The Space Issue | Ball Bearings Magazine | Volume 15 Issue 1 | Ball State University by Ball State Unified Media

UNLEASH YOUR INNER PASSENGER PRINCESS

What’s Inside

Reading the Stars

Find your zodiac on the astrology circle.

When it Rains, it Pours

The climate crisis is affecting the nation’s wildlife and their spaces.

The Portrayals of the Strange

Science fiction in media over the past 100 years.

A Space for You

The Art of the Speakeasy

The most illustrious and infamous spots are usually the hardest to find.

The Big Four organizations create welcoming communities for underrepresented groups on campus.

A Summer Getaway

Summer camp: A welcoming space for children.

A Stellar Role

The women who power the Charles W. Brown Planetarium.

Growing Up in the End Zone

Ball State alumni share their experiences on the field.

The Space Between Us

The journey to setting boundaries in a relationship.

Car Centricity of Muncie

Experts discuss the car centricity of Muncie and how it is affected.

Involuntary Nomads

What does gentrification look like in Indiana?

Worlds Apart

Personal space norms are explored across different countries.

Ball Bearings

Executive

Editor-in-Chief

Daniela Morales

Executive Editor

Tori Smith

Managing Editor

Lila Fierek

Art Director

Meghan Holt

Juan Bolanos-Zuniga, Photo Provided

Staff Magazine

Associate Art Director

Josie Santiago

Photo Editor

Mya Cataline

Social Media Editor

Nick McGraw

Associate Editor

Abigail Denault

Designers

Brenden Rowan

Grace Adcock

Jessica Bergfors

Josie Santiago

Mallory Tucker

Meghan Holt

Writers

Antonia Liakas

Daniel Kehn

Daniela Morales

Dillon Rosenlieb

Jessica Velez

Kaira Carter

Lila Fierek

Mya Cataline

Savannah Jordan

Tori Smith

Zach Gonzalez

Photographers

Mya Cataline

Antonia Liakas

Daniel Kehn

Adviser

Lisa Renze-Rhodes

From the Editor

daniela.morales@bsu.edu | @dani__morales3

It is hard to express to people how I have always felt out of place. I have lain awake at night wondering if this world will have a place for me, and somehow, I always tried to ﬁnd a way to mold myself into a person I know I’m not.

Through my journey at Ball State University, I have learned so much about what it means to ﬁnd a place in higher education. Being a ﬁrst-generation Latina pursuing a bachelor’s degree and, hopefully in the future, a master’s degree, I have always felt the utmost pressure to succeed in everything I do because of the fear of letting down the people I look up to the most. Unfortunately, this way of thinking has not always been positive.

It has always been hard for me to ﬁnd spaces where I feel like I belong. My journey here hasn’t been easy. Navigating a system that wasn’t built for people like me tends to have its challenges. From the cultural barrier to even the simplest of things, like ﬁguring out how to schedule classes, it was a huge undertaking for my freshman-year self.

On days when I feel like a space might be too small for me, I always remind myself of how far I have come despite these adversities.”

- Daniela Morales, Editor-in-chief

This Ball Bearings issue reminds me of the reason why I started this journey in the first place. No matter how difficult it has been to fill up that space that has for so long been denied to so many people, I constantly have to remind myself that my voice matters. I deserve to have a seat at the table. The truth is I have yet to find an answer that will stop me from thinking that there is no space for me. However, I can’t say that this journey hasn’t taught me a lot.

In taking the role of editor-in-chief, I knew I wanted to be the kind of leader who was compassionate and understanding. Each day, writers, designers, and photographers never fail to impress and inspire me to become the kind of person someone can look up to. On days when I feel like a space might be too small for me, I always remind myself of how far I have come despite these adversities.

In this issue, you’ll ﬁnd stories about summer camp, the Big Four, and women in STEM. I hope while reading this, you remind yourself that no matter how hard it may be, you will always have space in this world for you.

To any of my first-generation peers, and specifically the Latinx community here at Ball State reading this, I hope you find comfort in knowing your voice matters and these stories have a place for you. Create that space, and know that you belong there, always. 

Above: My sister Johana and I at her high school graduation May 14, 2010 in Elkhart, Indiana. Right: My family and I at the Dean’s List ceremony Sept. 16, 2023 in Muncie, Indiana. Daniela Morales, Photo Provided

Reading the Stars

Find your zodiac on the astrology circle.

By Daniela Morales

Zodiac signs are a way to deﬁne characteristics or ways of thinking and doing. A lot of the time, individuals don’t really know what horoscopes entail or how it affects them. To understand zodiac signs and astrological maps, one needs to know the history behind it. The Babylonians are the ones to thank for the zodiac wheel still used today. The wheel takes notes of the houses and planets and can be dated all the way back to 700 B.C. With their long history and modern advancement, it can be interesting to see how zodiac signs impact individuals and the many traits that are inherited because of them.

