BSU 11-11-21

Next to After 12 years at $7.25, Ball State students are ready for a raise to the on-campus minimum wage. 04 ,10

MAGGIE GETZIN, DN

11.11.2021

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Did you miss it? Catch up on the news from Nov. 4-9 . . .

BallStateDailyNews.com From The Easterner to The Daily News

In 1976, The Ball State Daily

DIGITAL MEDIA REPOSITORY, PHOTO COURTESY

News reported on a Campus House bi-monthly blood drive for Ball Memorial Hospital. The event helped retired patients who needed blood but may not have been able to afford it. Anyone in the Muncie community could have donated blood. If you have any Daily News memories, email news@bsudailynews.com.

of Health announced Indiana residents ages 5-11 can now schedule appointments to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Hoosiers under 18 are only allowed to get the Pfizer vaccine and are encouraged to schedule and pre-register their appointments ahead of time. The pediatric dose is lower than the one for people ages 12 and older.

Sallee earns 300th victory in opener

Garberick earned Swimmer of the Week after placing first in the 100 breaststroke in Ball State’s home opener against Miami (Ohio) Oct. 28 and the 100 and 200 breaststroke events against Eastern Illinois Oct. 29. Junior Wyatt Blake was named Diver of the Week, placing first in the 1-meter competition against the RedHawks.

Basketball defeated Milwaukee 8475 in overtime. It was head coach Brady Sallee’s 300th career win and his 164th at Ball State. Redshirt junior Anna Clephane finished with 12 points and converted a layup at the end of regulation, tying the game at 72 apiece. In her collegiate debut, freshman Ally Becki led the Cardinals with 17 points.

VOL. 101 ISSUE: 13 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.

Nov. 4: The Indiana Department

Men’s swim & dive sweep MAC awards Nov. 5: Sophomore Joey

ELI HOUSER, DN PHOTO

Vaccinations available for children ages 5-11

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. 9: Ball State Women’s

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4-DAY WEATHER

FORECAST Tyler Ryan, Weather forecaster, Benny Weather Group

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

MOSTLY CLOUDY

MOSTLY CLOUDY

MOSTLY CLOUDY

MOSTLY CLOUDY

Hi: 63º Lo: 39º

Hi: 52º Lo: 33º

Hi: 42º Lo: 32º

Hi: 43º Lo: 33º

THIS WEEK: As we approach next week, we can expect a high in the 40s and low in the 30s. The weekend will follow the same pattern, but expect some more cloudy days in Muncie as next week begins and brings rainier weather.

START CHECKING, FROM DAY ONE.

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

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BACK ON THE

BLOCK

Theta Chi makes its return to Ball State after three years away.

11.11.21

03

Campus

Ribbon cutting for new training facility Ball State President Geoffrey Mearns and other university leaders opened the Menard Training Facility at the Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute Nov. 8. The new facility will be used to prepare the next generation of entrepreneurs to drive the growth of Indiana’s economy and includes a Launch Pad, a space for creating and prototyping new ideas.

Indiana

Reduction teams to curb drug epidemic Gov. Eric Holcomb announced Nov. 4 a new $1.7 million investment in statewide Harm Reduction Street Outreach teams to reach residents at risk of drug overdose. The teams will provide at-risk residents with harm reduction strategies and resources.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, overdoses in Indiana have increased by 33 percent.

National The house formerly occupied by Ball State’s defunct Theta Chi chapter sits empty before Alpha Tau Omega moves in Oct. 3, 2018. The Ball State Theta Chi chapter is in the process of returning after three years away. ERIC PRITCHETT, DN FILE then-director of Greek Life, and Ro-Anne Royer Engle, then-associate vice president Maya Wilkins for student affairs and enrollment services.

Associate News Editor The email said: “Ro-Anne: I’m guessing this is from the Theta Chi report: http:// Three years after it was removed from www.ballstatedaily.com/article/2017/10/ campus, Theta Chi is returning to Ball State.

I feel safe with the guys that third-sexual-assault-reported-on-riversideThe national board successfully negotiated I know [in Theta Chi], and I avenue. But I wanted to make you aware of with university officials to end the chapter’s don’t feel like they are going to this article if you weren’t already. K [stet]” revocation from campus.

Theta Chi was sued in 2018 by then-Ball In 2018, the Ball State chapter of Theta repeat what happened before.

State student James Bolt, who said he was Chi was disbanded after the Delta Kappa But, even though it’s a different slapped by another member, resulting in chapter violated the national policies, group of guys, it doesn’t erase injury and medical expenses, according to according to a 2018 statement from the national organization. Additionally, what originally happened in the the lawsuit.

Chris Hager, associate director of student previous Ball State Daily News articles minds of students.” life, said the chapter is preparing to return detailed problems with the chapter, to campus with help from representative including a 2017 incident discussed in - BRENNA LARGE, Cody Cline. an email obtained through a Daily News Ball State freshman history and records request between Kari Murphy, See THETA CHI, 06 political science major

Eight dead at Houston Travis Scott concert At least eight people were killed and another 25 were hospitalized at a Travis Scott concert in Houston Nov. 5. There were nearly 50,000 people at the sold-out Astroworld Festival at NRG Park, and officials said the incident started just after 9 p.m. when Scott began performing and everyone was compressed together with little air or space available.

ON BALLSTATEDAILYNEWS.COM: BALL STATE SGA APPROVES BUDGET REQUEST FOR GARDEN

DNNews

11.11.21

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BREAD AND ROSES Ball State students call for an on-campus minimum wage raise.

Joey Sills Reporter Jake Seymore, junior telecommunications major, works for University Media Services (UMS) as an equipment check-out assistant. Seymore makes $7.25 an hour — the current federal minimum wage.

“I’ve been skating by on a very thin thread,” Seymore said, “so my quality of life isn’t great. I’ve had very many financial struggles and just affording bills [and] tuition is a day-to-day worry for me.”

Unable to sustain himself with his one university job, Seymore has gone down other routes to make more money.

“I donate plasma twice a week, weekly,” Seymore said. “So, I guess you could say I kind of work a second job.”

In mid-September, Seymore applied for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). However, because he was unable to work the required 20 hours per week to retain the benefits, they were cut.

“At the time, I was granted because of my financial situation,” Seymore said. “But, after my documents were looked over, at least for [September], they were discontinued because my pay stubs did not reflect a perfect 40 hours [over two weeks].”

Seymore said he continues to work for UMS because it relates to his future employment goals.

“My job relates to what I want my career to be,” Seymore said. “I get to examine video equipment thoroughly and, honestly, it is something I understand better than any other medium in the educational sense.”

Although he has applied for off-campus jobs to work on the weekends, Seymore said he hasn’t heard back from any employers yet. Seymore is one Ball State student who has expressed their support for an on-campus minimum wage increase.

“I personally feel like this minimum wage increase is entirely necessary and has been for a very long time now,” Seymore said. “And, the fact it hasn’t been increased is, quite frankly, absurd to me.”

