"The demise of in loco parentis in American higher education" : campus rules and student behavior at the University of Missouri, 1866 to 1975

Abstract

This study explores the history of in loco parentis as a legal regime in American higher education, and the demise of that legal regime in the 1960s and 1970s. It examines student behaviors and administrative discipline during the in loco parentis era, with an emphasis on events at the University of Missouri. The study argues that a primary motivation for student activism in the 1960s was a desire on the part of students to roll back or overturn in loco parentis rules on campuses nationwide. Student activism during the 1960s was the result of changes in American culture during the twentieth century as well as structural changes in institutions of higher education. The end of in loco parentis in American higher education was made possible by these changes.