BSU 01-26-23

CAP students hit the halfway-point on their two-year project.404

Sweet A Heart

BallStateDailyNews.com

Griffith named top athlete of the week Ten people shot in Los Angeles

Jan. 18: After her performances at the Hawkeye Invitational for Ball State Track and Field Jan. 14, fourthyear Charity Griffith was named Mid-American Conference (MAC) Field Athlete of the Week. Griffith cleared 6 feet-0.75 inch (1.85m) in the high jump which tied a personal best and a Ball State program record she set at the 2022 MAC Indoor Championships.

Jan. 22: Late Jan. 21, during Lunar New Year celebrations in the predominantly Asian American area of Monterey Park, California, 10 people at a dance club were shot and killed, with the suspect originally unknown. The next day, 72-year-old Huu Can Tran was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a van he presumably fled the scene in.

Pfister named MAC Specialist of the Week U.S. and Germany to send tanks to Ukraine

Jan. 24: After a record-tying floor event at the Tennessee Collegiate Classic, third-year Suki Pfister was named the MidAmerican Conference (MAC) Gymnastics Specialist of the Week. Pfister, who earned the award twice last season for vault performances, registered a career-best 9.950 in just her third collegiate floor competition to win the event.

VOL. 102 ISSUE: 19

Jan. 25: This is a reversal of a previous ruling not to send battle tanks to Ukraine to help defend against Russia. President Joe Biden said 31 M1 Abrams tanks will be sent, while German officials said 14 Leopard 2 A6 tanks will be sent. Biden added other European allies will send 62 tanks.

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CORRECTION

CHANCE OF

SNOW

Hi: 32º Lo: 20º

CHANCE OF SNOW

FRIDAY CLOUDY

Hi: 35º Lo: 29º

Hi: 37º Lo: 33º

SUNDAY

SATURDAY CHANCE OF RAIN/SNOW

Hi: 36º Lo: 24º

THIS WEEK: Gloomy conditions will continue. Expect highs to plummet to the teens by midweek and lows to dip into the single digits. Slight chance for some snow showers Tuesday and Wednesday but drying up for the remainder of the week.

START CHECKING, FROM DAY ONE.

Hope Kleitsch, Weather forecaster, Benny Weather Group

JAMIE HOWELL, DN FILE

AMBER PIETZ, DN

One Sale Too Many

Olivia Ground Social Media Editor

Anna-Lisse Lenard was disappointed.

She was disappointed she didn’t get tickets. She was disappointed she spent well over a day in the virtual queue, meaning a line of people waiting for their turn to purchase tickets. She was disappointed it felt like it was all for nothing.

But above all, she was disappointed that a company this big allowed it to happen.

Lenard, like many other fans, tried and ultimately failed to get Taylor Swift’s concert tickets.

“I was trying to hold on to hope because I [have] wanted to see her forever, since I was a little girl,” Lenard, second-year social work major at Ball State University, said. “I definitely was really frustrated. I felt like [the long queue] shouldn’t have been a mistake.”

The Eras Tour, Taylor Swift’s post-pandemic return, was less than satisfactory for fans like Lenard. Swift announced on social media she was returning to tour Nov. 1, 2022, later announceing 17 more shows to account for “unprecedented demand” 10 days later.

In the days leading up to the sale, Ticketmaster and Taylor Swift’s team provided “line boosts” to select fans, and Ticketmaster used a lottery system to release presale codes. If one received the line boost, one would be moved to the front end of the online queue to get tickets. But, if one got a line boost without a presale, the line boost was made useless. Presale was set to take place Nov. 15, 2022.

The first presale was supposed to take place for a smaller, select group of fans. On Nov. 15, 2022,

at 2 p.m., users with a Capital One card were supposed to have their chance for tickets. General admission was to follow a few days later Nov.18, 2022, according to Ticketmaster in a “what to expect” series of Tweets. During the 72-hour time frame, there was a 10 hour long wait time for select shows due to long virtual waiting lines, pushed-back pre-sales and the cancelation of the general sale.

The long queue times fans like Lenard experienced happened for all of the shows in Taylor Swift’s the Eras Tour, including the show Lenard said she was trying to buy tickets for. The Ticketmaster site began to crash before the sale even started due to record-high web traffic, Ticketmaster said in a press release after the sale. Lenard shared she experienced the site crashing most of the day. Ticketmaster told fans already in the queue to remain there through a Twitter post.

“I was in three different classes trying to buy them,” Lenard said. “I did not care if I got in trouble.”

The Capital One presale that was originally scheduled for Nov. 15 at 2 p.m. was moved to the next day.

Long time Muncie public servant dies at 71 Classified

Marta Moody was executive director of the Delaware-Muncie Metropolitan Plan Commission at the time of her death. Moody had held this position since 1987, though she began working for the commission in 1979. Many prominent members of the community commented on her legacy, including Mayor Dan Ridenour. The commission is expected to take a week off in remembrance of Moody.

found

documents

in Pence’s

Former Vice-President

home

lawyer found about a dozen classified documents in Pence’s Carmel, Indiana, home Jan. 16. Pence had repeatedly said he didn’t have classified documents in response to documents being found in President Joe Biden’s office and former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club. It is unclear what the documents contain.

Local Indiana Nation

Twelve people injured in Louisiana nightclub shooting

On Jan. 22, in Baton Rouge at around 1:30 a.m., three police officers nearby heard shots fired at the Dior Bar & Lounge and responded. They administered lifesaving aid until emergency medics arrived. One of the 12 victims was in critical conditon. No arrests have been made, but police believe the attack to be “targeted.”

Mike Pence’s

Ticketmaster, the largest ticketing platform, gains attention after ticket sale malfunction of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.

