Peace. Love. Protests.

TOM HURWITZ
61; Hudson Heights

Then: Student Now: Documentary filmmaker and cinematographer

Which protests were you involved in?
I was involved in the takeover of the buildings in the Columbia University strike in ’68, and I was in the great civil- rights march on Washington in 1963.

What sparked the Columbia strike?
It was exposed that Columbia was involved in research that went directly into the military hardware for the war in Vietnam. [Also,] Columbia was building a gymnasium in one of Harlem’s only parks.

Out of all the protests, what is your most striking memory?
In maybe ’65, ’66, there was a march against Vietnam. The plan was to march from Washington into Arlington Cemetery, and then go silent—which the entire crowd did; it was really, really profound. The five days occupying the building in the Columbia strike were also life-changing.