Flags Form Family
Flags Form Family
Ball State field hockey is a home away from home for the team’s international athletes.
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VOL. 104 ISSUE: 13
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Music titan Quincy Jones dead at 91
Nov. 3: Quincy Jones — the multi-talented producer, composer and songwriter whose vast legacy ranged from producing Michael Jackson’s historic “Thriller” album to collaborating with Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and hundreds of other recording artists — has died at 91, according to the Associated Press (AP). His death was confirmed by Arnold Robinson, Jones’ publicist. “Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing,” the family said in a statement. Jones was to have received an honorary Academy Award later this month for his notable career, according to AP.
Braun establishes transition team
Nov. 6: Indiana governor-elect Mike Braun (R) announced the team of Hoosiers who will guide the transition of power between him and incumbent Eric Holcomb (R), relying on several well-known politicos to oversee the changeover, according to Indiana Capital Chronicle. He said his team will include people who see his vision as an “entrepreneurial governor.” He also didn’t rule out keeping some department heads from Holcomb’s administration, though he previously singled out the Family and Social Services Administration and the Department of Child Services as agencies in need of improvement.
Ball State’s basketball teams start season
Nov. 4: Ball State men’s and women’s basketball opened their seasons Nov. 4. Both teams competed in the Mid-American Conference and Sun Belt Conference challenge. The women’s team won its home game against Old Dominion 60-46, and senior Ally Becki led the team in scoring with 13 points. The men’s team traveled to Georgia State and lost 71-66. The Cardinals overcame a late 11-point deficit but failed to comeback. Junior Jermahri Hill paced the Cardinals with 17 points. Both teams will return to action Nov. 8 at Worthen Arena. The men’s team will play Franklin College with tip-off set for 5 p.m. The women’s team will play IU Indy immediately following the men’s game.
TNS, PHOTO PROVIDED
AP, PHOTO PROVIDED
AYSLIN BOWMAN, DN
America’s Climate Crisis America’s Climate Crisis
The intensity of Hurricanes Helene and Milton begs the validity of climate change.
Indiana National Guard leader to retire
Major General R. Dale Lyles will retire from his role leading the Indiana National Guard in January, Gov. Eric Holcomb’s office announced Nov 4. Lyles has led the guard since being appointed by Holcomb in 2019, according to Indiana Capital Chronicle. “Serving as adjutant general has been the honor of my life,” Lyles said in a news release.
Police officer dead following illness
The City of Muncie Facebook group announced the death of Muncie Police Department officer Josiah Mauller via the social media platform Nov. 6. The announcement stated Mauller died after “a brave and lengthy battle with illness.” The city will release funeral arrangement and memorial service details as they become available.
Ball State earns diversity award
For the ninth consecutive year, Ball State University has received a Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity, the oldest diversity magazine and website in higher education, according to a press release. The award recognizes U.S. universities demonstrating commitment to diversity and inclusion.
JULIAN BONNER, DN ILLUSTRATION
2024 ELECTION
Trump has been elected the 47th president of the United States, a comeback for a former president who served from 2016 to 2020 and lost office to President Joe Biden in the 2020 Presidential Election, according to the Associated Press (AP). Trump won Indiana in a call made by AP Nov. 5 at 7:00 p.m.
Statewide Results
Gubernatorial Election
U.S. Senator
Mike Braun (R)
Micah Beckwith
Jennifer McCormick (D)
Donald Rainwater (L)
Jim Banks (R)
U.S. Representative
Victoria Spartz (R)
Attorney General
Todd Rokita (R)
Local Results
State Representative for District 33
John (J.D.) Prescott (R)
State Representative for District 34
Sue Errington (D)
County Commissioner District 1
Stephen Brand (R)
Judge of 46th Circuit Court No. 2
Andrew J. Ramirez (R)
City Council At-Large
Bradley T. Bookout (R)
Jessica Piper (R)
Eugene Whitehead (R)
As Hurricanes Helene and Milton leave people in the southeast U.S. region grappling with questions, climate change is a probable answer.
Katherine Hill News Editor
Weather and environmental circumstances are among the most common topics of small talk, according to Harvard Business Review. However, as Hurricanes Helene and Milton leave people in the U.S. southeast region devastated, weather and climate disasters have become topics of bigger conversation.
Jill Coleman, associate dean of sciences and humanities and professor of geography and meteorology at Ball State University, first began studying weather as an undergraduate.
“My passion led to figuring out the oddities of climate patterns in the world,” she said.
The same “oddities” that gave Coleman a passion gave Ball State University geography professor Dave Call “childhood trauma” when a hailstorm hit his Pennsylvania home at a young age.
