DN MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2014
THE DAILY NEWS
BALLSTATEDAILY.COM
STUDENT FOUND DEAD OFF CAMPUS Classmates remember kindness of freshman who died over weekend
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CHRISTOPHER STEPHENS NEWS EDITOR news@bsudailynews.com
A freshman who died in an apartment off campus Saturday, will be remembered for his bear hug, which friends say made any person feel like they were doing something right.
Muncie Police and the University Police Department have not yet released the cause of death. Alexander Trout, a hall director, sent an email later that day to residents on the sixth floor of Studebaker West Complex to say Elija Swager had died. University spokesperson Tony Proudfoot confirmed that Swager was found dead Saturday. Amanda Lovell, a freshman zoology major, said Swager was the kind of person who never hesitated to take time out of his day to listen to people’s problems.
Lovell first met Swager in their small middle school in Angola, Ind. But the fondest memories she has of him are from high school. “I always remember, if I was having a rough day, [Swager] would walk by my locker and say, ‘Hey, Elija Swager keep your chin up,’” she a freshman who said. died Saturday Lovell said Swager was always gentle, though people may not have known from his large athletic frame he had from
playing football, rugby and wrestling. “He always had a hug for everyone,” she said. “Even if he just met you, he would take a bullet for you. He was everyone’s best friend.” Lauren Honer, a freshman political science major at Michigan State University, will never forget the fun she had with Swager.
See SWAGER, page 5
WEEKDAY I
HAPPY FRIDAY GUY DANIELLE GRADY CHIEF REPORTER | dagrady@bsu.edu
WARRIORS DN PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BREANNA DAUGHERTY
Former Muncie standout returns
Masked, positive superheros take over Ball State campus promoting favorite day of week
« We all kind of look for a difference to make in this life, and this is my small piece of doing that right now. »
n 1978, a masked man with a whipped cream pie in hand and two accomplices by his side stood behind a building at Fordham University in New York. He stepped out onto the sidewalk populated by students hurrying to their next class. Michael O’Hara scanned the churning crowd for his target. He was carrying out an order to “pie” an unsuspecting student. The request was made in response to an advertisement O’Hara and his suitemates placed in the school newspaper, offering to hurl a pie at anyone the respondent wished. Of course, the victim couldn’t be a professor or administrator. See FRIDAY, page 3
HAPPY FRIDAY GUY, a Ball State student
SAD MONDAY PERSON SAIGE DRIVER STAFF REPORTER
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sndriver@bsu.edu
House fire brings star athelete to hometown, BSU basketball MATT M KINNEY CHIEF REPORTER | @Matt_D_McKinney c
DN FILE PHOTO TAYLOR IRBY
Basketball has always been a form of therapy for Jeremiah Davis III. Growing up, he and his family played on whatever Muncie basketball court they could find. “I played basketball every day,” he said. “Basketball was a way for me to express myself. Basketball was like a painkiller for me.” He used the sport as a painkiller long before he won a sectional title at Muncie Central High School, and long before he played at Cincinnati. Now, as Davis III deals with the loss of his childhood home, basketball continues to be his comfort zone. Last November a fire ravaged the house he lived in since third grade. “It was devastating,” Davis III said.
Sad Monday Person roams the campus Feb. 17. Sad Monday Person tries to make Mondays seem better because he loves them.
W
ith every superhero comes a supervillain. Batman has the Joker. Superman has Lex Luthor. SpiderMan has the Green Goblin. So, who goes with Happy Friday Guy? Of course, Sad Monday Person. Sad Monday Person has been roaming the sidewalks of Ball State’s campus as Happy Friday Guy’s nemesis since the Fall 2013 semester. Students can see him running around Mondays dressed in a green morph suit, a black cape, a helmet and a shirt with the emblem “SMP” across the chest.
LOSING A HOME
Davis III woke up to a text from his father Nov. 4, asking him to call. He found out an electrical fire started in the attic and damaged most of his family’s house, more than 100 miles away. “I was just worried about my family,” Davis III said. Unable to do anything to directly help, he called them two or three times per day to get updates and find out what was going on with the house.
