Jeffrey Miller: A Snapshot in Time

Ongoing exhibit offers a glimpse of the personalities of the students who lost their lives on May 4, 1970

This recently discovered photo of Jeffrey Miller is part of "Snapshots in Time: The Lives of Four Students" exhibition on display at the Kent State University May 4 Visitors Center

Miller was one of the four students killed on May 4, 1970, on the Kent Campus. He is the fallen student who Mary Ann Vecchio is kneeling near in the most well-known photo from that tragic day. 

Jeffrey Miller, April 1970

Photo by Hadley Hines, Pattie. Kent State University Libraries. Special Collections and Archives.

This photo was taken by one of two women who had picked up Miller when he was hitchhiking home after attending a concert in Cleveland, Ohio, about three weeks before May 4. Alison Caplan, director of the May 4 Visitors Center, said that this photo was chosen to be part of the exhibition because of the candid moment it captured, with Miller in the backseat of a car with a book in his hand. It reflects his personality beyond being just a person who was part of a historic and tragic event, Caplan said. 

Alison Caplan with Jeffrey Miller displays

May 4 Visitors Center Director Alison Caplan with some of the artifacts in the exhibition.

Other elements of the display highlight Miller's passion for music, using vintage vinyl records and other artifacts. 

The "Snapshots in Time" exhibition will be on display at the visitors center through Dec. 22, 2023. The displays and artifacts will change every four weeks, to remember a different fallen student. 

Jeff Miller: Aug. 28-Sept. 22

Sandy Scheuer: Sept. 27-Oct. 20

Allison Krause: Oct. 25-Nov. 17

Bill Schroeder: Nov. 27-Dec. 22

For more information, visit the May 4 Visitors Center website.

POSTED: Wednesday, September 13, 2023 04:21 PM
Updated: Thursday, September 21, 2023 12:36 PM
WRITTEN BY:
Phil B. Soencksen