I attended Kent State in 1970. We have to deal with protests better

To the editor: On May 4, 1970, I was a student at Kent State University in Ohio. I was in the parking lot that day with my friend Sandy protesting the Vietnam War when she was shot by the Ohio National Guard.

The feelings from that time are deep and personal, and they have returned again given the unrest on campus in recent days over the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

The Vietnam War raised questions related to politics, honesty and morality. These were not primarily ethnic conflicts between two peoples. Protests are part of an American heritage we can be proud of, and they can force necessary change—but those that escalate into violence are no longer accepted forms of expression.

I’m truly amazed that American university leaders seem to have learned nothing from history about how best to handle protests where participants on all sides hold complex, strong beliefs. Sending the National Guard to Kent State was not the solution then, and a similar response to protests is not the solution today.

In their song “Ohio,” Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young asked, “What if you knew her and found her dead on the ground?” How can you run when you know?” I knew her and found her her dead on the ground. I would like to think that I have not shirked my responsibilities as a global citizen.

Doug Guthrie, Manhattan Beach

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