April 10, 2017

Indiana Statesman For ISU students. About ISU students. By ISU students.

Monday, April 10, 2017

Indiana Statesman

@ISUstatesman

isustatesman

Volume 124, Issue 71

Heritage Fair teaches students outside of classroom Anthony Goelz Reporter

The Center for Global Engagement gave students the chance to spread their own and learn about out others cultures in the sixth annual Heritage Fair.

“Our hope was that we could showcase the heritage that is at ISU. So this is not just about international students or people from abroad or people from here. Heritage Fair is where all the cultures, all the people from different heritages could come and showcase their own culture,” said Zachariah Mathew, the associate director of the Center for Global Engagement.

Mathew continued on to say that this event was a place for students to talk and come together in a “culminating event.”

“If you go to a party, who are you going to hang out with? You are going to go find the people that you know and talk to them,” said Pam Tabor, an international student advisor with the Center for Global Engagement.

“The international students come here, and it is like they are

coming to this big ISU party, and the people that know each other, hangout together. So what we are trying to do is to get those groups of people to interact with each other and get to know each other and build relationships and connections across those divides between people.”

There were many student groups representing cultures from across the globe that displayed their backgrounds for all to see.

According to Tabor, some of the groups in attendance were the Hispanic Latino Alliance that represents all of Central and South America and the U.S., the Japanese Culture Club, the Chinese Student Scholar Association, INTERLINK (a language learning program), Baptist Christian Ministries, the Indian Student Association, the Muslim Student Association and the African Student Union.

There were booths scattered across Dede I, and in the center was the show that capped the event, Ghanaian Percussion Master Bernard Woma.

“Bernard Woma is from the Gbanne Clan of the Dagara people. He was born in the village of Hiineteng, located in Northwest-

ern Ghana near the border with Burkina Faso. His father noticed that, as a newborn, Bernard’s hands were clenched in fists, as if he was clutching xylophone mallets,” according to Woma’s bio on the Dagara Music Center website.

“He is a true cultural treasure from Ghana, who has toured the world as xylophonist and lead drummer of the National Dance Company of Ghana. Bernard is an extremely dynamic artist and deeply experienced educator.”

Tabor said that the performance was an energizing addition to their program.

“He drums, he sings, he dances, he engages the group and gives people a chance to be part of the presentation. I love it,” Tabor said.

Tabor said the most important part of the event is that it teaches students.

“We are here to educate, that’s what Indiana State is about, and education goes on inside and outside the classroom. Having students here from all over the world provides an amazingly rich opportunity for the ISU community to broaden their education and make it a global experience,” Tabor said.

ISU Communications and Marketing

Students learn about cultures through clothing and jewelry in the gallery lounge in HMSU.

Spring Week ends with tandem race

Sycamores entranced by magical Meyers Ian Bonner-Swedish Reporter

The Resident Hall Association team, who placed second, show off their medals to the crowd.

Ian Bonner-Swedish Reporter

Indiana State University’s Tandem race event took place at the Michael Simmons Activity Center on Saturday, April 8.

A total of 11 teams joined to compete to be the fastest relay team of the year by completing 50 laps on a tandem bike.

The event started with participants completing a lap with ISU president and first lady Dan and Cheri Bradley, and then the race was on.

Sigma & Scraps lead the race in its entirety, and RHA was their biggest rival with AXO and KA maintaining third place.

RHA put up a fight against Sigma & Scraps as they battled for first place, with RHA passing them on two occasions but losing the lead.

After the race, a member of the Sigma & Scraps team was able to give a few words about their performance.

“It was a good race last year, and this year it was a good race. Last year we took second. This year it was close — it was a lot more fun that way,” said Jacob Seibert, a member of Sigma Chi. According to Seibert, the team spent nearly two months practicing to get into their peak condition worthy of taking first place.

“We practiced every day. We worked out in the rec; we ran in our free time and biked in our free time,” Seibert said.

The race was continuously close in the 30 lap. RHA was only behind Sigs & Scraps by a difference of .3 seconds, and by the 40 lap there was a difference only .8 seconds.

Sigs & Scraps finished with a time of 45:13.220 and RHA fin-

ished at 45:27.699 — a difference of 14.479 seconds.

Senior Michael Passmore, captain of the RHA team, said that they did well considering their circumstances.

“I think it went really well. None of us has ridden the tandem race.

This is our first time for all of us, and being able to come out here and get top three in the group of experience riders is a really inspiring experience. It proves if you work hard enough, you can achieve greatly even against those more experienced than you,” Passmore said.

The training was constant, in fact, more constant than their more experienced peers who have participated for years.

“We went to all the required practices Monday through Thursday. With a lot of people being first year doing the race, I made sure everyone was really prepared.

Kabrisha Bell | Indiana Statesman

We had a lot of catching up to do.

We practiced here on the weekend when the other teams weren’t practicing. We focused a lot on improving our fitness and strategy. I’d say we did everything we could to prepare,” Passmore said.

Passmore hopes to lead his team to victory next year, and he feels he already has the formula to get his team to be the holders of the checkered flag.

“This is my second year doing tandem. I did apply for grad school. If I get the position as a director in RHA, I will be able to lead this team, and our plan will be the same as this year. Hopefully we’ll be more prepared the second time around,” Passmore said.

After the race the third, second and first place team received their awards, posed for photos and walked away confident, proud and dignified.

Thursday night was a night of magic thanks to Joel Meyers’ skillful execution of magic tricks and illusions with assistance from the crowd.

The event started with a few card tricks. One of the most bizarre showed how he performed his “slight of mouth,” where he picked a participant’s card by making it appear from his mouth after spitting the rest out.

He had also beat Houdini’s record time for getting out of a straitjacket by one minute, and “contacted” a dead Marylyn Monroe through a séance.

He even put his own body on the line by performing his version of Russian roulette.

One of Meyer’s more suspenseful tricks was performed for the audience.

There were four bags on a table. All bags had a wooden block in it, but one bag had a block of wood that supported a six-inch nail.

The objective was to smash the palm of his hand on top, hoping that the correct choice was made by the participant to avoid injury.

Many other magicians have performed this trick and have failed in the past. After the per-

SEE MEYERS, PAGE 3

Planned gift adds $3.8M to student activity fund Creative. Competitive. Generous.

Those words are how Indiana State University President Dan Bradley remembers his friend Michael Simmons.

A true Sycamore, Simmons, ‘64, used those qualities to forever change the experience of Indiana State students. He co-founded the Sycamore Tricycle Derby in October 1963 with his good friends, Tom, ‘64, and Debbie Bareford, ‘64, GR ‘67, as a way to keep students on campus during the weekend.

