Margaret Garmon, Oral History

 

Recorded: June 21, 2023

Interviewed by: Liz Campion

Transcribed by the Kent State University Research & Evaluation Bureau

 

 

[Interviewer]: This is Liz Campion, May 4 Archivist speaking on Wednesday, June 21, 2023. As part of the Kent State Shootings Oral History Project, we are recording an interview over the telephone today. [00:00:17] Could you please state your name for the recording?

 

[Margaret Garmon]: Margaret Garmon.

 

[Interviewer]: Thank you, Margaret. I would like to begin with some brief information about your background so we can get to know you a little bit better. [00:00:30] Could you tell us where you were born and where you grew up?

 

[Margaret Garmon]: I was born in Akron, Ohio. My early years were in Freedom Township of Portage County, until seventh grade. And then, we moved to Berlin Center [Township] in Mahoning County.

 

[Interviewer]: [00:00:50] And what year did you first come to Kent State University?

 

[Margaret Garmon]: I came as a freshman in 1966 and I graduated in 1971.

 

[Interviewer]: [00:01:02] And what brought you to Kent State?

 

[Margaret Garmon]: It was close by. I could drive easily from my parents’ home and go back, if needed.

 

[Interviewer]: [00:01:14] What was your major when you were a student?

 

[Margaret Garmon]: Broadcasting major and a minor in journalism.

 

[Interviewer]: Were you active in any student organizations or clubs?

 

[Margaret Garmon]: I was a reporter for the Daily Kent Stater and I was also a reporter for, what was then, WKSU Radio. It was not an FM station at that point, but it was WKSU Radio. And it was, quite a few students were involved.

 

[Interviewer]: [00:01:47] Can you talk a little bit about your roles in both of those organizations, the Daily Kent Stater and WKSU [Radio]?

 

[Margaret Garmon]: Basically, I was a general assignment reporter for the [Daily Kent] Stater for a couple of years, and then also for the radio station. But that was basically from, probably, 1967 until about 1970. And then, I was working full time. So, I really didn’t have that much time to be involved in student activities.

 

[Interviewer]: [00:02:20] In addition to the student organizations that you were in, how did you view the protests and the Vietnam War when you first arrived on campus?

 

[Margaret Garmon]: It was—how can I say it? I came from a very small high school that was in the country in Mahoning County. So, there was really nothing like that going on at the high school. And then, when I came to Kent State, by 1967 and ’68, there were the student demonstrations and a lot of student activism. So, it was just a very interesting and fascinating time for me.

 

[Interviewer]: [00:3:01] Would you have considered yourself, at all, politically involved or active at that time?

 

[Margaret Garmon]: My involvement was, basically, as a reporter covering those events.

 

[Interviewer]: [00:03:13] Can you describe the prevailing attitudes or moods among the students in that spring of 1970?

 

[Margaret Garmon]: Oh, it’s difficult. I think that there were some that still had their loyalty, their perceived loyalty, to the country and what was considered patriotic, being supportive. But there were also a significant, core group of students who started to see that the Vietnam War was not something we wanted to maintain and keep going. So, you had these two different types of factions examining the issue and sometimes coming to a disagreement, either in protests or other things.

 

[Interviewer]: [00:04:03] Now, coming from a small high school, and kind of a small area, was your family aware of the protests that were taking place on campus? And if so, did any of them communicate their feelings about the protests or the war?

 

[Margaret Garmon]: Yeah, they were, I mean we had local TV stations in Youngstown that covered the protests. It made for good theater on TV to have filmed their protests. So, my parents were aware of current events certainly. But they never really, I guess tried to sway me one way or another. I think their attitude was, Well, you’re in college now. You have to start learning these things for yourself and make a good decision.

 

[Interviewer]: [00:04:47] Do you remember the environment in your classes in that spring of 1970?

 

[Margaret Garmon]: Well, most of my classes were journalism classes. So, of course, it was a thing of interest. And just it was a very newsworthy time. And how are we going to cover these things and report back?

