We dissent

The Declaration of Independence is a document of dissent that illuminated the right to revolution and ignited the aspirations of the colonies.

In keeping with this founding tradition, UD Magazine took a dive in the archives to see how disagreement and nonviolence have played out on campus.

In the late 1960s, students started pushing for educational reform and personal freedoms, which meant Father Raymond L. Roesch, S.M. ’36, needed to thread his way among the students camped out in the St. Mary’s hallways on his way to the president’s office (left). 

Students prayed for peace and shouted down the violence of the Gulf War (above, in black & white) when it started in August 1990. When actions of the federal government in 2017 threatened the status of international students and faculty, the campus rallied in support at the Central Mall (above, right). 

Students marched through the neighborhood (left) in response to the killings in the U.S. of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery in 2020. 

And in the late 1980s, students hung banners outside the career center to object to the CIA recruiting on campus (below).

Students continue to raise their voices, asserting that protest is, indeed, patriotic.

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES

A version of this article appears in print in the Summer 2026 University of Dayton Magazine, Page 28. EXPLORE THE ISSUE — MORE ONLINE