BSU 04-09-20

N D DAILY NEWS

News

Healthy donors urged to give blood Blood drives ensure additional precautions during pandemic.03

Life

DREAMS ON THE

HORIZON Despite COVID-19 concerns canceling the live event, Danny Pinter isn’t changing his mindset as the NFL Draft approaches.

Zach Piatt Assistant Sports Editor

Continuing creativity Let There Be Art owner distributes art kits to children around Muncie.10

Opinion

Year cut short

A columnist reflects on having her freshman year end early due to COVID-19.09

04.09.2020

H

e left John Adams High School as the team’s Most Valuable Player and an Indiana Football Coaches Association all-state tight end.

He grew up in the heart of Irish country, but Notre Dame didn’t come calling.

In fact, the only school willing to give him a chance was Ball State, a two-and-a-half-hour drive south of his hometown of South Bend.

He took a redshirt season in 2015. The following year, he played in all 12 games while making five starts. The next, he became the Cardinals’ regular starting tight end, but an injury on the first play of the team’s seventh game of the year sidelined him for the remainder of the season.

After meeting with coaches right before winter break in 2017, a decision was made to move him to the offensive line for the betterment of the team.

ballstatedailynews.com

Danny Pinter, former Ball State offensive lineman and NFL draft prospect, sits on the sideline of the Senior Day game against Miami (Ohio) Nov. 28, 2019, at Scheumann Stadium. Pinter partnered with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Muncie to donate money for each rep he completed during the bench press test at the NFL combine. Pinter put up 24 reps and raised a total of $2,160. JACOB MUSSELMAN, DN

In his last two seasons at Ball State, he started all 24 games at right tackle and was named to the All-Mid-American Conference First Team in 2019.

Now, Danny Pinter plays the waiting game leading up to the NFL Draft following his performance at the NFL Combine.

The key to his success, Pinter said, isn’t anything special.

“To me, it’s a pretty simple concept,” Pinter said. “You can’t really ever be satisfied with how hard you work … I feel like hard work is what’s put me in this position with this chance to keep playing football. I’d say that’s the number one thing that’s helped me get to this point.”

About a week after the combine, Pinter said, his journey to the NFL took another turn when some of his private post-combine workouts began to get postponed or canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.

On March 16, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced plans for the NFL draft, scheduled for April 23-25, would be modified.

In a statement, Goodell said the draft would still take place the same days, but the in-person event itself would be canceled.

While Pinter didn’t receive an invitation to attend this year’s draft — an honor usually only players expected to be picked in the first round get — he said he can only imagine what those players are feeling.

“What’s hard is it’s an opportunity that guys every single year ahead of them have gotten, so that’s really something that’s disappointing,” Pinter said. “Draft day is a cool experience, but the coolest part is having this opportunity … Whatever means it is to actually have it presented to us isn’t what matters too much at the end of the day.”

See PINTER, 05

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DNNews

04.09.20

02

Did you miss it? Catch up on the news from March 31 - April 2 on ...

BallStateDailyNews.com White House projects SGA to implement 100 to 240K US deaths rank-choice voting March 31: President Donald

CDC, PHOTO COURTESY

AP, PHOTO COURTESY

Trump warned Americans to brace for a “rough two-week period” ahead, as the White House projected there could be 100,000 to 240,000 deaths in the U.S. from the coronavirus pandemic even if current social distancing guidelines are maintained. Public health officials said the number could be lower if people change their behavior.

April 1: Ball State’s Student Government Association (SGA) passed an amendment to implement rank-choice voting and add the choice of a no-confidence vote in future SGA executive slate elections. Senators Miryam Bevelle and Jordyn Blythe also introduced a resolution that would require Ball State faculty and staff to attend implicit-bias training.

Schools go remote for the academic year

BSU Employee tests positive for COVID-19

April 2: Gov. Eric Holcomb signed an executive order requiring all K-12 schools in Indiana to provide remote learning for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year. The order requires schools to provide online instruction until they complete either 160 instructional days or at least 20 additional between April 2 and the end of the school year.

VOL. 99 ISSUE: 29 CONTACT THE DN Newsroom: 765-285-8245 Editor: 765-285-8249, editor@bsudailynews.com

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April 2: According to a university press statement, a Ball State public safety employee has let the university know he has tested positive for COVID-19. It states the university is waiting on confirmation from local public health authorities.

As of April 2, approximately 100 students and 300 essential employees are currently on campus, the statement reads.

