BSU 10-27-22

the

Absentee

Turnout

BallStateDailyNews.com

Student debt forgiveness plan on hold

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily blocked President Joe Biden’s student debt forgiveness plan after a request for an injunction was brought by Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and South Carolina — six Republican states. Karine Jean-Pierre, Biden’s press secretary, said this order does not prevent students from applying for student debt relief.

Rishi Sunak becomes U.K. Prime Minister

Oct. 24: In a historic announcement, Rishi Sunak was introduced as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Not only will Sunak become the third Prime Minister this year for the U.K., but he is the first ever U.K. leader of color. Sunak takes this position from former Prime Minister Liz Truss amidst an economic crisis.

Soccer clinches spot in MAC tournament

Oct. 23: With a 2-2 draw against league leaders Buffalo, Ball State soccer secured a spot in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) tournament with a game to spare. The Cardinals travel to Mount Pleasant, Michigan, today for their final regular season game. If Buffalo loses and Ball State wins, the Cardinals will host the 2022 MAC tournament.

Men’s Basketball voted fourth in poll

Oct. 26: In its first year under new head coach Michael Lewis, Ball State Men’s Basketball has been predicted to finish fourth in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in the annual coaches poll. With 94 points and no first-place votes, the Cardinals have been selected to finish behind Akron and Toledo in third and second respectively while Kent State is expected to finish top.

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THURSDAY

PARTLY CLOUDY Hi: 58º Lo: 37º

FRIDAY SUNNY Hi: 66º Lo: 46º

MOSTLY SUNNY Hi: 63º Lo: 37º

CHANCE OF RAIN Hi: 63º Lo: 51º

THIS WEEK: As more seasonable temperatures enter the area, we will be seeing mostly calm conditions. Lows in the high 30s for Thursday and Friday, but the mild 60s return for the weekend. Saturday will be filled with lots of sun, we are expecting rain showers some of the day Sunday.

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

Jack Van Meter, Weather forecaster, Benny Weather Group

ERIC HAYNES, PHOTO COURTESY

GARRY KNIGHT, PHOTO COURTESY

Indiana Lawmakers approve new education policy

Indiana lawmakers approved on Oct. 24 recommendations for multiple education bills expected to be filed during the 2023 legislative session. The interim education committee approved its report unanimously after hearing testimony last week from education advocates, school officials and business leaders. The testimonies called for reduction in requirements to allievate teacher shortages and burdens on educators.

County Delaware County Sheriff warns of scam calls

The Delaware County Sheriff’s Office received reports of scam phone calls Oct. 25 asking for money in exchange for not being arrested on a local warrant. According to the sheriff’s office, the caller will say a warrant came in for an arrest and will ask for a “cash bond” to keep the answerer from being arrested. The caller will use Delaware County Circuit Court Judge Kimberly Dowling’s name and names from the sheriff’s office.

Campus Bob Ross celebration at LaFollette Field

Oct. 29, Ball State Public Broadcasting Station (PBS) will celebrate Bob Ross’s 80th birthday and the close of the station’s 50 years on air. “Happy Little Fest” will be from 11 a.m.- 5 p.m. Tickets are $50, and the event is located in LaFollete Field. The event’s agenda has planned trivia, a children’s painting workshop and a “look like Bob Ross” contest at 12:30 p.m.

A Ball State professor shares her experience of being one of the few professors of color on campus

October is Fire Prevention Month, and John Taylor and different organizations are spreading knowledge and awareness on house and wildfires

Kyle Smedley News Editor

John Taylor, land manager and restoration ecologist at Ball State University, remembered traveling to Kentucky in 2021 on a “red flag day.” A red flag day, or red flag warning, is when warm temperatures, dry areas and strong winds combine in a risk of wildfire.

Taylor said he stayed in a cabin on a steep hill around many other cabins. He remembered people nearby trying to have a bonfire in the fire ring outside their cabin, which immediately concerned him since he knew of the danger that would certainly follow if they were to light this fire.

Taylor said if he had not been around to warn these residents of the risk of wildfire, he is certain their fire would have gotten out of control and potentially burned down the cabins. Lately, he said, there have been many red flag days in Muncie Taylor said while he stays informed about red flag days, it’s easy for the general public to not realize the everyday risks of wildfires and even house fires.

“There’s a lot of things going on, and it’s hard for people to pay attention to the things that are not immediately in front of them,” Taylor said. “They always say ‘An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,’ so just being aware and taking a few minutes to test your smoke detector batteries, make sure you’ve got a fire extinguisher close to

the kitchen, if you have a gas appliance, make sure you’ve got a CO2 detector.”

From 2015-19, an estimated average of 346,800 house fires occurred in the United States, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).

Since 1983, the National Interagency Fire Center has reported an average of 70,000 wildfires per year in the U.S.

There is a cost to the large number of house fires and wildfires per year. According to the NFPA, an average of 2,620 civilian deaths, 11,070 civilian injuries and an estimated $7.3 billion in property damage occur due to house fires per year.

October is Fire Prevention Month, sparking events and campaigns across the nation to aid those in need with the goal of shrinking these averages. For example, the American Red Cross is running a Home Fire Campaign, where representatives in each state, separated by district, travel to homes and install smoke detectors and instruct residents on how to be fire safe.

Additionally, organizations such as the Indiana state government and the NFPA are outlining ways to stay fire safe as a part of Fire Prevention Month

Through Fire Prevention Month, people can learn through awareness, events, campaigns and anecdotes from others to stay fire safe year-round, keeping themselves and others safe.

Contact Kyle Smedley with comments via email at kyle.smedley@bsu.edu or on Twitter @ smedley1932.

2015-19,

They always say ‘An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,’ so just being aware and taking a few minutes to test your smoke detector batteries, make sure you’ve got a fire extinguisher close to the kitchen, if you have a gas appliance, make sure you’ve got a CO2 detector.”

- JOHN TAYLOR, Land manager and restoration ecologist at Ball State

of

fires occurred in the United States

1983, there has

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Zach Carter Reporter

Jeanne Clery was a first-year student at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania.

In 1986, a police report was filed stating Clery was raped and murdered in her dormatory. Before this incident, 38 violent crimes occurred prior to her death on the campus, according to the Lehigh University Police Department website.

Four years later, legislation for the Clergy Act was passed and showed there were a lot of safety issues on college campuses.

According to 911Cellular, the University of Illinois at Chicago took action and talked to inventors about more safety a year before the Clergy Act.

This led to the creation of the blue light phone, created by the NewsTime company.

By the mid-1990s, the University of Illinois had 100 phones around campus, and later, multiple schools started to add them to their properties. One of those schools was Ball State University. Blue lights are for students to get in touch with the Ball State

University Police Department (UPD) when they need assistance. To use them, one presses the button and speaks, but if nothing is said, officers are still sent to check out the area.

Using the phones has the same response time as calling 911, Greg Fallon, Ball State’s chief digital marketing and communications director, said via email.

“University Police routinely test the blue light emergency phones to ensure they are fully operational,” he said via email. “Doing so dramatically increases the number of times they are ‘used’ in an academic year, but in terms of them being used in a time of true emergency, it happens infrequently.”

He said they are more commonly used in nonemergencies, and in true emergencies, people usually use cell phones.

Fallon added that Ball State currently has no plans of installing more to the current 28 phones, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be considered in the future. He also mentioned the phones are placed in strategic areas, and it would be hard to install them in all corners of Ball State’s 1,200 acre campus.

