BSU 03-03-22

THE FIRST

DOMINO As conflict intensifies in Ukraine, members of the community fear for what may come next. 404

Russia

Ukraine

ALEX HINDENLANG, DN

03.03.22

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DNNews

03.03.22

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Did you miss it? Catch up on the news from Feb. 26 - March 2 ...

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The Daily News announced

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March 1, 1960, former President and Senator John Kennedy would visit Muncie in April. At the time, Kennedy was running for president of the United States. The visit was sponsored by the 10th Congressional District, “Kennedy for President.” If you have any Daily News memories, email news@bsudailynews.com.

House Bill 1041 passes General Assembly March 1: The Indiana General

GRACE DUERKSEN, DN

Assembly passed House Bill 1041, which would ban transgender girls from playing in girls’ school sports, March 1. The bill was passed mostly along party lines with a 32-18 vote. It now goes to Gov. Eric Holcomb to consider. While Holcomb has not explicitly said whether he’ll sign the bill, he has signaled support for it.

VOL. 101 ISSUE: 23 CONTACT THE DN Newsroom: 765-285-8245 Editor: 765-285-8249, editor@bsudailynews.com

The Ball State Daily News (USPS144-360), the Ball State student newspaper, publishes Thursdays during the academic year, except 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 Taylor Smith, Editor-in-chief Connor Smith, Managing Editor Grace McCormick, News Editor Maya Wilkins, Lifestyles Editor Ian Hansen, Sports Editor John Lynch, Opinion Editor Adele Reich, Video Editor Rylan Capper, Photo Editor Emily Dodd, Social Media Editor Emily Hunter, Copy Director CREATIVE SERVICES Maggie Getzin, Creative Director Kamryn Tomlinson, Visual Editor Alex Hindenlang, Visual Editor

Cardinals make MAC Championship history Feb. 26: Women’s swimming

and diving finished with a score of 243.5 at the Mid-American Conference Championships, placing seventh among eight teams. Ball State set five program records over four days. Freshman Gracey Payne, senior Alexa McDonald, junior Apsara Sakbun and freshman Hannah Jones recorded a time of 3:22.31 for sixth place in the 400 freestyle relay.

Masks to become optional March 4

March 2: Ball State announced in an email March 2 masks will be optional in all university buildings and vehicles beginning 5 p.m.

March 4. The email cited a low positive COVID-19 case count and “relatively high vaccination rates” among full-time staff and students.

Ball State still recommends students receive their vaccines and “act responsibly.”

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CORRECTION The Feb. 24 edition of The Ball State Daily News incorrectly referred to the RISE ticket as the RISE slate in a brief about the Student Government Association.

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

4-DAY WEATHER

FORECAST Tyler Ryan, Weather forecaster, Benny Weather Group

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

MOSTLY CLOUDY

MOSTLY SUNNY

SCATTERED SHOWERS

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Hi: 40º Lo: 29º

Hi: 50º Lo: 39º

Hi: 61º Lo: 53º

Hi: 63º Lo: 54º

THIS WEEK: Temperatures will drop back down, but not too cool into the 40s. We will see more chances for precipitation next week, staying at above average for our precipitation.

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DNNews

03.03.22 Indiana

AWAITING ADVENTURE

Holcomb issues executive order Gov. Eric Holcomb issued Executive Order 22-08 March 1 in response to Russia’s “wholly unwarranted and unjustified” invasion of Ukraine. In the executive order, he condemned the action and mapped out Indiana’s response. He ordered state offices to strengthen their cybersecurity and review their contracts with Russia and advised private entities do the same.

Indiana

Ball State student and faculty detail struggles of planning to study abroad during COVID-19.

House Bill 1134 dies in Senate

Ball State regularly hosts travel abroad opportunities to an average of 65 countries. Since spring 2020, Ball State hasn’t sent any students abroad due to the pandemic and security risks.

RINKER CENTER FOR GLOBAL AFFAIRS, PHOTO PROVIDED

Jamie Strouts Reporter Editor’s note: Zander Lichosik previously worked for The Ball State Daily News as a sports reporter.

For junior exercise science major Zander Lichosik, the past two years have been a frustrating waiting game.

In his freshman year, Lichosik applied to the U.K. Fulbright Summer Institute (FSI) scholarship. He was supposed to study abroad in Scotland in summer 2020. But, like many other college students waiting to travel overseas, a global pandemic put Lichosik’s plans on pause.

“I am not sure what’s going to happen, so I would say that’s my biggest concern,” Lichosik said. “I have no idea what could happen within the next couple of months. COVID could get worse again, it could get better.”

Lichosik heard about the FSI scholarship through the Honors College in a freshman seminar hosted by Barb Stedman, director of national and international scholarships and Honors fellow.

Stedman said she informs Ball State students about scholarship opportunities through presentations, emails and social media posts. She

The heartbreak occurs when I’ve had students apply for and win scholarships to support study abroad, and then they’ve had to decline the scholarships, ultimately, because they’re not allowed to go to the countries that they won the scholarships for.”

- BARB STEDMAN, Director of national and international scholarships and Honors fellow

03

also works closely with students who decide to apply for scholarships.

Stedman said COVID-19 has taken a toll on study abroad opportunities.

“The heartbreak occurs when I’ve had students apply for and win scholarships to support study abroad, and then they’ve had to decline the scholarships, ultimately, because they’re not allowed to go to the countries that they won the scholarships for,” Stedman said.

Stedman said students may still have access to the scholarship money if their trips are canceled, but they won’t be able to use the funds until it is safe to study abroad, like Lichosik — who hopes to use his 2020 award this summer.

“He won the U.K. Fulbright Summer Institute award as a freshman back in 2020. That would have sent him to Scotland for three weeks over that summer,” she said. “Well, of course, COVID hit, and so he was not allowed to go that year.”

Students who graduated during the pandemic, Stedman said, weren’t able to defer funds and had to cancel their trips entirely. However, Lichosik and other underclassmen who pursued study abroad opportunities early in their college careers still have a chance to travel, she added.

4See ABROAD, 06

ON BALLSTATEDAILYNEWS.COM: RUSSIA MET WITH RESISTANCE IN KHARKIV

The Indiana Senate killed House Bill 1134 Feb. 28, which would have given parents more power over classroom curricula after closed-door discussions in the Republican caucus. Although Republicans have a supermajority in the General Assembly, Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville, said he didn’t have the votes for the bill to pass.

National

House passes Emmett Till Anti-lynching Act Lawmakers in the House passed the Emmett Till Anti-lynching Act Feb. 28 in a 422-3 majority. A similar bill was introduced by Bobby Rush, D-Ill., two years ago but was then blocked by the Senate in February 2020 after the murder of Ahmaud Arbery. Anti-lynching is not a new proposal on the House floor, and since Rush, there have been almost 200 attempts to pass the bill.

DNNews

03.03.22

04

Members of the Ball State and Muncie communities discuss the conflict in Ukraine.

Maya Wilkins Reporter Editor’s note: Stacy is a Ukrainian foreign exchange student at Jay County High School in Portland, Indiana.

The Ball State Daily News interviewed her host family for this story and was asked to keep Stacy’s last name private to protect her and her family.

Ask Sergei Zhuk how he’s doing and he will respond with two words.

“I’m surviving.”

On Feb. 24, Zhuk watched cities in Ukraine — his home country — fall to Russian troops.

He hasn’t had a good night’s sleep since then. He and his wife, Irina Kozintseva, have spent every night watching CNN, checking social media and Skyping their relatives who are unable to move to the United States.

