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This year, 91�㽶��Ƶ University will hold the 55th commemoration honoring the memory of May 4, 1970, a tragic day when the Ohio National Guard fired on 91�㽶��Ƶ students during an anti-war protest on campus, killing four students, wounding nine others and sparking a turning point in American history. Kicking off the program for the annual May 4 Commemoration is a play that focuses on student activism and book bans.

“Trial by Fire” is coming to 91�㽶��Ƶ in February. The play, written by 91�㽶��Ƶ alumnus and staff member Eric Mansfield, and inspired by a true story, is about banned books and a 91�㽶��Ƶ graduate who presented them to her high school class and how her students rose to activism to defend her. The performances are part of this year’s 55th May 4 Commemoration schedule, presented by the May 4 Education Committee. 

A group of 91�㽶��Ƶ University professors recently returned from a visit to the commemoration of the Gwangju Uprising at Chonnam National University in Gwangju, South Korea, feeling inspired for the meaningful connections they made to the May 4, 1970, shootings at 91�㽶��Ƶ.

A professor from Chonnam National University in Gwangju, South Korea, said his recent visit to 91�㽶��Ƶ University enabled him to experience his research into the May 4, 1970, 91�㽶��Ƶ shootings in a whole new way.

This year's May 4 Commemoration remembered the fallen and recognized the spirit of activism that is part of 91�㽶��Ƶ's history and the university's foundational values. 

Against the backdrop of a new generation of student activism, the 91�㽶��Ƶ community gathered to reflect and remember the student protesters killed and wounded on May 4, 1970.

Commemorative landscapes and how they help produce a sense of empathy and place and foster a connection to help us learn from our past was a theme explored Friday, May 3, by 91�㽶��Ƶ University Professor Chris Post, Ph.D., speaker for the annual Jerry M. Lewis May 4 Lecture Series and Luncheon.

The lessons of 91�㽶��Ƶ should not go unremembered, President Todd Diacon writes in this opinion piece published in Inside Higher Ed.

Tonight, the annual candlelight walk and vigil continues a 53-year tradition as part of this week's May 4 Commemoration.