Ball State Daily News Vol: 103 Issue: 19

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Did you miss it? Catch up on the news from January 18-24 and take a look at upcoming events...

BallStateDailyNews.com Long-time university professor dies Staff Reports

Teh-Kuang Chang poses for a photo Aug. 30, 2018, on Ball State University Campus. Chang was a professor of Political Science at Ball State University and taught for 54 years.

Teh-Kuang Chang, an Emeritus professor of political science at Ball State University, died Jan. 15, surrounded by family at the Community North Hospital in Indianapolis. Affectionately known as Ted, Chang was born in Changting County, Fujian Province, China, in 1925. Chang’s time at National Amoy University (Xiamen) and National Taiwan University (Taipei) led him to the United States in 1956. He earned a master’s degree from the University of Washington (Seattle) and a Ph.D. from American University (Washington, D.C). For 54 years, Chang worked at Ball State until his retirement in 2020. In 1966, he became a founding professor for the university’s Department of Political

Science. Chang was recognized as a Fulbright Professor, elected as the President of the International Tuva Studies Association and honored for “Fifty Years of Excellence in Teaching”

by Ball State. He also founded and chaired the Research Committee on Asian and Pacific Studies, for which he received a World Congress Tribute from the International Political Science Association. Chang was preceded in death by his wife, Grace Chang, and is survived by his children, Angelo (Darlene), Angelin, Angelina (Ronald) and Angel. A funeral service will be held Jan. 27, at 1 p.m. at Elm Ridge Funeral Home, followed by a burial at Elm Ridge Memorial Park. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy can be sent to the family at: tehkuangchang@gmail.com.

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4-DAY WEATHER

FORECAST Noah Gordon, Weather forecaster, Benny Weather Group

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

RAIN SHOWERS

CLOUDY

CLOUDY

CLOUDY

Hi: 46º Lo: 38º

Hi: 46º Lo: 35º

Hi: 39º Lo: 32º

Hi: 50º Lo: 40º

THIS WEEK: A rather tranquil and mild week. Clouds will hang around and temperatures will stay steady in the mid to upper 40s.

START CHECKING, FROM DAY ONE.

MICHAELA KELLEY, DN FILE

VOL. 103 ISSUE: 19 CONTACT THE DN Newsroom: 765-285-8245 Editor: 765-285-8249, editor@bsudailynews.com

The Ball State Daily News (USPS-144-360), the Ball State student newspaper, is published Thursdays during the academic year except for during semester and summer breaks. The Daily News is supported in part by an allocation from the General Fund of the university and is available free to students at various campus locations.

EDITORIAL BOARD Daniel Kehn, Editor-in-chief Kyle Smedley, Print Managing Editor, Co-Sports Editor Olivia Ground, Digital Managing Editor Grayson Joslin, Director of Recruitment Trinity Rea, Associate News Editor Katherine Hill, Associate News Editor Elijah Poe, Co-Sports Editor Zach Carter, Associate Sports Editor Hannah Amos, Lifestyles Editor Ella Howell, Associate Lifestyles Editor and Copy Editor Kate Farr, Opinion Editor Elaine Ulsh, Associate Opinion Editor Jacob Boissy, Video Editor

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CORRECTION

In the Jan. 18 issue of the Ball State Daily News, the second sports brief on page two was incorrect. Ball State was scheduled to play Miami, not Central Michigan.

To submit a correction, email editor@bsudailynews.com.

Waking Up with Cardinal Weather is Ball State University’s first and only morning mobile show focused on getting your ready for the day through local news, weather and lifestyle trends. Waking Up with Cardinal Weather airs every Friday morning at 8 a.m. at @cardinalwx live on Facebook.

DNNews

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Local

Car crashes into Village restaurant

Picking Up

Momentum

A car drove into the side of the newly opened Midnight Cafe in The Village Jan. 19. According to Facebook, no one was harmed, but the cafe will be operating on restriced hours until further notice due to minor exterior damage.

Updated hours can be found on their Facebook page.

Local

The Mark III Closed indefinitely Muncie community member Troy Malone watches a presentation on Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) Jan. 19 at the Delaware County Justice Center in Muncie, Indiana.

Malone is a part of the Credible Messengers Movement, trying to support the youth in the justice system. MYA CATALINE, DN

Program planned to pair troubled youth with formerly incarcerated mentors who will provide real world wisdom.

Daniel Kehn Editor-in-chief When Troy Malone’s three year correctional sentence was up in 2003, he was certain of one thing: the life that led him there was not the life he wanted to live.

“You’ll see what life is really about when your kids are crying and have to come visit you in a glass,” he said.

Leaving the system, Malone immediately wanted to get his life back in order and used what he learned to get on the right path.

“I’ve been shot three times, I’ve been stabbed six times. The whole street thing that these youngsters think is life? I have been there and done that,” Malone said. “All I ever got out of it was heartache and pain.

The stuff I have now? My life, my house that I bought? This came from me going to get my butt up and going to work every day,” he continued. “I didn’t have what I have now when I was hustling.”

Now, Malone and a group of Muncie community members are looking to combine life experience

and certified training to change the perspective on working with youth in the correctional system.

According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation website, which supports the Credible Messenger Mentoring Movement (CM3), the movement helps establish training that allows community members across the country to learn from each other to hone what works when it comes to supporting youth involved in the justice system.

Malone said it took somebody believing in him to open his eyes to how he could help mentor youth. That somebody was Niel Kring, a pastor with Urban Light Community Development.

“By doing this work of training credible messengers for employment in communities are able to both interrupt gun violence, create safety, wrap kids up into networks of relationships that are positive, all those sorts of things,” Kring said.

In addition to the Credible Messenger training, Kring said the group is focused on keeping the momentum going.

“Another thing that we are doing is continuing to hold community conversations around these

topics to keep sort of synergy going and kind of build more of a movement around issues related to safety, economic development, gun violence and prevention and youth engagement,” he said.

The Credible Messenger training was given by the Academy for Transformation Change (ATC) in the Fall of 2023 to several community group leaders around Muncie including the Muncie Community Schools administration.

“We’re trying to form these power teams to help these youth have some leadership in all aspects of life. Right now, we have 10-year-olds carrying guns and using drugs in school,” Malone said.

“We’re trying to see what we can do to show them a better way.”

Joy Rediger is the executive director of Urban Light Community Development, which helped support these community gatherings to facilitate conversation and planning. She said the lived experience aspect of the program is what was most appealing to her.

Due to a frozen waterline bursting, the Mark III Tap Room experienced significant water damage and is closed until further notice. Clean-up and rebuilding work has begun. The Mark III is Indiana’s oldest LGBTQ+ bar that’s still in operation. The bar serves as a safe place for LGBTQ+ artists, performers and community members.

National

Trump and Biden win New Hampshire Former President Donald Trump and incumbent President Joe Biden won the New Hampshire primary races for their respective parties Jan. 23.

The wins from each party solidify the likelihood that the upcoming presidential election candidates will be the same as the 2020 election.

