BSU 11-04-21

Amalia Amaki’s button-based piece, “JL: The Ring,” shares the story of African American boxer Joe Louis in the David Owsley Museum of Art Oct. 28.

Additional design elements including chains and buttons have been added to this design by Alex Hindenlang Hindenlang. SUMAYYAH MUHAMMAD, DN PHOTO; ALEX HINDENLANG, DN DESIGN

News

Four-legged friends

Take a look at statistics about animal shelters in Indiana.05 Sports

Fresh on the scene

How Lexi Fraley’s quick adjustment to the collegiate level led her to immediate success09 Lifestyles

Eco-friendly practices

Six ways students can adopt a more ecofriendly lifestyle12 Opinion

Pet ownership in college

Columnist reflects on how having a dog has been beneficial.16

11.04.2021

Couple shares collection celebrating diverse artists and their work.13 ballstatedailynews.com

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11.04.21

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Did you miss it? Catch up on the news from Oct. 30 - Nov. 1...

BallStateDailyNews.com From The Easterner to The Daily News

In 1950, The Ball State Daily

DIGITAL MEDIA REPOSITORY. PHOTO COURTESY

News reported on the annual campus leaf rake, which began Nov. 9 after students were dismissed from their 2 p.m. classes. The university encouraged all students, faculty and staff to participate in the leaf rake, and the Ball State Pep Band performed at the event. If you have any Daily News memories, email news@bsudailynews.com.

Women’s tennis finishes fall season

Oct. 30: The Cardinals ended their fall season at the Louisville Classic, winning three of five singles matches against DePaul.

Junior Jessica Braun won in both singles and doubles action. After winning the 2021 Mid-American Conference title, the Cardinals will host the 2022 MAC Tournament April 30-May 1. The 2022 spring schedule has yet to be announced.

Gymnastics announces COVID-19 death 2022 schedule toll tops 5 million Nov. 1: Ball State will host

JACOB MUSSELMAN, DN PHOTO

its annual Red vs. White meet at Worthen Arena Dec. 13. The Cardinals begin their 11-meet regular season Jan. 7 with a quad meet against Missouri, Southeast Missouri and Illinois State before their first home meet against Kent State Jan. 23. Eastern Michigan will host the 2022 Mid-American Conference Championships March 19.

VOL. 101 ISSUE: 12 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 Sumayyah Muhammad, Lifestyles Editor Ian Hansen, Sports Editor John Lynch, Opinion Editor Adele Reich, Video Editor Rylan Capper, Photo Editor Emily Dodd, Social Media Editor Maya Wilkins, Copy Director CREATIVE SERVICES Maggie Getzin, Creative Director Kamryn Tomlinson, Visual Editor Alex Hindenlang, Visual Editor

Nov. 1: The global COVID-19

death toll topped 5 million less than two years after the virus was declared a pandemic. The United States alone has recorded more than 745,000 deaths, more than any other nation in the world. According to Johns Hopkins University, the global death toll is equal to the populations of Los Angeles and San Francisco combined.

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4-DAY WEATHER

FORECAST Tyler Ryan, Weather forecaster, Benny Weather Group

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

PARTLY CLOUDY

MOSTLY SUNNY

MOSTLY SUNNY

PARTLY CLOUDY

Hi: 47º Lo: 29º

Hi: 49º Lo: 32º

Hi: 52º Lo: 35º

THIS WEEK: The rest of this week will see temperatures begin to rise every day, but they will emain below average for this time of year. Partly cloudy skies will be in the forecast, but we will stay dry the rest of this week.

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DNNews

11.04.21

ART AT HEART Mayoral awards honor community creatives for their contributions to Muncie arts and culture.

Actors perform “Alias Grace,” a play written by Jennifer Blackmer, director of the Virginia Ball Center for Creative Inquiry and professor of theatre, at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. Blackmer’s colleague Christie Zimmerman, associate dean of the College of Fine Arts and associate professor of dance, nominated her for the 2021 Muncie Mayor’s Arts Awards.

JENNIFER BLACKMER Mayor’s Arts Awards Nominee

• • •

•

Director of the Virginia Ball Center for Creative Inquiry Ball State professor of theatre A film and screenwriter whose works have been produced off-Broadway and at theaters across the country.

Colleague Christie Zimmerman nominated Blackmer for the 2021 Muncie Mayor’s Arts Awards

MIKKI SCHAFFNER, PHOTO COURTESY

Community

Shooting near campus Saturday Muncie police examined a shooting at a house on North Linden Street Oct. 30 after a fight reportedly broke out there the same night.

The victim was shot twice in the chest and was said to be conscious after the incident was reported. The victim was treated at Ball Memorial Hospital Oct. 31 and has remained in stable condition.

Indiana

Holcomb extends health emergency

Grace McCormick, News Editor Sarah Olsen, Reporter Robert Dirden, Ball State assistant teaching professor of theatre, walked through the doors of the Muncie Civic Theatre as a 16-year-old in 1989 and wanted to help create sets and design shows. With theater experience from Muncie Central High School and a calling to create, Dirden said he helped the theater with whatever it needed, including painting sets, building props and sewing costumes.

Thirty-two years later, he still volunteers for the Muncie Civic Theatre and is now the costume shop manager. For his consistent work in the arts community, Dirden said fellow Muncie Civic Theatre volunteer and former Ball State telecommunications

03

To be recognized by my community is incredibly meaningful because it feels personal, almost like the city itself is saying, ‘Hey, we’re glad you’re here.’”

- JENNIFER BLACKMER, Director of the Virginia Ball Center for Creative Inquiry and professor of theatre

professor Nancy Carlson nominated him for the 2021 Muncie Mayor’s Arts Awards, which aims to recognize contributions from artists and promote visual, performance, culinary and other arts to new patrons in the Muncie community.

“These are some of the most prestigious honors conferred by the city on individual artists, teachers, nonprofit organizations, patrons of the arts and more,” said Muncie Mayor Dan Ridenour in an Aug. 25 press release.

The City of Muncie started these awards in 2015, and since then, they have happened every other year. Dirden said he has never been nominated for a Muncie Mayor’s Arts Award before.

See AWARDS, 06

On Oct. 29, Gov. Eric Holcomb extended the statewide public health emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic to Dec. 1, marking the 20th time Holcomb has extended it since the pandemic began in March 2020. Holcomb said he is advising his staff to look for a plan to end the health emergencies as COVID-19 cases drop.

Campus

Bowen Center creates new workshop The Ball State Bowen Center for Public Affairs has created a free, sixhour workshop teaching members of the Muncie and Delaware County communities about the campaign process and how to run for local office. The workshop will take place Nov. 13 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m., and guests must register by Nov. 9.

ON BALLSTATEDAILYNEWS.COM: GOVERNOR DAVIS MEMORIAL AT SIGHT & SOUND MUSIC CENTER

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RECORDING

KAMRYN TOMLINSON, DN; UNSPLASH, PHOTO COURTESY

HISTORY H

Ball State professor works to create LGBTQ+ oral history project with students.

Maya Wilkins, Associate News Editor Angelica Gonzalez Morales, Reporter

Emma Cieslik, 2021 Ball State biology and public history graduate, has always enjoyed learning about religion and its role throughout history.

“I had originally worked conducting research with the Jewish and Catholic populations in the United States, specifically in the Muncie area,” Cieslik said. “I was really fascinated about how I could combine my interest in local religious populations and religious traditions with gender, sexuality and minority studies.”

