This class was welcomed to campus by banner headlines in the September 30, 1966 Maroon reading “Class of 1970 ‘Brightest Ever.’”  Then the largest entering class in the history of the University, it consisted of 710 students, 80 of whom had been valedictorians of their high school classes.  The average SAT score was 1,329 (664 Verbal, 665 Quantitative). 

During this class’s first year, they listened to such well-known national figures as Timothy Leary and Stokely Carmichael, both of whom spoke on campus.

Robert Maynard Hutchins, Chancellor of the University from 1929-1951, returned to campus in October 1966 to speak at the dedication of the Laird Bell Law Quadrangle.

Dr. Charles Branton Huggins, Professor of Surgery, won the Nobel Prize in medicine for discoveries in the hormone treatment of prostate cancer in October 1966.

Dean of Students Warner Wick announced that rules regarding co-ed visitation in dorms (“women’s hours”) would be relaxed in January 1967 after a year of Student Government efforts to have the rules completely abolished.

·          A record snowstorm blanketed Chicago in January 1967, causing the University to shut down for one day.

John D. Rockefeller IV and Sharon Percy were married in Rockefeller Chapel in April 1967.

In May 1967, Muhammad Ali spoke to over 1,600 people in the Field House regarding his views on Vietnam.

Although campus “teach-ins” were first held in 1965, by spring 1967 mobilization on campus against the Vietnam War was had grown enormously.  Students for a Democratic Society, the Weathermen, and other anti-war groups staged protests.  The campus was also the site of protest against recruiters from “pro-Vietnam” companies, including Dow Chemical, the maker of napalm.

Students studied in Harper Library, the Law Library, and “Business East.”  Stagg Field was demolished in 1967 to make way for the construction of Regenstein Library: ground-breaking ceremonies were held in October 1967.  Construction of the library, which was halted in August 1969 over charges of racial discrimination, was finished in 1970. 

In December 1967, the University commemorated the 25th anniversary of the first controlled nuclear chain reaction directed by Enrico Fermi.

Both Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy spoke on campus shortly before their deaths in 1968.  Visitors to campus during this tumultuous time included: Judy Collins, Phil Ochs, Pete Seeger, Dick Gregory, and Eugene McCarthy.

·          In November 1968, Edward Levi (PhB 1932, JD 1935) became the eighth president of the University (the first alumnus to be named president), succeeding George Wells Beadle, who had served since 1961.  In concert with Levi’s inauguration (during which 150 students protested the Vietnam War), the cornerstone of the $20.5M Regenstein Library was installed.

1969 was Edward Levi’s first year as President of the University.  He had previously taught law at the University from 1936-1950, served as Dean of the Law School from 1950-1962, and served as Provost from 1962-1968.

Wayne C. Booth was Dean of the College during the class’s first three years.

·          These were years of intense activism on campus, marked most notably by the occupation and sit-in at the Administration Building in January 1969.  The sit-in was a result of students protesting the decision not to rehire assistant sociology professor Marlene Dixon, noted for her radical outlook.  About 400 students occupied the Administration Building for 16 days while 800 more gathered outside on the quads.  President Levi refused to call in the police and let the demonstrators sit it out, until Dixon finally turned down the one-year terminal re-appointment offered by the University.  The demonstration ended after two weeks, and the University took serious disciplinary action by expelling 37 students and suspending 81 more.  Various groups of students, faculty, and parents criticized the severity of the University’s disciplinary actions.

In February 1969, the University announced the creation of a $250,000 fellowship program for black students in the four graduate divisions.

·          In May 1969, football regained varsity status for the first time since its abolition in 1939, after students petitioned for a return of the sport.  A large kazoo, dubbed “Big Ed” in honor of President Levi, was paraded on the football field during half-time.

·          Student sentiment against the Vietnam War brewed, especially during the Class of 1970’s senior year.  Many found the war unjustifiable on moral or military grounds, and campus-wide “moratorium” events and protest activities took place.  On October 15, 1969, more than 2000 students and 185 faculty members participated in a one-day walk-out.

