Universities have been integral to organization, manifestation and dissent in society. From Martin Luther to Martin Luther King Jr., from Montreal to Hong Kong to Egypt, powerful activist movements have been born on university campuses. What role do professors and graduate students have in facilitating activism? Is it coincidental that activism and dissent have a strong place on university campuses? Is there a skill set, intellectually or practically, that gets moulded on campus? Can educators incorporate activism into their research and teaching, or will this only “politicize” the classroom and detract from intellectual responsibilities? Building on his own experience in teaching an experiential learning course on protest and dissent, Robert Huish discusses the importance of the university to progressive social activism, explores the ethical challenges that arise when lessons of the class go to the street, and advocates that academics should work to bring more experiences of activism into the heart of university education.