“A surprising amount of people [who] are meteorologists are actually weather-phobic,” Call said.“ They were scared of the weather, [so] they started learning about it to conquer their fear, and then they discovered they really liked it.”
Call followed this path, which was nurtured by his mother, a science teacher. He now storm chases with students — albeit “safely” — as part of his curriculum.
This fall, Hurricanes Helene and Milton made national news as the two natural disasters formed eleven days apart, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s global precipitation measurement. Milton became “one of the most intense hurricanes on record” in the Atlantic Basin, according to climate.gov. Hurricane Helene’s death toll surpassed 200 in early October, according to the Associated Press (AP).
Coleman, who takes a special interest in hurricanes and long-term weather patterns as a climatologist, honed in on the specificities of hurricane formation.
She said although it’s still early to tell the severity patterns of hurricanes and thunderstorms and their correlation to climate change due to a lack of data, it is clear that hurricanes have become stronger and are lasting longer. This is due to the rapid warming of oceanic temperatures, which has caused the extension of hurricane season in the North Atlantic region.
Citing from research she co-authored, which was published in January 2017 by the American Meteorological Society, Coleman said a similar adage rings true when looking at snowfall fluctuations in the Midwest, as the region has
warmer temperatures in the wintertime with fewer inches of snow accumulation than in previous years.
“Snow on the ground is going to be typical [year round]. We’re going to still have that happen with climate change,” she said. “The difference is, what is the intensity of our snowfall going to be like? Is it changing in terms of patterns?”
The National Library of Medicine (NLM) reported “a stunning gap” in 2019 between the environmental risks of climate change and the actions being taken by the public to mitigate and prevent such risks.
The NLM reported that over the last decade, while “Democrats, Independents and even liberalto-moderate Republicans have increasingly accepted [that] global warming is happening and that it is worrisome, conservative Republicans have become less likely to see climate change as real and a cause for worry,” which has made the climate change phenomenon a debate that is “strongest in the U.S.”
Coleman countered the term “global warming,” calling it “a misnomer,” and drew attention to the fact that the term implies everywhere in the world is warming, but in reality, “there’s actually some places in the world [where] we see slight cooling.”
She also emphasized while the issue of climate change has become so politically polarizing, it shouldn’t be.
“It should be an issue that is independent of political parties. It’s science,” Coleman said, adding that a likely cause of the issue’s polarization is general public misunderstanding. “Climatologists are not the greatest spokespeople. We take a lot of statistical, scientific information for granted, and it doesn’t take much for people to spin that information.”
Call encouraged students to make their voices heard via political involvement.
“It is a policy debate wearing the costume of a scientific debate,” Call said. “From a scientific standpoint, it’s pretty clear that the planet’s warming, and it’s going to affect the weather. The discussion isn’t about the science, it’s about the policy,” he said.
Where policies are concerned, Coleman said economics are at play, as the United States is notorious for its fossil fuel expenditure.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, fossil fuels are the leading energy source in the nation, accounting for 83 percent of its energy consumption in 2023.
“There are very powerful companies, corporations and others that don’t want policy changes to be put in place,” Call said. “It’s much
easier to attack science.”
While Coleman focused more on the environmental metrics of the issue rather than overall policy, she agreed that a lot of the turmoil surrounding climate change stems from a physiological block among the population to accept change.
The vast majority of climatologists and scientists are all in agreement that there is climate change occurring. It is happening at a much more rapid pace than we have ever seen.”
- JILL COLEMAN, Associate dean of sciences and humanities at Ball State University
“The vast majority of climatologists and scientists are all in agreement that there is climate change occurring,” Coleman said. “It is happening at a much more rapid pace than we have ever seen. We’ve had climate change happen in the past, in the Jurassic [period], but the difference is that happened at [a] millions-of-years timescale. This is happening on decades, centuries-timescale. We definitely have an anthropogenic, human influence on climate change.”
The human capacity to create change coincides with the ability to influence. Coleman said there are lots of habitual actions one could take toward sustainability and reducing their carbon footprint, like bicycling or walking to a destination instead of driving.
“Adopting habits collectively, in mass, will make [them] seem more commonplace,” she said, underscoring the traction of technological advancements in society over the last decade.
Despite the seeming mundaneness of weather, Coleman said that’s what draws her to it and why she loves teaching the one-in-a-million “weather nerds” who remind her why everyone should be mindful of the state of the planet’s environment.
“It is a topic that unites us,” she said. “We all experience weather every day … [Through] teaching meteorology, I found a whole new passion.”
Contact Katherine Hill via email at katherine. hill@bsu.edu.
Jill Coleman, associate dean of science and humanities at Ball State University, is photographed Oct. 31 in North Quad on Ball State’s campus. Coleman emphasized while the issue of climate change has become so politically polarizing, she thinks it shouldn’t be. ANDREW BERGER, DN
‘Friendships for life’
‘Friendships for life’
Seven Cardinals from different countries share how field hockey brings them together.