 

[Interviewer]: I’m glad you made that point. I think there were so many things going on and it was a pivotal time, just knowing American history as well. [00:05:22] Prior to the shootings, what was your sense of how local Kent community members perceived the Kent State students?

 

[Margaret Garmon]: Maybe for some it was a point of curiosity because of the protests. But I think you have this conservative element especially post-World War II, coming out of that and thinking this is something that’s, the idea of patriotism was what people supported. And how can you go against what might be your country and the presidency? And this, I guess a lot of it really, I guess kind of conservative, old school citizens were not that favorable toward a lot of the protests.

 

[Interviewer]: [00:06:17] Now, I understand you worked at the Kent State University Police Department, can you tell us about your role in the department?

 

[Margaret Garmon]: Okay, I was hired in, I think it was spring of 1968 as a dispatcher, police dispatcher, working the afternoon shift. So, basically, if a call came in, I would radio whatever police officer was assigned to that area to handle that call. And, in 1968, it was a very different time compared to how things accelerated by 1970. One thing that people need to keep in mind as they walk the campus today is how different the campus was at that point. By now the police department is high on a hill in what used to be the health center. It was converted to the building for the police department. In the 1960s and 1970s, the police department was a much smaller facility and was located between Kent and Merrill Hall and right next to a little gym. The gym is no longer there, but the police department itself was located right there on front campus and was, literally, steps away from the Administration Building, the treasurer’s office where the executive offices of the president and vice president were.

 

[Interviewer]: [00:07:48] Do you recall the size of the police department at the time?

 

[Margaret Garmon]: It was quite small. I think we probably had, maybe, five to eight road officers, three or four detectives, a dispatcher for each shift, and a chief of police, and a couple of other administrative staff. So, it was quite small. And, if you look back at the 1960s, things were a lot quieter on campus. There were not that much concern about crimes we have today and the kinds of things that the police officers would have to respond to. Certainly not the drug traffic that we have today. So, at that point in time, a smaller police department probably worked okay.

 

[Interviewer]: [00:08:44] As anti-war protests and other alike events started to pick up in the spring of 1970, could you describe the attitudes that were happening with those employed with the police department? Were they aware of what was in the works or what was possibly on the horizon?

 

[Margaret Garmon]: Well, I think everybody did. All you needed to do was pick up the Daily Kent Stater or whatever fliers were going around campus. Whether there was going to be a protest or demonstration sometimes. So, there was no secret there were going to be these demonstrations. You just kind of had to think, Okay, what are we going to do, as far as controlling traffic and making sure that there wouldn’t be any clashes between groups of differing opinions.

 

[Interviewer]: [00:09:39] What do you remember about the arrival of the National Guard on campus?

 

[Margaret Garmon]: See, that would have been probably Saturday or Sunday. I don’t specifically remember exactly when they arrived on campus, but I remember what happened when they first arrived. Wills Gym was right next to us, and I remember we could look into what was Wills Gym, just steps away from the police department, and see a lot of National Guard members bivouacked (00:10:17) on the floor of the gym in there. So, it was, I guess it was alarming and it was confusing. But by that time, as the weekend kept going further and further along, we were all so preoccupied with, Okay, what is our job or our responsibility at this point in time? To really think about, Am I for this or am I against this? So, it’s like, Okay, what is our duty and responsibility as members of the police department or the administration to make sure that things just don’t go wrong.

 

[Interviewer]: [00:10:58] Now, can you walk us through your experiences during the period of April 30^th to May 4? Whether that be as a dispatcher and or a student?

 

[Margaret Garmon]: Yeah, I think by that time I probably dropped out of school for that quarter because things were just too busy and time was at a premium. By the afternoon of Friday there was a sense that, Okay, things are really going to be very hectic, and very busy, and chaotic. So, we were put on notice that you were on call twenty-four/seven until further notice. So, that’s basically what happened. And it’s just hard to delineate when I wasn’t there or when other members of the department weren’t there. It was something that you were expected to be there when called.

