(upbeat music) - Coming up next on NewsDepth: university students are protesting over the crisis in Gaza.

A former Kent State student reflects on the 1970 historical event.

We learn about college life.

And we hear some backstage stories about Playhouse Square.

NewsDepth is now.

(upbeat music) Tensions are mounting between students and university officials as pro-Palestinian protests intensify on college campuses.

Hello everybody!

I'm Ygal Kaufman in for Gabriel Kramer.

Thanks for joining us.

Intensifying protests on college campuses over the crisis in Gaza are testing university administrators and police.

A protest is a public expression of objection or disapproval towards an idea or action.

And in this case, the students are protesting the United States response to the Israel and Hamas war.

Protesters say they have the right to assemble peacefully.

But demands to stop them are coming from as high up as the speaker of the house.

Shimon Prokupecz is at Columbia University.

(campus students protesting) - [Shimon] Tense pro-Palestinian demonstrations erupt on college campuses across the U.S. (campus students protesting) The escalation follows a week-long protest at Columbia University where demonstrators set up large encampments.

Emotions are high as university president Minouche Shafik extended a deadline for negotiations.

48 hours with student organizers over dismantling the encampment.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators demanding Columbia cut all financial ties with Israel.

- Our plan is to be here until the university divest disclose and provides amnesty for all.

- [Shimon] Adding pressure to the situation, house speaker Mike Johnson visited campus on Wednesday.

Meeting with Jewish students and calling on the university president to resign.

- I'm here today joining my colleagues and calling on President Shafik to resign if she cannot immediately bring order to this chaos.

- [Shimon] Columbia university recently shifted to hybrid classes due to safety concerns.

Now allowing the option to attend class and take final exams remotely through the end of the semester.

- Thank you, Shimon.

On May 4th, 1970, students at Kent State University held a protest against the Vietnam War.

But, the Ohio National Guard, who was there to help the police keep the peace, opened fire on unarmed college students, killing four and injuring nine others.

The incident sparked national outrage and led to a significant escalation of anti-war protests across the United States.

We now meet, Toledo attorney Lafayette Tolliver.

He was a student and photojournalist at Kent State during that time.

Tolliver reflects on the impact the student protest of May 4th had on a local, national, and person level.

Dan Polletta has this week's sketchbook.

(logo scribbling) (sketchbook whooshing) (pen scribbling) - [Dan] Toledo, Ohio Attorney Lafayette Tolliver was a student at Kent State University.

At the time he was a photojournalism major, writer for the Daily Kent Stater and one of the few African American students on campus.

With Kent State enrollment at about 20,000, African American students felt their needs weren't being met.

In 1968, Tolliver and others started the campus organization, Black United Students also known as BUS.

- [Idris] They were seeking greater representation for faculty and for students on campus and also within three realms.

Academic, social, and cultural issues were of primary concern to them.

There were very few Black faculty on campus.

- [Dan] Tolliver played a key role in BUS activities.

He wrote a column called Basic Black about college life that appeared in the Daily Kent Stater or newspaper.

As a photojournalist, he had unfiltered access to BUS, other student organizations and everyday life on Kent's campus.

- You know, Mr. Tolliver was amazing because he always had a camera around his neck.

And so you know, he's got pictures from all kinds of events on campus.

- That was, I think after we occupied the administration building, because it really was, I guess, emblematic of what we were trying to show is that we are here, we are forced to be reckoning with, you know, and you should, you know, accord is fairness.

♪ Rollercoaster of love ♪ - [Narrator] BUS sponsored rallies were peaceful and nonviolent.

They also went support to other causes, including groups that wanted to end the Vietnam War.

- They were consistently supportive of anti-war protests because in many ways it was Black students and Black people that were affected disproportionately.

- Black males were unduly drafted in higher numbers from certain zip codes than White people.

So that was an issue there.

- [Narrator] Leading up to May 4th, members of Black United Students caution demonstrators about the danger of the National Guard being on campus.

(camera clicks) On that fateful day, Tolliver left his dorm for class without his camera.

- There's no reason why he didn't have the camera with me.

Any other time, that was my right arm is my camera.

- [Narrator] After class, just afternoon.

Tolliver went to the rally that he'd warned others about attending.

He witnessed the moment the National Guard opened fire leaving four dead and nine students injured.

The events of that day left Tolliver numb.

Today he defends those who can't defend themselves.

