The Kent Stater - April 6-9, 2017 by The Kent Stater

The

Kent Stater 4/6 – 4/9

TECH TAKEOVER

Decrypting technology’s all-consuming place in society

Features Edition

THE WEEKEND GUIDE TO ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND STUDENT LIFE

Photo illustration by Nick Labate and Clint Datchuk

Schwartz Center 'Makerspace' sparks creativity Paige Brown Libraries Reporter Spark Innovation Studio, a "makerspace" on campus, has opened with access to 3-D printing, laser cutting and prototyping. A makerspace is a place where people with shared interests, often in computing or technology, can gather to work on projects and share ideas, equipment and knowledge. “We see it as a collaborative space on campus for anybody in the Kent State community to come to create, design and learn,” said Hilary Kennedy, student multimedia studio manager. “It’s a cross-disciplinary space, so we really love seeing students from different majors come in and work on projects or learn something new out of their own wheelhouse and collaborate with other students.”

The name “Spark” is not an acronym — Kennedy said it represents the idea of sparking creativity and new ideas. Spark Innovation Studio is open to the entire Kent State community and is currently free; however, people may not be able to use the machinery their first time at the space. “There is a badging process," said Outreach Program Officer Jeffery Jones. "We want to keep safety first so we have the students get badged (watch tutorials and get information needed to work with equipment safely) and each piece of machinery has its own badging process.” Spark Studio welcomes new ideas and people who have never used machinery before. Training is offered and there are tutorials online for people to look at before even stepping foot in the studio. “What we really love about the

space that makes it different from other makerspaces on campus is that we train users on how to use the equipment themselves and then they’re able to come back once they’re approved and run the equipment themselves,” Kennedy said. “It really empowers the user, which I think is great.” Spark is made up of two rooms: the makerspace that has all the machines, and another room referred to as the “dirty room,” which is the project studio space. Anything from casting concrete panels to a large sandbox for the Kent State Robotics Club to work on their mining robot can be found in the space. Jones mentioned one of the most relatable projects he has seen was a young man who broke his taillight making a 3D model to create a new one.

SEE SPARK / PAGE 4

Various plastic objects printed by the 3-D printing machine lie in the SPARK Studio in the Schwartz Center on Wednesday. Angelo Angel / The Kent Stater

Tech Help provides affordable fixes Students pose and post on social media for payment

Rick Pongonis University Tech Reporter

ond most common issue. A computer with this issue is first checked in at Tech Help and then the broken screen is replaced off-site. “The pricing on that is really based on how much that screen actually costs us and then how difficult it is to actually replace that part,” said Jay Frye, director of IT service management. “We have a pricing matrix that kind of dictates if it’s this level of difficulty, it’s going to be charged this dollar amount for the labor.” The third most common issue is virus or spyware removal. “In a lot of cases we are able to remove that with some specialized software that we have.” Zevchek said. “The other thing that we could do, if that doesn’t work, is we could reinstall the operating system for them.” Zevchek said the customer is charged when the task is complete. He said it is the same cost either way and they are not charged for both the scan and the operating system reinstall, only the method that is successful.

The worst repair senior IT user support analyst Nicolas Zevchek worked with at Tech Help was the result of spilled soup. “We offer a $50 liquid cleaning fee, and with that we tear the computer completely down," said Jesse Schwiebert, a junior applied engineering major and student worker at Tech Help. “Everything that can come out will come out. We inspect all the boards for any sort of corrosion and any liquid, and we try to clean everything out of the board.” To get a basic service done at Tech Help can cost as low as $25. Helping a student log in or stay connected to the wireless network typically takes under five minutes and is free of charge. Tech Help has served more than 2,750 users already this academic year. “Approximately 60 percent of our interactions are resolved at the front counter and never get checked in for work, so we don’t hold onto it at all,” Zevchek said. Internet connectivity issues are seen most commonly at Tech Help, as well as questions and quick troubleshooting. “A lot of those end up being network-related, like how to connect to the wireless and why is there difficulty in doing so, or software installation such as installing Microsoft Office,” Zevchek said. “In most cases, it’s completely free to the student, that’s just something that we do and provide as a service to those students." Besides the simple fixes, there are those that are more in-depth, like broken laptop screens, the sec- A Kent State student receives help with his computer from Tech Help on Friday, March 3, 2017.

