<p>Student demonstrations at Columbia University date back to its earliest years but intensified in the late 1960s. In February 1967, eighteen members of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) staged Columbia&rsquo;s first sit-in at Dodge Hall, protesting CIA recruitment on campus. Other demonstrations opposed the University&#39;s submission of student class rankings to Selective Service Boards, military recruitment on campus, and involvement in the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA). On April 21, 1967, the first student-to-student clash erupted when 500 students supporting open recruitment on campus confronted 800 anti-recruitment demonstrators. This disruption led University President Grayson Kirk to ban picketing and demonstrations inside all University buildings starting in September 1967. These actions marked a significant period of activism and conflict on campus, reflecting broader societal tensions during the era.</p>