In 1987, a student’s death at the hands of state police unleashed a wave of protests in South Korea. Students poured into the streets, and soon their demands for democracy were echoed by millions of citizens from all walks of life. This “June Democracy Movement” forced a military dictatorship to concede direct presidential elections. It wasn’t an isolated event.

Where democracy sprouts, university students are seldom far from its source. Search for democracy’s turning points — from Prague to Seoul, from Soweto to Santiago — and the pattern repeats: students move first, nations follow.

Over the past 50 years, student-led pro-democracy movements have helped topple dictatorships, restore democratic rights and fundamentally reshape societies. In 1989, Czech students gathered for what seemed like a routine commemoration of a student resistor murdered by Nazis. Within weeks, their peaceful protest had toppled a communist regime that had ruled for four decades. Indonesia’s 1998 student movement forced authoritarian leader Suharto from power after 32 years. Taiwan’s 1990 “Wild Lily” protests accelerated democratic transition. The Philippines’ 1986 student activists proved crucial to the “People Power Revolution.” Serbia’s “Otpor” pioneered tactics such as humorous street theater to counter the regime’s claims of violent protests — of which today’s “Portland Frogs” follow in the tradition — that helped end strongman Milošević’s rule. 

In recent years, this pattern has continued across continents. In Ukraine, the “Winter on Fire” began with student protests in Kyiv’s Maidan Square, sparking a revolution that ultimately ousted an authoritarian regime. In Bangladesh, student-led protests against corruption forced the resignation of a long-entrenched prime minister. Elsewhere, the struggle for democracy is ongoing. In Serbia, students reignited the pro-democracy movement by leading mass rallies against government corruption. In Hong Kong, students pioneered decentralized organizing tactics that mobilized millions in defense of democratic autonomy. In Iran, students continue to organize campus demonstrations as they have for decades, demanding civil rights and democratic reforms.

Universities bring together young people experiencing newfound independence, diverse perspectives and critical thinking about society. This combination creates conditions uniquely suited for democratic organizing. Campus networks allow ideas to spread with remarkable speed. Students possess a moral clarity unconstrained by decades of political calculation that resonates far beyond university walls. Their courage forces society to confront uncomfortable truths.

Again and again, students have responded to authoritarian repression with extraordinary courage and creativity. Their movements expose the gap between democratic ideals and authoritarian reality. Students pioneer tactics — from Serbia’s street theater to Thailand’s rubber ducks — that become symbols of and templates for broader democratic movements. When seemingly minor incidents occur — censorship of a student newspaper, police raids on campus, restrictions on academic freedom — students transform these sparks into movements that change nations. 

Research by Erica Chenoweth and Maria Stephan examining over 300 major protest movements found that those with high youth participation are more likely to succeed and more likely to achieve democratic outcomes. A key reason for this: student-led movements maintain nonviolent discipline even when facing violent state repression.

Faculty support proves equally vital. When professors stand with students, they bring institutional authority, scholarly expertise and international networks that amplify student voices.

Around the world, authoritarian regimes fear one alliance above all others: students and faculty acting together. During China’s Tiananmen Square protests, professors marched alongside students and helped articulate their democratic vision to the world. In Czechoslovakia’s Velvet Revolution, faculty members transformed student energy into structured political opposition through civic forums. South Korean professors issued statements that challenged the regime and connected campus activism to broader democratic principles. Through “flying universities” in Poland and underground seminars in Chile, faculty preserved democratic thought during intense repression.

Here at Stanford, we practice this partnership through Democracy Day and the Stanford Democracy Hub. In the trying and uncertain moment we find ourselves in, we can find strength in the knowledge that we are participating in a global tradition of university communities advancing democratic values. We have the freedom to organize openly, to debate freely, to build democratic skills without fear. That freedom is both a privilege and a responsibility.

Every generation faces its democratic challenges. Today’s threats may look different from those faced in Prague or Johannesburg, but the fundamental struggle between democratic and authoritarian values continues. 

The lesson is unambiguous: student activism works. Not always immediately. Not without setbacks. But persistently and powerfully. When students organize thoughtfully, articulate clear visions, build broad coalitions and sustain their efforts, they create change that ripples far beyond their campuses.

Democracy Day at Stanford embodies this tradition. Now in its fifth year, this student-led initiative transforms Election Day into something more: a recognition that democracy requires constant tending, not just periodic voting. With over 40 events from skill-building workshops to dialogues, the day channels what student movements worldwide have understood: democratic power doesn’t wait for permission.

The students organizing Democracy Day carry forward what their predecessors in Prague, Seoul and Soweto knew: that change begins in the conversations you start, the coalitions you build and the uncomfortable questions you ask today. Every workshop attended, every dialogue engaged, every connection made adds to a legacy of student action that has toppled dictatorships and revived democracies.

In nearly every democratic breakthrough of the past half century, the spark came not from parliaments or boardrooms, but from campus quads, lecture halls and late-night conversations among students who refused to accept the world as it was.

Your generation now holds that torch. What injustices will you refuse to accept? What movements will you decide to build? Whose rights will you demand be respected? What societal progress will you make real? What will you do with the power that history shows you possess? These are big and important questions. And your answers to them will cast long shadows.

Adam Bonica is a professor in the department of political science.