The Butler Collegian—April 2, 2014

the butler

Arts, Etc.: For the second consecutive year, Butler is a Tree Campus USA. Page 9

VOL. 128 ISSUE 22 ESTABLISHED 1886 INDIANAPOLIS

COLLEGIAN

ACP Pacemaker Award Winner 2011 SPJ Mark of Excellence Award Winner 2012

BUTLER UNIVERSITY | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2014 | WWW.THEBUTLERCOLLEGIAN.COM

CAMPUS CONSTRUCTION

jOB ADVANCEMENT

TAKING TO THE STREETSCAPE

Tenure and promotions explained KATIE GOODRICH

KMGOODRI@BUTLER.EDU ASST. NEWS EDITOR

Photo by Colin Likas

Construction workers begin the first steps of Butler’s Streetscape project last Wednesday. The curve at the end of Sunset Avenue in front of the Health and Recreation Complex will be reconstructed and turned into an intersection with stop signs.

MIRANDA MARITATO MMARITAT@BUTLER.EDU STAFF REPORTER

Butler University is undergoing the first phase of the Streetscape project to improve campus. The city of Indianapolis has partnered with the university, contributing $1.5 million to the $3-million project.

Highlights of phase one include boulevard- style medians lined with trees, new street lamps and campus signage, and the installation of bike lanes and sidewalks.

Phase one will last approximately one year.

Additional phases will be addressed in subsequent years.

Phase one of the project will address Sunset Avenue between Hampton Drive and 49th Street. Another area of focus in this project include the curve connecting Sunset Avenue and 49th Street in front of the Health and Recreation Complex.

Rich Michal, executive director of operations, oversees the project on Butler’s end. Along with street renovations, Michal

said the university is looking at housing renovations to improve the campus.

The Streetscape project began during March.

Some construction on campus is due to pipelines being relocated by Citizens Gas, Michal said. Another large area under construction is the curve in front of the HRC. “Right now, that curve is too sharp of a turn,” Michal said. “We’re going to make that more gradual.”

The street in front of the HRC is going to be replaced with permeable pavers, because water in the Hinkle Fieldhouse parking lot tends to flow into the street, and forms massive puddles, Michal said. Permeable pavers would allow the road to drain more effectively.

Freshman Nick Waltz saw the construction on 49th Street last week while he was working as a control desk supervisor at the HRC. “The road in front of the HRC is messy right now. The sidewalks are pretty torn up

as well,” Waltz said.

Waltz said he saw construction on the curve affect traffic flow, including traffic at a standstill from both directions.

“I’m not bothered by the construction, because I understand things have to be modified and improved,” Waltz said. “It would be nice to be notified by email from the university to let the students know what is going on. I’ve been walking by there for a few weeks now, and I’m still unaware of the construction that they’re doing.”

Michal said there will be a new street added in front of Hinkle that will serve as a bus pull out.

“We’ll use that internally for now, but we hope to re-attract public transportation to campus,” Michal said. “We haven’t had bus line to campus since the mid-90s.”

This reconstruction is expected to close down the street for two months, but will be reopened before classes begin in fall 2014. see STREETSCAPE page 4

PLANNED CHANGES TO SUNSET AVENUE, BETWEEN 46TH STREET AND 49TH STREET

Linear rain garden Bike lane Median Bike lane New sidewalk

This image is part of a larger graphic that was displayed during President James Danko’s State of the University address in August 2013. The image displays some now-confirmed changes the Streetscape project will have on Sunset Avenue between 46th Street and 49th Street.

Twenty-nine faculty members will be in tenured or promoted positions next school year.

Provost Kathryn Morris announced the news to campus via email on Wednesday.

Twelve faculty members received a promotion to professor, and 17 received tenure and promotion to associate professor.

Having tenure status indicates that the university wants to keep a faculty member.

A request for tenure status or a promotion is initiated by each individual faculty member, and all documents need to be turned in by September of that school year, according the Butler University Faculty Handbook.

“Pretty much everyone here with a terminal degree is hired on a tenure track, a track with a possibility of achieving tenure,” said Arthur Hochman, University Professional Standards Committee chair.

The committee is involved with the process that focuses on updating procedures and policies. The members, from all six colleges, rotate every few years, Hochman said.

When faculty are hired on the tenure track, they start as assistant professors.

In order to receive a promotion or tenure, faculty members are evaluated based on three criteria: teaching, scholarship and service, according to the handbook. The terms are defined by sharing knowledge and expertise with students, continuing research participation in department, college, university and community life.

The university outlines certain criteria to be met, and then the colleges and departments add more criteria specifically for their fields, Hochman said.

The faculty members provide documentation of the three criteria to be reviewed by several groups after faculty members have been at Butler for at least six years.

“Tenure and promotion aren’t the same thing,” Hochman said, “but they usually go together. A promotion is like you’re moving along, but tenure means you are supposed to be here. We think you are a dynamic addition to the faculty.”

Faculty can only be promoted twice—once to associate professor and later to professor.

In between assistant and associate, faculty are evaluated every year by their department chair, dean or associate dean, Hochman said.

“It is kind of like gaining data moving forward,” he said. “Then you go in front of people from your department or college. It is kind of like being judged by a jury of your peers.”

The process then goes through the see TENURE page 4

COMMENCEMENT

Track and field seniors face graduation hurdle BEN SIECK BSIECK@BUTLER.EDU

SPORTS EDITOR

The calendar has flipped to April, Butler University’s class of 2014 faces a little more than a month of schooling before graduation commencement. When the new graduates walk to receive their diplomas, it will be the culmination of a lifetime of academic work.

However, the graduating seniors on the Butler track and field team will be competing for their school more than 600 miles away while their classmates are going through commencement.

This year’s ceremony, which will take place in the Butler Bowl, is scheduled for Saturday, May 10. This also happens to be the same weekend as the Big East conference outdoor track and field championships in Villanova, Penn.

Hurdler Matt Schumacker said he originally had mixed feelings about the conflict. But he said his disappointment grew after finding out how many Butler students actually attend commencement.

“It seems to me that at Butler, going to graduation is a pretty big deal, much more so than other schools,” Schumacker said.

This year’s track and field team has 15 senior members.

Schumacker said the selection process for the conference meet is performance-based, but he expects all seniors will make the trip to Pennsylvania.

“Every healthy senior went to our indoor championship in February,” Schumacker said. “Now that it’s outdoor season, every senior that’s healthy will be going to conference.”

Middle distance runner Andrew Wallace said he was also dismayed see CONFLICT page 5

Photo by Amy Street

Butler’s track and field senior athletes face missing their commencement ceremony in May due to a conflict with the Big East Championship outdoor meet.

SPORTS 5 | ARTS, ETC. 8 | OPINION 10 | BULLDOG BASH 12

PAGE 2 | THE BUTLER COLLEGIAN

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2014

New SGA officers slated for 2014-2015 SARAH STOESZ SSTOESZ@BUTLER.EDU

STAFF REPORTER

Butler University’s next Student Government Association executive board is preparing to take office for the 2014-2015 school year.

SGA announced the slate of next school year’s officers at the assembly meeting last Wednesday.

There are seven officer positions in addition to SGA president. The SGA Assembly elected the vice presidents of finance and administration the week after spring break, said Chad Pingel, SGA president-elect.

The incoming president appoints the five other officer positions. Students had to apply to be vice president of programming, public relations, diversity programming, and operations. Eight applications were received for these positions, Pingel said.

“There were a couple positions that were uncontested, so there was only one person running, but we still wanted to have

the interviews to make sure that they were the right candidate for the position,” he said.

The incoming president and an adviser interviewed all of the applicants, said Hanna Poitras, vice president of public relations for next school year.

Pingel chose the officers after conducting interviews with the consideration from the PuLSE office.

“With those, I really look for experience,” Pingel said. “I look for passion that people had for those roles specifically, and overall knowledge and understanding of what the student wants and having good goals to take it somewhere in the future.”

The new SGA president directly appoints the eighth officer positon, the parliamentarian.

This position helps run SGA Assembly meetings, Pingel said.

The SGA constitution details the process of appointing and electing the officer positions. The student body votes on the constitution every school year, said Levester Johnson,

vice president for student affairs.

The new officers will officially come into their positions at the passing of the gavel at the SGA banquet in the spring, Johnson said.

“What’s happening right now in the interim is that all of these folks are meeting with the folks that they are taking over from,” Johnson said.

The new officers will attend a meeting at the end of this school year to set a new goal and direction for the executive board. The new vice presidents will be accepting applications and conducting interviews for positions on their respective boards, Pingel said.

“Personally, I think there are a lot of changes that can be made within the public relations board itself, and I had a few ideas in mind that I really would like to implement,” Poitras said.

“We have a lot of good ideas and things we kind of want to change around with it, both in SGA and on campus, and I am really excited to start on that.”

2014-2015 Student Government Association executive board President: Chad Pingel VP of finance: Joe Aschacher VP of public relations: Hanna Poitras VP of operations: Megan Carter

VP of administration: Austin Del Priore VP of programming: Cameron Ballew VP of diversity programming: Bria Booker Parliamentarian: Tim Ahlersmeyer

Photo by Amy Street

Butler Alliance, whose mission statement and information are displayed in Jordan Hall, will host events for campus pride month throughout April.

Students celebrate campus pride month

ALEXANDRA BODE ABODE@BUTLER.EDU STAFF REPORTER

Butler University will be participating in Campus Pride Month this April.

Campus Pride Month is a month dedicated to celebrating Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning pride on campuses across the nation.

