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Position Paper of the May 4 Coalition
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POSITION PAPER MAY 4Th COALITION, JUNE
23, 1977 .
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the pagoda several turned simultaneously and fired at the students. The war had come home. In the following weeks student strikes had shut down 760 uni- versities across the U.S. This resulted in the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Cambodia within 60 days. The Kent State Murders of May 4,1970were not merely a tragic incident frozen in the past. That this is not only an episode in the history of KSU, but a continuing symbol all over Am- erica and the world, is indicated by the letters of solidarity which come in every year. It was a major turning point of the struggle against the war in Vietnam. It is an outrageous abridgement of the right to free and public expression. The con- tinuing cover-up and denials by the KSU administration state and federal governments smolders like Watergate and the Korean brib- ary scandals, destroying the facade of "public trust". Kent State University is obligated to preserve Blanket Hill and the playing field as they were in 1970. For the past seven years the KSU administration has worked hard to distort the facts, confuse the issues and bury the his- tory of May 4, 1970. The natural extension of this policy is to literally bury the site of the shootings under a sprawling build- ing. But Kent State is obligated to preserve this site, as Bos- ton must preserve the site of the Boston Massacre. It has been said that the gym would not cover the places where students fell. In fact the place where Jim Russel was wounded would be either inside or just outside the wall. The places where Dean Kahler was wounded and Jeffrey Miller was killed would be well within the construction fence and would be great- ly altered by the construction of a service road and landscaping. Moreover the sprawling structure would extend far into Blanket Hill and far into the playing field, covering the path of the guards' march and obstructing the paths of the bullets. Blue- prints indicate that landscaping would drastically change the contours of the entire area.
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The destruction of this area would be a
confirmation of the bloody suppression of free expression on May 4, 1970. The pres- ervation of this site is essential to carry the lessons of 'Kent State' to future generations. IT IS THE THREAT TO DESECRATE THIS SACRED GROUND WHICH UNITES THE MAY 4 COALITION AGAINST ANY PLAN TO BUILD ANYTHING ON THE SITE. OTHER ARGUMENTS HAVE ALSO BEEN RAISED BOTH BY PROPONANTS AND OPPONANTS OF THE GYM SITE. MUCH OF THIS DISCUSSION IS AN EFFORT TO DIVERT ATTENTION FROM THE PLANNED DESTRUCTION OF OUR PEOPLES HISTORY. EVEN IF ALL OF THESE COULD BE ANSWERED TO THE BENEFIT OF THE PRO-GYM-SITE FORCES , WE WOULD STAND FIRM. a) Destruction of legal evidence. The civil suit brought by the nine wounded and the parents of the dead against Govornor Rhodes, Guard officers and enlist- ed men and former KSU President White is presently under appeal in the Sixth District Court of Appeals. Because of numerous er- rors in the origional trial, there is a strong chance that the plaintiffs will win a new trial. If so, a jury view of the site will almost certainly be necessary. There are so many photographs taken from various perspectives or distorted by telephoto lens, that interpretation is impossible without a view of the site. Judge Young ordered a jury view in the first trial, and any Judge is likely to do the same. As indicated above, the planned construction would irreparably alter the area of the shootings. KSU President Olds has indicated that the plaintiffs' at- torneys were consulted about the gym plans. Now that the facts are clear, a plea for an injunction against the building has been entered b) Environmental concerns The gym would cut into Freedom Hill (formally refered to as Blanket Hill) and into the wooded slope on the other side of the playing field. A professional landscaper has determined that 37 trees, many over 100 years old, are scheduled for re- moval, (He appraised these trees at $105,650). Building the gym here would needlessly destroy one of the most beautiful sites in Kent. c) Economic concerns The planned buildinG is too large for the campus. When it was first planned in 1995 projected KSU enrollment was 30,000 and physical education was required for all students. Such ex- cessive projections led to excessive dormitory construction and an oversized library, now plans for a sprawling gym. The $6 mil- lion construction cost would pay for the new nursing building, art and business administration buildings combined. Moreover, according to Director of Facilities, Planning and Operations, Ted Curtis, projected yearly operating costs of the gym are over a quarter million dollars more than the operating costs of the facilities it is to replace. Yet state funding for operating budgets has been decreasing.. We have had repeated budget cutbacks and faculty dismissals and now there is talk of a $15-25 tuition increase. Clearly this concerns all of Kent State University, yet plans were made quietly. Although there werethree students on the committee which dis- cussed internal priorities of the building and site in 1973, They were Allied Health Science, Physical Education and Rec- reation majors. |
