When you were Stater editor, how was May 4 remembered by the Kent State community?
Michael Pesarchick, editor, Fall 1980
A variety of events commemorated May 4 in my day: lectures, a march of students in the vicinity of the May 4 shooting sites, an overnight candlelight vigil in the Prentice Hall parking lot (in 1980 this included some of the parents of the slain students), and finally on noon of May 4, a very large assembly in the Commons, a tolling of the Victory Bell, and speeches for numerous personalities, student group leaders and often by some of the wounded students, including Alan Canfora. May 4, 1981, took place the day after one of the TV networks aired a made-for-TV movie about May 4, so it was a rather emotional day and students were highly interested in the May 4 issue and what happened.
When you were Stater editor, how was May 4 remembered by the Kent State community?
Tom Wills, editor, Fall 1983
At that time there was no organized memorial. There were events in the old part of campus, and near Taylor Hall. I believe many were student organized. It was a strange 'in between' time of trying to preserve the past - and trying to get past it. I was not greatly involved personally, and I regret that now.
When you were Stater editor, how was May 4 remembered by the Kent State community?
Matthew Merchant, editor, Summer 2014, Spring 2015
I was editor during the 45th anniversary events. At the time, the same reverence of the events permeated everything on campus in the days leading up to the May 4 as it had in years’ past and now. But there were underlying current events that seeped into the discussions: The riots in Ferguson, Missouri, had happened months before and the tide of Black Lives Matter rose; there were mass shootings in South Carolina, Oregon and San Bernardino, California; and ISIS attacks across Europe. Everything seemed to culminate on May 4 where those current events collided with memories of 1970. It felt like the Kent State shootings had just happened alongside everything else.
When you were Stater editor, how was May 4 remembered by the Kent State community?
Michael Pfahl, editor, Spring 2000
I think as a student, my friends and I were always ‘aware of the remembrance, but it wasn't as emphasized as it has been in the last 10 years or so. You knew it was happening, you knew there would be a speaker and sometimes you'd stop and join the crowd during the commemoration, but it didn't feel like it was an accepted part of Kent State's history. Of course, it was an important event to many, but even as a Stater employee, its significance was never quite captured the way it is today.