“As Alliance, we are really excited about this because this will be our time to show campus that we are here,” said Emma Salter, president of Alliance, the LGBTQ student organization.

Campus PrideNet, the only national online network for LGBT campus groups, was founded in 2001.

Alliance has planned, and will be participating in, a couple of events for the month.

One event is a pride party in the Efroymson Diversity Center. This will be a celebration with a variety of fun activities on Thursday, April 24.

Another event is National Day of Silence, celebrated on Friday, April 11.

This event is being put on

by Alliance, along with the PuLSE Office.

National Day of Silence is a day when people vow for a day of silence in remembrance of all those people died due to hate.

“We are really embracing this month to show people we are here,” Salter said.

Darlene Brown, a freshman member of Alliance, identifies in the LGBTQ community as transgender.

“A lot of students here don’t realize how diverse our campus really is,”

Brown said. “Being able to show them through Pride Week will be amazing and hopefully open some eyes.”

Butler University provides support and services for the LGBTQ community year round, not just during Campus Pride Month.

“We see students in individual therapy and also do several outreach events raising awareness around issues of sexual identity,” said Steve Hines, staff psychologist for counseling and consultation services.

They also provide Safe Space training to raise awareness of the LGBTQ population.

“We want to make an impact and show campus that we are present on campus to make Butler more LBGTQ friendly for current and future students,” Salter said.

Did you know...

Butler University on-campus organizations get 20 percent off ads in the Collegian.

Advertise with us today!

To advertise in The Collegian, please contact advertising manager Melissa Iannuzzi at advertising@butler.edu.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2014

THE BUTLER COLLEGIAN | PAGE 3

LJ under fire: Freshman Caucus hosts a roast MARAIS JACON-DUFFY MJACONDU@BUTLER.EDU NEWS EDITOR

Most Butler University students have heard about Levester Johnson’s tweet treats, love for social media or, at the very least, his nickname “LJ.” What many would not know is that Johnson is a diehard country music fan and that he takes pride in his home gardening.

Due to his prominence in all things student-life and his close relationships with students, the vice president for student affairs was chosen for the Freshman Caucus’s first comedy roast event, Freshman Caucus member Kaylin Pellegrini said.

“We were trying to come up with someone who everyone knew and had some kind of interaction with,” Pellegrini said. “He’s fun, and we thought he would be a good candidate for something like this.”

Johnson’s roast will be held today at 7 p.m. in Reilly Room in Atherton Union.

Four representatives from the senior class, one junior, a freshman and a faculty member will roast Johnson.

Former Student Government Association President Michael Keller will be one of Johnson’s “roasters.”

“He’s definitely an easy target,” Keller said. “With his love of bacon and addiction to social media, there’s a lot of material there.”

Johnson said he is excited but nervous for the roast.

“I don’t know what to expect,” he said. “With that hinge of curiosity comes some nervousness.”

Johnson said it took a little convincing for him to agree to Butler’s first comedy roast.

“I pondered it for a bit and weighed the pros and cons,” Johnson said. “I decided there were more pros. And I figured, ‘Hey, I shaved off my signature mustache for a graduating class a few years back. I could probably handle this.’”

Vice President for Student Affairs Levester Johnson, seen in his office in Atherton Union, will be roasted this evening.

Photo by Marais Jacon-Duffy

I literally have the best job in the entire world.

LEVESTER JOHNSON VICE PRESIDENT FOR STUDENT AFFAIRS Johnson will celebrate his 22nd year at Butler on June 1. When Johnson came to Butler in 1992, he served in the role of assistant dean of students, where he oversaw housing and Greek life. He then advanced to the role of associate dean of students, which encompassed campus activities and student support groups.

Johnson then became the interim dean of students at Butler and was later selected to serve in the new vice president for student affairs role.

Johnson said the city of Indianapolis, the exceptional student body and the desire for constant improvement is what has kept him at Butler for so long.

“I have said this so many times, but I literally have the best job in the entire world,” Johnson said.

“I’ve gotten to prolong my college experience for almost 30 years. I am living the dream. I certainly am.”

Johnson’s undergradate career at Marquette University gave him experience in a variety of areas of collegiate life.

Johnson was a member of Marquette’s track and field team; a new student orientation guide; a member of student government and the College of Communication senator for student government; president of his fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha; student union building supervisor; and a resident assistant.

He was a broadcast journalism major with a minor in management.

Johnson said he was approached during his undergraduate career about the possibility of pursuing higher education administration.

“Some mentors and role models asked me, ‘Do you love college? Do you feel like you’ve made Marquette a better place during your time here?

Would you like to keep doing that for the rest of your life?’” he said.

Johnson then pursued a master’s degree in higher education administration at Southern Illinois University and studied as part of a graduate assistant program, where he was able to have his tuition, room and board paid for, in addition to a receiving a stipend.

“I got the holy grail there,” Johnson said. “That was really the selling point.”

Johnson earned his nickname “LJ” while at Southern Illinois, where classmates and professors struggled greatly pronoucing his first name.

“All of my classmates from the ‘84 class at Marquette know me as Levester,” Johnson said. “But when I got to (Southern Illinois), I was called Lester, Sylvester, Lavender—one time it was even Lavatory. Finally, someone said LJ and I just kind of stuck with it.”

Johnson met his wife, Jill Flannery Johnson, at Butler during his first month on campus. She was working as a part of student affairs and worked on new student orientation.

Their offices were accross the hall from one another.

“We both tended to be the last ones in the office,” Johnson said.

“I was trying to catch up and learn the ropes, she was getting ready for orientation and working through the summer. Within a month of meeting, one of us asked ‘Do you want to do dinner?’ And then the whirlwind that is our relationship began.”

Within four months, the two were engaged. They married within a year of their first date.

Johnson and his wife have three kids—Elizabeth, who goes by Lily, Isaiah and Elijiah, or “Bubba.”

“My kids have really grown up on this campus,” Johnson said.

“They’ve gone to lots of basketball games and played around on the mall.”

Johnson’s social media usage is well-known on Butler’s campus, but he admits to being apprehensive when a co-worker created his first Twitter account for him. “(Director of Residence Life) Karla Cunningham was the one who kind of twisted my arm and made my first Twitter account,” Johnson said.

“To kind of joke at my love for meats and my carnivorous nature, my first Twitter was named @Ribs4me.”

Johnson said he discovered the affect of Twitter interaction with students one day in a very long Starbucks line when he tweeted at as many people as he could who were waiting in front of him. He was eventually approached by a fellow administrator and asked to be a kind of “personality” to represent Butler on Twitter, and the @LevesterJohnson account was created.

“I feel like my personality really

comes across on social media,” Johnson said. “I try to stay extremely positive and avoid some hot-button and controversial issues. I see social media as a kind of window into student life and also a way to show students kind of ‘a day in the life’ of me.”

Johnson’s administrative assistant Deb Barrick said she has always been amazed by Johnson’s energy around and interest in students.

“He’s so accommodating to students, almost to a fault,” Barrick said. “Anybody and everybody wants to talk to LJ. There’s just not enough hours in the day.”

Barrick said, through working with Johnson for about 15 years total, she has picked up on his quirks and qualities.

“I would have never pegged him for a country music fan,” Barrick said. “But he has a 10-gallon hat and everything. Something else that is very important to him is his faith.

He’s very spiritual.”

Barrick said she thinks Johnson’s positive attitude is infections.

“The first time I heard his laugh, even before I knew him, I thought, ‘Wow, that is one happy person,’” Barrick said. “His positivity is contagious. He loves to find the potential in people and he recognizes any and all small improvements.

And he, of course, loves meeting new people.

“His people, particularly his Butler people, are truly his pastime,” Barrick said. “I don’t know how he does it, but he certainly loves what he does.”

Hours Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday 10:30 am - 1:00 am Thursday 10:30 am - 3:00 am Friday & Saturday 10:30 am - 4:00 am Sunday 10:30 am - 12:00 am

PAGE 4 | THE BUTLER COLLEGIAN

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2014

TENURE: EXPLORING HOW IT IS EARNED

see TENURE page 4 Photo by Colin Likas

A construction worker sweeps ahead of the curve on Sunset Avenue during the first Streetscape activity last week. To the left, a section of the road is carved out, and to the right, part of the sidewalk can be seen removed.

STREETSCAPE: PROJECT UNDERWAY, STARTS WITH SUNSET AVENUE FROM PAGE ONE

“The next phase that is happening currently but will take longer is the southbound lane of Sunset,” Michal said.

That construction will cut in new utility lines, green infrastructure, a bike lane and medians, Michal said.

“This time next year, everything will be done except the final painting,” Michal said.

Michal said the southbound lane of Sunset will be closed this summer through Christmas. He expects all construction to be done by graduation in 2015.

Reconstructing the curve at Sunset and 49th Street will improve safety conditions.

“During the winter, motorists slip on ice and hit the curb,” said Assistant Police Chief Bill Weber.

Weber said the Streetscape project will provide safety and aesthetic benefits.

“We’re fortunate it is a partnership with the city,” Weber said. “The city is contributing $1.5 million and we’re contributing the balance. It’s a great opportunity for the city to leverage their Rebuild Indy money and for us to leverage our money.”

Michal said, if all goes according to plan, the first phase will not be the last.

“We hope this is just the first phase of many,” Michal said. “This is a great opportunity to rebrand the perimeter of campus. It’s going to beautify make it safer, and more pedestrian friendly.”

FROM PAGE ONE University Professional Standards Committee, which judges the process, not the portfolio, Hochman said.

The portfolio is then given to the Provost and, finally, the Board of Trustees.

