The Kent Stater - February 26, 2018

The

Kent Stater

@KentWired

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER | MONDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2018

‘IT NEVER STOPPED ME’

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Michaela Romito balances gymnastics and Crohn’s disease 3

Identifying the factors behind school shootings

4

What you missed from Kent State’s TEDx Talks

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Women’s basketball grasps Wagon Wheel win over Akron

2 The Kent Stater

Monday, February 26, 2018

NEWS

Kent City Schools Superintendent George Joseph addresses parents’ concerns about school safety

Jackson Memorial Middle School student dies from gunshot injury

David Williams Safety Reporter

Lydia Taylor Editor

Parents of Kent City Schools students raised their concerns about school safety procedures to Superintendent George Joseph Wednesday evening at the Kent Free Library.

“All of us are needing to lock arms and deal with this situation so our kids can continue to be safe in our schools,” Joseph said.

Joseph began the meeting by taking a moment of silence for the students killed in recent school shootings. He went on to explain what specific measures have been put in place at Kent City Schools.

These include ensuring all exterior doors are locked, the installation of buzzer systems at doors, 24-hour motion sensor cameras installed in all school buildings and an SRO (Student Resource Officer), Matt Butcher, who was appointed after a thorough interviewing process.

The district conducts at least three lockdown exercises each year.

“A.L.I.C.E. empowers our staff and students to do more than stand in a corner and wait,” said Jim Soyers, the director of Business Services for the Kent City School District and a Kent State alumnus.

The district also maintains a regular dialogue with the Kent City Police and Fire Departments. Kent City Schools uses the A.L.I.C.E. program, a multi-tier crisis intervention and management program that is also required for freshmen at Kent State.

The schools also have radio communications with Kent Police and can go live inside dispatch to more effectively communicate to officers what’s going on in the event of an emergency.

Joseph also addressed new programs being implemented in the school district. Kent City Schools has a district initiative called the Red Flags program, which is implemented from pre-K through grade 12. The Red Flags program teaches students how to identify when something seems out of place.

This year, through the help of grants, Kent

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The seventh-grade student who sustained a self-inflicted gunshot wound Tuesday at Jackson Memorial Middle School died Wednesday afternoon.

The police and Summit County Coroner’s Office are still investigating the incident.

Before 8 a.m. Tuesday morning, the school went into a four-hour lockdown after hearing the gunshot. Police said it happened in a boy’s restroom with a .22 long rifle. Authorities soon deemed the students and staff safe and began releasing students to their parents shortly after 12 p.m. All Jackson Local Schools had been shut down and students were dismissed.

Authorities asked all students and staff to leave personal belongings inside the school, including backpacks, until Wednesday morning.

Jackson Police gave a press conference at 2 p.m. Tuesday, revealing the student had “distractionary devices” in his backpack, but nothing resembled explosives. It is unclear why the student brought the gun to school.

Superintendent of Jackson Local Schools Chris DiLoreto said he notified all parents of the incident as soon as the school went into lockdown via notifications.

Screenshot still from TV2 video of Kent City Schools Superintendent George Joseph Friday. Taylor Hudak / TV2

City Schools implemented into their health curriculum a new approach to intervention called SBIRT (Screening Brief Intervention Referral to Therapy), in which issues such as drug abuse, depression and mental health are referred to trained professionals outside of the district.

The program utilizes nursing professionals from both Kent State’s School of Nursing and Akron Children’s Hospital.

The program is currently funded for three years, after which Joseph hopes to earn more grants to fund it further and more broadly, spanning grades five through 12.

Teachers and parents of students were quick to raise concerns for their children's safety. One teacher proposed increasing the number of counselors in the schools to more effectively address the large student body.

Kent City Schools currently has one counselor in every building. Parents brought up questions about what happens after you see something and say something, what

training is given to staff and faculty and at what point an event goes from being a school matter to a police matter.

Parents also discussed the possibility of adding Student Resource Officers to every school in the district. The current SRO is at Theodore Roosevelt High School for a majority of the day and is at Stanton Middle School for the remainder.

“Once it’s in the school building, it’s too late,” Beth Robb, a mother of two Kent City Schools students, said about weapons being brought into schools.

Joseph took note of the parent’s responses and assured everyone present that their concerns would be heard and addressed by himself and the administration.

This meeting was the first “Coffee and Conversation” since the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, which left 17 dead. The last meeting had eight in attendance. This week’s meeting had over 50 parents and teachers.

Contact Lydia Taylor at ltaylo49@kent.edu.

Contact David Williams at dwill191@kent.edu.

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Preventative measures, warning signs of mass shootings David Williams Safety Reporter As of Feb. 25, there have been a total of 19 incidents involving gunfire on school grounds.

Seven of these occurred during school hours, five resulted in deaths or injuries. The recent school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, claimed the lives of 17 students and left 14 injured. This prompted significant public outcry in the debates over gun control reform and mental health, as schools and parents scramble to find the best ways to protect their children.

But warning signs and red flags of potential mass shooters can vary. In 2004, the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Department of Education released “The Final Report and Findings of the Safe School Initiative” in which they attempted to find a profile for the average school shooter.

“There is no accurate or useful ‘profile’ of students who engaged in targeted school violence,” the report found. “Although all of the attackers in this study were boys, there is no set of traits that described all — or even most — of the attackers. Instead, they varied considerably in demographic, background and other characteristics.”

Using the work done in 2004, along with the help of a graduate student, sociology professor Anthony Vander Horst compiled his best attempt at a profile of the “mass shooter in education.”

They found mass shooters in schools are typically white, experienced a major loss (a girlfriend, a parent or other family member), have some kind of mental health issue, are prescribed or are taking some kind of psychotropic or antipsychotic drugs and possess an ideation that they are seeking to cause harm to themselves or to others.

In many cases, this ideation has come in the form of social media posts or some other sort of threat prior to the incident.

Most of these signs applied to many mass shooters throughout history, including Eric Harris, Dylan Klebold, Seung-Hui Cho, James Holmes, TJ Lane, Adam Lanza, Nikolas Cruz and even those as far back as Charles Whitman.

“If somebody would have given me the paperwork on [Nikolas] Cruz, I would’ve said, ‘Get somebody on him now; he’s going to shoot up a school,’” Vander Horst said.

The question of mental health is one that is often raised in response to school shootings, but it goes back far before they became so prevalent. On Oct. 31, 1963, just weeks before his assassination, President John F. Kennedy signed the Community Mental Health Act. At the time, nearly all mental health facilities in the U.S. were managed by the federal government out of hospitals. The act aimed to establish mental

health facilities which all Americans could access when needed so they could treat their illnesses while still working and living at home.