Indiana University-Bloomington also has a similar type of device to the blue phones.

“We have keypads on them, but still, it works like a telephone,” Leslie Slone, assistant director for safety and security for the university, said. “So there’s a whole lot of engineering and digging and wiring for those things.”

Around 2012, Indiana University added a rule to their safety codes. Once a building or new development is built, these blue lights are added near the entrance.

“We take input from students and visitors on campus,” Slone said. “I mean, anybody can give us input. It’s like, ‘I was walking over here by this parking garage, and it was really creepy,’ and we take that into consideration.”

Slone also said the 48 phones, or towers, as they are called at Indiana University Bloomington, are not just for crime but also for everyday issues. For example, people can use them to get assistance if their car is not working or their phone is dead.

“So that’s not really a personal safety emergency,” Slone said. “Everybody thinks a bad guy is gonna jump out from the bushes or something, but it’s an emergency, and if you’re in it, you need that help, and that’s just a good way to get it.”

At the end of the day, Slone said the goal is not only for students to feel safe but for their parents to feel comfortable too.

“Parents will come in, and they’ll see the blue light phones,” she said. “They’ll know that the university is doing real, tangible things to enhance the safety of their kids while they’re on campus, and you can’t put a price tag on that.”

Sociology professor at Rice University in Houston shares research studies focusing on minorities

Angelica Gonzalez Morales Digital Managing Editor

People of color in the United States battle with racial discrimination daily. A person of color may notice how someone reacts when standing next to them on the elevator or how someone moves to the other side of the road before crossing paths on the same side of the street. People of color that battle with racial discrimination can struggle with poor mental health, according to Taylor and Francis Online.

That’s how Tony N. Brown, professor of sociology at Rice University in Houston, sees it. Brown said the state of Texas has done a variety of research studies focusing on minorities and their battle with racial discrimination. Brown remembers a study published in 1986 focusing on mental health based on Hispanic women’s experiences at work.

“What these studies began to do was show over and over again that people were mistreated because of their race, eventually that mistreatment will lead to poor outcomes,” Brown said.

He discovered links between how people being mistreated in a work environment can lead to clinical depression. Shortly after the research in the late 80s, more research literature expanded to different discrimination studies with one’s race or gender.

Rona Robinson-Hill, assistant professor of science education, is one of the few professors of color that currently teach at Ball State. She started working for Ball State in the beginning of August 2014.

I needed to teach students the importance of race, I wanted all my students that come in to know they are coming into a family … if one student doesn’t have a brother or sister, just know, once they enter that door, they have plenty of siblings.”

“One event can take place for a person of color, and once that event takes place, it becomes traumatic, it then leads to a spiral of emotions. Once you experience the event, you will never forget it,” Brown said.

Brown, teaching at a predominately white institution, has learned ways to make all students of color and white students feel safe.

“Our mental health is generally a combination of feeling wanted, secure, and safe … the basis of our mental health is like wanted meaning important, secure meaning connected to others and safe meaning free from threats to one’s well-being,” Brown said.

Once Robinson-Hill became an educator, she realized she faced many challenges in being some students’ first educator of color in their life. With Robinson-Hill being the first, she knew she needed to create an environment within her classroom.

“I needed to teach students the importance of race,” Robinson-Hill said. “I wanted all my students that come in to know they are coming into a family … if one student doesn’t have a brother or sister, just know, once they enter that door, they have plenty of siblings.”

Courtney Harris, third-year science education major, was a student of Robinson-Hill.

“After I had my class with Dr. Hill, I didn’t know that I was only a few students of color in her class,” Harris said. “Dr. Hill eventually told me that she was happy for me to create a path for myself and take down the pressure of racism stereotypes.”

Racial discrimination can be caused by microaggressions. Brown explains how microaggressions are actions or comments people make in which they might be unaware. They are making a comment towards one’s race or ethnicity, and some microaggressions can be hurtful towards others.

Once Harris got older, she realized she had peers share microaggressions based on how she looked.

“I went to a predominantly white middle school, meaning I was one of the few that looked different from my classmates,” Harris said. “I remember many of the students would point out how my hair looked different from theirs, how my skin color was darker than theirs and more.“

People of color spend most of their internal energy on being reactive to racism, according to a study on APA Psycnet, people of color are preparing themselves for insults of microinvalidations.

Racial discrimination can play many roles in one’s mental health, and Brown encourages everyone to become allies and have conversations with minorities, so they can educate themselves. Once educated, people can become a secure source for people of color. Robinson-Hill knows how difficult it can be for people of color to let others know they belong in the room. She wants to leave one piece of advice for students that might need to hear it.

“You need to make sure you sit in the front of the class front and center, don’t sit off to the edge, sit front and center, so when they look up, they see you,” Robinson-Hill said.

Contact Angelica Gonzalez Morales with comments at agonzalezmor@bsu.edu or on Twitter @angelicag_1107.

- RONA ROBINSON-HILL, Assistant professor of science education

Our mental health is generally a combination of feeling wanted, secure, and safe … the basis of our mental health is like wanted meaning important, secure meaning connected to others and safe meaning free from threats to one’s well-being.”

- TONY N. BROWN, Professor of sociology of Rice University

JOSIE SANTIAGO,

Muncie’s Spiritualist Side

Pop Culture

Taylor Swift releases ‘Midnights’

On Oct. 21, Taylor Swift’s tenth studio album became avaialble for purchase and on streaming services, including Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora and more. Upon its release, “Midnights” broke Spotify’s alltime record for the most streamed albumn within a single day, with Swift becoming the most streamed artist in a single day as well.

Miguel Naranjo Associate Lifestyle Editor

After a falling-out with her family, Lynn Raines, a spiritual psychic and founder of the Your Spiritness Holistic and Spirituality Expo, decided it was best to leave her home in Michigan.

She founded Your Spiritness 23 years ago and has gathered vendors and psychic readers in Michigan and northern Indiana for just as long. Though her move to Indiana was two years ago, it was the first place she thought of when she needed a place to go, she said.

“When I first crossed the state line into Indiana, I felt this relieving feeling, like, ‘Ahh, I’m home,’” said Raines.

Since then, she has carried on her company and used her expos as an opportunity to connect the public to spiritual arts and practices they may not fully understand. As a psychic, Raines connects with the energy of people, places and objects to help people along their spiritual path, she said.

“Just like how you would know, if you’re a parent, which child just came in the house … or without even having to look you just know there’s something right or wrong with that particular child — you can just tell by the way they walked in the door,” she said, explaining how she uses her intuition to connect with people.

Her own spiritual journey began when she was a child, before she ever realized she had psychic abilities, she said.

“As a child, it was all, ‘Oh, your eyes are just playing tricks on you,’ ‘Lynn, who are you talking

to?’” she said, recalling how the people around her commented on her experiences. “I didn’t realize at the time that … my ‘imaginary friends’ were actually spirits I was communicating with.”

Raines became a member with the now dissolved Seekers of Truth Spiritualist Church in Berkley, Michigan, around the same time she founded the Your Spiritness company. Rev. Dan Kivel introduced Raines to the church and, alongside members of the community, taught her about the intricacies of her psychic ability.

“By going to the spiritualist church and learning more … about the psychic world, I learned a lot more about my own self and about my abilities in terms of what I’m capable of getting from messages and also how to present them,” she said.