The Ball State Daily News contacted Alan Finn,

$10.15 $7.25 $10.15 Indiana University

Purdue University

$8.40

Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis

Indiana State University

$7.25 Ball State University

MAGGIE GETZIN, DN

MINIMUM HOURLY RATE OF PAY AT DIFFERENT INDIANA COLLEGES

Sources: Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indiana University, Indiana State University, Purdue University

vice president for business affairs and treasurer, and Greg Fallon, chief digital marketing and communications officer, via email Nov. 5 for a comment regarding: The process of raising the minimum wage for oncampus student workers How many undergraduate students work on campus for between $7.25 and $9 an hour How much it would cost the university to raise wages to $9 an hour and whether these costs would impact tuition Whether any federal or state laws hinder the university in changing the wage or the number of hours undergraduate student employees are allowed to work Jim McAtee, assistant vice president and executive director for career and professional development, via Andrew Walker, senior communications strategist, said in an email Nov. 6, “Departments have the flexibility to decide wages for their students and there is a process in place for them to request wages above $9 an hour for undergraduate workers.”

According to the On-Campus Student Employment Supervisor Handbook McAtee provided, “total student employment compensation, including longevity, cannot exceed $9 an hour.”

McAtee said there are 1,765 on-campus student employees making between $7.25 and $9 an hour.

Of this number, he said 1,120 make between $7.25 and $7.44 an hour, 469 make between $7.45 and $8.99 an hour and 176 make $9 an hour.

Regarding the cost of raising the minimum wage, McAtee said Nov. 6, “It’s important to understand the following figures are based on the current number of student employees at Ball State, and are subject to change at any time.”

McAtee said, as of now, if on-campus student employees were to work a maximum of 20 hours per week, it would cost the university $50,624.51 per week, $1,923,731 over a 38 week academic year and $2,632,474 over a 52 week academic year.

McAtee did not provide a comment on whether these costs would impact tuition or other mandatory fees.

Ro-Anne Royer Engle, vice president of student

05 affairs, said in an email via Walker Nov. 8, “Student wages has been a recent topic of discussion among University [stet] leadership. A working group is being convened to explore and evaluate the different position roles among student workers.

The goal is to understand student worker pay bands, the responsibilities that accompany each position role and wage band, and to establish a clear set of wage protocols based on each role. The University [stet] will also evaluate the overall impact of any proposed pay scale adjustments. The goal of the working group is to develop a set of guidelines and recommendations for student position classifications and associated wages by the Fall 2022 hiring cycle.”

The Ball State Daily News responded Nov. 8 and said the university had yet to answer questions regarding the effect on tuition, why students are only allowed to work up to 20 hours per week and why the university pays on-campus student employees a minimum of $7.25 an hour. Walker also told The Daily News McAtee would answer a question regarding if Ball State students are limited to 20 hours per week by any federal or state law, but by Nov. 8, the date he promised, there was still no answer.

Walker said McAtee was still in the process of gathering this information and would provide it by Nov. 9. He also said, “the University [stet] has no additional details to share at this time.”

Walker said Nov. 9, “Despite our best efforts, we were unable to collect all of the requested information regarding [Federal Work Study guidelines] by the end of today.” However, Walker did say McAtee could provide this information if The Daily News would extend their deadline.

The Ball State Daily News said, in an email Nov. 10, that the information could be included as an update to the online article but the print deadline would remain the same.

The Indiana Department of Labor said in an email Nov. 8, “There are no restrictions in either Indiana state or in federal law that restricts the number of hours any student may be allowed to work” and that these restrictions “are instilled by the university.”

Andrew Haines, junior telecommunications and journalism major and member of the Ball State Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA), said students are rarely afforded the opportunity to consistently work their maximum amount of hours.

YDSA’s mission is to petition the university to raise the minimum wage, raise the cap on wages and increase the number of hours a student may work.

“You have these on-campus minimum wages [at other universities] that are way higher, and so we realized that it’s really unfair,” Eddie Osburn, senior English creative writing major and YDSA president said. “I just [feel] like our minimum wage is so much lower when it definitely could and should be a lot higher than it is.”

The current student interest in raising the oncampus minimum wage has its roots in a former Ball State organization called the Progressive Student Alliance (PSA). PSA released a petition Oct. 13, 2019, for an on-campus minimum wage increase to between $8.40 an hour and $10.40 an hour.

According to PSA, the current minimum wage is a poverty wage “for many people … meaning the money they make from their job does not cover their basic needs and guarantees poverty.”

The petition PSA created advocated for a fund

redistribution from things like administrative salaries, construction projects, advertising and free student sports tickets.

Parker Abrell, junior political science and English major and YDSA member, recalls seeing QR codes posted around campus his freshman year linking to this petition, as did Griffin Green, senior public history and philosophy major and Ball State Democrats president.

“It seemed like that was gaining traction,” Green said. “But, right when the word started to spread …

COVID hit, and so it immediately got tanked.”

YDSA was founded in early 2021 and held its first meeting virtually Jan. 26. Even then, Osburn cited a need to raise the on-campus minimum wage, according to a Daily News article.

Green, former YDSA member, was pictured on the organization’s Instagram creating a poster expressing the need to raise the wage at an in-person meeting April 8.

On Sept. 26, YDSA created an Instagram post explaining the need for an on-campus minimum wage increase. This post received more likes than previous posts, with 430 likes compared to the 2030 likes the account received on average.

The post linked to the previous PSA petition, but Osburn said YDSA is interested in creating a petition of its own. However, they were hesitant to give a specific time frame.

Since the resurgence of this petition, members have spent a considerable amount of their time recruiting new members and building a grassroots movement.

“This is the basis of many socialist acts,” Osburn said. “If we as students work together, we can put pressure on the university to make change.”

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the federal minimum wage has been $7.25 an hour since July 24, 2009. This has been the longest period without an increase to the minimum wage since it was established, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

Supporters of raising the minimum wage often cite an increase to $15 an hour, with the nationwide Fight for $15 political movement growing slowly in popularity since 2012 — so much so that President Joe Biden is backing it, according to his website’s policy proposals.

However, YDSA is petitioning the university for a $9 minimum wage on campus. Osburn said YDSA still supports the Fight for $15 movement but believes asking the university for more than $9 an hour would lessen their chances of making a difference.

“Nine dollars, for us, is the bare minimum,” Osburn said. “If we get $9 an hour, that means we’re on par with the rest of the universities — but we want to be better than them, too.”

Abrell compared the concept of the minimum wage to the “bread and roses” philosophy — the $9 an hour increase is their bread, with $15 an hour being their roses.

“Bread [is] the bare basics, but roses are the nice things as well,” Abrell said. “So, that’s what we’re going to fight for first before we move our attention onto those roses.”

Osburn, who works for UMS, said it’s important Ball State raises its minimum wage because not every student is able to work off-campus for multiple reasons.