From this fascination and interest in religious communities, Cieslik spent a year and a half working with Emily Suzanne Johnson, assistant professor of history, developing an oral history project focused on the LBGTQ+ community in Muncie and what it means to be part of that community in the Midwest.

Johnson started the oral history project before it was brought to students but said training students in oral history was a great way to get them started.

Students can register for HONR 390, which is the honors colloquium class where Johnson teaches students about the oral history project.

As students take this class, they are trained to hold interviews for the project, where each one takes about an hour or two to complete and the students ask their sources deeper, personal questions.

Johnson said she notices different reactions when students first start conducting interviews, which dig deep into different people’s stories.

Student confidence in the project often differs, Johnson said, as some are more timid about interviewing sources while others are eager to begin telling the stories of the LGBTQ+ community in Muncie.

“Oral history is essentially a way of researching history by interviewing people, and the reason that I love it is because we can gather histories from people whose lives don’t otherwise get recorded,” Johnson said. “With an oral history interview, we

basically sit down and say, ‘Where were you born?

Tell me about your childhood. What was high school like?’ They last about an hour to two hours, and we basically just want to find out whatever people want to tell us about their story.”

Johnson, a trained historian of sexuality, knew she would be interested in finding more about the LGBTQ+ community once she went to Mark III Tap Room, a Muncie gay bar, in 2018 and learned about the history it brought to the community.

Johnson noticed the bar was having a party to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

“I realized that meant that this bar — in Muncie of all places — that this bar here is the oldest continuously operating gay bar in Indiana, and

“I really loved the process of giving people the control of their story through an oral history interview,” Cieslik said. “I think, sometimes, it can be a little bit exclusionary or biased if it’s just a historian writing it from an objective point of view versus somebody being empowered and emboldened to tell their own story.”

Cieslik said she knew before she started the project that focusing on the LGBTQ+ community in Muncie would be different than other communities because it’s a “mid-size town” rather than a large city like Indianapolis or Chicago, and she didn’t expect there to be as many historical records about the city’s LGBTQ+ history.

“It’s completely different — it was really cool to

I really loved the process of giving people the control of their story through an oral history interview. I think, sometimes, it can be a little bit exclusionary or biased if it’s just a historian writing it from an objective point of view versus somebody being empowered and emboldened to tell their own story.”

- EMMA CIESLIK, 2021 Ball State public history and biology graduate I just needed to know more about this,” Johnson said. “I had done oral history projects before, and I really felt like that was going to be the best way to figure this out.”

Johnson created the Muncie LGBTQ+ History Project, but the students working on the project conducted the interviews and helped her with the research. However, Johnson said it wasn’t intended for the class to work out this way.

“It was not initially conceived as an immersive learning class,” she said. “I kind of came to the idea of it separately, but it is now a regular course offering, and students have done most of the interviewing [for the project], and I appreciate them.”

Cieslik said she learned about this project through a class she was taking in the spring 2020 semester taught by Johnson. The class was a workshop focused on working on the LGBTQ+ History Project and allowed Cieslik to complete 10 of the 18 interviews used in the project that semester.

break into something that is completely new and original to add to the historical record,” she said.

The project relied on different sources providing Cieslik with names of other potential sources who may be interested in participating, she said. She began the project by talking to people she knew from other projects she completed and people who were members of various churches in Muncie.

“A lot of the interesting part of the project is that it led us to find and discover more of the community than we knew starting out,” she said.

Cieslik worked on this project amid the COVID-19 pandemic and had to conduct her interviews via Zoom, which she said “had some really unusual benefits.” Interviewing her sources over Zoom allowed her to get “raw answers” and talk to people who were once part of the Muncie community but may have moved somewhere else.

Cieslik could also record the interviews and get the transcripts afterward.

Cieslik said there are “no bad things” she could say about Johnson, and she felt supported throughout the entire project as she was working to find people to talk with and conduct interviews.

“She’s been a wonderful person to look up to, not only as a female identified person in academia, which I know is rare, especially in the history department,” Cieslik said.

Cieslik and Johnson worked together on the Muncie LGBTQ+ History Project, but at the time, there were about eight or nine other students in the same class working on their own projects.

Now, Johnson is still leading a class for students looking to be part of the LGBTQ+ History Project, which Cieslik said about 15 students are involved in. As of now, Johnson said the class is an Honors College capstone class, but she will begin teaching it in the history department starting in the fall 2022 semester.

“Some students have found out about this project and they are super excited about it and want to be there because they know what the project is,” Johnson said. “Some students come in and they’re like, ‘I don’t know — oral history seemed fun, and I want to do that,’ … and everyone is always happy in the end.”

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

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

WHERE TO WATCH THE LGBTQ+ HISTORY PROJECT The LGBTQ+ History Project is everchanging and evolving as students begin to submit their work, but there are two websites where viewers can see what has been done so far. Through the project’s website, members and allies of the Muncie LGBTQ+ community can submit and share their stories with the project members.

Files from the project can be found via the Ball State Digital Media Repository.

Source: Emily Suzanne Johnson, assiatant professor of history

THE SECRET LIFE OF SHELTER ANIMALS The first week of November is National Animal Shelter Awareness Week. Take a look at how animal shelters in the U.S. have changed from 2020-2021.

MAGGIE GETZIN, DN

28, 090 in 2021

82 ,890 in 2020

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AWARDS Continued from Page 03

“It’s nice to be nominated — it’s nice to be recognized by your peers,” he said. “Nominated for Ball State is one thing because it’s my job here, but nominated for something like Civic and the work I do down there, which most of it is done for free, it’s nice that people down there recognize what I do.”

Dirden said he is at Muncie Civic Theatre a few times a week and organizes costumes for shows, which include fittings for actors, assigning alterations to other costume design volunteers and hunting in the Civic Theatre’s collection of costumes, as well as buying or building new pieces when needed. He said his favorite part of costume designing is “the artistic challenge.”

“I don’t mind the sewing, but the passion for me comes from the designing and creating,” Dirden said.

After Carlson sent Dirden an email in midSeptember informing him she nominated him for the Mayor’s Arts Awards, Dirden said he spent some time finding photos of his favorite work to submit to the Muncie Arts and Culture Council to promote on its website.

“As artists, we all do work that is just work sometimes, and then, we do work that has our heart attached to it — things that you just started creating and it turned out amazing,” Dirden said. “It doesn’t always happen that way.”

While the Muncie Mayor’s Arts Awards present awards in eight different categories — arts advocate, arts leader, arts educator, corporate arts, artist in the community, next generation artist, maker and lifetime achievement — nominators do not have to claim one specific category on the nomination form, according to the Muncie Arts and Culture Council.

The nomination form asks for information on the

BALL STATE NOMINEES FOR MAYOR’S ARTS AWARDS Jennifer Blackmer Director of the Virginia Ball Center for Creative Inquiry and Ball State professor of theatre Robert Dirden Ball State associate teaching professor of theatre Jaylyn Graham Artist and Ball State graduate student in information and communication sciences Kevin Klinger Ball State associate professor of architecture Natalie Lowe Ball State graduate student in the School of Art Shantanu Suman Ball State assistant professor of graphic design Source: Muncie Arts and Culture Council

nominee’s participation in Muncie’s art scene and a letter on why they deserve to be nominated. This year, the City of Muncie received 25 nominations.