Pop Culture

Leslie Jordan dies at 67 years old

Leslie Allen Jordan, openly gay actor and comedian, was known for his performances in “Will & Grace,” “American Horror Story” and most recently, “Call Me Kat.” He died in a car crash in Hollywood, California. Over the pandemic years, he became an internet sensation, garnering 5.8 million followers on Instagram at the time of his death.

Community Pumpkins in the park

The Southside Neighborhood Association will host a family-friendly halloween-themed festival at Cooley Park Oct. 29 from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. Activities and amenities will include pumpkin painting, pumpkin smashing, a children’s costume parade and a showing of “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.”

Takeya Searles poses for a portrait Oct. 26, 2022. Miguel Naranjo, DN

Olivia Ground Social Media Editor

By profession, John Marsh is a history professor at Ball State University and the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics and Humanities. Jenni Marsh is the president and CEO of Heart of Indiana United Way.

However, outside of those jobs, the couple makes an award-winning playwright duo.

Jenni was very active in her theatre club at Yorktown High School growing up. Her favorite shows are screwball comedies from the 30s and 40s, and that love for theatre is what inspired her to continue writing plays in her adult life, she said.

“I love to go to plays, love to be at plays and I loved being in plays. And … as I’ve gotten older, co-writing plays with this guy [John] who’s super funny and makes me laugh every single day, has been a really fun hobby,” Jenni said.

John has always been interested in all kinds of writing since he was young, and writing plays with Jenni has always been a fun hobby for him.

“We just always enjoyed writing, and we just kind of found our way to doing this just for fun for ourselves,” John said.

In 2014, John and Jenni wrote their first play together called “Fixing Up.” The play is a comedy, a favorite genre of the writers, they said, and they submitted the show to the McLaren Comedy Festival in Midland, Texas. Finalists of this competition get their show staged for audiences to decide on a winner, and the winner gets their show produced at the Midland Community Theatre.

That same year, John and Jenni’s play won the competition.

“The play . . . was produced in Texas for a month, and the audience really loved it, and that … really energized us. And so, … we got onto our next play,” John said.

Now, the Marshes are working on a new play titled “Cat’s Pajamas.” The show was put on in the form of a staged reading at the Muncie Civic Theatre, directed by Ball State Theatre and Dance faculty member Michael O’Hara. The assistant director and stage manager is Ball State alumna Bianca Sulanke.

“Cat’s Pajamas” is a comedy taking place in 1929 at an old mansion on a remote island. One of the main characters of the show, a writer of the mystery genre, aims to plan a haunted housethemed party that goes wrong, and mysterious hijinks ensue. The show is a mix of comedy, romance and mystery, all with historical elements mixed in.

“We both have a real love of history, which is partly what inspired the play ‘Cat’s Pajamas,’”

Jenni said. “I love screwball comedies, [John] loves screwball comedies.”

For this new work, and all the works the two collaborate on, there is an appreciation for strong female characters. Both John and Jenni are inspired by works like “Arsenic and Old Lace” and “You Can’t Take it With You,” two plays that feature strong female characters.

“They had really strong and interesting and funny female characters, and that was not so typical in those days. So when we’re writing, we write really strong, quirky female characters,”

Jenni said.

However, the two do appreciate an original work and like to create “new and fresh” characters, ideas and stories.

“I think there’s so much rehashing of what’s already been done, and so, how do we do something that’s just kind of new and exciting?”

Jenni said.

The Marshes said collaboration and teamwork are the secret as a married couple working together on creative projects like playwriting.

“A friend of ours said, ‘You guys write plays together? My wife and I repainted the den and that ended in divorce. How do you do it?’ I don’t know. We just have fun with it,” John said. “I think part of it is we don’t have our egos so heavily tied up in it.”

The two have a writing system that is simply finding the time to talk it out. The two play to their own strengths: John does some writing, and Jenni makes edits. The overwhelming amount of their process is in collaboration.

“The two of them … as a writing team are so much fun to work with,” Sulanke said. “They are really clever, and they really listen to the feedback we give.”

“Cat’s Pajamas” director Micheal O’Hara is also a Sursa distinguished professor of fine arts and professor of theatre at Ball State. O’Hara has been directing shows at the Muncie Civic Theatre since 1998.

He compared the production to that of the American Playwrights Conference, which accommodates very minimally produced and funded performances for audience voting and feedback. This conference took place at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Connecticut, where O’Hara received a scholarship during his undergraduate studies.

For O’Hara, the support of the Muncie Civic Theatre is a major reason this staged production is able to happen. New works can be a major financial risk for theatres, but doing it in the format of a staged reading requires far fewer resources and still allows little-known playwrights to exhibit their work, he said.

“I think it’s thrilling and wonderful because you never know what’s going to happen. I mean, you literally show up one night, and there’s new stuff on the table,” O’Hara said.

Because “Cat’s Pajamas” is still under development and not yet complete, the creative team can make adjustments on the fly, taking input from anyone, anywhere, at any time, Sulanke said.

Unlike most shows that happen at the Muncie Civic Theatre, “Cat’s Pajamas” is performed as a staged reading where actors will have their script in their hands, and the costumes and props are kept to a minimum. At the end, Muncie Civic Theatre will offer an opportunity for the audience to provide the creative team and actors feedback.

“One of the actors … made a joke in character that was so funny that they added it to the script, which is part of the fun of working on a new production,” Sulanke said.

For the Marshes, seeing their work on stage is a fun and surreal experience.

“It’s always fun seeing people bring to life

the characters that were just ideas in our heads,” John said. “Now they’re alive on the stage, and they really are the kinds of characters that are … special to you.”

The staged reading of “Cat’s Pajamas” will take place in the Casazza Family Studio Theatre, a space within the Muncie Civic Theatre created to honor a dedicated member of the Muncie Civic Theatre community, Cathleen Casazza.

“We shared the play just hoping for some feedback, and when [the Muncie Civic Theatre] committee had reviewed it and came to us saying, ‘We want to try something new because our studio theatre was really created to do some new theatre and experimental theatre and test new works,’” Jenni said, “they wanted to really honor that, and we are honored that our play is getting to be put on in that space.”

The Marshes do not currently have plans for a full production of “Cat’s Pajamas” but would welcome such an opportunity, they said. While the staged readings took place on Oct. 21-22 and will again on Oct. 28-30, the ever-changing nature of a new work like this one makes it an evergreen process.

“I’m having the time of my life, and … in a way, it’s almost sad when a show opens because then it’s halfway towards being over,” O’Hara said. “These weeks, weeks and weeks of work just evaporate overnight. In a way, it’s actually more fun to work on something than it is to have worked on it. So, I’m really savoring [the] idea that this process will still be a process, even up to the last day of performance.”

Contact Olivia Ground with comments at olivia. ground@bsu.edu.

John and Jenni Marsh, two Ball State educators, make an award-winning playwright duo on their off-hours

Jenni (left) and John (right) Marsh pose for a photo on the set of “Cat’s Pajamas” at Casazza Family Studio Theatre in the Muncie Civic Theater Oct. 20. OLIVIA GROUND, DN

It’s always fun seeing people bring to life the characters that were just ideas in our heads.

Now they’re alive on the stage, and they really are the kinds of characters that are … special to you.”

- JOHN MARSH, BSU/Indiana Academy teacher and playwright

AMONG

AMONG

LOWEST

Kyle Smedley News Editor

It is almost time for the 2022 general election. While the period to register to vote is over, opportunities to vote early and send in absentee ballots are available for registered voters.