4See ROSES, 18

11.11.21

DNNews

DIFFERENCES IN TUITION BETWEEN FIVE INDIANA UNIVERSITIES $27,298 Indiana University

Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis

IN-STATE

$24,168 IN-STATE

$22,812 Purdue University

IN-STATE

$21,086 Ball State University

IN-STATE

$24,426 Indiana State University

IN-STATE

$54,318

OUT-OF-STATE

$54,318

OUT-OF-STATE

$41,614 OUT-OF-STATE

$38,320 OUT-OF-STATE

$35,690 OUT-OF-STATE

Sources: Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indiana University, Indiana State University, Purdue University

DNNews

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THETA CHI Continued from Page 03

“[Cline] is working to meet potential members, talking to them about their potential involvement in the fraternity and having conversations with them about what it means to be a refounding member of the organization,” Hager said.

Hager began working at Ball State in 2019, after Theta Chi lost recognition. However, before he started his position, Hager said the fraternity could return back to campus around this time because members responsible for the chapter disbanding would have graduated.

Before Theta Chi can be registered as a student organization, it will have to increase its member numbers. “[Cline] is building interest so that he can build up a solid group of new members, so that they can work to get re-registered and recognized as a registered organization here at Ball State,” Hager said.

Hager said Fraternity and Sorority Life (FSL) is working with the Theta Chi national board to find alumni who can advise the new class to ensure they are creating a good name on campus.

Potential members could not rush Theta Chi during the same time as the rest of the fraternities on campus, and Cline had to begin recruiting members one week later than the rest recognized by FSL. Hager said it hasn’t been too difficult to get members to join the organization because delaying recruitment is a standard practice a lot of national organizations do when reestablishing chapters on college campuses. Hager calls this “expansion recruitment” because the chapter is taking its time to recruit more members.

STORYTELLING

ACROSS CULTURES

AND DISCIPLINES A transdisiplinary seminar from the Virginia B. Ball Center for Creative Inquiry

The national headquarters of Theta Chi Fraternity announced the morning of Oct. 3, 2018, Ball State’s chapter had been removed from campus. The Theta Chi national headquarters are allowing the fraternity to return to Ball State’s campus this year, and the fraternity is already preparing to come back. ERIC PRITCHETT, DN FILE Hager said Ball State students don’t need to worry about the same problems occurring again when Theta Chi returns.

“Even if there are still students that are on campus who were part of the chapter before they lost recognition, they don’t look for them for membership, and they’re never asked to be part of the new establishment of the chapter,” Hager said.

Tom Axon, 1978 Ball State Theta Chi alumnus, said he had a positive experience with the fraternity, and when the chapter was removed in 2018, he said he was hurt by the decision.

“I’ve tried to stay very close with the chapter and direct the young men into certain areas of

Even if there are still students that are on campus who were part of the chapter before they lost recognition, they don’t look for them for membership, and they’re never asked to be part of the new establishment of the chapter.”

- CHRIS HAGER, Associate director of student life “It’s more of that one-on-one, individual approach to recruit students,” he said. “It’s more of an intimate approach because they are able to have those intimate conversations.”

Hager said Cline’s goal was to have 15 members by the end of Homecoming, but Hager isn’t sure if that goal was met or not because Hager said that information was not provided by the chapter.

The Ball State Daily News exchanged emails and text messages with Cline, asking for an interview, which he said he would do if he got permission from the Theta Chi national organization. However, after nine messages were exchanged over the course of two weeks, Cline never responded. Additionally, The Ball State Daily News sent two emails to the national headquarters requesting information for this story, but the organization never provided a response.

work,” Axon said. “I was taken aback by what I heard … I don’t know all the particulars, but I wasn’t happy — [I was] disappointed.”

Axon also said he felt there were many Theta Chi alumni who agreed with him and were hurt by the actions because the chapter had a “very good” tradition before 2018.

“They weren’t just hurting a few of us — they were hurting a lot of people,” he said.

“There’s a lot of us, and we were looking forward to our time to come back.”

Axon said he is happy Theta Chi is returning to Ball State, and he hopes the university has done what it can to “get rid of the bad apples.” He is planning to work with the students joining the fraternity and connect them with other alumni.

“We are an engagement group, and we engage with undergraduates and look forward to working with them as community outreach,” Axon said. “They need to get to

know their alumni, and later, they can use that for moving up in the world.”

While Axon is ready for Theta Chi to return, some students are not, including Brenna Large, freshman history and political science major.

Large is a Ball State Student Government Association (SGA) senator and heard about Theta Chi when one of her fellow senators was accepted into the fraternity.

“At the time this was happening, it was still close enough to the beginning of the school year that I hadn’t gained that recognition of all the fraternities and such that I now have being on campus for nearly a semester,” Large said.

However, she said once she began to hear about Theta Chi in more detail, she was “extremely disheartened to hear they were coming back” because of the reputation it had on campus before.

“I feel like this group of guys is very solid,” Large said. “The ones I know are very nice, genuine people. But, I feel like that doesn’t excuse what happened in the past.”

She said Cline visited SGA Oct. 20 and believed he wanted to create a good relationship between the fraternity and SGA. “When I specifically asked him about students who were upset that they were returning, he said he wanted those students to reach out to him,” Large said. “He was very willing to talk to students who were upset about their return to campus, which I thought was a very appropriate response to my question.”

Large said she feels her opinion on Theta Chi aligns with the majority of students, and although there is a new group joining the fraternity, there are still some concerns she has.

“I feel safe with the guys that I know [in Theta Chi], and I don’t feel like they are going to repeat what happened before,” Large said. “But, even though it’s a different group of guys, it doesn’t erase what originally happened in the minds of students.”

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

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.

• 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

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

07

There were approximately

1.7

MILLION

18 MILLION 15%

PTSD

WOMEN

Americans have served over the course of the nation’s history.

1940

down from

131,000

HOMELESS VETERANS recorded in 2008

Below illustrates the number of U.S. service members during each wartime era.

1960

1980

DOWN 71%

41 MILLION

HOMELESS

The oldest living U.S. veteran is 112 and served during World War II, which began more than 80 years ago. Since then, millions of citizens have served in the nation’s military, during both war and peacetime.

6,435 SUICIDE died by

an average of

roughly one veteran every

SUICIDES

81

17.6

DAY

MIN

2000

2021

World War II

Korean War

Vietnam War

Gulf War

Iraq/Afghanistan

16.1

5.7

8.7

2.2

2.8

1941-1945

MILLION

1950-1953

MILLION

1964-1975

MILLION

SOURCES: DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS; U.S. CENSUS BUREAU; THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT; RAND CORPORATION

DNNews

United States veterans in 2018.

37,878 were

suffered from

were

More than

Of those, approximately:

11.11.21

1990-1991

MILLION

2001-2021

MILLION ALEX HINDENLANG, DN DESIGN

DNNews

11.11.21

08

SOME WHO

SERVED You leave the military, but it kind of comes home with you, too.”

- BILL FREDERICK, Army veteran

Donovan said he is happy to see the way veterans are treated today, which he thinks is a welcome change from when he returned from Vietnam. “[Veterans] are getting a lot more attention today than they used to — and they need to,” Donovan said. “There’s a lot of [veterans] that just aren’t handling the problems that they went through when they were in the military. A lot of them are wounded warriors, and a lot are mentally wounded, too.”

