OPINION Expanding the police state at the risk of liberty Record-Courier Tuesday August 26, 2014 Page A4 Cagle cartoon syndicate EDITORIAL BOARD DAVID E. DIX, Publisher ROGER J. Di PAOLO, Editor HEATHER CONDLEY RAINONE, Managing Editor CHAD MURPHY, News Editor Serving Portage County since 1830 Rolling out the welcome mat in Kent nn Making KSU students feel at home benefits community, too K ent’s newest residents — the incoming class at Kent State University — received a great welcome Saturday, thanks to the efforts of the Kent Area Chamber of Commerce, the Central Portage County Visitors & Convention Bureau and KSU’s Office of Student Success Programs. Thousands of new students made their way downtown aboard trolley to take part in Discover Downtown, an event welcoming them to the community and the downtown retail district. The students were greeted by members of the business community and city leaders, given gift bags by Main Street Kent that included coupons, menus and information from retailers and invited to explore the downtown area. Many enjoyed hot dogs and beverages as they listened to bands and visited information booths along Main Street, which was closed to vehicular traffic. Mayor Jerry Fiala, who took part in the welcome and helped at the food booth, said Discover Downtown is “by far the best opportunity for Kent to shine and for the students to be introduced to their new home.” He’s right. Rolling out the welcome mat for the students is a great way of making them feel at home. Kent’s downtown area has so much to offer students, both day and night, that an introduction during their first weekend in town can do a great deal to encourage them to explore the city and help dispel the temptation to “go home” when classes end on Friday. Helping them discover a new home in Kent can do a great deal to ease their transition into college life, and having them feel at home in the community also enriches Kent, too. Discover Downtown was a success — the weather was perfect and the crowds of students seemed to enjoy themselves. It’s becoming a new tradition for both Kent State and Kent, and all involved in making it so are to be commended. OUR VIEW Ice bucket sensation The Ironton Tribune A viral fundraising campaign — the Ice Bucket Challenge — is, ironically, the hottest thing on social media right now. People from all over the country have taken the challenge to dump buckets of ice water over themselves to raise money and awareness for ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. It’s a simple concept: Donate $100 to the ALS Association or film yourself dumping a bucket of ice cold water over your head. Then, publicly challenge others to do the same. Some have asked, “How is ice water going to cure ALS?” Well, it’s not going to cure anything. But it has brought the disease into the forefront again and thankfully, most of those participating in the challenge are also donating money that will go toward finding a cure. In fact, according to the ALS Association, almost $16 million was raised between July 29 and Aug. 18. The Ice Bucket Challenge may seem strange to some, but this viral sensation has the potential to do a lot of good for many worthy charities all over the world. Remembering Jason Bitsko The sudden death of Kent State University’s own Jason Bitsko has left holes in the hearts of those he touched wider than the gaps he plugged as a lineman for the Golden Flashes. But now members of the community can help honor Bitsko’s memory through a memorial fund set up in his name. Bitsko, a 21-year old Huber Heights native who was set to start at center for KSU this season as a redshirt junior, was found dead in the bedroom of his off-campus apartment by a roommate last Wednesday morning after he failed to show up for practice. Police believe he died in his sleep from an undetermined medical issue. Jason’s parents, Randy and Pam Bitsko, have requested that in lieu of flowers, donations should be made to the Jason Bitsko Memorial Fund to support the Kent State University Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Checks should include “Jason Bitsko Memorial Fund” in the memo line and be mailed to the Coalition for Christian Outreach, 5912 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15206. Donations can also be made online at https://secured.ccojubilee.org/ donate/602-Jason-Bitsko-MemorialFund. Bike racks are art, too What do trains, trees and music all have in common? They reflect the personality of Kent’s heritage, but are also among the winning designs for the city’s new artsy bike racks. City engineers invited designers, artists and the public to participate in a competition to design and create bike racks to be installed throughout downtown that offer more aesthetics than traditional, uninspired racks. The city paid to have the winning designs installed last month as part of a redevelopment project intended to make the downtown more friendly for cyclists and pedestrians with enhanced features including benches and trash/ recycling receptacles. Keep your eyes peeled for the many winning designs that, among others, include colorful silhouettes of famous Kent architecture including the Main Street bridge, the Star of the West Mill and the train depot that now houses The Pufferbelly Ltd. (all located outside Panini’s on South Water Street); a music note (located outside Troy Grille on East Main Street); a red jack (located outside the Off the Wagon toy and gift shop on East Main Street); a decorative tree (located outside Scribbles letters Police: Watch out for school traffic in Kent Kent State University students have returned and Kent City Schools start Wednesday, Aug. 27. I would like to offer a few reminders to drivers in the Kent area to help ensure a safe start to the school year. n School zones will become active again. Kent police officers strictly enforce speed in the school zones, which are 20 mph when flashing. ALONG THE WAY Jeremy Nobile Coffee Co. on North Water Street); and locomotive wheels (located outside the Pufferbelly Ltd. on Franklin Avenue). Don’t be shy. They may look like works of art — because they are — but no one will scold you for hitching your bike to them. Changes for Kent Stater As print news across the country struggles for viability in a media landscape revolutionized by the Internet, another local publication is scaling back its commitment to paper and