{"id":2237002,"date":"2024-05-04T03:08:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-04T07:08:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kent-state-to-mark-anniversary-of-campus-shooting-amid-backdrop-of-unrest\/"},"modified":"2024-05-04T03:13:05","modified_gmt":"2024-05-04T07:13:05","slug":"kent-state-to-mark-anniversary-of-campus-shooting-amid-backdrop-of-unrest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kent-state-to-mark-anniversary-of-campus-shooting-amid-backdrop-of-unrest\/","title":{"rendered":"Kent State Commemorates Campus Shooting Anniversary Amid Current Tensions"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fkent-state-to-mark-anniversary-of-campus-shooting-amid-backdrop-of-unrest%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2237002&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The incident at Kent State University in 1970, where anti-Vietnam War protesters\u2063 were\u200b shot, is still remembered\u200b as universities\u2064 face challenges \u2064dealing with present-day protests. The aftermath of the\u2063 May 4th tragedy influences the responses of\u200b school administrators today. \u200dThe commemoration of the 54th anniversary of the \u2063event at Kent State is a somber reminder of \u200cthe need for meaningful reflection\u200c and action in \u2063current times.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>As Kent State University prepares to commemorate the 54th anniversary of the shooting of anti-Vietnam War <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/first-amendment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>protesters<\/a> on its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/higher-education\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>campus<\/a>, universities are struggling with how to respond to present-day pro-Palestinian agitators protesting the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/hamas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Israel-Hamas<\/a> war.<\/p>\n<p>The May 4, 1970, crackdown on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/russia-warns-of-negative-legal-consequences-as-mass-anti-war-protests-break-out\/\" title=\"Russia Warns of 'Negative Legal Consequences' as Mass Anti-War Protests Break Out\">anti-war protesters<\/a> by the Ohio National Guard weighs heavily on the minds of school administrators today who, until very recently, have largely allowed illegal encampments to disrupt students without much pushback.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think every administrator, even if they weren\u2019t alive then, is aware of that, and they are worried about a situation escalating beyond their control,\u201d Robert Shibley, special counsel for campus advocacy at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cI think that does make them reluctant to use police to remove people who are breaking the rules or even hesitating to use them when protesters are blocking legitimate students from getting to places or even in situations of violence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While Columbia University finally <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/2986131\/nypd-riot-police-storm-barricaded-columbia-building-dislodge-protesters\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>allowed<\/a> the New York City Police Department to take back control of its campus after weeks of blocking them, other schools have instituted half-measures or even capitulated to the demands of protesters.<\/p>\n<p>At George Washington University, a fence was built around the encampment, meant to keep new protesters from entering but allowing those remaining to leave. While the encampment dwindled to around 20, students promptly clashed with university police, broke through the barriers, and expanded their encampment both in size and in personnel. Washington, D.C.\u2019s Metropolitan Police Department refuses to answer university calls to help clear the illegal encampments.<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Barricades torn down by demonstrators are piled in the center of an encampment by students protesting against the Israel-Hamas war at George Washington University on Monday, April 29, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Mark Schiefelbein)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Rutgers University, University of Minnesota, Northwestern University, and Brown University have each <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/article\/2024\/may\/02\/rutgers-university-of-minnesota-protest-agreement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>capitulated<\/a> to many of the protesters\u2019 demands, which have also seen encampments cleared.<\/p>\n<p>In conservative states like Texas, the approach has been different, with protesters at the University of Texas clashing with school police, supported by Texas Department of Public Safety officers.<\/p>\n<p>With the Saturday anniversary of Kent State, coupled with the stratification of responses from schools, particularly those involving <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/explosion-in-nyc-housing-complex-leaves-at-least-10-injured\/\" title=\"Explosion in NYC housing complex leaves at least 10 injured\">heavy police presence<\/a>, many are drawing parallels.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What happened at Kent State?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Protests at Kent State began May 1, 1970, in response to President Richard Nixon\u2019s announcement that U.S. troops would invade Cambodia as part of the war in Vietnam.<\/p>\n<p>Many of the protesters were unarmed but violent and openly noncompliant with police and National Guard attempts to keep the peace.<\/p>\n<p>On the night of May 1 and into the early hours of May 2, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/portland-police-association-moving-headquarters\/\" title=\"Portland Police Association moving headquarters\">protesters set fire<\/a> to dumpsters in the streets, clashed with the police responding, and began breaking store windows when police tried to clear the streets. By May 2, after a civil emergency was declared by the mayor, protesters set fire to the ROTC building on campus, completely destroying it, and cheered while it burned. Protesters attempted to thwart firefighter attempts to extinguish the blaze by slashing fire hoses, causing another clash with authorities.<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Ohio National Guard soldiers move in on war protesters at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, May 4, 1970. (Akron Beacon Journal via AP, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Despite the fact that announcements were made that demonstrations would be prohibited on campus, thousands of students showed up May 4 and were told to disburse by the National Guard. Protesters were met with bayonetted M1 Garand rifle-wielding <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">guard members<\/a> and tear gas. Some protesters began throwing rocks at the authorities, and guard members began shooting. While some shot into the air, others shot into the crowd, resulting in the casualties. It is disputed whether the guard members were shooting in self-defense, as has been claimed by some.