Kent State’s new Student Mediation Services will be hosting a grand opening Tuesday, Jan. 27 in Twin Towers (Beall-McDowell) from 4-7 p.m.

Student Mediation Services was created at the beginning of the fall 2014 semester. Its goal is to offer free aid when resolving conflict between students.

“Folks here at the university were seeing that there was a lot of conflict,” said Jacquelyn Bleak, program manager and Kent State alumna. “Conflict is inherent to being a human, and there wasn’t a service available for students to manage conflicts that were happening to them.”

With a mediator acting as an impartial third party, Bleak said people are able to better manage tense situations that they can’t work out on their own. These problems include issues with a roommate or challenges with friendships or romantic relationships.

The goal of the grand opening is to bring attention to the new mediation service so that students can get involved. The event will offer refreshments while attendees brainstorm new ideas for the service such as hashtags or a motto for the Student Mediation Service office.

Guests are also welcome to enjoy the art exhibit that will be on display.

“We had an art competition,” Bleak said. “The student who won will receive a $100 Amazon gift card at the grand opening. Their art will also be hung up (outside of the mediation office) for two years.”

She said she wishes to spread the word throughout campus that mediation is a positive and effective way to solve conflict. All students are welcome to seek the help of Student Mediation Services whenever they feel help is needed.

“Ultimately this service should provide students with a way to grapple with these (issues) that come up in our everyday lives,” Bleak said. “If this office can provide people with a better understanding of how to handle certain situations, then I think that this service can be successful.”

Contact McKenzie Jean-Philippe at [email protected].