People familiar with Kent State history know well the tragedy of May 4, 1970, on the Kent Campus. However, not all who are familiar with university history are aware of the significance of May 4, 1933, at Kent State and how it echoed through the Kent community years later in the aftermath of May 4, 1970.
Lean Times at Kent State
Spring 1933 found Kent State College firmly in the grip of the Great Depression. Contrary to what one might expect, enrollment for the traditional school year soared during the years from 1929 to 1937. The explanation: With jobs being so very scarce, high school graduates chose to go to college rather than try to find work.
Kent State’s fees were the lowest in the state and its location made for an easy commute from the area’s most populous cities, including Cleveland, Akron, Canton and Youngstown. Kent State’s expanded curriculum was also credited with attracting students who may have considered attending college elsewhere.
Students struggled to find part-time jobs – in many cases their parents were in competition for those jobs. The board bill for the college’s dining hall was reduced from $5 to $4 per week, but still many students chose to economize by making their own meals. When the banks closed in 1933, a bank-like depository was set up on campus. With the scarcity of cash, the local YMCA organized a system for textbook exchange by barter.
An End to Kent State?
In late April 1933, the Finance Committee of Ohio’s House of Representatives released a report proposing that one of Ohio’s teacher training institutions (Kent State, Bowling Green, Miami or Ohio University) be transformed into a state hospital for the mentally ill.
The committee had observed what they called “a state of emergency” in the state’s institutions caring for the mentally ill, citing “shocking conditions” and overcrowding resulting in patients being forced to sleep on the floor. State resources were severely depleted by the Depression, which led to the idea of converting colleges to hospitals.
At the same time, the committee’s report also pointed out that Ohio’s public schools were “saturated with teachers,” while nearly 4,000 well-trained instructors were unemployed. Contributing to this problem was the fact that some cash-poor schools were attempting to save money by hiring untrained teachers, some with only high school degrees, at low wages.
A committee tour of all four schools was proposed. Members would visit Bowling Green University on May 1, Miami University on May 2, Ohio University on May 3 and Kent State on May 4.
Kent Supporters Unite
Martin L. Davey, who ran for governor of Ohio in 1928, nearly “brought down the house,” when he shouted, “I might be tempted to run for governor again to kill the damn thing.” (He later ran successfully and served as Ohio governor from 1935-1939.)
Local newspapers threw their support behind the college, but Kent State President James Engleman was not optimistic. He speculated that Ohio University and Miami University were safe because they were older and had well-established alumni organizations. He felt that Bowling Green University and Kent State were most at risk.
May 4, 1933
The inspecting committed toured the Kent Campus with President Engleman. One committee member, in his report to Columbus, noted that these campus visits revealed that one of the institutions was so well-suited for repurposing that it would be difficult to distinguish it from facilities specifically built for this purpose. In Kent, people feared that this meant their college was in real danger. There was a call to protest that was answered by all of the fraternal orders, chambers of commerce, service clubs and even the Girl Scouts. Kent State’s Board of Trustees issued a resolution expressing confidence that the governor and Ohio Legislature would not end Kent State. The trustees advised friends of Kent State that they need not continue protests or letter-writing campaigns.
This resolution, along with some indications that Bowling Green was most likely to be sacrificed, ended the campaign to save Kent State. Continuing efforts of Ohioans opposed to sacrificing any college eventually influenced state legislators to abandon the proposal entirely.
The Rumor Persists
When Kent State College became Kent State University in 1935, the mental hospital rumor arose once again, still fresh in people’s minds from 1933. It was during a controversy over state funding needed to adapt Kent State’s facilities and faculty to university standards. The Plain Dealer in Cleveland reported that a special Ohio Government Survey Committee had concluded that the costs of these upgrades to Kent State might not be justified. It suggested that the committee might recommend the university’s “discontinuance” and “conversion to another type of facility so badly needed.”
Years later, in the aftermath of the tragic events of May 4, 1970, while the Kent Campus was still closed, there were worries among the public that the university would never reopen. These concerns were baseless, however, as Kent State’s administration already had plans in place for the fall semester.
One of the rumors circulating throughout Portage County during that unsettled time, however, was that Kent State would be converted to a state psychiatric hospital.