‘Wome ‘Women Supporting Supporting Women’ Women’

Mya Cataline Associate Lifestyles Editor

Eight women sat around a table at Bracken Library in August 2020 with the same thought in mind: the death of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman shot by police, wasn’t as respected as others, and there was no space on Ball State University’s campus to talk about what was happening in the Black community.

That day, the eight founders: Star Gooch, Olamide Awoola, Makayla Atwater, Jordyn Owens, Kye Wilson, Trinity Mitchell, Jaylyn McDonald and Francesca Fontus, decided to make that space by creating the Black Women’s Voices organization, official in February 2021.

According to Ball State fourth-year student, cofounder and president of Black Women’s Voices Star Gooch, the organization is specifically open to Black women who can become members of the organization, but anyone is welcome to their biweekly body meetings.

“What brings people together is a space for Black women to not only get together and talk about how we feel but being able to talk with likeminded people on subjects,” Ball State fourth-year student and co-founder of Black Women’s Voices, Trinity Mitchell, said.

The organization puts on events throughout the fall and spring semesters. The fall events are focused around women empowerment like pop-up shops and classes on how to build financial wellness.

The spring events are more centered around women’s week in March, Women’s History Month and the month of April. Their annual event titled Walk a Mile in Her Shoes is one of their biggest events that kicked off this year’s women’s week.

“We wanted to bring awareness to women, like Breonna, or other women who not just die from police brutality but all violent crimes that women have faced,” Gooch said. “We wanted to give them a platform to be able to walk in their names and be able to understand the weight of what is happening to women in our community.”

The organization gives back to the community in many different ways from gathering money through smaller events to donating to women’s shelters or a sanitary products drive in April.

According to Gooch, the organization reached a goal of $500 and donated to five women’s shelters last year during their spring events, and this year, they are donating to three women’s shelters and hope to pass their goal of $500.

Black Women’s Voices has partnered with women’s shelters like A Better Way, YWCA and also on campus with Cardinal Kitchen, according to Mitchell.

“I’ve always been interested in service, and it’s been a passion of mine to bring good deeds to my community,” Mitchell said. “I realized that’s something that needed to be a part of this group.”

According to Mitchell, around 75 people from all over Ball State’s campus came to Walk a Mile in Her Shoes March 18. Anyone from fraternity and

“It’s even an option for men to wear heels and feel how it is to walk in women’s shoes,” Ball State third-year student and member of Black Women’s Voices Jaeda Dixson said.

Black Women’s Voices is an organization that welcomes a community that doesn’t have a safe space to talk but also is an organization that supports other organizations locally.

“[The organization] supports other Black organizations, promotes Black-owned businesses, even on campus like the girls who do nails and

While the organization was created to give space to Black women in the community, they support and give space for everyone. According to Dixson, it has opened the door for women to help women and give them more confidence.

“I was placed in leadership roles before, but it was never anything in this capacity where I am constantly going to events and helping my girls get ready for professional development and essentially putting them in a place to win,” Gooch said.

According to Dixson, the organization is “women supporting women,” and they raise awareness about women’s issues year round instead of just during Women’s History Month.

“It’s a really nice place at Ball State for specifically Black women to gather and feel safe and share their voices,” she said. “Even though we make up less than eight percent of the population on campus, we still have a place where we feel like we belong.”

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

Lifestyles Editor

Music has been said to bring people of all ages together, and at Electric Crayon Records, it’s no different.

The store opened March 11, and within their first week, co-owner Grant Butler said a 14-year-old and a 60-year-old had already come in looking for similar records.

Butler, an addictions specialist at IU Health, has been into music since sharing a room with his punk-loving brother as a kid. His brother was a photographer and would take Butler with him to shows.

“When you’re a kid, the first medium you’re given is a crayon, pencil and all that stuff, so it’s kind of like that idea to create, there is electricity to it,” Butler said. “It’s kind of like the idea that you’re drawn to create art, whether it’s music or actual, tangible art or literature, any of that kind of stuff. You’re drawn to it.” club where it just kind of breeds community,” he said.

