The
Kent Stater
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF KENT STATE UNIVERSITY
High: 74 Low: 60
@kentwired KentWired.com
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2015
Religious Leaders Panel
Kent State Hockey
Women’s Rugby
The Kent State University Library hosted its “Respect for Sacred Versus Freedom of Speech” event Wednesday from 6-8 p.m. to discuss how different religions can coexist.
The Kent State Hockey Club is looking to rebound from its second loss of the season and get back to its winning ways.
As Kent State women’s rugby club team travels to Maryland this weekend for its season finale, sophomore Colleen Carroll can’t wait for another season.
Page 2
Page 4
Page 4
College Avenue houses prepped for demolition Emily Mills and Allie Johnson Managing Editor and City Reporter Several properties on East College Avenue, South Depeyster Street and Tonkin Court are being readied for demolition in preparation of the construction of the new home for the Kent Police Department.
Property acquisition
City officials have been working to acquire 16 structures and two parcels of land since 2014. The structures include 15 houses, most of which were former student housing, and one church, the Church of Christ. The city successfully purchased the 15 houses on East College Avenue, South Depeyster Street and Tonkin Court and two parcels of land — one triangle property on the north side owned by the Kent State Board of Trustees and one land-locked on Tonkin Court — but was unable to purchase the church from its trustees. Landlords and owners strongly opposed giving up their properties, hanging up signs in protest, said Kent city service director Gene Roberts. The signs read, "‘Not for sale at any price,’” Roberts said. However, because the city possesses the power of eminent domain, which allows private property to be taken for public use, the owners had no choice but to reluctantly agree to negotiate the sale of their properties. Roberts said the city paid above market value for most of the houses to avoid having to go to court. However, the amounts were not more than it would have cost to litigate to obtain the property through eminent domain. The city took possession of the final four houses on the north side of East College Avenue on Sept. 15. Steve Mileski, the landlord who owned these four properties, denied repeated requests for an interview. The 15 houses have been boarded up and the area was fenced in last week. “There’s been some break-ins to these structures, some damage; we’ve made some arrests for criminal trespassing,” said Lt. Michael Lewis of the Kent Police Department. “It’s a very unsafe area right now.” There will be two access gates for construction crews on Depeyster Street across from the
Alex Ledet / The Kent Stater The city of Kent purchased several houses on College Avenue, which are scheduled to be torn down to make room for a new police station.
fire station and on College Street. “It’s just better for everybody if they can’t get in there and create some problems,” Roberts said. The bid for the demolition of the houses opened Wednesday, and demolition should begin in January, Lewis and Roberts said. Construction on the new police station will start in the spring and finish in the fall of 2017.
Location
Rumors have floated around that the new police station is being built at the end of College Avenue to put a stop to the parties that
frequently take place there. However, Lewis, said this was not the case. “I won’t deny that it works out well, but that wasn’t our plan,” he said. “We can’t really predict where the parties are going to be year after year… they’re always going to move around, so we’re not going to necessarily pick where we’re going to build our new police department as to where the current party spot it. College Avenue was just the best spot for us for a number of reasons.” The city looked at a few potential locations to build, including on Day Street, across the street
Center for the Visual Arts: Under one roof
from where the current Safety Administration Building is. However, several owners and companies refused to sell their properties, including Quick Weld and Tan Spa, to the city. “Some people thought their property was worth more than what was well within our budget,” Roberts said. He said the College Street site was plan B, because of its location on a state route (59), and its close proximity to the fire station.
SEE DEMOLITION / PAGE 2
Social media connects Warren and Kent State grad Ian Flickinger Administration Reporter
Van Deusen Hall is being converted into the Center for the Visual Arts.
Eric Poston Construction Reporter For the start of the spring semester, the entire School of Art will soon be under one roof for the first time in 50 years.
