Historically, students at Beijing Normal University have played major roles in patriotic, democratic and other social movements, including the May Fourth Movement in 1919, the Cultural Revolution, and the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. "The New York Times" has described it as "one of the most progressive institutions" in China. During the Cultural Revolution, Beijing Normal University students made up much of the student-led Red Guard, which killed thousands of people and attempted to destroy what they saw as "outdated" and "backwards" artifacts and cultural institutions.