Community & Society

Since October 2019, select public relations students at Kent State University have been working hard to complete a campaign for the 2020 Annual Case Study Bateman Competition client: the United States Census Bureau. The National Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) hosts this competition each year challenging participants to develop and implement a comprehensive communications campaign for a client.

Kent State University’s administration, faculty and staff have stepped up to collect the university’s personal protective equipment (PPE) to donate to local entities in dire need of medical supplies.
 

Tara C. Smith, Ph.D., epidemiology professor in the College of Public Health, shares her perspective on the current coronavirus pandemic: "It seems like years have passed since the world first heard of an 'atypical pneumonia' circulating in the Hubei province of China in December 2019. When we’ve seen similar reports in the past, the illnesses have had a variety of causes, but all were eventually containable..."

They remember the sights and sounds of helicopters and trucks as the Ohio National Guard moved into their small college town. They remember the smell of tear gas. They remember the chants of the protesters against the Vietnam War and invasion of Cambodia. They remember the panic and fear that ensued immediately after they heard that four students were killed and nine wounded when the guardsmen opened fire on campus. On May 4, 1970, many people in Kent experienced a traumatic event that they will never forget.

Two Kent State professors partnered with the Summit County Juvenile Court and Hands of Gratitude over the summer to teach juveniles how to assemble prosthetic hands for children in Central America and were featured in the Akron Beacon Journal.

Kent State University College of Public Health professor Tara Smith, Ph.D., was featured on Sean Carroll’s Mindscape podcast to talk about the novel coronavirus (and its associated disease, COVID-19) pandemic. Smith gives insight on what measures are useful and which are probably not.

In lieu of traveling to a crowded beach for spring break, some Kent State students will opt for a more informative spring break trip. From March 22-26, 2020, students will head to Jackson, Miss., to learn about the complexities between the Kent State May 4 shootings and the Jackson State shootings, both of which occurred in May of 1970.

While teaming up with The Academy of American Poets, the Wick Poetry Center at Kent State University created a national contest where poems were submitted to honor the 50th commemoration of May 4, 1970. Director David Hassler reported to KentWired that over the span of three months, nearly 600 submissions were sent in.

While Kent State University prides itself on providing a diverse and inclusive community for students, faculty and staff, Main Street Kent is showing how the city of Kent also embraces the same sentiment.

Rachel Pike-Lee and Zachary Wehr, two veterans share their stories about how the Center for Adult and Veteran Services has helped them transition to university life and has supported them along the way.