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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2015
KSUPD K-9
Flashes face OU
Humans of PARTA
Dexter, Kent State’s police dog, has reached his one-year mark of service with his handler, Officer Miguel Witt.
Kent State (3-6, 2-3 Mid-American Conference) will travel to Athens, Ohio, on Tuesday to take on Ohio University (5-4, 2-3 MAC). Kent State and Ohio are currently tied for first place in the MAC East standings.
Inspired by the popular Facebook page “Humans of New York,” The Kent Stater explores the diverse stories of students riding on the Campus Loop bus.
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T E E R T S T I M M
N L O C N I L H T SOU
U S R O F S E S O L C T E STRE
T C E J O PR
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Kent State professors set to vote on possible strike
Matthew Merchant / The Kent Stater Members of AFSCME and USAS picket outside the M.A.C. Center on May 1, 2015, as President Beverly Warren is inaugurated inside.
Matthew Merchant Senior Reporter
A mem b Street er of the Are a in fron t of the Wide Prote ct Institu tional A ive Street co ns dvance ment B truction com p uilding Max M on Mo any drives a cCarty nday, N b ov. 9, 2 ulldozer up S / The Kent Stater 015. ummit
Dana Miller and Carson Kleinman Safety/Transportation Reporters South Lincoln Street will remain closed from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day starting Nov. 9 through 20 due to gas line replacements. Dominion East Ohio Gas is replacing the lines in preparation for the upcoming Summit Street improvement project, said Jim Bowling, the city engineer in the division of engineering. The current steel gas lines are 50 to 100 years old, said Bob Climes, a Kent city engineer, and will be replaced with hard plastic lines. Bowling said a detour will be implemented south on Morris Road. Drivers will need to take a right on School Street and a right on South Lincoln Street. The intersection of Summit and
Lincoln will remain open. Although Bowling said he does not expect there will be a significant effect on the traffic on South Lincoln Street, he still suggests the public to leave for their destination earlier than planned. Frank Frazier, a traffic guard who is outside from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. everyday, controls the stop and go, one-lane traffic on Summit Hill in Kent. Students driving through the one-lane traffic often do not pay enough attention because they are distracted by their phones, which causes more delays, Frazier said. “We highly recommend everyone to leave five minutes earlier on your way going to school, to class or going to work,” Bowling said.
The current phase of construction is planned to be finished within the month, but the project will not be completed until 2018. Climes said after this part of the Summit Street project finishes, one-lane traffic would begin again in April. It is estimated traffic will get worse as the project goes on, he said. For those who live on School Street or Morris Road, Bowling said they should expect to see an increase in traffic during that period, but it will not be significant. For questions, contact the Division of Engineering at 330-678-8106. dmill139@kent.edu and ckleinma@kent.edu
University of Missouri president, chancellor resign over race tension Summer Ballentine and Jim Suhr Associated Press
The president of the University of Missouri System and the head of its flagship campus resigned Monday with the football team and others on campus in open revolt over what they saw as indifference to racial tensions at the school. President Tim Wolfe, a former business executive with no previous experience in academic leadership, took "full responsibility for the frustration" students expressed and said their complaints were "clear" and "real." For months, black student groups had complained that Wolfe was unresponsive to racial slurs and other slights on the overwhelmingly white main campus of the state's four-college system. The complaints came to a head two days ago, when at least 30 black football players announced that they would not play until the president left. A graduate student went on a weeklong hunger strike. Wolfe's announcement came at the start of
what had been expected to be a lengthy closeddoor meeting of the school's governing board. "This is not the way change comes about," he said, alluding to recent protests, in a halting statement that was simultaneously apologetic, clumsy and defiant. "We stopped listening to each other." He urged students, faculty and staff to use the resignation "to heal and start talking again to make the changes necessary." Hours later, the top administrator of the Columbia campus, Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin, announced that he would step down at the end of the year and shift to leading research efforts. The school's undergraduate population is 79 percent white and 8 percent black. The state is about 83 percent white and nearly 12 percent black. The Columbia campus is about 120 miles west of Ferguson, Missouri, where Michael Brown was killed last year in a fatal shooting that helped spawn the national "Black Lives Matter" movement rebuking police treatment of minorities.
David Eulitt / Tribune News Service Student protesters on the campus of the University of Missouri in Columbia react to news of the resignation of University of Missouri system President Tim Wolfe on Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. Wolfe resigned under pressure from student protesters who claimed the president had not done enough to address recent raciallymotivated incidents on the campus.
