eInside Events

Kent State University Hosts Third Annual Oxfam Social Issues Banquet

The annual Oxfam Social Issues Banquet features a
hunger simulation where guests receive a meal ticket
representing a socio-economic class that determines the
type of meal they are served and their seating arrangement.

Kent State University’s Office of Experiential Education and Civic Engagement will host the third annual Oxfam Social Issues Banquet that is open to faculty, staff, students and members of the community on Wednesday, Nov. 7, from 11:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. in the Kent Student Center Ballroom.

This year’s banquet will not only bring light to social issues such as hunger, poverty, homelessness and domestic violence, but also give attendees the opportunity to make a commitment to support local efforts.

A new aspect to this year’s event involves students being asked to make a commitment to one of the attending community organizations through a meet-and-greet kicking off the program. Students are encouraged to “Make a Commitment to Learn Something and Do Something.”

The Oxfam Social Issues Banquet will also involve a hunger simulation in which guests will receive a meal ticket representing a socio-economic class that will essentially determine the type of meal served and the seating arrangement (floor, chair, or chair and table). Reflective discussions will leave guests with a new perspective and understanding of the challenges created daily by world hunger.

The hunger simulation will be followed by an engaging panel discussion. The panel discussion will serve to highlight the many ways that faculty, businesses and community organizations are reaching out to support local efforts. In addition, the discussion will serve as a link to experiential learning opportunities.

Guests of the Oxfam Social Issues Banquet are also invited to a Campus Kitchen Open House on the second floor of Beall Hall immediately after the banquet, from 2 to 4 p.m. Guests will have the opportunity to observe first-hand how Kent State students are working to meet local hunger needs by preparing a meal for individuals in the local community.

If you have not yet had the pleasure of partaking in an Oxfam Social Issues Banquet, expect to leave with a new understanding and perspective of how to address social challenges. Click here to watch a video from last year’s banquet.

Motivational Speaker and Author Kyle Maynard to Speak at Kent State on Nov. 8

Motivational speaker, author and entrepreneur Kyle
Maynard will speak at Kent State University on Nov. 8.
Maynard was born a congenital amputee with arms that end
at his elbows and legs that end near his knees.

Photo credit: Kyle Maynard

On Thursday, Nov. 8, Kent State Athletics and the Center for Student Involvement will co-sponsor an event featuring motivational speaker, author and entrepreneur Kyle Maynard. Maynard will present his program “No Excuses” at 7 p.m. in the University Auditorium at Cartwright Hall. The event is free and open to the public.

Maynard wrestled for one of the top teams in the Southeast, set records in weightlifting, fought in mixed martial arts, owns his own CrossFit gym and recently climbed to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. He was born a congenital amputee with arms that end at his elbows and legs that end near his knees.

Maynard has appeared on a variety of shows, including The Oprah Winfrey Show, ESPN Sportscenter, Larry King Live, and 20/20. In 2005, he authored his own book titled No Excuses.

Seats for Maynard’s presentation will be first come, first served. Doors will open at 6 p.m. Attendees are advised to arrive early to grab a seat.

For more information about Kent State Athletics, visit www.kentstatesports.com.

For more information about Kent State’s Center for Student Involvement, visit www.kent.edu/csi.

For more information about Maynard, visit http://kyle-maynard.com/.

Battle for the Wagon Wheel Trophy on Nov. 3

The Kent State community is encouraged to come out to support the Golden Flashes

Kent State University will play The University of Akron on
Nov. 3 in a game that will determine possession of the
Wagon Wheel trophy.

Kent State University and the University of Akron renew their annual rivalry at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 3, at Dix Stadium when they meet in the 42nd battle for possession of the Wagon Wheel trophy.

The wagon wheel currently resides with Kent State on the basis of the Golden Flashes' 35-3 win at Akron last season.

That Nov. 12, 2011 game was also Kent State head coach Darrell Hazell's introduction to the Zips rivalry and the trophy the schools have vied for since 1946. Kent State holds a 21-19-1 lead in the series.

