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Fifty-six years after the Ohio National Guard opened fire on student protesters at ����Թ�, killing four and wounding nine, the university community gathered once again on the May 4 site at the ����Թ� State Commons to bear witness, reflect and reaffirm its commitment to preserving the legacy of that day.

The commemoration remembered by name those killed — Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer and William Schroeder — and those wounded — Alan Canfora, John Cleary, Thomas Grace, Dean Kahler, Joseph Lewis, Donald Mackenzie, James Russell, Robert Stamps and Douglas Wrentmore.

The annual commemoration drew students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members to the historic site, where the sound of the Victory Bell carried across campus as it has each year since 1971.

This year's commemoration carried a particular weight of remembrance. The program included a tribute to John Cleary, one of the nine students wounded on May 4, 1970, who died Oct. 25, 2025 — and whose ringing of the Victory Bell at last year's commemoration stands as one of his final public acts of witness. 

The program also honored the memory of Jerry M. Lewis, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Sociology, who served as a faculty marshal during the shootings and spent decades ensuring the lessons of May 4 endured. Lewis died Feb. 11, 2026.

The passing of both men left a lasting impression on ����Թ� State President Todd Diacon.

"It seems to me that Jerry Lewis's life, and a lesson from May 4, 1970 is this: the importance of remaining peaceful, even when disagreeing," Diacon said. "At ����Թ� State, we know better than anyone that once the shooting starts, no one is safe, and the manner in which John led his life subsequently exemplifies the best in human nature with service, empathy and compassion in the place of anger, hate and violence."

"The Power of Our Voices" — this year's commemoration theme — felt especially resonant as speakers called on a new generation to carry forward what those who were present can no longer say in person.

The program followed a longstanding tradition: student remarks, administrative reflections, the ringing of the Victory Bell and a moment of silence observed at 12:24 p.m. — the precise time, 56 years ago, that the gunfire ended. Music on the Commons preceded the service at 11 a.m., and guided walking tours of the May 4 site were offered at 3 p.m.

The May 4 Task Force, the student organization that has long been a driving force in planning and sustaining the annual commemoration, played a central role in this year's program.

"And with these students today, we do more than remember. We recommit as a university community, we commit to listening when they speak, to protecting their right to dissent, to recognizing that democracy is not something we inherit fully formed, but something we must continually defend, continually question and strengthen," said Roseann “Chic” Canfora, May 4 survivor and chair of the May 4 Commemoration Committee.

A Week of Remembrance

Monday's service was the culmination of four days of commemoration events that began May 1. On Friday, the May 4 Visitors Center celebrated student artists featured in "Still Standing: Dean Kahler and Disability Rights," an exhibition examining May 4's legacy through the life and activism of Kahler, who was paralyzed by a National Guard bullet and went on to a career in disability rights advocacy. 

The fifth annual Jerry M. Lewis May 4 Lecture Series and Luncheon followed in the ����Թ� Student Center Ballroom, where Ohio Northern University historian David Strittmatter, Ph.D., presented "The Guardsmen Speak: Tragedy and Memory 56 Years Later." The program included a special remembrance of Lewis with remarks from President Diacon, May 4 Visitors Center Director Alison Caplan, Professor Emeritus Richard O'Toole and Lewis' son, Damon Lewis.

On Sunday, the university dedicated the Alan Canfora May 4 Collection — the largest-known private collection of May 4 documents and materials — to ����Թ� Libraries' Special Collections and Archives. The evening's Candlelight Walk and Vigil, a cornerstone of the commemoration since 1971, drew participants through campus beginning at 11 p.m.