Africa. The April 1st Coalition took over the office of the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs for four days and three nights ending the sit-in only when the university agreed to form a commission to study divestment. Off campus, RSU members have periodically sought to form coalitions with organized labor. In their first labor solidarity campaign in 1980, the RSU joined in support of a strike by nursing home workers at the Amherst Nursing Home.

After the high level of activity in the 1980s, the RSU has experienced a considerable drop off. Members joined in demonstrations against the Persian Gulf War in August 1990, including the protests at Westover Air Force Base, and they worked in solidarity to help win University recognition of the Graduate Employee Organization (GEO), and to convince UMass in 2000 to sign onto the Workers Rights Consortium, opposing the sale of sweatshop-produced apparel in the University Store. Efforts in the early 2000s to revive the organization met with mixed success, with some sustained protests against state budget cuts to education (the Save UMass campaign), against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and on issues surrounding globalization. Members took part in protests against the Free Trade Area of the Americas in Québec in 2001 and Miami 2003, the latter notorious for violence. Following a campaign against labor and environmental abuses by the Coca Cola Corporation, the RSU almost disappeared, but was kept alive by several students until the fa
ll of 2006.

The Revolutionary Student Brigade/Radical Student Union has managed to do something that few left-wing groups have: it has survived in more or less the same form it started with the same key principles and in the same physical space. Campus-based groups face difficulty in maintaining continuity as they lose members to graduation or the press of other concerns. The Radical Student Union remained active as of the 2006-2007 academic year, organizing several Critical Mass bike rides, protesting the honorary degree presented to Andrew Card, a senior official in the Bush White House, and attending the protests at the Bio International Convention.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The records of the Radical Student Union and its predecessor, The Radical Student Brigade, document the history of a particularly long-lived organization of left-leaning student activists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Beginning in the mid-1970s, as students were searching for ways to build upon the legacy of the previous decade, the RSU has been a constant presence on campus, weathering the Reagan years, tough budgetary times, and dramatic changes in the political culture at the national and state levels. The RSU reached its peak during the 1980s with protests against American involvement in Central America, CIA recruitment on campus, American support for the Apartheid regime in South Africa, and government-funded weapons research, but in later years, the organization has continued to adapt, organizing against globalization, sweatshops, the Iraq War, and a host of other issues.

In addition to the administrative and financial records of the RSU, the collection includes an extensive set of topical files that reflect the evolving interests of the organization and its ties to other, related organizations in the region. Also noteworthy are a handful of banners, some quite large, displayed by RSU members during demonstrations.


Information on Use
Terms of Access and Use
Restrictions on access:

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Cite as: Radical Student Union Records (RG45/80 R1). Special Collections and University Archives, W.E.B. Du Bois Library, University of Massachusetts Amherst.

History of the Collection

Gift of the RSU and Emma Lang, 2006 and before.

Processing Information

Processed by Emma Lang, 2006-2007.


Additional Information

Language
English.

Bibliography

Viscio, Randy Louis, Under the Bridge: Notes from a Me Generation Dropout. Cowpasture Productions: Lawrence, Mass., 1993
Turner, Terisa and Timothy Belknap, Takeover! Students U.S.A. Mobilize for the ’90’s: Documents from the Movement. International Oil Working Group: Amherst, 1989


Series Descriptions

1976-2005
2 linear feet

Series 1 contains two sub-series. First, the administrative sub-series contains internal records kept by the RSU to document its activities, including leaflets advertising RSU meetings from 1980 through 2001, a student booklet created in 2004 entitled “A History analysis and How To,” documents pertaining to the status of the RSU within the University, contact sheets and directories for members and the press, meeting notes and agendas, and documents relating to procedures and lists of office duties. The sub-series also contains a few newspaper clippings about the RSU, articles written by members for publication, catalogues for materials and speakers, song sheets, stationary prototypes, and folders used in the original filing process that are of interest.

The RSU’s financial records consist primarily of reports submitted to the Student Government Association to account for expenditures, and materials used in grant writing. Both sub-series are filed alphabetically for folder title.

