The Kent Stater - Feb. 8, 2017

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@kentwired KentWired.com WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2017

Bindingprofits Former Kent State football player Nate Holley leaves the courtroom after his pretrial hearing at the Portage County Municipal Courthouse in Ravenna, Ohio, on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2017. Nate Manley / The Kent Stater

Trial proceedings begin for former football player Henry Palattella Sports Editor Nearly three months following an arrest and charge of kidnapping, a former Kent State football player appeared in the Portage County Municipal Courthouse on Monday for the first day of trial.

Nate Holley is being charged with kidnapping and second-degree assault. Three charges — third-degree intimidation, third-degree intimidation of a crime victim or witness and a fourth-degree charge of menacing by stalking — were added Monday. He will be tried for these charges in April.

Eric Finnegan — the lawyer for the prosecution — told the jury that in the early morning hours of Nov. 3, Holley showed up at the apartment building of his former girlfriend, Kent State senior Ceara Tackett, who will testify later this week.

Holley allegedly threw a water bottle at her window in an attempt to get her attention, which woke up her neighbor. Finnegan said Tackett made her way downstairs and Holley allegedly held her against her will in his car. He then reportedly drove Tackett to a nearby park, where he attempted to talk to her again.

Finnegan said Holley proceeded to grab Tackett's keys and phone, as well as physically prevented her from leaving the car. Holley allegedly threw Tackett across the front of the car, where she hit her head on both the driver and passenger side windows. He then reportedly took her back to his apartment and slapped her with an open hand, before taking her back to her apartment.

James Eskridge — an attorney for the defense — alleged Holley and Tackett had been dating on and off for some time and had even considered getting married. Eskridge said Holley and Tackett talked earlier on Nov. 2, and had both agreed they would stay in for the night.

However, Holley allegedly saw on social media that Tackett had gone out instead of staying in for the night, which encouraged him to want to end their relationship. Holley then allegedly drove to Tackett's apartment, where they got in his car to talk about their relationship. Eskridge said Tackett took this news badly and responded by yanking the steering wheel and kicking the gas pedal.

Eskridge also said Tackett reached out to Holley after he was arrested, saying she was "sorry for hurting him with her lies.”

Finnegan later called witness Spencer Duvall, Tackett's neighbor and coworker, to the stand.

Duvall alleged that Holley showed up at their apartment complex between 1 and 2 a.m. on Nov. 3 and was throwing a water bottle at Tackett's window.

Duvall then called Tackett to let her know that Holley was there and said she saw Holley "circling the building" in his car.

SEE HOLLEY / PAGE 2

Former Kent State football player Nate Holley stands with his attorney during his pretrial hearing at the Portage County Municipal Courthouse in Ravenna, Ohio, on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2017.

Nate Manley / The Kent Stater

Erin Eacona, a junior integrated health studies major, stocks shelves with textbooks at Campus Book and Supply in Kent, Ohio, on Tuesday. Jana Life / The Kent Stater

Textbook requirements create dilemmas for professors Cameron Gorman Senior Reporter When shopping for textbooks this semester, you may have seen a familiar name on the spineperhaps the name of the professor who assigned the book to you.

When professors assign textbooks to their classes, students are expected to comply with the order. But what of textbooks that are not only ordered through the bookstore, but written by the same professors who assign them?

“A few years ago, a publisher contacted me asking me to write a book,” said Debra Clark, an associate professor in Kent State’s Foundations, Leadership and Administration department. “I hung up on her and thought it was a scam. On about the fifth call, she shouted into the phone and

said, ‘Please do not hang up; this is not a scam.’”

After writing the textbook, Clark required students to purchase the material for her class.

“I had been wanting to write a textbook for my class because no one book covers the multiple content areas of my class — education, history, education law, education policy, teacher professionalization and human diversity,” Clark said.

“To cover all of the topics, students would have been required to buy multiple books. So for years my students had no textbook. That was problematic for the pedagogical purposes of the class.”

Linda Williams, an associate professor of psychology who also wrote her own book, said that she feels most professors write their own textbooks in order to teach specific topics not otherwise covered in other books.

“I wanted the students to learn about (ethi-

cal) egoism and ethical relativism. Because no reputable philosopher would seriously hold these views, I couldn’t find anything that I liked in the secondary literature that addressed these topics and could be read in one sitting by my students,” Williams said. “Writing my own summary of these allowed me to cull these positions from several different and longer sources and put them altogether in one shorter and hopefully more coherent piece.”

The price of textbooks in general has risen dramatically — by 6 percent per year from 2002 to 2012 — according to the the U.S. Government Accountability Office. With the increasing burden, some students feel that it is important for professors to ensure the books bought at the expense of students are used thoroughly and throughout the year.