Kennedy said the act would build 1,500 mental health facilities around the country and would reduce the number of people living in mental institutions by half.

However, half of these facilities weren’t constructed. Those that were built were not fully funded and as such, couldn’t adequately treat people. Despite this, the population of mental health facilities was cut by 90 percent.

According to the Ohio Revised Code Sections 5122.01 and 5122.10, “Mental Illness” is defined as a “substantial disorder of thought, mood, perception, orientation or memory that grossly impairs judgement, behavior, capacity to recognize reality or ability to meet the ordinary demands of life.”

Courtesy of the FBI

The ORC also states that a person may be taken into custody if that person, because of their illness, “represents a substantial risk of physical harm to self, [...] represents a substantial risk of physical harm to others as manifested by evidence of recent homicidal or other violent behavior” or “would benefit from treatment for the person’s mental illness and is in need of such treatment as manifested by evidence of behavior that creates a grave and imminent risk to substantial rights of others or the person.”

Steps have been taken and procedures put in place to attempt to prevent these potential incidents from happening. For example, Kent State has a program called Step Up and Speak Out, which helps faculty and staff identify if there is an issue with a student.

The program does not exclusively deal with potential shooters, but also addresses depression, anxiety and other issues and has

a list of resources on and off campus.

Kent State also has what they call the Care Team. According to Lt. Chris Jenkins with KSUPD, the Care Team is a cross-divisional crisis management committee of faculty and staff which meet on a weekly basis to assess any potential problems with students and address them accordingly.

The Care Team is chaired by Kent State Dean of Students Lamar Hylton. Referrals to the Care Team may be made by contacting the Dean of Students at 330-672-4050 for a unified institutional response.

“I think it would do a great service to this country if we took the people who are severely mentally ill and got them the treatment they need,” Vander Horst said, “because it seems very toxic to have severely mentally ill people in a Second Amendment culture.”

Contact David Williams at dwill191@kent.edu.

4 The Kent Stater

Monday, February 26, 2018

TEDx brings panel of students, experts together Madeline Scalzi Student Life Reporter Session One For the second year in a row, Saturday morning TEDxKentState kicked off with excitement and intrigue as guests of all ages filled the Kiva to learn about a “Pale Blue Dot.” Cason Brunt, the director of Student Support Services and Academic Diversity Outreach, entered the stage and spoke first about personal hardships. Evan Delahanty, the founder and CEO of Peaceful Fruits, followed Brunt’s presentation.

Delahanty spoke about capitalism and focused the majority of his speech on climate change’s place in today's business model.

“Social enterprise is the idea that an organization can maximize for community well-being and profit at the same time,” Delahanty said. “You’ve got to make money, but if you don’t take care of your community while you’re doing that, you are gonna run out of nice places to spend that money sooner or later.”

The final speeches of the first session were by Nikki Costa, a high school English teacher at Shaker Heights, and Brazilian journalism student Bruno Beidacki.

Costa spoke about “loving your tribe,” with a focus on helping young women understand the phrase.

“We often get really hung up on who we want to join our community — who we need to join our community — but what we often don’t pay attention to is ‘if you build it they will come,’ and we don’t get to choose who shows up to that," Costa said. “Honor who shows up by choosing to show up to lead for them.”

Beidacki, who is also the opinion editor for The Kent Stater, worked as a Pulitzer Center crisis reporting fellow in Macau, an autonomous region on the south coast of China, and spoke about the importance of exposure to different cultures.

“Exposure to diversity is the main way that we can educate people into the different culture that exist in our world,” Beidacki said.

Session Two Senior nursing major Colten Dalton opened the second session by telling the audience about his life as the child of an addict.

“As a society we often think about the addicts themselves and wonder what we can do to help them, but we still forget that addiction affects more than just the users,” Dalton said. “As the son of an addict, societal statistics and expectations are attached to me.

I am choosing not to become those statistics because I am not my mom’s choices.”

Dalton said by moving in with his aunt and uncle at 18 years old, he learned how to

TedxKentState speaker Ile-Ife Okantah speaks on code-switching and ebonics Friday. This year’s TedxKentState theme was Pale Blue Dot. Alexander Wadley / The Kent Stater

make better choices away from his parents and came to understand the value of being in a healthy relationship.

The next speaker, senior psychology major Jessica Kotik, focused on reducing daily stress and anxiety through mindful meditation.

Kotik told the audience how research shows that mindful meditation can decrease stress, anxiety, depression and other aggressive and negative behaviors, while increasing attention, awareness, overall wellbeing and productivity.

She then asked the audience to participate in a mini mindfulness session meant to focus their minds and relax their bodies. Starting at their feet, Kotik asked the participants to relax the individual segments of their bodies one at a time, until they relaxed the neck and facial muscles.

“The best part about mindfulness is that it’s free, it’s flexible and it’s attainable,” Kotik said. “Mindfulness is a tool, and it should be used as such.”

TedxKentState speaker Ile-Ife Okantah speaks on code-switching and ebonics Friday. This year’s TedxKentState theme was Pale Blue Dot. Alexander Wadley / The Kent Stater

The third speaker, Oleg Lougheed, started his presentation by telling the heartwrenching story of his early childhood in Russia as the son of a neglectful alcoholic. He also told the audience about his struggle to stay fed.

He described the night he awoke with pains from malnourishment. Unable to go back to sleep in a bedbug-infested bed, Lougheed searched desperately for change in his birth mother’s gray rain jacket to purchase a small bite to eat. Out of options, he decided to steal a loaf of bread in order to survive.

He went on to explain while he regrets the action he took today, he does not regret the lesson he learned.

“Find a way to maximize the resources within your reach,” Lougheed said.

He then went on to tell the audience about his second lesson of success: envision a better day.

After enduring years of punishments in the forms of physical and mental abuse, Lougheed still found hope in the vision of a better day.

He explained the confusion he felt by accepting a new identity and giving up his name and his past to be adopted by an American family.

Lougheed concluded with his fourth principle: Become something bigger than yourself.

Session Three After a quick lunch break, the coordinator for the Office of Academic Diversity Outreach in the College of Communication and Information, Amanda Leu, took the stage.

Leu’s speech was centered around how she feels society has failed to see tattoos as

Monday, February 26, 2018

more than a simple body modification.

“We all get tattoos for different reasons but I think there’s one thing all tattoo enthusiasts have in common, we definitely don’t just see our tattoos as simple body modification,” Leu said. “My tattoos are critically important aspects of who I am as a person and how I express myself to the rest of the world.”

Following Leu, Shawn Rohlin, the director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation, told the audience about his research into determining whether police officers racially profile.

He explained going into his research that he pondered two questions: whether officers exhibit learning by doing and, more importantly, if officers’ proclivity to racially profiling is a function of their experience.