The “Trike” race was nurtured by a cadre of students and staff in the ‘70s and ‘80s before growing into the Homecoming tradition it is today. It also spurred the idea for a tandem bicycle race each spring -- both of which are now headquartered in the Michael Simmons Activity Center.

Simmons died Feb. 7 in Florida at the age of 77, but a $3.8 million planned gift to the Michael Simmons Student Activity Endow-

ment will continue to inspire Simmons’ love of teamwork — and the lifelong skills it instills — and will touch countless Sycamores for generations to come.

“Impacting our students was at the heart of everything Michael did for Indiana State, including his service as a volunteer leader for numerous years,” Bradley said.

“Although he humbly accepted the honors that came his way, his actions were never about drawing attention to himself. They were always about the effect they would have on shaping or transforming our students.”

“Michael’s generosity has provided a special legacy for our university,” said Ron Carpenter, vice president for development and CEO of the ISU Foundation. “This gift will allow our students numerous opportunities to get involved on campus and develop important skills that extend beyond their time at Indiana State.”

Simmons’ contributions will be honored at this year’s Tandem

Race with a moment of silence and memorial parade lap at 10:45 a.m. Saturday, April 8. The race will start at 11 a.m.

“Michael Simmons was a True Blue Sycamore. He was ‘More to Blue’ long before the university started using the tag line,” said Rex Kendall, executive director of the Indiana State University Alumni Association. “Michael was passionate about providing opportunities for students to participate in out-of-classroom experiences.

His generous donation to build the Michael Simmons Student Activities Center — home of the Tricycle Derby and the Tandem Race — will ensure students, now and long into the future, continue to gain valuable team-building and leadership opportunities. His support, dedication and love for his alma mater was evident by his actions, generous support and unselfish service. He will be sorely missed by his friends, TKE frater-

SEE GIFT, PAGE 3

ISU Communications and Marketing

Michael Simmons rides around the Recreation East track in the pace lap of Trike in 2012.

NEWS

Page 2

Monday, April 10, 2017

US employers added just 98,000 jobs in March; unemployment rate falls to 4.5% Jim Puzzanghera Los Angeles Times (TNS) WASHINGTON — U.S. job growth slowed sharply last month, falling to its lowest level in nearly a year, according to government figures.

Just 98,000 net new jobs were added last month, reflecting, among other things, stalled hiring in construction and another significant decline in retailers’ payrolls, the Labor Department said Friday.

Overall job growth in March was well below the 219,000 figure from the previous month.

The unemployment rate fell to 4.5 percent, its lowest level in nearly a decade. And wages continued to show solid growth.

Employers are finding they need to pay more to attract workers in a tightening job market.

On top of that, the totals from January and February were revised down by a combined 38,000 jobs.

The number of people working and the unemployment rate are determined based on a survey of households, while the job-creation figures are calculated from payroll records provided by employers. The two sets of data can provide conflicting views of the labor market.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the Trump administration needed to start enacting policies to boost job growth instead of just talking about it.

“March’s jobs report should serve as a stern warning to President Trump: Tweeting is not a strategy to create jobs for hard-working American families,” she said.

For the first three months of the year, the economy has added an average of 178,000 jobs a month. That figure is down from the 187,000 monthly average last year.

A Northeastern snowstorm struck during the week that the Labor Department surveyed households about their work status. Analysts had said the strong job creation the previous two months had been boosted by unusually warm weather.

The construction industry added just 6,000 jobs in March, the worst in seven months, after payrolls surged by 59,000 in February.

Retailers continued to struggle last month, cutting their payrolls by nearly 30,000 after eliminating about 31,000 jobs in February. The two-month decline was the worst for the industry since

2009.

Hiring was off sharply for education and health services providers. They added just 16,000 jobs in March, the fewest in 15 months, after payrolls had increased by 66,000 in February.

Wages continued to show solid growth in March, with average hourly earnings increasing 5 cents to $26.14 after a 7-cent rise the previous month. Wages increased 2.7 percent for the 12 months ended March 31.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet L. Yellen and her colleagues have cited the improving labor market as a major reason they increased the benchmark short-term interest rate in March for the second time in three months. Anticipation of continued improvement led central bank policymakers to signal two more small increases this year.

Some Coastal Carolina University cheerleaders worked as escorts, investigation reveals debt Christian Boschult The Sun News (TNS)

Michael Tercha | Chicago Tribune | TNS

We didn’t taste much of a difference between Kentucky Fried Chicken, right, and the fried chicken, left, on wire rack, we made in our test kitchen using a recipe that may — or may not — be Colonel Sanders’ secret blend of 11 herbs and spices.

KFC to stop buying chickens containing antibiotics used by humans Geoffry Mohan Los Angeles Times TNS

The parent company of KFC said it will stop buying chicken that is raised using antibiotics that are important to human medicine.

The announcement by the giant chicken chain came after years of pressure from food safety and consumer advocacy groups, and two years after other food companies such as McDonald’s, Chick-fil-A, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell made similar pledges to phase out the use of products from animals treated with the antibiotics — a practice linked to the rise of “super bug” patho-

gens that are resistant to multiple drugs.

The policy change is expected to have a widespread effect on the poultry industry, because KFC — owned by Yum Brands — buys its chicken from a great many flocks as a food-safety precaution, according to Lena Brook, food policy advocate at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

With KFC’s shift, more than half of the nation’s poultry supply chain will be antibiotic-free in the near future, activist said.

Matthew Wellington, antibiotics program director for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, said the policy change “should have lasting effects on the way

these life-saving medicines are used in the chicken industry.”

“This announcement is a win for anybody who might someday depend on antibiotics to get well or even save their lives — i.e. everybody,” Wellington said.

Routinely feeding antibiotics to animals raised for food has been linked to the surge in resistant strains of bacteria that cause serious human illnesses, blamed for about 23,000 additional deaths annually and $55 million in healthcare costs, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This year, Burger King owner Restaurant Brands International pledged to avoid buying poultry that is fed antibiotics considered

“critically important” to human health — a more narrow category of drugs than those eliminated by KFC. Jean Halloran, director of food policy initiatives for Consumers Union called on other fast-food chains to follow KFC’s lead.

“Antibiotics should only be used to treat disease and not wasted on healthy livestock to make them grow faster or to compensate for filthy conditions on factory farms,” Halloran said.

