N D DAILY NEWS
INSIDE: SPECIAL PULL-OUT HOLIDAY SECTION Basketball makes history: Purdue, Notre Dame couldn’t hold off Ball State410
A different view on Christmas: What the holiday season is like for non-Christians. 417
413
FACULTY WITH
FELONIES: Where’s the line? 406
12.07.2017
ballstatedaily.com
@bsudailynews @bsudailynews
DNNews
12.07.17
02
Did you miss it? Catch up on the news from Dec. 1 through Dec. 5 on…
BallStateDaily.com Former Trump adviser Flynn to plead guilty
AP PHOTO
4Dec. 1: Former national
Daily News awarded at ICPA-HSPA Contest
LISA RENZE-RHODES, PHOTO PROVIDED
4Dec. 4: The Daily News recently
security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty Friday to lying to the FBI. Court documents indicate that Fylnn admitted to lying about his conversations with Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak, during the transition period before Trump was inaugurated.
took home five awards at the Indiana Collegiate Press Association-Hoosier State Press Association College Division Contest, which highlights some of the best works in student media at Indiana universities. The Daily News won first in sports, second in features, photo and editorial and third in news.
Gymnastics opens with red-white meet
Former coach accused of sex with player
BSU alumnus named FBI special agent
4Dec. 4: Ball State gymnastics
4Dec. 5: A former Muncie
4Dec. 5: Previously the assistant
gave fans a first look at the team in the Red vs. White meet Monday at Worthen Arena. It was the first time the Cardinals have taken the floor since losing five seniors. The regular season starts on Jan. 5 with a quadmeet against Kentucky, Southeast Missouri State and George Washington in Lexington, Kentucky.
4-DAY WEATHER
VOL. 97 ISSUE: 16 CONTACT THE DN Newsroom: (765) 285-8245 Editor: (765) 285-8249, editor@bsudailynews.com
FORECAST THURSDAY
Nathan DeYoung Benny Weather Group Officer
MOSTLY CLEAR Hi: 83º Lo: 69º
director of the Counterterrorism Division, Ball State alumnus Bradley “Grant” Mendenhall was named special agent in charge of the Indianapolis Division. Four years after earning his degree in 1986, Mendenhall started as a special agent in the FBI investigating violent crime and gangs.
Central High School coach has been accused of repeatedly having sex with a 15-year-old player. The girls volleyball coach, Nolan Michael Brand, 24, was arrested Monday and charged with three counts of sexual misconduct with a minor, child seduction and child exploitation.
FRIDAY
PARTLY CLOUDY Hi: 82º Lo: 63º
SATURDAY
CLOUDY, SNOW Hi: 87º Lo: 65º
SUNDAY
PARTLY CLOUDY Hi: 86º Lo: 64º
NEXT WEEK: Cold winter-like temperatures will persist into the early parts of next week. The first snow of winter is possible on Saturday. Little accumulation is expected. However, it could create slippery conditions on the road.
4ON THE COVER: KAITI SULLIVAN, DN PHOTO ILLUSTRATION
The Ball State Daily News (USPS-144-360), the Ball State student newspaper, is published Thursdays during the academic year except for during semester and summer breaks. The Daily News is supported in part by an allocation from the General Fund of the university and is available free to students at various campus locations.
EDITORIAL BOARD Casey Smith, Editor-in-chief Allie Kirkman, Managing Editor Sara Barker, Digital Editor Brynn Mechem, News Editor Brooke Kemp, Features Editor Kara Biernat, Sports Editor Kaiti Sullivan, Photo Editor Margo Morton, Copy Editor Garret Looker, Opinion Editor Ryan Shank, Video Editor Nick Williams, Social Media Editor CREATIVE SERVICES Emily Wright, Design Editor Lucy Elbaridi, Social Media Strategist
POSTAL BOX The Daily News offices are in AJ 278, Ball State University, Muncie, IN 47306-0481. Periodicals postage paid in Muncie, Ind. TO ADVERTISE • Classifieds: (765) 285-8247 • Print & Online: (765) 285-8256 • Office hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. • ballstatedaily.com/advertise TO SUBSCRIBE Call 765-285-8247 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Subscription rates: $45 for one year. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Daily News, AJ285, Ball State University, Muncie, IN 47306.
JOIN THE DAILY NEWS Stop by room 278 in the Art and Journalism Building. All undergraduate majors accepted and no prior experience is necessary.
CORRECTION The Ball State Daily News is committed to providing accurate news to the community. In the event we need to correct inaccurate information, you will find that printed here. To submit a correction, email editor@bsudailynews.com.
PAID ADVERTISING
DNNews
12.07.17
04
Emergency Services
MFD responds to house fire on Carson Street The Muncie Fire Department responded to a house fire around 5 p.m. Monday at 806 W. Carson St. The Muncie Police Department, Delaware County EMS and University Police also responded to the call. Battalion Chief Terry Moore said the home was vacant and the fire is currently being investigated by MFD Chief Investigator Robert Mead.
Crime
Man arrested after selling drugs near BSU Pierre Robinson, 46, was arrested after police say he sold drugs to a confidential informant near campus Friday evening. The informant purchased “eight bags that all contained a white powder inside.” The substance was not tested at the scene due to officer safety, according to the probable cause affidavit. Police arrested Robinson and preliminarily charged him with dealing cocaine or a narcotic drug and resisting law enforcement in a vehicle. REAGAN ALLEN, DN FILE
EMS HEADED TO
MUNCIE?
408
ON BALLSTATEDAILY.COM: BALL STATE STUDENTS CELEBRATE KWANZAA
Student Government
SGA slate reviews platform points At the Student Government Association’s Dec. 6 student senate, president Greg Carbó updated the floor on this semester’s platform point progress. OPTiC, the executive slate of SGA, has made progress on all of its nine platform points and fully completed one: advancing technology on campus.
05
12.07.17
DNNews
IU Ball Memorial among list of hospitals sued over allegations of falsified records The records defrauded taxpayers of more than $300 million. Allie Kirkman Managing Editor Two lawyers are suing 62 Indiana hospitals, including Indiana University Health Ball Memorial Hospital, for allegedly falsifying records and defrauding taxpayers. The federal civil lawsuit, filed by attorneys Michael Misch and Bradley Colborn from Anderson, Agostino & Keller, claims the hospitals violated a provision of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which provides grant funding to help hospitals manage electronic health record systems. In order to receive grant money, hospitals must respond to at least 50 percent of the medical records requests they receive within three business days. The hospitals named in the lawsuit, which was unsealed recently after being filed more than a
year ago by the South Bend law firm, are being accused of falsifying records in order to meet those requirements, defrauding taxpayers of more than $300 million. According to court documents, the suit also claims hospitals allowed a third-party company, CIOX Health, to profit from the release of patients’ electronic medical records, which violates state law and the federal Anti-Kickback Statute. Misch and Colborn discovered these issues after working to obtain electronic medical records for unrelated personal injury and medical malpractice cases. The two tracked records requests made to four hospitals and compared the number of completed requests to those reported by the hospitals. The lawyers added the other 58 hospitals to the lawsuit after finding correlations showing the hospitals were completing similar falsified requests. In 2012, Ball Memorial reported no compliance figures claiming “an exemption,” but the number suddenly rose to 260/260 in 2013, meaning the hospital claims that of the 260 record requests made, all 260 were met. “Some of these hospitals just have odd numbers
Muncie woman who shot and killed 17-year-old will not face charges Andrew Smith Reporter Shortly after a sentencing hearing for a family member ended, a 17-year-old was shot and killed outside of a downtown Muncie restaurant. Allayza Jackson was pronounced dead at the hospital after being shot by Marilyn Wilson outside of Tuppe Tong Thai restaurant in the afternoon on Aug. 31. On Monday, Delaware County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Eric Hoffman released a report and said Wilson will not face charges, saying she acted in self defense. Shortly before the shooting took place, Deshaun Jackson was sentenced to 25 years on conspiracy to commit burglary and attempted burglary charges. Jackson broke into and entered Wilson’s home with an accomplice, where one of them allegedly put a gun to Wilson’s head. According to the report, after Deshaun Jackson was sentenced, members of Jackson’s family “were observed yelling and screaming” on the plaza of the Delaware County Justice Center. An investigator from the prosecutor’s office was also present and heard someone yell to Wilson, the victim who testified for the state, “somebody’s going to get shot.” Court security officers escorted Wilson and
another male to their car in the area of Washington and Franklin streets. Wilson was in the passenger seat of the car when another car with Allayza , her mother Karlis Jackson and a juvenile, parked next to Wilson’s car in the parking lot of Tuppe Tong Thai Restaurant. The Jackson’s and the juvenile got out of their vehicle and began yelling and beating on the Wilson’s car, according to the report. The male driver of the vehicle tried to pull away from the situation, but was unable to do so because Allayza Jackson was standing in the way. That’s when Allayza moved to the passenger side of the vehicle and punched Wilson in the face. When Allayza tried to punch Wilson in the face again, Wilson pulled a weapon from her purse and shot Allayza once in the chest. After shooting Allayza, Wilson went to the Muncie Police Department to turn herself in and give police her weapon. When Karlis was interviewed by police, she provided “untruthful and deceptive statements to the officers,” denying anyone hit WIlson’s car or punched her in the face. She later admitted they were hitting the car and Allayza Jackson punched Wilson in the face. Contact Andrew Smith with comments at ajsmith15@bsu.edu or on Twitter at @AndrewSmithNews.
that have been entered,” Colborn said. “We noted in our complaint, there are dozens of them that claim they have not received a single request, not one, which seems odd. And then there are other ones, which will report that they received hundreds in a given year and then in certain years they received zero, which is possible, but it seems odd. That is the case with [Ball Memorial].” Ball Memorial representatives declined to comment and referred all requests on the topic to be directed to the Indiana Hospital Association (IHA). In a statement, IHA president Brian Tabor said the association is aware of the claim against the hospitals. “We would note that, after an investigation of the facts alleged in the claim, the government chose not to intervene in this litigation,” Tabors said. “IHA cannot comment any further while the litigation is pending.” Additional documents related to the case, including future hearings, remain sealed. Colborn said “it’s too early” to determine what will happen next as this is “just the beginning of the case.” Indiana University Health Ball Memorial is one of two Contact Allie Kirkman with comments at Indiana hospitals being sued for allegedly falsifying records aekirkman@bsu.edu or on Twitter at @alliekirkman15. and defrauding taxpayers. BREANNA DAUGHERTY, DN FILE
Keystone Light 30-packs
$12.99 Miller High Life 12-pack Bottles
$5.99
Jim Bean Regular, Stag, Honey, Apple, Fire, Vanilla 375 ml
2 for $10.99
Jose Cuervo Tequila Silver or Gold 750 ml
$13.99 Jagermeister 750 ml
$14.99
Yuengling Regular or Light 24-pack Cans
$17.99
OP Wines Assorted 750 ml $2.99
Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram and on our website at MUNCIELIQUORS.COM
Castillo Rum 1.75 L $9.99
Craft Beer Tasting every Thursday from 6-8 p.m. Liquor tasting every Friday from 6-8 p.m.
Skol Vodka
Plus, download our free Muncie Liquor app to find our weekly specials and those crazy app giveaways.
Locations
1.75 L
801 N. Wheeling | 282-5550 3005 N. Oakwood | 284-3744 2901 S. Madison | 282-9318 1112 W. Centennial | 284-2337
Beam 8 Star 1.75 L $9.99
415 S. Tillotson | 284-3744
$7.99
Voted Muncie’s Finest & Best of Ball State Expires 12/9
DNNews
12.07.17
06
Faculty with felonies: where’s the line? At Ball State and other Indiana universities, hiring procedures are ambiguous for those with criminal backgrounds. Brynn Mechem and Max Lewis News Editor and Reporter Casey Smith contributed to this story.
