By Emily Cohen

We awoke bright and early to a beautiful sunny Toledo morning and hit the road to Kent State University. After a 2 hour ride we stepped off the bus looking at the beautiful campus. As we were introduced to our influential speaker, Alan Canfora, I found myself standing above three words engraved in stone: Inquire, Learn and Reflect. Alan Canfora, along with thousands of other students, protested against the government and the Vietnam War. May 4th, 1970 marked a day in history that many people will never forget. On that day, Alan Canfora was one of the students who stood in protest while the National Guard tried to restore the peace. Alan’s morning began with the creation of his black flag in representation of anarchy and the mourning of lives lost in the Vietnam War. As the students began their protest, the National Guard arrived fully armed. They began by releasing tear gas which caused the students to run towards the parking lot. The National Guard opened fire and, soon enough, Alan Canfora became one of 13 victims shot that day. For Alan, a tree is what saved his life. A bullet went through his wrist but fortunately he was able to dodge the rest of the other bullets as he hid behind a tree. Unlike Alan, four students were unable to survive the attack. Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandy Scheuer, and William Schroeder all lost their lives in this horrific tragedy.

The official memorial to commemorate the martyrs is only 7% complete. Alan explained how the university displayed a gross amount of insensitivity to the deaths and up until 1990 refused to even begin a memorial. I was shocked and angered to hear this. Four innocent people were killed that day and it is a sin to not want to commemorate their lives.

Alan is still fighting to complete the memorial. His walking us around the campus and showing us how the event unfolded has taught me, and I hope many others, to fight for what you believe in. From this horrifying day in history, a lesson should be learned. In the words of Allison Krause, “flowers are better than bullets”.

After a successful meeting with Alan, we hopped on the bus for a meal of Subway sandwiches. Before we knew it we had arrived at our next stop, the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. We began our tour by meeting the curator of the museum, Howard Kramer, and then we watched two movies displaying the journey of rock and roll. It was awesome when we saw them reference such influential places such as Sun Studios and Beale Street as we had just been standing there a few weeks ago! We then had time to explore the museum on our own. I enjoyed reading the history of great artists including John Mellencamp, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Led Zeppelin. When I reached the third floor that includes the actual Hall of Fame, it was interesting to read about the four categories of inductees. These include performers, non performers, early influencers and side men. I really enjoyed learning the influence of so many artists throughout the years.

Next we began our wrap up of the day right outside the museum. At this point, Billy shared one of the best surprises he had up his sleeve. After speaking about the impact of going to see Bruce Springsteen in concert, he happily shared the news that he will be taking us to see Bruce Springsteen live in New Jersey this Sunday. Being from New Jersey, I was beyond excited. With a smile on all of our faces, we stepped on the bus to begin our journey to New York. At the end of the day, I felt I successfully had inquired, learned and reflected on a wonderful day in Ohio.