The Kent Stater - January 16, 2018

The

Kent Stater

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

KentWired.com 1

@KentWired

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER | TUESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2018

MLK Day of Service coverage on page 6 Anticipated Summit Street 2 completion delayed

3

Reviewing the events over winter break

10

What you missed in national and local sports

2 The Kent Stater

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

NEWS

Summit Street construction to extend into summer Cameron Gorman Assigning Editor The Summit Street Improvement Project, first projected to be completed by December 2017, will now finish during the summer of 2018.

“The bulk of the work will be done sooner, but there are a lot of small things that we’ll need the contractor out there to clean up, fix, finalize, a lot of smaller details,” said Jim Bowling, Kent’s deputy service director and superintendent of engineering.

“So while the bulk of the work will be done sooner, we don’t expect everything complete and finished until summer.”

Kent launched the project, which was first discussed in 2002, with the goal of lessening congestion along Summit Street.

“The basic premise of the project is safety for vehicles, pedestrians, bicyclists,” Bowling said. “Congestion, to solve congestion, we had a lot of congestion on Summit Street with vehicles, and then access management.”

Due to factors such as wanting to break up the schedule of construction, a joint decision to push back the project’s end date was struck between the city, university, the Ohio Department of Transportation and the contractor, Kenmore Construction.

“All of us got together, and felt along the way that it would be better for our people that we’re serving that if we changed how we were going to build it to this method versus how it was originally done, which causes it to go a little bit longer, but it’d end up making it easier on traffic, because we’re only working in areas for shorter periods of time,” Bowling said. “And we learned that from the first year of construction.”

The Office of the University Architect has been present “throughout this entire project,” according to Bowling.

“We’re partners, they are the lead on the project,” said Brian Pickering, a project manager and landscape architect at Kent State. ”We are partners with the city, and any change to project schedule is discussed amongst the team and all the considerations are taken into account before a decision is made, so the city’s not making a decision that would … adversely affect the university without the university being at the table and understanding the implications of the project to the schedule, anything of that sort.”

TheKent

Stater 240 FRANKLIN HALL KENT STATE UNIVERSITY KENT, OHIO 44242 NEWSROOM 330-672-2584

Road closed signs sit in snow on the old West Campus Center drive Monday. The change of West Campus Center is part of the current Summit Street project.

Kayla McMillen / The Kent Stater

Other factors that contributed into the pushback included wanting to wait for students to move off campus during construction and other complications in the process, such as other construction in the area — according to Bowling, specifically that of Williams Hall.

“I think what needs to be understood is there was a lot of work that had to happen, there was a lot of things that came up during the construction that complicated things,” Pickering said. “I think there were unknowns, things that happened along the way that you can’t just avoid doing.”

Pickering added that the university understands the setback.

“We understand a process, and by being a partner with the city, we have been much better educated as to why things may need to take longer to happen,” Pickering said.

Moving forward, updates and

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Lydia Taylor ltaylo49@kent.edu

DESIGN DIRECTOR Addie Gall agall7@kent.edu

DIGITAL DIRECTOR Ray Padilla rpadill2@kent.edu

SPORTS EDITOR Cameron Hoover choove14@kent.edu

MANAGING EDITOR Lucas Misera lmisera@kent.edu DIVERSITY EDITOR Tierra Thomas tthoma54@kent.edu

FEATURES EDITOR Rachel Duthie rduthie@kent.edu

ASSIGNING EDITORS Cameron Gorman cgorman2@kent.edu Taylor Robinson trobin30@kent.edu Henry Palattella hpalatte@kent.edu

OPINION EDITOR Bruno Beidacki bbeidack@kent.edu COPY DESK CHIEF Lauren Sasala lsasala1@kent.edu ILLUSTRATOR Michaela Courtney mcourtn4@kent.edu CARTOONIST Joseph McGrellis jmcgrell@kent.edu

announcements regarding the project will continue to be updated on the project’s web page, according to Carla Wyckoff, the director of communications and special projects for the Division of Finance and Administration at Kent State.

“The website is the best place to go because if there’s something, that’s the first place we put it before we start putting it out elsewhere,” Wyckoff said.

The most recent update, posted Dec. 13, announced road work on Summit Street would stop during the winter.

“During the winter months there’s going to be two way traffic maintained in the construction area, and then once the weather breaks, the contractors will come back in, finish the job … once students, faculty, everybody’s back, then we’ll use the usual communication channels that we do to send that message out

again and let people know,” Wyckoff said.

Though it appears the project may take longer to complete than originally anticipated, those involved say there are already positive signs from what has been finished, specifically the creation of roundabouts.

“You’re not stopping. So, you allow for a better flow of traffic, you allow for people to just flow through the corridor rather than completely stopping traffic, backing it up,” Pickering said. “So, yes, I 100 percent believe the studies have shown, and I think we will see a lot better flow of traffic along Summit Street.”

When finished, the effort will be nearly 16 years in the making.

