Living May 4th, a pair of personal collections of items and artifacts pertaining to the tragic events of May 4, 1970, is currently on display at the Kent State University at Ashtabula Library. The exhibit is part of the campus’s commemoration of the 50th anniversary of May 4th.
Geneva resident Jeff Petrunger and anthropology associate professor David Perusek, Ph.D. contributed items for the exhibit including a chronological collection of local headlines, iconic covers of national magazines like Newsweek and Life, books, music compilations, clothing and other items pertaining to the events of May 4th and its aftermath.
Petrunger, a 1966 Harbor High School graduate and retired teacher, was a senior education major at the time of the shootings. His personal collection will run through the end of March. Perusek was part of a cohort from which the May 4th Task Force emerged and served on the board of the Kent May 4th Center shortly after its inception in 1989. His portion of the exhibit runs through May 4, 2020.
“As a 1975 graduate of Kent State, I’ve been part of the May 4th movement from the beginning, and I am happy to share some of these items from my life as a May 4th activist,” said Perusek. “I am very grateful to our library director, Amy Thomas, for her thoughtful, and I think effective, presentation of the displays.”
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