SEE TECH / PAGE 4

Kayla McMillen/ Kent Stater

Rachel Duthie Student Life Reporter Looking in the mirror, Tracie Pfrogner does a quick once-over of her outfit and makeup before working for the day. Satisfied, she picks up a couple skin care products and holds them in front of her friend, a photographer, as she snaps a couple of pictures. Pfrogner, a senior fashion merchandising major, is a rising star on Instagram. With 2,000 followers and a fashion blog, she is living her dream — and businesses want in on her platform. After reviewing the photos, she'll pick out the best and upload it on her Instagram, where her followers will see what's in her hands. "It hopefully gets my name out there as a blogger, and I enjoy it," she said. "Collaborating with brands works both ways because we both get the coverage we want." Social media influencers are taking over the online marketing industry as more and more businesses are using popular online figures to sell products. The growing trend was popularized by celebrities like Kylie Jenner and Michelle Phan and is generally successful, even if the product is less than subpar. "Influencer marketing is becoming a staple in the advertising world," said Colin Campbell, a marketing and entrepreneurship assistant professor

who specializes in social media and online brand management. "It raises interesting questions about what makes someone want to buy a product, and right now the answer is Twitter, Instagram and Facebook." Campbell said influencers are successful because their content doesn't appear as an ad. Instead of having a flashy image telling audiences to buy a product, influencer marketing is much more subtle, featuring brands indirectly through a series of selfies and personal product reviews. "Audiences have always responded more positively to word of mouth, as opposed to regular advertising," Campbell said. "Instagram is great in this regard because it's so visual and the use of hashtags can attract a large audience." Consumers respond positively to it, too. According to a 2012 Nielsen study, 92 percent of people trust recommendations from individuals over brands, even when they do not know that person personally. "Social media personalities are communicating in ways that are similar to how people interact in actual, face-to-face interpersonal relationships," said Rekha Sharma, a communication studies assistant professor. "Even though the viewers may not actually know this social media personality in a traditional sense, they may feel like they know this person."

SEE INSTAGRAM/ PAGE 4

Page 2 | Thursday, April 6, 2017

The Kent Stater

Jaila Manga, flight technology major, stood in front of the hanger located at the Kent State University Airport. Chris Spegal / The Burr Magazine

The

Kent

Stater 240 FRANKLIN HALL KENT STATE UNIVERSITY KENT, OHIO 44242 Newsroom 330-672-2584 EDITOR

Women of the sky

MANAGING EDITOR

Alex Delaney-Gesing adelane3@kent.edu

SENIOR EDITOR

Karl Schneider kschne21@kent.edu

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Ray Padilla rpadill2@kent.edu

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The Air Race Classic has inspired generations of women to fly Jamie Brian Burr Writer The Burr Magazine, Kent State’s oldest student-run magazine, contributed the followig article. See The Burr’s latest issue on stands Tuesday. Nine years after women earned the right to vote, they took to the skies in the 1929 Women’s Air Derby. Twenty female pilots, including Amelia Earhart, competed in the 2,700-mile air race from Santa Monica, California, to Cleveland. At the time, only 70 women in the United States held pilot licenses, according to the Ninety-Nines, an international organization of women pilots. Today, the tradition of fearlessness and defying convention continues with the all-female Air Race Classic, a 2,400mile course that must be completed in

four days during daylight hours. 2016 marked the 40th anniversary of the Air Race Classic. Kent State was represented for the first time in the race by Jaila Manga, a junior majoring in flight technology, and Carissa Marion, a Kent State graduate and former flight instructor for the aviation program. Manga will crawl back into the cockpit for the 2017 Air Race Classic in Frederick, Maryland. When Manga heard that Kent State was considering submitting a team, she was ecstatic. “I was really excited that they were considering letting me go,” she says. “I’ve never really flown outside of this portion of the country, and the opportunity to fly over the Rocky Mountains

seemed like a once-in-a-lifetime thing.” Manga, who had her first flight lesson in Spring 2015 at the Kent State Airport, was inspired to get involved with aviation during a family trip to Florida when she was in fifth grade. “We took off, and I just kind of looked at my mom and said, ‘I think I want to be a pilot,’” Manga says. She followed her passion a step further

over the summer when she participated in the Air Race Classic. The race began on June 21 in Prescott, Arizona, and finished in Daytona Beach on June 24. Preparation for race day began a week before the planes lined up in Arizona as Manga and Marion planned their route from Kent to Prescott and hydrated for the hot days ahead, flying over the desert. On the first day of the race, Manga’s plane was one of the last to take off, and with the wave of a flag, her Cessna 172 began its roll down the runway and into the sky. Read the full story in the Spring 2017 issue of The Burr Magazine on stands Tuesday.