See MOMENTUM, 14

ON BALLSTATEDAILYNEWS.COM: ANTIQUE JAR AND BOTTLE CLUB CONVENTION HITS MUNCIE

DNNews

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‘Spread like a wildfire’

Students share their experience with antisemitism and Islamophobia since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

Jose Padilla Reporter

T

here has been a heightened frequency of content containing misinformation since the start of the Israel-Hamas war Oct.7, 2023.

Alanna Willenson, a first-year vocal performance major and Jewish student, described her own experience with misinformation on social media, particularly centered on antisemitic or Islamaphobic narratives.

“Misinformation, especially regarding this war, has spread like a wildfire, and I have seen too many students, many of which I know personally, [at] Ball State post things without fact-checking or coming to their own conclusions,” she said.

Eyal Rawitz, a Ball State men’s volleyball player from Tel Aviv, Israel, said the content tends to be more subtle than hate speech.

“I have definitely seen both on social media, mainly on Instagram. I would say it is more memes than outright hate speech or calling for it toward Jews and Muslims, some of which I saw from students on campus,” Rawitz said.

At a peace vigil held by the Office of Inclusive Excellence and the Ball State Center for Peace and Conflict Studies Nov. 1, 2023, Willenson expressed that the peace vigil was a moment of peace in the middle of “hate and disregard for the sanctity of life.”

Kalev Antonacci, a second-year public history major and Jewish student, said his experiences with antisemitism on campus stemmed from the controversial social media app, YikYak, where college students can create and post discussion threads anonymously within proxy of campus.

“When the Vigil for Peace happened, I saw comments such as ‘All Jews hate other people, but nobody hates Jews,’ which I was shocked to see,” Antonacci said.

Social media can be an ample platform for antisemitism, especially when posted content contains jokes, insults and threats targeted at Jewish people. Amber Maze, senior associate of the Indianapolis Jewish Relations Council, said social media can be used both for better or for worse in terms of antisemitism.

“Hatred against Jews and Muslims has skyrocketed in the past four weeks on social media, and that is deplorable,” Maze said. “Social media allows all of us to stay connected and informed, but it also provides a platform for people to say things in a feeling of anonymity. The Jewish community

Scan the QR code to learn more about the IsraelHamas War

Two members of the congregation embrace after a traditional Jewish prayer Oct. 12 at Ball State Honors House. There has been a heightened frequency of misinformation since the start of the Israel-Hamas War Oct. 7, 2023. ANDREW BERGER, DN

For me, Islamophobia is anger. Hatred, resentment towards people who you think might be Muslim, and so it doesn’t have much to do with fear, and it doesn’t have much to do with the religion itself.”

- MATTHEW HOTHAM, Assistant professor of religious studies at Ball State as a whole has felt that even if they haven’t been directly targeted, [they] feel on alert.”

While there has been a steady increase over the last five to 10 years, Maze said there has been a spike in the last couple of months. In October, a 21-year-old student at Cornell University was charged by federal prosecutors for allegedly posting online threats in which stated he wanted to cause harm to Jewish students.

Bido Omar, a second-year pre-med major and Muslim student at Ball State, said the recent spike of antisemitism has spread alongside Islamophobia through the use of social media but in a much more subtle manner.

“People have told me, ‘Be careful, people might start getting violent,’ but I don’t think that was so much a threat. Nothing serious in person,” Omar said. “But through social media, I would just see bits and pieces of misinformation, to the point that it brings out some sort of Islamophobia, such as giving the narrative that most of the people in Gaza are terrorists, which is not true.”

Matthew Hotham, an assistant professor of religious studies at Ball State who researches Islamophobia, said much of the hate happens privately.

“Social media does play a role in that, and this is part of my research,” Hotham said. “There are right-wing white supremacist groups who, in part,

prove their ‘American-ness’ through dunking on religious and racial minorities, and Muslims are one group that they target.”

Hotham added that this can confuse social media users who are uninformed of current conflicts.. “[Those who spread disinformation] are anticipating an uninformed, broader audience who will overreact to the things that they make up if they distribute them correctly,” he said. “A lot of Islamophobic discourse sort of follows that and tends to fabricate a controversy, get non-Muslim people to overreact to a made-up controversy.”

According to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, there has been an increase in reports relating to Islamophobia. The Council received a total of 1,283 complaints related to Islamaphobia in the weeks of Oct. 7 to Nov. 4, 2023 — a 216 percent increase in reports since last year.

“For me, Islamophobia is anger, hatred, resentment towards people who you think might be Muslim … it doesn’t have much to do with the religion itself,” Hotham said.

Brent Blackwell, an associate teaching professor of English and Holocaust scholar at Ball State, has determined social media causes mass confusion between antisemitism and its relationship to Israel.

“What happens so many times on social media is people are accused of being antisemitic when they’re anti-Israeli, and those are two different

things,” Blackwell said. Blackwell defines antisemitism as hostility toward the Jewish people. On the other hand, he views anti-Israelism as a disagreement with the policies of the Israeli government.

According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), there has been an increase in the number of reported incidents of antisemitism by nearly 400 percent since Oct. 7, 2023.

Trent Spoolstra, an associate regional director for the ADL Midwest, explained that incidents can consist of harassment, assault and vandalism.

“There are people, especially on the far left of the political spectrum, who view it simply as a fight of good and evil, but a lot of folks on college campuses don’t recognize that Hamas is a terrorist organization,” Spoolstra said.

College campuses, in particular, have seen a rise in antisemitism that corresponds with the rest of the country.

“For instance, looking at Butler, Ball State [or] IU, protests against Israel we believe have exceeded what’s considered fair,” Spoolstra said.

Fatima Hussain, a board member of the Muslim Alliance of Indiana, described that many of the board’s recent reports on Islamophobia in college campuses in Indiana — including Ball State — were attributed to discrimination against students, particularly those wearing religious garments or speaking out on the ongoing conflict in Israel and Gaza.

“Generally speaking, students wearing hijabs or keffiyehs in public or speaking their minds online feel unsafe,” Hussain said. “Many don’t feel supported by their academic institutions.”

Dr. Yusuf Bahrami, a physician and spokesperson for the Islamic Center of Muncie, said attendees who are women have reported they are most vulnerable when it comes to Islamophobia on social media.

“When it comes to women that wear the hijab, people would make comments like ‘Go back to your country,’” Bahrami said.

There is also a political element when it comes to the rise of Islamophobia and antisemitism.

Hussain said due to college campuses across the state putting out weak statements condemning the violence, Muslim and Jewish students do not have much faith in the leadership of these campuses.

“A lot of students are feeling like many administrators at college campuses are not taking the rise of antisemitism and Islamophobia seriously, including Ball State,” Hussain said.

Students at Ball State who have experienced identity-based hate on campus can fill out a bias incident report through the Multicultural Center.

Contact Jose Padilla with comments at JPadilla4@bsu.edu.

BALLSTATEDAILYNEWS.COM Read the full story online.

DNSports

‘Confidence is key’ Ball State men’s basketball’s Basheer Jihad has been the consistent bright spot for the struggling Cardinals.06

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Track and Field

Ball State travels to IUPUI After competing in Eastern Michigan last weekend, the Cardinals will head to IUPUI. The meet will take place at the Fall Creek Pavillion in Indianapolis. Ball State is coming off of multiple personal bests from a week ago in the Bob Parks Memorial Invitational. The meet will take place Jan. 26-27 and will start at 10 a.m.