 

[Interviewer]: [00:11:57] Do you recall any dispatch calls for the ROTC [Building] fire that kind of started this kickoff of the events surrounding May 4?

 

[Margaret Garmon]: I don’t see so much as the calls. There were, I wasn’t the only dispatcher that was there. It was myself and Bruce Robeson, who was the chief dispatcher. Basically, he was my immediate supervisor and the other who would have been the dispatcher for the midnight shift. I worked four to midnight, and we had, like, three dispatchers, plus other people that would help relieve you. But I don’t think it’s so much of the call, whether we got a call, or whether maybe Kent City got the call, but there was just this hive of activity all around us because where we were, at the police department, you could look out and almost see The Commons where the buildings were located, which is another aspect of how the campus has changed. On The Commons were located the ROTC Building, which was basically barracks leftover from World War II. And so, we were really, you know, just a few minutes’ walk from where those buildings are, or were.

 

[Interviewer]: [00:13:16] Can you walk us through your day on May 4th, 1970?

 

[Margaret Garmon]: Okay, we were there early in the morning and by then the National Guard was there. And there were several agencies, police agencies you might call mutual aid were there to also assist the sheriff’s office and take control. And those were other agencies that would have been responsible to assist us at that time. So, it was just a lot of activity going on. People going back and forth from the police department, and just hearing all this radio traffic, and, at that point, Bruce Robeson was the person who was the dispatcher. And we heard about the protests, and demonstrations, the need for some sort of riot control. And then, the information came over that shots had been fired and Bruce Robeson immediately went on to radio to Kent City to send ambulances onto campus because at that point I think the phone lines were really starting to shut down. We only had four, maybe six phone lines at best, in the police department and they were just really overwhelmed. So, we were, basically, depending on radio traffic, which was basically a microphone, and a transmitter to keep, so we can communicate to another department to provide assistance in communicating that we needed ambulances right there on campus.

 

[Interviewer]: [00:15:02] Do you remember your reaction when you heard about the actual shooting that took place?

 

[Margaret Garmon]: Not right at that point because we had been so busy and so hectic. Like I said, you’re kind of in this beehive of activity and thinking, Okay, what do we, what do I do next? What am I going to be told what to do? So, it’s almost like a blur of what’s this, like, Oh my God, people were shot. It was like, Oh my God, what do we need to do to get help there or assist other people and what they’re doing. I think it really didn’t sink in until maybe a day later when we, you just could kind of catch your breath.

 

[Interviewer]: [00:15:41] Can you talk about that day after? Kind of what the days and the weeks were like after May 4?

 

[Margaret Garmon]: Well, of course the campus was shut down immediately, the afternoon of May 4th. Everybody was told to leave, which was very hectic and disorienting, especially if you lived on campus. And after everybody was told to leave the campus, if you lived on campus, and classes weren’t being held on campus. It was certainly not as hectic, maybe even, I don’t want to say peaceful, but just strange that there were not a lot of people on campus.

 

[Interviewer]: That was something-

 

[Margaret Garmon]: Still had medias coming in and everything so.

 

[Interviewer]: That was something I failed to ask earlier, was [00:16:34] where were you living at the time?

 

[Margaret Garmon]: I was living off campus in the nearby Main Street (00:16:40) apartments.

 

[Interviewer]: Okay. [00:16:43] So, was it difficult to kind of navigate on and off campus while still working for the police department at the time?

 

[Margaret Garmon]: No, because I was a member of the police department. I could have, like, some sort of identification or clearance. And there had been check points established around campus so that there were only certain places on campus that you exit or enter campus. So, because I was an employee and I had identification, I didn’t have any difficulty coming and going on campus.

 

[Interviewer]: Okay. [00:17:14] How did the local and or national media respond to the events that took place that day?

