Culture
A New Home
for Activism O
n a rainy, cold spring day in 2017, students marched down the Esplanade, holding signs reading “I defy racism” and “I defy sexism” while others chanted “My body, my rights.” Other cheers focused on the Trump presidency. The march ended at front campus, when the students painted the rock with hot pink spray paint, Planned Parenthood’s colors. Around 30 students gathered in Risman Plaza while leaders from different student organizations led speeches to encourage students to resist hatred and bigotry. The first time senior Emma Getz walked into a Planned Parenthood Advocates of Kent State meeting she instantly felt welcomed. Activism wasn’t a part of her life until college, but she is now the President of three organizations on campus: Planned Parenthood Advocates of Kent State, The United Nations Children’s Fund KSU and The Flashes of Fem Coalition. Getz is also an intern at the Women’s Center. “A lot of times you hear Planned Parenthood thrown around, but I didn’t know a lot about it,” Getz says. “I had never gone to the clinic, but I just knew that the type of people who were in
that organization usually aligned with my values, my beliefs and the things I like to do.” Planned Parenthood’s initiative is to educate college students on women’s reproductive health. During meetings, they discuss topics such as different methods of birth control, prices and insurance, as well as weekly meetings the organization participates in outside events, such as the PRIDE parade in Akron. Getz compared the protests she participates in on campus to the ones she has gone to that aren’t affiliated with the university. Last January, Getz went to the women’s march in Cleveland which she describes as empowering. “I was amazed at how much people care,” Getz says. “There was a girl who’s up there talking, and she was a DACA recipient. She was crying because she was having a really hard time talking about it, and she kept apologizing and were just shouting out ‘Oh, it’s ok. We love you, you got this.’” Getting involved on campus is a part of the college experience for many students at Kent State. From 4 the Love of Paws to History Club, there are over 400 student organizations to join. Professor Ashley Nickels of the political science department believes the large amount LEFT: Emma Getz, president of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Kent State, The of opportunities colleges United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) KSU and The Flashes of Fem Coalition. offer is the catalyst for MIDDLE: Kevin Cline, secretary of YAL and senator for the College of Communication and Information for Kent State’s Undergraduate Student Government. college activism. RIGHT: Tala Niwash, president of Students for Justice in Palestine. Niwash is “The college wearing a checkered and floral scarf called a keffiyeh, which she describes as “a scarf experience [is] a space to that represents resistance and solidarity with Palestine and the Palestinian people.”
College students find their voice through advocacy WORDS BY
Amanda Levine
PHOTOS BY
Sophia Adornetto & Olivia Seidel
become immersed in different opportunities. So getting involved in different clubs, different student organizations, you see students becoming participants and members,” Nickels says. “Over time, as people are invited to engage more, they see this as a being a part of creating change.” Kent State is no different. Kent has a history of activism. On May 4, 1970, students were protesting the Vietnam War on Memorial Field, when the National Guard opened fire — killing four and wounding nine. The May 4 museum, located in Taylor Hall, is now recognized as a national landmark. More recently, alumna Kaitlin Bennett has held multiple open carry protests along with Liberty Hangout, a student organization Bennett formed on campus. She was previously the president of Turning Point USA-Kent, before resigning. Bennett and Liberty Hangout teamed up to educate fellow students on open carry laws and the second amendment and brought Kent into the national spotlight when her graduation pictures went viral for holding an AR-10. Tala Niwash, president of Students for Justice in Palestine, didn’t consider herself an activist until she attended Kent State. During Niwash’s freshman year, she went to Blastoff where she saw the Students for Justice in Palestine group. It was here that she found people with beliefs and values similar to her own, especially after living through the occupation in Israel-Palestine.