Women’s Volleyball
Ball State played a pair of matches last weekend against Eastern Michigan. The Cardinals had a four-game win streak heading into the contests and have now won six straight, sweeping the Eagles in both matches. Ball State will have its final road trip of the season as they travel to take on Toledo Nov. 8 at 6 p.m.
Field Hockey
Johnston and van Hal earn All-MAC honors
Ball State graduate student Hannah Johnston was named to the AllMAC (Mid-American Conference) Second Team while junior Emma van Hal earned the highest honors with an All-MAC First Team selection. Johnston recorded 146 saves as goalie this season, ranking second in the MAC, and van Hal led the Cardinals with nine goals and 22 points.
Soccer Cardinals continue sixgame win streak
Chester named First Team All-MAC
Mid-American Conference (MAC) coaches voted to place junior midfielder Addie Chester on the All-MAC First Team in her first year at Ball State. Chester led the Cardinals with 10 goals, eight assists and 28 points this season, setting a new school record for single-season assists, while her 28 points ties a record for the most in school history.
Ball State University field hockey athletes are photographed Nov. 1 at Traeger Stadium in Louisville, Ky. The field hockey team includes players from South Africa, Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands. KYLE SMEDLEY, DN
High school basketball is back
Delaware County girl’s basketball teams prep for upcoming season.
Logan Connor and David Moore
Associate Sports Editors
In the state of Indiana, basketball season reigns supreme. Hoosiers live and breathe basketball — and high school hoops bring the community out every night.
The high school girls took to the hardwood Nov. 4, marking the official start of the 2024-25 season. It should be a roller coaster of a ride for the eight Delaware County programs, as is every winter in the state Dr. James Naismith called “the cradle of basketball.”
Delta Eagles
The Delta Eagles girl’s basketball team is coming off of a down year from 2023-24. The Eagles finished No. 7 in the Hoosier Heritage Conference (HHC) and a tick below .500 on the season.
Part of the struggles last season came from the lack of experience and senior leadership. According to MaxPreps, the Eagles do not have a single senior on their current roster.
Head coach Tyronda Benning said she is heading into the season optimistic. She hopes her team can build off the experience they gained last season and continue to build a culture.
“My team brings more maturity this year,” she said. “We focused hard on our mindset last season and [are] digging even deeper into it this season.” Benning hopes the experience her team gained last season as underclassmen will allow them to grow and learn this winter. With a roster of younger players, they have had to work on mental toughness to set their team apart.
“With only having one senior last season — being loaded with sophomores and freshmen — allowed them to get more playing time than average,” she said. “…We are looking for that experience to kick in this season and looking for a great outcome.”
The Delta girls will kick off their season Nov. 7 against Muncie Central at home with a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.
Muncie Burris Owls
The Muncie Burris Owls have struggled on the hardwood the last four years, winning only nine games since the 2020-21 season.
The Owls look to turn the tides this season with junior leading scorer Sydney Jackson at the head of the pack. Jackson averaged 11.3 points per game last season and led the team, shooting 31 percent from the field.
Jackson led the Owls in almost every statistical category last season. She averaged 2.1 assists per game, 3.8 steals and one block per game. Head coach David Harman will be relying on her ability again this winter.
Jackson excelled on both ends of the floor, totaling 138 points and 60 steals. Her leadership will be a lift alongside the five other rostered seniors, according to MaxPreps.
the Warriors are looking forward to the new season under their new head coach.
We can be a strong defensive team, but ultimately, how well we execute and become more efficient offensively will determine our success.”
- SCOTT HUDSON, Wapahani head coach
“The biggest reason for hiring coach Skaggs as our head girl’s basketball coach was her energy and excitement for Wes-Del and our girls,” athletic director Matt Nuckols said. “She already had strong relationships with our girls from when she was an assistant here and is very knowledgeable.”
Skaggs comes into the position with experience as an assistant in the past for Wes-Del. She has used that opportunity to learn and grow as a firsttime head coach.
Skaggs and the Warriors come into the season with one senior player. With the lone senior, Skaggs is going to have to rely on the play of some younger players this season.
Last season, the program struggled in participation. Bringing in the young coach has shown promise in increasing program numbers.
“Our numbers have already doubled from last season,” Nuckols said. “We’re excited to see her grow the numbers in both our youth and [high school] team and bring excitement to Wes-Del girls basketball.”
Wes-Del girl’s basketball’s next contest is Nov. 13 at Madison-Grant. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
The Tigers are coming off of a 13-11 (3-4) season in 2023-24. Yorktown has found themselves in a slump over the last couple of seasons.