Men’s Volleyball

Ball State to host No. 4 Hawaii Coming off two losses in the First Point Collegiate Challenge, in Austin, Texas, the Cardinals host No. 4 ranked Hawaii Jan. 28. In the challenge this past weekend, the Cardinals fell to No. 13 USC and No. 8 Stanford. Last season, Ball State lost both games against Hawaii.

The matchup will start at 7 p.m. in Worthen Arena.

Tennis

Men’s and women’s Cardinals in action

Junior forward Basheer Jihad fights through defense as he drives the basket Jan. 9 against Akron at Worthen Arena. Jihad had 16 rebounds. ANDREW BERGER, DN

After a 2-0 start to the season, Ball State men’s tennis will travel to Dayton, Ohio, to take on the University of Dayton. The start has yet to be decided, but will take place Jan. 27. The women’s team will also play Jan. 27 against Cleveland State.

It will be their first home match of the season. The match will start at 1:30 p.m.

ON BALLSTATEDAILYNEWS.COM: BALL STATE GYMNASTICS DEFEATS BOWLING GREEN

DNSports

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After Ball State’s 4 leading scorers left the program, Basheer Jihad has become the Cardinals’ No. 1 option.

Kyle Smedley Print Managing Editor and Co-Sports Editor

I

t’s almost 10 p.m. and the approximate 11,500 seats in Worthen Arena are empty.

Basheer Jihad just scored 21 points in 16 minutes of playing time.

Still in full uniform more than 30 minutes after the final buzzer, Jihad took the floor with two assistants to work on his inside scoring.

Repeatedly, the junior forward stood with his back to the basket, pivoted with his left foot and threw up a soft, one-handed shot for a score.

It doesn’t matter to Jihad if he’s just played a game, gone through a two-hour practice or conditioned with weights or cardio, he always wants to put in extra time perfecting his game.

“They’re not gonna give me anything easy,” Jihad said.

Through 19 games this season, Jihad averages 19.1 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game, both team highs. Although Jihad has since found it harder to dominate since becoming the No. 1 player on opposing team’s scouting reports, Ball State men’s basketball head coach Michael Lewis said Jihad is the most consistent because he is the Cardinals’ hardest worker.

As a natural introvert, Jihad uses time alone on the court as a source of peace, but Lewis’ latest challenge to Jihad is to bring teammates along with him.

“You got to go get a young guy to come work out with you, you got to go grab two or three guys,” Lewis told Jihad. “It may not be exactly what you want, but it’s what’s best for the team.”

Lewis said the biggest reason Jihad was able to make the jump from rotational player to No. 1 option was his hunger for that role. While Jihad helps keep the Cardinals afloat, thanks to his statistical production, Lewis wants to see the softspoken Jihad become more of an outspoken leader.

Jihad knows Ball State may be depending on him to become more extroverted, and he said he’s willing to give it a try. In fact, if he doesn’t end up playing basketball at a professional level, Jihad is majoring in psychology so he can use the listening skills he has picked up from his natural demeanor to become a psychologist.

“I like helping people out with their problems,” Jihad said. “I learned that from talking with Jaylin

[Sellers] and Payton [Sparks]. Jaylin and I used to have long talks, like three or four hours.”

Sellers and Jihad were roommates during their two years at Ball State, in Sellers recalled the two staying up until dawn some nights talking through their problems outside of basketball and their aspirations in it, just like Jihad did. In fact, Sellers said he trusts Jihad enough to talk about things he wouldn’t with anyone else.

Even though the two are more than 1,000 miles apart, Sellers said he and Jihad still try to keep in touch with each other at least once or twice a week.

Now, Jihad and Sellers are the leading scorers for their respective teams.

Like Lewis, Sellers said he has seen Jihad’s talent and work ethic taking him to the top since day one.

“He’s pretty much got the whole package,” Sellers said. “To see him get good opportunities and do those things he said he would do just puts a smile on my face.”

Sellers was one of the select few Jihad went to practice with during those times of extra work, sometimes even after those long talks.

“Whether it was 1:00 in the morning, we would just go to the gym and clear our minds or just put us at ease,” Sellers said.

Jihad called Sellers and Sparks his best friends, but after coming into the program together in 2021 and playing together for two full seasons, the trio are no longer teammates.

Top of the scouting report When Lewis came to Ball State two years ago, Jihad was in the transfer portal. Former head coach James Whitford and his staff recruited Jihad to Muncie, and after he was fired, Jihad considered leaving the Cardinals.

Deciding whether or not he wanted to bring Jihad back to Ball State was one of Lewis’ first tasks, and Jihad wasn’t the only one who entered the portal, as Sellers and Sparks also considered leaving.

Lewis brought all three back for his first season as head coach, but Sparks, Sellers and two other starters left the program after the 2022-23 season.

Heading into 2023-24, Ball State needed new players to step into larger roles, and Lewis had his eye on Jihad, who only started one game and averaged seven points per game the prior season.

“You’ll have players, they want to be something, but they’re really not sure how to go about it, and they think they can do it, but there’s a little doubt,” Lewis said. “I don’t think ‘Sheer had that doubt.”

He didn’t.

“Confidence is key in this game,” Jihad said.

Lewis said since day one, Jihad had the label no player wants to have: “Potential.” He said when players’ potential is talked about ad nauseam, it is hardly ever realized.

But he felt Jihad was different due to his work ethic, six-foot-nine frame and versatile play style.

If your dreams aren’t so big that somebody’s laughing at you, your dreams aren’t big enough.

He’s got a long way before he hits a ceiling.”

Junior forward Basheer Jihad dunks the ball after a breakaway Dec. 2 against Bellarmine at Worthen Arena. Jihad had 11 rebounds. ANDREW BERGER, DN

- MICHAEL LEWIS, Ball State men’s basketball head coach

07

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DNSports

That’s what defines me as a person off the court and on the court as well. It gives you an extra push to go harder; having that as a path to follow has made me who I am.”

- BASHEER JIHAD, Ball State men’s basketball junior forward on being Muslim “That’s something I pride myself on,” Jihad said.

“I know that’s going to be what’s gonna make me some money one day.”

Honing his craft Lewis is happy with Jihad’s production on offense in the post and from the perimeter, but he wants to see the forward make smarter decisions with the ball and limit his turnovers. In 10-of19 games this season, Jihad has had at least four turnovers.

Lewis knows Jihad is making a concentrated effort to try and better adjust to being at the top of opposing teams’ scouting reports and gives him credit for the quickness with which he is adapting at the young age of 20.

“The exciting thing about working with him is you can see growth in what he’s doing almost on a daily basis, and that’s impressive,” Lewis said.

Jihad said he didn’t start playing AAU basketball until the summer before his freshman year of high school, previously devoting just as much time to soccer and baseball in his youth. Jihad said he started high school at six-foot and graduated at six-foot-eight, and he feels his experience playing forward in high school helped him develop into the versatile player he is today.

