Remembering That Day in May, 1970
In Volatile Times Words Can be Lethal
In Volatile Times Words Can be Lethal
On the morning of Monday, May 4,
1970 I had decided not to drive down to the Kent State campus to follow up on
the continuing student unrest that had flared in recent days. It turned out to
be a huge mistake.
I had been down over the weekend.
Viewed the disruptions in downtown Kent Saturday night, saw the remains of the
ROTC building that had allegedly been torched by students. On Sunday our flamboyant
Governor Jim Rhodes, running for the Republican nomination for the Senate, was
on campus demanding peace on all campuses in Ohio, and an end to student
protests. He called the troublemakers, “worse than Brown shirts, communists and
vigilantes.” In a sense lighting the fuse in already emotionally charged
environment.
