Directions
First, read through the UK newspaper clippings for the dates below, as well as the background information from the New York Times. Then, answer the following questions about the UK student protests, based on the readings.
1. Who are the narrators of these items? Under what conditions and circumstances are they writing?
2. Do these items present a particular point of view, multiple points of view, objectivity, or bias? Please describe.
3. How do these sources and events described change or inform your understanding of the Vietnam War in Kentucky?
Student Protests at the University of Kentucky
- Newspaper Clippings - UK Student Protests, ROTC fire, and National Guard OccupationLocation: University Archives, General Reference Files
Includes articles from the Kentucky Kernel, the Lexington Herald-Leader, and other newspapers across the state.
5 May 1970
6 May 1970
7 May 1970 part 1
7 May 1970 part 2
8 May 1970
6-8 May 1970, additional clippings
11-20 May 1970 - Photographs of ROTC Building fire damage, 6 May 197015 color transparencies taken after the fire.
National Context/Background - New York Times Articles
- Nixon's Report to Congress on Foreign Policy19 Feb 1970, New York Times
WASHINGTON, Feb. 18 -- Following, as made public by the White House, is the text of President Nixon's first annual foreign-affairs message to Congress, which was submitted today under the title "United States Foreign Policy for the 1970's: A New Strategy for Peace." - Nixon Announcement Expected On Further Troop Withdrawals31 March 1970, New York Times
WASHINGTON, March 31 -- Pentagon officials said today that they expected President Nixon, to announce further troop withdrawals from South Vietnam sometime in April, despite reports that some top military men were urging a delay in the next phase of the withdrawals. - 'Vietnamizing' in Cambodia10 Apr 1970, New York Times
Abstract: Reports from Saigon indicate that substantial numbers of South Vietnamese troops have been fighting alongside Cambodian forces against North Vietnamese and Vietcong units in Cambodia. - Nixon Abolishes Draft Deferments[s]24 Apr 1970, New York Times
WASHINGTON, April 23 -- President Nixon abolished today, by Executive order, occupational draft deferments and deferments for fathers; announced intention to end undergraduate student deferments. - Escalation in Indochina30 Apr 1970, New York Times President Nixon, who was elected on a pledge to bring peace in Vietnam, has instead escalated the war into Cambodia in a rash move that has the gravest implications for the United States.
- Campus Unrest Over War Spreads With Strike Calls: Editors of 11 College Newspapers Urge Nationwide Walkout to Protest Move In Cambodia and New Bombings4 May 1970, New York Times
Abstract: Calls for ending classes to allow college students to protest the widening United States involvement in Southeast Asia were echoed yesterday on campuses in many parts of the country. - 4 Kent State Students Killed by Troops: 8 Hurt as Shooting Follows Reported Sniping at Rally 4 Kent State Students, 2 of Them Girls, Killed by Guardsmen4 May 1970, New York Times
KENT, Ohio, May 4 -- Four students at Kent State University, two of them women, were shot to death this afternoon by a volley of National Guard gunfire. At least 8 other students were wounded.
UK Campus, Guarded
From: Newspaper Clippings
Burned Remains of ROTC
ROTC Fire, 6 May 1970
From: University Archives, Public Relations