Zhuk grew up in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. After the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986, he was drafted into the Soviet Army for about three months. He became unpopular among his friend group for blaming the Soviet government for the disaster, and

He is writing a book about the KGB — the Soviet secret police — and how it tried to suppress Ukrainian patriotism.

The KGB was dissolved in 1991 but was replaced by the Foreign Intelligence Service of Russia (SVR) in December that year.

“It’s strange enough and it’s tragic enough for me because I’m Ukrainian American,” Zhuk said. “And now that I see that all my models of KGB operation that I described in this book are efficiently used by President Putin …

I’m afraid we’re witnessing the last days of Ukraine’s independent republic.”

Zhuk and his wife have been talking to their relatives via Skype. He said, as of now, the Russian government has not shut down Ukrainian media, but it has been replaced with Russia’s own. Since late November, Zhuk and his wife have been calling their family in Ukraine, asking them if they are ready for war and trying to persuade them to do something to prepare.

Although the conflict in Ukraine has been difficult for Zhuk and his family, he said it’s been a “good introduction to international affairs” for his students because he doesn’t know how much they know.

1990 Dec. 1, 1991 Ukraine becomes independent

Left: A view of a school destroyed as a result of a fight close to the center of Kharkiv, Ukraine, located about 30 miles from the Ukrainian-Russian border Feb. 28.

SERGEY BOBOK/AFP/ GETTY IMAGES/TNS, PHOTO COURTESY

It’s my home. Can you imagine if somebody were to intrude [your country]? To invade your house, would you feel the same?”

- SERGEI ZHUK, Ball State professor of history in 1997, six years after the fall of the Soviet Union, he immigrated to the U.S. Nearly 25 years later, Zhuk said he sees the Russian government making the same mistakes it made before. He’s not convinced Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to stop with the invasion of Ukraine. Much as Ukraine was one of the founding members of the Soviet Union 100 years ago, he believes Putin has similar aspirations today and wants to punish the U.S. for the humiliation the Soviets felt when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. “[Putin’s] main goal is not Ukraine — he wants to restore the Soviet Union,” Zhuk said. “So, probably after Ukraine, he will go to the other Soviet republics.”

Nevertheless, he’s surviving.

“It doesn’t matter. It’s my home. Can you imagine if somebody were to intrude [your country]? To invade your house, would you feel the same?” he said.

Zhuk, Ball State professor of history, is friends with Jack Greene — a professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore — and Greene invited him to Johns Hopkins for school. He said his friends, such as Mike Zuckerman, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, paid and arranged for his family’s immigration to the U.S. in 1997.

From there, he became a graduate student until 2002 and worked on a dissertation on Imperial Russia and how it mistreated evangelical Ukrainian military peasants and provinces.

Zhuk focuses on social and cultural history and is most interested in Ukraine, Russia and the former Soviet Union.

While he’s been teaching his students, he said the response from them and his fellow faculty members “has been great.” Some of them have asked questions about how they can help Ukraine, and Zhuk has been showing them a way to donate money to the Ukrainian Embassy.

Even more than that, Zhuk said he is happy members of all political parties are coming together in support of Ukraine.

“All Americans must unite,” Zhuk said. “Both Republicans and Democrats must forget about their differences. If we unite, we will win … And Putin will be afraid.”

Ed Krzemienski, associate teaching professor of history, is one of Zhuk’s colleagues in the history department.

Although Krzemienski has not spoken with Zhuk about the Ukraine conflict yet, he said he has been able to empathize with Zhuk and his thoughts.

“This is an existential crisis for him and everybody in Ukraine, who have done absolutely nothing wrong and are offensive in no way whatsoever,” Krzemienski said.

Krzemienski also said he had relatives in Poland before he was born, but his grandparents lost touch with them in the 1950s after his family sent them money and the Soviet Union had taken over. From what he knows about that and what he thinks Zhuk is going through, Krzemienski said there’s “a real sense of frustration and feeling that you can’t really do anything.”

Krzemienski believes the conflict was inevitable because of “the way Putin has behaved throughout his entire time

Above: Volunteers for Territorial Defense Units stand in formation, check their weapons, put on yellow armbands, get marching orders and ship out to their posts to defend the city from the Russian invasion, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Feb. 28.

MARCUS YAM/LOS ANGELES TIMES/TNS, PHOTO COURTESY

Right: A smoke column rises after an explosion in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Feb. 26. MARCUS YAM/LOS ANGELES TIMES/TNS

Dec. 5, 1994

Budapest Memorandum ensures Ukrainian sovereignty

05

2000 March 2000 Vladimir Putin elected president of Russia

March 2008

Putin becomes prime minister of Russia

2010

March 2012

Putin elected to third term as president of Russia

Nov. 2013 Feb. 2014

Viktor Yanukovych, thenUkraine president, flees to Russia after protests

Above:Ukrainian servicemen prepare to repel an attack in Ukraine’s Lugansk region Feb. 24.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine Feb. 24, killing hundreds of civilians and forcing more to flee for their lives to surrounding countries.

ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES/TNS

Left: A Ukrainian soldier walks past a building that was destroyed in the midst of battle with the Russians, on the outskirts of Irpin, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 1.

MARCUS YAM/LOS ANGELES TIMES/TNS, PHOTO COURTESY

03.03.22

DNNews

Sources: Britannica, Brookings Institute, Open Society Foundations, Associated Press

2020 Dec. 2021 April 21, 2019

Putin demands Ukraine never join NATO

Feb. 24, 2022

Volodymyr Zelenskyy elected president of Ukraine in office.” He said Putin has a nostalgia for the Cold War era, specifically because Putin was in the KGB. “He was at the top of the heap and has a strange kind of combination of megalomania and nostalgia that makes him want to recapture the old glory of the Soviet Union,” Krzemienski said.

With everything going on, Krzemienski has been extremely concerned, he said, because the invasion was an unprovoked attack by the Russian military.

He believes Putin will take over Ukraine, topple the government and put a government in place that is loyal to him.

“It makes me frustrated, number one, but it also makes me fearful that this is simply the first domino in a line of former Soviet republics within the Soviet Union that will be targeted,” Krzemienski said. “Perhaps this will only be the one, but it’s one too many — Ukraine is not a small nation, Ukraine is not an insignificant portion of Eastern Europe.”

Outside of the Ball State community, the conflict in Ukraine is also affecting others in the surrounding areas, including Greg Rittenhouse, whose family is hosting a foreign exchange student, Stacy, from Ukraine. Stacy is one of two Ukrainian foreign exchange students at Jay County High School in Portland, Indiana, but the only one hosted by the Rittenhouse family.

Rittenhouse said this is his family’s third year hosting a foreign exchange student, but this is the first year they’ve hosted a student from Ukraine.

“Hosting a daughter from Ukraine really hasn’t changed our view of [the conflict] because we see it as an atrocity against human rights, inhumane, immoral conflict anyway,” Rittenhouse said. “It just personalizes it for us and makes our hearts break even more.”

Russia invades Ukraine

Stacy has been able to keep in contact with her family because they are in a “relatively safe area” in southern Ukraine and not near any military targets, Rittenhouse said. She came to Indiana Aug. 3, 2021, and is scheduled to return to Ukraine May 24. As of now, Rittenhouse said that date hasn’t changed, and he doesn’t think the State Department will make those decisions until April or early May. Stacy can typically videochat with her family in Ukraine once a week, but she’s usually texting them all week long. However, now she is able to speak to them via video chat whenever she wants.