The Student Multicultural Center (SMC) hosted "The Soup and Substance: What's up my N*gga" event in hope to help raise awareness of the controversial topic of people using the "N-word." Students from different racial and cultural backgrounds attended the event. They learned about the history of the derogatory term and discussed the topic with peers over soup and refreshments. The team in the SMC walked students through an open discussion where they could speak freely about where they stand on the topic. Students were able to freely use the word and discuss their thoughts. "I attended this event because it is always a controversial topic on the usage of the 'N-word,'" said Emonte Wimbush, a junior fashion merchandising major. "Even though it is a controversial topic, it is always good to talk about because there is always a need to educate people on why it is not good to say the word if you are not a part of the community that the word has been affirmed to." The SMC team all played a part in planning the event. Ashley Williams, the assistant director of the SMC, was in charge of putting together action pieces. After the event, she challenged people to think about what they could do to move forward. "Being a higher education institution, we always have to educate people. However, it takes more than just educating people on this topic in general,"

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Henry Palattella hpalatte@kent.edu

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Jenna Kuczkowski jkuczkowski@kent.edu

ASSIGNING EDITORS

Lydia Taylor ltaylor49@kent.edu Emma Keating ekeatin2@kent.edu Andrew Atkins aatkins5@kent.edu

Students discuss use of 'N-word' at Soup and Substance event Olivia Williams African-American Student Life Reporter

Jimmy Miller jmill231@kent.edu

she said. "It is important to understand people's cultural backgrounds and what things mean." Sarah Stephenson, a sophomore early childhood education major, attended the event as a part of a diversity requirement for a peer leadership course she is taking. Stephenson said after attending this event she has learned more about the African-American community and enjoyed hearing some of the students' first hand experiences. "I don't say the 'N-word' because I don't think it is a word that white people are allowed to say," Stephenson said. "I think that because I didn't experience anything involving that word, then it is not mine to use." Other event participants agreed with Stephenson. Marvin Logan, a 2015 Kent State graduate and former Undergraduate Student Government president, expressed that he does not feel that Caucasian people Kent State Multicultural Center program coordinator Michael Daniels speaks to students during the “Soup and Substance” should use the term either. discussion at the Kent State Student Center Multicultural Room on Wednesday. Angelo Angel / The Kent Stater He said that the use of the "N-word" belongs to the He said that in his opinion, whether er circles, that is up to the user and the cultural group in which it was used the word is positive or negative is irrel- listener if they want to use the word and against and were affected by the word. what connotation they want to use it in." evant in this particular conversation. Logan said that the event was a "I think that what is important in this owillia8@kent.edu chance to have an important social and conversation is that word is for my culcultural conversation about the power tural group to determine the use of the of words. word," Logan said. "However, in small-

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City Council approves LGBTQ protection ordinance Nicholas Adkins Contributor Kent City Council agreed to adapt an ordinance that protects citizens from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identification in a unanimous vote Wednesday. The vote came three years after councilman John Kuhar brought it up for discussion in a 2014 council meeting. At the time, the focus was on ensuring housing ordinances protected LGTBQ citizens in the same way they protect everyone based on gender, familial status and race. “I want anybody to feel like they can go into any house in our community,” Kuhar said at the Wednesday meeting. The vote was originally meant to address housing ordinance verbiage only, but the council expanded the vote to include all city legislature mentioning discrimination after a suggestion from councilwoman Tracy Wallach. “We were surprised that they took the lead on that,” University of Akron law student Adam Gluntz said. “We thought we were going to have to coax them into it with just the housing ordi-

nances first.” Gluntz came to the council meeting today to provide background on Akron’s passing of its LGBTQ protection ordinance. “It’s obvious this class of people needs to be protected just like the rest of them,” Wallach said, referencing the social classes already mentioned in current laws and ordinances. Junior political science major M.J. Eckhouse is a member of Kent 4 Equality and met with council members individually prior to Wednesday’s vote. Based on his meetings with the members, Eckhouse said they were more concerned with potential legal action being taken against Kent should they enforce the proposed change to city ordinances. “It was not so much policy focused,” Eckhouse said. “It was more about the city’s liability.” Eighteen different communities in Ohio have taken similar steps to include LGBTQ protection in their legislature. The latest communities to do so were Akron and Olmstead Falls that passed similar motions just last week. “The state is not quite ready to protect its

University of Akron law student Adam Gluntz speaks to Kent City Council members at a council meeting on Wednesday. Photo courtesy of Nicholas Adkins

LGBTQ citizens,” Trans*Fusion President Alice Freitas said to the council. “I want you to know that it is important to the community at-large.” “(If homeowners are) hearing from their own community that this is wrong,” Gluntz said. “It might sound better than coming from Washington or Columbus.” As it stands, Ohio is one of 32 states that still do not have clear protections for LGBTQ people.