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CORRECTION

An article in the April 2 edition of The Daily News incorrectly stated Board of Trustees member Mark Hardwick’s first job location. He worked at George S. Olive in Indianapolis, which his now BKD. To submit a correction, email editor@bsudailynews.com.

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04.09.20

BLOOD SHORTAGE

IU Ball Memorial, Red Cross host community blood drive to address supply needs.

Rohith Rao News Editor

Steady supplies of blood donations to hospitals through blood drives is one of the critical needs disrupted due to restrictions on congregating in groups at workplaces, college campuses and schools in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In order to ensure a sufficient supply of blood, Indiana University Health Ball Memorial Hospital, in partnership with the American Red Cross, organized a blood drive April 3 at the Delaware County Fairgrounds.

“We just had a lot of people from the hospital and the community asking how they could help during all of this,” said Donna Barttrum, a registered nurse and injury prevention coordinator at Ball Memorial.

“We just listened and decided that we wanted to help out.”

As the COVID-19 pandemic has grown in the U.S., the Red Cross has seen blood drive cancellations grow at an alarming rate, said Rodney Wilson, the organization’s external communications manager.

As of March 27, Wilson said, more than 10,000 Red Cross blood drives have been canceled across the country, resulting in around 300,000 fewer blood donations.

Medical procedures for things like cancer treatments, childbirth and car accidents cannot be postponed and might cause someone to need a blood transfusion, he said, adding a steady flow of donations during this pandemic is vital to ensure patient care can continue.

The organization accounts for 40 percent of the nation’s blood supply, according to its website. Wilson said it has been able to meet immediate patient needs thanks to many who have given blood and scheduled appointments for the future.

Kyle West, an Indiana State Police (ISP) trooper, waits for Marina Kaul, a phlebotomist, to prepare his arm for a blood donation April 3, 2020. West and Michael Wylie, an ISP captain, visited Delaware County Fairgrounds for the blood drive organized by Indiana University Health Ball Memorial Hospital and Red Cross.. BAILEY CLINE, DN

SAFETY PROTOCOLS Blood banks are required to follow the Food and Drug Administration’s guidelines on blood donor eligibility. Donors answer questions about their health history and undergo a mini physical, including checking temperature, blood pressure and iron levels.

Source: Rodney Wilson, External communications manager at Red Cross

There have been no reported cases worldwide of any respiratory virus being transmitted through a blood transfusion.

However, out of an abundance of caution, individuals should postpone their donation for 28 days following: • Travel to China, Hong Kong, Macau, Iran, Italy and South Korea • Diagnosis of COVID-19 • Contact with a person who has or is suspected to have the virus

Employee safety protocols to prevent the spread of any type of infection at blood drives and donation centers include: • Wearing gloves and changing them often • Routinely disinfecting donor-touched areas • Using sterile collection sets for every donation • Preparing the arm for donation with an aseptic scrub

03

Additional precautions implemented to ensure the safety of employees, volunteers and donors include: • Checking temperature of staff and donors before entering a drive to make sure they are healthy • Providing hand sanitizer before entering the drive and throughout the donation process • Following social distancing practices between donors at donor beds and waiting and refreshment areas • Increasing enhanced disinfecting of surfaces and equipment • Emphasizing the importance of appointments to help manage the flow of donors at drives.

• Staff wearing basic face masks

ON BALLSTATEDAILYNEWS.COM: BALL STATE MOVES SUMMER CLASSES ONLINE

Due to uncertainties during the pandemic, he said, the Red Cross encourages individuals to keep their scheduled blood donation appointments and make new appointments for the weeks ahead.

“As experts have emphasized, there is no certain end date in this fight against coronavirus, and the Red Cross needs the help of blood donors and blood drive hosts to maintain a sufficient blood supply for weeks to come,” Wilson said.

The need to schedule appointments beforehand, he said, is to control the number of people who come to a blood drive at any given time due to newlyimplemented safety protocols, including social distancing.

“Making an appointment will better allow us to ensure the safety of everyone at the blood drive and also provide the best customer service experience to the donor by keeping wait times low,” Wilson said.

For those fearful of signing up for a blood drive during the pandemic, Jagdish Khubchandani, professor of health science at Ball State, said, donors should be assured those who organize drives are taking “utmost precautions” for safety and hygiene and are “more aggressive” now in enforcing them.

Khubchandani, who attended a different blood drive last week, said he was impressed with the precautions being taken, the detailed medical history assessment and examinations that were being conducted.