On Nov. 12, the David Owsley Museum of Art will host a private nominee reception before the awards ceremony in Sursa Performance Hall, which will be open to the public. Dirden said he looks forward to attending the festivities to learn

I really feel like my art has been creating dialogue and been doing what I wanted it to do. I never really thought about how my art can help the community, so now I’m realizing the things I’m doing with my art is actually helping the community, too, which I think is really cool.”

- JAYLYN GRAHAM, Information and communication sciences graduate student

more about other people’s artistic contributions to Muncie.

“Most people nominated are my friends,” Dirden said. “The arts community in Muncie is a large community, but we all know each other.”

While Dirden has lived in Muncie since he was 6 years old, Jaylyn Graham, another arts award nominee, has only lived here for his college career.

Graham, Ball State information and communication sciences graduate student, was nominated by Multicultural Center staff members for his art focusing on issues in the Black community. Part of his work from “The Colorism Series” is on display in the new Multicultural Center next to Bracken Library.

“The colorism piece is a series that really just highlights a topic in the Black community [of] how dark-skinned females don’t get as much representation in media and they’re often discriminated against because of the color of their skin,” Graham said. “I was trying to highlight and bring awareness to that. I’m honestly not sure what all the Multi nominated me for, but I’m assuming they sent in multiple works from my senior exhibition, ‘The Black Experience.’”

Through involvement in his fraternity, Phi Beta Sigma, and personal projects, Graham said he regularly volunteers for programs that support homeless people and those who are food insecure.

He said he knew his weekly volunteering at the Muncie Mission was making a difference in the community, but he never stopped to think about how his art was affecting people.

“I really feel like my art has been creating dialogue and been doing what I wanted it to do,” he said. “I never really thought about how my art

can help the community, so now I’m realizing the things I’m doing with my art is actually helping the community, too, which I think is really cool.”

While Graham said he is honored to be nominated for the Mayor’s Arts Awards, he was slightly intimidated when he looked at a list of past winners.

“There are people that have been in the community for decades,” he said. “I’m like, ‘Thank you for the nomination, but I don’t know if I really live up to them’ … but even if I don’t win the award, I still got nominated, and I appreciate that.”

Graham said he is most looking forward to networking with other community artists at the nominee reception.

“I’ve been reading a lot of their stuff, and I’m interested to hear about this stuff in person and learn from different people — just networking and meeting different professionals in the Muncie community and hearing their stories,” he said.

While Graham’s Mayor’s Arts Award nomination came as a surprise to him, Christie Zimmerman, associate dean of the College of Fine Arts and associate professor of dance, asked nominee Jennifer Blackmer if she would like to be nominated for her playwriting and screenwriting.

Zimmerman said she has nominated Blackmer, director of the Virginia Ball Center for Creative Inquiry and professor of theatre, for other awards before but hasn’t nominated anyone for a Mayor’s Arts Award.

“I’m super familiar with Jen’s work, and before I went through [the nomination process], I wasn’t super familiar with Mayor’s Arts Awards nominations,” Zimmerman said. “I was like, ‘Oh, here’s another opportunity where it might be a good fit to nominate Jen’ … Any opportunity that comes along where Jen’s work may be able to be recognized is something that I would love to be able to do for her.”

4See AWARDS, 18

CATEGORIES FOR MAYOR’S ARTS AWARDS Nominations do not require choosing a specific category for the person nominated. However, awards are separated into eight distinct categories.

Arts Advocate An individual or organization giving philanthropic or volunteer service Arts Leader An individual or organization whose leadership is outstanding within the local arts community Arts Educator An individual with far-reaching contributions to arts education Corporate Arts A corporation showing exemplary support of the arts within the Muncie area Artist in the Community An individual artist in any discipline whose excellence contributes to Muncie’s cultural vitality Next Generation Artist An artist in any discipline under the age of 40 with outstanding promise to the arts community Maker A for-profit business owner exemplifying the vitality of Muncie’s creative economy Lifetime Achievement An individual or organization recognized for significant and sustained contributions to the field of arts and culture in the Muncie area Source: Muncie Arts and Culture Council

Joyce Bates looks through costumes in preparation for a performance of “Elf: The Musical” Oct. 28 at the Muncie Civic Theatre. Robert Dirden, associate professor of theatre, volunteers as the costume shop manager at the Muncie Civic Theatre and was recently nominated for the Muncie Mayor’s Arts Awards. ALLY HAYMAKER, DN

DNSports Sports

11.04.21 MAGGIE GETZIN, DN

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Football

Ball State defeats Akron on the road The Cardinals picked up their third Mid-American Conference win of the season, beating Akron 31-25.

Redshirt fifth-year quarterback Drew Plitt threw for 185 yards and three touchdowns while freshman running back Carson Steele rushed for a career-high 160 yards. The Cardinals return to the field Nov. 10 against Northern Illinois at Huskie Stadium.

Cross Country

Machan receives MAC honors BALL STATE ATHLETICS, PHOTO COURTESY

The connection behind Ball State Women’s Volleyball’s coaching staff in their sixth year together Daniel Kehn Reporter Observing a timeout at a Ball State Women’s Volleyball match closely resembles “Swan Lake” — three clipboard holders all moving in unspoken unison while performing a wellchoreographed dance of player guidance — coaching, teaching, supporting and providing insight for their players.

Head coach Kelli Miller Phillips grabs the attention of the group and emphasizes the game plan while assistant coaches Brad Kline, Tiffany Koors and Fritz Rosenberg tend to specific points of the court with players individually. Working quickly within their allotted time, the group performs almost telepathically together.

The Cardinals’ coaching staff is in season six of this show, and with every

passing day, their rhythm only grows.

Rosenberg, 2008 Ball State alumnus, captained the men’s club volleyball team as a student and coached the women’s and men’s club teams after graduation.

His first collegiate coaching position was at the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne, Indiana. From there, he coached at the University of Kentucky and Missouri State University.

Rosenberg also coached at Muncie Central High School and for Munciana Volleyball Club in Yorktown, Indiana.

Rosenberg said he oversees many of the logistical aspects the Cardinals deal with away from the game, such as travel, food, statistics, film and hotels. During gameplay and in practices, he said he prioritizes defense.

See COACHES, 08

Sophomore Elka Machan earned First Team All-MidAmerican Conference honors for her performance at the MAC Championships Oct. 30. Machan finished fourth with a personal-best 6K time of 20:46.9. It marked the second consecutive fourth-place finish by Machan in two appearances in the conference championship.

Toledo won the meet with 32 points.

Women’s Volleyball

Women’s volleyball sweeps RedHawks I was kind of approaching it as a one-year contract every year, and here we are 10 years later — still doing it, still loving it.”

- BRAD KLINE, Ball State Women’s Volleyball assistant coach

Ball State swept Miami (Ohio) 3-0 Oct. 30. It was the Cardinals’ 12th consecutive victory, marking the longest winning streak in the MidAmerican Conference. The win also served as head coach Kelli Miller Phillips’ 100th career victory. She has a 100-63 record in six seasons at Ball State. The Cardinals return to action Nov. 4, hosting Central Michigan.

ON BALLSTATEDAILYNEWS.COM: STEELE CONTINUES TO SHINE AS WORKLOAD INCREASES

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Continued from Page 07

“In game, in training, it’s primarily the defensive side — so, in a sense, defensive coordinator if you wanted to compare it to football,” Rosenberg said.

“But, we oversee different areas, so it’s constantly changing, even mid-season.”

When Rosenberg returned to Ball State in 2014, he was given the chance to coach with someone who has been a staple of volleyball in Muncie. “[I had] the opportunity to come back [to Ball State] when Steve Shondell was the head coach,” Rosenberg said. “It was something I was interested in mostly due to the history of volleyball in this area — I think [it] is extremely unique.”