JOSIE SANTIAGO, DN ILLUSTRATION

I was trying to hold on to hope because I wanted to see her forever, since I was a little girl.”

- ANNA-LISSE LENARD Taylor Swift fan

Dance of Design

Ball State’s College of Architecture and Planning students hit the halfway point in two-year competition to build a house.

Hannah Amos Associate News Editor

201 N. Temple Avenue; the “Alley House.” What will soon be a home to two families is currently only a frame.

In a partnership with Englewood Community Development Corporation (CDC), Ball State University’s R. Wayne Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning (CAP) is building a netzero energy, affordable, duplex-style house.

Though this house is part of the Englewood community, it is also part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon 2023 Build Challenge.

The Solar Decathlon is an international “collegiate competition that prepares the next generation of building professionals to design and build high-performance, low-carbon buildings powered by renewables,” according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon website.

The Build Challenge of the Solar Decathlon is a two-year competition where teams have to design and build the house.

Ball State is one of 11 finalists spanning three countries – the United States, India and Canada –according to the 2023 Build Challenge website. When the competition started in fall 2021, there were 32 competing teams.

As of Jan. 17, CAP is tied with the University

of British Columbia and the University of Wyoming. All three are ahead, having already started the insulation, drywall and flooring of their respective homes, according to the 2023 Build Challenge website.

Along with being partnered with Englewood CDC and other local businesses, CAP is also working with CAP: INDY, an extension of the CAP program.

With the construction of the Alley House being in Indianapolis and CAP being based in Muncie, there are two student team leads: Nik Seiber,

Indianapolis team lead, and Emily Rheinheimer, Muncie team lead. Both Seiber and Rheinheimer are studying for their master’s degrees in architecture.

Rheinheimer and Seiber have been a part of this project since it started in fall 2021, and they’ve stayed on to finish it.

Since Seiber has had the experience of being a part of the design and build process, he described it as a “dance of design.” He said dance is a metaphor for all of the parts that go into working with a team to design and build.

Despite Rheinheimer and Seiber staying on, every semester new people are added and some leave, Seiber and Rheinheimer said.

“Each semester we will offer to have new people come on, and there’s usually a little bit of a two-to-three week period of just trying to catch them up on what’s going on,” Rheinheimer said.

Rheinheimer said about 20 to 30 new students joined each semester, and over 100 students have had some form of involvement with the project since it began.

Both Rheinheimer and Seiber said this project is beneficial to learning how to work in the professional world of architecture.

They believe the project helps to prepare students for the professional world due to them working with many different people in different

disciplines, along with working with contractors and other professionals.

“We’re really at the nitty gritty level. We get to personally experience how we have to figure stuff out just like the real world,” Seiber said.

Beside undergraduate and graduate students working on the house, CAP is hosting community build days to help to connect with the Englewood community, Pam Harwood, professor of architecture, said.

The build days are on Saturdays, with the closest one on Jan. 28, according to the Build Team calendar and Harwood.

“The house is dried in, which means all the weather enclosing elements are on the house, and interior and exterior finishes can now be applied,” Harwood said via email.

There are plans for an April showcase to allow the public to tour the house once it is finished.

Contact Hannah Amos with comments at hannah. amos@bsu.edu or on Twitter

We’re really at the nitty gritty level. We get to personally experience how we have to figure stuff out just like the real world.”

- NIK SEIBER, Ball State’s College of Architecture and Planning Indianapolis team lead

The ground is broken for the first time at the CAP Alley House July 12, 2022 in Indianapolis. BOBBY ELLIS, BALL STATE MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS, PHOTO PROVIDED

The CAP net-zero house stands with the framing up Jan. 11 in Indianapolis. PAM HARWOOD, PHOTO PROVIDED

United Together

Ball State University’s 43rd annual Unity Week

Ball State students recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day by participating in a march in honor of King’s legacy and racial equality Jan. 16 on Ball State University’s campus. The “MLK March” was the second event of this year’s Unity Week. ZACH GONZALEZ, DN

First-year social studies education student Ethan Bravo shares his coming out story at Queer Monologues event Jan. 18 at Pruis Hall. OLIVIA GROUND, DN

The communities of Muncie and Ball State symbolize racial equality and diversity by marching on West University Avenue on Ball State University’s campus Jan. 16. The march took place on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in tradition of Ball State’s “Unity Week.” ZACH GONZALEZ, DN

Dancers from Folklorico perform during the Latinxpalooza event Jan. 20 at the L.A. Pittenger Student Center. Folkorico had six dancers who performed at the Latinxpalooza event. MYA CATALINE, DN

Nov. 17, 2022, Ticketmaster announced on Twitter it had “insufficient remaining ticket inventory” and could not hold the general ticket sale.

Swift made a statement about the sale Nov. 18, 2022.

“I’m not going to make excuses for anyone because we asked them multiple times if they could handle this kind of demand, and we were assured they could,” Swift wrote in an Instagram post. “It’s truly amazing that 2.4 million people got tickets, but it really pisses me off that a lot of them feel like they went through several bear attacks to get them.”

What is Ticketmaster?

According to their website, Ticketmaster was founded in 1976 in Phoenix by college staffers Albert Leffler and Peter Gadwa, as well as businessman Gordon Gunn III. Today, the company is established in 31 countries.

Ticketmaster and Live Nation merged into one company under the approval of the United States Department of Justice and FTC Jan. 25, 2010.

Since 1995, Ticketmaster has had 80 percent of the market share for primary concert ticketing, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

“Ticketmaster and Live Nation are a good example of what is likely a monopoly,” Erik Nesson, department chair of the Department of Economics and associate professor of economics at Ball State, said. “They control a large portion of ticket sales and sports sales.”