Rittenhouse said the community at large is “not particularly aware” Ukrainian students are here but those from the school have been.

“The high school students are aware, and they flooded both of the girls with too much love,” Rittenhouse said. “It’s all innocent on their part — they just don’t know how much the girls are hurting. It’s just hard for them to talk about [it] … every time they get approached.”

Rittenhouse also said Jeremy Gulley, Jay School Corporation superintendent, has reached out to both the girls and their host parents directly and the teachers have as well. Rittenhouse and his wife have been reminding Stacy to rest and take care of herself because “that’s the only way she can get through it.”

“There’s not a whole lot we can do other than support her and love her and make sure she’s able to keep in contact with her family back home,” he said. “And if that changes, I mean, that’ll bring a whole different dynamic to the war and the situation.”

Contact Maya Wilkins with comments at mrwilkins@bsu.edu or on Twitter @mayawilkinss.

farmers market at minnetrista: indoor market Every third Saturday now through April; 9 a.m.–Noon Connect with local vendors and discover fresh produce, plants, baked goods, and more!

DNNews

03.03.22

06

ABROAD

SUMMER 2022 ECUADOR STUDY ABROAD OPPORTUNITY

Continued from Page 03

“That, sometimes, is what will happen, that the award is simply just held for those students if they choose to try to claim it at a later date,” Stedman said.

For students who had time to postpone their trips, “they can hold onto the money, maybe apply it to a different study abroad opportunity, or in two cases, I’ve had students line up virtual international experiences, still giving them that exposure to international ideas,” Stedman said.

When it comes to the application process, Stedman said the majority of students who stand out when applying are those involved in extracurriculars because foundations want to ensure students will engage with people and new cultures during their study abroad experiences.

“Let’s say you have a 4.0 GPA, but that’s all you really do, is go to class and get good grades,” Stedman said. “Honestly, scholarship foundations typically aren’t going to be that interested in [those] students.”

Lichosik said the FSI application process involved a series of essays before he was accepted for an interview, which Stedman said is “always going to be the heart of any scholarship application.”

“The bigger [essays] were more about yourself, pretty much advertising yourself,” Lichosik said, “so describing yourself as a leader and just trying to let the committee know who you are before you meet them and go through the interview process.”

John Jensen, director of study abroad at Ball State, said study abroad has multiple benefits for students. He hopes more will take the opportunity after the pandemic ends.

“In addition to the academic benefits of exploring discipline from another perspective, the personal growth that takes place from challenging your perspectives, customs and behaviors are lifelong,” Jensen said via email.

Assistant lecturers of Communications Studies Ashley Coker and Michael Storr plan to lead a five-week study abroad program in Cuenca, Ecuador, this summer May 11 – June 19.

Each participant can choose two communication classes to take during their trip.

The trip will cost $2,864 plus airfare and tuition.

If interested, contact Ashley Coker at acoker@ bsu.edu. Contact the study abroad director with any questions, at jwjensen@bsu.edu.

Source: Ball State Communications Center

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, between 3-400 students participated in study abroad programs each semester. Some scholarships given to students to support study abroad opportunities have been deferred until they are able to use them.

RINKER CENTER FOR GLOBAL AFFAIRS, PHOTO PROVIDED

Jensen studied abroad when he was in college and said his experience in London was eye-opening.

“It was a life-changing, impactful experience, especially as a first-generation college student, as it opened my eyes to the reality that our culture and way of life is only a part of a much larger global mosaic,” Jensen said.

Jensen said only a small percentage of Ball State students take the opportunity to study abroad.

“Pre-pandemic, generally 3-400 Ball State students participated in credit-bearing study abroad programs per year,” Jensen said. “Additionally, our office provided risk management support for 100-plus students participating in non-academic international programs that run through other Ball

Leaving the Nest

Mackenzie Rupp Reporter

Editor’s note: Tim Underhill and Dom Caristi are both professors in the Ball State College of Communication, Information and Media. Neither have any association with The Ball State Daily News.

Ball State is offering a one-time retirement incentive package for full-time faculty members.

Provost Susana Rivera-Mills said professors must be over the age of 55 and have spent at least 10 years working at Ball State to qualify for the retirement program. Their combined age and years of service must also equal or exceed 70.

“With this plan, we are able to accelerate the implementation of our strategic imperatives related to future instructional needs in the areas of innovative pedagogies and transdisciplinary teaching and learning,” Lea Cadieux, interim vice president for

State University offices and/or departments.”

Susan McDowell, vice provost for research, leads an international travel oversight committee, which reviews travel requests from professional staff who apply to take students on study abroad trips. A four-point scale determined by the U.S. Department of State ranks security risks associated with different countries, with level one being lowest risk and level four recommending not to travel at all to that country.

Ball State allows students to travel at levels one through three, McDowell said, but an application and approval is required at each stage. Level four never allows students to travel.

“Currently, that commonly is COVID,” Stedman

Ball State introduces new retirement incentive package for professors.

For my own personal situation, it’s like being paid for [the] next academic year without having to work. There is a bit of a bonus, but much of that is likely to be lost to the added tax burden.”

- DOM CARISTI, Professor of media marketing and communications, said in an email.

Professors who enroll in the plan will receive a one-time payment of 125 percent of their annual salary, which is a “reasonable and appropriate amount,” Cadieux said.

Full-time faculty who are already enrolled in the Ball State University Group Health Plan can also choose to receive medical and dental coverage,

said, “but there can also be security risks associated with crime in the area.”

McDowell said some of the study abroad programs have been shifted to domestic travel instead of an international travel schedule, and she sometimes has to tell students and faculty they can’t travel but wants to make sure they understand her empathy.

“I try to express our understanding that this is not an easy message that they’re receiving,” McDowell said. “We try to be clear there’s no appealing that decision, that this is the final determination.”

With time, though, study abroad plans have the potential to change. This July and August, Lichosik is anticipating he will finally arrive in Scotland.

“I’ve spent a lot of time waiting, and I’m excited to go, so [I’m] just going to have it to wait it out,” Lichosik said. “As of now, it is slated to be on still. So, in July and August, I will be in Scotland for my scholarship.”

Hannah Amos and Lila Fierek also contributed reporting to this article.

Contact Jamie Strouts with comments at jdstrouts@bsu.edu.

which are part of Ball State’s retiree health programs.

“In order to adapt to the rapidly changing expectations for higher education, we must accelerate the implementation of these key strategies, and the VERIP [Voluntary Early Retirement Incentive Program] is an additional strategy for doing so,” Cadieux said.

Professors can elect to receive emeritus and

honoratus status, allowing them to participate in commencement ceremonies, remain in tuition remission programs — which provide discounted tuition for immediate family members — and maintain a Ball State email account, among other benefits.

Cadieux said she could not provide an estimate of the number of faculty members expected to enroll because “it is being offered on a first-come, first-serve basis.” All eligible faculty are encouraged to apply.

“This plan was not created for budget reduction purposes,” Cadieux said. “Rather, the plan is one effort to accelerate the implementation of our strategic plan by introducing new modalities and for additional alternative learning experiences.”

The application for the retirement package is open from February to March 2022. Applicants must agree to retire by May 14, 2022.

4See RETIREMENT, 18

DNSports

03.03.22

THE

VOICE OF VOLLEYBALL

For more than 15 years, Steve Shondell has continued his love of Ball State Men’s Volleyball by announcing at matches.