"Any time you get into a rivalry game, all of the records are thrown out," says Hazell. "It's a game of will. At the end, it is a game of execution. I know Akron will be well prepared for this contest."

Having a tangible prize at stake only adds to the excitement when Kent State meets Akron. As the most accepted legend has it, the wheel came off of a wagon owned by John R. Buchtel when it was stuck in the mud during a search for the site of a new college in the spring of 1870. While the incident took place near what is now Kent State University, Buchtel settled on a site in Akron. Buchtel College eventually became the University of Akron.

So there is some shared history behind the wagon wheel, which was unearthed in 1902, "and we'll talk about that quite a bit this week," says Hazell. "Keeping that wagon wheel is huge for us. Our players put everything into that rivalry game because they understand winning means that, for the next 365 days, they can walk around with some pride knowing they kept the wagon wheel in Kent."

Kent State University Day at Cleveland Browns Stadium

Members of the Kent State community can get discount
tickets to the Cleveland Browns vs. Washington Redskins
game on Sunday, Dec. 16.

The Kent State University community is being offered a special discount on tickets to watch the Cleveland Browns vs. Washington Redskins football game on Sunday, Dec. 16, at the Cleveland Browns Stadium. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.

Click here to purchase tickets to the game. The special offer code is Kent2012.

For more information, contact Erica Salinas at 440-824-6162 or email ESalinas@ClevelandBrowns.com.

Kent State Presents World-Renowned Photographer Frédéric Brenner, Oct. 29

Frédéric Brenner, a contemporary French
photographer documenting the lives of the
Jewish community, will deliver a lecture at
Kent State on Monday, Oct. 29.

Kent State University presents a lecture by Frédéric Brenner, a contemporary French photographer documenting the lives of the Jewish community, on Monday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m. in the Kent Student Center Kiva. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Brenner is best known for his opus “Diaspora,” the result of a 25-year search in 40 countries to create a visual record of the Jewish people at the end of the 20th century. During the lecture, he will share his photos and experiences about his journeys.

“Diaspora” was published as a two-volume set of photographs and texts by Harper Collins in 2003 and appeared in four foreign editions. “Diaspora” is also a major exhibition, which opened at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in 2003 and since then has been shown in nine other cities in the United States, Europe and Mexico.

“Brenner’s enthusiastic approach to his art and his profound insights into the human condition will excite all those who attend his presentation,” says Chaya Kessler, director of Kent State’s Jewish Studies program.

Brenner published five other photographic books and has had solo exhibitions at such major venues as the International Center of Photography in New York City; Musée de l’Elysée in Lausanne, Switzerland; Bellas Artes in Mexico City; and Rencontre Internationale de la Photographie in Arles, France.

Born in Paris in 1959 and trained in social anthropology, Brenner, now living in Israel, also draws upon history and philosophy for his project to capture images of the Jewish Diaspora in such places as India, Italy, China, Russia, Canada and the United States.

The lecture is presented by Kent State’s Jewish Studies Program and supported by the university’s College of Arts and Sciences, School of Art, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and Hillel at Kent State University.

For more information about the lecture, contact Kessler at ckessle7@kent.edu or 330-672-8926.

Award-Winning Poet Ruth Schwartz Comes to Wick Poetry Center

Award-winning poet Ruth Schwartz will perform a reading
from her new book at Kent State University on Oct. 30.

The Wick Poetry Center’s Reading Series welcomes award-winning poet Ruth Schwartz to Kent State University. She will be performing a reading of her new work on Oct. 30 at 7:30 p.m. in Room 306 ABC at the Kent Student Center.

“We are very excited to bring Ruth Schwartz to Kent State to read from her new book, Miraculum, released this fall,” says Jessica Jewell, Wick Poetry Center program coordinator. “A National Poetry Series winner, Schwartz's generous and musical poems explore levels of consciousness and healing.”

Schwartz has written four award-winning poetry books, most recently the 2004 Autumn House Poetry Prize recipient, Dear Good Naked Morning. Additionally, she has won more than a dozen national literary prizes, including two Chelsea Magazine Editor’s Awards and the New Letters Prize for Poetry.