Despite his standing as the second tallest player on Ball State’s roster, Jihad isn’t a traditional big man.

He shoots 39 percent from 3-point range and can drive to the basket from the top of the key as easily as most guards on the Cardinals’ roster. However, he has been asked to establish more of a presence down low this season with the loss of Sparks, something Jihad said he’s entirely comfortable with.

“I like getting dirty in the paint,” Jihad said.

Family and faith Jihad is one of six siblings, and even plays against his older brother, Yusuf, at least twice a year.

Yusuf is a rotational player at MAC-rival Eastern Michigan, and Basheer described the feeling when he is able to play against his brother as “surreal.”

Yusuf was initially recruited to Oakland University out of high school but made the jump to Eastern Michigan at the same time Basheer committed to Ball State.

Basheer said the Jihad family never misses a contest between the two brothers, making those combined minimum of 80 minutes all the sweeter.

“You can see on their faces they are proud of us,” Basheer said. “That brings me joy.”

While basketball is what most people who know the name Basheer Jihad associate him with, Jihad

Junior forward Basheer Jihad squats for a shot Jan. 9 against Akron at Worthen Arena. Jihad had 16 rebounds in the loss. ANDREW BERGER, DN said the part of his life he is most invested in is his religion. Jihad was raised Muslim and has been practicing his entire life.

Jihad said he hasn’t encountered any negative experiences or stereotypes that may be associated with the religion, though he said that is likely because he doesn’t look like the majority of Muslims. Additionally, he said his hometown, Detroit, has a rich Muslim culture as compared to the sparse Muslim population in Muncie.

However, Jihad goes to the Islamic Center of Muncie for prayer sessions every Friday and has found a small community there. While he doesn’t have any friends at Ball State who are also practicing Muslims, Jihad said he converted Sellers to the religion at the end of their freshman season.

Sellers called Jihad the “passenger” for his transition of faith and remembers Jihad helping lead his first few prayer sessions at a mosque, but it was Jihad’s grandfather who gave Sellers his first Quran. Like Jihad, Sellers said his newfound way of life helps him just as much on the court as off.

Jihad said the coaches and teammates he has had at Ball State have always been accommodating of his lifestyle, and Lewis even recalled the first time he realized Jihad was Muslim. Lewis held one of his first practices as the new head coach in the

spring of 2022, during the time of Ramadan. He noticed Jihad was tiring far quicker than the rest of the Cardinals and followed up with him afterward to see what was the matter.

Jihad told Lewis he hadn’t eaten or drank any water since the sun rose that morning, and Lewis immediately understood. While Lewis hasn’t changed around practice time to fit Jihad’s needs, he has moved Jihad’s strength and conditioning schedule in the spring to an earlier time so his body has more fuel to work with.

Additionally, there are foods Jihad said he can’t eat in which the coaching staff will ensure the food provided for him doesn’t conflict with those restrictions.

Jihad said his Muslim identity doesn’t prevent him from success on the court, but rather, it enhances his abilities due to the mental sharpness he gains from practicing.

“That’s what defines me as a person off the court and on the court as well,” Jihad said. “It gives you an extra push to go harder; having that as a path to follow has made me who I am.”

The next steps Lewis said although he believes Jihad to be the hardest worker in the red and white, he wants to

see Jihad continue to improve his conditioning.

Although Lewis said Jihad is a good shooter, he wants to see him become a great shooter.

Although Lewis said Jihad is good at rebounding within his zone, he wants to see Jihad become a “relentless” rebounder.

And although Lewis said many of these goals may not be tangible until the season finishes and he can go through a full offseason of additional training, he is confident in Jihad’s ability to continue to improve.

“He wants to be good, he has the ability to be good, he has the work ethic to be good and he’s coachable,” Lewis said. “That’s what makes Basheer unique.”

Jihad said his ultimate goal is to play in the NBA, and while only three Ball State men’s basketball players have ever reached that level, Lewis believes Jihad has the ability to make himself the fourth.

“If your dreams aren’t so big that somebody’s laughing at you, your dreams aren’t big enough,” Lewis said. “He’s got a long way before he hits a ceiling.”

Contact Kyle Smedley with comments via email at kyle.smedley@bsu.edu or on X @KyleSmedley_.

DNSports

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“Culture of care”

Whether in season or out, Ball State athletes find ways to spend quality time with their Cardinal teammates.

Zach Carter Associate Sports Editor Remington Ross started her collegiate softball career as she donned the blue, orange and white of Cal State Fullerton. While excited to play, she was not happy behind the scenes.

“I didn’t make any relationships with any of the team,” Ross said. “That’s why I left… I didn’t know anybody on a personal level. I was just shut out.”

Following the 2020 season, Ross decided to try a fresh start and transferred to Ball State. With her past experiences with the Titans, she didn’t plan on trying to be a social butterfly.

“I was just going to be a fly on the wall,” she said. “I thought it was going to be the same in Muncie, Indiana.”

Right after she arrived in the Hoosier State, there was a difference. Then senior Mackenzie McCarty and junior Amaia Daniel took Ross under their wings and found ways to incorporate her with the other Cardinals. That simple gesture became something Ross and others continue to this day.

Staying connected Last season, Ball State finished its season with back-to-back losses in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championship. After they made their last stop at Muncie, the Cardinals went their separate ways.

Yet the next day, they were already contacting each other.

“We talk to each other all the time [when we’re away],” redshirt junior McKayla Timmons said.

“And it’s not even just in between grades. It’s upperclassmen to lower classmen. It’s the team to the coaches.”

With multiple Cardinals from the same states, teammates are able to still see each other and find ways to hang out. For the ones who live hours away, they interact via group chats and phone calls.

They also try to continue traditions when they have Zoom meetings and discussions. One of the Cardinals’ biggest traditions when they return to campus is their bible study meetings.

In the past, the attendants have used the Bold and Beautiful plan from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). The program is intended for collegiate female athletes and talks about topics like body image, shame and control.

Recently, they have looked at different stories of women in the Bible and viewed how they went through certain situations. They also partake in meals and other activities. In one of their sessions, each house had to bring their own charcuterie boards.

“You could see the different groups of girls and their personalities on the board,” Ross said. “We had one that was filled with soft pretzels and 10 different dips.”

[Bonding] is a really good way to find the people that you’re going to stay with forever.

[You’ll find] the girls that are going to be your bridesmaids and the girls you are going to keep in touch with.”

- KAITLYN MATHEWS Senior graduate student While the team does activities the coaches prepare, most bonding sessions are of their own decision. Watching shows like ‘The Golden Bachelor’ and ‘Dancing with the Stars’ have both been ways the team has become closer without outside intervention.

“Especially with Dancing with the Stars because the finale was [Dec. 5] and it was shocking, I was screaming [at my television],” Ross said.

“Oh my gosh, the group chat between the houses bickering about it,” Timmons replied.

“The Golden Bachelor was on Thursdays,” Ross said. “So then Friday morning at weights, we would go back and forth, scrambling about how ‘I can’t believe Theresa [Nist] won or how Faith [Martin] was stolen.”