- The era got into was civil rights law.

I major mostly in civil rights here in Toledo because there was so much inequity going on and very few attorneys are doing civil rights work in Toledo.

And, but I do it because of the sense of dedication I have to the movement.

- They had a very powerful voice and they affected real change on this campus.

Because you know, today we've got about, I think 13% representation in terms of African American students and I look at that as a direct outcome of the work that these black students did when they only had 500.

(animation whooshing) - Thank you, Dan.

Students all over the country are preparing to start a new chapter of their lives.

Some students, like our intern Alexandra, are about to graduate college, and others are just getting started on their college careers.

Allie, a Wisconsin teenager who got a perfect score on the ACT just got accepted into MIT's prestigious Women in Technology Program.

She's one of only 20 participants selected nationwide.

Reporter Allyson Fergot caught up with the gifted and talented teen.

- [Allyson] You'll struggle to find a high schooler busier than Allie Mathies.

- [Allie] I do forensics, I'm in vocal jazz, I'm in book club.

I'm also in student leadership, and I also do mock trial.

Sports wise, I do swim team and I'm involved in soccer, varsity, and cross country varsity.

- [Allyson] And you'll struggle to find a harder worker.

- She just has ability, and grit, and determination and a work ethic.

- [Allyson] That work ethic is paying off.

Earlier this spring, Allie learned she'll be in Boston this summer, taking part in MIT's Women in Technology Program.

- I was actually at lunch when I got the email and I was reading it, and all of my friends were sitting around me.

I almost started crying my eyes out when I was sitting there and I was like freaking out inside.

- [Allyson] The program is for students who are underserved in engineering, including those who have limited access to certain STEM classes.

- [Allie] I was planning on doing an engineering class this year, but it was canceled because UW-Platteville didn't have enough funding for the class.

- [Allyson] Allie is one of just 20 students accepted into this year's program.

- [Marge] Well Allie's the real deal.

- [Allyson] Despite her academic prowess, Allie's teachers say her heart is as impressive as her brain.

- If every student in class was like Allie, it would be certainly be the dream teaching job.

She's kind and generous.

I think she's just someone for the younger kids to look up to.

- [Allyson] Allie hopes her successes inspire other students like her to chase their dreams.

- You can do big things even though you come from such a small place if you really put your heart and mind after it.

- Thank you for that story, Allyson.

Okay, I think Newshound mentioned he had another story about a pupil heading off to college.

Pupil is just another word for student.

Take it away Newshound!

(upbeat music) (dog barking) - [Narrator] Hey there, Newshound!

Go fetch us a new story!

Good catch, Newshound!

So what did you find today?

Okay, it's a story about a dog heading off to college?

- [Grace] Meet Wasabi, a fun-loving 15-month-old pup who's on track to becoming a working dog.

- [Sherry] He leaves me on April 7th, to go back to Yorktown Heights, New York.

They'll do a little test to see where he's at, and then officially starts college, and during that time, he'll learn to be a guide dog.

- To check out this pups full video, click the petting zoo thumbnail at the bottom of this episode page.

(animation whooshing) Thank you, Newshound.

A University of Maine student is known for being top-ranked in multiple Rubik's Cubes competitions!

Aedan Bryant's journey with Rubik's Cubes began unexpectedly as a preteen when he picked up his sibling's Cube.

Little did he know, this would lead him to become a Rubik's Cube speed-solving aficionado.

Brittany McHatten chats with Aedan about this twisty puzzle.

- All right, I'm gonna go now.

(Rubik's Cube rattling) - [Brittany] Aedan Bryant just happened to pick up his sibling's Rubik's Cube one day as a preteen.

He had no idea what it would eventually lead to.

- In early 2017, I got back into it and started getting faster.

And then later that year is when I went to my first competition.

- [Brittany] Bryant says there are countless iterations of twisty puzzles inspired by the traditional 3x3x3 Rubik's Cube.

- My favorite?

Well, at the moment, it's probably the Clock.

This one's actually pretty easy to learn how to solve.

I've been getting back into it.

there have been some new methods that have come out, so I've been learning those.

My favorite event is Fewest Moves where you get an hour to try and find the shortest solution to a scramble.

- [Brittany] Bryant ranks first in Maine in the Fewest Moves competition.

Another one of his 11 total top state rankings include a single-solve for the 2x2x2 cube.