Daniel Kehn Reporter Steve Shondell takes a lap through the stands of Worthen Arena, walking up into the higher rows of seats and stretching while admiring the court below.

After a few minutes, he makes the journey back down to press row where he mingles with players, coaches and fans before studying the opposing team’s roster.

He doesn’t need to study Ball State Men’s Volleyball’s roster. He knows it by heart.

He wears his apparel from his days coaching Ball State Women’s Volleyball to every match.

His love for the university runs deep and is always on his sleeve.

During the match, he is the voice of reason between plays. His glasses tip just toward the end of his nose as he looks down for a player’s name and stat line.

He calls out scores and sequences while echoing the Cardinals’ nicknames around the arena.

“You’ve made it on the big stage when Steve has a name for you,” graduate student setter Quinn “The Q-tip” Isaacson said.

This has been Steve Shondell’s process for more than 15 years as Ball State Men’s Volleyball’s public address announcer.

The son of former Ball State Men’s Volleyball head coach, Don Shondell, Steve won four national titles and 21 state titles in his tenure as head coach of Burris Laboratory School Girls’ Volleyball from 1976-2009.

He also served as Ball State Women’s Volleyball’s head coach from 2010-16 and guided the Cardinals to a 2010 Mid-American Conference regular season title, Ball State’s first since 2002.

07

Men’s Basketball

Ball State falls on senior night to Akron Ball State lost 79-60 to Akron March 1. Redshirt sophomore guard Tyler Cochran led the Cardinals with 18 points while finishing with a team-high 10 rebounds. Junior guard Demarius Jacobs also chipped in 10 points.

Ball State shot 18 for 52 from the field. The Cardinals travel to Western Michigan for their final regular season contest March 4 at 6 p.m.

Women’s Golf

Ball State ties for 10th at Rio Verde Invitational The Cardinals scored 933 (69-overpar), tying Eastern Michigan for 10th place in the 18-team field Feb. 27.

Individually, graduate student Liz Kim and sophomore Kiah Parrott tied for 30th with a three-round score of 229 (13-over-par). Parrott and senior Morgan Lewis tied for a team-high six birdies. Ball State returns to action March 14 in the Spring Break Shootout.

Women’s Tennis

Cardinals sweep Youngstown State I’ll be following the men’s team as long as I live. I’m just trying to carry on the Shondell tradition …

I know this program meant the world to him, and it does to me, too, so this is one way I can give back to the program.”

PA announcer Steve Shondell watches a men’s volleyball match between Ball State and Lindenwood Feb. 24 at Worthen Arena. The Cardinals went on to beat Lindenwood 3-1. ELI HOUSER, DN

- STEVE SHONDELL, Ball State Men’s Volleyball public address announcer

See VOLLEYBALL, 10

Ball State swept the Penguins 7-0 Feb. 27. The Cardinals won doubles after sophomore Mariya Polishchuk and junior Jessia Braun defeated Youngstown State sophomores Eliska Masarikova and Maria Oliveira 6-0. Freshman Elena Malykh claimed Ball State’s match point after beating Oliveira 6-0, 6-1. The Cardinals play Cleveland State March 5 at noon.

ON BALLSTATEDAILYNEWS.COM: GRIFFITH EARNS MOST VALUABLE PERFORMER AT MAC INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

DNSports

03.03.22

08

FIGHTING

INJURY

After tearing her ACL for the second time, Anna Clephane is finding ways to get through her recovery process.

Redshirt junior Anna Clephane sits on the bench after suffering an injury to her right leg during a Ball State Women’s Basketball game against Kent State Jan. 9 at Worthen Arena. Clephane was injured after falling during an attempted layup in the second half of the game. ELI HOUSER, DN PHOTO; KAMRYN TOMLINSON, DN PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

09 Kyle Smedley Reporter When Anna Clephane feels overwhelmed, she’ll turn on a playlist of relaxing music or find time to draw. Maybe she’ll get a cup of coffee at The Caffeinery in downtown Muncie.

These activities are what Clephane depends on now that she hasn’t been able to play basketball for two months. While rehabbing her second torn ACL in three years, she has turned to her other hobbies in times of self-doubt.

With multiple seasons left of eligibility, the redshirt junior said she has developed an identity crisis from deciding whether or not to return to Ball State Women’s Basketball.

“It’s made me look at a scenario where, let’s say I didn’t have basketball,” Clephane said. “‘Who am I? What am I going to do?’ I expected to have a solid two more years of basketball in front of me, and now, it’s like, ‘Oh, crap.’ Then again, I do know who I am. I do like other things besides basketball, and I think I have a future whether basketball is there or not.”

In order to overcome negative thoughts, Clephane said she’s used positive self-talk to reassure herself — something she admitted was tough for her to start during the early stages of the recovery process.

“I know it sounds goofy, and I thought so too at first, but I’ll sit here and say, ‘You’ve done this before — you can do anything. You’ve got this.

You can conquer this,’” Clephane said.

Even though Clephane suffered the same injury her freshman season, she said it’s been tougher dealing with the ramifications this time around because she was averaging a career-high 16.2 points per game prior to when she was injured Jan. 9.

“I was in denial,” Clephane said. “It was the worst heartbreak I’ve ever gone through. I pushed it aside and pretended it wasn’t a thing until surgery.

Then, I had to change my mindset to recovery.”

Clephane said through her initial denial phase, those close to her would want to talk to her about her injury, and she would refuse to discuss it. Clephane said head coach Brady Sallee, teammate and roommate senior Thelma Dis Agustsdottir and her mother, Jeanne Clephane, make up her “inner circle.”

“At first, I was distracting myself,” Anna said.

“I would go out with my friends and say, ‘Guys, I don’t want to talk about it,’ or I would go home and my family would bring it up, and I would just be like, ‘Nope.’”

“She’s always there,” Dis Agustsdottir said.

“She always has been, and I hope I’ve been there for her. It’s just unbelievable. I’m so grateful for her and our relationship.”

Jeanne said she knows it’s part of every program’s recruiting pitch to make parents and players feel like they are loved, but with Ball State, it’s been different. Jeanne said, along with the coaches, the entire program has been there for Anna since arriving on campus.

“I’ve always felt like they really do care about her,” Jeanne said. “I watched [Sallee] cry when she went down. Ally [Becki], Marie [Kiefer] and Madelyn [Bischoff], those freshmen sent her flowers at home. It feels like they are family, and I love it.”

Dis Agustsdottir moved to Muncie from Iceland and spent Christmas Day 2020 with Anna and her family because of COVID-19 travel restrictions.

Jeanne said she is thankful for Dis Agustsdottir’s involvement in Anna’s life.

“The Dis Agustsdottir’s are an unbelievably awesome family,” Jeanne said. “We love spending time with them. When Thelma can’t get home, she spends Easter or Christmas with us, and we just love her like a daughter. I’ve always felt very blessed that I know Thelma is here to take care of Anna.”

Sallee said he’s still not over Anna’s injury because he cares about the human being she is. He said there is something missing from the Cardinals without Anna’s presence.

“It all stems from her relationships with each and every kid,” Sallee said. “There’s so much respect for her, there’s so much empathy for her, they care about her — just her presence, her smile, her laugh, her voice. It just changes everything, and when it’s not there, there’s a void.”

Sallee said Anna’s always had a vibrant personality and is someone he enjoys being around. Her injury has been hard for him, he said, because of the relationship they’ve built outside of basketball.