“It’s time for all fast-food restaurants to help ensure antibiotics keep working by rejecting meat and poultry suppliers who misuse these vital drugs.”

US military stance on Syria is unchanged, Tillerson says Ros Krasny Bloomberg News TNS The U.S. military stance in Syria beyond the missile strike in retaliation for the Assad government’s use of chemical weapons on its citizens, yet the action carries a message for other countries acting outside international norms, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Sunday.

The U.S. still hopes to shepherd a “political process that we believe the Syrian people will lawfully be able to decide the fate of Assad,” Tillerson said Sunday in reference to Syria’s president on ABC’s “This Week.”

Last week’s airstrike “was a message to Bashar al-Assad that your multiple violations of your agreements at the UN, your agreements under the chemical weapons charter back in 2013, that those would not go without a response in the future,” he said.

If President Donald Trump needs to do more in Syria “he will do more,’’ United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Haley said she doesn’t see a political solution in Syria with Assad remaining as president, but that other U.S. priorities were defeating Islamic State and

to “get the Iranian influence out.’’

Tillerson conceded that removing Assad from power could “ultimately” require more pressure, including military action by the U.S. or an international coalition, but he said that isn’t the preferred choice.

“We’ve seen what that looks like, when you undertake a violent regime change in Libya, and the situation in Libya continues to be very chaotic,” he said. “We have to learn the lessons of the past and learn the lessons of what went wrong in Libya when you choose that pathway of regime change.”

Tillerson also said the U.S. has “no objective” to change North Korea’s regime as Kim Jong Un continues to ramp up Pyongyang’s nuclear program, and that there’s no reason for the U.S. to lift sanctions placed on Russia following its annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Even so, Tillerson said, without naming North Korea, that “if you violate international agreements, if you fail to live up to commitments, if you become a threat to others, at some point a response is likely to be undertaken.”

Tillerson is heading to Lucca, Italy, for a two-day meeting of

Group of Sevelforeign ministers starting, and he will continue from there to Moscow for meetings with Sergey Lavrov, his Russian counterpart, and other Russian officials.

Pressing Lavrov on Russia’s failure to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile is likely to be part of the agenda.

“We’ve already, I think, issued some very strong statements,” Tillerson said. “And yes, that will

be part of the discussions.”

Russia “agreed to be the guarantor of the elimination of the chemical weapons and why Russia has not been able to achieve that is unclear to me,” Tillerson said.

Russia has said it doesn’t believe that Assad’s forces carried out the attack Thursday and called for a “thorough and impartial” investigation.

A criminal investigation report obtained from Coastal Carolina University alleges that some members of the university’s cheer team worked as strippers and escorts.

The entire cheer team has been suspended from cheering due to a pending conduct investigation, but the students are still permitted to attend class.

According to the investigation report obtained by McClatchy Newspapers through a Freedom of Information request, cheerleaders involved in the escort services were paid between $100 and $1,500 per date.

Cheerleaders also would receive goods such as Michael Kors purses, as well as shoes and clothes, according to the investigation. One cheerleader was offered $800 to escort a male to New York Prime steakhouse in Myrtle Beach, according to the report.

The cheerleaders would not engage in sexual favors, the report stated, but the investigation found “evidence of an escort service.”

The cheerleaders ran the operation through the website seekingarrangement.com, according to the report.

Text messages between cheerleaders advised team members working at the strip clubs, including Thee DollHouse, to quit their jobs until after a national cheerleading competition taking place in Dayton Beach, Fla., according to the report.

Amy Lawrence, an attorney who is representing five of the cheerleaders, called the suspension “unprecedented” Thursday morning.

“I am shocked and saddened to see these girls become victims of these baseless claims from an anonymous source,” Lawrence said in a news release. “Even more disheartening is that these girls were not permitted due process in their own defense to show just how outlandish and ridiculous these allegations truly are.”

The investigation found that 11 cheerleaders were aware of the escort service and seven were not aware, CCU reported.

On March 13, CCU officials including President David DeCenzo, university counsel Timothy Meacham and cheer coaches Marla Sage and Kelly Moore, met to discuss a letter mailed anonymously to DeCenzo’s office that sparked the investigation.

The letter alleged the cheerleaders were engaged in prostitution, stripping, drinking and forcing younger cheerleaders to partake in underage drinking.

CAROLINA CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

indianastatesman.com MEYERS FROM PAGE 1 formance ended, satisfied Sycamores walked out with a picture with Meyers and his autograph.

Meyers had time to answer a few questions such as his where it all started for him.

“I was always a performer since I was a little kid, and my dad showed me my first trick.

And I used to travel with him and I would perform where we were in the touristy areas, and that’s how I got started,” he said.

Meyers is a known name in the entertainment business. He’s appeared several times on television. It was a long road, but not one he wasn’t committed to.

GIFT FROM PAGE 1 nity brothers and fellow Sycamores.”

The Michael Simmons Student Activity Endowment was established in 2013 to increase student participation in extracurricular, team-based programs that foster the development of leadership and teamwork skills. The funds are distributed through an application process.

“Michael Simmons’ life exemplified the power of an engaged ISU education. He firmly believed that the experiences he gained as

CAROLINA FROM PAGE 2 They were not “accepted” into the team unless they took part, according to the letter.

Investigators were able to get a picture of the person who sent the letter and signed it “a concerned parent.”

The man was white, heavy-set and had “salt and pepper-colored hair.”

Monday, April 10, 2017 • Page 3 “It was very much a journey.

Because I love doing magic so much, I continued to work at it and perform everywhere I went.

And I did that until my early 20s and because I loved it and worked on it constantly. It got me an agent, a manager and people I worked with — it got me on bigger stages, which got me noticed by the media,” Meyers said.

Having such a career isn’t a Sunday drive, however. He is constantly on the move.

“I’ll tour, and I’ll do upwards of a 150 shows in a year. So 150 college shows and 50 theater and corporate shows, and in between I’ll do TV stuff,” he said.

To Meyers, practice makes

perfect, and it’s probably the hardest part of his profession.

“I practiced every day until I get to the point where I got to where I perform four to five times a week. I perform so much, so I rehearse a new bit for months before I put it into a show,” Meyers said.

Despite the constant work, Meyers believes it is worth it for him, for it has opened doors he never thought he’d walk through.

