The Index, Vol. 114 Issue 4

Truman wins big in fabulous

Truman switches from Blackboard Library aims to support learning

MATT FRANK Managing Editor

Truman State University’s Pickler Me morial Library has been focusing more on database and online resources, and has subscribed to a service called OverDrive, similar to a digital popular reading section.

The library has a collection develop ment policy for acquiring new resources. The goal of this policy is to make sure the library has the materials to support the curriculum and the mission of the University, said Janet Romine, dean of libraries and museums.

The library must think about which items would be helpful for students to be successful in their majors, Romine said.

GENEVIEVE TLUSTOS Editor-in-Chief

Truman State University has begun the process of changing to a new Learning Management System.

The current LMS, Blackboard, will be phased out, and a new platform, Desire 2Learn Brightspace, will be used instead, said Chief Information Officer Donna Liss.

Blackboard is phasing out its current version, so the system would need to be upgraded. Liss said this was the reason she thought it was a good time to review sys tems options since the University would have to be changing versions anyway.

“That was the main message that we conveyed to the campus,” Liss said. “We can’t keep doing what we’re doing because even the Blackboard version of the system that we looked at was going to change. It’s

not the same as what we have now.”

Liss said it might have been somewhat easier to upgrade Blackboard instead of switching systems completely, but they want ed to choose the system that best met their current and future needs.

Three vendors submitted competitive pro posals to be the next LMS, Liss said. They were Blackboard Ultra, Instructure Canvas and Desire2Learn Brightspace.

“When it came down to it, and we looked at everything in terms of function, the technical environment and pricing, then we believe that Desire2Learn provides the best overall solution for the campus going into the future,” Liss said.

Two pre-existing committees, the Black board committee and the Information Tech nology Advisory committee, were combined to create the committee that oversaw the LMS evaluation, said Janet Romine, dean of librar

Career Center offers professional development

interview skills, or if you have an interview coming up, we will help you workshop that,” Winterboer said. “Or, if you have a vir tual interview, which is really common nowadays with people hiring out of state, you can schedule a practice virtual interview.”

ies and museums and committee mem ber. Each committee has representation from each school and from the library, so faculty from all disciplines were in volved in the process.

Romine said the committee members were tasked with creating a rubric to eval uate the systems. The faculty were able to give suggestions for functionality stan dards. Liss said the process began in Janu ary or February 2022.

“What we really focused on was func tionality — does the functionality of each system do what it needs to do and [we] eval uate that,” Romine said.

On the technical side, Liss said she wanted to make sure the University would have ac cess to all of the data on demand when need ed, and this was a consideration as well.

See

Much of the purchasing for the li brary’s physical resources is facul ty-driven, Romine said. Faculty will request items for the library to purchase through a liaison system. There are dif ferent librarians for various disciplines to help with this process and work with faculty on these requests.

Item requests are then sent to the acqui sitions area, where two library assistants do the majority of the ordering. Romine said ordering is divided into physical items as well as the ongoing ordering for data bases and journal acquisitions.

Items are then cataloged and placed on the shelves of the library, Romine said. Last year the library added 2190 bound volumes and 2455 media items, and 2635 items were withdrawn from the library last year.

Office for Civil Rights investigation likely to end soon

GENEVIEVE TLUSTOS Editor-in-Chief

In the coming weeks, the Office of Civ il Rights will send a proposed resolution agreement that, if accepted by the Univer sity, will allow OCR to monitor Truman State University to ensure it makes any remaining changes needed to make its websites more accessible. This will bring the investigation to a close, said University General Counsel Amy Clendennen.

been to reach out to universities to make sure that all of the websites are accessi ble without a student or … anybody hav ing to ask,” said Chief Information Offi cer Donna Liss. “The whole idea behind this effort is to ensure all individuals are able to get the information needed from the website without having to contact anyone for assistance.”

ABIGAIL STOOKEY & MATT FRANK Staff Writer & Managing Editor

This year the Truman State Universi ty Career Center will be offering a new service, mock networking, and reinstat ing a previous service, Real Life 101.

The Career Center offers services re lating to professional development for students at any stage in their careers.

The Career Center also offers re sume, cover letter and personal state ment critiques. They also can conduct mock interviews, said Gabby Winter boer, Career Center public relations intern/graphic designer.

“If you just want to practice your

The Career Center also allows for their mock interview suites to be used for actual virtual job interviews, Winterboer said. This is so people can have a place with a stable Wi-Fi connection in a soundproof room.

The mock interview suites have large television screens so job candidates can feel as though they are interviewing in person, Winterboer said.

Career counseling and coaching is another service offered by the Career Center. This is for people who may be uncertain about what kind of career path they want to pursue, Winterboer said. This also offers a way for people to get a better understanding of what their inter ests are through interest surveys, aptitude strengths tests and personality tests.

The investigation was part of a national initiative to look into website accessibili ty, said Clendennen. The investigation was not a result of a complaint against Truman.

“So far the approach from OCR has

The investigation was initiated in 2018 but did not begin until December 2021. While the effort with OCR was not able to start in earnest until that time, the IT de partment had already started making sure the website was accessible as part of the website redesign project, Liss said.

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@TrumanIndex

Juniors Emma Whittenburg and Megan Perkins work in the library. Desire2Learn Brightspace will be implemented as Tru man’s new Learning Management System. Photo by Emily Collins

Juniors Sydney Mattson and Camilla Wilkerson work in the library. The OCR inves tigation is to ensure Truman’s websites are accessible. Photo by Emily Collins

Students network with employers at the Career Fair.

Photo

Students celebrate at Oktoberfest

Freshman Tai Woods scoops ice cream for root beer floats at Oktoberfest. SAB pro vided free food for students and faculty at the event. Photo by Oliver Malone

Colony House performed at Oktoberfest. The live performance was the main event of the evening. Photo by Matt Frank

Freshman Will Kirtley throws a flying disc at Oktoberfest. Students could mingle outside and enjoy the fall weather. Photo by Oliver Malone

Sophomores Audrey Kneip, Sedona Sayers and Kiera Mitch eat food provided by SAB. Hay stacks were set out for students to sit on during the event. Photo by Matt Frank

Members of SAB serve food to students at Oktoberfest. There were pretzels with cheese and brats served during the event. Photo by Matt Frank

Student Activities Board hosts fall events

MATT FRANK Managing Editor

Truman State University’s Student Activities Board held the annual Okto berfest event Sept. 30 with a live per formance from the band Colony House.

