Fifty-five years ago today, on May 18, 1970 (April 14, 1970 lunar calendar), the shooting at Kent State University shocked the nation. On May 18, 1970, National Guardsmen opened fire on protesting students at Kent State University, killing two girls and two boys and wounding eight others, causing outrage. Kent State University has always been a apolitical school, but when many American college students had risen up against the Vietnam War, Kent students joined the protest. The university authorities expected trouble from a planned student rally against the American invasion of Vietnam and Cambodia, so they called in the National Guard. Federal forces dispersed the demonstrators in College Square. Some students, outraged by their arrival, began shouting at them and throwing stones at the soldiers. Guards opened fire on the crowd, following a previous order to shoot if attacked. The incident followed statements from politicians on how to contain unrest at schools. California's governor, Ronald Reagan, also gave a speech, saying of the demonstrators: "If it is necessary to solve problems with bloodshed, it is necessary to bleed." Robert Finch, the education secretary, said the speech added to the climate that led to the Kent incident.