“In every university, there is a stamp of approval that says we want to keep you,” he said. “That’s probably the most profound element of tenure. It often means at a lot institutions that it is harder to get fired, but that’s a loose term anyway.”

Hochman said the biggest benefits are a pay raise and the approval.

“After tenure is awarded, faculty members shall have continuous appointment, and their service may be terminated only for adequate cause or financial exigencies of the University,” according to the faculty handbook.

Bonnie Brown, professor of pharmacy practice, said she knew she wanted to stay at Butler for the rest of her career as soon as she stepped on campus.

She was hired more than 15 years ago on the tenure track.

“For me, it was really important to go that next step for the full professor title,” Brown said. “It feels like I’ve succeeded in what I wanted to do at Butler and in my career. It is satisfying professionally, as a pharmacist who

has worked for 18 years in other places. Now I have achieved what I set out to do from day one here on Butler’s campus.”

Keeping the documentation of all the time and effort that goes into each of the three criteria means staying organized, she said.

Brown heard the news directly from Morris before the campus-wide email was sent.

“I sort of suspected all along that I would get it,” Brown said. “But you never know. It was a huge sense of relief and accomplishment.”

Travis Ryan, professor of biological sciences, was eligible for tenure last year.

“Honestly, it wasn’t even on my radar,” Ryan said.

Ryan said he views his promotion as recognition of his continued development after tenure.

“I also view it as something I was hired to do,” Ryan said. “We hire everyone with the hope that everyone reaches tenure. I think the university is the most vital if, post-tenure, the faculty remain as engaged as they were pre-tenure.”

Ryan said receiving the news from Morris was relieving because it meant the process was over and the result was good.

“The sad truth is that a lot of the big milestones tend to be a little anticlimatic,” Ryan said. “I wouldn’t say it was anti-climatic exactly, but I didn’t do the Rocky dance. The only thing that really changed that day was the signature line on my email.”

IN BRIEF

Faculty commencement speaker announced Deborah Skinner, an associate professor of marketing, has been chosen to speak to the class of 2014 during next month’s commencement ceremony.

Michael Keller, class of 2014 president, made the announcement via email yesterday afternoon.

Skinner has served as a marketing professor at Butler University for the last 17 years. She has also acted as faculty adviser for the Alpha Phi sorority.

“Those who nominated her commented on her passion for Butler and her deep dedication to her students,” Keller said in the email.

A total of 540 seniors contributed their opinion of who the speaker should be.

I was a wide receiver on a football team my freshman year of high school.

I can eat a whole box of macaroni by myself.

SKINNER: Named faculty commencement speaker

CCOM honor society revived The Lambda Pi Eta communication honor society is being renewed at Butler.

College of Communication students were informed of the news

by Jessica Moore and Armando Pellerano, the Butler chapter’s faculty chairs, via email Monday.

Want Butler news all the time?

Like The Butler Collegian on Facebook!

Follow @butlercollegian on Twitter!

I once earned $50 for winning a dance contest in Australia.

I am engaged to The Collegian’s Arts, Etc. editor, Kevin Vogel.

I am a senior theatre major from Greenfield, Ind., and

I AM ON THE

COLLEGIAN TEAM. —Jaclyn McConnell Photography Editor You can join our team today. The Collegian has paid positions in every section.

Open to every student on campus. | Questions? Email collegian@butler.edu.

SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2014

PAGE 5

OVERTIME

MATTHEW VANTRYON

Previewing the upcoming MLB season

Photos by Marko Tomich

The baseball and softball fields are not primarily cared for by a professional grounds crew. Instead, team members themselves are largely responsible.

Keeping up appearances RHYAN HENSON

RHENSON@BUTLER.EDU MULTIMEDIA EDITOR

Flowers blossoming, birds chirping and warming of the weather always come around springtime, also known for being season for America’s pastime.

Baseball and softball fields across the country are manicured and groomed.

Those at Butler are no exception. However, Butler’s fields are not primarily cared for by the grounds crew. Instead, they are cared for by the teams that play on them.

“It is tradition that coaches and teams do the dirty work, baseball coach Steve Farley said. “We take pride in it, and it comes with the territory.”

The softball team has no problem rolling up its sleeves to keep its field in top shape.

“We have to work harder on our field than any other Division I softball team,” senior Callie Dennison said. “Before I got to Butler, the field was in rough shape. Now that we got a new field, we take a lot of pride in it and we, the coaches and the players, do a lot of extra work to keep it in good condition.”

There are many day-to-day activities that contribute to the long-term maintenance of the fields.

The baseball team breaks down the care of its field into smaller jobs for handfuls of players to take care of on a regular basis.

The total manicure of the field is dependent on the individual jobs of teammates.

“It is extremely important that each member of the team takes care of his field duty,” senior pitcher Will Schierholz said.

“We are the ones who take care of the field each day and if we do not do our jobs, the field could be unplayable. We take pride in our field work, as we want to have the best playing surface possible.”

CONFLICT: COMPETITION VS. GRADUATION FROM PAGE ONE

to find he would not be able to attend his commencement.

“You put a lot of work into both academics and athletics, so it’s disappointing to have this conflict, but track has been a big part of my life,” Wallace said. “ I still get my diploma if I don’t go to commencement, but if I don’t go to the track meet I miss out on my last track meet ever.”

Wallace said he and the rest of the seniors found out they would miss commencement while looking through the season schedule at the

ON

DECK BUTLER SPORTS THIS WEEK

Each member of the softball team has important jobs to do following each use of the field.

“After every practice and game we sweep out the dugouts, rake and drag the field and rake the warning track,” Dennison said. “Most Division I softball teams have a separate staff that does their field maintenance. Fully funded schools that we have played at, such as Kentucky and Arkansas, both have amazing fields.

But they also get a lot of help on their fields every day.”

There is one man who helps with the maintenance of the field who does not have a uniform.

James Conner, a Butler employee, mows the fields’ grass. Farley also get some maintenance tips from professional ground keepers.

“We have a good relationship with the grounds keeper at Victory Field downtown and one of my former players is a grounds keeper in Philly, so we are always looking for tips to help make the field nicer,” Farley said.

Despite the harsh winter, Farley said the weather has not made that much of a difference on the field due to the team’s schedule and the field’s good condition.

Both teams also play many games in the South early in the season because the weather is warmer, Farley said.

In fact, it is the hard weather that has had more of an effect on the team’s rhythm than the condition of their field.

“It has really been hard for baseball and softball to get going, because games get delayed or canceled due to bad weather,” Farley said.

“The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall all alone.”

Never have the words of late Major League Baseball commissioner Bartlet Giammati proven more accurate.

After a historically bitter winter, baseball season cannot begin soon enough. The 2014 season should feature many of the same contenders that last year’s had, and many teams improved their stock.

American League East After defying countless expectations and winning the World Series last year, the Boston Red Sox will look to repeat their success. Their offseason was mostly quiet, with the exception of Jacoby Ellsbury’s departure to the New York Yankees. Still, a lineup with the names Pedroia, Ortiz, Napoli and Pierzynski should be enough to bolster the Red Sox to another division title.

Look for the Tampa Bay Rays to make a strong push for the division and be in the heat of the wild card race come September behind a starting rotation featuring David Price and Matt Moore. Having Evan Longoria in the middle of the lineup does not hurt their chances either.

American League Central I looked for weaknesses in the Detroit Tigers. I really did, I promise. If anything, age may catch up to them eventually.

However, a lineup that features former Texas Ranger Ian Kinsler, veteran Torii Hunter and last year’s AL Most Valuable Player Miguel Cabrera is a force to be reckoned with. Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer could win 20 games each, and Joe Nathan could get 40 saves. The Tigers face the Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox, San Diego Padres and Minnesota Twins in April. They could have a nine-game lead in the division by May. American League West The AL West has the potential to be one of baseball’s more interesting divisions.

The Oakland Athletics are looking to threepeat as division champions, and they will look to do it in classic Billy Beane fashion.

Their lineup is filled with players that make fans say, “Who?” but that can produce consistently.

Baseball coach Steve Farley said it is tradition for the teams and coaches to take care of their fields.

beginning of the year.

“No one told us we were going to miss graduation. We had to figure that out for ourselves,” Wallace said.

Wallace said the subject has not been addressed to the seniors as a whole.

“Everyone’s kind of avoiding the topic in general,” Wallace said. “No one has really said anything to us, and it’s been discussed amongst the team, but no one has really brought it up with the coaches or staff.”

Schumacker said he was told the athletics department was working on something to honor the seniors’ graduation while they are at the meet, but nothing has been finalized yet.

Coordinator of Academic

Support Sonya Hopkins said a spring sport conflicting with graduation is a fairly common occurrence across the NCAA. Hopkins said in this particular instance, the issue lies with the Big East Conference, not Butler.

Associate Director of Student Affairs Meg Haggerty said the same committee that draws up the academic calendar schedules the date of commencement. She said the academic calendar is made at least one year in advance of the actual school year.

Haggerty said students who miss graduation in May can petition their college’s dean to walk in December the previous or following semester. She said she is not aware of the university communicating to

see PREVIEW page 6

student-athletes about their conflict with commencement.

“I wish we could include as many students as possible,” Haggerty said. “We do the best that we can, but unfortunately conflicts do arise.”

Sprinter Alex Berry said some of his family members had booked flights for commencement before finding out he would be competing at the same time. However, he said they altered their travel plans to watch him run instead.

Kathleen Schumacker, Matt’s mother, said the situation is a catch-22.

“The conference track meet is as much a once-in-a-lifetime experience as graduation will be,” she said. “I just think it’s really

unfortunate these two events collided, especially for the families involved.”