·          In October 1969, moon rocks from the Apollo 11 mission were displayed at the Oriental Institute.

·          The Chicago Police Department raided Hillel House early in 1970 after the director, Rabbi Max Ticktin, was accused of heading an international abortion ring.

·          180 individuals took part as Students for Non-Violent Action held a co-ed skinny dip in the pool at Ida Noyes in February 1970.  The group parodied student life and the 1960’s, and 1,500 jammed Ida Noyes when it sponsored the first Lascivious Costume Ball in spring 1970.

·          As a consequence of President Nixon’s decision to send US troops into Cambodia and the killing of four students at Kent State University, a coalition of student groups held a week-long strike of classes starting May 5, 1970.  The University officially canceled all classes on May 8, 1970 in remembrance of the Kent State tragedy.

Drug use was a controversial issue on campus during the entire period this class attended.

Tuition was $2,100 during the 1969-1970 school year.

Quantrell Award Winners for 1969-1970: Easley Blackwood, Joseph Cropsey, Stuart Rice, Lorna Straus.

Chicago News

·          Chicago “political machine” legend Richard J. Daley served as Mayor for the entire tenure of the Class of 1970.  He was the city’s dominant voice over the entire period of his mayoral service, which lasted from 1955-1976.

Drifter Richard Speck murdered eight nurses in a townhouse on the Southeast Side of Chicago in July 1966. He was found guilty of the heinous crime in June 1967 and sentenced to the electric chair. 

In January 1967, the original McCormick Place was destroyed by a 9-alarm fire.  Just days later, a massive snowstorm smothered Chicago with two feet of snow in 26 hours.  Hundreds of cars were abandoned in the streets and the city ground to a halt.

A 50-foot-high abstract steel sculpture by artist Pablo Picasso was unveiled by Mayor Daley on the plaza of the new Civic Center (later to become the Daley Center).  In reference to the statue’s abstract design, Daley noted, “what is strange to us today will be familiar tomorrow.”

·          In September 1967 the Lyric Opera’s season was canceled because of a heated labor impasse with its orchestra.

Following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis in April 1968, massive riots erupted on the South and West Side.  The National Guard had to be called in to restore order and at one point, Mayor Daley issued a “shoot to kill” order for the police against looters.

Up to 10,000 activists protested the Democratic National Convention in August 1968 in Chicago.  There were widespread anti-war demonstrations and clashes between protestors and the Chicago Police Department and National Guard.  Much of the resulting street violence was televised to a “whole world watching.”  Despite numerous episodes of fighting between law enforcement and protestors, no lives were lost.  The “Chicago Seven,” student organizers charged with conspiracy to start rioting at the convention, were acquitted of all charges in February 1970.

Throughout 1969, a group called the “Weathermen” advocated (and often practiced) violence against the Chicago Police Department.  Their favored technique was ambushing patrol cars.

In March 1969, Illinois Governor Richard Ogilvie sent the National Guard to quell unrest in Chicago’s black neighborhoods.  Although 90 were injured, the violence was limited to rock and bottle throwing.

Chicago’s first-ever teachers strike ended after two days in May 1969 when the union won a one-year contract that included educational reforms and a raise in starting pay.

The 1969 Chicago Cubs, with a roster including legends Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Ferguson Jenkins, and Ron Santo, blew a four-game lead over the New York Mets and failed to make the playoffs.

National and World News

Some of the first large-scale anti-Vietnam protests took place at the White House in May 1966.  Protests were occurring around the country by August. 

Dr. Martin Luther King led a massive civil rights march through Mississippi in June 1966, ending with a large rally and speech in Jackson.

The radical Black Panther Party, which emphasized black separatism and community control as opposed to integration and nonviolence of the traditional civil rights movement, was formed in October 1966. 

In April 1967 Muhammad Ali was stripped of his world heavyweight boxing title for refusing to register for the draft.

