Between visiting the beautiful Kent State University campus and joining in on the fun in downtown Kent, there’s never a dull moment around here. Travelers from far and near find themselves drawn to the local shops, restaurants and activities. Or maybe with graduation looming, parents are coming to town looking for a place to stay for the weekend. The area has plenty of traditional stays like our very own Kent State University Hotel and Conference Center, but we wanted to know what other options exist for the traveler looking for a “home away from home” for their visit to the area. The co...

When I first came to Kent State in 2019, I was determined to follow the path of becoming a Marriage and Family Therapist. My counselor at the Twinsburg branch campus explained to me how Human Development and Family Sciences with a Family Life Education concentration would be the perfect fit for me. For the last 4 years, I was still set on that same end goal. Three years ago, I entered into the workforce with the older adult population. I started out as an Activities Assistant at a skilled nursing home, and then being an in-home Caregiver for Portage County over the last two years. Du...

Smartphones make traveling so much easier ... most of the time. But research shows too much of it can actually make your trip seem worse than it really is. Andrew Lepp, Ph.D., a professor at Kent State University who studies the impact of mobile phones and social media on behavior, recently talked to Vox about how “Your Phone Is Ruining Your Vacation.” “The question then is: Do they enhance our leisure or do they distract from it?” Lepp told Vox. “It can do both, but if we’re not careful, it can diminish our experience of leisure.” According to the Vox article, once you unlock your ph...

Want to obtain designer clothing and bags at a lower price? Businesses that sell secondhand garments and bags allow buyers to do that at a fraction of the original price, as highlighted by consumer reporter John Matarese of WCPO-TV in Cincinnati, Ohio, in a recent story that aired on multiple television stations across the country in more than 20 states. Lauren Copeland, Ph.D., assistant professor at Kent State University’s School of Fashion, shared her knowledge on the topic. She told the reporter that luxury brands must figure out where they fit in in this new era of working from home...

Kent Blossom Art Intensives (KBAI) is a series of two-week studio art workshops conducted each summer through the School of Art at Kent State University. Since 1968 this series of intensives has given students and individual artists the opportunity to learn from and work alongside prominent artists while creating their own body of work. Claire Bowman, assistant of print media and facilities coordinator at the University of Dayton, attended KBAI twice, focusing on print media. Bowman attended the program the first time to get a feel for the studio prior to kicking off her Kent State g...

Does recycling trash in the dining hall make students smile or does seeing a smiley face emoji make students recycle their trash?  Recycling trash may make students smile, but research conducted at Kent State proves that seeing a smiley face emoji will make students more prone to recycle their trash, according to the results of the research, which was conducted during Fall Semester 2022.  The research project “Effects of a Smiley Face on University Students Recycling Behavior at a College Cafeteria” was led by Kiwon Lee, Ph.D., assistant professor in the School of Foundations, ...