The event took place on The Quad. Free food was given out as supplies lasted, including soft pretzels and cheese, brats, chips and root beer.

The event began at 5 p.m. with food served to anyone in attendance. The band Colony House began performing at 6 p.m.

The SAB concerts committee was in charge of planning Oktoberfest, Kara Hunt, SAB president said.

SAB productions committee was also involved in the implementation of the event. The productions committee works the smaller traditional events on campus, Aubrey Davies, productions committee member, said.

Students at the event enjoyed the free food and opportunity to see a live band performance.

“We’ve been eyeing out the root beer and waiting for the line to go down, but I don’t think it’s probable,” sophomore Sedona Sayers said. “We got here early so we were able to get food.”

SAB planned the event with around

500 to 600 attendees in mind, Hunt said.

SAB is continuing to plan events for the remainder of the fall semester, such as the upcoming movie “Jennifer’s Body” Oct. 25.

The film was also chosen because it is in line with the Halloween season, said SAB Treasurer, Rin Parsons.

There are not any definitive plans for the rest of the events this semester, Par sons said, but SAB is continuing to de velop plans for smaller events like mov ies for students to enjoy, Parsons said.

Planning for the spring semester events will begin in November, Parsons said. Some of the larger events for the spring semester cannot be announced yet.

“It’s hard to talk about because there’s a lot of stuff we do have ideas for, but we do contracting, and until the contract is officially signed, we can’t really talk about it with the student body,” Parsons said. “So when concerts happen, we have to wait to announce the artist until they have signed the contract that they can come.”

SAB has space available for sug gestions on their website. They are also located on the first floor of the Student Union Building where any questions about SAB or their events can be answered, Parsons said.

OCR| Office for Civil Rights investigates accessibility of Truman websites

ITS improved Truman website accessibility

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To make sure pages were compliant, they ran them through a tool called Wave, which would tell them what changes needed to be made to ensure it was acces sible, Liss said. Examples of accessibility requirements include ensuring pages can be used by screen readers when scaled up to 300%, attaching descriptions to images and ensuring videos have transcripts.

Accessibility requirements have to be met for any website used by the University, which includes Blackboard and the Truman athletics website, which is currently operat ed by a third party vendor, Clendennen said.

The University also has a tool called Ally which will run a check on Black board or any other Learning Manage ment System pages and documents and ensure they meet all the necessary levels of accessibility, Liss said.

It can also provide services to students, such as giving information about the color of images to people who are color-blind or helping people with ADHD stay on track while reading.

Clendennen said that made the pro cess of working with OCR a smooth one. She and Liss also said the process had been very collaborative.

“I would say that part of it is that the University very much wants our technology and our websites to be accessible to people who have disabilities,” Clendennen said. “This isn’t the case where they’re asking

us to do something we don’t want to do — we want to do it.”

Clendennen said she was impressed with how responsive Liss and her team were with the OCR’s requests. The OCR was also complimentary of her and her team, she said. Clendennen said she had been in volved in previous OCR investigations that had not gone as smoothly or been as short.

The resolution agreement will say the in vestigation will be closed and the Universi ty will agree to continue making any needed changes. The University will report to the OCR to let them know they have done those things at a future date, Clendennen said.

In the future, there will continue to be systems in place that will ensure most con tent is compliant before it is uploaded to University websites, Liss said.

“It wasn’t a bad thing for us just to be able to hear some of the obstacles that users might encounter if they are trying to use our website and have disabilities,” Clendennen said. “We might not have otherwise known that, so it was actually educational on our part to have that information.”

Clendennen said she is aware there is a nationwide push of disability rights at torneys filing lawsuits on this issue, which could have been why OCR started investi gating website accessibility.

Some of the responsibility for ensur ing accessibility will fall on the ITS de partment, and some will fall on profes sors or other people who upload content to University websites.

Crime Reports

10/7 Loud noise/party reported at the 1200 block of E. Jefferson St. 10/12 Theft reported at the 2200 block of N. Baltimore St. 10/12 Domestic disturbance reported at the 1500 block of S. Osteopathy St. 10/13 Theft reported at the 1000 block of E. Randolph St. 10/13 Burglary reported at the 600 block of N. Main St. 10/13 Suspicious activity reported at the 500 block of N. Baltimore St. 10/13 Theft reported at the 2200 block of S. Halliburton St. 10/13 Suspicious activity reported at the 700 block of Erin Place 10/17 Civil dispute reported at the 700 block of E. Fairview Drive

10/17 Burglary reported at the 200 block of W. Brewington Ave. 10/17 Suspicious activity reported at the 900 block of S. Wabash St. 10/17 Burglary reported at the 1400 block of N. Green St. 10/17 Burglary reported at the 800 block of E. Jefferson St. 10/17 Shoplifter reported at the 2200 block of N. Baltimore St. 10/17 Trespassing reported at the 1600 block of S. Baltimore St. 10/17 Theft reported at the 500 block of S. Main St. 10/17 Property damage reported at the 600 block of Fible St. 10/18 Property damage reported at the 400 block of E. Pierce St.

Students line up for soft pretzels at Oktoberfest. Free food and live music were provided by SAB. Photo by Matt Frank

Senior Tre’andice Williams works in the library. The OCR investigation began December 2021. Photo by Emily Collins

Connection

“Windfall” accepting submissions for campus literary journal

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Windfall, Truman State University’s liter ary journal, was founded in 1976. Since then, Windfall has annually published prose, po etry, drama and visual art by undergraduate Truman students. Dedicated undergraduate writers and artists entirely staff the journal. Every Monday evening, our staff engages in an open discussion about that week’s batch of submissions. We discuss each piece’s strengths and potential weaknesses and how it might fit in the magazine overall. Creating the magazine is a rewarding, hands-on and collaborative process.

We are always seeking additional staff members — the more, the merrier! This is an excellent opportunity to gain practical ex perience in producing and editing a literary journal. If you would like more information about how to get involved, feel free to reach out to our Editor-in-Chief, Caroline Taylor, at cjt3677@truman.edu.