<\/p>\n<p>On May 4, 2024, Kent State <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kent.edu\/may-4-1970\/commemoration\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>plans<\/a> to \u201chonor and remember\u201d the incident.<\/p>\n<p>Roseann \u201cChic\u201d Canfora, the chairwoman of the commemoration organizing committee and whose brother was injured, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ideastream.org\/education\/2024-04-22\/kent-state-university-set-to-mark-54th-anniversary-of-may-4-shootings\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>said<\/a>, \u201cOur challenge as planners of May 4 commemorations the last 54 years has been, not only to find appropriate ways to remember the students who died and those who were injured that day, but also to find ways to make May 4 meaningful for current students today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Canfora said college students are the \u201cconscience of America,\u201d adding, \u201cIt\u2019s on college campuses where students daily dream and plan for a future for themselves and for others. \u2026 Students have historically been at the forefront of change.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Kent State and the modern response to protest<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>To many observers, school responses to the protests, some of which have been characterized by disrupting students from getting to class, harassment, and even intimidation, have been lackluster. Republicans across the board have called for a heavy police presence to effectively bulldoze encampments, which are unauthorized, while Democrats and school administrators have been walking a tighter rope between faithfully keeping the peace on campus, for which they are fully responsible, and allowing the protesters to remain.<\/p>\n<p>The reluctance to use police force to maintain safety and enforce school rules is fueled by at least two things, Shibley said: the specter of Kent State and the political alignment of the administrators with the protesters.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKent State is both a reason and also to some extent an excuse to say, \u2018Oh, we can\u2019t send the police in. What if things get violent?&#8217;\u201d Shibley said. Administrators making that argument assume a police presence will inherently become violent and are therefore more easily able to justify their inaction.<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Demonstrators hold their ground near a main gate at Columbia University in New York, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, as New York City police officers move to clear the area after a campus building was taken over by protesters earlier in the day. (AP Photo\/Craig Ruttle)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Recently, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) made the comparison explicit, <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/senate\/4627388-tim-kaine-national-guard-college-campus-palestine-protests-bad-idea\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>saying<\/a>, \u201cI think calling in the National Guard to college campuses for so many people would recall what happened when that was done during the Vietnam War, and it didn\u2019t end well. The National Guard going to college campuses, Kent State and elsewhere, did not end well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Even if administrators are worried about clashes becoming violent, much of the complacency from schools is motivated by viewpoint discrimination, Shibley said, where by and large, school administrators see the pro-Palestinian protesters as in their political camp. They are therefore willing to slow-walk a response to keep the peace, move the goalposts for breaking the rules, and even negotiate and capitulate to the demands of protesters.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen colleges allow people to break the rules because they\u2019re afraid to take action against their favored political sides, they are courting this disaster,\u201d Shibley said. \u201cIt\u2019s impossible to imagine, for example, Colombia going through this level of negotiation if the occupation were from the people who were marching in Charlottesville. Americans understand, and students understand too, that they can\u2019t count on being treated the same regardless of who they are or what they believe, and that\u2019s corrupt and it\u2019s wrong, and it leads to dangerous situations like we\u2019re seeing on campuses now.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>New York City police enter an upper floor of Hamilton Hall on the Columbia University campus using a tactical vehicle in New York, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, after a building was taken over by protesters earlier Tuesday. (AP Photo\/Craig Ruttle)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cColleges have really lost a lot of credibility over the last generation because it\u2019s become very clear that if you happen to be among the college\u2019s political favorites, they are not going to enforce the rules the same strict way that they might with people they disfavor,\u201d he continued. \u201cIf you start making exceptions for them, it\u2019s reasonable that the people who are benefiting from those exceptions will continue to try to push the boundaries of what they\u2019re allowed to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Regardless of the hypocrisy in dealing with unrest on campus, large-scale clashes with authorities have been made almost inevitable by schools not taking early action to enforce their own rules, which increases the risk of injury for protesters, bystanders, and police, Shibley explained.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe correct approach to that is to not let it get to that situation in the first place,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you\u2019ve abdicated your responsibility to ensure that the rules are followed early on, it\u2019s true that the risks are higher for something like that later on when things are already out of control. But you\u2019re still responsible for making those decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ahead of the 54th anniversary of the tragic shooting at Kent State University, schools face challenges in handling present-day demonstrations. Reflecting on the May 4, 1970 events, amidst tension over the Israel-Hamas conflict, universities grapple with responding to protests while remembering the past Ohio National Guard crackdown on anti-war demonstrators<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":179,"featured_media":2237003,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP24121021757498-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2237002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP24121021757498-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2237002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/179"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2237002"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2237002\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2237003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2237002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2237002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2237002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}