1966-2005
5.5 linear feet

The members of the RSU maintained an extensive topical file in their office in the Campus Center. These files were used in several ways by members: as resources for teaching and learning about specific issues (e.g., South Africa), for designing flyers, or for developing learning skills; as documentation of events planned by the RSU or in which they took part; and as information about organizations with whom the RSU coordinated efforts (e.g., American Friends Service Committee). Occasionally, the RSU brought together materials from disparate sources relating to topics of particular interest. Under Womens Issues, for example, they filed materials on Abortion, Leadership, Pornography, and Violence against Women. In most cases, however, the topics are less systematically treated, and it may be necessary to delve deeply to locate all relevant information. A few items dating from prior to the founding of the RSB probably came either from Charles Bagli, the founder of RSU, from other early members, or were inherited from earlier groups on campus. Some materials appear to have come from the Revolutionary Communist Youth Brigade and the Communist Youth Brigade, both of which were active on campus at the same time.

The series includes newspaper clippings, flyers, published materials, song sheets, correspondence, and notes. Photographs have been removed to the Audio Visual Series and banners have been removed to the Textiles Series.

1981-2000
0.5 linear feet

This small series contains materials published by the RSU or its members on the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus. The five publications are essentially irregularly-issued periodicals (some with missing issues), with the longest running publication, Critical Times, housed separately. All of these publications focus on social justice issues.

1971-1985
0.5 linear feet

The Revolutionary Student Brigade/Radical Student Union kept a term paper library for use by its members in preparing for work in school and in their activism. The papers, some of which pre-date the founding of RSB, are organized by general subject area.

1905-1982
1.5 linear feet

The Printed Materials series contains 156 booklets, books, and single printed sheets covering a wide range of topics, particularly Communism, the Middle East conflict, and Labor. Of particular interest are the materials regarding the protests against the busing of school children in Boston, and a booklet from 1978 about the 1974 death of Karen Silkwood. A few additional monographs are included in Series 2: Subject Files.

1985-2006
4.5 linear feet

The Textiles consist of sixteen banners and armbands displayed by the RSU during their actions relating to apartheid, labor issues, globalization, and opposition to war and imperialism. The majority of the banners are not dated, and three have yet to be identified as to subject. Almost all are made out of cotton with paint or marker used to create an image, and they vary in size from the size of an ar
mband to approximately ten feet square.

Contents List

Series 1: Administrative and Financial
1976-2005
2 linear feet
Administrative
1976-2005
Agendas
Undated
Box 1:1
Articles for publication
Ca.1983
Box 1:2

Includes drafts for Disinformation Pamphlets

Articles to Collegian
1978-1982
Box 1:3
BOG Space Allocation etc.
1983-1986
Box 1:4
Catalogues 1
1983-1988
Box 1:5
Catalogues 2
1988-1998
Box 1:6
Catalogues: Speak Out!
1995-1997
Box 1:7
Constitution
1980-2005
Box 1:8

See also: Box 2 Folder 7: SGA Materials on the RSU

Directories
1989
Box 1:9
Folders of Interest
Ca.1991
Box 1:10
Key
1987
Box 1:11
A History, Analysis and How To
2004
Box 1:12

Written by a member of the RSU about the RSU

Leaflets
1980-1981
Box 1:13
Administrative Leaflets
1981-1982
Box 1:14
Leaflets
1982-1983
Box 1:15
Leaflets
1983-1984
Box 1:16