Miller Phillips spent time with Rosenberg and Kline as an assistant coach under former head coach Steve Shondell before she was promoted to head coach in 2016 after Shondell’s retirement. Koors played with Phillips at Purdue University and was brought in after Phillips accepted the position.

Koors said she focuses on the Cardinals’ offense and player recruitment. Behind her desk sits a whiteboard with a large player recruitment puzzle as current and potential player names and graduation dates fill the board, outlining Ball State’s plan for the future.

“On the weekends, in our offseason, we’re out recruiting at tournaments,” Koors said. “I’m the one that’s making all those initial contacts and getting kids to campus. From a game perspective, I am a heavy part of the offensive side of things.

Then, I work more specifically with our middles, and then, I work with Fritz with blocking as well.”

Kline said he is the jack-of-all-trades of the team, doing whatever is asked of him whenever it is asked. He played tennis while attending the University of Indianapolis but also played club volleyball at Purdue University and went on to coach high school volleyball while completing his degree at Purdue University Fort Wayne, where he graduated in 2006. Kline took his current position under Shondell and never looked back.

“I told everybody I’ll give it a year and see if I like it, see if they even want me back next year” Kline said. “I was kind of approaching it as a oneyear contract every year, and here we are 10 years later — still doing it, still loving it.”

Ball State Women Volleyball’s coaching staff has collectively earned the following titles over the past six years:

NCAA Tournament Appearance - 2019 MAC West Title - 2017, 2018, 2019 MAC Championship - 2019 NIVC Appearance - 2018 Source: Ball State Athletics

Kline devotes his spare time to Cardinal volleyball but works as a patrol officer for the Noblesville Police Department and is a member of the department’s SWAT team. He said the connections he has made with the Cardinals is worth his time.

“Putting in the amount of time that I do wouldn’t be worth it if we didn’t have these types of relationships with each other — that’s a huge part of having a successful program,” Kline said.

Phillips said the group has a collective vision of

I just couldn’t have asked for three better people to be doing this with.”

- KELLI MILLER PHILLIPS, Ball State Women’s Volleyball head coach how they want to grow and build the program and the assistant coaches do so much for her and the team.

“I think we all have our own thing,” Rosenberg said. “We all have our own strengths [and] weaknesses, and it’s kind of like a Venn diagram, a little bit. We overlap in areas, but we each [have] our own niche that we’re pretty good at. We don’t tend to step on toes, but I think we’re very much all trying to achieve the same goal, which makes it pretty easy.”

The group has faced challenges in its time together, most notably during the COVID-19 pandemic, but they said any negative they faced was quickly followed by a positive. The trio said they have always recognized the rewarding part of Ball State’s program — developing relationships with players and helping them succeed after college.

Kline, who spends most, if not all, of his vacation days in and around the volleyball court, said along with the relationships he has made, coaching creates the perfect balance away from his day job.

“I have kind of a unique perspective where my real job is in law enforcement,” Kline said. “I deal a lot with the bad part of society, so it’s a nice balance for me to be able to come up here and spend some time with these guys, and they kind of keep me balanced out that way — they’re a great group.”

Phillips said she will continue praising the strengths of her staff and how they have brought so much to the program.

“Fritz [is] a mastermind from a scouting standpoint, training and just getting ideas at a higher level of what it’s going to take to reach where we’re going to go,” Phillips said. “Tiffany connects so well with the girls and does an unbelievable job with recruiting, training and running our offense.

Brad has been this linchpin — I mean, this guy’s doing it all from a voluntary standpoint and just is a support system … I just couldn’t have asked for three better people to be doing this with.”

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

Cardinal

Kitchen 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

Cardinal Kitchen

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DNSports

Ball State freshman forward Lexi Fraley receives a pass against Ohio Thursday, Oct. 14. Ball State finished with a 0-0 draw against the Bobcats. BALL STATE CREATIVE

SERVICES, PHOTO PROVIDED

THE EXTRA

STEP

How freshman forward Lexi Fraley has broke through on a senior-heavy Ball State Soccer squad Nate Grubb Reporter While there were 11 seniors and three graduate students on the 2021 Ball State Soccer roster, one of the Cardinals’ most integral players this season was a freshman.

Forward Lexi Fraley stepped into a key role this season for the Cardinals, making the most of her time on the field. Despite not starting any of her 16 games played, Fraley scored a team-high four goals and ranked second on Ball State in points with eight. Her .235 shot percentage also ranked second on the team.

Fraley fell in love with the game at a very young age.

“I started playing in kindergarten, so I’ve played pretty much my whole life,” Fraley said. “I played every sport growing up, but soccer was always my favorite.”

Fraley spent her high school career playing club soccer for Indy Premier Soccer Club and high school soccer for Harrison High School in Lafayette, Indiana, until she graduated this past spring. She set a school record for goals in a single season with a career-high 43 goals her senior

season and ended her high school career with 110 goals, another Harrison program record.

Despite growing up less than 15 minutes away from Purdue University, Fraley said she was immediately enamored with Ball State. She committed to the Cardinals in April 2019 and stuck with her commitment when head coach Josh Rife was hired the following June.

“I love the campus and the girls here and especially the coaching staff,” Fraley said. “They also had my major [pre-dentistry], so it really had everything I wanted here pretty close to home.”

Even though she had a stellar soccer resumé coming out of high school, Fraley said, she still had to work to make her way into the Cardinals’ lineup once she arrived at Ball State. She said she immediately recognized the differences between high school and collegiate soccer and had to stay positive throughout the experience.

“It was definitely a big jump — really different, a whole different environment, but it’s a good difference,” Fraley said. “It’s exciting, and it’s fun.”

Fraley may be the shortest player on the Cardinals, standing at only 5 feet, 2 inches tall, but

She’s tough [and] pretty persistent.

She just goes and goes and goes and isn’t afraid of a tackle. I think that’s a lot of what helps her create opportunities for herself.”

- JOSH RIFE, Ball State Soccer head coach

Rife said she uses her height to her advantage.

“Her nickname is ‘Squirt,’ but don’t let her size fool you,” Rife said. “She battles hard — she’s tough [and] pretty persistent. She just goes and goes and goes and isn’t afraid of a tackle. I think that’s a lot of what helps her create opportunities for herself. She is going to have to go after it a little bit differently than other players.”

Fraley tallied her first career goal in a Ball State uniform Oct. 3 against Akron, putting the ball in the back of the net with her left foot against Akron to go up 2-1. Just a minute and a half later, Fraley scored again, going one-on-one with the Zips’ goalkeeper to help seal a 3-1 Cardinals’ victory.

“I remember when she went in against Akron, and she didn’t get a goal before halftime,” Hannah Sullivan, assistant coach, said. “I told her, ‘I know you’re about to score — you’ve just got to keep working, keep working, keep working.’ Then, she got one, and then, she got the other. And, I said, ‘I freaking told you — I told you you were going to get a goal.’ She’s just so driven. When she puts her mind to something, she does it automatically.”

4See SOCCER, 18

DNSports

11.04.21

10

KICKING OFF THE SEASON Miami (Ohio) defeats Ball State Men’s Swimming and Diving with a score of 185-113.

