Jeff Miller

Aiden Dobens

As a 20 year old male, the more research I did about Jeff Miller’s past the more I felt a connection to him, and the more I knew I could understand him.

In a article written by his mother, Jeff is described as a curious and hyper socially conscious young boy. At age 8, he wrote an article “expressing his concern for the plight of black Americans.” He continued his advocative personality throughout his childhood, writing various poems and articles about a host of topics, most topically, the Vietnam War.

Jeff had a close relationship with his older brother, who attended Michigan State. Jeff followed in his brothers footsteps and attended Michigan State, even rushing a fraternity. Once his brother graduated, however, he found life at the school increasingly frustrating and eventually transferred to Kent State.

Quite coincidentally, my father attended Michigan State. I know it quite well. While I didn’t end up going there, the school I attended in Richmond, Virginia had many of the same attributes. I too rushed a fraternity, but ended up hating every second. Much like Jeff at the exact same age, I transferred to Emerson College to escape, as Dr Payne puts so nicely: “yes sirs and mickey mouse rules.”

Properly portraying Jeff Miller must take into account all this information, and more. A deep seeded hatred of the Vietnam War that was birthed in Jeff’s early high school years would be something I would work on conveying. Yet, he was still young. His hatred was not entirely calculated, but stemming from innocent morality. He wanted peace. He wanted to world to just get along.

Thus, I must remember, for all the socially aware attributes, Jeff was still only 20. Successfully acting as Jeff entails a delicate balance between youthful vigor and serious objections to government actions. If I can do so, I will have captured a good amount of what we know about Jeff Miller.