The crime
Detective and volunteer firefighter Jay Harris was attending a going-away party for his fire chief On an unseasonably warm January night some on the night of Jan. 25, 1990, when he got called 30 years ago, Etta Alexander returned to her out on a house fire. mobile home after her shift at the A & B Cafe When Harris arrived at Alexander’s mobile in downtown Winchester, Indiana. A light snow home, he and his fellow firefighters found a trailer was falling when two men, carrying out a $4,000 engulfed in flames. When they finally put out the murder-for-hire plot, entered Alexander’s trailer. fire they found Alexander’s charred body inside. Alexander was shot and killed, her home doused The fire was originally thought to be an accident with kerosene and then set on fire. caused by a kerosene heater until an autopsy was Today, one of the men convicted in the plot, Jason performed on the body the following day. Buie, works as a part-time contract faculty member “We went in and the sheriff said, ‘We got a little in Ball State’s computer science department. He problem with the fire last night,’” Harris said in an maintained his innocence throughout the trial and interview with The Daily News. “I said, ‘What’s continues to do so today. that?’ and he said, ‘That body has a buckshot [sic] Although criminal records like this raise in it.’” questions for university hiring managers and human That discovery launched a months-long resources personnel, policies and procedures at investigation into the murder, which ultimately Ball State and other Indiana universities contend landed three people in jail — and on death row for that a criminal conviction cannot immediately a time. disqualify a job candidate. The story didn’t begin on the day of the murder, While some experts say there is no crime too though. In the weeks leading up to the crime, Scott great to disqualify someone from working at a McCord, a then 42-year-old Muncie business owner, university, others would say hiring officials would told several people he wanted someone killed and be better off excluding those with a violent past. said he was willing to pay $4,000 for the act. However, in Indiana little guidance is given about McCord originally asked then 17-year-old John what to consider when hiring an ex-convict. Sheets, an acquaintance, to kill one of his employees, Additionally, federal law states employers according to a written statement by Sheets’ friend cannot exclude job applicants with a criminal past Val Haase. Haase wrote that McCord later asked simply because of their convictions. then 18-year-old Jason Buie to commit the murder. This complex situation raises some questions: Haase said Buie was “fascinated by the idea.” if there is a line in the sand, what is it? What McCord allegedly told Buie he wanted the responsibilities do hiring managers have to “b***h dead” and to “make it look like an accident,” students, employees and the applicant? What according to Sheets’ written statement. The year crimes are too great to disqualify someone from before Alexander was murdered, McCord took out employment at a university? a $50,000 life insurance policy on her and made his then-girlfriend, Pam Resler, the beneficiary, according to court documents. Resler later told police she was unaware of the policy. On the night of Jan. 25, 1990, Buie and Sheets met with McCord in his Muncie home where Buie told McCord “he was going to do it,” according to Sheets’ statement. Buie requested a gun from McCord who then gave him a 12-gauge shotgun, according to court documents. When the pair arrived at Alexander’s trailer, Buie and Sheets went up to the door and asked about a camper that Alexander’s John Sheets, who was roommate was trying to sell. present at the crime scene, Sheets told police he gave a handwritten statement to was going to leave his name police a few months after the murder. RANDOLPH COUNTY and phone number because COURTS, DOCUMENTS PROVIDED; EMILY WRIGHT, DN PHOTO ILLUSTRATION
Jason Buie and John Sheets stayed at the Maples Motel after returning from Etta Alexander’s mobile home. REAGAN ALLEN, DN FILE Alexander’s roommate was not home at the time. Buie said he needed to get a pen and paper from the car. Buie then went to the car, brought the shotgun into the mobile home and shot Alexander twice, according to Sheets’ statement. Alexander was shot once in the shoulder and once in her abdomen, according to the autopsy report. Sheets originally told police during a psychological stress test that Buie went in the trailer and killed Alexander. Sheets later admitted to police he went in the trailer with Buie. Buie has contradicted Sheets’ account. “I just stood there in a daze, so he grabbed a blanket off the bed and through [sic] it on her and he started yelling more,” Sheets wrote in his statement. Buie then told Sheets to burn Alexander’s body and threatened to kill him if he didn’t, according to Sheets’ statement. After Buie threw a blanket over Alexander’s body, Sheets lit it on fire. Sheets and Buie then got in the car where Buie told Sheets that if he ever said anything, he would “f*****g kill” him, according to Sheets’ statement. Sheets later told police he and Buie then went to McCord’s house where Buie said “it’s done.” A few months later, tips led police to arrest Buie, Sheets and McCord for what police described as “a murder for pay.”
The courts During police interviews, Buie said Sheets was the one who had shot and killed Alexander. Buie’s
lawyers claimed he just witnessed Alexander’s murder, and Buie maintained his innocence throughout the process. “When he [the voice stress analyst] asked Buie if he shot her, the voice stress analysis guy said [Buie] was not being truthful,” Harris said. “And when Sheets said he did not shoot her, he was being truthful, is what the voice stress analysis guy told us.” Charges were filed against Buie, Sheets and McCord in Randolph County. The prosecutor initially requested the death penalty for all three, but that request was later dropped due to the estimated $6 million expense for that type of trial. Buie was charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder and arson. According to the Indiana Criminal Code, a conspiracy to commit murder charge becomes a Level 1 felony if the conspiracy results in the death of another person, which in this case, it did. Kelly Bryan, Buie’s co-defense counsel, said in court Buie believed he was going to do a burglary. Buie had no knowledge of the gun in the car, Bryan said, or that Sheets intended to kill Alexander. Buie’s first trial resulted in a hung jury and a mistrial was declared on March 13, 1991. Buie was tried again, and on Aug. 28, 1991, was convicted in Randolph Circuit Court of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and arson. On Sept. 25, 1991, Judge Zane Stohler sentenced Buie to 100 years in prison — 60 for murder, 20 for conspiracy to commit murder and 20 for arson. However, Buie appealed the convictions, and the case went directly to the Indiana Supreme Court in February 1992.
07 Even though the court said the prosecution proved the murder case against Buie, the justices ruled because of the double-jeopardy clause in the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which says a person cannot be tried twice for the same crime. Buie could not face both the murder and the conspiracy to commit murder charges simultaneously. “It is apparent that to obtain Buie’s conviction for conspiracy to commit murder, the State proved that Buie intentionally killed Etta Alexander,” the Court wrote in its opinion. Two years after his original conviction, Buie’s murder conviction was reversed. His convictions of conspiracy to commit murder and arson were upheld. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison, but was released on Feb. 7, 2006, after he served nearly 15 years of his original sentence. While Buie served time for Level 1 and 2 felonies, his eventual career as an academic was not lost. Looking back, Buie said in an interview with The Daily News that he feels he played some role in Alexander’s death. “It definitely makes me feel sad and remorseful. You know, there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t wish that that could be changed, but the reality is that it can’t,” Buie said. “I mean, I didn’t pull the trigger, but I was there. So I bear a great deal of responsibility about it.” Sheets was the only one who did not face a murder charge — he pleaded guilty to assisting a criminal. McCord was convicted of murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
Jason Buie shown shortly before his release. RANDOLPH COUNTY JAIL, PHOTO PROVIDED
Life after prison While incarcerated, Buie said he obtained two associate degrees — one from Ball State in 2000 and another from Indiana University in 2005. He obtained his bachelor’s degree from Ball State in May 2005. Upon his release, he obtained a master’s in information and communication sciences from Ball State in 2007, and a master’s in computer science again from Ball State in 2016, according to his online Ball State profile. Buie’s curriculum vitae (CV) states that he has had nine different jobs since being released from prison. In January 2013, Buie was hired by Ball State as an instructor of computer science after completing a graduate assistantship with the university. “He was a graduate student just like anybody else,” said Paul Buis, the chairperson of the department of computer science. “He had been doing a great job, got great reviews from the students. He was being monitored in the classroom and was doing a fantastic job, so we hired him.” Buie is now pursuing a doctorate in education technology at Ball State. “That was a lot of the motivation for me to get a
12.07.17
DNNews
AT UNIVERSITY APARTMENTS, WE MAKE IT EASY TO BE A STUDENT. From left, John Sheets, Jason Buie and Scott McCord. THE PALLADIUM ITEM, PHOTO PROVIDED
Ph.D. because I felt like it was going to offset my past,” Buie said. “Then I realized it doesn’t matter if you have 10 Ph.D.s, people are either going to accept you or they’re not.” Buis said he was aware of Buie’s past before hiring him, having read about Buie’s criminal history in the newspaper. After talking to him, Buis decided that Buie had moved past his history. Because Buie was being brought in as a part-time instructor, a search committee was not required in order to hire him — the decision instead fell on Buis. Before extending an offer, given Buie’s past, Buis said he sought counsel from other faculty members and collected character references on Buie, per the university administration’s request. In order to not extend an offer to Buie, Buis said he would have to “discriminate against criminals, which I obviously don’t.” “I think it’s reasonable to worry about — certainly recent offenses — that involve violence or sexual abuse issues,” Buis said. “Especially if the faculty member is going to be teaching minors, but we don’t do that here, on a university level.” Buis said he hired Buie because “he, himself, committed no violent acts during the burglary.” “His partner, while they weren’t together, did something while they were breaking into a house,” Buis said. “Who pulled the trigger was not an undisputed fact ... Anyone who has watched a crime drama knows that you don’t have to kill someone to be convicted of murder. Simply participating in a felony in which someone is murdered might get you [in prison].” While Buie previously taught on campus, he currently teaches four online classes at the university. Buie currently owns a tattoo shop, Ink Therapy, and has his own property management business. He said he also frequently donates to charities and mentors kids who may be heading down the wrong paths.
The Ball State hiring process In order for a faculty or staff member to be hired by the university, they must go through several steps. For a person to become an instructor or professor, the process includes even more steps.
Background checks
After a candidate is chosen, but before becoming officially employed, one must undergo a background check, which the university began conducting in 2011 — before Buie was hired. While the university would not specify how much or what type of background checks prospective employees undergo, state background checks can cost anywhere from $7 to $17, according to the Indiana Department of Insurance, and federal background checks cost $18, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
4See FELONIES, 08
We have you covered! Give yourself a break and focus on what’s important. BE A STUDENT AT UNIVERSITY APARTMENTS.
TOP 10
REASONS TO LIVE AT UNIVERSITY APARTMENTS
10 Optional furnished apartments by CORT 9 Green space and playgrounds 8 Available to single students and those with families 7 Free shuttle service 6 No credit check or co-signer needed 5 Safe (University Police patrol and respond) 4 Snow removal 3 On-site maintenance 2 Utilities included & you control the heat
University Apartments bsu.edu/apartments
1 Affordable monthly rent: starts at just $355 per roommate
LEARN MORE & APPLY ONLINE TODAY
DNNews
12.07.17
08
MFD introduces EMS ordanace The ordinance would shift the EMS medical response from Delaware County to the Muncie Fire Department’s care. Andrew Smith Reporter During Monday’s Muncie City Council meeting, an ordinance was introduced that could add emergency medical services to Muncie Fire Department. Since 1977, Delaware County EMS has been responsible for the city’s medical calls. If passed, the ordinance would eliminate Delaware County EMS’s role in the city and make MFD responsible for medical calls as of May 1, 2018. MFD Chief Eddie Bell introduced the ordinance to the city council, saying that if passed, the fire department would run six ambulances out of MFD’s seven fire stations. “We have had the opportunity to run all of the ALS [advanced life support] runs for the last several years with Delaware County EMS, and we think it is now time for us to step up and take over ambulance service for the City of Muncie,” Bell said. Bell said that Station 5, which is located near University and Tillotson avenues and responds to Ball State’s campus, is the only station that would not have room for an ambulance unless it moved a vehicle to another station. Delaware County EMS currently have two ambulances, Medic 8 and Medic 19, located at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital, around the corner from MFD Station 5. It also currently has nine transport ambulances, three supervisor nontransport vehicles, a HazMat vehicle and multiple support units located throughout the county. This fleet of vehicles operates out of five stations, three of which are within the City of Muncie. The ordinance would make MFD responsible for: • Non-emergency basic life support services • Emergency basic life support services • Non-emergency, advanced life support one services • Advance two life support services Since beginning medical first responder runs, Bell said MFD has received no money for any supplies, fuel and wear and tear on MFD vehicles. Bell said he, Mayor Dennis Tyler and Delaware County EMS director Jason Rogers all attended a meeting about three years ago, where the city asked for $100 per first responder run they made, but the agreement was never signed. “Chief Bell alluded to the fact that myself, a commissioner and a council person from the county were in a meeting. I was not in the meeting,” Rogers said. “That meeting took place between commissioner James King and commissioner Larry Bledsoe at the time. Chief Bell and I have had conversation about that, and I assured him I was not at that meeting.” The ordinance will be sent to a committee, where it will find more information and review the
ANDREW SMITH, DN FILE
ordinance before the next city council meeting. Residents who came to speak about the ordinance at Monday’s meeting called for transparency and asked for the city council to carefully consider everything on the table. “As Joe Q citizen, the everyday observer and taxpayer, to hear the RFPs are going to be distributed later this week without the information being the top of mind and be able to be shared with us, suggests to me that folks are pretty sure how this decision was going to go,” one resident who spoke at the meeting said. Ryan Davis, who currently works for Delaware County EMS with his wife, said he emailed all of the city council members regarding the ordinance but only three responded. “You guys are elected to represent us, the people of your districts, and I find it very disheartening that you can’t respond to an email,” Davis said. “So I ask that you guys take into consideration the comments that you are hearing from those professionals out here, and I ask that you look at the budget and vote based on what the people in your district think, not what one political party is asking you to do. What is going to be best for the people of Delaware County and what is going to be the best for the people of your district?” The exact cost of MFD starting a fire-based ambulance service is still unknown. Bell only presented estimates, which included a $40,000 salary for each of the 16 contracted paramedics and $100,000 for each of the six ambulances, before equipment and supplies are installed. Though several argued the estimated costs were lower than the actual costs. Council members will vote on the ordinance Jan. 8. Contact Andrew Smith with comments at ajsmith15@bsu.edu or on Twitter at @AndrewSmithNews.
