How Setonia Saw the Tumultuous Sixties

The 1960s were a revolutionary time. The ‘60s were a tumultuous decade defined by the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement, technological advances, and the emerging generation gap and the rise of counterculture movements. At Seton Hall University, the 1960s were similarly a revolutionary time for the Catholic college.

The Setonian went through numerous changes throughout the decade. They changed their masthead numerous times. They included certain columns while others faded to history. Reading the issues during the decade, one will notice how popular television and cinema became by the end of the decade. In the early Sixties, there would be book reviews. By the end of the transformative decade, these book reviews turned into film and television reviews.

There were three presidential elections between 1960 and 1970. In each of these elections, The Setonian ran a mock election. Overwhelmingly, the Democratic candidate would win these elections. In 1960, Setonia voted for John F. Kennedy over Richard Nixon. In 1964, the student body supported Lyndon B. Johnson over Barry Goldwater. There was, however, a Setonian editor who wrote repeated columns for Goldwater to no avail.

And in 1968, the student body broke with Johnson before Johnson declined to run again. They first supported Robert Kennedy before his death, after which they pledged support for the anti-war Senator from Minnesota Eugene McCarthy. However, when Vice President Hubert Humphrey won the nomination, the student body voted for Humphrey over the eventual winner Richard Nixon. The Setonian also affirmed its disgust for third party candidate George Wallace. It is yet another way The Setonian proved itself as a trusted source of information for the student body.

Seton Hall felt the deaths and assassinations of the 1960s particularly hard. As a Catholic university, Seton Hall mourned heavily for President Kennedy. The Setonian wrote numerous eulogies. The Setonian mourned for “Young America” when Kennedy was assassinated. The young President was named “America’s American.” It was proclaimed that even though “dedicated JFK is gone, his spirit will live.” A few years later, before his brother and potential Democratic nominee Robert Kennedy was assassinated in the summer of 1968, The Setonian threw their support behind him.  In the weeks leading up to the 1968 Election, the newspaper lamented how the death of Robert Kennedy ensured the election of Richard Nixon.

The entire campus was shocked when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Seton Hall held a “Requiem Mass [for] Dr. King” which “evoked the air of sadness” across campus. University President Bishop John J. Doughtery “spoke of a troubled America” – one that is “a little sadder, more shaken, and more ashamed.” The Setonian reported that “all men wept” in attendance. In an editorial, The Setonian discussed the “legacy of Dr. King.” In even stronger terms than how they described President Kennedy, Dr King “was a unique leader, a unique American, and a unique human being.” Even though “he is dead, the ideals he so ardently stood for live on in the hearts of sincere men.”

The Setonian, as a reflection of the student body, always expressed solidarity with civil rights groups. Even going as far back as the 1950s, The Setonian wrote against segregation. In 1951, in response to Texas Western College sending a letter to Loyola University asking them to remove two black students from their football team ahead of their game, Loyola University decided to boycott the game as they would rather forfeit the game, then perpetrate the continued discrimination of black students. The Setonian decided to weigh in on the race discrimination conversation.

The Setonian asked, “What has happened to the moral standards of college athletic events?” The editorial hoped that “this discriminatory problem has found no harness at Seton Hall” but acknowledged how it “has seeped its way into other colleges and universities.” In all caps, this editorial finished with a message: “RACE DISCRIMINATIONHAS NO PLACE IN… SPORTS BECAUSE THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF SPORTSMANSHIP CONTAIN EQUAL RIGHTSFOR ALL CREEDS, ALL COLORS, AND ALL FAITHS!”

Such sentiments carried over into the 1960s. Editorials would be written in support of the Civil Rights Movement, where de facto segregation would be attacked. In March of 1965, “a group of approximately 350 Seton Hall students, faculty, and administrators held a silent protest and empathy march on behalf of… the Selma [march].” In what was called Seton Hall’s “March to Newark,” Setonia showed her solidarity with the Selma March in “expressions of sympathy and protest.”

Like many colleges and universities in the 1960s, the student body at Setonia was one full of protests. Besides the Setonian protest, there were numerous other protests to varying degrees of magnitude. There were numerous complaints about the cafeteria food leading to a boycott of the food served for a brief period in 1965. The Selma protest was just one that led the student body to Newark. Additionally, in response to the Newark Race Riots, there was an effort by students at Seton Hall to show support. There was also a Newark Peace Walk over the Vietnam War, with The Setonian offering numerous editorials over what it called “Viet Bankruptcy.”

Additionally, The Setonian offered numerous complaints over the lack of parking found on the Seton Hall campus. In early 1968, The Setonian noted that “there are less than 1,700 parking spaces on the campus.” Factoring in the rotation of students between morning, afternoon, and night classes, The Setonian figured “no more than 2,300 parking passes should be issued.” However, as investigated, “3,000 decals have been issued and nearly 1,000 more are available.” A funny picture was produced comparing parking at Seton Hall to Monopoly. The artist called it Setonopoly. Another graphic from the 12 December 1968 edition of The Setonian tried to show “where has all your money gone.”

In 1968, “a new era at Seton Hall University began.” Women arrived in the spring semester after the closure of the Newark satellite campus. With the Class of 1972 arriving in the fall, there were incoming freshmen female students on the South Orange campus for the first time in Seton Hall history. A 1963 depiction of “the complete university” showed female students on the South Orange campus as the missing piece of Seton Hall.

Setonian celebrated the diversity of this class of ‘72. It noted the “numerous distinctions” of the Class as “Texas and Idaho now have female representation on campus while Japan, Taiwan, Germany, Malaysia, and Italy sent representatives of both sexes to the Hall.” The 1960s were in fact revolutionary, especially at Seton Hall. It ushered in a new era indeed.