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Trump to speak with Xi Jinping about TikTok
Sept. 15: According to a Sept. 15 article from Tribune News Service (TNS), President Donald Trump will speak with Chinese leader Xi Jinping Sept. 19 to discuss the framework to keep the TikTok app running in the U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters that Trump and Jinping would speak again to officially complete the deal. These comments come ahead of a deadline this week to secure a deal that would require TikTok’s American operations to comply with a U.S. national security law, according to TNS. Trump has extended the deadline for this app a few times, which has appealed to younger voters.
CORRECTION
The Ball State Daily News is committed to providing accurate news to the community. In the event we need to correct inaccurate information, you will find that printed here.
To submit a correction, email editor@bsudailynews.com.
WEATHER FORECAST
Rubio confirms U.S. will support Israel
Sept. 15: President Donald Trump’s top diplomat, Marco Rubio, has declined to criticize Israel over its missile strike on Qatar, since Trump said the main priority is to make Hamas surrender and to end the war in Gaza, according to a Sept. 15 article from Tribune News Service (TNS). “We are focused on what happens now, what happens next,” Rubio told reporters, making a suggestion that the U.S. wants to move on from the diplomatic fallout that came from the assault. According to reporting from TNS, Rubio said one element in resolving the conflict is to “determine the role that can still be played by Qatar.”
Women’s Golf excels at Brittany Kelly Classic
Sept. 16: Ball State Women’s Golf sophomore Sarah Gallagher won the individual title at the Brittany Kelly Classic, sinking a 22-foot birdie on the 4th playoff hole against Ohio’s Zoe Luebbers. Gallagher finished +2, while Ball State secured its third straight team title at +24, 13 strokes ahead of Dayton. Junior Sophie Korthuijs tied for third, seniors Sabrina Langerak and Jasmine Driscoll tied for sixth, freshman Skylar Dean tied for ninth and sophomore JJ Gregston placed 13th. Every Cardinal shot +5 or better in the final round. Women’s golf returns Sept. 23 of the Red Raider Invitational at the Rawls Course to play two rounds.
PHOTO BY ANDREW HARNIK/GETTY IMAGES/TNS
YURI GRIPAS/ABACA PRESS/TNS
TITUS SLAUGHTER, DN
Kendra Heath, Weather forecaster, Benny Weather Group
Presidential Fitness Test returns to elementary and high schools
Ball State students and faculty who have previously participated in the test voice their opinions. 404
Institutes of Health amounts to $24.5 million.
Sophomore Film major Charles Mobley walks laps around the track Sept. 10 at Jo Ann Gora Student Recreation Center. ANNABELLE PRICE, DN
Students will now have to participate in the Presidential Fitness Test, which is causing mixed reactions.
An executive order signed July 31 by President Donald Trump will reestablish the Presidential Fitness Test in elementary and high schools everywhere. However, the return of the program is a familiar experience for Ball State students, many of whom were the last generation to run PACER laps and be tested on the number of push-ups they could do in gym class. Now, with Ball State faculty also weighing in, the national debate over fitness and health is hitting closer to home.
The test, initiated in 1956 by President Dwight Eisenhower and formally implemented in American school systems in 1966 by President Lyndon Johnson, will be revived in the physical education curriculum after being revoked in 2012 by President Barack Obama’s administration.
The first version of the test, designed in the 1940s by Hans Kraus and Sonja Weber, was originally intended to measure fitness and athleticism, with a focus on flexibility and core strength, according to an August 2025 article from National Public Radio (NPR). Initially titled the Kraus-Weber test, it was later used to test thousands of students in the U.S. and several European countries.
However, researchers found that a significant number of U.S. schoolchildren, 58 percent, failed at least one part of the test, compared to 8.7 percent in the European countries.
In 1956, President Eisenhower then founded the President’s Council on Youth Fitness, and a year later, a national fitness test was created within the council. About a decade after that, the test was formalized and introduced in American physical education classes, consisting of a variety of exercises, such as the shuttle run and pull-ups. It was assigned to students aged six to 17 twice per school year to measure their fitness and athletic levels against national standards, specifically to determine if students fell at, above or below the 85th percentile. Those who scored at or above the 85th percentile also earned a Presidential Physical Fitness Award.
Freshman Colin Walrond, a swimmer on Ball State’s Division I swim team, voiced his thoughts on these standards.
“I don’t think [students] should be held against national standards. I think the [physical education] P.E. teachers should be looking more at their effort levels. If somebody is genuinely trying but falls below the national standard, they’re still trying their best; not everybody is physically fit in the same way,” he said.
In 2013, the test was officially removed from schools and replaced by a voluntary program called the Presidential Youth Fitness Program,
which focused more on the value of an overall healthy, day-to-day lifestyle rather than athleticism. However, a component of the Presidential Fitness Test, the FitnessGram, was still retained in some schools’ physical education curricula across the U.S. after the test was discontinued. It also included a change of seeing how long students could keep a run pace rather than performing the mile run, which was later called the PACER test, according to a November 2014 article from NPR.