“The TV shows performing privately for celebrities like Jennifer Lopez, Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, Steve-o...those are the big things I never thought it would be able to do,” Meyers said.

a student leader prepared him for the success he achieved throughout his life, and he was dedicated to making sure future students have the same opportunities,” said Nancy Rogers, vice president for University Engagement. “Mr. Simmons’ generosity will benefit generations of Sycamores by engaged them in quality team-oriented experiences outside of the classroom. His legacy will be substantial. I am pleased to have known him and tremendously grateful for his lifelong support of his beloved alma mater.”

During his time as a student,

Simmons immersed himself in campus life while majoring in life sciences.

Simmons was a proud member of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity.

He was also instrumental in the formation of Team Sycamore Racing, a student-based drag racing team.

“He was a personal friend who I admired greatly and aspire to be more like,” Bradley said. “We will miss Michael greatly but his spirit will continue to resound through our campus.”

His identity has not yet been determined.

According to the anonymous letter, “several girls” have quit the team “due to these disgusting issues.”

The letter writer lists six allegations. He alleges: Several girls are working at local strip clubs and also prostitute themselves out; several cheerleaders pay

students to do their school work; a veteran cheerleader hosted a party where several underage cheerleaders were caught drinking; a few girls use illegal drugs, “especially smoking pot”; a few of the girls provide alcohol to minors; and cheerleaders buy alcohol with a fake ID and provide it to other cheerleaders and other students.

Story by ISU Communications and Marketing.

FEATURES

Monday, April 10, 2017

Page 4

Holi

Kabrisha Bell | Indiana Statesman

The Festival of Color celebrated on ISU’s campus Claire Silcox Reporter

Celebrating the arrival of spring and end of winter, the Indian Student Association hosted Holi on April 8 at Wolf Field, with support of the Center for Global Engagement.

Holi, also known as the “festival of colors” or “festival of love,” is a spring festival traditionally celebrated in India.

“The festival signifies the victory of good over evil, the arrival of spring, end of winter, and for many a festive day to meet family, friends, others and to play and laugh, forget and forgive and repair broken relationships,” Daniel Zakka, communication secretary of the Indian Student Association said.

Along with the coming of spring, Holi is

celebrated as a thanksgiving for good harvest.

Compared to celebrations of Holi across the world, the celebration hosted at Indiana State University was up to par, although in India, the celebration of the festival is more vigorous.

For the past five years, Holi has been celebrated on ISU’s campus with food, music, dance and colors with love in every aspect of the festival.

The food this year included three Indian snacks: samosa, which is a fried or baked dish with a filling of spiced potatoes, peas, onions or lentils; mint chutney, which is a spicy dip made from mint leaves; and jalebi, which is made by deep-frying Maida flour batter in a pretzel or spiral shape and then soaked in sugar syrup.

With Indian food and dance music blaring,

Wolf Field was lit with neon color dust to celebrate.

Colors were thrown on and off for the entirety of the event, and attendees laughed with every “Happy Holi” they received.

Dance circles formed and patrons enjoyed the color and excitement in the air.

“Holi is celebrated on ISU’s campus so that the students from India get a homey feel. India is a very diverse but welcoming country, and we love to spread the joy of the occasion with everyone on campus. It’s an open event for all the students on campus. Holi is a pure fun event where everyone forgets all their problems and enjoy together with one body and soul,” Zakka said.

Indian students came to celebrate together, and show others on-campus the true happiness of Holi and to welcome them to spring.

Sycamore Sessions held last session on Friday

Battleship

Adrienne Morris Reporter

During Spring Week, students from all organizations participated in Battleship in Indiana State’s Arena.

Danielle Guy | Indiana Statesman

Last week, Spring Week was upon the Indiana State University community. There were many activities for students to get involved in, including the last Sycamore Sessions of the semester.

On April 7, students packed Tilson Auditorium in order to view the many different performances of the night.

Sycamore Sessions is a way for people to showcase their talents and also a way for people of the ISU community to create memories with their friends.

As each Sycamore Sessions has a theme, the theme for Spring Week’s Sycamore Sessions was Jersey Day. Members of the audience were encouraged to support their favorite sports team by wearing jersey apparel.

The night was filled with performances from dance groups, singers, rappers, DJ’s, spoken word artists and even a beat boxer.

Participants were able to share their talents with the ISU community for a chance to win a prize at the end of the night.

Many students gathered in Tilson for a night jam-packed with live performances and also the chance to bond with their ISU peers.

“It’s a way to bring the ISU community together to watch fun acts,” sophomore Grace Allen said.

While the different acts were performed, people in the audience appeared enthused and excited throughout the entire

SEE SESSIONS, PAGE 5

Students show talents Spring Choral Showcase Claire Silcox Reporter

Showing the students at Indiana State University talents of their singers, the ISU School of Music and Student Ensemble Series put on the Spring Choral Showcase on April 7 at 7:30 p.m.

After months of hard work, the choirs performed in University Hall’s theater. Three different choirs performed multiple songs with soloists in at least one piece per set.

Sycamore singers were up first with five songs and four soloists, including Zene Colson, Isabella Collins, Ross

Hanson and Jamee Nielsen.

Next came the winter women’s choir with six songs and one soloist, Allison Barker. The women’s choir is directed

by Yana Weinstein.

Lastly, the ISU concert choir performed their seven songs. The audience ruptured in applause after soloist Will Akins sang “Ain’t Got Time To Die” by Hall Johnson with his fellow choir members.

The ISU School of Music brought alumni and students to their feet on April 7 during the singing of ISU’s alma mater to end the concert.

Not only did the concert choir recently perform in Chicago, they learned two new songs in only four rehearsals for this concert, which they sang with the songs they per-

formed with in Chicago.

This was the second to last choral performance of the year, and there are more musical concerts ahead.

The ISU Wind Orchestra will be performing in Tilson Auditorium on April 13 at 7:30 p.m.

The ISU Symphony Orchestra will be performing in Tilson on April 20 at 7:30 p.m.

The ISU symphonic/Concert Band will be performing on April 24 in Tilson at 7:30 p.m.

The Masterworks Chorale Concert will also be in Tilson on April 24 at 4 p.m.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students K through 12 and free for ISU students with a student ID.

indianastatesman.com SESSIONS FROM PAGE 4 night.

“It’s important that events like these are on campus because it brings the community together,” sophomore Tory Walter said.

During the event, members of the audience also had the chance to win a hat from an upand-coming fashion line called Tropix clothing.

People were asked to use the Snapchat filter for the night and tag Sycamore Sessions and the brand line for the opportunity to be put in the race to win the hats.

Monday, April 10, 2017 • Page 5 The DJ of the night played a Chicago mix that amped the audience and filled the onlookers with even more excitement.

There were multiple dance groups that performed, including ISU’s step team, Precision.

