Community & Society

Kent State student Gage Thompson in Paris

“Acknowledging our nation’s strengths doesn’t negate the need for introspection and improvement,” writes Kent State University sophomore Gage Thompson in this point-of-view commentary.

Kent State Today
Kent State Army ROTC cadets raise the American flag during the university’s 2022 Veterans Day Commemoration.

Kent State University invites all to pay tribute to those who have served in the U.S. armed forces and attend the university’s annual Veterans Day Commemoration. The event will take place at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 9, at the Student Green on the Kent Campus.

Rising Scholars written on the Rock with students around it

“Rising Scholars is a great program for our local youth,” said Paul Dykshoorn, academic program director for Rising Scholars at Kent State Tuscarawas. “We mentor each student throughout their middle school and high school years. We teach them life lessons as well as help with issues going on at school.”

Detail of a Day of the Dead display in the Kent Student Center

A Kent State student organization celebrated the Day of the Dead by assembling colorful, cultural displays around campus.

Caplan, Dellinger, Prufer, and Giffels review material in the May 4 Visitors Center

New Wave ’80s band Devo isn’t just from Ohio. Devo wasn’t just created in Akron. Devo was forged at Kent State University under the pressure of the turmoil of the late ’60s and the events surrounding May 4, 1970. Authors David Giffels and Jade Dellinger brought their book “The Beginning Was the End: Devo in Ohio” to Kent State for a book signing and discussion.

Kent State Today
Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights and Planned Parenthood organizers and volunteers canvassing in Akron, Oct. 28

“For students especially, this is our future. This is about your individual rights as a person, and it's incredibly important because this is the future that we have for Ohio,” said Sam Zern, a graduate student in Kent State University’s College of Public Health and regional field organizer for Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights. Zern is working to help others see what she believes is the Issue 1's value.

Costumed students at the 2023 University Libraries Halloween Party

The Kent State University Libraries' annual Halloween party is one of the most anticipated on-campus events of the year. 

Students shop at Spirit Halloween for last-minute costumes

Halloween is just around the corner, which means Kent State students are on the hunt for the perfect Halloween costume. In what was once a discount store, the spirit of Halloween is alive and well. The pop-up store Spirit Halloween is here to help students get their nick-of-time broomsticks, fangs and more. 

Carved Halloween pumpkins outside of Beall Hall

Signs of the Halloween season can be found lurking all around campus. 

A collection of pumpkins with Kent State carvings in them.

With Halloween approaching, festivities will be in full swing this weekend at Kent State University and downtown Kent. “Halloweekend” can be full of treats, but you never know what tricks will arise when it comes to safety. Sgt. Tricia Knoles gives her top safety tips, and discusses how her team will be working to keep students safe this holiday weekend.