“It’s a good step towards equality,” Eckhouse said. Still, he wants there to be specific penalties for those who do discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identification. He said he would also like to see the committee that enforces these laws to get educated on the LGBTQ community. nadkins8@kent.edu

Thursday, April 6, 2017 | Page 3

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.

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

Opinion Editor: Lucas Misera Senior Editor: Karl Schneider Managing Editor: Alex Delaney-Gesing Sports Editor: Henry Palattella Assigning Editor: Jack Kopanski Assigning Editor: Andrew Atkins

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

John Groce named new Akron basketball coach Henry Palattella Sports Editor John Groce is no stranger to the Mid-American Conference. Groce spent four seasons serving as the coach at Ohio University, where he compiled a record of 85-56 in four seasons with the Bobcats. His last season in Athens was in 2011-12, where he led the team to a berth in the Sweet 16 before leaving for the University of Illinois. hpalatte@kent.edu

Cheers&Jeers Cheers to ... creative marketing. A Philippine medical clinic is using the “X-Men” character Wolverine to advertise one of its services: circumcision. Jeers to ... guessing. A “Wheel of Fortune” contestant used the phrase “Popsicle Bike” when solving a puzzle under the category “Living Things.” The correct answer? “Honeysuckle Bush.”

Wrapping up Women’s History Month Jeffrey King is a member of the College Republicans.

Republican VIEW

Throughout the month of March, the White House celebrated Women’s History Month. The celebration ranged from first lady Melania Trump hosting luncheons to second lady Karen Pence meeting with women of the armed forces. The White House has created a focus on all the achievements that women have made throughout our times. However, there has been a large bias throughout the mainstream media toward President Donald Trump and the women in the White House. We are going to look at some of these women and talk about all that they have achieved, and continue to do, for us. To begin, let’s focus on the first lady and the criticism that she has taken throughout her short time in the White House. This past week, Melania’s official White House photo was released. Instead of praising her for her education, accomplishments or even beauty, mainstream media had a different outlook toward her: a plan to attack and discredit her for who she is. This is a true disgrace to all the “feminists” out there who stand for women and their accomplishments. Many scrutinized Melania’s outfit, her jewelry and even her looks. Could you imagine the outcry from the “fake news” if they would have done something like this toward former first lady Michelle Obama? That would have been unacceptable and terrible if it were done to her. Since this is Melania Trump, it is a completely different story. Within the month of March, first daughter Ivanka Trump took a role in the White House as “Assistant to the President.” This was seen as such a terrible and wrong move. This position, approved by an ethics board, shows how important and influential the first daughter is for Trump. To top it all off, Ivanka is taking this position without pay. However, this is also something that has “triggered” the “fake news” as being unacceptable to stand for women’s rights when she isn’t even taking pay. Ivanka is a powerful and influential woman, and we should be relieved that she is taking such a position in the White House. Another woman of the White House who takes a lot of heat everyday is Kellyanne Conway. Critics continue to chastise her for something she said or the way she looked when she appeared on a talk show. If these “feminists” were out there to help women, then they wouldn’t let “fake news” bully and abuse Conway the way they have. We have to remember that Conway shattered the glass ceiling this election season by being the first female campaign manager to run a campaign that won the White House. Where were all the feminists to celebrate this victory with her? While “fake news” is complaining that the Trump administration isn’t pro-women, we have to look at all the pro-women things the administration has done and look at how many women work in the White House who are valued by the president. The three women mentioned are just a few making a difference and are paving the road for future womens. I leave you with this quote from our first lady: “As leaders of our shared global economy, we must continue to work towards gender empowerment and respect for people from all backgrounds and ethnicities, remembering always that we are all ultimately members of one race, the human race. Each one of us is uniquely different.” jking93@kent.edu