FELONIES
Continued from Page 7
Gracie Reiff, the Ball State compensation and human resources information manager, said this means the candidate has to have a “clear background check” with no “inappropriate convictions” in order to be hired. However, the background check only dates back seven years. If employees do not work with minors and were hired prior to 2011, they did not and will not have a background check conducted. When hiring a person with a criminal background, the hiring bodies must be able to answer 12 questions to ensure that the candidate is appropriate to work at the university. These questions include, but are not limited to: • The nature and seriousness of the offense or conduct. • The time elapsed since the conviction and/or completion of the sentence. • The nature of the job sought. • The number of offenses for which the individual was convicted. University spokesperson Kathy Wolf said the university has a responsibility to follow “appropriate hiring procedures” and fully consider “all relevant information” about a potential candidate before extending an offer.
Is there a felony too great?
“If I see a conviction on somebody’s record, we look to see what’s the time frame, is this something that happened 30 years ago or something recent,” said Kate Stoss, Ball State director of university human resource services. “If somebody was convicted of a felony assault within the past two years, obviously that’s going to raise some red flags.” A job applicant has no responsibility to disclose their criminal past on a Ball State application, Reiff said, and there is no crime that will automatically disqualify an applicant from a job at the university.
“It’s case-by-case. We look at each individual case,” Reiff said. Catherine Mattice Zundel, a human resources professional who owns Civility Partners out of La Mesa, California, focuses on helping companies build better hiring cultures. “These days we’re trying to create a more inclusive work environment, and that means accepting people for who they are ... even if they’ve made bad choices in the past,” Zundel said. “I think it’s important to make better, more positive, more inclusive work environments. So including people who have criminal records is important to that process. The problem is, it can be hard to trust someone if they’ve done things in the past.” Ex-convicts are often perceived as being a danger to others, but some research has shown the exact opposite. A study published in the Washington Post focused on how former felons perform in the military. “Overall termination rates for negative reasons like misconduct or poor performance, with a couple of exceptions, were no higher for enlistees with criminal histories than they were for those without a criminal record,” the article said. Ball State human resources officials and Zundel agree that there aren’t hard lines as to which felonies would be too great to disqualify somebody from a job. Instead, they suggested that hiring employees with criminal backgrounds depends on if the crime committed pertains to the job for which the employee is being considered. “If I’m looking to hire someone and they had a DUI 15 years ago, who cares? But if I’m looking to hire somebody to do driving for my company and they had a DUI a year ago, that’s going to make me uncomfortable,” Zundel said. “I don’t know that you could really say, ‘These levels of felonies we are OK with and these we aren’t.’ It’s going to be more focused on, and in fact the law requires, that you can’t discriminate [against] somebody based on their background unless it’s related to your business.”
4See FELONIES, 27
Jason Buie sits in his tattoo parlour Ink Therapy on Nov. 30, 2017. Buie opened multiple businesses upon his release from prison. BRYNN MECHEM, DN
DNSports
12.07.17
09
Men’s Swimming and Diving
Men’s team finishes second at EMU Invite Ball State men’s swim and dive finished second at the EMU Invite Dec. 2. This is the best the team has ever finished at this meet. The Cardinals recorded 57 season-best times out of 60 overall performances. The team will face IUPUI and Xavier in a tri-meet Jan. 5 at IUPUI Natatorium, which starts at 6 p.m.
Women’s Basketball
Monaco wins Player of the Week honors Ball State women’s basketball senior forward Moriah Monaco earned MAC West Player of the Week honors for her performances in the team’s victories over Butler and Purdue. Monaco had 23 points against Butler and a game-high 18 points and 11 rebounds against Purdue.
Women’s Swimming and Diving
UPSET SEASON 410
PAIGE GRIDER, DN; EMILY WRIGHT, DN PHOTO ILLUSTRATION
Women’s finish sixth at Miami Invite Ball State women’s swimming and diving scored 324 points at the Miami Invitational over the past weekend, good for sixth place overall. The Cardinals were led by freshman Kayla Molnar, who picked up six points for Ball State in the 1650.
ON BALLSTATEDAILY.COM: GYMNASTICS PREPARES FOR ITS 2018 SEASON AFTER SCRIMMAGE
DNSports
12.07.17
10
Basketball
Last-second Persons 3-pointer seals Ball State’s 80-77 upset win over No. 9 Notre Dame The Cardinals beat the Fighting Irish on Tuesday in their first meeting since 1976. Robby General Reporter Head coach James Whitford said Ball State could compete with anyone. And, well, he was right. Ball State (5-4) knocked off No. 9 Notre Dame (7-2) with an 80-77 upset victory on the road by way of a game-winning 3-point shot from junior guard Tayler Persons. “The last shot, [I] just made a play,” Persons said. “Great defense, his hand was in there and I just made a shot and got the win.” Persons finished with a team-high 24 points on the night in his 33 minutes of play. He also had five rebounds and three assists in the victory. Junior Tahjai Teague finished with 13 and senior Sean Sellers finished with 11 to round out double-digit scorers for the Cardinals. The win marks the first-ever for Ball State against Notre Dame, with the now 10-game series dating back to 1933. It also marked Ball State’s first win against a Top 25 opponent since a 91-73 win over No. 4 UCLA on Nov. 20, 2001. In the game, Ball State seemed to make more hustle plays, outrebounding Notre Dame 40-26 throughout the course of the game, 13-4 on offensive boards, and scoring 14 second-chance points throughout the game. Teague led the way with four offensive
rebounds and eight total. And Sellers was right behind him with three and seven, respectively. “I thought this guy right here,” Whitford said, pointing to Sellers in the postgame press conference, “[made] just gritty, hustle plays. Blue collar, get out of my way, I’m going to do anything I can to get the ball plays. “They’re so inspirational for your teammates.” Those were the type of plays that helped silence the 8,891 fans in attendance at Purcell Pavilion multiple times throughout the night. In the first half, after a dunk from senior forward Bonzie Colson, Notre Dame cut Ball State’s once eight-point lead down to one, 27-26. Coming down the floor, Persons let the ball dribble in front of him while pushing both of his palms to the floor, as if to tell his teammates to relax. And it seemed to work, as Ball State remained in control, leading for 26:16 in the game and answering every time Notre Dame’s crowd got on its feet. “Every timeout, we just tried to settle each other down and got to the last score and just played to win,” Persons said. “We stayed relaxed because, as a team, I think we’ve grown a lot. We know how to play in any moment.” Notre Dame began to climb back in the second half, shooting 59.3 percent from the field, but the
first half deficit proved to be too much, as Ball State went on to win its fourth-consecutive game. As a team, Ball State shot 46 percent from the floor and 33 percent from behind the 3-point line. The Cardinals limited Notre Dame to 48.1 percent from the field and 35.3 percent from behind the arc. “My worry is how they would shoot it from the arc and we did the job there,” Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey said. “The second shots really hurt us and they made big shots. You’ve got to tip your hat off to Persons because he lined [the last shot] up. “Give Ball State all the credit in the world, I thought they played a fabulous game.” Brey went on to discuss his confidence in Ball State winning the Mid-American Conference. In the postgame press conference, Whitford said “it says a lot” about where Ball State is at at this point in the season. He referred to the previous two contests against Power Five teams — Oklahoma and Oregon — two games he said Ball State didn’t play well in. “I feel the experience in being in those games helped us tonight,” Whitford said. “The reality is [the games] aren’t different, they’re against better teams, but they’re not different.” Ball State (5-4) hosts another in-state and top 100 opponent in Valparaiso (8-0) at Worthen Arena
The Ball State men’s basketball team runs onto the court after upsetting No. 9 Notre Dame 80-77 Dec. 5 at the Edmund P. Joyce Center. Junior guard Tayler Persons made the game-winning shot with 1.7 seconds left. SCREENSHOT FROM VIDEO BY ROBBY GENERAL, DN
on Saturday. Contact men’s basketball reporter Robby General at rjgeneral@bsu.edu or on Twitter @rgeneraljr.
Ball State women’s basketball is 7-0 after win over Purdue Women’s basketball is off to its best start in program history, featuring victories over Purdue, Butler and Vanderbilt in its first month of play. The Cardinals host Southeast Missouri State Thursday night. Sam Barloga Assistant Sports Editor Under head coach Brady Sallee, each time the Cardinals play Purdue, they kept it close. In 2013 and 2014, it was decided by six points. In 2015, it was within 10 points and in 2016, Purdue won by 16. On Monday night Ball State finally got over the hump, and beat Purdue 66-60 to get the program’s first victory over the Boilermakers since 1979. Now with all the national attention and hype that comes from beating a Purdue program that has made three Final Four, eight Elite Eight and 12 Sweet Sixteen appearances, Sallee and company know they have to stay focused to make the victory matter come March. “This win is only as good as what we do with it,” Sallee said. “If we get too full of ourselves right
now, then it does not end up meaning anything. If we use this as a catapult to get better, this should be a big win.” The first test to that catapult comes Thursday when Ball State hosts Southeast Missouri State, who comes to Worthen Arena with a 4-4 ledger on the young season. Southeast Missouri State has victories over St. Francis, George Mason and Bradley, while suffering blowout losses to Louisville and George Mason. Most recently, it played Cincinnati within 13 on the road. For the Cardinals, senior forward Moriah Monaco has been the spark in the early going, averaging almost 20 points per game and earning MAC West Player of the Week honors for her performances against Butler and Purdue, where she scored 23 and 18 in the victories. “I thought Moriah [Monaco] gave that to us,”
Sallee said. “She was our go-to, and has been our go-to. She delivered tonight and really executed some things that we haven’t had in for a very long time.” The play of junior guard Carmen Grande has also helped propel Ball State. She’s notched four double-doubles in the first seven games and is averaging almost 10 assists per game. Freshman guard Maliah Howard-Bass and freshman forward Oshlynn Brown have been key sparks for the Cardinals off the bench. After the game against the Redhawks, the Cardinals stay in Muncie to host Oakland City on Sunday in what serves as a tune-up game. The Mighty Oaks are 2-5 on the season, and their only game against a Division I opponent ended in a 10325 loss to Northern Kentucky Nov. 25. After that, the Cardinals don’t take the floor for eight days until hosting both Austin Peay and
Western Kentucky Dec. 18 and 21, their last games until starting MAC play Dec. 30 against Central Michigan. The 7-0 start may also have someone else’s attention: the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee. With the win over Purdue, Ball State now has a pair of victories over Power Five opponents and two wins over RPI top 50 teams. “It opens up the committee’s eyes,” Sallee said. “When you’re a program that goes to Vandy and Purdue and wins, that should have people’s attention.” Thursday’s game against Southeast Missouri State starts at 7 p.m. Thursday. Contact Sam Barloga with comments at sabarloga@bsu.edu or on Twitter at @SamBarloga.