With the addition of head coach Helen Peña in the summer, Ball State softball has focused on its mental health. With programs like Chirp4change, FCA and the team’s own bible studies, the Cardinals are trying to make that a priority.

“I feel like a lot of our teammates have been battling with a lot of things this semester. Things like family and mental struggles,” Ross said. “I’ve never felt more support from other girls and from the team.

“There’s an understanding and they care…

Coach Peña’s motto for the year is culture of care.”

When it comes to the field, the Cardinals believe a strong connection leads to success. Graduate student Haley Wynn was Ball State’s starting third baseman last season. To her, being able to know what her other infielders are thinking can be the difference between an out or an error.

“I have a really good connection with the shortstop,” Wynn said. “[I ask myself] what do I need to do with my shortstop to make sure that we’re locked down over here?”

4See CARE, 14

Freshman Angelina Eliacin (left) embraces senior Marcella Ribeiro (right) Jan. 20 after their meet against Toledo at Lewellen Aquatic Center. Ribeiro won the 500 freestyle. ANDREW BERGER, DN

Ball State softball poses for a photo for the teams “flex Friday” Sep. 1, 2023 at Ball State University.

MYRANDA HARRISON, PHOTO PROVIDED

DNLife

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09

Campus

A Universal Language Disc Junkies is helping students understand themselves, and the world, a little better through music. 11

Guest Artist Recital Jeffery Smith, an Indiana University Jacobs School of Music professor, is set to perform on the organ in Sursa Performance Hall. Smith is a professor of practice in organ and sacred music. The free event is open to the public and will be Jan. 28 from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Free parking is available in the McKinley Parking Garage.

Community

Black History Month kick-off Minnetrista Museum and Gardens joined with the Martin Luther King Dream Team to have the kick-off celebration Feb. 3 from 9:30 a.m. to noon. The event is free to the public.

The free event will have activities to teach about history and culture, and there will be free refreshments.

There will also be a silent auction and other charity activities.

Community

Harry Potter Yoga Sacred Steps Yoga studio is hosting a Harry Potter Yoga event Feb. 9 from 6-7:30 p.m. and is $20 a person. Space is limited, but pre-registration to ensure a space is available online or with a phone call. Those who attend are encouraged by the Muncie studio to open up their wizard-themed wardrobe and attend the event in Harry Potter wear.

Disk Junkies’ Outreach Officer Simone Robinson-Stevens poses with an album she enjoys. The album is Billie Marten’s most recent album titled “Drop Cherries.” ELLA HOWELL, DN

ON BALLSTATEDAILYNEWS.COM: TINDER BROUGHT 2 BALL STATE STUDENTS TOGETHER

DNLife

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The Pie Lady shares her story on how she came to make her home-based business.

Hannah Amos Lifestyles Editor The smell of baking surrounds the small kitchen in Susan Danner’s home, encasing it in warmth.

Maybe a song by the Beatles or Neil Diamond is playing in the background while Danner rolls out pie dough.

She follows a recipe she knows by heart, a recipe that has a special story: her peanut butter pie.

The story starts around 1966 when she was visiting her grandparents at the age of 19 in Fort Pierce, Florida. There she tried the “famous” peanut butter pie. She liked it so much she broke the unspoken rule of asking a restaurant for their recipe.

She took the recipe back home to Muncie with her, and it became the signature pie at her parents’ restaurant in the Westbrook Country Club, which is now Elks Country Club.

The pie also became famous at the Altrusa Club, selling up to $100 at fundraisers. Danner and her mother were members of the women’s civic organization.

What makes the pie special is the layer of vanilla pudding, which Danner makes homemade with her own vanilla extract, along with the peanut butterpowder sugar mixture.

On top of it being her family’s restaurant’s signature pie, the pie was featured in the book “The Book Club Cook Book” by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp.

“It’s just one of those things that started out by me being a naive teenager saying, ‘Can I have the recipe for that?’And it just blossomed from there,” Danner said.

The peanut butter pie is just one chapter of her pie repertoire. Of the 40 pies she offers, all are a mix of family and self-developed recipes.

You want people to feel good. You want them to be happy, and happy people make other people happy.”

- SUSAN DANNER, the Pie Lady One of her favorites is her butterscotch pie, a recipe she took the time to learn from Birdie, one of the cooks at her parents’ restaurant.

“She didn’t use a recipe, she just said ‘Well, I just do it till it’s right,’” Danner said. “I don’t know how many days I stood and watched her make this pie until I finally got it down.”

Each of her recipes shares this attention to detail and research. When she introduces a new flavor of pie, she’ll try multiple different recipes until it’s right.

Her home-based business is run through her Facebook page, The Pie Lady & KittyKnit Designs. However, she does sell pies at farmer’s markets, specifically Muncie Makers Market, a market her daughter owns.

For farmer’s markets, she’ll bake 150 6-inch pies for $5 and bring her ServSafe Certification.

The Muncie Makers Market starts at 5 p.m., and by 5:30-6 p.m., she’ll be sold out.

Going to the Makers Market gave her her name, as she became known as the “Pie Lady.”

On her Facebook page, she sells 8-inch pies for $10 using recyclable packaging. Danner said she

Susan Danner takes a call while baking Jan. 17 at her home in Muncie. Danner enjoys listening to The Beatles or Neil Diamond as she bakes. ANDREW BERGER, DN

had “nearly 1200” orders last year.

Danner believes a lot of her success comes from word of mouth on top of being active in the Muncie community for years.

Prior to starting her business, Danner earned three degrees at Ball State University: a bachelor’s in science and a minor in home economics, a bachelor’s in management information systems, and a master’s in computer science and statistics.

Danner taught science classes in middle and high school, and she ended up teaching computer programming and statistics at Ball State.

She was the executive director of the Retired Senior Volunteer Program and of the YWCA of Muncie, and she ran her bookstore “Danner’s Books” from 1995 to 2008. The bookstore had a cafe, where she would sell baked goods, and that’s how “The Book Club Cook Book” learned about the peanut butter pie recipe.

Stachia Bennings, a customer of Danner’s, originally met Danner at her bookstore when she was around the age of eight. Bennings reconnected with Danner over social media, and she buys Danner’s pies for the holidays.

“The cooking and the baking and the making is her love language,” Bennings said. “So that is her way of loving on the community as well, and she’s made it embarrassingly affordable.”

Bennings also noted Danner’s Pride pies, which is a pie of any flavor with any pride flag-colored pie crust, being a unique aspect of Danner’s business.

Danner is a Quaker, with a long family history of being in the faith.

“I was always taught everyone has value,” Danner said. “You don’t

JESSICA BERGFORS, DN ILLUSTRATION

discriminate against anyone for any reason. No matter whether it’s race, religion, ethnicity, sexual preference, whatever. Everyone is a good person.”

Amanda “Mindy” Cantu, another customer, met Danner at her Makers Market booth.

“She was the only booth that had baked goods, and they looked so pretty,” Cantu said. “So I had to get one of the little pies because it was $5.”

