Nearly 54 years after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas on November 22, 1963, President Donald Trump has authorized the release of previously confidential records surrounding JFK’s presidency and his death.

For staff members on campus who were alive at the time, Kennedy’s assassination is an event they will never forget and these records may give them a few more answers.

“I was a senior in high school the day Kennedy was assassinated,” yearbook adviser Carole Babineaux said. “There was one small black and white television and I huddled around it with my classmates and teachers. I remember seeing my history teacher crying. He was a really tough man, and to see him tear up is something I will never forget.”

Even those born years after the event are interested in what happened that day, whether they believe that the files will change anything or not.

“I honestly do not believe in any conspiracies surrounding the assassination,” dual-credit government professor Rachel Mueller said. “I believe that Lee Harvey Oswald alone assassinated JFK; however, if you ask my mother or my father they have a completely different answer to this question. Maybe it is a circumstance of having lived through the monumental event, versus reading/studying it nearly 30 years after it occurred.”

While not all the files were released, 2,800 more are now public, and Babineaux is eager to see what is revealed.

“I am excited to see more documents and files from the assassination released, but I fear we will never know the truth,” Babineaux said. “I still believe that New Orleans DA Jim Garrison‘s theories of Clay Shaw‘s involvement in the assassination were on track and could have uncovered a lot more truth if not derailed by the interference of the Louisiana Mafia and the deaths of people who knew about the plans to kill Kennedy. I could talk forever about how much I do not believe Oswald planned and carried out this evil deed all by himself. I hope some truth is uncovered from the newly released files, but I have little faith all my questions will be answered.”

President Trump was hoping to release all of the files, but different government such as the FBI and CIA agencies advised him to make redactions and keep some confidential.

“[I] will order the public disclosure of any information that the agencies cannot demonstrate meets the statutory standard for continued postponement of disclosure,” president Donald Trump said in a memorandum on Thursday.

Some people, however, are afraid that these files may have serious repercussions.

“I can see the good and the bad with the release of the files. The good is the American people deserve to know the extent of the involvement of the FBI and CIA in the assassination of an American president,” Mueller said. “Transparency in the institutions of government is essential to an informed citizenry and gives the people the opportunity to hold government accountable; however, the nature of the existence of these agencies is not necessarily something that lends itself to transparency. Americans have major trust issues with their government and if documents are released that indicate a ‘smoking gun’ on behalf of the CIA or FBI, I worry that distrust in government only increases.”

Many interested parties were likely hoping the new information would put some conspiracy theories to rest, but the documents released did anything to silence these theories.

“I am an ultimate conspiracy theorist,” Babineaux said. “I truly believe someone else was behind the assassination, and whether or not Oswald was the only shooter that day, he was the “patsy” as he said for someone or something bigger that wanted Kennedy out of power.”