“Yes, it will be much anticipated,” Pickering said, “but already I think we’re seeing the benefits of the improvement.”

Contact Cameron Gorman at cgorman2@kent.edu.

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Oprah, #MeToo, ‘Fire and Fury’: What you missed Henry Palattella and Cameron Hoover Assigning Editor and Sports Editor Michael Wolff releases Fire and Fury On Jan. 5, author Michael Wolff released “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.” In the book, Wolff documents part of the first year of the Trump presidency after Trump granted Wolff access to the White House. After several excerpts of the book were released on Jan. 3, the book quickly shot to the top of many retailers bestsellers lists, leading to Henry Holt and Company’s release of the book four days early. President Trump’s lawyer issued a cease and desist letter alleging that the book contained false statements and threatened libel lawsuits against Wolff and the publisher, Henry Holt and Company.

John M. Rathje named vice president for Information Services and chief information officer Kent State president Beverly Warren announced in an email on Jan. 8 that, after a national search, she had appointed John M. Rathje as the vice president for Information Services and chief information officer of the university, a position that will be effective March 5, 2018. Rathje is currently serving as the associate vice chancellor and chief information officer at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Coleen Santee

served as the interim vice president during the search process and will continue in her position as deputy chief information officer when Rathje comes to Kent. He will also be a member of the President’s cabinet and as Kent State’s chief information officer.

Hollywood sexual assault allegations loom over 2018 Golden Globes The 2018 Golden Globes aired on Jan. 7, but much of the focus was dedicated to social movements, mainly dedicated to exposing and ending sexual misconduct by powerful men in Hollywood. #MeToo and the Time’s Up initiative were the center of attention, as hundreds of actors and actresses dressed in black in a show of solidarity with survivors of sexual assault and harassment who came forward with their stories.

There were a few hiccups after Seth Meyers’ opening joke of his monologue where he greeted the “ladies and remaining gentlemen” in attendance. James Franco won Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for portraying the enigmatic Tommy Wiseau in “The Disaster Artist.” A few days later, however, the Los Angeles Times ran a bombshell report where five women accused Franco of sexual misconduct.

The same can be said for Aziz Ansari,

who won Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy TV show for his work on Netflix’s “Master of None.” A Brooklyn-based photographer who spoke to Babe.net under the condition of anonymity detailed her graphic experience with the comedian after a date, where she said she was made very uncomfortable by his sexual advances.

Lastly, Twitter users criticized the awards show for using 101-year-old actor Kirk Douglas as a presenter, as Douglas was accused of raping legendary actress Natalie Wood in a hotel room when Wood was an up-and-coming performer.

Oprah owns Golden Globes speech Television host Oprah Winfrey’s Cecil B. deMille Award acceptance speech at the Golden Globes sent inspiring shockwaves throughout the world.

“I want all the girls watching here now to know that a new day is on the horizon,” Winfrey said. “And when that new day finally dawns, it will be because of a lot of magnificent women, many of whom are right here in this room tonight, and some pretty phenomenal men, fighting hard to make sure that they become the leaders who take us to the time when nobody ever has to say 'Me too' again."

of 100’s es hoic C w e N

Winfrey received two standing ovations (and many calls for a 2020 presidential campaign) thanks to the speech.

Wahlberg donates to Time’s Up amid ‘All the Money in the World’ outcry Director Ridley Scott replaced the disgraced Kevin Spacey with Christopher Plummer and re-shoot all of Spacey’s scenes in a week in order to get “All the Money in the World” in theaters before awards season.

Weeks later, a report from USA Today revealed that Mark Wahlberg made over 1500 times more money for the re-shot than his female co-star, Michelle Williams; Wahlberg negotiated over $1.5 million for the re-shoots, while Williams received an $80 per diem, totalling less than $1,000.

Amid the outcry over one of the most bombastic examples of the discrepancy in pay between men and women in the film industry, Wahlberg released a statement and revealed he would be donating all of the money from the re-shoots to the Time’s Up initiative in Williams’ name.

Contact Henry Palattella at hpalatte@kent.edu.

Contact Cameron Hoover at choove14@kent.edu.

Where: 2nd Floor Kent Student Center “Windows Area” When: Mon. Jan. 15 thru Fri. Jan. 19 Time: Mon: 12 P.M. - 5 P.M. Tues-Fri: 9 A.M. - 5 P.M.

Sponsor: Kent Student Center Programming

4 The Kent Stater

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Ohio Organizing Collaborative proposes new ballot initiative

Tierra Thomas

Diversity Editor

Being a teen parent with no high school education and little family support put Stark State business major Chris Coteat down the path of selling narcotics. At 26 years old, he has three charges on his record.

“I did what I had to do to get me a place to stay,” he said.

Even though he’s faced jail time on more than one account, Coteat recalls one instance vividly.

The court gave him a 30-day window period to find a full-time job while also attending mandatory classes and meetings with his probation officer once a week.

“There wasn’t even enough time to work when I wanted to or even look for a job at that,” Coteat said.