Head coach Leigh Ann Barga is ready to bring back the success she previously had in her time wearing the Kelly Green. This team brings many differences from the one she coached on the hardwood last season.
Her team returns a roster with three seniors and a junior to lead an otherwise young squad. Relying on her upperclassmen leaders will play a major role in guiding the young Tigers.
The Tigers are returning their leading scorer in junior Lilly Sylvester, who averaged 14.5 points per game as a sophomore.
Sylvester scored 348 points last season and led Yorktown in most offensive categories. She also led the team in rebounds with 168.
Yorktown will tip off its season Nov. 12 at home against Guerin Catholic at 7:30 p.m.
Daleville Broncos
Despite an underwhelming 2023-24 regular season, the Broncos were able to win a sectional championship to cap off their season. Even with the championship under their belts, Daleville replaced their head coach coming into the 202425 season.
Former Delta High School shotguard Ruth Sherck dribbles the ball against Yorktown High School, Nov. 21, 2023, at Delta High School. TRINITY REA, DN
Joe Rench will be the head coach for the Broncos in the upcoming season. Rench will have to battle some adjustments needed after losing a multitude of seniors. A key returning contributor for the black and gold is junior Addi Gothrup.
Gothrup was the second leading scorer last season for Daleville with 12.6 points per game and is the biggest piece that Rench will rely on this season.
Daleville (0-1) started their season Nov. 4 with a road game against Alexandria-Monroe where the Broncos fell 30-69.
Cowan Blackhawks
Cowan has struggled in recent years, having three straight losing seasons. The Blackhawks last season above .500 was during the 2020-21 campaign, finishing 13-10. Having only posted four victories last year, the black and yellow are hoping for a turnaround under head coach Lisa Blalock.
A key to that turnaround will be the upperclassmen-heavy roster the Blackhawks have under their belts with the likes of seniors Brooklyn Sizemore and Regan Gill, junior Alyssa Stevens, and sophomore Savannah Hall.
“These girls gained valuable experience last season and are all stepping into even bigger roles this year,” Blalock said via email. “They are tough competitors, hard workers and have all really improved.”
The black and yellow lost some productive seniors from last year’s squad, with Davelynn Lindsay being one of the most impactful. Lindsay
led the team in points, assists and steals last year, while Brooklyn Hall led the Blackhawks in blocks.
Despite the losses, there is confidence around the team and how this season’s roster will respond.
“I expect our team to compete hard with great energy and effort. Our first two weeks of practice have been great, and we are looking forward to an exciting season,” Blalock said.
Cowan will begin their 2024-25 season Nov. 7 as they host Southern Wells. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
Wapahani Raiders
After a successful 2023-24 season was cut short in the sectional semifinals against Lapel, Wapahani has reloaded and is gearing up for another run at a sectional championship.
Retaining its two leading scorers from last season, juniors Emily and Megan Luce, is a big key to the Raider’s success this season.
“They both averaged around ten points and four rebounds last season and getting them back provides us with a solid backcourt,” head coach Scott Hudson said via email.
The Raiders also acquired 6-foot-3 Monroe Central transfer and Oakland University commit Kimber Abshear in the offseason.
“She provides such a strong inside presence with her scoring and defensive presence around the basket,” Hudson said.
The red and white have multiple players on this year’s rosters who will see increased roles this season due to departures. Two of those crucial
additions are current seniors Judy Dargo and Bailey Carpenter.
“They’ll both see significant playing time after being in reserve roles last year,” Hudson said. “Both have shown steady improvement this offseason. Judy provides depth on the perimeter, and Bailey will make her presence felt in transition, running the floor and scoring inside.”
In Hudson’s eyes, defense seems to be the Raiders’ calling card this season, so it will be all about the development of offensive execution throughout the year.
“We can be a strong defensive team, but ultimately, how well we execute and become more efficient offensively will determine our success,” Hudson said.
Wapahani will tip off their season Nov. 16 against Union at 6 p.m.
Muncie Central Bearcats
Muncie Central is coming off of its worst season since 2016-17, where the Bearcats went 3-21. Having struggled last season, there is a mindset of a culture change that is needed in order to turn the program around and get back to its winning ways.
“Our goal is to create a winning culture and improve every day,” Muncie Central head coach Dameon Wyatt said via email. “We want to improve defensively, limit our turnovers and create opportunities with our athleticism.”
Changing the culture surrounding the program starts with some of the new faces on the Bearcat roster this season. Incoming freshmen Kei’Maija Hickey and Ja’Niyah Johnson have the chance to be big impact players for the purple and white
“Hickey is very athletic and can be a great defensive player. She has the length and quickness to be really disruptive,” Wyatt said. “Johnson has great hands and a soft touch around the rim. She will only get better and better as the season progresses.”
