Retro Report: Looking Back on Ohio U’s Student Protests
By Henry Jost Staff Writer
O
ne might think of political polarization, racial tensions and students sent home early as a description of Ohio University’s 2020 academic year. Think again — this is a description of Ohio U in 1970. On May 4, 1970, the state of Ohio became the epicenter of the anti-Vietnam War movement. At Kent State University, the Ohio National Guard gunned down and killed four students who were peacefully protesting the expansion of the Vietnam War. Nine others were wounded. The massacre energized the anti-war movement throughout the nation as all eyes focused on Ohio. Protests on Ohio U’s College Green became a common occurrence. “If you flunked out of school you could be drafted,” Alan Wagner, an Ohio U class of 1973 graduate, said. “Everyone was just exhausted about the war, and the war was a big deal. People were protesting the war, and there was a lot of anti-war sentiment throughout the country, but especially on the college campuses.” In a time where students could be drafted but were unable to vote, protests ranged from rallying against the Vietnam War, to lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 and to announcement that Ohio U was raising the tuition for its students, according to Ohio Today. Looking back, this time period raised Ohio U’s reputation as a campus whose student body welcomed free speech. In 2005, a plaque was dedicated by the class of 2005 on College Green recognizing the
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university’s support of free speech and its history of its students using their voices. “College Green has served as a forum for the voices of Ohio University’s students throughout its history. Whether supporting civil rights, advocating for the abolishment of women’s curfews or in protest, students have and will continue to play a vital role in shaping Ohio University,” the plaque reads. After the Kent State Massacre, antiwar protests at Ohio University and around the country began to grow. Students burned their draft cards, set off fire alarms and created dumpster fires. Students blocking off traffic to protest the war was almost an everyday occurrence, as stated in Ohio University’s College of Arts & Sciences Forum. The tension of the protests ultimately led to the arrival of the National Guard. Then-university President Claude Sowle announced on May 15 that students would be sent home for the remainder of the semester, according to OHIO News. Another element that contributed to student protests were racial tensions during the fight for civil rights, particularly following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. “In its own way, it was the Black Lives Matter. There was so much racial tension even in the backdrop to the Vietnam War. You have all these young men serving who are African American; they are over there fighting in Vietnam and they aren’t treated well in their own country,” Wagner said. The debate on collective good and individual freedoms currently polarizing our culture and politics is reminiscent of the late ’60s and early ’70s.
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