When he finally received a call back for a job interview, Coteat ran into a problem: the interview happened to be at the same time as the meeting with his probation officer.

After coming to a decision, he left a voice message for his probation officer, telling her he would be late, and then went to the interview.

Coteat got the job.

Excited and overjoyed by this news, he dashed over to the probation office to attend his weekly session, only to find his angry probation officer waiting for him.

Coteat faced the possibility of serving eight years, but ended up spending six months in a halfway house.

“I feel like for people who want to do right and don’t have the resources to do so in a community such as mine where you’re disenfranchised for the most part, you’re purposefully put into positions for you to set yourself back further in life,” he said.

The Ohio Organizing Collaborative (OOC) proposed a ballot initiative to get non-violent drug offenders released from prisons in Ohio.

Announced in February that Senate Bill 66 would possibly see changes in the future, the OOC plan on bringing the idea to fruition with its proposed ballot initiative.

On Dec. 1, the organization, along with the Ohio Justice and Policy Center, filed a petition to Attorney General Mike Dewine.

In the petition, they asked for approval of their “Neighborhood Safety, Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation Amendment.”

The amendment would add a section 12 in Article XV of the Ohio constitution, reducing the number of people in state prison for low-level, non-violent drug possession or drug use offenses.

In addition, it would also turn non-violent drug offenses, which are currently listed as felonies, into misdemeanors.

While the organization works on getting the signatures for the ballot initiative petition, they also want to start conversations about the “need to invest in people and not prisons,” according to Deputy Communication

‘‘

Director Michael McGovern.

Ohio’s prison population increased 16 percent between 2005 and 2008, rising from 44,270 inmates to a record 51,273, according to the CSG Justice Center.

Ohio State Representative Kathleen Clyde was only recently informed about this issue, but she supports the OOC and what its trying to achieve.

“I am excited about the possibility of this issue moving forward,” she said. “It seeks to address an important problem in Ohio and in all of our community. I am looking forward to learning more about it as the signatures are collected and the campaign moves forward.”

Clyde thinks because of the Republican Party supermajority in both the Ohio House and Senate, this issue lacks the proper attention it needs. Currently, 66 Republicans sit in both the House and the Senate and only 33 Democrats.

“I do not believe they (the Republicans) have done enough to address our record high prison population and the need to find different solutions for nonviolent drug offenses,” she said.

It’s about increasing the category of non-violent drug offenders, as well as parole violators would essentially not have to do time in state prison .”

– Mark Cassell Political science professor

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Political science professor Mark Cassell thinks what the organization wants to do “makes sense” and expands on Senate Bill 66.

“It’s about increasing the category of non-violent drug offenders, as well as parole violators would essentially not have to do time in state prison,” he said.

The ballot initiative petition must get 500,000 signatures across Ohio in order for consideration.

The Ohio Student Association partnered with the organization to help obtain signatures.

Vice President Michele Johnson, a junior fashion merchandising major, immediately jumped at the opportunity to help.

“There’s people still in prison from the war on drugs, and they didn’t even get the chance,” she said.

With other members from the organization, Johnson will go around the Kent area and collect over 1,000 signatures for the ballot initiative. So far, they’ve collected over 120.

“I’ve heard countless stories of people who’ve been in prison for being addicted to drugs and they don’t get the help that they need,” Johnson said. “I just don’t see the benefit of someone going to prison that is addicted to drugs.”

Even though Coteat thinks people with drug addiction need to be helped, he sees more people going to jail for drug selling and trafficking charges.

With marijuana now being legal for doctors to use for medical purposes, Coteat said it’s a “big contradiction” for them to be

KentWired.com 5

the only ones allowed to use it.

“They’re the ones bringing the drugs here in the first place,” he said.

Coteat now volunteers in communities across Akron and even started his own Conscious Kids community center. On top of all he already does, he wants to help with getting signatures for the petition.

“I hope that the city supports and embraces it in a way that people benefit from it,” he said.

Clyde, who knows about the past work of the OOC and their duty to help people, “would consider” signing the petition.

“I think that we have too many people in Ohio prisons because of nonviolent drugrelated crime,” she said. “I am interested in finding solutions to that problem and decreasing our prison population, making our community safer and making sure people are getting the treatment and rehabilitation they need.”

Based on his own experience, Coteat agrees government programs deserve the funds saved if the ballot initiative passes.

“All I needed was some mentoring, some leadership training, some trauma healing treatment,” he said. “I think that’s where some of those saved funds should go.”

With his new life and freedom, Coteat looks forward to the day he sees the people who share a similar story released from jail.

“It’s not going to be right until everyone is free,” he said.

Contact Tierra Thomas at tthoma54@kent.edu.

‘‘

All I needed was some mentoring, some leadership training, some trauma healing treatment.”

– Chris Coteat Stark State business major

Chris Coteat poses on a bench outside of a McDonald's restaurant in Akron on December 6, 2017.