d) Decision process The planned location became publically known only grad- ually and in spite of KSU officials. Writers for last summer's KSU weekly reader had to sneak a picture of the model of the structure. After the same photo was published in the Daily Kent Stater in the fall of 1976, students packed the November meeting of the Board of Trustees demanding that several ques- tions before plans proceed. None of these questions were adequately addressed. Nevertheless the trustees Unanimously approved the building progress report to be sent to the state architect. On May 12, 1977, 500 People again packed the trustees meet- ing, with several hundred more outside. One coalition represent- ative was allowed to speak about the gym, as were two students in favor of construction. Then the major contract bids were approved 8-1. Now all 'proper' chanels had been exhausted. We began that day to occupy the land with tents and bodies, to physically enforce the right of our peopleto our history. We remain on Freedom Hill(formerly Blanket Hill) and we are determined to stay un- til the gym site is changed. Only late in Mayl977 did blueprints become available, which confirmed the worst estimates of the damage planned. (Working blueprints are still nearly inaccessible.) It is not too late for the site to be changed. Although present bids must be finalized by June 30, State Represent- ative John Begala has said that if the trustees decide by then to change the site, the state appropriation could be extended. Certainly there will be significant costs in preparing plans for a new site, but these are tiny compared to the damage to our history and to the people's trust in the U.S. system of justice. e) Architectural concerns Architecture students have pointed out that the building would unnecessarily disturb the topography, destroy important spatial characteristics of the site in relation to other buildings, and create pedestrian circulation problems. The blueprints show much wasted internal space. An extremely strong retaining wall would be necessary to withstand the pressures of Taylor Hill where the building cuts into it, and drainage problems are a hazard AGAIN WHILE ALL THESE CONCERNS ABOUT THE PROPOSED BUILDING ARE SIGNIFICANT, THE PRIMARY ISSUE IS THE HONEST SURVIVAL OF HISTORY. Our other demands are part of this concern: 1. JUSTICE FOR THE MURDERS. The university never even bothered to send letters of condolence to the families of those slain on May 4, 1970, although it has gone to a lot of trouble since then to cover up the facts of the 'incident'. While the supporters of the students and their parents have fought for every crumb, the State of Ohio provides millions of dollars for the legal defense of Governor Rhodes, former KSU President White, Guard officers and enlisted men. Kent State University claims to |
be impartial, but seven of the trustees owe their
appointment to Governor Rhodes. And Trustee Robert Blakemore is the at- torney for former KSU President White. 2. NO 'BUSINESS AS USUAL' ON MAY 4. It was not just the death of four students on May 4, 1970: Our sisters and brothers were slaughtered by state guns. This touches the history af all America, of the Vietnamese and Cambodian people, of people throughout the world. May 4 is not only a time for private mourning, but for a public commemoration and affirmation that the lessons continue- that people must continue to protect free public expression and the right to control our lives, and guard against arbitrary and excessive military force. Students have taken this proposal through 'proper channels' for years, to no avail. On May 12 the Board of Trustees again bureaucratically shuffled it to another committee, but we will persevere. On May 30 we suspend business to commemorate the deaths of American soldiers in war. Will we have 'business as usual' on the anniversary of the shooting of our own students? 3. NAME THE BUILDINGS. The May 4 Task Force proposed in May 1976 to name four previously unnamed campus buildings after Sandy, Jeff, Allison, and Bill. After a year during which the proposal was ignored by the 'proper committee', a people's ceremony on May 2,1977 publicly named the Sandra Scheuer Memorial Music and Speech Center, Jeffrey Miller Memorial Library, Allison Krause Hall (art), and the William Schroeder Hall (business). On May 12 the trustees again avoided decision by referring this to a new committee (including two students to represent 18,000 undergraduates and three administrators representing 100 colleagues). On June 2 the committee defeated the propo- sal. (Incidentally, in spite of a faculty senate poll in favor of the proposal, two faculty representatives voted nay). It is appropriate to have such a permanent living commem- oration of these four. The contribution which Allison, Jeff, Sandy and Bill made by their deaths to Kent State and world history is greater than any other person whose name graces a building on this campus. In Cuba they name schools after these four. Surely we can do so, too. A footnote: KSU Vice President Biles has proposed a commemorative chapel near Prentice Hall parking lot. The Coalition opposes this. It is obviously offered at this late time to divert attention from our proposals. A chapel would serve to pre- serve the memory of May 4, 1970 in the only way the admini- stration would accept: a tragic incident frozen in the past, to be mourned in solitude behind stained glass windows. The adminstration refuses to acknowledge 'May 4' as part of the living history of Kent State and the world. |
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