Through his research, Rohlin discovered that officers who have been on the police force for more than five years are tremendously less likely to show racial profiling tendencies.

“If it’s true that officers are getting better, it ends up leading to really important policy modifications,” Rohlin said. “Bias and profiling can actually change.”

The last speaker of the session, senior magazine journalism major Ile-Ife Okantah, brought the audience to their feet with her riveting story about code switching and cultural diversity in America.

She described an impactful experience she had while visiting a black friend from Kent in the South Side of Chicago.

“Even though I’m black, his reality wasn't my reality,” she said. “What I took away was how seamlessly he code switched based on how he navigates his environment in Kent. I had no idea that he came from that place.”

TedxKentState speaker Jessic Kotik does a quick demonstration of traditional meditation during her talk on mindfulness meditation Friday. This year’s TedxKentState theme was Pale Blue Dot. Alexander Wadley / The Kent Stater

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TedxKentState speaker Amanda Leu reveals her “art collection” during her talk on tattoo discrimination Friday. This year’s TedxKentState theme was Pale Blue Dot. Alexander Wadley / The Kent Stater

Okantah concluded by explaining the difficulties of learning to “speak white” for people who have been raised speaking ebonics within the black community. She encouraged listeners to remove their prejudices and stop making white a standard for intelligence.

Session Four Pam Harr, a high school English and women’s studies teacher and adjunct professor for the School of Communication Studies, opened session four with a picture of Brock Turner. On March 30, 2016, the state of California found Turner guilty of three felonies involving sexual assault and rape.

Harr then told the audience about the two Swedish graduate students who saw the assault taking place and intervened to help the unconscious girl.

“Doing something can be as simple as deciding to be the sober wingman or wingwoman when you and your friends go out or helping someone access the healing they need that’s available within our community,” Harr said.

She then explained the second solution to

helping: delegating.

While she explained that pouring a drink on someone might not be the best idea, distractions such as asking someone to dance or offering them food may be more reliable ways to alleviate a potentially dangerous situation.

“Nachos are always good, sexual assault — not so much,” Harr said.

To conclude the day of inspiring people and their stories, Michael Gershe, a survivor of a drunk driving crash which killed his mother and nearly himself as an infant, told the remarkable story of his near-death experience through the use of comedy.

He explained how he uses humor to make himself and the people he is around feel alive.

Gershe said he keeps an 8-by-10 photograph of him and his mother on his front door to remind himself to make someone laugh every day and to make a difference in someone's life.

Contact Madeline Scalzi at mscalzi1@kent.edu.

6 The Kent Stater

Monday, February 26, 2018

SPORTS

Avery’s free throws cap defensive stalemate in Flashes win Cameron Hoover Sports Editor

Things looked bleak for Kent State when Jalen Avery caught an inbounds pass with seven seconds left against Bowling Green on Saturday.

Demajeo Wiggins had just scored his 13th and 14th points from the free-throw line to put the Falcons up, 63-62. Wiggins had been a problem inside for the Flashes all game, finishing with 14 points and 13 rebounds, his 14th double-double of the season and fifth in a row.

Kent State had shot the ball poorly most of the night, especially in an uncharacteristically low-scoring second half.

In the second half, the Flashes had shot 38.1 percent from the field, including 33.3 percent from three-point range and 52.6 percent from the free-throw line.

With Adonis De La Rosa (fouled out) and Kevin Zabo (fouled out and injured) stuck on the bench, Avery wasted no time.

The junior point guard went from one basket to the other in just four seconds, driving to the hoop for a layup. The ball bounced around the rim and then out, but a referee called a foul on Bowling Green’s Dylan Frye. He had made 3-of-4 free throws himself in the final two minutes.

Avery stepped to the line with 3.9 seconds left.

Kent State coach Rob Senderoff said the following moments are what makes — or breaks — a winning point guard.

“Late in the game,” Senderoff said, “the point guard has to be able to make those type of plays.”

Avery, who has made leadership and performance in close games an emphasis this season, coolly knocked down both free throws to put the Flashes on the high side, 64-63.

Bowling Green’s Antwon Lillard received the ensuing inbounds pass and got a good look at a three-pointer over a stumbling Desmond Ridenour. The ball went halfway in, but popped back out as the buzzer sounded.

Kent State (14-15, 8-8 Mid-American Conference) had eked out a much-needed win over Bowling Green (16-13, 7-9 MAC), 64-63.

Avery said he appreciated the pressure.

The junior point guard scored all 16 of his points in the last 4:47 of Kent State’s 78-68 win over Akron on Feb. 17.

“I just think that’s a point guard’s thing,” Avery said. “Being a point guard, you have to step up in clutch situations. You have to make free throws. I have to be able to uplift my team, even when we’re not playing as

Kent State freshman forward BJ Duling dunks off a pass from Jaylin Walker in the Flashes' 64-63 win over Bowling Green Saturday at the M.A.C. Center. Both of Duling's baskets were dunks. Alexander Wadley / The Kent Stater

well as we can. That’s just my job.”

Senderoff said the final seconds wouldn’t have mattered if it weren’t for his team’s second-half defensive dominance, which he called “the story of the game."

After allowing Bowling Green to shoot 50 percent from the floor in the first half, Kent State held the Falcons to just 21.1 percent shooting in the second, including 1-for-12, including 8.3 percent from three-point range.

“In my eyes, we did a better job in transition,” Senderoff said of his team’s defense.

“In the first half, a lot of their baskets were transition baskets. I thought we tried to do a good job defensively in the first half, but when you give up that many transition baskets, it

makes a big difference. To me, it starts with our ability in the second half to get back in transition and make it harder for them.”

One of the reasons the Flashes were so potent defensively down the stretch was sophomore forward Danny Pippen, whose seven blocks set a new career high. Four of those blocks came in the final minute.

“I was just trying to impact the game in the best way I can,” Pippen said. “Blocking shots is really my thing. That’s what I do. I was just trying to be everywhere, and that’s what we needed tonight.”

Zabo broke out of his mini slump to lead the Flashes with 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting.

Pippen added 11 points and eight rebounds.

De La Rosa, Avery and Jaylin Walker rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 apiece.

Freshman guard Justin Turner led the Falcons with 17 points, while Frye added 14.

Lillard struggled on the night, adding nine points on 2-for-12 shooting.

The win secures at least a first-round home game in the MAC Tournament for Kent State, and a first-round bye is not completely out of the question for the Flashes.

Kent State returns to the court to host Miami (OH) (15-14, 7-8 MAC) in the final regular season home game at 7 p.m. Saturday at the M.A.C. Center.

