Stone on May 4 Film: 'I Can't Make Them All'

Acclaimed director, creator of "The Untold History of the United States" hedges answer on question of May 4 movie.

Award-winning director Oliver Stone, speaking to journalists before his presentation this evening at Kent State University's 43rd commemoration of the May 4, 1970 shootings, would not say if he's interested in making a movie about the Vietnam war protests that ended in tragedy. Instead, when asked whether he was considering such a project, Stone repeated a line he told a Plain Dealer reporter this week when asked about a possible movie about the shootings that killed four and wounded nine on campus. "I can't make them all," Stone said. The acclaimed director was one of two big-name speakers who visited Kent this weekend for the annual commemoration, which this year included the formal dedication of the May 4 Visitors Center. Stone said he …

• Videos (1)

'May 4th Voices' Movie to Premiere at Kent Stage Thursday

Filmed version of play adapted from oral histories to be broadcast locally on Western Reserve Media television

The voices of Kentites who experienced the May 4, 1970 shootings on the Kent State University campus and its encompassing turmoil will premiere on the big screen for the first time in downtown Kent Thursday. The Kent Stage will premiere the filmed version of the 2010 play May 4th Voices, which was written by David Hassler, director of the Wick Poetry Center at Kent State. The play is based on oral histories collected from those who experienced the shootings and the events during the days prior and afterward. The oral histories were organized throughout several years by Kent Historical Society board president Sandra Halem. Hassler said the filmed version of the play is an outgrowth of the original production that was staged in 2010 for the …

• Photos (1)
• Videos (1)

Family of May 4 Victim Says New Visitors Center Presents Unbalanced View of Kent State Shootings

Family of Allison Krause, 1 of 4 students killed on May 4, 1970, says new visitors center omits critical elements of shootings

The new May 4 Visitors Center opening to the public today at Kent State University has some opposition from the family of one of the four students shot and killed by Ohio National Guardsmen 42 years ago. Laurel Krause, the sister of Allison Krause, who died on campus May 4, 1970 after being shot by guard troops, said the new visitors center does not tell the whole story about what happened that day when four students were killed and nine others wounded following a student protest against the war in Vietnam. "Any exhibit is good if it’s talking about Kent State," Laurel Krause said. "But when it’s only more of the same cover-up, my only word on that is: shame." Krause said the new exhibit fails to address several key elements of the …

•  22 Comments
• Videos (2)

Paul

8:37 pm on Friday, May 17, 2013

Laurel, I am saddened for you that you have spent so much time and effort in your life dwelling on an accident that happened. I lived in Kent in 1970 until 2011 and will say there are always 3 sides to every story. Your truth, My truth, and the Actual truth. As sorry as I am for your loss I am more saddened by all of the joy you have missed out on all of these years. It is time to move on and …   more ›

VIDEO: How new May 4 Visitors Center Came Together

$1.1 million center opens to public Saturday at Kent State in Taylor Hall at former Daily Kent Stater offices

Hundreds of images, videos and artifacts that comprise the new May 4 Visitors Center at Kent State University will open to the public for the first time Saturday. The three-gallery, museum-style center presents a timeline of activity that walks visitors through the atmosphere of the 1960s, the days and seconds before the May 4, 1970 shootings and then a reflection of those historic events. The center represents years of consideration by university officials, public forums and witnesses to the shootings about what elements would comprise the galleries. The $1.1 million visitors center, designed by Gallagher and Associates, based in Silver Spring, Md. was paid for with contributions from the public, veterans groups, a $300,000 grant from the…

•  1 Comment
• Videos (1)

VIDEO: May 4 Visitors Center Goal to Leave Lasting Impression

Kent State to debut new center dedicated to shootings during Saturday's Homecoming events

The new May 4 Visitors Center at Kent State University opens to the public during Homecoming festivities Saturday, and those who created it hope those who walk through it leave educated about a watershed moment in U.S. history. The center, located at Taylor Hall in the former Daily Kent Stater offices, tells the turbulent story of the 1960s and the atmosphere that led up to the shootings on May 4, 1970 that left four students dead and nine more wounded by Ohio National Guard fire. Laura Davis, one of four faculty members who worked to develop the new visitors center, said she wants the people who visit the three-part center to take the knowledge they gain and apply it to the May 4 Walking Tour and other elements of the shootings site on …

•  11 Comments
• Videos (1)

Traci Monroe

8:14 am on Sunday, October 21, 2012

Alot more happened than just broken windows, and it went on alot longer than just those first few days of May. Of course my family were just lowly tax paying citizens at the time so what we went through doesn't count.   more ›

May 4 Museum Opens Oct. 20 at Kent State

Newly remodeled visitor's center at Taylor Hall to open Homecoming weekend

Kent State University will officially open its much-anticipated May 4 Visitors Center on Saturday, Oct. 20, as part of the university’s Homecoming celebration. The public is invited to experience the center’s dramatic exhibits at an open house from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Visitors to the open house will receive a special May 4 commemorative gift, while supplies last. On May 4, 1970, Kent State was placed in an international spotlight after a student protest against the Vietnam War and the presence of the Ohio National Guard on campus ended in tragedy. Thirteen seconds of rifle fire by 28 Ohio National Guardsmen left four students dead, one permanently paralyzed and eight others wounded. Using images, artifacts and multimedia, the center’s …

•  17 Comments
• Photos (5)

Tiffany Jones

11:58 am on Sunday, October 14, 2012

Finding the truth of what happened is of great concern to groups affiliated with the websites above including the survivors themselves, and they echo your plea. I also agree the best sources are the eyewitnesses, the survivors and those that have photographic and audio evidence from the actual events. I am assuming, that a lot of that is what is featured at the visitors center! Hope to see you …   more ›

VIDEOS: 42nd Commemoration of May 4, 1970 Shootings

University, community remember 4 killed, 9 wounded

Members of the Kent and Kent State University community gathered on campus Friday for the 42nd commemoration of the May 4, 1970 shootings that killed four and left nine wounded.

•  5 Comments
• Photos (1)
• Videos (6)

Matt Fredmonsky

8:33 am on Monday, May 7, 2012

Sorry about that Beth. I was running out of battery power and had to pick and choose what I recorded. I enjoyed your part of the speech.   more ›

Around Town and Gown

Why May 4 Will Never be Forgotten

Archives at Kent State

Often devoid of people, there's a room filled with clean white shelves lined with non-descript boxes on the 12th floor of the Kent State University Library. Some boxes are filled with photos. Others contain court transcripts. Even a few small boxes have bullet casings and fragments. It's here where you'll find the May 4 Collection of the Kent State University Libraries Special Collections and Archives. What's beautiful about the May 4 Collection is that it doesn't place blame. It doesn't espouse conspiracy theories. It simply houses pieces from that day on May 4, 1970, when four students were killed and nine wounded by gunfire from Ohio National Guard troops. One of the archives' latest donations is Virginia L. Heidloff-Reichard Papers. …

• Photos (5)