This civil damage suit remains very important. All investigations exonerated the victims, including Nixon's own presidential commission, which called the shootings "unnecessary, unwarranted, and inexcusable." Still, the guardsmen and Governor Rhodes have never been held accountable for their roles in the events which resulted in murder.

And as the years have gone by, this lawsuit is the only remaining "legal channel" remaining which can place the blame where it belongs -- on the trigger men, their commanding officers and Governor Rhodes--all of whom are defendants in this lawsuit.

Because of the persistent efforts of so many against the continued Kent State injustice, this lawsuit is still alive and will go to trial in Federal Court this fall. That is the final chance for the opponents of murder and injustice to compel the American system of "justice" to place the legitimate responsibility for the massacre upon its own agents.

The controversial sergeant on the front line of the firing squad consistently denied firing his pistol into the crowd, despite the fact that live films exposed shells ejecting from his weapon, and the testimony of ballistics experts revealed that the movement of his arm proved that he was firing his gun.

The majority of the guardsmen who testified blatantly lied under oath, as they had done in the press for five years, and painted a hideously false picture of the "rock-throwing mob" they faced, as they desperately attempted to justify their criminal act.

Unfortunately, a biased judge and jury ignored the mountainous evidence and supported the wild claims of the governor and his hired guns. A 9-3 verdict against the families of the victims was returned.

The families of the victims, long accustomed to insults in the courts, appealed their case. Although the prospects of the appeal seemed bleak, the Federal Appeals Court ruled favorable for the families and ordered a new trial, which will go to trial in Federal Court again this fall.

And so the people have won this new trial. If the families ever win this lawsuit, it will not simply be due to the actions of lawyers, a judge or a jury -- it will be due to the powerful mass actions of thousands who have demanded justice for so long at Kent State.

Join us this May 4th and at the courthouse on the opening day of the new Federal trial this fall, when once again, the truth will demand justice.

This fifteen-week-long trial revealed often shocking new evidence, which proved that there was an order to fire and a conspiracy to commit murder.

Evidence proved that the reaction of the national guard to the student protest was a direct result of the inflammatory rhetoric of Governor Rhodes during the day which preceded the shootings. Rhodes had laid the groundwork for their actions when he referred to Kent Students as "worse than the brownshirts and the vigilantes... the worst criminals that we harbor in America." And even further, when he added "It's over for them in Ohio...we're not going to treat the symptoms, we're going to eradicate the problems."

It is not surprising that when students rightfully refused to leave the commons at noon on Monday May 4, 1970, General Canterbury of the national guard was quoted as saying "These students are going to learn what law and order is all about." Twenty minutes later his men "eradicated the problem" for Governor Rhodes, and thirteen students lay bleeding, four fatally.

Without Perusek in the room, it would be difficult to continue the hearing without the defendant, so an administrator suspended the hearing. But because their efforts to divide and conquer did not work, and Perusek refused to be divided from his supporters, Dodge is now being charged with "disturbing the peace and good (sic) order of the university." For this, he faces disciplinary dismissal from the university.

It is the hearing board who refused Perusek the right to his own defense and attempted to divide him from his supporters that created the conditions which make the continuation of a hearing impossible. The hearing board attempted to make Perusek adopt their idea of a defense which could only result in the admission of guilt, and it was they who disrupted the hearing. However, none of the hearing board members are charged.

Perusek's charges and the charges against Dodge are a political attack, The hearing board is acting as a tool of the administration in silencing views which are critical of it. The KKK can recruit on campus. Certain religious groups are allowed to speak freely and distribute their literature, but those who hold critical views of the KSU administration find out that this right is not guaranteed to them.

It's horrible to imagine, but it is happening thousands of miles away. However, the root of the problem is right here in our own country. The U.S.   government and the 300 large U.S. corporations  make billions of dollars in profits by investing in and propping up a regime based on the virtual enslavement of its black majority.

It's not just due to the fact that the rulers of the U.S. are greedy and racist. Although this is true, there is more to it--The fact of the matter is that they can't survive without the profits they make by oppressing whole nations of people in all parts of the work. This is why they fought the war in Vietnam, which students across the country were protesting and which students on this campus died fighting against on this campus. The U.S. drive for profits is so strong, that hundreds of African students have been killed while fighting for their freedom from apartheid and U.S. domination.

William Williams, another KSU Trustee, is Chairman of  Akron Coca-Cola--one of the largest U.S. investors in South Africa.

KSU administrators' interest in South Africa can't last long, because the people of South Africa, including thousands of students and youth, are in rebellion. Over the last year or two, they have stood up time and again in Soweto, in the mines, and in the factories in struggles which will break the chains of apartheid and throw out U.S. domination.

American students stood up against an unjust war in 1970 and helped to make it impossible for our rulers to continue supporting the oppression of the Indochinese people. In the same way, we can support the South African people by helping to make it impossible for these same rulers to continue supporting South African apartheid.

Students at Kent should get behind the petition campaign and other activities being launched against KSU involvement in South Africa. There is a growing movement against university investments in South Africa on many campuses. For instance, students at the University of Wisconsin just forced their administration to drop 22 million dollars in South African investments last month after a year-long struggle.

Kent State students are remembered around the world for their tradition of opposing their government's domination of other peoples--specifically the

We must stand with our brother. An attack on on is an attack on all. Those who oppose this attack against us can and should attend Dodge's hearing on Tuesday, April 18th. A picket will begin at 4:00 p.m. outside the Conference  Suite on the 3rd Floor of the Student Center. The hearing will begin at 4:15 and everyone is invited to attend and witness the hearing.