Members of Precision channeled characters from the thriller movie “The Purge.”

Throughout the performances of the night, everyone remained respectful and supportive of the people on the stage.

With the end of the semester coming to a close and finals quickly approaching, students

were able to enjoy a bit of relaxation and fun before their exams.

At the end of the night, the creator of Sycamore Sessions and the previous host of the show entered the stage to thank the audience for being there.

She was moved to tears at what Sycamore Sessions has become and how she was able to be a hand in creating the well-attended event.

Sycamore Sessions will continue on into the next semester with new talent and new themes.

FREAKY FAST! FREAKY GOOD! ®

WE DELIVER! TO FIND THE LOCATION NEAREST YOU VISIT JIMMYJOHNS.COM ©2016 JIMMY JOHN’S FRANCHISE, LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

OPINION

Page 6

Monday, April 10, 2017

Photos can make or break a day Leah Kennedy Columnist

The first thing a lot of people notice when they step into my dorm room is all the photographs.

Before I took a lot of them down last week, I probably had over fifty photos hanging on almost every available surface of my room. The walls, my bed frame, the tack strips, in frames — everywhere.

I have always loved pictures. I take loads of them, I keep loads of them and I often print loads of them. I think this love comes from the fact that I am very attached to my family.

Ever since I was a kid, anytime I would go away for any amount of time, my mom would tuck a family photo in my bag. I think she knew I battled homesickness really badly even then. For the longest time I would not even stay away for one night. I am and have always been a homebody.

Another reason I like photographs is because I like remembering happy things. I love reliving the moments with friends or family that we laughed at. I cherish them. I am one who finds happiness in the small things.

I also think that a lot of my love for photographs has to do with one of my favorite people in the world: my grandma. She absolutely adores pictures. She has roughly 14 children and over 50 grandchildren. She lives for photos. A lot of us are spread around the country and at one point the world, so photos are the only things she has to keep up with us.

She is the stereotypical grandma who thinks Facebook is a hand-picked thing sent directly to her. She comments on absolutely everything, even if she does not like it. Her favorite phrases are “great” and my personal favorite “no politics please.” Many people complain about her comments, but we all are secretly thankful, I think, because one day she won’t be here to comment on that photo from 30 weeks ago, but I digress.

Social media has also been a huge breakthrough when it comes to pictures. There are so many platforms and ways for the world to share memories and photos. I think that is so cool. I

PHOTOS CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

Shenemen | Tribune Content Agency

Republicans’ new healthcare proposal causes party to implode Zach Davis Columnist

Just a month ago, Donald Trump’s attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act failed due to a major lack of support among the Republican Party.

Moderate House Republicans felt Trump’s plan went too far and repealed provisions that should have been kept, while the most conservative ones felt it left too much intact.

Trump seemed resigned to leave the ACA alone and to let it “explode” on its own. However, Mike Pence doesn’t seem as resigned.

Pence met with the House Freedom Caucus to discuss a new healthcare plan that is just as bad as their last was. The plan first allows states to opt out of offering a minimum package of services called “essential health

benefits” in the ACA. Essential benefits include emergency services and hospitalization, maternity care and doctor’s visits, rehabilitation and more.

Some of these makes sense – such as a single 80-year old man shouldn’t need to pay for maternity coverage unless circumstances change, and someone shouldn’t need to pay for mental care when they don’t have a disorder. They would be paying for a service they wouldn’t be using.

The majority of these services, though, don’t make sense. Everybody needs regular checkups and potential hospital visits.

Most people can’t pay for a random, unexpected emergency service at the drop of a hat.

That is why we have insurance, though – to help cover the costs of things we can’t necessarily control.

Mr. Pence and the House Freedom Caucus believe they are removing what they view as the most costly measures of the ACA, when in reality they are removing the services customers are paying for. That implies they don’t feel health insurance companies should have to provide

the services customers pay for.

The second provision removes the mandate that says insurance companies charge evenly for people in the same age group and area. That removes the law that says insurance companies have to charge fairly – once again allowing them to charge more for people with pre-existing conditions.

Realistically, though, these are the people that need coverage the most. This curtails the responsibility of insurance companies, allowing them to apply charges unfairly.

Moderate House Republicans responded very poorly to the new proposal. Many have come out against it, again saying that it removes too many of the necessary provisions of the ACA. Talking about the cuts to guaranteed coverage, Pennsylvania Rep. Charlie Dent, a moderate Republican who helped Trump’s plan fail last month, said, “What they were talking about was not going to get me to say yes.”

This has caused a division in the Republican Party with the most conservative groups attacking the moderate ones at every turn. The Club for Growth,

a conservative network that has groups nationwide, vehemently denounces the moderate representatives who are opposed to the new changes.

In an interview with Fox News, the Club’s Vice President of Governmental Affairs Andrew Roth went as far as to accuse moderate Republicans of siding with Bernie Sanders on healthcare.

Michael Needham, Chief Executive for Heritage Action for America, said these moderate Republicans “do not believe in the basic premises of the Republican Party.”

These arguments are going to strongly weaken the Republican Party if they are not controlled.

The moderate representatives do not believe that we should remove guaranteed, fair coverage for all – a completely respectable stance.

Yet they are being pushed away by the rest of the Republican Party. Rep. Chris Collins accused the Freedom Caucus of “moving the goalposts.”

If the Republicans don’t get a grip and stop arguing, they are going to find that the party

PROPOSAL CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

Trump crossed red line in Syria situation

Steve Wininger Columnist

The recent bombing carried out by the United States Navy on a military air strip in Syria in response to recent chemical attacks by the Assad regime has some questioning President Donald Trump’s decision.

Any decision made by Trump is usually questioned or condemned by those on the left.

However, some on the right have questioned Trump’s decision to bomb military targets in Syria in retaliation.

In 2012, then President Obama drew a red line concerning the use of chemical weapons by the Assad government.

While Obama did not give any specifics about what the exact consequences would be, the implication would be some form of retaliation.

Obama was later criticized when the red line was crossed and he did nothing. Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta criticized Obama in 2014 for doing nothing when Assad killed more than 1400 in a chemical attack. Panetta said the former president’s lack of response damaged U.S. credibility.

A recent alleged chemical attack on civilians in Syria prompted Trump to order the bombing of a military airstrip in Syria saying that they had crossed “many, many lines.”

Trump also criticized Obama for not taking action when the red line was crossed.

Trump stated that because Obama failed to act on his words, it set the U.S. back not only in Syria, but in the rest of the world because of what he called a “blank threat.”

