Shootouts at fraternities, grape-stomping at Safeway and the occupation of the French Administration building – WSU in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s was an interesting place to be.

The Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC) department of Holland/Terrell Libraries opened its new exhibit on Thursday, which presents all these events and more from the era of student protests.

The exhibit, titled “Protest! Students, War, & Racism: WSU Student Activism, 1969-1970,” focuses on protests from a time of controversial issues such as the Vietnam War and the American invasion of Cambodia.

University Archivist Mark O’English said the idea for “Protest!” was born from a wall that once stood in the former WSU Koinonia House, or Common Ministry Building. The wall was covered with political propaganda that echoed the voices of students during the ‘60s and ‘70s.

“I and some other people managed to convince the University to pull these (pieces of the wall) out of there before the building went down,” O’English said.

The exhibit features sections of the wall, photos of protests taken by onlookers, and a timeline of student activism during that period. Several stories stand out.

In 1969, African-American Goldsworthy Hall students played the all-white fraternity Alpha Gamma Rho in a game of basketball, but it went awry as racial tensions rose. Black Student Union members went to the fraternity, three of them carrying guns, and the conflict ended with one firing a weapon and the arrest of five black students.

A larger section of the exhibit is dedicated to an audio recording of President Glenn Terrell from the day after the Kent State University shootings, when the Ohio National Guard killed four unarmed students and injured many more. A TV displayed photos of when student protesters occupied the French Administration Building, or “Fort French” as O’English referred to it.

The protesters were armed with a list of demands and President Terrell was forced to cut a visit to Washington, D.C., short to fly home and address the students, which can be heard in the audio recording.

“Protest!” covers not only issues of war but also civil rights, women’s liberation and cultural prejudice.

Another impressive event on the timeline describes when students marched from campus to the Safeway downtown and smashed all the grapes in the produce aisle to protest unjust treatment of migrant workers.

At the opening of the exhibit, Trevor Bond, associate dean for digital initiatives and special collections, said, “I think this exhibit highlights both the official university responses, but also that of these other faculty members and students who were very active in a time of tumultuous change.”

Bond credited the majority of the photos on display to Paul Kies (1891-1971) of the WSU English department.

“He took pictures of many of the protests and events that the university did not wish to highlight,” Bond said.

Some photos feature familiar places on campus, such as the Glenn Terrell Friendship Mall, but as they were during 1970: flooded with students hosting a rally or a memorial for the students killed at Kent State.

O’English said another driving factor for “Protest!” was student interest.

“It’s not uncommon for us to get history classes in here studying U.S. history post World War II,” O’English said. “I have noticed when we bring out these (artifacts), it’s one of those things that really engages the students.”

“Protest!” runs in the main lobby of the MASC department through December.