How it began
In 2009, the university began looking at the Foundation of Excellence program, which helps with fixing up buildings across campus. The art program spread across campus in six different buildings creating a challenge for art students to interact. Michael Bruder, Kent State executive director of facilities, planning and design, said the six different buildings were in need of repair and reaching near the end of their life. Christine Havice, director of the School of Art, said these locations were not ideal to hold classes in for safety reasons. “It was not great for students, especially graduate students. They had very little way to see what their peers were doing in other studios,” Havice said.
The recession caused the budget to be reduced, which raised the question of how the project would be paid for. The project underwent several modifications before the decision to renovate the former heating plant and Van Deusen Hall became finalized. “The solution that we came up with to renovate Van Deusen Hall and the former heating plant and connecting them with an addition fit the best with the overall campus plan goals and financial model,” Bruder said. The coal fired steam plant, built in 1916, turns 100 years old next year and Van Deusen, constructed in 1950, turns 66 years old next year. “The completed building will have three cornerstone dates,” Havice said.
The renovations
The $34.5 million project, broken into two phases, will be completed in December. Phase one, completed in August, consisted of renovating the heating plant. Demolition and abatement of the power plant building took place in late 2013 as three giant boilers were removed along with other hazardous
Nate Manley/ The Kent Stater
materials. The power plant formally housed the center of all of the campus’ utilities, so these utilities had to be rerouted around the building. “The analogy is kind of like open heart surgery,” Bruder said. “You have to keep it all up and running and beating while working on it and relocating some things.” All the windows were removed and the building underwent site work, with the building of a retaining wall. “It’s essentially a new building inside of the old shell,” Bruder said. The power plant and Van Deusen are being connected with new construction outside to join the buildings into one. “Joining two buildings from very different eras and with very different styles also required not only some interesting engineering, but a lot of interesting design decisions,” Havice said. Phase two, currently under construction, consists of connecting the power plant to Van Deusen and renovating the building.
SEE ART / PAGE 2
Rebecca Windover sat on the edge of her seat, waiting for the icecold water to rush over her body, not knowing whether her father-inlaw was still breathing. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge allowed her to not only honor him but also spread awareness for the cause. She saw no better person to call out but her new university president, who still in her early months, had become an active participant on social media. “I was hoping she would respond. Dr. (Beverly) Warren was brand new and so this was like her first time with students really being on campus,” Windover said. “But I also knew she was very student-focused. She wanted to know about students, what they were doing, what they cared about and (she) wanted to help with everything, so I thought it was a great way to find out.” The Ice Bucket Challenge provided a starting point for a relationship that continued to raise awareness for different causes, going beyond Windover ’s graduation last May. Windover brightens up when discussing three things: her passion for education, Kent State’s atmosphere and her social media savvy president — especially because her ultimate aspiration is to follow in Warren’s footsteps and become a university president herself. Neither initially understood the depth of the request: Warren also has a personal connection to the disease — her brother ’s best friend passed away after a battle with ALS — and didn’t think twice about accepting. “I remember it very explicitly: I was in the Listening Tourmonths of my presidency and we were actually traveling back from a regional campus listening tour event and I looked at my (Twitter) account and it was Rebecca’s
tweet inviting me to take on the Ice Bucket Challenge,” Warren said. “I just looked at my team and said ‘You know, we should do this. This is a moment where we can come together and we can kind of share that sense of community.’” However, she initially accepted the challenge without knowing Windover’s story. “Rebecca’s story was very compelling. I didn’t know it when I said yes, because I tweeted ‘You’re on,’ before I knew any of the details,” Warren said. “But then as I got to know Rebecca more than just that simple tweet, it was a special moment.” Windover talks about Warren as if they’re life-long friends, when in fact Windover said their only faceto-face encounter was at the field for the challenge. Their discussions take place on social media, with Windover reaching out to Warren with an idea, and Warren responding accordingly. Warren’s willingness to listen to students’ concerns and then actually help to make a difference are characteristics Windover hopes to embody.
Kassi Jackson / The Kent Stater Rebecca Windover
SEE WINDOVER / PAGE 2