A large change on the court this year will be the implementation of a new system for the team to learn. Naturally, there will be a learning curve and an adjustment period before things begin to click.
“We are implementing a new system, and it may take some time for us to hit our stride, but we plan to expand our defense and try to pressure teams into mistakes,” Wyatt said.
Muncie Central will open its 2024-25 campaign Nov. 7 with a road trip to Delta. Tip off is set for
Contact David Moore via email at david. moore@bsu.edu or on X @gingninj63.
Contact Logan Connor via email at logan. connor@bsu.edu or on X @_loganconnor.
Senior Yorktown High School basketball player Lily Sylvester and head coach Leigh Barga talk to an official Jan. 13 after playing the Delaware County Tournament at Delta High School. ZACH CARTER, DN
Field
hockey is tied for the most countries represented by a Ball State team.
Kyle Smedley Reporter
At the west end of Ball State field hockey’s pitch at Briner Sports Complex, seven flags wave lightly in the wind. One is on a tall pole — the American flag. Six others are zip-tied to a black fence, all in a row.
South Africa, Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands are represented along that fence.
Sometimes, the flags are taken down when the Cardinals don’t play in Muncie for an extended period. Yet a personal connection is made each time field hockey’s nine international players see their country’s flag flying just as the United States does at every Ball State event.
“That gesture makes you feel seen and known,” Paloma Gómez Rengifo said. “Sometimes, if we don’t have it, it makes you a little bit upset. Even though it’s just a flag, it has a lot of meaning.”
Rengifo, a graduate student from Madrid, Spain, remembered watching American-made movies and television shows as a child, sparking a dream to experience the same things she saw on screen.
She soon realized the only way she would be able to attend university
in the United States was through field hockey due to the financial differences in overseas tuition compared to in-country tuition.
The same was true for the eight other international Cardinals.
“You’re like, ‘I want to experience prom and the football game and cheerleading. Even yellow school buses,’” Rengifo said. “When I first got here, I thought they were just in the movies, so I was taking pictures of the buses. I was like, ‘Oh my God, they’re real.’”
Four years later, Rengifo has helped her foreign teammates, such as Emma van Hal, a junior from Wageningen, Netherlands, find comfort in Muncie by drawing on her own experiences. Van Hal dons the red and white along with two other Dutch natives on the team, freshman Cleo van Roessel and sophomore Nadine Loeps.
Van Hal said when she first enrolled at Ball State, she was not only scared to make mistakes on the field, but she was scared to make mistakes off it, particularly when speaking non-native English nearly full time.
“I remember my dad being like, ‘Emma, you’re gonna be in a new world where you can literally be anyone you want to be,’” van Hal said. “But I was so shy. I remember meeting all my teammates, and I didn’t give them a hug, I was too scared to say hi.”
Like Rengifo, Carolina Schmidt, a freshman from Teltow, Germany, has dreamt of moving to the United States since her youth. And like van Hal, Schmidt worried about being more than 4,000 miles away from everything she previously knew.
But head coach Caitlin Walsh eased any potential nerves Schmidt had about moving to America when she told her during the recruiting process that the Cardinals would soon become her home away from home. Even in her short four months out of Germany, that promise has started to come true.
“Being so far away from home, I need people around me who are like a second family,” Schmidt said. “… The first weeks were hard, but I think I’m getting used to it now.”
So too has Lauren Lewis, a freshman from Hull, England, who is the only Cardinal from the United Kingdom. Like Rengifo and Schmidt, she is the only member of the field hockey program since at least 2006 to represent her home country.
She had never even been to the United States before being accepted to Ball State. But her decision was a no-brainer.
“I never thought I’d be able to do it. It was always kind of a fever dream type thing,” Lewis said.
Ball State international field hockey athletes are photographed Oct. 29 at Briner Sports Complex. All nine foreign athletes only go home over summer break and for holidays. ANDREW BERGER, DN
It’s hard that your best friends are from all over the world … but I feel like we made friendships for life.”
- PALOMA GÓMEZ RENGIFO, Ball State field hockey graduate student
It’s not just the international players who left their distinct homes in pursuit of a childhood dream. None of the Cardinals are from Indiana, and field hockey is the only team at Ball State in which that is the case. Its seven countries are tied with men’s volleyball for the most represented by a single team on campus.
All nine foreign athletes only go home over summer break and for holidays. The same is true of Nadia Briddell, a senior from Baltimore. Though she competes more than 500 miles away from her hometown, Briddell is one of 13 Cardinals who did not have to leave their home country to accomplish their dreams.
“It really makes a statement that people will come wherever to play,” Briddell said. “If they want to play, it doesn’t really matter how far it is from home.”