That said, voter turnout for Delaware County in 2020 was the lowest in the state of Indiana at 58 percent, according to IN.gov. For the last midterm elections in 2018, Delaware County was also among the lowest in the state with voter turnout at 47 percent.

2016 and 2014? Same story.

Chad Kinsella, political science professor at Ball State University, said midterm elections always have lower turnout than presidential elections, but he predicts the 2022 election to have a lower turnout than 2018’s. It was a particularly high turnout for a midterm, despite being among the lowest percentages in Indiana overall.

Not only does Delaware County repeatedly have one of the lowest voter turnout percentages in Indiana, but Muncie, the most populated town in the county, is a college town. With Ball State at the epicenter, much of the county’s population consists of college students, most of whom are in the age demographic consistently the lowest in terms of voter turnout, Kinsella said.

In general, Kinsella said age, income and education are three biggest predictors of voter turnout. He said voter turnout in Delaware County is normally higher outside city limits, whereas it is lower in areas like the Southside of town or on Ball State’s campus.

“Young people typically have voted under the percentage of all the other age groups, it’s like your voice ultimately is not being heard,” Kinsella said. “So, when people focus on policy, they have to consider who they truly represent, and that’s going to be your older generations because that’s who turns out to vote much more often. So, therefore, you get representation based on who they know turns out, and so, until younger people vote more often, they’ll get less focus [and] they’ll receive less attention overall.”

Monet Lindstrand, third-year Ball State student, is the president of Ball State’s College of Democrats. Leading up to the election, the College of Democrats have had multiple candidates speak at meetings or events for them, including Rep. Sue Errington, running to retain her position as an Indiana State Representative. Additionally, the Indiana Democratic Party and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Democratic Party sent representatives to Ball State to speak to the College of Democrats.

Lindstrand said the organization ran many events to push for voter registration, and now that the period to register to vote has passed, her organization is focused on getting those who registered to actually vote.

“18-25 [years old] is the smallest voting block by far, to the point where we can definitely shift entire races, if people get out and vote,” she said. “So that’s a really big thing with these local elections, it can come down to like

hundreds to thousands of votes, so I think a really big part about getting college students to vote is pointing out that there are laws being made that will directly impact your community and your state that you need to vote on.”

Lindstrand said the College of Democrats have tried to make it known how to vote early and about other methods of voting not on election day because not everyone can vote on Election Day due to work and other issues that may arise.

“I think really laying out the steps and making it as easy as possible for people to go vote is going to be a really great way we can get the turnout to go up, but it really is sometimes a bit of an uphill battle in terms of figuring out ways to kind of get people there,” Lindstrand said. “I think really just pushing certain issues and being like, ‘You did the hard part, you registered to vote, now you should go and vote and make sure you’re kind of getting your voice heard on issues that you’re passionate about.’”

a lot of cars, I always look at bumper stickers, and the more current bumper stickers there are, it seems to be more indicative that people are more interested in [politics and elections],” Kinsella said. “I don’t see a whole lot on campus that would suggest people are really totally tuned in to this midterm. I don’t think I’ve seen any bumper stickers for local people [or] bumper stickers for anybody running for U.S. Senate or any of that.”

Linda Hanson, co-president of the Indiana League of Women Voters, believes local races have a greater impact on citizen’s everyday lives than national races. Kinsella echoed her sentiment, saying in everyday life almost every time people encounter the government, it’s state or local, not federal.

Wilson agreed with Kinsella and Lindstrand about the importance of midterm elections, but not because he believes local positions hold more impact on citizen’s everyday lives.

“At the offset, midterms don’t seem very important, but the midterms really set up who the next president is going to be working with, what kind of situation [they’re] walking into, as far as who’s in control of Congress and the Senate,” Wilson said. “... So, by not voting in the midterms, you make it very ambiguous as to the kind of people who affect you on more of a ground level.”

Kinsella said Delaware County is a “purple county,” meaning each election is typically very close. For example, the 2016 presidential election had a majority of Republican victories, the 2018 midterm election had a majority of Democratic victories and the 2020 presidential election had a majority of Republican victories.

In Kinsella’s eyes, this not only shows the importance of voting in Delaware County, but it is also an indicator for the likely result of the 2022 general election.

“Given that the President is a Democrat, it’s likely a favorable year for Republicans,” Kinsella said.

Although he agrees voting is important, Grant Wilson, fourth-year Ball State student and president of the Ball State College of Republicans, has an alternative take on the subject.

“I’m not gonna say something like ‘Everyone needs to vote’ because I think it’s a choice, but I enjoy it, [and] I think it’s a good way to be part of the decision making process,” Wilson said. “I also think if you’re going to choose not to vote, you have no room to complain about things if they don’t go the way you want them to. I would much better understand somebody who voted for somebody, they lost, and they’re like, ‘Well, things aren’t so great right now,’ [because] I can’t say that you didn’t try to do anything. If you didn’t vote, there’s nothing I can say, it’s your own fault.”

Wilson said he doesn’t feel like there are a lot of people on campus who are very interested in politics, providing another reason as to why voter turnout may be low at Ball State. Kinsella agreed, sharing one of his habits as to how he gauges interest in each election.

“It’s like if I go to the zoo or anywhere where there’s

“Regardless of how Delaware County votes, we’re talking usually a pretty close vote. So getting a certain group of people increasing by a couple of vantage points here could change the whole dynamic of the count.”

Kinsella said he believes a lot of the focus is on Congress during these midterm elections, however, he said there are many important state legislator and local races in Delaware County. He mentioned how 2023 is a budget year, and the new legislation will create that budget, adding onto why this election is so important in particular.

For the College of Republicans, issues such as abortion rights, inflation, gas prices and the general economy are what Wilson feels should be and will be addressed in the upcoming election. For the College of Democrats, they also view the issue of abortion rights, as well as things like gun control, healthcare and college debt as things that should be addressed.

For more information about voting locations, ballot information and more, visit Delaware County’s website.

Contact Kyle Smedley with comments via email at kyle. smedley@bsu.edu or on Twitter @smedley1932.

Nov. 8 is election day, and Delaware County consistently has low voter turnout in Indiana

18-25 [years old] is the smallest voting block by far, to the point where we can definitely shift entire races, if people get out and vote,”

- MONET LINDSTRAND, President of the Ball State College Democrats

I’m not gonna say something like ‘Everyone needs to vote’ because I think it’s a choice, but I enjoy it, [and] I think it’s a good way to be part of the decision making process. I also think if you’re going to choose not to vote, you have no room to complain about things if they don’t go the way you want them to,”

- GRANT WILSON, President of the Ball State College Republicans

State

Dale

Sue

State Rep. District

Elizabeth Rowray

Brad Sowinski

Circuit

Judi L. Calhoun

Amanda C. Dunnuck

Delaware

M.

Rick

Michelle (Shelley)

Ed

Delaware County Sheriff

County Council District

Jane Lasater

Dave Williams

Delaware County Coroner

Tony Skinner Gavin Greene

Ryan Davis

Delaware County Assessor

James Carmichael

Commissioner District

Henry Shannon Daniel Flanagan

County Council District

Audie Barber

Council District

William V. Hughes

Council District

Kantz

Mary Chambers

Center Township Trustee

Kristi Knapp Marilyn (Kay) Walker

Center Township Advisory Board

Matthew Peiffer

Scott Ratliff

William (Billy Mac) McIntosh Sr.

