During the Vietnam War, Timothy Kendall was a student at Notre Dame where his thinking about the war evolved gradually until he became a pacifist. He was later imprisoned after refusing to comply with the draft.

Richard Bartolotti of Valier, Illinois was drafted after high school, joined the Marines and was sent to Vietnam in 1965 where he was involved in dozens of “skirmishes,” as he calls them, and injured by a grenade. Bartolotti reflects on the positive and negative effects of war and military training, and how his experiences shaped his life and perspective on the battlefield and life back home.

Last week on the University of Illinois’ Urbana campus, black students came together to show support for the students at Mizzou, and to share their own experiences with racism; hours later, a Facebook group appeared that denounced the protesters.

Organizers say they aren’t making demands of the school. Rather, they wanted black students to come together and realize their own strength on the U of I campus.