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MASK OFF, CAP ON
Ball State community reacts to pandemic restrictions lifted for spring 2022 commencement.
Krystiana Brosher Digital News Editor
Growing up interested in architecture, Katarina Antal chose Ball State because she knew it had a good program and offered her what she wanted. As a senior landscape architecture major, she knew she would be spending fi ve years at Ball State because of the common curriculum program in the College of Architecture and Planning (CAP).
Antal experienced college before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. She had a variety of class structures, both in-person and online.
“[It] was defi nitely hard getting used to watching our teachers learn how to teach online,” Antal said, “but it’s now going back to everything being in-person. It’s been nice to meet with people face to face and have [an] in-person learning experience.”
Ro-Anne Royer Engle, vice president of student affairs, said Ball State’s leadership has been guided by the Centers for Disease
COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY SCHEDULE
10 A.M. – Main Ceremony in the Quad
12:30 P.M. – Miller College of Business and College of Communication, Information and Media at Worthen Arena
3:30 P.M. – College of Fine Arts and College of Sciences and Humanities at Worthen Arena
6:30 P.M. – R. Wayne Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning; College of Health; and Teachers College at Worthen Arena
Source: Ball State commencement web page Control and Prevention (CDC), and spring 2022 commencement ceremonies will take place without any COVID-19 protocols.
While masks weren’t required for vaccinated students, faculty and guests during summer 2021 commencement ceremonies, spring
While she had fun during college, Antal said she’s excited not to have homework and have more time to pursue personal hobbies and career-related activities. She has an upcoming summer internship at Minnetrista, and after that, she said, she’s hoping to get a
- KATARINA ANTAL,
Senior landscape architecture major
2022 commencement won’t require masks for anyone, according to updated university guidelines in place since March 4. Students are also free to invite as many guests as they want, contrary to a year ago when each spring 2021 graduate participating in commencement was limited to four guests who were socially distanced in Scheumann Stadium’s bleachers.
Antal said she is inviting her parents and her boyfriend’s parents to commencement and is not too worried about anyone contracting COVID-19 because everyone she is inviting is vaccinated. She said she is excited to show her family and friends around Muncie, the place she’s called home for the past fi ve years.
“I’m looking forward to enjoying good food with them and showing them some of the work I’ve done throughout college,” Antal said.
Antal said she’s had a lot of fun experiences at Ball State, with some of her favorites including the friends she made in CAP.
“There’s a lot of excitement and energy on campus once the weather starts to get nice in spring, and I loved hanging out outdoors with my friends, hammocking, having picnics or throwing a frisbee around,” she said. full-time job, possibly in Colorado.
In 2020, all commencement ceremonies were canceled, but all 2020 graduates were invited to the in-person commencement ceremonies in spring 2021. During summer 2021 commencement, graduates who were fully vaccinated were not required to wear masks, but people who were not fully vaccinated had to wear masks.
During fall 2021 commencement, students were free to invite as many guests as they wanted, but everyone, regardless of their vaccination status, had to wear masks inside Worthen Arena consistent with university guidelines.
Spring 2022 Commencement will be held Saturday, May 7. Angel Tuttle, assistant director of commencement and university events, said approximately 2,500 graduates are registered to attend the commencement ceremonies.
The main ceremony will be held in the Quad at 10 a.m., and all ceremonies will be livestreamed on the Spring Commencement website.
Contact Krystiana Brosher with comments at krystiana.brosher@bsu.edu or on Twitter @ Krystiana_21.
EASING
GRADUATION BLUES
Managing feelings of post-graduation depression and anxiety.
Content Warning: This article contains descriptions and images related to anxiety and depression that may be triggering for some readers.
Post-graduation depression is defi ned by Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) as “depression in young adults [that] often occurs right after they complete university coursework, often due to pressure to get a job right away or sadness leaving their college peers and life behind.”
These facets of graduation, coupled with the fact college graduates have spent most of their lives in a school setting, gives many a feeling of uncertainty post-college that can manifest itself in different ways. Some symptoms of post-graduation depression, according to SNHU, can be loneliness, sadness, decreased motivation, disorganization and a sense of hopelessness.
However, there are ways to prevent or mitigate the effects of the shock that can cause post-graduation depression. Here are some factors graduates should take into consideration.
