I'm gonna get to meet Will Pitt at the Kent State May 4 commemoration! [View All]

[liberalhistorian]

I'm a graduate of Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. During my student days, I was a member of the May 4 Task Force, the group responsible for planning and implementing the yearly commemoration of the May 4, 1970, shootings by the Ohio National Guard during a campus anti-war protest. We also held educational forums throughout the year, and served as a liasion between the wounded students, the families of the murdered students, and the university and the public.

Being involved with the Task Force was the highlight of my college years, and I'm still friends with some of the wounded students and with many fellow Task Force members. I'm also on the email list for the current Task Force so that I can keep up with what's happening.

I live less than an hour away from Kent, so I usually attend the commemorations and the programs and candlelight march and vigils held the evening of May 3 (at 11 p.m. on May 3, we silently march holding candles around the perimeter of the entire campus, then hold vigils throughout the night and into the next morning at the spots where each of the four students were murdered, it's an incredibly moving experience like nothing else).

Well, I found out via the email list that they'd invited our very own Will Pitt to be one of the speakers at the commemmoration as well as on the panel discussion the evening of May 3. The theme this year involves patriotism and dissent, and will include discussions of the Patriot Act, so Will should fit in perfectly! I haven't been able to check my email lately, but when I finally checked it today I happily discovered that it is, indeed, official, and Will will, indeed, be a part of this year's commemmoration!

So not only will I finally get to meet our esteemed Mr. Pitt, I may even be able to join the Task Force for their traditional May 3 pre-program dinner that will hopefully include Will (I don't know for sure yet if it will).

Will, thanks for formally accepting the invitation, you'll love the Task Force, and you're a perfect choice, considering this year's theme! And, of course, I do expect you to bring some copies of your book, as well. Since the fascist wingnuts at Conservative Underground consider you to be a "shameless self-promoting conspiracy theorist", I expect you to not let them down and to live up to that label! :evilgrin: