Records relating to the Western Washington University chapter of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). Includes SDS publications in addition to chapter-specific records such as constitution, organizational information, member lists, activities planning, and correspondence. Most of the material is from the period 1967-1970 and most of that was compiled by George B. Hartwell, founding member and secretary. During that period, the school operated as Western Washington State College. A small amount of later material relates to the re-establishment and activity of the SDS chapter at Western Washington University from 2006-2008.
Students for a Democratic Society was a national activist student organization organized around chapters at colleges and universities. The goals of the organization included peace, eradication of poverty, labor equity, and civil rights. Students at Western Washington State College organized a chapter in 1969, and the chapter appears to have dissolved in 1970, following the collapse of the national organization. The national SDS organization reorganized in 2006, and students at Western Washington University organized a chapter that year that remained in existence until 2008.
Born in Tacoma, Washington, George Boyd Hartwell (1944-2017) graduated from Western Washington State College (now Western Washington University) in 1971, and went on to pursue a career in social work. During his undergraduate years, Hartwell was a founding member and chapter secretary of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Western Washington State College chapter. He was among a group of eight students arrested in November 1968 for distributing anti-draft literature to students at Sehome High School in Bellingham, Washington. The case of the “Sehome Eight” was taken to the Supreme Court of the State of Washington in 1971 as State v. Oyen.
Access to certain content may be restricted under Washington State's Public Records Act, Chapter 42.56 RCW. Such restrictions are rare for archival material and are usually limited in scope.
University Archives compiled the records described here from both an original club file for the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) in the records of the Associated Students (AS), plus SDS chapter records received from the estate of George Hartwell in 2018. Hartwell was the SDS chapter secretary for 1969-70. Thus, the material is from two separate accessions that are also stored in physically separate containers. The AS Club File for SDS is part of a larger accession of AS club files, whereas the material received from Hartwell's estate comprises its own accession and is in its own container.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
Records documenting the establishment, activities, and significant changes/developments of clubs recognized by the Associated Students of Western Washington University. May include: club application, description, and intended purpose; member lists [may be subject to legal access restrictions]; constitutions and bylaws; funding requests; event records; news clippings; photographs; publications; and other records documenting the history of the club.
Western Washington State College SDS chapter records compiled and maintained by Secretary George Hartwell. Includes correspondence, member lists, SDS pamphlets and other publications, and records relating to chapter activities.
Copies of legal opinions relating to State of Washington -v- Oyen, the case of eight WWSC students (the "Sehome 8") who were distributing anti-draft leaflets to students on the grounds of Sehome High School in Bellingham, Washington. The WWSC students were charged with a violation of a state vagrancy statute law, but successfully appealed their case through to the United States Supreme Court. Includes copies of both the Washington and United States Supreme Court opinions.