Tierra Thomas / The Kent Stater

6 The Kent Stater

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

COVER

MLK Day of Service

Kent State community chooses service over sleep

‘‘

On the Cover: Illustration by Michaela Courtney

There’s a lot of seperation currently in the world, but at a place here, like Kent State University, we’re all one big family.”

– Brock Koberna Volunteer and senior managerial marketing major Felix Reynoso, a senior aeronautics major and Jordan Wilkins, a senior marketing major, sort produce Monday.

Cameron Gorman / The Kent Stater

Campus Kitchen creates food packages for those in need Cameron Gorman Assiging Editor Volunteers chopped produce, sliced bread and more on Monday morning as part of the Campus Kitchen’s contribution to Kent State’s MLK Day of Service.

“Campus Kitchen is about food recovery, so it’s located right here

on campus and Trader Joe’s is a big donator … but it’s really about taking food that otherwise would be thrown out and being able to make meals and provide those to the hungry in the community,” said Marisa Stephens, a Student Service Leader and a senior managerial marketing major.

The day of service, programmed

by the Office of Experiential Education and Civic Engagement and Hillel, provided an opportunity for students to serve the community on their “day off.”

“I think that when people give up a Saturday, it’s amazing, but when people give up a day that they’re supposed to have off school and work and things like that, it’s even

Lisa Morde, the coordinator of experiential education and civil engagement, touches hands with a resident at Hattie Larlham after they completed their crafting project Monday. Tierra Thomas / The Kent Stater

Tierra Thomas Diversity Editor Three Kent State University students sat inside of a quiet, dim-lighted room. They each read quietly to three developmentally disabled children: two toddlers and one in their teens.

Allysia White, a sophomore psychology major, read to a sleeping toddler but couldn’t help but show excitement every time he stirred.

“I keep thinking he’s going to wake up,” she said.

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, 11 students volunteered at the Hattie Larlham Center and

KentWired.com 7

spent time with the intellectually and developmentally disabled.

Students played games, did crafts and read to the residents at the center under the watchful eye of the staff.

White, who has been doing volunteer work since grade school, wants to become a therapy psychologist for children once she graduates. She thinks the event served as an experience-builder for her and also held true to Martin Luther King Jr.’s beliefs.

“He always gave back and he was always trying to make the community better,” White said. “It’s

kind of like taking his dream and applying it to today when he’s gone.”

Lisa Morde, the coordinator of experiential education and civic engagement, came with the group of students and volunteered as well. She worked on arts and crafts with some of the residents at the center. For her, Martin Luther King Jr. Day represents everyone coming together under his legacy.

“There are a lot of really important things he stood for, including inclusion,” she said, “and I think that ending racial discrimination was a really huge and important thing he

talked about.”

For Morde and the group of students she brought with her, they work on his idea of a “beloved community,” which is an inclusive society for all people.

“One reason why we’re working here at Hattie Larlham with people who are differently abled is to think about how we’re all being included in society,” Morde said.

Morde, who just started at Kent State this year, loves it so far because of events like this.

“We all want to make a difference in the world and I decided early on that one way I was going to make

a difference is through the ripple effect,” she said. “It’s more than just me coming out and meeting people and trying to create an inclusive society, but creating opportunities for others to do so as well.”

With this event, Morde wants the students to think about the effect they’ve had on their community.

“It’s important not to just go out and have the experience, but then to reflect on what’s the impact of a few hours,” she said.

Contact Tierra Thomas at tthoma54@kent.edu.

Maria Zaynor, a senior managerial marketing major, Lizzi Petrey, a sophomore sign language interpreting major, Rebecca Dillon, a senior exercise science major and Marisa Stephens, a senior managerial marketing major, prepare bread for croutons Monday.

Cameron Gorman / The Kent Stater

more amazing,” Stephens said. “If you look around, these are 150 to 200 people that could be sleeping right now, that could be still at home … and they gave up their time to come here and be able to volunteer. So I think that says a lot about the Kent State community and just the community of college students in general.”

Through a registration website, students could sign up to volunteer and could choose from several experiences, including those organized by Haven of Rest and Hattie Larlham.

“I feel like this is a great time because I’m not busy with school yet, and I’m not stressed out, so it’s a good time to help people,” Lizzi Petrey, a sophomore sign language interpreting major, said.

Volunteers met in the Schwartz Center for an overview of the events. Then, once in the kitchen, the Student Service Leaders and volunteers partnered with Campus Kitchen managers to prepare “mighty packs,” packages of food created by the kitchen and the Center of Nutrition Outreach for teens and kids in need.

“Campus Kitchen at Kent partners with the Center for Nutrition Outreach … and we’ll just donate some of our food to them, so what they’ll do is put together what we call mighty packs, and that is basically just food bags that we try to make as well-balanced as possible, you know, fruits, veggies,

grain, some type of protein,” said Alex Drungil, a graduate assistant in the Office of Experiential Education and Civic Engagement who oversees the Campus Kitchen.

Those present also helped to create large amounts of croutons, to cut and wash potatoes and to prepare for the kitchen’s meal shifts.

