Liquid Crystal Day features speaker, tour of Institute

The Liquid Crystal Institute will hold its second annual Liquid Crystal Day beginning at 8:30 a.m. today at the Samsung Auditorium, located on the first floor of the Liquid Crystal and Materials Sciences Building.

The event will feature speakers, a tour of the facility and the opportunity to interact with representatives from industries that use liquid crystal technology.

Registration for the event is $10. For a full schedule of events go to http://www.lci.kent.edu/lcd/index.html.

—Douglas M. Kafury

Softball All-Night Tournament offers fun under the stars

At 2 a.m. April 29, when most of campus is sleeping, partying or passing out — the sound of a softball cracking against a bat will ring throughout Allerton Sports Complex.

Today is the last day to register teams for the Softball All-Nighter Tournament.

“Get your team registered fast before the tournament fills up,” advised Dustin Lent, intramural graduate assistant. “We typically start the tournament around 11 p.m. and play through the night. The more teams that are registered, the longer you will play.”

Lent said last year the tournament lasted until almost 4 a.m. He said it is single-elimination, and play continues until only one team from each league is left.

The leagues are women’s, men’s and co-rec, which is a team of both men and women. The all-nighter tournament follows the same rules as the regular intramural softball season. The only exception is batters start with a full count, two strikes and three balls, instead of one strike and one ball, Lent said.

“If you are playing in the softball league right now, this team does not need to be that same team,” Lent said. “A lot of teams take half of one team and combine it with half of another team to form one really good team. This is also a great opportunity for those who aren’t playing in any league right now and just want the chance to play.”

Lent said intramural softball is so popular that a summer softball league also is offered.

Those interested in the all-nighter tournament or the summer league should call (330) 672-4REC.

—Tanika Snyder

Film, discussion speaker focus oncivil rights issues

The Justice Studies Department is sponsoring a film showing and panel discussion on civil rights issues at 7 p.m. today in room 133 of Bowman Hall.

“Post 9/11 Security Detentions in the U.S.: Civil Rights Issues and Policy Impacts on Individuals and Families” will start with a film titled Persons of Interest. The film will be followed by speakers and a question and answer period.

Persons of Interest focuses on the experiences of U.S. immigrants taken into custody by the U.S. Justice Department after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The film presents a series of encounters between former detainees and the directors, Alison Maclean and Tobias Perse.

Speakers at the event will include Gary Daniels, litigation coordinator for the Ohio ACLU and Kent State alum. A specialist in immigration law and Akron attorney, Farhad Sethna, will also speak at the event.

The event is free and open to the public.

The Women’s Studies program and the Muslim Students Association in collaboration with the Ohio Civil Liberties Union are also sponsoring the event.

— Maureen Nagg

Ravenna Wal-Mart hoping to super size by early 2007

The Ravenna Township Zoning Board was presented with the initial plans for an expansion of the Ravenna Wal-Mart store on state Route 59 last night. Lynn Miggins, a representative for Wal-Mart, discussed plans to make the current store into a Super Wal-Mart. The upgrade would include the addition of a full grocery store as well as a gas station close to the entrance.

Miggins said the plans would expand the store into the area from where the store currently ends all the way to the end of the strip at Goodwill. The owner of the shopping center will transplant these stores to a nearby area.

The store will stay fully operational while undergoing the expansion, which is expected to take about a year. The store is expected to be at Super Wal-Mart status by early 2007, Miggins said.

—Sarah Baldwin