Featured May 4
Beginning Friday, May, visitors to the May 4 50th Commemoration website will be able to view a variety of special videos, online exhibits and interactive tours, all designed to honor and remember Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer and William Schroeder, the Kent State students who lost their lives 50 years ago on the Kent State campus.
“I had always been making art and music but the events of May 4th and beyond galvanized my creativity, infusing it with an existential anger and urgency that would otherwise not have happened. In short Devo and the idea of De-evolution as a manifesto would not exist without that defining historic trauma I experienced.” - Jerry Casale
Kent State University alumni who served as editor of the Daily Kent Stater each faced the challenge of covering the anniversary of May 4, 1970, when Ohio National Guardsmen shot and killed four students and wounded nine others during a Vietnam War protest.
Artifacts of May 4, 1970 – a survivor’s jacket, a gas mask and gun shell casing – tell a story that’s not often accessible to the general public. Assistant Professor Abe Avnisan and students in his digital sciences capstone course will bring these artifacts’ stories to life via the exhibit “May 4: Through the Looking Glass.”
Before May 4, 1970, students at Kent State were just regular students enjoying time together, performing, volunteering, and advocating for issues they believed in. Thanks to digital archives of the Daily Kent Stater and the department of Special Collections and Archives, here is a look into the life of Kent State students in the late 1960s and the days before the tragic events that would change the campus forever.
In keeping with the commitment to honor and remember the events of May 4, 1970, Kent State University will have an online “virtual” program to mark the 50th Commemoration with a variety of online videos, exhibits and learning resources.
They remember the sights and sounds of helicopters and trucks as the Ohio National Guard moved into their small college town. They remember the smell of tear gas. They remember the chants of the protesters against the Vietnam War and invasion of Cambodia. They remember the panic and fear that ensued immediately after they heard that four students were killed and nine wounded when the guardsmen opened fire on campus. On May 4, 1970, many people in Kent experienced a traumatic event that they will never forget.
In accordance with the order of Amy Acton, M.D., director of Ohio Department of Health, to stay at home to slow the spread of COVID-19, and in the interest of the health and safety of the community, Kent State University regretfully announces cancellation of the May 4 50th Commemoration Weekend events, scheduled to take place May 1-4, 2020.
Dean Kahler, one of the nine Kent State University students wounded in the May 4, 1970, shootings by the Ohio National Guard, will return to campus on Saturday, May 9, to serve as speaker for the One University Commencement. Thomas Grace, Ph.D., another of the nine wounded students, will serve as speaker for the Advanced Degree Commencement ceremony on Friday, May 8.
Kent State University is proud to announce the May 4 50th Commemoration Benefit Concert featuring Joe Walsh (with Barnstorm – Joe Vitale and Kenny Passarelli) and David Crosby (with his touring band), two Rock & Roll Hall of Fame members with strong musical connections to the events of May 4, 1970.