Kyeisha Muhammad, UT:10 News Reporter TOLEDO, Ohio
​UT students are working with Conversation Partners to help international students learn English as a second language

Jedah McGee, UT:10 News Reporter
TOLEDO, Ohio - Wersell's Bike Shop is teaming up with Read for Literacy for Glow Roll 419. The even will celebrate fall bike riding and literacy programs in Northwest Ohio.

TOLEDO, Ohio - An active shooter training exercise was held last week in the same building where Toledoans were voting in the primary election. 

Some voters are raising concerns that such an event would coincide with an election day at a polling place. 

It is unclear who was responsible for the scheduling conflict. 

The active shooter training was an annual drill for students at Toledo Early College High School (TECH), which operates on Scott Park campus, owned by the University of Toledo. 
​Gloria Pankey, a Toledo resident campaigning outside the site, said police began going in and out of the building at 7 a.m. 

Two people left after learning about the active shooter simulation from a police officer, she said. 

“Some people were coming up and he [a police officer] was saying they were going to be pulling guns and shooting, it was going to be loud, so they just left,” Pankey said. 

The training exercise was inside one end of the building while voting was happening on the other. 

Black curtains were the only thing separating the two events. The building’s exterior windows were not covered. 

Some students posed as wounded or killed victims in the concourse hallway, said Kaylee Zervas, a senior at TECH. 

A sign that read, “Do not enter there is an active shooter training in session,” was displayed. 

Police Presence 

Officers from the Toledo Police Department (TPD), University of Toledo Police Department (UTPD), firefighters, and medics took part in the simulation. 

UT campus police were assisting, UT Chief of Police Jeff Newton said, but there was no interference with the voting. 

“I think any allegation of that is silly,” he said. “The exercise was about 15 minutes. We met with the board of elections to make sure everything was satisfactory to them and it was. 

“It did turn out those two things were scheduled at the same time, but I don’t think anyone had any awareness of it until late in the game.” 

But Julian Mack, a local activist, said the heavy police presence was intimidating for some. 

“It’s no secret that college students and the African-American community have a decent, justified fear of law enforcement,” he said. 

In a Facebook Live video filmed by Mack at 2:09 p.m., nine officers are seen inside the building near the polling site. 

“At every exit or where you enter there were armed police guards,” said Zervas. 

Toledo police did not return calls for comment. 

Scheduling Snafu 

LaVera Scott, executive director of the Lucas County Board of Elections, said she learned about the active shooter training the day before the election via an email from a UT reservations assistant. 

The email stated that police officers and firefighters would be circulating the building and activating emergency alarm systems. 

“My conversation with her was that ‘somebody had to know before this time,’” she said. “We had sent notification months ahead of time and they’ve been a polling location for a very long time so that wasn’t anything new.” 

The active shooter training required poll workers to set up in a different part of the building from previous elections, Scott said. 

“Needless to say, that doesn’t give you any time to move a polling location,” Scott said. “It was bothersome but I’m glad voters still went to vote. But I do know it did cause some concern for some people because they didn’t know what was going on.” 

Karen Berman, principal at Toledo Early College, said UT police notified her of the scheduling conflict the day before the election. Scheduling events in the building is not a function of the school, she said. 

UT spokesperson Meghan Cunningham declined an interview but released a statement that said the board of elections was notified in advance of the training. 

The training lasted about 20 minutes, Cunningham said. 

Mack said he has reached out to the ACLU of Ohio about the incident. 

“That type of fear factor should not be so close to a voting booth on election day. Somebody should be held accountable, without a doubt, the question is ‘who?’”
​
By Sarah McRitchie

TOLEDO, Ohio - Although the stigma against marijuana is being erased by increased public acceptance, UT police chief Jeff Newton says that it is still prohibited on campus.
  In Fall of 2017, UT’s School of Population Health performed a survey of UT students and found that 20% of them had used marijuana in the preceding 30 days.
  Marijuana is legal for medical use in 25 out of the 50 states. Ohio was added to the list in September 2016. 
 It’s only prescribed for certain medical conditions, like epilepsy, anorexia, and anxiety says UT professor of health Tavis Glassman. 
  However, Glassman says that marijuana is still a drug. Because it contains carcinogens, there are very serious short-term and long-term risks.
  Glassman says marijuana isn’t as physically addictive as nicotine or heroin, but chronic users might experience irritability and sleeplessness without using it.
  “This isn’t your daddy’s weed,” says Glassman of the marijuana available for use today. The psychoactive element of marijuana, THC, is much stronger than it was even as short a time ago as the 1960s.
  Glassman says there’s different forms of THC available in the marijuana plant, edibles, and waxes or oils. The seriousness of risks is dependent on the dosage and frequency of marijuana use.
  Glassman says that more research is needed to discover the medical benefits of marijuana consumption, but senior communications major Kemonte Glover believes it’s the best medicine for himself.
  Glover says he uses it to stay calm and reduce his anxiety. He says it helps him focus.
  He says he doesn’t bring it on campus, and his mom doesn’t approve of his use, but he finds time to drive up to Michigan and smoke with family and friends.
  Marijuana was approved for recreational use in Michigan in November 2018, and Glassman says that its increased accessibility will increase use of marijuana.
  He says that medical marijuana normalizes marijuana use.
  However, Newton says that while those caught with marijuana on campus will face punishment, like fines, jail time, or suspension from school, he doesn’t see marijuana use as a current problem on campus. 
He says any infractions are well-handled by the Office of Residence Life, and the severity of punishment is dependent on the amount the person is caught with and their intent.
  “Just because it’s natural doesn’t mean it’s healthy,” Glassman says. “You don’t see me rolling around in poison ivy.”

Rachel Schneider, UT:10 News Reporter
​April 7, 2019
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MAUMEE, Ohio - The Toledo Area VegBASH held its third event here in the 419 this past Sunday.
The one day celebration of vegetarian and vegan cuisine featured over 30 food venders, artists, and local businesses selling cruelty free or plant based products.
According to Innova Market Insights, there was a 45 percent growth in vegan food and beverage products from 2013 to 2017.
With vegetarian and vegan diets becoming rapidly more popular - 2019 has been called The Year of The Vegan.
Susan Stark and her husband, Thom, came to an event three years ago as patrons.
At the time, Thom was a retired health care professional with health scares of his own.
They were given samples the Essante Organics products, and noticed dramatic results.
Now, they swear by the plant based products and sell the same supplements. “We noticed, after about a year, the surgical scar he had, about 15 inches, was disappearing, so naturally I started taking it and I felt so much better.”
Lynda Martinez has been eating a vegan diet, free of meat and dairy for the past year and a half. She says she has experienced numerous improvements in her health. “I can see better, I feel better, I don’t have a lot of the stomach problems that I had previously. So, I definitely have seen the benefit of taking away a lot of the garbage.”
Plant based diets and supplements have also risen to popularity in the weight loss industry and health professions.
If you’re looking for an excuse to go vegan, you can find one at Vegbash.