“I’ve always felt that she was loyal to our program and loyal to me,” Sallee said. “She’s about the stuff that I believe in, that this program is built on. When you see that kid in your program go down, man, it’s heart-wrenching. As a coach, you have to get over those emotions because you’ve got to be rock-steady for that kid. You’ve got to be rock-steady for your program.”

Dis Agustsdottir said Anna’s injury has been hard for the Cardinals to cope with but believes it has brought her teammates closer together.

“It made me want to do it for her,” Dis Agustsdottir

It was the worst heartbreak I’ve ever gone through. I pushed it aside and pretended it wasn’t a thing until surgery. Then, I had to change my mindset to recovery.”

- ANNA CLEPHANE, Ball State Women’s Basketball redshirt junior Dis Agustsdottir placed a gift basket on Anna’s bed the night of her injury. Anna said she “has been a rock” and has helped Anna through both injuries, as they have roomed together since their freshman year. She wants to be there for Anna — like Anna has been for her.

said. “She’s such a big personality and such a big part of the team — she still is in a way. It definitely is a season where we all want to do it for her.”

It’s been difficult for Anna to watch Ball State games and not be able to play. Jeanne said Anna would cry watching the games, scream in joy for

03.03.22

DNSports

Redshirt junior Anna Clephane walks onto the court before a game against Toledo Jan. 19 at Worthen Arena. Prior to her injury, Clephane averaged 16.2 points per game. ELI HOUSER, DN the Cardinals, call out plays she knew were about to happen and fight for Ball State in her basement.

But, no matter where Anna cheers from, Sallee said Anna will be successful in whatever she decides to do in the future.

“Whatever she chooses to do professionally, she’s gonna be an all-star doing that,” Sallee said.

“I just think with all of this built inside of her now, she’s gonna take over the world. I believe, 20 years from now, we’re gonna be having lunch somewhere, wherever she’s living, and she’s gonna have the world by the tail. I don’t see anything other than that happening for her.”

Before her injury, Anna said, she was in the best mental space of her Ball State career.

Although her mindset remains in a solid place, she said it’s been difficult during the rehab process, which has been a repetitive combination of lifting, bending and straightening her knee, but she’s developed a steady routine. Two and a half weeks after surgery, she could bend her knee 97 degrees.

“I think being able to carry that mindset into this has been helpful,” Anna said. “Obviously, there have been days where it’s like, ‘Holy crap, this is overwhelming,’ but I can pull myself out of that pretty quickly.”

Anna said she’s since progressed toward being willing to discuss her feelings about the injury. She

said it’s been hard for her to express vulnerability, and Jeanne said in the past, when Anna had to make a decision, she would go into retreat.

“Anna’s always been the kind of person when she has to make a big decision, she’ll talk to people, she’ll get information together but, ultimately, she wants to shut down, and she wants to be by herself,” Jeanne said. “She wants to make that decision, and I’ve learned to give her that space to make that decision.”

Anna isn’t sure what her future holds, although she doesn’t want to be done with basketball because of her love for the game. She is currently going through the same physical therapy she did her freshman year, and she will graduate from Ball State this spring with a double major in biology and communications. Moving forward, she’s interested in being a pharmaceutical representative and has looked into becoming a traveling sports rehabilitation specialist.

As a decision regarding her basketball career looms, Anna said, her mindset is in an appropriate place to choose her path moving forward.

“I think I’m in a place right now where I need to decide a lot of things,” Clephane said. “I feel like I’m in a good headspace to do it, so I need to just, you know, do it.”

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

DNSports

03.03.22

10

PA announcer Steve Shondell poses for a portrait before a volleyball match Feb. 25 at Worthen Arena.

Shondell has announced men’s volleyball at Ball State for more than 15 years. AMBER PIETZ, DN

VOLLEYBALL Continued from Page 07

“I’ve grown up with Ball State Men’s Volleyball,” Steve said. “I became very attached with the men’s program.”

Today, Steve draws fandom for the energy he brings to Ball State’s home court and the variety in nicknames he gives the players.

“That’s the reason some people come,” Isaacson said. “I got to work with Steve at Burris [Laboratory School], so I have a great relationship with him. He enjoys doing it, and I know the fans do, too. We like it as players — it helps motivate us and gets us excited.”

Steve analyzes Ball State’s previous matches for takeaways and follows every second of the Cardinals when they’re away from home.

Through announcing, he tries to give the match as many different perspectives as possible. He said wants to make the game less stressful for the players while giving the fans a

new side of student-athletes.

“It’s very unique,” Steve said. “I don’t know too many other programs that call their players each by nickname. I think the fans like it, [and] it gives a little extra spice to the match.”

The process of formulating a nickname is usually quick for Steve. It will strike him, pop into his head and be cemented for the player. `“Some of the nicknames come from the nicknames that they currently have, that they had when they came to Ball State or one the players here gave them,” Steve said. “If they don’t have a nickname that I know of, I usually create one for them to the best of my ability.”

Steve gave senior outside hitter Kaleb Jenness his nickname, “The Beach,” based on his hometown of Charleston, South Carolina. Jenness said the moniker is used off the court as well.

“There’s a beach like 15 minutes from my house,” Jenness said. “I play a lot of beach volleyball, so I think he got it from there … I actually got a shirt for Christmas, my cousin made it, it says ‘The Beach’ on the back of it.”

We cannot say enough about how much of a staple he is to men’s volleyball here at Ball State. I like to see how good of a relationship he has with the guys and then he gets the fans going. We appreciate him so much.”

- DONAN CRUZ, Ball State Men’s Volleyball head coach

PA announcer Steve Shondell rubs his forehead while watching and announcing the Ball State Men’s Volleyball match Feb. 24 at Worthen Arena. Shondell was inducted into the Ball State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005. ELI HOUSER, DN Of all the nicknames he has announced, “The Q-tip” ranks at the top for Steve, but he was not the originator of the label.

“It’s one of my all-time favorites, but I didn’t come up with that one — that was one that the players had given him,” Steve said.

Isaacson said he’s unsure when it was given to him but said it was a hit with the players and Steve, so he decided to “roll with it.”

Steve said his father instilled his love of volleyball in him, in which he has made a lifetime out of coaching and playing. He played under his father from 1974-77 at Ball State and served as an assistant in Don’s final seven seasons of coaching from 1992-98. As an announcer, Steve said he feels like a caretaker for the family’s legacy in Muncie.

“I’ll be following the men’s team as long as I live,” Steve said. “I’m just trying to carry on the Shondell tradition … I know this program meant the world to him, and it does to me, too, so this is one way I can give back to the program.”

Aside from the mic and headset, Steve is seen as a Ball State coaching legend, being inducted into the Indiana Volleyball Hall of Fame in 1996, the

Ball State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005 and the American Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2007. More importantly, though, Jenness said he is someone players can bond with.

“Just having someone that comes to talk to you after games [and] between sets, he’s a really great resource and a great person,” Jenness said.

Ball State head coach Donan Cruz has not received a Shondell nickname but said his presence makes the home atmosphere that much better.

“We cannot say enough about how much of a staple he is to men’s volleyball here at Ball State,” Cruz said. “I like to see how good of a relationship he has with the guys, and then he gets the fans going. We appreciate him so much.”

When Isaacson stepped back to serve match point against then-No. 1 ranked Hawaii Jan. 29, Steve was there to call for “The Q-tip.”

Hawaii was the defending national champion.

He wouldn’t have missed a match of its magnitude for the world.

It was one of his favorite moments to call.