Andry Thorpe, co-owner of Electric Crayon Records and employee at Ruoff Mortgage, found his love of music through his parents. They ended up handing their records down to him, then when other parents discovered his interest, they’d give them to Thorpe too.

Thorpe and Butler always wanted to open a record store. Butler worked for Village Green while finishing school, so when the owner of Village Green, Travis Harvey, moved to Montgomery, Alabama, they started talking about opening their own shop.

Electric Crayon Records sold their first record, Maggot Brain by Funkadelic, on opening day, and their first dollar is already framed behind the counter.

Butler’s wife, Jordie Butler, suicide prevention specialist at A Better Way and third-year student at Ball State, also owns and runs the store.

“There’s just something about a record shop. There’s a whole thing,” Jordie said. “[Grant and Thorpe have] been collectors for years. There’s a lot of division, and it seems like a lot of people aren’t getting along. We want to put it out there and connect on music.”

The owners want Electric Crayon Records to be a place where the outside world can be left behind. They want it to be a safe space for those in recovery, distracting them from their addictions.

“We’re using records and music as a medium or a platform for that; that’s the biggest goal,” Grant said. “I don’t want a BMW ... I want to go serve the community I live in, and when it’s all over with, I want to be able to have a sense of peace about that, not some huge bank account or multiple houses.”

The owners said they are there to “spread the love.” was 1.3 cases per 100,000 people. In Indiana, the rate was 4.8.

Acute hepatitis C is a virus known for being passed through sharing needles or other equipment from injecting drugs.

Jordie and Grant said they both have personal stories regarding their experiences with addiction.

Grant said he got into opioids and heroin when he was young, and he can see the aftermath of the opioid epidemic on the next generation.

“I’m tired of seeing people die,” Grant said.

Music helps people put their guards down and become vulnerable, he said, allowing people to connect with others they wouldn’t

Jordie said she will get more into her experience in their upcoming podcasts. The owners are planning to start a podcast and YouTube channel where they discuss music and mental health.

Though they have only been open for 12 days, Thorpe said their time so far has been excellent.

“It’s been steady every day. People have been very pleased,” Jordie said. “They’ve talked about how much they enjoy the shop, and ‘We have a really diverse collection.’ We’ve had several people come in three or four times already.”

For the first time since 1987, vinyl records surpassed CDs in sales. In 2022, according to the Smithsonian, approximately eight million

His brother taught him about music, and Butler now has played guitar in five bands and recorded seven albums and three EPs. Music is a big part of his life, so when he toured, he looked at record stores from around the country and Europe.

Jordie said having a support system is one of the most important steps in recovery, but it’s hard to come by. She wants people to come to Electric Crayon Records and feel accepted, especially since there aren’t many places for them to go when they’re bored and thinking about their addictions.

As of 2019, Indiana was the number one state for acute hepatitis C. According to the CDC, the average national rate of acute hepatitis C more records were sold than CDs.

Thorpe and Grant sacrificed their own record collections for the store.

“To hear people say ‘Wow, you guys have a really good selection,’” Thorpe said, “it’s like well, yeah, because we’re cool.”

The owners get their records from donations, hitting flea markets and record shows, buying online and allowing customers to trade records in for store credit.

The quality of the records at Electric Crayon Records can be seen through a grading system, with each record labeled from M (mint) to VG- (very good minus). The system is based on how the record was transported, the case, the record itself and how it may sound.

Though the grading system does have an effect, Electric Crayon Records mainly prices their records based off of Discogs, an online marketplace for music.

For records that need a little help, the store will clean them and even set up customers’ turntables. Thorpe said they also plan to sell a variety of stickers and T-shirts, offering two sticker options for free at the moment.

KwaTashea Marfo Associate Opinion Editor

KwaTashea Marfo is a second-year public relations major and writes “Imperfectly Perfect” for The Daily News. Her views do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper.

Iwas 7 years old when I was introduced to a game that would ignite a lifelong passion in me.