“I think it’s good to help other people who don’t have all the resources that I do, all the opportunities that I do, and on cold days, especially holidays, that’s when we’re reminded that there are people out there who are less fortunate than we are,” said volunteer Maria Zaynor, a senior managerial marketing major.

The food prepared through Campus Kitchen will be donated to local causes such as Center of Hope, Kent Social Services and Upper Room Ministries.

“There’s a lot of separation currently in the world, but at a place here, like Kent State University, we’re all one big family,” said volunteer Brock Koberna, a senior managerial marketing major. “We’re one community, and picking a day like this to come together, all groups, all backgrounds, to just improve that community I think sends a message of unity.”

Contact Cameron Gorman at cgorman2@kent.edu.

6 The Kent Stater

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

COVER

MLK Day of Service

Kent State community chooses service over sleep

‘‘

On the Cover: Illustration by Michaela Courtney

There’s a lot of seperation currently in the world, but at a place here, like Kent State University, we’re all one big family.”

– Brock Koberna Volunteer and senior managerial marketing major Felix Reynoso, a senior aeronautics major and Jordan Wilkins, a senior marketing major, sort produce Monday.

Cameron Gorman / The Kent Stater

Campus Kitchen creates food packages for those in need Cameron Gorman Assiging Editor Volunteers chopped produce, sliced bread and more on Monday morning as part of the Campus Kitchen’s contribution to Kent State’s MLK Day of Service.

“Campus Kitchen is about food recovery, so it’s located right here

on campus and Trader Joe’s is a big donator … but it’s really about taking food that otherwise would be thrown out and being able to make meals and provide those to the hungry in the community,” said Marisa Stephens, a Student Service Leader and a senior managerial marketing major.

The day of service, programmed

by the Office of Experiential Education and Civic Engagement and Hillel, provided an opportunity for students to serve the community on their “day off.”

“I think that when people give up a Saturday, it’s amazing, but when people give up a day that they’re supposed to have off school and work and things like that, it’s even

Lisa Morde, the coordinator of experiential education and civil engagement, touches hands with a resident at Hattie Larlham after they completed their crafting project Monday. Tierra Thomas / The Kent Stater

Tierra Thomas Diversity Editor Three Kent State University students sat inside of a quiet, dim-lighted room. They each read quietly to three developmentally disabled children: two toddlers and one in their teens.

Allysia White, a sophomore psychology major, read to a sleeping toddler but couldn’t help but show excitement every time he stirred.

“I keep thinking he’s going to wake up,” she said.

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, 11 students volunteered at the Hattie Larlham Center and

KentWired.com 7

spent time with the intellectually and developmentally disabled.

Students played games, did crafts and read to the residents at the center under the watchful eye of the staff.

White, who has been doing volunteer work since grade school, wants to become a therapy psychologist for children once she graduates. She thinks the event served as an experience-builder for her and also held true to Martin Luther King Jr.’s beliefs.

“He always gave back and he was always trying to make the community better,” White said. “It’s

kind of like taking his dream and applying it to today when he’s gone.”

Lisa Morde, the coordinator of experiential education and civic engagement, came with the group of students and volunteered as well. She worked on arts and crafts with some of the residents at the center. For her, Martin Luther King Jr. Day represents everyone coming together under his legacy.

“There are a lot of really important things he stood for, including inclusion,” she said, “and I think that ending racial discrimination was a really huge and important thing he

talked about.”

For Morde and the group of students she brought with her, they work on his idea of a “beloved community,” which is an inclusive society for all people.

“One reason why we’re working here at Hattie Larlham with people who are differently abled is to think about how we’re all being included in society,” Morde said.

Morde, who just started at Kent State this year, loves it so far because of events like this.

“We all want to make a difference in the world and I decided early on that one way I was going to make

a difference is through the ripple effect,” she said. “It’s more than just me coming out and meeting people and trying to create an inclusive society, but creating opportunities for others to do so as well.”

With this event, Morde wants the students to think about the effect they’ve had on their community.

“It’s important not to just go out and have the experience, but then to reflect on what’s the impact of a few hours,” she said.

Contact Tierra Thomas at tthoma54@kent.edu.

Maria Zaynor, a senior managerial marketing major, Lizzi Petrey, a sophomore sign language interpreting major, Rebecca Dillon, a senior exercise science major and Marisa Stephens, a senior managerial marketing major, prepare bread for croutons Monday.

Cameron Gorman / The Kent Stater

more amazing,” Stephens said. “If you look around, these are 150 to 200 people that could be sleeping right now, that could be still at home … and they gave up their time to come here and be able to volunteer. So I think that says a lot about the Kent State community and just the community of college students in general.”

Through a registration website, students could sign up to volunteer and could choose from several experiences, including those organized by Haven of Rest and Hattie Larlham.

“I feel like this is a great time because I’m not busy with school yet, and I’m not stressed out, so it’s a good time to help people,” Lizzi Petrey, a sophomore sign language interpreting major, said.

