FALL/WINTER 2020-21 P.O. Box 5190 • Kent, OH 44242-0001 University Communications and Marketing 101188 KENT STATE MAGAZINE Electronic Service Requested Racism and Participants at the Black Lives Matter protest placed colorful pebbles the Rock with painted messages at the base of the Rock. See page 28. After racist messages appear repeatedly on the Rock, Kent State redoubles its anti-racism efforts. SEE PAGE 28 Fall/Winter 2020-21 FEATURES On the cover: Black students on the Kent Campus protest racist remarks written on the Rock. See page 28. Cover photo: Bob Christy, BS ’95 22 PROFILES WKSU Celebrates 70 Years of 20 Traveling through an unfamiliar airport? Radio Excellence Saroj Dahal, a student from Nepal, used his family’s experience to inspire teammates who won the “Improving the Air Traveler WKSU has continued growing in support, radio Experience” challenge during SkyHack 2019. innovation, technology and staff since officially taking to the airwaves on Oct. 2, 1950. 26 Haley Shasteen knows what it’s like to live with brain fog. And millions of other people do, too—although some don’t have the vocabulary to describe it. Now she’s working on a research study to develop a working definition for this common 4 cognitive impairment. 46 “I want to have fun with it.” When Emily Duncan, 28 MLIS ’16, was writing her first young adult fantasy novel, she wasn’t The Rock, Racism, Reconciliation worried about pleasing publishers. Maybe that’s why it became a NYT Best Seller and inspires devoted fans who create art in homage to it. Anti-racism efforts at Kent State have redoubled after racist messages appeared on the Rock. DEPARTMENTS 2 Readers Respond 48 Alumni Life 15 8 President’s 64 Flashback Perspective 65 Giving Voice 9 Flash Forward Squirrel Search In each issue, we hide an image of a black squirrel on three pages (not counting the Table of Contents). If you find all three, you qualify for a drawing to win a squirrel-themed prize. Each 34 squirrel will appear like this: (shown actual size) and will Flashes Guide not be distorted or rotated. When you find them, send us an email at [email protected], Kent State experts offer strategies and tools for 16 listing the three page numbers and places they appear, plus your coping with some of today’s challenges. name and mailing address. For rules and eligibility requirements see www.kent.edu/magazine/rules. 20 26 46 DIRECTOR, CONTENT STRATEGY Bethany Sava, BS ’12 Jen Lennon Melanie Secre Corey Stamco EDITOR Ashley Whaley, BS ’06, MEd ’12 42 Jan Senn Jason Zehner, BS ’05, BA ’08 So Help Me Pod [email protected] CHAIR, BOARD OF TRUSTEES STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Shawn M. Riley Three alumni have created the podcasts they wish SENIOR DESIGNER Bob Christy, BS ’95 John-Noall Reid, BA ’98 Rami Daud, BA ’20 PRESIDENT they could have listened to when struggling with Todd A. Diacon, PhD their own life challenges. STAFF CONTRIBUTORS WEBSITE Lisa Abraham www.kent.edu/magazine INTERIM VICE PRESIDENT Lindsey Brennan, MA ’21 FOR UNIVERSITY RELATIONS Candace Goforth DeSantis, BS ’94 CORRESPONDENCE Rebecca Murphy Jeff Florentine, BA ’11 Kent State Magazine, 160 ASB Anna Garvin, BBA ’22 P.O. Box 5190, Kent, Ohio 44242 SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT Lauren Green, BA ’21 [email protected] AND PROVOST Lindsay Kuntzman Hilewick, BA ’06, MA ’09 330-672-2727 Melody J. Tankersley, PhD Stephanie Langguth, BS ’03, MPA ’19 Joy Loper, MA ’20 Kent State Magazine is published by Kent SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT FOR Eric Mansfield, MA ’12 State University Communications and FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION April McClellan-Copeland Marketing. It is available to faculty, staff, Mark M. Polatajko, PhD CONTENTS Julie Miller, BS ’87 alumni, donors and friends of the university Katie Null, BS ’21 two times a year (fall/winter, spring/summer). readers RESPOND Chinese communists invaded Vietnam, I hope that our personal and collective via EMAIL some not so good but all interesting and Soviets mobilized and we stood on the brink quests to understand will never end. worth noting. And the Winner Is… of a nuclear war—no demonstrations. Thanks for a very good issue that helps us Memorial Mention The shootings started out as polarized Congratulations to Claire Pressler, It is important to remember that there understand better. God bless you, me, Kent I have not been back to Kent State since and divisive, with barely a place to hold a BA ’15, Lakewood, Ohio, who applied are always things that we don’t know, that State, America, Vietnam, Cambodia, Earth. 