 

[Margaret Garmon]: It was almost, I guess, instantaneous. Nobody, I don’t think the national media was that interested until word got out that students had been shot and killed. And that’s when national media really started contacting local media for sources and information, and then descending upon us. And one of the things that I wanted to address was people today, we have instant communication between cell phones and video cameras. And back in 1970, it was almost primitive to what we have today. So, basically, the tools that news media had available to them to gather information and then share information with their respective stations, or news offices and newspapers, you had to rely on payphones or use an office phone, if you knew somebody at the office of an administrator (00:18:22). Their secretary would let you use an office phone to call into your station, or newsroom, that you needed help covering this or to share information. So, basically just payphones and you better have the exact change for that payphone to make a call to, let’s say your radio station or newsroom.

 

At that time, if you wanted to film an event, it was 16mm film in a camera, probably black and white, that had to be developed before you could put it on the air. So, there were no video cameras that would instantly record something and would be uploaded. So, news crews would film and then go back to the station, or wherever they had, where they could develop that film so it can go on the air. Maybe some places used a telegraph. As far as typing up a story, you used a manual or electric typewriter. And hard copies of stories would be kept onto whoever was in the newsroom to be the lead on the air, or to be typeset to be put in a newspaper.

 

As far as still photos, you had, like, 35mm cameras, again probably black and white, because black and white could be developed on site. If it was color film you had to take it to a lab that would specifically process color labs, color film rather. So, yeah, it was black and white film that could be developed right there in the darkroom of the newspaper or the TV station, and then incorporated into that next edition of the paper or on the air. I had a cassette tape recorder to record audio.

 

And the other thing to keep in mind is, at that point in time, in 1970, there were three local television stations. And I think channel forty-three was coming on the air. So, that would have been another cable station. So, you had, basically, four stations, locally, that had news crews. There certainly was no national cable television that would have news 24/7. So, we were limited to, if you were in Mahoning County, you had three TV stations that you could tune to look to the news. Cleveland, three maybe four stations. And news would be maybe half hour, local news, and maybe half hour of national news. So, it wasn’t that constantly being inundated with news like that. So, it was difficult. And so, those are the tools that news media had. News media did not have fax machines, they didn’t have video tape, no cell phones, no world wide web. Those that had photocopiers were probably, certainly not as sophisticated as the ones we have now.

 

So, one of the other things that I would like to say, as far as photos from that day, was that even with these limitations of a 35mm camera, was the way the campus was located, and where the May 4 [Visitors] Center is now, is where the offices of the Daily Kent Stater, the student newspaper, were located. So, literally, you could look out the window, the front windows of Taylor Hall, and look at The Commons and, basically, see everything that was going on as far as skirmishes between protestors and the National Guard. And so, newspaper staff were, literally, steps away, right there in the center of everything that was swirling around Taylor Hall at that time. So, when things really started to pick up, as far as being very serious, and the demonstrations, and National Guard presence, and what their reaction would be at noon, first thing student photographers, student reporters do, they’re going to instinctively rush to where the news is happening. So, that’s why we have such a rich trove of photographs taken in real time from that day. Because photos were on the cover of Newsweek Magazine and LIFE Magazine. John Filo’s photo that was on the cover of Newsweek of Mary [Ann] Vecchio won a Pulitzer Prize at that time. If you think about it, he was an undergraduate and he wins a Pulitzer Prize for that photograph that was taken. So, it’s almost astounding that with what news media have today, that news media could do as good a job as they did. And another person that was really involved, and this was Bob Carpenter, who worked for the local radio station, I think it was WNIR, and he had a lot of coverage that was going on. So, we have, I know his archives have been donated to the library [editor’s clarification: The Bob Carpenter papers were donated to Kent State University Libraries Special Collections and Archives]. So, we have quite a robust history and archival records thanks to, basically, student journalists.

 

[Interviewer]: Yeah, it certainly sounds that the location of the shootings was a key factor and, as you said, kind of that rich trove of historical records we have today. And it does make you wonder if it was located just a few buildings down, if there would have been as much photography, or as much kind of footage, or documentation from that day. Certainly, there would be, but I think the location probably did play a key role in that.