Includes news clippings

Leaflets
1984-1985
Box 1:17

Includes news clippings and a letter

Leaflets
1985-1986
Box 1:18

Includes news clippings

Leaflets
1987-1988
Box 1:19
Leaflets
1995-1999
Box 1:20

Includes a page of a calendar

Leaflets
199?-2001
Box 1:21

Includes news clippings

Leaflets
2000-2001
Box 1:22
Large Meeting Fall 1998
1998
Box 1:23

Originally in a two inch blue binder

Meetings, Agendas, Work lists
Ca. 1984
Box 1:24
Meeting Notes and Contact Lists
2002-2003
Box 1:25
News clips
1978-1979
Box 1:26
Office Duties
1998
Box 1:27
Press Contacts
Undated
Box 1:28
Press/Media
1994-2001
Box 2:1
Process
1986
Box 2:2
Research and Meeting Notes
1976
Box 2:3
Registered Student Organization (RSO) Registration
Undated
Box 2:4
Registered Student Organization (RSO)/ Student Activities Trust Fund (SATF)
1985-1986
Box 2:5
Sign Sheets
Undated
Box 2:6
SGA Materials on the RSU
1979-2005
Box 2:7
Song Sheets
1983, Undated
Box 2:8
Stationary
Undated
Box 2:9
Subscription Information
1993-1994 Undated
Box 2:10
Trust Fund Interest, UMass Students vs. Trustees
Undated
Box 2:11
University System
Undated
Box 2:12
Financial
1981-2001
Finances 1981
1981
Box 2:13
Finances 1982
1982
Box 2:14
Finances 1983
1983
Box 2:15
Finances 1984
1984
Box 3:1
Finances 1985
1985
Box 3:2
Finances 1986
1986
Box 3:3
Finances 1987
1987
Box 3:4
Finances 1988
1988
Box 3:5
Finances 1989
1989
Box 3:6
Finances FY 1990
1990
Box 3:7
Finances FY 1991 I
1991
Box 3:8
Finances FY 1991 II
1991
Box 4:1
Finances FY 1992
1992
Box 4:2
Finances FY 1993
1993
Box 4:3
Finances FY 1994 I
1994
Box 4:4
Finances FY 1994 II
1994
Box 4:5
Finances FY 1995
1995
Box 4:6
Finances FY 1996
1996
Box 4:7
Finances FY 1997
1997
Box 4:8
Finances FY 1998
1998
Box 4:9
Finances FY 1999
1999
Box 4:10
Finances FY 2000
2000
Box 4:11
Finances FY 2001
2001
Box 4:12
Financial, General
1994-2003
Box 4:13
Funding Requests
1988
Box 4:14
Grant Writing
1981-1988, undated
Box 4:15
Grants
Undated
Box 4:16

Series 2: Subject Files
1966-2005
The 1960s
1988
Box 5:1
Accuracy in Academia
1982-1985
Box 5:2
Activism
1982-1985
Box 5:3
AIDS
1983-2001
Box 5:4
Affirmative Action
1978-1979
Box 5:5

Primarily Bakke decision

Afghanistan
1978-undated
Box 5:6
Africa 1
1974-1981
Box 5:7

See also: South Africa

Africa 2
1965-1979
Box 5:8

See also: South Africa

Africa 3
1969-1979
Box 5:9

Booklets

Albania
1992-1999
Box 5:10
Alliance for Student Power
1995-undated
Box 5:11

Readings to inspire activism

American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)
1985-1995
Box 5:12
Anarchism
1984-2001
Box 5:13
Anti-Defamation League
1993
Box 5:14
Art, political
undated
Box 5:15

See also: Clip Art

Art, skills
undated
Box 5:16
Asian-Americans for Political Action
undated
Box 5:17
Balkans
Ca. 1997-2001
Box 5:18
Black Liberation
1982-undated
Box 5:19
Black Nationalism
1968
Box 5:20
Birth Control
2000
Box 5:21
Boycotts
1984-1985
Box 5:22
Brazil
undated
Box 6:1
Budget Cuts
1979-2002
Box 6:2

Some materials from Save UMass!

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
1980-1990
Box 6:3
CIA: On Trial
1987
Box 6:4
CIA: Campaign Lists & Reports
1985-1987
Box 6:5
CIA: Civil Disobedience
1987
Box 6:6
CIA: Clippings
1987
Box 6:7
CIA: Fundraising Lists
1986-1987
Box 6:8
CIA: Grant Foundations
undated
Box 6:9
CIA: Group Correspondence
undated
Box 6:10
CIA: Jury Instructions
1986-1987
Box 6:11
CIA: Jury Nullification/Voir dire, UMass Divestment Brief
1987
Box 6:12
CIA: Lawyers Notes on Witnesses
1988
Box 6:13
CIA: Memos from Administrators
1986-1987
Box 6:14
CIA: Press Releases
1987
Box 6:15
CIA: Press Resource Lists
1983-1985
Box 6:16
CIA: Propaganda
undated
Box 6:17
CIA: Statements of Purpose
1987
Box 6:18
Central America Solidarity Association (CASA)
1989
Box 6:19
Childcare
1986-1987
Box 6:20
Chile
1975
Box 6:21

Includes stickers

Chomsky, Noam
undated
Box 6:22
Civil Disobedience
undated
Box 6:23
Clip Art
undated
Box 6:24

See also: Art

Coalition for a New Foreign & Military Policy
1979-1980
Box 6:25

See also: Peace

Coca-Cola Campaign
2003-2004
Box 7:1
COINTELPRO
undated
Box 7:2
College Republicans
1984-1990
Box 7:3
Columbia
Ca 1995-2002
Box 7:4
Community Service
undated
Box 7:5
Communist Party
1975-1976
Box 7:6
Corporate Agenda conference
1997
Box 7:7

