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KSU Student Government May 4 records
Special Collections and Archives
KSU Student Government May 4 records
Special Collections and Archives
KSU Student Government May 4 records
- Repository: Kent State University Libraries. Special Collections and Archives.
- Title: Kent State University Student Government May 4 records
- Inclusive Date(s): 1969-1972
- Bulk Date(s): 1970
- Author: Finding aid prepared by Anita Clary
- Sponsor: Digitization of this collection was funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
- Creation: Finding aid encoded by Anita Clary using the OhioLINK EAD Application in 2016
- Origination: Kent State University. Student Government
- Extent: .5 cubic feet (1 half size record storage box, 1 oversized folder)
- Physical Location: 12th floor (May 4 Collection, Box 1); 11th floor (map case)
- Finding Aid Identifier: OhKeUSC0176
- Abstract: This collection contains responses from individuals and groups that were sent to Kent State University Student Government in the months after the Kent State shootings of May 4, 1970, as well as related materials produced by Student Government members.
- Revision(s):
- April 2017 - Revised by Haley Antell
- Language(s): The records are in English
History of Kent State University Student Government
The 1970 student government at Kent State University operated under a constitution approved by the Board of Trustees in 1965. There were three branches of student government: executive, legislative (Student Senate), and judicial. The student government election campaign was underway when the university was closed following the shootings of May 4, 1970. Craig Morgan was elected student body president in a general campus-wide election that was held by mail-in ballot. Morgan, his vice-president, Thom "TD" Dickerson, and all twenty-five student senators were members of The Student Rights Party which Morgan and Dickerson helped found in 1969. They began their terms when school resumed for summer sessions in June. Additional information about Kent State University Student Government can be found in the KSU Student Handbook ("K" Book) collection in Special Collections and Archives.
Scope and Content
This collection contains responses, sympathetic and otherwise, that were sent to the Student Government by individuals and groups from Ohio, other states, and other countries in response to the events of May 4, 1970. Included in the collection are letters, telegrams, cards, clippings with comments written on them, and flyers, letters, and leaflets from organizations encouraging student activism. Related materials produced by Student Government members include annotated lists and tallies of the responses, an analysis of the Special State Grand Jury by Robert R. Peabody (1970), and Kent State University's Petition to the White House prepared by Bill Gordon, Special Assistant to KSU Student Body President Robert Gage (1972).
Statement of Arrangement
The Kent State University Student Government May 4 records are arranged to reflect the order in which they were received.
Related Material
The Linda Lyke papers (May 4 Collection, Box 61) include letters and telegrams that were sent to student government in response to May 4. Lyke, a faculty member in the School of Art, assembled the correspondence into a student government display for fall quarter 1970. Some of these letters and telegrams are numbered and correspond to the annotated "support" list found in this collection. (Note: Correspondence and telegrams from the Linda Lyke papers have been digitized and can be viewed online.)
Restrictions on Access
Some information included in this collection is restricted due to the presence of information protected by privacy laws. This information has been redacted where present on documents in the collection. Un-redacted originals, in all cases, have been retained by Special Collections and Archives.
Preferred Citation
Kent State University Student Government May 4 records. May 4 Collection. Kent State University Libraries. Special Collections and Archives.
Acquisition Information
In 1972, Student Body President Bill Slocum presented the records to Dean Keller, University Libraries. His letter of disposition and Keller's response are included in the collection.
Subject Headings
The following subjects are found in this collection:
- Subjects:
- Kent State Shootings, Kent, Ohio, 1970
- College student government--Ohio--Kent
- Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Protest movements
- Kent State University--History
- Kent (Ohio)--History
- Functions:
- College student government
- Occupations:
- College students
- Material Types:
- Correspondence
- Telegrams
- Greeting cards
- Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
- Publications
- Petitions
Detailed Description of the Collection
- Box 1 / Folder 1
- Student Government: Correspondence: Slocum and Keller, 1971-1972
- Scope and Content
- Correspondence between Bill Slocum, President of the Student Body, and Dean Keller, former Curator of Special Collections, regarding the disposition of letters received by Kent State University Student Government in the wake of the shootings. Slocum transferred the letters to Special Collections on behalf of the Student Government Office.