For past issues, contact information and submission guidelines, please visit our website at windfall.truman.edu.

Keep in mind that all submissions are anonymous to protect the privacy of the creators. If accepted, works will ap pear in the journal under the author’s preferred name. This semester, the deadline for submission is Friday, Dec. 16 at midnight. There will be a second submission period during the spring semester, prior to the publication of the magazine at the end of the 2022-2023 school year. Print copies of the journal will be available to all students, free of charge, and a digital copy will be made available on our website.

Thank you in advance. We are proud and grateful for the opportunity to re view your work!

CAROLINE TAYLOR Windfall Editor-in-Chief

Moving away from Blackboard will benefit students

Truman State University will change learning management systems from Blackboard to De sire2Learn Brightspace. As an editorial board, we support the change and appreciate the effort that went into the decision. We hope the new system will benefit many students and professors.

Most of us on the editorial board do not particularly have an affinity for Blackboard. As a system used for almost every class, it is not necessarily easy to use and does not have the most intuitive interface. Finding pages or other content can be difficult, and the system can be confusing to navigate.

Professors have opted to use Google Classroom or simply Google Drive instead of Black board, possibly because of their superior organization capaci

ties. We hope that Desire2Learn Brightspace will be easier to use and more universally used so students do not have to access multiple avenues to find infor mation about classes.

Perhaps these issues were part of the reason Blackboard will be thoroughly updated to a new ver sion. Regardless, we believe it is worth giving the new system a try. We believe the committee over seeing the switch has put a lot of thought and effort into the pro cess. There were opportunities for student, faculty and staff input.

We, as an editorial board, hope the transition will be smooth for students, faculty and staff. It could be a rough transi tion at first, but in the long run, we believe it will be worth it.

Be culturally appreciative, not appropriative

and subjugation many of these so-called ‘exotic’ and ‘sexy’ costumes came from. Many of these ‘harmless’ costumes contribute to the fetishization people from these cultures endure.

QUINN SLOAN Copy Editor

Halloween is a cherished holiday for many around the world. However, every year, thousands of people wear insensitive, culturally-appropriated costumes such as ‘Sultry Indian Hottie Native American Babe Costume,’ ‘Geisha Glam Woman Sexy Geisha Costume,’ ‘Follow the Ruler Sexy Cleopatra Costume,’ all actually listed on various websites. Also sometimes seen is black face – the process of using hair, tanning, makeup and apparel to appear black. While costume design is an undeniable part of the fun of Halloween, one simply cannot ignore the history of imperialism, colonialism

It is, in fact, extremely easy not to wear a culturallyappropriated costume. When you are scrolling on Amazon, and you see the Native American costume, just keep scrolling. When the ad on Sparknotes pops up with something like ‘Sexy Egyptian Goddess,’ do not click on it. Another easy rule to follow? If you think that your costume of choice might be problematic, do not wear it. Better to go in a plain shirt and jeans as an M&M than go as something potentially insensitive.

Cultural appropriation is vastly different from cultural appreciation. Appropriation happens when someone from outside a specific culture wears culturally specific clothes, makeup, jewelry, hairstyles, tattoos or other culturally significant symbols while ignoring the historical and current contexts of those symbols. White people are especially prone to this, which ignores centuries of European cultures colonizing nations in the Americas, Africa, Asia and Australia, and stripping the people there of their cultures. Examples include non-black people wearing hairstyles such as box braids and cornrows, or ‘tribal’ tattoos.

Cultural appreciation is when someone learns about another culture to broaden their perspective and connect with others who are from different backgrounds. A great example of cultural appreciation could be the following. Say you are really interested in Hinduism. You can learn Hindi or any of the other languages of the culture, research Hindu culture and history and support Hindu-owned businesses. Even though you are knowledgeable on the culture, it could be insensitive to wear a sari, bindi or any other culturally-specific style. Doing your own research and talking to people within the culture you are interested in is the best way to show your appreciation for a culture. If a group of people practicing Hinduism invite you to an event to wear traditional dress, of course, explore that if you are comfortable.

The biggest thing to remember here is that a culture’s traditional clothing is not a costume. Many people have explained the subject better than I ever could in this little article, so I highly encourage all of you reading this to look into this subject on your own time.

Happy Halloween, everyone!

EDITORIAL POLICY: e Index is published ursdays during the academic year by students at Truman State University, Kirksville, MO 63501. e production o ces are located in Barnett Hall 1200. We can be reached by phone at 660-785-4449. e Index is a designated public forum, and content of e Index is the responsibility of e Index sta . e editor-in-chief consults with the sta and adviser but ultimately is responsible for all decisions

EDITORIAL POLICY:

The Index is published Thursdays during the academic year by students at Truman State University, Kirksville, MO 63501. The production offices are located in Barnett Hall 1200. We can be reached by phone at 660-785-4449. The Index is a designated public forum, and content of The Index is the responsibility of The Index staff. The Editor-in-Chief consults with the staff and adviser but ulti mately is responsible for all decisions.

Opinions of e Index columnists are not necessarily representative of the opinions of the sta or the newspaper. Our View editorials represent the view of the Editorial Board through a two-thirds majority vote. e Editorial Board consists of the editor-in-chief, managing editor, section editors, copy chief and assistant copy chief. e Index reserves the right to edit submitted material because of space limitations, repetitive subject matter, libelous content or any other reason the editor-in-chief deems appropriate. Submitted material includes advertisements and letters to the editor

Opinions of The Index columnists are not necessarily representative of the opinions of the staff or the newspaper. Our View editorials rep resent the view of the Editorial Board through a two-thirds majority vote. The Editorial Board consists of the Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor, section editors, copy chief and assistant copy chief. The Index reserves the right to edit submitted material because of space limita tions, repetitive subject matter, libelous content or any other reason the Editor-in-Chief deems appropriate. Submitted material includes advertisements and letters to the editor.

Contac

or contact the editor.

