Nearly 40 years after a volley of 60 shots fired by Ohio National Guardsmen killed four students during a campus protest at Kent State University, my alma mater, the site has been named to the National Register of Historic Places.
The May 4, 1970 campus shootings site was added even though it did not meet the criteria that events being recognized had to have happened at least 50 years ago.
It was something those students deserved, said Mark Seeman, a Kent State anthropology professor (and I have had the honor of being a student in his class – one of my favorites) who helped write the 150 page application. Now, this place will be recognized by the government of the US as a place where history important to this nation took place.
Jerry M. Lewis, 73, a Kent professor emeritus who was there in 1970, said what took place that day was a very crucial event, not only of the Vietnam era, but the student activism experience.
Reacting to the shootings, President Richard M. Nixon said they should remind us all once again that when dissent turns to violence, it invites tragedy.