- That one's pretty quick.

- [Brittany] Which he completed in less than a second.

He's even held a world record in his career, an 11.43 second solve of the face-turning octahedron, an eight-sided puzzle.

- I got really interested in that over COVID-19.

There weren't any competitions because of the pandemic, so it allowed me to take some time to practice an event that wouldn't really be in competitions, and I ended up getting the fastest time for that.

And I held it for a couple of years, and then I got beaten earlier this year.

- [Brittany] Now a sophomore at UMaine studying computer engineering, he doesn't have as much time to practice as he used to.

But, if he needs a break, he'll pick up one of his 200 or so puzzles and start twisting.

- I think anybody can learn how to do it, and it's a lot of fun.

So, if you have some time, some patience, then I recommend looking up some youtube videos and learning how to solve it.

And then, of course, competitions if you get interested enough to go faster.

It's a lot of fun.

- Well said, Aedan!

Before we head into more news, I think this would be a great time to talk about this week's A+ Award winners.

I remember back when I was in elementary school, some of the hardest days were the ones where I had disagreements with my friends and classmates.

They were hard because I was always upset that we weren't getting along and I didn't really know what to do.

I really wish I had classmates that could help me figure out how to solve the disagreements.

Well, the students at Louisa May Alcott, in Cleveland, have a group of classmates that are trained to help settle disputes between friends, and they're this week's A+ Award winners.

The WAVE Team, which stands for Winning Against Violent Environments, is a group of 20 third, fourth, and fifth grade students who were nominated by their teachers.

Isiah, who is in fourth grade, told us that the teachers considered things like behavior and responsibility, and Alana, a fifth grader, added that being a classroom leader who is calm also matters.

the group meets a few times a month to discuss moderation strategies to help their classmates settle their disagreements.

Malayia, who is in fourth grade, told us that one of the keys to success is making sure their classmates don't escalate their arguments.

They try to make sure that any time they have a mediation, all of the participants understand that the conversations have to be respectful and you have to listen to the other person's point of view.

Janyla, a fourth grader, told us that one of the goals is to help everyone understand each other and to be welcoming.

Dakarter told us that they do more than just settle arguments.

The WAVE Team also performs skits that teach their classmates how to deal with disagreements or difficult situations.

Madison told us that the skits are really helpful because they give her a chance to reflect on her own experiences.

Carlos and Collin, who are both in third grade, told us that they're really proud of their work and that they've learned to help others and be empathetic from WAVE.

Being empathetic means that you can understand the feelings of other people.

Mrs. Graves, the team's teacher, told us that she's always impressed by how mature and responsible the WAVE Team is.

She told us that she's really proud of their leadership.

This week's A+ Award goes to the WAVE Team at Louisa May Alcott Elementary School for helping their classmates settle their disagreements.

We'd also like to send a special thanks to the WAVE Team for giving us feedback on NewsDepth and helping us make a better show for all of you.

Okay, let's head back to the news.

A Ukrainian student who escaped with some members of his family and is now living in Philadelphia is also a gifted musician and just got accepted into his dream school.

David Kozyrkov, a high school senior at String Theory Schools in Philadelphia will attend the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston this fall.

Josh Sanders has more on this student's story of hope.

(bright piano music) - [Josh] For as long as he can remember high school senior David Korzyrkov has dreamed of using music to make the world a better place.

(gentle piano music) - [David] I want to make people feel what I feeling inside, yeah.

- [Josh] And you use music to do that?

- I use music to do that, yeah.

(bright piano music) - [Josh] But two years ago the sounds of war changed his life forever.

- My father say I need to choose.

I need to take my bag or I need to take my keyboard.

- [Josh] With just his keyboard and the clothes on his back David traveled all the way to Philadelphia with his mom and sister.

To further his education at String Theory Schools in Center City.

But he longed for what he left behind.

While he's made new friends his best friend is still fighting in the war.

- [David] My father in Ukraine he's a military chaplains.

- [Josh] Still in Ukraine, fighting in the war.

- [David] Yeah.

- [Josh] What does he mean to you?

(David sighs) - [David] He's my best friend.

He's my number one.

I speak with him every day.

(singing in foreign language) - [Josh] And now his number one has a reason to celebrate with his son because David just got into the school of his dreams.

♪ Yeah, yeah ♪ - [David] I watched internet and just watched the school and wow I know the school and I tried to apply and I get in!

