Kent State

Yesterday, May 4th, was the 38th anniversary of the Kent State shootings. For those of you who don't know the history behind it, here's a brief overview. On May 4th 1970, students on the Kent State campus were protesting the American invasion of Cambodia. People feared it would turn into a violent protest so the Ohio National Guard was brought in. The national guard ordered the crowd to disperse, but instead, the students threw rocks at the soldiers. The soldiers began to advance, and shots were fired. After the chaos died down, four people were pronounced dead and nine were wounded. Two of the students killed were participating in the protest, but the other two were walking from one class to the next. Although this event may seem like a long time ago, it is relatively recent in America's history. The Vietnam War was something our parents' generation fought to end. When I look back at the 60s, I think it was a great and terrible time to live. Everyday people were protesting and making a difference. This makes me wonder about our generation today. What are we doing to make a difference? It's not that we haven't had the opportunity to. The Iraq War today is very similar to Vietnam, with the exception of the draft. The president used indirect means to invade. War was not officially declared by the Senate. The war today does not have public support. But there are no large Iraq War protests. Students at colleges across the nation are not staging rallies. There is no large movement to protest. I'm not trying to advocate dissent. I just think our generation should step up and work to make our world a better place.