SEE TEXTBOOK / PAGE 2

New PARTA routes work around construction Hannah Coleman Parking and Transportation Reporter Bus riders can now travel easier and farther with PARTA’s route changes. The alterations went into effect at the start of the semester, expanding services in the Portage County Area.

On Jan. 16, PARTA released a new schedule of fixed routes to increase functionality of the bus system in the area. The bus routes in the Kent area stayed the same, but they are now doing regular departures out of the Kent Central Gateway, which is located in downtown Kent.

“We are trying to do what’s called ‘pulsing,’ where all the routes come in together, line up together, offer transfers and then pulse out of the gateway,” said Clayton Popik, route planner at PARTA. Students can still catch the 40 and 35 bus at C-Midway to travel outside of the Kent area.

“It’s been a while since we looked at the service as a whole, so one of the things created about two years ago was a transit development plan,” Popik said.

The plan consisted of several fixed route adjustments. Popik brought the plan to a consultant who looked over the area and thought the system was operating efficiently, but needed some “tweaks.”

The plan was then brought to the public. At the end of September, PARTA posted the routes and, at that time, entered a public hearing period.

SEE PARTA / PAGE 2

A PARTA bus pulls into the Kent State Student Center stop on Thursday. PARTA bus routes have been altered for the spring semester. Alyssa Keown / The Kent Stater

Page 2 | Wednesday, February 8, 2017 From Page 1

TEXTBOOK Textbook requirements ...

“I paid $600 in textbook fees this semester, which is definitely on the high side for students,” said senior fashion merchandising major Dana Palumbo.

“And granted, I’m in senior level courses, but I think that’s one of those things to consider that textbooks are getting increasingly more expensive, along with the tuition of college. So, I think professors need to keep that in consideration when they’re assigning textbooks.”

Royalties that the professors may be making off of the sales of the books, are, in fact, still an issue for students like sophomore political science major Jaime Sammons, who are required to purchase the books.

“I don’t think it’s fair we have to pay for it because it’s their book and (the professor) didn’t even tell us about it beforehand,” Sammons said. “Plus, it’s a way for her to get her book sales up,

but only because it’s a requirement, not because we actually wanted to buy it.”

When sold through the bookstore, the royalties from sales are indeed being passed to professors, Williams said — but they aren’t making professors rich.

“The bottom line is, no faculty member would make any substantial profit from this kind of thing unless his (or) her book was adopted by other faculty in many other universities, which would be pretty rare these days, ” Williams said. “The reality is that faculty aren’t making a financial killing by requiring texts they wrote themselves.

I have made exactly $0. The only ones making any money, I presume, are the publishers, which is how they stay in business and continue to solicit more manuscripts from faculty.”

When their books are sold through the campus bookstore, the professors are paid royalties from their publishing contracts — not through Kent State.

“The bookstore does not offer ‘profit kickbacks’ to authors of any books, including faculty authored titles,” said

The Kent Stater Kent State Bookstore Manager Lisa Albers. “Faculty authors are contractually compensated by the publishers who publish their textbooks.”

Williams’ book, “Taking People Seriously,”was $25 online and $40 for a hard copy — less than some other textbooks in the university’s bookstore.

“I think it’s fair as long as their textbooks are a better alternative to generic textbooks. It would also be unfair if their books were significantly more expensive than the alternatives,” said sophomore digital media production major Ashleigh Byrer, who had to purchase instructor John Barrick’s book.

“In my case, using the book specifically written for the course and not a generic physics textbook was definitely worth it.”

Professors who choose to write their own textbooks and provide them through the campus bookstore are indeed receiving royalties to do so — but some, such as Clark, work to give back to the community.

“Writing a book solved the textbook

problem, but created an ethical issue for me. I felt uncomfortable requiring students to buy a book that I received royalties (on),” Clark said, “So I set up a scholarship fund through (the College of Education, Health and Human Services). All royalties from the sale of my book to my students goes directly into the C & G Clark Travel Scholarship.

Clark said that thus far, one student has benefited from the scholarship and was able to do her student teaching in New Zealand. “I also put $100 from each paycheck in the fund,” she said.

In the end, the books that are written are university and subject specific — the draw for most professors who decide to become authors.

“The attraction for me, as probably for most faculty who do this … is that I have material that I want my students to learn presented in a way that I think is most helpful to my students to learn it.

I could care less about getting royalties from it,” Williams said. cgorman2@kent.edu

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A PARTA bus passes a student cyclist in front of the M.A.C. Center on Thursday. Campus bus routes have been altered during the spring semester. Alyssa Keown/ The Kent Stater

From Page 1

PARTA New PARTA routes work ...

