N ews A round T own Week in History Picture this: you’re a college stu­ dent, on your way to your next class. Hearing a noise like firecrackers be­ hind you, you turn and find some sol­ diers pumping you and several school­ mates full of bullets...and the soldiers are American, supposedly always on “ your” side of the fight... This is what thirteen students of Kent State University experienced twenty years ago this Friday. Two men and two women never lived to share their side of this tragedy; another man re­ members My fourth as the day America turned on him and put him in a wheel­ chair for the rest of his life. Five days earlier, Richard Nixon had induced America’s gasp of shocked war- honor by approving the incursion of Cambodia. Public opinion of the war went from casual approval (stemming primarily from faith in the president) to vehement malcontent. Anti-war dem­ onstrations sprouted from seeds of moral concussions. This was the beginning of separation in the country, between the government and the citizens, the em ­ powered and the powerless. Nixon en­ couraged this separation, as did many other public officials in positions of "The National Guard was a symbol of their discontent, representative to them of the Army" power. The president upped his secu­ rity in a nose-thumbing gesture to the public. Any public protests, exercising the people’s viable Constitutionally-granted right to assemble and speak peacably, resulted in unjust police-dispersing or arrests. At Ohio State University on April 30, three students demonstrated in support of more Black students and teachers, and the discontinuance of mili­ taristic research. On May third, the police sent 75 people (including child pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Spock) to jail for holding an outdoor anti-war prayer session. College students around the nation editorialized and rallied. The city of Kent, Ohio (population 27,000-21,000 of which were KSU students) cut off its beer supply after the first few days of rioting. When a KSU riot against the ROTC became violent, the National Guard stationed troops at the campus. The student reaction was clear: the National Guard was a symbol of their discontent, representative to them of the army that invaded Cambo­ dia. On Monday, May fourth, 2000 stu­ dents planted themselves in protest on the football field with the National Guard. The Guardsmen weren’t enveloped by the awed respect they usually com ­ manded; more or less, they felt ridi­ culed. As Lieutenant Alexander Ste- vensen, platoon leader of Troop G, scoffed, “ At the time of the firing, the crowd was acting like this whole thing was a circus. The crowd must have thought that the National Guard was harmless. They were having fun with the Guard. The circus was in town.” In retaliation for making them seem foolish, the National Guard inflicted the death penalty on four students, and wounded nine others. The Guardsmen should not even have had loaded weapons. The guidelines set out by the National Advisory Com­ mission on Civil Disorders and the Department of the Army dictate that the issuance of loaded wepons to law enforcement officials is restricted to in­ stances in which the resistance is armed, and the officials must be unable to control the situation without weaponry. This clearly was not the situation. Yet, the 113 Guardsmen wore gas masks, bore tear-gas launchers, and were armed with M -l high-powered rifles (deadly even at two miles). General Robert Canterbury “ justifies” the shootings-m ore than 30 rounds of gunfire—with this explanation: the stu­ dents “ threatened the lives of my men.” Photographs taken by journalism stu­ dents reveal that the protesters were clearly posing no deathly threat. The Guardsmen, though pursued by students, should not have panicked (they were armed with guns; the students were­ n ’t!), and they had an escape route should they have needed to flee. Sylvester Del Corso, Adjutant Gen­ eral of the Ohio National Guard, claimed that the Guardsmen opened fire be­ cause a sniper from a nearby rooftop shot at them. However, a reporter from the New York Times, who was at the scene, said he “ did not see any indica­ tion of sniper f ir e , nor was the sound of any gunfire audible before the Guard volley.” Gene Wiliams, a member of the student newspaper staff, said he saw the troops turn “ in unison, as if re­ sponding to acommand...I saw no snip­ ers nor did I hear any shots until the line by Angelique Sanders of troops turned in unison and opened fire.” Additionally, the Guard was not firing into the air as if at a nearby rooftop; they shot at the students, and one-fifth of their bullets made their mark. Nixon, in his usual political hypoc­ risy, altered his opinion in coordination with public empathy: originally having called the student dem onstrators * ’bums” , he did an about-face and said he hoped that “ this tragic and unfortu­ nate incident will strengthen the deter­ mination of all the nation’s campuses, administrators, faculty, and students alike to stand firmly for the fight which exists in this country