Not your typical picnic: unconventional ideas for the seasonal staple.
Section B
DAILY KENT STATER Thursday, April 15, 2010 • The independent student newspaper of Kent State University • Weather: Sunny HI 80, LO 59
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Committee defines Summit St. problems
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Cold front rolls into campus
Jurors acquaint themselves with scene of the crime
University turns on air conditioning
Agreement for increased service
Jessica White
Daily Kent Stater
Bo Gemmell
Daily Kent Stater The Citizens Advisory Committee for the Summit Street Improvement Project met last night to define existing problems with the road and determine the level of service desired after improvement. If the city can produce plans to solve problems of congestion, safety and access management, it will receive 80 percent of the funding through state awards. The city and university agreed to split the remaining 20 percent required for the multi-million dollar project.
Increasing service The 20 attendants tentatively agreed to a level of road accessibility and traffic flow that at peak hours would have some restricted movement to vehicular traffic, but would still be better than the status quo. URS Corporation, the design firm handling the project, ranked levels of service from A to F, with an A rating being free-flowing traffic and an F causing complete congestion. Jeff Noble, Highway Development Manager for URS, said designers generally shoot for level C or D. Members of the committee agreed to level D. Unlike getting a D in a class at Kent State, City Engineer Jim Bowling said this D rating is a good thing. “If we have a level of service D, we don’t consider it a problem,” Bowling said, adding that the intersection of Willow Street and Main Street has a D rating, and this rating would create traffic flow that is better than it is now. According to URS, drivers can expect 30 to 55-second wait times at peak hours during peak times of the year on a level D street. The URS definitions guide stated that “lower demands occur often enough to permit clearing, thus preventing excessive delay” with level D. See SUMMIT, Page A5
PHOTOS BY TESSA BARGAINNIER | DAILY KENT STATER
LEFT: Adrian Barker, on trial for the murder of Christopher Kernich, and his defense attorneys, Brian Murray and Scott Michael Lear, stand in the center of Main Street Wednesday afternoon, watching as the jury is shown the crime location. RIGHT: Adrian Barker watches as the jury is shown the crime scene at the 200 block of East Main Street.
Prosecution to begin case today in Barker trial Opening remarks heard yesterday Denver Collins Samantha Laros
Daily Kent Stater The prosecution will begin calling witnesses today in the trial of Adrian Barker at the Portage County Courthouse in Ravenna. Barker is charged with two counts of murder in connection with the fatal assault of Kent State student Christopher Kernich. During yesterday’s opening arguments, friends and family of Kernich observed tearfully from the back row of the courtroom as prosecuting attorney Connie Lewandowski accused Barker of committing a “hateful, ugly act of violence” against Kernich. Jury selection was finalized around 1 p.m., and after a short break, jurors were bused to the
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scene of the Honda Civic. crime. While At the police blocked Jefferson was sitting on his time Jefferson off the 200 pulled out car, and police let (him) block of Main of a nearby Street, the baid r i v e w a y, leave with evidence that liff showed Lewandowski could have been on his body said Kernich jurors the fraternities and and three of or his clothes. businesses his friends in the area to w e re w a l k Scott Lear familiarize i n g t o w a rd Defense Attorney them with the the car from scene to help downtown on them better understand evidence E. Main St., and a member of Keras it is presented. nich’s group yelled “what the hell, The prosecution and defense you almost hit us.” began opening arguments after the The car pulled over and an jurors returned. altercation ensued. Lewandowski Lewandowski said on the said eyewitnesses accused Barker night of the assault Barker, 22, of throwing Kernich to the ground, and Ronald Kelly, 20, both of and alleged that both Kelly and Akron, met up with two female Barker kicked him repeatedly. Kent State students at their offDefense attorney Scott Lear campus apartment and started argued that the eyewitness drinking. Later, they went to accounts were unreliable because it a party at a fraternity house. was dark and many witnesses had Lewandowski said Barker and been drinking. He added that most Kelly were kicked out of the of the eyewitnesses said there were party at about 2 a.m. and met up two attackers, one in a red shirt and with Glen Jefferson, 21, of Men- one in a white shirt. Both Barker, tor, who was driving a white who is black, and Jefferson, who
