“There seemed to be three conditions which created the atmosphere, not only at Ohio State but all across the country: One, there was recognition that racism was an extremely resilient institution which would be very difficult to legislate away. This created frustration on the part of blacks whose expectations were not being met after the Civil Rights legislation. Secondly, there was widespread opposition to the meaningless and destructive war in Vietnam which was tearing families apart for no apparent reason. Third, a general rejection took place during the ’60s of traditional values on the part of youth. All of these inspired protests at college campuses since people of that age group were at the focus of these three trends.

The spring of 1970 seemed to bring on the formal protests nationally. There’s no doubt in my mind that what occurred at OSU would not have happened had it not been a national phenomenon. The media made it very easy to replicate events all over. Ad-hoc groups were organized either locally or with national direction to protest racism and the war. Not all students were involved in the protests. In fact, probably a very small minority were committed to these causes. Ohio was and is in a conservative part of the country and, being a public school, many of the students from mainstream USA could not identify easily with the issues. However, the black student coalition, a very vocal and active white liberal segment of the student body, plus a dedicated group of graduate students and younger university staff, made it all happen. A mixture of this dedicated minority and good old-fashioned spring fever made for a restless student population who just wanted to voice their frustration over the issues or raise hell in general. All the while, students were reading about similar events from other parts of the country. The atmosphere was thus very charged.

Protests had been occurring for years, but it seemed that Nixon’s election in 1968 and his tactics in the Vietnam War turned up the burners on campus. By the end of the ’60s, everyone, including persons in favor of the war, were totally sick of seeing, hearing, and reading about American deaths in a war which appeared to have no end and, more importantly, no objective. Even arch-conservatives were upset that we wouldn’t go in and “bomb the country back to the Stone Age.” I, myself, was a Navy ROTC student and a member of a fraternity, two things which labeled me pretty much as a traditional conservative (or reactionary, in the parlance of the time). We ROTC students, though, weren’t stupid and could see the mindless approach being taken to the war. Needless to say, everyone had an opinion – something you don’t see too much of with any issue today. Protests started in earnest in April of that spring and reached a peak when the weather turned nice (coincidental, isn’t it?). When the four students were killed at Kent State, all hell broke loose. There seemed to be daily protests which turned into violence by the second week of May. Students and/or outside agitators started breaking campus windows with bricks, blocking access to classroom buildings, shutting down traffic at 15th and High Street, etc. It turned really ugly. One night, my fraternity brothers and I were forced out of our Sigma Nu house near 16th and High (now closed) because the police’s tear gas was drifting into our windows. I, myself, got into an altercation with persons who barricaded traffic one night and ended up in the hospital with stitches under my eye.

When things got to the point that the University could no longer guarantee the safety of its students or that classes could be held, the decision was made to shut the school down. By the time students came back to school in late May, the quarter was a shambles in terms of academic objectives. All students were given a Pass or Fail in their classes. Everyone just wanted to go home.

You asked about the longer-term effects on me as a person. I suppose my reaction was very similar to most people of my age. We learned, for the first time, that the U.S. was vulnerable to poor judgment on the part of its governmental and military leaders. Our generation lost more confidence in our country than any generation, probably before or after. This has affected our political views tremendously and had a major impact on foreign policy through our representatives. Even today, my reaction to possible military involvement overseas always considers the Vietnam scenario. It’s almost like these events forced us closer to Gen. Washington’s counsel to avoid foreign entanglements.

I, personally, can hardly stand to read or hear about the events of that period. I was so sickened and turned off by the events of that spring, that I can feel it in the pit of my stomach whenever discussion or a TV documentary covers those events. I would rather forget it altogether, even though those events, on a broader scope, changed our country. It was a time of great hatred and divisiveness. As I said, above, it’s hard to believe that the OSU campus could have been so different from today.”

-Barry M. Taylor