Some of the reasons the Presidential Fitness Test was removed and replaced were due to criticism of its negative impact on students’ mental health and critics questioning the effectiveness of the test, according to NPR.
McMurtry stated. “I think it’s just important to remember that movement is supposed to be fun, but people don’t enjoy moving if it’s too hard for them.”
Data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention shows how obesity rates in children ages two to 19 still continued to increase even when the test was in the curriculum, with a 5.1 percent increase rate in 1971 and a 16.9 percent increase rate in 2012. In 2020, it rose to 19.7 percent, according to a CDC fact sheet on childhood obesity.
According to the White House Fact Sheet on the Reestablishment of the Presidential Fitness Test, the primary objectives through the reimplementation of the test are to uphold a strong and vital America, to make America active again and to reinstate fitness and health for the country’s youth.
The statement also reads that obesity, chronic illness, poor nutrition and activity levels are at crisis rates amongst the youth and that these crisis levels “weaken our economy, military readiness, academic performance and national morale.”
The revitalization of the test will still reward those who excel in physical education, and criteria will be developed for a Presidential Fitness Award. However, it is unclear whether those criteria will include holding students’ scores against national standards. It has also not yet been determined whether the test will consist of the same exercises as the previous one.
When it comes to the idea of whether or not fitness is a political idea, Ball State political science professor Darren Wheeler said that it does not necessarily have to be.
From 2017 to March 2020, the prevalence of obesity among U.S. children and adolescents was 19.7 percent. This means that approximately 14.7 million U.S. youths aged 2–19 years have obesity.”
SOURCE: CDC.GOV
Andrea McMurtry, a current kinesiology professor at Ball State University and former physical education instructor at Fisher’s Junior High, taught while the test was instituted in schools in 2001.
“I think before you would perform this test, you would want to make sure that students had been introduced to these skills previously and had opportunities to practice them so that they were comfortable with how to do these exercises,” she said.
Other concerns child development and fitness experts had regarding the test included how the emphasis on scoring could deter children from pursuing fitness and athleticism, according to a July 2025 article from The New York Times, and that not all children are the same size or at the same developmental stage.
McMurtry discussed how many students from her classes were embarrassed to perform the test exercises in front of their classmates, which could risk having an adverse effect on their self-esteem.
“You would want to make sure that students were not asked to perform the test in front of others all on their own, being watched by the entire class,”
“I don’t think [fitness] needs to be political, I guess you could politicize it, such as vaccines, but everyone should [be] encouraged to engage in healthy behaviors such as exercise and medical screening. Those are things everyone on the blue and red teams should be able to agree on.”
According to the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary & Trends Report for 20132023, trends for both male and female students of meeting aerobic and muscle-strengthening guidelines decreased from 2013 to 2023, with males’ rates at a seven percent decrease and females at four percent. Sleep behaviors and healthy dietary habits have also been at a decreasing rate, according to the report.
In an August 2025 interview with Wish TV, McMurtry stated, “It’s an awesome test to see if students are at elite levels of fitness, but a lot of our students are not there anymore, and so we just have to be really cautious as we look at this test, if we’re testing something that students are even capable of doing anymore.”
Ball State students and faculty who are familiar with the Presidential Fitness Test—whether from taking it, administering it or both—are curious about what the new version will look like. After a 13-year absence from American physical education programs, its return has sparked wideranging opinions across the nation. Supporters see it as a way to encourage physical activity, reduce obesity and prevent chronic illness. Critics, however, question whether the test is the best way to measure students’ fitness levels.
Contact Gracie Parkhurst via email at gracie. parkhurst@bsu.edu.
5.2% 1971 - 1974 15.4% 2001 - 2002
16.9% 2011 - 2012
Gracie Parkhurst Reporter
Sports
Rugs and Football
In Ball State football linebacker Jack Beebe’s senior season, he is not only fighting for wins on the field, but making rugs off of it. 06
Baseball
Baseball
alum Zach Cole makes major league debut
Ball State Baseball alumus Zach Cole hit a two-run home run on the first pitch he saw in the Major Leagues in Houston’s 11-3 win at Atlanta on Sept.12. The blast to right-center field was part of a 3-for4 night with the homer and four RBI in his big league debut. Cole was drafted in the 10th round in the 2022 draft.
Soccer
Soccer earns its first MAC victory of the year
A goal just three minutes into the match from redshirt sophomore midfielder Lexi Watkins led Ball State Soccer to a 1-0 win at UMass Sept. 14, marking the team’s first MidAmerican Conference (MAC) win on the season. Ball State will continue MAC play as they return home, Sept. 18, to face Central Michigan.
Football
Football to play UCONN following home win
Ball State Football heads back on the road this weekend to face UCONN, following the program’s first win this season under new Head Coach Mike Uremovich. The Cardinals and Huskies’ contest marks Ball State’s final non-conference matchup before beginning MidAmerican Conference play.
Mike Katic receives a rug from Jack Beebe in May. JACK BEEBE PROVIDED
On the field, senior linebacker
Jack Beebe
commands the defense, but off the field, he is growing his own personal business.
