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May 4 Commemoration

The Gwangju Uprising memorial mural in Gwangju, South Korea

A group of Â鶹´«Ã½ professors recently returned from a visit to the commemoration of the Gwangju Uprising at Chonnam National University in Gwangju, South Korea, feeling inspired for the meaningful connections they made to the May 4, 1970, shootings at Kent State.

Euihuack Kang, associate professor and chair of the Department of English Language and Literature at Chonnam National University in South Korea, takes part in a panel discussion on May 3, 2024.

A professor from Chonnam National University in Gwangju, South Korea, said his recent visit to Â鶹´«Ã½ enabled him to experience his research into the May 4, 1970, Kent State shootings in a whole new way.

May 4 Commemoration 2024

This year's May 4 Commemoration remembered the fallen and recognized the spirit of activism that is part of Kent State's history and the university's foundational values. 

Dean Kahler, shot and paralyzed on May 4, 1970, rings the Victory Bell at the 54th Commemoration of the shootings.

Against the backdrop of a new generation of student activism, the Kent State community gathered to reflect and remember the student protesters killed and wounded on May 4, 1970.

Chris Post speaks at Jerry M. Lewis Lecture Series

Commemorative landscapes and how they help produce a sense of empathy and place and foster a connection to help us learn from our past was a theme explored Friday, May 3, by Â鶹´«Ã½ Professor Chris Post, Ph.D., speaker for the annual Jerry M. Lewis May 4 Lecture Series and Luncheon.

A photo of protests on the Kent Campus from May 4, 1970, from “Photographs: Â鶹´«Ã½, by McGuire,†Â鶹´«Ã½ Libraries. Special Collections and Archives

The lessons of Kent State should not go unremembered, President Todd Diacon writes in this opinion piece published in Inside Higher Ed.

Candlelight Walk and Vigil 2021

Tonight, the annual candlelight walk and vigil continues a 53-year tradition as part of this week's May 4 Commemoration.

May 4 Commemoration graphic

Â鶹´«Ã½ will hold its 54th annual commemoration honoring the memory of May 4, 1970, a tragic day when the Ohio National Guard fired on Kent State students during an anti-war protest on campus, killing four students, wounding nine others and sparking a turning point in American history.

May 4 Memorial and daffodils

A year ago, Yeonmin Kim, Ph.D., ’13, a literature professor from Chonnam National University in Gwangju, South Korea, was concluding his time as a visiting professor at Â鶹´«Ã½ with one goal in mind: Create an exchange program between the two schools based on their historic campus tragedies.