In response to the race complaints, Wolfe had taken little public action and made few statements. As students leveled more grievances this fall, he was increasingly seen as aloof, out of touch and insensitive to their concerns. He soon became the protesters' main target. In a statement issued Sunday, Wolfe acknowledged that "change is needed" and said the university was working to draw up a plan by April to promote diversity and tolerance. But by the end of that day, a campus sit-in had grown in size, graduate student groups planned walkouts and politicians began to weigh in. After the resignation announcement, students and teachers in Columbia hugged and chanted. Sophomore Katelyn Brown said she wasn't necessarily aware of chronic racism at the school, but she applauded the efforts of black student groups. "I personally don't see it a lot, but I'm a middle-class white girl," she said. "I stand with the people experiencing this." She credited social media with propelling the protests, saying it offered "a platform to unite." At a news conference Monday, head football coach Gary Pinkel said his players were concerned with the health of Jonathan Butler, who had not eaten for a week as part of protests against Wolfe. "During those discussions," athletic director Mack Rhoades said, "there was never any talk about anybody losing their job. It was simply and primarily about a young man's life." After Wolfe's announcement, Butler ended his strike. He appeared weak and unsteady as two people helped him into a sea of celebrants on campus. Many broke into dance upon seeing him. Football practice was to resume Tuesday ahead of Saturday's game against Brigham Young University at Arrowhead Stadium, the home of the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs. Canceling the game could have cost the school more than $1 million. Shaun Harper, executive director for the Study of Race and Equity in Education at the University of Pennsylvania, said the black football players "understood that they have the power." "That is so rare," said Harper, who authored a 2013 study on black male student-athletes and racial inequities in NCAA Division I sports. "Not in our modern history have we seen black students collectively flex their muscle in this way."
SEE MISSOURI / PAGE 2
Kent State professors plan to hold an online vote next week to potentially authorize a strike. According to an email sent from the Executive Committee of Kent State’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors, an online vote for members is scheduled for Nov. 18 through Nov. 22. The union will offer an anonymous online vote to members and a poll for non-members, according to the email. According to the same email, a majority vote in favor would “authorize the Executive Committee of AAUP-KSU to call a strike if this is deemed necessary to secure a fair contract.” In September, negotiations over a renewal for the three-year collective bargaining agreement between the union and representatives from the university reached an impasse over medical benefits and salaries. The university wants to require spouses of members to receive health care benefits if offered through outside companies. In terms of raises, the university is offering a 2 percent raise for the first two years and a 1.5 percent raise the third. “We’re sad to see it progress like this, but the difference between the two sides, we haven’t been able to bridge that,” Bill Sledzik, a spokesman for the AAUP-KSU, told Ohio.com on Monday. University spokesman Eric Mansfield declined a comment, cleveland.com reported, saying the university doesn’t comment on ongoing negotiations. AAUP-KSU will hold a member meeting Friday at 3:30 p.m. in room 306 of the Student Center. mmercha1@kent.edu
Faculty Senate approves changes to photo-illustration Megan Hermensky Faculty/Academics Reporter Kent State’s Faculty Senate approved revisions to the photo-illustration major at its November meeting Monday. Currently, the School of Visual Communication Design offers a Bachelor of Science degree in photo-illustration. As of fall 2016, the degree will become a Bachelor of Fine Arts. “Over the years, I think our faculty have felt pretty strongly that the B.S. designation doesn’t fit the nature and scope of the other programs within the school,” said Amy Reynolds, dean of the College of Communication and Information. “One of our goals here is to make this degree standard within the school and the discipline in which it sits. By converting this to a B.F.A, it would allow us to match up with what is the standard degree within the photograph arts.” Reynolds said several degree requirement changes will be made, including changing the total number of credit hours from 126 to 120 and adding new photo-illustration courses, some existing visual communication design courses and two entrepreneurship courses. Course changes and prerequisite updates will also be included in the degree modification. Reynolds said she hopes the degree change will make graduate school more accessible to students and increase retention rates in the program. “We believe it will positively influence our recruiting and retention efforts because there is some amount of confusion around this being positioned as a Bachelor of Science degree,” Reynolds said.
SEE SENATE / PAGE 2
Max McCarty / The Kent Stater Members and guests of the Kent State Faculty Senate listen and wait to hear their name during roll call on Monday, Nov. 9, 2015.
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The Kent Stater
KSUPD K-9 reaches one year of service
Leah Klafczynski / The Kent Stater Bomb dog Dexter sits in the parking lot of the Kent State University Police Department on East Summit Street on Monday, Nov. 24, 2014.
Dana Miller Safety/Transportation Reporter Dexter, Kent State’s police dog, has reached his oneyear mark of service with his handler, Officer Miguel Witt. In November of last year, Witt, a 15-year veteran, teamed up with his now two-and-a-half-year-old Belgian Malinois working dog, thus making him the second K-9 handler at KSUPD. “He’s my first working dog. I’ve had a few family pets, but it’s different,” Witt said. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s good work. I mean, I get to have a dog with me all of the time.” In October of last year, K-9 Coco was the first and only working dog at KSUPD with her handler Officer Anne Spahr. After the police department saw how well it benefited the workforce, they decided to take advantage of the next Homeland Security grant and brought on another K-9. “Coco worked out so well and they saw that, ‘OK now that we do have this dog and the K-9 team with Officer Spahr and Coco... we need another one,’” Witt said. “We had this opportunity through the grant to get one and jumped right on it.”
