Memorials
Bibliography
Center for Applied Conflict Management
Kent Area Chamber of Commerce
Institute for the Study and Prevention of Violence
May 4 Task Force
Special Collections and Archives
1971
Candlelight Walk and Vigil
Each year since 1971, students, faculty and others gather at 11 p.m. on May 3 to take part in a candlelight procession around the perimeter of campus. Following the walk a vigil begins with people positioned in the spots where the four students were killed. The vigil continues until
12:24 p.m. on May 4, the time of the confrontation between the students and the National Guard. The candlelight walk and vigil were established by Emeritus Professor Jerry Lewis with the help of students. Today, the May 4 Task Force student organization conducts the walk and vigil.
Annual Commemoration at 12:24 p.m. on May 4
The May 4 Task Force student organization has coordinated commemorative programming at 12:24 p.m. on May 4 each year since 1971.
Center for Peaceful Change
The Center for Peaceful Change was established as a living memorial to the deceased students. The center addresses non-violent social change through teaching, research and public service. (The Center for Peaceful Change has since been renamed the Center for Applied Conflict Management.)
May 4 Resource Center
The May 4 Resource Center, which contains materials about May 4, 1970, campus unrest during the Vietnam era and the U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia, was established in the University’s Library. Kent alumnus Victor Buehrle Jr. provided funding for the resource center, which is open to the public and also serves as a reading room. Portraits of the four slain students are displayed in the room.
May 4 Marker
Because three of the four students killed were Jewish, the B’nai B’rith Hillel Jewish Services Center at Kent donated a plaque bearing the names of all four students. The plaque was placed in the Prentice Hall parking lot in 1971 and was stolen two years later. The marker was replaced in 1975 through the efforts of the late Dr. John Boles and other members of the Kent faculty.
“The Kent Four” Sculpture
A former faculty-artist, Alastair Granville-Jackson designed a sculpture titled, “The Kent Four.” Completed in 1971, the sculpture is located near the School of Art building.
1977
Official Day of Remembrance Declared
May 4 is established as an official Day of Remembrance and classes recess from noon to 2 p.m.
1978
Stained Glass Windows
Ted Abel, an alumnus of Kent’s School of Art, gave four stained-glass windows, depicting a sunburst in various stages, to Kent State University to commemorate the events of May 4, 1970. The windows were placed in the May 4 Resource Center in the University Library.
1984
Permanent Memorial Recommended
A University committee recommended that a permanent memorial be built and that, “ the site should present the visitor with the opportunity to inquire into the many reasons and purposes of the events that led to the killing and wounding of students on May 4, 1970, and to encourage a learning process to broaden the perspective of these events.” A national design competition was initiated in 1985.
1990
Memorial Dedicated at the 20th May 4, 1970 Commemoration
The May 4 Site and Memorial, designed by Chicago architect Bruno Ast, was dedicated on May 4, 1990 as part of the 20th May 4, 1970 Commemoration. Engraved in the plaza’s stone threshold are the words “Inquire. Learn. Reflect.” The memorial is surrounded by 58,175 daffodil bulbs, which symbolize the number of our country’s losses in Vietnam. Kent artist Brinsley Tyrell contributed to the concept of the symbolic planting of the daffodils.
May 4 Scholarships Established
Scholarships were established to honor the four slain students, Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer and William Schroeder. In 1998, the scholarship awards were increased to include full in-state tuition, room and board. These scholarships are among the most prestigious awarded through Kent’s Honors College.
1995
25th May 4, 1970 Commemoration
The May 4 Task Force hosts the 25th annual commemoration, “In the Footsteps of History, We March with Them.” The university-wide commemoration committee host a “Legacies of Protest” symposium and a series of other programs.
1999
Prentice Lot Markers Installed
As a result of a request from the May 4 Task Force student organization, the university authorized the installations of markers locating the sites in the Prentice Hall parking lot where the four students were killed on May 4, 1970.
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