See also: Labor

Corporate Research
1991-1993
Box 7:8
Corpraization of the University
1998
Box 7:9
Critical Mass
2003
Box 7:10

See also: Photographs

Cuba
1970-1994
Box 7:11
Cults/Religious
1977-1981
Box 7:12

Focus on Unification church

Death Penalty
1974-1982
Box 7:13
Democratic Socialists of America
1984
Box 7:14
Department of Defense Research
1984-1991
Box 7:15
Direct Action
2000
Box 7:16
Disarmament/Nuclear Weapons 1
1981-1985
Box 7:17

See also: Peace

Disarmament/Nuclear Weapons
1981-1985
Box 7:18

See also: Peace

Draft
1979-2002
Box 8:1

See also: Peace

Drugs
1990
Box 8:2
East Timor
1999
Box 8:3
Earth Day Wall Street Action
1990-1991
Box 8:4
Ecology 1
1970
Box 8:5
Ecology 2
1970
Box 8:6
Economic Research and Action Project (ERAP)
1964-65
Box 8:7
Economics
1971-1975
Box 8:8

See also: Labor and Welfare

Education
1988
Box 8:9
Education Booklets
1974
Box 8:10
El Salvador
1980-1989
Box 8:11

See also: Latin America

Electoral Politics 1
1979-1984
Box 8:12
Electoral Politics 2
1980-2001
Box 9:1
Environmentalism
1980-2001
Box 9:2

See also: Ecology and Earth Day

Fascism/Anti-Fascism
Undated
Box 9:3
Feminist Collective
1985
Box 9:4
Film Series
2001-2002
Box 9:5
Film Series 2002
2002
Box 9:6
Film Series 2002-2003
2002-2003
Box 9:7
Financial Aid
2000
Box 9:8
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
1990
Box 9:9
Free Speech/repressive Legislation/Censorship
1978-1993
Box 9:10
Freeze Reagan/Bush Campaign
1984
Box 9:11
Free Trade Area of the Americas
2001-2003
Box 9:12
Gay Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Transsexual, Queer and Questioning Rights 1
1984 undated
Box 9:13
GBLTQQ 2: Cameron, Paul
1986-1987
Box 9:14
Goodell Take-over 1997
1997
Box 9:15
Globalization
1999-2002
Box 9:16

See also: Folders for Specific organizations

Green Party
1987
Box 9:17
Grenada
1982-1984
Box 9:18

See also: Latin America

Grenada Ground Wave Emergency Network (G.W.E.N.)
1983-1985
Box 9:19
Gun Control
1985
Box 9:20
Haiti
1989-1991
Box 9:21
Honors College
1997
Box 9:22
Homeless
1990
Box 9:23
Honduras
1988
Box 9:24
Hunger
Undated
Box 9:25

See also: Welfare

Imperialism
1989-2003
Box 9:26

See also: Native Americans, Globalization

Internships
Undated
Box 9:27
Iran
1979
Box 9:28
Iraq 1: Gulf War 1990-1991
1990-1991
Box 9:29

See also: Photographs; See also: Oversized

Iraq 2: Gulf War 1 1990-1991
1990
Box 10:1

See also: Photographs

Iraq 3: Gulf War 2003-
2002-2003
Box 10:2

See also: Photographs

Iraq 4: Gulf War 2003-
2002-2003
Box 10:3
Ireland
1983-1991
Box 10:4

See also: Photographs

Israel 1
1966-1985
Box 10:5

See also: Oversized

Israel 2
1986-1995
Box 10:6
Kent State/Jackson State
1977
Box 10:7
Labor 1
1966-1975
Box 10:8
Labor 2
1981-1995
Box 10:9

See also: Photographs

Labor 3
1978-1999
Box 10:10
Labor, UMass
1990-1998
Box 10:11
Latin America
1986-2003
Box 10:12

See also: Individual Countries

Latinos
1998-1998
Box 10:13

See also: Latin America and Individual Countries

Marxism
1983
Box 10:14
Media Activism
1989-2003
Box 10:15

See also: Film Series

Mental Health/Mental Illness
1984
Box 11:1
Mexico
1995
Box 11:2
Middle East
1982-2004
Box 11:3

See also: Israel/ Palestine

Native Americans
1975-2003
Box 11:4
New Left
Undated
Box 11:5
Nicaragua
1985
Box 11:6