According to a study done by Ken Trump, the president of National School Safety and Security Services, Ohio is ranked top in school threats. That was one of the main reasons Spahr initiated having explosive detection K-9s join the force, Witt said. Other schools in Ohio offering K-9 services on campus include the University of Akron, Cleveland State University, Youngstown State University, Bowling Green State University, Central State University and Ohio State University. Witt said Kent State was one of the first schools to receive a working K-9. Some of the duties that both Coco and Dexter are responsible for include making sure large venues are clear of any threat before the community fills it. “We do pre-sweeps for all of the home football games (and) some of the more high profile events, depending on...who comes in concert,” Witt said. He said the department is adding pre-sweeps of basketball games to its list of responsibilities starting this year and will continue to conduct one at ceremonies as well. “They’re a great help for concerts, especially because what they do is two hours before the doors open, they bring the K-9 dogs, and they search around the whole gym,” said Kevin Otubu, director of pro-
gramming for Undergraduate Student Government. “They’re another pair of eyes, but the nose is really what signifies them better than humans.” With their outstanding sense of smell, the K-9s fit this kind of job perfectly. Spahr said the explosives they work with are not discernible to the human nose. Humans’ olfactory systems are completely different than dogs'. The canines can detect threatening odors even in the slightest amount. “If you look at any dog, really, their sense of smell is so beyond what ours is,” Spahr said. “(For) example, if I was making a pot of soup right now, you and I would smell soup, but the dog would smell each and every single ingredient in that soup. They can smell through things.” Spahr said the dogs add an extra layer of safety to the community. “(The community) know(s) that when they go to a special event or if there is a dignitary visiting...that we’re there working to keep them safe behind the scenes,” Spahr said. According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, dogs trained in explosives detection are able to uncover up to 19,000 explosives combinations. In addition to becoming assets to the community, Coco and Dexter also added a sense of companionship to the Kent State campus. “Everybody loves the dogs...for the most part everybody’s been extremely positive,” Witt said. “We get requests all of the time, ‘Can you bring the dogs, can we go say hi to them, when are you going to be out doing something?'” At the end of Witt and Spahr’s shift, both of them take their K-9s home with them to further build a relationship. Witt said building trust was not hard to do and that they warmed up to each other quickly. “A lot of play time (is) pretty much all it is, just being with them,” Witt said. “I got Dexter I think the second week that I was at my training. From that point on, he was with me the whole time.” Spahr said the dogs trust their handlers and that it is important to be careful when handling the dog in order to maintain that trust. “(What they do is) pretty incredible, and it’s about reinforcing (that),” Spahr said. Witt said although the dogs are working, they still enjoy what they do. “The dogs love their job,” Witt said. “It is all play time for them.” Both Witt and Spahr agreed working with a K-9 makes their profession a lot more pleasant. “He’s constant therapy,” Witt said. “Sometimes I think going out and playing is more for me to go out and relax with him. He loves it. He’ll play all day, (which) sometimes I need.” dmill139@kent.edu
BUS decades dinner collects goods for those in need
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Students line-dance at BUS' "90s vs. 2000s" community dinner in the Oscar Ritchie Multipurpose Room on Monday, Nov. 9, 2015.
Daria Gaither Diversity Reporter Kent State students gathered in the Oscar Ritchie Multipurpose Room on Monday night for a night of food, fun, dancing and music. In a ‘90s vs. 2000s themed community dinner hosted by Black United Students. Admission was free for all Kent State students with a donation of toiletries, nonperishable food items or clothing. Dressed in their ‘90s and 2000s attire, Students participated in line-dances, a soul-train line and shared old, popular dances. From Page 1
MISSOURI University of Missouri... The protests began after the student government president, who is black, said in September that people in a passing pickup truck shouted racial slurs at him. In early October, members of a black student organization said slurs were hurled at them by an apparently drunken white student. Frustrations flared again during a homecoming parade, when black protesters blocked Wolfe's car, and he did not get out and talk to them. They were removed by police. Also, a swastika drawn in feces was found recently in a dormitory bathroom. The university did take some steps to ease tensions. At Loftin's request, the school announced plans to offer diversity training to all new students starting in January, as well as faculty and staff. On Friday, the chancellor issued an open letter decrying racism after the swastika was found. The governing board said an interim system president would be named soon, and board members vowed Monday to work toward a "culture of respect." The board planned to appoint an officer to oversee diversity and equality at all four campuses. It also promised a full review of other policies, more support for victims of discrimina-
Daisha Overstreet, a junior communications studies major, said the community dinner was a fun opportunity to bring people together. “I think that this was the best opportunity to gather students together for a good cause," Overstreet said. "Events don’t have to be extravagant to get a message across, and I think BUS did a great job tonight.” Chynna Baldwin, a sophomore psychology major and director of community affairs for BUS, said she was excited about the turnout. Baldwin said believes there is more to community service than typical activities. “Community service is more than just helping at homeless shelters, but bringing our community at
tion and a more diverse faculty. Many of the protests have been led by an organization called Concerned Student 1950, which gets its name from the year the university accepted its first black student. Group members besieged Wolfe's car at the parade, and they conducted a weeklong sit-in on a campus plaza. The group demanded that Wolfe resign and "acknowledge his white male privilege." It also sought a 10-year plan to retain more marginalized students and the hiring of more minorities at the university's counseling center. On Sunday, the Missouri Students Association, the student government at the Columbia campus, said in a letter to the board that there had been "an increase in tension and inequality with no systemic support" since Brown's death. Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old, was shot and killed by a white police officer during a struggle. The Justice Department later cleared officer Darren Wilson, concluding evidence backed his claim that he shot Brown in selfdefense after Brown tried to grab the officer's gun. Wolfe, 57, is a former software executive and Missouri business school graduate whose father taught at the university. He was hired as president in 2011, succeeding another former executive with no experience in academia.
