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DAILY KENT STATER Monday, October 4, 2010 • The independent student newspaper of Kent State University • Weather: Showers, HI 53, LO 47 LATEST UPDATES AT KENTWIRED.COM Sign up to receive breaking news updates from Kent State student media at KENTWIRED.COM Jinae West [email protected] Daily Kent Stater Huntington Bank recently unveiled a new policy, the first of its kind for a major national bank, that grants customers a 24-hour grace period on checking overdraft fees. To alert customers of overdrafts, Huntington offers new overdraft grace period Customers will get email, text alerts before being charged Two students injured in crash on Main street Huntington sends them both text and e-mail messages. Custom- ers then have one business day to deposit money without penalty. Consumer checking accounts are automatically enrolled in the protection service. Dave Schamer, Huntington director of deposits, confirmed the bank will lose approximately $24 million in revenue because of this policy and a second plan that waives overdrawn balances less than $5, but it hopes to make it up in deposit volume and market shares over the next several years. The grace period, which came into effect Sept. 20, comes at a time when many banks are looking for ways to appeal to consumers. In August, a federal law was imple- mented that prohibits banks from charging fees when customers overdraw their accounts through ATMs and everyday debit card purchases, unless they agree in advance to pay the charge. Schamer, who helped develop the policy, said when most people make a mistake, they know they’ve made it. What customers don’t like, he said, is when the mistake is a simple timing issue, such as clear- ing a check, and they’re penalized. “I think (the 24-hour grace period) is a differentiator for our brand,” he said. William Shivers, Huntington president of the Akron-Canton region, echoed a similar senti- ment, saying the policy is a way to give back to consumers. Most other banks offer some kind of overdraft protection. First- Merit waives one overdraft fee a year, and Chase and Fifth Third alert customers by text message if their accounts fall below a cer- tain amount. Other banks, such as PNC, waive fees if the overdrawn amount is less than $5. For U.S. Bank, the fee is waived for over- drawn balances less than $10. Rick Coe, CEO of Portage Com- munity Bank, said Huntington’s one-day policy is conceptually “outstanding,” but said his bank has been doing it since PCB opened its doors more than 12 years ago. “And we technically don’t have a limit of 24 hours,” he said. As a small community bank, Coe said PCB makes decisions about overdraft charges manually, meaning the bank considers each charge on a case-by-case basis. He said if a consumer overdraws his or her account but has a respon- sible fiscal history at the bank, the charge will most likely be waived. Coe said the overdraft limit per customer is three. David Dumpe, Kent State assistant finance professor, said the 24-hour grace period is a nice accommodation for customers, but it could be abused. He said if people repeatedly overdraw their accounts, the bank should be able to collect those fees. Under Huntington’s program, the number of overdrafts per person is unlimited; however, Schamer said risk measurement systems deter- mine how much can be overdrawn. Ryan Young [email protected] Jessica Kanalas [email protected] Daily Kent Stater Kent police are still searching for a dark-colored truck after a hit and run Friday on Main Street that left two Kent State students injured. Cassie Norman, sophomore athletic training major, was treat- ed for muscle strain in her neck, and her sorority sister, 19-year-old Laura Clark, received 13 stitches after the accident. Sgt. James Prusha, who was on duty and at the scene, said the Hit-and-run suspect still at large JESSICA YANESH | DAILY KENT STATER Gerald Casale, member of the band DEVO, speaks at the Centennial Alumni Exhibit reception Friday in the Art Building. Casale graduated from Kent State in 1970. Read tomorrow’s Daily Kent Stater to find out why texting and driving is so dangerous that the House has already passed a bill banning the act. JESSICA KANALAS | DAILY KENT STATER Two students were injured Friday after their car was rear-ended in a hit-and-run accident just before 2:30 a.m. on Main Street. JESSICA KANALAS | DAILY KENT STATER Cassie Norman, sophomore athletic training major, was driving her white Mazda and was picking up Laura Clark, 19, on the side of the road just before the intersection of Main and Willow Street. Kent Police Department is look- ing for the truck, but there are no leads at this time. “I think it was a pretty square hit,” Prusha said. “We’ve had different witnesses give con- flicting reports on make and model, but we’re looking for a dark-colored truck with some front end damage.” Kent police have sent out mes- sages to surrounding police sta- tions to help look for the vehicle. So far, no vehicle matching the description has been reported. Norman was driving her white Mazda and was picking up Clark on the side of the road at about 2:30 a.m. Friday just before the intersec- tion of Main and Willow streets. Norman said she put her hazard lights on and pulled over because there were no cars around at the time. Once Clark got into the back seat, Norman said she saw a dark-colored vehi- cle approaching. “I remember saying, ‘this is going to make them mad,’” Norman said. “Then they just didn’t stop.” Adam