Kent State protests share parallels from 54 years ago

A ceremony on the University Commons area attended by Kent State administrators, survivors of the May 4, 1970 shootings, faculty and students from both the past and present.

Also in attendance were groups of pro-Palestine demonstrators who say they see parallels between what happened in 1970 and what is happening on college campuses across the country today.

"Obviously today is in honor of the memories of those who died. At that time, two of them were protesters, two were not." said Magdelen Weiss-Vopat of Concerned Students for a Better Future.

"We have the right to protest, we have the right to free speech, but May 4th, those protests were about anti-war sentiments and anti-war in general and today we see the exact same parallels in Gaza. It is very apparent to anyone who knows the history of May 4th and is watching the news today, so we are here today to ask the university to divest from weapons manufacturers," said Weiss-Vopat.

The pro-Palestinian demonstrators kept their vow to not interrupt or interfere in any way with what is intended to be a solemn ceremony.

Making themselves seen, particularly during a speech by University President Todd Diacon who said he has been the recipient of hundreds of angry emails sent anonymously, all condemning him for coddling radicals.

"We have the option of treating everyone, whether they agree or disagree with us, we have the option to treat them with kindness and respect," said Diacon. "And what do I mean by kindness and respect? I mean a full throated embrace of free speech combined with the highest levels of empathy."

"Let me say here that I honor the presence of our protesters, I appreciate the attitude you have brought here today just as I would honor the presence of those who might disagree with you and appreciate the attitude that they would bring today," he concluded.

Ringing the victory bell in memory of those who died and others who, like him, were wounded in 1970, Dean Kahler said he spoke with some of the demonstrators.

"I went through the crowd and talked to several of them. I said, 'I support your cause, I do not support anti-Semitism," said Kahler, who also said he feels the Israeli Defense Forces and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be held accountable for "war crimes."

While keeping their promise not to interrupt the ceremonies, pro-Palestine demonstrators staged their own passionate, but peaceful rally afterwards with several hundred cheering in response to pro-Palestine chants and as supporters of Israel stood silently by observing the rally.

"We want to make sure that we send our message very clearly and proudly here at Kent State, that we stand with the students who have been on the right side of history for so many times in a row. We want to make sure that we continue the legacy of the students who died here on May 4, 1970," said Yasheen Shaikh, of Students for Justice in Palestine.

The university did have uniformed and plain clothed police watching over the events, but there were no confrontations and the demonstrators disbursed without incident after about an hour.