Daria Gaither / The Kent Stater
Kent State together too,” Baldwin said. LaQuann Dawson, a junior fashion design and visual communication design major and BUS’ director of public relations, said the event was helpful for the community. BUS plans to host more community events in the future. Dawson said BUS will be hosting a holiday card party Dec. 5. BUS board and committee members will make backpacks with all the donated items. The backpacks will be taken and passed out to people in need in Cleveland. dgaither@kent.edu
From Page 1
SENATE Faculty Senate approves...
Collaboration with other universities Provost Todd Diacon also spoke at the meeting about Ohio’s mandated budget law, which requires the board of trustees for state higher education institutions to evaluate enrollment and performance for courses and programs. For courses with low enrollment, the legislation requires the board to evaluate the benefits of collaborating with nearby higher education institutions to better serve each university. Diacon said the university has eliminated one Ph.D. program, seven master’s programs, 20 bachelor’s programs and three associate degree programs over the last five years. “We are ahead of the curve of course and program review,” he said. “In terms of program enrollment, we examined the number of degrees awarded over a five-year timeframe. With very few exceptions, the number of degrees awarded is healthy.” Kent State is also working to reduce the number of students who drop, fail or withdraw from a course, Diacon said, known as the DFW rate. The Office of Continuing Distance Education is creating an online assessment that students will take before signing up for a specific course, allowing the university to filter which students are more likely to succeed in their initial distance-learning course. “We’ve seen a dramatic reduction in DFW rates over the last three years in courses enrolling more than 100 students,” Diacon said. “We’ve looked at, ‘Do we have appropriate pre-requisites in place for those courses?’ We’ve beefed up supplemental instruction, and we’ve seen a great decline in high-enrollment, high-DFW Associated Press writers Alan Scher Zagier in St. courses.” The next Faculty Senate meeting is Dec. 7. Louis, Ralph D. Russo in New York and Errin Haines mhermen2@kent.edu Whack in Philadelphia contributed to this report.
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The Kent Stater
Opinion
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EDITORIAL BOARD Editor: Hannah Armenta Managing Editor: Emily Mills Senior Editor: Jimmy Miller Opinion Editor: Neville Hardman Sports Editor: Ian Flickinger
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 harmenta@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 OPINIONS.
DREW SHENEMAN’S VIEW
On Architecture fraternity hosts mini lecture series The Severus Chapter of Alpha Rho Chi, Kent State’s architecture fraternity, invited associate dean and professor William Willoughby to speak to students about “Changing Spaces” as part of its mini lecture series on Monday night in Bowman Hall. Keisha Burley is the architecture reporter. Contact her at kburley1@kent.edu.
Cheers&Jeers Cheers to NASA seeking to hire astronauts for the first time in four years to travel to Mars.
Jeers to conservative group One Million Moms protesting an American Girl magazine story about a family with gay fathers.
