2005 Commemoration Schedule
Subject to Change

The 35th Annual Kent State Commemoration titled "Tell Me Father, Did They Aim?" will be held April 30 - May 4 at Kent State University and in the town of Kent, Ohio.
 

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE:

  • The May 4 Task Force student organization at KSU is sponsoring 35th anniversary commemoration events from May 1 through May 4, 2005. There will be an outdoor concert during evening of May 3 followed by the annual candlelight march at 11pm. The May 4 commemoration will start at noon on the KSU Commons. For details, scroll down, or see:  http://dept.kent.edu/may4/ 

  • The 1968-1969 chapter of Kent SDS -- Students for a Democratic Society -- will gather in Kent for public and private reunion events during the first week of May, 2005. On May 1, film-maker Daniel Miller will premier his documentary film "Fire in the Heartland -- A History of Dissent at Kent State University, 1960-1980".  An educational  panel of Kent SDS speakers will follow. A Kent SDS representaive speaker -- Ken Hammond of the Kent 25 -- will offer a comment on May 4 at the commemoration.  
    Source: http://alancanfora.com/

    MAY 1

    1-3 pm, KIVA Auditorium
    "Vietnam - Cambodia - Kent State"
    A panel discussion focusing on Vietnam Veterans who were stationed in SouthEast Asia at the time of the shootings, or were participants in the Kent State events of May 1 - 4, 1970.

    4-6 pm, KIVA Auditorium
    "SDS Reunion"
    A panel discussion focusing on the Kent State Chapter of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).

    7:30 - 9:30 pm, KIVA Auditorium
    "I Was There"
    A panel discussion focusing on different viewpoints from individuals who were invovled in the events of April 29 - May 4, 1970 at Kent State University.

    MAY 2

    The May 4 Task Force will have an information table in the lobby of the KIVA Auditorium during the University's Academic Symposium.

    MAY 3

    The May 4 Task Force will have an information table in the lobby of the KIVA Auditorium during the day with the University's Academic Symposium.

    11:00 pm - Commons
    Annual Silent Candlelight March
    The March will begin at roughly 11:00 pm, participants are encoraged to gather by The Victory Bell by 10:45 pm.

    MAY 4

    12:00 am - 12:24 pm - Prentice Hall Parking Lot
    Annual Silent Candlelight Vigil
    The Vigil will begin at roughly 12:00 am and will extend to 12:24 pm. Participants stand in the locations of the four slain students for half hour time slots in silent reflection. Contact May 4 Task Force at (330) 672-3096 to reserve your vigil time slot.

    [Media are asked to respect the vigil and take all interviews into grassy areas adjacent to the parking lot.]

    9:00 am - 11:00 pm - Commons
    Historic Site Tours
    Guided tours of the historic site will leave every half hour from The Victory Bell located in The Commons.

    12:00 - 3:00 pm - Commons
    35th Annual May 4 Commemoration
    "Tell Me Father, Did They Aim?"
    The annual speakers program will feature:

  • Dr. William F. Schulz, executive director of Amnesty International USA
  • Russ Miller, brother of Jeffrey Miller
  • Nancy Tuttle, sister of Bill Schroeder
  • Barry Lavine, boyfriend of Allison Krause
  • Mike Alewitz, labor muralist / friend of Sandy Scheuer
  • Marc Lencl, Vietnam Vet
  • Chad Salamon, Iraq Vet
  • Ken Hammond, Kent SDS
  • Gene Young, Jackson State witnessv
  • Other performances by, Sue Jeffers, Ashley Toussant and The Waterband

    • The Victory Bell will ring 15 times at 12:24 p.m. to honor the 13 students slain or wounded at Kent State and the two killed at Jackson State.

  • Anti-War March from KSU campus into downtown Kent will follow the commemoration.

    The Sixth Annual Symposium on Democracy, "Democracy and the Arts:  Voices and Choices," will be held on May 2 and 3, 2005, on the Kent Campus of Kent State University.

    The symposium will include a keynote address, performances/exhibits and the traditional presentation and discussion of scholarly papers solicited through an international Call for Proposals.

    For additional information, contact Symposium Chair Dr. Larry Andrews, Honors College, Kent State University, 335 High St., Kent, OH 44240, landrews@kent.edu or 330-672-2312, or the University Conference Bureau at 330-672-3161.

    The symposium is free and open to the public. Advance reservations are not required. The schedule of activities is as follows.

    Schedule of Activities

    Monday, May 2, 2005
    *Student posters on Democracy and the Arts will be on display in Room 206, Kent Student Center, throughout the May 2-3 symposium.

    10 a.m.
    Welcoming remarks, Larry Andrews, Chair, Sixth Annual Symposium on Democracy Planning Committee

    10:30 a.m. – Noon
    Interactive Session, “A People’s Dialogue: An Exploration of Citizenship, Patriotism and Identity,” Marty Pottenger, Playwright, Performance Artist and Director

    A workshop during which performance, listening and facilitated art-making allow us to explore what it means to be citizens and patriots.

    1 – 3 p.m.
    PANEL ONE

    “Mayan Technology: A Lecture-Performance,” Ricardo Dominguez, New York University

    “Engaged Art in Cold War Democracy,” David P. Peeler, United States Naval Academy

    “Riding the Bus of Democracy,” Kanta Kochhar-Lindgren, University of Washington-Bothell

    3:15 p.m.
    EXHIBIT
    *Presenters will give brief presentations about works of art on exhibit in Room 204 of the Kent Student Center.

    “Zines, Democracy and the Insurgent Imagination: Implications for Art Education,” Doug Blandy, University of Oregon, and Kristin G. Congdon, University of Central Florida

    “A Poster Series of Rights and Reason,” Scott Boylston, Savannah College of Art and Design

    “Images of Peace and War: Giving Voice to Children,” Kathleen Walker, Kent State University

    4 p.m.
    Exhibit, student poster session and coffeehouse, rooms 204 and 206

    7:30 p.m.
    Dance and Musical Performances

    “The Letter of the Law vs. the Spirit of the Law: A Celebration of Dance and Diversity,” Barbara Allegra Verlezza, Kent State University

    “Requiem Songs: For the Victims of Nationalism,” Neil B. Rolnick


    Tuesday, May 3, 2005

    8:30 a.m.
    Continental Breakfast, Kiva Lobby

    9 – 10:45 a.m.
    Interactive Session, “Animating Democracy: Opportunity and Challenge at the Intersection of Art and Civic Dialogue,” Pam Korza and Barbara Schaffer Bacon, co-directors of Animating Democracy, a program of Americans for the Arts

    10:45 a.m.
    Break

    11 a.m.
    “In My America,” a poetry performance by local elementary and secondary school students who are participating in Wick Poetry Center programs

    1 – 2 p.m.
    KEYNOTE ADDRESS

    2:15 – 3:30 p.m.
    PANEL TWO

    “Modernist Abstraction and the Politics of Commemoration: The May 4 Memorial,” Tammy Clewell, Kent State University

    “Memorializing Shame and Moral Responsibility: Remembering May 4, 1970,” Erika Doss, University of Colorado, Boulder

    “The Necessity of Trauma Healing for Democracy,” Danny Malec, Katie Resendiz and Lisa Schirch, Eastern Mennonite University

    3:30 p.m.
    Break

    3:45 p.m.
    Presentation and tour of the May 4, 1970, site and memorial by Bruno Ast, Chicago architect and designer of the site and memorial, and Jerry M. Lewis, professor emeritus of sociology