The rise of Lee Stalker Three years ago Lee Stalker was a walk-on football player without a scholarship. Now he’s earned a full scholarship and is a starting lineman on the top rush defense in the nation. Read the story on page 8.
DAILY KENT STATER Friday, October 1, 2010 • The independent student newspaper of Kent State University • Weather: Mostly sunny, HI 62, LO 46
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Note to student groups: Don’t chalk here
University to receive share of settlement Lydia Coutré
lcoutre@kent.edu Daily Kent Stater Kent State will be one of 26 public entities statewide to receive a portion of a $4.75 million settlement. The antitrust lawsuit against Marsh & McLennan Companies, the world’s largest insurance broker, accused them of conspiracy to eliminate competition. From 2001-2004 the
defendants allegedly gave customers false quotes. Associate counsel James Watson said the settlement shows companies this won’t be tolerated. “Well it lets the insurance companies know that they’ve got to bid the real prices as opposed to fixing the price at premiums on insurance,” Watson said. According to the press release, Marsh has not admitted any wrongdoing. See SETTLEMENT, Page 5
Hookah hangout becomes campus club
HANNAH POTES | DAILY KENT STATER
All student organizations have been asked to refrain from chalking group information and event announcements on the “K” in Risman Plaza.
SAM VERBULECZ | DAILY KENT STATER
Frank Yonkof
Freshman exploratory major Julie Conroy exhales a cloud of hookah smoke. “It makes lots of friends,” Conroy said when asked why she attended.
Daily Kent Stater
New club on campus not just blowing smoke
fyonkof@kent.edu
A
memo from university officials requesting that students not chalk on the giant brick “K” in the center of Risman Plaza is raising some eyebrows among student groups. Chalkers are still allowed to write on the colored bricks surrounding the “K” — just not the bricks that make the letter itself, said Timeka Rashid, director of the Center for Student Involvement. “We’re not trying to limit the students in any way,” Rashid said. “It’s a new addition, and the thought was, just for now, to keep that as clean as possible.” The memo from the Center for Student Involvement was sent to both advisers and student leaders, although it went unnoticed by almost every student leader interviewed for this article. Sent Sept. 28, the memo said student groups are asked by Greg Jarvie’s office, Enrollment Management and Student Affairs, “to please refrain from chalking on the new “K” brick area.” The university is in the process of revising their chalking guidelines to restrict chalking in newly renovated areas. As of now, chalking is allowed on “exposed surfaces where rain can wash the chalk away,” though exceptions include steps, buildings and tables. “We won’t penalize you,” Rashid said. “We’ll just give you a reminder. We’re not going to take away privileges or anything like that.” Opinion on the chalking regulations was mixed among student leaders on campus who had seen the memo. While they could understand why the university would want to keep it clean, they still thought the request seemed odd. “Personally, I don’t see the big deal,” said Trae Ruscin, PRIDE! Kent’s president. “There is plenty of other space. I think we should be able to, but I don’t think it’s a big deal that we’re not.” With students facing high costs, some thought it was a bad idea
for the university to restrict chalking on the renovations that students would ultimately have to pay for. “Telling us where we can chalk is disconcerting for the organizations on campus that have to advertise,” said Bryan Staul, a sophomore political science major and political director for Kent State’s College Democrats. “While they have the audacity to throw more and more costs at us, I think it should maybe afford us more liberties to chalk on their ‘K.’” For sophomore biology major Erin McKay, it seemed odd that the university would restrict chalking on the giant brick letter when tuition is high. “I think the only person that would care would be someone who was on the top floor of the library,” said McKay. “They used our tuition to pretty much pay for it. If we want to write on it, we can write on it.” Delta Upsilon President Eddie Walaszewski could see where the university was coming from, after investing $2.5 million into the revamped plaza. “Those bricks are porous material, and it can stain,” Walaszewski said. “I’m a construction management major, so I can completely understand what they’re saying. I mean, it’s a brand new project.”
Daniel Moore
dmoore63@kent.edu Daily Kent Stater What started out as a small gathering of students at a picnic table outside Fletcher and Manchester halls has evolved into a “smoking” campus organization. “We were just a small group of people, doing our best to smoke our cigs at least 20 feet away from the building,” said
Michael Boland, historian of the Hookah Social Club. Boland, a freshman visual communication design major, said the Hookah Social Club began when secretary Julie Conroy, a freshman exploratory major, decided to bring her hookah outside and share it with others in Eastway Hall. Once that happened, he said, the community grew at an alarming rate. See HOOKAH, Page 5
Grad arrested on drug charges
A 25-year-old Campus Pointe resident was arrested Wednesday by the Portage County Drug Task Force for drug trafficking. Ryan J. Haubert of Massillon sold an undisclosed amount of Suboxone pills to an undercover agent for the past several weeks, according to a task force release. The drug is a controlled substance commonly used to treat drug addiction. Police arrested Haubert at the 2600 block of state Route 59 in Ravenna and seized an undisclosed amount of cash. He is charged with drug trafficking and possession of criminal tools. Haubert graduated from Kent State as a business management major in 2010, according to Kent State’s Alumni Association website. Haubert faces additional charges pending a review by a Portage County grand jury. — Jinae West