See DAVIS, page 4
BALL BEARINGS PHOTO LAUREN DAHLHAUSER
Happy Friday Guy poses for a photo Friday in the Arts and Journalism Building. Happy Friday Guy skates around campus while spreading Friday joy.
See MONDAY, page 3
Ball State not worried by IU data breach
BAD ROADS DON’T MEAN LOWER TIPS Local food delivery drivers say they reluctantly wish for snow when they begin their shift SEE PAGE 6
MUNCIE, INDIANA
ONE WEEK UNTIL SPRING BREAK. HANG IN THERE.
University to keep plan for keeping information safe from hacks, crimes KAITLIN LANGE CHIEF REPORTER | kllange@bsu.edu Despite the recent Indiana University security breach, Ball State students shouldn’t have to worry about their information falling into the wrong hands. The Associated Press reported CONTACT US
News desk: 285-8245 Sports desk: 285-8245 Features desk: 285-8245
Editor: 285-8249 Classified: 285-8247 Fax: 285-8248
that 146,000 IU students’ information was accessible to the public last week. The university said there was no evidence that anyone had seen the student data while it was public. This security breach occurred just weeks after a similar incident at the University of Maryland. Tobiah Coffman, Ball State director of information security services, said mistakes can happen, but he is confident with Ball State’s security. “We definitely take protecting data very seriously,” Coffman said. TWEET US
Receive news updates on your phone for free by following @bsudailynews on Twitter. 1. CLOUDY
2. MOSTLY CLOUDY
EAT RIGHT @ BSU SAMPLING EVENT TODAY! 10:50 a.m.-1 p.m. Looking for healthy variety? Sample healthy choices offered on today’s menu at BSU Dining locations.
6. RAIN
See SECURITY, page 6
BALL STATE’S SECURITY FIREWALL
Prevents unauthorized access to personal or blocked information. INTRUSION PREVENTION
The system follows a computer’s path through networks to alert of malicious practices. THE PULSE OF BALL STATE
DATA LOSS PREVENTION SYSTEM
Scans the university’s servers. THE PULSE OF BALL STATE
SOURCE: Tobiah Coffman, Ball State director of information security services.
THE PULSE OF BALL STATE
VOL. 93, ISSUE 92
FORECAST TODAY Mostly sunny High: 18 Low: 5 3. PARTLY CLOUDY
4. MOSTLY SUNNY
This snow will leave us bitter cold air as we move into Monday with highs only reaching the upper teens and mostly sunny skies. A chilly overnight low of 4 degrees can be expected. - Lexi Meyer, WCRD weather forecaster 5. SUNNY
THE PULSE OF BALL STATE
MARCH IS NATIONAL
7. PERIODS OF RAIN
The Atrium Harvest turkey burger (blend of turkey, rice, cherries, spinach) Courtside (LaFollette) Very veggie sub, Chipotle black bean sub 12. SCATTERED FLURRIES 11. SNOW FLURRIES Noyer Centre Food Mall Calypso pineapple bean casserole SC Tally Rosemary grilled chicken with lemon-dill brown rice Woodworth Commons Pesto penne, Couscous-stuffed bell pepper 15. HEAVY SNOW
“We provide a safe environment for protecting data.” Coffman said there hasn’t been a security breach at Ball State since he has worked at the university. He said the university doesn’t plan on making any changes to security in light of IU’s breach. “I just think [the IU security breach] kind of confirms all of the things we are already doing,” Coffman said. “Security is honestly an evolving process all of the time.”
16. SLEET
9. SCATTERED SHOWERS
10. DRIZZLE
NUTRITION MONTH Learn more about this month’s events, including a student recipe contest, free fitness class, health fair, Nutrition Jeopardy, and more!
13. SNOW SHOWERS
www.bsu.edu/dining
Click “Nutrition Information” 17. FREEZING RAIN
18. WINTRY MIX