He said a monopoly is a market where one seller dominates the marketplace.

The government is able to play a role in monitoring the status of companies to ensure there isn’t an active monopoly. Nesson said the government will

step in when two companies want to merge together, in an attempt to keep monopolies in check.

The government will also monitor collusion, which is when companies start having noncompetitive practices, Nesson said.

An example of a past monopoly the government has interfered with is Microsoft Corp.

On Nov. 5, 1999, a federal judge declared that Microsoft as a monopoly. The government decided Microsoft had a large portion of market power and was using that power to keep other companies from having a fair chance at participating in the market.

On Jan. 24, the Senate Judiciary Committee had a hearing regarding Ticketmaster and its potential of being a monopoly. At the hearing, senators debated possible action, including making tickets non-transferable to cut down on scalping and requiring more transparency in ticket fees.

Ticketmaster and The United States Government

In 1994, Pearl Jam, a Seattle-based rock band, was set to go on tour.

Ticketmaster was a quickly growing business, controlling the ticketing for some of the most popular venues and artists at the time, making most of its profit out of service fees.

Pearl Jam laid out their pricing guidelines for the tour, stating Ticketmaster charged $1.08 in service fees, creating an overall ticket cost of $18, according to the Associated Press.

At this time, Ticketmaster was operating on a sale system that had a $4-$15 service fee, according to the Associated Press.

Pearl Jam canceled their touring plans and filed an antitrust complaint against Ticketmaster, which triggered a federal investigation into the company’s alleged monopoly.

Pearl Jam claimed Ticketmaster was abusing its

The History of Ticketmaster

Ticketmaster was founded in Phoenix, Arizona, by college staffers Albert Leffler and Peter Gadwa as well as businessman Gordon Gunn III. Leffler came up with Ticketmaster as the name for the new company.

Oct. 2, 1976

Pearl Jam was set to go on tour but canceled over ticket prices. This triggered a federal investigation into Ticketmaster.

Electric Light Orchestra at the University of New Mexico was Ticketmaster’s first ticketed concert.

The investigation was closed without action. However, the Justice Department said it would continue to monitor the situation.

- ERIK

marketplace dominance to charge what were extremely high service fees at the time, as well as sign exclusive deals with major concert venues, leaving performers and customers with few to no alternatives.

Pearl Jam was supported by other acts of that era, including Garth Brooks, according to the Associated Press.

The investigation was closed without action July 5, 1995, due to no lawsuit being filed, according to the Associated Press. However, the antitrust division said it would continue to monitor the situation.

Service Fees and Dynamic Pricing

Currently, Ticketmaster is earning its profits by using two different models of income: service fees and dynamic pricing.

Ticketmaster shares on its site that fees are

determined in partnership with their client, I.E. the artists or the sports team you are buying the ticket for. They cover things like the technology, equipment and handling fees of the tickets.

“The classic service fee that everyone hates is the convenience fee for printing your tickets at home …,” Nesson said, “But that is just another form of price discrimination.”

Price discrimination, Nesson said, is when a company assesses its client base and charges one consumer more than the other because the consumer is willing to pay more. This is a commonly used practice for buying plane tickets or booking an Uber, Nesson said.

In 2011, Ticketmaster introduced dynamic pricing, which was a concept already being used at the time.

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, it is, “a way of setting the price for a product or service in which the price changes according to how much demand there is for it at a particular time (how many people want to buy it or pay for it).”

It would work like hotels or airlines; the more people want to buy tickets, the more expensive the tickets become. This is to isolate the fans willing to pay thousands of dollars and get them to pay that, while fans who want cheaper tickets will wait to buy them on the day of the show.

Nesson said this dynamic pricing model is most likely a form of price discrimination, from an economist’s perspective. Sometimes, this dynamic pricing model is more hidden, being called a VIP package or a Platinum package.

“[Ticketmaster tries] to figure out how many people are trying to buy tickets for this show. If there’s a lot, [its] going to change [to] a higher price, and if there’s fewer, [its] going to charge a lower price,” Nesson said.

Ticketmaster and Live Nation merged into one company under the approval of the U.S. government authorities.

Jan. 25, 2010

Ticketmaster started using the process of dynamic pricing — a concept that has been used for other businesses. This helps Ticketmaster and artists make a larger profit.

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour presale opened.

Ticketmaster announced on Twitter they had “insufficient remaining ticket inventory” and could not hold the general ticket sale.

The U.S. Senate held the first day of the hearing for Ticketmaster.

Jan. 24th, 2023

Ticketmaster and Live Nation are a good example of what is likely a monopoly. They control a large portion of ticket sales and sports sales.”

NESSON, Ball State associate professor of economics and department chair of the Department of Economics

Delta’s

of the Man

Swim & Dive

Three

pool records

set at Lewellen Aquatic Center

Ball State recorded three new pool records from Owen Chaye and Joey Garberick, while the 400 freestyle relay of Chaye, Jack Wolferd, Ethan Pheifer and Jacob Siewers finished with a 3:04.47 time. Chaye’s 50 freestyle clocked in at 20.72, .04 faster than the previous record, while Garbericks’ record in the 100 breaststroke time of 56.67 beat the record he set last season.

Gymnastics Cardinals break multiple records

High school senior Caleb Elliot lands in top five finalists for Indianapolis Colts leadership award.

Zach Carter Reporter

Who is Caleb Elliott? Some high schoolers might be asleep at 9 a.m. on a winter Saturday morning. But not Elliott.

The senior hops out of bed and gets dressed. He heads to the school he’s been to all week.

Elliott, a wide receiver and point guard for the Delta Eagles football and basketball teams, is not going for a practice. Delta runs a program called “The Future Eagles.” It allows elementary kids to play team basketball inside the school’s gym.