See also: Latin America and Individual Countries

Nixon, Richard M.
1973-1974
Box 11:7

See also: Oversized

North Atlantic Treaty Organization
1989
Box 11:8
Northeast Student Action Network
Undated
Box 11:9
Nuclear Power and Weapons 1
1975-1978
Box 11:10
Nuclear Power and Weapons 2
1976-1990
Box 11:11
One World Fair
2003
Box 11:12
Organizing
1990-1999
Box 11:13
Organization to Liberate Society
1998
Box 11:14
Peace
1983-2003
Box 11:15
Peace: No Business as Usual
1985-1987
Box 11:16

See also: Oversized

Peace: ROTC/Military Recruiting 1
1977-1990
Box 11:17
Peace: ROTC/Military Recruiting 2
1982-1990
Box 12:1
Peace Groups: 5-College Peace Network
1985
Box 12:2
Peace Groups: Faculty for Peace
1986
Box 12:3
Peace Groups: Peace Research and Education Project
1989
Box 12:4
Peace Groups: Students for a Peaceful Response, Tabling Materials
1991-2001
Box 12:5
Philippines
Undated
Box 12:6
Picketing Code
1997
Box 12:7
Prisons
1981-1995
Box 12:8
Prisons: Prisons General, Prison Awareness Week
1991-1998
Box 12:9
Prisons: Political Prisoners, 1
1989-1998
Box 12:10

Much of the material is related to MOVE and the case of Mumia Abu Jamal

Prisons: Political Prisoners, 2
1989
Box 12:11
Prisons: Resources
1995-1999
Box 12:12
Privatization of UMass 1
1987-2000
Box 12:13

See also: Budget Cuts

Privatization of UMass 2
1988-1995
Box 12:14

Materials from SGA task force

Privatization of UMass 3
1989-1994
Box 12:15

Materials from SGA task force

Privatization of UMass 4
1994-1995
Box 12:16
Privatization of UMass 5
Box 13:1
Progressive Student Network (P.S.N.): Census
1983
Box 13:2
P.S.N.: Conference (Organizers, Letters etc.)
1981
Box 13:3

Includes Songbook

P.S.N.: Contacts 1
1983
Box 13:4
P.S.N.: Contacts 2
1983-1987
Box 13:5
P.S.N.: Letters 1
1982
Box 13:6
P.S.N.: Letters 2
1983
Box 13:7
P.S.N.: Letters 3
1984-1985
Box 13:8
P.S.N.: National Convention 1988
1988
Box 13:9
P.S.N.: New England Region
1982-1983
Box 13:10
P.S.N.: News Spring 1981
1981
Box 13:11
P.S.N.: News 1981-1982
1981-1982
Box 13:12

Includes copies of Cognition from the National Student Education Fund and Basta Ya! From the Progressive Campus Network

P.S.N.: News Spring 1983
1983
Box 13:13
P.S.N.: News 1984
1984
Box 13:14
P.S.N.: Philadelphia Conference on Reproductive Rights
1983
Box 13:15
P.S.N.: Program and Principles
1987
Box 13:16
P.S.N.: Proposals
1983-1985
Box 13:17
P.S.N.: Other P.S.N. Regions
1981-1983
Box 13:18
P.S.N.: Outreach
1983-1986
Box 13:19
P.S.N.: Resources
1985?
Box 13:20
P.S.N.: Stationary
undated
Box 13:21
P.S.N.: Womens Caucus
1984
Box 13:22
Public Health
1997
Box 13:23
Puerto Rico 1
1970
Box 14:1
Puerto Rico 2
1979-1985
Box 14:2
Race, On Campus
1990-2003
Box 14:3
Racism
1978-1982
Box 14:4

See also: Black Nationalism

Racism 1985
1985
Box 14:5
Racism 1986-1987: Documents
1986-1987
Box 14:6
Racism 1986-1987: News Articles/Editorials 1986
1986
Box 14:7
Racism 1986-1987: News Articles/Editorials 1987
1987
Box 14:8
Racism 1986-1987: Copies of Documents 1985-1988
Box 14:9
Racism 1988
Box 14:10
Reagan, Ronald
1984-1985
Box 14:11
Recruiters (Military, Corporate)
1983-1985
Box 14:12

See also: Peace: ROTC/Military Recruiting

Registered Student Organizations
Undated
Box 14:13

See also: Administrative Series

Revolutionary Communist Youth Brigade, UMass
Undated
Box 14:14
Revolutionary Student Brigade Leaflets 1974
1974
Box 14:15

Includes an information booklet from UMass.