Alright, let’s talk about that Pepsi commercial Matt Poe Columnist There’s a lot of big news transpiring this week, such as the possibility of Senate Republicans invoking the nuclear option for Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch and the atrocities of reported chemical attacks happening in Syria. While both unequivocally deserve your ears and eyeballs, let’s address a little lighter topic, like that Pepsi ad with Kendall Jenner. I was messing around on my phone this past Tuesday night (because I am addicted to screens and live a mundane existence) when I saw Pepsi trending on Twitter. Naturally, I thought this to be some annoying ad or sponsored content circulating, and I dismissed it as such. Wednesday morning came around and as I did my morning rounds on the interweb, I soon found that the aforementioned cola was trending because of a insensitive advertisement involving a member of the Kardashian clan. The ad in question depicts many young people of different races and backgrounds coming together to march in the streets with signs like “Join the conversation” and others filled with various depictions of the peace sign. Meanwhile, Jenner is displaying her truly remarkable skills of standing in front of a camera for a photoshoot. Man, does she have it rough. She then ditches her blonde wig, grabs a Pepsi and joins in with the protesters as they gradually encounter a group of policemen barricading the street. Jenner, in a moment braver and more powerful than anything I’ve ever seen in my life, approaches one of the officers and hands him — you guessed it — a Pepsi. A breathtaking moment of silence ensues, and the officer takes the can from her hand and drinks it. Awesome! Yay! Social justice! But enough of my poor visual narratives, go watch the two-minute ad. I can wait. I have all the time in the world, Clarice (Hannibal Lecter voice). Pretty stupid ad, right? Doesn’t look like any protest I’ve ever seen. What are they even protesting? Most of the backlash over the ad has come from Black Lives Matter groups who, along with others, have called the ad tone-deaf, insisting that it’s attempting to capitalize on many of the racially charged protests that have sparked over the past year and beyond. And while some are mad that it’s a white person leading the ad (check social media if you don’t believe me), that’s a message that’s stupid and misses the entire point. Some have called out Jenner for serving as

the face of the ad because, well, she’s a member of the 1 percent and likely wouldn’t be found near such a protest. Are there members of the 1 percent who can be found protesting social issues? Sure there are, look no further than Shailene Woodley when she was arrested at Standing Rock (did you know she eats clay?). My biggest issue with this ad is Pepsi’s blatant eagerness to use these protests, many of which have been responses to minorities being unjustifiably killed by police, as a way to sell a damn can of cola. Face it Pepsi: You’ll always be second fiddle to Coke. It’s a cheap attempt to pull at the heartstrings of young people and transform pivotal social issues, such as the right and importance of peaceful protesting in the face of police brutality, as a marketable ploy for its own sales. And while the issue of exploiting these protesters and incidents is the most important lesson here, there’s another one that bugs the hell out of me. I’m so damn tired of companies trying to sprinkle in social messages into their products or ads. Sure, it’s been going on for decades, and Pepsi won’t be the last, but its more evident in our 24/7 digital world. Pepsi’s goal should not be to teach me some lesson on racial tensions in America; its goal is to sell a product, and I wish it would have the blatant honesty to just say so. Make your product better. Sell me on why I should buy it. It’s like when McDonald’s sales were sinking and they tried all these ways to innovate its menu with healthy options and whatnot. I want a better Big Mac, not for you to tell me you care about selling me a healthy food option. Apple does the same thing all the time with its ads. Oh, look here! Let me tug at those heartstrings with some dramatic commercial so you shell out $700 for the new iPhone. I’m all for diversity in ads and commercials, and I’m all for companies adding in a way for you to buy a product while also donating to some cause, like Taco Bell’s scholarship commercials from this past year. That didn’t happen with this Pepsi ad. At the end of the day, it’s just another stupid ad among the hundreds we come across on a daily basis. We’ll detest it until another one comes along. I’m just glad Kendall is still getting paid gigs; I was worried she wouldn’t be able to afford her next meal. Lastly, ditch the soda so you don’t end up like John Daly and drink water instead. Take it from a guy who’s in ridiculously good shape. mpoe3@kent.edu