Kyle Stout Sports Editor
Four years ago, entering his freshman season, Ball State senior linebacker Jack Beebe received a walk-on offer from Ball State. A year later, he received a scholarship. Now entering his fifth year at Ball State, Beebe has not only claimed a starting position on the team, but he has also explored rug making.
Last semester, Beebe took online classes exclusively. With that extra time at home, he found an interest that would soon become a big deal.
“I was pretty bored after practice, after watching film,” Beebe said. “I was on YouTube scrolling and I saw [rug making]. I started doing it for fun, and then it kind of grew into something a little bigger.”
After finding this newfound passion, Beebe learned the ways of making rugs himself. Since the beginning, he has been self-taught, with the only help coming from tutorial videos.
To try and jumpstart his business, Beebe sent in a custom-made rug to Jon Gruden, most known from his tenure as the Las Vegas Raiders head coach from 2018 to 2021, in February 2025, which had Gruden’s self-founded Fired Football Coaches Association (FFCA) imprinted on it.
Gruden then took to social media under the name “barstoolgruden” and posted a video of the rug Beebe sent him to Instagram, which collected 2,699 likes.
“This is one of the coolest things I’ve ever received and it comes from a linebacker on the Ball State Football Team!,” the Instagram post reads. Beebe said that his goal was not only to bring attention to his rugs.
“I sent Gruden his initial rug back in February, [and] I thought that would blow up a little bit, but that didn’t get posted until July,” Beebe said. “There were some ones before that helped me, like Kiael [Kelly].”
Back in January of this year, Beebe crafted a rug for his teammate, redshirt senior quarterback Kiael Kelly. The rug was an outline of Kelly in a white Ball State football jersey, and Beebe said that after he crafted the rug for his teammate, he knew that he could have success with it.
“As soon as I started seeing more views on Instagram, I felt like maybe people might actually be interested in this,” Beebe said.
After growing his Instagram page, which has now reached over 700 followers, Beebe has had the opportunity to connect with more prominent athletes to get his brand more well-known.
Recently, he had the opportunity to connect with former Notre Dame and current Indianapolis Colts quarterback Riley Leonard.
Ball State junior receiver Eric Weatherly started his career at Duke University, where Leonard started his collegiate playing days. Now that Weatherly and Beebe are teammates, Weatherly was able to help get Beebe connected with Leonard to get him a rug.
“Super cool opportunity that Eric helped hook me up with,” Beebe said. “Eric came down there to the North Side [with Beebe] to meet him.”
Seeing what your teammates kind of do outside of football as well can be a huge opportunity. To learn and grow and then understand them on a personal level too.”
- JOEY STEMLER, Senior linebacker
The rug was a mashup of Leonard’s playing days at Duke and Notre Dame, and Beebe said it was cool to connect with athletes in a different way than competition.
On Beebe’s Instagram page, “footstompers,” he posts various types of rugs that he is working on and different types of collaborations that he has had. One thing that Beebe does uniquely is include a cross emoji in the bio of every post that he makes. Beebe said that he does that because he wants to use his platform as an avenue to share his faith.
“Whatever rug it is, if that’s the only Christ they see all day, I want it to be from my post,” he said. Stemming from wanting to integrate his faith into his Instagram, Beebe mentioned that the next rug he is working on is faith-based.
With his brand growing significantly this past year, Beebe has thought through whether he wants to make it a full-time gig after college.
“I thought about that a lot recently, especially
Jack Beebe poses with the “Bussin With the Boys” rug in July. JACK BEEBE PROVIDED
with my time almost being up and what that would look like in the future,” Beebe said. “I don’t think right now it’s going to work full time. It’s kind of hard to scale because it’s kind of a one-man show.”
Beebe is close with another senior leader on the Ball State football team, linebacker Joey Stemler. Stemler and Beebe have been roommates for multiple years throughout both of their storied Ball State careers, and Stemler has had the opportunity to see Beebe find his hobby behind the scenes.
“I remember when he first told me the idea and I kind of laughed because I was like, what are you talking about?” Stemler said. “But after watching him do a couple of trial and errors on rugs, I’m like, these actually look pretty good. Each one’s gotten better and better.”
Beyond the business side of things, Beebe’s rug-making has served as a way to bring the Ball State football team closer. Beebe talked about how he has seen it bring the team together.
“Sometimes when I make rugs for certain people, the team will rally behind that,” Beebe said. “It’s definitely a
It’s cool getting to meet new people, especially in the football world.”
-
JACK BEEBE, Senior linebacker
talking point that we can sometimes joke about, make fun of me for, or just chop it up about how I did.”
Stemler also talked about how it can help grow the team and how it is good for the team overall to know what things different teammates like to do.
“Seeing what your teammates kind of do outside of football as well can be a huge opportunity,” Stemler said. “To learn and grow and then understand them on a personal level too.”