Kathleen said Matt’s family will travel out to watch him run and hold their own personal celebration for his graduation. Like Berry’s family, she had to modify travel plans and reservations for that weekend.

Matt said he is still excited for the conference meet and the team shares his enthusiasm, but he also said he wishes he could be two places at once.

“Senior year, we’re at the track championships, so that’s like our graduation from track, which is pretty cool. But we’re missing our graduation from the academic part, which is more important,” he said.

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

No events scheduled

Track and field Stanford Invitational Men’s tennis at Cleveland State 7 p.m.

Baseball vs. Seton Hall 3 p.m.

Softball vs. Providence 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.

Men’s tennis vs Duquesne 11 a.m.

Baseball vs. Seton Hall 1 p.m.

Softball vs. Providence 11 a.m.

Baseball vs. Seton Hall 12 p.m.

No events scheduled

No events scheduled

Baseball at Morehead State 2 p.m.

THE BUTLER COLLEGIAN IS YOUR SOURCE FOR ALL THINGS BUTLER SPORTS. FOLLOW US, @BUSPORTSWRITERS, ON TWITTER FOR LIVE REPORTS AND EXTRAS.

PAGE 6 | THE BUTLER COLLEGIAN

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2014

SOFTBALL

Bulldogs fall short of weekend sweep MARKO TOMICH MTOMICH@BUTLER.EDU STAFF REPORTER

Butler softball is heating up as quickly as the weather, going 3-1 in its past four games. The Bulldogs look to continue their success against a conference foe, the St. John’s Red Storm today.

The Bulldogs split their double header against the Red Storm on April Fools’ Day. In the opening game, the Bulldogs pulled out a come-from-behind victory, picking up three runs in the seventh inning to overcome a 2-1 deficit.

Sophomore Kristin Gutierrez went the distance on the mound, giving up eight hits and two runs in seven innings. Gutierrez struck out 10.

The night game between the Red Storm and the Bulldogs was a back and forth offensive battle with the Storm winning 7-5.

Sophomore Alex Kotter had a huge game for Butler with two home runs and five RBI. Kotter is batting .286 on the season with a slugging percentage of .468.

N.C. State transfer visits Butler

North Carolina State men’s basketball transfer Tyler Lewis visited Butler yesterday and today, according to the Indianapolis Star.

Lewis is listed at 5-11, 170 pounds. He is a sophomore point guard who will have to sit out for one year following his transfer.

Lewis is a former McDonald’s All-American.

North Carolina State announced his transfer Saturday night.

Butler has four open scholarships for the upcoming season after guards Devontae Morgan, Rene Castro and Andrew Smeathers and forward Nolan Berry elected to transfer.

Last season, Lewis started 18 games for the Wolfpack.

He set the school record for assist to turnover ratio in a season, good for second in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

-Ben Sieck

Butler carried its momentum into the opening inning of their night game, as Kotter’s two-run homer gave Butler an early lead. St. John’s stormed back with a four-run rally in the second inning.

Freshman Alie Tarrant, 1-6 on the season, was on the mound. Tarrant pitched 2.1 innings giving up 10 hits and six runs before senior Callie Dennison came on in relief.

Kotter once again lifted Butler with a threerun home run in the third inning. It was her second hit on the day and just her third career home run. St. John’s recaptured the lead in the bottom of the third, adding two runs. A St. John’s single in the sixth inning put the nail in the coffin of the Bulldogs.

Butler will have a three-day break after today’s game and come home to Providence, the eighth-placed team in the Big East Conference. The Friars are 0-5 in conference play and 1-17 overall.

Butler will hope to capitalize on its home field advantage and improve on a 3-4 home record.

GOLF Holt leads squad in tournament with a score of 12-over-par. Holt’s best day Villanova Invitational came in round one, where he

The Butler men’s golf team placed eighth during Monday and Tuesday’s Villanova Invitational.

The Bulldogs were looking for a strong finish in this tournament after placing fourth out of five teams at the Butler Spring Invitational last week.

Butler’s next tournament will be on April 8 at the Big Four Classic.

Following the Big Four Classic, the men’s team only has one more tournament until it competes in the Big East Championsip from April 26-29.

Butler started the tournament strong with two of its five competing golfers finishing the first round in the top 20 out of more than 80 golfers.

Junior Logan Holt led the Bulldogs both days shooting a 74, a 75 and a 76 in three rounds of play.

Holt finished the

had three birdies early on but bogeyed the final two holes.

Last season, Holt averaged a 78 in 24 total rounds.

Also leading the way for Butler was senior Matt Vitale. Vitale was forced to play comeback golf in both of his final two rounds after shooting 10-over-par in the first round.

Vitale bogeyed six out of the first nine holes in the first round, but he came out in the second and third rounds and birdied six holes.

He finished the tournament at 14-over-par.

He shot one-over-par and three-over-par in the second and third rounds.

Columbia, Army and Binghamton finished in the top three in team scoring.

Butler finished tied for eighth with LaSalle. LaSalle also finished with a total score of 914 through three rounds.

-Brendan King

Photo by Marko Tomich

Freshman pitcher Alie Tarrant delivers a pitch against Creighton in last weekend’s series. The Bulldogs are currently 1-3 in conference play.

OVERTIME: MLB SEASON PREVIEW

FROM PAGE FIVE The A’s ranked fourth in baseball with a .327 on-base percentage last season and their team earned run average ranked seventh in the league last year.

The Texas Rangers will likely contend for a postseason spot. They made a big splash when they traded for Prince Fielder in the offseason. Starting pitcher Yu Darvish should anchor the rotation, and their lineup should score runs.

The Los Angeles Angels and Seattle Mariners have interesting piece, but do not have the complete rosters it will take to compete.

National League East Last year, many hailed the Washington Nationals as pennant winners before the season began. They failed to meet expectations but enter this season as division favorites once again. A healthy Stephen Strasburg

and Jordan Zimmerman are a powerful 1-2 punch in the pitching rotation, and their lineup is arguably the most potent in baseball from top to the bottom. Jayson Werth, Ryan Zimmerman and Bryce Harper could each hit 20 home runs and drive in more than 100 runs.

The Atlanta Braves feature a promising lineup, but their starting rotation may struggle.

National League Central The Central division featured three playoff teams last season. The Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals each ranked in the top five in ERA. Spring training injuries to Aroldis Chapman, Matt Latos and Jonathan Broxton could hinder the Reds early in the season.

It remains to be seen whether or not the Pirates’ young stars can maintain their offensive consistency from last season.

The Cardinals appear to be the team to beat. Their rotation will keep them

in every game, and their offense that ranked first in the National League last season should continue to cause problems for opposing pitchers.

National League West The Los Angeles Dodgers signed ace Clayton Kershaw, who led all of MLB with a 1.83 ERA last season, to a sevenyear, $215 million contract in January. Kershaw will start the season on the disabled list, but that should be a minor hitch in the Dodgers’ journey to the playoffs.

Hyun-Jin Ryu, Dan Haren and Zack Greinke will join Kershaw to form the most fearsome foursome of any starting rotation. Their lineup should score plenty of runs, especially once Matt Kemp returns from the disabled list.

The Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants should both compete for a wild-card spot. The West division could mirror last year’s Central division and feature three teams with more than 90 wins.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2014

THE BUTLER COLLEGIAN | PAGE 7

For Dennison, softball at Butler a dream come true MARKO TOMICH

MTOMICH@BUTLER.EDU STAFF REPORTER

Butler senior Callie Dennison always wanted to play Division I softball.

Dennison’s brother played baseball and her sister played softball in college—the talent runs in the family.

Dennison is living out her dreams with Butler’s squad. The four-year player has proven to be a sort of dream for the Bulldogs as well.

Dennison has been all over the field the past four years. She has played all nine positions for the Bulldogs, including seven this season alone.

“Callie is a very versatile player and can literally play every position possible,” sophomore teammate Krosley Ogden said.

“I know it cannot be easy for her to show up to a game and have no clue where she will have to play that game, but she always has the most positive attitude about wherever she has to play, and it really shows how much of a team player she is.”

Dennison said she doesn’t mind playing all over the field, but she feels most at home on the mound. She said she enjoys having the game in her hands.

“I’ve always liked pitching the most,” Dennison said. “I was the starting pitcher on my travel team in high school. I just enjoy being involved in every play.”

She picked up the sport of softball at the age of eight, and her family was a big influence in her softball career.

Dennison’s father coached her as a child, and her older sister, Corinne, played softball her whole life. Dennison said she always wanted to follow in her sister’s footsteps, and she even wears the number eight because of her baseball-playing brother, Thijs.

“I followed in their footsteps, and I liked to mock everything they did,” she said. “They are why I have started and never stopped.”

Her family ties have remained strong throughout her college career. Last year, she wore a necklace her sister gave her with “never give up” inscribed on it. She made a routine of kissing it before each at bat.

“She got it for me last season when I was in kind of a slump and it helped me get out of it,” Dennison said.

She jokingly said she should bring the routine back this season. She has nine hits and a batting average of .184, a number Photo by Marko Tomich Dennison said she wants to raise in her Senior Callie Dennison fi res a pitch versus Northern Kentucky on March 22.

Dennison struck out two batters over 1.1 final collegiate season. innings pitched.

When it came time to choose a college,

Dennison considered many factors.

“I picked Butler more so for the academics and the fact that I could play softball and join a sorority,” she said. “All three of those were a big reason, because at most schools you usually just get one or the other. The academics were the biggest, but once I started talking to coach (Scott Hall), it just seemed like the right fit.”