For this to happen, the teams need a coach, an official and a scoreboard operator.

Once he arrives, Delta’s varsity basketball head coach Mark Detweiler lets him and his teammates decide which role they would like to do.

Usually, he decides to do the officiating because for one, he will still be a part of the game.

Delta High School senior Caleb Elliott poses on the football field Jan. 21 at Delta High School in Muncie, Ind. Elliott was chosen as a finalist for the Indianapolis Colts High School Man of the Year Award. JACY BRADLEY, DN

“Not many people like to make calls,” Elliott said. “It takes more effort than you’d think.”

But that last factor is something that defines Elliott. He does something some people may not want to do: volunteer his time.

The Indianapolis Colts youth program gave out its second Man of the Year award for this season. The award goes to a high school football player who shows uncommon leadership.

Five finalists were chosen for the 2022 award. Cory Robinson, a senior from Seymour High School, won the award, but one of the finalists this season was Elliott.

“I was just kind of in awe,” Elliott said. “Being one of the top five kids in the state to be acknowledged for it. I think it was pretty cool.”

For an athlete to be recognized, they have to be nominated by a teacher or coach. Delta’s head football coach Chris Overholt picked Elliott.

See ELLIOTT, 14

On the road in Lebanon, Tennessee, Ball State Gymnastics set event records in the vault (49.250) and beam (49.350) en route to a program record 196.550 overall score. The Cardinals, now 6-4 this season, picked up wins over Fisk (190.025), Kent State (195.925), Lindenwood (196.175) and Southeast Missouri (195.350) with their performance.

Men’s Volleyball

Ball State drops two spots in AVCA rankings

After sitting No. 6 in the nation in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) rankings and holding that spot for two weeks, men’s volleyball dropped to No. 8 in the rankings on Jan. 23. With two losses against defending-national champions and No. 1 Hawaii followed by a sweep of Harvard and a five-set win over Tusculum, the Cardinals are 2-2.

I want the people I interact with to know I care about them. And like all my teammates, I care a lot about them. I love them all.”

- CALEB ELLIOTT, Senior wide receiver and point guard for Delta’s football and basketball teams

CARDINALS FALL TO REDBIRDS

While men’s swim and dive set records in their loss to Miami (Ohio), the women’s team fell short.

Second-year

Fourth-year

Fourth-year

First-year swimmer Callie Tuma swims in the women’s 500 meter freestyle against Miami Jan. 21 at Lewellen Aquatic Center. AMBER PIETZ, DN

swimmer Hannah Jones swims in the women’s 100 meter butterfly against Miami Jan. 21 at Lewellen Aquatic Center. AMBER PIETZ, DN

swimmer Noah Berrymans swims breaststroke in the men’s 200 meter relay against Miami Jan. 21 at Lewellen Aquatic Center. AMBER PIETZ, DN

breaststroke swimmer Noah Berrymans swims in the men’s 200 meter relay against Miami Jan. 21 at Lewellen Aquatic Center. AMBER PIETZ, DN

Gym Etiquette Rules to Follow

Lila Fierek Lifestyles Editor

With 52 percent of Americans’ New Year’s resolutions being to exercise more, according to Statistica, and 12 percent of new gym members starting in January, according to RunRepeat, gyms have been filling up. This means new people to fitness centers, some who don’t know the “unwritten rules” of the gym. Here are five rules of gym etiquette for all those visiting.

Respect others and their space. When personal space isn’t respected, it can make people nearby uncomfortable. This is also important because it can be dangerous to workout too close to someone else. If someone drops a weight or stretches out a little farther than expected, you could be in harm’s way.

Respecting others also means leaving people alone without reason. Don’t do anything you wouldn’t do outside of the gym. This means being patient and not hovering over people who are on a piece of equipment you may want to use. This can also mean not giving out unsolicited advice or making comments about someone’s body and technique.

Be clean.

This goes for both yourself and the equipment. According to the CDC, germs living on dry surfaces can last for days, even weeks. That is why it’s so important to wipe down equipment after each use, though it helps to do it before as well. Taking a shower right after leaving the gym can help remove any germs that might’ve been missed.

It’s also good to wear clean clothes and have good personal hygiene. Odors can affect both yourself and others, but bacteria can grow on sweaty gym clothes. According to The Healthy, this can also lead to bacterial infections, rashes and viruses.

Juried Art Show goes digital Rosie Herrera Dance Theatre to premiere at Emens

Minnetrista will be holding its 33rd annual Juried Art Show. An award ceremony and opening reception will be held from the past year’s submissions Jan. 27. The art show was open to all Indiana artists. This year, the show will be digital. It will be available for viewing to the public for free from Jan. 28 to April 16.

The Rosie Herrera Dance Theatre is coming to Emens Auditorium with performances by the diverse ensemble Jan. 27 at 7:30 p.m. The performance will consist of a variety of dances from theatre, performance art, opera, drag and contemporary ballet. The Rosie Herrera Dance Theatre has performed at multiple prestigious dance festivals.

Community Campus International

Maya Rudolph named new M&M spokesperson

On Jan. 23, Mars announced on Twitter their seven “spokescandies” for M&M will be taking an indefinite pause. This comes after the company changed the green M&M spokecandy’s shoes, causing a large reaction on the Internet. In the meantime, actress Maya Rudolph will be the candy company’s spokesperson to help create an environment of belonging.

These tips can help you use the gym respectfully.

Be aware, but don’t stare.

For safety reasons, it is important to be aware of your surroundings, especially at the gym. You never know when someone will run by or a piece of equipment is being used. It is important not to stare though, or you can make people uncomfortable. According to Metro, three in five women say they have felt “inappropriately looked at” in the gym. A quick glance around the room is a good way to stay aware without making others uneasy.

