Kent State, Part IV?
I have been anxiously awaiting the concluding fourth part of Richard Becker’s excellent series, the first three parts of which ran in February, April, and May of last year. Assuming I did not overlook it somehow, any chance that we will see it soon, or must I abandon all hope?
Dan Casey
Kentucky expatriate
Editor responds:
That is a very good question Dan, and truth be told, you’re not the first person to ask it. So here’s what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna put your question in our letters to the editor, and maybe Richard—who is currently back in Lexington—will by hook or by crook come across your question, and get inspired to complete part IV.
And if it doesn’t inspire him, maybe some others might be interested in continuing the series. Four parts was pretty arbitrary. Civil Rights era protests of Rupp, the development of UK Fine Arts as “Berkeley West,” and SDS conventions all were part of UK’s pre-Kent State stew; falling out from Kent State, the development of new media like Blue Tail Fly, tales of Weathermen sightings, and the college’s slow descent—both faculty and student—back into a midwestern collegiate Babbitry might also need to be explored. That’s a lot to ask for one final piece. It doesn’t even leave room for the obligatory then/now comparisons: war, faculty, the state of education, student activism, etc.
That’s a lot to put on Richard. He may be game, but if he’s not, maybe your question will inspire other archive hounds. We’ve certainly got the interest as a paper.
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