The Civil Rights Movement and Student Life

Civil Rights

The Civil Rights Movement in Tallahassee began with the 1956 bus boycott and by the early 1960s a small group of FSU students and faculty had joined the black community in its struggle. The peaceful activism of this core group paved the way for later student organizations who struggled with issues of student power at Florida State.

In February 1960, FSU student Alan Breitler applied for admission to Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Tallahassee’s African American college, in opposition to racial segregation. His application caused major controversy within FSU and ultimately resulted in his dismissal from his position within the student government. Two years later, Florida State peacefully admitted its first black student Maxwell Courtney. Meanwhile, FSU students participated in local sit-ins and other demonstrations and often faced arrest.

Student Life

Since its early says as West Florida Seminary, FSU operated under the doctrine of in loco parentis, which allowed institutions to act “in place of the parent” and assert control over students’ lives. The rules dictated such aspects as dress, public behavior, and dorm visitation. When FSU became co-educational, the conservative rules remained. They applied to male and female students but were especially strict for females. The existence of this particular principal gave students in the late 1960s reason to demand greater control over their own lives.

Background: 1960 to 1967
The Civil Rights Movement and Student Life