Agents of Change

For the past 100 years, Willard Straight Hall has stood as a symbol of student voice, belonging, and engagement—serving as the university’s original student union and an essential gathering place for generations of Cornell students.

Among the most significant events in the building’s history is the occupation of Willard Straight Hall by the Afro-American Society (AAS) in April 1969 to protest against systemic racism and inequality, particularly related to the campus judicial system, university governance, support for Black students, and concerns over development of the Africana Studies and Research Center.

This consequential student protest — which served as a catalyst for decades of social, political, and cultural change across campus — is at the heart of the documentary Agents of Change (2016). 

Produced and directed by Cornell alums Frank Dawson ’72 and Abby Ginzberg ’71, Agents of Change documents the struggle for a more relevant and meaningful education, including demands for Black and ethnic studies programs, which became a clarion call across the country in the late 1960s. Through the stories of the young men and women who were at the forefront of these efforts, the film examines the untold story of the racial conditions on college campuses that led to these protests. These student leaders were caught at the crossroads of the civil rights, Black power, and anti-Vietnam war movements at a pivotal time in America’s history. Their activism remains relevant more than 50 years later, when many of the same demands are surfacing in campus protests across the country.

The screening will feature a post-screening discussion with filmmaker Frank Dawson ’72.

Free admission! Sponsored by the Willard Straight Hall Centennial Committee.

About Willard Straight Hall 100

Willard Straight Hall has stood at the heart of Cornell’s campus for a century — not just as a building, but as a space where something deeper takes root. 

More than stone and structure, Willard Straight Hall is where community is formed, voices are amplified, and futures begin to take shape. It is a place where students grow not only in knowledge, but in identity and purpose. Where conversations lead to action, friendships grow into lifelong networks, and campus becomes home.

Please join for the Centennial Celebration: 100 Years of Willard Straight Hall on Friday, November 21, 2025  from 4–6pm. 

Visit scl.cornell.edu/WSH100 for more information and upcoming events.