The Index, Vol. 113 Issue 6

Page 1

Head coach reflects on triumphant season

Home for the holidays, page 7 Yik Yak gains popularity,

page 8

Women’s basketball begins GLVC campaign, page 14

page 16

Truman State University tmn.truman.edu THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2021

tmn.truman.edu

@TrumanIndex

@TrumanIndex

CENTENNIAL HALL TO CLOSE

Students wait in line for food at the Centennial dining hall. Missouri dining hall will reopen next year in response to Centennial Hall’s closure. Photo by Emily Collins

Other residence halls will be impacted by the closings, including some floors opening and other floors closing MAT T FRANK Staff Writer Centennial Hall will be closing next fall because of renovations and low student demand to live in the hall. Dec. 3, Truman State University announced the residence hall would be closing. The decision to close down the residence hall comes from both the closure of the dining hall within Centennial Hall and the lowered student demand to live in that residence hall.

The Centennial dining hall was closed so the Missouri dining hall could be reopened. The Missouri dining hall is the most recently renovated dining hall on campus. The dining hall was renovated during the summer of 2018. Since the Missouri dining hall was renovated with bonds specifically intended for the renovation of the dining hall, the University has been recommended by the University comptroller to reopen the dining hall to demonstrate that revenue is coming from the dining hall, Jamie Van

Campus mask policy extended SETH JARVIS Staff Writer Truman State University has extended its mask policy into the spring 2022 semester and is set to be reviewed again on Jan. 28. Dec. 7, the President’s Office sent out an email to the Truman Community confirming the extension of the mask mandate. Travis Miles, director of Public Relations at Truman State University, explained that the University president decided after communicating with the vice president and the chief information officer. Facts such as the campus vaccination rate, campus infection rate and the transmission levels in the community influenced the decision to leave the policy in place. “We’ve been at a high or substantial rate in Adair County for a while now,” Miles said. “I know since summer with Delta and all that, we’ve been at a high or substantial rate. Under those categories, [the CDC] recommends masking indoors.” Miles also explained criticism of the mandate had been limited for the most part. Those who have their issues with the mandate have expressed their disapproval respectfully. However, support for

VOLUME 113 ISSUE 6 © 2021

the mask requirements is strong as many individuals feel that masks are needed to keep the University’s population healthy. The end of the mask mandate is unknown at this point as the unpredictable circumstances of the pandemic have made it difficult to know when transmission might be reduced to a safe enough level to remove the mandate. Miles said the goal for the campus right now is to limit the spread of the virus among students and employees. See MASKS page 3

Students wear masks in class while listening to a lecture. The mask policy will be reviewed on Jan. 28. Photo by Emily Collins

Boxel, director of Residence Life, said. The plans for installing new windows for the hall also added to the decision to close Centennial Hall, Tyana Lange, vice president for Enrollment Management and Marketing said. The new windows in Centennial Hall are the next objective for the University’s capital improvement plan. Centennial Hall will likely be closed for two years, Lange said. Student demand for living in the residence hall was also a factor in the decision, Van Boxel said.

“Of all of the places that we have open as residence halls to live in, in my three years [at Truman], Centennial Hall has been the least popular,” Van Boxel said. “It is the last building to fill. The folks who gravitate towards Centennial, who are returning, go over there because of the singles and the buyouts.” Missouri Hall is a more popular residence hall compared to Centennial Hall according to the room self selection, Van Boxel said. See RESIDENCE HALLS page 3

Redistricting meeting held on campus KENNEDY COOPER Staff Writer

Nov. 10, a Missouri State House of Representatives Redistricting Commission Public Hearing occurred in the Georgian Rooms at Truman State University. Redistricting occurs every 10 years in Missouri, and it happens after the national census is taken. When redistricting, the goal is for each district to have 37,760 residents, or as close as they can to that number. Currently, Truman State University is within House District 3. The purpose of redistricting is to get accurate representation of Missouri residents in the House of Representatives. This meeting aimed to get citizen feedback on the upcoming redistricting process. The meeting was open to all but focused on getting the opinions of those from Missouri, with a particular focus on residents of Northeast Missouri. Similar meetings were held throughout the state of Missouri, with additional meetings held in St. Louis, Springfield, Kansas City, Jefferson City and Cape Girardeau. “The Commission is here to hear the public’s comments on how they think we should move forward on drawing fair and equitable maps,” Keana Smith, House Independent Bipartisan Citizens Commission Chair, said.

A sign sits outside a polling place in Kirksville for the 2020 Presidential election. The redistricting meeting was held to get citizen feedback. Photo from TMN Archives Citizens of Kirksville, Marceline, Moberly and other Northeast Missouri cities attended the meeting. Members of the Redistricting Commission and other staff were also in attendance. Some members of the Commission participated through video conferencing. See REDISTRCTING page 5


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.