Ball State junior Bryce Handshoe comes up for air in the 200-yard butterfly event Oct. 28 at Lewellen Aquatic Center. Handshoe finished third with a time of 1:55.99. ELI HOUSER, DN

Ball State sophomore Joey Garberick begins his dive during the 200-yard medley Oct. 28 at Lewellen Aquatic Center. The relay team finished second in the event with a time of 1:33.59. ELI HOUSER, DN

Ball State sophomore Sam Jennings gets set before the 100-yard backstroke event Oct. 28 at Lewellen Aquatic Center.

Miami’s Owen Blazer went on to win the event with a time of 51.11. ELI HOUSER, DN

Ball State Men’s Swimming and Diving faced off against Miami (Ohio) Oct. 28 at Lewellen Aquatic Center. The Cardinals lost 185113 against the RedHawks. ELI HOUSER, DN

Miami’s Jack Herczeg reaches for the wall in the 100-yard freestyle event Oct. 28 at Lewellen Aquatic Center. Herczeg outpaced Ball State’s Owen Chaye with respective times of 47.01 and 47.23. ELI HOUSER, DN

DNLife

11.04.21 KAMRYN TOMLINSON, DN

The Days of Diwali Editor’s Note: Shwetha Sundarrajan is the president of the Indian Student Association and also writes for The Daily News.

The smell of festivity is in the air.

It’s the time of year again when Hindus gather together and celebrate Diwali, known as the festival of lights. The festival of lights signifies peace and joy, the victory of good over evil and light over darkness.

Diwali originates from the Indian epic, “Ramayana.” According to the legend, King Dasharatha — ruler of Ayodhya — banished his oldest son Rama for 14 years. After defeating Ravana, the main antagonist of the story, the exiled Rama, his wife Sita and his brother Laxman returned to Ayodhya upon completion of Lord Rama’s banishment.

Upon arrival, the people of Ayodhya were so overjoyed that they lit the whole kingdom with diyas, or clay lamps.

This is why Diwali is known as the festival of lights. Typically, families will clean their houses and decorate with diyas and rangolis, murals created with colored powder. Sweets are exchanged between families and friends, and fireworks are set off to celebrate the festivities.

“Diwali, to me, is a time to appreciate loved ones and the people who add brightness to my life,” said Archana Sathyamurthy, second-year interior design major. “As cringey as it sounds, Deepavali is a reminder to not take my people for

[Diwali] is my favorite because it’s a reassurance that there is good to come if you focus on it.”

- VANESSA DESAI, Ball State master’s student granted and that God will guide me through it.”

However, Diwali is not just a singular holiday.

It is celebrated over the span of five days, with each day signifying something different.

The first day of Diwali is called Dhanteras, during which participants will typically worship

SelfieWRLD in Chicago gives its visitors the opportunity to feel like they’re “on the set of a music video” with its unique photo stations.

Different sections of the museum have different themes including a jail cell, a throne and a bathtub where visitors can pose with props to get the perfect Instagram photo. Bytebsu.com

Ball Bearings

Education through farming and animals

Lord Kubera and Goddess Lakshmi and buy something new.

The second day is called Naraka Chaturdasi, which is celebrated by waking up early in the morning, applying aromatic oils and bathing.

Celebrants wear new clothes, light lamps and offer puja in the evening.

The third day is the festive and auspicious day of Diwali, where people will perform Lakshmi Puja — a worship ritual to celebrate the Goddess Lakshmi — to celebrate Rama’s triumph over Ravana.

The day after Diwali is called Govardhan Puja. People will typically worship Lord Krishna on this day and will prepare 56 varieties of vegetarian food and drinks for Lord Krishna as a gesture of gratitude.

The final day of Diwali is Bhai Dooj, which celebrates the special bond between brothers and sisters.

Master’s student Vanessa Desai said her favorite festival of Diwali is Bestu Varas, also known as Gujarati New Year.

“It definitely keeps me grounded in my roots and culture, and it’s another reassurance of good over evil,” Desai said. “It’s also my favorite because it’s a reassurance that there is good to come if you focus on it.”

ON BYTEBSU: ‘YOU’ SEASON 3 IS A BINGEABLE MONSTROSITY

Byte

Selfie museum offers unique experience

Learn more behind the meaning of the festival of lights

Shwetha Sundarrajan Reporter

11

See DIWALI, 15

Serenity Farms, a female-owned and operated company created

by Amy Ward, features a variety of animals who each serve individual purposes across the farm. Alongside adopting animals in need, Ward sells fresh eggs, show cattle and organic non-GMO products that many food stores don’t offer. Ballbearingsmag.com

Byte

Zoe Kravitz is the next Catwoman Director of “The Batman,” Matt Reeves, announced Zoe Kravitz will play the role of Catwoman Oct. 15. After making her debut in “The Batman” trailer, it was revealed Kravitz will work alongside Robert Pattinson as Batman, who has extensive experience working in action movies. Bytebsu.com

DNLife

11.04.21

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1

2

Conserve water Although our planet’s surface is 71 percent water, a shortage of water is a likely result from the amount of water wasted by humans every day. According to DropConnect, a water management system that connects the water-related products in people’s homes, water is not the only resource wasted when we leave the sink on while brushing our teeth.

For water to get to our tap, it has to go through an energy-intensive process of extraction, purification and transportation. This process is made possible by burning fossil fuels, which means wasting water affects each of our carbon footprints and overall air quality. Try to take shorter showers and remember to turn the water off when you are not brushing your teeth.

Changing temperatures on your thermostat

68

From rain and strong wind one day to sunny skies the next, Indiana weather can be very inconsistent. It may be tempting to change the temperature on your thermostat whenever it is hot or cold, but keep your thermostat at a consistent temperature.

Then, throw on an extra sweater when your home is too cold or remove some layers when it’s too hot. According to energy. gov, you can easily save energy in the winter by setting your thermostat to 68 degrees or lower.

Think Outside

Trash the

Six ways students can be more eco-friendly Being environmentally friendly not only helps the planet but also your wallet. It can help you cut down on your electricity bills when you unplug appliances not in use. Here are six tips on how to be more eco-friendly in your day-to-day life.

6

- Staff Reports

Promotional items College clubs and organizations often hand out flyers and free merchandise to recruit new members, such as when Ball State students give out papers and promotional items at the Scramble Light to fellow students on their way to class. However, these free items can end up cluttering students' rooms in their dorms and homes because they don't have a use for them.

Too much trash can often lead to items being misplaced or not properly disposed of. According to earthday.org, 40 percent of the world’s trash is burned in large, open piles which release methane gas. Open landfills represent 90 percent of methane gas emissions that emit dangerous carbon dioxide levels, a greenhouse gas heating up our planet. Avoid accepting items that you will most likely not use, such as a flyer for a group you know you're not interested in, a sticker you know you won't want to display or a foam finger.

Bring your own bag when you buy groceries

3

Plastic is still one of the more common materials found in the ocean that is harmful to many mammals. According to FlashFood, an app allowing grocery shoppers to browse through food items approaching their best before date, depending on the environment, it can take up to 1,000 years or more for one plastic bag to completely break down. The next time you take a trip to Walmart, try bringing your own reusable bags instead of using plastic bags at checkout. Ball State students can purchase reusable bags at Walmart and Meijer for less than $2.

ALEX HINDENLANG, DN DESIGN

5

Go thrift shopping

Thrifting is a much cheaper option when it comes to buying furniture for your apartment. Oftentimes, people put their unwanted items in the front of their houses, so take a drive with your friends to see if you can find any furniture out front along the curbs of streets around your neighborhood or in alleyways. Still in need of new clothes? Try visiting local thrift stores like Attic Window on Memorial Drive or St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store on Charles Street.

