The 1977 Controversy

In 1977, a new controversy arose on Kent State University's campus over the decision to build a new Health, Physical Education and Recreation facility in an area north of Memorial Gymnasium. This included portions of the land where students and guardsmen confronted each other on May 4, 1970. The 1977 confilct grew from a local controversy into one of nationwide significance.

On the evening of May 4, 1977, about two hundred persons, most of whom were students, occupied the administrative building, Rockwell Hall, for eight hours. During the occupation the demonstrators created an organization known as the May 4th Coalition and drafted a series of demands to be presented by the coalition, including changing the site of the proposed facility. Early on the morning of May 5, the protestors left the building, had the demands read to the press by one of the students who had been wounded in 1970 and began efforts to mobilize students and others to support the demands.

On May 12, the University Board of Trustess, by a vote of 8-1, approved the completion of the bidding process, hence affirming its decision to build on the proposed site. A crowd which had assembled outside the meeting then marched around campus to the proposed building site, where about 70 protestors pitched eight tents. By May 17, what quickly became known as "Tent City" consisted of approximately 55 tents with 100 inhabitants.

In the following weeks, developing appropriate methods for removing protestors from the hill was the administration's primary concern, while the coalition was deciding whether to leave or stay when confronted by law enforcement officials.

On Tuesday, July 12, one hundred and ninety-three people chose to defy a court order calling for their dispersal. As a consequence, they were arrested by police armed only with night sticks, which were not used. With the arrests, "Tent City" ended as nonviolently as it had begun. The controversy continued throughout the remainder of the summer and into the fall. On September 19, 1977, construction on the gym facility began and it opened for public use in September 1979.