Police Shakedown Kent State May 4 site

UPDATE: My ticket was dismissed and the Museum sent me a letter of apology. The Kent State Police Department took the path of least resistance and ignored me. I am grateful for the museum for attending to this matter for me, however.

A letter I wrote the Kent State in regards there shakedown of tourists via tricky parking tickets.

I was two weeks shy of turning 10 years old on May 4, 1970.  My dad was in the USAF, so I was aware peripherally (as much as a child could know) of things going on.  I knew the war was a bad thing.  But I had no concept until May 4, 1970.  I had no idea what the words meant, but it was the day a wedge formed between me and my family and I became the “liberal” sheep.  At 63, I have not changed.

Last Wednesday, I visited the Memorial Site at Kent State. I drove onto campus carefully following the signs to the visitor center, parked my car and then walked through the exhibits.  It was an amazing experience, almost spiritual in nature. I found myself in tears (no sobbing) watching the movie outline of what happened that horrific day.

So, you can imagine my disgust when I came out of the Visitor’s center, feeling like I had almost had a religious experience only to find a parking ticket on my car.  This is clearly a shakedown and is something Kent State should hang their head in shame over.  Visitor parking is NOT clearly marked, and in fact there are numerous arrows pointing into the parking lot making any normal person think it was a safe place to park.  Clearly, a shakedown by overzealous law enforcement based on their own power and self-importance.  It’s ironic that a place where one of the most heinous acts of law enforcement misconduct is still doing it, albeit on a much much much smaller scale. They are still abusing their power.

Yes, I know the Kent State Police are not the Ohio militia, but the message is the same.  It is still, “we will fuck you to get what we want.”  In this case a $20 fine.  Will the arrogant white man every learn he is just one of us, and that we are all one in God's eyes. WILL THEY EVER LEARN????  

When I left, I looked carefully around.  Visitor parking is not clearly marked, and the signs saying the parking lot was for students and faculty was very small and not easily seen. I was misled with the signs pointing INTO the parking lot guiding me to the Memorial site. As I was leaving, I did find a few metered spots that were not clearly visible.

This was and is a clear shakedown.  My plates are from Maryland.  Obviously, I was a guest at the memorial.   That said, regarding the parking lot, in 53 years, why have they not allocated the entire parking lot as a sacred site? The money to transform it could be raised in less than a year. But then the police would not have a cash cow generating probably $50K a year. Disgusting. This parking lot should be turned into at the list a meditation garden. (who am I fooling, in this world, never will happen....) I am sure if I get a response from Kent State, they will try to gaslight me and imply I am a bad driver because I didn't see the parking signs. They were strategiclly placed to be hard to see.

In reality, there should be no parking there at all.  It is immensely disrespectful to the lives lost and should be a memorial garden, not a place where overprivileged faculty park. The memories of these young people are clearly inconsequential to Kent State.

Kent State campus is large, and this small bit of parking can and should be revered and should not still be in use as a place for students and professors to park as if nothing happened there!!!!  And if a car with an out of state plate parks there unintentionally, the police should know those people are there to honor the dead and not use it as financial modality.  If the University can’t dial its greed back enough to close the parking lot down, it is relatively simple to set up a parking machine where people/guests can park there instead of scamming them.  I was only in the exhibit for 30 minutes.   I would have happily paid $20 to see the exhibit (which was free and profound).  I am disgusted to be paying for a shakedown.  Shame on you.  Kent State, fix this.  It's disgusting.

Julie O'Hara 2023

Addendum: Ticket got dismissed.