She saw playing time right from the beginning, playing in 40 games as a freshman and starting 28. Dennison said after her first hit, a triple against Louisiana Tech, she knew she was ready to play at the collegiate level.

Dennison made her first appearance on the mound since her freshman year in Butler’s inaugural Big East Conference game against Creighton. She pitched one inning and struck out two batters.

In addition to her play on the field, Dennison has received recognition off the field. Dennison and Ogden made bustedcoverage.com’s 2014 Ultimate Guide to The Hottest NCAA Softball Players.

“We both laughed about it,” Dennison said. “We are honored; we wished we were on it for our softball ability and not our looks, but it was still funny.”

In her four years with the team, Dennison said she has made more memories than she can count. She said the team has served as a family away from home and has helped her become the person she is today.

“I can’t think of just one memory, but my teammates are awesome,” Dennison said. “From freshman year until now, girls come and go, but we have such a close team and have had a close team since my freshman year. We have so many memories. I cry with them, I laugh with them. It’s tough to pick just one moment.”

One teammate that has experienced many of these memories with Dennison is senior Krista Hakola, who was there for many of Dennison’s college softball firsts.

“I have many memories with Callie over the years,” Hakola said. “One moment that I think of is when she hit her first career home run, because it was a product of all her hard work over the years. It was great to see her so confident and playing so well.”

What once was just a dream to Dennison is now a reality. She used to walk to the beat of her older siblings. Now, one can see Dennison walking to “Drop that Nae Nae,” her walk up song, with bat in hand—a Division I athlete in the Big East who created her own path.

TRACK AND FIELD

BASEBALL

Athletes overcome the elements

Bulldogs look to conference play JOE HASENSTAB JHASENST@BUTLER.EDU

JOE HASENSTAB JHASENST@BUTLER.EDU

STAFF REPORTER

STAFF REPORTER

When it comes to running and jumping competitively outdoors, temperatures in the 30s, high winds and a mixture of rain and freezing rain are certainly not ideal.

That is what the Butler track and field team dealt with last weekend when it traveled to the University of Cincinnati for the Oliver Nickoloff Invitational.

Despite the poor weather, the Bulldogs were able to put together a solid meet, head coach Matt Roe said.

“It was a great effort by the team and how they performed,” Roe said. “Most importantly, just how they competed (was great) because the weather was just so bad.”

Several athletes had good individual performances. Senior Shelbi Burnett won the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 11:01.29.

Freshman Colleen Weatherford also performed well in the steeplechase, finishing third and about eight seconds behind Burnett.

Junior Nicole Hudec placed first in the triple jump with a 10.93-meter jump.

On the men’s side, seniors Andrew Wallace and Dominique Stephens both finished in the top five of their events. Wallace placed third in the 400-meter dash and Stephens came in fifth in the discus throw.

Senior Nigel Spears said he wasn’t pleased with his performance at the meet and that the weather affected his events.

“For short sprint events, like long jump, it wasn’t the best conditions because there was freezing rain,” Spears said. “There was a mixture between rain and freezing rain all day, from the moment we stepped off the bus to when we left.”

This weekend, the team has two meets, one at the University of Miami (Ohio) and the other at Stanford. The majority of the team will head to Oxford, Ohio, and five runners will go to Stanford.

Spears is one of the team members who will compete at Miami of Ohio. The weather may also affect the events held on Friday, as there is rain in the forecast.

Spears said rain is not as bad as cold

Photo by Amy Street

Butler baseball will open Big East play at home against Seton Hall this weekend.

The Bulldogs enter conference play with a record of 11-16.

The team played five games last week, going 2-3. The Bulldogs beat Wabash last Wednesday, lost to Xavier and Louisville in a doubleheader on Saturday, beat Valparaiso on Sunday and lost to Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne yesterday.

The game against Xavier Saturday was not technically part of Big East play and will not count toward either team’s conference records. Butler will host Xavier for a threegame series April 17-19.

Butler will face Seton Hall this weekend.

The Pirates are 18-5 and have won six of their last seven games. They have received votes to be ranked in the top 30 in the NCAA. Senior center fielder Marcos Calderon recognizes that the Bulldogs will be facing a tough opponent.

“Seton Hall is probably the best team in our division this year,” Calderon said.

“We’ve gotten their scouting report already, and we see them as a pretty good squad.

But we’ve got a lot of faith in ourselves, our team and our capabilities. We look at every series as a chance to win.”

Calderon also said the team is looking at this series as a chance for the Bulldogs to prove themselves to other Big East teams.

One of the problems the Bulldogs have had this year is consistent defense. The Bulldogs have committed 52 errors on the season while their opponents have committed 26. Unearned runs have let some games get out of their grasp. Calderon said good defense will be essential in the Big East, and that the team is improving in the field.

“I think we’re all taking positive strides every game, and the last couples games we haven’t made very many errors at all,” he said. “So we’re really working on sticking our nose in the ground and just doing whatever it takes.”

Senior Thomas Anderson trains on the Butler track.

weather because, when it is cold out, it is hard for athletes to keep their muscles warm between events.

The five athletes that will head to Stanford University this weekend are seniors Tom Anderson and Kirsty Legg, juniors Tom Curr and Katie Good, and sophomore Erik Peterson.

This will be the first outdoor meet of the season for every athlete except Legg. Roe said that they all have a specific goal in mind for this meet.

“What we are seeking for at Stanford are marks that will qualify them for the NCAA first round in Jacksonville,” Roe said.

“That’s the expectation–going out there that they’re going to run fast enough to have marks that will hold up as one of the top 48 marks in their event area in the region.”

ON THE WEB Visit www.thebutlercollegian.com to view recaps of Butler athletic events during the week.

Sophomore Quincy Quintero stretches for a throw at first base.

Photo courtesy of Sarah Finnegan

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2014

ARTS, ETC.

PAGE 8

EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK

INDIANAPOLIS OPERA CLOSED FOR REPAIRS ...and no one cares?

Collegian file photo

Members of the Indianapolis Opera perform “Akhnaten” last year.

KEVIN VOGEL KJVOGEL@BUTLER.EDU ARTS, ETC EDITOR Last week, the Indianapolis Opera announced it was cancelling its final production of the 20132014 season, Benjamin Britten’s “Albert Herring.”

The 2013-2014 season was supposed to be a turning point for the company. It would have been a four-show season featuring all 20th-century operas, three of which were Indianapolis Opera premieres.

Instead, the opera company found itself facing “financial challenges as individual and corporate support for the arts has diminished,” according to the press release on March 25 announcing the cancellation.

“It’s tough whenever there is a loss,” said Carol Baker, general manager of the IO, in an email.

She said the IO had been looking forward to working with many of the artists involved in “Albert Herring,” including six voices who were to make their IO debut.

“While this has been disappointing for staff, board, artists and audience,” she said, “we feel confident that we made the right decision for the future of the company.”

For followers of opera news, it was a small heartbreak on the heels of a crushing blow.

A few days before the IO’s

announcement, the San Diego Opera announced that, after nearly 50 years, it would be closing.

Immediately, publications across the United States entered into a debate about what this means for the future of opera. The opera’s employees and its fans signed an online petition which now has almost 20,000 signatures.

In Indianapolis, the news that the opera is cancelling its final show has sparked virtually no dialogue, and I don’t know why.

Now, the San Diego Opera was a top-10 American opera according to Opera America, in a city of over a million people. It would be foolish to expect the same reaction here when our smaller opera company is not shutting its doors completely.

But it’s time to start talking, as a city, about what our opera means to us. The Indianapolis Opera is the only professional opera company in the state of Indiana and is almost 40 years old.

Comparably, it is also a very progressive opera. This season of

20th-century works is a perfect example. In fact, in the past four years, the IO performed “Akhnaten,” by Philip Glass; “A Water Bird Talk,” by Dominick Argento; “Bon Appetit,” a onewoman opera by Lee Hoiby; and Peter Brook’s revised take on Carmen, “La Tragedie de Carmen.”

If IO had been able to produce “Albert Herring” and be financially stable, it would make our opera company one of the most successful champions of 20th-century opera in the U.S. This should be a point of pride for a mid-size, Midwest city like Indianapolis.

But no one seems to be saying that. Perhaps as a city we don’t care. Perhaps we are satisfied watching the same four operas in rotation year after year while institutions like the San Francisco Opera handle all the newer stuff.

The Indianapolis Star, in an article the evening of IO’s announcement, quoted Charles Stanton as saying one reason the opera is struggling is because it decided to perform at the expensive Clowes Memorial Hall.

Stanton is the CEO of Classical Music Indy and a former opera vocalist.

Baker said producing shows at Clowes had no effect on this decision.

Joshua Lingenfelter, Clowes’ director of marketing, declined to comment on behalf of the Clowes

administration.

Another of Stanton’s reasons why the company is in dire financial straits is because it didn’t “program for standard listeners, who look for big-name shows like ‘Carmen’ and ‘La Boheme.’”

The Star went on to say that Stanton called “Albert Herring” a “large and expensive but obscure production.”

If Stanton is correct, and the “standard listener” in our city is not interested in seeing rarely produced opera done well, then I fear no art institution here is safe.

Innovation is the life-blood of art. Not the business innovation that Stanton talked about in The Star, but programming innovation.

Inviting us, the citizens of Indianapolis, to be active members in the history of art and music, stewards of the creations made during our lifetimes and champions of the new.

“Indianapolis Opera’s musical and theatrical experiences are a unique and vital part of the cultural fabric making Indianapolis a world-class city,” Baker said.

“Opera...offers both a release from the modern world and new lens for viewing and critiquing the postmodern condition.”