Spreading autism awareness Travis Askew Guest Columnist It’s April already and this is when we first begin to really get excited about the end of the semester, warm weather and summer break. However, not many people know that April is also Autism Awareness Month. This is a month where we spread awareness about what autism really is and why it is so important to understand. This is also a time when I begin to see more of the “vaccines cause autism” debate than I normally do. Now, while I do find not vaccinating a child to be unwise, I also find that there happens to be something more disturbing about this debate on both sides. For those who are against vaccines, I simply find it frightening that these people are more afraid of their child “contracting” autism than the very real possibility of that child’s death. These parents are willing to do anything to prevent autism from “developing” in their child, such as putting them on stringent diets and even using electroconvulsive therapy which, according to a Forbes article, the UN believes to be torture. Some parents have gone as far as exorcisms to rid the child of autism, with one such case reported by CBS News in 2003. What makes me the most uncomfortable is that neither the anti-vaccination, nor the pro-vaccination side, care about this fear of autism. They are more concerned about how right they are and how stupid the other side is than they are for the safety and well being of those who are on the autism spectrum. With society being largely uneducated on what autism truly is, people have a visceral, unsettling fear of it. They believe that it is a disease, mental retardation or that those who have it are in some way dangerous. I have heard countless parents complain about how hard it is to be the parent of someone on the spectrum, and it seems like they are more worried about the struggles they deal with rather than what their child experiences every single day. They don’t realize that it isn’t such a picnic being autistic, either. There is a rate of 30-50 percent among those diagnosed with autism having considered suicide based on previous research. They don’t feel understood, and nobody seems to listen to what they have to say. Psychologists will report observations, yet their observations are just that. Many people honestly believe that those with autism do not like to be near other people and that they just want to be alone. Having emotional connections with others is a necessity for not only the mental health of a human being, but also for their physical health, and those affected by autism are no exception. I am not someone who readily states that I am on the spectrum; no matter how long I have known someone, they will look at me and treat me differently. I will not be hired at a job where I reveal my diagnosis in the interview, and I am not the only one to experience this. Autism is not something to be afraid of, and the only way to stop people from feeling afraid is to spread awareness and to spread truth. I am not a disease. I don’t have a condition. I am an individual who has a label, a label that is a part of my own identity but does not define me as a human being. taskew@kent.edu

Page 4 | Thursday, April 6, 2017

The Kent Stater

Braving an all-tech world

From Page 1

SPARK

Schwartz Center ‘Makerspace’ ... “It wasn’t too big, it wasn’t anything too arduous, but it was a cool little project,” Jones said. There had been talk about wanting to start a makerspace on campus for a long time, but Kennedy said serious conversations about opening Spark began in January 2016. “It was just a matter of finding where to open it and who to help run it,” Kennedy said. Jones was hired as part of the Spark team in December to help run it and is excited about the space. “I just wanted to get a mastery of all the machinery so I can teach and help others and share the knowledge,” Jones said. There are other makerspaces on campus, such as the Student Multimedia Studio in the University Library, but Spark has the most equipment and space to work with. The Spark Innovation Studio, located in Room 191 and 192 of the Schwartz Center, is a collaboration between the University Libraries and LaunchNet Kent State, with additional funding and support from other colleges and departments. “It’s a really great space to work in," Kennedy said. "There’s not a lot of spaces like that on campus that you can come in and use for free and not be afraid to get the space a little dirty." pbrown31@kent.edu

Nicholas Kotch Consumer Tech Reporter

Rachel Anderson, a senior art history major, waits until the Full Spectrum Laser Cutter is finished with a piece of wood at the SPARK Studio in the Schwartz Center on Wednesday. Angelo Angel / The Kent Stater

Map Library to begin working on tree mobile app Paige Brown Libraries Reporter With success in the Map It! Program, the Map Library is aiming its sights on its next venture: a mobile app. The app will be a map of trees, or an arboretum map, and will serve as a way to locate trees on campus. “If you were interested you could walk around campus and in theory take pictures of a certain tree and it would give you the GPS location of where the tree is located and a brief description about that tree,” said Michael Hawkins, a resident librarian. The app will be mostly student-created, but will also be a collaboration with Davey Tree company and the grounds crew. “We are doing the actual creation part of it and they’re going to be adding the data of all the trees and information about them,” Hawkins said. According to Hawkins, the app came about when a From Page 1