For the New Year, Danner celebrated her top six customers by gifting them a free pie. Cantu was one of those customers, and she said it felt good to have loyal customers noticed, as well as having Danner checking in on customers.

“She’s really sweet, and she does make you feel like she really cares about what’s going on in your life,” Cantu said.

Danner feels a connection with customers is important, and business is more than just sales.

“You want people to feel good,” Danner said.

“You want them to be happy, and happy people make other people happy.”

Danner advises customers to “be adventuresome” and to “try a flavor you’ve never tried before.”

Contact Hannah Amos via email at hannah. amos@bsu.edu or on X @Hannah_Amos_394.

11 01.25.24

DNLife

This “book club for music” fosters an environment that allows for connection and understanding.

Trinity Rea Associate News Editor The chicking of a hi-hat, the thumping of a bass drum, the pattering of piano keys and dreamy, soulful harmonizations overtook KC Kings’ senses as the lyrics of Solange’s “Rise” swam through her thoughts.

The lyrics — hushed sonnets that build throughout the two-minute song — reverberate across the background instrumentals, amplifying and intensifying as the track continues to play.

The song is the lead track off of Solange’s record-breaking 2016 album “A Seat at the Table.” Its theme explores Solange’s identity and intermingles with messages of empowerment. And its contemporary R&B sound drew King, a fourthyear music media production major, in and helped foster her connection to music, which she hasn’t been able to shake.

Music does this regularly, creating connections.

Sharing that connection with others makes something deeply personal and important, as music speaks for us in ways we otherwise cannot.

King’s recognition of that importance was reignited in the spring of 2021 after her first listening to “A Seat at the Table.” She loved the album so much that she needed to speak to other people about it.

King initiated this dialogue by posting a Zoom link with a time to meet on her Instagram story and proposed a meeting for people to discuss what they each enjoyed about the album.

The Zoom meeting garnered the interest of only a handful of people, but she was “hooked” after the experience. Driven by the desire to continue a dialogue on music, King created the on-campus club Disc Junkies, something she has playfully coined “a book club for music.”

“Listening to new music or a new album … it’s like getting to know a new language,” King said.

Disc Junkies holds listening parties a few times each semester, meetings where students come together and listen to the same album at once.

A week after these listening parties, they host discussion meetings, open to all who are interested, not just to attendees of the meeting a week prior.

This allows King’s vision for the club to be enacted. King wants to not only connect people through music but also inform them about how music impacts and influences society.

“The discussions are pretty special,” King said.

The Disc Junkies’ favorite songs: MEGHAN HOLT, DN DESIGN

KC King works on producing and recording a song, Dec. 12 at the Music Media Production recording studios in the Music Instruction Building. BAILEY LAND, PHOTO PROVIDED “One of my favorite meetings we’ve had was on Zoom when we were talking about ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’ by Kendrick Lamar. That album has a lot of cultural significance and goes into topics of social class, race, gender and so many other things … but stuff like that is what makes the club for me.”

King grew up surrounded by music. From an early age, she took guitar and saxophone lessons, and in her senior year of high school, she began singing in her school’s choir.

King has remained the president of Disc Junkies since the club’s formation and prides herself in how it has impacted people over the years.

“The way music makes me feel is something special, and I haven’t felt it in any other medium,” King said. “I always make sure not to lose sight of that and, hopefully, give that feeling to other people who appreciate music with my work through this club.”

The club’s impact has been felt in fourth-year music media production major Sierra Olson, who has been alongside King since the club’s creation.

Olson met King in 2020 and was on the original Zoom call. With the same desire for music

Precious by Esperanza Spalding - KC KING, President and founder of Disc Junkies

conversations, King brought Olson her when forming the club. Olson now serves as the vice president and internal affairs coordinator of Disc Junkies.

“Music very much keeps me going, it very much drives my mood and helps propel me,” Olson said.

Not only does music drive her, but Olson said music can sometimes be the only thing that helps her decompress, and she often finds time at the end of each day just to spend time listening to music.

Growing up on music like “Riot!” by Paramore, she said the love she has for music never changes.

“Just being able to open up the possibilities for people, get them out of their comfort zone, but still overall in an area that’s familiar to them … it’s a great experience,” Olson said.

Fourth-year music media production major Simone Robinson-Stevens found Disc Junkies last semester. Now serving as the outreach officer for the club, Robinson-Stevens was initially intrigued to join due to the club’s premise and doesn’t regret her decision.

“I love music, and I love listening to different kinds [of music],” Robinson-Stevens said. “If I got any opportunity to listen to different kinds, I

Fences by Paramore - SIERRA OLSON, Vice President and Internal Affairs Coordinator of Disc Junkies

wouldn’t initially, but now, it’s entertaining to me.”

Unlike many of her peers in the club, RobinsonStevens primarily listens to music with the idea that while she might not be “feeling” what emotion the song is trying to convey, she could eventually.

“I find sad songs really beautiful, even if I don’t feel sad,” Robinson-Stevens said. “I tend to listen to just emotionally moving music.”

Outside of Ball State, the premise of Disc Junkies is being noticed by other community members.

Celeste Outen, owner of Locked Groove Records in The Village, said via email that she loves the premise of the club.

“The deepest bonds and connections I have formed with people have always been over the topic of music,” Outen said via email. “Individuals who expand others’ taste in music are essential.

Music is a universal language; it brings people together and fosters a sense of unity and shared experience.”

For Outen, her introduction to music came at a young age due to her father and grandfather’s “electric” music tastes. She described herself as a sponge in this environment, soaking up any and everything that she encountered in her musicdiverse household.

She said in her experience, exposure to different types of genres was essential for the discovery of various ideas and emotions, alongside newfound creativity.

“Listening to new and different types of music can benefit people by broadening their cultural horizons, expanding their musical tastes and fostering a greater appreciation for diversity,” Outen said via email. “Overall, exploring diverse music enhances cognitive and emotional wellbeing.”

King dreams that Disc Junkies can help foster an environment that allows people to better understand themselves and the world around them under the music umbrella.

By encouraging listening to new and diverse music through their listening parties, the club can help teach others to speak the universal language that is music. “[Music] feels like home,” King said. “It’s just a language that has grown to make a lot of sense to me and is a place where I feel comfortable. That’s the word I would use to describe it … it just feels like home.”

Contact Trinity Rea via email at trinity.rea@bsu. edu or on X @thetrinityrea.

Imposter by The Technicolors - SIMONE ROBINSON, Club Member

DNOpinion 12

01.25.24

The inaccessibility of theater makes it hard to participate in the arts.

BRENDEN ROWAN, DN ILLUSTRATION

ON BALLSTATEDAILYNEWS.COM: THE MESSAGE BEHIND THE MEDIA

13 Liv Ground

Digital Managing Editor, “Liv, Laugh, Love” Olivia Ground is a third-year advertising major and writes “Liv, Laugh, Love” for the Daily News. Her views do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper.

Editor’s Note: Brenden Rowan designed this spread. He is a second-year theater (technology and design) major with a focus in lighting design which is in the Department of Theatre and Dance.

I have loved musical theater for the majority of my life.

