8:50 a.m. — Rise and shine
“I love waking up to the sun shining in my room. But waking up to an alarm clock, that’s another matter.”
Broadbent wakes up at the sound of his alarm, hits the snooze button and lies in bed an extra nine minutes. After the second alarm, he stretches and grabs some juice from the kitchen. He checks his e-mail, the weather and the Daily Kent Stater online and picks out what he is going to wear that day. He showers, shaves, brushes his teeth, puts in his contacts, dresses, eats some breakfast and heads out the door.
“I’ve always been a morning person. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day,” Broadbent says. “I love waking up to the sun shining in my room. But waking up to an alarm clock, that’s another matter.”
10:07 a.m. — Susan’s Coffee and Tea
Broadbent arrives to his first meeting of the day prepared and alert, even though he only got about seven hours of sleep. He greets Jessica Rothschuh, the student politics reporter for the Daily Kent Stater, with a hug.
Broadbent talks to Rothschuh like an old friend while drinking the house blend decaf and eating a croissant. They discuss the upcoming Akron vs. Kent State basketball game. Broadbent made a bet with Akron’s student body president, Steve Kushner.
“If Kent wins, Steve has to attend the Feb. 29 home game dressed in a Kent State shirt and root for us,” Broadbent explains. “If Akron wins, I have to attend the game dressed in an Akron shirt and root for them.”
Kent State won the game, and Kushner followed through on his promise.
11:00 a.m. — Social Problems class, Merrill Hall
It's easy to pick Broadbent out in a class — he usually wears a suit.
(Photo: Gavin Jackson)
Broadbent is taking Social Problems as his final Honors class as an undergraduate. He will graduate in good standing with the Honors College and with a 3.4 grade point average in May. He is taking 17 credit hours this semester, some just for fun and some filling his last undergraduate requirements. Although his schedule is busy, Broadbent takes his academics seriously.
“I tell senators this all the time: School and their classes are the reason why they’re here,” he says. “So that has to be priority No. 1. And even though sometimes I can be really, really busy with the senate, if it ever comes to ‘Am I going to work on the senate tonight or am I gonna do schoolwork,’ schoolwork is what I end up doing.”
The Burr is produced by students at Kent State University twice per academic year.No part of The Burr may be reprinted without permission.