of peaceful dissent...” Ohio Governor James R hodes- whom, in coordination with Watergate’s mastermind Richard Nixon, sent the National Guard to Kent State in the first place-also did a 180 and said in a telegram to (then F.B.I. director) J. Edgar Hoover, “ Today is the saddest day I have known as Governor.” The Kerner Commission, which in­ vestigated some 1967 riots the National Guard was involved in, said the NG has little militaristic training and no com­ bat experience and might easily panic or misunderstand orders. A former member of the commission stated: “ Practically no National Guard force in the United Stated today is getting enough training to enable them to pro­ vide the quality of performance required in these tough situations.” Major General Winston P. Wilson, Jr. said: “ W e’re deeply concerned any time a life is lost. Those guys were given a job of restoring law and order. That’s what they were called for. They were doing their job as best as they can do.” Apparently, shooting and killing students is the best they can do. Ironically, the May fifth issue of the Wall Street Journal, which carried the story of the KSU incident, also carried a full page that deemed Ohio the best location in the nation, and went on the denote the merits of Ohio, including education.] Over 700 colleges closed in sympa­ thy with the KSU incident, and many remained closed for the whole quarter. Public excitement died down in 1973, when the U.S. withdrew from Vietnam. The lesson of governmental power, and the separation between governing offi­ cials and the citizens, is one that should remain with us on this anniversary of the Kent State University tragedy. VO A Receives Substance Abuse Contract Volunteers of America Oregon, Inc. (VOA), a non-profit social service agency, was awarded a 40-bed alcohol and drug treatment contract from the Multnomah County Division of Com­ munity Corrections. The contract is the first to be awarded in response to the Public Safety Levy approved by voters last fall. The 90-day treatment program for men is scheduled to open by October 1, 1990. It will target sentenced offenders identified by the courts, probation offi­ cers, or presentence investigators. Offenders will be sentenced to the pro­ gram instead of serving prison or jail terms. Jim LeBIac, President of VOA, said the nature of the substance abuse pro­ gram with the offender population mandates a comprehensive approach. “ This includes holding the offenders accountable fortheiractions, providing treatment, and giving them skills to become productive members of the community.” County commissioner Gretchen Kafoury, who announced the award, agreed. “ We need to address the fact that 70-75% of the arrestees in our sys­ tem have substance abuse problems. The goal o f this program is to reduce their recidivism.” Each person sentenced to complete the program will receive a thorough as­ sessment and individual trcatmcntplan. Program activities will occur 7 days a week. At a minimum, each resident When was the Iasi time w u mrt a pute1 who g ,« out of h e wav io vhetkilr «ntenang .*t the converoetM* of the cnme « d im ’ d r who pas Monaleh hdnwe. that « u t o n n g c u t w . the dnuNe ohertiw of preventing repetition < / the cnme and bnngiiig restitution io the victim of the crime’ Such a iik I rc »Judge Michael Marne. will be scheduled for one hour o f indi­ vidual counseling, 15 hours of struc­ tured, therapeutic group counseling, and 10 hours of classes or workshops re­ lated to education, employment, life skills, and self-help groups. Each resident will have a discharge plan which focuses on housing, em­ ployment, and family support. After completing the program, residents are expected to continue in weekly group counseling and support sessions and drug testing for six months. “ With the courts and probation offi­ cers helping enforce the 90-day stay,” explained Cary Harkaway, Program Manager of the Community Correc­ tions Division, “ we expect that 70% of the enrollees will complete the pro­ gram and meet the majority of the ob­ jectives in their treatment plan.” VOA currently operates the Wom­ ens Residential Center (WRC), a simi­ lar program which treats 52 female felons at a time. In just over two years of operation, the WRC has assisted ap­ proximately 250 women. Kafoury applauded VOA’s national reputation for excellence and its dem­ onstrated record of achievement. “ The more we can do to reduce the depend­ ence of these offenders on alcohol and drugs, ’ ’ said Kafoury, * ‘ the more we do to promote public safety and reduce crime. I’m grateful to the voters of Multnomah County for approving this program.” Baker Cajun Style ^MARCUS Sauce Supreme is now available to all TJs Sentry Markets as well as many other stores SEE h * MiirsoMmna vn nemocr ( n t T Atttz Paid (nr and aithorwd tn The Rrtain lu je Michael Mania i «wnmffire M kt V i uin 22 Ht N F .Mh «venue. “ T2Ü «un the display at TJ Sentry this weekend 33rd & Killingsworth Support Our Advertisers’ Say You Saw It In The For more information call 284-4004 Portland Observer! '■.■•"‘ V