When choosing equipment, it’s important to be aware of what is in use. Sometimes, a tell-tale sign can be a towel or a water bottle on or next to a machine. This may mean the machine is taken, even if someone isn’t on it. Being aware helps allow you to be respectful of others and show care for yourself.

Respect the equipment.

Exercise equipment can be quite expensive. Renting out equipment, according to Lendio, can be between $60 to $100 a month per item. Depending on the item, purchasing usually costs between $2,000 to $7,000. Imagine how much it costs to fill a gym. Primo Fitness estimates it would cost about $10,000 to have a small, personal gym. This is why it’s so important to respect the equipment. It could be a hard realization when ‘You break it, you buy it,’ also applies to gym equipment.

Putting things back where they belong is another part of having respect for the gym and the equipment. Leaving something out can be a safety hazard and can cause more work to do for the next person. Along with that, when someone goes too hard on a piece of equipment or uses it wrong, it can hurt both the equipment and the person working out. It is important to read the rules of the gym and each piece of equipment used, so everyone can be safe.

Respect people’s times.

A big part of respecting others’ time is not hogging the equipment. Everyone has a place to be, and some want to get in and out of the gym quickly. Allowing others to use limited equipment is a good sign of respect. If you are dedicated to working on that one piece of equipment, then you can always try to let someone “work in.” This, according to Coach Magazine, means allowing someone to use a piece of equipment between sets while you rest.

There are many other unwritten rules gym rats live to follow. Going to the gym can be intimidating, but the more you go, the more you will get comfortable and figure out the flow of the fitness center. Following these tips, along with any other rules at your gym, will help to have the best and most comfortable experience.

Mya Cataline Associate Lifestyles Editor

Sigma Chi fraternity brothers stand in the formal room, waiting for a special girl to arrive. A white rose, the fraternity’s flower, is handed to her as the brothers serenade her with their sweetheart song and welcome her into the fraternity.

She is now their sweetheart.

For Interfraternity Council (IFC) fraternities, their sweetheart is a big part of the organization who gives them support and is someone to lean on if the members ever need to talk about something happening in their lives or even just need help with their education.

“Interfraternity council is a self-governing body that works closely with the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life and represents members of 13 fraternities at Ball State. IFC consists of nine executive council members, a voting representative

from each fraternity and the chapter president from each fraternity,” the Ball State University Fraternity and Sorority Life website said.

The Sweetheart of IFC fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon and Alpha Phi sorority member Blythe Miller, got elected in fall of 2022.

“I always wanted to run for a certain fraternity … I started to watch their current sweetheart, and so I started to hang around the fraternity more,” Miller said.

Sweethearts for fraternities have been around since the 1920s, starting with the Sigma Chi sweetheart and auxiliary women’s groups like the International Sigmas and Little Sister groups, according to the Sigma Chi website.

According to the IFC fraternity, Sigma Chi President and third-year Ball State student Joseph Gassensmith, the sweetheart for Sigma Chi tends to have philanthropic and service efforts to focus on during her time with the fraternity. Their focus right now is the Huntsman Cancer Research Institute, which specializes in women’s cancer research.

The characteristics of sweethearts tend to be the same ones the fraternity members have to have as well. According to Gassensmith, this mainly includes loyalty to the fraternity and an extroverted personality.

When it comes to the ages of sweethearts,

-

they are usually third-years or fourth-years, and they normally run for the position alone. Sometimes, two sweethearts are in one fraternity, one as a thirdyear and one as a fourth-year.

“I know that certain fraternities do paired sweethearts, so one senior and one underclassman can run as a team,” IFC fraternity Theta Chi sweetheart and Alpha Chi Omega sorority member Seattle Greenwell said.

Ball State students share their experiences as fraternity sweethearts.

I always wanted to run for a certain fraternity … I started to watch their current sweetheart, and so I started to hang around the fraternity more.”

BLYTHE MILLER, Sigma Phi Epsilon sweetheart

Third-year journalism major Blythe Miller poses in the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity house Jan. 21. Miller is the fraternity’s sweetheart. JACY BRADLEY, DN

There are two different types of nominations when it comes to the sweetheart elections. There are open applications for women to fill out, and then there are nominations by one of the fraternity members.

According to IFC fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon president and Ball State third-year Josh Novack, the way to get nominated by a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon is to hang out around the house more and talk with members of the fraternity.

Once the women are nominated, or re-run if they were past sweethearts, they have to prepare a two-to-three-minute speech to give in front of members of the fraternity. Their speech must show how much they care about the fraternity and what they would like to do in their role as sweetheart.

“Going into the speech, I was very nervous. I was intimidated by the other girls running, mostly by their past sweetheart [who] was running,” Sweetheart of Sigma Chi and sorority Alpha Phi member Brooke Fuller said.

After the speeches, the fraternity members vote, which then leads to the welcoming of the newest sweetheart of the fraternity.

A SWEET(HEART) SONG

“I was invited back to the house that night. I walked in, and they handed me flowers,” Fuller said.“They serenaded me with the sweetheart song. I wasn’t nervous or anything about it, it was more excitement.”

The duties of a sweetheart can vary when it comes to the fraternities. The values of the fraternities could bring out different duties for the sweethearts.

“[Sigma Phi Epsilon] really like when the sweetheart is hanging out with them a lot,” Miller said. “I go above and beyond and like bringing them food like cookies or my buffalo chicken dip.”

For the sweethearts, doing some of the duties can cost a good amount of money throughout the semester. According to Novack, a decent portion of the fraternity’s budget goes toward the sweetheart, so she doesn’t have to pay out of pocket when it comes to helping out with events.