“These public hearings were held at Kent State University, City of Kent, Ravenna, Windham,” said Frank Hairston, marketing and EEO director. “We met with Windham elected officials and others because they had lost their IGA, their only grocery store. Clayton moved some things around so it would

be easier for people to go to stores in Garrettsville.”

Portage County residents can also use PARTA’s door-to-door services, called Dial-A-Ride, where they can call in and request direct service from their homes.

Popik said he has received some feedback after the first week but, at the moment, routes aren’t going to be changed.

“I’m compiling suggestions and comments towards our current system for next time there are route tweaks,”

he said. “We don’t plan on doing any design changes. Overall, design-wise, I think we are happy with the way things turned out.”

Students will not see any route changes when Phase Two of the Summit Street Improvement Project begins in March. Summit Street will return to one-way eastbound traffic identical to the pattern students and community members experienced last year. Popik said he ran into trouble during Phase One when he had to reroute the buses a month into the semester.

“For the first time in my 12 years, we had to do route changes in the middle of a semester. I told the school I will never do that again,” Popik said. “We set up every route at the beginning of the school year and that will carry through until the end of construction. I wasn’t going to put buses back on the road westbound on Summit Street when I would just have to turn them all around again.”

DeVos ekes out confirmation win as Pence casts historic vote Maria Danilova Associated Press Charter school advocate Betsy DeVos won confirmation as education secretary Tuesday by the slimmest of margins, pushed to approval only by the historic tie-breaking vote of Vice President Mike Pence.

Two Republicans, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, joined Democrats in a marathon effort to derail the nomination of the wealthy Republican donor. The Senate historian said Pence's vote was the first by a vice president to break a 50-50 tie on a Cabinet nomination.

Despite the win, DeVos emerged bruised from the highly divisive nomination fight. Opposed by half the Senate, she faced criticism, even ridicule for lack of experience and confusion during her confirmation hearing. At one point, she said some schools should have guns because of the threat of grizzly bears.

And there has been scathing opposition from teachers unions and civil rights activists over her support of charter schools

and her conservative religious ideology.

President Donald Trump accused Democrats of seeking to torpedo education progress. In a tweet before the vote, he wrote, "Betsy DeVos is a reformer, and she is going to be a great Education Sec. for our kids!"

DeVos was sworn in hours after the Senate vote by Pence, who told the new Cabinet member: "I wasn't just voting for you. Having seen your devotion to improving the quality of education for some of our most vulnerable children across the nation for so many years, I was also casting a vote for America's children."

"I can tell you, my vote for Betsy DeVos was the easiest vote I ever cast," Pence said.

DeVos released a statement promising to be "a tireless advocate for all students."

"Partnering with students, parents, educators, state and local leaders, Congress and all stakeholders, we will improve education options and outcomes across America," she said.

She now takes the helm of a department charged with implementing laws affecting the nation's public schools with

U.S. VP Mike Pence swears in Betsy DeVos as the education secretary in the vice president’s ceremonial office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building of the White House on Tuesday in Washington.

Olivier Douliery / Abaca

COPY DESK CHIEF

no direct experience with traditional public schools. Her opponents noted that she has no experience running public schools, nor has she attended one or sent her children to one She also will have to address several hot-button issues in higher education, such as rising tuition costs, growing student debt and the troubled for-profit colleges, many of which have closed down, leaving students with huge loans and without a good education or job prospects.

Close attention also will be paid to how DeVos deals with sexual assault and freedom of speech on campuses.

Ahead of Tuesday's vote, emotions ran high as constituents jammed senators' phone lines. Protesters gathered outside the Capitol, including one person in a grizzly bear costume to ridicule DeVos. Democrats and labor unions vigorously fought the nomination, suggesting that DeVos would defund traditional public schools by diverting taxpayers' money to charter and private institutions. They cited her financial interest in organizations pushing for charter schools, though she has said she will divest those interests.

Collins and Murkowski said they feared her focus on charter schools will undermine remote public schools in their states.

"President Trump's swamp got a new billionaire today," the Democratic National Committee said in a statement. "Millions of teachers, parents and students could not have made their opposition to Betsy DeVos' confirmation any clearer — they do not want someone whose only education experience is dismantling public schools."

DeVos supporters, however, saw her confirmation as an occasion to breathe new life into a troubled American school system and a chance to shift power from Washington to the local level.

"She has been a leader in the movement for public charter schools — the most successful reform of public education during the last 30 years," said Sen. Lamar Alexander, the chairman of the Education Committee. "And she has worked tirelessly to help low-income children have more choices of better schools."

DeVos has her work cut out.

hcolema4@kent.edu

From Page 1

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HOLLEY Trial proceedings begin ...

