By Matt Fredmonsky

Record-Courier staff writer

In many ways -- both good and bad -- the students of Kent State University affect businesses, residents and city services throughout their college career.

Many residents, entrepreneurs and politicians often describe an air of vibrancy or a sense of energy when talking about the student population's impact on the city of Kent.

Mark Frisone, director of Family and Community Services, a non-profit social service agency that oversees homeless shelters and food pantries, said university programs touch many of the lives of those in need throughout the community.

At the end of the year, the agency's throw-and-go program provides large bins and trucks to collect furniture, clothing and non-perishable food items left behind in dormitories for re-use. For the past 30 years, KSU students have served as tutors in the county's black community centers. And fraternities and sororities provide the agency with a constant stream of laborers for community service projects.

"If you tried to attach a numeric figure, it would certainly be in the tens of thousands of dollars," Frisone said.

During the agency's last fiscal year, more than 750 KSU students volunteered with Family and Community Services in Kent.

But students also lean on the agency for help. Last year nearly 1,000 students relied on the agency for food, shelter, clothing, debt and psychological counseling.

"What we receive from the KSU students far, far, many times over, outweighs what we give to the students," Frisone said. "We could not do what we do to benefit the community the way we do without the university students."

Currently, KSU students are working to create an on-campus chapter of the United Way of America in conjunction with the Portage County United Way charity fund-raising organization.

Steve Kleiber, executive director of the United Way of Portage County, said the campus branch is awaiting some necessary paperwork approval to make the chapter official.

"It's a student organization with a focus on the United Way in the community," he said.

Liz Strawman, office administrator for the United Church of Christ of Kent, also attends services across East Main Street at the United Methodist Church. The churches are two of the closest to campus and within walking distance to university and off-campus student housing.

Strawman said each church has about a handful of students in attendance on any given Sunday -- not a lot for the proximity to campus.

"I would say it's because they're busy getting acclimated to college life," she said. "It could also be because they seek a more contemporary worship."

At Kent Presbyterian Church on Summit Street there are three different services, including a contemporary worship targeted at university students. There, students serve as members of the choir, by teaching Sunday school classes and in leading junior high and high school fellowship programs. Student attendees there also participate in fellowship events, like an upcoming white-water rafting outing, and take part in mission outreach efforts through a program called Hands and Feet.

John Graves, a member of the church who works in the outreach programs, said in an e-mail dozens of students participate in the church in many ways.

"We are a stronger church not just because of their participation at Sunday services, but because of the contributions of time and talent by Kent State students," Graves said.

City leaders, often critical of student actions, understand students don't just deteriorate neighborhoods and create a larger burden for services.

Kent City Councilman Ed Bargerstock, whose Ward 5 includes many streets adjacent to campus, said not all KSU students are responsible for continuing neighborhood nuisance issues.

"All in all, the students have a positive impact," he said. "There's certainly an air of vibrancy. It makes it cosmopolitan. It's exciting."

Often, city police officers and administrators are viewed by college students as having a negative attitude toward them. Kent Safety Director William Lillich said that's not entirely the case.

"I wouldn't want to paint the picture all bad," he said. "Members in the city administration recognize there are a lot of nice people going to school at KSU."

This story is part one in a four-part series: Impacting Where They Live; KSU students integrate into the city.