The sweethearts are invited to all of their fraternity’s events throughout the school year. For some events, the sweethearts are required to show up and help out.

• The song was written in 1911 by two undergraduates at Albion College in Michigan. The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi song became the most popular college fraternity song in history.

• The two writers were F. Dudleigh “Dud” Vernor and Byron D. Stokes.

• It was written for the 25th Anniversary Reunion in June 1911 of Alpha Pi Chapter. It was first sung by Harry H. Clifford.

• After writing the song in 1911, Stokes said, “The ‘Sweetheart’ is the symbol for the spiritual ingredient in brotherhood. It was the Sigma Chi Fraternity itself that inspired the song.”

“The most that they’ve asked me to do is to hand out name tags for one of their alumni dinners,” Miller said.

As for how women feel being a part of the fraternity, they are normally treated like a member themselves. The fraternity members make sure they have what they need to be comfortable and safe in their homes, according to Gassensmith.

Miller said they gave her a parking spot at their home, so she could come and hangout anytime she wants. It made her feel like royalty, and she is humbled by it. Other sweethearts feel the same way.

“I know I’m not initiated, so I can’t consider myself a member, but I feel a part of it,” Fuller said. “I feel like I’m connected with them on a different level from when I started.”

Contact Mya Cataline with comments at mbcataline@bsu.edu or on Twitter @mcata_20

I know I’m not initiated, so I can’t consider myself a member, but I feel a part of it.”

- BROOKE FULLER, Sigma Chi sweetheart

Source: Arizona Sigma Chi

JOSEPH GASSENSMITH, PHOTO PROVIDED

Third-year architecture major Brooke Fuller poses in the Sigma Chi fraternity house Jan. 24. Fuller is the fraternity’s sweetheart. JACY BRADLEY, DN

Opinion

Trapped in the Fetters of Society

Our individualism should trump unsought obligations.

Kate Farr

Columnist

Kate Farr is a first-year journalism major and writes “Face to Face” for the Daily News. Her views do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper.

I wasn’t born or married into my town’s inner circle of affluency.

A last name was typically a defining factor on whether one was important or not. I didn’t bear a name that propelled me up the social hierarchy. I wasn’t a teacher’s child, I didn’t live in suburbia and I didn’t have a parent that made it to state for high school football in the ‘80s.

As strange as it sounds, those were part of the criteria that kept you from starting out on the lower rung of the ladder.

Those of us on the lower rungs were perceived quite differently. We were viewed a bit stranger, scrutinized more for the things we liked or left to sit on the outskirts of the playground when we weren’t invited to play kickball at recess.

When you aren’t immediately accepted, it can be a little

harder to find yourself when the time comes. It’s not uncommon to crave that acceptance when you didn’t fit the earliest of criteria.

Fair warning, I’m going to be a bit philosophical here, so stay with me.

Based on my own experience, it isn’t uncommon that through perception, we become a direct reflection of everything before us and around us. Whether it be through generational origins or conditions, we aren’t viewed as an individualistic self but instead a notion generated by others — possibly before our own lives even begun.

Michael Tomasello, an American psychologist and professor at Duke University, delved into extensive research on humans’ sense of moral obligation and how it affects our day-to-day lives.

In one of his 2020 studies, he focused on how humans can be willingly devoted to cooperation, shared goals for a common interest and act out of obligation for others. Since the beginning of recorded societies and structured communities, these actions have been integral parts of

human psychology and the human condition.

There’s something very human in wanting to be a part of and accepted into the group.

Consequently, our conditions come with an expected commitment. Since birth, one acquires a feeling of obligation — this feeling that one must do this and not that. There’s an obligation to people and fundamental doctrines.

The institutions we are born into, our environment’s natal schools of politics and religion as well as other various social entities, are typically the influential molds of our clay and the basis of our so-called “individualism.”

In my case, along with many others around me, popular religion often shaped morals or specified the rights and wrongs ingrained within us. However, there tends to be a schism between church and inner wisdom. Institutions such as these turn us away from natural desire and instead pull us toward offering up our individualism for the common good.

First-year journalism major Kate Farr poses in the photojournalism studio in the Art and Journalism Building on campus Jan. 24. Farr grew up in Ohio and in the Methodist church, before discovering her individuality. JACY BRADLEY, DN

When you aren’t immediately accepted, it can be a little harder to find yourself when the time comes.”

I was baptized, confirmed and born into the Methodist church. I spent many Wednesday evenings, Sunday mornings and devastatingly hot summer days running through pews, listening to sermons while annotating my children’s version of the Bible and chewing on after-church cookies passed out to antsy children while adults conversed.

There were three simple rules within the Methodist church: do not harm, do good and stay in love with God.

That was until the church divided. The churches of the denomination either stuck with the “conservative” teachings of the Bible or changed with the times — that change being that the Methodist church should allow for the union of non-heterosexual couples.

Then, it no longer was about preventing the infliction of harm or doing good or staying true to God. From my perspective, it was about pitting ourselves against those who disagreed with the conservative teachings of the Bible.

Some in the congregation couldn’t adhere to that. I knew I couldn’t.

I still wonder if my religious roots haunt me

racially-motivated hate crimes to disproportionate levels of poverty.

Assimilating — both now and then — was and is a survival tactic. An attempt to try to fight for and against something constantly whether that be a better future, your genetics, your community, a sense of place.

If I had ignored the warning signs of what was said behind church doors, I would be completely different. I could have continued to be wanting and willing to put the desires of others before myself. Had I sided with predetermined fate and self-sacrifice, I wouldn’t have come out of the other side the same — if there was ever another side.

Like the aforementioned motives Tomasello explored in research on psychological identity, I would prioritize the “we” over me if that was the path I chose to take — the path well-traveled.