INSTAGRAM

Students rely on Instagram ... Pfrogner has advertised for Ole Henriksen skincare, Boohoo and even Coca-Cola. Since gaining a large audience from her blog, she started to get requests from companies like Influenster to produce content about certain brands. She started receiving so many that she had to link her email to her Instagram account. "A main con of sponsored posts is that you have to make sure you're featuring ones relevant to your brand," she said. "It is tricky because sometimes I had to turn down opportunities because it doesn't appeal for what I stand for." Pay for social media influencers is based off of popularity, as it can range from $50 to $100,000, according to inc.com. Since Pfrogner is considered a small to midsize influencer, she enjoys free products and enough

geography class and the grounds crew started working on mapping out drainage points across campus for when the grounds crew needed to access them. The library’s Map It! Program is in collaboration with the geography department that takes faculty research and helps to visualize it on a map. Work will begin on the arboretum app at the end of this semester, with a goal launch date sometime in the fall. The app will be free to all students on campus. The app idea follows the recognition of Kent State as a Tree Campus USA school for the ninth straight year. If it works well, Hawkins said they may be able to do more with the Kent State map in the future. “Right now it is in the planning stages,” Hawkins said. “It’s definitely the coolest and most interactive project we have done.”

As social generations progress further, so does technology and the obsession that has steadily grown along with it. According to a 2015 study by the nonprofit group Common Sense Media, Generation Z — also called the “iGeneration,” — is spending nearly nine hours a day consuming media from a screen. Jeffrey Child, associate professor of communication studies at Kent State, believes the amount of technology taken in depends on the individual. “The research is actually beyond the point of asking if technology’s progression is bad or good; those are too simplistic of questions,” Child said. “It is both user characteristics and personality traits that lead us down to the people themselves.” The national average for the human attention span in 2015 was 8.25 seconds, which is half a second less than that of a goldfish. “The effect that cellphones and social media have on the girls I teach at my dance studio seems troubling," said Rachel Cowley, a marketing graduate student at the Stark campus. "They document their every move and because they are so engrossed in Snapchat, Instagram, Musical.ly ... most of them lack good conversational skills, which is a huge issue.” From Page 1

TECH

Tech Help ... Zevchek also said the quoted time of repair is three to five days. Tech Help is Apple and Dell brand certified, meaning that laptops of those brands can be fixed faster because computer parts of those two brands are shipped to Tech Help within a short span of time.

Even the act of using a cellphone during a conversation has its own terminology now called “phubbing," a fusion of “phone” and “snubbing." “Technology does adapt with and change our communication behaviors, how we act, what we do and what we consider to be appropriate and inappropriate," Child said. However, technology is not inherently evil. Imagine trying to navigate through college without the internet, a cellphone or even social media. The advancements in technology have made schooling and many other aspects of life apparently less difficult. “There is so much technology integrated into what we can do today,” Child said. “When I started going to college, email was still the big social connection channel and to learn material I had to make my own study cards.” A recent survey conducted by Harris Poll found that 85 percent of students aged 18 to 26 own a laptop computer, while 67 percent said having their technology stop working is their current biggest fear. “Technology plays a decent roll in my daily routine since I work on a computer all day and am on my iPhone quite a bit,” Cowley said. “I check all my social media throughout the day and I still use my iPod in my car, but I also can separate real life from social media.” nkotch@kent.edu Sometimes students bring their laptops to Tech Help to get help on less common issues, such as an Apple computer not charging anymore. Tech Help is meant to be an affordable alternative to other computer repair services. “It’s really nice for the students to have some place to go contained within the university that they know (aren't) out to get the biggest dollar amount out of them,” Frye said. rpongoni@kent.edu

pbrown31@kent.edu money to pay for gas every week. In some promotions, she gets paid every time someone clicks on a link featured in her picture. While most brands are flexible with promotions, some are strict about what they want. When promoting Coca-Cola, for example, there was a lot of expectation. Location, outfit and even photogenic quality come into play. "How the pop was displayed and even the description all mattered," she said. "Some people think this job doesn't come with its challenges, but it does." As for losing followers for sponsored content, Pfrogner has never had a problem. "My opinion doesn't change of them (when they feature sponsored content)," said Lalie Jones, a junior fashion merchandising major and follower of style gurus on Instagram. "I love their clothes, and how they are always so busy and doing something with their life. I hope I'm like that one day too." rduthie@kent.edu

Photo via Tracie Pfrogner Instagram.