“All workers were periodically using sanitizers, changing gloves and doing their best to assist donors with information and guidance,” he said. “I actually complemented the phlebotomist on how meticulous she was and how thorough the process was.”

4See BLOOD, 04

DNNews

04.09.20

04

COMPUTER CLINICALS

Ball State athletic training senior reflects on switching to telemedicine.

Charles Melton Assistant News Editor

BLOOD Continued from Page 3

COVID-19, he said, is not a bloodborne disease, given his knowledge of past infections from other coronaviruses, such as Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

“But, it’s tricky because you are going out and coming in contact with other people,” he said. “In my case, I sat for a test within 1 [foot] of a phlebotomist, and when blood was taken, I was lying within 2 feet of two blood drive personnel. I am sure they were cleared to do the job, so I am not worried now.”

Despite his background in public health and medicine, Khubchandani said he did think negatively, at least once, about venturing out during the pandemic for a blood donation.

Before he left for his donation, his father, a doctor, reminded him his blood group is B positive — a relatively-rare blood type — to reinforce the importance of donating blood in order to help the healthcare system, especially when it is overwhelmed by COVID-19 cases.

In order to exercise additional personal caution, Khubchandani said, people should maintain all hygienic practices suggested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. After returning home, he said, donors should change their clothes, wash their hands and not touch their face during and after the process until they wash their hands.

Khubchandani said donating blood is a healthy thing to do and an opportunity to save lives — “a gift that’s most-needed right now with dire shortage across the nation.”

“Drive workers are also at

risk from us. What if we end up infecting them? Still, they are trying to help communities,” he said. “We must have faith and not be in so much fear when the risk [from] such activities is very low.”

Barttrum said the blood drive at the fairgrounds admitted 77 donors through scheduled appointments due to the strict guidelines. She said their slots

The Red Cross needs the help of blood donors and blood drive hosts to maintain a sufficient blood supply for weeks to come.”

- RODNEY WILSON, External communications manager at Red Cross were completely full within a few hours of having the event advertised on social media — more than the number the hospital had initially asked for.

Depending on the response for this event, Ball Memorial might try scheduling another blood drive in the beginning of May. Meanwhile, other opportunities to donate blood are also available by prior appointment in Muncie through the Versiti Blood Center of Indiana’s blood drives.

“I’ve never really been through something like this here. We’ve never experienced anything like this,” said Barttrum, who has been living in Muncie for 20 years. “I wasn’t really sure how everybody was going to support each other, but I think it’s been wonderful.”

Contact Rohith Rao with comments at rprao@bsu.edu or on Twitter @RaoReports.

Zach Dougal, assistant clinical professor of athletic training, watches one of his students pour ice in an ice bath Sept. 9, 2019, at the Athletic Training Treatment and Rehabilitation Lab. BALL STATE UNIVERSITY, PHOTO PROVIDED in person. If I didn’t have this prior experience, this will be a steep learning curve.”

Dorice Hankemeier, clinical education coordinator at Ball State, said the telemedicine students were a “little unsure” moving away from in-person clinicals and into telemedicine.

“It was something we had planned to start doing with them next year, and this kind of accelerated that process a little bit more,” Hankemeier said.

Lately, she said, professionals and educators have been showing more interest in the field of telemedicine.

According to the American Hospital Association, in 2017, 76 percent of U.S. hospitals connected with patients and consulting practitioners through the use of video and other technology.

“It could be really good for the future, not just in a pandemic

Exercise around the house

Dorice Hankemeier, clinical education coordinator at Ball State, said there are several items around the house to use as exercise equipment.

For exercises that require weight, Hankemeier recommends:

Laundry detergent containers

Milk jugs with items inside them

Soup cans

For exercises that work on range of motion, particularly in the shoulders, she recommends:

Brooms

Yardsticks

situation, but it could be really good for our students to be able to incorporate telemedicine into their practice,” Hankemeier said.

While there have been drawbacks to not being able to

Athletic trainers are still playing a vital role in the healthcare system.”

- SPENCER TONNER,

Senior athletic training major use all the equipment available at Ball State’s clinicals, she said, telemedicine opens up opportunities for students to get creative with how they treat their patients.

“We’re also encouraging them to look around their Spencer Tonner, senior athletic training major at Ball State, listed a few rehabilitation workouts that can be done around the house using furniture.

The arm of a couch can be used to stretch the quad muscles instead of performing squats.