I started my acting journey in first grade when I was in a production of “The Wizard of Oz” put on by my high school. I only had one line that was three words long.

I remember the feeling of anticipation building up inside of me as I waited for my turn to speak on opening night. Before it was my turn to speak, there was a pause of silence. I said the line with as loud of a voice as a first grader could have.

There was a feeling of pride hearing the applause when I finished. The attention was on me — I was the star for that brief moment. I was obsessed.

As an adult removed from high school, I can look back on the nearly 15 different productions I’ve been a part of with various roles and levels of importance.

I’ve played a chimney sweep, multiple raggedy orphans, a doll come to life and many more.

I’ve seen a small handful of touring companies as they came through Louisville, which was the nearest major city to where I grew up. The first “Broadway” show I saw was “The Lion King” on one of its many North American tours going through Louisville.

One of the most special moments of the show is the very beginning of “The Circle of Life.” Humans walk out with life-sized puppets fashioned after traditional African masks. They walk down the aisles of the orchestra, brushing against you in your seats.

I still get goosebumps thinking about it. Seeing that as a child showed me how beautiful live theater can be.

There is still an element of excitement I get when seeing live theater. The hair still raises on my arms when a show starts, and the feeling of excitement fills my body as the orchestra cues up and the curtains open.

My days now are filled with watching the latest theater updates on TikTok, streaming the newest cast albums and reading about what shows just started their off-Broadway previews. I make my predictions for the Tony Awards like it’s sports betting.

With my strong love for theater, it made sense that when it was time to pick a destination for my senior trip in 2021, my heart and eyes were set on Broadway.

There were so many shows I wanted to see live.

But two things kept me from going:

the ongoing Broadway pandemic shutdown and outrageously high prices to attend a Broadway show.

While Broadway has been out of its shutdown phase for years, the prices haven’t improved by much. Even in 2024, I did some digging on websites to find affordable ticket prices.

I avoided picking current popular shows like “Hadestown” or “Hamilton.” I looked into shows that have been running for long enough that the demand is more moderate and consistent. Shows that aren’t the current “talk of the town,” recent Tony winners or potential Tony nominees.

I opted for a common show many know: Wicked. The show has been ongoing for almost 20 years and is the fourth-longest-running Broadway show, according to the New York Theatre Guide.

If I wanted to buy one ticket online for a show Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. — a midweek evening show, seated in the middle of a row in the farthest back orchestra level seats — I would be paying $128 to see the performance. And that’s before taxes and fees.

If I wanted to sit in the highest level seats in the mezzanine — considered nosebleed seats in the theater world — I would be paying $116 for the seat before taxes and fees.

For shows like “Hadestown” or “Hamilton,” which are still in high demand, tickets for average balcony seats are between $190 and $300. Again, that’s paying hundreds of dollars to have an obstructed view.

That isn’t even factoring in the cost of getting to New York, as well as the cost of food, lodging and transportation in the city.

To be frank, prices like this make it nearly impossible for young Broadway fans to see shows and engage in the professional theater community. It is contributing to the unfortunate slow death of both the profession and live arts entertainment in general.

In the theater community, there has been ample

Providing theater fans — or those just curious about theater — access to these pro-shots will only spark the desire for more people to make their way to New York to see these shows live rather than on a screen.” discourse over the prices of Broadway, with some arguing that these high prices are to accommodate theaters, actors and keep the lights on.

But I can’t help but disagree. These prices are not accessible for the average theater fan.

I don’t think by any means that there need to be tickets as low as $50 for a seat in the front row.

But there is no reason I should pay hundreds of

dollars for obstructed views and the inability to see the small details that often make shows special.

This kind of inaccessible pricing is what is contributing to the decrease in attendance at theater productions, which is particularly troubling when people already couldn’t go to shows for a couple of years.

To be frank, prices like this make it nearly impossible for young Broadway fans to see shows and engage in the professional theater community. It is contributing to the unfortunate slow death of both the profession and live arts entertainment in general.”

According to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), attendance at the arts has hit levels that were lower than the pre-COVID average. ​​ Just under half — 48 percent, to be exact — of all adults attended at least one arts event in person.

This is 6 percentage points less than what was reported in 2017.

Additionally, a separate survey by the NEA shows 82 percent of respondents watched or listened to performing arts activities through digital media between 2021 and 2022.

There is a demand for engaging with the arts.

People were engaging in the arts virtually when the option was provided during the pandemic.

The box office numbers reflected this when the recently shot version of “Waitress” was in theaters. According to BoxOfficeMojo. com, the film — which only ran for two weekends — brought in $2.8 million on its first weekend, ending its run with $5.8 million in box office profits.

“Hamilton” resulted in a 74 precent user increase in the Disney+ app after going up in July 2020, according to analytics from Apptopia.

People were downloading the app and getting subscriptions and trials just to have the chance to watch a professionally filmed version of “Hamilton” in place of not being able to see it live.

As someone who was lucky enough to see a touring production of “Hamilton,” I understand that watching it from your couch is not the same as seeing it live. However, for people who can’t afford to see it live or physically cannot go to the theater, watching it from your couch is the next best thing.

But in a post-pandemic world, there aren’t as many accessible ways to view performing arts digitally, making the steep ticket prices even more frustrating.

One of my favorite stage shows this season is “How to Dance in Ohio,” a musical based on the

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DNOpinion

documentary of the same title. It tells the story of autistic adults, played by autistic adults, run by a neurodivergent creative team.

Beyond a beautiful cast and incredible score, this show recognized its audience and knew that prices had to be low to reach them. The audience for this show was not wealthy New Yorkers with money to spend and all the free time in the world, it was parents of autistic children and autistic adults — many of whom don’t have hundreds of dollars to spend on tickets.

It would serve Broadway to continue to release digital versions of shows. It won’t result in less ticket sales. Shows that have released pro-shots, such as “Hamilton,” are still on Broadway and selling millions of tickets.

Providing theater fans — or those just curious about theater — access to these pro-shots will only spark the desire for more people to make their way to New York to see these shows live rather than on a screen. It reminds people of how incredible theater can be.

As for theater fans like me, while we wait for the next pro-shot or the Wicked Movie to release, please support your local community theaters and high school theater programs. Go see a show in your community, and support your local artists.

Theater is for everybody, and I hope that someday Broadway will be for everybody again.

Contact Olivia Ground with comments at olivia. ground@bsu.edu or on X @liv_ground_25.

N STRATIO N, DN ILLU N ROWA BRENDE

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Continued from Page 08 Yet in the end, the game itself does not matter.

When the seniors on Ball State’s roster leave the program for the final time this summer, the love and friendships they built in Muncie will last a lifetime. “[Bonding] is a really good way to find the people that you’re going to stay with forever,” senior Kaitlyn Mathews said. “[You’ll find] the girls that are going to be your bridesmaids and the girls you are going to keep in touch with.

“Many people don’t have the opportunity to connect with so many girls with similar interests like that. It’s fun to do the things we want to do, not have to do.”

Finding time to be more than teammates What about a team that is going through their season? How do they adjust and find the time to be more than just teammates? For Ball State men’s swimming and diving, one way is board games.