Stay connected, but branch out
One way to make the transition from college to the professional world easier is to stay connected with friends and family. Reach out for emotional support, even if you can’t see people regularly. A weekly phone call, text or video chat can make all the difference. However, you shouldn’t rely entirely on the friends you made in college — just as college is a new chapter after high school, your time after graduation is a new chapter after college. Make new connections and forge friendships with other people.
Try to manage your stress and anxiety
Stress management and self-care can be anything from exercising daily to eating nutritious food to simply making sure you get enough sleep. Meditation, breathing exercises and other activities can be used to slow down your brain and ease your anxiety, too. When your mind is relaxed, it’s much easier to create a list of things you need to do and prioritize.
Plan ahead and set achievable goals
Students should begin considering their postgraduation career goals or higher education goals before they graduate. If you plan to enter the workforce after graduation, start looking into your job options and secure employment before the summer begins. If you plan to pursue graduate school, research schools and apply well before application deadlines. No matter your goal, explore housing options depending on where you would like to live after graduation or where your job will be taking you. Students can set small, achievable goals each day accomplishing little by little leading up to graduation.
Reach out for help if you need it
It’s also important to realize when and if you need outside help. If your anxiety, stress or depression noticeably impact your life, it’s possible you might benefi t from professional advice. Seek out therapists, counselors or other professionals in your area through sites like Psychology Today or GoodTherapy. If you’re having a mental crisis, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 to talk to a trained crisis worker.
LIFELONG
LEARNING
Tavyn Smith poses for a photo outside the Fine Arts Building at Ball State. Smith is an elementary education major. TAVYN SMITH, PHOTO PROVIDED
Ball State’s next set of teachers prepare to enter school systems.
Angelica Gonzalez-Morales
Reporter
With multiple parents and guardians around the nation attending school board meetings to complain about the teaching of sensitive topics, Ball State’s Teachers College is trying to prepare current students for what they may face in their professional careers.
As Ball State’s Spring 2022 commencement ceremony approaches May 7, Linda Martin, chair of the Department of Elementary Education, said Teachers College faculty have emphasized the need for inclusive and accurate teaching.
In Indiana, House Bill 1134 proposed to allow parents to have more control over what their students learn in the classroom before it died in the Senate in February 2022. Though allowing parents to review classroom material before it’s taught isn’t a reality in Indiana, Martin said concerns among parents and lawmakers over sensitive topics in the classroom are still prevalent.
“It is affecting how you look at the children in a classroom ... and it’s a mixture of all kinds of people,” Martin said. “Those children all have a right to be respected and taken to feel pride in who they are. That should be a teacher’s responsibility.”
Tavyn Smith, senior elementary education major, said she wants to make sure she makes all of her future students feel appreciated. Smith said she knew for most of her life she wanted to become a teacher, but after a six-week program she attended at UCLA the summer before her senior year of high school — which was aimed to help “historically underrepresented students … become competitively eligible for admission to UCLA and other fl agship universities,” according to its website — she knew for certain she would be an educator.
“I learned of the inequalities that occur in the education system between minority students and white students,” Smith said. “I learned that this system wasn’t built to see Black and brown students — especially African American girls — succeed. That is my driving force in wanting to be the best teacher I can be, the best role model and supporter for all students no matter their background.”
Martin said each department within the Teachers College has discussed how to support students graduating into a fi eld parents and lawmakers want to regulate more.
“We’re working together but also individually within our departments with our faculty — everyone has their own concerns,” Martin said. “No matter how diffi cult or challenging the circumstance may be, we are here working together through it.”
Smith said the Teachers College faculty and staff have prepared her and her classmates for entering a variety of school systems.
“They have provided us many opportunities so that we will be successful in districts no matter the environment,” Smith said. “One piece of advice that I have gotten from a professor here at Ball State is to always remember your ‘why’ for going into education.”
In addition to inclusive and accurate teaching, Martin said Teachers College faculty are trying to instill the importance of kindness and understanding where each student is coming from.
“We try to teach our new teachers here to be refl ective and to be sensible about what you’re teaching,” Martin said. “Be sensitive and sensible about what you teach — consider all the children in your classroom.”
Contact Angelica Gonzalez Morales with comments at agonzalezmor@bsu.edu or on Twitter @angelicag_1107.