Mops FLATICON, COURTESY

Muncie Mayor Dan Ridenour has his temperature taken April 3, 2020. Ridenour donated blood for the Indiana University Ball Memorial Hospital-Red Cross blood drive at the Delaware County Fairgrounds. BAILEY CLINE, DN

For Spencer Tonner, the value of athletic trainers and athletic training shouldn’t be understated during times like these.

“Athletic trainers are still playing a vital role in the healthcare system — being able to use their … skills to evaluate and screen people and really protect other people from getting it,” the Ball State senior athletic training major said.

Since Ball State has canceled in-person classes, Tonner said, athletic training majors will be making the switch to telemedicine clinicals, in partnership with the University of Indianapolis, through the Zoom video conferencing platform.

One student will act as a patient while the other student will act as the athletic trainer — evaluating the patient and completing necessary paperwork, he said. The students are given case files they study going into the clinical so they can understand the patient’s needs.

Students were also given a take-home package, Tonner said, that helps students understand their class participation over Zoom, which includes material such as evaluations, program designs and how students should act while portraying patients.

“We’ve run simulations, in person and years prior, for our general medicine class,” he said. “This isn’t much different than what we’ve already done

Stairways can be used to perform step-ups, where you slowly step up a step and then slowly step down.

Steps can also be used to perform heel slides, where you slowly slide a heel off of the step you are standing on and then slide it back forward.

homes and think about different ways of doing things, creating rehab tools that they can find at home,” Hankemeier said.

“Obviously, if we’re ever in a situation where they’re doing more telemedicine, they’re going to have to use what the patient has available to them.”

Tonner also said this offers a good learning opportunity for athletic training students because the places they work at may not always have the best equipment available.

“We’re not always going to have top-of-the-line rehab or modalities equipment like what we do for football [at Ball State], for example,” he said. “It’s nice to learn how to use furniture in the house, or stair steps or whatever else you can find in the house to use to do your exercises.”

Overall, Tonner said the athletic training classes have been alright because the class he is taking is more discussion-based.

However, he said underclassmen have been struggling because they are in more hands-on classes, such as rehabilitation and therapeutic exercises.

If he were to give advice to those underclassmen, he said, he would tell them to make sure they understand the class material, and if they don’t, they should reach out to a professor or upperclassmen because the skills they learn early on will carry forward for the rest of their education.

“Students really need to do things the right way and the best way that they can due to the circumstances,” Tonner said. “If they find an easy way out, they’re not going to perform well later.”

It is a frustrating time, Hankemeier said, and professors and students have had to do a “complete 180” on how they think about clinical education, but this opportunity will “set our students up well” and teach students skills they may not have already had.

“Try to look at the positives and the bright side in a difficult situation,” she said.

Contact Charles Melton with comments at cwmelton@bsu. edu or on Twitter @Cmelton144.

DNSports PINTER Continued from Page 01

Pinter has had to adjust his routine with everything surrounding the coronavirus. He said he’s been focusing more on drills and workouts he can do by himself, like yoga, stretching and snapping the football. His mindset, however, hasn’t changed.

“The means of how you’re doing it gets changed, but what you’re doing shouldn’t change,” Pinter said. “You could sit there and be upset about it if you want to and be upset that it’s not ideal, or you could embrace it and get the absolute most out of it.”

That’s the same hardworking approach Pinter has taken throughout his entire football career, and Ball State offensive line coach Colin Johnson said he saw something special in him from day one.

Johnson said he first heard about Pinter in 2018 while he was still coaching at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. He heard Pinter was moving to offensive line, and Ball State’s coaching staff was excited about the switch.

As a former Cardinal, Johnson said, he was intrigued, and he kept tabs on the then-redshirt junior throughout the season.

He was impressed, but he didn’t fully grasp what kind of a player Pinter was until he witnessed his first morning workout as the Cardinals’ new O-line coach in February 2019.

“It was almost like an aura that just permeated to everybody else around him. If you were in Danny’s group, you were going to work your tail off because he demanded it,” Johnson said. “It was pretty neat to not only hear those guys talk about how special he was, but then to actually come in and see it for myself. It wasn’t just fluff, it wasn’t just talk — it was the real thing.”

Essentially, from the time Ball State’s season was done in late November, Pinter was training.

He traveled to Phoenix to work out with 40 other draft-hopefuls

04.09.20

at EXOS Football Academy, which has produced a total of 915 NFL Draft picks since 1999. He said the experience was like nothing he had done before. Rather than working on football-specific exercises, he was preparing to run a 40-yard dash, which he said he hadn’t done since camps in high school, among other drills.