LETTER POLICY: e Index welcomes letters to the editor from the University and Kirksville community. Letters to the editor are due by noon the Sunday before publication and become property of e Index upon submission. Once submitted, the letter is subject to editing for grammar and spelling errors

LETTER POLICY:

The Index welcomes letters to the editor from the University and Kirksville community. Letters to the editor are due by noon the Sunday before publication and become property of The Index upon submission. Once submitted, the letter is subject to editing for grammar, punctuation and spelling errors. Submissions must contain a well-developed theme and cannot exceed 500 words, except at the discretion of the opinions editor and/or Editor-in-Chief. The Index suggests that submissions be written about current events or public issues that need to be brought forth, and should offer a valid argument. Submission does not guarantee publication, especially when submissions fail to add something to the cur rent discussion. Letters containing personal attacks, libelous attacks or inaccurate information will not be published. All letters to the edi tor must be typed and submitted by email to index.editor@gmail.com or online at tmn.truman.edu. Include the words “letter to the editor” in the subject line of the email. Letters which are not submitted digitally will not be taken into consideration.

Submissions must contain a well-developed theme and cannot exceed 500 words except at the discretion of the opinions editor and/or editor-in-chief. Submission does not guarantee publication. Letters containing personal attacks, libelous attacks or inaccurate information will not be published. All letters to the editor must be typed and submitted by email to index.opinionseditor@gmail.com or online at tmn.truman.edu Include the words “letter to the editor” in the subject line of the email. Letters which are not submitted digitally will not be taken in consideration

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LMS|

Desire2Learn is replacing Blackboard as Truman’s LMS

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Budgeting was a factor, Liss said, but this was not the main driver for the final selection.

Liss said they also did a campus-wide call where faculty and students could re view demos for the systems and com plete a survey, but they did not get many student responses from this process.

The Desire2Learn Brightspace plat form has been around for a long time, Liss said. They are still working on an implementation plan that will work for everyone, and there will be training available, she said.

The implementation will likely take about a year, but there could be some small “pilot” classes on the platform next semester. It could be possible some classes would be on Black board and some would be on Desire2Learn Brightspace, Liss said.

“It is possible, but we’re trying to minimize this,” Liss said. “We know that’s difficult when everybody sort of thinks, ‘Oh students are adaptable, they can use whatever tool we give them’ but you know there’s a point at which too many tools becomes an overload issue.”

Liss said most faculty have been pretty open to making the change, but she was not sure students knew what the change in systems would look like or what Desire2Learn Brightspace was.

CAREER| Career Center critiques resumes and other professional documents

Continued from page 1

This can also aid students who are unsure of what major they want to pursue by looking at their natural strengths, Winterboer said.

The Career Center also gives presenta tions to classes, clubs and organizations about networking, resumes, interviewing and anything else related, Winterboer said.

The Career Center hosts various events. There is a Career and Graduate School Expo every semester, Winterboer said. The most recent was at the end of September and the spring semester expo will be during February.

During the Expo, job recruiters and representatives of graduate schools come to Truman to speak with those in atten dance. This is an opportunity for students to learn about available internships and careers, as well as speaking with gradu ate school recruiters, Winterboer said.

doing it in person, we did not do those events this time.”

An event that the Career Center re cently developed is the Student Worker Fair, which the Career Center held for the first time last spring, Winterboer said. This event is for students who are look ing for jobs while in school. These can include scholarship and work study jobs.

A new service offered by the Ca reer Center is mock networking, Win terboer said. This involves practice for a professional introduction and learning to best advertise yourself. Those appointments take around 15 to 20 minutes, Winterboer said.

A service that is returning to the Career Center is Real Life 101 pre sentations. These presentations aim to teach financial literacy in ways that apply to students. These applications can include processes such as how to sign a check or how to sign up for in surance, Winterboer said.

“All factors were looked at, but kind of budgeting was the least, I guess, the least of our concerns simply because the other things were more important,” Liss said.

All of the vendors would have been acceptable options according to the committee’s findings, Romine said.

Romine said overall, being on the committee was a good experience and that she recognized it was a system that would be used widely across campus, so they should do their due diligence.

“We know that not everyone’s going to be completely happy about making this change,” Liss said. “Somebody’s going to say ‘Why couldn’t we have just left it alone or picked a different system or some other alternative’ because everybody is going to have to change, and change can be disrup tive. But in the end, we believe that this new system is going to provide many features and options that our faculty and students will really come to appreciate.”

The Expo was a part of Career and Graduate School Week, a series of events aimed at helping students with future plans. This year’s Career and Gradu ate School Week held the first in-person Expo in several years, but did not involve all of the events that it used to prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, said Anna Poole, Career Center human resources intern.

“We still did maintain our core events, but before [the COVID-19 pan demic], there was an etiquette dinner and a professional [photoshoot],” Poole said. “But as a way to ease in back into

Companies will sometimes reach out to the Career Center to advertise various events like conferences, Winterboer said.

“For example, Wells Fargo told us to advertise [their] Women in Technology Intern Analyst Conference,” Winterboer said. “And that’s virtual, but it’s also be ing held in North Carolina.”

The Career Center is in room 1110 in the Student Union Building. They wel come walk-ins for critiques and they also offer appointments, Winterboer said. The Career Center is open 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

LIBRARY| Library selects resources for student success

Continued from page 1

There is a deselection process for books that have been chosen to be re moved from the general collection. Re ports are run on how often books have been checked out and when the last time each item was checked out. This process is gone through for the various sections of the general collection, Romine said.

When deciding on possibly deselect ing an item from the collection, the li brary also looks at how many, if any, Mobius libraries have the item, Romine said. The library also takes historical value into consideration when looking at items for deselection.

When a list of items for deselection for a specific section has been created, it is shown to related disciplines and departments, so faculty can contribute their opinion on if certain items should be deselected, Romine said.

Deselected items are part of the an nual books sale.

The point of the deselection process is to make sure there is enough room for new items

so the collections are up-to-date and continue to support the curriculum, Romine said.

“Because of the shift from print to digital, providing access to digital con tent, we aren’t ordering as many physical items as we have in the past,” Romine said. “About 80-85% of our purchasing budget for acquisitions goes to ongoing items like databases and online journal content and ebooks and things like that.”

The library does keep some physical items. Physical item check-outs have declined in the past years, but they are still popular, and the popular reading section is still highly used, Romine said.