Trump had previously suggested that Assad could stay in power, but in light of the chemical attacks, the president has suggested his mind is changed concerning Syria and Assad.

While some countries such as Russia, Iran and Syria have condemned the attack ordered by Trump, many countries, including Middle Eastern countries, all support the decision by the president.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the strikes were proportionate and showed that the president was willing to take action when needed.

Many questions remain.

Trump would not comment on his future military plans in Syria, saying he does not like to discuss

Editorial Board

Monday, April10, 2017 Indiana State University

www.indianastatesman.com

Volume 124 Issue 71

Marissa Schmitter Editor-in-Chief statesmaneditor@isustudentmedia.com Rileigh McCoy News Editor statesmannews@isustudentmedia.com Joe Lippard Opinions Editor statesmanopinions@isustudentmedia.com Grace Harrah Features Editor statesmanfeatures@isustudentmedia.com Zach Rainey Sports Editor statesmansports@isustudentmedia.com Danielle Guy Photo Editor statesmanphotos@isustudentmedia.com Hazel Rodimel Chief Copy Editor The Indiana Statesman is the student newspaper of Indiana State University. It is published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays during the academic school year. Two special issues are published during the summer. The paper is printed by the Tribune Star in Terre Haute, Ind.

future operations.

Commentator Vladimir Frolov of the Moscow Times was critical of the Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying the rhetoric against the U.S. serves no purpose, and that the Russian leader should have held Assad accountable to the agreement of not using chemical weapons after a chemical attack in 2013.

Frolov says that Assad’s attack has backed the Russian leader into a corner where he will now have to choose between Trump or Assad.

He goes on to exclaim that the latest incidents will complicate the joint effort of defeating ISIS in Syria.

Many Syrian citizens also praise Trump for the retaliation.

Survivors of the Syrian chemical attack support the retaliation by the U.S. and see it as a deterrent to future attacks.

Many Syrian refugees in Northern Iraq welcomed the

bombing by Trump and wished they would do more to intervene.

These refugees say they just want to go to their homes in Syria, not anywhere else.

What remains to be seen is how much the Trump policy in Syria will change.

Up until now, most of his policy has been in the form of directly aiding those fighting Daesh in the northern parts of Syria.

Some analysts suggest that the actions by Trump also send a strong message to others that the U.S. will not be as passive as they were under the Obama administration.

Trump has implicitly stated that he does not want to see a regime change in Syria, but his remarks since the chemical attack imply there will be a change in U.S. policy in Syria.

It remains uncertain what those changes might be.

Opinions Policy The opinions page of the Indiana Statesman offers an opportunity for the Indiana State University community to express its views. The opinions, individual and collective, expressed in the Statesman and the student staff’s selection or arrangement of content do not necessarily reflect the attitudes of the university, its Board of Trustees, administration, faculty or student body. The Statesman editorial board writes staff editorials and makes final decisions about news content. This newspaper serves as a

public forum for the ISU community. Make your opinion heard by submitting letters to the editor at statesmanopinions@isustudentmedia.com. Letters must be fewer than 500 words and include year in school, major and phone number for verification.

Letters from non-student members of the campus community must also be verifiable. Letters will be published with the author’s name. The Statesman editorial board reserves the right to edit letters for length, libel, clarity and vulgarity.

indianastatesman.com

Monday, April 10, 2017 • Page 7

PHOTOS FROM PAGE 6

MARY FROM PAGE 8

mean here we all are stumbling around the world sharing memories with friends and family who are hundreds or thousands of miles away.

Our brains are so intelligent that they know that by posting a photo, not only do we get a rush of happy chemicals, others get it too.

Also, pictures make things better. If you’re having a bad day, you can look at a photo of your dog. Feeling homesick? Look at a picture of your mom. Pictures make people happy.

Pictures also are learning tools.

Kids are taught to name things by looking at them.

They learn simple things like water, blue and fish. They also allow a form of communication for nonverbal children and even some adults.

In conclusion, friends, pictures are good. They can make you happy, make you remember a happy place or moment and they are learning tools.

To alter a Dr. Who phrase: I like pictures now. Pictures are cool. I’ll talk to you all soon.

Have a great week.

things and the things I can control, and it’s making a big difference.”

Missouri State jumped out to a 2-0 lead with one out in the first inning on a two-run double by Beason, but Ihle went on to throw 6.2 scoreless in another shutdown performance from the junior.

The Sycamores actually scored three unanswered with one in

the fifth, sixth and seventh innings each for the win.

Aside from Turitto’s heroics in the final two frames, it was Gabi Carter (1-2, BB) who started off the fifth with a single into left field to set up an RBI sac fly by Stober.

Next, the Sycamores travel up to IPFW for a midweek contest next Wednesday (April 12) before heading out to Wichita State for a weekend series on April 1415.

PROPOSAL FROM PAGE 6 can’t keep pushing forward. As the great Republican President Abraham Lincoln once said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” I feel he would be ashamed of what he sees today.

Perhaps the moderate and conservative Republicans can set aside their arguing long enough to agree on changes to the ACA that need to be made. Until then, nothing will be able to get done with healthcare.

For ISU students. About ISU students. By ISU students. #readthestatesman

To place a classified ad call: (812) 237-3025 fax us: (812) 237-7629 stop by the office: 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Room 143, HMSU or send us an email: Stacey.McCallister@indstate.edu

FOR RENT ONE BLOCK FROM CAMPUS 3 or 4 bedrooms $300 per student Available May 15 10 or 12 month lease 812-236-3716

1-4 BEDROOM APARTMENTS

Some Close to Campus!

-NO PETS ALLOWED Call Gibson Apartments 812-234-4884

AVAILABLE IN MAY 1027 S. 5th St. 4 bedroom, 2 bath, & Porch Utilities included Call to see this gem. sharpflats@gmail.com or sharpflats.com 812-877-1146

ISU STUDENT HOUSING

CLASSIFIEDS

FOR RENT NEAR CAMPUS 915 N. 6th St. 5 bedroom, 2 bath central air, dishwasher washer/dryer hookup $1400 / month 812-841-3805

4, 5 & 3 BEDROOM HOUSES CLOSE TO CAMPUS Nice houses for rent Lower rent for additional people.

Call 812-232-6977 Please leave phone #

Rates Per Issue 20 words or less Classified Rate is $7 Frequency Discount $6 ISU Organization $5 Extra words are 15¢ each.

CHECK IT OUT

In print and on online for one low PRICE!

