Carl Monday Reflects on the Events of May 4, 1970

(Cleveland) - The events of May 4, 1970 at Kent State University are clearly remembered by the men and women who were students at KSU that day.

Fox 8 I-Team contributor Carl Monday was a freshman at KSU that day. He was a disc jockey at campus radio station WKSU, doing an all-request show on Saturday, May 2, when he got a call to look out the window. He could see that the campus ROTC building was on fire. Monday turned the station over to WKSU's news department, after playing his final song, "Light My Fire," by The Doors.

Two days later, Monday was working his part-time job,.washing cafeteria dishes, but he was near a window where he could see the Prentice Hall parking lot. Suddenly, he heard gunfire, saw the commotion, and ran outside. He saw students running everywhere, he saw ambulances, and National Guard helicopters, which were used to tell students through bullhorns that they were to leave the campus immediately.

For years afterward, Monday says he'd get a knot in his stomach every May 4. Those feelings subsided over the years, but have come back as the 50th anniversary of the shootings approached.

(Photo courtesy Kent State University)

(Copyright 2020, iHeartMedia)


View Full Site