Beebe will continue making rugs this season, along with playing in his last season for the Ball State Cardinals. Beebe has never been on a Ball State team that went to a bowl game, and now, with a record of (1-2), Beebe will look to leave an impact on Ball State in his final season.
Contact Kyle Stout with questions via email @kyle.stout@ bsu.edu or on X @kylestoutdailyn.
Cardinals seek second win on East Coast
Ball State football looks to win consecutive games for the first time since 2023.
Kyle Stout Sports Editor
Ball State Football earned its first win under head coach Mike Uremovich in week three. The Cardinals’ squad, which is mainly made up of players who transferred in from other schools, is starting to gain team chemistry as the weeks pass. In weeks one and two, Ball State combined for 271 total yards. Against New Hampshire, the team totaled 413 total yards, with 308 coming from rushing.
In last week’s post-game press conference, junior running back Qua Ashley had confidence in the team’s offensive performance.
“It shows that we can do it,” Ashley said. “Now that we know what the outcome [can] be, we’ll do it every week from here on out.”
Coming off Ball State football’s first win of their 2025-26 campaign against New Hampshire, the Cardinals face another road test on Sept. 20. Ball State will play another East Coast team, the University of Connecticut (UConn), in week four of the season.
This will be the Cardinals’ third road game in just four games, with the two previous road games resulting in big losses for Ball State. Even though getting the first win of the season sets the tone for the rest of the season for the Cardinals, Uremovich still wants the team to focus on the same things, win or loss.
“We have to analyze what we did good, what we did poorly, and how we can fix it,” Uremovich said. “I know they approached the meetings that way, and I know our staff did, and we’re more critical of ourselves every week because we should be getting better and better.”
All of Ball State’s early-season road tests have
allowed the Cardinals’ coaches to see how the team responds in hostile environments. Purdue and Auburn offered Big Ten and Southeastern Conference (SEC) road environments, while their week four contest with UConn will be a more comparable environment to Mid-American Conference (MAC) schools.
This is Ball State’s last game before beginning MAC play against Ohio on Oct. 4, and Uremovich is looking to see how the team performs in their final non-conference game.
“I want to see us go and play well on the road,” Uremovich said. “It’s another opportunity to go on the road in a different environment and play against a really good football team.”
UConn, which is one of two independent teams without a conference alongside Notre Dame, has the same record as Ball State of 1-2. The Huskies pose a big threat at quarterback, with senior Joe Fagnano possessing some of the better statistics in college football.
The Huskies are coming off their best season in the past ten years, in which they went 9-4 and won the Fenway Bowl against North Carolina. Including Fagnano, UConn was able to get key players to return from last season.
Uremovich talked about how UConn is only a couple of plays away from being undefeated, with their losses against Delaware and Syracuse coming in overtime.
Ball State’s biggest strength will clash against UConn’s biggest strength, with the Cardinals having success getting to the quarterback and the Huskies having success preventing sacks with their offensive line.
Through three games, Ball State has recorded 11 sacks, which leads the MAC and ranks fourth nationally, according to Ball State Athletics. On the
other hand, UConn has only allowed Fagnano to be sacked three times all season.
One of the big reasons why Ball State’s front seven has been able to get into the backfield and reach the quarterback has been because of senior transfer defensive end Nathan Voorhis. Voorhis leads the team in sacks with 4.5, and transferred in from UConn, where he played in 2022 and 2023.
There is a certain importance when a player plays the team that they previously played for, and Voorhis said that while it means a lot to him to be able to go back, he is still focused on one goal: winning.
“I was committed there [during] my junior year of high school. That’s where I wanted to go, [it was] my first offer,” Voorhis said. “So obviously, I’m close with all those guys up there [and] close with the coaches, but I mean, I haven’t been there for a year and a half, so obviously a lot of things have changed over there. I’m ready to play. It’s another game for me, I got nine guaranteed left in my football career.”
Voorhis said that he has been thinking about the game all season, but that he is taking no different steps for preparation.
Senior linebacker Alfred Chea is another Cardinal who transferred from UConn. Chea transferred with Voorhis and has even more knowledge about UConn, where he spent the first four years of his career.
Chea said that because of his closeness with players and coaches at UConn, and being in their scheme for four years, he has the ability to give the Cardinals a potential upper hand in week four.
“I think I know some keys,” Chea said. “Some keys that show up on film that I already recognize or some things that some players I know [like to do or] that it may or may not be their go-to guys or what they like to do in certain situations.”
Both teams are hunting to get back to .500. For Ball State, being at 2-2 heading into conference play would set them up in a very good spot to keep competing for a bowl appearance. For UConn, it is their first contest against a MAC team before they play Buffalo in week five.
Even though it is an early-season non-conference game, the stakes remain high and Voorhis knows the week four matchup will be a battle.
“I know they lost the last two in a row, so they don’t want to lose another one at home,” Voorhis said. “I’m prepared for a dog fight.”
