In high school, when I first started looking at colleges and universities, I knew Kent State University sounded familiar for some reason. A quick Google search let me know that I probably had heard about it in one of my history classes (or perhaps that one old song?). Even after visiting the campus and committing to Kent State, I didn’t full grasp the gravity or the importance of what the tragedy of May 4, 1970, truly meant. All Kent State incoming students learn about the events leading up to and following May 4, 1970. When I became a tour guide for prospective students, I became a steward of the May 4 tragedy story and history. I walked prospective students and their families through the Taylor Hall parking lot, where memorials to the four students killed stand in the middle of the parking lot. This year, reflecting on the Kent State shooting feels a bit different. It is impossible to consider the implications the student protests in the 1970s and not draw parallels to the protests happening on university and college campuses today. My alma mater’s name has been thrown around, both by those urging the National Guard to get involved and stop the protests, and those supporting the students. Kent State’s President Todd Diacon put it well: “My point isn’t to wade into the protests, their structure, demands and organization, nor the opposition to them. Instead, I will simply say this as an historian and as the president of Kent State University: Our history is a bitter and vivid reminder of what happens when division and polarization crowd out peaceful dialogue and the search for understanding. To avoid this division and polarization, we embrace free speech while at the same time encouraging members of our community to practice kindness and respect when debating issues of the day. This is aspirational, we know. The alternatives can be dangerous.” #FlashesForever
The lessons of Kent State should not go unremembered, President Todd Diacon writes in this opinion piece published in Inside Higher Ed. https://bit.ly/44tUjQA