But these obligations, like burying one’s questions, and labels put upon us by environmental or societal influences should not be our defining factors. I may be the daughter of a mother and

today, creeping up on me at the most unexpected moments. Am I more judgmental because of it? Is personal spirituality ever going to correct the wrongs a pastor taught? Will I ever fully accept myself as an adult who grew up with a pastor who so adamantly preached against my existence?

But then, we are to muse upon the question: Do these roots, whether geographical or ancestral, truly constitute an individual?

While our origins may add to character and be formative factors, such origins can be equally burdensome when intuition is jeopardized.

An individual who assimilates with a popular, conventional and traditional establishment could be considered a person formed in more obedient nature — willingly or of necessity.

The Irish — seen as aliens and foreigners some 100 years ago — fought against the categorization of being unclean and disease-ridden. In the Library of Congress’ records on Irish immigration in the 19th-century, prejudice and hostility toward the Irish stemmed from misconceptions due to rampant disease during this period in American history, which was mostly from unclean living conditions. Religious discrimination and falsified stereotypes hounded early immigrants in both everyday life and in political representation.

At the peak of immigration from Europe, Italians were viewed as inferior and uncivilized for not being white enough. Southern Europeans were faced with a different struggle than the Irish, for they didn’t have the same “light complexion” that granted them an escape from colorism.

And present-day America still has a racial hierarchy that places Asian-Americans and Native Americans at the bottom. That can be seen all around us from

father, but I am not a replica of them. And even though their guidance and influence played its own distinct role, their aspirations for me have not always aligned with my own intentions in life.

I may have been a direct product of a family and raised in a communalist fashion, but it did not mean I must be a product of conformity and like-mindedness.

With time and maturity, I came to the understanding that external pressure should not bring upon us a foreboding of compliance. The quality of being an individual is only found when one turns away from certain elements that satisfy society before self.

We should be uncomfortable when confronted with conformity and consistency.

To add to this, I wrote down an excerpt years ago from Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden” which I feel fits perfectly with this ideology. By committing to self-reliance and individualism, by going against the grain, we finally “follow the bent of [his or her] genius.”

If a person is not willing to evaluate and possibly convict the principles of one’s surroundings, they are turning themselves from both inward and outward exploration.

While I didn’t spend months as a recluse on Walden Pond like Thoreau, I found other ways to explore myself and form my own ideologies that diverged from what I’d learned.

That simplistic exploration of people’s interpretations on life let me come to my own conclusions. I was able to derive my own meaning.

Individualistic purpose is not something to be found and copied in others’ models, for we are not meant to be imitations, but there are always bits and pieces. In the songs we listen to, the books we

journalism major Kate Farr poses in the photojournalism studio in the Art and Journalism Building on campus Jan. 24. JACY BRADLEY, DN

we finally cast aside aspects of surroundings that hinder us. By not conforming to the obligation of others and the commitments of institutionalized oppression, this alertness becomes the beginning of building the foundation of self-realization and differentiation.

Living with this sense of urgency and distinctive initiative is when one becomes whole and no longer lives as a secondhand being. We should be uncomfortable when confronted with conformity and consistency.

To act without hesitation and unsureness but instead with individual spontaneity and to grasp the fleeting coattails of our short lives is the benchmark to symbolize our reaching the pedestal of freedom.

read, we can find parts of ourselves there. We must instead devote ourselves to the searching and finding of this intimate sense of self.

Without this act of pursuing and discovering meaning within ourselves, we are but walking through life half-asleep. The concept of existing with self-certainty and abandoning habitual tradition is achieved when

Conformity promotes a lack of personal progress, possibly leading to a lack of overall progress in society. There is weakness in an absence of self. A reliability solely on others’ conventional proclamations prevents a formation of identity. Instead, by reclaiming one’s oddities, roughness and imperfections, as well as choosing firsthand deliberateness, makes one a complete entity.

While it is more of a personal belief for me, not one I know everyone can agree on, there has been evidence pointing to a correlation between innovation and individualism.

Contact Kate Farr with comments at kate.farr@ bsu.edu or on Twitter @katefarr7

We should be uncomfortable when confronted with conformity and consistency.”

Embrace the ego and be oneself because that is the best one can ever be.”

First-year

TICKET

This dynamic pricing causes prices to go up during ticket sales. This is why the first person buying a ticket for an artist may pay less than the person sitting next to them who got their ticket for much more.

“It isn’t fair. If you don’t have the money, nothing is fair,” Lenard said. “That’s just so stupid that it’s the same experience and people pay different prices for it … It closes off that experience from people.”

Nesson explained things people spend money on creates a question of value.

“When you buy something, it makes sense you value that thing at more than the price you paid. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have bought it,” Nesson said. “It’s a complicated question about how people feel about other people getting a better deal than them.”

The Lawsuit

Plaintiffs, 26 people who live in 13 states across the U.S., are alleging Ticketmaster has a monopoly on primary and secondary markets and accuses it of engaging in fraudulent practices and various

ELLIOTT

Continued from Page 07

“He is a fantastic representative of our team and school,” Overholt said. “He volunteers for several community service activities: neighborhood cleanups, food drives, elementary school readings, youth camps, etc. Also, he is our school [Fellowship of Christian Athletes] representative and serves as a tremendous spiritual leader.”

It’s not just Elliott’s coach that sees the good he does. His teammate, senior Palmer Samuels, was not surprised when he heard Elliott was a finalist.

“Great person, great teammate and a great player,” Samuels said. “Type of guy you’d go to war with and never look back.”

Besides his football bubble, his friends appreciate what type of friend he is. Senior Owen Vest and Elliott have known each other since elementary school, but they became really good friends freshman year.