Sports reporter Elijah Poe contributed to this article. Contact Kyle Stout with questions via email @
Ball State senior quarterback Kiael Kelly hands the ball off to junior running back Qua Ashley Sept. 13 against New Hampshire University at Scheumann Stadium. Ashely had 33 receiving yards in the game. ANDREW BERGER, DN
The Ball State football team celebrates their first win of the 2025 season over New Hampshire University Sept. 13 at Scheumann Stadium. Ball State won 34-29. ANDREW BERGER, DN
Ball State head coach Mike Uremovich watches his team warm up before facing New Hampshire University Sept. 13 at Scheumann Stadium. ANDREW BERGER, DN
Sursa Hall to host upcoming concerts
A Sept. 17 press release from Ball State Communications Center detailed two upcoming concerts in Sursa Hall later this month. According to the press release, the performance hall will host jazz ensembles Sept. 24 and a wind ensemble and symphony concert Sept. 26. Tickets are available in the Sursa Hall Box Office, online or by phone, 765-285-8749.
Campus
Award-Winning conservationist coming to Ball State
Mwezi “Badru” Mugerwa, the winner of the 2025 Indianapolis Prize Emerging Conservationist Award, will be a guest lecturer at Ball State at 11 a.m. Sept. 30. The free, public event will be located in the student center ballroom, according to a Sept. 16 press release from Ball State Communications Center.
Community
Muncie’s annual Bridge Dinner to be held Sept. 18
All are invited to attend Muncie’s Bridge Dinner on Washington Street Sept. 18 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The event is free, and parking is within walking distance at Tuhey Park, according to a Sept. 15 press release from Ball State’s Communications Center. Food will be provided by local vendors.
The interior of Art Mart Sept. 8 in Muncie Ind. Owner Karen Fisher said the business is looking to expand nearby early next year.
KATHERINE HILL, DN RAQUEL RUFFIN, DN ILLUSTRATION
Owned by a mother-daughter team, the business has been a cornerstone in the community for over two decades.
Katherine Hill Lifestyles Editor
Walking into Art Mart, one is welcomed by color at every angle, whether it be from the bold graffiti art behind the front counter, or from the sunlight that streaks through the side window and bounces off the store’s decor and hand-drawn signage, casting a luminary glow through the aisles.
Natalie Bennett, a third-year art education student at Ball State, said she has gone to the store regularly since her first year on campus. Though she used to visit the shop exclusively for school projects, Bennett said she now frequents the shop for fun, captivated by its “homey atmosphere.”
“It’s got a lived-in feel, [with] very dimmed lights. It’s a very comfortable space to be able to go get your art materials, [and] maybe hang out for
a minute, because the [owners and staff members] are always willing to have a chat with you,” Bennett said.
The local Muncie business has been around since the 1940s, but would not be what it is today if owner Karen Fisher hadn’t talked her husband into the business in 2003.
“It started out as a paint and wallpaper store [in the 40s] and just kind of morphed into an art store with a gallery,” Fisher said. By the early 2000s, the business, then known as “Gordy Fine Art and Framing,” sought to establish a distinct division between art supplies and artwork by creating two separate business entities.
Fisher, who had already worked for owners Brian and Jenny Gordy for nearly a decade, told them she and her husband would happily take on the art supply half of the business.
Since moving to their current location on N. Martin St. in 2009, Art Mart has become a cornerstone in the community for skilled artists and hobby crafters alike.
“We have students who are going into art at Ball State, and they’ll come in here and say they have never been in a shop that’s dedicated just to the things that they’re looking for…There’s nowhere else, at this time, to get what you need in Muncie,” Fisher said.
While the shop couldn’t evade negative financial impacts during COVID-19, Fisher said she has seen an “explosive” surge in customers post-pandemic who have mitigated any potential financial concerns posed by the pandemic.
“There’s a small number of people that do fine art, painting, drawing, that type of thing, but just about everybody does some sort of crafting,
making something,” she said.
The wide spectrum of artistic interests in the community prompted her to expand the business by adding a classroom space, offering classes to the public that teach various crafting skills and art techniques.
“The whole store will be at the front of the building, and the classroom will be at the back of the space,” she said. “We’re only going to give ourselves just enough room for a classroom that is going to add to the retail size of the shop at all.”
Even though the next-door expansion delayed her retirement plans, Fisher said the added space is something she has been looking forward to for a long time.
The addition, she said, is expected to be done by the first of the year in 2026, and she hopes the classroom space will be open to the public that fall,
An array of oil pastels arranged by color Sept. 4 inside Muncie, Ind.’s Art Mart. KATHERINE HILL, DN
RAQUEL RUFFIN, DN PHOTO ILLUSTRATION; BROOKE SKALKA, DN DESIGN
just in time for the new school year.
Her daughter, Elizabeth “Beth” McCollum, agreed that now is the ideal time for the business to expand.
“The face of retail has changed a lot over the last few years…because of online shopping. So, that means, retail really has to up [its] game. I feel like experiences really have taken the place of in-person shopping,” she said.
There’s a small number of people that do fine art, painting, drawing, that type of thing, but just about everybody does some sort of crating, making something.”