However, Briddell is familiar with feeling like a stranger in your own space of living.
She attended a primarily white, private high school in Baltimore, and even after four years in Muncie, Briddell still understands the lack of nonwhite representation in field hockey.
That’s why she has joined Ball State’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council and became the president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. She wants to use her positive experiences as a Black Ball State athlete to help other aspiring Black field hockey players understand that Muncie is a welcoming community for them to join.
“I wanted something different,” Briddell said. “When I came here, there was always someone that looked like me … I’m always the minority. I’m not ashamed of it. It’s not something that should be an elephant in the room.”
Despite being the only Canadian in the field hockey program, Grace Clokie, a junior from West Vancouver, likely feels more at home in America than any of her international teammates. Growing up less than an hour from the United States border, Clokie remembered taking vacations to Washington and California as a child. However, she had never been to the Midwest before moving to Muncie.
“When I first came here, I was kind of taken aback,” Clokie said. “… I remember we would go to Pennsylvania for some games, and I was like, ‘Oh, there’s hills here!’”
When Michaela Graney, one of two South African field hockey athletes alongside junior Jessica Rochat, travels back to her home country
for summer or winter break, her trip consists of more than one travel day. The Cape Town native said her excursions back to South Africa take approximately 40 hours.
“It’s always comforting going home, but it’s so sad this year,” Graney said. “… I know that I’m not coming back. It’s kind of scary because I’ve made a home here too.”
Her first year in Muncie began about as unceremoniously as it could have.
Graney likes to think of herself as personable and confident, but she admitted how difficult it was to be herself during the first semester of college in a new country. Then, COVID-19 hit, and her situation got even worse.
Every other international player on the team was able to return to their home countries except for Graney. Instead, she had to live in the United States for three months with a South African family she was initially mostly unfamiliar with in the Carolinas.
“It was quite intense,” Graney said. “I kind of forgot about it because I’ve been here for so long. It was kind of traumatic.”
What has most directly helped Rengifo and Graney through their five years in Muncie are the three other fifth-year seniors still suiting up for the Cardinals. Most everything the two of them have gone through, the others have as well. Not only do they call each other best friends, they call each other sisters.
“It hasn’t been the easiest road, but here we are,” Rengifo said. “… We’ve talked about our weddings, our kids in the future and visiting each other. It’s hard that your best friends are from all over the world … but I feel like we made friendships for life.”
Despite Graney and Rengifo fully intending to return to their home countries after their time in Muncie ends, the five fifth-years have come up with a plan to stay in touch besides consistent electronic communication.
“Every five years, we’re gonna meet somewhere,” Graney said. “One time, they’re gonna come to South Africa; and in five years’ time I’m gonna go to the U.S.; and in another five years’ time, we’ll go to Spain.”
Contact Kyle Smedley via email at kmsmedley213@gmail.com or via X @ KyleSmedley_.
It’s always comforting going home, but it’s so sad this year … I know that I’m not coming back. It’s kind of scary because I’ve made a home here too.”
- MICHAELA GRANEY, Ball State field hockey graduate student
Junior Emma van Hal runs during a match against Miami (OH) Aug. 27 at Briner Sports Complex. Van Hal said when she first enrolled at Ball State, she was not only scared to make mistakes on the field, but she was scared to make mistakes off it, particularly when having to speak non-native English nearly full time. ANDREW BERGER, DN
Campus
Tropics to Table
The Rinard Orchid Greenhouse and Nature Lab is hosting an event to teach people about tropical plants Nov. 9 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. They will host culinary students from Allegre, who will provide dishes that incorporate tropic ingredients. Tinker Coffee, based in Indianapolis, will also be there at 11 a.m.to talk about coffee production.
ENGAGEMENT, ENGAGEMENT, WELLBEING WELLBEING AND CULTURE AND CULTURE
Campus
‘The Garfield Movie’
There will be a special screening of “The Garfield Movie,” which was released in May, in Pruis Hall Nov. 13, starting at 6:30 p.m. The event is open to the public, and following the movie, audience members will have the opportunity to engage in a Q&A session with the creator of Garfield and Ball State School of Art alum, Jim Davis.
Community
Elvis Christmas show
Todd Berry, who has been a professional Elvis impersonator for 30 years, will be performing at the Delaware County Senior Center Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. Berry will be singing both Christmas classics and hits from Elvis’ discography. Tickets are $15 for preorder or $20 at the door, and the deadline to register for the event is Nov. 13.
An on-campus office looks to support the health and well-being of Ball State employees.