Revoultionary Student Brigade Leaflets 1975
1975
Box 14:16
Revoultionary Student Brigade Leaflets 1976
1976
Box 14:17

Includes the first flyer for the first RSB meeting at UMass organized by Charles Bagli

Revoultionary Student Brigade Leaflets 1977
1977
Box 14:18
Sanctuary Movement
1985-1986
Box 14:19
Seta Rampersand
1978-1979
Box 14:20
Socialism
1970
Box 14:21
Solicitations from other Organizations
1993-1994
Box 14:22
South Africa 1
1977-1985
Box 15:1

Contains a copy of Anti-Apartheid News; See also: oversized

South Africa 2
1977-1986
Box 15:2
South Africa, April 1st Coalition
1985
Box 15:3
South Africa, Divestment 1
1985-1986
Box 15:4

See also: Photographs

South Africa Divestment
1983-1988
Box 15:5
South Korea
1983
Box 15:6
Soviet Union
1984-1986
Box 15:7
Star wars
1985
Box 15:8

See also: Peace

Student Rights
1986
Box 15:9
Student Activities Trust Fund
1983
Box 15:10

See also: Administration series

Student Government Association
1983-1984
Box 15:11

See also: Administrative series

Student Organizing Project
1975-1983
Box 15:12
Student Parents
Undated
Box 15:13
Student Senate
1979-1984
Box 15:14
Sweatshops 1
1996-1997
Box 15:15
Sweatshops 2
1997-1999
Box 15:16
Sweden
1980
Box 15:17
Take Back Democracy
2004
Box 16:1
Universal Rights
1988
Box 16:2
U.S. Student Association
1990
Box 16:3
University Regulations and Policies
1984
Box 16:4

See also: Administration series

Vietnam
1965-1979
Box 16:5
Welfare Reform 1
1997
Box 16:6

Some of this material may be from ca. 1994

Welfare Reform 2
1997-1999
Box 16:7
Womens Issues: Abortion 1
1986
Box 16:8
Womens Issues: Abortion 2
1981-1999
Box 16:9
Womens Issues: Abortion 3
2001
Box 16:10

Conference Packet From Abortion Rights to Social Justice

Womens Issues: Leadership
Undated
Box 16:11
Womens Issues: Pornography
1980-1985
Box 16:12
Womens Issues: Reproductive Freedom
1978
Box 16:13
Womens Issues: Violence Against, Sexual Harassment, Sexism
1979-1990
Box 16:14

See also: Seta Rampersand

Womens Studies
1981
Box 16:15
World Bank and International Monetary Fund
2000-2001
Box 16:16
World Economic Forum
2002
Box 16:17
World Trade Organization
2003
Box 16:18
Young Communist League
1986-1988
Box 16:19

Series 3: Radical Student Union Publications
Information and Opinions About
1999-2000
Box
17:1
Liberator
1994
Box
17:2
The Progressive Student
1983
Box
17:3
The Weekly News
1989-1990
Box
17:4
Welcome to UMass (Disinformation)
1981-1984
Box
17:5

Series 4: Revolutionary Student Brigade (RSB) Term Paper Library
1971-1985
Table of Contents
1979
Box
17:1
Anarchism
1985
Box
17:2
Anthropology
1976
Box
17:3
Greek Society
Undated
Box
17:4
History
1972-1978
Box
17:5
Latin American Studies
1985
Box
17:6
Law
1981
Box
17:7
Literature
1972-1978
Box
17:8
Marxism
1972-1981
Box
17:9
Miscellaneous 1
1969-1978
Box
17:10
Miscellaneous 2
1977-1982
Box
17:11
Political Science
1978-1981
Box
17:12
Socialism
1976-1978
Box
17:13
Student Movement
1971-1973
Box
17:14

Series 5: Printed material
1905-1982
Apartheid
1978
1 items, Booklet
Box 19
Boston Bussing
1974-1975
8 items, Booklets
Box 19
Class
1971-1974
4 items, Booklets
Box 19
COINTELPRO
1978
1 items, Booklet
Box 19

