SDS Activity at UT Austin

SDS became the prominent radical organiztion on campus through their continued organization of public events. Their activity brought them into conflict with the university administration that would endure for years. The first item is a memorandum describing a protest in 1966 from the administration's perspective. The second is an article from 1967 describing a similar protest from the perspective of the students. An interesting development between the two can be seen in the difference in outcomes. In 1966 the event is observed without interference whereas in 1967 the administration preemptively dicouraged organized protesting, then took direct action against SDS as an organization as well as certain members. 

As the conflict between the university and its radical members continued, professors became involved. One example of that involvement is the teach-ins that professors would hold to provide free lessons to willing students. This extracarricular education recieved disaproval from the university. The second image demonstrates the severity of the administration's ability to respond. The image shows a letter from NASA to Dr. Harry Ransom describing the legal means by which Dr. Ransom might justify witholding compensation from professors associated with radical politics. This, is indicative of the imbalance of power between radical groups and the university administration.