(Left to right) Charity Coffman, Jenni Flanagan and Rhonda Wilson pose for a photo Oct. 16 at the Administrative Building on Ball State’s campus. Engagement,Wellbeing and Culture, an office that helps support the health and well-being of campus faculty, is ran and managed by Coffman, Flanagan and Wilson. ISABELLA KEMPER, DN
Trinity Rea Print Managing Editor
— but also community [well-being],” Flanagan said.
and Culture offered her a new, exciting challenge.
While Coffman has stepped away from the student side of educating, she said working with educators and campus faculty benefits students in the long run.
“I really believe that if we have a happy workforce, then we will have happier students ... The effect of me working with employees is going to be greater than me just going in one classroom and working with students throughout the day,” Coffman said.
Flanagan started working in Engagement, Wellbeing and Culture in 2008 as a part-time health coach but was employed by an outside company. In 2014, she became an official Ball State employee in the same office.
Wilson played on the Cardinals’ women’s volleyball team while obtaining her degree in exercise science before returning to the college for a master’s degree. With her experience and studies being centered around physical wellness, she said her passion for what Ball State stands for led her to her current position.
Though Wilson always focused more on the physical side of things, she said she has always worked toward bettering herself and others as a whole.
“I’ve always had a passion for being the best version of yourself,” Wilson said. “… Just understanding how people grow and develop and what people’s needs are as they progress through their profession has really allowed me to grow as an individual, and this job has afforded that opportunity in several different ways for personal and professional satisfaction.”
Although they each have different backgrounds, they said their work at the office and the connections they’ve made across campus have brought them together.
WWorking Well, now known as Engagement,Wellbeing and Culture, opened its doors on Ball State University’s campus in 2007, intending to help Ball State employees reach the best version of themselves.
The office is run by a three-person team, consisting of Executive Director Rhonda Wilson, Assistant Director Jenni Flanagan, and Assistant Director of Organizing Learning and Development Charity Coffman.
Wilson said working in the office is “the best job on campus.”
“We truly feel blessed to be able to get to work as a team of three and then together with all variety of [Ball State] employees,” she said.
When the office was first developed, it was located in the Health Center and was intended only to address the physical well-being of Ball State employees. The office offered screenings for cholesterol and blood pressure, alongside other health assessments and intakes.
Flanagan said their office has pivoted to a focus on employees’ overall well-being.
“We still focus on the individual, but we’re also in a space where we’re focusing on the environment and the culture and the department — the team as a whole. We’ve expanded our view of well-being to be more about career, social, financial — of course physical
This new setup allows for Wilson, Flanagan and Coffman to cater to every need of employees on campus. In the long term, this benefits everyone from students to community members.
“We are here to serve students, but we have to take care of the people who are here to do that,” Flanagan said.
Each week, the office holds different sessions focusing on wellness for employees across campus with partnered businesses or community members.
The office also goes into the community and holds sessions by themselves frequently.
All three members of the office are certified in the Gallup CliftonStrengths program. Using this, the office helps employees identify their strengths and learn how they can use those strengths to work better within their respective departments.
The office also helps coordinate the annual Cardinal Day of Wellbeing and Benefits Fair for faculty, which took place Oct. 29. According to the event’s website, they offer programming surrounding the five pillars of well-being: financial, community, physical, social and career.
Wilson said the office has begun implementing learning and development programs over the past two years. Coffman was brought in last summer to help facilitate that.
Coffman said her role is to provide opportunity, and she does so with professional development for all employees from dining hall workers to administrative coordinators.
“My passion is, ‘What do people need?’ and
‘How can I help develop people?’ to help them learn and grow and help them engage and lead meaningful lives,” Coffman said. “It is really what the [university] president’s mission is [and] what our mission is here in our office.”
While each office member works together to better their peers’ wellness, they each originally had different ideas of where their professional careers would take them.
After working in schools for almost two decades, Coffman started working on Ball State’s campus with the Digital Core, later transitioning to the Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute. With her extensive background in student-based work, she said taking the position at Engagement, Wellbeing
The team wants people around the university to know they’re here to help and are passionate about doing so.
“We want to see [students] grow … but we want the same thing for our employees here at Ball State,” Coffman said. “We want to see them really thrive in the workplace.”
For more information about Engagement, Wellbeing and Culture, you can head to its page on Ball State’s website. Information about the office and what it offers for Ball State faculty and staff are also available online.
Contact Trinity Rea via email at trinity.rea@bsu. edu or on X @thetrinityrea.
I really believe that if we have a happy workforce, then we will have happier students … The effect of me working with employees is going to be greater than me just going in one classroom and working with students throughout the day.”