The library has recently subscribed to a service called OverDrive. OverDrive is similar to a digital popular reading section, and is connected through the Mobius membership. OverDrive has some academic items, but most of the items in that collection are closer to rec reational reading items, Romine said.

There will be changes to Mobius software system in the future, Romine said, but the library will continue to use Mobius, and it should work the same on the user end.

A conversation about rightsizing the collection, which means talking about the right amount of print items needed, is ongoing Romine said.

The library’s budget has three cat egories. The first is salaries and benefits for employees of the library. The second is operations and these funds are used to get new books and subscribe to data bases, as well as other items the library needs. The third is the IT fee, which is split between the library (32%) and In formation Technology Services (68%).

The IT fee is $17 per semester for stu dents carrying six or more credit hours, said Dave Rector, vice president for ad ministration, finance and planning.

“Overall, over a three year period [the library’s] budget is up 4.2%,” Rec tor said. “There’s no dramatic increase and no dramatic decrease.”

The money that is funding the library comes from both tuition and state fund ing, Rector said.

Students walk across The Quad to class. The new LMS will likely be implement ed in about a year. TMN archives

Students speak with recruiters at the Career Expo. The Career Expo is a chance for students to network with real busineses. Submitted Photo

“All factors were looked at, but kind of budgeting was the least, I guess, the least of our concerns simply because the other things were more important.”

-Donna Liss Chief Information Officer

Truman wins big in fabulous “K-Vegas”

SETH JARVIS Staff Writer

Truman State University brought some Vegas to Kirksville this year.

Homecoming this year featured both new and old events at Truman. A large variety of organizations took part in homecoming celebrations.

The philanthropy for this year’s homecoming was Missouri Special Olym pics, and the total amount raised was $17,035.

Homecoming Adviser Rebecca Conover said this is the first Homecoming since the pandemic began where activities could return to their normal pre-pandemic form. Activities such as the Lip Sync competition were able to be indoors and all at once rather than being separated.

“I think the most significant thing was bringing everyone back together,” Conover said. “This is the first post-COVID Home coming we have been able to hold that closely resembles what Homecoming looked like before the pandemic. We saw a lot more families visiting and alumni coming back, as well as more involvement from our students overall.”

The annual Lip Sync competition featured various organizations partnered in teams to perform a skit that fits the homecoming theme. This year’s theme was “Homecoming in Fabulous K-Vegas.”

Lip Sync coordinator Austin Graham said eight teams competed in the competition this year. The first place team was team Roulette, made up of Alpha Sigma Alpha, Phi Sigma Kappa, and Tau Kappa Epsilon, and the second place team was team Baccarat, made up of Sigma Sigma Sigma and Lambda Chi Alpha, and the third place team was team Bingo, made up of Delta Zeta and Delta Chi. Any recognized student organization can compete in the Lip Sync. Graham said he believes this competition is a great way to build school spirit during Homecoming. This year, almost 700 tickets were sold for the competition. Window painting of businesses in downtown Kirksville was intro duced as a new event this year for Homecoming. Homecoming director Kylie Modaff explained that the eight teams composed of campus stu dent organizations painted windows downtown following the theme of K-Vegas. Modaff said the window painting took place with busi nesses on the parade ground so it would be a visible part of the parade. Modaff said it was a way for the University to connect to the wider Kirksville community. Conover said businesses were quite happy with the results of the win dow painting. More businesses reached out after the event to potentially participate next year.

Homecoming awards were given for games overall, penny buckets, individual organizations overall, individual philanthropy and overall philanthropy. Jackson Sefrit of Delta Chi and Grace Daugherty of Sigma Sigma Sigma were voted Homecoming Royalty.

Students dance at the Homecoming parade. This year’s theme was “Homecoming in Fabulous K Vegas”. Photos by Emily Collins

Participants walk at the parade. Homecoming this year was the first post-COVID Homecoming that closely resembled pre-COVID Homecoming, said Homecoming Adviser Rebecca Conover

Missouri Special Olympics receives the check with money raised from Homecoming. Homecoming raised $17,035.

Graphics by Maddie Morris

“Reign in Blood” is a masterpiece of horror

JACK RATLIFF Staff Writer

Perhaps no holiday celebrated worldwide is better suited to spookiness and scariness than Halloween. It is fun, yet it incorporates scary imagery more than any other holiday. As a result, horror is one of the defining aspects of Halloween. During October, it is nearly impossible to turn on the television and not see a horror movie playing on some channel.

Although horror is most well known in film, it can also play an important role in music. No other musical genre even approaches metal in its appreciation for horror. The band that arguably created metal, Black Sabbath, is named after a 1963 horror movie of the same name. The sound and concept of metal are further based on the idea of ap plying horror to an audio experience. One of the greatest and most terrifying metal albums is Slayer’s 1986 masterpiece, Reign in Blood.

The album perfectly encapsulates the horror experi ence, diving headfirst into morbid, horrifying subject matter that will make your skin crawl. It proceeds at a breakneck pace, with the album opening at 210 beats per minute, hardly slowing throughout its 29-minute runtime. The instrumentation on “Reign in Blood” is phenomenal, with crushing guitars and bruising drums that create an at mosphere of dread. Although guitarist Kerry King’s solos are lacking at times, the overall guitar work is solid. Tom Araya’s vocals are incredible, shouting and screaming his way through the lyrics and combining low growls and high screams, contributing to the overall horror-esque feel.

However, the true horror elements of the album come from the lyrical content. The album’s opener, “Angel of Death,” is its most controversial and horrifying. The song recounts the revolting crimes of one of the most objec tively evil men of all time — Josef Mengele. Mengele, nicknamed the Angel of Death, was a Nazi scientist who performed some of the worst atrocities in the Auschwitz concentration camp. The instrumentation on the song is the best on the album. However, despite the band’s claims that it is merely a documentary and not an endorsement, the lyrical content makes the song a very difficult listen.

The other songs on the album are much more stan dard horror fare, with songs titled “Necrophobic,” “Altar of Sacrifice,” “Epidemic” and “Postmortem.” The song “Criminally Insane,” found at the halfway point of the

album, discusses serial killers with lyrics that sound like something ripped straight from a horror film.