“We play a lot of Unmatched,” junior Michael Burns said. “Guys are usually at my house every night playing.”

The game has become a tradition for the Cardinals. When you are crowned the champion, it’s something to cherish.

“I think I’ve gotten more mad at a game of Unmatched than anything else,” graduate student Noah Berryman said. “I was just learning to play the game and crushed them. I don’t know how I did it.”

Both the men’s and women’s teams have two different practice sessions, with one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. This is built so that if athletes have morning or afternoon classes, they have a chance to practice.

With that schedule, it can be challenging to find downtime. Both teams hang out at dinners and planned events. Yet when it comes down to being separate teams, they have their own ways of getting together.

We can lean on each other in tough times, cheer each other on in the great moments, it’s imperative that we’re very close so when things do go bad, we have each other.”

- NOAH BERRYMAN, Graduate Student “It’s just like, ‘Hey, who wants to come over and play,’” Berryman said. “We don’t really have any structure.”

While the men’s side is more spontaneous, the women’s team has everything planned ahead.

Whether it’s movie nights or going out for an evening of karaoke, they make sure everyone is aware.

“We have a team group chat, so we’ll have someone text everyone,” senior Mary Kate Phillips said. “We have after-practice dinners, and if someone’s going out to eat, we’ll text everyone to eat with us.”

To Phillips, the times spent outside of the pool can affect how you perform in the water. It can also help when the team is at a competition instead of an empty pool.

“Swimming is, honestly, a pretty individualized sport, but it’s also really difficult to do by yourself,” Phillips said. “When it comes to a meet atmosphere, it’s so much that everyone feels a little bit.”

One example of bonding was the scavenger hunt

Ball State women’s swim and dive team sings the Ball State fight song Jan. 20 at Lewellen Aquatic Center. Ball State earned a 182-117 win over Toledo. ANDREW BERGER, DN the women’s team hosted before the season. They used places like Berry Winkle and other landmarks around Muncie as the playing field. In the end, it was just one way for everyone to become one giant family.

The family aspect goes beyond the two sets of swimmers and divers. Both teams try to support other athletes by attending games and events with other Cardinals.

“I think having the athlete community is really helpful and gives you a place to make friends and meet new people,” Phillips said.

Last year, Berryman went to many athletic events. From soccer to field hockey, he made sure he made at least one appearance at each sport.

“I have a really good memory of the men’s

MOMENTUM Continued from Page 03

Muncie community members gather to talk about the community and how it can help children in the Muncie area Jan. 19 at the Delaware County Justice Center in Muncie, Indiana. The gathering was organized by Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) and the Credible Messenger Movement. MYA CATALINE, DN

“Folks that have lived experience with the justice system are now going back out and being credible messengers—or mentors if you will—to those youth, and connecting with them,” she said.

While many credible messengers have been incarcerated or involved in gangs, the movement recognizes a range of direct and indirect experiences of marginalization and involvement.

However, the movement for something bigger — building a better community in Muncie — began in May 2022, Rediger said. The core leadership started meeting. and most of the year was spent simply identifying the need in the community with a bit of research into the Credible Messenger Model.

“We applied for a state grant in the fall of 2022 but didn’t get it, and honestly we probably weren’t ready for it,” Rediger said via email. “We used 2023 to better introduce ourselves to the Credible Messenger Model and were able to secure funding to bring in a Credible Messenger training [program] from a great organization out of Maryland called ATC, Academy for Transformational Change.”

Members of Muncie Community Schools (MCS), who were present at the October meeting,

volleyball team against Hawaii last year,” he said.

“They beat them and it was just crazy. [A lot of us] were also there for the [men’s basketball] game against Kent State.”

Different bonding activities are used as a way to let their teammates know they care about them and to show the appreciation they have. They know when they reach the end of the pool, there will be someone there to celebrate with.

“We can lean on each other in tough times, cheer each other on in the great moments,” Berryman said. “It’s imperative that we’re very close so when things do go bad, we have each other.”

Contact Zach Carter with comments at zachary. carter@bsu.edu or on X @ZachCarter85.

were open and appreciative of new ideas to bring into schools given the current issues following the COVID-19 Pandemic, Rediger said.

Malone said schools are quick to expel and suspend students with behavioral issues, rather than looking for mentorship and rehabilitation, which leaves students with nowhere to go during the day.

Rediger said MCS leadership is looking to change that course.

“Our goal would be to have a partnership where credible messengers are working in the school systems alongside students,” she said. “Right now there are some barriers to getting some folks that have criminal justice backgrounds into the school systems, but they are open to figuring out how to do that.”

While Rediger’s team is still in the grantwriting phase of the project, they would like to install two credible messengers in the Muncie community in 2024.

“It’s our hope to have a program that would operate with the Credible Messenger model for youth 10-17 years old,” Rediger said via email.

“Ideally, we would hope to have funding to hire four part-time Credible Messenger mentors and a part-time supervisor to operate the program.”

Contact Daniel Kehn with comments at daniel. kehn@bsu.edu or on X @daniel_kehn.

15

Crossword & Sudoku

ACROSS 1 Halts 7 Loops in via email 10 Muslim cleric 14 “Dear Prudence” offering 15 Circle of life?

17 __ Marcus 18 New word for something old 19 Economic metaphor coined

by Adam Smith 21 Crow’s-nest call 22 Tolkien villains 25 Cryptographer Turing 28 Gawk 33 Cantina dip 35 Hence 36 “Leave the World Behind” actor Mahershala 37 Very softly, in music 38 Hurry, with “it” 41 Hydroelectric facility 42 Ore-__ Tater Tots 43 Years during Caesar’s reign 44 One of the Stooges 46 Lowest of lows 50 Some Dada works 51 “Manhattan Beach” novelist Jennifer

52 Ranch newborn 54 Superhero team with the physical features of 19-, 28-, 38-, and 46-Across 62 Hawaiian treat similar to a snow cone 64 Mellow 65 “Until we meet again” 66 Beyond thrilled 67 Pieces de resistance?

68 “Levitating” singer __ Lipa 69 States definitively

DOWN 1 “Pretty please?”

2 Genesis paradise 3 Tel __, Israel 4 Gorillas, e.g.

5 Net funds 6 Ranking 7 Corner PC key 8 One of Canada’s First Nations 9 “An American Pickle” star Rogen 10 Like some transfers 11 Telepath 12 Whichever 13 James Bond film studio 16 Big Band __

20 Mormon sch.

23 Letter-shaped vise 24 Pinches pennies 25 Seek (to) 26 Cuddly companion 27 Source of some wool 29 Suit 30 “Dude!”

31 Self-importance 32 Decomposes 34 Literary captain obsessed with a whale 39 Artist Yoko 40 Minecraft explosive 45 Part-timer’s work period, perhaps 47 Rapscallions 48 Many times, poetically 49 Felipe Alou’s outfielder son 53 Amtrak express 55 State-of-the-art 56 Deadlocked 57 Women’s Rights Project org.

58 Actress Ward 59 Feedbag grains 60 Versatile vehicles, for short 61 Start afresh 62 Bay Area airport letters 63 “As if!”

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