The Canadian Union of Students (CUS) began in the late 1920s. The organization's primary objectives were to foster understanding and cooperation among students and advance Canadian students' legitimate interests. In the 1960s, CUS continually found itself in a swirl of political controversy. Some have suggested that the organization was transformed from a bland student bureaucracy during this period by leaders of the student New Left who sought to arouse student consciousness about significant social problems on the local, national, and international levels. However, the increasing political overtones in the organization led several universities, including the University of British Columbia, to withdraw from the CUS late in the decade. This action resulted in the transformation of the body in 1972 and its rebirth as the National Union of Students.