May 4

Movie's screening to be followed by a virtual panel discussion about the impact and lessons of May 4, 1970.

In keeping with the commitment to honor and remember the events of May 4, 1970, Kent State University will hold a virtual May 4 51st Commemoration this year. The virtual commemoration will feature a video premiering at noon on Tuesday, May 4, that focuses on the nine wounded students: Alan Canfora, John Cleary, Thomas Grace, Dean Kahler, Joseph Lewis, Donald Mackenzie, James Russell, Robert Stamps and Douglas Wrentmore.

Kent State University invites educators of students in grades 6-12 to apply by March 1 for its 2021 Landmarks of American History and Culture workshop, “Making Meaning of May 4: The 1970 Kent State Shootings in U.S. History,” which has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.

 Donations will benefit students in Kent State's Library Science program.

 Donations will benefit students in Kent State's Library Science program.

Canfora was one of nine students wounded by Ohio National Guard soldiers during a peaceful protest. 

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.

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.