Screen removed prior to fall

The student who fell from an Olson Hall window in October was alone in his room, and Kent State Police Lt. Christopher Jenkins said the window screen was removed manually.

“The university has safety methods built in structurally to all the academic residence halls,” said Jenkins, lieutenant for investigations.

Freshman pre-journalism major Paul Monnin fell from a fourth-story window onto the first-floor roof behind Olson Hall on Oct. 30.

Monnin was treated in intensive care after he suffered two broken wrists, an injured spleen and a broken nose. He was discovered by two students who saw him lying on the roof out of another window in Olson Hall.

Betsy Joseph, director of Residence Services, said the windows in Lake and Olson Halls are in good shape, and as long as students comply with the window safety rules in the Hallways Handbook and don’t remove screens, they are safe.

“This was not a malfunction of the window or screen,” Joseph said. “Students are not to remove screens from dorm windows.”

Jenkins said the investigation is still open.

Joseph said in her six years at Kent, she doesn’t recall seeing anything like this happen.

“It just doesn’t make sense how any of this could have happened,” she said.

Joseph said the university policy is in place to prevent incidents like this from happening.

“We have policies around safety for a good reason, and it’s not just to keep students from having fun,” Joseph said. “If students comply with the policy, they don’t put themselves at risk of being injured.”

Because Monnin was alone in his room when he fell, Jenkins said the officers on the scene requested the on-duty hall staff to go to the room to confirm the identity of the student.

“We have been respectful of the student and allowing him to heal,” Jenkins said. “We have not yet spoken directly to him.”

Contact safety reporter Suzi Starheim at [email protected]

Hallway’s Handbook Window Policy Windows/Removal of Screens

&bull The throwing, dropping, hanging, etc., of objects from a residence hall window is prohibited.

&bull Throwing objects through a window into a room is prohibited. Entering or exiting a residence hall by way of a window also is prohibited and will result in disciplinary action.

&bull The removal of window screens is strictly prohibited. Students will be assessed a charge for replacement of missing window screens. Centennial Court screens must be “in place” and closed at all times.