I absolutely agree, and if we want an opera to be proud of and an artistic identity for our city, we should be encouraging the Indy Opera to diversify its programming more, not less.

We should demand Jake Heggie’s “Moby-Dick,” John Adams’ “Nixon in China,” maybe a brand new commission that we can offer the world from an Indiana composer.

In an economy that seems so unfavorable to artistic innovation and community support for the arts, if we as individuals and companies were to invest in an opera organization enough to allow it to perform such works, we would absolutely, no doubt about it, make Indianapolis a hub of new art.

With new art comes new people, new ideas, new business, more money, more young people and a pride and identity that Indianapolis is ready for.

If I am not the only “nonstandard listener” in Indianapolis who feels this way, I encourage you not to be silent. The Indianapolis Opera is very active on social media, so express yourselves there.

Call The Indianapolis Star and the Indianapolis Business Journal and offer your opinions.

Donate to the opera. Our city is relying on you, reader. Without you actively supporting the arts, Indianapolis will forever be adolescent, a non-contributing member of American thought and culture.

We are poised to stand out, to be different. And that can start with the 2014-2015 season of the Indianapolis Opera.

MUSIC

Butler Symphony Orchestra to perform with opera soloist Angela Brown during ArtsFest BRITTANY GARRETT

BGARRETT@BUTLER.EDU STAFF REPORTER

Murder, scandal and drama will take center stage for the Butler Symphony Orchestra’s next concert tomorrow.

The concert includes “Scheherazade” and highlights from “Porgy and Bess,” featuring operatic soloist Angela Brown.

Brown travels extensively and has performed with the Metropolitan Opera, the National Opera of Paris, the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra and many more arts organizations.

She also has received recognition for her solo show, “Opera...from a Sistah’s Point of View.”

Jessica Robinson, senior oboist in the BSO, described “Scheherazade” as a piece that goes perfectly with the “Fables, Fairy Tales and Physics” theme of ArtsFest.

“It’s about a queen who was with a king who was infamous for sleeping with his wife and then killing her later,” Robinson said.

But this queen, Scheherazade, survived by telling a story and then finishing it the next night to always keep her alive.

“That fits in with the fables part,” Robinson said, “which also goes along with Gershwin’s story.”

George Gershwin’s opera “Porgy and Bess” also has themes of love and murder.

Senior violin player Graham Emberton said Gershwin’s pieces are not as intense as one might expect.

“It’s easy listening,” Emberton said. “If you don’t know anything about a typical opera, this would be a good one to go to.”

Robinson also said audiences would be able to understand the music.

“Gershwin is more contemporary,” Robinson said. “He’s a very famous composer that more people like to listen to.”

Angela Brown will be the soloist for these pieces. “(Brown) has appeared in the Metropolitan Opera and is a big name. She’s also from Indianapolis,” Emberton said. “This is a great opportunity to see her.”

Emberton described “Porgy and Bess” as a big opera, but in this performance the orchestra will be playing selections alongside the choir.

As far as the concert and ArtsFest go as a whole, there is a lot of excitement.

“I’ve been pushing this concert because it does include a vocal piece so for people who aren’t used to going to concerts there’s a more animated visual aspect,” Robinson said.

Emberton said he found the entire idea of the festival stimulating.

“I think it’s interesting to weave all the arts in a way that’s not typical,” he said.

“There’s a very high quality of talent going on that’s much more diverse and applicable to

ANGELA BROWN: Soloist performing with the Butler Symphony Orchestra tomorrow people, in my opinion,” Robinson said.

ArtsFest will continue through the entire month of April, while “Scheherazade” and “Porgy and Bess” will be performed April 3 at the Schrott Center. Tickets are available though the ArtsFest website, www. butlerartsfest.com.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2014

THE BUTLER COLLEGIAN | PAGE 9

Designation shows Butler University doesn’t just “leaf” its trees up to nature Butler was recently designated as a Tree Campus USA for the second year in a row.

MALLORY DUNCAN MSDUNCAN@BUTLER.EDU ARTS, ETC. EDITOR Butler University’s newest recognition will make people pause and think twice about the trees on its campus.

For the second consecutive year, Butler has been recognized as a Tree Campus USA. Out of the 55 campuses in Indiana, Butler makes up one of the eight college and university campuses that hold this designation.

To be accepted into the program, each candidate needs to fill out an extensive application. As part of the application, Butler permitted use of more than twice the amount of money that is recommended by the Arbor Day Foundation.

Each applicant must have a dedicated annual expenditure.

The Arbor Day Foundation recommends the applicant allocate $3 per fully enrolled student.

According to the website, Tree Campus USA participants usually allocate between $9-11.

Following that equation, if Butler gives $11 per student, they should allocate almost $51,500 toward the trees. But according to Dolan, Butler’s budget is $149,000, which is more than $31 per student.

“In terms of (universities) intentionally looking at what trees they have and managing them and being recognized, (Butler) is elite in that sense,” said Nate Faris, the director of community forestry at Keep Indianapolis Beautiful. Faris also serves on the tree board at Butler.

Tree Campus USA is a program of the Arbor Day Foundation. There

are more than 200 campuses that are an official part of the program.

“We want future tree planters,” said Anthony Marek, director of communications for the Arbor Day Foundation. “We know that there are young people that care about sustainability activities.”

Rebecca Dolan, Butler’s Herbarium director, was the driving force behind Butler’s application to the Tree Campus USA program.

“I knew that Indianapolis was a Tree City USA. I thought Butler should be involved because we have such a beautiful campus and trees are such a big part of that,” she said.

Admittance into the program is based on five major standards that must be met. The first standard is that the applicant must have a campus tree advisory committee, according to the Arbor Day Foundation website.

The committee must have representatives from students, faculty, facility management and community members.

Secondly, the applicant must provide a campus tree care plan including information like guidance for planting new trees, maintenance of existing trees and removal of trees.

In addition to having a designated tree fund, campuses must have planned Arbor Day activities. This year, since Arbor Day is Friday, April 25, the university is combining Earth Day and Arbor Day celebrations the week of April 14.

Lastly, applicants must have a designated service learning project.

Butler fulfills this requirement through an ecology class that counts as an Indianapolis community requirement. “(The honor) connects us with a national organization that is promoting quality green space on campus,” Dolan said. “It makes

people across the country aware of Butler’s physical beauty and the high quality of management on Butler’s campus.”

Not only does the honor create national recognition for Butler, but the trees themselves can also draw potential students in.

“There are lots of benefits to trees,” Faris said. “A big one is that they increase property values and they make places more attractive.

People tend to value what is in the stores in a business district if they have more trees. That makes me think that a university or college campus (with more trees) will have more aesthetic appeal than campuses with nothing.”

Trees also bring to campus the Butler squirrels. Big trees in residential areas and on campus can support the squirrels, according to a study by Tim Carter, Center for Urban Ecology director.

“Without trees you wouldn’t have (squirrels) and wouldn’t be able to do that kind of research,” Faris said.

The Arbor Day Foundation collects personal stories of the impact tree planting has on a campus. Marek said they use these stories to paint a picture of the history of each individual campus.

“Young people talk about how it’s the first time they’ve felt like every corner of the campus was represented,” Marek said. “They talk about what mattered—that they all came together with a common goal to beautify their campus, to make a difference and to plant trees.”

That is the goal and wish of not only Butler, but the Arbor Day Foundation as well. Faris said every campus should understand how beneficial trees are and how special being a Tree Campus USA is.

“Trees have some inherent value that can be hard to quantify,” he said, “but they can make a difference.”

(Becoming a Tree Campus USA) makes people across the country aware of Butler’s physical beauty and the high quality of management on Butler’s campus.

REBECCA DOLAN HERBARIUM DIRECTOR Photos by Erin Marsh Butler University was named a Tree Campus USA for the second year in a row. Butler is one of eight schools with that honor in the state of Indiana.

Student prepares to perform senior recital VANESSA STAUBLIN VSTAUBLI@BUTLER.EDU

STAFF REPORTER

Between 30 and 40 senior recitals are taking place this spring semester, according to the JCA calendar.

Senior recitals are a requirement for all performance and education majors in the School of Music.

Students participating must get their programs typed and sent to the School of Music and are responsible for any advertising for their recitals. Faculty and students are encouraged to come.

Patrick Peterson, a senior music major, is preparing for his recital, which will be held this Saturday at 11 a.m.

“I’m nervous and stressed, but at this point, there is little point in stressing,” Peterson said about his performance.

“I’ve worked hard to get to this point. The recital will happen, there will be some mistakes, but there are mistakes in every recital. I just have to remember to tell the story of my music, perform it and put on a show.”

A bass player for more than 12 years, Peterson said he is happy with his choice in pursuing a music degree at Butler.

“I chose to pursue music in college because that is what I really enjoy doing,” Peterson said. “Music had been such a large part of my life for so many years. I had the calling to continue with it.”

Students are in charge of deciding what to perform and how to present the music.

“I listened to a bunch of different pieces and picked one that I either really enjoyed or I thought was cool,” Peterson

Photo courtesy of Patrick Peterson

Senior Patrick Peterson takes to the stage Saturday for his capstone recital at Butler.

said. “Then I discussed with my professor about which ones he thought I should pick. We took into consideration the difficulty of each piece and the time I have to prepare.”

Peterson has benefited from preparing and getting ready for his senior recital.

“I have learned management skills and how to use my time effectively. I have also learned how to work through difficult music,” Peterson said. “I’ve learned more about not getting frustrated with my work and how to overcome stress and be productive.”