Holley's other attorney, George Keith, cross-examined Duvall, asking her if she saw Holley physically drive around the whole building, or if it was plausible for him to have left and returned, something that Duvall said could be plausible.

Adel Hanna, a university physician at University Health Services, said Tackett came into the health center on Nov. 3, citing dizziness and headaches; both of which she said she sustained through a head injury — an injury she said she received from her ex-boyfriend, who hit her head on a windshield and slapped her with an open hand.

Hanna said when Tackett arrived at the medical center, a bruise was forming over her left eye. He diagnosed her with post-concussion syndrome, which consisted of mild trauma to the brain. He recommended an emergency room visit. He said Tackett went to the medical center the next day for a followup, but that he wasn't there to see her.

Pictures presented to witn esses Trent Spr inger and James Acklin, both of the Kent Police Department, showed Holley attempted to call Tackett 22 times on the night of the third. On the subsequent crossexamination, Eskridge and Keith pointed out the photos from Tackett’s phone showed no dates and times, only the word “yesterday” next to the contact name. Because of this, it was argued that the texts could have been sent and received at any time.

The trial will resume Wednesday at 8 a.m. Tackett is expected to take the stand, along with Kent State football coach Paul Haynes. hpalatte@kent.edu

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The Kent Stater

Opinion

SUBMISSIONS

EDITORIAL BOARD

The Stater hopes to encourage lively debate about the issues of the day on the Opinion Page. Opinions on this page are the authors’ and not necessarily en­dorsed by the Stater or its editors. Readers are encouraged to participate through letters to the editor (email them to jmill231@kent.edu) and guest columns. Submissions become pro­­perty of the Stater and are subject to editing without notice.

Opinion Editor: Lucas Misera Senior Editor: Karl Schneider Sports Editor: Henry Palattella Assigning Editor: Jack Kopanski

THE OPINION PAGE IS AN OUTLET FOR OUR COMMUNITY’S VARIED VIEWS.

JOSEPH MCGRELLIS’ VIEW // To see all the cartoons this semester, visit KentWired.com

On Students use talents to express African-American experience Quaylyn Hairston Entertainment Reporter As part of its Black History Month celebration, the Male Empowerment Network (M.E.N.) held a Black Expressions event on Tuesday night in the Student Multicultural Center.

The idea behind the event was “for Kent State students to express themselves as we enter into Black History Month,” said Deven White Revere, a junior middle childhood education major.

See the extended article on KentWired.com

Cheers&Jeers Cheers to ... being self-taught. A farmer in China studied law for 16 years in order to take a chemical company which polluted his land to court – and he won.

Jeers to ... spending wisely. A Harambeshaped Cheeto sold on eBay for $100,000.

Patriots Super Bowl victory ruins another year of the NFL Matt Poe Columnist I recently picked up a part-time job at a local restaurant to earn some extra cash during my semester in the nation’s capital. Slowly learning, navigating and surviving Washington as an unpaid intern is certainly a challenge.

The reason I bring up my mundane existence to you, dear reader, is because I worked on Super Bowl Sunday for a solid nine hours or so. In the ever-challenging world of hosting and busing tables, I was a defeated man that day: tired, hungover and in need of some Jesus.

But throughout my shift, the thought of propping my feet up on the couch with a cold one in hopes of watching Atlanta take down the evil empire that is the New England Patriots was enough to keep me going. I was determined to see this through.

I clocked out around 8 p.m. and felt like I had just finished a marathon of sorts, a complete test of human endurance (dramatic, I know). I got back to my apartment and settled in to find Atlanta cruising along in fashion that most couldn’t believe possible, and anyone who told you they predicted it would be lying through their teeth.

Atlanta led 28-3 at one point against a Tom Brady-led, Bill Belichick-coached football team.

It was too good to be true, and I was rendered euphoric as I basked in the tears and disappointment of not just Patriots fans, but all of Boston sports fans.

My, are they an insufferable group.

With such a commanding lead that Atlanta had secured, all they had to do was run the ball to eat clock time, keep their defense fresh on the sidelines, and the Lombardi Trophy would have made its temporary residency in Atlanta. But in the back of my mind and on social media, many of us knew that Brady and Belichick would not go quietly into the night.

Then, it happened.

Atlanta’s game plan crumbled, Brady became the Brady we’ve grown so accustomed to over the years, and Kent State alum Julian Edelman made one of the greatest catches you’ll ever witness. And just like that, the Patriots tied the game. The pit in my stomach began to grow – along with the accumulation of snacks and beer – that this would not end well for Atlanta or any other salty sports fan like myself.