The 12 zodiac signs can be classiﬁed into four categories: ﬁre, water, air, and earth.

Starting with the ﬁre signs, this includes Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius. People with these signs are ﬁlled with tons of energy and the need to discover new things.

Aries

(March 21 - April 19):

The sign Aries is represented by a ram and is located between the zodiac signs Taurus and Pisces. Often ﬁlled with a rapid desire to get things done, they move and think quickly and are the ones who tend to be athletes. Filled with a courageous spirit, these signs encourage conﬁdence in others.

Leo

(July 23 - Aug. 22):

The ﬁfth and northern sign of the zodiac, Leo is also known as the lion. Leo is often associated with ﬁre, the power of the sun, strength, and courage. With a warm and generous spirit, Leos love being center stage and are natural-born leaders.

Sagittarius

(Nov. 22 - Dec. 21):

This sign is known as the archer of the signs and the Centaur, the mythical half man, half horse. Sagittarius is the ninth and southern sign of the zodiac. Like Aries, this sign tends to be athletic and has a love for travel. For this reason, Sagittarius people are always looking for ways to spice up their lives and often lean toward a more single approach in life.

The water signs include Pisces, Cancer, and Scorpio, and just like water, these signs are instantly nurturing and compassionate toward others while also adaptable to the world and feelings around them.

Pisces

(Feb. 19 - March 20):

The ﬁsh and the 12th southern sign of the zodiac, Pisces, are very compassionate, ﬂexible, and creative. With their heads stuck in the clouds, these signs can easily slither between the conscious and unconscious mind of dreaming due to a need to remain connected to spiritual life.

Scorpio

(Oct. 23 - Nov. 21):

The eighth southern sign of the zodiac, Scorpio, is signiﬁed by a scorpion. Likewise, they tend to be very loyal and mysterious people; however, once offended or betrayed, it can be hard to gain their trust back as resentment will run deep. Scorpios are also highly intuitive beings.

Cancer

(June 21 - July 22):

Known as the crab sign, Cancer is the fourth northern sign of the zodiac and is in the mystery cult of Orpheus, what is known as the entrance of the soul into incarnation. Cancers tend to understand the feelings of others and self, with extreme measures of being protective and devoted to those in their inner circle, such as romantic partners, parents, or close friends.

The Astrological Circle

Virgo

(Aug. 23 - Sept. 22):

Virgos, being the second-largest constellation, tend to be tactful and have a great ability to remain organized. With this, they are natural at conducting research and reasoning; however, a negative to this can be their inability to look toward a more broad outlook in life.

Capricorn

(Dec. 22 - Jan. 19):

Taurus

(April 20 - May 20):

Earth signs, just like the ground beneath us, are ﬁrm and reliable people. They are able to take advantage of all the opportunities that come their way, and are natural at ﬁnding purposes for everything.

Also known as the goat, of all the 12 signs, Capricorns have an innate ability to lead and help others confront the small details while also keeping a new outlook on all situations. For this reason, Capricorns tend to mature early on in life because of their ability to set high goals and accomplish them.

Known for their expensive and luxurious taste, Tauruses have a magnetic appearance. Oftentimes when making decisions, they are careful and intentional with what they are doing, making sure they are reaching their goal. However, because of this, they can be incredibly wary of change.

by Josie Santiago

Design

The air signs of the zodiac tend to be just like air — quick-witted and always moving. These signs tend to not like settling down, as they always see endless possibilities. Developing social skills early on, the air signs are very talkative and know how to socialize with others with a gravitation toward water signs.

Aquarius

(Jan. 20 - Feb. 18):

Aquarius, also known as the 11th southern sign of the zodiac, tends to have the greater good in mind, always connecting with people and ensuring their needs are met. For this reason, Aquariuses are way ahead of their years having a very mature outlook on life.

Libra

(Sept. 23 - Oct. 22):

at tend are signs.

Libra is the equilibrium of all the signs. Naturally in the seventh placement of the zodiac, these people favor peace over anything else. Conﬂict is not their best friend, and they try to avoid it at all costs, even if this means not fulﬁlling their own needs. They also tend to steer clear of competition or individual work.

Gemini

(May 21 - June 20):

Gemini, the third northern sign of the zodiac, is known for its outgoing and curious personality. These signs don’t like staying stagnant and will bore easily if they are enclosed in four walls. For this reason, they are very adaptable, but at the same time, they often don’t ﬁnish projects on time. 

When it Rains, IT POURS

The climate crisis is affecting the nation's wildlife and their spaces.

By Savannah Jordan

In some parts of the nation, it could be raining cats and dogs, others could be snowed under, and the rest could be all sunshine and rainbows. One thing is certain: they are all weathering the storm.

Many of the ecosystems that live in the bounds of the United States are suffering from their spaces changing because of sudden shifts in temperatures and recent natural disasters. The world’s climate crisis is running like the wind, and it is only getting worse, according to EarthJustice.

