May 1970 - MPC Students Respond to the Kent State University Shootings

by Denise Sallee, MPC Library Archivist

On Monday, the 4th of May 1970, four Kent State University students were killed and nine others wounded by Ohio National Guard troops during a protest against the American invasion of Cambodia. Those killings prompted a nation-wide protest by college students and shut down over 400 educational institutions. From the pages of Monterey Peninsula College's student newspaper, El Yanqui, we read how students and faculty responded to this historic event. California Governor Ronald Reagan ordered all state universities and colleges to close their campuses for two days following the shootings as a "cooling down" period.

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MPC students lower the flag in mourning for the students killed at Kent state and 300 students and faculty march through Monterey  to protest  the action taken by the Ohio National Guard.

The eventful week ends as tension and activism continue on the MPC campus.