- KAREN FISHER, Art Mart Owner
While the mother-daughter team worries their shop is presently too small and lacking adaptability, customers like Bennett enjoy the intimate setting.
“[Art Mart’s] just really nice to go into because of how small the space is. It’s not overwhelming like a Michael’s or a Joann’s,” she said.
When Fisher eventually retires, the business will go to McCollum, who currently works as the store’s
general manager. McCollum said she is excited to make the place her own; the fiber artist has big plans to install a yarn wall in the store’s classroom space, calling it her “first order of business.”
McCollum has helped out around the shop since her parents first bought it when she was a first-year student in college. Though she is “not much of an artist,” she studied business in college and knows what drives entrepreneurial success—and in an effort to expand her knowledge of art—she chooses to “surround [her]self with artists.”
The artists she surrounds herself with include none other than her mother. Fisher, an art education alumna of Ball State, said she’s had “a passion for art for most of [her] life.”
In retirement, Fisher plans to still nourish her passion for the subject by periodically teaching drawing and painting classes in the shop’s classroom.
In addition to Fisher and McCullom, the shop employs Barcode “Cody” the Cat. His 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. workday consists of walking across the front counter, sleeping in the aisles and eating plastic. Bennett said Cody’s nonchalant customer service is a big incentive for her to visit the shop—but not the only one.
“[Art Mart] is very reliable and convenient to go to and experience if you haven’t been before, and to keep going to frequently if you have,” Bennett said.
Artists and crafters looking to inspire creativity can visit Art Mart seven days a week, open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Contact Katherine Hill via email at katherine. hill@bsu.edu.
Barcode, the Art Mart cat mascot, sits atop the store’s front counter Sept. 4 in Muncie, Ind. KATHERINE HILL, DN
Art Mart owner Karen Fisher and her daughter Beth McCollum pose for a photo highlighting their Quest for Best Muncie awards of 2025 Sept. 4 in Muncie, Ind. They said they were very proud to have claimed victory in two categories. KATHERINE HILL, DN
Signage inside Muncie Ind.’s Art Mart Sept. 4. KATHERINE HILL, DN
CASUAL
Hookup
Two Ball State students pose for a photo Sept. 17 in the Arts and Journalism Building. BRENDEN ROWAN, DN
Macey Kessler is a third-year political science and journalism major and writes “MindoverMac” for the Daily News. Her views do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper.
In the world of hookup culture, my experience has definitely been a complicated one. It has had its ups and downs, allowing me the opportunity to meet others and connect with my peers on a different level. However, it created deeper levels of self-deprecation, body image issues and, overall, a quick decline in my emotional and mental health.
Hookup culture has become a defining element of the modern college experience, shaping how many students form relationships and socialize on campus. Characterized by casual sexual encounters that often lack emotional connection or commitment, hookup culture remains a controversial and complex subject among Generation Z.
Understanding the potential emotional and psychological impacts of engaging in casual sex is essential, as the outcomes can vary. While some students report feelings of empowerment, others experience forms of regret or emotional distress.
Fueling this culture are college parties, dating apps and social media platforms. According to Hinge, a dating app popular amongst college students, 56 percent of Generation Z users said they have withheld their feelings out of fear they would be perceived as a turnoff.
“Women, more than men, often hope that a hookup will evolve into a traditional relationship,” George Gaither, a professor who studies gender and sexual behavior at Ball State University, said. I chose to interview him due to his expertise in the area, all without making it seem awkward for any of his students.
That trend was echoed by women whom I interviewed for this story. All of them said they experienced some form of regret or sadness after a hookup, particularly when they knew the encounter would not lead to a relationship.
An April 2024 article written by the Institute for Family Studies explains that hookup culture is more likely to be followed by emotional consequences, particularly for women. It demonstrated how unfettered sex can lead to emptiness, guilt and emotional disconnection that resonates with firsthand student testimonies of feeling sadness, confusion or regret following hookups.
Both campus interviews and the article suggest a gender imbalance in experience and expectations: while many men see hookups as empowering or validating, many women go into these interactions anticipating emotional connection, but are disappointed.
Ashley Shaw, a roommate of mine and a third-year student at Ball State, stated, “I feel like I was definitely more of a relationship person during high school, but now in college specifically, I feel like most things seem to be casual.”
Gaither spoke about how hookup culture reveals significant gender role differences in attitude amongst experiences, specifically in college students. He indicates that men are generally more likely to embrace casual sexual encounters. In contrast, women may face societal pressures and stigma, leading to a more complex relationship with hookups.
While some women participate willingly, seeking empowerment and sexual freedom, others report feelings of remorse or anxiety associated with these encounters.
This highlights the influence of social norms and expectations, illustrating how gender shapes not only the experience of hooking up but also the broader narrative
within hookup culture. It quotes a survey in which 77.8 percent of undesired sexual experiences occurred during hookups, and argues for clear and avid consent in hookup interactions.