 

[Margaret Garmon]: Yeah, and I think that instinct to cover a news event and be a news reporter just drives you forward to the action. And I think that they rushed out to do that. Nobody thought they were going to be shot at. That was the other thing. It was, by now they had been seasoned veterans covering protests and building takeovers on campus. So, it was different.

 

And as far as technology, I wanted to add the police department was certainly not the police departments we see today with a lot of monitors, and computers, and everything. The police department at that time, like I said, I think we had six phone lines, no teletype, no TV monitors, or computer monitors that we have, and, really, no national internet, too, other law enforcement networks or agencies. And we typed information onto log sheets with manual typewriters, as far as things that were going on, or taking notes. It was just-

 

[Interviewer]: Yeah, it’s interesting to compare kind of the tools of communication. I mean, today if something catastrophic were to happen, we have Flash ALERTS [editor’s clarification: Flash ALERTS is Kent State University’s official emergency text notification system], or we have email alerts, something that comes to your phone in one second. And what a different story that could have been if it took place in 1970. So, it’s really interesting to hear the, what the communication tools were like in 1970 versus today, and that comparison there. So, thank you for mentioning that.

 

[Margaret Garmon]: Yeah, one thing that comes to mind is that we had a limited number of phone lines. And once the word got out in the community and maybe even by radio stations that were covering this live—what was the first instinct? I know somebody on campus, I’m going to call and see if they’re okay, or what’s going on. So, a lot of the phone communication was overwhelmed and just shut down. And I, we had the zip call, we had the police department it was difficult getting incoming calls or making calls outside. And I remember my grandmother called from Ravenna, Ohio in the afternoon. And how she managed to get through on that line to talk to me, I think I answered the phone, too. And it was, like, she with the Hungarian accent said, “Margaret, what’s going on up there?” And the—Well, I can’t talk but I’m fine, I’m okay. And so, it was just kind of one of those quirky things out of all the people that managed to get through the phone lines, turns out my Hungarian [00:27:02] grandmother in Ravenna.

 

[Interviewer]: [00:27:05] Did the Kent State University police department, did they ever acquire new equipment or tools of communication kind of in direct response to the shootings and those events?

 

[Margaret Garmon]: I’m sure they did. People in the administration and had to look and see times are changing. And you have to, basically, get away from this idea that they could say you’re going to handle a panic raid, or student take-overs, or marches. So, especially since all the national attention that had come on to us. So, at that point in time, I think, it was probably number one, looking at where’s the best place for the police department. You don’t want it right there in the thick of all the protests and demonstrations. You want it in a safer location. So, that’s probably where they started taking look at, Okay, where can we locate the department? And I think at that point the health center was already under construction, the new one on the other side of campus. So, that was a possibility. And actually, shortly after 1970, I’m going to say probably 1971, we shared that building on the hill with the School of Nursing.

 

[Interviewer]: Oh, okay.

 

[Margaret Garmon]: So, they had the third floor and I think we had the first floor and part of the second floor, until they got their new building. It was different.

 

[Interviewer]: [00:28:36] How would you describe the impact the Kent State shootings had on journalism and media in general, or on the campus and how they taught those classes?

 

[Margaret Garmon]: I also worked for what, at that point, what they called the News and Information after I left the police department. I worked at a local newspaper, the Record-Courier. And then in the Eighties, I went back and worked in marketing or news information, whatever the title was then. And what we need to keep in mind that news media likes convenience break off days, like, every five years, five years ago today this happened. Ten years ago, today, this happened. So, there was always that interest in Kent State and May 4th on the anniversary date of the shooting.