Professor David Murray has worked with Peterson in preparation for his recital and has helped him along his way.

“He has had weekly lessons all four years at Butler, and

we have a studio class for bassists once a week,” Murray said. “Patrick is a very diligent and responsible student, but I know he feels more comfortable playing in an ensemble.

He has had to build his confidence playing solo in front of people.”

Murray said he believes senior recitals are one of the most important things to accomplish for students in the School of Music.

A senior recital is the top accomplishment in a student’s college performing career, Murray said.

“It also instills greater confidence and makes you a stronger player so you would be a better ensemble player,” he said.

Murray said playing an instrument well requires a lot of discipline, with the performer being in charge of making the technical and artistic choices for the entire repertoire.

“Making all these decisions requires more intellectual thinking than just doing what someone tells you to do,” he said.

Peterson said he agrees that a senior recital prepares you for the real world.

“I think the purpose of a senior recital is to give the student exposure playing for a public audience,” he said. “This is an opportunity to give the student real experience performing, which is what they will potentially be doing for the rest of his or her life.”

Of the many senior recitals this month, most take place in Eidson-Duckwall Recital Hall, located in Robertson Hall.

The full schedule is available online at www.butler.edu/ jca under the “calendars” tab.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2014

OPINION

PAGE 10

Student housing selection system needs review OUR POINT THIS WEEK: THE HOUSING SELECTION PROCESS SHOULD BE REDONE TO ASSIST STUDENTS WITH A VARIETY OF MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES | 23-0-6 Many Butler University students went through the housing selection process earlier this month, securing a room on campus for the 2014-2015 academic year.

From current freshmen to Butler President James Danko, community members know the university needs to improve its housing options.

Another concern on the housing agenda, however, should be the process by which housing is chosen.

Butler officials need to analyze the housing selection process between now and this time in 2015, with the aim of refining what we at the Collegian feel is a flawed concept.

This feeling applies especially to housing at Apartment Village and University Terrace.

Currently, a lottery system exists for on-campus housing.

Before the lottery is held, students log on to my.butler.edu and select their housing intention for the next school year. After a couple weeks, students will receive another email providing them with a random number.

These numbers represent the order that students will be able to select their housing options— with the lowest numbers being the first to choose.

Collegian file photo

The lottery system is a way to make students feel as though no one is being given preferential treatment when it comes to getting living space. At a university with a noted housing problem, the last thing the administration likely wants is to be seen as playing favorites.

However, Butler is preparing students for the real world. In the real world, a renter does not pick random numbers to decide which potential buyers get to live in their properties. Butler students are, in reality, renting their on-campus

housing options each year.

One consideration is cost.

AV costs approximately $4,400 per semester to live in, prior to furnishing and food costs, according to Butler’s website.

This could be a painful cost for students and parents who already have to stretch their budget to pay for school.

Allowing students in tighter financial situations to get an earlier choice at options can permit them to avoid that large price tag.

A certain level of competition

should also be considered.

Perhaps students who have clean legal slates and have achieved a high level of success in the classroom since arriving at Butler could receive earlier selection rights.

This would encourage students to push for their very best and create a stronger student body as well.

Another option is simply to order students based on how soon they respond to the initial email.

Beyond altering the process to something a little less random, the system has other issues.

Groups of students who plan to live together sometimes have to adjust to the needs of those who are choosing a place by themselves.

Pre-determined groups of students who want to live together should not have to worry about the needs of a person going into the selection process solo. It is easier to fill one-person openings than three-person openings in rooms.

Also, students in mixed groups—ones which contain men and women—should not be relegated only to specific housing options. This was reportedly the case for some such groups in AV this year.

Male and female students will

mingle in rooms regardless of whether they all live together or not. Mixed groups should not be treated any differently than samegender groups.

Lastly, students studying abroad for either of the next two upcoming semesters need to be appropriately accommodated and communicated with. Those students should have as much of a guarantee as others that they will have a room when they return to Butler, especially if they selected one prior to leaving.

We are not saying there is a sweeping option that can be employed at the drop of a dime to make all students happy with the housing selection process.

However, we do believe it is upon the university to address concerns students have about the housing selection system and to consider refining that system.

Students should ultimately want to be involved in these discussions as well, and university administrators should reach out to students if the system does undergo analysis.

While appropriate housing for future Butler students is ultimately very important, ensuring the majority of current students are satisfied with their housing selections is also a worthy goal.

Students should pursue their passions in college Students should focus on passions and not money or fears when deciding a major President Barack Obama has said higher education is the key to preparing Americans for the jobs of the 21st century.

“We can’t allow higher education to be a luxury in this country. It’s an economic imperative that every family in America has to be able to afford,” he said in 2012.

It is now 2014, and the cost of attending college has risen. In 2012, tuition was reported to have risen 1,120 percent over the last 30 years by Bloomberg.

American society has continued to push the nation’s youth to enter college as if that will automatically make everyone’s lives better.

Do not be fooled. College is still risky business.

Students are borrowing more than ever to finance their college education, according to a CBS news article from October 2013.

Additionally, majoring in a field you are interested in will increase your chances of sucess.

The idea of “fake it until you make it” will not cut it at this level.

Freshman Brian Todd, a finance and marketing major, said he was encouraged by his dad to pursue engineering because the field has statistically higher lifetime earnings for graduates.

Science, technology, engineering and math majors enjoy higher employment rates, according to a

JULIAN WYLLIE

study from Princeton University.

The study later suggests that not everyone can enjoy those benefits.

As students rise through their field of study, the competition will only get more intense. Students who are not passionate about their work will most likely be outshone by those who are.

Like STEM majors, business majors must show a commitment to their work in order to climb the corporate ladder.

But what can be said about the “risky” majors?

These fields have greater barriers to entry because of the declining amount of available jobs, according to a report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Similar statistics were reported by the Chronicle of Higher Education in the article titled “How Liberal Arts Majors Fare over the Long Haul.”

The majors in question include communications, English, psychology, history, anthropology, graphic design, visual and performance art, architecture, political science, social work and education.

However, we should be honest when it comes to something as serious as college.

Some fields pay more and have more jobs available.

Cartoon by Audrey Meyer

But no one should be discouraged from majoring in something simply because of the barriers to entering the job market.

We may end up pushing away the future poet laureates, authors, historians, teachers and activists of tomorrow.

I believe in the end that a major means nothing if the student does not plan to make the world a better place.

It is great that some students are able to combine their passions and directly relate it to a field

associated with higher earnings and prestige.

Freshman Abbigail Peters, another finance and marketing major, said she loves math. She also said she enjoys the opportunity to interact with business professionals and customers.

She previously considered teaching, actuarial science and even orthopedic surgery.

Peters’ parents helped her realize that her outgoing personality and love of math could be complimented with the college

the butler

COLLEGIAN The Butler watchdog and voice for BU students

4600 Sunset Ave. Indianapolis, IN 46208 Office Information: Fairbanks Room 210 News line: (317) 940-8813 Advertising line: (317) 940-9358 collegian@butler.edu Adviser line: (317) 940-9772

Colin Likas

Ryan Lovelace

Marais Jacon-Duffy News Editor

Sports Editor

Kevin Vogel

Tony Espinal

Jaclyn McConnell

Katie Goodrich

Natalie Smith

Matthew VanTryon

Editor in Chief Arts, Etc. Editor Asst. News Editor

Tori Farr

Web Manager

Managing Editor Opinion Editor

Asst. Sports Editor

Rhyan Henson

Multimedia Editor

Ben Sieck

Photography Editor

Asst. News Editor

Mallory Duncan

Maggie Monson

Melissa Iannuzzi

Loni McKown

Asst. Arts, Etc. Editor Advertising Manager

Copy Chief Adviser

of business at Butler. She said she does not regret that decision.

But she does acknowledge a multitude of factors swayed her away from the field of education.

She said she might have enjoyed life as an educator if the circumstances were different.

“Teaching is a dangerous field to get into,” Peters said. “Seeing what my mother had to deal with as a teacher turned me off from the field. But my parents helped clear my mind in deciding what I wanted to do in the end.”

Peters’ mother has been a teacher for more than 20 years, and it has not gotten any easier for her.

“She’s just so exhausted. She definitely still sees the benefits in teaching but she’s at the point where she’s just done. But she’s not allowed to be done,” Peters said. “I’ve seen it firsthand, so I don’t know if I could go down that route.”

Undoubtedly, it will be hard for some students to make it because of the cost of education and the economy.

But if fear is stopping you from majoring in something you are passionate about, get rid of those negative thoughts.

No one should have to look back on their life and wonder “what if?”

Students who enter a field only because of a higher salary are sacrificing a rewarding life for money.

In that case, they made their biggest mistake from the very start.

Contact columnist Julian Wyllie at jwyllie@butler.edu.

The Butler Collegian is published weekly on Wednesdays with a controlled circulation of 1,600.

The Collegian editorial staff determines the editorial policies; the opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of The Collegian or Butler University, but of the writers clearly labeled.

As outlined in The Collegian’s staff manual, the student staff of The Collegian shall be allowed the widest degree of latitude for the free discussion and will determine the content

and format of its publication without censorship or advance approval. A copy of these policies is on file in The Collegian office.

The Collegian accepts advertising from a variety of campus organizations and local businesses and agencies.

All advertising decisions are based on the discretion of the ad manager and editor in chief.

For subscriptions to The Collegian, please send a check to the main address to the left. Subscriptions are $45 per academic year.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2014

THE BUTLER COLLEGIAN | PAGE 11

Education voucher system should have standards

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Business basics

Local businesses should create new strategies to compete with larger chains

Graeter’s, a Cincinnati-based ice cream chain, opened the doors of its Indianapolis location in early February. Has this had an effect on the local, small business Broad Ripple Ice Cream Station?

