Despite all of the disruptions caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Kent State University seniors have stayed on task to graduate on schedule. A team of six seniors (four from Twinsburg Academic Center, two from Trumbull) made their final Twinsburg student group presentation via Zoom videoconferencing on April 16, each contributing remotely, from their own homes. This was the final requirement for Instructor Tim McFadden’s Business Consulting and Practicum course. Through the use of Zoom Technology, McFadden, Business Program Director at Kent State Columbiana, makes his course availa...

Community Engaged Learning Launches Kent State Together Community Engaged Learning has organized "Kent State Together," a collection of virtual volunteering opportunities that enable all of us to make a difference while staying safe and healthy. Some opportunities are tailored to Kent State University and the surrounding area, while others are more regional and national in scope. We not only want to contribute to the COVID-19 response through this initiative, but we also want to bring together Flashes from near and far (including Alumni and all regional campuses)! As you c...

By: Lisa Dannemiller, Interim Chief University Physician   Spring is in the air which means the return of pesky allergy symptoms to many people. Warmer weather and spending more time outside can precipitate allergy symptoms. With the current COVID-19 Pandemic, people may wonder how they will know if their symptoms are from allergies or COVID-19. In typical allergy symptoms, you will not have a fever or body aches which occurs with COVID-19, flu and other viral infections. If your symptoms feel different than your normal allergy symptoms, that could be a sign that you have COVID-19 or an...

By: Tara Smith, PhD – Professor of Epidemiology, College of Public Health   I can’t count how many times I have said “we just don’t know yet” in interviews while discussing the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus responsible for causing COVID-19. Scientists and public health officials are operating without having all of the information about this new virus, and that makes it incredibly difficult to make confident predictions. In fact, the uncertainty makes the present conditions difficult for all of us. So, when I was asked to write about what will happen betwee...

By: Sydney Evans – Junior, Public Health Major and Undergraduate Student Government College of Public Health Senator   "Life is 10% of what happens to you, and 90%” how you react to it." This is a quote from one of my favorite poems, “Attitude” by Charles Swindoll. For the last month, the social distancing rule has been a hot topic around the world and has prompted me to appreciate those words by Swindoll even more. So, what exactly is social distancing you ask? According to the Center for Disease Control, it is defined as “the act of physically distancing and reducin...

Congratulations to Tim Ogolla, Soumya Chandrasekhar and Xinfang Zhang for winning 1st, 2nd & 3rd place in the CPIP Spring 2020 Final Research Presentations. Each of them will receive a $25 dollar gift card to Amazon. Along with everyone else who presented will receive free memberships to OSA, SPIE and SID student chapters. Thank you again to everyone who presented and attended the research presentations! Also special thanks to the student chapters for their support and donations! ...

Kent State University’s virtual 50th Commemoration to honor and remember the events of May 4, 1970, will take place online beginning Friday, May 1. Visitors to the May 4 50th Commemoration website will be able to view a variety of special videos, online exhibits and interactive tours, all designed to honor and remember Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer and William Schroeder, the Kent State students who lost their lives 50 years ago on the Kent State campus. On May 4, 1970, the Ohio National Guard fired on Kent State students during an anti-war protest, killing four stude...

When students decide what college or university to attend, one of the biggest decisions that follows is whether to live on campus or commute to campus from home or an apartment. While living on campus is an integral part of the college experience for some students, each of these options has its perks and drawbacks, and students who commute should know that they have plenty of company, particularly at Kent State: according to data from Institutional Research, 49.2% of Kent State Honors College students commuted to campus during the fall 2019 semester.    Gra...

Have you ever seen the “nasty green slime” – properly known as a harmful algal bloom, or HAB in Lake Erie? Remember the July 31, 2014 “Do Not Drink/Do Not Boil” public health warning messages in Toledo? Tests revealed that the algae was producing microcystin, a sometimes deadly liver toxin and suspected carcinogen. Experts say that without properly addressing the issues of high nutrient pollution (nitrogen and phosphorus which stimulate the growth of algae) from sewage, agriculture and suburban runoff, and high water temperatures (linked to climate change) these warnings could become more f...