is white, were wearing white shirts that night. Lear argued that when police arrived, several witnesses pointed to Jefferson as the other attacker. One young woman pointed to him and said, “I saw him, he was the one kicking him.” Lewandowski described witnesses’ reports of Kernich’s head hitting the concrete, and then faced the jury as she stomped on the floor of the courtroom, portraying how the defendant allegedly delivered “curb stomps” to Kernich’s head and ribs, while Kelly allegedly kicked from the other side. She said when EMS arrived, Kernich was “unresponsive,” and as rescuers attempted to place him on the stretcher, he repeatedly vomited, indicating that he was already in a coma. She added that the defendant was also seen “attempting to initiate fights with other bystanders.” See BARKER, Page A5
For those who heard rumors of no air-conditioning until midMay: There’s no need to worry. Air conditioning will be on across campus today. Last week, some classrooms were hot because temperatures outside ranged from 35 to 80 degrees. “Temperatures are so inconsistent this time of year, so it’s hard to say when to switch from heat to AC,” said Bob Winkler, assistant director of Campus Environment and Operations, adding that because of the complexity of the transition, his team usually waits until April 15, unless temperatures become unbearably high. Winkler said by then, temperatures are often warm enough to warrant air conditioning and to keep the water and pipes in the cooling towers from freezing. Cooling towers are filled with water and use evaporation to remove heat from inside buildings. Before the switch day, the towers are drained, cleaned and repaired. Air handlers that bring in outside air and carry chilled water for air conditioning are also drained and cleaned with antifreeze to protect them from cold winter months. Around mid- to late-March, everything is refilled, and chillers inside the cooling towers can be “fired off.” “We actually like hot days sometimes so we can test-fire,” Winkler said. “But sometimes it gets risky when temperatures drop the next day. We don’t want pipes to freeze and break — that’s why we stick with the April 15th date,” he said. Some students said they were annoyed with some of the hot classrooms last week, but they said they’re satisfied with the mid-April goal. “The M.A.C. building was awful last week,” said Nikki Gilmore, senior integrated health studies major. “But it could’ve been fixed if someone had opened some windows.” See AIR, Page A5
100BACK New president restores the university LOOKING YEARS THE CENTENNIAL SERIES
Golding brought stability to campus during his short term Kristine Gill
Daily Kent Stater Yesterday, the rock at the front of campus read, “Let us die young or let us live forever. Justice for CK,” in reference to Christopher Kernich’s ongoing murder trial. By the weekend, it will likely be painted over again. There’s no telling how many layers of paint have coated the stone. Since the 1930s, students have taken buckets and cans of paint to the front of campus to make their mark on the iconic fixture. As William
Hildebrand wrote in his book, “A Most Noble Enterprise: The Kent State Story, 1910-2010,” the rock was so much a part of daily campus life that it was “tenderly hefted a safe distance back onto the campus,” when the city widened Main Street in 1972. It was one of many campus traditions preserved or started between 1970 and 1990. In 1981, Hildebrand writes that black squirrels had “achieved iconic status.” In their honor, the first Black Squirrel Festival was held in Risman Plaza. This past fall, the university celebrated its 29th festival in honor of the pervasive rodent. Student safety became a new concern in the early 80s, “but not because of political social or civil rights unrest,” Hildebrand writes, “but because of human appetites --theft, drugs, rape and violence ... “
The modest beginnings of what would become a full-fledged and student-run campus security department began. Students with flashlights who were part of a group known as The Volunteer Ambulance Service (VAS) patrolled campus during set times and escorted students to their dorms. And while Hildebrand writes that the majority of those crimes were not of the same character as student protests leading up to May 4, campus and city police had to deal with the new host of crimes. Around that same time, a tradition was lost. The Chestnut Burr had been the campus yearbook published at the end of each semester dedicated to recreating the semester in its pages. Due to financial reasons, it has since become a general interest magazine still published each semester.
The university hadn’t always been on a semester schedule. It had operated on quarters until President Brage Golding’s term. Golding came to the university from San Diego State where he served as president. He was determined to spend only five years setting Kent State on a straight course. “In his assessment of himself he thought there was no job he couldn’t get done in five year ’s time,” Hildebrand said. “He had started one university up from scratch and made it very successful, and brought one in San Diego up from the ropes and he thought he could do the same in Kent even though his task was very formidable.” See CENTENNIAL, Page A5
KSU President Brage Golding in his office.
COURTESY OF KENT STATE UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES