Kent State Redux?

[liberal N proud]

Published on Sunday, November 20, 2005 by CommonDreams.org
Kent State Redux?
by Caroline Arnold

"This had nothing to do with his political beliefs or his right of free speech," Rainone said. "It had everything to do with him removing his safety harness. The officer thought he was creating a risk to himself and to others on the ground."
-- Cleveland Plain Dealer, "KSU won’t discipline student over protest" 11/17/05
On October 19, David Airhart, an ex-Marine and freshman anthropology major at Kent State, took part in the Kent State Anti-war Committee (KSAWC) protest against military recruiters on the KSU campus. Airhart had signed the liability release forms to scale the recruiters’ 30-ft climbing wall, put on the safety harness and climbed to the top of the wall, where he unfastened the harness and spread out a banner reading KENT OHIO 4 PEACE. One of the recruiters started climbing the wall, objecting to the banner; Airhart climbed down the back, where he was met by another recruiter who tried to pull him down. Police cited Airhart for disorderly conduct, he was fined $105 and ordered to appear at a university disciplinary hearing on November 17. The hearing was cancelled just hours before it was to convene.

<snip>

The winds are changing. Kent State may again play a pivotal role in ending an unjust war. But we would do better to use it not as a target for criticism but as a fulcrum to lift the issues of war, torture, poverty, and environmental degradation back into the public discourse, and to take back control of our government

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1120-22.htm

[rfranklin]

1. I remember that day in 1970, and I am not amused...

by the clever headline. I thought more students had been killed. No "redux" for me, thank you.

[liberal N proud]

2. I thought the same thing when I first saw the headline

and I live in NE Ohio, I thought did I miss something in the news.
I was relieved to find out there were no shootings this time.

I think that what the writer was getting at is that Kent State may again be center stage in the anti war movement. Let hope they can prevail this time without any fatalities.

[Selteri]

3. I pray that the issues from Kent State don't repeat themselves.

I've been to Kent state, seen the area where the students were shot and learned a lot about it, may we not go so low agian.