Columbia students established a small chapter of SDS in 1965. At no time was Columbia’s chapter of SDS any bigger than 50 core members. At first, the organization was led by the “praxis axis,” a group of students focused on education, recruitment, and radical theory rather than large-scale action. When Mark Rudd was elected chairman of SDS in the spring of 1968, however, he proposed and pursued a much more dramatic “action faction” strategy. The March 1968 disciplinary action against the “Low Six,” the continued protest against IDA and open recruitment on campus, and the heated debates ensuing about the Morningside Park gymnasium gave Rudd and SDS a more thorough platform on which to act. The group organized a major rally for April 23, to take place on Low Plaza at the Sun Dial.