Campus unrest and anti-war protests at Ohio State dominated everyone’s time and energy in the Spring of 1970. I was a junior majoring in fine arts, so my classes were held in Hayes or Hopkins Hall on the north end of the Oval, where everything was happening. I watched the demonstrations from my classroom windows and found it increasingly difficult to concentrate on school.

My art studio instructors were average, at best. Painting, for example, was a two-hour class taught three days a week. After minimal instruction, a teaching assistant would place a record on the turntable, usually the Doors, and leave the room returning only to change the music. Abstract art was in, traditional was out, which meant no realistic paintings, traditional landscapes, or still-lifes existed in my portfolio. My art history classes were far more interesting, but unfortunately, H. W. Hanson’s “History of Art,” published in 1962, was Ohio State’s standard textbook. Its 650 pages never mentioned a female artist, not even Mary Cassatt, Frida Kahlo, or Georgia O’Keeffe. It wasn’t until 1987, twenty-five years later, the book was revised to include women.

I started skipping class and joining other student activists on the Oval to listen to speeches about racial and gender inequality and the unjust war in Vietnam. I had already been to Washington D.C. to march against the war, so it was understandable that I would be interested. Speakers were passionate, organized, and well-informed; it didn’t take long to realize I was learning more on the Oval than in all my classes put together.

The divide between students and administration grew as the administration’s ability to communicate shrunk. Soon, demonstrations, marches, and sit-ins became all-consuming for everyone - students, professors, and administrators.

I was on campus on April 30th when President Nixon announced he was expanding the Vietnam War into Cambodia. The country was outraged, especially on college campuses everywhere. The anti-war protests at Ohio State escalated, and confrontations between local police and students grew worse. Ohio Governor Jim Rhodes, determined to teach the protestors a lesson, called in the Ohio National Guard to take control. The show of force only fed into the protestors’ determination and enthusiasm, and everything spiraled out of control, as seen in the Columbus Dispatch photos below.

Fifteen hundred armed Guardsmen clashing with angry students blocked me from walking across the Oval to my class at Hayes Hall. Suddenly the Guard moved forward with weapons loaded, bayonets leveled, and tear gas deployed.

Students began running in all directions, and a few threw the chemical spewing canisters back at the soldiers. Chaos reigned, and I was terrified as thick smoke filled the Oval, making it hard to breathe or see. Adding to my fear was not knowing what tear gas was or what would happen next. Fortunately, buckets of water and rags magically appeared for relief, making it easier to escape the riot with thousands of others. The police and National Guard eventually cleared and occupied the Oval, but this radicalized even more students determined not to give up the fight. Days later, I learned one of the burning canisters started a fire in Hayes Hall, where all my art was stored. I never saw the portfolio again, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Demonstrations were also taking place at Kent State, provoking Governor Rhodes to send in the National Guard to restore order. On May 4, without warning, the Guardsmen suddenly opened fire on unarmed students, killing four and injuring nine.

The shock of the killings reverberated throughout the county, intensifying the situation at Ohio State. On May 7th, fearing more violence, Ohio State closed its doors for the first time in a hundred years, and students had until noon the next day to clear out. Colleges in Ohio and across the country also closed in fear of more uprisings.

Ohio State reopened on May 19th when the administration finally met many of the students’ demands. For the first time, courses were offered in Black Studies, and I was introduced to the writings of Malcolm X, Eldridge Cleaver, and James Baldwin, heightening my awareness of racism and inequality.

The war dragged on, the campus calmed down, and the students and administration, sobered by the violence, warily moved on to the fall quarter. The cultural impact on Ohio State that spring was profound, and the campus uprisings in Ohio had deeply affected the whole country.

Recently our country was immersed in nationwide protests and demonstrations, not unlike that tumultuous, long-ago spring. Confidence in our leadership and the country’s direction was tested again by a reckless President, endless war, racial strife, and economic instability. The pandemic further compounded the crisis. Thankfully, the voters ended Donald Trump’s malevolent Presidency, and his attempts to overturn the election failed. In 1970, my generation stood up for the principles of freedom and democracy. Today that same spirit has re-emerged, restoring my hope for the future.