Letter to the Editor: ‘We should put a statue of Alan Canfora on campus’

Jeffrey Andrasovsky|April 26, 2023

Alan Canfora speaks at an event during the 10th Annual Commemoration of the Kent State Shootings. (Courtesy of Kent State Library Special Collections)

We should put a statue of Alan Canfora on campus.

After he was shot by the Ohio National Guard on May 4, 1970, he devoted his life to keeping the facts surrounding the shooting known and helping to hold the commemoration alive each year.

A marker honoring Alan Canfora, one of the nine students wounded May 4, sits near Taylor Hall. A dedication ceremony was held for these markers, which were put in place in 2020. (Jimmy Oswald)

Alan died in December 2020. I met him when I was a student at Tri-C West and he gave a speech there. He was at the forefront of the anti-war movement and symbolized what the movement meant to people then. He should be an inspiration to future generations.

I’d like to see the statue made to look like he did in the famous photo by KSU photojournalism student John Filo on May 4, 1970, waving a black flag at the national guard troops aiming their rifles at the crowd.

The statue could be placed where he was standing in that picture. Or it could be in the Student Center. Or at the May 4 Memorial.

The effort could start with a fundraising campaign. Perhaps the university could be persuaded to put up matching funds. I think it could be done for about $100,000 more or less depending on the material and other factors.

Jeffrey Andrasovsky, Lakewood, 1991 KSU journalism grad and former Daily Kent Stater reporter.