Colleges started ending academic years earlier in the 1970s to avoid 'protest weather'

Colleges decided to start ending the year early during the Vietnam War because officials worried the nicer weather would bring out more protesters.

• Some universities have gone hybrid or canceled graduation ceremonies amid pro-Palestinian protests.
• During the Vietnam War, they did the same thing.
• One expert said colleges end the year earlier in the Spring now in part to avoid "protest weather."

April showers bring May flowers — and idyllic protest weather.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrations have erupted at universities across the country in recent weeks, prompting harsh responses from some college administrators.

The University of Southern California and Columbia University, most notably, called in the police to clear protest camps. Police this week also took back a lecture hall occupied by pro-Palestinian protesters at the Univerity of California, Irvine.

Some schools, including Columbia, canceled graduation and commencement ceremonies, citing security concerns.

Ralph Young, an expert on American dissent, told Business Insider that it's not the first time colleges have made major scheduling adjustments to avoid a protesting crowd.

While students nationwide protested the Vietnam War in the 1960s and 70s, colleges shut down their semesters prematurely — a decision that has impacted academic calendars to this day, Young said.

The change came after the National Guard fired on student protesters at Ohio's Kent State University on May 4, 1970, killing four students and wounding others.

"One of the interesting things about Kent State is that after that happened, almost all the universities in the country closed down for the rest of the semester," Young said. "It used to be that college semesters usually ended in maybe the third week of June, and now they all end in early May."

Before canceling its school-wide commencement ceremony, Columbia University also offered students a virtual learning option in late April. On Thursday, hundreds of faculty members passed a vote of no-confidence against university president Nemat Shafik, who previously authorized police to clear the student encampment on campus, The New York Times reported.

"One of the thinkings behind closing the schools early back then was that May and June are good protest weather," Young said. "They're nice days and it'll get more people out and protesting, and that was one way to try to put a break on all that."