- [Josh] This fall he will be attending the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

- That means a lot.

That's a lot of hard work what I do.

My family, my parents be proud of me.

- [Josh] His dream now a reality and a chance to use his music to make the world a better place.

- Really important what you do in your life.

What do you do for people.

- Thank you, Josh.

From music, we are now turning to theater, a different form of performing arts.

No need to head to Broadway to see a great performance!

Ohio is home to one of the largest theater districts in the nation!

Cleveland's Playhouse Square stands as the largest performing arts center in the United States outside of New York City.

With nine lavish theaters hosting top Broadway shows, over a million guests flock to the district annually for a thousand performances.

In this week's Know Ohio, Mary gives us a backstage look at the history of Playhouse Square.

(playful music) - You might think you need to flock to the bright lights of Broadway for some world class entertainment.

But, did you know the largest performing arts center in the country outside of New York is located right here in Ohio?

And I actually happen to be standing in it.

Right outside is Cleveland's Playhouse Square, a theater district that consists of nine lavish theaters that hosts the top shows straight of the stages of Broadway.

Over one million guests laugh, cry and cheer at over a thousand performances every year.

And this is exactly what Cleveland real estate developer Joseph Laronge envisioned when he came up with the idea for Playhouse Square way back at the turn of the century.

Laronge partnered with New York City business magnet Marcus Loew.

And construction of the swanky theaters began in the 1920's.

The beautiful theaters themselves were designed to captivate audiences and were created by famous architects like Thomas W. Lamb.

For over 40 years, Joesph Laronge's vision was a success.

Ohioans flocked to these theaters to see classic theater, vaudeville acts and eventually movies.

But then came the rise of television and population loss in the City of Cleveland and suddenly theater attendance was dwindling.

By 1969, almost all of these theaters had permanently closed their doors.

Although outcry began almost immediately, it took over 20 years and some serious determination on the part of supporters to renovate and reopen these shuttered theaters.

But today, Playhouse Square is bigger and better than ever.

The district has added new theaters, eateries and hotels.

But probably the most memorable addition is the outdoor chandelier which hovers over the heart of Playhouse Square on Euclid Avenue.

While many of the old theater palaces of the past have been demolished in other cities, Cleveland's determination to preserve these treasures paid off.

I doubt even Joseph Laronge expected his vision would endure nearly 100 years later.

(animation whooshing) - Thank you, Mary.

And that brings us to our write-to-us of the week.

What would you like to ask a playwright about their job?

A playwright is someone who writes plays.

And next episode, we'll have a professional answer some of your questions for the last career callout of the season.

Last week, we learned about Ohio's most famous author, Toni Morrison.

And we wanted you to send in an original short story.

Let's read what you wrote by opening up our inbox.

(bright music) Mika from Strongsville Middle School in Strongsville starts us off with this story: "Dear NewsDepth, my name is Mika "and I go to Strongsville Middle School.

"A story I made was: There was a girl and she had no pets.

"And so she wanted a pet, so her parents let her get a dog.

"And she loved her dog so much.

"They grew up together.

"And they did everything together.

"And they lived happily ever after.

"That's my story!"

Coulter from Silver Lake School in Silver Lake, Ohio went all the way back to the 17-hundreds: "It's 1764 and there's this guy named Alex "who lives in what is now Ohio.

"He was poor so he had to work "for his food, water, and home.

"He needed help one day, he had to make food for the king.

"He was done!

"And his food was so good the king made him rich "and he lived happily ever after!"

Audrey from Lowell Elementary in Lowell wrote a story about news dino, the first NewsDepth reporter: "Once upon a time, there was a old dinosaur named Marcus.

"Marcus wanted to grow up and be a news dino.

"He loved telling stories about active day events.

"But no TVs existed in the time of the dinos.

"Marcus's mom wanted to help him, but she couldn't.

"Till one day, a cave man came up on them.

"He said "Don't eat me, I'll help you become news dino!"

"Really?"

he asked.

"Yeah, you can write letters on rocks "with other rocks and sell them!

"So in the end he became news dino."

Lilly from Independence Primary School in Independence wrote a story about a very exciting basketball game: "Once upon a time, it was a beautiful day in NYC.

"And at a school in third grade, "a girl named Avery was playing basketball "with all the boys playing, "they drafted her last but she didn't care.