Perhaps the album’s most well-known song is its closer, “Raining Blood.” The song opens with intermittent drum beats and a drawn-out guitar tone over the sounds of a thunderstorm. This introduction carries on for around 30 seconds before diving straight into a head banging, mosh pit-worthy frenzy with a crushing, galloping riff. The song is phenomenal, with lyrics that provide the audience with a horrifying sight to imagine as purgatory wages war against heaven, and the blood from the conflict falls to Earth in the form of rain. The song is iconic and is widely considered one of the greatest metal songs of all time.

Reign in Blood is regarded by some as the greatest metal album of all time, however, it is not perfect. Some of the songs in the middle can blend together, particularly for those unfamiliar with Slayer or other heavy music. The album’s runtime is relatively short, leaving the listener wanting more. Perhaps the biggest weakness of the album is the controversy over “Angel of Death.” Even though the band merely provides factual coverage of the horrific atrocities committed by Mengele, the recounting of his crimes makes the song hard to listen to.

Halloween is intertwined with horror, whether it be spooky, campy horror or genuine terror. “Reign in Blood” satisfies the desire to, at times, be genuinely scared, with lyrical content that mirrors some of the greatest horror tales in our culture. A true masterpiece of thrash metal and horror, Slayer provides a perfect sound track for Halloween night.

“Reign in Blood” gets four out of five guitars

Gregory Rick and Ryan Fontaine in Conversation October 20-December 1, 2022

The Motion of the crowd

Artist talk with reception Thursday, October 20, 5:00-7:00 p.m.

hours

Mon - Thurs 8:30 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. Friday 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Saturday Noon - 4:30 p.m.

“Blonde” is a bleak, exhausting vehicle for actor de Armas’s career-best

JOEY DOUGHERTY Staff Writer

“Blonde,” a fictionalized account of the inner life of American bombshell Marilyn Monroe, was released on Netflix September 2022. Based on Joyce Carol Oates’ 2000 novel of the same name, the film follows Norma Jeane Baker and her destructive rela tionship with the persona of Marilyn Monroe through the various hardships, scandals and tragedies she endured in the 1950s and 60s’ Hollywood. Despite their resemblance to real accounts of Baker’s experience, Oates’ novel and this adaptation from director Andrew Dominik are fictitious.

“Blonde” can be described in several ways — bold, daring, brave and revealing, but also bleak, exhausting, cruel and exploitative. The first majorly distributed film to receive a rating of NC-17 from the MPA in over 25 years, “Blonde” does not shy from the intimate or insidious details of Baker’s career. In the eyes of the public, Marilyn Monroe was an object before she was a person — a mascot for adult calendars or the covers of beauty magazines.

Regarding the character, all Baker seeks is human connection, most immediately in a father figure but also through companionship and motherhood. Her desires, of course, clash with Monroe, a figure inherently bereft of meaningful connection. This clash cre ates a cycle of hopelessness for Baker — one that Dominik belabors to a fault — as the line between her personal and professional lives blurs.

Scene after scene of the nearly three-hour film portrays Baker in a state of utter de spair. So rarely does the audience catch a moment of happiness that when those moments do happen, they are imbued with the expectation that something awful will transpire sooner or later, almost as if Baker deserves the despair she endures. A ridiculous thought, admittedly, but one that the writing and direction of Dominik plainly propose.

In this respect, “Blonde” is exploitative where it thinks itself subtle or sophisti cated. The direction and editing suggest objective distance from the subject matter but actually pass judgment rather than unbiased portrayal.

In plain terms, the sex scenes are shot like pornography. Therefore, they por tray Baker, ironically, like the sex symbol she clashes with so intensely. There is no distance from the subject matter nor respect for Baker. Perhaps this reversal was Dominik’s intention. If so, it is a strange one.

The editing itself is often jarring and seemingly nonsensical. The film jumps between color and black-and-white scenes add nauseam, with no dis cernible thematic reason as to why. Likewise, the narrative, though linear, is often relayed in a confusing onslaught of dreamlike scenes with no apparent connection. It is no wonder, then, that Dominik described the film as an “avalanche of images and events,” a trait he mentioned as a strength but is taken as a weakness.

This “avalanche” also hinders Dominik’s writing. Oates’ novel aside, “Blonde” as a film contains little dialogue. What dialogue there is, however, is almost always unnatural. Whether it is plain ly beating the viewer over the head with its message or attempt ing poeticism with awkward phrasing and archaic diction, not much of it is good.

There is some good in “Blonde,” to be sure. Ana de Armas delivers a singular performance as the tortured Baker, not only resembling her visually but also nailing her mannerisms and disposition. The person of Baker and the personality of Mon roe come alive under her careful and captivating portrayal.

Adrien Brody, credited simply as The Playwright, brings a gripping performance as Baker’s third husband Arthur Miller, a pensive writer looking for the perfect actor to play one of his characters in an upcoming production. Brody, a veteran actor known for portraying meek and reserved characters, succeeded again as Miller.

It is a shame that these masters of their craft must populate the scenes of a largely inept and ultimately mediocre film. While ficti tious, “Blonde” is disrespectful to the real Norma Jeane Baker, not because of its outright depiction of her — which is itself problematic — but because of its conclusively bleak, meandering and pretentious construction.

“Blonde” gets 2.5 out of

lips

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Graphics by Maddie Morris

Top 5 Fall-tivities

ALYSSA RZANY Fall Enthusiast

1. Pumpkin Patch

Tucked away on West LaHarpe Street, there is a pumpkin patch called Urban Gardens, and it is a highlight of Kirksville. For only $10 per person, you can pick pumpkins, buy some mums and get lost in a corn maze from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. until Halloween. There are picturesque fields you can walk through, and if you have children, there are activities for them as well. They have pony rides, train rides and homemade root beer for people of all ages to enjoy.

2. Apple Orchard

Nothing says fall like bundling up and picking apples to make apple cider with your friends and family. Not far from Kirksville is the family-owned West Or chards in Macon, Missouri. The orchard is nearly 10 acres with 17 varieties of apples and many other fruits to pick and enjoy. It’s a perfect fall activity that is only a short drive away. West Orchards recommends calling ahead of time to ensure their apples are thriving and available to pick.