Volunteers met in the Schwartz Center for an overview of the events. Then, once in the kitchen, the Student Service Leaders and volunteers partnered with Campus Kitchen managers to prepare “mighty packs,” packages of food created by the kitchen and the Center of Nutrition Outreach for teens and kids in need.

“Campus Kitchen at Kent partners with the Center for Nutrition Outreach … and we’ll just donate some of our food to them, so what they’ll do is put together what we call mighty packs, and that is basically just food bags that we try to make as well-balanced as possible, you know, fruits, veggies,

grain, some type of protein,” said Alex Drungil, a graduate assistant in the Office of Experiential Education and Civic Engagement who oversees the Campus Kitchen.

Those present also helped to create large amounts of croutons, to cut and wash potatoes and to prepare for the kitchen’s meal shifts.

“I think it’s good to help other people who don’t have all the resources that I do, all the opportunities that I do, and on cold days, especially holidays, that’s when we’re reminded that there are people out there who are less fortunate than we are,” said volunteer Maria Zaynor, a senior managerial marketing major.

The food prepared through Campus Kitchen will be donated to local causes such as Center of Hope, Kent Social Services and Upper Room Ministries.

“There’s a lot of separation currently in the world, but at a place here, like Kent State University, we’re all one big family,” said volunteer Brock Koberna, a senior managerial marketing major. “We’re one community, and picking a day like this to come together, all groups, all backgrounds, to just improve that community I think sends a message of unity.”

Contact Cameron Gorman at cgorman2@kent.edu.

8 The Kent Stater

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

OPINION

‘Do you pray, son?’

JOSEPH McGRELLIS’ VIEW

Andrew Atkins At a medical appointment in November, the chiropractor peered down at me, my head in his hands, and posed a question: “Do you pray, son?”

“No, not really,” I answered, a little bit more than concerned.

“Well, you should. It doesn’t matter what you pray to, but you should pray,” he said.

Crack.

He left the room, and I left the office, taking my sense of bewilderment with me.

The chiropractor had no way of knowing. He had no way of knowing that just a few days prior, at some point in the early morning hours, my dad died in a field outside of a gas station some 2,000 miles away from where I was sleeping — totally unaware of the person ripped out of my life.

He had no way of knowing my dad had no funeral. And he had no way of knowing how much his colloquial use of “son” wounded me more than he could probably imagine.

And who was he to tell me to pray? Where had it gotten me? To be frank, too many selfproclaimed people of faith use their religion as little more than a thin veneer of benevolence to mask or excuse their own hateful ideologies.

Watching people justify personal attacks with faith left me jaded and disinterested in the pursuit of religion.

I didn’t pray then, and I still don’t — but, I recognize my flawed thinking.

See, death has a way of blinding you: the good becomes bad, and the bad becomes ugly.

I walked through a world of my own in the days after my dad’s passing. Days went by and I barely ate, got out of bed or cleaned up after myself. I withered like the last leaves of autumn peppering the air outside.

At a staff meeting, I told my coworkers what was going on: “My dad died. I’m doing okay”

— I wasn’t — “but I need some space right now.” The rest of the staff, huddled around the conference room table, looked down in stunned, uncomprehending silence before the next person finally spoke up and the meeting moved forward again.

At the end of the meeting, I gathered my things in a hurry, eager to go home. A coworker caught my arm on my way out the door, pulling me aside.

“Hey, Andrew, I’m sorry about what happened,” she said. “I’ll pray for you.” Then she turned and left.

I stood for a moment in disbelief, feeling something come trickling back from a place in my mind I had surely forgotten.

The chiropractor’s words made sense with a sudden blistering clarity: It doesn’t matter what, but we should all believe in something. If nothing else, in the good of each other.

Sometimes, faith is all we have.

Andrew Atkins is a columnist.

Contact him at aatkins5@kent.edu.

‘‘

It doesn’t matter what, but we should all believe in something.”

– Andrew Atkins

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.

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

‘America First?’ Not here.

Joseph Langan President Donald Trump ran on an “America First” platform, but the military budget he passed through a Republican-controlled Congress hardly reflects this.

Today’s job market virtually requires Americans to earn four-year degrees, while the alternative for most is accepting a near minimum wage service job. However, The Guardian recently showed full-time workers earning minimum wage being only able to afford one-bedroom rentals in 12 counties in the entire nation.

This seems to undermine Trump’s “America First” slogan.

The average four-year college degree exceeds $25,000 per year, and that price continues to rise. Total student debt exceeds $1 trillion, a massive deterrent on spending and investment in our economy. Yet Trump’s defense budget features an increase of more than 10 percent; that’s $54 billion. And that value is just added on to the $600+ billion the U.S. already spends on the military annually.