11
12.07.17
DNSports
Behind the Visor: IndyCar’s newest champion Emerson Lehmann Reporter Fifteen years ago, if you would have told Josef Newgarden that he would be an IndyCar champion, driving for one of the most successful motorsport teams in the world, you would have mostly likely received a shy smile with an optimistic “I hope so.” Now, just 26 years old and fresh off his sixth season in the Verizon IndyCar Series, the Nashville, Tennessee, native finds himself in that exact scenario. “I never thought that this would happen,” Newgarden said. “I never thought that I would drive professionally.” Newgarden clinched his first IndyCar Series championship on Sept. 17 in Sonoma, California. “Winning a championship at a professional auto racing level was something I always wanted to do, and to do it with a team that I respect so much in Team Penske, that was a big day,” Newgarden said. A big day indeed, and with that success on the track, the young American’s popularity off the track continues to grow; something Newgarden says he still needs to get used to. “I’m actually a total introvert, and it’s something I’ve had to work on,” he said. “You have to work
It wasn’t the easiest. There were no teammates; we didn’t have unlimited resources. I had to learn a lot by myself and it was a grind. At times, I didn’t even know if I wanted to do it anymore.” - JOSEF NEWGARDEN, IndyCar driver
Josef Newgarden, 26, just finished his sixth season in the Verizon IndyCar series. He received his first IndyCar series championship on Sept. 17. SETH TOCCO, DN
COLONIAL CREST
Morrison Rd
McGalliard Ave
Jackson St
BMH
Bus Stop Colonial
River Rd
BSU
Tillotson Ave.
Nebo Rd
at being a heightened person of yourself within the sport, because you want to show your personality, tell people who you are and help them build an interest for the sport.” Newgarden added that although he continues to learn and deal with the responsibility of being the face of North America’s premier open-wheel series, it’s one that he’s grateful for. “It’s a good responsibility to have,” Newgarden said. “As the champion, you try and show people the positive sides of the sport, why you like it, and you try to get other people excited about it as well.” Having appeared on the 2016 season of ABC’s “American Ninja Warrior,” Newgarden said it
would take a little more for him to follow in fellow driver James Hinchliffe’s dancing footsteps and appear on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.” “I would have to find something very different from within myself,” Newgarden joked, applauding his fellow competitor for his runnerup finish on the popular celebrity-dance contest in 2016. “James was perfect for it,” Newgarden said. “He’s such a goofball and really able to put himself out there and enjoy it. I think I could do it because I’m similar in some ways.” However, it hasn’t always been a smooth ride for Newgarden, who struggled to adapt to the series as a young rookie driving for an underfunded Sarah Fisher-Hartman Racing team in his first three seasons. “It wasn’t the easiest,” Newgarden said. “There were no teammates; we didn’t have unlimited resources. I had to learn a lot by myself and it was a grind. At times, I didn’t even know if I wanted to do it anymore.” It was those trying times that Newgarden believes got him to where he is today. “It was that process that made me very strong and developed my skill sets in such a strong way,” Newgarden said. “It’s laid a solid foundation for me to hopefully have a long, successful career in the sport.” While on his way to being remembered as an IndyCar great, Newgarden wasn’t shy when talking about the one victory he hopes to add to his résumé in the future. “The Indianapolis 500 is just so difficult, and you get one shot every year,” Newgarden said. “It’s not something you come by every day.” Although he drives for the most successful team in Indianapolis 500 history in Penske, the honor also adds pressure to Newgarden’s goal. “This is really what counts to them,” he said. “You want to win the championship, you want to win races all year long and I’m not discounting that. But the Indianapolis 500 is more special to them than anything else, so that’s going to be our focus next year.” That’s the plan for next season. For now, the champion plans to enjoy his winter break. “It hasn’t been too different [being champion] than any other offseason,” Newgarden said. “I’m sort of used to entering the offseason with the same mentality and already setting my focus for the next season.” With very little downtime between offseason testing and training, Newgarden plans to catch up on some rest. Not too much, though. “My girlfriend and I like to travel,” Newgarden said. “Also, I’ve been taking up some outdoors sports in mountain biking and snowboarding. I try and get out to the mountains and snowboard in the offseason, without hurting myself of course.” With a plan in place, Newgarden will see his first green flag of the 2018 IndyCar season in St. Petersburg in just over three months. Contact Emerson Lehmann with comments at emersonlehmannnews@gmail.com or on Twitter at @Bille_IV.
Muncie Shopping Center
Only taking class for a semester? We have 6, 9, and 12 month leases available! COLO NIAL CREST SAVE BIG BUCKS! ColonialCrestMuncie.com 405 S. Morrison Rd. • (765) 289-0565 Open Mon-Fri 9 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.; Sat. 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
DNSports
12.07.17
12
Semester break spent in the pool Ball State men’s swimming and diving continue to train in Muncie. Patrick Murphy Reporter After recording 57 season-best times out of 60 performances last weekend, Ball State men’s swimming and diving has high energy as it turns its attention to the Semester Break. Head swimming coach Bob Thomas said practice over the break will be key. “We have three weeks of break and we try to split it up, where they have on-campus training half of the time and they go home and train for the other half,” Thomas said. “The hope is while they’re home that they enjoy the time off, but they do make an effort to get in the water and stay wet and maintain what they gained up to this point.” Having a chance to go home for a portion of break opens the opportunity for swimmers to practice with their previous club or high school teams.
Ball State traveled to Florida last year to train during the break, which was its first training trip in over ten years. However, the team has decided to stay in Muncie to train this year. “We came here for a reason: to swim,” senior Banistre Lienhart said. “I think everyone has come to terms with that and it’s great being together with the whole team. I think it’s a really great bonding experience as well.” When Lienhart is home for break, he is going to train with his club team in Illinois called WEST, where they swim at Westmount High School. “The club team swims at a newly built fantastic facility,” Lienhart said. “It’s going to be great being able to train there when I’m home.” Aside from the training in the swimming pool, swimmers have to maintain their weight over the break too. While some athletes want to maintain their weight, Lienhart plans to gain it in muscle. “I plan to maintain lifting, working out and eat the same amount, if not a little more than usual,” Lienhart said. “I mean, it’s the holidays. I’m going to eat more than I usually do, but that’s OK. I’m not too worried about losing or gaining weight.” While home over break, freshman Drew Weeks
is going to practice with his high school team in Marian Central, Illinois. Weeks is using this break to focus on nothing but swimming. “I think now that we don’t have classes or anything, we’re just stuck here for the winter,” Weeks said. “You can focus on a lot more and getting more yards up and putting more intensity into everything.” During this time of year, Weeks said he tends to go overboard with eating. “We’re doing so many yards and focusing on swimming and lifting, I kind of just stay the same weight most of the time,” Weeks said. With only the coed tri-meet against IUPUI and Xavier on Jan. 5, it will be hard for some to keep the competitive energy going, but Lienhart doesn’t think this will be an issue. “There’s a lot of good competition,” Lienhart said. “I think it’s one of our more exciting meets, because we’re able to compete with the two teams there. I’m really looking forward to it.” The meet is slated to start at 6 p.m. in the IUPUI Natatorium. Swimmers look at the time board after finishing the 50-yard Contact Patrick Murphy with comments at freestyle during the meet against Grand Valley State on Nov. prmurphy2@bsu.edu. 18 in Lewellen Pool. KAITI SULLIVAN, DN
Gymnastics intersquad meet Senior Jackie Duffy competes on the balance beam during the Red vs. White Intersquad meet Monday in John E. Worthen Arena. Duffy’s career high on balance beam against is 9.850 against Western Michigan. KAITI
Senior Clare Collins competes on floor during the Red vs. White Intersquad meet Monday in John E. Worthen Arena. Collins has a career high of 9.850 on floor against Western Michigan. KAITI
SULLIVAN, DN
SULLIVAN, DN
Freshman Claudia Goyco competes on the floor during the Red vs. White Intersquad meet Monday in John E. Worthen Arena. Goyco is one of six freshmen competing this season. KAITI SULLIVAN, DN
Holiday edition
Holiday facts, seasonal events and DIY projects inside4
PEXELS, PHOTO COURTESY
DNHoliday
12.07.17
14
Featured Flicks
One professor ranks his favorite holiday films Andrew Harp Reporter When you think of Christmas, you might think of presents. Or family. Or food. But some people think of the hundreds of Christmas movies that are watched all throughout December. Wes Gehring, a professor of telecommunications, has written over 30 books about film, comedy and populism throughout his career. He has now rated the best holiday-themed movies and ranked them. While the ranking is Gehring’s, all summaries of the films below are attributed to the Internet Movie Database:
1. “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946) A desperate and frustrated business man (Jimmy Stewart) is sent an angel from heaven to show him what life would be like if he was never born.
2. “The Bishop’s Wife” (1947) A bishop (David Niven) is assisted by an angel (Cary Grant) in human form to help build a new cathedral and patch up his struggling marriage.
3. “Miracle on 34th Street” (1947) A young lawyer (John Payne) defends an old man (Edmund Gwenn) who claims to be Santa Claus by arguing in court that he is the real thing.
4. “A Christmas Story” (1983) A young boy from the 1940s tries to convince his parents, teachers and Santa Claus that the perfect gift for him on Christmas day is a Red Ryder B.B. gun.
5. “Elf” (2003) A man (Will Ferrell) who was raised as an elf in the North Pole decides to return to New York City in search of his true identity. “A lot of feel-good kind of movies come out around Christmas time because even if people are real cynical, there’s a more of a likelihood they might get a little more sentimental,” Gehring said. Gehring said audiences want to find solace in these films, especially due to the political climate. In talking about the first film in the list, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” Gehring said that that movie has been seen recently as a more darker film. “It’s a downer. It’s 40 notches above ‘Desperate Housewives,’” Gehring said. Gehring also contributes the performance of Jimmy Stewart, and said Stewart seems to transcend all age groups in terms of reaching and affecting the audience. In the 10th anniversary updated list of the American Film Institute’s 100 greatest American films of all time from 2007, “It’s a Wonderful Life” is currently the only film from Gehring’s picks that made it on the list at No. 20. While not on Gehring’s list, “Home Alone” is currently the highest-grossing holiday film of all time at $285,761,243.
holiday-themed doit-yourself projects Sabrina Schnetzer Reporter These inexpensive decorations and gifts are easy to make and a great way to get into the holiday spirit. Whether you need a gift to give your friend or you want to make your space more festive, here are a few ways to hand-make your holidays:
Hot Cocoa Mix Ornament
Hot glue snowflakes decor
Directions: 1. Take the top off of the ornament and clean the inside. 2. Using a funnel, fill the ornament with the hot chocolate mix, sprinkles, chocolate chips and mini marshmallows. 3. Put the top of the ornament back on. 4. Using a pen, write “mix with 8 ounces of hot water” on a slip of paper. 5. Hole punch the top of the slip and pull ribbon through the hole. 6. Tie the ribbon around the top of the ornament. 7. Hang the ornament on your tree or give it as a gift. What You Need: • Ornaments • Ribbon
• Tape • Scissors Directions: 1. Using scissors, cut the ribbon in different lengths. 2. Tie the ribbon to the ornaments. 3. Tape the end of the ribbon to the top of a window or a wall to hang the ornament.
What you need: • A plastic, fillable ornament • A funnel • Instant hot chocolate mix • Sprinkles • Chocolate chips • Mini marshmallows • Paper • A pen • Ribbon • A hole punch
Ornament window decor
sABRINA SCHNETZER, DN
What You Need: • Hot glue • Glitter • Paper • A marker • Wax paper • A tray • Ribbon Directions: 1. Using a marker, draw a snowflake on a piece of paper. 2. Lay wax paper on top of the other paper and put them on a tray. 3. Using a hot glue gun, trace the snowflake design. 4. Pour glitter on top of the hot glue. Make sure to cover the snowflake with glitter before the hot glue dries. 5. Repeat this process until you have enough snowflakes to hang around the room. 6. Tie ribbon to the snowflake and hang it in your room.
STOP BY FOR A SLICE.
BALL STATE ALUMNI OWNED
GREEKSPIZZERIA.COM • (765) 284-4900 1600 W. University Ave., Muncie
IMDB, PHOTOS COURTESY
11
15
12.07.17
DNHoliday
tips for bringing home a significant other for the holidays
Brynn Mechem and Mary Freda News Editor, Assistant News Editor The holidays can be a stressful time. There’s a lack of money, an overabundance of sugary sweets and what’s more — the pressure to introduce your significant other to your parents. However, with a little preparation and a lot of holiday cheer, anyone can have a successful first holiday with all of those who are near and dear. Here are 11 quick tips for bringing a significant other home for the holidays:
1. Tell your significant other about your family members Whether it’s a few quick tips to help facilitate talking points, or a flowchart that shows what not to say to certain family members, a debriefing will go a long way.
