Welcome to Flash Friday! In this series, we introduce you to fascinating student Flashes from all walks of life.Meet Sally Maltempi, a senior chemistry major with a focus in biochemistry and a music minor at Kent State University from Rootstown, Ohio. Maltempi currently tests foodborne diseases at the Crystal Diagnostics microbiology lab by day and sings opera at night.  Maltempi works for the Kent State Gospel Choir, performs in the Kent State Opera Theatre and serves as the vice president of Student Advocates Supporting Singing.  Maltempi’s interests led her to science. But si...

  While Kent State University may be a smoke-free campus, the state of Ohio is another story.Ohio has the fourth-highest rate of cigarette smoking in the country with about one-fifth of residents reported to still be smoking in 2019. This is 11.5% higher than the national average, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.In other parts of the country, increased taxation for smokers has inspired a precipitous decline in rates of smoking. According to a recent article from Ohio Capital Journal, rates of smoking dropped from 20.9% in 2005 to 11.5% in 2021 thanks ...