Local veterans look back at their time spent in service and how it has impacted their lives since.

SHERMAN BELL Bell was drafted into the Army in 1968 and spent most of his time in Germany. When reflecting on his time in the service, he said he learned a great deal of discipline. “I’d do it all over again,” Bell said.

MIKE DONOVAN

Mike Donovan laughs with Brooks Mace while waiting to be served at the American Legion Post 19 on 418 N. Walnut St. Nov. 5. Donovan served in the Army from August 1972 to December 1973. RYLAN CAPPER, DN

09

Brooks and Judy Mace laugh in the American Legion Post 19 Nov. 5 as they recall their time working at Dollywood. Brooks served from 1963 to 1965, and after his time in the service, he moved to Tennessee with Judy Mace to work at the park. RYLAN CAPPER, DN

11.11.21

DNNews

I’d do it all over again.”

- SHERMAN BELL, Army veteran Frederick was accepted to Purdue University for engineering, but shortly after, he joined the Army and became a combat engineer. Frederick believes readjusting to society is one of the biggest problems veterans face after returning from combat. “You leave the military, but it kind of comes home with you, too,” Frederick said. He believes the way he was treated after returning from Vietnam only made the transition more difficult. “It was a rough thing. They’d spit in your face and everything else,” Frederick said.

BILL FREDERICK

ANGELO BEATRICE

Beatrice served in the Navy from 1976 to1997 and acts as the bar manager at the Legion. He worked on a submarine and recalls one time when he spent 72 days underwater. He said during this time, he tried to make money wherever possible. “I sold 10 cartons of cigarettes every deployment,” Beatrice said. “I waited until they were $5 a cigarette to sell them... that’s what it was worth in a poker game.”

POST 19’S COMMUNITY SERVICES Squared Away Food Program Sponsored by Second Harvest Food Bank, Post 19 members distribute food to veterans in need from the parking lot of the organization. If a retired service member is homebound, food can be delivered.

Shop with a Hero Members of Post 19, along with 25 area kids, go shopping for anything the young people want for Christmas. With a budget of $250 per child, the vets and kids spend the day making sure the holidays will be happy ones. The Post also partners with Payless Foods to make sure each child’s family receives a gift card for a complete holiday dinner.

Trunk or Treat The Post’s Ladies Auxiliary, sponsored by Squared Away, hosts a Halloween party each year. Children receive candy treats and get a chance at winning a bike that is given away during the event.

The American Legion Post 19 Commander, Jesse Casperson, said The Post is open to all veterans and their families. If any veteran needs a place to go or a person to talk to, they are encouraged to visit Post 19 at 418 N. Walnut St. or call at 765-282-8371.

Ball State needs student labor to function, but Weekends and holidays are time for us to catch up on homework and engage in activities, which we don’t get to do when all we do is work.

I’ve worked a full-time job before — I’ve done 40-plus hours a week at a rate of $13 an hour. I felt valued and wanted to work harder because of it. I don’t mind getting paid less, but stepping down to $7.25 would have been a pretty big cliff dive, both mentally and financially.

I worked throughout high school, but for some reason, I just couldn’t do it in college. I went from class to work to doing homework, falling behind in my classes and getting little to no sleep. I missed all of my clubs because I had to work, and school had to come first. I felt bad asking to cut my hours after only working there for a week, but my mental health was crashing.

So, I did something I’ve never done before — I quit.

Source: 2021 NLIHC

Lila Fierek is a sophomore journalism news major and writes “Hey There DuhLila” for The Daily News. Her views do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper.

At 15 years old, I took my first job at a local ice cream shop.

The starting pay — $7.25 an hour, also Indiana’s minimum wage — made sense for a 15-year-old girl who couldn’t drive and didn’t have to pay for everything. My parents gave me money for food, and I wasn’t one to shop or buy things often. I had a school, school, school mentality, so nothing else mattered.

Minimum wage made sense for 15-year-old me, but it didn’t when I went to find a job at Ball State. I didn’t expect to be offered the same amount I was making when I was 15.

Even compared to similar jobs in Muncie, Ball State falls behind when it comes to pay rate. For me, that lower rate meant seeking work off campus. I waited until September to work, trying to get more comfortable with my schedule. I needed a job fast, so I drove around town and applied to the two jobs that had signs for open interviews.

I received two offers, so I took one where I would make $9 an hour and told them I would work up to 20 hours a week, just like an on-campus job. I knew if I asked for too few hours, no one would want to hire me.

I had a fairly busy schedule, though, so I knew anything more than 20 hours would be too much.

I was overwhelmed after the first week, and I realized quickly how inflexible off-campus jobs can be. You don’t just get off fall break like you do with an on-campus job. You can’t ask for a day off of work because you have a big test or have been falling behind in your classes.

This downtime is crucial for college students.

PAYS THE AVERAGE RENT IN MUNICE Fortunately, my job was understanding, but having an off-campus job was a lot harder than I thought.

All on-campus jobs for undergraduate students at Ball State University start at a measly $7.25 an hour — a federal standard that fewer than half of states still

Muncie starting wages compared to Ball State At the Muncie McDonald’s on Chadam Lane, workers can start part-time at $1011 an hour. At Aldi, employees can start at $16 an hour, almost double Ball State’s wage.

HotBox Pizza pays delivery drivers between $8.88 to $18 an hour.

ALDI

MCDONALD’S

HOTBOX BALL STATE Source: Aldi, McDonald’s, HotBox

doesn’t pay us nearly enough for our work. practice — with the option to apply for raises up to $9 an hour.

Simply put, it’s unreasonable. All of this is before taxes are taken out, which, according to the Indiana Department of Revenue, is at a rate of 3.23 percent in Indiana. This tax rate doesn’t include other fees like Social Security and Medicare.

Additionally, there is no requirement that a student is guaranteed to work the full 20 hours on an average week, making tuition and room and board even harder to pay off.

If you plan to rely on an on-campus job to pay for college, good luck, Charlie Cardinal.

The Daily News contacted Ball State’s administration and asked specific questions about the number of employees, why Ball State pays a minimum wage of $7.25, why they only allow 20 hours per week and similar questions.

Ball State did not answer these questions and instead responded with a blanket statement with the university’s goals. They were not available for further comment, which tells me a change likely isn’t coming anytime soon. Ball State needs to get with the times and raise its wages.

Some Ball State students opt to live off campus because it can often be cheaper than paying for room and board. But, making $145 a week probably isn’t going to be enough to pay for rent, utilities and food every month. In my duplex, it costs me about $500 a month with utilities and one other roommate, and I only pay for electricity and gas.

This makes everything harder to pay for on a consistent minimum wage of $7.25, one that, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, hasn’t changed in the United States since 2009.

According to the Society for Human Resource Management, America is in a nationwide job shortage, so places are upping their pay to find workers. We live in a country where, according to Pew Research Center, 62 percent of adults want the minimum wage to be $15 an hour. It would be beneficial for Ball State to get ahead of the times and

Paying debt off a minimum wage salary at Ball State 1 YEAR IN-STATE TUITION

While working 20 hours a week, this is a breakdown of how long it would take to pay off in-state debt while working for minimum wage.