The Six-Day Arab-Israeli War ended on June 11, 1967, with Israel capturing Arab Jerusalem and Golan Heights.

During summer 1967, race riots occurred in 127 different cities.  The worst took place in July in Detroit, where in a single night 43 people were killed.

Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as first black Supreme Court justice in October 1967 after serving as Solicitor General since 1965.  President Johnson noted that his addition to the court was “the right thing to do, the right time to do it, the right man and the right place.”

By December 1967, the Department of Defense reported that 17,000 American soldiers had died in Vietnam since 1961.

In January 1968, the “Tet Offensive,” a major offensive by the North Vietnamese Army, broke out all over South Vietnam with attacks in major cities.  Often considered the turning point of US involvement in Vietnam, American forces in the country decreased steadily thereafter.  President Johnson announced that he would not seek or accept presidential re-nomination in March 1968.

Following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King in April, presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy was shot and killed in June 1968.

Yasser Arafat was elected Chairman of Palestine Liberation Organization in February 1969.

Richard Nixon was sworn in as President of the United States in January 1969.  Peace talks in Paris began over the ending of the war in Vietnam.

The Apollo 11 landed on the moon in July 1969.  Neil Armstrong’s famous words as he set foot on the lunar surface: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Senator Edward Kennedy was involved in a mysterious car accident on Chappaquiddick Island that resulted in the drowning death of congressional staff Mary Jo Kopechne in July 1969.

Almost 500,000 people congregated in rural New York for the Woodstock Music Festival in August 1969.

In January 1970, the gigantic Boeing 747 airliner began flying commercial passenger service.

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) began between the United States and the USSR in April 1970 as President Nixon tried to control the nuclear arms race and promote a policy of détente.

Four students were killed at Kent State University by National Guardsmen in May 1970 during an anti-war protest.  448 US universities saw student strikes protesting the war in Vietnam during 1970.

Arts and Culture

Books and Literature

•    Deliverance, Mr. Sammler’s Planet, Love Story Ariel (1966); The Arrangement, Rosemary’s Baby, Death of a President (1967); The Confessions of Nat Turner, Soul on Ice (1968); Andromeda Strain, The Godfather, Slaughterhouse Five (1969); Love Story, Rich Man, Poor Man (1970).

Music

•    Top albums included Tommy (The Who) and Let It Be (Beatles) while top songs included “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” (Marvin Gaye), “Bad Moon Rising” (Creedence Clearwater Revival), and “Whole Lotta Love” (Led Zeppelin).

Television and Radio

•    Hogan’s Heroes, Green Acres (1965); Mission: Impossible, The Avengers, Star Trek (1966); Mannix, Ironside (1967); Hawaii Five-0, The Mod Squad, Adam-12 (1968); The Survivors, Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969); Mary Tyler Moore Show, Monday Night Football (1970).

Movies

•    Bonnie and Clyde, The Graduate, Look Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967); 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968); Midnight Cowboy, The Wild Bunch, Easy Rider, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, True Grit (1969); Patton, Catch-22, Airport, The Out-of-Towner, M*A*S*H  (1970).

Sports

•    The underdog Detroit Tigers won the 1968 World Series over the St. Louis Cardinals in October; the New York Jets fulfilled “Broadway” Joe Namath’s guarantee of victory over the Colts in Super Bowl III in January 1969; Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics finished their decade of dominance with their 11th NBA title in May 1969.  The “Miracle” Mets won the World Series in October 1969 over the Baltimore Orioles.  The New York Knicks ended the Boston Celtics’ decade of dominance with an NBA title in 1970.

Other

•    While the iconic “hippie” culture still had tremendous momentum, many of the more radical ideas and fashions of the 1960’s were mainstreamed by 1970.  Long hair and outlandish clothing became rather commonplace by the early 1970’s.  Self-involvement and a focus on the individual’s feeling and emotions were manifested by a flood of popular literature on psychology, self-help, and self-improvement.

Researched by the University of Chicago, Development and Alumni Relations, April 2004