From the moment I laid eyes on “The Sims 3,” I was mesmerized. I watched in awe as my aunt took much pride in the way she crafted entire neighborhoods and houses, filling them with characters of her own creation on her PC.

It was like watching a master artist at work, and I was immediately drawn to the level of care and detail she put into each and every aspect of the game.

I too fell in love with “The Sims,” specifically as the game always loaded into cue, resuming wherever it had left off.

“The Sims” offered me a gateway to create and explore without any set objectives or goals. It was like having my own virtual dollhouse, a world where I could let my imagination run wild and experiment with different scenarios.

One of the things that really stood out to me about “The Sims” was the use of Simlish, a fictional language created by the game’s designer Will Wright. Hearing the characters speak this unique and quirky language only added to the game’s appeal and helped to immerse me even further into this imaginary world.

As the years went by, my love for “The Sims” only grew stronger, and I realized it was much more than just a simple hobby. It was a gateway to a world of creativity and imagination, a place where I could let my mind run free without direct consequences of my actions.

Now, as I approach my 13th anniversary playing this game, I am filled with a sense of gratitude for the impact it has had on my life. “The Sims” will always hold a special place in my heart, as it has helped ease my anxiety and provide a conventional way of comfort.

Frequently, video games are frowned upon for their links to detrimental effects on mental health. But what about the positive impact a game like “The Sims” has on individuals, such as myself, who are living with anxiety?

According to a 2021 study conducted by JMIR Publications, video games extend beyond the boundaries of entertainment to emphasize a sense of enjoyment and intrinsic motivation to offer psychological support to people.

From an early age, I found solace in developing and executing well-structured plans, which gives me a sense of control and order. However, when unexpected events disrupt my plans, I tend to experience heightened anxiety based on preconceived notions about their skin color. and self-doubt.

In my Sim universe, female characters have equal opportunities to their male counterparts and can fully exercise the rights to their autonomy without any restrictions.

As I add each expansion pack, I get to watch my Sims grow as they start families and explore various career opportunities, such as becoming a tech guru or a renowned actress. Whether they choose to parent or adopt pets, my Sims are free to live their lives without any social unrest or political debates over human decency.

With over 200 million copies sold worldwide, the game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts (EA) has brought joy to users across the globe. The game’s lighthearted nature, characterized by humorous interactions between characters and the ability to download mods for an enhanced gaming experience, caters to a niche demographic of players, including myself, who use the game as a platform to create and improve real-life scenarios.

Its global impact has created a diverse community of talented players who have created an everlasting impact on pop culture by having a dedicated YouTube community and having individuals stream their game play on YouTube, Twitch and TikTok.

Despite my efforts, I have come to realize it is impossible to micromanage every aspect of life. Life’s unpredictability can bring about grief from the loss of a loved one or heartache from failed relationships. It’s easier for me to fast-forward through a Sims workday than to cope with the stress of a typical day in my everyday life.

Playing “The Sims” has become a coping mechanism for me to regain a sense of control when I feel powerless in real life. I can carefully manage the lives of my Sims characters from the safety and comfort of my own home, free from anxiety and self-doubt.

By creating intricate narratives for my Sim families, I can craft a world perfectly aligned and free of imperfections.

This world allows my Sim families to fully embrace their Black identities without experiencing any judgment

“The Sims,” through its regular updates, continues to ignite users’ imaginations and encourages them to break free from conventional thinking. EA has a dedicated team who celebrates diversity by featuring Black, Latin and LGBTQ+ communities in the game, showcasing the limitless potential of virtual world creation both in-game and in real life.

In this way, whenever users immerse themselves in the world of “The Sims,” a sense of calm envelops them, gradually easing them from the stresses of reality.

By exploring virtual worlds with engaging gameplay, non-gamers can also find solace and experience the boundless potential of immersive gaming experiences. “The Sims,” with its stress-relieving features, is an excellent option for those seeking to alleviate anxiety and reduce stress levels.

Contact KwaTashea Marfo with comments at kwatashea.marfo@bsu.edu or on Twitter @mkwatashea.