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The Rotary Club of Kent April 21, 2020 President Roger called the virtual meeting to order at 12:15 over zoom.us. David Dix led the club in singing “God Bless America” from his home. David Myers led club members in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, and Olivia Pilon offered the invocation, both from their respective homes. Announcements: Meetings for the next month will be held over zoom.us at least until May 12. The club may resume face-to-face meetings at the United Methodist Church, or offer both face-to-face and virtual options beginning in mid-May. Speakers will be as follows: - April 28 – Matt French from Ametek speaking about helping with the fight against COVID-19
- May 5 – Jeff Miller, Kent-born children’s book author of The Nerdy Dozen
- May 12 – Bill Benoit from UH Portage discussing the impact of COVID-19 on UH Portage and Portage County
- May 19 – Roger Hoover, a local artist and musician, will talk about his recent work during the pandemic “Porch Portraits.”
- May 26 – Nate Jonoso from the Cleveland Indians will discuss what’s going on with the Indians and how the organization has been working through the disruption of the Coronavirus.
Randy Smith noted that, once we resume face-to-face meetings, we will likely observe social distancing and wear face masks. Steve Dennis recommended an article in the New York Times about how COVID-19 can cause dangerously low oxygen levels in the blood. Here is a link to that article: The Infection That’s Silently Killing Coronavirus Patients Will Underwood announced that the Center of Hope in Ravenna is looking for volunteer drivers. Today’s Program: President Roger introduced today’s speaker, Doug Fuller, a longtime Rotarian and former club president who, as a 20-year-old sophomore architecture student at Kent State University, witnessed the tragic shootings that took place on May 4, 1970. He told the story of his experience on that day beginning at 11:45 when he left Taylor Hall after morning classes. In preparation for his talk, Doug reviewed published accounts of the event including the Justice Department’s summary of J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI Report on the incident, the President’s Commission on Campus Unrest, and the book “This We Know” by Laura Davis, Mark Seeman, and Carole Barbato. These sources confirmed his own observations that the assembly was a peaceful one, there was no sniper as has been claimed, and that the National Guardsmen were at no time under any real threat from the crowd, which never approached the Guardsmen closer that 60 feet. Doug noted that the events surrounding the tragedy were well documented. A photojournalism class of students was assigned to photograph the anti-Vietnam War rally scheduled for noon that day. A student in Tri-Towers took an 8mm film of the events and another student in nearby Johnson Hall make a sound recording. Using images taken at the site that day, Doug took us through the events that culminated shortly after noon with the deaths of four students and the wounding of nine others. He explained in detail the movements of the students and the Guardsmen in front of Taylor Hall and up Blanket Hill to the back of Taylor Hall where the shootings took place. Along with many of his fellow students, Doug had planned to attend the rally at noon, stay for half an hour or so, then get lunch and prepare for an afternoon class at 1:10. He described the chill that went up his spine when he saw several Guardsmen kneel with weapons ready. But they moved on, and he walked north toward his dorm. At that time, he heard what he thought were firecrackers, thinking what a bad idea it was to shoot off firecrackers at such a volatile time. He described the incredible sense of anger he felt when he realized what had happened. Doug also noted the key role played by faculty marshalls, especially Glenn Frank, in compelling the students to leave the scene before further confrontation would lead to more tragedy. He also pointed out that the Center for Peaceful Change at Kent State, established as a direct result of the shootings, has been a positive outcome of a terrible tragedy for our nation. Olivia Pilon provided the response thanking Doug for his powerful presentation. Respectfully submitted, Thomas Hatch
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