“You’ll never train like this again in your life because you’re running to go be a track athlete is basically what they tell you,” Pinter said. “I’ve learned a ton in this process, both as a football player and then being a track athlete, I guess.”

In early December, Pinter accepted an invitation to play in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, known as the “premier postseason all-star game for any draft-eligible college football players.” Just a couple weeks after the Jan. 18 contest, Pinter, along with 29 of his fellow Collegiate Bowl participants, was invited to the NFL Combine.

“I had a notion that I might get it,” Pinter said. “In the same way, I didn’t want to assume anything until I had it. I woke up

“The means of how you’re doing it gets changed, but what you’re doing shouldn’t change.”

- DANNY PINTER, Former Ball State offensive lineman one morning, I was getting ready to go train and got the email. I was pretty amped up.”

Going into the combine, Pinter was graded as a 5.5-level prospect on a scale of 5.0-8.0 by NFL.com, giving him a “chance to make the end of a roster or practice squad.”

His pre-workout analysis said his short arms would “get him into trouble,” his technique in pass

05

A name card for Danny Pinter, former Ball State offensive lineman, sits on his table before he comes out for interviews Feb. 25, 2020, at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. Pinter was the only player from Ball State invited to the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine. JACOB MUSSELMAN, DN protection was “way behind” and he had “underwhelming physical traits.”

Johnson said the body measurements and pre-combine numbers do matter, but if they were the only thing scouts looked at, Pinter wouldn’t have been invited.

“There’s truth to the numbers, but at the same time, those numbers can’t measure a man or test a man’s mettle, and that’s what Danny has as his biggest thing going for him,” Johnson said. “He’s going to outwork you, and he’s going to do everything in his power to make sure he’s in a position to be successful, and that I wouldn’t bet against.”

What Pinter proceeded to do over his two days of physical testing was showcase what his hard work had produced.

On Feb. 27, his 24 bench press reps put him behind only 20 other participating offensive linemen.

His on-field workout the next day, however, was where he really shined, and his athletic nature as a former tight end was evident.

Pinter was the second-fastest offensive lineman at the combine, running a 4.91-second 40-yard dash — one of only three with a sub-five-second run. His 20yard shuttle time was third-fastest

Danny Pinter, former Ball State offensive lineman, walks out for his interviews Feb. 25, 2020, at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. The NFL Scouting Combine is a place invited athletes have a chance to meet with and work out for prospective NFL teams. JACOB MUSSELMAN, DN among O-linemen, his three-cone drill was the sixth-fastest and his broad jump was an inch away from cracking the top 10.

Pinter’s performance increased his prospect grade to a 5.82, worthy of a “backup or special teamer.” It also landed him on NFL.com’s All-Combine Team at right guard. He said the recognition and feedback he’s received have been nice, but his key, once again, is nothing special.

“At the end of the day, it’s how

hard you want to work, what you want to put into it and how you carry yourself,” Pinter said. “I think I know what’s gotten me to this point, and that’s just hard work, and that’s really the way I’m going to embrace it.”

Eric Steinbach, one of Johnson’s best friends from high school, was a Consensus AllAmerican and Big 10 Offensive Lineman of the Year out of Iowa in 2002. Johnson said it takes a special kind of player to do

ON BALLSTATEDAILYNEWS.COM: BALL STATE BASKETBALL SCOUTING REPORT

what Steinbach did, but when it comes to work ethic, he’d put his money on Pinter over anyone.

“Danny has one of the highest work ethics I think I’ve ever seen of anybody I’ve been around,” Johnson said. “Because of that alone, I think he’s going to will himself into a position with somebody’s roster. It may not be the first year, it may not be the second, but give him an opportunity to learn from his mistakes, and he’ll find a place.”

And that’s all Pinter is hoping for right now — an opportunity.

He said he hasn’t put much thought into the draft coming up in late April because he’s approaching everything one step at a time, and right now, the next step is getting that chance.

“I mean, that’s kind of everything. That’s everything you’re working for right now is just to have that opportunity,” Pinter said. “Once you get it, just kind of rely back on holding yourself to that high-standard work ethic, and then just make the most of the opportunity.

Certainly, everything you’re doing — training, all that — is just for that opportunity.”

Contact Zach Piatt with comments at zapiatt@bsu.edu or on Twitter @zachpiatt13.

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04.09.20

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08 04.09.20

The story behind

her story Ball State alumna Sarah Hollowell announces her debut Young Adult novel.

