Roll Out The Fainting Couches...
Ohio’s Secretary of State, Republican Frank LaRose, has called on Kent State University to rescind its invitation to actress Jane Fonda to speak at its campus during the 50th commemoration weekend of the May 4 shootings. LaRose called the university's decision to invite and pay Fonda as a speaker a “disgrace."
Last week, it was announced Fonda would discuss the 50th commemoration of the May 4, 1970 shootings, in which the Ohio National Guard killed four students and injured nine others when they opened fire on an unarmed crowd protesting the Vietnam War.
In a statement released to the Akron Beacon Journal, the commemoration advisory committee "developed three pillars that guided the planning: honoring and remembering those killed and wounded; educating about May 4, 1970, and the dangers of polarizing rhetoric and divisive discourse; and above all, inspiring current and future students to be leaders in peaceful conflict resolution and reconciliation."
All 4,000 tickets to see Fonda speak at 7 p.m. on May 3 at KSU's 'Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center' were reserved within 36 hours of the event announcement.
The two-time Academy Award winner also came to Kent State in 1971 and 1974 as part of the first and fourth commemorations of the shootings.
Fonda, 82, has been arrested five times over the past few months in Washington, D.C. for protesting in "Fire Drill Fridays," a series of weekly climate change demonstrations that have garnered celebrity support.