Webster students march up and down Big Bend Boulevard, protesting the Vietnam War. A man drives by the students, gives them “the finger” and yells “stupid hippies!” He drives by twice, three times, but on the fourth time, he parks his car and marches with them.
Webster University was founded in 1915. Since the school’s inception, Webster students have spoken out about the issues most relevant to them.
In 1970, four Kent State students were shot and killed for protesting the Vietnam War on campus. The day after, protests broke out at colleges around the country.
Students at Webster, who wanted to have their voices heard about the shooting and their stance on the war, created a committee of students and faculty to plan out a strike. The Web, the campus newspaper’s name at the time, was set into motion, not only to cover the strike, but also to serve as strike headquarters.
Arthur Rosenberg, who is now a rabbi, came to Webster in 1968 as a newly graduated 22-year-old professor. He played a large role on the protest committee, and documented the entire event in his diary, which he typed on an Olivetti typewriter.
“The fears of the faculty turned out to be a childish lack of trust in our most intelligent and responsible comrades: our students,” Rosenberg’s diary said. “These students possess not only deep feelings and critical eyes, but beautiful in action, strong, young and ready to go in service of national good. Young patriots championing all those causes that their parents had tried so long to instill in them: honor, righteousness, helping the needy, being honest and proud. In their manner they were working for the system, not against.”
On May 6, 1970, the student strike occurred. An estimated 80% of the Webster student body took part.
In 2014, when police shot and killed Michael Brown in Ferguson, his death sparked protest movements across St. Louis and the nation. Webster held its own protest on campus, led by senior Henry Coleman.
Coleman was president of the Association for African-American Collegians and led three protests during his four years as a student.
“I feel like activism is important for students. When you’re in college, you have more time, more energy to get your voice out there and do something about it and get involved in the community,” Coleman said.
Coleman remembers being afraid to say what he truly felt at times. But he wishes he would have spoken freely. He thinks students today are a lot more open with protest and what they’re willing to say.
“I feel like when you’re a student, you have these big ambitions, these dreams and you don’t see any obstacles. You’re like, ‘nothing can stop us,’” Coleman said. “I feel like students will push more. They’ll push the envelope more and speak more freely, speak from the heart more.”
Coleman, who is now a high school teacher in Dallas, recently supported his students during a protest they held for unfair grading and tests without a permanent teacher.
“The reason I was protesting is looking out for Black and brown people to not face police brutality and to not be oppressed – and so that’s the work that I do now. That’s why I’m in education,” Coleman said. “I do it for my kids. I do it for the community that I work in, and so my protesting in college has just told me, my voice can make noise. My voice can make waves,” Coleman said.
On the Webster campus last September, students led a walkout to protest the lack of transparency from university leadership. Days later, Webster faculty cast a vote of no confidence in then-Chancellor Beth Stroble and President Julian Schuster.
Luke Adams, who graduated from Webster in 2024, helped lead the walkout.
“I think that the practice of getting together with other people who want to see things change and fighting toward that change … that is like the basis of what human beings really are here for, and what we want out of being alive,” Adams said.
Protests are a time-tested tradition at Webster, as students value advocacy and allyship. As Webster continues, so will student protests. They will remain a significant part of campus life, reflecting the diverse perspectives and causes Webster students believe in.
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