'Golden Flasher' puts students at Kent State University on alert

KENT, Ohio - Kent State University Police have possible leads after a middle-aged man exposed himself in front of a dorm early Monday morning.

Two female students spotted the man, without pants or shoes on, sitting on a ledge outside of Centennial Court Residence Halls around 1:15 a.m., police said.

Investigators said the man then fled into the night.

"This didn't appear to be a student. It appeared to be someone much older, behavior that certainly wasn't suitable to campus. We want everyone to be aware," said Eric Mansfield, spokesman for KSU.

The university sent out text alerts and e-mails warning students of the unsolved flashing incident.

Many students found the behavior creepy, but not overly concerning.

In fact, many of them are referring to the man on social media as "the golden flasher", since Kent State's nickname is the Golden Flashes.

"I think it was probably harmless. It may or may not have been a drunk person. I doubt they'll catch him because I don't know if anybody got that detailed of a description of him," said Amanda Pokorny, who lives in one the Centennial Court Residence Halls.

I heard about it on Twitter and it said, 'Only at KSU...,' and then it was a picture of the text that was sent," said Julianna Blischak, a KSU freshman.

Mansfield said the man is described as white, 40-50 years old with brown hair. He was wearing a blue button-down shirt.

Mansfield said it was the third campus alert that the university has issued in the past six days, but the first involving a flasher.

The other two incidents involved arsons. In one case, cardboard name tags were set on fire inside a dorm. In the other incident, an abandoned home, owned by the university, was set on fire.

Mansfield said KSU follows the Cleary Act, which requires colleges and universities to disclose information about crime on and near their campuses.

He said the university sends out alerts for eight different crimes.

"I know it may shake a few people, wakes people up at night and they wonder about it, but we want everybody to know what's going on when we know it," Mansfield said.

Anyone with information on the indecent exposure incident is asked to call KSU police at 330-671-2212.