About two dozen people stood in the pouring rain today to remember the students killed and wounded during 1970 protests at Kent State in Ohio and Jackson State University in Mississippi. The violent response is stirring comparisons to the current federal crackdown on student protests.
On May 4, 1970 Kent State University students were protesting the Vietnam War and a military intrusion in Cambodia. The Ohio National Guard opened fire, killing four and injuring nine students, not all of whom were involved in the protest. Eleven days later, police opened fire at Mississippi’s Jackson State, killing two students and injuring twelve.
SUNY Plattsburgh Vice President for Enrollment and Student Success Karen McGrath calls it a solemn moment to remember and honor lives that were lost or changed.
“Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. reminded us quote – Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter – end quote. So this commemoration is more than remembrance. I see it as a day of responsibility. The responsibility to uphold truth, to resist injustice and to never forget the lessons that history has taught us,” McGrath says. “Let us carry forward the memory of those lost, the resilience of those who stood in solidarity and the hope that their sacrifices will continue to inspire.”
After laying carnations at a plaque, participants moved inside. Senior history major Jerrique Ortiz sees parallels between 1970 and today.
“Violence comes in many forms. It doesn’t just require a bullet. Violence comes in the form of suppression of free speech. It comes in the form of unlawful and unjust arrests, Notes Ortiz. “And we’re seeing that all over the country where people who don’t have citizenship are expressing themselves and their discontent with the political process in the United States right now and are being arrested and deported. And that’s just as violent in some cases because we don’t know where these people are coming from and the situations they have to return to. And they’re coming here for sometimes refuge and for educational opportunity and to deny someone that because they don’t agree with the current status quo or the current administration is totally unacceptable and deplorable.”
Tom Dietz was a student at Kent State and was in an adjacent building on the day of the shootings. He has attended most of SUNY Plattsburgh’s annual commemorations and was asked to give a presentation about what happened. He was asked if he notices echoes between what he had earlier referred to as attempts to suppress voices with current attacks against universities, not-for-profits and the education system.
“I think that this is a very long standing and consistent pattern that we’re seeing multiplied today. It’s sort of more intense than it’s ever been: Let’s make sure that we don’t have to justify what we’re doing, we’ll do whatever we want to do by pushing down any locus whether it’s universities, which are crucially important, but non-governmental organizations, kind of any place where you might have that kind of dissent,” Dietz says. “We desperately need new and better ideas. But there’s an intensity to squash that to prevent anybody from questioning decisions that are being made that if examined might turn out to be dubious.”
SUNY Plattsburgh has held its commemoration annually since 1971.
