The tragic events of May 4, 1970, at Kent State University when the Ohio National Guard killed four students, including Allison Krause of Churchill, and wounded nine others during an anti-war protest will be honored with an online virtual commemoration, the university announced Friday.
The commemoration will culminate the nearly yearlong observance of the 50th anniversary of the shootings. More than 100 programs and educational activities were scheduled across the university and around the country between July 31, 2019, and May 1, 2020.
A live on-campus commemoration planned for the weekend of May 1-4 was canceled in March following the Ohio Department of Health’s guidelines for reducing the spread of COVID-19. Plans had included numerous educational events, a benefit concert, and panel discussions as well as the traditional candlelight march and vigil.
“It is impossible to replace the very moving and solemn experience of the physical May 4 commemoration with something that occurs online,” Kent State President Todd Diacon said in a press release. “However, we knew it was important to remember and honor the events of May 4, 1970, even in the midst of all that was happening in the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
A variety of special content will be available on the website www.kent.edu/may4kentstate50 beginning May 1. The centerpiece will be a special video tribute to be aired at noon on May 4, featuring footage from past commemorations as well as newly recorded messages from several of the students wounded in 1970 reflecting on that day and their lives since. Among the wounded who filmed videos was John Cleary, a retired architect from Pine.
In addition, musicians David Crosby and Graham Nash, Kent State alumnus Jerry Casale from Devo, and Jesse Colin Young from the Youngbloods have contributed new messages.
Two new online projects, the May 4 Augmented Reality Tour and the Mapping May 4 project, will also debut during the online commemoration.
“That day left an indelible mark on the lives of many people around the world,” Rod Flauhaus, project manager for the commemoration, said in the release. “Even though we are physically not able to come together on the day of the 50th anniversary, we wanted to give people a way to come together online and still share in the experience.
“While our original plans for the 50th Commemoration have changed, the important thing is that we still remember and honor the lives of Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer and William Schroeder and the events of that tragic day in 1970.”
Michael A. Fuoco: mfuoco@post-gazette.com
First Published: April 17, 2020, 4:49 p.m.
