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The independent news website of The Kent Stater & KSTV

KentStater

The independent news website of The Kent Stater & KSTV

KentStater

The independent news website of The Kent Stater & KSTV

KentStater

Illustration by Emily Riebe

Post-election fear: What’s next for LGBTQ+ rights?

Grace Claxon, Reporter December 19, 2024

Anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric dominated 2024 election campaigns on both federal and state levels.  Inflammatory ads from President-elect Donald Trump portrayed LGBTQ+ people, particularly transgender people,...

The LGBTQ+ Center, PRIDEKent and Trans*Fusion co-hosted a Trans Day of Remembrance Monday at The Rock. The event followed the recent defacing of a transgender pride flag on the campus monument.

Kent State students, community remember lives lost to anti-trans violence

Adriana Gasiewski, Reporter November 18, 2024

Students and members of the Kent community held hands and tea lights as the names of 60 individuals who lost their lives to anti-transgender violence this year were read aloud. The LGBTQ+ Center, PRIDEKent...

Trans pride flag on campus rock defaced

Trans pride flag on campus rock defaced

Grace Claxon, Reporter November 15, 2024

A trans pride flag painted on Kent State’s campus rock on Hilltop Drive, with the words “we must live” across it, was recently vandalized. The message was blacked out and replaced with “leave kids...

Upcycled goods for sale at the store Sun in Leo located in Acorn Alley. Oct. 17, 2024.

Sun in Leo provides low-cost, gender-affirming clothing during Rainbow Weekend

Kayla Gleason, Reporter November 1, 2024

Sun in Leo, a queer-owned store in downtown Kent that sells upcycled clothing and accessories, provided a space for LGBTQ+ vendors during Rainbow Weekend. Justine Gallo, owner of Sun in Leo, hosted...

Rainbow Weekend lights up Kent

Grace Claxon and Jillian Flack October 11, 2024

Kent’s Rainbow Weekend returns Oct. 11 and 12 to celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month with a colorful lineup of events. Rainbow Weekend, first celebrated in 2020, intends to uplift the queer community and...

Kent volunteers decorate Main Street Bridge for LGBTQ History Month

Jonathan Beard, KSTV Reporter October 11, 2024

Volunteers from Kent State University and community members decorated the Main Street Bridge for Rainbow Weekend, a partnership between the university's LGBTQ+ Center and the nonprofit organization Main...

LGBTQ+ students across campus woke up on Sept. 17 to see homophobic graffiti on Korb Hall. After numerous attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, the university’s response has always been silence. | File photo

Kent State must take action against homophobia

Alton Northup, News Director October 1, 2024

On Sept. 17, LGBTQ+ students across campus woke up to see homophobic graffiti on Korb Hall. In an email to students, Chris Jenkins, interim director of public safety and chief of Kent State University...

Illustration by Bailey Bowles.

Caught between worlds: LGBTQ+ community battles bisexual stereotypes

Grace Claxon, Reporter September 18, 2024

Despite growing acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community, those who identify as bisexual often find themselves caught between worlds.  Bisexual Awareness Week, from Sept. 16 to Sept. 23, sheds light on the...

Homophobic messages displayed on Korb Hall exterior, outside Tri-Towers

Homophobic messages displayed on Korb Hall exterior, outside Tri-Towers

Grace Claxon, Reporter September 17, 2024

Derogatory messages aimed at the LGBTQ+ community were written on the exterior of Korb Hall and the pavement outside the Tri-Towers Rotunda Monday night. Korb Hall houses the LGBTQ+ Living-Learning...

Graduates pose on stage Thursday at the Kent Student Center Ballroom for Lavender Graduation, an annual event honoring the accomplishments of LGBTQ+ graduates.

Lavender Graduation celebrates accomplishments of LGBTQ+ graduates

Aden Graves, Reporter May 3, 2024

Students, staff and families filled the Kent Student Center Ballroom Thursday for Lavender Graduation, an annual event honoring the accomplishments of LGBTQ+ graduates. The LGBTQ+ Center started the...

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has signed a bill into law banning transgender students from using school bathrooms and locker rooms that match up with their gender identity. The law requires people at Ohio K-12 schools and universities use the restroom that aligns with their gender assigned at birth. | File photo

Inside House Bill 183: Ohio’s latest bathroom bill

Aden Graves, Reporter April 27, 2024

On the night of a formal dance at their high school, Aiden Zapisek, who identifies as non-binary and gay, entered a stall in the men’s bathroom. Soon after, a group of boys walked in and surrounded the...

In memory of Nex Benedict, a non-binary teen who died in February, participants of the KSURGE Candlelight Vigil hold candles and observe a moment of silence on March 21, 2024.

‘How many more?’: Candlelight vigil honors LGBTQ+ hate crime victims

Aden Graves, Reporter March 22, 2024

LGBTQ+ students and allies gathered Thursday at the rock on Hilltop Drive for a candlelight vigil honoring Oklahoma nonbinary teen Nex Benedict, who died last month one day after a school fight. Kent...