Contact Daniel Kehn with comments at daniel. kehn@bsu.edu or on Twitter @daniel_kehn.

DNLife

03.03.22

Indianapolis-based hip-hop artist Rome Herbert writes music to help people fight fear.

Miguel Naranjo Reporter When Rome Herbert was about 8 years old, he frequently attended spoken word performances with his mother in Indianapolis and became inspired by its artistry.

“I knew I wanted to do spoken word because of the way [it] could move audiences and evoke emotion,” Herbert said.

However, he was also influenced by music — more specifically, hip-hop and rap.

“Hip-hop was the perfect merger of [spoken word],” Herbert said, “but also … the music people were more into around me.”

Herbert said mental illness was actively present in his childhood. His mother has schizophrenia — a serious medical condition in which some people interpret reality abnormally, according to the Mayo Clinic. He spent most of his childhood moving between his mother’s and grandmother’s homes.

Herbert’s parents lived in the suburbs of northwest Indianapolis, but he lived most often with his grandmother near the city’s east side, according to his website’s biography.

“As a product of Black America’s schizophrenia, I’m referencing this idea Black people in America have to live two different lives — one that is acceptable and assimilating to white America and then code-switching back to Blackness,” Herbert said.

See FEAR, 15

KAMRYN TOMLINSON, DN ILLUSTRATION; MAGGIE GETZIN, DN ART DIRECTION

ON BALLSTATEDAILY.COM/BYTE: ARTIST OF THE MONTH: KELSEY LU

11

DNLife

03.03.22

12

Duck stickers with previous students’ names are stuck to a broken window Jan. 27 in the Purchasing Services Excess Center. Anna Arison, assistant director of purchasing services, works with 15 material handlers to manage six different areas.

“Scheduling, communication and good morale makes it go easy,” Arison said.

excess

The RYLAN CAPPER, DN

13 03.03.22 Tables, desks and chairs sit in the former gymnasium Jan. 27 at the Purchasing Services Excess Center.

Employees at the center manage six different operations: central mail, central receiving, central stores, excess storage and moving, recycling and event rental equipment.

DNLife

Impounded bikes fill a classroom Jan. 27 at the Purchasing Services Excess Center. After each semester, University Police collect abandoned bicycles and if unclaimed, they go to the excess center.

A papier-mache dinosaur stands in the overgrown courtyard at the former Wilbur E. Sutton Elementary School. The center houses any unused assets from the university for 60 days before selling it.

Tables, chairs, bicycles, deteriorating welcome boards and other objects lay dormant in the former Wilbur E. Sutton Elementary School — lost and forgotten.

DNLife

03.03.22

14

FASHION FORWARD Foto Therapy Photography hosts Little Africa Fashion Show at Madjax.

Joe Jones announces categories during the Little Africa Fashion Show Feb. 26 at Madjax in downtown Muncie. Jones goes by the stage name Eniqo Williams. RYLAN CAPPER, DN

Cardinal

Kitchen

Michealla Graham saunters down the runway wearing clothing from Eye Candy Fashion Boutique during a fashion show Feb. 26 at Madjax in downtown Muncie. The event included work from local designers and Black-owned businesses. RYLAN CAPPER, DN

Hey, Ball State! Did you know there is a food pantry on campus? We’d love to help you if you need it. Here’s when, where and how:

Located in Ball State

Student Center, Room L-26

Open the last three

Tuesdays of every month

We have groceries and toiletries!

Learn more or donate by emailing cardkitchen@bsu.edu Legacy Donati and Eli Carter strut down the runway wearing traditional African patterns Feb. 26 at Madjax in downtown Muncie. Foto Therapy Photography organized the event. RYLAN CAPPER, DN

Cardinal Kitchen

15 03.03.22

DNLife

Rome Herbert performs his “music to fight fear.” Herbert began studying telecommunications at Ball State in 2014 before changing his major to creative writing. ROME HERBERT, PHOTO PROVIDED

FEAR

Continued from Page 11 When Herbert was about 12 years old, he devoted himself to becoming a hip-hop artist and sold his first mixtapes to his peers at 16. He said his strong Christian faith inspired him to pursue a career in music, and the message of his songs and brand would revolve around faith, hope and love — three key qualities that helped him cope with the challenges of his childhood.

a notebook he would invite his fans to write feedback in after shows.

“The word I kept hearing from each one was, ‘bold, bold, bold,’” Herbert said. “A lot of times … fear leaves us feeling stuck and leaves us feeling like we can’t move. I realized music, at its core, is something to listen to instead of fear.”

In 2018, Josh Holowell, lead pastor for the City Hope Fellowship in downtown Muncie, launched a program where he hired Herbert as one of three interns. He noticed Herbert from his speeches and sermons at Impact ministry at Ball State, which advocates for the Black community and its

He was working really hard to connect with everyone in our city — and it really felt like everyone in our city.

[Herbert] was kind of influential in organizing some of [the] things we participated in.”

- JOSH HOLOWELL, Lead pastor for the City Hope Fellowship Herbert began studying telecommunications at Ball State in 2014 but changed his major to creative writing after taking a creative writing elective. In a class with Brian Morrison, associate teaching professor of English, Herbert said he and his classmates would share poems with each other and offer feedback, which changed Herbert’s songwriting process.

“That [class] helped me a lot to open myself up to critique and improvement from fellow artists, sharing drafts of my songs and getting constant feedback to improve,” Herbert said. “That experience helped me to learn to let others into my process more.”

While attending Ball State, Herbert performed shows on and around campus, including Be Here Now in the Village and Uggly’s Bar and Grill on Muncie’s south side. He carried around

spiritual leaders.

As an intern, Herbert worked to start a ministry at Muncie Central High School and the Youth Opportunity Center in Muncie. However, the two never became fully fledged programs due to COVID-19 concerns, he said.

“He was working really hard to connect with everyone in our city — and it really felt like everyone in our city,” Holowell said. “[Herbert] was kind of influential in organizing some of [the] things we participated in.”

After Herbert’s year-long internship ended, he transitioned to working part-time for the City Hope Fellowship as both the director of outreach and guest preacher for Sunday sermons.

“I think [Herbert] was our most gifted preacher on staff, including myself,” Holowell said. “He

had sort of a prophetic bent … he would see and call out injustice or sin… and also bring the hope of Jesus to the situation, always.”

Herbert moved back to Indianapolis in August 2021 but maintains a connection with his fanbase — which he calls “the Romans” — through Thursday evening Twitch streams and a Patreon page.

The greatest reason Herbert moved back to Indianapolis was to be closer to his 86-year-old grandmother, who “made a huge impact” on his life and was getting older and needed more care, he said.

After returning to Indianapolis, Herbert reconnected with Alvin Laguerre, a fellow hiphop artist and 2021 Ball State graduate he met through the Impact movement.

“The way [Herbert] speaks and pursues people just has always stuck with me,” Laguerre said.

“Just from meeting him, he made me feel known and cared about and heard my story.”

Laguerre said he found out Herbert was also a hip-hop artist from getting to know him.

Eventually, they started working together, where their form of discipleship became music.

As a fellow hip-hop artist, Laguerre goes by the name “Alvin the Architect,” alluding to both his architecture studies at Ball State and the mission behind his songs of building people up against fear, anxiety and self-doubt.

Laguerre also immigrated to the United States in 2009 from Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti.

“When I immigrated to the United States, I faced a lot of those feelings, so it’s only natural my music would reflect this and show we can overcome through faith, hope and love,” Laguerre said.