Nik Stoll Reporter While “A Dark and Starless Forest” was just introduced to the Young Adult book community, Sarah Hollowell, a 2015 Ball State alumna, has known about her debut book’s announcement for nearly four months, and it has been one of her hardest-kept secrets.

“It feels a million times more real,” Hollowell said. “While it was just a secret that me and my three closest group chats knew [about], it still felt like a dream. Then, it all started to fall into reality — I got the contract, the announcement came out [and] my first advance check came in.”

Angela Jackson-Brown, assistant teaching professor of English at Ball State and one of Hollowell’s mentors, said she remembers “screaming at the top of her lungs for what felt like ages” in excitement when Hollowell called to tell her the news her debut novel would be published.

“I’ve seen some of her journey and know firsthand how hard she works at her writing,” Jackson-Brown said. “If anyone deserved to get published, Sarah did. She did the work, but [it was] more than that. She was always everyone else’s cheerleader when good writing news happened to them. It was pretty amazing [for me] to be able to be her cheerleader.”

“A Dark and Starless Forest” tells the story of nine magical siblings and is set to release in fall 2021 from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books.

“I started drafting [‘A Dark and Starless Forest’] in early 2017 and finished the [first] draft toward the end of that year,” Hollowell said. “I revised

[She] had a reputation for being the kind of student you wanted in your class.”

- ANGELA JACKSON-BROWN, Assistant teaching professor of English for about another [year after that] before I had something that was polished enough to send to agents, a process I started in December 2018.”

Throughout her writing process, Hollowell said, she struggled with mental illness and financial insecurity. During the times where she wasn’t employed, Hollowell said, she cobbled together an income from commissions to make felt animals, the support of her friends, family and social media followers and her Patreon, a website for members to sell

their creative content.

“Some days, I just [couldn’t] write a single world,” Hollowell said. “I [was] too busy, depressed or hyperfocused on [everything] that [wasn’t] my draft. But, I also have OK days where I can write 100 words and good days where I can get 5,000 or more. If I can remember that those days will add up, [then] I can forgive the [bad] days.”

While Hollowell’s journey to publication has been a long one, her love of writing began with the love of reading she had when she was young.

“I was raised around books,” Hollowell said. “At some point, I started writing my own. Two series that definitely influenced what I wrote as a child [were] ‘The Enchanted Forest Chronicles’ by Patricia C. Wrede and all of ‘Fear Street’

by R.L. Stine. I wrote a lot of fantasy and horror in elementary school, and I still do.”

Hollowell continued her passion for books and writing at Ball State, where she majored in creative writing. Jackson-Brown said one of her first memories of Hollowell as a student dates back to before Hollowell had even signed up for one of Jackson-Brown’s courses. “[She] had a reputation for being the kind of student you wanted in your class,” Jackson-Brown said. “The time she made it to my class, I was excited to have her as a

Sarah Hollowell is a 2015 Ball State alumna and writer of young adult books and occasional essays. She is active on her Twitter account, @sarahhollowell, where she recently announced her debut book, “A Dark and Starless Forest.” MORGAN L.

NOBLE, PHOTO PROVIDED

student because so many of my colleagues and students had nothing but glowing things to say about her.”

Hollowell said she wrote “A Dark and Starless Forest” to be a book she wanted to read as a teenager where its heroine was unapologetically fat.

“I have read so many books where it was that the heroine’s waist was so small [that] the hero’s hands could wrap around it,” Hollowell said.

“Fat characters are sidekicks, villains and cautionary tales — assuming we exist at all. We are loving but pathetic best friends to the protagonist. We don’t get to be heroes. It’s usually [some] kind of a joke that someone would ever love us.”

Although Hollowell is now publishing a book she loves with an “honest, fat character,” not everyone has been so accepting of her, Hollowell said.

After presenting a TEDx talk at Ball State about fat positivity and publishing an essay on fat sexuality, multiple threads popped up on Reddit dedicated to tearing her down.

“They [went] through my Instagram to find ‘proof’ that

YOUNG ADULT BOOKS:

BY THE NUMBERS

30,000 About

YA books are published each year

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$2.87

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I was actually very sad and very lonely,” Hollowell said.

“Videos [appeared] on YouTube [talking] about how I was going to die young. Last I know, those

[have] all been removed.”

Things have been difficult for overweight characters in the past, Hollowell said, but she believes things will get better, and the future isn’t so bleak for writers like her.