Adopt a minimalist lifestyle

4

While it’s always nice having new clothes to wear when school starts or updating our closets with the latest trends, spending money on clothes can really wear out our wallets. Try only buying things when you really need them. If you’re in desperate need of a new outfit for a party or event, ask your friends if you can borrow something from their closets, or consider thrifting what you need at a resale store. Instead of buying takeout, try cooking something new at home and be sure to not let groceries go to waste.

13 11.04.21

DNLife

Artwork is displayed in the second section of the “Memories & Inspiration’’ exhibition titled, “Experiences & Remembrances,” Oct. 28 in the David Owsley Museum of Art. Robert LaFrance, director of the David Owsley Museum of Art, said the works of art in this section represent personal memories of the Davises and the experiences of many African Americans from their generation. SUMAYYAH MUHAMMAD, DN

The new African American art exhibition at the David Owsley Museum of Art explores Kerry and Betty Davises’ hopes and passions.

Sumayyah Muhammad Lifestyles Editor “Start with what you like.”

That was Kerry Davis’ first lesson for his wife, Betty Davis, when she began collecting art alongside her husband. When Kerry Davis first started collecting art in the 1980s, it was the art of Jacob Lawrence, a 20th century artist known for his modernist depictions of everyday life and epic narratives of African American history and historical figures, that sparked his interest in African American art. “[Jacob Lawrence] did a lot of narrative paintings where he told stories about the Underground Railroad and ‘The Migration Series,’” said Kerry Davis, retired postman for the United States Postal Service. “It resonated with me how he told stories.”

Kerry Davis grew up in Atlanta and would visit Clark Atlanta University to see the school’s African American art collection. In the 1940s, Atlanta was one of the few places where African Americans could exhibit their artwork. There, he learned more about artists like Jacob Lawrence and Romare Bearden.

Because Lawrence traveled to Atlanta to showcase his artwork in the ‘80s, Kerry Davis had the opportunity to meet him and said he was impressed by the way Lawrence spoke to him.

“I’ve never taken an art class or anything, so my questions were all comical or childlike, but he never spoke down to me [and] never got annoyed with me,” Kerry Davis said. “He could articulate what I was looking at [and] explain those things to me, and that inspired me. I had a much greater appreciation for his work.”

After Kerry Davis’ mother passed away in 1988, he said he wanted to use his insurance money to pay off his bills and be debt free. However, after having an epiphany about being in debt again,

Davis decided to use the money to buy something that would always remind him of his mother.

“When I was discharged from the Air Force, I took a job as a carpenter, and Jacob Lawrence was a collector of carpentry tools,” Kerry Davis said. “Because I was kind of like [my mother’s] handyman, I bought [one of] the drawings from Lawrence’s ‘Builder Series.’”

Lawrence’s eighth piece of his “Builder Series,” along with more than 60 selected works from a body of art collected over 35 years, is featured in Kerry and Betty Davis’ African American art exhibition, “Memories & Inspiration,” in the David Owsley Museum of Art (DOMA).

When people see the works, [they] will have an opinion.”

- KERRY DAVIS, Art collector and co-creator of “Memories & Inspiration” pictured with his wife, Betty Davis “Memories & Inspiration” is organized by International Arts and Artists (IA&A), a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing crosscultural understanding and exposure to the arts internationally through traveling exhibitions, programs and services to artists, art institutions and the public. This collection is also supported by Arts Alive funding from the College of Fine Arts at Ball State.

IA&A discovered Kerry and Betty Davis when their first art exhibition, “This Postman Collects: The Rapture of Kerry and Betty Davis,” was displayed at Clark Atlanta University Jan. 17July 15, 2016. Davis said nearly 65 percent of the artwork featured in their current collection was derived from their first exhibition.

The title, “Memories & Inspiration,” was created

by IA&A after a comment Davis said he made about when people would ask him about the artists featured in the collection. Because many of the artists were friends of the Davises and have died, Davis said the art in his collection brings back pleasant memories.

“When I see a particular painting, there are so many stories behind the painting about our relationship with different art,” he said. “I’m inspired by a lot of the subject matter. The things that are going on just give them strength.”

The “Memories & Inspiration” collection was previously featured in Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia, the Appleton Museum of Art in Ocala, Florida, and the Lyman Allyn Museum in New London, Connecticut. Ball State is the fifth venue where the Davises’ art exhibition has been featured.

“When we would visit different museums, people who would attend — even children — they are inspired,” said Betty Davis, former television news producer for ABC in Philadelphia. “Some are inspired to collect — some are inspired to see African American artists differently. It’s a wonderful memory for us about what we’re doing.”

The traveling exhibition features drawings, painting, prints and sculptures from 20th century artists like Romare Bearden, Amalia Amaki, Sam Gilliam and others. “Memories & Inspiration” focuses on Black history and culture through religious aspects, social commentary, foundational jazz, abstract, performing and graphic arts. The exhibition opened to the public Sept. 23 and will remain open until Dec. 22.

“When people see the works, [they] will have an opinion,” Kerry Davis said. “I’ll go as far as to say one of those images will resonate with [them] [or] [their] own culture and upbringing.

[The art ranges] from the 1930s to the Black Lives Matter movement.”

THE EXHIBIT AT DOMA “Memories & Inspiration” will be open to the public until Dec. 22.

The David Owsley Museum of Art hours are: 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday 1:30 - 4:30 p.m. Saturdays.

The museum is closed Sundays, Mondays and during holiday breaks.

Source: David Owsley Museum of Art website

As director of DOMA, Robert LaFrance went to see the “Memories & Inspiration” collection when it was at the Lyman Allyn Museum in May to measure out the rooms and individual artwork.

Because IA&A gave LaFrance a bit of leeway, he said, he regrouped some of the works to break the exhibition down into four sections: artists involved with the William E. Harmon Foundation Award, “Experiences & Remembrances,” “Courage & Social Justice” and “Non-objective and Abstraction.”

“One of the most important things about the show is that it offers a wide variety of styles, artists and themes,” LaFrance said. “It’s a perfect introduction — and ideal introduction — for students to the whole world of African American art.”

At DOMA, “Memories & Inspiration” is accompanied by another exhibition that explores the museum’s past, present and future of collecting African American art by sculptors, printmakers and painters. The display features paintings and prints by John Wesley Hardrick, Elizabeth Catlett, Richard Mayhew and Martin Puryear.

“It means a lot to us, for this particular collection, to get out in areas where people may not necessarily have access to major museums across the country who have more diversity in their exhibition,” Kerry Davis said. “I really wanted to go to communities that lack access as far as diversity. We are grateful that Ball State accepted this exhibition to share in the community.”

See DOMA, 18

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SEND A GRAD WISH TODAY! Show a Fall 2021 grad some love with a special shoutout in the Graduation Edition of The Daily News on December 9!

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LIGHT

15 11.04.21

DNLife

OVER

WHAT IS DIWALI?

DARKNESS

TRADITIONAL DRESS

FOR WOMEN CHOLI

In northern India, people use the festival to mark King Rama’s return to Ayodhya after defeating Ravana by lighting rows of clay lamps.

is usually composed of a fitting detailed or embroidered blouse.

In southern India, people celebrate Diwali as the day that Lord Krishna defeated Narakasura, a demon.

In western India, people celebrate Diwali as the day that Lord Vishnu sent King Bali to rule the nether world.