Rubio could take the Republican nomination Ashley Atherton Columnist Marco Rubio seemed like one of those longshot candidates until CNBC’s debate. After that, everyone, even political novices, knew Rubio’s name. But can he truly stay where he is and continue to rise, thus overtaking the antiestablishment candidates? With the American people voicing their support of antiestablishment candidates like Donald Trump and Ben Carson, Marco Rubio has an uphill battle ahead of him. However, Rubio spiked in polls after the debate and was even declared the “winner” of the CNBC debate by The Washington Post, The New York Times, CNN and Politico. I agree, and the reason I think Rubio has a chance is this: He is the best of both Republican worlds. He’s conservative but not so incredibly conservative to the point that he is considered a member of the Tea Party, such as Sen. Ted Cruz. It is important to note the Tea Party did help Rubio with his rise in politics. But the senator is also moderate enough to intrigue moderate Republicans. An NBC/Wall Street Journal Post found more Republican voters said they could see themselves supporting Rubio than any of the other candidates in the race. At the debate, Rubio came out strong. For each question, he had a strong, substantive answer. He didn’t speak in a fluffy manner — as I like to refer to answers that aren’t actually answers to a question — nor did he skim over his policy ideas like Donald Trump. He came out speaking intelligently and sounded much better than he did at the last debate. Honestly, at the debate prior to CNBC’s, I didn’t think anything of him. I didn’t like his answers, and I really didn’t think he sounded as smart as he should have. But this most recent debate was a turning point for him. Rubio deflected attacks very well and did it in a manner that did not sound like heated knives, like Trump’s attacks and backlashes. When Jeb Bush attacked his fellow Floridian politician and former protégé, he thought he had it in the bag. But Rubio came out the clear winner of that argument. Bush even lost one of his top fundraisers over it. Rubio deflected all attacks better than anyone else on that stage. He’s even repelled attacks from Trump, who clearly has started to see Rubio as a threat; otherwise he would not bother publicly campaigning against him. This week, Trump made a point to bring up Rubio’s credit card record, insinuating he isn’t trustworthy because of that. Rubio defended himself well, releasing his credit card statements and proving although he may have made a mistake, he regrets it and paid off all of his own debts. He even was able to fire back at Trump about some of his business’s past bankruptcies. Rubio has shot up to third in polls, trailing Trump and Carson. If Trump and Carson continue on self-destructive paths — and Carson is especially good at destroying his campaign — then Rubio really does have a shot. If he continues to do well in the upcoming Republican debates, I think it will be easy for him to surpass the two current frontrunners and take the nomination. aatherto@kent.edu
OUR VIEW
We’re not there yet
On June 28, 1969, protests erupted from the streets of Greenwich Village in New York City after police raided the Stonewall Inn. At the time, homosexual sex was illegal in the state, as well as every other, save for Illinois. These protests lasted for the next six days. Marriage equality came to life 46 years later, this past June. In a 5-4 ruling, same-sex marriage became the law of the land. Reactions were mostly positive, prompting hashtags such as #LoveIsLove and #LoveWins. Since then, several situations have popped up that suggest the nation is not following a progressive path. Houston recently dismissed an anti-discrimination law that would have protected the LGBTQ community from workplace, housing and public accommodation discrimination. Opponents targeted the law by suggesting people could take advantage of the law and pose as trans* in order to gain access to a different restroom. The Mormon Church does not allow
children of same-sex couples to join until they turn 18 years old. Even then, they have to move out of their parents’ home, refuse to support same-sex relationships and gain approval from top leaders of the church. These events don’t mean the nation is becoming less progressive, though. Change doesn’t happen overnight. Society isn’t at a place where acceptance is universal yet. Marriage equality was the result of several cases put together from different states, Ohio being one of them. It was a huge step, and people should expect those with opposing views to want laws to revert back to how things were. The discouraging part is these situations are real, and they’re messing with the lives of LGBTQ members, but they do not discount a Supreme Court victory. The above editorial is the consensus opinion of the Kent Stater editorial board, whose names are listed above.
The trouble with “desperate environmentalism” Joshua Galperin Guest Column When I started teaching environmental law and policy, I thought I would work with the next generation of extraordinary environmentalists. I don’t. My students are extraordinary, but many see themselves as “corporate social responsibility consultants,” “ecosystem service managers,” “sustainability leaders,” “industrial efficiency experts,” maybe “clean energy entrepreneurs” — not environmentalists. They avoid that label because they associate it with stalled progress on the issues they care about. But this reinvention is a losing strategy. It is hard to blame anyone for shying away from the environmental movement. Many of my students were infants at the time of the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments, the last time there was national legislative success on an environmental issue. Without a long view, traditional environmentalism can look like a failure. But dormancy does not equal failure. This suite of laws produced real results and is still working, still protecting natural systems and the people who rely on them. After all, we have the hopeful and heroic thinkers who gave us the Clean Air Act to thank for the 2015 Clean Power Plan, the only tool the United States has to enforce national climate change action. But from climate change denial to corporate malfeasance, resistance to enforceable environmental protection is rampant. Seeking any conceivable path forward, many young leaders are exchanging their sympathy for the victims of environmental damage for the concerns of the regulated community. They turn away from enforceability-based approaches and promote more conservative techniques that they hope will impress and persuade reticent and cynical policymakers and power brokers. If this is environmentalism at all, it is “desperate environmentalism,” characterized not by awe, enthusiasm and enjoyment of nature but by appeasement. It relies on utilitarian efficiencies, cost-benefit analyses,