3. Costume Party

With Halloween rounding the corner, it is only fitting to have a costume party.

Thinking of costume ideas is always the hardest part, so let me relieve some stress.

According to TikTok, some good single costumes are literally anybody from “Top Gun,” Regina George after she gets hit by a bus, Edna Mode or, as I have once seen, a bottle of tequila. Couples or groups could try any couple from “Top Gun” (yes, I’m a little obsessed still), The Powerpuff Girls, Wanda and Vision, Sharkboy and Lavagirl, or that one episode of “Victorious” where they all dressed up at Sikowitz’s house and couldn’t break character. Even dressing up as a tired college student works too — it wouldn’t be much different from our everyday outfits.

4. Thousand Hills

This seems to be a catch-all place for every season, but it has so much to offer. If you haven’t driven around Thousand Hills during the fall, you’re missing out. It has the most scenic, relaxing vibe and is one of my favorite places to go on the weekend. Walking the hiking trails and looking at the beautiful nature is great if you like hiking, but if you’re more like me, sitting near the water with a picnic basket is better. I once picnicked and painted pumpkins with my boyfriend, and it was a picture-perfect date — however, no significant other is required for this activity.

5. Campfire

Something about campfires always reminds me of fall. The faint smell of smoke, the toasted marshmallows, the falling leaves — there’s nothing quite like it. Grab a couple of friends and sit around a campfire with some blankets on a cool fall night and you will forget about the stress of the day. It creates some unforgettable memories, and you get some pretty yummy food out of it too.

Graphics by Maddie Morris

What’s your favorite Halloween activity?

Delaney O’Byrne junior

“I love decorating for Halloween and watching scary movies with my friends.”

“I love taking pictures around campus.”

Jillian Humke junior

‘Tis the season for pumpkin spice lattes, oversized sweaters and fuzzy socks. While embracing the chilly fall weather before blankets of snow cover the ground, every Kirksvillian needs to experience a few of these fun fall activities.

Volleyball earns season’s first win

LILLIE MORISAKI Sports Editor

Truman State Women’s Volleyball team broke through their 12-game losing streak in their game against McKendree University Sept. 29.

Despite the Bulldogs falling to McKendree the last time they played them in 2021, the team knew they had a chance competing with them and entered their home gym with more confidence, junior middle blocker Allison Beaton said.

The game has been the most memorable part of the season so far, junior outside Hanna Berry said. It was a turning point in their season, where they competed and got the win on their record.

The Bulldogs won the first set 25-21 and the second 25-16. McKendree won the next two, 19-25 and 18-25. The last set was tied 14-14 until Truman found two more points to win 16-14.

“Grit is a big word in our gym, and it took a lot of grit to win that match,” Berry said. ”It was just exciting because we all came together and functioned as one.”

It is not easy to come back and win after losing so much momentum, Berry said.

The Bulldogs had to fight for the win despite the challenges they had been facing, Beaton said. Senior setter Rachel DeFries tore her ACL the weekend before. She was a big part of their team and had to go

home to recover.

“She can’t be replaced, and now we just have to play for her,” Berry said.

Four of the starting players are freshmen, and they are learning how to fill such big roles, Beaton said. The team also has been getting used to a coaching change.

Head coach David Gannon was hired last July and has been learning how to implement his culture into the program, Gannon said. This has also been his first recruiting class. His culture goes far past the gym.

“I’m trying to uphold a high standard, and that’s not anything that we can take a timeout from — that’s something that we have to live everyday,” Gannon said. “Whether that be in the classroom working our hardest, in the gym working our hardest going for every ball because we don’t know which ones we are going to get and which ones we are not.”

The consistency of high achievement is something the team is striving for, Gannon said. The win showed the team that their process had been working.

“We all have the desire to win, but we kind of, I think, we forgot how to, honestly,” Berry said.

The coaches had a sigh of relief and were able to feel the excitement of the team when they walked in the locker room, Gannon said. She said it didn’t feel like they hadn’t lost yet this season, and that it was the spark of confidence the team needed.

The following game, the team came out on fire,

Gannon said.

“Truman state has a wonderful legacy of volleyball, and we want to get back there. It has been too long since they’ve been there, so it’s time,” Gannon said.

The Bulldogs are on a two game winning streak after the Midwest Regional Crossover, where they faced Lake Erie College and Ursuline College Oct. 15. The team will face Quincy University Oct. 21.

November Sports Calendar

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Junior middle blocker Allison Beaton, junior outside hitter Hanna Berry and freshman Emma Baierl walk off the court Sept. 17. The Bulldogs fell to Drury. Photo by Oliver Malone

Football beats Missouri S&T

MICHAEL LAKEY Staff Writer

October is one of the best months of the year. The leaves begin to change colors, the weather mellows, there are bonfires and haunted houses, and the sports calendar goes into overdrive. Welcome to the greatest sports month there is. Every single day during October, there is an MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, or NCAA football game. I wish this lasted all year.

The most popular league in the country, the NFL, gets into the swing of its season this month. Teams have had a few weeks to knock the rust off and for many, every Sunday becomes a time to sit down and watch ten plus hours of professional football. If you are a casual sports fan and have never done this before, I would greatly encourage you to do so. It is almost like going into a completely meditative state for ten whole hours, turning your brain off and reacting to what is in front of you.

If football is not your thing, the MLB playoffs begin this month and, with the new expanded format, will stretch into the first week of November. Baseball season is grueling, with each team playing 162 games in six months. All that comes down to just a handful of games for the 12 teams in the postseason.

This year, there are plenty of great storylines for fans to watch. The St. Louis Cardinals had two great players, Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols, retire at the end of their season. Both reached historic milestones during the regular season and looked for a final championship but came up short in the division series Oct. 9. Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees broke the single-season American League home run record and carried his team to a division victory. The Los Angeles Dodgers finished with the third-most wins during a regular season in MLB history, but have had trouble translating their regular season success to the postseason. Playoff baseball is tense, agonizing and exhilarating — and it lasts all month long.