“Marginalized people will certainly keep writing our stories,” Hollowell said. “What we need now is for more marginalized people in the publishing and film industry — people who will recognize and understand [our] stories [that] also have the power to put them out into the world.”

As Jackson-Brown looks toward Hollowell’s book release, she said she counts it as an honor her path crossed Hollowell’s, and Hollowell did all the hard work to deserve her success.

“If [Sarah] is gracious enough to credit any small part of her success to anything I said or did as a teacher, I humbly thank her for that honor,” Jackson-Brown said. “Sarah made my job extremely easy. She walked into my classroom brimming with talent and phenomenal stories to tell.”

Contact Nik Stoll with comments at nsstoll@bsu.edu.

ON BALLSTATEDAILYNEWS.COM: FRESHMAN REFLECTS ON ‘WHEEL OF FORTUNE’ WIN

DNOpinion

04.09.20

Black Curtain

The new normal A reflection on a first year of college cut short due to COVID-19 Zahria Hart is a freshman magazine journalism major and writes “Black Curtain” for The Daily News. Her views do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper.

Going into Zahria your freshman Hart year of college, Columnist, there’s this Black Curtain huge feeling of uncertainty.

Will this be the moment you realize you relied too much on your parents? What if your dream of being a news anchor turns out not to be what you wanted? Or will rooming with a complete stranger be a bad idea?

There were so many questions I thought of, but I can bet none involved a pandemic.

I was at the Bookmark Cafe in Bracken Library, trying to

remember the equations for rate of return and surplus for my finance class when I got the email — the email that let all students and staff know beginning Monday, March 16 there would be no in-person classes.

Then, a week later, I found out all of Ball State’s residence halls would be closed. And just like that, my freshman year began to end.

The events and games I planned to go to, now all canceled. The friends I made, I had to say goodbye to for now, along with my new-found freedom.

I panicked.

How did my once-normal school year get flipped upside down and cut short? As much as I wanted to sit and ponder, there was no time. It felt like every two seconds, I was receiving emails from stressed professors about their plans to finish the semester. Then, constant texts and calls from my parents

bombarding me with questions and concerns and, of course, social media posts from both angry and relieved students.

This was something completely new, and, to be honest, I had no idea what I was doing.

Packing up was the worst part.

It felt like I had to pack up the whole life I created for myself during my freshman year and move back home, even though I wasn’t ready to yet. Of course, every student probably had these feelings no matter their year, but it seems worse when it’s your first year. I knew eventually I was going to have to force myself to get it together, but a month and two weeks early was too soon. This is the first time I am going to abandon my way of life at school and go back to my way of life with my parents.

Freshman year was supposed to be the start of my journey — the time for exploration and finding myself, especially

because I’m in that highly-coveted period of my life where experimentation and enjoyment of friends and peers is always on my agenda. Now, I’m back under the roof and rules of my parents, where my freedom is put on hold.

Going into week four of being at home and doing online classes, I have a new normal.

Gladly, now I don’t actually have to roll out of bed and walk to class, but making myself sit down at my computer for a 50-plus-minute lecture? Brutal.

College was my main drive to meet whatever goals or dreams laid waiting in my future; it pumped some life into me. But, without my normal academic environment, I don’t feel that drive anymore. When I’m in the comfort of my own home with nowhere to go, it’s challenging to find something to motivate and drive me.

I spent my birthday two weeks

ago indoors all day. I no longer get to spend time with my two best friends from college during the week, and I have now completed three seasons of the MTV series “Teen Wolf” these past several weeks.

As much as this all is, I’m just going to have to make peace that this is going to be the new normal for a little while.

Hopefully, when classes do start up again, I’ll be carried out of this sluggish, lifeless volcano, ready to explode with life into my sophomore year.

There’s still a huge feeling of uncertainty, especially today, but I guess that’s just life for us all right now, and that is OK. All of our years were cut short, and no matter where we are, I hope this will band our Cardinal family together.

Contact Zahria with comments at zshart@bsu.edu.

ON BYTEBSU.COM: ‘ONWARD’ CONJURES ANOTHER MYSTIFYING MASTERPIECE FOR PIXAR

09

DNLife

04.09.20

10

Encouraging ‘quar-ART-ine’ The Marketplace Owner of Let There Be Art gives away art kits to entertain community children.

Families in cars, vans and trucks alike trickled into the parking lot of Let There Be Art in Muncie between noon and 4 p.m.

March 18 to pick up their free kids’ “Quar-ART-ine kit” from owner and artist Misty Cougill.