Bergh, a sophomore marketing and entrepreneurship major, witnessed the white car slow down when a black truck ran into the back of their car, pushing them about three car-lengths from the point of impact. See HIT AND RUN, Page 5 See DEVO, Page 5 A 25-year-old man arrested for drug trafficking Wednesday at the 2600 block of state Route 59 does not live at Campus Pointe apart- ments as previously reported. A Portage County Drug Task Force press release identified Ryan J. Haubert as living at the apartment complex, but deputies later confirmed the residence was incorrect. Haubert is originally from Massillon and was charged with trafficking in drugs and posses- sion of criminal tools, both fifth- degree felonies. — Kelly Byer Deputies correct residence of man arrested for drug trafficking last week Prosecutors deciding about filing charges in last weekend’s Campus Pointe brawl Maura Zurick [email protected] Daily Kent Stater More than 177 students have donated nearly $600 so far to the Campaign for Change to aid the organization in giving scholarships to fellow students. Campaign for Change is an organization that was started to teach students about giving and staying connected with other stu- dents, alumni and faculty. Tiffany Schultz, the associate director of the Office of Annual Giving, said the program started in 2007. Since then, parents, students and faculty have helped raise more than $41,000 with the Campaign for Change scholarship fund. The money donated is used to award one student with a scholarship of $1,250 every year to aid with the costs of tuition. “We’re off to a strong start this year. We have a group of five amazing student volunteers that lead our effort to encourage stu- dents to take pride in their uni- versity and support their fellow Flashes,” Schultz said. The money not used toward the scholarship each year is placed in an endowment, which is an invest- ment fund used to help sustain income for an entity. They were able to raise enough money to endow the fund and provide scholarships for the future. To be eligible for the Campaign for Change scholarship, students do not have to donate but they Student donations fuel scholarships for other students Campaign for Change has netted $41,000 since starting in 2007 do need to apply online through the financial aid website. Stu- dents who donate are also able to receive one of eight $500 book scholarships through the Office of Annual Giving. Angela Bakopoulos, sophomore speech pathology major, said she would give to her fellow students through Campaign for Change. “I would donate $10 because a lot of students need the extra finan- cial aid to help them get through school and it’s a good way to get kids to give back to their school by helping others.” This is the type of idea that Campaign for Change is trying to instill in all the students at Kent State. Campaign for Change has a mission of trying to teach students that philanthropy begins at home and that there is a great power in numbers. Penn State University has a simi- lar program called For the Future. That program has been supporting and encouraging students for over 10 years. Penn State’s program has six initiatives that all strive to better the future for students. Penn State students must be children of alumni while Kent State students can still apply for scholar- ship even if they do not donate. Melanie Ekdahl, the adminis- trative assistant to the assistant director of Penn State For the Future Program, said the pro- gram does not involve student donations but it does try to bring connections between students, faculty and alumni. “We strive to raise about $2 bil- lion a year. This money is being raised for students, and it’s raised by PSU Alumni, staff and faculty,” Ekdahl said. Sarah Lack [email protected] Daily Kent Stater Gerald Casale, co-founder of DEVO and a Kent State alumnus, spoke Friday as a part of the Cen- tennial Alumni: Firsts exhibit in the School of Art Gallery. Casale discussed his time at Kent State, as well as the pro- gression of his creative career from high school to DEVO and his experience directing music DEVO co-founder stresses the importance of keeping artistic relevance living videos and television spots. He shared several examples of his work in the form of video clips, including the music vid- eos for DEVO’s “Whip It” and Soundgarden’s “Blow Up the Outside World,” both of which he directed. He also shared several TV spots, including commercials for Miller Lite and PBS. Above all, Casale stressed the continued need for artists and creative minds in today’s world. The Portage County Sheriff’s Department has turned over its report about an early-morning fight on Sept. 26 at Campus Pointe to county prosecutors, Maj. Den- nis Missimi said Friday. Prosecutors are expected to decide whether any charges will be filed by early this week. Once a decision is made, the full incident report will be available to the pub- lic, Missimi said. Witnesses of the 40 to 50-person fight said a crowd collided around 2 a.m. between buildings 1837 and 1839. People spent several minutes fighting with each other as well as attacking a single man. Kelly Lewton, director of com- munity operations at Campus Pointe, said if any residents are charged, they will be evicted from the property. Deputies have said they don’t expect to make any charges because no suspects have been identified by the apart- ment’s surveillance tape or wit- ness accounts. Keep checking KentWired. com and the Daily Kent Stater for updates. — Ashley Sepanski
