What was your role on campus at the time:

Undergraduate

During the school year 1969-70, where did you live:

Dormitory

Were you a member of any student organization on campus? If so, which one(s)?

No.

During the weeks before the university closed, what was the most significant thing you observed?

During the protests, I experienced tear gas for the first time in my life. I was passing near the Oval between classes and was witnessing some confrontation between protesters and National Guardsmen. Then some tear gas was released and I saw some other students between me and the Oval suddenly cover their faces and start running away. Then a couple of seconds later I felt the burning, choking feeling in my eyes and mouth. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced tear gas since that moment and so the moment still sticks in my mind.

Also, I was in Army ROTC at the time. During May of that year we had this big event where all the cadets were in rank on the military field and we were to be addressed by some visiting general. While we were in ranks, a couple of hundred protesters walked onto the field chanting anti-war slogans and walked in and out of the rows of cadets in formation. I just thought to myself how we (both protesters and cadets) were all students at the same college but just had different views

What were your impressions of campus during the time period?

I think it was a time of unparalleled excitement with all the activity but at the same time having uniformed soldiers on campus added a sense of impending trouble.

Did you think the university should be closed? Why or why not?

I think given the deaths at Kent State that it was a wise decision to close the university.

What did you do during the two weeks the university was closed?

Being an out of state student from Massachusetts, instead of going home I stayed with a roommate in Dayton, OH.

Did you return to finish the quarter?

Yes

Looking back, what do you think are the lasting legacies of the student demonstrations?

To me the legacy was that college campuses, as centers of intelligence and higher learning, should continue to be forums to discuss national and local social and political issues. However, the events of 1970 showed that discussion should be peaceful in nature as opposed to being enshrouded in violence.