- Box 1 / Folder 2
- Student Government: Correspondence: Cards Received, 1970
- Scope and Content
- Greeting cards received by Kent State University Student Government following the shootings.
- Box 1 / Folder 3
- Student Government: Correspondence: Letters of Support to Students, 1970
- Scope and Content
- These letters were numbered and logged in a list titled "Support," by members of Student Government. The list is retained in a separate folder, "Student Government: Lists and Tallies of Responses: 1970."
- Box 1 / Folder 4
- Student Government: Correspondence: Thank You Cards, 1970
- Scope and Content
- Thank you notes sent to the Kent State student body by the families of Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Lee Scheuer, and William Schroeder.
- Box 1 / Folder 5
- Student Government: Correspondence and Book of Remembrance, 1970
- Scope and Content
- Letter from the President of The Association of Commerce and Technology (TACT) Students' Union, enclosing a Book of Remembrance signed by students of TACT, located in Queen's Gardens, Hull, United Kingdom.
- Box 1 / Folder 6
- Student Government: Correspondence: International, 1970
- Scope and Content
- Letters and telegrams sent by people outside of the United States to Kent State University Student Government following the shootings.
- Box 1 / Folder 7
- Student Government: Correspondence: Ohio, 1970
- Scope and Content
- Letters and telegrams sent by Ohio residents to Kent State University Student Government following the shootings.
- Box 1 / Folder 8
- Student Government: Correspondence: Other US States, May 4, 1970-May 5, 1970
- Scope and Content
- Letters and telegrams sent by people from states other than Ohio to Kent State University Student Government following the shootings.
- Box 1 / Folder 9
- Student Government: Correspondence: Other US States, May 6, 1970-May 10, 1970
- Scope and Content
- Letters and telegrams sent by people from states other than Ohio to Kent State University Student Government following the shootings.
- Box 1 / Folder 10
- Student Government: Correspondence: Other US States, May 11, 1970-May 29, 1970, undated
- Physical Location: One item is oversized and is filed in the map case.
- Scope and Content
- Letters and telegrams sent by people from states other than Ohio to Kent State University Student Government following the shootings.
- Box 1 / Folder 11
- Student Government: Clippings with Comments, 1970
- Scope and Content
- Contains newspaper and newsletter clippings from various sources nation-wide. Senders made comments on the clippings and sent them to Kent State University Student Government in the months following the events of May 4, 1970.
- Box 1 / Folder 12
- Student Government: Flyers, Leaflets, Letters from Organizations, 1969-1970
- Scope and Content
- Includes flyers, leaflets, and letters sent to Kent State University Student Government from organizations calling for action on various issues, a majority of which are related to ending the Vietnam War.
- Box 1 / Folder 13
- Student Government: Flyers, Leaflets, Letters from Organizations, 1970
- Scope and Content
- Includes flyers, leaflets, and letters sent to Kent State University Student Government from organizations calling for action on various issues, a majority of which are related to ending the Vietnam War. This group of materials was numbered and logged in a list titled "Organizations Asking Help," by members of Student Government. The list is retained in a separate folder, "Student Government: Lists and Tallies of Responses: 1970."
- Box 1 / Folder 14
- Student Government: List: Groups Formed after Kent State Shootings, undated
- Box 1 / Folder 15
- Student Government: Lists and Tallies of Responses, 1970
- Scope and Content
- Annotated lists and tallies of responses received by Kent State University Student Government after the Kent State shootings. Members of Kent State University Student Government created these lists.
- Box 1 / Folder 16
- Student Government: Paper: Kent State University's Petition to the White House: Ten Months of Deceit. Prepared for Paul Keane and Greg Rambo, by Bill Gordon, August 9, 1972
- Box 1 / Folder 17
- Student Government: Paper: Report of the Special State Grand Jury: An Analysis. By Robert R. Peabody, December 2, 1970
