The Index Vol. 111 Issue 7

Page 1

“Joker” is thoughtprovoking chaos

Student Government acts as student voice, page 6 Tailgating at Truman, page 7

page 8

Bulldogs prepare for Homecoming, page 14

Truman State University tmn.truman.edu THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019

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University lawsuit moves along to hearing RYAN PIVONEY Editor-in-Chief

The lawsuit filed against AKL, Truman and a former student is moving forward. The lawsuit was filed July 31. Photo by Bidan Yang

Forensics starts season strong ELISABETH SHIRK Managing Editor The Truman State University forensics team has competed in two tournaments so far this season, advancing into elimination rounds in multiple events and securing 12 nationals qualifications. The team picked up four nationals qualifications at the Western Kentucky University Round Robin and Fall Tournaments Sept. 19-22 and eight nationals qualifications at the Derryberry Memorial Speech and Debate Tournament hosted by Southwest Baptist University Oct. 4-5. Forensics Director Chris Outzen said at the most recent tournament at SBU, senior Caleb Daniels was a semifinalist in debate and freshman Zoie Francisco made it to the quarterfinals of the novice division in her first tournament. He said on the speech side, Truman students made it to elimination rounds in persuasive speaking, prose interpretation, impromptu speaking and more. “I’m happy to say we didn’t really have any stand-out strengths because we did well in a number of different categories,” Outzen said. Outzen described the team as cohesive and well rounded at the tournament, which showed off its comprehensive forensics education that seeks to value speech and debate equally. Among the competitors who received nationals qualifications was junior debater Cami Smith. See FORENSICS page 3

The lawsuit against Truman State University, the Alpha Kappa Lambda fraternity and former student and fraternity member Brandon Grossheim is moving forward with a motion hearing scheduled for Monday, Oct. 21. The lawsuit, filed July 31, is a wrongful death suit from the parents of two students who committed suicide in the 2016-17 school year. The lawsuit claims Grossheim was close to all five people who committed sui-

cide in that school year and was either the last person to see them alive or the first to find their body. The parents’ attorney, Nicole Gorovsky, has also accused the University of failing to be transparent about the alleged psychological manipulation occuring. University General Counsel Warren Wells, AKL’s attorney Mark Wasinger and Grossheim’s attorney Benjamin Gray have each filed a motion to dismiss the case. Steve Smith, professor of business administration and a former practicing attorney, said the motions to dismiss seem to be standard practice.

“There’s nothing even very significant about [the motions to dismiss] at all,” Smith said. “That happens all the time. Even if you think there’s a good reason to dismiss or if you think there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell of getting it dismissed you’ll file a motion to dismiss, probably.” Smith said the case looks to be fairly routine in its preliminary phase thus far and seems to be on a usual timeline. See LAWSUIT page 3

SCOOTER’S COFFEE COMES TO KIRKSVILLE and Young said Scooter’s is no exception. A competitive dynamic already exists in Kirksville with Caffiend Fix Coffee and Starbucks, and so far Young said they seem to coexist peacefully. Young said competition brings unknown economic outcomes and business transitions, as seen with Petsense closing because of the addition of PetSmart in town, but he is curious to see how the new addition will impact existing businesses. Young said he does not think Scooter’s will harm local coffee businesses, but will instead help the overall economic structure, citing that Kirksville has never been as economically pros-

ORIELLE HEILICHER Contributing writer

perous as it is this year. “A successful, locally owned restaurant and coffee shop can be just as competitive in many respects and certainly just as enjoyable as a national chain,” Young said. Young said despite his initial thoughts on new business in town and local competition, he cannot be certain of what new businesses will bring, believing that the market will dictate what happens next. Despite market tendencies, potential competitors of Scooter’s Coffee are confident with their business’ ability to stay stable.

A chain drive-thru coffee shop is being built on Baltimore Street, likely posing competition to other coffee businesses in Kirksville. Scooter’s Coffee is a drive-thru regional coffee shop chain that will be joining the Kirksville community by mid-November this year. Scooter’s menu offers iced, hot or blended drinks and a variety of burritos, sandwiches and baked goods. The new coffee shop will be located at 1506 South Baltimore Street, the old site of Papa John’s See SCOOTER’S page 3 that closed Jan. 2018. The company contacted the City of Kirksville in pursuit of the building to buy and use for a new Scooter’s location, Assistant City Manager Ashley Young said. The Scooter’s property is currently owned by Mark Freiburg, but the Scooter’s location does not currently have a franchiser, Reid Yardely, Kirksville code enforcement director, said. Scooter’s is currently working with the Kirksville Codes and Planning Department to move forward with construction. The company along with the Kirksville Codes and Planning Department are doing a remodel of the existing building and making improvements to the parking lot. Currently, there is no set opening date for Scooter’s, Yardely said. With new corporate businesses comes competition, Young said. Scooter’s Coffee, the drive-thru regional coffee shop chain, will be coming “Rising tides raise all boats,” Young said. New business should boost to Kirksville by mid-November. It will be located at the old site of Papa the overall economy of Kirksville John’s. Photo by Orielle Heilicher

Prayer and meditation room available to all KIRA HINTZ Contributing Writer The Interfaith Center has a prayer and meditation room available on the first floor of Baldwin Hall which is open to Truman State University students and faculty and can be accessed any time the building is open. The prayer and meditation room has items supplied by the IC such as a rug,

pillows, a shelf, a bulletin board and a room divider. Students and faculty can use these items or bring their own belongings to help them meditate, pray or reflect. The IC has nothing explicitly religious in the room because all different belief systems are welcome. One philosophy the IC has about their center and the room is for people to take time to examine, understand and reflect on different personal and world perspec-

Homecoming

calendar

Friday, Oct. 18 5 p.m. Banquet Reception @ SUB 6 p.m. Bulldog Forever Celebration Banquet @ SUB Georgian room 9:15 p.m. Planetarium show @ Planetarium VOLUME 111 ISSUE 7 © 2019

tives as a way to grow. People can’t leave personal belongings in the room, but they can store them in lockers at the IC. The room was originally located on the first floor of Kirk Building, but it was moved to Baldwin in fall 2017. J.D. Smiser, director of the Office of Citizenship and Community Standards, said the prayer room is a safe place for people to not only express their worldviews but to do activities that correspond to them. The

space can also be called a meditation room with many universities putting a slash between the two names, Smiser said. Although the prayer room is not meant to be used as a place to study for classes, Smiser said the IC is open to the rationale of why studying in the prayer room could be part of a worldview. See PRAYER page 5

Saturday, Oct. 19 8 a.m. 5K run/walk @ front of Barnett Hall 9 a.m. Parade @ east side of Franklin St. 10:30 a.m. Plaza ribbon cutting @ University Mall 11 a.m. Bulldog Forever Tailgate @ Franklin & Patterson St. 11:30 a.m. Golden Alumni Luncheon @ SUB Activities room 12 p.m. Pep rally (Crowning of royalty) @ Tailgate parking lots 2 p.m. Football game @ Stokes Stadium


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