4. Harvard University
The 46 students who staged a three-week occupation of the president’s office succeeded in putting a national spotlight on the low wages the nation’s wealthiest university pays its custodial and food-service workers. The protest—which stirred debate about the living-wage movement in media as diverse as Fox News, Business Week, and The Nation—ended when Harvard promised to raise the wages of food-service workers, although other employees will continue to make considerably less.

5. Howard University
After fellow student Prince Jones Jr. was shot five times and killed by an undercover officer in Prince George’s County, Maryland, in a case of mistaken identity, more than 200 Howard students marched on the U.S. Department of Justice. Their outcry caught the attention of then-Vice President Al Gore—who interrupted a campaign speech at Howard to speak out on the killing—and prompted a federal investigation of the use of lethal force by the Prince George’s police department.

6. University of Michigan
Michigan’s entrance into the Worker Rights Consortium, which polices the labor practices of university apparel licensees, initially prompted Nike to pull out of licensing negotiations with the school, but in January 2001, Nike agreed to reforms and signed a seven-year pact. Just weeks later, however, a consortium audit found that Nike was continuing to do business with a Mexican factory that had fired striking workers. Thanks to student pressure, Nike agreed to push the factory owners to improve working conditions and reinstate the workers.

7. Florida A&M University
Students at this predominantly African American school in Tallahassee were outraged at the disproportionate number of black voters disenfranchised in the 2000 presidential election. On November 10, one day into the recount, some 800 Aggies occupied three floors of the state capitol, demanding, and later winning, a meeting with Florida secretary of state Katherine Harris.