ink. The Daily Kent Stater, Kent State University’s student newspaper, has dropped the “Daily” from its name plate beginning this semester as it focuses more on the web and mobile news and reduces print publications from five to just three days a week. The first issue of the revamped “Kent Stater” filled signature blue kiosks on campus Monday. The Stater will continue to publish hard copies only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays — similar to the three-day-print model recently adopted by the Cleveland Plain Dealer — according to a story posted on kentwired.com, the dedicated website for the student media group. The website will be refreshed continually with daily content, though, so check it often for university news and happenings. In recent years, the summer edition of the Stater cut out weekly publications to focus solely on the web. At other times in the past, because of budget constraints largely created by dwindling ad revenue — an issue every newspaper in the country battles — the paper trimmed publication to four days a week. However, this will be the first time the paper will officially drop the “Daily” since taking the DKS name. While the reduction in print is simply a sign of the industry’s tumultuous times, it means new opportunities for media, especially at the college level, to reinvent themselves. The change also means the RecordCourier truly is Portage County’s only daily newspaper. But don’t worry about us. We’re not going anywhere. n Stop for yellow school buses loading or discharging students with their lights activated upon approaching from either direction. (On roads with four or more lanes, stopping is only necessary when approaching in the same direction the bus is headed) n Pedestrians have the right of way in crosswalks, however, no pedestrian shall suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle. Dropping off and picking up children from schools can be hectic. Please leave plenty of time to accomplish this task and have patience. There will be an increase in vehicular and pedestrian traffic as the school year begins. Some new KSU students are not from the area (many are not even from the United States.) Allow for extra time when traveling through Kent. Be very careful about increased pedestrians in the campus area and the areas around Kent City Schools. Thank you for contributing to a safe school year. Lieutenant Jim Prusha, Kent Police Department Ebola and education The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer The news in America was joyful. Two brave American health professionals, Dr. Keith Brantly and Nancy Writebol, flown to the United States after they fell ill with the deadly Ebola virus in Africa, walked out of the hospital last week. However, a lack of information about QUOTE OF THE DAY the deadly disease, spread by close contact with blood, vomit and other secretions, is deadly at ground zero in West Africa. Health officials there must do a better job educating people about Ebola and the world must help these suffering countries get medical supplies and recruit volunteer health professionals. This moment contains all moments..” C.S. Lewis A m e r i c a’ s attention recently turned away from the violence in Iraq and Gaza toward the violence in FerRON PAUL guson, Mo., following the shooting of Michael Brown. While all the facts surrounding the shooing have yet to come to light, the shock of seeing police using tear gas (a substance banned in warfare), and other military-style weapons against American citizens, including journalists exercising their First Amendment rights, has started a much-needed debate on police militarization. The increasing use of military equipment by local police is a symptom of growing authoritarianism, not the cause. The cause is policies that encourage police to see Americans as enemies to subjugate, rather than as citizens to “protect and serve.” This attitude is on display not only in Ferguson, but in the police lockdown following the Boston Marathon bombing and in the Americans killed and injured in “no-knock” raids conducted by militarized SWAT teams. One particularly tragic victim of police militarization and the war on drugs is “baby Bounkham.” This infant was severely burned and put in a coma by a flash-burn grenade thrown into his crib by a SWAT team member who burst into the infant’s room looking for methamphetamine. As shocking as the case of baby Bounkham is, no one should be surprised that empowering police to stop consensual (though perhaps harmful and immoral) activities has led to a growth of authoritarian attitudes and behaviors among government officials and politicians. Those wondering why the local police increasingly look and act like an occupying military force should consider that the drug war was the justification for the Defense Department’s “1033 program,” which last year gave local police departments almost $450 million worth of “surplus “ military equipment. This included armored vehicles and grenades like those that were used to maim baby Bounkham. Today, the war on drugs has been eclipsed by the war on terror as an all-purpose excuse for expanding the police state. We are all familiar with how the federal government increased police power after September 11 via the Patriot Act, TSA, and other Homeland Security programs. Not as widely known is how the war on terror has been used to justify the increased militarization of local police departments to the detriment of our liberty. Since 2002, the Department of Homeland Security has provided over $35 billion in grants to local governments for the purchase of tactical gear, military-style armor, and mineresistant vehicles. The threat of terrorism is used to justify these grants. However, the small towns that receive tanks and other military weapons do not just put them into storage until a real terrorist threat emerges. Instead, the military equipment is used for routine law enforcement. Reversing the dangerous trend of the militarization of local police can start with ending all federal involvement in local law enforcement. Fortunately, all that requires is for Congress to begin following the Constitution, which forbids the federal government from controlling or funding local law enforcement. There is also no justification for federal drug laws or for using the threat of terrorism as an excuse to treat all people as potential criminals.