DN MONDAY, JAN. 7, 2013
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Have gifts you don’t want?
Rules of etiquette apply when taking back holiday presents
New editor-in-chief Andrew Mishler writes what is changing at the DN this semester
THE DAILY NEWS
SEE PAGE 4
SEE PAGE 6
BSUDAILY.COM
FLAVOR FIESTA
CHANGES CONTINUE IN VILLAGE
Village gets a taste of Mexico in new taco and tequila bar SUNGMIN LIM CHIEF REPORTER | slim3@bsu.edu
C
hris Ellison turned to the Mayans while searching for a name for his new taco and tequila bar in the Village. Researching their heirographs, he found the red bird. “It’s the Mexican cardinal,” Ellison said. “Cardinal is everywhere in Muncie, so we chose the name Red Bird.” Red Bird opened on Dec. 11, the start of Finals Week. “We were slammed from open to close time throughout Finals Week,” he HOURS OF said. “We blew out creating OPERATION something that didn’t exist. This MONDAY-WEDNESDAY 4 p.m.-1 a.m. is an industry that struggles, and THURSDAY-SATURDAY you’re more likely to fail than 4 p.m.-4 a.m. to succeed. No one gets into something to fail, but escaping what could be failure is key.” Mexican decor infuses the bar’s atmosphere. One part of Red Bird’s wall is made of exposed brick. The bar showcases a wide variety of tequila bottles, some of them quite exquisite. Lights hang from the ceilings and Mexicaninfluenced paintings hang from the wall. Although Red Bird is a Mexican restaurant, Ellison brought his background from other areas into the business. Instead of traditional Mexican refried beans, he uses the black beans from his Cuban background. The seasoning in the food is created through a fusion of Cuban and Spanish influences. See RED BIRD, page 5
Additions add variety to student retail area despite slow progress RACHEL PODNAR CHIEF REPORTER | rmpodnar@bsu.edu
DN PHOTO JONATHAN MIKSANEK
Red Bird, a new Mexican restaurant in the Village, opened during Finals Week next to Cleo’s Bourbon Bar on Dec. 11. The bar and restaurant offers a variety of specialty tequilas and is open until 4 am Thursday to Saturday.
DN| BRIEF
VANDALIZATION OF STATUE SPARKS INVESTIGATION, RESTORATION FEES After a campus landmark was vandalized during Finals Week of Fall Semester, university officials are looking toward restoration. The bronze statue, known as “Frog Baby,” was vandalized with gold spray paint during Finals Week. Joan Todd, executive director of public relations, said restoring Frog Baby could cost up to $5,000. “It is clearly a job for experts and can’t be done in house,” Todd said. “A professional will need to remove the paint to ensure preservation of the statue.” It isn’t the first time Frog Baby was vandalized. According to a Ball State news center release, four adults attempted to steal the statue in June 1999. The suspects included three Ball State students and one Muncie woman. Although they were not successful in stealing Frog Baby, they did remove four bronze frog statues and caused more than $10,000 in damages to the mountings and water pipes connected to the frogs. The statues were later recovered by the University Police Department and reinstalled. UPD has finished its investigation and will share its findings with Delaware County prosecutor Jeff Arnold. Jim Lowe, director of Engineering and Construction Operations, said the university is still looking at options for repair, but it is in contact with a restoration company. “It appears that [the statue] will have to be removed and sent to their facility to be restored,” Lowe said. -EVIE LICHTENWALTER
Frog Baby sports a new coat of gold paint Dec. 14. The act of vandalism to the iconic statue has left some students outraged.
STUDENTS REACT ON TWITTER Taylor W @taywicker
i hope Frog Baby is back to normal by next monday. it hurt my heart seeing her all discolored and weird looking. Jan 3rd
Frog Baby @bsufrogbaby
All i want for Christmas is my two front teeth. Oh yeah. And my freaking body to not be gold!! Dec 12th
Bowl game could help build BSU athletics
Kelly B @_kaybar
I enjoy frog baby’s new look. Dec 14th
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Although Ball State didn’t win the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl against Central Florida on Dec. 21, the game didn’t result in a negative bowl week experience for the program. “It was an incredible experience for everybody involved,” athletic director Bill Scholl said following the game. “Obviously you’d like to win the game, but everybody associated with the bowl was first-class.” The team arrived in St. Petersburg on Dec. 16 and up until gameday participated in several bowl festivities, including a welcome party, a beach bash and a team dinner on a boat. The team captains also visited the St. Petersburg All Children’s Hospital the day before the bowl game. “I’d be hard pressed to believe there’s not a more professional, customer-service oriented detailed staff than here,” coach Pete Lembo said. “From A-to-Z they had it all covered.” Coming from Notre Dame, Scholl has been to multiple bowl games in the past. He passed along his knowledge of bowl games and knowing what to expect to Lembo, who was making his first bowl game appearance. But after two seasons at Ball State and already playing in a bowl game, Scholl
BALL STATE BOWL GAME HISTORY 1965
Grantland Rice Bowl Ball State 14, Tennessee State 14 1967
Grantland Rice Bowl Eastern Kentucky 27, Ball State 13 1989
California Raisin Bowl Fresno State 27, Ball State 6 1993
Las Vegas Bowl Utah State 42, Ball State 33 1996
Las Vegas Bowl Nevada 18, Ball State 15 2008
International Bowl Rutgers 52, Ball State 30 2009
GMAC Bowl Tulsa 45, Ball State 13 2012
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Central Florida 38, Ball State 17 Ball State is now 0-7-1 all-time in bowl games. The seven losses are the most losses by a team that has not won a bowl game in school history. understands that Lembo knows how to run a football team and how he’s built the football team for the future.
See FOOTBALL, page 8
THE BALL STATE DAILY NEWS
MUNCIE, INDIANA
ONLY 53 MORE DAYS UNTIL SPRING BREAK!
Amanda K @salAmanda77
Note to BSU students: If you’re going to spray paint a university statue, at least do a good job. Finally walked by poor @bsufrogbaby :( Dec 13th
See VILLAGE, page 5
FOOTBALL
Scholl says having team in bowl game will help market school nationally MAT MIKESELL SPORTS EDITOR | @MatMikesell
DN PHOTO TAYLOR IRBY
A specialty tequila and taco bar is open and ready for students in the Village as the new semester begins. Red Bird Tequila and Taco Bar is the third business to open in University Square since the property was purchased by Milhaus Development for $1.3 million in April 2011. Chris Ellison is the owner of Red Bird Tequila and Taco Bar, Cleo’s Bourbon Bar, The Silo and Columbia Theatre. Ellison hopes that the Village can maintain the success it has and continue to expand with a variety of businesses. “I would like to see more people come in and do more,” Ellison said. “The things that are currently there, it’s awesome that they’re able to be there and maintain with additional growth. There should be additional things coming in like a decent clothing chain [could] come in and make a presence.” Ellison said Cleo’s, his first business in the Village, has maintained success since opening in December 2011. “It’s been amazing as far as people coming in, and the customer base,” Ellison said. “We’re busy all the time, it’s awesome.” In a previous interview with the Daily News, David Leazenby, vice president of Milhaus Development, said Ellison was planning on opening a Little Chicago Pizza in the Village.
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VOL. 91, ISSUE 60 FORECAST
TODAY High: 31, Low: 23 Sunny
TOMORROW High: 37, Low: 32 Partly cloudy