Kent State University
Protest Shooting
Protest Shooting
Soon after the shooting, media reports spread, sparking widespread protests of both the war movement and the methods used at Kent State to silence the protestors. Hundreds of college campuses shut down due to student walk outs and 100,000 people attended a demonstration in Washington, D.C. President Nixon met with a group of student protestors, but his perceived indifference caused more tension. Ten days after the Kent State shooting, two students were killed and 12 students were wounded in a police shooting at Jackson State University, an HBCU. These two events were investigated through President Nixon's Commission on Campus Unrest, where the map (above) was used. The use of force at both of these campuses was ruled as excessive and unnecessary. Though the Ohio guardsmen's actions were described as deplorable, no criminal charges were brought against the shooters. This incident did have a positive impact on changes to methods of crowd control that have been used in more recent instances of civil unrest.