The Patriots won the coin toss in overtime and all but assured we wouldn’t see Matt Ryan and Julio Jones take the field again. In what seemed like a mere five minutes, Brady dissected Atlanta’s winded defense and James White plunged into the end zone to give Brady and Belichick’s Patriots their fifth Super Bowl title.

My team, the Bengals, can’t even win one playoff game. The Browns can’t even win five games in a season and yet, what feels like year after year, the Patriots are adding another championship to its resume.

It’s not fair. As a liberal, my team deserves a handout!

Now, I have to listen to another offseason with this insufferable team, insufferable fan base, insufferable quarterback-coach combo and the insufferable president of this country who roots for them because insufferable people tend to congregate.

So, while I just pretty much wrote an open letter – which I believe is truly the laziest form of journalism – I want to say thank you to all the Patriots fans for ruining another Super Bowl Sunday for me; it won’t be the last time I thank you.

Because as long as Tom Brady continues to make deals with Satan to fend off aging and Belichick continues to sacrifice goats to curse opposing coach’s playbooks, we’re stuck with the Patriots and its winning ways (sigh). mpoe3@kent.edu

Getting help for survivors of sexual assault Mike Hovancsek Guest Columnist Editor’s Note: The following piece is an installment in The Kent Stater’s semester-long package concerning sexual assault.

I enter my facility and pass by the waiting room on the way to my office. A nervouslooking young woman is sitting in one of the chairs, staring at the floor, her body held as tight as a fist.

As I enter the reception area, a member of the support staff hands me the woman’s file. I look at the front page of the paperwork, where that client has written the issue that she wants to address in therapy.

“Rape,” it reads in a self-conscious scrawl.

I wish I could say that this is an uncommon occurrence. As a mental health counselor at Kent Townhall II, however, I see variations of this scenario almost every day.

There is certainly a need for the services my agency provides. Every year 284,000 Americans age 12 or older are sexually assaulted or raped, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.

College campuses are no exception. It is estimated that one in five women and one in 16 males are sexually assaulted during their college years, the National Sexual Violence Resource Center reported. Many of these people never tell anyone or report the crime.

Remember that young woman sitting out there in the waiting room? She may feel scared and powerless, but I already know that she is a survivor. It takes an incredibly strong person to have a traumatic experience and to get up, brush herself off and get to work addressing it.

Suppressed trauma can be a bomb that is waiting to explode.

Processed trauma, however, loses its power over time and leads to new strengths.

MIKE HOVANCSEK THERAPIST AT TOWNHALL II That is someone who I respect and admire, even before I know anything else about her (this idea applies to people of any gender, age, and race. I am only using the female pronoun here to be consistent with the example shared above).

There are a lot of ways that this young woman could have talked herself out of the help she needs. She could have let any number of thoughts get in her way, including, “Asking for help makes me weak,” “If I talk about my trauma, it will make me go crazy,” and “I don’t want to dwell on my trauma, I would rather just push

There is nothing weak about asking for help.

MIKE HOVANCSEK THERAPIST AT TOWNHALL II those thoughts away and go on with my life.”

Fortunately, there are strong counterarguments to all of these ideas.

First of all, there is nothing weak about asking for help. That kind of thing takes a great deal of strength and courage. The heroes in our society are not the people who have everything handed to them; they are the people who encounter hardships and take the actions needed to survive them.

Further, the goal of trauma therapy is not to endlessly dwell on upsetting things from the past. That would leave people stuck in an unhealthy role of the victim. Instead, the goal is to take a look at the past, learn from it and then go into the future, unencumbered by the pain of the past.

It is the journey from a victim role to survivor role.

All of this sounds scary. Wouldn’t it be easier just to push away thoughts of a sexual assault and move on with life?

Unfortunately, that idea doesn’t tend to pan out very well. Traumatic events that are denied can shape a person’s feelings and behaviors from the shadows. For example, a person who is molested as a child may develop a painful fear of intimacy as an adult and not even see the connection between the past trauma and the current relationship style.

Another thing we know about unaddressed trauma is that it can get unleashed at unexpected times. For example, a person may be sexually assaulted and later have a panic attack in an elevator because the forced intimacy of that space triggered similar feelings to the assault.

Suppressed trauma can be a bomb that is waiting to explode. Processed trauma, however, loses its power over time and leads to new strengths.

When a client walks into my office for the first time, she is a stranger. Once we get to work on that person’s issues, however, a picture starts to emerge. It is a picture of hardship and struggle, but it is also a picture of a unique personal journey.

Ultimately, it is a portrait of the survivor within the story and as it unfolds it becomes a masterpiece.