2. Tell your family members about your significant other
Let’s be honest, both parties need to be debriefed. Before leaving campus for the holidays, make sure your family members know some details about your significant other. It’ll help conversation flow naturally.
3. Keep the matching sweaters in the dorm
Coordinating outfits is definitely Instagram-worthy, but it might be best to leave the matching outfits at home the first time your significant other comes for the holidays. Besides, do you really want your older sibling to hound on you all day long?
4. Know what your significant other is allergic to
Bringing your significant other home for the first time is a little awkward, but it would be even more uncomfortable if they started to have an allergic reaction because of the dinner menu. Find out what they’re allergic to and run the
items by the cook before everyone sits down for dinner.
5. Prepare for the embarrassing stories It is bound to happen — embrace your goofy childhood stories and just hope your significant other can laugh off the embarrassing stories and photos better than you can. (Tip: Hide in the bathroom until this is over, secondhand embarrassment is much easier to cope with than the real thing.)
6. Tell them about your family traditions Every family has a different holiday tradition. You and your family could probably complete these traditions by heart, but remember, this is your significant other’s first time — don’t leave them in the dark.
7. Don’t empty the wine bottle
While holidays can get stressful,
alcohol can never help. So, avoid a heavy hand when pouring to keep from spilling some deep family secrets or escalating a situation even further.
8. Don’t bash your family for your significant other’s sake At this point, your significant other may still be seasonal. Don’t put your family down for your significant other’s sake. Make sure to show your family that you still love them just as much, even though you have someone new in your life. It will be just as strange for them to welcome someone new into their holiday traditions.
9. Limit the inside jokes
There is nothing worse than sitting through a dinner where the entire conversation is based off of a joke you weren’t there for. While an inside joke can help your significant other feel more included, remember that one or two will be enough to put them at ease.
10. Take care of yourselves
Going home for the holidays is always stressful — you are out of your routine and out of your element. Make sure your significant other is eating and sleeping. But most importantly, make time for just the two of you. Whether it is going on a morning jog or running errands together, a little alone time will help to destress and remind them why they are really there — you.
11. Remember that not everything will go perfectly Mistakes will be made and that is OK. The crazy member of your family will probably say something to make everyone uncomfortable, someone will probably drink too much, and maybe someone else will hit on your significant other. It happens. Families are weird. But, you will get through it and you and your significant other will be closer because of it.
o
Get a FREE candy bar when you show us your BSU ID!
25%
off on select items
Your wallets have been through enough this semester.
December 4-18
SatisfyyourSweetTooth 6255 W. Kilgore Ave., Muncie | (765) 288-7300 | loweryscandies.com Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-6:30 p.m. | Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
409 N. Martin Ste 2
| (765) 284-2919 | artmartmuncie.com
DNHoliday
12.07.17
16
Christmas trees, menorahs, kinaras:
The origins of winter holidays Christmas Hannah Gunnell, Reporter The first recorded Christmas festival was by Roman Catholics in the early fourth century to celebrate the birth of their savior, Jesus Christ. “We don’t know when Christ was born. But as Christians attempted to convert pagan groups they discovered that many of these people had an end-of-the-year celebration because the days were starting to get longer — the world was not ending,” said Wes Gehring, a film professor who is commonly asked for a top 10 Christmas movies list by students. “Thus, to make conversions easier, they kept that ritual alive by plugging it in as Jesus’ time of birth.” Who ultimately chose the date of Dec. 25 as the day of celebration is still up to debate. According to Christian historian Sextus Julius Arifcanus’ writings, he calculated Jesus’ birth to be Dec. 25 in the year 221 C.E. Despite this, Pope Julius I is also credited as choosing Dec. 25 in 345 C.E. as the date of Jesus’ birth to coordinate with non-Christian traditions at the time. The Romans celebrated Saturnalia, which praised Saturn, the god of agriculture, and Juvenalia, a celebration of the children of Rome, around the date of the winter solstice, Dec. 21. Pope Julius I chose Dec. 25 so these Roman traditions could merge with the new Christian holiday, and as result, the holiday would be more widely celebrated. Another non-Christian tradition that has become a staple of the Christmas season is the image of the Christmas tree. It comes from those who practiced tree worship, which merged with the holiday when Pope Julius I established Christmas around the time of the winter solstice. Non-Christians chose an evergreen tree, also called a pine, because it represented everlasting life, and it pointed directly up to the Heavens. Much of the world also gives credit to the Germans, because in the 16th century, they began bringing the pine trees into the home and decorating them. If wood was scarce, they would build pyramid-shaped altars to decorate. It is also believed Martin Luther was the first to have Christmas lights, which at the time were just candles on the tree, according to the History Channel. Contact Hannah Gunnell with comments at hrgunnell@bsu.edu.
Hanukkah
Andrew Harp, Reporter Hanukkah is the Jewish celebration of the defeat of the Syrian armies and the rededication of the
Holy Temple during the oppression of the Jewish people within Jerusalem during 168 B.C.E. The Syrians abolished Judaism, including Jewish observances and practices, along with desecrating their Temple. The people who formed a resistance born from this oppression were called the Maccabees, and, although outnumbered, they managed to fend off the Syrian armies. According to legend, when the Maccabees reclaimed the Temple, they found only a single jar of oil, which was sufficient for one day of burning the ner tamid, or eternal light, that is placed within the Temple. Miraculously, the oil managed to stay lit for eight days while more oil was being secured. This year, the holiday will be celebrated on Dec. 12 — the 25th day of Kislev — a month on the Hebrew calendar that lasts for eight days. Kislev will end on the evening of Dec. 20. A common ritual item that is used during the holiday is the menorah, a nine-branched candelabra. During each of the eight nights of Hanukkah, one candle is blessed and lit. In some cases, each member of a family will have their own menorah. These lightings represent the miraculous power of the oil for staying lit for eight days in the original story. Prayers and blessings are said during the lighting of each candle. Hanukkah is known for giving gifts across all eight days of the holiday, but this tradition usually varies by family. Contact Andrew Harp with comments at adharp@bsu.edu or on Twitter at @retr0andrew.
candles, which are held in a kinara, to represent the Seven Guiding Principles of Kwanzaa. The Seven Guiding Principles, umoja (unity), kujichagulia (self-determination), ujima (collective work and responsibility), ujamaa (cooperative economics), nia (purpose), kuumba (creativity) and imani (faith) are universal and applicable to students at Ball State. Additionally, there are often seven items set on the Kwanzaa table: Mkeka or “mat” is a woven mat which symbolizes experiences and foundations. Kikombe cha Umoja or the “unity cup” represents family and community. Once filled, a little is poured out to remember the ancestors, and then each person takes a sip. Mazao or “crops” are fruit and vegetables from the harvest. Kinara or “candle holder” represents the
days and principles of Kwanzaa. Mishumaa Saba or “seven candles” are placed in the kinara. They are black, red and green, which are the colors of the African flag. Muhindi or “corn;” there is one ear of corn of each child in the family. If a family does not have children, then one ear is used to represent the children in the community. Zawadi or “gifts” given to children during Kwanzaa are normally educational, such as a book, DVD or game. Additionally, there is a gift to remind children of their African heritage. Some celebrities who have been known to celebrate Kwanzaa each year include Oprah and Angelina Jolie, according to a PBS article. Contact Liz Rieth with comments at ejrieth@bsu. edu or on Twitter at @liz_rieth.
Enjoy the holiday season, but…
Kwanzaa Liz Rieth, Reporter Kwanzaa is a seven-day festival that celebrates African and African American culture. It starts on Dec. 26 and runs through Jan. 1. The holiday was created by Maulana Karenga in 1966 to celebrate family, culture and heritage, and is modeled after the first harvest celebrations in Africa, according to the Official Kwanzaa Website. “Kwanzaa is a celebration for individuals of the publics of African neospora in which they can come together and have a holiday,” said ChrisTopher Moore, assistant director to the multicultural center. “It can be universal. It was meant to be for people from a certain culture, but Kwanzaa can truly be something for everyone.” The name of the holiday comes from the Swahili phrase “matunda ya kwanza” or “first fruits.” The celebration also uses the number seven to represent several different aspects of the culture. Similar to Hanukkah, Kwanzaa celebrators light
…think before you drink and drive. We want everyone to arrive home safely!
Funding for this publication was made possible (in part) by the Drug Free Communities Support Program from ONDCP and SAMHSA. The views expressed in written event materials or publication and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Office of National Drug Control Policy or the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
DNOpinion
12.07.17 Demi’s Diems
A Christian, a Muslim and the Holiday Spirit For the first time, she saw the holiday season through the eyes of someone who believed in a different god. But through the commercialization of the Christian holiday, has America forgotten about everything else?
KAITI SULLIVAN, DN
Demi Lawrence is a freshman telecommunications journalism major and writes “Demi’s Diems” for the Daily News. Her views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper. Write to Demi at dnlawrence@ bsu.edu. Christmas -— the celebration of the birth of Christianity’s savior, Jesus Christ. Celebrated every Dec. 25 and preceded by a whole season of brightly colored lights, upbeat music and time off of Demi school and work. Lawrence I grew up in the Christian faith Opinion writer, and so have celebrated Christmas Demi’s Diems every year for my entire life.
Students often call it “Christmas break” rather than “winter break.” I am guilty of that; they’re practically interchangeable at this point. Christmas is a sacred holiday in the Christian faith, as it is the birthday of the one true Savior to the world. But as I look around today, I see it as more of an opportunity for corporate America to sell more products, go from red to black and just basically exploit the sacred holiday for their gain. Don’t get me wrong, businesses have to make money, I understand this. But if we are only recognizing Christmas, a religious holiday that is only supposed to be celebrated by those who fully believe Jesus is the Savior and God’s only son, then what do people who don’t believe do during this time? What is it like for other religions to have
Christmas thrown in their face when they don’t even celebrate it? I talked with Ball State student Richard “Mac” McKinney about this topic. McKinney himself practices Islam, and he described to me the Islamic celebrations of Eid and Ramadan. Ramadan is a fasting period, lasting a month, celebrated by Muslims in reverence to the prophet Muhammad and his first revelation of the Quran, the religion’s holy text. During Ramadan, Muslims are to fast from dawn until sunset for 29-30 days. When it is celebrated changes from year to year; Ramadan occurs on the ninth month of the Islamic, or lunar, calendar, so the next Ramadan will be celebrated from May 15 - June 14 in 2018.
4See HOLIDAYS, 18
ON BALLSTATEDAILY.COM: BREAKING STEREOTYPES: I’M A PART OF FRINGED, BUT...
17
DNOpinion
12.07.17
18
Musings from Moorman
What Christmas time means Jordan Moorman is a junior political science major and writes “Musings from Moorman” for the Daily News. His views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper. Write to Jordan at jamoorman@bsu.edu. I was walking back from the library late; it was well past midnight. I was listening to some unconventional Christmas music titled “O Magnum Mysterium.” It was a song I played in high Jordan school band. A rendition by the Moorman Nordic Chamber Choir echoed Opinion Writer, through my earbuds in the dead Musings from of night. Moorman The song is about the nativity of Jesus in Bethlehem. The song put me there; it made me think of how Christmas is about the birth of Christ, and how one of the biggest steps of human salvation began that night. If we could hear the mouths of angels sing a song, it might sound like this. That song, for me, is a reminder of the power of music. Christmas is a holiday to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the man who Christians believe is the savior of humanity. The secularization of Christmas is an insult to such an event. Cultural appropriation is alive and well here. Our culture does not appreciate Christmas for what it is. It is just fun to exchange some gifts and appropriate the feel-good things about a holiday that secular folks do not take seriously. This is nobody’s fault, and I am not blaming anybody or holding anybody at fault for not taking Christmas seriously, but I am asking for consistency. The commercialization of Christmas reminds me of a child-like mindset. When I was younger, waking up on Christmas morning was the most painful thing to do. I had to walk past the presents Santa had placed under the tree and go be sedentary in a church for, like, a whole, entire hour. I did not quite understand what I was at Church
for until I got older. Luckily, I learned Christmas was about more than just the presents. But society has not. We celebrate, sell peppermint everything, and we get ready for what should be more than a cultural celebration without really knowing why. “But the meaning of Christmas has changed!” Malarkey. The meaning of something doesn’t just change. There is an objective meaning behind Christmas that is now lost. When we celebrate our own birthdays, we know why we are celebrating. We understand that it’s a celebration about us, for us, and we want birthdays to be special for our loved ones. We don’t exploit birthdays to make a dollar off our loved ones, we don’t forget why we celebrate, we don’t turn our family member’s birthdays into an obligation and we don’t get anxiety about our loved one’s birthdays. We celebrate, and we love. We get excited for those we care about. If you’re a Christian, why don’t you get excited for Jesus? If you’re not, what are you getting excited for? There is absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying the holiday spirit. Make a snowman. Watch a Hallmark movie. Listen to the new Pentatonix album. But remember why you are doing it. Remember the reason for the season: Jesus, the savior of mankind and his birthday. Think of the power of that song. “O Great Mystery” is what it translates to. Have we really forgotten the mystery? Have we gotten so caught up in stuff, and things, that we lost what was important? Have we really allowed the birthday of our Lord to be marginalized down to an arbitrary secular holiday? This is a new mystery. One that, hopefully, we can address together. This time around the holiday season, perhaps we can try to be intentional with our words, thoughts, and actions, and try to solve the mystery of what Christmas truly is.