private sector indulgences and anthropocentric divvying of natural resources. The environmentalists of old insisted on transformation, not marginal gains. The Clean Water Act aimed to restore the integrity of all the nation’s waters by eliminating water pollution. Now we quantify whether such improvement is economically efficient, and we politely ask whether an industrial facility might consider reducing its discharge. Perhaps, desperate environmentalists suggest, such a reduction would improve the bottom line by reducing some costs. Suddenly, economic efficiency moves from being one in a collection of cultural values that drive decisions to the only relevant value. Having conceded so much to conservative approaches, desperate environmentalists cannot advocate what is now a radical idea of the past: Government should force polluters to reduce pollution for the sake of healthy natural systems and human enjoyment. The problem is desperate environmentalists strive for a mythical conservative embrace but cooperation from the right is unrealistic. As they move right in an attempt to meet their opponents, the opponents will not, at some undefined threshold of compromise, consent to new policies of protection. Rather, desperate environmentalists could continue to erode their position until environmentalism grows unrecognizable. If desperate environmentalists continue to give up ground in pursuit of unattainable compromise, they will be left with nothing to offer but their opponents’ vision of the world. The present lurch rightward does not have to be permanent. I encourage my students to think big by reminding them of the real and measurable progress that occurred in an age of transformation, not appeasement. I remind them that the greatest successes occurred when environmentalism was not a dirty word. Joshua Galperin is the director of the Yale Environmental Protection Clinic. This guest column originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
Do yourself a favor and travel Bruno Beidecki Columnist You have probably heard it a million times, but maybe not for the right reasons: travel. Yes, visiting the Louvre, exploring the Amazon rainforest and relaxing at a beach in the Bahamas are fun things to do. However, the benefits of traveling go much further than lying by the ocean and taking pictures of the Mona Lisa (which, by the way, is a frustrating experience). Once you travel, or even better, live abroad, you become a completely different person — a better person. During the past five years, I have lived in three different countries and visited more than a dozen. At the end of every single one of these adventures, something about me had completely changed. As I sit down to plan a study abroad program for next fall, it intrigues me that some people are still not convinced they should be traveling as well. The first benefit that deserves to be mentioned is the most obvious: learning a foreign language. By traveling to a non-English speaking country, you have the opportunity to experience an unequal cultural period that will make the process of improving your language skills a lot easier. When you are surrounded by people who do not speak your native language, you are forced to learn theirs. That is the only reason I am fluent in English. When I first came to live in the United States, I had no one to speak Portuguese to. If I did not learn the language, I would be constantly alone and would have trouble completing the most simple tasks, such as ordering food or finding a public restroom. In other words, traveling provides you the chance to immerse yourself and learn or improve your skills in a foreign language. Second, there’s the cultural experience. By traveling, you become more aware and accepting of the diversity that exists around the world. It becomes easier to understand why certain people are more individualistic than others or why eating habits are different depending on where you live. Diversity is everywhere, but it is easy to judge others, especially when you are both sharing an environment. Finally, traveling makes you a more independent, positive, grateful and empathetic person. When you are forced to deal with all of your problems on your own and faced with challenges and adversities you would not encounter back home, you grow. You learn to do things you thought were not possible and realize that you have control over your future. It makes you more grateful because it teaches you to appreciate the little things that were always taken for granted. The home-cooked meal, your comfortable bed, time spent with friends and family. It also makes you empathize more with people who are living in situations you could not previously understand. When you understand why someone acts a certain way, it is easier to be compassionate. Traveling is one of my passions and there are more reasons that make traveling worth it. There are 196 countries in the world. Each one has multiple regions and each region has its own culture, traditions, food and language. How can you be satisfied with experiencing only one or two? If you want to learn, grow, mature, adventure and simply become an overall better person, do yourself a favor and travel. bbeidack@kent.edu
Page 4 | Tuesday, November 10, 2015
The Kent Stater
Sports
Field hockey heads to the University of Massachusetts for the NCAA tournament Wednesday at 2 p.m.
SPORTS EDITOR: IAN FLICKINGER // IFLICKIN@KENT.EDU
Flashes face OU after tough loss to Buffalo
Nate Manley / The Kent Stater Senior cornerback Najee Murray goes for the interception against a BGSU receiver on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2015. BGSU’s receiver took the ball out of Murray’s hands and scored a touchdown to push BGSU’s lead to 31.