Border agency fields pitches for Trump's wall with Mexico Eliot Spagat Associated Press One bidder wants to cover President Donald Trump's border wall with solar panels. Another suggests building a wall large enough for a deck that would offer tourists scenic views of the desert. In the competition to build the wall, traditional bids are interspersed with more whimsical ideas. As Tuesday's deadline for bids passed, U.S. Customs and Border Protection declined to identify bidders or say how many there were, which is standard practice in government contracting. The federal government expects to announce around June 1 which companies will be hired to build prototypes. Designs must be able to repel pickaxes and sledgehammers for at least an hour and be aesthetically pleasing from the north side. Trump's multibillion-dollar plan promises potentially big profits but also risks inviting a backlash from people who oppose the project. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mexico said last week that Mexican companies expressing interest were betraying their country. "This isn't the kind of project that you'd want to put in your portfolio, said Gene Grabowski, a partner in kglobal, a Washington public relations firm. "Unlike a dam or bridge, this is one where the risk of being associated with the political philosophy of the administration can be damaging to current and future business." That did not stop some companies from releasing their plans — some traditional, some more imaginative. Concrete Contractors Interstate proposed a polished concrete wall augmented with stones and artifacts that are tailored to different sections of the 2,000-mile border. "The idea is to make the wall a piece of art," said Russ Baumgartner, chief executive officer of the San Diego-based company.

Gleason Partners LLC of Las Vegas said its solar panels would generate 2 megawatts of electricity an hour. Both proposals were first reported by The San Diego UnionTribune. "For the younger generation, they say if there is going to be a wall, let's have it be green," said Gleason Managing Partner Thomas Gleason. The other specifications, like preventing people from digging tunnels beneath the wall, will eliminate some designs immediately. Winners must also have done border security or similar projects worth $25 million or more in the past five years. A U.S. official with knowledge of the plans who spoke on condition of anonymity because the details have not been made public said four to 10 bidders are expected to be chosen to build prototypes for $200,000 to $500,000 each. The prototypes will President Donald Trump and Jordan's King Abdullah II leave their news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on Wednesday. be constructed on a (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) quarter-mile strip of federally owned land in San Diego within "executing high-profile, high-visibility ing illegally across the border plummet- tough talk on immigration and arrests ed last month. That's a signal that fewer of immigrants living in the country 120 feet of the border, though a final and politically contentious" projects. The prototypes are preliminary steps people are trying to sneak into the U.S. illegally have likely acted as deterrents. decision has not been made on the In written testimony submitted Tuesfor a project that will face deep resisAn "interested vendors list" on a precise spot, the official said. day to a Senate panel, John Kelly said government website for contractors The Border Patrol and local police tance in Congress and beyond. During the campaign, Trump repeat- fewer than 12,500 people were caught lists more than 200 companies. It's would establish a buffer zone around the construction site if necessary, edly said that Mexico would pay for the crossing the border last month. That unclear how many of those companies the U.S. official said. The San Diego wall, but he has since requested that compares with more than 43,000 who bid and how many that do not appear police and sheriff's departments said Congress approve billions of dollars were detained in December. It's the low- on the list submitted proposals. "If you win, you have a contract," they will respect constitutional rights in taxpayer money. Democrats vow to est monthly figure in at least 17 years. Kelly said the decrease is "no acci- Grabowski said. "If you lose, you to free speech and assembly for law- oppose any wall funding, and many Republicans are also wary of his plans dent" and credits Trump's approach have the publicity of competing abiding protesters. to illegal immigration. The adminis- for the business without the payoff Bidders are also asked to submit secu- for a massive brick-and-mortar barrier. tration has not yet changed how the of the contract. I think companies Meanwhile, the head of Homeland rity plans and demonstrate experience Security said that arrests of people enter- border is patrolled, but the president's would want to avoid that."

Thursday, April 6, 2017 | Page 5

The Kent Stater

THE FRIDAY

WEEKEND BUZZ Saturday

Student Theatre Festival

Black Squirrel 5K Race

Holi, Festival of Colors

Dog Walk-a-Thon

This weekend-long theater showcase features student-performed and directed pieces, including original works and one-person shows. Held in the Center for the Performing Arts’ Blackbox Theatre, the event is free and begins Friday at 7:30 p.m.

The seventh annual Black Squirrel 5K kicks off at 8 a.m. outside the Student Recreation and Wellness Center. Participants will race on the course that trails throughout campus and enjoy a buffet afterward.

Join the Kent Indian Association for an afternoon of food, team games, music and gifts in celebration of Holi. White dress is preferred for this event, which begins at 11:30 a.m. at Manchester Field.

Invite your dogs to campus this weekend for this pet walk fundraiser for Fur-get Me Not Animal Rescue, Inc. The event, hosted by 4 the Love of Paws, goes from noon to 3 p.m. and includes games, raffles and refreshments.