Lesia Meer

Mike Miller

Township Trustee

Thornburg

David (Doc) Davis

Gard

Henry

Source: U.S. Senate, City of Hammond Mayor’s Office,Maurer for Indiana, Wells for Indiana, Diego for Indiana,Sceniek for Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, IndianaElection Commission

JOSIE

Use Your Voice

Go out and vote in the upcoming midterm

Richard Kann Columnist

Richard Kann is a fourth-year journalism and telecommunications major and writes “Yankee Fist” for The Daily News. His views do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper.

Every four years, people tend to go all out for the presidential election.

I mean, why wouldn’t they? This race decides the future of the entire country.

No matter what party you vote for, I would personally bet those who voted did so because they wanted their voice to be heard and elect someone who represents them, or at the very least to make sure the “other guy” doesn’t win.

While we tend to get fired up to demand change, we also tend to undervalue one of the most prominent moments to create that change — midterms. I almost forgot the midterm election was coming up soon. In fact, I didn’t even know they existed until I was 18. When I asked one of my high school civics teachers what exactly midterms were, they described them as “kind of useless, honestly, I’m not even sure why we have them.”

There’s a pretty strong stigma around midterms, with Americans historically viewing them as unimportant compared to the presidential elections. During this time, roughly one third of eligible voters who participated in the presidential election don’t return for midterms.

However, the idea that they are unimportant couldn’t be further from the truth.

While each party has hosted some astounding victories in the 21st century, those victories would not have been possible if Americans did not go out and vote during the midterm election.

In 2018, according to AP News, former President Donald Trump lost the House majority and multiple Republican seats in the Senate. This set him up for his eventual defeat in 2020 and prompted the rise of multiple influential Democrats like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).

In 2014, according to AP News, former President Barack Obama suffered a historic loss in the Senate and the House of Representatives, losing nine seats in the Senate and 13 in the House, which gave Republicans the influence they needed to take both the House, the Senate and the White House in 2016. This also led to Obama’s Supreme Court judge candidate, Merrick Garland, not even getting a hearing. What could’ve been Garland’s seat was later filled with Neil Gorsuch by former President Trump.

It doesn’t matter if the party is Republican or Democrat, the fact is midterms have been and still are crucial to each party advancing their policies.

These elections are so influential because they determine the future of two groups that typically get stuck under the President’s shadow: the House and the Senate.

These government bodies are some of the most influential individuals in the president’s decisionmaking and political actions.

During former President Trump’s term, the Democratic-controlled House was able to repeal his controversial travel ban which would’ve restricted immigration from Middle Eastern countries, according to AP.

During President Joe Biden’s current term, Republican Senators were able to block his controversial Build Back Better Act, according to AP, which aimed to create welfare and social programs that many Republican voters felt were

“unnecessary” and “too expensive.”

Securing the presidency isn’t enough for either political party to shift the direction of the country. They need the support of the House and the Senate, and every four years, in between presidential elections, the seats of these government bodies are up for grabs. It’s up to the voters to decide if they’re for or against the current administration.

election, while only 40 percent of voters show up for the midterm elections. A Pew Research study found there was a record turnout of around 66 percent. In Australia, the voter turnout tends to be around 90 percent. In European countries like Austria, Sweden and Italy, around 80 percent of people vote every election year.

isn’t to tithe people over until the presidential one. What this

This isn’t a throwaway election to tithe people over until the presidential one. What this presents is an opportunity for every American to take action as they see fit.

You may not feel all that powerful coloring in a circle next to the name of your preferred candidate while in the voting booth. But in that voting booth, you are powerful. You and all the millions of Americans voting alongside you are powerful.

VOTE

What’s even more depressing, more Americans are able to vote now more than ever. In Indiana, you can vote both during the absentee period between Oct. 12 and Nov. 7 or on Election Day. That’s right, you can go out and vote right now!

more than ever. In Indiana, you can vote both during the

While it may be politicians who

While it may be politicians who sit in the White House, it’s you who gets to decide if they’re going to keep their jobs for another term. In that voting booth on Nov. 8, you have the power to change or preserve the direction of the country. No matter what the news is blasting, no matter what people say, no matter what politicians promise or threaten, they can’t take away the power you have as you cast your vote.

The only person that can stop you from making a change in your country is you.

I think that’s both empowering and depressing. That serves as an example of just how much power and influence we as the American people hold, but it also shows how unwilling we can be to use that power.

According to Fair Vote, an estimated 60 percent of eligible voters turn out for the presidential

Oct. 12 and Nov. 7 or the made to carry a handgun without a permit, made mail-in absentee ballots

This should be especially important for college students who may be passionate about the issues of gun rights, abortion rights and voter’s rights. This year, the state passed legislation that made it legal to carry a handgun without a permit, made mail-in absentee ballots available for seniors 65 and older and right now, Indiana is currently juggling an abortion ban in legal suspension.

As college students, all of these things will affect us, and it’s up to us to decide how. Usually, the voter turnout for college students has been lower than other age groups. But in recent years, this has turned around. In 2018, 52 percent of eligible, college-age voters showed up to cast their vote. Then, in 2020, that jumped to 66 percent. It is time for us to make our voices heard in another crucial election.

Don’t blow the 2022 midterm off as some throwaway election. You have the necessary resources to make a change, and this is your chance to use those resources.

Contact Richard Kann with comments at richard. kann@bsu.edu or on Twitter @RichardKann.

A Vote Through the Mail

University students attending class on Election Day can still vote absentee

Hannah Amos Daily News Editor

In recent years, voting by a mail-in ballot — or an absentee ballot — has increased due to COVID-19, according to the Massachusetts Institution of Technology (MIT) election data and science lab.

According to MIT, the original concept of voting by mail started in the American Civil War when both Union and Confederate soldiers were given the opportunity to vote from the battlefield and have their ballots counted.

However, the laws in place during the Civil War expired, and by 1918, soldiers lost the right to vote by mail-in ballot, according to the National WWII Museum of New Orleans.

During World War II, absentee voting came back when Congress passed the Soldiers Voting Act of 1942. It was later revised in 1944, in time for the general election.

The bill allowed soldiers to vote during wartime, according to the National WWII Museum of New Orleans. These bills were only applied for federal elections.

In the late 1800s, states began passing absentee ballot laws for civilians.

“The first laws were intended to accommodate voters who were away from home or seriously ill on Election Day,” according to the MIT website. “The number of absentee ballots distributed was relatively small, and the administrative apparatus was not designed to distribute a significant number.”

During the late 1980s, California became the first state to allow eligible voters an absentee ballot for any reason, according to MIT. In 2020, 29 states adopted the no-excuse absentee ballot laws — Indiana is not one of those states.

According to Rick Spangler, Delaware County Clerk, there are 11 reasons a person can vote absentee.

To apply for an absentee ballot, a person only needs one of these reasons. Prior to applying for the absentee ballot, a person does have to be registered to vote, Spangler said.

“They have to have a good reason why they can’t vote, either during the 28 days of early voting or on election day,” he said.

The voting registration deadline for the 2022 midterm elections was Oct. 11, but the last day to apply for an absentee ballot is Oct. 27. Spangler said the voter’s respective county courthouse must receive the ballot by Nov. 8 before 6 p.m.

According to the Secretary of State website, college students may only register at one of two places: their address where they live while attending school or their address where they live while not attending school.

The process of getting an absentee ballot is easy, Spangler said. A person can go on the Secretary of

State website and go on their voter portal to apply. They could also go in-person to their courthouse and apply. Spangler said the paperwork takes about 10 minutes.