DAYS

WEEKS

YEARS

1 YEAR OUT-OF-STATE TUITION

While working 20 hours a week, this is a breakdown of how long it would take to pay off out-of-state debt while working for minimum wage.

DAYS

WEEKS

YEARS Source: Ball State University

do what students need.

If Ball State wants to be seen as a progressive university that cares about its students, then they need to show it, and increasing student pay is a prime opportunity. According to the International Labour Organization, studies have shown higher wages can contribute to higher labor productivity.

Getting paid more motivates workers to work harder, so why wouldn’t Ball State want the most productive work possible?

It is unjust for Ball State to pay students so little that they can’t even afford a month’s rent, and raising the minimum wage would create plenty of goodwill with their students.

Michael Hicks, economics professor and director of the Center for Business and Economic Research, said increasing Ball State’s pay rate for undergraduate students would have more of an effect on student fees and costs like meal plans and the Student Recreation & Wellness Center than on tuition. Hicks said all of the student employees at his research center are paid off of grants and contracts, though it varies by department and employee.

“I doubt it would cause a significant increase and certainly wouldn’t be a noticeable increase in tuition,” Hicks said.

Hicks said raising the minimum wage on campus has different effects than raising the wage nationally because the amount of people who make minimum wage are dispersed throughout the country, whereas at Ball State, they are all in one place. It’s more noticeable at the university level and has more of an effect the higher it’s raised.

“It’s very difficult to hire students who might have financial needs, who need to work,” Hicks said. “And their options off campus short-term are financially better than most of the options on campus. And that’s true for universities around the country right now during the COVID period.”

See MINIMUM, 12

MAGGIE GETZIN, DN

Ultimately, Hicks said, on-campus jobs are good for both students and the university. Students get a better education and are more likely to get career-related experience, surrounded by teachers who can help us learn important skills.

This is good for Ball State because it helps the university have more successful students and higher graduation rates, Hicks said.

Having more experienced students helps graduates get better jobs, and ultimately, that makes the school look good.

Cardinal If you plan to rely on an oncampus job to pay for college, good luck, Charlie Cardinal.”

This symbiotic relationship between student workers and the university would be more balanced if they would pay us a little more, enough to survive and put food on the table. Like Hicks said, most people who need money have to turn to getting off-campus jobs, but that just makes it harder on them. These perks are great and make on-campus jobs beneficial, but that shouldn’t matter when it comes to pay rate.

Minimum wage is barely enough to survive.

Our work should be valued more by the university. Ball State students cannot support themselves with low-wage jobs alone, and it’s not realistic to juggle school, two jobs and involvement.We know it is not meant to pay for our tuition, but the least they can do is pay us enough to live to the day we can finally pay it off.

Ball State cannot survive without student labor. Andrew Walker, senior communications strategist for the university, said as of Nov. 6, there are 1,765 undergraduate on-campus student employees. Front desk workers, dining hall employees, parking services, research assistants and more — all these jobs are held by student employees.

“Students are just a critical part of making the university operate,” Hicks said. “So how we staff, how we hire and how much we pay is obviously a keen interest in all of us at the university.”

The school needs student workers to function and, although they are providing us an education, if they are providing jobs, the least they can do is make it fair.

It’s ridiculous to ask students so much for so little.

Contact Lila Fierek with comments at lkfierek@bsu.edu or on Twitter @fierek_lila.

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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KAMRYN TOMLINSON, DN DESIGN; BALL STATE ATHLETICS, PHOTO PROVIDED, RYLAN CAPPER, DN, JADEN WHITEMAN, DN

Ball State Basketball is hoping to usher in new talent.

ON BALLSTATEDAILYNEWS.COM: 3 TAKEAWAYS FROM CARDINALS’ LOSS TO GEORGIA SOUTHERN

DNSports

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BLENDING OLD

WITH NEW The Cardinals hope to acclimate new talent as they begin a new season with fresh faces.

Charleston Bowles Associate Sports Editor In college basketball, the transfer portal and NCAA eligibility rules have changed the way programs build their rosters.

When teams used to take in transfer players, they had to sit out their first year in the program. However, the NCAA announced a one-time exception rule April 28, which allowed student-athletes to transfer once without sitting a season, and unlike in the past, transfer players are given immediate eligibility if it’s their first time transferring.

The Cardinals dipped their toes in the transfer portal this past offseason, adding three players from April to June.

Junior guard Tyler Cochran, senior guard Demarius Jacobs and junior forward Mickey Pearson Jr. are all first-year Cardinals. Cochran spent his first two years at Northern Illinois University and averaged 15.5 points in the 202021 season. Jacobs comes over from Saint Louis University, where he made 29 starts in 68 career games, while Pearson Jr. played 19 games for Texas Christian University last season.

Ball State head coach James Whitford said he noticed distinguishing traits in all three players during the recruiting process.

“It would be different for every position — if I summed it up, someone who’s really talented and someone who has high competitive character [and] someone who’s a great competitor and a great teammate.” Whitford said.

Along with their three transfers, the Cardinals return eight scholarship players from the 202021 season while also welcoming three freshmen: center Payton Sparks, guard Jaylin Sellers and

forward Basheer Jihad.

Whitford said Ball State will stay mostly “inhouse” from a leadership standpoint, and he has been impressed with having a mixture of returning players while also beginning to see his team’s newcomers find their own individual leadership styles.

“Payton Sparks, Jaylin Sellers and Tyler, those

It would be different for every position — if I summed it up, someone who’s really talented and someone who has high competitive character [and] someone who’s a great competitor and a great teammate.”

- JAMES WHITFORD, Ball State Men’s Basketball head coach

guys all kind of really stand out to me in their own way,” Whitford said.

After a 70-69 exhibition loss against Michigan Tech Nov. 3, Ball State began the regular season Nov. 9 as they traveled to Georgia Southern University and lost 82-71 to the Eagles. The Cardinals started junior guard Luke Bumbalough,

UNLABELED

Kyle Smedley Reporter

The 2021-22 Ball State Women’s Basketball season will be different. Nobody has a labeled position, and newcomers are not referred to as such.

After losing key players from the 2020-21 season, the Cardinals have added seven players via the transfer portal or freshmen from the 2021 recruiting class.

At the end of the 2020-21 academic year, the

Cardinals lost forward Oshlynn Brown, forward Krystal Rice, guard Essence Booker, guard Maliah Howard-Bass, guard Ella Skeens and guard Katie Helgason to graduation or the transfer portal.

With themes of culture and family present throughout, the Cardinals hope to hit the ground running in wake of losing several pieces from 2020-21. The Cardinals filled these missing pieces through freshman Ally Becki, freshman Marie Kiefer and freshman Madelyn Bischoff. Ball State

Freshman forward Basheer Jihad shoots the basketball over redshirt senior forward Miryne Thomas at a practice at the Don Shondell Practice Center. Ball State Men’s Basketball lost to Georgia Southern University in its season opener with a score of 82-71. BALL STATE ATHLETICS, PHOTO PROVIDED Cochran, Sellers, redshirt senior forward Miryne Thomas and Sparks.