Meanwhile, more Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are committing

What fuels us Bruno Beidacki I arrived at the São Paulo International Airport Sunday at 10:41 p.m., Brazil time, as New Orleans Saints kicker Will Lutz had just kicked a field goal to put his team up one with 25 seconds remaining. As an avid supporter of the Minnesota Vikings, the Saints’ opponent, I was devastated. There was no way my beloved football team could get enough yards in so little time to kick a field goal or score a game-winning touchdown.

Well, turns out, there was.

With ten seconds left on the shot clock, Case Keenum threw a mid-range pass to wideout Stefon Diggs, who escaped from a tackle, ran for about 35 yards and capped a 61-yard touchdown as time ran out.

The Vikings, with the miraculous win, secured a spot at the NFC Championship Game, where they will

suicide — on average 22 per day — than dying in combat. With cuts to social programs across the country, it’s clear that our veterans aren’t receiving the support they need. Given the state of the Middle East, one has to wonder: What was all of this for? We already spend more on the military than any other nation. In fact, we spend more than the next 10 countries combined.

Does this kind of spending put Americans first, or the companies that profit from the wars Americans die in?

Let’s take Afghanistan, for instance.

It’s the longest war the U.S. has entangled itself with. It has been 16 years, surpassing even the infamous conflict in Vietnam. The psychological impact on civilians who’ve grown up under the constant shadow of our unparalleled, and legally dubious, drone warfare program has not been properly considered. The tremendous consequences of civilian casualties has only increased the aggression in those regions, fueling wars without end. Al Qaeda, for example, has seen continued growth in Afghanistan since the 2001 invasion. Are the results worth the cost in human lives?

It seems odd that the president

face the Philadelphia Eagles. They are now one game away from being the first team in NFL history to play the Super Bowl in their own stadium.

When Diggs caught the pass and scored the touchdown, I screamed. I didn’t care that there were hundreds of Brazilians who had no idea why Americans call football “soccer.” I didn’t care that they would look at me weirdly and wonder why a 22-yearold staring at a TV from outside an airport TGI Friday’s was yelling like a madman. I didn’t care because I was so darn happy.

The question, then, becomes “Why?” It’s weird to think that a bunch of dudes throwing, catching and kicking a football can bring said excitement from someone who didn’t even grow up watching the sport.

But, the answer is simpler than we think: We are fueled by entertainment.

We work so we can save money to cover our basic needs, of course. However, we also work so we can go watch the 37th ‘Fast and Furious’ movie, travel to Cancun for spring break or buy the brand new James Patterson novel, even though it is just like the last one.

Entertainment is, well, fun.

Without movies, sports, paintings, theater, literature and music, what would we look forward to after a long

should pass this budget increase when nearly the same sum could make public colleges tuition-free — an investment in America and Americans that could yield greater returns than any military jet or missile. If even a small fraction of the annual hundreds of billions of dollars was reallocated to efforts in tuition-free education, universal healthcare coverage, viable infrastructure and transportation systems, the return on investment for Americans would be profound. These investments are direly needed.

Americans face mental health disorders at rates unseen in much of the developed world. According to The Atlantic, within a 12-month period, 27 percent of Americans will experience some type of mental health disorder.

Yet, over 13 million of our citizens are expected to lose their healthcare coverage due to the passing of the recent Tax Bill.

With students, veterans and workers clearly being put last, who exactly comes first in Trump’s America?

Joseph Langan is a columnist. Contact him at jlangan3@kent.edu.

day at the office?

What is necessary, however, is to figure out how we can use entertainment and the energy it brings us to make a positive change. It might not seem possible, but entertainment could be the answer to social, economic and political progress in the United States and the world.

This is what our opinion page will strive for this semester: to bring columns and cartoons that entertain and positively influence our readers.

As the opinion editor, I can’t promise a certain amount of impact we will make. However, I can guarantee you that we are committed to producing and publishing high-quality, wellreported content that is serious but fun, meaningful but enjoyable.

Throughout the next few months, you will be introduced (or re-introduced) to some of Kent State’s most passionate and skilled opinion writers and cartoonists. We hope you follow their work along and, even more importantly, participate as well.

My email is open for submissions, collaborations and project ideas. After all, The Kent Stater and KentWired are just as yours as they are ours.

Bruno Beidacki is the Opinion Editor.

Contact him at bbeidack@kent.edu.

KentWired.com 9

NUMBERS TO KNOW:

46 Cranberries singer Dolores O’Riordan dies at 46

The leader of The Cranberries, the Irish band, died “suddenly” Sunday, according to a statement from her publisher. No further details were disclosed on the cause of her death.

7

QB Playoff experience: Comparison of Brady and the rest

The Patriots quarterback has played seven times as many playoff games as the Eagles’ Nick Foles, the Jaguars’ Blake Bortles and the Vikings’ Case Keenum combined.

Cheers&Jeers

Cheers to ... black pudding. After getting locked inside his own walk-in freezer, a British butcher used a frozen black pudding to hit the stuck release button and escape.

Jeers to ... expensive wine. A Russian man ended up behind bars after ramming into a wine store with a stolen armored personnel carrier. He left after taking a single bottle.