 

And one thing to keep in mind is, who is running these news media outlets now? Probably a lot of alumni from Kent State who were here in 1970 or here during the Move the Gym controversy, and all that. So, they’re in the newsroom, so they have first-hand knowledge and interest in revisiting this. And also, people who went to other journalism schools that were the same era or coming of age when we did, as far as being journalists. So, there’s that interest in the newsroom that’s going to keep that coming up. And whenever, after the May 4th shooting, we had a lot of famous people who came on campus. Jane Fonda came on campus, so that’s going to be a big deal just by the fact that she was there, and Dick Gregory. And so, there was always this constant interest.

 

I remember when the twentieth commemoration came up for the events of May 4th. Whatever the five-year mark is to the shooting, is also five years later that the Fall of Saigon occurred. So, you have these two very convenient marker events five years apart. So, there’s always that tie-in again. So, it’s just always second by nature. Yeah, who’s in the newsroom? Are they Kent State alumni? Are they fellow journalists that came of age in 1970, that are going to look back and say, This was an important event and this is an anniversary commemoration of that event.

 

[Interviewer]: [00:31:19] As someone who’s had a rich career in journalism and media relations, can you discuss any ways that the shootings may have impacted how you reported things?

 

[Margaret Garmon]: I really wasn’t a reporter in 1970. I was an employee at the University, but I really wasn’t, like, reporting things about May 4th. And then, when I worked for the Record-Courier I was sent to cover those commemoration events or other events that would happen contingent with May 4th. But just try to not so much put your feelings into it, as far as hoping that you have a balanced story that tells, Okay, this is what happened, this is why it’s important, and this is how we’re looking at it now. One of the things that would be an interest would be, certainly, when they put in the May 4 Memorial. That was another, I guess, contingent news story on the anniversary of the shooting itself. And then, the four markers in the [Prentice Hall] parking lot where the four students were shot and died, and whatever ceremony we have for that to mark that. It’s poignant. It’s difficult. But we try not to put your feelings into it. And people will say, Well, what do you think? I say, Well, people died and they died at the hands of people that were there as insurance of the government. Regardless of the feelings, people died and were seriously wounded. And you can’t get away from that.

 

One of the events I worked on was one of the commemorations of May 4th, and at that point we had so many media here, because it was the twentieth anniversary, and the twenty-fifth anniversary, of the Fall of Saigon. And we had a lot of student alumni media that came back for this event. And, at that point, we had just so much interest. CNN sent a crew here and I think, too, I mean, like, vehicles and they were put up in local hotels. There was so many of them. They stayed here for a full week.

 

[Interviewer]: Wow.

 

[Margaret Garmon]: Covering the campus. And then, what went on up to that. And then, we also had a news crew from Europe that was basically the equivalent of, I’m thinking, no that’s public radio, PBS, doing a documentary on campus. So, they were here for a full week. So, it’s all this interest, Kent interest.

 

[Interviewer]: One of the questions I wanted to ask is [00:34:17] did you have any hesitation coming back to the campus, whether that was as a student or an employee? Just any hesitation or drawbacks to coming back or did you feel pretty comfortable?

 

[Margaret Garmon]: Oh no, I had no problem coming back to campus. By then it was my hometown. So, I had no drawbacks. People came back, we had summer classes, summer quarter for grad students. People came back on campus and by fall semester, everything flowed as it had been in the past.

 

[Interviewer]: [00:35:00] Is there anything you’d like to share about how these experiences have affected your life over the years?

 

[Margaret Garmon]: I think if you wear a Kent State--and I know if I go to a conference or something where I had a Kent State T-shirt or something with Kent State, of course the first thing is, Oh, that’s where the shootings happened. So, somebody will make that comment as an ice breaker or a starting conversation. So, there’s certainly that name recognition or notorieties, whatever you want to call it. There’s always someone that’s going to say something about that. But, yeah, if you take it for what it is, and I think some of the comments now aren’t as uncomfortable as they would have been say in the early 1970s. If people confronted you, they were, Oh, you went to Kent State, that’s where they shot students, or that’s where the students were protesting.

 

[Interviewer]: [00:35:57] Did you feel that the community’s reactions to the students, or attitudes towards the students, changed at all after the shootings took place?