EMPLOYMENT

Bake Shop Cafe´

NOW HIRING

All HAIRCUTS $7 Ernie’s Old Time Barbershop Sutdents Welcome 8 am - 5pm, Mon.- Sat. No appointment necessary!

1803 Wabash Ave. 812-243-7151

Part-Time Positions CLOSE TO CAMPUS NO SUNDAY SHIFTS APPLY ONLINE AT CLABBERGIRL.COM OR BY PERSON

EMPLOYMENT LOCAL STUDENT WANTED FOR SUMMER JOB WITH CONTRACTOR! Mowing & Misc.

Could be part-time now.

Full time in summer.

812-894-2028

Equal Opportunity Employer (Minority/Female/Disability/Vet)

900 WABASH DOWNTOWN TERRE HAUTE • 812-232-9446

ISU Students! Want a “Cool” Job this summer?

Home City Ice Co. is now Hiring Delivery Drivers!

Weekends and Holidays in summer are a must, as well as a clean driving record.

Flexible schedule, pay averages $8 - $14 per hour.

Apply online @ www.homecityice.com

VERY NICE 7, 5, 4, 3 and 2 bedroom houses.

Close to campus.

W/D, stove & refrigerator.

Plenty of room for grilling out.

LSM Investments, LLC. Call Shane 812-483-2497

The Samurai of Puzzles by The Mepham Group

1-4 Bedrooms, Close to Campus Starting at $400 per month Call: 812-232-5083 Pfister & Co.,Inc.

www.pfister-and-co.com

Equal Housing Opportunity

Summer or Fall 4 bedroom house Central air Studios, 1,2 & 3 bedroom Some close to campus.

812-894-2028

Deadlines For Monday Issues: 3 p.m. Thursday For Wednesday issues: 3p.m. Monday For Friday issues: 3 p.m. Wednesday

Sudoku answers from Friday’s issue

Monday, April 10, 2017

SPORTS

ISU Athletic Media Relations

Mary Turitto came through for ISU’s softball team, winning 3-2 on Sunday.

Mary Turitto comes through in clutch 3-2 win over Missouri State Tyler Wooten

ISU Athletic Media Relations

Senior Mary Turitto hasn’t turned away from the big moments at the plate this year and embraced it once again with two monumental hits late in the game to lift Indiana State to a walk-off 3-2 victory over Missouri State on Sunday.

Trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth, Turitto – a native of Cottage Grove, Minn., who also had a walk-off sac fly against UNI earlier this season – opened the inning on a long solo home run to left field to knot the game 2-2, her second round-tripper of the season and sixth of her career. Turitto had gotten behind 1-2 to starting pitcher Kaitlin Beason and was nearly called out on a close ball, but she stayed locked in and took Beason’s next offering over the wall to energize the Sycamores (17-19, 3-9 MVC).

Beason nearly no-hit the Sycamores in Game One on Saturday, but today Indiana State tagged her for six hits and two runs – the last of which was Turitto’s solo shot, as Missouri State (20-13, 8-4 MVC) opted to pull her afterward.

“Yesterday after the game we did talk about approach, and we knew that we were good enough to compete with her,” Turitto said. “With the change in approach we were attacking early in the count. She isn’t big on strikeouts but she throws around the plate.”

It appeared that the Bears had stolen the

momentum right back in the top of the seventh, though, as MSU’s Erika Velasquez-Zimmer took Kenzie Ihle’s first pitch off the right-center wall for a triple. Ihle, who pitched her eighth complete game of the season and second of the weekend with a six-strikeout victory to improve to 13-10, settled in and threw a clutch remainder of the inning, forcing a popout and striking out two to keep the momentum on ISU’s side.

In the bottom of the seventh, senior Erika Crissman (2-4) capitalized on that momentum with a leadoff single on a missile right up the middle. With one out, designated player Kylie Stober (1-2, RBI, SF) smacked a single through the left side to put two on. With two outs, Turitto came up to the plate for another fierce at-bat – this time against reliever Holly Kelley.

Turitto fouled off three pitches after falling down 0-2 before catching one up in the zone to sail off the left field wall, easily scoring Crissman from second for the walk-off win.

“It was huge that we got three outs the inning before with a runner on third,” Turitto said. “Just taking that momentum and using it in my at-bat was big.”

Turitto has hit both of her home runs this season in Valley play, in which she is slugging .500.

“Probably the best I’ve felt this season,” Turitto said. “I’m just focused on the little

Page 8

ISU Athletic Media Relations

Dominic Bifana, ISU’s catcher, is on the Johnny Bench Award watch list.

Bifano named to Johnny Bench Award watch list Garrett Short Reporter

Indiana State’s Dominic Bifano has been named to the Johnny Bench Award watch list.

The award is given out to the country’s top collegiate catcher every year.

The list of catchers currently spans 97 names, but Bifano is proud to be one of only four catchers on the list from the Missouri Valley Conference.

“It means a lot to be recognized for such a prestigious award,” Bifano said.

“To be nominated for an award that has been won by players who have been so successful is an honor.”

Bifano is speaking of former Johnny Bench Award winners like Kurt Suzuki and Buster Posey, who are both in the MLB. Posey also went on to win Rookie of the Year, National League MVP and has won the World Series three times.

The award was first given SEE MARY, PAGE 7 out in 2000 and is named

after Johnny Bench, who played catcher for the Cincinnati Reds from 19671983.

The Hall of Famer is considered one of the best catchers of all time and played for one of the best teams of all time in the “Big Red Machine.”

Bifano, a senior catcher from California, is hitting .253 on the season and leads the team with 17 walks.

He said he has been humbled by the recognition, but it hasn’t distracted him.

“I think it has boosted my confidence. My family and I enjoyed it for a minute, but after that I really have not given it too much thought. My focus right now is to help our team win ballgames, especially going into conference play,” Bifano said.

The Sycamores opened their conference season in Evansville this past weekend playing three games against the Purple Aces.

Bifano and company exploded in the first game, winning 9-1.

Evansville recovered on Saturday as they shut down ISU 4-1. The team wrapped up the series on Sunday with a game at 2 p.m.

Currently at about the halfway mark in the season, ISU is 14-13.

Having lost four key hitters from last season, this year’s squad is still putting the pieces of the puzzle together.

“I feel we have spent the first 25 games trying to find our identity. I think we have worked a lot of things out, and we are ready for conference play,” Bifano said.

There have been some impressive moments this season, including wins against 12th ranked Washington and wins over Big 10 opponents Indiana and Purdue.