Fortunately, there are a lot of ways for people to get the help they need. There is the agency where I work, Townhall II (155 N. Water Street, 330-678-3006) and Coleman Professional Services (5982 Rhodes Rd., 330-673-1347). Both can often offer services that are inexpensive or free. There are also support hotlines that can provide assistance 24 hours a day (330-678-4357) and private practices in the area that may be able to offer additional services.

Everyone, regardless of gender, age, or race, deserves a shot at peace and healing.

Mike Hovancsek is a therapist at Kent Townhall II

Don’t defund Planned Parenthood Madison Newingham Columnist Time and again, we have heard conservatives argue for the defunding of Planned Parenthood with various explanations to hide the real reason in doing so. Republicans want to attack abortion rights and have found the easiest method in doing just that.

This proxy war on abortion targets a woman’s constitutional right to determine to course of her future and infringes upon a woman’s selfautonomy. As determined under Roe v. Wade, women have the legal right to obtain abortions, as it is a personal and private decision.

While Planned Parenthood proudly offers abortions, abortion only comprises 3.1 percent of its services, according to Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The majority of services provided include basic health care at a more affordable cost and greater accessibility to women, men and families nationwide.

Many disregard the fact that Planned Parenthood offers cancer screenings, pap smears, prostate exams, HIV/STD testing and much more. Defunding Planned Parenthood will adversely affect nearly five million people across the country.

Planned Parenthood offers proper and comprehensive sex education to low income areas, as well as condoms, birth control of all kinds, and advice to avoid unwanted pregnancy. If defunded, Planned Parenthood will have to scale back its efforts to prevent abortions in the first place.

This means clinics will close, and women will have to travel burdensome distances for health care services. The organization will no longer have the capacity to provide sex education and contraceptives in its current capacity, nor will it have the ability to provide more affordable pricing, especially to low-income and largely non-white communities.

If the pro-life movement really wants to decrease the frequency of abortions, defunding an organization that provides safe services in helping their cause is not the most effective way to do so.

Due to the Hyde Amendment, no federal funds are allocated to the funding of abortion with the exceptions of rape, incest and life of the mother. Thus, they already do not.

Vice President Mike Pence defunded Planned Parenthood within his home state of Indiana, and the extensive repercussions suggest this effect will occur nationally.

Immediately following this action in 2013, Indiana has seen an explosive HIV outbreak.

As the Scott County’s sole HIV testing provider, residents could no longer access this service; thus, the rise of preventable diseases increased.

According to NPR, Indiana holds a high smoking rate, obesity rate and infant mortality. This HIV epidemic in mind, to use the state of Indiana’s wording, and the poor health of many of Indiana’s residents, Pence still deliberately cut Indiana’s budget for public health care programs.

If we see the Republican administration and conservative chambers of Congress defund Planned Parenthood, we can definitely say that the government is attacking women’s rights and the fundamental right to health care. This government will show that it is not a government of the people. mnewing2@kent.edu

Page 4 | Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Perspectives

The Kent Stater

Photos and multimedia through the lenses of Kent State students

Nikolai Gionti raises his hand in victory after winning the final amateur bout of his career on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016.

THE

STARTING POINT

A young athlete fights toward his passion

Nikolai Gionti teaches take-down techniques to students in a mixed martial arts class at the GriffonRawl Academy in Mentor, Ohio, on Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016.

T

he bell rang, ending the third and final round.

Exhausted, thirsty and bruised, Nikolai Gionti walked over to his corner of the ring to get his gloves removed.

Copious amounts of endorphins and dopamine filled Gionti’s head as he smiled to coach Jason Dent of Griffonrawl Combat Sports and Fitness Academy.

The referee announced the results, and the Goodyear Hall in Akron, Ohio, filled with cheers as Gionti’s hand was raised in victory.

Gionti, a 24-year-old MMA fighter from Willoughby, Ohio, got into martial arts while studying journalism at Ohio University. He started training and competing in the art of Jiu-Jitsu during his college years before pursuing a career in mixed martial arts.

It was time for Gionti’s last fight as an amateur before going pro. The fight lasted three rounds. All geared up with shin guards and boxing gloves, he touched gloves with his opponent Billy Freedson and began throwing hands with him.

After a long three rounds of back and forth action, Gionti was declared the victor. With the support of the gym cheer-

ing for him — including his dad and younger brother in the crowd — he used their support to will himself forward to victory. He was enthusiastic to end 2016, and his amateur career, on a high note.

Spending 12 plus hours with Gionti, I was asked to share a Thanksgiving meal with his entire family. The following morning, surrounded by all of his family members, we gorged ourselves with turkey and pumpkin rolls. It was a stark contrast to the person I saw the night before.

You could see the fire in Gionti’s eyes when he talks about making his pro debut in January.

“Don’t be afraid to go off the beaten path and piss someone off,” he said. “Because at the end of the day, it’s just you.”

