At this time in history , the nation was experiencing great turmoil within its boundaries due to the prolonged Vietnam War and the government 's cover-up of vital information about the true progress of the war . Construction for the New South began in 1968 , the year when public opinion of the war took a big turn for the worse . Just a few months before the gala open house for the new building the Kent State shootings occurred – four students were killed by National Guardsmen during a protest of the war and of government policy , sparking a new round of student protest across the nation . From the outside , South looks like a brick fortress . The new building was possibly made to counter the student unrest of the times . Windows are absent from the original building . Windows are prone to shatter easily unless expensive shatterproof glass is used . Structures of this time period tend to lack windows , which could be quickly destroyed by any violent protest around them , a common occurrence , making them at best expensive to replace and at worst a public safety hazard . The original floor plans also changed with more additions , such as the third floor , added in the late nineties with the seeming innovation of windows . NOTE : this is not confirmed by any architectural or other proposals or plans . In fact , the architectural design reflects the designwork done on countless office buildings at the time . However , students at South High were given an equally plausible alternative explanation for the somewhat prison-like structure . The architect for the New South Project was from Texas , and his interpretation for energy efficiency over the long winters caused him to eschew any extensive use of windows . Additionally , when the building first opened , it was an " Open School , " with no individual classrooms on the second floor . The small windows used in the design provided light across the open area . Only when the school was converted to typical classroom divisions did the lack of natural light become an issue . NOTE : according to the architectural plans , the building was designed to meet the needs of the modular programming . This required an open resource area , lined by resource rooms . When the district decided modular programming was not working , the walls were constructed to return the school to a more traditional setting . It was at this point that the lack of windows became a problem and the " maze " was necessary in order to meet classroom size and number requirements . The original plans accommodated 1500 students , but South 's enrollment has held steady at 2,000 . The building is still short at least 7 classrooms , despite the internal remodel to meet growing needs . The original floor plan was open , in keeping with the educational philosophies of the time . Ideally , such a configuration would allow for shared learning among students in different classes . But the open floor plan produced distractions and additional interior walls were added later to separate different classrooms from one another . The construction of classrooms after the fact created a " rabbit maze " of identical hallways , and in some instances classrooms that are only accessible via other classrooms
Kent State shootings
Kent State shootings
South High School (Minneapolis)