Social movement abeyance theorizes the persistence of social movements during times that are antagonistic to mobilization. In this dissertation, I argue that U.S. feminism is currently in abeyance and that educational institutions are generative environments for abeyance structures. Drawing on theories of women's movements, student movements, and movements inside institutions, I provide a systematic updating of abeyance theory. The study's design is comparative: the three field sites are Smith College, the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and the University of California-Santa Barbara, which are not only in three different regions of the U.S. but also have diverse student demographics and activist cultures. I employ both qualitative and quantitative methods and include semi-structured interviews (n=75), participant observation, and a survey of college students on each campus (n=1,400). I highlight three variable dimensions that help us understand the unique nature of social movements in abeyance: fields of contention, collective identity, and tactical repertoires. I argue that during periods in which mobilized participants have little support: a) institutions of higher education provide welcome environments for feminist mobilization, often in unexpected locations such as multi-cultural sororities and student government; b) feminist collective identities nest or "spill over" to influence other social movements including queer, anti-racist, and anti-fee hike organizations; and c) tactics move on-line, especially to social networking sites. The dissertation also attends to larger theoretical questions pertaining to emerging forms of political contestation and the persistence of social movements based on fundamental cleavages of gender, race/ethnicity, class, and sexuality.