“He’s a very supportive and caring friend,” Vest said. “It does not shock me at all that he was nominated. He is a great guy and athlete.”

Another good friend, senior Chase Davis, described Elliott as a leader.

“He always tries to get people involved,” he said. “He leads people in the right way, and he is just a good presence to be around. He’s also super funny and just a good friend. Always someone you can talk to. If you have the pleasure to have him in your life, it makes life so much better.”

Who is Caleb Elliott? When Elliott was 8 years old, he started to realize others in the world around him were not as fortunate.

“I kind of started to understand, like, ‘Oh, we’re more fortunate than these people,’” Elliott said. “And we’re giving back, like that’s what giving back means. Then I started helping with things like food banks and stuff.”

He credited his parents for continuing to help their community.

antitrust violations, including price discrimination and price fixing.

These 26 plaintiffs are suing Ticketmaster and filed a complaint with the L.A. County Superior Court Dec. 5, 2022.

“Ticketmaster’s service is not superior or reliable; the massive disaster of the Taylor Swift presale is evidence enough of this,” the lawsuit document read. “Ticketmaster does not charge high prices to give a better service, it charges higher prices because it has no real competition and wants to take every dollar it can from buyers.”

A second suit is underway with the Dolam Legal Group related to refunds that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ticketmaster only promised to refund shows that were permanently canceled. They have not refunded groups who were indefinitely postponed.

“Joe Berchtold, the president of Ticketmaster’s parent company Live Nation Entertainment, stated 90 percent of events were postponed rather than canceled,” Dolam Legal Group said on their website.

“Derek Hansen, the lead plaintiff in the class-action lawsuit, claims to have tickets to see a rock band that cost him nearly $600. The concert has been indefinitely postponed, but he could not recover compensation for a show that he would likely not be able to see.”

Both of these suits are called class-action lawsuits.

“A class action [lawsuit] is a legal device where one person or group of people can sue on behalf of themselves and others who are similarly situated,” Jay Tidmarsh, Judge James J. Clynes, Jr., professor of law at the Notre Dame Law School, said via email. “The entire group of people with similar claims is called the class. The individuals who bring the suit are called the class representatives.”

Tidmarsh explained there are a few reasons why someone may enact a class action lawsuit. These reasons include: efficiency, so there aren’t multiples of the same lawsuit, money, since the case becomes attractive to a lawyer when money is involved according to Tidmarsh and the ability for plaintiffs to join in and make a case with a larger dollar amount than their individual cases would have permitted.

“If one million people are each cheated out of $1, no one will bother to sue, and the cheater gets away with cheating,” Tidmarsh said via email. “But if we can join all one million people into one class action, then we have a $1 million case, and it is worth suing.”

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

CORRECTION

Continued from Page 02

In the Jan. 12 edition of The Daily News, the story about seasonal affective disorder misrepresented where ESAs are allowed to go. They are allowed in living quarters but not allowed to go in public places per Ball State Housing guidelines.

In the Jan. 19 paper, a brief on MLB expansion franchise story incorrectly stated information regarding Women’s Swim and Dive. The Cardinals split victories at a tri-meet.

In the Jan. 19 paper, a lifestyles brief incorrectly stated information about the Daily News’ New Year’s Resolutions video in its title. Students and faculty were interviewed in the video, not just students.

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

[Caleb Elliott is] always someone you can talk to. If you have the pleasure to have him in your life, it makes life so much better.”

- CHASE DAVIS, Delta senior

“We’re a very giving family,” he said. “We’ll do some fundraisers and some runs for fundraisers and whatnot. Like, that’s just what our family does, and I think that’s what our parents have set up for us.”

One of Elliott’s favorite memories giving back came from when the basketball team volunteered at a shoe drive during summer 2021.

“There was a lady that I was helping with,” Elliott said. “And she was like, just in awe about us, Delta, like we have this billion-dollar weight facility. And she was like, ‘Oh, that’s crazy.’ They’re just confused, like you have all of this stuff. Why would we want to help? Just seeing all those smiles and giving out shoes and backpacks for kids to [go to] school and stuff. It was just awesome.”

When it comes to school, Elliott does whatever it takes to get good grades.

“There’s nights that I’ll get home at like 8 p.m. or 9 p.m., and I’ll be up till midnight just studying and working on homework,” he said. “School has always been really important to me. I want to get good grades because if sports don’t work out, I want to find ways to pay for my college.”

If he could, he would like to continue playing football. For a degree, he is interested in journalism and has also thought about ministry.

Even though Elliott hasn’t fully decided on his future, he hopes he is not in Muncie, Indiana.

Delta High School senior Caleb Elliott poses on the football field Jan. 21 at Delta High School in Muncie, Ind. The senior was a finalist for the High School Man of the Year Award. The award, given by the Indianapolis Colts youth program, goes to a high school football player who shows leadership on and off the field. JACY BRADLEY, DN

“I hope I’m finding a new area that I can help with and just start a family,” he said. So who is Caleb Elliott?

“I want the people I interact with to know I care about them,” he said. “And like all my teammates, I care a lot about them. I love them all. I’m really big with relationships. I love building relationships, no matter how long or short I’ve been around them. I want to build genuine relationships.”

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

FRESH, FLAVORFUL Authentic

Gave a hand?

Geological period with a noted “explosion”

Global finance org.

Works in a gallery

Champion on “Parks and Rec,” for one

Messi’s team, familiarly

Resets, as one’s browser history

Crystal ball gazer

Soup, in Koreatown

Shoot for the stars

“You __ right!”

With 61-Down, “Get a move on!” and an instruction for the answers to the starred clues

See 60-Down

Buzzworthy creature?

Wagering site, initially