The plaza is named for Phillip Lafayette Gibbs and James Earl Green who were
killed May 15, 1970 when seventy-five city and state police officers opened
fire on student protesters gathered in front of Alexander Hall.
Gibbs, 21, of Ripley, MS, was a pre-law major at the college. Green, 17, was
a senior at Jim Hill High School. Green was taking a short-cut home from his
after-school job when the shooting occurred. Following the investigation of
the incident by federal authorities, J.R. Lynch Street, which at the time
bisected the campus, was closed to through traffic. The plaza was erected
shortly thereafter.
