Vol. 1 No. 3, Page 1, April 24,1978
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| In recent months and weeks, President
Golding and the KSU administration have viciously slandered and attacked those of us who
seek to reveal the injustice of May 4, 1970. The May 4th Coalition, throughout the Gym controversy, and the the May 4th Task Force, since its inception in 1975, have publicly opposed the injustice of May 4, 1970, and this University's role in the cover-up of murder. Some of the malicious attacks upon our honorable movement for justice include many provocative statements form Golding, such as "...the Coalition and the Task Force have no real cause now.: This is clearly and attempt to deceive KSU students who know that there has been a serious injustice remaining her since May 4, 1970. Clearly, we are not an "abusive few," as Golding insists. Thousands of KSU students understand the nature of the Kent State injustice and they will be joined by thousands of other people of conscience from across the nation this month. We are not "an abusive few," and we do indeed have a real cause; we |
seek to reveal the truth about
murder, cover-up, and injustice at Kent State. The KSU administration clearly understands
this, and is increasingly fearful that those opposed to the injustice will succeed in
exposing the rose of Governor Rhodes, the Guardsman, and the University in the May4 4,
1970 murders. The University's fear is obvious. During 1977, and to the present day, Kent State University officials have vigorously attempted to silence the many voices which have been raised in opposition to the continued injustice. University rulers and their repressive agents--the police and the courts--have consistently ignored our First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and assembly in their attempts to hold the lid on the Kent State cover-up. In 1970, bullets were used to silence dissent ant Kent State. Since last year, the University, the police, and the courts have used other tactics in their desperate attempts to conceal the following despicable actions by the University Administration. The KSU Administration has stifled freedom of speech and assembly in many ways, by threats and intimidation of students, faculty and campus workers who oppose the injustice and the university policies; the withholding of |
university services to student groups
opposed to the injustice and the Gym; enforcement of "new rules" which prevent
rallies, marches, demonstration, and the flow of critical information; slanderous attacks
upon the motives of individuals and organizations who oppose university policy and its
role in perpetuating injustice; blaming protesters for recent enrollment decreases and
financial crises actually caused by tyrannical administrative decisions and
policies; and the unleashing of excessive police and "legal" force against
honest and sincere student dissidents. The police have acted as willing tools of the University in carrying out nearly 400 arrests, police arrest practices, tactics of harassment and excessive force, all of which have been widely criticized. This includes: discriminatory arrests against leaders and others; refusal to arrest those assaulting Coalition members; excessive photos and video-taping of legal student actions; roadblocks and illegal arrests; harassment of family members of the 1970 massacre victims; illegal surveillance; use of tear gas, clubs, horses, and arrests; at least one police riot (October 22, 19777): carrying at least one machine gun and other high-powered rifles on campus: and numerous other actions, which (Continued on page 2) |
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[PART THREE IN A SERIES] kent state Last week's article described the militant actions of Kent students on May 1 and 2, 1970; a justifiable rebellion against the criminal US invasion of Cambodia. This week's article describes the actions of Governor Rhodes and the Ohio National |
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| Guard during their two day reign of terror against students at Kent
State, May 3 and 4, 1970. * * * * * * * * * * * * Governor Rhodes and the Ohio National Guard came to Kent after the militant actions by KSU students in the early days of May, in 1970. On Sunday morning, May 3, 1970, Governor Rhodes held a press conference at the Kent City Fire Station. Because Rhodes was in the heat of a primary election campaign, he made an inflammatory "law and order" speech to appeal to the voters of Ohio. During this press conference Governor Rhodes made many statements which incited members of the Ohio National Guard to terrorize the students at Kent State. Here are a few of the governors remarks which prompted the Guardsmen to assault and ultimately murder defenseless students: "We're going to put a stop to this. This group wants to destroy higher education in Ohio. We're going to use every |
weapon of the law enforcement agencies of
Ohio to drive them out of Kent. They're the worst type of people that we harbor in
America. It's over with in Ohio. We are going to eradicate the problem." A day later, four young students were "eradicated" by guardsmen who were driven to commit murder after hearing the governor's orders. It is clear that the governor's provocative remarks provided the guardsmen with a license to kill. The blood is still on he hands of our notorious governor whose rhetoric incited and directly contributed to the Kent State massacre of May 4, 1970. During that Sunday evening of May 3, 1500 students stage a peaceful sit-in demonstration at the intersection of East Main and Lincoln streets. The students demanded a dialogue with the president of the University, the mayor of Kent and leaders of the national guard. Students wanted to discuss the war and several campus-related issues. When this dialogue was promised, the peaceful crowd moved out of the street unto the front campus area. |
The governor's remarks were echoed by
Sylvestor Del Corso, the adjunct-general of the Ohio National Guard. He stated, on the
same morning, "as the Ohio law says, use any force that's necessary even to the point
of shooting." These statements by Rhodes and the guard leaders caused the guardsmen
to assault students during the evening of May 3, 1970 and the afternoon of May 4, 1970. Immediately, the National Guard betrayed this gathering of sincerely peaceful students. These students were promptly tear-gassed and chased across front-campus by the guardsmen. At this point, several fleeing students were stabbed in their backs and legs by guardsmen's bayonets. One bleeding student ran across Main Street to a fraternity house and collapsed on the kitchen floor in a pool of his own blood. The guardsmen had begun their two-day reign of terror against KSU students. At noon, on the following day, May 4, (continued on page 3) |
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