The Public Eye vol. 1, no. 2

Communism
1939-1982
20 items, Booklets and books
Box 19
Cooperatives
Undated
1 items, Booklet
Box 19
Economics
Undated
3 items, Booklets and book
Box 19
Family
Undated
1 items, Booklet
Box 19
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender/sexual, queer and questioning
1971-1976
6 items, Booklets
Box 19
Housing
1969-1977
4 items, Booklets
Box 19
Imperialism
1977
1 items, Booklet
Box 19
Israel/Palestine
1966-1973
25 items, Booklets and book
Box 19
Labor
1905-1977
25 items, Booklets
Box 19
Movement Building
1973-1979
14 items, Booklets and book
Box 19
Non violence
1966-1969
5 items, Booklets, single sheets
Box 19
Anti Nuclear
1978
1 items, Booklet
Box 19

About Karen Silkwood

Peace
1963-1971
6 items, Booklets and book
Box 19
Racism
1957-1977
13 items, Booklets
Box 19
Socialism
1972-1975
4 items, Booklets
Box 19
Spanish
1970
1 items, Booklet
Box 19
Welfare
1975
8 items, Booklets, single sheets
Box 19
Women’s Issues
1975
4 items, Booklets
Box 19

Series 6: Textiles
1985-2006
Apartheid: Citicorp pays for apartheid, apartheid kills. Image: “blood” under the word kill
Undated
Red and blue paint, black and red marker on white cloth.
Box 20
Central America: In Memorial for all those whose have died. Image: non
ca.1985
Black marker on white cloth
Box 20

Potentially related to the war in Central America.

Central America: Let’s stop waging war on El Salvador. Image: small peace sig
ca.1985
Black and red paint on white
Box 20
CIA: “CIA is Murder Inc, USA”. Image: skull and cross bones
ca.1987
B
lack and red paint on white cloth
Box 20
CIA: On to Washington! March & rally, April 25, Action at Langley April 27. Image: cars full of multi-ethnic people holding signs (Peace) (No CIA
1987
Red and black text multi-colored image on blue tie-dyed? cloth
Box 20
Gay rights: Homophobia is a social disease. Love not hate. Gayzes OK. Image: non
Undated
Black and gold paint on pink cloth.
Box 21
Globalization: It’s a Dirty Business * and no one’s gotta do it. No more $ 4 war, Plan Columbia, WEF, FTAA, World Bank, IMF, Domination, War, Violence . Image: twin towers
ca. 2001
Paint on patterned cloth
Box 20
Globalization: UMass supports human rights abuses. End the Contract with Coca Cola. Image:
spring 2004 (never used)
Red and black paint on white cloth
Box 20
Labor: Strike before strangulation. Image: red fis
ca. 1991
Black and red paint on white sheet
Box 21

Undergraduate banner from the Graduate Employee Organization (GEO) strike.

Peace: Food not bombs. Image: non
ca.2006
Black paint on white cloth, strings attached
Box 22

From Tent State University?

Peace: One love peace, earth (image) > $, people (image) > $. Image: a yellow heart between “one and “love”, stencil of a United States flag with a peace sign instead of starts, image of earth and people.
Undated
Black, red, green, and yellow paint, colored marker on patterned cloth
Box 22
Peace: Peace. Image: Non
Undated
Black ink on green fabric
Box 22
Peace: Think military or think for yourself. Image:
Undated
Red paint on white cloth
Box 22
Peace: Town & gown stop the military death machine. Image:
ca. 1990
Red and purple marker on white cloth
Box 22
Peace: UMass students say: Stop the arms race (with signatures). Image: various symbols
ca. 1983
Red and black paint, colored markers on white cloth
Box 22
Unidentified AT&T. Image: skull
Blue and black paint
Box 22
Unidentified: Aetna
Blue paint on white cloth
Box 22
Unidentified: Tampax . Image:
Undated
Blue paint on white cloth
Box 22

Subjects

Anti-apartheid movements--MassachusettsCentral America--Foreign relations--United StatesCollege students--Political activityCommunismEl Salvador--History--1979-1992Guatemala--History--1945-1982Iraq War, 2003-Nicaragua--History--1979-1990Peace movements--MassachusettsPersian Gulf War, 1991Political activists--Massachusetts--HistoryRacismSocialismStudent movementsUnited States--Foreign relations--Central AmericaUnited States. Central Intelligence AgencyUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst

Contributors

Progressive Student NetworkRadical Student UnionRevolutionary Student Brigade

Types of material

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