Laguerre and Herbert meet every Monday to spend time together and compose music, with Laguerre as the producer and Herbert as the lyricist and songwriter.

“I think it’s funny because my sound is completely different from Rome’s sound,” Laguerre said.

Rome Herbert sings and dances along with fans to his “music to fight fear.” He devoted himself to being a hip-hop artist when he was 12 years old, and he began selling his mixtapes at 16. ROME HERBERT, PHOTO PROVIDED Herbert is currently working on an EP for his Patreon supporters, “For The Bold,” as well as releasing singles on Spotify each month this year, though he said he has several other aspirations, like releasing new merchandise or some sync licensing.

Although he continues expanding his brand and developing as an artist, Herbert said the message of his songs continues to revolve around faith, hope and love.

“For music, specifically, my main call is I want you to experience being bold and fighting against fear,” Herbert said.

Contact Miguel Naranjo with comments at miguel.naranjo@bsu.edu.

DNOpinion

16

03.03.22

AMBER PIETZ, DN

Sophie Nulph

Columnist, “Open-Minded”

Sophie Nulph is a senior magazine journalism major and writes “Open-Minded” for The Daily News. Her views do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper.

ON BALLSTATEDAILY.COM/BYTE: REMEMBERING WHITNEY HOUSTON FOR MORE THAN HER VICES

W

17

hen asked as a little girl what I wanted to be when I grew up, I never said “teacher” or “ballerina” or even “journalist.” I always said, “a mom.”

My childhood best friends were my three American Girl dolls named Juli, Claireice and Kit, along with my two Bitty Baby twins, Carter and Chloe. I was their mom, and we spent every waking moment together. I had a particular bond with Juli, a Christmas gift from my grandparents, whose imaginary presence to me was comforting for a girl who never really fit in.

I finally retired my American Girl dolls when I was in sixth grade, when we moved out of my childhood home, and I was determined to “grow up,” but my need to nurture never went away. After my dolls, I turned to babysitting and pet-sitting. I put all my love and care into my niece and nephew, who suddenly lived within 500 miles of my parents’ house for the first time. When I got to high school, I applied for a job at a daycare, starting with 3-year-olds and working my way down to infants. Those 3-and-a-half years were consumed by wonderful memories of firsts and warm baby smiles, and they only made me want to become a mother more.

My inherent need to nurture comes from my mother, the strongest woman I’ve ever met. While epitomizing feminism in a man’s world, she is called “mom” by a community of people. Women have always represented a nurturing lifestyle, simply because evolution allowed women to carry and give birth, rather than men. Women traditionally cooked, cleaned, bore the children, educated them enough to work and supported the men in every way possible. Women have always been built with the superpowers to nurture, support and maintain independence — wondering when exactly they will reach the breaking point in womanhood.

While not every woman wants kids, most women have the capability to have them, as evolution shows. So, what happens to a woman when she doesn’t? Is she no longer considered a “whole” woman? What happens when the only thing you want when you grow up is to have little kids of your own to impact and teach and help grow, only to discover there’s a chance you

may never be able to have kids at all? Women aren’t taught “what’s next” when they choose not to have kids or are unable — they are simply asked “why?”

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention confirms an estimated 10 percent of women in the United States, more than 6 million, have fertility issues when they try to conceive. In accordance, between six and 12 percent of women have been diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a hormonal condition where the ovaries create an abnormal amount of androgens — the male sex hormone — that present themselves most commonly after the formation of cysts, or fluid-filled sacs that grow on the ovaries. While this does not mean all women with PCOS have cysts, everyone diagnosed runs the risk of fertility issues and endometriosis, a disorder that grows uterine lining outside of the ovaries.

50% More than

OF WOMEN will go undiagnosed with PCOS Source: Johns Hopkins Medicine

With an increased amount of androgens in the ovaries, it is harder for the organ to ovulate a mature egg ready for fertilization. As a result, PCOS is one of the most common causes of infertility among women.

In fact, a 2015 article published by The Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism explored the relationship between PCOS diagnosis and infertility procedures. The study found there was a 26.4 percent correlation with PCOS diagnosis.

Yet, more than 50 percent of women go undiagnosed due to outdated criteria and lack of

1 IN 10 WOMEN are affected by PCOS

Source: PCOS Challenge

03.03.22

DNOpinion

All I’ve ever wanted is to be a mom, and while I have never experienced the loss of a baby or can comprehend the pain that brings, I understand the longing of a child that may never be.” education that quiets the condition.

That’s a problem for a disease that affects one in every 10 women.

If women’s bodies were supposedly made to conceive, what do we do when they fail us in doing so? Education fails to raise awareness to the realities of genetics, leaving women who struggle with these issues feeling hopeless and alone.

I was diagnosed with PCOS in 2020 as an indirect result of a YouTube video. At the time, I was trying to lose weight, and I was following a lifestyle influencer, Remi Cruz, on her weight loss journey. She posted a video one day titled “I have PCOS,” and I clicked on it. I left convinced I had the same problem and self-diagnosed myself. Six months later, my sister was diagnosed with PCOS by an actual doctor, and that’s when I found out my mother and grandmother had it as well. I went to the same doctor a few months later, and after far too much blood work, the reality of my situation suddenly became all too real to handle.

I felt my womanhood crumble around me sitting on that examination table. I never questioned my identity as a woman, but my diagnosis cast a thick fog over what I felt was my purpose as a woman entirely. All I could think about was the possibility of being infertile, and it crushed me and my dreams of motherhood.

I didn’t know what the condition was, even with my mom’s diagnosis, so I never understood what it meant to only have a period twice a year. I never understood why I couldn’t lose weight like the other girls due to the metabolic issues PCOS causes in some women. Now, I wake up every day knowing there’s a possibility I won’t be able to have kids, and that thought itself makes 6-year-old Sophie cry into her worn out Minnie Mouse stuffed animal.

While it’s possible for me to have children in other ways, the pain of knowing I may never experience pregnancy — the magical gift of growing my own baby — forces waves of numbness through my body until my eyes burn and my throat narrows. All I’ve ever wanted is to be a mom, and while I have never experienced the loss of a baby or can comprehend the pain that brings, I understand the longing of a child that may never be.

If I would have known this was a possibility when I was younger, I might have been able to prepare myself for the uphill battle of advocating for myself. The condition’s impact, able to show itself at birth and form later on in life, shadows over the education in sex eduaction and intial OBGYN visits.

There is still hope that I can have kids, if I

continue to treat my PCOS and be careful with my diet and exercise to prevent diabetes. I found that hope in the shadowed community of PCOS support groups full of women supporting women struggling with an uncommon condition. Further education for young minds can further inform ways to treat PCOS and more research for diagnosis can lead to more specific medications to help. My PCOS story is not necessarily one I anticipated sharing, but I hope, through my vulnerability, to educate others on an issue no woman should face alone.

Contact Sophie Nulph with comments at smnulph@bsu.edu or on Twitter @nulphsophie.

SYMPTOMS

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

OF PCOS

Irregular periods Excessive hair growth Uncontrollable weight gain Acne Ovarian cysts Can lead to depression, anxiety, infertility, endometriosis and diabetes Source: Johns Hopkins Medicine

DNNews

03.03.22

18

HOROSCOPE FOR MARCH 3, 2022 Written by: Nancy Black

ARIES March 21-April 19 Today is an 8 -- Take action to realize a lovely dream. Plan and organize to manage basic elements for your objective.

Discover what you seek.

