READ President Lester Lefton’s statement about the College Fest events.

Dear President Lefton:

When one of our reporters called you at your home Saturday night, you didn’t seem too happy. You asked our reporter whether we thought it was appropriate to make such a call and then said you had no comment.

Hundreds of protesters shouting. Fires burning near campus. Dozens and dozens of students arrested. Multiple departments dispatched to the scene.

This wasn’t a small party gone awry – it was absolute chaos.

Apparently all of this wasn’t worth a comment from the person we pay about $380,000 annually to lead this university.

We rarely call you at home and would only do so in the most extreme circumstances. Your twice-a-month meetings with our administration reporter usually suffice.

Nonetheless, maybe you should have chosen your words a little more wisely Saturday night. If you were unaware of the situation unfolding, maybe you should have refrained from insulting student media and said you wanted to look more into the situation.

Kent State and the City of Kent had an extremely embarrassing night. The actions of the students and police were both questionable. Your disregard for what was happening, however, only added to the embarrassment.

The university community deserves more from its leader. You had an opportunity to lead during this crisis, and you failed.

You expressed no concern for students who were being pelted by rubber bullets or thrown to the ground and handcuffed. You expressed no concern for the university, which sits a block away from where fires blazed. You only expressed concern for being bothered on a Saturday night.

As president of Kent State, you should pay extra attention to situations like these, considering what happened almost 40 years ago on this campus.

Luckily, the university issued a FlashLine message and FlashAlert (albeit a bit late), but a comment from you was still absent.

If you have something to say (and we hope you do), let us know. You’re supposed to be the voice for the institution. You still have an opportunity to make a statement, although it might be a bit tainted by your initial inaction.

The university community is waiting to hear what you have to say.

The above editorial is the consensus opinion of the Daily Kent Stater editorial board.