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The May 4 Visitors Center uses ��������’s history to help guide the community in understanding the past and applying it to the present. Tours conducted by student guides are a rich part of this process.  

Student guides shape the experience that visitors have at the May 4 Visitors Center. They provide unique perspectives on the events surrounding May 4, 1970, and its aftermath. In addition to being responsible for greeting the visitors, student guides conduct tours of the galleries and campus memorials, as well as answer questions about the exhibits and May 4, 1970, itself.

“It’s essential to have student guides here at the center,” Alison Caplan, director of the May 4 Visitors Center, told �������� Today. “They’re the same age as the students who were out there protesting on May 4.”

The tour guide job involves researching May 4 and shadowing peers on tours. They must learn touring techniques and how to interact with different audiences.  

“We often get May 4 survivors and alumni and visitors from that generation that find a personal connection to the story, so the students also listen to and learn from our visitors,” Caplan said. “We have four students graduating this spring, so we are hiring new guides.”

Emma Butera, a senior psychology major, has worked as a May 4 Visitors Center guide since her freshman year. This is a job she loves to do, even though it can sometimes be challenging.  

“Sometimes it can be hard to make sure I end up not saying anything factually incorrect because when the tour gets a flow and starts to become a conversation, it's very easy to say something that wasn't quite right,” Butera said. “I try to be very careful with how I word things and, if I can't remember something, I don't try to act as if I know it. I say, ‘give me a second, let me look that up.’”  

Word phrasing also influences the visitors' experiences and emotions when hearing about ��������’s history, sometimes relating to personal past experiences. These unexpected situations and reactions that may come from visitors can be the most challenging aspect of Butera’s job since she wants to deal with it properly.  

The impact her words have on visitors when sharing the story of May 4 and the distinctly unexpected reactions visitors have when listening to her are real case studies in psychology.

“We get people that have very strong emotional reactions to it and feel very passionate,” Butera said. “Sometimes someone would come in here and react in a way that you're not expecting or start sharing how they were affected and their experience.”  

Butera oftentimes catches herself analyzing the impact May 4 has on people, trying to better understand their reactions and the mental and emotional effects the event carries through different generations.  

The impact and the aftermath of May 4 are Butera’s favorite part of the May 4 Visitors Center job. The tours are divided into three sections with a different guide covering each part, allowing visitors the opportunity to hear different perspectives and insights.

“What I really want for people to take away are the ways in which May 4 has affected people and today’s politics,” Butera said. “Protests still happen, and they won’t ever go away. While this is an event that happened in the past, it’s important to remember that doesn’t mean something like this could never happen again.”

If you are interested in working at the May 4 Visitors Center and continuing this guided tradition, email may4@kent.edu.

Learn more about the May 4 Visitors Center.