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The Kent State Shooting On the fourth of May, 1970, the world was shocked by what happened on the campus of Kent State. The unnecessary deaths of four students and the wounding and maiming of nine more was enough to shock the world. A peaceful demonstration turned into a blood bath when the National Guard opened fire on the protesters. Students came out on the Kent State campus and scores of others to protest the bombing of Cambodia, a decision of President Nixon's that appeared to expand the Vietnam War. Some rocks were thrown, some windows were broken, and an attempt was made to burn the ROTC building. Governor James Rhodes sent in the National Guard. After the shooting, the citizens of the nation took various stands on the issue. Opinions ranged from a vast overuse of force to a completely justifiable act of self-defense. Kent State became a much talked about and troublesome in American homes. Members of the 'Silent Majority' expressed horror at what happened to the protestors, but felt that a civilized society had an obligation to maintain a sense of law and order. There were a few reasons for the shootings occurring. The town of Kent and the university were barely able to stand one another. Nixon had alienated many young people by lying about the escalation of the Vietnam War. Many of these young people had felt betrayed when news leaked out about Nixon’s secret war in Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand. Students had begun forming action committees to study possible protest strategies. Rumors and hearsay were running rampant with tales of what was going to happen or what could happen. The national Guardsmen had just come from another riot were ill trained, and had slept little between their last posting and their new posting. The thought of the rumors being true put everyone on guard and caused nerves to fray. In order to understand what happened at Kent State, one must understand the town of Kent. Portage County had two cities large enough to support a proposed Teacher's College. Ravenna was a prosperous community, with a name for being a little rough around the edges. Kent was a quieter town, with a successful grain-processing industry. When Ravenna became the county seat, Kent was given the low honor, in its opinion, of hosting the new college. At first, Kent embraced the economic shot in the arm represented by a state facility. After many years, however, the flood of out-of-state students with liberal leanings began to wear on the nerves of Kent's more conventional citizens. By the late 1960s, the city of Kent and the Kent State campus were barely tolerant of each other. Students who visited the downtown bars were occasionally destructive, and the 'townie' crowd did not appreciate having to fix the damages themselves. By 1970, tensions between city officials and University leaders were obvious. The town of Kent braced for the usual end-of-class mayhem that weekend. Rowdy groups of students began milling around the downtown streets. Several townie biker groups were also present. The atmosphere became charged with negative energy from both sides. After being informed of the events, Kent Mayor Leroy Satrom declared a "state of emergency," and arbitrarily ordered all of the bars closed. Kent police, along with the mayor, then confronted the crowd. The riot act was read and police proceeded to clear the area. People inside the bars were ordered to leave, forcing hundreds more into the streets. As the bars began closing their doors early to avoid trouble, the students became more agitated. Finally, violence erupted. The crowd was herded toward the campus with tear gas and knight sticks, which was in the opposite direction in which some of them lived. Fourteen persons, mostly stragglers, were arrested. Store windows were smashed, property was vandalized and shops were looted. About $5000 in damage was done as 43 windows were broken 28 in one bank. These actions had a lot to do with the town/college tensions that had been brewing for a long time. On the second of May, concerned students came into downtown Kent to offer their time and services with cleanup efforts. While many shop owners appreciated this gesture, others were demanding an end to the violence that caused the damage. Rumors of radical activities were widespread, and Kent’s ROTC building was believed to be the target of militant students that evening. During the Vietnam War, students on many college campuses opposed the presence of ROTC and often were successful in forcing the removal of ROTC from their campuses. Kent's mayor agreed that some decisive action was necessary, a dusk to dawn curfew was imposed on the city of Kent, and students were restricted to the campus. By restricting students to camps, the mayor was allowing the students feelings to build to the point where they snapped. Angered by the city's sudden curfew, students once again looted downtown Kent.
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