The NBA and NHL both begin their seasons this month as well. Both play 82-game seasons that finish during the summer. The NBA has more talent and good teams this year than in many years past, with 12 teams solidly in championship contention. This comes on the heels of a memorable offseason that

saw one of the league’s best, Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets, demand a trade, then demand his coach and GM to be fired, all for him to end up fixing his relationship with both and remaining with the team. The Utah Jazz tore down their core by trading their two best players, Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Cleveland Cavaliers, respectively. The league will also have some of its worst teams in recent memory, including the Utah Jazz and San Antonio Spurs. The race to the bottom will be equally as intriguing, with the prize at next year’s draft being highly touted center Victor Webimyama from France. Stories and sagas abound in the NBA this coming season.

The NHL similarly contains many top teams vying for championship contention. The St. Louis Blues will once again be in the mix for a championship after an offseason that saw several small signings, albeit with the loss of winger David Perron to the Detroit Red Wings. The offseason also saw the movement of some of the league’s best, including forward Johnny Gaudreau to the Columbus Blue Jackets and a trade of Matthew Tkachuck to the Florida Panthers with Jonathan Huberdeau heading to the Calgary Flames. As in the NBA, the competition to be the worst team in the league will also be intriguing with highly talented forward Connor Bedard as the prize to the team who picks first.

October also marks the beginning of rivalry season in NCAA football. Some of the most storied rivalries will play this month with more coming in November. Georgia will play Auburn this month, a cross-division SEC rivalry that has seen Georgia win the last five matchups. Oklahoma played Texas Oct. 8 in the Red River Rivalry that saw a 55-48 shootout in which Oklahoma came from behind for the victory.

October also has some of the best sporting events at Truman State University. Football will play conference games all month, facing Missouri S&T and Southwest Baptist at Stokes Stadium to begin the month. Men’s and women’s soccer will both play conference games all month as well, with the conference tournament coming at the end of the month to determine each team’s season. October will be a make-or-break month in Truman sports.

In October, we as sports fans are blessed to have all four professional leagues in play as well as intriguing collegiate events to sink our teeth into all month. No matter what your favorite sport is, you are likely going to see meaningful games played these next few weeks. Let us bask in the glory that is the October sports calendar.

Senior running back Shamar Griffith runs through the Missouri S&T defense. Griffith ran for 82 yards for the Bulldogs. Photos by Oliver Malone

Sophomore wide receiver Tate Crane prepares for the next play against Missouri S&T. Crane received a 10-yard pass from junior quarterback Nolan Hair to score the Bulldogs’ first touchdown.

Sophomore defensive back Ryan Olivas runs up the field Oct. 8. Olivas had an interception for the Bulldogs.

AN UNBEATABLE HOMECOMING

MICHAEL LAKEY Staff Writer

Homecoming brings the past and present together at Truman State University. Students show their school spirit in events all week, culminating in the largest show of spirit of the fall semester – the Homecoming football game.

This year, the homecoming game resulted in a 36-14 victory. “Everyone is at the game to support Truman school spirit,” junior Drew Arends said. “It’s the one time each year we go all out for Truman.”

Though there are usually tailgates prior to each home football game, the Homecoming tailgate is always the most crowded and energetic. Coming directly off the heels of the parade, the tailgate provides an opportunity for alumni and students to celebrate Truman.

The players and coaches can certainly feel the elevated energy as well.

“There is more energy during Homecoming games than regular ones since everyone is back,” senior defensive tackle Robert Greco said. “The student body shows out more for Homecoming since they are also included.”

Greco added that the homecoming court, tailgate and parade all give students an opportunity to participate in the homecoming experience, increasing the energy brought by everyone.

“Homecoming is always special,” head coach Gregg Nesbitt said. “There is definitely more energy at practice the week leading up to the game.”

Another special part of Homecoming for Greco is the team’s interactions with its alumni.

“[The homecoming game] has a special feel because of the people who are there,” Greco said. “Old bulldogs coming back to see us makes the game more special to me, at least because this is a way for us to show them the legacy is still going strong and is better than ever.”

Homecoming is certainly a much more intimate experience at Truman than at other, larger schools, Arends said.

Arends said he has attended football games and tailgates at the University of Missouri, where school spirit is much more apparent. While the Homecoming game is not as large an event at Truman as at Division I schools, students say that it adds to their Truman experience.

Issac Vilchis, a sophomore marching band member, agrees that there is more energy at Homecoming than at other Truman football games.

“The homecoming game is pretty special because of the large number of people that attend,” Vilchis said. “There’s definitely more energy in the crowd and the band.”

A major reason for the excitement at the Homecoming game this year is the success the football team has enjoyed already. Truman is off to a 5-1 start, with several key road wins and a come-frombehind overtime victory during Family Weekend.

while also focusing on being a student. It is also a physical battle to get your body back as bumps, bruises and actual injuries add up. Thus far, this team has been able to do so.”

“The feeling in the locker room right now is ‘don’t be content,’” Greco said. “Being on a [5]-game winning streak is nice and all, but those games are in the past. The mindset is ‘don’t be happy with what we have already achieved, be hungry for everything that is out in front of us.’”

The football team added to the excitement of the events leading up to the game by getting out to a fast start. Sophomore Mason Huskey blocked a Missouri S&T punt on the game’s opening possession which the offense used to score an early touchdown. The Bulldogs steamrolled from there, as they led 30-8 at halftime and won the game 36-14.

Nesbitt understands that his team must keep pushing if they are to attain their goals for the season.

“We are in the danger zone right now,” Nesbitt said. “It is a psychological battle to maintain focus and keep improving

of the week

“Old bulldogs coming back to see us makes the game more special to me, at least because this is a way for us to show them the legacy is still going strong and is bet ter than ever.”

- Robert Greco, senior defensive tackle

Redshirt junior forward Luke Payne scored the game-winning goal for the Truman State Men’s Soccer team against Quincy University Oct. 16. Payne had two shots on goal and scored in the 88th minute, leading the Bulldogs to the win.

The Truman football defense prepares for the next play against Missouri S&T. The Bulldogs won 36-14 during the Homecoming game. Photo by Oliver Malone

Senior Madie Ewing lifts freshman Tailor Lain during the Homecoming game. The Truman State cheer leaders showcased their sideline routines during the football game. Photo by Emily Collins