Contact Cameron Hoover at choove14@kent.edu.

Monday, February 26, 2018

KentWired.com 7

Flashes hold on for Wagon Wheel win Cameron Hoover Sports Editor Kent State’s defense stifled Akron all game, and the Flashes offense did just enough down the stretch to survive a furious Zips comeback for a Wagon Wheel Challenge win, 60-55.

Kent State (12-16, 5-11 Mid-American Conference) dominated the first half, holding Akron (8-19, 2-14 MAC) to just 18 points on 25 percent shooting, including 0-for-10 on three-point attempts at halftime.

The Zips came alive in the fourth quarter when junior forward Fredniqua Walker scored a career-high of eight points.

With around two minutes left, Alyssa Clay hit her second three-pointer of the game from the right corner to cut the Flashes lead to 55-53. Kent State struggled to take care of the basketball for much of the fourth quarter, turning the ball over seven times in the final period.

Despite the team’s sloppy execution down the stretch, Kent State forward McKenna Stephens, a graduate forward celebrating her second Senior Day festivities, knew the Flashes would come out on top.

“We couldn’t lose to Akron on our home court, as seniors,” Stephens said. “It was just taking care of the ball.

We turned it over, then turned it over, then turned it over.

That’s why they made that comeback. We just had to take care of the ball.”

Senior forward Jordan Korinek noted the team’s mental strength as one of the reasons for the close win.

“We just didn’t panic and stayed composed,” Korinek said, “knowing we’re still going to win the game.”

The Flashes stayed just composed enough to hold on for the five-point win after junior guard Alexa Golden sealed the win with free throws in the final seconds.

The win snaps a five-game losing streak for Kent State. The Flashes held Akron to 31.7 percent shooting on the day, including 19 percent from beyond the arc, causing 13 Zips turnovers and holding a 44-34 rebounding advantage.

“I just thought we played hard,” Kent State coach Todd Starkey said of his team’s defensive performance. “I thought we listened to our gameplan. We did a good job of talking. It wasn’t like we had this elaborate gameplan. We just had to play better.”

No Akron players scored in double-digits, but Haliegh Reinoehl and Megan Sefcik led the Zips with nine points each.

The Flashes shot 15-for-16 from the line as a team.

Korinek (16 points and 10 rebounds) and Stephens (14 points and 11 rebounds) each recorded double-doubles, something they joked was planned because it was Senior Day, and, in all likelihood, their last game against crosstown rivals Akron.

“It feels surreal; it feels like it went like that,” Korinek said, snapping her fingers for effect. “It’s already the end of our careers. It’s been a journey with a lot of ups and downs, but here we are.”

The Flashes return to the court to host MAC East division leaders Buffalo (23-4, 14-2 MAC) at 7 p.m.

Wednesday at the M.A.C. Center.

Contact Cameron Hoover at choove14@kent.edu.

Senior forward Jordan Korinek drives to the basket for two of her game-high 16 points during Kent State's 60-55 win over Akron Saturday at the M.A.C. Center. Austin Mariasy / Kent State University

8 The Kent Stater

Monday, February 26, 2018

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KentWired.com 9

COVER

Defying gravity: Crohn’s disease can’t ground Michaela Romito’s gymnastics career Libby Schrack Sports Reporter Michaela Romito was only a freshman in high school when her colon took gymnastics away from her.

The sport had been part of her life since she was one year old, when her mother, a former gymnast herself, took her to Gymnastics World in Broadview Heights.

In a few years, she was training there under former Olympian Dominique Moceanu and dreaming about the Olympics herself.

By the time Romito was in high school, competing in college seemed more realistic. But that year, her body had other ideas.

The gymnast began noticing rashes on her shoulder blades. Then, she started vomiting at least every other day. She lost her appetite and started losing weight — 30 pounds.

She tried to keep practicing, but fatigue got the best of her, prohibiting her from moving forward.

Finally, her mom took her to a doctor, who diagnosed shingles and prescribed antibiotics. That didn’t sound right to her mother, a nurse, but they went ahead with the medication.

Romito didn’t get better. Three months later, she went back with the same issues. This time, the doctor thought she had food poisoning.

After her high school state meet in the beginning of March, Romito finally went to the Cleveland Clinic to get further testing done.

The doctor called her on a Saturday.

“This can’t be good,” Romito remembers thinking. “Doctors don’t call on Saturdays.”

That was the first time she heard the words “Crohn’s disease."

“At first, I didn’t even know what it was,” Romito said. “But my mom knew and started crying.”

Senior Michaela Romito practices her Floor Dance routine in the gymnastics practice room in the M.A.C. Center Friday. Romito suffers from Crohn’s disease, an autoimmune disease attacking the digestive tract. Alexander Wadley / The Kent Stater

Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel disease that makes it difficult to digest food. The disease also causes severe abdominal pain and fatigue.

She and her mother met with the doctor that Monday for two hours.

Romito began to realize just how serious this was. Her first thought: “How long will I be out of gymnastics?”

Her doctor knew gymnastics was her passion, her love, her happiness. So they began doing all that they could.

“We started with steroids,” Romito said. “I felt better and wanted to go back right away. He told me my bones weren’t strong enough.”

So in order for her body to be strong enough to endure workouts, her doctor decided to switch her to a medication called infliximab, better known by its brand name Remicade. Romito refers to this medication as her “super charge.”

Once a month, Romito goes to the Clinic for an IV infusion of the drug, which makes sure her stomach doesn’t get inflamed. It also gives her more energy, she said.

Romito was away from gymnastics from March of her freshman year to the start of her sophomore year of high school. She missed it so much she got counseling from a psychologist.

These are very important years in the sport when getting recruited by colleges.

The time off gymnastics, new medication cycle, missing school and not feeling 100 percent was a lot for Romito to handle.

“That was the hardest part, having to adjust to everything,” Romito said. “It all happened in the prime of my gymnastics career, and I was really scared I wasn’t going to get recruited by a lot of colleges because of it.”

But she stepped back into gymnastics her sophomore year and helped her BrecksvilleBroadview Heights High School team win a state championship.

Life never got easy, Romito said, but it did get easier. By her junior year, she started to decide about where to compete in college.

Kent State had always been on her radar.

As a young girl, Romito watched Kent State gymnastics meets. Her hometown gym had a long history with the Flashes.

“I had teammates who came to Kent and competed,” she said. “My coaches at my home gym had competed at Kent.”

Kent State also made sense because of its close proximity to the Cleveland Clinic.

Romito’s first recruiting contact with Kent State coach Brice Biggin came during her junior year.

Biggin had seen her compete for several years.

“Even at a young age she was focused,” Biggin said. “You could tell she approached everything with determination and focus.”