Hookups bring about different emotions for everyone, especially when discusing different attachment styles. Individuals with avoidant attachment styles are likely to hook up with a mix of intimacy, desire and fear of vulnerability. They may enjoy the body but struggle with emotional connection. On the other hand, individuals with anxious attachment styles often experience hookups to heighten emotions and a deep desire for connection.
As someone who has healed and grown from an anxious attachment style, during a hookup, it can make you feel unwanted, unloved and also cause a significant amount of trauma when it comes to entering other romantic relationships. After being involved for a little over six months, I had found myself emotionally depleted and uninterested in all further sexual advances for well over a year post-hookup culture society.
I have learned now that you cannot heal extremity attachment by being alone; you have to do it through other people.”
around sexuality on college campuses.
As a woman who is immersed in the college lifestyle, hookup culture truly does have a difference in social dynamics. It gives in to the power play of men and the natural submission they believe women have.
Consent is a crucial element of hookup culture, yet more often than not, it is somehow misunderstood.
Consent may seem like such a broad level of understanding, but if consent is not an enthusiastic and immediate “yes,” then it is not consent. If someone says yes and then later decides that they do not want to participate, they have no longer consented and all acts should be stopped immediately. Consent is not something up for interpretation.
However, the nature of hookups can lead to miscommunication and assumptions about consent, which may result in poor outcomes.
The Institute for Family Studies describes the psychological and emotional consequences of casual sex, especially about how common undesired sex is
Even now, I still implement anxious attachment style tendencies in my current relationship. I have learned now that you cannot heal extremity attachment by being alone; you have to do it through other people.
In addition, issues of stigma, discrimination and the quest for acceptance can complicate emotional relationships to the point that individuals find it difficult to manage casual relationships with their desire for meaningful relationships. I have found myself questioning my self-worth afterwards. Interacting in hookup culture created insecurities that I had never had and prevented me from recognizing my true self-worth.
The author of the Institute for Family Studies article, Erica Komisar, states that she identifies the adverse effects of hookup culture among young adults, specifically on mental health, emotional health and the erosion of trust in traditional relationships. Komisar observes an upward trend among younger generations who increasingly question the possibility of true love, a departure from traditional courtship and romance norms.
This cultural shift aligns with the popularity of casual sex with the assistance of dating apps. The increase in popularity of dating apps has fueled hookup culture, especially on university campuses and even in high schools. According to a November 2024 article by Frontiers, the use of dating apps has surged in young adults since 2010, mostly being used for immediate sexual encounters that the user selects based on certain preferred characteristics.
Hookup culture represents a deep shift in how young people manage relationships, intimacy and emotional closeness. As much as it may offer immediate gratification and a sense of freedom, its long-term outcome usually entails a disillusioned belief in lasting love. As a society, we need to be more active in teaching people how much their actions can affect another human being, even if they feel like they are the ones being hurt. What people do matters. Who they do matters. And no matter what they do, they need to stay safe.
Contact Macey Kessler via email at macey.kessler@ bsu.edu.
Columnist, “MindoverMac”
Macey Kessler
Sam Jasionowski Lead Copy Editor of Byte
Editor’s Note: The opinions and views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the opinion of Byte or Byte’s editorial board
After a dull summer of music releases, Sabrina Carpenter has come to the rescue with the release of her seventh studio album “Man’s Best Friend.” The album was released just over a year after her last album, “Short n’ Sweet” and it’s hard not to compare the albums to each other. The success of “Short n’ Sweet” was shocking to say the least, with three songs hitting one billion streams, a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album, and her first album to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200; it was groundbreaking. It’s difficult to follow that success so effortlessly.
The previous album cycle was so successful that it felt like Carpenter was jumping the gun with this release. In an era where artists are taking more than two years to work on an album that lasts under an hour, I love it when artists aren’t afraid to keep releasing music as they’re inspired and don’t listen to a release schedule. However, after listening to this album, it feels as though she could’ve spent a bit more time tweaking the album, and it would have been perfect.
My problem with the tracklist
The songs on the album are really good, there’s no denying that. But the tracklist is not. Listening to the album for the first time was hectic. Similar to “Short n’ Sweet,” Carpenter experimented with different-sounding tracks, but they were broken up throughout the album in a way that made sense. In “Man’s Best Friend’s” case, it makes all of the tracks seem disconnected and ruins the cohesiveness of it. It took a few
listens of the album for me to understand what it was going for, and even then, I’m still a bit confused about the order.
Carpenter said in a newsletter after the album’s release that she tinkered with the tracklist until she felt it was perfect, and this was the product. She also explains that the order is supposed to give the same feeling as someone in a dying relationship, which still doesn’t save the tracklist.
“Manchild” wasn’t the best choice as an opening song. The song is really catchy, but doesn’t fit the rest of the album. It feels like an extension of “Short n’ Sweet” instead of its own sound, making it feel completely disconnected from the rest of the album. “House Tour” would have been a perfect opener for the album. It highlights Carpenter’s clever writing, and the song is about welcoming someone in, which would have been such a fun song to start the album with. There are some songs, like “Don’t Worry I’ll Make You Worry,” and “We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night,” that are really good lyrically and sonically, but they come after songs that have such different sounds, it’s hard to enjoy. If the tracklist had been tweaked just a little more, “Man’s Best Friend” would have been a lot better.