I remembered those words while watching him eat Thanksgiving dinner with his family. A week later, Gionti would leave to train at Jackson Wink MMA Academy before his first professional fight as a mixed-martial arts fighter.

He was willing to risk anything to see his dream come true.

Story and photos by Zachary Popik

zpopik@kent.edu

Nikolai Gionti enjoys Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, Nov. 24, 2016, with his family a week before he is set to leave to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to start his first professional fight training camp.

Above, Nikolai Gionti knees his opponent Billy Freedson during the co-main event heat. Left, Gionti stands ready for his kickboxing bout heat at the Goodyear Hall in Akron, Ohio, on Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016.

Wednesday, February 8, 2017 | Page 5

The Kent Stater

CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH In honor of Black History Month, The Kent Stater will be featuring Q&As with black student leaders throughout the month of February.

This week The Stater sat down with Jaynell Nicholson, a senior conservation biology major and president of Black United Students. Originally from Pittsburgh, Nicholson spoke on topics from ranging from why she picked Kent State to BUS’ history of taking a stand on various issues in the black community.

Editor’s note: The following is an edited conversation. To read the full interview, go to KentWired.com

WITH JAYNELL NICHOLSON

Q

Why is it important to What is the importake a stand for black tance of Black issues, especially in History Month? such a public way?

A:

I think it’s really important to take a stand so that people not only understand your purpose on campus, ... but also to get people to understand that it doesn’t just happen here. Once you leave Kent (State), you still go into the real world, even though this is a predominantly white institution (PWI) …

I think taking a stance is not only empowering to students within the organization, but empowering to those students who may not be involved, (and) who may not really know everything that’s going on event wise.

If you don’t have first-hand experience with something, you don’t really understand it. And with something like the die-in (a few years ago), I think that put a lot of perspective on some people.

They don’t know this is how it happened … seeing the chalk outlines and actually taking a step back and thinking about what it means as a black student at a PWI with all of these incidences happening all around you.

How did you get involved in BUS? I’ve had a very interesting relationship with BUS since my freshman year. I started off as a freshman, and I joined every student (organization) ... with BUS it was kind of like a “flirtationship.”

As I got busier and cut down things, I started to only do things that made sense for my major. But (I realized that) what makes sense for my major isn’t everything that I’m passionate about. So (I was) always like “I’m gonna be active in BUS,” then (no, I shouldn’t).

And now I’m the president.

A:

A:

I think every month should be Black History Month. But I think that the fact that Black History Month was first celebrated here is kind of an important thing. It is important to recognize certain holidays and certain days for specific things. So it’s almost like if you don’t celebrate black history every month, here’s this one month where we’re just gonna teach you all these wonderful things. But it’s also really important to not just forget about those when March starts. March is Women’s History Month. Just because it’s Women’s History Month doesn’t mean that you can’t incorporate black people into that month.

“

We can encourage and inspire our students to be themselves and understand that they do belong here and to know that they do have a family.

– Jaynell Nicholson

Kent State conservation biology senior and BUS President Jaynell Nicholson smiles for a portrait on Monday.

Alexander Wadley / The Kent Stater

Why do you think there is a lack of African-Americans majoring in biology?

I think that with people of color there’s been like this disconnect between us and the environment, and I think it has a lot to do with urban areas.

There’s a larger population of people of color in urban areas, but urban areas, they don’t really have those natural systems. You don’t really get exposed to wildlife or – you get

A:

exposed to like a park and that’s a man-made thing … It’s usually a patch of land they just threw dirt in and trees in. Not really anything that can naturally happen. It’s not mountains and valleys and rivers and streams; usually things that are there for our convenience that we need or just the minimum standard.

I think because we don’t get exposure, that is the origin of the disconnect.

McKenzie Jean-Philippe is the diversity editor and transcribed this interview.

Contact her at mjeanphi@kent.edu.

Newman Center reveals ‘Together We Build’ construction project Megan Ferguson Student Life and Religion Reporter The University Parish Newman Center on Horning Road is receiving a proper front entrance after four months of construction.

The idea of designing a new door has been discussed for years, and the church raised over $600,000 with help from the community, to be able to complete the project.

Office Manager Veronica Victoria said through the generosity of the community this was possible, and they also received a $35,000

grant from the Catholic Extension Society.

The new entrance symbolizes openness to all students and community members, and shows the church is a place for anyone to come to, said Mary Lynn Delfino, pastoral associate and Catholic Student Association (CSA) advisor.

"Your faith life should be integrated with your intellectual life," Delfino said.

The project has been named "Together We Build," and aside from getting a new door, it includes a new roof and a remodeled kitchen and social room.