The ballot will be mailed to the voter based on when a voter applies for it, Linda Hanson, copresident of the Indiana League of Women Voters (LWV) of Indiana and spokesperson of LWV of Muncie-Delaware, said.

To learn about who will be on the ballot, LWV offers a website called Vote411. It helps people navigate voter registration, apply for absentee/ mail-in ballots, make a voting plan and view who will be on the ballot. Voters can look at and learn about candidates on the website.

Hanson encourages voters who apply for an absentee ballot to apply sooner rather than later, so there is more time for the ballot to be mailed to the voter and back to the office.

“We also have a provision for people who are handicapped, who maybe need [help, and] they can’t even do the ballot,” Spangler said. “So at that point, we do what we call a travel board, and we actually send a team to their home with a voting machine, so that they can vote, and it would be

recorded just as an Election Day vote also.”

Absentee ballots are the same as early voting or mail-in ballots, Hanson said. She also talked about how, before 2008, university students couldn’t use their school IDs for voting.

Now, an ID can be used as long as there’s an expiration date with few exceptions.

According to the Secretary of State website, any photo ID can be used if it shows your name, expiration date and is issued by the U.S. government. Private institution IDs cannot be used.

To help Ball State students learn and understand their voting rights and responsibilities, the Office of Student Life made the “Cardinals Vote their Voice” website.

Director of Student Life Abby Haworth said via email the Cardinals Vote website was made in 2020 and is updated yearly.

The website includes information on absentee ballots and how to apply for them. Haworth said the website is a part of “the Office of Student Life’s mission to make sure students are aware of how they can be civically engaged.”

Though the information on Cardinals Vote is for Indiana residents, due to Ball State’s student body being around 90 percent Indiana residents, there are links for out-of-state students to learn their options, Haworth said via email.

“Given that many of our students are not from Delaware County, it was important to highlight how students could vote (absentee, early or inperson),” Haworth said via email.

Contact Hannah Amos with comments at hannah.amos@bsu.edu or on Twitter @Hannah_ Amos_394.

ACCORDING TO SECRETARY OF STATE VOTER INFORMATION WEBSITE:

• “You have a specific, reasonable expectation that you will be absent from the county on Election Day dur ing the entire 12 hours that the polls are open (6 a.m. until 6 p.m.).

• You have a disability.

• You are at least 65 years of age.

• You will have official election duties outside of your voting precinct.

• You are scheduled to work at your regular place of employment during the entire 12 hours that the polls are open.

• You will be confined due to illness or injury, or you will be caring for an individual confined due to illness or injury during the entire 12 hours that the polls are open.

• You are prevented from voting because of a religious discipline or religious holiday during the entire 12 hours that the polls are open.

• You are a participant in the state’s ad dress confidentiality program.

• You are a member of the military or a public safety officer.

• You are a ‘serious sex offender’ as de fined in Indiana Code 35-42-4-14(a).

• You are prevented from voting due to the unavailability of transportation to the polls.”

They have to have a good reason why they can’t vote, either during the 28 days of early voting or on election day.”

- RICK SPANGLER, Delaware County Clerk

Given that many of our students are not from Delaware County, it was important to highlight how students could vote (absentee, early or inperson).”

- ABBY HAWORTH, Office of Student Life Director

MEGHAN HOLT, DN DESIGN

Women’s Volleyball Wielonski wins backto-back MAC honor

For the second week straight, second-year setter Megan Wielonski has been named the Mid-American Conference (MAC) West Division Player of the Week as Ball State Volleyball won three matches on the bounce to sit tied first in the MAC standings. Wielonski led all players with 151 assists and averaged 12.58 assists per set while adding 31 total digs.

Women’s Swim and Dive Cardinals win five events at Indiana Intercollegiates

In her first collegiate meet, firstyear Payton Kelly won three events as Ball State Women’s Swim and Dive finished second at the Indiana Intercollegiates hosted by Purdue. Kelly’s 50 freestyle winning time of 23.45 is the eighth-best in program history. Kelly also won the 100 freestyle (51.55) and swam lead-off in the 2002 freestyle relay that finished with a combined time of 1:35.05.

Men’s Basketball Chirp or Treat to take place at game

Ball State’s annual Chirp or Treat event will be held at the men’s basketball exhibition game vs. DePauw Oct. 29 at 2 p.m. Children are encouraged to attend (with an adult) in costume and stop around at trick-or-treat stations, Halloweenthemed activities and opportunities to meet Ball State student-athletes. More information can be found at ballstatesports.com.

Without a home meet in the last two seasons, Ball State Cross Country is preparing for the Mid-American Conference Championships in another away meet atmosphere 19

Third-year Vivian Van Eck runs

at the

Homec ming

Rewind

Ball State fell to Eastern Michigan 20-16 in the 2022 homecoming game. The Cardinals are now 4-4 on the season and sit fourth in the Mid-American Conference with a 2-2 record

Ball State fans cheer from the student section during the homecoming game against Eastern Michigan Oct. 22 at

Redshirt junior defensive lineman Jack Sape tackles sophomore quarterback Austin Smith in Ball State’s homecoming game against Eastern Michigan Oct. 22 at Scheumann Stadium. Sape had two total tackles during the game. AMBER PIETZ, DN

Ball State cheerleaders cheer at Charlie Town tailgate before the homecoming game Oct. 22 at Scheumann Stadium.

AMBER PIETZ, DN

Redshirt junior quarterback John Paddock throws the ball in the homecoming game against Eastern Michigan Oct. 22 at Schuemann Stadium. Paddock had 178 passing yards. EMMA MATLOCK, DN

Sophomore running back Carson Steele defends the ball in the homecoming game against Eastern Michigan Oct. 22 at Schuemann Stadium. Steele had one touchdown during the game. EMMA MATLOCK, DN

Redshirt junior quarterback John Paddock attempts to catch the ball after it was snapped in the homecoming game against Eastern Michigan Oct. 22 at Scheumann Stadium. Paddock threw two touchdowns during the game. AMBER PIETZ, DN

country in fifth grade, she hated it.

Waking up at 6:25 a.m. for cross country practice on weekday mornings, Van Eck said it’s a funny story how she stayed with the sport.

The only reason she stuck around for another year was a budding relationship with a new friend, and they both said they would give it another try. They went to the state competition the following year.

Van Eck and her friend thought they should keep going.

“Then eighth grade, we went to state [too] and then continued it through high school.” Van Eck said. “I never thought that I’d run in college, but I guess I surprised myself and had some fun with it.”

Now in her final year with Ball State cross country, Van Eck is focused on finishing her career

know if it’s the energy of being a senior and having a little bit of a leadership role or what, but I really think we’re working hard and taking every opportunity to do our best … At first, it was hard to hear that we didn’t have a home meet because it’s always fun.”

The one hang-up of the season was Ball State’s lack of home meet opportunities.

“I’ve had a lot of people tell me they were going to come to our home meets,” Van Eck said. “But you work with what you’ve got, and I am going to take every race as an opportunity to do my best.”

Head coach Adrian Wheatley said most of those decisions come down to scheduling and other meet schedules across the Mid-American Conference (MAC).

“[When] we’re looking at scheduling and things of that nature, you are competing against other,

“I remember my mom came and my grandma came, so I knew they were there, and it was really good to see them,” Van Eck said. “... It was just a lot of home support. We practice in the golf course where we race, so it was a lot of comfortability.”

