An overview of the protest movement before and after Kent State.Here are some of the earlier stories I’ve done about the era. That’s why I didn’t warn her that nobody was going to show up. I tried to explain that there were no phones in the library, and that I was afraid to leave because I wasn’t sure I could get back in. Everybody who would would have shown up was busy with the night’s news, so she was left with lots of leftovers. It seems that Wife Lila, not too far from being a newlywed, had planned her first big dinner party where all the newspaper types were invited. The firebombing wasn’t the biggest blaze in Athens that night. Most of the usual suspects were in the library when the fires were set. So far as I know, the culprits were never identified. Instead of going home and to bed, I had to shoot the damage and make a morning deadline. Right after I left the library, I found out that someone had firebombed two buildings on campus that were under construction. No arrests were made, and no force was necessary. At about 6:10, police officers entered the building. President Claude Sowle said that all present complied with the order. It was over by 6 a.m.Īt 6 a.m., the remaining students were ordered to leave by Robert Guinn, OU director of security. He walked out, and little by little, the crowd dwindled. There were cheers from some, and “Shut up! Shut up!” from others. You’re having a civil war right here – I’m sick of this, and I’m leaving.” Reporter Schnitzer wrote that a blond-haired student stood up on a table and shouted, “You’re all fools, man! You’re all ego-tripping. Rhodes’ calling in the National Guard at Kent State. Edward Sanford, a physics professor, one of about five faculty members who remained throughout the night, cautioned the students to let Ohio University officials remain in control, “not the people in Columbus,” a reference to Gov. Let the university, not Columbus handle itĭr. Some of us media types figured that our presence might create a buffer that would discourage students from becoming destructive, and keep the police from over-reacting. Waiting for the copsĪthens police officers in riot gear stayed outside, watched by anxious students. This pipe smoker must have figured it was going to be a long night, and he was going to be as comfortable as possible. This group picked a quiet corner to sing folk songs. Many votes were taken and discarded as the students tried to decide if they would stay or leave, or if they should take the university’s offer of three meeting rooms, an office and a lounge in the Baker Center student union building. “Freedom University” was the most popular name, primarily because of its initials.ĭiscord and debate were the order of the night. Some of the students argued that the library should be made into a “free university,” a place to study “relevant issues” and to form a Radical Studies Institute. He urged them not to shut down the university, but to open it up by repurposing unused spaces like this one. They included students, faculty and staff, even though faculty marshals at the door were warning that this is “illegal – forcible entry”įroines showed up to speak to the students. Throughout the night, though, many people – some estimated as many as 150 – entered the building. It’s yours – let’s go.” Most of the hundred or so people milling around were less convinced that this was a good idea. Gail Schnitzer’s story in The Athens Messenger said someone broke the glass on a locked door and shouted, “Now, it’s open. A new library had been built, and the building had been standing vacant for about a year. (Click on the photos to make them larger.) The ‘liberation’ of Chubb LibraryĪfter the rally broke up, some of the students headed to the Main Green to the Chubb Library. John Froines of the Chicago Eight was of the speakers. It started with a rally in Grover Center attended by more than 2,000. It’s getting harder and harder for me to find photos of that era that I haven’t published, but here is what happened when Ohio University students occupied the vacant Chubb Library on the Athens campus. The message, reminding me that on May 4, four students at Kent State were killed by National Guardsmen showed up like always. I wondered if this would be the first year I wouldn’t get the usual cryptic message from John: “May 4 – Never Forget.”Īll is still right with the world. Cox sold our paper to another Chain on the first of May. Lopinot and I took buyouts from The Palm Beach Post 10 years ago this summer.