Oshkosh 94

The Oshkosh 94 Student Leadership Award was created through a project to commemorate the 40th anniversary of “Black Thursday,” the November 21, 1968 protest by African-American students attending Wisconsin State University-Oshkosh.

A month before the protest, members of the Black Student Union (BSU) presented campus administrators with a list of requests. In addition to calling for courses in history and literature that were relevant to the African-American experience, the BSU advocated the hiring of Black faculty and the creation of a new African-American cultural center. Suspecting that their concerns were not reaching University President Roger Guiles, BSU members decided to assemble as a group, march to Dempsey Hall, and confront him in person.

As a result of the students’ occupation of the executive administration offices, there were mass arrests, the expulsion of 90 students and the suspension of four others (the “Oshkosh 94”). In the ten months that followed, the University committed itself to making a series of improvements for Black students on campus. It recognized a new Black student organization, the Afro-American Society, and converted the campus lntercultural Center into a new Afro-American Center. Faculty members began offering classes on Black history and literature.

The Oshkosh 94 Student Leadership Award recognizes students who continue the efforts of the Oshkosh 94 by advancing the standing and enhancing the experiences of African American students at UW Oshkosh.