In 1965 the United States started to deploy troops into Vietnam, in fear of the spread of communism all over the world. At the height of the war thousands of students began to protest across the country.
41 years ago, today, 4 students were shot and killed by the National Guard during protests against the war, along with 10 wounded. This shooting sparked even more protests against the government, including a large movement at Ohio University. Students were already protesting prior to the Kent State shootings and arrests were made during an ROTC sit it by 9 OU students.
Terry Nance was a student during the protests at OU. In a recent interview he told the columbus messenger, "The next 10 days were weird. During the day, everything was normal on campus. People went to classes, followed their usual routine, but as soon as the sun went down, things got bad...dangerous"
OU students were uncooperative with the Athens police, pulling bricks off the street and vandalizing store fronts.
Tear gas was eventually used on the students to clear the crowds and mayhem. Eventually the National guard was brought into Athens. The next morning, as Nance went uptown to get a copy of The Post, he recalled, “As soon as I turned the corner, all I saw was National Guardsmen. They were stationed at every parking meter and every hotspot on campus.”
On May 15, 1970, Ohio University announced to the students that they had until 5 p.m. that day to leave campus and return home. This was only 10 days after the Kent State shooting. The protests that occurred during these weeks are sadly remembered and influence how universities and the government handle protests today.
-Chris and Turner
For the entire interview with Terry Nance go to:
http://www.columbusmessenger.com/NC/0/8408.html
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