Stephen Means II Football Reporter Kent State (3-6, 2-3 Mid-American Conference) will travel to Athens, Ohio, on Tuesday to take on Ohio University (5-4, 2-3 MAC). Kent State and Ohio are currently tied for first place in the MAC East standings. The Flashes are looking to avenge last season’s opening loss to
the Bobcats, 17-14. Senior kicker Josiah Yazdan nailed a 44-yard field goal as time expired to win the game. The Bobcats come into the game ranked fifth in the MAC in passing offense and efficiency, and like the Flashes, have a short turnaround from their previous game but with one extra day of preparation. The Flashes lost to the University at Buffalo on Thursday, 17-18. Senior quarterback Derrius Vick currently ranks 31st in the coun-
try in completion percentage and senior running back Daz’mond Patterson leads the Bobcats with eight rushing touchdowns. Defensively, the Bobcats are led by sophomore linebacker Quentin Poling with two interceptions, two forced fumbles, three sacks and 40 tackles. Senior safety Nathan Carpenter adds two picks, two fumble recoveries and 32 tackles. The game will air on ESPNU with kickoff at 8 p.m. smeans2@kent.edu
Barrett returns as OSU quarterback
Craig Merz Associated Press
J.T. Barrett is once again the starting quarterback for No. 2 Ohio State after returning from a one-game suspension. Urban Meyer announced Barrett as the starter Monday, two days after backup Cardale Jones led the Buckeyes to a 28-14 win against Minnesota. Meyer suspended Barret after the quarterback was cited for driving while impaired. "(Barrett) will be the starter unless he does not have a good week of practice," Meyer said. "That's (the policy) really every week." Barrett was issued a misdemeanor ticket at a sobriety checkpoint Oct. 31 near the Ohio State campus, as his team had an open weekend. His court date is Tuesday morning. "It's a mistake made, a serious mistake by a kid that's really lived most of his life mistakefree," Meyer said. While Barrett was not in uniform Saturday, the captain was very much a presence at the game. Instead of his usual pregame speech, he made one at halftime, when the Buckeyes (9-0, 5-0 Big Ten, No. 3 CFP) led 14-0. "He was with us, around us and kept giving us encouragement," halfback Jalin Marshall said. "That was a good thing that he was there because he is the leader of the offense and he also gets us rolling." Left guard Billy Price said Barrett told the
team to play to its identity. "That shows his maturity. He was a part of the team. He supported us and got Cardale ready for the week," he said. "He handled it like a captain." Jones started the first seven games before Meyer named Barrett the starter against Rutgers, a 49-7 win on Oct. 24. Barrett was 14 for 18 passing for 223 yards and two touchdowns and had 101 yards rushing and two more scores against the Scarlet Knights. In Barrett's absence, Jones completed 12 of 22 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown vs. Minnesota. He also had 92 yards on the ground, including a 38-yard score with less than two minutes left in the game to seal the win, his 11th in as many career starts. That’s why Meyer said sending Jones back to the bench was difficult. "It's never an easy call because one guy had his 11th win, 250 all-purpose yards," Meyer said. "(But) I think it's the right thing at this time." Braxton Miller, who served as the backup to Jones last week, is expected to play despite sustaining a sore neck and leaving the Minnesota game when his helmet slammed the turf after being tackled. "Braxton's as tough a receiver as I've ever coached, so I knew it wasn't serious," wide receivers coach Zach Smith said. "I was never concerned that it would be a ding that would hold him out. It would have to be something serious to keep that kid off the field."
Adam Cairns / Tribune News Service Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett (16) runs away from Penn State defensive end Carl Nassib (95) during the fourth quarter at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2015. Ohio State won, 38-10.
Tuesday, November 10, 2015 | Page 5
The Kent Stater
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HOROSCOPE By Nancy Black
Today’s Birthday (11/10/15) Unite for common good this year. Sharp money-management practices fatten accounts. Collaborate to amplify individual power. New passion leads to a change in plans after springtime eclipses. A group discovery next autumn leads to a shift in a romance. It’s all for love. To get the advantage, check the day’s rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.
Aries (March 21-April 19) Today is an 8. News travels fast today. Long distance communications flow, with Mercury sextile Pluto. Group efforts bear fruit. Get your networks involved. Wheeling and dealing may be required. Put away provisions for the future. Others follow your lead.
BLISS
Taurus (April 20-May 20) Today is an 8. Work with a partner over the next few days. Conversation leads to powerful possibilities. Accept a generous offer. Investigate new sources of income. Inviting works better than demanding. Spend money to make money. Invest in your dream.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Today is an 8. Imaginative work pays well. Study the situation before taking action. Look from a different perspective for an enlightening view. Communicate with team members and allies. Once you see what’s underneath, you can build it stronger.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Today is a 6. Be careful what you say publicly. Leave nothing to chance. Reveal your ideas in private, and get feedback from your inner circle. They can see your blind spots. Take important news into consideration. Work together on messaging.
Gemini (May 21-June 20) Today is a 9. Good news comes from far away. Profit from meticulous service. Consider an option that seems beyond reach. The workload could get intense. Form a creative partnership. A crazy idea works. More planning is a good idea.
Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) Today is a 9. Bring in the money. Be persuasive, not aggressive. Learn quickly. Discuss developments, and plan details. Consider all possibilities. The more projects you finish, the more new projects arrive. Spend time on or near the water.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) Today is an 8. Keep a dream alive by sharing it. Don’t let anyone take the wind out of your sails. Imagine your vision realized. Take one step and then another. Invite participation, and make good use of the talent that shows up.
Cancer (June 21-July 22) Today is a 7. Love is the prize today. Stick with what worked before. A small investment now produces high returns. Invest in your business, in a labor-saving tool. Practice your skills and talents. Sports, arts and games with friends and family delight.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Today is a 7. Dreams reveal your true feelings. Meditation and prayer are useful, especially when pessimism seeps in. The divinity of forgiveness lies in the freedom it provides. Let go of a position that’s been keeping you stuck. Open your heart.
Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) Today is a 7. Get into a domestic phase. Upgrade practical infrastructure. Plan well before spending. Make sure water systems are in good repair. Listen to someone you love. You may not agree on everything, but you can find common ground. Compromise.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Today is a 7. Slow down and contemplate. Envision the future. Your interest is stimulated. Learning is tons of fun and cheap. Write or give a speech or presentation. You’re quickly becoming the expert. A group extends you an invitation.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) Today is a 9. Your experience leads to opportunities. Set long-range goals (including vacations). Finish an old job, and clean up afterwards. Consider a power play carefully before choosing your moves. Public recognition is possible. Seek answers in your dreams.
DOT GAME
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Page 6 | Tuesday, November 10, 2015
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The Kent Stater
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Humans of PARTA
Inspired by the popular Facebook page “Humans of New York,” The Kent Stater explores the diverse stories of students riding on the Campus Loop bus.
Ariel Schaefer
Nick Hunter
As a criminal justice major, how do you feel about Ferguson and other events surrounding police brutality?
What’s the hardest decision you’ve ever had to make?
Criminal Justice Junior
Journalism Freshman
“I was born with a genetic medical condition called cystic fibrosis, and it has caused breathing problems throughout my life. These past couple of years, I have been working up to be put on a list for a lung transplant. A year ago when I had to sign the paperwork to decide to officially go on the list and have the potential of having my entire life be put on hold to do it, I’d say that was the hardest decision I ever had to make.”
“I wanted to be a police officer, but recent events have scared me. It got too real. I don’t think that these killings are justified, I don’t think they are necessary, but at the same time, I’m not there. I can’t feel what they are feeling. It’s a hard situation to think about, and I tend to stray away from it, but I can definitely tell you one thing: I do not want to be a police officer anymore.”
Yutong Xia
Elise Hart
Marketing Freshman
English Sophomore
What do you miss about your hometown of Beijing, and what do you like here?
What’s your favorite book, and how did it inspire you to study literature? “My favorite book is Ghost Girl by Torey L. Hayden. It’s about the true story of this special education teacher who has a student who really shouldn’t be in the program, but there is definitely something wrong. She finds out she has been getting abused, and she figures out how to save this kid. I want to be a teacher someday. I want to help people and learn the psychology behind helping people. This book put me where I am today.”
“Coming here was a big change. The weather is a big, big change. There is bad weather here. American people are so friendly, however. They always say hello. But what I miss the most is the food in China. Wow Bao is so-so.”
Battle of the Bands coming Friday MaKayla Brown / The Kent Stater First-place winner Peach performs at The Kent Stage for Battle of the Bands on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2014.
Konstantinos Kasamias Exploratory Freshman
What are you passionate about? “While I’m undecided, I’m leaning toward public health. I want to help people in hospitals and make them better. I find that very rewarding. My mother is always caring for people, and I feel like I take after her in a way. Both my parents came here as immigrants, so they know how to work hard and treat others well. It’s been embedded in me to make people better, if that makes sense.” Reporting by Rachel Duthie. Contact her at rduthie@kent.edu. Photos by Alex Ledet / The Kent Stater
Kent to host reggae festival Friday Bailey Purpura Downtown Reporter
MaKayla Brown / The Kent Stater Pipedream performs at The Kent Stage for Battle of the Bands on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2014.
Bailey Purpura Downtown Reporter The Kent State Explorers will host the second annual Battle of the Bands 2015 this Friday, Nov. 13 at the Kent Stage starting at 6 p.m. The Kent Stage is known for having bands, performances and plays for the community of Kent and surrounding areas to enjoy. Kent State student bands will be competing for a cash prize.
Each band will get to choose three or four songs of their choice to perform at the event. The audience will vote for the band they liked best. The band with the most votes will win. The Kent State Explorers is a campus adventure club focused on outdoor activities, like hiking, biking and rock-climbing. “The show is designed to raise money for our spring backpacking trip," said Amanda Monarchino,
president of Kent State Explorers, in an email. “We hope to attract all types of people in the audience. We have a variety of musical genres performing, including rock, rap, alternative and indie folk.” According to the Kent State Explorers Facebook page, tickets are $7 to purchase through a band or through the club. Tickets will cost $9 the night of the show. bpurpura@kent.edu
Downtown Kent is set to host Kent’s Reggae, Island and Jam Band Music Festival this Friday at various locations in the area. Hosted by Main Street Kent and Crooked River Arts Council, 15 participating locations, including Ray's Place, The Loft, Secret Cellar and Water Street Tavern will host performances beginning at 5 p.m. and ending at 1 a.m. Admissions to these performances are
free of charge. This year’s lineup includes internationally acclaimed reggae artist Carlos Jones; Gypsies in the Palace, a Jimmy Buffett cover band; and Steelin’ Hearts Pan Duo, a steel drum band. Derek Rudy, publicist for Main Street Kent, said the event is for all ages and is not just reggae music. “It’s a great way to take a break from the cold weather and warm up to some island tunes,” Rudy said. bpurpura@kent.edu