Last season, Bumbalough and Thomas each averaged 7.3 points per game, tied for highest among returners. As the Cardinals begin a new season, Whitford said he doesn’t know what Ball State’s identity is offensively.

“I know we’re going to become a good offensive team, although we’re not right now,” Whitford said.

“I think we’re still searching for it in the offense.”

Although the offense is still in flux, Whitford said, he is optimistic about what the Cardinals are capable of becoming defensively and believes they will figure it out as the season progresses.

“I think we’re still a work in progress on defense,” Whitford said, “but one of the things I believe it can become is, we’re a big physical team that should be able to put you in a box and pummel you on the glass.”

Entering his third season donning the cardinal and white, Bumbalough is one of the longesttenured Cardinals and averaged 29.1 minutes per game in 2020-21 — highest among all returners.

Bumbalough said he believes the team’s freshmen

and transfers have quickly adapted to the program, and it has helped bridge the gap between newcomers and the returners on the court.

“I’d say early on, we’re just really connected,” Bumbalough said. “We’re not worried about stepping on each other’s toes — we all trust each other. We have a whole new different team, so it’s pretty cool that everyone’s already so close as they are, and we’re going to keep building that chemistry. I think the biggest thing is, just keep trusting each other.”

Although he missed the game-winning shot attempt at the final buzzer in the Cardinals’ exhibition game against Michigan Tech, Cochran said he remains focused on the regular season. After the game, he expressed his excitement to be in a Cardinal uniform for the first time. He then scored seven points in his Ball State debut against the Eagles.

“It felt good,” Cochran said. “It felt good to finally get out there with the guys and go out and compete at a high level. I am very excited for what is to come.”

Contact Charleston Bowles with comments at clbowles@bsu.edu or on Twitter @cbowles01.

Ball State Women’s Basketball is relying on culture and family atmosphere heading into a new season. also added graduate student Chyna Latimer, junior Skyla Knight, sophomore Makenna Burch and junior Jazmyn Turner through the transfer portal.

Redshirt Anna Clephane averaged a career-high 12.2 points per game in 2020-21 and said she is excited for the new elements the freshmen and transfers bring to the Cardinals.

“It’s a really different dynamic this year,” Clephane said. “Everyone can do everything. We don’t have positions, and we have a whole new look.”

Senior Thelma Dis Agustsdottir started all 25 games in 2020-21, averaging 11.8 points per game and pacing the Cardinals in 3-pointers made with 55. Dis Agustsdottir said the Cardinals’ new players have fit right in so far.

“I think it only makes our team better — they’re great players and great people,” she said. “How close we all are and how we all want to see each other succeed is a big factor.”

4See BASKETBALL, 18

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Byte

VICTORY for the

TORI SMITH, DN PHOTO; ALEX HINDENLANG, DN DESIGN

‘The Witcher’ surprises in season 2 Based on the book series written by Andrzej Sapkowski, “The Witcher” has been turned into many movies and a TV series. After the story was adapted into a video game in 2007, it gained more popularity and, after its Netflix series debuted in 2019, the show gained more fans than ever before. Season two will debut in December 2021, and fans are highly anticipating the new storyline.

Ball Bearings

COMMUNITY

Charles Venable shares his love for Muncie through his go-kart business, Victory Laps.

Tori Smith Reporter There he stood, overwhelmed by what he saw. The mile-and-a-half-long property that used to be Muncie’s Slick Track Raceway was now piled with problems.

Charles Venable said he saw tangled vines, overgrown weeds and broken glass on the floor from shattered windows and busted holes in the building drywall.

“It did not appear what it looked like on the social site,” Venable said. “When I brought my wife there, she looked at me with the biggest eyes, like, ‘What are you getting into?’”

Even though he saw all the forks in the road, Venable said to himself, “If I can see the finish line, I’ll get to it.”

Venable, Muncie native and owner of Victory Laps, pioneered his way into creating his own go-kart business using the skills he had acquired working in the auto industry since 1999 as a full-time general

manager of Buick GMC in Anderson, Indiana. Venable said he visited the former Slick Track property the day after he came across a post about it on Facebook.

This is a place to let the world’s problems down. If I can make a difference in three people’s lives, that’s life fulfillment for me.”

- CHARLES VENABLE, Victory Laps Owner “As soon as I saw it, I thought of a quote — ‘One man’s challenge is another man’s

opportunity,’” Venable said. “The first thing I looked at was the challenge.”

After deciding he was ready to take the challenge, he bought the property in August 2020. Venable now works at the track with his wife, Dionna Venable, Victory Laps’ special events coordinator.

“I truly purchased it on faith,” Charles Venable said. “I didn’t know what was going to happen with the pandemic — no one did.”

Venable had been looking for an opportunity to contribute toward the community, and he said he wanted to find a way to stay involved in Muncie and provide something unique for kids to do.

“I wanted to make a difference — I didn’t want to have a business just to say I had a business,” he said.

For Venable, the first step of creating a go-kart track involved renovations. He renovated bathrooms, the concession area, the shattered windows and holes in the drywall.

See VICTORY, 17

ON BYTEBSU.COM: TOP SEVEN YOUNG ADULT FICTION BOOKS OF ALL TIME

Businesses thank community for help during pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic didn’t stop the Muncie community from supporting local businesses. Vera Mae’s Bistro, located in downtown Muncie, was forced to lay off a large portion of its staff and serve its customers exclusively through curbside pickup during the pandemic. Now, the restaurant thanks its customers and the community for keeping its doors open throughout the difficult time.

Byte

Celebrations of death in different cultures Halloween is a popular holiday across the United States that celebrates death. Other holidays such as The Day of The Dead in Mexico, “Han Sang” in China and “Samhain” by pagans are used to celebrate and honor the dead.

These events and gatherings often include homemade food, dancing, offerings and visiting burial grounds.

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FASHIONABLY FOREVER YOUNG

After its grand re-opening in August, Forever Young Boutique expands its clothing collection to women and college students.

Grace Bentkowski Reporter Amanda Hughes remembers strolling down the streets of downtown Muncie when she was little, peeking through cracked windows, counting boarded-up buildings and watching her hometown wear away.

“I grew up at a [time] where downtown was a ghost town,” Hughes said.

As Hughes grew up and graduated from Muncie Southside High School, she began working in retail at Kohl’s. After five years of retail experience, Hughes attended Anderson University and graduated in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in business.

In 2013, Hughes packed up and moved to Fishers, Indiana, to have a family with her husband, Brandon Hughes, where they lived for two years. In Fishers, Hughes said she knew her “old soul” always held onto downtown Muncie.

That hold later guided her back to the home of her own boutique, Forever Young.

“We opened [Forever Young Boutique] because, when [my husband and I] had kids, we were shopping at boutiques, and we lived in a different area,” Hughes said. “When we moved back to Muncie, there weren’t any boutiques around.”