KAITI SULLIVAN, DN
HOLIDAYS Continued from Page 17
Eid is another celebration in the religion, and is actually two different celebrations which I did not know before talking to McKinney. There is Eid AlAdha and Eid Al-Fitr, and Eid Al-Fitr is celebrated directly after Ramadan as somewhat of an endcelebration of Ramadan. McKinney described the celebrations of Eid Al-Fitr to me as “a lot of eating and gathering of friends, family and gift giving. Just like at Christmas is for non-Muslims.” I found this comparison incredibly interesting, because, like I said, Christmas seems to be the default religious celebration in America today. I then asked McKinney how he felt about having Christmas shoved in his face when he doesn’t even celebrate it, and that’s when I learned part of McKinney’s long and inspiring story. According to an article published by USA Today College, McKinney hasn’t always followed Islam. He actually used to hate the religion, so much so he had devised a plan to blow up a local mosque. While this plan thankfully never went through, McKinney had the full intention for it to. McKinney’s journey with Islam began with his daughter coming home from school and telling him about a fellow student’s mom picking up her son, who was McKinney’s daughter’s classmate, and she was wearing a niqab. This sent McKinney into a fury for his daughter being subjected to “those people.” But after seeing his seven-year-old daughter’s confusion at his dismay, he began to rethink his ideas on the Middle Eastern religion. After a visit to his local Islamic Center, many years of studying the religion, and sadly, many family members and friends “long gone” due to his conversion, McKinney is now a devout Muslim. Going from once celebrating Christmas and despising the Muslim faith to now celebrating Islam in its fullest was McKinney’s journey. But the rest of his family and his nation did not follow. Regardless of how many holidays take place during the months of November, December and January, the holiday season is hallmarked by a commercialized rendition of Christ’s birthday. “As a Muslim, we have no right to get upset at non-Muslims celebrating [Christmas],” McKinney said. “Yes, it has become commercialized, but honestly, a Muslim should not have an opinion either way. We should respectfully accept the fact that not everyone is a Muslim, just as we want them to respect our practices.” I then asked if he believed people respected Muslim practices as he respects other religions’ practices. “Deep down, I don’t feel they do,” he answered. “I think that it is just because they don’t understand.” That one really got me thinking. I know plenty of non-Christians who celebrate Christmas, and I can only guess that it’s an excuse to gather family, take time off work and give/receive hefty gifts. So why do we respect and put Christmas on such a high pedestal, yet a Muslim does not feel like he gets the same in return? Aren’t we all just doing the same thing — celebrating our beliefs? Where is the line drawn? But regardless of where that line is drawn, maybe we should strive to cross it. Maybe we
Richard McKinney converted to Islam after seeing his daughter’s reaction to subjecting “those people”. After many years of studying the religion, he is now a devout Muslim. KAITI SULLIVAN, DN
should crave the understanding of what it means to give and receive, to understand and be understood. McKinney went on to say that the best way for people to understand Islam is to befriend a Muslim and really begin to understand the religion to its core. Another way he mentioned is to just read the Quran. Something so simple and elementary, and yet McKinney said it was one of the main ways to begin to comprehend the religion. What I understood from McKinney and his story goes back to a common known phrase I have always loved: “The opposite of fear is knowledge.” Be informed, learn about something you fear or don’t understand. As a practicing Christian, I know I definitely learned something from McKinney about Islam and the Muslim faith community as a whole. McKinney told me that people misunderstand Islam because they are “stuck in their own echo boxes,” and I could not agree more. It goes all the way back to Christmas being what is thought of as the default religious holiday. This is not me trying to call out my own religion. I celebrate Christmas warmly and willingly, and I do my best to see it for what it truly is: the birth of my Savior. This is more me just calling to action the shortcomings of America in the way we celebrate such a sacred event. We talk nonstop about Christmas it seems like. We set up decorations and trees, attend mass for the first time all year (I call those people Chreasters — strictly Christmas and Easter church goers) and buy pricey gifts for others that put us into quite a budget crunch for the upcoming new year. But what we need to understand is that Christmas is not the only holiday. For Muslims, Eid and Ramadan exist. For Jews, Rosh Hashanah and Hanukkah exist. Why don’t we commercialize and celebrate those in the same manner we do Christmas? Is it because the dates of the celebrations are not consistent from year to year? Or is it because we simply just don’t care? If we are going to celebrate Christmas and revere it as such a special time in society, we need to do it for the right reasons. Not only that, but we need to revere other religious holidays just the same. So I will continue to sing my “Away In A Manger” and “Silent Night” tunes as Dec. 25 rolls around. I will continue to go to Christmas Eve mass as I have for the past 18 years of my life, and this Christmas will come and go like normal for me and my fellow Christians. When Ramadan and Eid come about, though, I will remember McKinney and I will remember how uncommercialized and uncelebrated other religious holidays are by the general public society. And I suggest you do too.
DNLife
12.07.17
19
Awards
Muncie Origins:
College of Business dean wins award Jennifer Bott, dean of the Miller College of Business, gains further inspiration from winning 2017 Business Journal Woman of Influence award. 420
Local Outreach
Muncie’s Food Not Bombs fights hunger Community members revive local chapter of Food Not Bombs to combat the amount of wasted food and provide meals to those in need. 422
Communities
A welcoming home Jane McDowell converted her parent’s home into a bed and breakfast. 421
United Sound offers musical community Ball State and Hillcroft Services partner to give peers the chance to work together, grow and make connections. 423
ON BALLSTATEDAILY.COM: CORNERSTONE HOSTS DECEMBER HOLIDAY WORKSHOPS
DNLife
12.07.17
20
Miller College of Business dean recognized as a 2017 Business Journal Woman of Influence Jennifer Bott attributes her nomination to her work with the university’s online learning program. Tier Morrow Reporter It wasn’t until she was sitting at a table surrounded by friends and family that Jennifer Bott, dean of the Miller College of Business, said receiving a 2017 Business Journal Woman of Influence Award finally felt real. “Receiving this award has not changed the way I work or the way I see myself, but I have recognized the responsibility and commitment it places on me,” Bott said. “In our society, we don’t say ‘thank you,’ or ‘good job’ as much as we should, and because of this award, I consciously
Receiving this award has not changed the way I work or the way I see myself, but I have recognized the responsibility and commitment it places on me.” - JENNIFER BOTT, Dean of the Miller College of Business try to carry that out here in the office. “I try to tell everyone ‘thank you’ or ‘good job,’ at least once a day to show them I appreciate them.” One project Bott attributes as a reason she was nominated to receive a 2017 Business Journal Woman of Influence award was her work with Ball State’s online program. In 2010, multiple task forces were created by the university to guide a strategic plan for online education. Bott led the team that researched and proposed ways to grow online courses. The group created a detailed road map that led to the creation of a new unit on campus and the Integrated Learning Institute where faculty develop their online classes. “For four and a half years I took that plan that I built in concert with a lot of colleagues and implemented it. So we changed the way that online classes were integrated into the academic department, we changed the way we pay faculty, we changed the way classes were taught,” Bott said. Bott said the project was important to her personally because her mother was a nontraditional student, and she felt the key to growing the university’s outreach was to allow to those who had left or not started college to attend
Jennifer Bott, dean of the Miller College of Business, received the 2017 Business Journal Woman of Influence Award. JENNIFER BOTT, PHOTO PROVIDED without leaving their families or jobs. “Dr. Bott brought online learning from the dark into the light here at Ball State,” said Staci Davis, executive director of the Division of Online and Distance Education at Ball State. “She inspired me to ensure others around campus and outside of campus are aware of the positive impact online programs bring to students and the institution.” After more than 10 years at Ball State, Bott said she is even more motivated to continue doing everything she can for her colleagues while doing the best job she can within the university and the Muncie community. “It is its own special honor to be a dean for those colleagues who taught me how to be a faculty member,” Bott said. “I always say these people helped me buy my first house. They welcomed my family. They collaborated on projects, research and teaching. And they
supported me in everything. It is such an honor to be here now helping them achieve whatever they need to achieve.” Currently, Bott is working to integrate policy procedures and faculty for the five new courses that have come from the college of Applied Science and Technology: residential property management, hospitality and food management, computer technology, fashion merchandising and apparel design and graduate program and career and technical education. She is also helping faculty and staff prepare the business college for reaccreditation. The process occurs in five-year cycles, so applications have started, and Bott offers her services to all who need suggestions or review. Aside from her work at Ball State, Bott has also been named the 2018 Campaign Chair for the United Way, giving her the responsibility to coordinate the
campaign cabinet in the spring to help raise $1.2 million to help the organization operate. Through her work as well as involvement with organizations in the Muncie community that support women, children and families, Bott strives to set an example for her two sons. “I took my boys to the breakfast because it is important to me as a mother of two boys to teach them that women can achieve anything, and that they need to support strong women. It was really powerful for me to have them there.” When attending the ceremony, Aidan Bott, Jennifer’s 10-year-old son, said he enjoyed seeing other women like his mom. “I think my mom has worked really hard to get where she is,” Aidan Bott said. “She has a big job, but she still works hard all the time.” Contact Tier Morrow with comments at tkmorrow@bsu.edu.
21 12.07.17
DNLife
Muncie Origins
Muncie resident remodels childhood home into bed-and-breakfast Justice Amick Reporter Looking back 10 years ago, bed-and-breakfast innkeeper Jane McDowell said the community around her has changed drastically. When McDowell, along with her parents and two siblings, moved to Muncie in 1960, WalMart did not even exist. “Tillotson Avenue stopped at Bethel. It was two lanes, not four. Instead of the football stadium there was a horse farm. McGalliard stopped at
Shortly after opening we seldom stay anywhere else in Muncie unless it is unavailable.” - DAVE GOLLER, frequent guest Wheeling so the rest was all farmland,” she said. Having grown up in Delaware County, McDowell has always felt a connection to the community. Even when her siblings left area, she stayed and worked as an allergist for nearly 30 years in Muncie. McDowell was content with in her job, until 2005 when her parents were ready to go into assisted living, leaving the house she grew up in behind. With the help of her two brothers, McDowell began to give her childhood home a small makeover and put it on the market to sell. After almost a year, no offer was made on the house. “The only two things I could think of were tear it down or turn it into college student rentals and I really didn’t want to be a landlord,” McDowell said. “Then one day in the 11th month of the contract of selling, I was driving from my house down the street, looking at the for-sale sign and I said, ‘You know, this could be a really cool bedand-breakfast.’” The process to turn her parents’ home into a B&B wasn’t easy. The first thing McDowell had to do was get special permission from the board of zoning to allow the transformation. The first time she reached out, she was denied. By law, when the zoning courts say no to a petition, their decision is final except in special circumstances. McDowell, however, didn’t give up. She went back a second time, wrote a letter to the mayor and finally got a yes. The problems didn’t stop there, though.