"When there was five minutes in the game, "the score was 50 to 37.

"Avery's team thought they could never win, "but Avery knew that they had a shot.

"For the rest of the game all they made was three pointers "and didn't let the other team score at all.

"At the end of the game it was, 61-50, Avery's team.

"The team cheered just as the recess bell rang.

"The moral of the story is, you can always make a comeback."

And Wylie from Edgewood Middle School in Wooster submitted a story on behalf of the entire history class: "James A. Garfield took a really long nap.

"When he woke up he saw people from the Union "and Confederate Armies fighting each other.

"James was confused and started running for cover.

"He reached Shiloh and James helped drive back "the Confederate troops.

"After he helped leading the Union Army to victory, "he was promoted to a general.

"He was quickly invited to attend a promotion ceremony "at the White House by President Lincoln."

Thank you all for writing!

You're such talented authors!

Our poll this week is related to performing arts, and we wanted to know: Do you like performing in front of an audience?

Jump over to our poll page to vote.

You can choose between: Yes, I love being in front of a crowd!

Showing my talents.

I like performing only to close friends or family, or no, I do not enjoy the spotlight.

And last week, we asked you how long you thought a school or work week should be.

Let's check out the results of the poll.

Wow!

52% of you said that you'd like it if the school week was just three days long.

30% of you agreed that four days is a good balance.

Another 13% voted to keep the school weeks at five days.

And about 5% of you said you wanted to be ambitious and could work a six-day school week.

Well, these next students might just agree with you.

They love going to school because they are learning in a very funny way.

An educational program in Tempe, Arizona is helping kids learn and build confidence, one joke at a time.

In addition to all the laughs, it also helps prevent bullying.

Javier Soto introduces us to Cool Kids Comedy Club.

- [Javier] For Cool Kids Comedy Club in Tempe, laughter is also a great teaching method.

- I love laughing and I wanted to give that to kids.

- [Javier] Kayla Howard is a comedian, and former teacher, she's combining both of her passions to help kids learn and build them up.

- I thought about a way to impact the community in a positive way through comedy and I resorted back to my teaching experience and how much fun I had, like being in the classroom with kids and I thought that Cool Kids Comedy Club would be like the perfect combination of, you know, education but also fun.

- [Javier] And there's plenty of fun at their classes, led by local comedians.

- All right, what about his friend bit the mailman?

What part of the joke is that?

One, two, three- - [Kids] The twist!

- So really it's about learning in disguise.

So we're teaching students essential life and literacy skills but it's through comedy that we accomplish that.

- So what does that look like?

- So that looks like students working in small groups, so they're learning cooperative learning skills.

That looks like students getting up in front of the classroom that's enhancing their speaking skills.

That looks like students being respectful and good audience members, that's listening skills and then just again having, like building up their confidence to really get up in front of the class and express themselves.

- That confidence is already building in students Josiah and Karianna.

What do the rest of the students say when you start telling jokes?

- They laugh.

- They laugh.

How does that make you feel?

- Happy.

- Who was the funniest person in the room?

You?

What made you funny?

- I just acted funny.

- [Javier] But they are far from the only ones.

- I've seen a lot of kids become more confident.

Like, in our January session it was awesome because there was a kid who was like, "Nah, I don't get up in front of the class, "I don't want to talk", but by the end of the class he was reading his page and a half of jokes, you know, and those are the stories that really like keep me going.

Knowing that kids are building up their confidence simply by being in Cool Kids Comedy Club.

- [Javier] Of course I had to put their skills to the test.

- Why did my dog be called spicy pumpkin?

- How come?

- Because she's a hot girl!

(Javier laughs) - Are you gonna remember us when you're rich and famous?

- No.

- No?

(Javier laughs) (Ygal laughs) - Thank you, Javier.

Unfortunately, that is all the time we have for today.

But you can keep the conversation going, and there are plenty of ways for you to stay in touch with us.

You can write to us, we're at 1375 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio.

And our zip code here is 44115.

Or you can send us an email at newsdepth@ideastream.org.

Plus, you can catch all of our special segments on YouTube.

Hit subscribe if you're old enough, so you don't miss out on any of our new videos.

Thanks for joining us, I'm Ygal Kaufman, and we'll see you right back here next week.

(upbeat music) - [Kid] NewsDepth is made possible by grant from the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation.

(upbeat music) (gentle music)