10 The Kent Stater

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

SPORTS

Highlights of Korinek’s big games in women’s basketball, men’s basketball’s inconsistency over winter break Cameron Hoover Sports Editor National Sports Tagovailoa leads Alabama to a national championship After a first half that saw Alabama starting quarterback Jalen Hurts complete three of his eight passes for just 21 yards, Georgia built a 13-0 lead.

The, Crimson Tide coach (and Kent State alumni) Nick Saban made a gutsy call: He benched Hurts for someone who hadn’t played a snap against an FBS opponent for three months: Tua Tagovailoa, a freshman out of the same high school in Hawaii that produced Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota.

The decision paid off. Tagovailoa led a furious comeback for the Crimson Tide,

completing 14 of his 24 passes for 166 yards and three touchdowns, including a 41-yard bomb to DeVonta Smith to win the game in overtime.

The 26-23 victory was Alabama’s fifth national title in the last five seasons and the sixth of Saban’s career.

Cavaliers struggling to win as Golden State thrives After last season’s NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers, the two teams seemed on a collision course to meet again in next season’s final round. However, after the trade that sent Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics and the Cavaliers’ recent run of form, this prediction has been called into question.

Dating back to Christmas, the Cavaliers struggled. LeBron James was frustrated, yelling at his teammates during a 34-point

defeat to the Toronto Raptors, and the team blew a 24-point first-quarter lead against the Indiana Pacers.

Meanwhile, Golden State hasn’t missed a step. The team is 35-9 this season, even as star point guard Stephen Curry has missed extended time due to injury. The Warriors have won seven of their last eight games heading into Monday’s matchup with the Cavaliers in Cleveland.

Kent Sports Mixed bag for men’s basketball Inconsistency plagues Kent State’s men’s basketball team (8-9, 2-2 Mid-American Conference), but the explanation may lie in the team’s home/road splits.

The Flashes are 6-2 at home this season compared to just 2-7 on the road and at neutral sites. The team scored a big win over the Pac-12’s Oregon State and a solid MAC

Junior guard Jaylin Walker reacts to a Kent State turnover during the 4th quarter as the Flashes tried to rally late against Northeastern Monday, Dec. 18, 2017, at the M.A.C. Center.

Kent State lost, 81-69. Clint Datchuk / Kent State University Athletics

contender in Central Michigan, but lost on the road to Albany, Northern Illinois and Miami (OH), where the team was down by as many as 29 points in the first half.

Junior guard Jaylin Walker leads the team with 17.1 points per game, followed by junior center Adonis De La Rosa (11.7 ppg) and senior guard Kevin Zabo (11.3 ppg).

Junior guard Jalen Avery leads the country with a 7.33 assist-to-turnover ratio.

The team returns to the court tonight at 7 p.m. at the M.A.C. Center to host Western Michigan in an attempt to return to .500.

Korinek leads women’s basketball through tough schedule Kent State’s women’s basketball team (9-8, 2-3 MAC) has traversed a brutal schedule, which has included only four home games and a stretch where the team played three games in as many days, thanks to solid play by Jordan Korinek.

Korinek is averaging 20.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game this season, while shooting 49.6 percent from the field and 83.2 percent from the free-throw line. The senior forward has 10 games this season with 20 points or more, including her current stretch of five straight.

The Flashes received a boost on Dec. 30 with the return of Megan Carter after the sophomore guard sat out the first semester of the season. Since her return, she has averaged 15 points per game, setting career-highs in three of her five games this season.

The team will travel to Bowling Green at 7 p.m. Wed., Jan. 17, at the Stroh Center for their next game.

Other sports Kent State wrestling has a record of 10-6, including solid finishes at the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas and Cleveland State open. Sophomore Tim Rooney has a record of 22-7, including 9-1 in dual meets. The Flashes wrestle again at 7 p.m. Friday at Ohio University in search of the team’s first conference victory.

The Kent State track and field teams won 14 total events, eight for the men and six for the women, at the Doug Raymond Invitational on Sat., Jan. 13. Both teams return to action on Friday at home in a dual meet with Akron.

Kent State gymnastics won its first meet of the season Sunday against Centenary College, 195.050-178.875. Senior Rachel Stypinski won four events (bars, beam, floor and all-around), while junior Dara Williams took first place in vault. The Flashes’ next meet is at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 19, at the M.A.C. Center as Northern Illinois comes to town to open MAC play.

Contact Cameron Hoover at choove14@kent.edu.

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

CLASSIFIEDS Come join numerous other Kent State students and be a part of our Moose family at Happy Moose Streetsboro 9436 State Route 14. Now hiring hostesses, servers, bartenders, cooks, dishwashers and food runners. Close to campus, part-time hours and great work environment. Apply online at happymoosebarandgrill.com or stop in to fill out an application.

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 330253-2450 for more information.

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Visit KentStateRentals.com or call 330-968-2727 No application fee’s! All modern/ remodeled apartments & townhomes.

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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.

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KentWired.com 11

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