Mary Forfia's letter in response to Dean Hoffman's recollection of the events of May 1970 is needlessly argumentative and confrontational. She incorrectly portrays Mr. Hoffman as having a historical argument or intent in his letter beyond that of recalling his own memories and honoring the memory of the four students who were killed at Kent State University on May 4th. Accusing Mr. Hoffman of gross inaccuracy is a false, and pointless argument.
Ms. Forfia's letter, while very well researched and factually accurate, misses the point of Mr. Hoffman's letter. As a friend of Mr. Hoffman, I can assure the readers that he had no intent beyond marking the 40th anniversary of the tragic events at Kent State than sharing his own experiences. While his narrative may not have been perfect, and may indeed have omitted the details that Ms. Forfia has been diligent enough to contribute, it was not meant to be a historical record. To charge Mr. Hoffman as attempting to teach an abridged version of history is itself a grossly inaccurate and unsubstantiated claim.
Furthermore, it would seem that The Post made an editing error in publishing a letter that is much longer than the allotted 500 words that Mr. Hoffman was given. Sharing a recollection of events is much more difficult to do when one is allowed only 500 words; Ms. Forfia would have had a much harder time making her argument in that amount of space.
Personally, I would like to thank Mr. Hoffman on behalf of the student body for sharing his thoughts and reflections on those times. History itself is a narrative written from first-hand accounts such as his and the more people who share their accounts of events, the better our collective understanding will be.
Daniel Zeitler is a sophomore studying integrated social studies education.
4 Opinion