Biggin said Romito also stood out to him because of her success in high school gymnastics, where it is more team-oriented like it is in college.

“From the beginning, she has always been about the team,” Biggin said.

Biggin said he didn’t learn about Romito’s Crohn’s disease until she was on campus. It never has made a difference, he said.

“I saw how great of care I got,” Romito said.

“It inspired me to want to do that for other people as well.”

Romito’s best friend and teammate, Rachel Stypinski, is beyond proud of her.

“She is a great person,” Stypinski said. “She is always positive. There is never a frown on her face, and she finds the light in every situation.”

The two friends first met when they were seniors in high school. They both already had committed to Kent State, and Stypinski, who is from the suburbs of Philadelphia, stayed at Romito’s home the night before a home Kent State meet.

Their connection was instant.

Stypinski said she has never seen Romito let her Crohn’s disease get in the way of her life.

“She always knows what to say,” Stypinski said. “She is so independent. She doesn’t look for support. So if I see her not as positive, I will ask her what’s up. But she is just so positive.”

Romito said she does need the support she gets from Stypinski and her other teammates.

“My teammates are nothing but the best,” Romito said. “Their support makes my bad days so much better.”

Romito said, other than her monthly visits to the Clinic, her life isn’t any different from her teammates’. She’s never missed a practice or meet because of the her disease.

Romito is a four-year starter for the Flashes and is the first performer on the floor exercise, one of her team’s strongest events. She was a scholastic All-American last season.

She said being positive has been the key to being a top gymnast instead of giving in to the disease.

“It never stopped me,” Romito said. “I think it motivated me. I definitely never let it stop me.”

Contact Libby Schrack at eschrack@kent.edu.

‘‘

Senior Michaela Romito finishes a bar routine in the gymnastics practice room in the M.A.C. Center Friday. Romito suffers from Crohn’s disease, an autoimmune disease attacking the digestive tract, and chooses to do gymnastics for Kent State despite her disease. Alexander Wadley / The Kent Stater

That was the hardest part, having to adjust to everything. It all happened in the prime of my gymnastics career, and I was really scared I wasn’t going to get recruited by a lot of colleges because of it.”

– Michaela Romito Gymnast On the cover: Senior Michaela Romito poses in the M.A.C. Center Friday. Romito suffers from Crohn’s

disease, an autoimmune disease attacking the digestive tract, and chooses to do gymnastics for Kent State despite her disease. Alexander Wadley / The Kent Stater

8 The Kent Stater

Monday, February 26, 2018

Monday, February 26, 2018

KentWired.com 9

COVER

Defying gravity: Crohn’s disease can’t ground Michaela Romito’s gymnastics career Libby Schrack Sports Reporter Michaela Romito was only a freshman in high school when her colon took gymnastics away from her.

The sport had been part of her life since she was one year old, when her mother, a former gymnast herself, took her to Gymnastics World in Broadview Heights.

In a few years, she was training there under former Olympian Dominique Moceanu and dreaming about the Olympics herself.

By the time Romito was in high school, competing in college seemed more realistic. But that year, her body had other ideas.

The gymnast began noticing rashes on her shoulder blades. Then, she started vomiting at least every other day. She lost her appetite and started losing weight — 30 pounds.

She tried to keep practicing, but fatigue got the best of her, prohibiting her from moving forward.

Finally, her mom took her to a doctor, who diagnosed shingles and prescribed antibiotics. That didn’t sound right to her mother, a nurse, but they went ahead with the medication.

Romito didn’t get better. Three months later, she went back with the same issues. This time, the doctor thought she had food poisoning.

After her high school state meet in the beginning of March, Romito finally went to the Cleveland Clinic to get further testing done.

The doctor called her on a Saturday.

“This can’t be good,” Romito remembers thinking. “Doctors don’t call on Saturdays.”

That was the first time she heard the words “Crohn’s disease."

“At first, I didn’t even know what it was,” Romito said. “But my mom knew and started crying.”

Senior Michaela Romito practices her Floor Dance routine in the gymnastics practice room in the M.A.C. Center Friday. Romito suffers from Crohn’s disease, an autoimmune disease attacking the digestive tract. Alexander Wadley / The Kent Stater

Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel disease that makes it difficult to digest food. The disease also causes severe abdominal pain and fatigue.

She and her mother met with the doctor that Monday for two hours.

Romito began to realize just how serious this was. Her first thought: “How long will I be out of gymnastics?”

Her doctor knew gymnastics was her passion, her love, her happiness. So they began doing all that they could.

“We started with steroids,” Romito said. “I felt better and wanted to go back right away. He told me my bones weren’t strong enough.”

So in order for her body to be strong enough to endure workouts, her doctor decided to switch her to a medication called infliximab, better known by its brand name Remicade. Romito refers to this medication as her “super charge.”

Once a month, Romito goes to the Clinic for an IV infusion of the drug, which makes sure her stomach doesn’t get inflamed. It also gives her more energy, she said.

Romito was away from gymnastics from March of her freshman year to the start of her sophomore year of high school. She missed it so much she got counseling from a psychologist.

These are very important years in the sport when getting recruited by colleges.

The time off gymnastics, new medication cycle, missing school and not feeling 100 percent was a lot for Romito to handle.

“That was the hardest part, having to adjust to everything,” Romito said. “It all happened in the prime of my gymnastics career, and I was really scared I wasn’t going to get recruited by a lot of colleges because of it.”

But she stepped back into gymnastics her sophomore year and helped her BrecksvilleBroadview Heights High School team win a state championship.

Life never got easy, Romito said, but it did get easier. By her junior year, she started to decide about where to compete in college.

Kent State had always been on her radar.

As a young girl, Romito watched Kent State gymnastics meets. Her hometown gym had a long history with the Flashes.

“I had teammates who came to Kent and competed,” she said. “My coaches at my home gym had competed at Kent.”

Kent State also made sense because of its close proximity to the Cleveland Clinic.

Romito’s first recruiting contact with Kent State coach Brice Biggin came during her junior year.

Biggin had seen her compete for several years.

“Even at a young age she was focused,” Biggin said. “You could tell she approached everything with determination and focus.”

Biggin said Romito also stood out to him because of her success in high school gymnastics, where it is more team-oriented like it is in college.

“From the beginning, she has always been about the team,” Biggin said.

Biggin said he didn’t learn about Romito’s Crohn’s disease until she was on campus. It never has made a difference, he said.

“I saw how great of care I got,” Romito said.

“It inspired me to want to do that for other people as well.”

Romito’s best friend and teammate, Rachel Stypinski, is beyond proud of her.

“She is a great person,” Stypinski said. “She is always positive. There is never a frown on her face, and she finds the light in every situation.”