The building, built in 1962, has been under

Classifieds Anyone can run for Undergraduate Student Government (USG) you should too!

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construction since last September. Father John J. Daum originally planned for these additions, but quickly ran out of money when originally constructing the church.

The new additions add an open space with a window that looks onto Kent State's campus, which lines up with the church's mission to serve as a strong Catholic presence to Kent State students.

New classrooms will be quiet, enclosed spaces that are wheelchair accessible.

Delfino said this will allow the church to become open to more people.

She said the Newman Center has had problems with scheduling in the past due to limited space and this new area will help people access the worship area.

The open concept will make hosting events such as funerals and weddings much easier, Delfino said.

Depending on construction time, Delfino said the area should be finished within the next couple weeks, and they will be planning an open house between March and April. mfergu15@kent.edu

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Page 6 | Wednesday, February 8, 2017

The Kent Stater

Sports

SPORTS EDITOR: HENRY PALATTELLA // HPALATTE@KENT.EDU

Turnover costs Flashes in overtime

Kent State junior guard Kevin Zabo dribbles the ball up court against Bowling Green State University at the M.A.C. Center on Tuesday. Kent State lost in overtime, 84-83. Christina Kenney / The Kent Stater

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1430_29048

Nick Buzzelli Sports Reporter As coach Rob Senderoff left his postgame press conference in the M.A.C. Center ’s media room following Tuesday’s overtime loss to Bowling Green State University, he let out a sigh of frustration, one indicative of his team’s miscues and lack of execution when the game was on the line.

If the Flashes had one less turnover in overtime or were able to get one more defensive rebound, perhaps the outcome would have been different, the head coach suggested.

Holding a one-point lead late, senior forward Jimmy Hall turned the ball over on an in-bounds play, and Bowling Green’s Demajeo Wiggins tipped in a Rodrick Caldwell missed layup with 1.3 seconds left as the Falcons (11-13, 5-6 Mid-American Conference) outlasted Kent State (13-11, 5-6 MAC), 84-83 in overtime.

“Disappointing loss and tough one to swallow. Tough one to swallow,” Senderoff said after the game. “We came back from down 13 with 5:33 to go and had the lead and the ball up four with less than a minute to go. They hit a three, we turn it over and we don’t get a rebound. Really disappointing.”

Sophomore guard Jaylin Walker led all scorers with 18 points on a 4-6 mark from beyond the arc, while junior guard Kevin Zabo, who left the game following an injury in overtime, chipped in 17 in 24 minutes of play.

Afte r C aldw e ll’s three pointer cut Bowling Green’s deficit to one with nine seconds left in the extra frame, Hall tried to force the ensuing in-bounds pass to a curling junior guard Desmond Ridenour along the sideline.

However, the ball hit off of Ridenour and sailed out of bounds – one of Kent State’s 19 turnovers in the game – giving the Falcons a chance with less than six seconds left on the clock.

While Kent State had timeouts available at its disposal, Senderoff said Hall tried to rush the pass well before he was in danger of being whistled for a five-second call.

“He threw the ball. It’s not like it was close to five seconds

Kent State sophomore guard Jalen Avery passes down low over Bowling Green State sophomore guard Antwon Lillard at the M.A.C. Center on Tuesday. Kent State lost in overtime, 84-83. Christina Kenney / The Kent Stater

and you say ‘Hey, let’s call a timeout,’” Senderoff said. “He just threw it and it went off (Ridenour’s) hands, went out of bounds.”

The Flashes had an opportunity to win the game with a last-second three pointer, but Walker bobbled the in-bounds pass from Ridenour at the top of the key and couldn’t get a clean shot off in time.

Despite trailing by 13 with 5:33 left in the first half, Kent State used a 16-6 run to head into the locker room down three, 34-31.

Eight unanswered points

by Walker early in the second half – two three’s and a contested layup in the lane – gave the Flashes their first lead since the 15:49 mark of the first half. But the Falcons responded and used two free throws by guard Matt Fox to go back up by nine.

Four free throws by Hall and four points by Zabo – including

a game-tying fade away jumper that was banked in high off the glass – completed Kent State’s comeback in regulation and subsequently set up Wiggins’ overtime heroics.

Although he posted a double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds), Hall struggled when being double and tripleteamed in the low post.

“They’re physical, play h a rd . R e a l p h y s i c a l w i t h (Hall) in particular. They do a good job on him,” Senderoff said. “We just don’t play quite as well at home or together at home as we do on the road. I can give you what I think the reason is, but I’d prefer not to.”

The Flashes play at Toledo Saturday – a team it defeated 85-61 on Jan. 21 – before returning to the M.A.C. Center three days later to take on Miami (OH). nbuzzel1@kent.edu