- CHARITY COFFMAN, Assistant Director of Organizing Learning and Development
(Left to right) Jenni Flanagan, Charity Coffman and Rhonda Wilson pose for a photo Oct. 16 outside the Administrative Building on Ball State’s campus. The Engagement, Wellbeing and Culture office opened its doors in 2007 and is ran by Flanagan, Wilson and Coffman. ISABELLA KEMPER, DN
BRENDEN ROWAN, DN ILLUSTRATION CHARLOTTE JONS, PHOTOS PROVIDED
Back to the drawing board
Charlotte Jons is a first-year journalism major and writes “The Peanut Gallery” for the Daily News. Her views do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper.
It’s 2015 and my eyes jump rapidly around the paper in front of me. My hands are stained — a technicolor rainbow of washable marker displayed on my skin. There is crayon under my nails, and the room smells of Sharpie markers. I hover my hand over pencil cases, searching for just the right blue to add to my masterpiece.
In nine years, instead of a sheet of paper and art supplies, I sit in my dorm, staring over coursework with clean hands and a room without an all-toofamiliar marker smell.
Growing up and away from a childhood passion is a disappointing reality we are forced to confront as we age. We all have a hobby or club we practiced until middle school before abandoning it for educational practicality. Often, this is a sport we never enjoyed or a time commitment we dreaded attending.
Contrastingly, these abandoned passions are not always something we hope to lose. And unfortunately, this hobby many give up is often related to the arts we adored as a child.
I noticed this in myself, especially moving into college.
I have stayed unorthodoxly busy as a heavilyinvolved journalism major in the Honors College here at Ball State University. And while living on my own and caring for myself and my education, I have felt connected with my younger self, who always dreamed of working toward an education within this field.
I know she would be thrilled by my classwork, but I do think my first-grade self would feel saddened by the lack of colored pencils in my freshman dorm room.
After catching myself tying my love of design and creativity into work to give myself that creative kick, I began questioning why the physical arts I adored as a toddler got traded in for heavy reading on my laptop.
We should return to the childhood artist we often leave behind when we grow up.
happened over and over again to so many people.
The University of Florida (UF) researched the connection between education and forms of the creative arts.
According to UF, those who “participated in arts education see the following: improved writing achievement, reduced disciplinary infractions, more student engagement, improved college aspirations [and] no drop in standardized test scores.”
The more I sat with myself and considered all the ways I still show my creativity, I discovered that, for me, no art or passion for it was lost — it grew up with me.”
Curious if I was the only one feeling detached from creativity while aging, I began asking other Ball State Daily News reporters and editors, as well as my community on and off campus, for their thoughts.
The responses I got were both validating and strikingly consistent.
When I asked if they participated in creative activities before their teens, the majority said yes, with the common two forms of arts being drawing and crafts. In contrast, when I asked if they still participated in those arts they loved when they were younger, only half said yes. Almost everyone told me they wished they had more time in their lives for art.
This made me sad, then angry. It felt like such a deep injustice. This had
If we have so much research connecting the arts and educational and individual success — why are we not making more art?
The answer is complicated. A part of this is one’s need for exceptionalism.
Magazine Backstage published an article, “When Did We Stop Being Artists?” by Erin Cronican.
“At an early stage, a child singing out of tune is adorable, at another point, the child is hushed and told not to sing. Children and adults, alike, stop painting pictures because they tell themselves, ‘I’m not good at it’ and forget that creating art is about expression, not about excellence,” Cornican wrote. When the time comes, the practice in “practice makes perfect” takes too long. Perfection becomes the only correct output of creative pursuits, and we start to see the practice of art as pointless.
We grow up and stop making art. I continued conversations with my peers. In what “grown-up” ways do you show your artistic or creative side at your current age?
Instead of the pessimistic answers that I was expecting, the responses I received were inspirational: social media, scrapbooking, writing screenplays, knitting, colorful makeup, using watercolors and more.
I found myself scrolling through a list of creative activities, including the ones above, that I had collected. Each one is individual and unique to their user, allowing a person to connect with their childhood artist.
For me, personally, I have become creative within my own social media, specifically on my Instagram (@jons_char), in the last year.
I write music, which is an art form despite my mind discounting it from my creative resume due to its lack of glitter glue. I enjoy making people gifts and cards as well. I love painting when I have time.
The more I considered all the ways I still show my creativity, I discovered that, for me, no art or passion for it was lost — it grew up with me.
And this was certainly the case for the majority of my peers who let me know their creativity is persevering against those trying to remove it.
There is a lot of debate about the importance of art creation, and I am happy to report that I will be working together with my childhood self against the argument of academics and our creative pleasure.
If you disagree, you will be fighting against the version of me at a bedroom desk at age 9 — the version with marker-tinted forearms and glitter glue fingers.
She will tell you to pick up a brush with her and start painting.
Contact Charlotte Jons via email charlotte. jons@bsu.edu.
Columnist, “The Peanut Gallery”
Charlotte Jons
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