I ventured to both ice cream shops this past weekend and found my answer.

Upon arriving at Graeter’s, I could not find a place to park. The parking lot and street were full, so I had to park across the street. Once inside, I noticed a few families, but the main presence was college-age students.

Broad Ripple Ice Cream Station, on the other hand, had a relatively open parking lot where I could easily find a space. It also had two families inside, but that’s basically it.

I can remember walking into BRICS before the opening of Graeter’s and seeing all my fellow college students there. Obviously there has been a change since the chain has opened, but why?

For starters, Graeter’s has a much more accessible location in terms of being near Butler’s campus. Why drive to Broad Ripple when there is a much closer location that serves pretty much the same thing?

I think variety has also served as an influence. Graeter’s has approximately 32 flavors of ice cream, and BRICS has about 23.

Junior Rachel Soberman said Graeter’s clearly has a better location and better taste.

“I like Graeter’s because their ice cream is really good, better then BRICS even,” she said. “It’s also a little closer which is nice. I have

MORGAN LEGEL

gone two times in March alone.”

Some would say this is just another example of a chain coming in and stealing business away from the small business. However, I do not believe that is the case here.

Small businesses sometimes lose out because they cannot keep up with the prices that the large chains have. The prices at both shops are virtually the same, so this does not appear to be a factor in choosing one or the other.

Something else chains have on small businesses is advertising— they have more money and can do more. But I have not seen advertising for either recently, so I don’t believe that this is a factor either.

The truth is, this appears to be just an outcome of a better business strategy. Graeter’s has taken into consideration its location and what the public demands.

For lack of a better explanation, it is human nature to want to get the most you can with the least amount of effort. Graeter’s is closer and has more variety, giving students from Butler the most with the least amount of traveling and effort.

The solution for this does not lie in Butler’s student population, however. It lies in the business plan with the store.

If BRICS is unhappy of the new surge of customers to Graeter’s, find a way to bring customers in.

Contact columnist Morgan Legel at mlegel@butler.edu.

Schools that undermine education and allow discrimination should not receive subsidies

Knowledge is one of the most powerful tools that we can achieve in our lives. Education is the tool by which we attain this strength. Some of us have been fortunate enough to be able to continue our pursuit of knowledge despite rising costs.

Others have not been so fortunate.

To help with cost of education, several states offer vouchers to eligible families.

In addition to public schools, some of these vouchers have been offered to private and faith-based schools.

But is mingling taxpayer funds with faith-based schools really a good idea?

I would say that depends on the school.

Recently, I came across a special report on Politico that made me feel a variety of different emotions— anger, concern, sadness and even curiosity.

The article spoke about taxpayer dollars that are being used to fund private schools, including Biblebased schools.

Let me first clarify—I have nothing against teaching creationism or religion. I have my religious beliefs, like millions of others.

However, my concern came when, after reviewing course

TONY ESPINAL

outlines, textbooks and school websites, Politico reported that many of these schools seem to be teaching their students to oppose anything secular.

The textbooks used in some of these schools refer to evolution as “a wicked and vain philosophy” and attacks math theorists who do not see mathematics as laws ordained

by God, according to Politico.

This means taxpayer dollars are going to schools that oppose modern science and appear to have set out to create students who are being taught to treat with disdain people who do not support the schools religious beliefs.

But that is not the only issue facing private school subsidies.

Some schools prohibit openly gay students to enroll and have even extended this restriction to include the children of same-sex couples, according to the report.

I am a staunch advocate for equality and I find it rather disconcerting that taxpayer dollars are being used to fund schools that are teaching students such a troubling set of views, including acceptance of discrimination.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Some members of Congress are pushing for a federal voucher program.

In January, CBS reported that Matthew Barret of Massachusetts filed a discrimination complaint against a Catholic prep school.

He claims his job offer was rescinded after he reported that his emergency contact was his husband.

While it is unclear as to whether or not this school receives taxpayer money, there appear to be schools across the U.S. that receive subsidies which follow the same discriminatory standards.

I can appreciate the importance of the religious doctrine to these faith-based schools.

As a private school, it should be allowed to adhere to its strict code. However, I believe that once an institution begins to receive taxpayer subsidies, it ceases to be truly private and should be held to the same standards as public schools.

A private institution should not be allowed to receive taxpayer money if it is going to endorse discrimination and such a narrow view of education.

To allow our money to fund schools that work to undermine education and approve discrimination is a grave disservice to students and, ultimately, our future.

Do not get me wrong, I can see the benefits of allowing vouchers for private and faith-based schools.

It gives parents a chance at sending their kids to top-rated schools they may not have been able to afford and provide more opportunities for children.

However, it is imperative we, as students and the future of this country, stand up against narrowminded views on education and keep our money out of schools that embrace methods of discrimination against not only students, but also educational subjects that do not fall entirely in line with their beliefs.

Whether we are creationists or believe in evolution, we all must do what we can to protect education and keep our taxpayer dollars out of schools that support discrimination and indoctrination.

Contact Opinion editor Tony Espinal at tespinal@butler.edu.

Teachers and students should disregard gender roles Students should not be punished for going against societal gender roles Two young girls have received criticism from their elementary schools in the past few weeks for failing to conform to the schools’ ideas of femininity.

Kamryn Renfro, 9, shaved her head in solidarity with a friend undergoing chemotherapy and was not allowed to return to school until the board of directors voted to let her back into her classroom.

The reason for her original suspension was that her baldness violated the charter school’s dress code, according to an article from CBS News.

Sunnie Kahle, 8, attended a private, Christian elementary school until her principal sent a letter home saying her short haircut and boyish behavior did

MAGGIE MONSON

not “follow suit with her Godordained identity,” according to a different article from CBS News.

Her great-grandparents removed her from the school because they were “offended by the letter’s…references to biblical passages about sexual immorality.”

Kahle had no behavioral problems at school and had a 4.0 grade average. Her hair was the reason for her reprimand.

Neither girl deserved to be lectured or punished in the slightest.

Society constructs the idea of properly gendered behavior. These two girls are an example of how gender roles can hurt children.

The lesson these schools taught the girls is that their physical appearance is directly linked with other facets of their lives.

In reality, their short haircuts had nothing to do with their ability to learn or be successful in a classroom.

Renfro’s school’s chairwoman said the “school’s dress code is designed to promote…a nondistracting environment,” according to the CBS News article.

The children at this school should be taught a message of acceptance in order to prevent distraction in the classroom. If they believe it is okay for everyone to not look the same, a bald head will not distract from the learning environment.

If Kahle’s classmates learn it is acceptable for a girl to have short hair or a boy to want to paint his nails, they will be able to focus on their education instead of worrying about whether their classmates are behaving appropriately.

Schools cannot pretend all children fit perfectly into the role of girl or boy. By enforcing rigid gender roles, teachers and administrators create an environment where children have to constantly worry about their appearance or behavior being deemed wrong.

It may seem easier to force conformity, but in the long run, this only hurts children’s selfesteem and personal expression.

When children learn, at school and at home, that there is no right or wrong way to be a girl or boy, they can focus on educational and personal growth.

So what do these two young girls have to do with students at Butler University?

Even though we are past the age where our teachers get to enforce our gender identities, we have to examine what we learned about being girls or being boys when we were young.

These messages stay with us our

PAWPRINTS (WITH THE STAFF) In celebration of April Fools’ Day, what is the funniest prank you have pulled?

“My friends and I moved our entire apartment’s furniture into my roommate Crystal’s room.”

Jaclyn McConnell Senior Photography editor

“Last year, I put a numbing agent on all of my brothers’ toothbrushes before they went to school.”

Marais Jacon-Duffy Junior News editor

whole lives. We see ourselves and others in the parameters of what we were taught men and women should look and act like.

Whether we mean to or not, we make assumptions about gender and enforce roles every day.

Awareness is the first step in stopping ourselves from enforcing gender stereotypes and expectations that hurt both men and women. As we go through our days, we have to be able to identify situations where we think all men do this or all women have to act like this.

We need to open ourselves up to the idea of letting girls shave their heads or boys play with baby dolls.

Once we allow those around us to express themselves as they want without criticism, the world will be a much more accepting and enjoyable place in which to exist.

Contact copy chief Maggie Monson at mmonson@butler.edu.

Do you agree?

Did we miss the point?

Have a story idea?

LET US KNOW.

Letters to the Editor Policy The Collegian accepts letters to the editor no later than noon on the Sunday before publication.

Letters to the editor must be emailed to collegian@butler.edu and contain a phone number at which you can be reached. Letters can also be mailed to the Collegian office.

The Collegian reserves the right to edit letters for spelling, style, clarity and length. Letters must be kept to a length of 450 words. Contact The Collegian for questions. Exceptions to these policies may be made at the editorial board’s discretion.

BUTLER CELEBRATES TRIP’S SECOND BIRTHDAY WITH A...

BULLDOG BASH

PHOTOS BY MARKO TOMICH

ABOVE: Trip poses for a photo with a young girl during the Bulldog Bash on Friday. The event was held by Butler University Student Foundation in the Butler bookstore in celebration of Trip’s second birthday. | TOP RIGHT: A young bulldog rests on a girl’s lap in the Butler bookstore area last week. | BOTTOM RIGHT: Freshman Katie Larimore enjoys the company of a wig-adorned bulldog.

LEFT: Hink reaches out to offer a hug to a young girl during Friday’s Bulldog Bash.