In 1970, famous singer-songwriter Neil Young wrote the song "Ohio" about the massacre of American students by American soldiers at Kent State University in the Ohio on May 4, 1970. The National Guard was called to break up a peaceful demonstration on the university campus, but it ended in tragedy with four students dead and twelve injured. Suddenly, the lyrics of Neil Young's song, "What if you knew her and/found her dead on the ground/How can you run when you know," made sense to every American who had heard the news of the incident. After the events of May 4, 1970, students across the country protested and, in some cases, rose up against Nixon's decision to invade Cambodia. Students between the ages of 18 and 20 were old enough to be drafted into Vietnam at any time; but because they were not old enough to vote, many felt like the only way to express their opinions was through organized protest. “If kids arm themselves with helmets and practice street fighting, it's a reaction to the frustration they feel in a police state,” said a student present on the day of the shooting (quoted in “ The View from Kent State” 23). . Despite growing tensions between the townspeople and the students, many guards agreed that they did not sense "a deep personal threat" (qtd. in The Guardsmen's View 68) among the students. Nonetheless, student radicals exposed the chain of events leading to the shooting by burning down the campus ROTC building. The guards knew that, even though they were carrying live ammunition, they were not to shoot unless they had been shot at and they were sure they had been shot at. It was up to the police to disperse the student demonstrators. The ...... middle of paper ...... young men and women died, and twelve others were seriously injured in a place they called their second home. . Despite radical rebels vandalizing the town and the ROTC building, the National Guard overstepped and was not adequately penalized for the damage they caused. It’s hard to view a campus full of young men and women as enemies of the state. Works Cited “A View of Kent State.” New York Times. May 11, 1970. 1 and 23. New York Times (1851-2007) - ProQuest Historical Newspapers. Internet. September 30, 2013. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. "Ohio." By Neil Young. Neil Young Archives. Resumption. 2009. “Death at Kent State.” How it was. National Geographic. 2008. Internet. September 30, 2013. Furlong, William Barry. “The Guards’ Point of View.” New York Times. June 21, 1970. 13, 64 and 68-69. New York Times (1851-2007)-ProQuest Historical Newspapers. Internet. September 30 2013