 

[Margaret Garmon]: I think over the years it did. And I think you have that older generation that is not as vocal or just aren’t around anymore. And you have younger people coming in that are more understanding and willing to really examine what happened, and not take a look at just that one point in time at noon, on May 4th, 1970. But looking at the whole entire picture and getting to know more about the victims, and their family members, and how they felt. And so, it’s not as harsh or sharp as it would have been in the 1970s. Some of the comments the townspeople make were pretty radical, as far as, I’m sure you’ve been taught the people, what people will say, Well, I think they should have shot more of them, and it’s a horrible thing to say. I remember giving a talk, when I was still a reporter, to a local group, women’s group. And I said, “I will come and speak, but I will speak from the viewpoint of reporter. I really don’t bring in an opinion, one way or another, as to who is at fault or anything like that.” I really try to, you know, make it as, like you are now, as unbiased as possible.

 

[Interviewer]: Absolutely.

 

[Margaret Garmon]: And after the talk, I said how we covered it every five years, pretty much what we’re talking about now, and what technology we had and we didn’t have. And I said, “Are there any questions?” And one little, old person in the front row raised a hand, and I said, “yes,” and she said, “As far as I’m concerned, they should have shot more of them.”

 

[Interviewer]: Wow.

 

[Margaret Garmon]: And it was kind of a shock and people around this person goes, Shh, don’t, don’t go there, just don’t. So, it was kind of just a, Well, thank you for that comment, and moved on. But, yeah, I get people that have no problem speaking up. But, fortunately, it’s quite a bit different now.

 

[Interviewer]: [00:38:18] I’m curious how you handled the stressors as being a dispatcher and then as a reporter, both roles throughout time are roles that people heavily rely on for information. So, [00:38:32] how did you handle the stress of those jobs?

 

[Margaret Garmon]: I still consider myself a stressful person. I think to myself, Well, this is different. This is exciting. This is an opportunity to be involved in an important event, make a difference in an important event. Either onsite in 1970, or covering it as a reporter, or part of the university marketing department to put more information out.

 

[Interviewer]: [00:39:07] Is there anything else you’d like to talk about that we haven’t covered yet today?

 

[Margaret Garmon]: Something I would like to say, another with, like, a lot of controversy was the May 4 Memorial—as far as winning. Who would, whose design would be used. I think that the architect that they finally named was Bruno Ast from Chicago. And he had quite an impressive design, but when it came to raising money for the impressive design, money just wasn’t forthcoming. So, we have a scaled-back version of his vision on the hill. Then, even though it’s certainly grandiose, or whether it certainly changed the way that hill looked now, where the memorial is. What has importance or may be even peaceful is that you can go up to the hill where the memorial is and look around. And, other than the memorial, that spot on campus is very much as it was May 4th, 1970. And you think, Okay, in just a twinkling, in thirteen seconds, you go from being this sleepy, little campus in northeast Ohio, to being in this whirlwind of international media attention. And wow, that’s just so profound in a way. And how do we go back and have a place that you go there now and just kind of think about what happened?

 

[Interviewer]: Absolutely.

 

[Margaret Garmon]: I think that’s what’s important is that not having a huge memorial, even though some people would like that, it’s fine, it’s your opinion, but just that, Yeah, I can be here and, other than these marble slabs and everything, this is what it was in 1970.

 

[Interviewer]: Well, Margaret, I appreciate you sharing that with me, and I want to thank you for taking the time to participate in the Kent State Shootings Oral History Project. [00:41:14] Is there anything else you would like to cover before I end the recording?

 

[Margaret Garmon]: No and thank you for this opportunity. I think it’s important to think that life was very different in 1970 compared to now. And it’s just sad that people that were on campus are now gone. They either died that day or were wounded. And I look back on my fellow journalists who were there and maybe they’ll have another journalism reunion. Who knows?

 

[Interviewer]: Well, thank you very much. I’m going to end the recording here.

 

[Margaret Garmon]: Okay.

 

[End of interview]

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