Kent State鈥檚 May 4th commemoration events are all in person this year for the first time since 2019. This year marks the 52nd anniversary of the shooting by National Guardsmen in which four students died and nine others were wounded.
鈥淐hic鈥� Canfora was a student at Kent State in 1970 and helps with planning for the annual commemoration. She says this year was especially impactful after having to miss the 50th anniversary due to the pandemic.
鈥淚 was very impressed with how many people showed up. It鈥檚 cold and a little bit rainy, but they were here," Canfora said. "I think it鈥檚 just because we missed the 50th and this is kind of like the 50th that never happened. I think it was every bit as meaningful and impactful as the 50th would鈥檝e been.鈥�
This year鈥檚 remembrance also included the dedication of bronze plaques on campus for each of the nine students who were wounded in the shootings. They include Canfora鈥檚 brother, Alan, who passed away last year.
Kent State President Todd Diacon says the plaque dedications add extra significance to this years commemoration events.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a very significant one because of the wounded student markers and six of those wounded students are here," Diacon said. "To me it is very meaningful in a visual sense to see where those students were shot.鈥�
Pulitzer Prize-winning author and presidential historian John Meacham spoke at Wednesday鈥檚 commemoration ceremony. He praised the university鈥檚 shift over time from at first distancing itself from the events of May 4 to acknowledging and now recognizing their significance.