Heading into the 2022 MAC Championships, Ball State has been on the road for 13 straight races (including MAC and NCAA Championships). Traveling as a unit has been ingrained in the Cardinals’ culture as part of the bonding experience, according to Stogsdill.

“I think we’re a sport that has the best team culture,” Stogsdill said. “Sometimes it is hard, especially the day of [competition], when we drive up [and] our legs are kind of stiff, [but] I don’t really mind staying in a hotel, it kind of gives it the full race experience and actually feels like a race.”

Wheatley, in his second year with the Cardinals, said the away mentality does not affect the Cardinal culture or his coaching style.

“Our objective, again, is making sure we’re putting the best product out there,” Wheatley said. “ ... [If] we’re on the road, we’re going to be competitive; [if] we’re at home, we’re going to be competitive. Everything we do is a dress rehearsal for the big show. It doesn’t really change what we’re doing.”

Ball State finished fourth of seven teams in the Vic Godfrey Open Sept. 2 to start the 2022 season and finished in the top ten in their other three races before the MAC Championships Oct. 29 in Athens, Ohio.

“I’m so excited for [the] MAC [Championships] because I think we can surprise some people,” Van Eck said.

Contact Daniel Kehn with comments at daniel.kehn@bsu.edu or on Twitter @daniel_ kehn. Contact Andy Newman with comment at asnewman2@bsu.edu or on Twitter @ newmandy1863.

We don’t buy into that narrative. [If] we’re on the road, we’re going to be competitive; [if] we’re at home, we’re going to be competitive. Everything we do is a dress rehearsal for the big show. It doesn’t really change what we’re doing.”

- ADRIAN WHEATLEY, Head coach

Head Coach Adrian Wheatly coaches one of the cross country runners Oct. 30, 2021 at the MAC Championship in Ypsilanti, Mich.

BALL STATE ATHLETICS, PHOTO PROVIDED

First-year Jenna Schifferer runs cross country at the MAC Championship Oct. 30, 2021, in Ypsilanti, Mich.

BALL STATE ATHLETICS, PHOTO PROVIDED

Reclaiming

Social Disgrace

By opening up about my life with depression, I reclaim the stigma to welcome men’s emotions

Grayson Joslin is a second-year journalism major and writes “Soapbox” for The Daily News. His views do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper.

Second-year Grayson Joslin poses for a photo inside McKinley Avenue Parking Garage Oct. 25 in Muncie, Ind. AMBER PIETZ, DN

Grayson Joslin Opinion Editor

The notion of loneliness has surrounded me for as long as I can remember.

Even in elementary school, I often felt weeded out and cast aside for everyone else. In middle school, my peers took advantage of my naïveness about social standards and made fun of me. In high school, people considered me to be their friend but only as a friend of circumstance that benefitted them.

I never went to any games or events with a group of friends. Instead, I always went by myself. I would try my best to find people to hang out with, but I often felt like an outlier.

It’s very hard for me to put into words how my mental state is, but I am going to try my best.

I live with depression, and across my life, I have been through a rollercoaster of emotions. I have chased a sense of belonging — a feeling of desiring to be truly wanted.

Likewise, I am telling my story to shed light on the lack of attention men’s mental health gets.

The earliest moment I can pinpoint of me feeling lonely was back in elementary school. I wasn’t into what most other boys were into; instead of playing Call of Duty and watching all the Batman movies, I spent my time learning about the presidents and watching the nightly news with Brian Williams. I never wanted to conform to societal standards; I wanted to be myself.

However, my disinterest of what the other boys liked caused me to be forced away from being around them. I felt alienated; I had been turned away because I was myself.

As the years progressed, and I matured, the loneliness intensified. In high school, I was a busy man. I was class president, editor of the school’s newspaper, captain of the quiz bowl team and I helped with the daily announcements, among other things. However, despite all the people claiming to be my friends, very few, if any of them, took the time of day to invest in a friendship.

I felt like people in high school saw me as character traits, not an actual person.

There would be times when I gained the courage to try and open up to a select few of my peers and explain to them how I was feeling; however, it felt like they didn’t quite understand. Shockingly, I understood why this was the case. I have spent so much time alone with my emotions that I can understand and dissect them, like an anatomy student dissecting a frog.

Despite being around these people for eight hours a day, every school day for six years, I didn’t feel a strong emotional connection to most of my peers. Yes, there were a few people who were there by my side and helped me, but the overall consensus was when I opened up, people seemed disinterested hearing about my personal life. However, I felt when I was pouring my heart and soul to other people, it seemed like I was breaking some sort of “man code” by opening up

and being vulnerable.

I often feel like I am outside, alone under the dark of night; there is no one around for me to talk to. I feel trapped, constrained by society’s views of a “macho man”— a man who shows pride in his masculinity is usually very athletic and exhibits no emotions.

No matter what I do, I feel like I am not doing enough to feel wanted by people. I feel like I am at a distance, so close, yet so far away. I have fought this conflict inside my head for as long as I can remember. I am just a man who wants to be good enough for someone.

Hims, a men’s health care company, conducted a survey on mental health in 2021 and found “many men are dealing with health issues that impact their daily lives … however, there are still stigmas that exist that prevent men from asking for or seeking out help.” I am on this boat. I feel handicapped from society’s expectations for men to keep their emotions inward.

This lack of attention or care for men’s mental health has led some men to the final symptom of depression: suicide. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention found that “90% of those who died by suicide had a diagnosable mental health condition at the time of their death.” Men die by suicide almost four times more than women.

The best example of the lack of empathy in the social media age is Will Smith. Smith, pre-Chris Rock slap, became a meme due to him being on the verge of tears in a video in 2020 discussing his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s “entanglement” with August Alsina. Posts with this photo went viral, as

it showed that if you are a male and even show a dash of emotion, you can be ridiculed by millions.

Men opening up about how they feel should not be an invitation to throw shame and ridicule towards them. We are all human, and we need to have compassionate channels of support.

The feeling that I am inferior compared to

truly am. Despite this, I still haven’t found a group of friends who accept me into their collective.

I show my true, authentic self to every person I meet. It is a feature that has earned me many peers over the years. However, once I get into the more personal aspects of my life, such as my mental health, it can be tough for me to truly convey the emotions, both the bright and the bleak, I am harboring in my brain. I also still have the fear of failing and the fear that I will not be accepted due to my unique personality and being on the spectrum.

There are those times when I still feel like I’m the boy in high school who spent fall dances crying because he couldn’t find people who actually enjoyed being around him. However, college has made things better. I have finally received the help I needed; I have been on antidepressants for over a year. I also found my true calling to be a journalist and help tell the stories of the world.

everyone else on this green earth might boil down to the fact that I am on the autism spectrum. I have often thought since I have this disability, I am not worthy of such basic human needs such as love and respect. In societal cliques, those who have developmental disorders are unfortunately alienated by society.

Being at college the past year has helped me in ways I can’t begin to comprehend; I have garnered friends who accept me and welcome me for who I

The Hims survey said depression often goes undiagnosed in men due to the societal stigmas surrounding it. There are many men who are scared to open up. To them, I have this message: you are here on this earth for a reason. You have people who surround you in your life that love, care and appreciate you. It can be tough to open up, however, you are worthy of the care and attention.

You’re too good for giving up.

Contact Grayson Joslin with comments at Grayson.joslin@bsu.edu or on Twitter @ GraysonMJoslin.

You have people who surround you in your life that love, care and appreciate you. It can be tough to open up, however, you are worthy of the care and attention.”