The team hosts IU for a rematch on Tuesday at 6 p.m. before Southern Illinois visits this weekend.

The Johnny Bench Award watch list will be reduced to semifinalists May 17.

The winner of the award will be announced June 29.

Sycamores jump up national, regional lists following conclusion to Tiger Track Classic Tyler Wooten

ISU Athletic Media Relations

Indiana State men’s and women’s track & field had a stellar final day at Auburn’s Tiger Track Classic, with several nationally and regionally ranked performances amid a handful of event wins and high finishes on Saturday.

“We had some great moments on the track today and a lot of our athletes took advantage of the good competition and weather,” said ISU interim head coach Angela Martin.

It came as no surprise that Brooke Moore led the way yet again, adding another milestone to a sophomore season that has been nothing but fast times and records. Moore opened the season with a three-second PR in the 800 at Ole Miss at 2:09.47 – which still ranked as the top 800 time in the Valley entering this weekend – and one-upped herself again in the 800 today.

Moore won the 800 at 2:06.74, another three-second PR that pushes her from sixth to fourth all-time at Indiana State outdoors behind superb 800 runners Alethia Marrero (2:02.67, 2015, MVC Record), Leeann Michl (2:05.57, 2013) and head coach Angela Martin’s 2000 time of 2:06.05. Moreover, Moore now ranks 12th in the NCAA and ninth in the East Region with her time today, which also pushes her Valley lead to five seconds.

Entering this week, Moore also ranked 22nd nationally and 11th regionally at her school-record 1500-meter time of 4:20.02 ran last week at the Stanford Invite. Moore’s 2016-17 season has consisted of an All-MVC third-place finish at the MVC Cross Country Championships, a runner-up finish in the mile at the MVC Indoor Championships and two indoor school records in the mile (4:43.04) and

3K (9:35.60) before her outdoor season even began.

Brittany Neeley also had a strong 800 race today, finishing fourth at a three-second ISU best of 2:12.01. Currently she ranks third in the Valley, giving Indiana State three of the Valley’s top-four 800 times (Imani Davis’ 2:12.24 moves to fourth after today). Neeley missed the entire indoor season due to injury.

Senior hurdler Marcus Neely pushed himself up the national lists as well with another win in the 110-meter hurdles. The two-time NCAA Regional qualifier and Indianapolis native broke 14 seconds for the first time this season, winning on a time of 13.93 seconds in a slight headwind (-0.1).

Neely’s season-best time today improves his Valley lead and moves him up to 16th nationally and into a tie for sixth in the NCAA East Region.

Fellow senior Daley Carter followed suit, shaving one-tenth off his season-best to finish third at 14.25. Carter still ranks third in the Valley behind Neely and UNI’s Jon Rus (14.18), but moves up to 46th in the NCAA and into a tie for 27th in the East Region.

Junior high jumper Jaime Murtagh made a monumental leap today, tying a career-best in just the third meet of the outdoor season. Murtagh won the high jump at 2.12m (6-11.50), an outdoor career-best while that gives him sole possession of 10th all-time in school history.

Murtagh cleared 2.11m (6-11.00) at the MVC Outdoor Championships last year before clearing the same height he hit today to win the Irish National Championship last June.

Today’s height ties his indoor PR from 2016 and currently ranks second in the Valley, 24th in the NCAA and 10th in the East.

“Coach (John) Gartland has made some

changes with his approach, and it is paying off,” Martin said.

The Sycamore men also nabbed a high finish from Blake Kramer in the 1500, finishing runner-up at a four-second PR time of 3:51.84. Kramer’s time today falls just .31 seconds shy of cracking the all-time top-10 and ranks sixth in the Valley.

Junior Taylor Austin had a career day in the 1500 as well, finishing fourth at a two-second PR of 4:27.29. Austin’s new time ranks second all-time and would have broken senior associate AD Angie Lansing’s 1997 record of 4:27.92 if not for Moore’s performance last week. Austin ranks third in the Valley, giving the Sycamore women two of the top-three times at the moment.

Scott Schreiber also returned from injury to record a high finish for the Sycamore men. Schreiber, who missed most of the indoor season, finished third in the long jump at an outdoor team-best leap of 7.27m (23-10.25), the second-best in the Valley and 33rd-best in the East this season.

Senior All-American Alethia Marrero launched herself up the regional list as well with a third-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles. Marrero ran a two-second season-best time of 1:00.18, which improves upon her place as No. 2 in the Valley but vaults her up to No. 37 in the East. Marrero also ranks No. 3 in the 400-meter dash (55.75) and is the defending MVC Indoor 800-meter champion.

Speaking of the 400, freshman Imani Davis brought down her 400 time today as well, finishing 10th at 56.25 to move into seventh in the Valley. ISU currently owns three of the top-eight times in the conference.

Both Davis and Marrero were part of the women’s 4x400-meter relay that ran an overall season-best at 3:44.73. The duo ran the first two legs, followed by Oschti-

sha Jackson and Brittany Neeley, clocking the MVC’s third-best 4x400 this outdoor season.

Sophomore Ayanna Morgan kept ISU’s success in the hurdles going with a career day in the 100-meter hurdles. Morgan, a native of Barbados, finished fifth at 14.25 – the 10th-best time in school history.

In the men’s 400, senior Tyrell Dowdell kept his excellent final season with the Sycamores going with his first foray under 48 seconds this season. Dowdell finished fifth overall at 47.99, the second-best time in the Valley this season.

Dowdell also ran the second leg of the ISU men’s 4x400-meter relay alongside CJ Anyaebunam, Liam McGrath and Charles Sykes. The relay finished seventh but ran an overall season-best time of 3:18.08, third-best in the Valley this season.

The Sycamore men’s short sprinters had success on the track as well. Tristan Parmley ran a season-best 10.84 in the 100 to finish eighth, the seventh-best time in the Valley.

Parmley finished ninth in the 200 as well at a PR time of 21.48, narrowly behind teammate Jaynard Keys in seventh at 21.47.

Both were members of the men’s 4x100-meter relay alongside Daley Carter and Devyn Mikell that came close to running yet another season-best time. The quartet ran 40.97 to finish fifth, coming close to last week’s 40.91 ran at EIU. The Sycamores return home for two straight weeks of track action in Terre Haute. First, Indiana State will host the Gibson Invitational on April 14-15 this upcoming week. The following week, the Sycamores will host the Pacesetter Invite on April 21-22.

“This was a good trip, and I know that the team is now looking forward to competing in front of family and friends the next two weeks,” Martin concluded.