kent state

  • When it began

    When it began
    At Kent State University a demonstration with about 500 students[ was held on May 1 on the Commons (a grassy knoll in the center of campus traditionally used as a gathering place for rallies or protests).
  • Period: to

    kent state shooting

  • before the shooting

    before the shooting
    City officials and downtown businesses received threats while rumors proliferated that radical revolutionaries were in Kent to destroy the city and university.
  • The national gaurd was sent

    The national gaurd was sent
    Following the meeting Satrom made the decision to call Governor Rhodes and request that the National Guard be sent to Kent, a request that was granted. Because of the rumors and threats, Satrom believed that local officials would not be able to handle future disturbances.[7] The decision to call in the National Guard was made at 5:00 pm, but the guard did not arrive into town that evening until around 10 pm
  • Press conference

    Press conference
    During a press conference at the Kent firehouse, an emotional Governor Rhodes pounded on the desk[17] and called the student protesters un-American, referring to them as revolutionaries set on destroying higher education in Ohio.
  • Another rally

    Another rally
    Around 8:00 pm, another rally was held on the campus Commons. By 8:45 pm the Guardsmen used tear gas to disperse the crowd, and the students reassembled at the intersection of Lincoln and Main Streets, holding a sit-in with the hopes of gaining a meeting with Mayor Satrom and President White. At 11:00 p.m., the Guard announced that a curfew had gone into effect and began forcing the students back to their dorms. A few students were bayoneted by Guardsmen.[21]
  • Protest begins

    Protest begins
    On Monday, May 4, a protest was scheduled to be held at noon, as had been planned three days earlier. University officials attempted to ban the gathering, handing out 12,000 leaflets stating that the event was canceled. Despite these efforts an estimated 2,000 people gathered on the university's Commons, near Taylor Hall.
  • The guard returned

    The guard returned
    Just before noon, the Guard returned and again ordered the crowd to disperse. When most of the crowd refused, the Guard used tear gas. Because of wind, the tear gas had little effect in dispersing the crowd, and some launched a second volley of rocks toward the Guard's line, too distant to have any effect, to chants of "Pigs off campus!" The students lobbed the tear gas canisters back at the National Guardsmen, who wore gas masks.
  • Getting the crowed to leave

    Getting the crowed to leave
    When it was determined the crowd was not going to disperse, a group of 77 National Guard troops from A Company and Troop G, with bayonets fixed on their M1 Garand rifles, began to advance upon the hundreds of protesters.
  • How many hurt and injured

    How many hurt and injured
    The shootings killed four students and wounded nine. Two of the four students killed
  • how far they one who got hurt/injured were away

    how far they one who got hurt/injured were away
    Of those wounded, none was closer than 71 feet to the guardsmen. Of those killed, the nearest (Miller) was 265 feet away, and their average distance from the guardsmen was 345 feet. \