Reaction To The Kent State Shootings Essay

, Research Paper

Reactions of the May 4,1970!

For my research paper I have decided to examine the reactions of the people towards the Kent State University shootings, the university shut down, and mostly the reactions to the Federal Grand Jury. I choose my topic because there were a lot of unanswered questions for me regarding the reactions of Americans after the shootings. This project has help to silence some of my questions. I have learned a lot about how people felt about the shootings, the university shut down, but I learned a lot more about the public reaction towards the Federal Grand Jury and its outcome. This is important because it allows us to better understand why it happened. It also allows us to see what society’s feelings were about these issues. It also provides with the information to understand why the shootings became a landmark for the 1970’s and why the shootings are still remembered. I will present my information several ways. The first thing I will do is talk about and provide information on the shootings, the university shut down and the trial. Then I have selected several questions and comments from a questionnaire from the book, Judicial Impact: A Case Study of the Impact of the “Kent State” Federal Grand Jury on Students Attitudes Towards the May 4th Shootings, by James Kotschwar. I have selected these questions and opinions because I believe that they help to depicted all of the reactions. These statements provide both points of view. They are not just partial to the students or partial to the National Guard. After I present the questions and opinions I will explain what they mean. After that I will give information on how people felt about the question presented. By giving information on what people said at the time. Then I will explain whether or not I agree with the question and why or why not I feel the way I do.

The basic reaction of the shootings at Kent State University depended mostly on whether or not you were a student, a parent, local, or an older person. Many students across the country at other universities became outraged, scared, worried, and saddened. They felt this way because they did not know if this could happen to them. They also felt that way because they realized that the National Guard had no right to be there, it was not there place to take control over the university and put it under martial law. Students protest were not just here at Kent State University they were happening on college campuses across the country. Soon these protest really hit home for many college kids when they realized that the students shot were shot because they were protesting the same thing everyone else was protesting. The shootings really affected many people from all walks of life young and old a like. While doing my research I came across several letters written to President White and Kent State University in the book, The Kent Affair, by Ottavio Casale. But two letters stuck out the most. The first letter was written to President White from a mother in Evergreen, Illinois. She wrote, “My heart is heavy with sorrow for you, your faculty and the student body, but most of all for the parents of the murdered students If it happened at Kent State it could happen anywhere.”(Casale 92) The next letter was the most socking to me, it was written by a boy from Pacific Palisades, California. He wrote, “I want all of Kent to hear this I think we would be better off without the National Guard. All they do is KILL I am very sorry about the people that died, I am only nine but I understand.”(Casale 93) These two quotes us how the public perceived the shootings at Kent State, not only did affect college age kids and parents, it affected a little nine year old boy who lived over two thousand miles away. This diversity in age helps us to better understand how much the shootings impacted our nation. The older people and most locals believe that the students got what they deserved on May 4,1970. The older people of this society were not used to the new hair styles, dress style, and the foul language. The students at the time were going against the norms of society, challenging away of life that was sacred to many older Americans. Another thing that brought reaction was the shut down of the university. People from around Kent had mixed reactions, some felt that they had finally gotten what they wanted which was to see the university disappear. But others open their homes up to students who were unable to get home right away. Offering the students a place to eat, sleep, and shower until their parents could get them. Some of the residents felt that closing down the university was wrong because those who needed to finish to graduate and get on with lives were being stopped. One student wrote a letter to President White pleading not shut the doors of higher learning, not to impede the educational growth of those students who wanted to learn. Many professors provided places for the students to come and finish their work. Many classes were held in church basements to try and get students the requirements to graduate. Some professors held classes right in their living rooms; others traveled across the country providing classes to out of state students. This made people wonder if closing down the school was really the right thing to do. This was like punishing 20,000 students for the actions of about 1,500 students if that many. The decision would put many live