On April 30, 1970, President Richard M. Nixon appeared on national television to announce that U.S. troops were invading Cambodia to strike suspected guerrilla strongholds. The new policy opposed his preceding plan, which promised that a "Vietnamization" of the war would slowly decrease America's participation in the clash. Response to the growth of the war effort was instant and strong, particularly on the nation's college campuses, where more than 1.5 million students protested the announcement. For 13 seconds on May 4, 1970, Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire on students protesting the Vietnam War at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, killing four and wounding nine others. The shock of the shootings was dramatic. The event caused a nationwide student strike that obligated hundreds of colleges and universities to close. Furthermore, the shootings had a direct contact on national politics, it is said that it began the slide into Watergate and destroyed Nixon’s administration. The shooting symbolized the political and social division that divided the nation during the Vietnam War Era.