DUPATTA

is the outer drape the length of the lehenga. It can be made of made of silk, crepe, chiffon and velvet.

WANT TO LEARN MORE? Join the Indian Student Association for its annual Diwali celebration from 6-10 p.m. Friday, Nov. 5 at the Student Center in Cardinal Hall B.

LEHENGA

is an embroidered or printed skirt to accompany the choli at the mid-waist.

5 DAYS

OF

DIWALI DHANTERAS

People worship Lord Kubera and Goddess Lakshmi and shop for something new.

NARAKA CHATURDASI

This day is celebrated by waking up early, applying aromatic oils and bathing — offering puja in the evening.

Sources: Shwetha Sundarrajan, president of the Indian Student Association; Utsavpedia; National Geographic Kids KAMRYN TOMLINSON, DN DESIGN; RYLAN CAPPER, DN PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

DIWALI

People will perform Lakshmi Puja to celebrate Rama’s triumph over Ravana.

GOVARDHAN PUJA

People will typically worship Lord Krishna on this day, offering food and drinks as a gesture of gratitude.

BHAI DOOJ

On this day, people celebrate the special bond between brothers and sisters.

DNOpinion

11.04.21

16

SOPHIE NULPH, PHOTO PROVIDED; AMBER PIETZ, DN DESIGN

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.

Having a pet through college is what makes my experience tolerable.

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11.04.21

DNOpinion

Mabel has never received emotional support training, yet she knows how to communicate what she needs, and more importantly, what she thinks I need.”

T

here is no love like puppy love. The unconditional affection, the neverending attention, the fluffy butts to scratch — the feeling is like a warm cup of hot chocolate inching its way to your stomach, thawing your body from the inside out, and it’s a feeling that motivates me to keep going.

College calls for students to give up so much of themselves and be sure of their path. Sometimes, unconditional love is needed to find a reason to keep yourself pushing. For me, that love comes in the form of a dog.

Adopting Mabel, my 1-year-old Great Pyrenees mix, was the result of a spontaneous decision mixed with a pinch of rebellion, but no recipe is good without a little spice.

She was part of an unwanted litter placed on a Facebook advertisement. I drove four hours one way to pick her up, and I continue to be helplessly in love with her.

College is the first time most people are away from their families and loved ones, and they are often exposed to unprecedented social situations, stresses and new mental and physical needs that come with getting older. The worlds that have been created for us for 18 years are suddenly stripped away in quick succession with all the routines and disciplines we had established.

The college experience has an exceptional way of making students feel powerless and alone. The weight is crippling for many — suicide is the second leading cause of death for collegeaged students, according to a 2021 study by the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network. Sometimes, the answer for depression is a pet.

It may sound dramatic to say my dog saved my life, but she is one of the only reasons I get up on days I can’t find a reason to breathe.

That unquestioning love has helped me smile in circumstances where I didn’t think I had the energy to twitch my mouth muscles up into a curve.

Emotional support animals (ESAs), according to USServiceAnimals.org, are identified as animals who help a person cope with their mental illnesses. While the Fair Housing Act is in place to protect ESAs and their owners, these animals aren’t always taken seriously by landlords, universities or even role models and peers. Most times, the animal needs a notarized

Mabel Mabel is Sophie’s 1-year-old Great Pyrenees mix and often helps Sophie emotionally.

certificate and a note from a doctor to be considered an ESA — two costly requirements for a therapeutic companion.

While some people may not take ESAs seriously, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development thankfully recognizes the benefits of ESAs and “provides regulations allowing them to live with an owner in designated non-pet housing,” without requiring a pet deposit fee.

In her 2012 book, “Animal Assisted Therapy in Counseling,” Cynthia K. Chandler, a professor at the University of North Texas who has taught counseling since 1989, highlighted the benefits of living with an ESA. Having a pet around can promote calm and relaxation, lower anxiety, alleviate loneliness, enhance social engagement and interaction, normalize heart rate and blood pressure, reduce pain, stress and depression and increase pleasure, Chandler said.

Mabel is the solution to all of my problems, making sure I never feel alone. Never being alone does come with its own set of adaptations, and Mabel is not without her bad habits. Her worst habit has always been her eating. As a puppy, Mabel would go for anything inedible before she would go for food— sticks, the food bowl, my slippers, anything. Mabel’s current favorite snack is a murder mystery novel, but, understanding the need for diversity, she helps herself to the loose paint brushes and television remotes left on the couch.

Even when I first adopted Mabel, she had a nasty scab on her tail.

Soon after, I noticed her gnawing on her behind like corn on the cob dipped in butter at the state fair. The scab became black and started to spread up toward her back. I raced her to the emergency vet, and

200,000 In the U.S., there are nearly

emotional support animals in service.

Source: The New York Times

about a week later, Mabel went from the little, fluffy, long-tailed dog to the polar bear with a stub everyone knows and loves today. Pets do unexpected things that cost unexpected money. I wouldn’t be able to afford a certificate for Mabel to become a certified emotional support animal even if I wanted to.

But Mabel needs me, and I need Mabel.

She knows when I’m sad, so she’ll come up and tap my nose so I know she’s there for me. When I start to have an anxiety attack, she will bring me toys to distract me until I remember to breathe again. Mabel has never received emotional support training, yet she knows how to communicate what she needs, and more importantly, what she thinks I need.

We take three walks together every day for our physical health.

We share healthy vegetables for snacks. We snuggle for warmth on the couch every day waiting for my boyfriend to get home — Mabel

WHAT MENTAL OR EMOTIONAL DISABILITIES CAN ESAS TREAT? • Anxiety • Depression • Post-traumatic stress disorder • Stress • Personality disorders • Schizophrenia • Phobias

Source: Pettable

improves my life in more ways than I can count, and I am not alone.

Moosh, an organization dedicated to educating people on the benefits of ESAs and helping others register their pets as ESAs, shared that ESAs have become increasingly popular in recent years, with one of the major reasons being anxiety.

According to the American Psychological Association, 41.6 percent of college students have anxiety. Moosh reports anxiety disorders are “helped hugely” by ESAs, and having an emotional support animal on campus can alleviate the symptoms of many mental health conditions college students face.

In recent years, Moosh reports the number of ESAs on college campuses has increased, and thousands of college students stand by their animals getting them through some of the most difficult times in college, all while proving they can keep two beings alive at their lowest.

According to Inside Higher Ed, colleges have seen a sharp increase in the amount of students requesting permission to have ESAs because of how much having a pet on campus can help students mentally, and organizations like Affordable Colleges support college students with ESAs because of the benefits having one can provide while in school, including feeling higher levels of care.

Experiencing that higher level of care from Mabel has made my final year of college all the more tolerable.

Mabel needs me, and I need Mabel.

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

DNNews

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AWARDS Continued from Page 06

Zimmerman submitted the nomination packet Sept. 17 with supporting materials including a review of one of Blackmer’s plays.

“The Muncie Mayor’s Arts Awards are certainly awards that I knew of, and I had seen other colleagues get recognized in different ways for the work that they do in the arts and around Muncie,” Zimmerman said. “I felt like Jen would be a really great fit.”

Blackmer helped Zimmerman gather materials for the nomination

MAYOR’S ARTS AWARDS CEREMONY Award Ceremony

Community Reception

Nov. 12, 8:45-10 p.m.

Sursa Performance Hall lobby

Nov. 12, 7:30 p.m.

Sursa Performance Hall

Source: Muncie Arts and Culture Council

packet, and Zimmerman said she could see Blackmer winning multiple different arts award categories.

