John Filo played the uncredited role of himself. John was the Kent State student photographer who took the Pulitzer Prize winning, world famous photo of Mary Vecchio kneeling by the body of Jeffery Miller seconds after Jeffery was shot to death.
The administration at the real Kent State University would not allow the movie to be filmed on their campus. Gadsden State Junior College in Alabama was chosen because of its remarkable similarity (at the time) to Kent State University.