The day was cold and windy, but together with her friend Jennifer Everetts, Cougill was able to give away 53 kits as well as pray with each family during this time of need.

“After I posted the announcement on Facebook, I thought we would have more of a rush, but I was thankful that people seemed to show up evenly,” Cougill said. “I really wanted to pray with people … and see if they needed anything.

The steady pace allowed me to connect deeper with the people.”

When the announcement was made that nonessential businesses would have to close, Cougill said, she felt “really down” because she wouldn’t have the joy of watching people create art in her studio. So, she began brainstorming ideas with Everetts, who owns Escape Muncie, on ways she could help.

“I really wanted to help parents get their children’s noses out of the screens and computers,” Cougill said. “If I put some things together for them, at least I would know they have the option of making art, which can be very therapeutic.

It was a way I could help keep their minds off of everything happening around them while they are stuck at home.”

Cougill traveled store to store searching for items to put in the kits and also received donations from businesses like Art Mart. She put each kit in a

Misty Cougill, owner of Let There Be Art, hands out her art kits March 18, 2020, outside her business. Cougill created the kits to help distract kids stuck at home from what is happening with COVID-19. JENNIFER EVERETTS, PHOTO PROVIDED gallon Ziploc bag with enough supplies for up to four children, including construction paper, crayons, markers, glue, scissors and coloring books.

“This was never just a oneperson job,” Cougill said. “I may have been the one who created them, but I had a lot of help from Jennifer and donors.”

In the kits, Cougill also

I believe God gave me this business to make people happy, and these kits are one way I could give back to my community.”

- MISTY COUGILL, Owner of Let There Be Art included four to five baseballcard-size rectangles of artist paper for kids to make their own artist trading cards, which can be traded online or at Art Mart and Let There Be Art after the stay-at-home order is lifted.

Cougill said the idea wasn’t originally hers, but she has tried to promote more local trading.

From our followers Taylor Jackson and her boyfriend, Christopher Sanchez, adopted their cat, Banana, March 26, 2020, at HELP Shelter in Richmond, Indiana. Formerly named Nolly, Banana loves looking out the window as cars drive by and sleeps in the bed with Jackson and Sanchez. TAYLOR JACKSON, PHOTO PROVIDED FIND US ON TWITTER, INSTAGRAM AND FACEBOOK @BSUDAILYNEWS

“Misty is so creative, and I think she’s really helping keep everyone connected with these trading cards,” Everetts said.

“The kits she handed out are keeping kids’ creativity going.

This is a weird time to be alive, but she’s trying to help reduce some of that anxiety.

The fact that she’s giving these away means parents can do something with their kids without having to spend money they could use for food.”

Amanda Messersmith, a Muncie citizen who received one of the art kits, said the supplies have really helped keep her 3-year-old daughter entertained because she can’t go to preschool.

Messersmith said while her daughter was in preschool, the kids were learning how to cut, so Messersmith draws shapes on paper for her daughter to cut out.

The two also like to look through Pinterest for new inspirations.

“There’s so many negative things going on in the world around us right now, so it’s great when the community can come together and do something to put a smile on someone’s face,” Messersmith said. “My daughter was so excited to open the art kit and … start drawing and

creating art.”

Since distributing the kits, Cougill also created a weekly Facebook post called “Show it off Saturday,” where everyone can share photos of the art they are making. She said it brings her “joy and inspiration” to see how the community is being creative.

Two weeks after Cougill gave away the 53 kits, she said, she received more donations and now has most of the supplies for 20 more kits. She hopes to have another event scheduled soon.

“The neat thing about [the first event] was Misty didn’t ask for anything, and she wouldn’t accept money when people tried to give her some,” Everetts said. “The thing that almost made me cry is that nobody said, ‘Pray for me. I’m so anxious about this virus.

My kids are driving me nuts.’

Instead, everyone was scared for other people.”

Cougill also said she is working on creating painting kits for adults that will be sold on the Let There Be Art website for $20. Those kits will include brushes, paint, sample photos and instructions on how to paint the photos. There will be multiple ways for people to choose to receive the kits, such as a drive-by or through mail.

“I believe God gave me this business to make people happy, and these kits are one way I could give back to my community,” Cougill said. “I created simple kits anyone could have made, but I had the chance to provide a little bit of hope too. I think in most cases, the praying meant more to people than the kit itself. I’m hoping I can continue to do more.”

Contact Tier Morrow with comments at tkmorrow@bsu. edu or on Twitter @tiermorrow.

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04.09.20

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