Opinion Editor Grayson Joslin poses for a photo inside McKinley Avenue Parking Garage Oct. 25 in Muncie, Ind. AMBER PIETZ, DN

BLUE

Ball State’s Student Government Association (SGA) has worked with the blue light phones on Ball State’s campus in the past. Despite blue light phones, the association’s president, Tina Nguyen, agrees cell phones are the best option.

“The best investment is to have your phone 24/7,” she said. “They have more algorithms, like tracking.”

SGA’s Chair of the Off-Campus Caucus and Chair of the Safety Committee, third-year Ball State student Clarissa Carrigann, believes Ball State needs more blue light phones.

SPIRITUAL

Raines, as a showrunner through the Your Spiritness expo, makes a point of vetting all of the vendors and psychic readers who take part in her shows, she said. She wants her shows and its readers to conduct themselves ethically, not extorting clients or knowingly giving faulty or flawed readings.

“One [reader] I actually had at my show many years ago, she was telling people if they go back to her hotel room, she had rocks for $300 that she was going to sell that would help them,” Raines said. “If you’re trying to give advice or suggestions or some sort of life guidance, offering to sell them a rock at your hotel room is not one of the ways that you would go about it.”

She also said that making sure people who set up shop at her events are legit is her way of combating the stigma surrounding the spiritualist community.

“I get a lot of people that … [denounce] the whole psychic aspect because they don’t believe in it or because they were taught not to believe in it,” she said. “Not everyone wanted to hear the messages I had … because of the stigma with psychics being a bad thing or that psychics are just frauds.”

Raines, as a practicing psychic, embraces the multifaceted nature of psychic readings and the spiritualist community, she said. She herself performs readings not just with her own innate abilities, but also with tools such as oracle cards, pendulums and crystal balls.

“It’s not been uncommon for someone to go to every reader in the room and get almost the same message over and over again,” she said. “If a message is meant to come though, it’ll come through.”

The Science of the Stars

Candice Clemons, an astrologer certified with the International Society for Astrological Research (ISAR), grew up surrounded by the spiritual arts; her mother taught how to read her greatgrandmother’s deck of tarot cards when she was in grade school, she said.

Outside of the four walls of her home, however, Clemons did not find such an accepting community, she said.

“They called my mother a witch in the town paper when someone found her reading [tarot] cards,” she said.

Clemons noted a lot of strife in her childhood -— she was stubborn and impassioned, she said,

“There are multiple places on campus that I believe need more blue lights,” she said via email. “These include the North resident halls and dining and campus apartment complexes.”

She also believes areas not technically on campus need more. These areas include The Village, more specifically outside of Brothers or Roots, and on fraternity row.

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

and met a lot of resistance and judgment when she pursued an education in physics.

Until 2016, Clemons was a regulator of nuclear physics for the U.S. government but retired from that position to pursue an ISAR certification in astrology.

She had grown up learning astrology and already held a fair understanding of it but still wanted to attain a professional certification, she said.

“When you get your Bachelor of Arts in journalism, it means you didn’t just read a couple [newspapers] or get a Cosmo subscription, and now you’re a journalist,” she said. “It means you did put time and study and effort into learning the items and materials to be a journalist. It’s like that for astrology too.”

To become an ISAR certified astrologer, one must undergo a four-year curriculum that covers the history of astrology, the basics of astronomy, chart calculations, forecasting skills and more. The curriculum culminates in a final six-hour comprehensive exam where students apply all of the skills they learn on real-world example charts.

ISAR was founded in 1979 and is based in California, though chapters of the organization exist all over the U.S. and in 46 other countries in Europe and South America, according to the ISAR website.

Clemons’ studies in astrology began after she received a reading from Ann Gallagaher, another ISAR certified astrologer in Ohio who introduced her to the organization.

“She had my chart pulled up when I came in, and -— I don’t think she opened with this statement --— but she asked me, ‘Did you lose your father before you were 15?’ [It was true], and she showed me the place in the chart where it indicated that,” she said. “I was bewildered.”

Because of astrology’s astronomical roots and pattern-based nature, Clemons considers it to be more of a science than an art, she said. However, she also said astrology is intertwined with emotion, intuition and human nature.

“It’s a science that people have been using for about 5,000 years,” she said.

ISAR also has an astrological code of ethics that bars practitioners from intentionally bringing harm to or needlessly frightening clients from giving readings beyond their expertise and keeping clients charts and personal information confidential.

“I recently encountered somebody who came up to my table and said, ‘I just want to learn about this, so I can know about people and how to work them,’” she said. “I was a little put off by that notion. Astrology for the sake of spying on so-andso because we know his information — that’s not good astrology.”

Past, Present and Future

Takeya Searles was placed into the foster care system at 10 years old.

“I didn’t get a chance to … look into creative things I wanted to do like go to classes or anything because I was just a chick. So they didn’t care,” Searles said.

Many aspects of her childhood were overshadowed by her circumstances, she said. This included her security, her social life and her personal interests.

The most important item in this list? Her connection to the divine, she said, which she never fully rediscovered until about two decades later.

Searles is an empath — someone with the ability to connect with, read and take on the emotional energy of their surroundings, she said. She also has the psychic ability to communicate with spirits. Her first experiences with this began when she was still living with her biological parents.

“I didn’t know what I was doing. I thought I was praying, but I was commanding, like, ‘She has kids, I just get bullied at school every day, I could deal with the headaches, just give them [to me],’ and I took on her migraines,” she said.

She also had a knack for creativity when she was younger, she said, but it was never encouraged at any point in her childhood. She was too preoccupied with surviving and fending for herself in her youth and young adulthood, she said.

“Once I turned 10 and left home, I was like, ‘I’m so mad at you, God, I can’t stand what you did to me, I can’t believe you put me through this,’” Searles said. “I said all kinds of craziness to where if God is the way we believe Him to be and heard that, I should have been fried by lightning 25 times in 10 seconds because I just vented about everything.”

When she aged out of the foster care system at

me in a position to be judged and treated as if I’m less than somebody in some kind of way.”

During this time, she discovered a new age crystal store in Kentucky that called out to her. Since she grew up Christian, it took three months for her to work up the courage to walk in and look around, she said.

“It was like a weight came off of my shoulders when I went through the door,” she said. “So I started looking at all the stones and pendulums and necklaces and then I thought, ‘Wait, I could make those.’”

She then started TKeys (tee-keys) Crafts and Creations, a festival stand where she sells handmade crafts and jewelry as well as spiritual stones and artifacts.

“There were a lot of emotional blocks that had to be taken care of before I could look back at my childhood and see that this is what I wanted to do,” she said.

The purpose behind her business is to give people around her more access to and education on spiritualist practices, she said. She researches the significance and uses of the stones and symbols she uses in her work, so that her clients can see what they represent and discern why they are drawn to it, she said.

Though her business is modest, Searles finds a lot of fulfillment in her work and uses it to pay homage to her struggles and experiences, she said.

“I don’t want to forget where I came from. I never ever do because it’ll help me stay grounded and to remember not to be like that in my future,” she said. “The way that I work is past trauma with a positive future and [putting] those two together. So I do my jewelry making like that too.”

Contact Miguel Naranjo with comments at miguel.naranjo@bsu.edu or on twitter @ naranjo678.

Takeya Searles displays bracelets and necklaces at her vendor stand on Oct. 8. Searles runs her business by herself, makes all of the pieces she sells and researches the significance of stones and jewels. OLIVIA GROUND, DN