1983 so I have not seen your memorial. discussion without a public fight, but fifty to the KSU Fall 2020 ABSN (Accelerated we might not even be able to know. It is RAYMOND P. OPEKA, BBA ’79 My thought is, if not already done, that years later the Kent State administration has Bachelor of Science in Nursing) program, important to always ask questions. Grand Rapids, Mich. the names of all the Americans that died made “May 4” part of their agenda. They are so she was back in school fall semester, One thing I learned from your issue was in Vietnam be included. They are the at last on board with an acknowledgement of taking two classes online and two hybrid. that protesters didn’t fear that the National Many Memories reason our four students lived and died. these significant events. (Kent State’s accelerated second degree Guard would shoot or would shoot blanks. I just finished the spring/summer 2020 The names could be like crowns around It took a long time, but the end result is that BSN for non-nurses is created for students The three black squirrels in the spring/ Were the guardsmen more afraid of the edition, which I thought was amazing. Just the memorials of Allison, Jeffrey, Sandra some justice has been done. The families’ who already hold a bachelor’s degree and summer 2020 issue are found in the top protesters than the protesters were of the for fun, I wanted to share my KSU memories. and William. Their heart-wrenching decades of pain have been acknowledged. leads to a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in photo on page 9, greeting the Golden guardsmen? If the students had been At the end of April, my wife and I headed biographies are actually reflections of the The wounded are listened to, not as much as few as 15 months.) Flashes at the Tropical Smoothies Café wiser, they would not have been surprised north on Route 43 to Kent. It was a route I’ve biographies of all who died overseas. In as some parties would like and more than She wrote, “The package made my day! I Frisco Bowl; page 33, hanging out on Tom at the shootings or when many people traveled quite often. We knew the campus fact, this “micro war scene” of young others would like but, unlike the early annual love everything. The card is staying on my Batiuk’s drawing board; and page 36, supported the guardsmen and sent hate would be deserted (how rare) and we could people dying on their homeland reflects May 4 events, at least this is no longer a desk all semester for good luck.” We wish attending the Kent State Men’s Soccer mail to the wounded. take a leisurely tour. the pain of the Vietnamese and their matter of convincing the administration of her all the best as she prepares to help Alumni Reunion. Their parents were members of “The I showed her where I was when John Glenn horrific day-to-day life. the school or the State of Ohio that what meet the huge need for nurses. Thanks to all who entered! Greatest Generation.” They had not only orbited the Earth and when John Kennedy Thank you for all who have dedicated so occurred was an unnecessary tragedy. survived two World Wars and the Great was killed. We drove by the Hub where we much time in order to not let our country It deserves and finally has received via MAIL Depression, they had helped spread commuters hung out. I showed her where the forget. Maybe, maybe we will not make the acknowledgement and continued analysis and the students. It was not pretty. democracy and prosperity, end colonialism ROTC building was that got burned; I had an same mistake again. by the university. We have nothing to thank Reflections on May 4, 1970 RICHARD SCHROER, BS ’66, PHD ’70 and segregation, built businesses, elementary ed class there. We also checked ROSEANN STROEBEL, MA ’83 but the passage of time for that. But I I was at Kent from the fall of 1962 until the Colfax, NC universities, etc. They were facing nuclear out the hill where the shootings took place. Mentor, Ohio don’t think it is a reach to state that there summer of 1970. (Although I was out of town I walked that hill often going to the phys ed annihilation from two rampaging communist Editor’s Note: The war deaths were are things that we still need to learn from the on May 4, 1970.) How can you devote the majority of a superpowers. They were indulgent and building and to music appreciation. memorialized by 58,175 daffodil bulbs shootings at Kent State. As I read John Mensch’s letter [spring/ magazine on the May 4 Shootings without tolerant of their kids’ immaturity and I hadn’t planned to go to college. I planted on the hillside site to symbolize the MARK BLOCH, BA ’78 summer 2020, “Readers Respond,” page 2], mentioning the “heroic” actions of Dr.