McDowell had hired an architect to make sure the house followed all the necessary rules. “A few months in she looked at me and said, ‘We have a problem,’” McDowell said. “She said the ceilings were two inches too short and the stairway was four inches too narrow, so we couldn’t do it anymore. That’s when I broke down into tears.” Despite facing many obstacles and a large amount of money spent on renovations, McDowell pushed on and finally in 2007, the McDowellNearing House Bed and Breakfast opened. “My very first guests were three men who worked with Jim Davis on the animation of the Garfield movie, and the Garfield cartoons,” McDowell said. “Instead of having just three regular people, I had these three very important people and they knew they were my first guests. They were very friendly and nice and they come back about once a year.” The McDowell-Nearing House has four uniquely decorated rooms that all include private bathrooms for guests. The house also offers free Wi-Fi, cable TV and access to a printer and computer. Dave and Mary Goller have what McDowell calls “frequent flyer” status and stay with her every time they come visit their grandchild who attends Ball State. “Shortly after opening we seldom stay anywhere else in Muncie unless it is unavailable,” Dave Goller said. “The breakfasts are to die for with farm-fresh eggs and much better than any motel with hot breakfast. Occasionally she will join us with a cup of coffee and chat just like family, which we almost are.” McDowell also offers home-cooked meals, snacks and refreshments available in the kitchen. “One guy in particular was so funny because you could tell his wife dragged him here,” McDowell said. “They stayed the weekend and the second day at breakfast he looked up at me and said ‘Can I take you home with me?’ which I thought was great.” Now that she is older, McDowell said she doesn’t advertise as much as she used to as “the stairs seem to get steeper every year.” Despite such circumstances, she said she still gets regular customers and has something remarkable happen almost every day on the job. “There are motel people and there are bed-andbreakfast people,” McDowell said. “It’s funny because motel people, when they come for the first time they’re always a little surprised and a little worried there will be too many rules. But that’s not the case for us innkeepers. We have enough going on in our lives that were not going to hover.” McDowell has had many people pass through her doors, including Leo Tolstoy’s greatgrandson. Tolstoy was a Russian writer who
KAITI SULLIVAN, DN
KAITI SULLIVAN, DN
has been regarded as one of the greatest authors of all times, writing works such as “Anna Karenina” and “War and Peace.” McDowell also has people from Ball State stay at the B&B, as they are referred to by Lois Largent, administrative coordinator for the finance department. “We had candidates coming to campus for interviews and we wanted to find a place for them to stay that was welcoming with a touch of home in order to make them feel comfortable,” Largent said. “We found that with Jane.” McDowell said being an innkeeper has enriched her life in more ways than she could have imagined. Recently, she found out that her great-grandmother ran a boarding house during the Great Depression and she thinks that may have something to do with her passion for the
MCDOWELL-NEARING HOUSE BED AND BREAKFAST Hours: Always open Contact: 765-282-7912 Website: mcdowellbedandbreakfast.com Rules: No children under 12 years old business. “Everybody has got a story,” McDowell said. “I’ve really been touched by so many people and have had experiences I could never get if I would have just sat here and watched cars go by.” Contact Justice Amick with comments at jramick@bsu.edu.
DNLife
12.07.17
22
Muncie’s Food Not Bombs works to reduce amount of wasted food
Every Sunday, the local chapter provides a meal, literature, conversation in Canan Commons Tier Morrow Reporter Tables are set up. Some have informational literature while others have dishes and pans. A hot meal sits with bowls to one side waiting to be served. Volunteers check for last-minute details as people begin to trickle in. It’s 5 p.m. in Canan Commons, a public park in Muncie. When organizers think about the work they do in the community, they said they don’t know how long it is going to last, but no one is worried about that. The night could bring 30 guests or none, but all that matters is the opportunity to share food with others and spreading the word: food, not bombs. Members of the Muncie community have recently revived the once-active chapter of Food Not Bombs and invite everyone to share a meal starting at 5 p.m. every Sunday. The group operates on the idea of mutual aid instead of charitable giving and makes no distinction between themselves as volunteers and the community members who join them. “We are the Muncie community. Most of our volunteers live, work and raise their families here,” said Nate Rose, one of the 25 volunteers for Muncie Food Not Bombs. “We have everyone from Ball State students to non-students who have lived here their whole lives. We are hoping to
Part of the message that Food Not Bombs hopes to get across is that rich countries like the United States throw out enough untouched, edible, non-expired food every day to feed every hungry person in the world.” - MORGAN APRILL, Food Not Bombs volunteer build lasting, long-term relationships with anyone who wants to work with us.” Food Not Bombs started in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1980 when eight college-aged, antinuclear activists got together to protest the war peacefully. Today, according to the group’s findings, there are movements around the world sharing free vegan and vegetarian meals to people in more than 1,000 cities. The original Muncie branch of Food Not Bombs
Members of the Muncie community have recently revived the local chapter of Food Not Bombs. The group operates on the idea of mutual aid instead of charitable giving. MUNCIE FOOD NOT BOMBS, PHOTO PROVIDED started in the mid-2000s, but went dormant soon after. Recently, however, a few members from the original group were having a discussion and decided to revive Muncie’s Food Not Bombs. After deciding Sundays would be its regular meeting time, Food Not Bombs had to decide what food to serve. All of the food Muncie’s Food Not Bombs serves is food that would otherwise go to waste. The group receives some food from individual donations, garden surpluses, supplies from stores and restaurants that they cannot sell and grocery stores’ stock that is edible, but marked for disposal. According to the USDA, 27 percent of the total amount of food produced each year is lost at the retail and food service levels. This means that the United States throws away about 263 million pounds of food every day that is edible, and Food Not Bombs hopes to reduce that number. “Part of the message that Food Not Bombs hopes to get across is that rich countries like the United States throw out enough untouched, edible, non-expired food every day to feed every hungry person in the world,” said Morgan Aprill, a volunteer for Muncie’s Food Not Bombs. “Often, this is just for cosmetic reasons. Tomatoes that aren’t red enough, cans that are dented, etc. We use this excess food for our meals both to reduce waste and to show how abundant our resources truly are.”
One of the biggest goals of Muncie Food Not Bombs, the group said, is to show the world that there is not a food scarcity as people would like to believe, and volunteers said they aim to “create a culture around the joy of sharing” this abundant food source. Additionally, the group said it wants to remove the shame that often comes from receiving charity because no one should be concerned about where their next meal comes from. In 2016, the United States Census Bureau reported that 12.7 percent or 40.1 million Americans lived in poverty, including 32 percent of citizens living in Muncie. It also reported that Delaware County has the second highest poverty rate in Indiana at 21.6 percent. “There are no income tests or any other forms of gatekeeping and bureaucracy. We share our food, literature and company with anyone — rich or poor, drunk, high or sober,” Aprill said. “We don’t ask anyone to prove their poverty or residence, show us they receive SNAP benefits or give us a bill stub. We just share. Everybody needs food.” Because Christmas Eve falls on a Sunday this year, the group has planned to keep their normal schedule while adding a few flares to the dinner, although specifics have yet to be determined. The group has also been invited by Moth Danner of the Muncie Makers Market to set up a table with literature and hot beverages at the Light
Up Downtown Christmas Event tonight. “We hope that people see what we’re doing, become part of it and get back some of their sense of self-determination and dignity when they recognize that they can be part of a positive, nonviolent social change,” Rose said. “It is a model that many have followed all over the world. It is a reaction to the immense waste and obscenity that is our current system. It is humans caring for other humans’ most basic need — hunger.” Contact Tier Morrow with comments at tkmorrow@bsu.edu.
23 12.07.17
DNLife
United Sound connects students, features talent Tier Morrow Reporter
F
rom a quiet, shy boy listening to boy bands like One Direction and Big Time Rush to a social, interactive adult appreciating concert music and recitals, Michael Bowne has learned new musical and social skills through Ball State’s chapter of United Sound. “We see a much more engaged Michael,” said Andy Bowne, Michael’s father. “He engages with the activities and ice-breakers every week, and he has gained a bunch of new friends. It is hard because in the world of adults with developmental disabilities, their friends are usually staff members who are ‘paid’ to be their friends. This group is the closest friends he’s had.” Michael joined United Sound after his music therapist from Hillcroft Services, Anna Wamhoff, suggested it would be a beneficial opportunity. The Ball State chapter began in 2016 when Caroline Hand, assistant professor of music performance, reached out to Hillcroft wanting to form a partnership that would help make music accessible and accommodating to a larger group of people. Joining United Sound meant Michael would be paired with peers close to his age and have the opportunity to choose his own instrument like beginning band students do in elementary or middle schools. “This program is great because it gives those with disabilities the chance to follow their dreams,” said LeAnne Cole, vice president of therapy services at Hillcroft. “Most
This group shows that everyone has the potential to do anything no matter what.” - CAROLINE HAND, Assistant professor of music performance aren’t ready to tackle an instrument in middle school like their fellow peers, but in adulthood, they have the skills that are needed to understand and explore this new world. It really helps them build their own self-esteem.” At the first meeting, Michael was shy and reserved, but as he grew comfortable with his three Ball State tutors and his instrument, the euphonium, he opened up and was able to form relationships. “Michael saw one of the members in the Indy mall a few weeks ago, and he called Michael out by name,” said Andy. “Just Michael’s reaction was priceless as he lit up by the realization that someone remembered him.”
founder of United Sound. “Sometimes, John wishes there were more rehearsals during the week because he enjoys it so much. He will definitely be returning next year because he would be so disappointed if we didn’t enroll him again,” Lenny said. During this semester, both John and Michael participated in the marching band’s performance during halftime of a Ball State football game Nov. 22. “Michael is really into sports, and he has friends on the football team that he was really excited to play for,” Haley said. “We’ve been working really hard on not playing during the rests, and the whole time he concentrated on not playing during the rests. He did great playing in front of the whole football stadium. He has come such a long way.” John also enjoyed the game and was included in the trombone section in the LENNY BAIERWALTER, PHOTO PROVIDED stands before halftime. “I think the most valuable pieces our individuals take away Today, Michael said he gets excited to go to rehearsals, from participating is being treated like adults and having the and his father added that his musical horizons have expanded opportunity to be on campus with peers their own age and farther than they ever would have had he not gotten involved participate in a ‘typical’ experience in a ‘typical’ setting,” with the program. Wamhoff said. “The ultimate goal of the United Sound “Michael has been really exciting to watch because his program as a whole is to foster lasting friendships and engage personality has grown through music,” said Maggie Haley, in performance opportunities. president of Ball State’s United Sound chapter. “He was so “Since participating in the program, individuals have shown shy, and he didn’t want to be in a crowd, but now he goes to personal growth in socials skills and it allows them to continue Hillcroft and talks to staff that he has never seen before.” in an educational program after graduating high school.” Michael is just one example of the impact the organization The group had their final rehearsal for the fall semester has had. On a national level, there are nine middle school Tuesday evening, but will return to rehearsals after break on chapters, 37 high school chapters, and five university chapters Jan. 16. in United Sound. “I think because of the way that those with disabilities are “This group shows that everyone has the potential to do segregated in our society, this program is very rewarding anything no matter what,” Hand said. “I think for some of the for Ball State students on a personal level because they feel tutors it has been eye-opening to see how talented the new helpful,” Hand said. “My hope is that this becomes such a musicians are after they first pick up an instrument. I think normal thing that there is no longer that ‘do-gooder’ feeling music is instilled in everyone no matter what their personal attached to it. It is just something that everyone does. They situation or skill level.” include each other in everything.” For John Baierwalter, music has always been present in his Contact Tier Morrow with comments at tkmorrow@bsu.edu. life, but his tutors have helped him explore his skill level. From banging on his piano, plucking his guitar strings and shaking his cow bell to learning four successful notes on the trombone, Baierwalter has gotten to further explore his love for music and show his talent to the community. “One of the best things to watch as a parent is the way that John interacts with his tutors,” said Lenny Baierwalter, John’s father. “When they give him a suggestion or a correction, you can see his concentration on his face.” Lenny said being part of this group has added new levels of understanding to John’s musical knowledge. Within the last ADULT NOVELTIES • LINGERIE & LOTIONS two years, he has gotten to understand the workings behind YOUR BACHELORETTE HEADQUARTERS the pep band and the marching band and interact with their BRING IN THIS AD FOR: members. 15% OFF $25 PURCHASE John has successfully learned to play a B, D, A and B-flat, 2718 W. Kilgore Ave., Muncie • Find us on facebook and next semester he will continue working on the next few notes from the adapted book created by Julie Duty, the original
DNLife
12.07.17
24
72HOURS
1 Friday
7:30 P.M. SCROOGE! THE MUSICAL
Muncie Civic Theatre presents the musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” on the main stage. The show runs every weekend of Dec. 8-23. Tickets are $18 for adults, $15 for groups of 10+ and $13 for students and children. Thursday, Friday and Saturday shows start at 7:30 p.m. while Sunday shows are at 2 p.m.