“In the [nomination] letter, I talked about the fact that she is a playwright and a creative person, and I also talked about how she is a real artistic spirit as well,” Zimmerman said. “There’s a couple of categories where Jen may be a really great fit. Rather than me saying, ‘This is the category I think Jen should be considered for,’ it was more ‘Here’s everything that’s awesome, and you can pick what category might best suit all of the highlights that I’ve brought forward here.’”

Blackmer said via email she’s never been nominated for a Mayor’s Arts Award before. After Zimmerman nominated her, Blackmer wrote a short biography for promotion on the Muncie Arts and Culture Council website and gathered some photos of her work to publish.

“I’m super excited because Muncie is my home — it’s where I write, it’s where my family and friends are and where I find peace and solace,” Blackmer said. “To be recognized by my community is incredibly meaningful because it feels personal, almost like the city itself is saying, ‘Hey, we’re glad you’re here.’”

Being nominated for a Mayor’s Arts Award was meaningful especially after the art community lost some fellowship opportunities

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We will work with your class schedule and have schedule options available.

Continued from Page 09

DOMA

Continued from Page 13 Amalia Amaki, an Atlanta-born artist, curator and educator, met Kerry Davis when he would deliver mail to her art gallery, Sandler Hudson Gallery, in Atlanta. Featured in the “Memories & Inspiration” collection, Amaki’s mixed media piece, “JL: The Ring, ” is a button-based construction combined with photography, found objects and embellishments that tells a story about the life of African American boxer, Joe Louis.

Most of Amaki’s artwork explores the social, political and psychological implications of race and gender and shares the lives and culture of Black women of the Diaspora — people who have a direct lineage to Africa — in the U.S. “[Black people have] been so dispersed throughout the world,” Amaki said. “We have a common point of beginning, even though

The Marketplace NOW HIRING

SOCCER With the performance, Fraley was named Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Week Oct. 5. Sullivan said a big reason Fraley has made it onto the pitch this season is the drive she and the Cardinals’ coaches see from her every day.

“She’s constantly in the weight room, always doing extra work,” Sullivan said. “She’s here after practice all the time. Her loyalty to this team and wanting to get better just really [helps] the team.”

Even though she’s a freshman, Rife said Fraley has become a key part of the Cardinals, and her personality has made her teammates and coaches gravitate toward her. “[She’s] a bubbly kid, always in a pretty good mood, pretty friendly,” Rife said. “A super smart kid, too, but she’s a genuine, caring kid. She’s a great addition to what we already had.”

With the veteran leadership the Cardinals possess, Fraley has jumped at the opportunity to learn from Ball State’s more experienced players.

“It’s exciting to be able to play with this team, especially with a lot of seniors and upperclassmen that have been playing at this level for a long time,” Fraley said. “So, it’s just really good that I’ve been able to get to learn from them and get to play with them.”

Contact Nate Grubb with comments at nathaniel.grubb@bsu.edu or on Twitter @GrubbNate43.

earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic, Blackmer said.

“We’ve lost so much, and artists in my industry haven’t had any chances to share their work,” she said. “It’s been isolating and sad. When I learned of this honor, I felt hope that we might be able to come out of this COVID era even better than when we went in.”

Blackmer said she looks forward to the Nov. 12 reception and awards ceremony at Sursa Performance Hall, especially because she has the opportunity to reconnect with fellow artists.

“I also have several friends and colleagues who’ve been nominated, and I’m excited for them — yet another reminder of how vibrant the arts are in this area,” she said.

Contact Grace McCormick with comments at grmccormick@bsu.edu or on Twitter @graceMc564. Contact Sarah Olsen with comments at snolsen@bsu.edu.

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Ball State freshman forward Lexi Fraley attempts to dribble past an Eastern Michigan defender Sept. 23 at Briner Sports Complex. The Cardinals drew 0-0 with the Eagles after double overtime. AMBER PIETZ, DN we are in these different cultures, and we’ve gone in different directions. I do quite a bit with women because one of the things I’m big about is bringing what I feel is a kind of historical visibility to women.”

Because diversity and inclusion is a big problem in our country, Betty Davis said, she hopes “Memories & Inspiration” will inspire a “thirst for more” diversity to be included in art. Kerry Davis said he hopes viewers do not take for granted that African American art is available all over the continent.

“We have to bring [‘Memories & Inspiration’] all over the country,” Kerry Davis said. “And, for the people who don’t get a chance to see this work, [we hope they] get an appreciation, get inspired and a thirst to petition in their own communities — and in their own places — to bring it back to their homes so they can show their children and they can show that next generation.”

Contact Sumayyah Muhammad with comments at smuhammad3@ bsu.edu or on Twitter @sumayyah0114.

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Crossword & Sudoku

CROSSWORD EDITED BY RICH NORRIS AND JOYCE LEWIS; SUDOKU BY MICHAEL MEPHAM ACROSS 1 “__ This Morning” 4 “Will & __” 9 Actor Linden 12 “The Money __”; Tom Hanks film 13 Man-__; cannibal 14 Bart’s “Grampa” 15 Tavern order 16 “Tomorrow __ Dies”; 007 movie 17 Baseball stat 18 Rollerblade, e.g.

20 “__ Practice” (2005-06) 22 Actor on “Chicago Med” 26 Light fencing sword 27 “A __ Like Love”; Amanda Peet film 28 180 degrees from WSW 29 Polly Holliday role 32 Actress Della 35 Role on “NCIS: Hawai’i”

39 “The Biggest __” 40 Sandwich cookies 42 Hothead’s problem 43 Abode for Nanook of the North 47 Not long __; recently 48 WWII president 49 Nest noise 50 Goodman or Cariou 51 Suffix for giant or govern 52 Actress Spacek 53 Pig’s home DOWN 1 Numbers experts, for short 2 Master Sergeant __; Phil Silvers role 3 Walk off with 4 Large Swiss city 5 Actress Charlotte __ 6 Quad bike, for short 7 Mediocre grade

8 Actor Flynn 9 “__ Hart” (1979-84) 10 Costello’s buddy 11 Explorer __ Eriksson 19 “…’__ the season to be jolly…”

21 Suffix for spirit or habit 23 Film critic Roger 24 Actress Zellweger 25 Primp 29 Narrow waterways 30 High-powered surgical beams 31 “Murder __” (1995-97) 33 Comic strip beagle 34 Cochlea’s place 36 Sevareid & Close 37 Actress Patricia & her family 38 “How __ Away with Murder” 39 “__ in Pieces” 41 TV brand 44 F’s followers 45 Fleur-de-__ 46 Surgery rooms, for short

SOLUTIONS FOR OCTOBER 28

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STORYTELLING

ACROSS CULTURES AND DISCIPLINES A transdisiplinary seminar from the Virginia B. Ball Center for Creative Inquiry This cross-disciplinary seminar explores how the art of storytelling shapes our understanding, influences our relationships, and determines how we learn. Together, students and faculty will tackle issues of race, power, and representation in a discussion-based atmosphere of respect and diversity of thought.

QUESTIONS? • • • •

Open to all majors Satisfies a Tier 2 University Core Curriculum Requirement Priority registration begins Nov. 1 Sign up for one of the following: EDMU 205 (25802), COMM 290 (43861) or CFA 101 (43862) on M-W-F at 11 AM

Email: vbc@bsu.edu Call: 765-285-0114 Visit: https://www.bsu.edu/academics/ centersandinstitutes/virginiaballcenter