CLEVELAND — Protests related to the war between Israel and Hamas are spreading to campuses across the country.

What You Need To Know

  • Colleges campuses across the country are seeing significant protests related to the war between Israel and Hamas
  • For some, these protests are reminiscent of demonstrations held on Kent State’s campus in the 1970s
  • Kent State University is known for its history of activism, even after the National Guard killed four protesters and wounded nine more on May 4, 1970
 

For some, professional in residence at Kent State University Roseann “Chic” Canfora, this student activism is a reminder of a different era, when students across the country gathered on campuses to protest the Vietnam war. 

Kent State University is known for its history of activism, even after the National Guard killed four protesters and wounded nine more on May 4, 1970.

Canfora was an eyewitness to this event, along with her brother, Alan Canfora, who was one of the wounded.

The Canforas dedicated much of their lives to activism.

In 1977, Canfora gave up everything, along with hundreds of other activists, to live in tents on the Kent State campus in protest of the university’s plans to build a gym annex on part of the May 4 site.

“I had my first teaching job. I was spending the summer at Sarah Lawrence College, where I was a music student. I am a harpist,” Canfora explained of her life in ’77. “When I got the call that they were proceeding with building the gym on the site, I packed up my harp and my car and I drove to Long Island, picked up Ron Kovic from Born on the Fourth of July. I stopped at K-mart and bought a tent and we moved onto the hill for the next 62 days. I mean, I left everything behind, including my first teaching job.”

In July 1977, the Canforas, along with other activists, were invited to the White House.

Their goal was to make the May 4 site a national historic landmark. At the time, they were told it was not possible because it was not yet 50 years old.

Ultimately, the annex gym was still built on the campus and still stands there today.

Canfora said she is proud to see the torch passed on to the next generation of student activists. 

She said she hopes that the universities where the protests are currently taking place will stay open and encourage peaceful resolutions of the conflicts, while giving students the opportunities to exercise their freedom of speech. 

“I have to believe that a lot of the students today that are setting up camps on their college campuses and they exercising their right to free speech, are following our history,” she said. “They are learning that despite the fact that we were gunned down, it didn’t stop the anti-war movement. It brought that war to its knees, and I am proud to be a part of that history.”