YOUR WEEKEND GUIDE
Tt Shinkan Designer
MUNCIE CIVIC, PHOTO COURTESY
Saturday
11 A.M. MUNCIE GIFT MART Still searching for the perfect gift for your friends and family? The Muncie Gift Mart features holiday vendors offering unique gifts for everyone. The mart is located inside Muncie Mall next to Game Stop and will operate during the regular mall hours.
Saturday
12 P.M. YORKTOWN LUMINARY FESTIVAL Yorktown’s Luminary Festival is the perfect way to ring in the holiday season. The festival will include music by Ted Martin DJ Company, a snowball fight, kids’ Christmas crafts, photos with Bell from ‘Beauty and the Beast’, carriage rides and the Luminary Parade at 4 p.m. Food and shopping from vendors will also be available. The Yorktown Luminary Festival starts at noon and will run until 7 p.m. It is located in downtown Yorktown and Yorktown Middle School.
25 12.07.17
4
EAST CENTRAL NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION, PHOTO COURTESY
Saturday
4 P.M.
ANNUAL VICTORIAN HOLIDAY HOME TOUR
The East Central Neighborhood Association is hosting its Annual Victorian Holiday Tour, which will feature at least five decorated homes open for the public to tour. The homes are all within walking distance of each other, and vendors will be available at the Emily Kimbrough House Museum, 715 E. Washington St. Tickets are $12 and children 10 and under are free. The tours start at 4 p.m. and will go until 7 p.m.
6 Sunday
VISIT MUNCIE, PHOTO COURTESY
CORNERSTONE’S FALL CELEBRATION
2 P.M.
To celebrate the end of its fall class session, Cornerstone Center for the Arts will hold a Fall Celebration at 2 p.m. Sunday in the E.B. Ball Auditorium. The celebration will include dance and music performances, as well as a student art gallery. The event will continue until 5 p.m.
Saturday
74 P.M.
7 P.M.
Sunday
CHRISTMAS THROUGH THE AGES Friends Memorial Church is hosting a Christmas concert that will include the early chant of Hildgard von Bigen to modern secular carols. Sylphs & Seraphim, a women’s a capella group that specializes in Celtic Folk and Medieval songs, and harpist Megan Biner will appear in the concert. Refreshments will be served after the concert and admission is free, although donations are accepted. The concert will be held at Friends Memorial Church and will start at 7 p.m. and conclude at 9 p.m.
PICTURES WITH SANTA PAWS Get a family photo with Santa that includes your furry friend! For $10, you’ll get several digital images and one printed photo. Anyone who adopted an animal from the Muncie Animal Care and Services in November or before Dec. 10 can get their pictures for free. The event is located at Tractor Supply Co., 3601 E. McGalliard, and starts at 4 p.m.
SIT-STAY-PLAY, PHOTO COURTESY
DNLife
Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram and on our website at MUNCIE LIQUORS.COM Plus, download our free Muncie Liquor app to find our weekly specials and those crazy app give-a-ways.
And, don’t miss our weekly specials each week in the Daily News!
Locations 801 N. Wheeling | 282-5550 3005 N. Oakwood | 284-3744 2901 S. Madison | 282-9318 1112 W. Centennial | 284-2337 415 S. Tillotson | 284-3744 Voted Muncie’s Finest & Best of Ball State
DNPuzzles
12.07.17 26
Crossword & Sudoku
CROSSWORD EDITED BY RICH NORRIS AND JOYCE LEWIS; SUDOKU BY MICHAEL MEPHAM ACROSS 1__ Christian Olsen of “NCIS: Los Angeles” 5 One of the Seven Dwarfs 8 Actress Glaudini 9 “The X Files: __ to Believe”; film for David Duchovny 12 Drop in on 13 Iced pastry 14 Ending for Paul or Ann 15 BPOE folks 16 “__ and Stacey” 18 Brian __of “Chicago Med” 19 Charitable gift 20 Not quite closed 21 __ Brown Jr. of “SEAL Team” 23 “Enemy of the __”; film for Will Smith and Gene Hackman 24 Actress Sedgwick 25 “That ‘70s __” 26 “Toy __”; computeranimated film 28 One of the Three Bears 29 Actor Rob __ 30 Con game 32 Record speed letters 35 Calendar periods: abbr. 36 “__ Trek” 37 Stiffly proper 38 Peggy Fleming or Michelle Kwan 40 “The __ Is Right”
41 Refueling ship 42 Chess piece 43 K-O connection 44 “Grand Ole __” DOWN 1 Cream of the crop 2 Bernadette __; role on “The Big Bang Theory” 3 Nastase of tennis 4 “The __ in the Hat” 5 Van Dyke and Van Patten 6 Night birds 7 President Arthur’s monogram 10 “American __”; action game show 11 Actor Williams 12 11/11 honoree 13 “A Nightmare on __ Street”; film for Johnny Depp 15 __ Thomas; Isabel’s portrayer on “Ten Days in the Valley” 17 Role on “Black-ish” 19 Like meringue 20 Perched upon 22 “Jane __”; movie based on a classic novel 23 Pillow cover 25 Shadowbox 26 Devious 27 Upper body 30 Isaac or Howard
31 “My Mother the __” 33 Persnickety 34 Butterfly or Bovary: abbr. 36 Flower stalk 37 __ up; support from beneath or behind 39 “Up __ Night” 40 “Semi-__”; Will Ferrell movie
SOLUTIONS FOR NOVEMEBER 30
enjoy an adventure
at your year-round gathering place! 54517IN
minnetrista.net
27
FELONIES Continued from Page 8
Other Universities
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission determined certain factors for employers to consider when a potential employee has a criminal history. Those factors are in line with Ball State’s follow-up questions for applicants with criminal backgrounds. “The commission continues to hold that, where there is evidence of adverse impact, an absolute bar to employment based on the mere fact that an individual has a conviction record is unlawful under the Title VII,” the commission’s policy states. Ball State Human Resources assesses each new potential hire with a criminal background with little legislative guidance aside from what’s laid out in its internal policies, which are not accessible to the public. At other schools in Indiana, procedures for hiring new faculty with felonies on their criminal records are similarly vague. Because no such state or federal guidelines exist, schools don’t have to adhere to any specific procedures when hiring new faculty or staff with criminal records. Still, background checks are seemingly universal at colleges and universities across the state. Andy Brantley, president and CEO of the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources, said every college and university should have a required background check policy that applies to every new employee, including those in temporary positions. “This is an essential risk management practice that should be used by every employer across the country,” Brantley said in an email to The Daily News. “The policy should also clearly state that disclosure of a conviction during the selection process will not necessarily exclude an applicant from consideration.” Regardless, the existence of a conviction does not automatically disqualify an individual from employment at the universities analyzed by The Daily News. The decision to reject or separate an individual with an unreported conviction is solely at the discretion of the universities.
Buie did disclose his conviction to the university, but he said because people know, he is still unsure about his opportunities to move up within the university. “I’ve never put in for any kind of promotions or anything because of that. Maybe I’m right, and maybe I’m not, who knows,” Buie said. “I always wonder if something happens, that’s my first thing I think — it’s because of [my past].” At Indiana and Purdue Universities, pre-disclosing criminal convictions before a criminal background check is conducted is required. According to the universities’ hiring policies, unreported convictions that are revealed in the criminal history check could result in a withdrawal of the offer of employment unless the individual shows that the report is in error. Indiana State University and Ivy Tech Community College also require potential new hires to pre-disclose prior convictions under the same conditions. Ball State does not require such pre-disclosures. If the criminal history check reveals convictions which the individual disclosed in the application, the campus human resource office will review the report with the hiring department. Human resources personnel have liberties when weighing the considerations surrounding each potential new hires’ background check. Ivy Tech’s hiring policy, for example, states that relevant considerations may include “the nature and number of the convictions, their dates, and the relationship that a conviction has to the duties and responsibilities of the position.” Similar considerations are listed in policies by other colleges and universities in Indiana. Hiring policies at the University of Notre Dame, a private institution, differ slightly from public higher ed institutions. That university conducts background checks that emphasize criminal convictions in the past seven years, as well as pending felony charges, sex or violent offender listings and criminal convictions involving violence or sexual misconduct at any time in the potential new hires’ record. Pre-disclosure of criminal convictions are not required by Notre Dame, and candidates are given seven days to respond to human resources with information showing that the data should not disqualify them from being hired. That information is taken into consideration by
12.07.17
DNNews
human resources personnel to deem if the candidate is still eligible for hire.
Is perception reality? Despite all the legal ambiguity surrounding employment, some say ex-convicts can’t erase their pasts when it comes to their futures. Harris, the original investigator on the murder case, said that if Buie has done his time, he has gone through the system — and in the eyes of the law — is rehabilitated. Though, he said, there are still always some uncertainties. “I really don’t have an opinion one way or another,” Harris said. “But, you never know when one’s going to slip. I might not want my grandchildren to be taught by him.” And for one Ball State student, who requested their name be withheld, the line is very clear. “Knowing this information angers me,” the student said. “It lowers my confidence in the way that BSU hires professors. I expect my professors to be morally sound and not murderers. “I think BSU should do thorough background checks. If something comes up on a background check that severe [murder], they should not be considered a candidate. If BSU is not drawing the line at murder, where are they drawing it?” Buie said he understands people’s apprehensions when they learn about his past, but after getting to know him, they learn that he’s a different person. And he thinks the person he is now should have a chance. “What do [people] want me to do, work at McDonald’s? I’ll be the best McDonald’s worker there ever was. That’s not going to benefit a lot of other people,” Buie said. “The amount of people with criminal pasts is large. It’s a significant portion of the population, and if you try to exclude people based on that, you’re excluding a lot of people. A) it could potentially benefit them [ex-convicts] and B) it could potentially benefit other people.” Contact Brynn Mechem with comments at bamechem@ bsu.edu or on Twitter at @BrynnMechem. Contact Max Lewis with comments at lmaxwell2@bsu.edu or on Twitter at @MaxLewisReports.
CLASSIFIEDS Let us help you end the quest for a new house, job or place to sell your stuff. Students can advertise for free (contact us for details) (765) 285-8247 dnclassified@bsu.edu
4 Houses for Rent 2000 W Jackson. 5-6 bdrms, 2 bth. W/D, DW, AC. $320 & util. inlc'd except elect. 7657445008 1804 W. Charles St. 3-4 bdrm/2 ba. $295 per person + util. 7657445008 107 N. Dill st. 4 bdrm. 3 ba. Central air. $375/ person + util. Call/text 7657445008 1 bdrm, newly remodeled, apt for rent, $485/ month, plus elec and cable. 2403 W. Charles. 765-744-4260 Great house to sublet room! $400/mo. Avail Jan 1st. Close to campus. Call/Text 317-224-7207 2 bdrms. Near BSU. All utilities incl. A/C, W/D, D/W off-st. prkg. $600/mo for 2 bdrm. Aug. lease. Call 765- 717-2114.
GRACE RANNEY, DN FILE
The Daily News is reinventing itself this year! Instead of the big, clunky broadsheet we published three times a week, we are switching to a once a week tabloid format that will be published every Thursday. This switch allows for a higher quality publication with content made for you. We’re excited for our new publication and want to celebrate with you! In exchange for picking up our tab, we want to pick up yours. Each week through December 7th, we will be giving away a gift certificate for free pizza from HotBox. On December 8th we will be drawing a winner for our Grand Prize – we will pick up one student’s tab at the Ball State Bookstore for Spring semester textbooks (up to $500). How to enter: Find the Pick Up Our Tab Contest ad and entry form each week in the Daily News. Fill out an entry form and bring it to AJ 246 or take a picture and email it to mckinleyave@bsu.edu.
PICK UP OUR TAB ENTRY FORM NAME: EMAIL: