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Hi all. My name is Jamie, and I'm a reporter with the Daily Kent Stater, the student newspaper at Kent State University. I'm working on a story on why high school students chose to and maybe not to attend Kent State.

I'm looking to talk to anyone who might have seriously considered Kent and decided to attend or perhaps decided not to attend.

Thanks for your help!

Jamie

You can e-mail me at jcarrach@kent.edu
Daily Kent Stater
stater.kent.edu

By Jrc007 (Jrc007) on Monday, July 07, 2003 - 09:54 pm: Edit

Perhaps the stigma involved with the 1970 riot?

People may see this two ways:

(1) As a chance to attend school in an environment that carries historical significance, or:
(2) As a school with a checkered past and dubious reputation as far as student safety is concerned.

I doubt that's really much of a factor, but, honestly, that's the first thing I thought of when I saw this post!

By Sirmoreau (Sirmoreau) on Monday, July 07, 2003 - 11:41 pm: Edit

Bloodyness comes to mind when I think of Kent State.

By Momof2 (Momof2) on Tuesday, July 08, 2003 - 10:19 am: Edit

Jamie - I believe the outlook of the current generation of students is still heavily colored by the impressions of their parents' generation - the college students of the late 1960's and 70's. Whether or not these impressions are true today, many adults still shudder at the name. That too, will pass. Most people no longer have an aversion to Dallas based on 1963.

By Chrisd (Chrisd) on Tuesday, July 08, 2003 - 12:00 pm: Edit

Other than May 4, I don't think KSU has any sort of reputation outside of Ohio. I imagine that KSU has some excellent programs, but I don't know what they are and I only live 15 minutes away from the school. Some better PR would probably help. It has a reputation of being a school where students who don't want to leave home attend.

By Spartan858585 (Spartan858585) on Tuesday, July 08, 2003 - 07:26 pm: Edit

The only reputation that Kent State really has is its outstanding mid major basketball program. They, like Gonzaga, are usually the "Cinderella" team in the NCAA Tournament.

By Libroschico (Libroschico) on Wednesday, July 16, 2003 - 08:48 pm: Edit

I live about a half-hour away from KSU and I have visited the campus several times for academic events. Kent State is definitely a school for kids who don't want to leave home. At my high school, many seniors elect to live at home and attend either the Kent campus or the Stark campus. (Akron U is also a favorite for stay-at-home students) I think that KSU has lost a lot of appeal over the years for students who don't live nearby. My AP English teacher grew up in New York and chose to attend Kent State because of its (now diminished) liberal reputation. Despite the school's noteriety for the May 4, 1970 massacre, it is no longer the "activist" school that it once was. The students who do move to KSU often choose to attend because of its modest tuiton and reputation for the journalism and nursing programs, but the school rarely surpasses regional appeal. As for myself, I'm not considering KSU. Too close for me -- my idea of college is far different from my peers who choose KSU & Akron U. I think that college should be a new experience, not merely an "extended high school" of living at home and driving to class.