Imagine perfection.

GEMINI May 21-June 20 Today is a 9 -- Creative possibilities spark at work.

Advance professionally by advancing a dreamy possibility. Action now has lasting reward. Reinforce basic structures.

Incorporate passion and fun.

TAURUS April 20-May 20 Today is an 8 -Collaboration action can earn lasting benefits.

Teamwork flourishes, bringing shared dreams closer to reality. Aim and push for a big prize. Play your part.

CANCER June 21-July 22 Today is a 9 -- Expand your own boundaries.

Take new territory.

Unexplored frontiers await your discovery.

You’re learning valuable skills. Practice your arts.

Investigate and develop a passion.

RETIREMENT Continued from Page 06

Ball State President Geoffrey Mearns told Board of Trustees members Dec. 18, 2021, this date will give college deans time to decide where additional faculty will need to be hired for the 2022-23 academic year.

Cecil Bohanon, professor of economics, said a few professors in the economics department have already accepted the retirement package. Bohanon said the program “targets high-paid professors” who have tenure.

“The reality of higher education is getting people to retire is not as easy as all that,” Bohanon said.

“As long as you can show that you’re competent, there’s no way for them to get rid of you.”

Another way faculty members can be encouraged to retire is through “phased retirement,” Bohanon said.

“There’s no expectations of research or public service, or for that matter, serving on committees,” Bohanon said. “Then, your faculty load in terms of teaching gets cut in half, and then you get half [the] pay.”

Phased retirement is voluntary, and “nobody forces it” onto faculty members, Bohanon said.

Bohanon once considered phased retirement but said it is “half pay with full work.”

“When [the incentive plan] first came out, I thought, ‘Oh, my gosh, they were talking about me in the Board of Trustees meeting,’” Bohanon said.

“I would be a target for that.”

Faculty who retired before this retirement package was created may consider it to be unfair, Bohanon said, but “there’s something about being in the right time, in the right place.”

Dom Caristi, professor of media, originally planned to retire in 2023 but changed his mind after learning about the retirement incentives

LEO July 23-Aug. 22 Today is a 9 -- Get to the prize by digging for it.

Work faster and earn more money. Collaborate to advance a shared dream.

Support each other.

VIRGO Aug. 23-Sept. 22 Today is an 8 -- Take action for love. Conditions favor romance, beauty and shared passion. Let your heart move you.

Discover and invent dreamy possibilities together.

being offered.

“When the pandemic hit in 2020, my wife asked me if I wanted to retire a little early. I said no, hoping I’d be able to end my career under more ‘normal’ circumstances — whatever that is nowadays,” Caristi said via email. “The early retirement incentive effectively shaved a year off what I had already planned to do.”

Caristi applied for the offer “the morning it became available.” The offer was advertised as being “first-come, first-serve,” so Caristi said he was advised to apply as soon as possible.

“For my own personal situation, it’s like being paid for [the] next academic year without having to work,” Caristi said. “There is a bit of a bonus, but much of that is likely to be lost to the added tax burden.”

Tim Underhill, associate lecturer of media, said he first heard about the retirement incentives “early in the semester” and later received an email informing him he was eligible.

“My initial thought was ‘I’m too young to retire,’” Underhill said via email. “Once I had a chance to think about it, I chose not to participate for financial reasons.”

Underhill said he does not have a job lined up to replace his current salary and “more importantly, [his] current benefits.”

“My greatest concern is paying for health care,” Underhill said. “I could not afford health insurance without that job benefit.”

Underhill said that the incentive plan will save the university money “by having people retire earlier than expected.”

“I’m happy for my colleagues who are able to take advantage of the offer,” Underhill said.

“They will be missed both professionally and personally. They leave some shoes that will be difficult to fill.”

Contact Mackenzie Rupp with comments at msrupp@bsu.edu or on Twitter @kenzieer18.

LIBRA Sept. 23-Oct. 22 Today is a 9 -- Everything is in place to reach a physical goal. Meditate to calm and quiet your mind.

Focus on the task at hand.

Prepare for excellence.

SAGITTARIUS Nov. 22-Dec. 21 Today is an 8 -- Home and family take priority.

Reinforce basic support structures. Improvements made now have lasting value. Collaborate to realize domestic dreams.

Cook up something wonderful together.

SCORPIO Oct. 23-Nov. 21 Today is a 9 -- Take action for what you love. What you do now can have lasting benefits. Your commitment attracts positive attention. Express what’s in your heart.

CAPRICORN Dec. 22-Jan. 19 Today is an 8 -- Advance a creative project that you’ve been dreaming about. Productivity today pays extra. Strengthen basic structures and then elaborate. Write, edit and polish your masterpiece.

AQUARIUS Jan. 20-Feb. 18 Today is a 9 -- Capture a lucrative opportunity.

Push for extra profits. A dreamy situation puts you at an advantage. Do the work behind the scenes for excellence.

PISCES Feb. 19-March 20 Today is a 9 -- Go for what you truly want.

Interesting opportunities develop. Consider an outside-the-box suggestion. Overcome old fears. Advance a personal dream by leaps and bounds.

The Marketplace try out

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Crossword & Sudoku

CROSSWORD EDITED BY RICH NORRIS AND JOYCE LEWIS; SUDOKU BY MICHAEL MEPHAM ACROSS Clues start here 1 Expand, as bread dough 5 Lift option 9 Guard’s order 13 Responsibility 14 It borders It. 15 Crown-wearing literary elephant 16 Work out like a hairdresser?

19 Time worth naming 20 Late time, in ads 21 Bills worth a hundo 22 Enjoy a La-Z-Boy 24 “Didn’t hear you” interjections 25 A lot, to Auden 26 Mother of life, in Greek myth 27 Needing to be settled 30 Work out like a bartender?

35 Evidence of shortages, for short 36 Catch, as a flick 37 __ menu 38 Work out like a fine artist?

43 Good buddy 44 Little winged singer 45 Slice (off) 46 Crew implement 47 Top-flight

51 Training song in “Flashdance” 55 Protagonist of the “Divergent” novels 56 Exec with the purse strings 57 Work out like a stockbroker?

60 Be worthy of 61 Cons’ counterparts 62 Destine for failure 63 Partner of ends 64 Avonlea adoptee 65 Numero dopo le sette DOWN 1 Rodeo performer 2 Accustom (to) 3 Component of the spice blend za’atar 4 Medium ability 5 Take advantage of 6 Raised landform 7 Tennis immortal 8 U.S. __ 1, East Coast hwy.

9 Saintly symbol 10 Share a border with 11 Tinseled fabric 12 Half of seis 15 Literally, “tray planting” 17 Bring together 18 Parental control option 23 Much, casually

24 Relaxed 26 Golfer’s target 27 Gregorius of the Phillies 28 Either of two Monopoly properties that can’t be built on: Abbr.

29 Ballpark figs.

30 Have trouble with one’s sisters?

31 Where much of “Children of the Corn” was filmed 32 Coal, for one 33 Arena worker 34 Harvests 39 Like many a Broadway musical 40 Bingham of “Baywatch” 41 Conic section 42 Canapé base, often 47 Sing like Michael Bublé 48 Slide (over) 49 Otherwise 50 “Fun Fearless Female” mag 51 Company message 52 Cut 53 “__ alert!”

54 Centenarian fashion icon Apfel 55 Fork-tailed flier 58 Relaxing resort 59 Courtroom affirmation

SOLUTIONS FOR FEBRUARY 24, 2022

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