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?

I was an undergraduate student in Drackett Tower during the 1970s riots. … On the night of the first use of tear gas, my roommates and I had heard about the demonstrations on the Oval but hadn’t attended. …. Apparently, the closing of the University gates [by demonstrators] started the shooting off of the tear gas canisters by the police. Being on north campus and away from the demonstrations, we didn’t know this and didn’t hear about this until later. However, the wind was going in a south-to-north direction and a fog of tear gas descended on the north campus area. …My roommates and I returned to our room – 1266 – the highest numbered room in Drackett Tower. It was almost impossible to study because the ventilation system had pulled the tear gas into the air circulation system and had concentrated the gas. You would sit at your study desk trying to read and find yourself crying because of the gas. … As the demonstrations and riots continued, the Ohio National Guard was brought in to quell the disturbances. I remember they set up a perimeter around campus on West Woodruff Avenue. You had to show your student ID to cross the line and get onto main campus. … Things had quieted down but one day, but when the bell sounded for class change and all the students poured out onto the Oval, the National Guard let loose with a lot of tear gas. I was attending my class in Hagerty Hall and got gassed several times before I could get off the Oval.

We received word the University was closing [on May 7, 1970] about 10 a.m. We were told we had to be out of the dormitory by noon. I was fortunate enough to have a car, but my roommate was from New Jersey. He had to remove all of his belongings from the room, store them somewhere, and somehow get back to his home in New Jersey within a few hours. Needless to say, impossible to do. We loaded my car to the ceiling with all of our belongings and headed for northern Ohio. I lived in a rural area with very bad telephone service. He was able to get a long-distance telephone call out to let his parents know he was OK. However, it took a couple of days for his parents to find out where he was and what had happened. He stayed with my family for about five days before we were able to get his belongings shipped back to New Jersey and get him a plane flight back home.

What were your impressions of campus during the time period?

It was mostly chaos.

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

It was impossible to study and almost impossible to hold classes. As a student, you never knew when you would violate some unwritten rule and be subject to arrest. We also started seeing people on campus who would start a demonstration, create a reason for a confrontation with either the police or National Guard, and then disappear. Things were in such chaos that it would have been impossible to keep the University open.

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

I returned home and went back to work on local farms. I needed the money to continue my education.

Did you return to finish the quarter?

Yes

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

Up to the time of the demonstrations and riots the University had an attitude of “we will tell you what you are supposed to do.” After the demonstrations and riots there was a little more discussion. Before the demonstrations and riots, I was taking German. The German department would only teach German as a grammar class. After the demonstrations and riots the German department open up to Tracks. There was a reading track, translation track, grammar track, and another track (but I don’t remember what.) I went from barely making a “C” in German grammar to making an “A” in speaking and translation.