The two friends first met when they were seniors in high school. They both already had committed to Kent State, and Stypinski, who is from the suburbs of Philadelphia, stayed at Romito’s home the night before a home Kent State meet.

Their connection was instant.

Stypinski said she has never seen Romito let her Crohn’s disease get in the way of her life.

“She always knows what to say,” Stypinski said. “She is so independent. She doesn’t look for support. So if I see her not as positive, I will ask her what’s up. But she is just so positive.”

Romito said she does need the support she gets from Stypinski and her other teammates.

“My teammates are nothing but the best,” Romito said. “Their support makes my bad days so much better.”

Romito said, other than her monthly visits to the Clinic, her life isn’t any different from her teammates’. She’s never missed a practice or meet because of the her disease.

Romito is a four-year starter for the Flashes and is the first performer on the floor exercise, one of her team’s strongest events. She was a scholastic All-American last season.

She said being positive has been the key to being a top gymnast instead of giving in to the disease.

“It never stopped me,” Romito said. “I think it motivated me. I definitely never let it stop me.”

Contact Libby Schrack at eschrack@kent.edu.

‘‘

Senior Michaela Romito finishes a bar routine in the gymnastics practice room in the M.A.C. Center Friday. Romito suffers from Crohn’s disease, an autoimmune disease attacking the digestive tract, and chooses to do gymnastics for Kent State despite her disease. Alexander Wadley / The Kent Stater

That was the hardest part, having to adjust to everything. It all happened in the prime of my gymnastics career, and I was really scared I wasn’t going to get recruited by a lot of colleges because of it.”

– Michaela Romito Gymnast On the cover: Senior Michaela Romito poses in the M.A.C. Center Friday. Romito suffers from Crohn’s

disease, an autoimmune disease attacking the digestive tract, and chooses to do gymnastics for Kent State despite her disease. Alexander Wadley / The Kent Stater

10 The Kent Stater

Monday, February 26, 2018

OPINION

Modernizing the Constitution

JOSEPH McGRELLIS’ VIEW

Drew Taylor As we all grieve the horrible school shooting in Florida that left 17 people dead — most of them kids — the American argument on guns continues. Most people in this country believes new laws need to be made to prevent the increasingly common mass shootings in America, while the rest believes this would infringe on Second Amendment rights.

It’s frustrating that this country has to go through this every couple of months. We are the only country on earth where this has constantly happened. After so many deaths, you would believe that something would change. Whether it’s the side trying for tighter restrictions, or the side that wants it to be easier for people to get guns for protection, something should change.

But as we’ve seen after Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Sandy Hook, Charleston, Orlando, Las Vegas and now Stoneman Douglas High School, and every shooting in between, nothing will be done to prevent future tragedies.

I’m not saying we should repeal the Second Amendment. Nor am I saying we should create ultra-strict gun control laws in the style of Australia, even though it has shown to be successful in their country. I do believe that there are some situations where certain kinds of guns are necessary. There are people who live too far from police and a weapon is legitimately needed as their only protection in an emergency.

But is an AR-15 needed in that situation?

Absolutely not. Was the Second Amendment written for these types of weapons in mind? I sincerely doubt it.

The goal is not to eliminate the Second Amendment or take anyone’s rights away. I wouldn’t want to eliminate it the same way I wouldn’t want to get rid of the First Amendment or Fifth Amendment or Eighth Amendment. But the amendment, like other amendments, should be modernized. The Second Amendment was not written by the founders of the country thinking of people being able to own multiple semi-automatic weapons. The same way the First Amendment wasn’t written with the idea of whether white supremacists could speak on college campuses in mind.

I understand why this idea is scary for some gun owners. It’s something that hunters and people who shoot for hobby love, and don’t want to lose something they enjoy. But modernizing the gun laws isn’t mean to literally take these handguns away from people. It is meant to prevent people who are at risk of hurting others or themselves with weapons that nobody really needs in any situation. If one of my hobbies was helping to contribute to a crisis that we have seen increase over the last few years, I would understand why it is problematic. I would also understand why it would be important to increase restrictions on said hobby.

I hope eventually those in power make change in response to these shootings. Unfortunately, we are only seeing people let these mass murders become more common and more normal in everyday life.

Drew Taylor is a columnist.

Contact him at dtaylo70@kent.edu.

‘‘

With no congressional leadership, students are taking matters into their own hands.”

– Joseph Langan

SUBMISSIONS: 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 lmisera@kent.edu) and guest columns. Submissions become pro­­perty of the Stater and are subject to editing without notice.

Monday, February 26, 2018

Fighting against ‘the new normal’ of mass shootings Joseph Langan Across the country, students lead classroom walkouts and protests in solidarity with gun victims. Survivors of the recent Florida massacre formed a coalition to fight against the “new normal” of mass shootings. These students call themselves Never Again MSD and they are working to establish a new normal where politicians who accept money from the NRA are ridiculed.

Many of these activists are not even legal adults, and yet they’ve already met with the president and public leaders, loudly voicing the need for common sense gun reform.

What is this “new normal?” In 1999, Columbine was considered a wake-up call by many educators, but we haven’t woken up.

Nothing comprehensive has changed in the policy arena, and gunrelated massacres are worsening. In just the last two years, 49 people were killed in a nightclub in Orlando, while 58 people attending a concert in Las Vegas were also fatally shot.

With no congressional leadership, students are taking matters into their own hands. And what choice do they have? After most mass shootings, overwhelming public opinion lies on the side of gun reform, the NRA

lobbies Congress and then nothing happens. Again and again, the pattern is the same.

The U.S. is alone in this issue, so isolated by its cultural proliferation of violence that the only question remaining is whether this “normal” is even new.

From the nearly genocidal campaign colonialists waged against indigenous Native Americans to the decades of contemporary warfare in the Middle East, the U.S. has been at war for over 90 percent of its 241-year existence.

Students graduating high school this year have never lived outside the shadow of spectacle and tragedy, where every few months news coverage is saturated by the next mass shooting in a series of continuing catastrophes.

Why could this be? Could it have anything to do with there being more guns than people in this country? In 2013, there were 40 million more guns than Americans, not even counting illegal gun ownership.

The U.S. makes up less than five percent of the world’s population, but holds over 30 percent of the world’s mass shooters. Gun related homicides are 25 times higher in America than other wealthy nations.

This “new normal” is depraved and weak. We are a weak nation if we continue to allow mass shootings to

routinely occur.

Massacres in the U.K., Canada and Australia have mobilized politicians to fix these problems. After a shooting that left 25 people dead in Australia, the government enacted 28-day waiting periods and thorough background checks. Since then, gun deaths have gone down. After a major school shooting in Canada, registration, permits, training courses and exams for all weapons were enforced, leading to fewer deaths.

“Thoughts and prayers” shared over Facebook and the president’s endorsement of teachers using concealed carries won’t cut it.

Mental health is certainly an aspect and when we have 30 million Americans without health care, let alone the majority of youth who don’t have adequate treatment for mental health disorders, getting everyone comprehensive coverage is essential.

But to deny the role of semiautomatic weapons, gun show loopholes and lobbying is to deny reality. What is more important, the sanctity of an amendment that was written when muskets were the primary means of defending a homestead, or the safe education of our children?

Joseph Langan is a columnist.

Contact him at jlangan3@kent.edu.

Letter to the Editor: Stand up to bullies Stewart B. Epstein I believe that most of us Americans have been victims of bullying and/ or some form of abuse at some time in our lives. As a former counselor and therapist, I worked with and tried to help many victims of everyday bullying, as well as various other forms of abuse.

I found that the biggest problem, issue, and challenge that they dealt with was that they did not stand up to their bullies and abusers. The best question that I have ever heard a counselor or therapist ask their clients relative to this was the following:

“What parts of yourself don’t you love that allows you to let this bully or abuser to continue to mistreat and abuse you?”

This question prompted many people to finally make some serious changes in their lives and to walk away from and leave their abusers.

P.S. I want you to know why I have submitted this letter to the editor to your newspaper.

I spent five years working as a professional counselor and therapist in the fields of Alcoholism, Drug Addiction, and Mental Illness/ Mental Health. But for most of my working life, I was a college

professor of sociology, social work, and psychology. I loved my students and cared very deeply about their well-being. I miss them. I miss how idealistic that they are and how much they want to try to make the world a better place. A major reason why I submitted this letter to you is because I believe that the question contained within it might help some of your students, especially your female students, who are being abused and bullied by their boyfriends.

Stewart B. Epstein is a guest columnist.

Contact him at phenom51@gmail.com.

KentWired.com 11

NUMBERS TO KNOW:

4

Severe weather causes casualties At least four people died in Kentucky after severe weather hit the region.

Thunderstorms, suspected tornadoes and flooding were the causes.

35

Trump’s approval rating continues to fall

President Donald Trump matched his lowest point in terms of approval rating after a CNN poll released the numbers.

Cheers&Jeers

Cheers to ... Las Vegas. After adding slot machines to all of its terminals, the Sin City’s airport continued to break taboos, installing marijuana disposal boxes.

Jeers to ... skunks. A man from Michigan burned down his house trying to get rid of skunks. He used a smoke bomb, but his plan clearly did not go well.

12 The Kent Stater

Monday, February 26, 2018

Feeling the pressure as a fashion student:

Dressing to a higher standard of style

Abigail Miller Fashion Reporter

For fashion students, the mundane task of finding something to wear to class takes on an entirely different meaning.

By dressing up for class and putting together their best looks, students embody what they are learning.

However, the unspoken pressure looms.

Sophomore fashion merchandising major Courtney Hines said the pressure to dress well comes from the expectations of her peers.

“I think we all expect each other to dress well and other people who aren’t fashion majors expect us to always look cute and to dress up for classes,” Hines said. “We feel like we are held to a higher level style-wise than others.”

Hines said while she thinks some professors care about what students are wearing, most of them stick to acknowledging the work that students put into their outfits and motivate them to continue it.

“I think some do (pay attention to the way students dress), but I don’t think they mind or put as much pressure on us as others do,” Hines said. “They just compliment and encourage us.”

Students at the Fashion School look to clothing and dress as a way to project themselves

‘‘

outward. Although dressing well is something that they feel they are expected to do, it’s not something that they are being forced to do.

Associate professor Noël Palomo-Lovinski said the most important thing to her isn’t what the students are wearing, but it’s the work they are turning in.

“Personally, me, I don’t care what they wear,” Palomo-Lovinski said. “They’re working. I just care about the work.”

Sophomore fashion merchandising student James Sullivan said he likes that fashion students dress up for class because it allows them to share their style with their peers.

“I’m not always like ‘I need to dress up,’ there’s not that pressure,” he said. “I think it’s fun to (dress up). Everybody dresses up and you get to see what everyone else is wearing.”

Palomo-Lovinski said the outfits that fashion students put together for class have less to do with what's on trend and more to do with who they are and what they like.

“I think that people in fashion understand that there are no such things as trends. If someone told you that you could only wear hot pink, you’d say no, you’d wear what you like,” Palomo-Lovinski said. “That’s what fashion is; it’s all about self-expression.”

Contact Abigail Miller at amill241@kent.edu.

If someone told you that you could only wear hot pink, you’d say no, you’d wear what you like. That’s what fashion is; it’s all about self-expression.” – Noël Palomo-Lovinski Associate professor

Sophomore fashion merchandising student Manny Sullivan. Alexander Wadley / The Kent Stater

Sophomore fashion merchandising student Courtney Hines.

Alexander Wadley / The Kent Stater

Monday, February 26, 2018

KentWired.com 13

Photo of the court building in 1942. Photo courtesy of the Kent Historical Society.

Old courthouse building will become office space Taylor Patterson Business and Downtown Reporter From 1930s postmasters to 25 years of jurors, the South Water Street historic building has employed various professionals, and now it will house an attorney's law office.

John Flynn, a local attorney, is relocating his offices to the former post office and courthouse building on South Water Street.

He purchased the space almost a year ago, and expects renovations to be finished around June. Two-thirds of the building will house

his firm, Flynn Keith & Flynn. He will rent the remaining space to an unidentified tenant.

According to Crain’s Cleveland, Flynn bought the building for $435,000 and invested $700,000 in renovations. Flynn didn’t confirm this price with KentWired.

“The primary reason we purchased it was to preserve the courthouse,” Flynn said.

The building’s history dates back to the 1930s, when it was the second post office in Kent. The original ran out of the postmaster’s house, according to Julie Kenworthy, the director of the Kent Historical Society.

In 1989, the building became a courthouse until the Kent Branch of the Portage County Municipal Court was relocated to Main Street in 2014. The building remained vacant for three years until Flynn made a development proposal for his law offices.

The city considered restaurants or pubs for renovation, but they chose Flynn’s offices.

“It was a case of what is the best use of the building, the office space seemed to be the best use of the property,” said Tom Wilke, Kent’s economic development director.

Most of the original architecture was altered during courthouse renovations, but

history remains in the 30s-style marble walls and wood flooring throughout the building.

Flynn helped save the old Kent train station in the early 80s and was a Kent Historical Society board of trustees member through the 90s. Scott Flynn, his son and an attorney, is now the vice president of the board of trustees at the Kent Historical Society.