Ears’ best friend
Looking past the tracklist, Man’s Best Friend’s sound is so unique and fun. It’s clear Carpenter is heavily influenced by artists like ABBA and Dolly Parton just by listening to a few songs. Her country roots were very strong in songs like “Go Go Juice,” and “Manchild.” It was very refreshing. I love it when artists venture back into the original genre that got them interested in music; it feels like such an ode to the art. The album also has a lot of ABBA-esque pop songs that are so upbeat and simply entertaining. It’s easy to tell Carpenter had a fun time recording the songs as well; her excitement and passion for her job seeps through every song.
A little over a year after Sabrina Carpenter released her smash hit album Short n’ Sweet, her seventh studio album Man’s Best Friend was released.
In my “Short n’ Sweet” review, I mentioned that ballads aren’t my favorite songs on any albums, and this opinion still holds strong. While I think the ballads on “Man’s Best Friend” are much stronger than on the previous album, they’re still not my favorite on the album. “We Almost Broke Up Again Last Night,” and “Don’t Worry I’ll Make You Worry” were fine, but definite lows on the album for me. “Sugar Talking” was surprisingly enjoyable, similar to “Don’t Smile” on the previous album; it’s slow, but the production makes it sound dreamy. Ballads are always important to any album, but sonically, they’ve never been standout tracks. The general sound of the album was a little messy, but the highs are high, which is a win in my book.
Lyricism at its best... and worst
how she writes, having lyrics so plain and simple on the second track of the album was an interesting choice. “Tears” aside, Carpenter did a great job writing about the end of a relationship in a way that doesn’t seem too serious, but still relatable.
Goodbye
While I do have some gripes with parts of it, this album is going to age like fine wine. It’s hard to hate something that comes from Carpenter, with her eccentric sound and lyrics being so addictive. It’s clear that the criticisms that will come from this album will become motivation for whatever the next album has to offer. Some songs on the album that already stand out to me are “Nobody’s Son,” “When Did You Get Hot?,” “Go Go Juice,” and “House Tour.” These tracks encapsulate Carpenter’s sound perfectly, and they’ll stay in my music rotation for a while.
Rating:
Sound: 8.5
Lyricism: 8
Cohesion: 6
Carpenter is a genius songwriter. Her subtle innuendos and sexual metaphors are always silly and entertaining. While that writing is throughout this album, they feel very hit or miss. “House Tour” is one of Carpenter’s best-written songs. It drips with humor and metaphors to the point that it becomes addictive to listen to. Trying to get a man to come over by comparing herself to her house and offering to give a “tour” is so bizarre, but only Carpenter could make that metaphor charming. “When Did You Get Hot?” combines a sensual sound with funny songwriting in a way that’s so good. If Carpenter took her songwriting and turned it into a routine, she could be a true stand-up comedian.
On the other hand, “Tears” was a huge disappointment for me. Carpenter has proved countless times that she knows how to be cheeky with her writing, and “Tears” goes in a completely opposite direction; it feels a little intense. On an album that’s chalk-full of crazy writing and one liners, writing lyrics like “tears run down my thighs” seem a bit too on the nose. I’m all for creative expression but when we know
Crossword and Sudoku
Green party?
Shared loads?
Game that’s over in the blink of an eye
Bit of sign language?
Moves quickly?
Made a lap
Small plates of fish
Argentine “other”
“Watch this space” letters
Oscar nominee
Penchant
Go badly?
Fume
Fried fish at the Minnesota State Fair
Long-haired cat breed 34 Minor keys? 35 Curry and others
Bob Marley’s “__ Little Birds”
Macro type 38 Medical discipline with a five-year residency, for short
Round in a poker tournament
Tandoori flatbread
Lady bird
43 Classic rock singer 44 Literature Nobelist Tokarczuk 48 Not too dirty
Paperwork to let someone go
Hungrily rummage through
Class with a mean teacher?
“Verily!”
Atop
Name-dropping abbr.
Bite on a rope or cluster
First sign of spring
Holiday __
Pilates movement 8 Some models with click wheels 9 AED experts 10 Rhyme of “Romeo” in the last couplet of “Romeo and Juliet” 11 Peter Pan’s destination 13 Immune system components 14 Matt who lived in a van down by the river on “SNL” 15 Picture with a lot of space
20 Arcade handful 22 They’re fired before being sent home
23 Pajama Day attire 24 What a load of junk! 25 Salvation Army volunteer
Out 28 Australian model Miranda 29 Justin.tv successor 30 “Mayor __”: national
moniker
Balkan natives 33 “Beau Is Afraid” theme 35 Has second thoughts 37 Moans and groans 40 Oily compound 41 Animal butters?
43 Indigenous people known for reindeer herding
45 Bullet train?
46 Blowout
47 Grinding along
49 New __: cap brand
50 Start to show
51 Short records, for short
