On May 4, 1970, four children were shot and killed by the National Guard. I know we went out on strike over Cambodia, but I was still passing out fliers, making a speech (my one speech), and raising hell. The… Read More ›
Politics
John Stevens: ‘We need to be constantly reminded of Kent State’
Americans’ pride themselves in the constitutional guarantee of peaceful protest. But when either side in a standoff pulls the trigger, turning a demonstration violent, a voice is lost. A larger message is sent. Disagreement, civil disobedience, can be deadly. Such… Read More ›
Denny Wilkins: ‘The day I first understood journalism’
I became a journalist in April 1970 at my hometown paper. I had little understanding of the profession. On May 4, government fired on its own citizens, killing four and wounding nine. Repeat: A government fired at its own citizens… Read More ›
David Kassnoff: ‘Any life lost exercising First Amendment rights is one too many’
The Kent State protesters demanded government accountability; the government responded not with answers but with violence. The student shootings at Kent State in 1970 signified the moment when the Vietnam War came to U.S. soil. Viewers of network newscasts had… Read More ›
Mike Jones-Kelley: ‘So now they are going to start killing us’
I remember thinking when I heard the news of Kent State, “So now they are going to start killing us.” Because in that era, there was a “they” and there was an “us.” In that time in our country’s history,… Read More ›
Lee Coppola: ‘Bloodshed over differences of opinion has no place in a democracy’
Perhaps at no better time in recent history does the Ken State shootings teach us a lesson. When some think the division in our country has opened a chasm too deep to heal, it’s worth remembering what happened when such… Read More ›
Paul Wieland: ‘A precursor to a new breed of imperialism’
The killings at Kent State reflected the usual lack of leadership by politicians. The country was already heavy breathing about the Vietnam War and needed cooler heads, not the ones running the state of Ohio at the time. Instead the… Read More ›
Barry Gan: ‘Awakening mainstream America’
The killing of four unarmed students at Kent State on May 4, 1970 is not the only time our government has fired upon unarmed civilians. It happened 11 days later, again, at Jackson State, when police opened fire on unarmed… Read More ›
Today’s America reflects on the Kent State shootings
Reflections from activists, academics and others on the Kent State shootings
PolitiFact NY posts first article by Bona students
The first fact-checking article produced by St. Bonaventure University journalism students in a special workshop was posted by PolitiFact New York on April 23. Michael Hogan and Sean Mickey authored the article, which examined a comment Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren… Read More ›
Jandoli Institute 