Forever Young Children’s Boutique, the original boutique located on Charles Street, opened in downtown Muncie in 2016. Selling clothing for newborns up to 7-year-olds, Hughes was eager to fuse her love for retail and her family when she opened her boutique.

Amanda Hughes, owner of Forever Young Boutique, poses at the checkout desk inside her boutique Oct. 14. Hughes had five years of retail experience prior to opening her own boutique in Muncie. KISHEL PHOTOGRAPHY, PHOTO COURTESY

“My passion has always been fashion and retail, so I decided to open up my own [boutique],” Hughes said. “From there, it flourished.”

However, in early 2021, Hughes said Forever Young “hit a wall,” as her business faced a handful of obstacles related to its marketing, age demographics and slow foot traffic. When working through solutions for more storage area, Hughes knew moving deeper into the heart of her favorite area of Muncie would do the trick.

“Until you gain clientele that love you, trust you and know your brand, it’s definitely hard to build that from the start,” Hughes said. “We’ve expanded — we have more storage areas. Now, we can [carry both] women’s and kids’, too.”

Forever Young Boutique was relocated to Walnut Street in August 2021 to gain more exposure in the community. Because of the move, Forever Young Boutique was able to add a new women’s clothing section. Moving to a busier location, Hughes said she has noticed more shoppers stopping in. “[We] give downtown more retail, and people are more apt to walk around when there’s more retail down here,” Hughes said.

Forever Young Boutique’s clothing caters to babies, young children, women and college students. Hughes said she thinks Forever Young Boutique and other small businesses have brought a sense of life to downtown Muncie that was missing during Hughes’ childhood.

“To walk around and see the historic buildings and people owning businesses inside, it warms my heart,” Hughes said.

See BOUTIQUE, 18

Forever Young displays its favorite fall fashions on the boutique floor Oct. 14. The boutique previously served children, aged newborns to 7 years old, but has since expanded to also selling women’s clothing. GRACE BENTKOWSKI, DN

17 11.11.21

VICTORY Continued from Page 15

“There was so much cleanup work, even glass was on backorder,” Venable said. “There were a lot of obstacles due to the pandemic.”

Another obstacle Venable faced while setting up for business was getting one of the most essential parts of the business — the go-karts. Venable worked with several different manufacturers until he found the right fit for his business.

“Due to availability, we picked a manufacturer and personally made alterations to the karts to fit our business,” Venable said. “They had been in the industry for over 40 years. Three months later, brand new go-karts showed up on a semi.”

Through all the challenges Venable was facing, he also had to create a logo for his brand. Venable decided to contact George Foley, owner and graphic designer for Muncie-based Tailored Technology.

Venable was previously aware of the work that Foley was doing throughout the community, specifically at Union Missionary Baptist Church.

“I met Charles working with his ministry and church,” Foley said. “He had asked me to do some graphic design for them. We’ve been friends ever since.”

Foley graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University with a master’s degree in graphic design in 2014. Foley’s company, Tailored Technology, designs websites, logos, business cards, flyers and brochures.

“I always kind of like graphics,” Foley said. “I like technology and thinking outside of the box. I like to see a small business grow.”

Venable and Foley worked together on the logo for Victory Laps, but Venable said he already knew the red, white and black color scheme he wanted for the logo. Tailored Technology also created and printed the banners placed inside the track.

“Charles trusted my creativity,” Foley said. “The logo — achromatic in its skill color — represents everyone in a broad spectrum. The font makes ‘Victory Laps’ stand out.”

Victory Laps officially opened the last week of July 2021 and is located at 2921 E. Jackson St. Since opening, Venable said they have had a successful business and a positive response from the Muncie community.

A customized “Victory Laps” go-kart sits in the garage waiting to be used Oct. 31. The carts are sanitized between each race.

TORI SMITH, DN

“I wanted to create a good business name to start,” Venable said. “I wanted to show our vibe, energy and customer service within the 14 weekends of being open.”

Emily Daly, a Victory Laps customer, came across the business through a Facebook ad. Daly said she messaged the business on Facebook to let them know she was interested in having a party.

“Charles called and let me know my options,” Daly said. “It was nice to receive a professional phone call. It took maybe 20 minutes maximum to set the whole thing up.”

After speaking with Venable via phone, Daly decided to celebrate her daughter Avery’s 8th birthday party at Victory Laps.

DNLife

FALL-ING BEHIND

While fall colors may seem to be appearing later than usual, they have not failed to decorate campus in the warmth of the changing season.

It’s nice to have a place in Muncie that’s both clean and absolutely affordable.”

- EMILY DALY, Customer of Victory Laps “We like to do things that are different,” Daly said. “It’s nice to have a place in Muncie that’s both clean and absolutely affordable. My husband is 260 pounds and lifts weights — he had no problem fitting in the go-kart. There’s really no restrictions.”

Venable said safety is a very important part of owning a go-kart track. Track coordinators are safety monitors for the track, and there can be up to seven, depending on how many people are racing and the ages of the drivers.

“Track coordinators are trained to look for things that could go wrong,” Venable said. “It helps to prevent accidents.”

Coordinators make sure seat belts are buckled, tires are aired properly and everyone feels comfortable before waving the green flag.

“Coordinators communicate two ways — through colored flags and walkie-talkies,” Venable said. “Yellow or red flags show that we need to stop or that something is wrong. The walkie-talkies allow the coordinators to not have to yell over a loud track.”

Victory Laps’ customers can expect to see “a lot of positive changes” come spring 2022, Venable said, including food every day available for purchase, made by Victory Laps, as well as concession stands and vending machines. Along with these new changes, Venable said the business’ vision is to add a nine-hole putt mini golf course, restore old batting cages and renovate the pool area to add bumper boats.

Venable said he is fulfilling his life’s dream through Victory Laps and wants people to know the reason he invested in this business is because of family.

“We love families,” Venable said. “No matter what type, what color, we want them to feel our love. This is a place to let the world’s problems down. If I can make a difference in three people’s lives, that’s life fulfillment for me.”

Contact Tori Smith with comments at tnsmith2@ bsu.edu or on Twitter @tori_ncl_writer.

Kylen Matthews reads a book under a tree surrounded by fallen leaves Nov. 10 in the Quad. Many students chose to study outside because of the mild 60-degree temperatures. RYLAN CAPPER, DN Shafer Tower is obscured by autumn leaves Nov. 10. The area near University Green is painted in hues of red, orange and yellow leaves from the surrounding trees. AMBER PIETZ, DN

Maggie Godfrey reads a book Nov. 10 sitting on a ledge at the Beneficence statue. RYLAN CAPPER, DN

DNNews

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18

Continued from Page 05 “It is a lot harder to work off-campus when you consider transportation, scheduling issues and many other things that the university helps account for in its on-campus jobs,” Osburn said.

They also said many students who work off-campus still find themselves in need of another job to cover basic living expenses.