“I was born and raised in Kent,” Flynn said, “and I realize the value of these beautiful buildings downtown.”

Contact Taylor Patterson at tpatte20@kent.edu.

14 The Kent Stater

Monday, February 26, 2018

A man with a vision: Sony Ton-Aime Caroline Henneman Humanities Reporter Kent State University’s Wick Poetry Center provides a creative outlet for the Akron refugee and immigrant community through its "Traveling Stanzas" project.

North Hill, Akron, is home to a wide variety of ethnicities due to the International Institute of Akron (IIA) resettling large populations of immigrants and refugees to the area. The majority of the immigrant population comes from Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

“Urban Vision is a church and resource for the North Hill community as a whole.

Part of our mission is to reach out to children in the community and give them the tools to succeed in education, like English skills that may not be spoken at home,” Assistant Director Evelina Seifert said.

Kent State graduate student Sony TonAime has traveled to Akron to teach poetry sessions at Urban Vision for the past two years. Every Wednesday the church hosts after-school programs for school-aged students. Through reading and writing poetry, these children are able to express their feelings through a positive outlet.

“Being a child of refugees and immigrants is hard right now. They live in fear of losing each other, of losing their family and friends,” Ton-Aime said. “It’s only by writing about problems, letting it out, that helps.”

When Ton-Aime volunteers on Wednesdays, he teaches three sessions of poetry that are broken up by the ages of the children.

He begins each class with reading the same poems and allows the students to reflect and write their own poem with the same theme. The first and youngest group participates avidly, reading poems full of feeling and emotion.

“I am a girl in autumn. I am running from my fears. No—I am embracing them,” said Emma, one of the children from the youngest group of poets.

As the sessions continue, each group becomes less and less expressive with age.

“You see what living in a tougher neighborhood does to these kids,” Ton-Aime said. “When they are younger, they are so expressive, but then they lose it as they grow up. The last session, my oldest group, they try and use humor to hide. They see the reaction to emotion and fear and they learn they need to build a wall. They grow up and think their writing is too cheesy.”

Ton-Aime talks about his experience as an immigrant in America and how it reflects through his writing and encouragement of other children to find their voice.

He came from Haiti in 2010 and knew little to no English. It took a lot of “uncomfortable situations” and English as a Second Language (ESL) classes to assimilate further into American culture. After living in America for years, he lost his identity as to who he was in Haiti.

“If I went back home and wrote a love poem, my friends, my family, would not

Sony Ton-Aime teaches students how to use words to describe how they feel. Caroline Henneman / The Kent Stater

understand. It would be about girls with blonde hair, and we meet under trees with snow on the ground and in her hair. We don’t have snow in Haiti,” Ton-Aime said.

This made Ton-Aime feel as if he were two people in one body, and he didn’t want others feel like this, especially children. He continues his work at Urban Vision so the young writers and students use writing to find their identity, instead of feeling as if they have to hide a part of themselves.

“When we speak, we tend to allow ourselves to condition our words but writing; you put yourself into it. It’s easier to let yourself go,” Ton-Aime said. “What the students write is what they were feeling. It tells you how their lives were.”

Urban Vision includes several ways for individuals or groups to volunteer to help the North Hill area transform itself into a thriving community.

Volunteers can help with K-12 education and tutoring, gym activities, life skills and much more throughout the year. All the opportunities Urban Vision offers can be found here.

Contact Caroline Henneman at chennem3@kent.edu.

‘‘

When we speak, we tend to allow ourselves to condition our words but writing; you put yourself into it.”

– Sony Ton-Aime Wick Poetry Center teacher

Monday, February 26, 2018

CLASSIFIEDS FRANKLIN SQUARE DELI The Tastiest Sub’s In Kent One Bite & You’ll Know!

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Model & Talent Agency is seeking a male or female for immediate hire/ part-time & full-time receptionist position (morning/afternoon/evenings & Saturdays) This is a wellpaying part time job.

Please forward your resume via email to stephen@pmtm.com

All real estate advertised herein is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise “any preference, limitation or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin, or intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination.” State and local laws forbid discrimination based on factors in addition to those protected under federal law. We will not knowingly accept

any advertising for real estate that is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis. If you feel you have been wrongfully denied housing or discriminated against, call the FHAA at 330-253-2450 for more information.

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HOW TO ADVERTISE For information about placing a Display ad please call our offices at 330-672-2586 or visit us at 205 Franklin Hall, Kent State University. Our office hours are from 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Classified ads can be placed by fax at (330) 672-4880, over the phone at (330) 672-2586 or by e-mail at ads@ksustudentmedia.com. If you fax or e-mail an ad, please be sure to include run dates, payment info and a way for us to contact you.

Kent:Large 2 bedroom.

Freshly painted walls and new carpeting. REDUCED$650/ month. Heat, water and trash included.330-472-9671.

4 bedroom 2 bath, Neat and Clean $270 per month per person plus utilities.

Parking available one half block from Mcgilvrey Call Nancy at (330)-472-0501

7 bedroom houses, great location - 1 block from campus, large bedrooms, off street parking, big front porch, washer, dryer. $345/mo., owner pays partial util. Must have a group of 7. Call or text 330-607-2569

KSU 4 bedroom leasing for fall, on site parking, washer-dryer, please call 330-221-0460 for inquires

Fall 3 Bedroom, 534 South Depeyster. $400/month plus utilities. washer, dryer, and central air. 330-903-0987

REBUS

KentWired.com 15

FLASHANTHROPY

ST. PADDY’S DAY 5K MARCH 17 | 8 AM | RISMAN PLAZA

Register now!

Visit flashanthropy.com

NATIONAL EATING DISORDERS

SCREENING DAY

and click “Upcoming Events.”

Enjoy food, fun and prizes while supporting student scholarships at Kent State University.

WHEN:

Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018 Noon 4 p.m.

WHERE:

Sponsored by –

KSC Ballroom

STUDENT SUPPORT PROVIDED BY: Body Acceptance Movement Student Dietetic Association

BE A LEADER. APPLY FOR FALL 2018 STUDENT MEDIA LEADER POSITIONS.

SUMMER EDITOR Kent Stater GENERAL MANAGER Black Squirrel Radio, TV2 KSU EDITORS The Burr, Fusion, Luna Negra, Uhuru, and A Magazine EDITOR The Kent Stater PRESIDENT KSUIF SALES MANAGER SM SALES AND MARKETING

APPLICATIONS AT KENTSTATESTUDENTMEDIA.COM/INVOLVEMENT OR EMAIL KDILLEY@KENT.EDU Applications are due by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, March 21 st.

SPONSORED BY:

UHS - Office of Health Promotion & Psychological Services