“There is another significant number of students — including some of my own co-workers — who hold two jobs, one off-campus and one on-campus,” Osburn said. “These students have to have two jobs because both on- and off-campus jobs don’t pay enough for them to pay rent, pay groceries and other basic living necessities.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a major influence on the way Americans view their relationship with capital and their value as a worker, Abrell said.

“This pandemic … has kind of given workers the time to see, ‘Oh, I can do so many other things with my time,’ and have therefore increased the value of their time,” Abrell said.

BASKETBALL

Continued from Page 14 Junior Sydney Freeman and Dis Agustsdottir said spectators won’t be able to tell the Cardinals’ newcomers are new to the team based on their play on the court. However, Freeman also said she believes Ball State’s veteran leadership will play an important role in helping acclimate the newcomers.

“We feel like we need to be the voices and teach them the ropes, even if it’s just by our actions,” Freeman said. “We built a culture this summer of what we wanted our team to look like, and I think that culture will stand out.”

Clephane and Freeman each mentioned the positionless identity as a new strength of the Cardinals. With no assigned positions, Clephane believes the Cardinals can flourish by exploiting favorable matchups against opponents.

“It’s no longer guards and post, or starters and non-starters or newcomers and returners,” Clephane said. “It’s just our team, and I think that’s really beneficial.”

Head coach Brady Sallee said not using the term “newcomers” brings all his players together as one. He also said the Cardinals are positionless because of their offensive versatility.

“We thought it was the best way to stay consistent with our

BOUTIQUE Continued from Page 16

So far, Hughes said she has received positive reviews about the expansion and addition of collections for college students and women.

“Our mission is to carry the utmost trendy clothing that is everyday wear,” Hughes said. “From college kids all the way up to women in their 50s and 60s, we hit that in-between market.”

Tracy Whitlock, Forever Young Boutique customer and Ball State parent, visited the shop during Ball State’s family weekend while strolling through downtown Muncie and “fell in love with the atmosphere.”

“The store was really cute and organized with friendly staff,” Whitlock said, and she “can’t wait” until she visits Muncie again to shop more at the boutique.

“My shopping trip was brief, but I’ll definitely go back when I’m in Muncie again to see what cute things they have,” Whitlock said.

In addition to her storefront, Hughes has made an effort to reach out to the community through her partnership with Thrive Credit Union in Muncie, which began in 2016. Because Hughes saw how much the credit union appreciated small businesses, she said she wanted to work with Thrive in an effort to promote smaller storefronts in the district, including Forever Young.

Although students have been discussing a minimum wage increase since at least 2019, the pandemic has especially incited calls for a raise, Green said.

“During a pandemic — they’re making all sorts of budget cuts — there’s no way that asking for more money would’ve survived,” Green said. “But, now that … things seem to be improving, I think a lot of people are saying, ‘Hey, we’ve been worked to death, especially over a pandemic — why aren’t we being paid more?’”

Abrell and Haines believe the pandemic has been a catalyst in making the modern progressive movement more mainstream.

“I think the pandemic has opened up that can of worms that corporations are honestly really good at hiding,” Haines said.

Abrell said the recession immediately resulting from the pandemic has exposed cracks in what he said is the “bootstraps” myth that symbolizes the American dream.

“If you’re pulling yourself up by your foot, you’re going to fall over,” Abrell said. “[The workers] are switching the American dream to one more like, ‘We need the bitter basics to then achieve that success.’”

Haines isn’t certain Ball State will listen to its students and raise its minimum wage. As a senior, he’s uncertain whether he’ll see such a message, which is ‘team first’ and being bought into our culture,” Sallee said. “By using returners and newcomers, we were creating two different groups. The positionless piece is more about how we want to play offense.”

Freeman also said she believes everyone on the floor for the Cardinals can contribute in their own way, whether it be through shooting or defending. For Sallee, he said he is proud of the way Clephane, Dis Agustsdottir and Freeman have led the charge.

Sallee also mentioned Becki, Latimer and sophomore Ivet Subirats as players who have stood out early.

“I think this team has aspirations of cutting down the nets and winning a championship,” Sallee said.

Despite Brown’s absence, Dis Agustsdottir said she believes this season could serve as a new era for Ball State.

“I think you could say so — losing [Oshlynn Brown] was tough, but I think we are all capable of stepping up,” Dis Agustsdottir said.

In their season opener Nov. 9, the Cardinals defeated Milwaukee 8475 in overtime. Becki scored a team-high 17 points, and the victory served as Sallee’s 300th career win. However, even after his team’s season-opening win, Sallee reiterated the Cardinals’ mindset remains the same as Ball State prepares to face Purdue Fort Wayne Nov. 12.

“All we’ll worry about is being 1-0 on Friday,” Sallee said.

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

Brittany Richards, vice president of marketing and branch operations at Thrive Credit Union, recalled the first event Forever Young Boutique hosted when the boutique opened at its original location on Charles Street — the “Milk and Cookies with Santa” event in 2016.

Richards said she and her co-workers would bring Santa and cookies into Forever Young Boutique to read stories to Hughes’ customers while they shopped in the store. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, this specific holiday event became a tradition each year.

Richards said her collaboration with Hughes has been a fantastic journey, even with the store’s recent expansion.

Richards said she saw a light in Hughes that continues to shine bright within the downtown area. Because of Hughes’ childhood roots in and around Delaware County, Richards loves seeing the dedication Hughes has put into the same place she calls home.

“It’s really nice to see a Muncie native invest back into their community like Amanda has,” Richards said. “She always finds ways to give back.”

With racks full of casual clothing, dressing rooms open and the sound of pop music echoing throughout the spacious boutique, Hughes said she is elated to keep Muncie’s downtown district forever young.

Contact Grace Bentkowski with comments at gmbentkowski@bsu.edu.

raise in the time he has left in college, but he said he isn’t just fighting for himself.

“I don’t even care if I [get] to celebrate the $9 an hour — I’m just happy other people can finally get there,” Haines said.

Abrell said YDSA won’t stop fighting for what the organization believes every student deserves.

“No matter the odds, we’re going to be behind this effort,” Abrell said.

Although the raise YDSA is asking for doesn’t represent its ideal vision, Seymore said it would still greatly impact his life.

“Any kind of raise to my wage, I know will make my financial life a lot easier,” Seymore said. “All I really want is to get out of the hole that I’m stuck in right now.”

Contact Joey Sills with comments at joey.sills@bsu.edu or on Twitter @Joey Sills.

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Crossword & Sudoku

CROSSWORD EDITED BY RICH NORRIS AND JOYCE LEWIS; SUDOKU BY MICHAEL MEPHAM ACROSS 1 Faris of “Mom” 5 Wife to Mickey, Artie & Frank 8 Meriwether & Remick 9 McKeon or Travis 12 2001-06 Jennifer Garner series 13 2009-16 Nathan Fillion series 14 Mom on “Home Improvement” 15 Bob, for one 16 Actress Ortiz 18 Gender: abbr.

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MorePuzzles & Games page online: BallStateDaily.com/page/Puzzles SOLUTIONS FOR NOVEMBER 4, 2021

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