According to the National Parks Conservation Association, 1 million species are currently at risk of extinction, and 60% of wildlife species worldwide are experiencing changes in habitats or life cycles because of the climate change crisis.

John Taylor, land manager and restoration ecologist at Ball State University, says the most worrisome change he has seen because of climate change is the increase in tree diseases.

I don’t want to villainize the fact that people need homes and people need to grow crops. We need those things. There are a lot of things we’ve learned over the years how to do better.”

- Christy Wampler, Biologist for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Kentucky

The emerald ash borer, a green jewel beetle, has taken out ash trees, and there are diseases that are attacking beech trees, oak trees, and walnut trees as well. He is worried forests are not going to look like they used to in the past.

“[Tree diseases], in some way, interrupt the flow of water and the food from the roots to the canopy and back, and that kills the whole tree,” Taylor says.

He has been at Ball State for 22 years, working with his students and colleagues to promote environmental education and sustainability.

Though he says it is hard to evaluate exactly how our environment has changed due to climate change without specific measurements, Taylor has observed that when he was younger, the winters were colder, below freezing temperatures would last longer, and there was more snow.

“I used to have cross-country skis, used to be able to use those,” he says. “But there is no purpose in having those anymore.”

According to the National Park Service (NPS), some national parks, such as Glacier National Park in Montana, are experiencing loss of ice, glaciers, snowpacks, and water due to increased temperatures, increased evaporation, and changes in the weather pattern.

Christy Wampler, biologist for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Kentucky, says that the winters in Kentucky are also not coming as early, and they are not getting as cold as they used to.

She helps with annual bear surveys where they track radio-collared bears in the winter and count their cubs during hibernation.

“We have a little more trouble doing those surveys because the bears are never really going into full hibernation because it’s not really getting that cold,” she says.

Biologist for the USDA National Conservation Service Christy Wampler in a bat cave completing a bat survey Jan. 15, 2020 in Kentucky. Megan Neal, Photo Provided

Usually the bear is sleeping, they dart the bear, count the cubs, and put radio collars on them, but recently, the mama bears have been walking out of the den when they try to go in.

According to NPS, a larger number of invasive species and an increased number of fires in a once fire-free area have the potential to wipe out important ecosystems because of the warming and changes in the weather pattern.

For example, increasing water temperatures and an influx of invasive species will likely lower native game fish populations to the point where fishing will be nearly impossible.

Another aspect about the warming climate, Wampler notes, is the increase in ticks, mosquitos, and other insects, because there are no cold spells in the winters to fully kill everything off.

“I’ll be out working, hiking on a trail, or something like that, to check out a site, and pick up ticks in January, which was not something that used to happen,” she says. “It used to be that they were kind of dormant that time of year.”

Carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere because of the fossil fuels that are burning for electricity, heat, and transportation, according to NASA. These human activities are a leading force in the global warming trend observed since the mid-20th century.

Taylor says heat pumps are becoming more efficient and are increasingly being promoted because of the tax incentives and credits that come along with it.

“A lot of the energy we use comes from coal, [which] comes from natural gas, and if we can be efficient in how to use that, we get more out of each of those. That’s

a benefit,” he says. “So, heat pumps ease electricity, and they’re able to heat and cool a home both much more efficiently than previous generations of heat pumps and even more efficiently than gas.”

Wampler also says there are many ways humans affect climate change, but she wants to remind people that humans aren’t separated from the ecosystem.

“It’s not us versus them,” she says. “We are part of the ecosystem … I don’t want to villainize the fact that people need homes and people need to grow crops. We need those things. There are a lot of things we’ve learned over the years how to do better.” g

Biologist for the USDA National Conservation Service Christy Wampler holds a Cerulean Warbler as she and her team tag them with Geolocators May 2018 in Kentucky. Megan Neal, Photo Provided

Biologist for the USDA National Conservation Service Christy Wampler holds a small bat Jan. 15, 2020 in Kentucky. The bat is one of the wildlife species that are now endangered in Kentucky. Megan Neal, Photo Provided

PORTRAYALS OF THE STRANGE

Science fiction in the media over the past 100 years.

By Tori Smith

One of the first alien stories in film was told with no words or sounds at all — a French silent film by Georges Méliès called “A Trip to the Moon.” The 12-minute film shows a few individuals shooting up to the moon in a rocket and exploring what they discovered. That was all the way back in 1902, so how have the depiction of aliens changed throughout the decades in pop culture?

The Moon from “A Trip to the Moon” by Georges Méliès. Illustrations by Meghan Holt

Alien

Directed by Ridley Scott, the first “Alien” movie of the four-part movie series debuted in theaters Feb. 24, 1979. The movie brought in almost $80 million in the United States and $105 million worldwide. The alien portrayed in this movie was an adult creature with an open and dripping mouth. It chose to use the bodies of its victims as a host for its eggs.

Mars Attacks!

Directed by Tim Burton, “Mars Attacks!” is a satirical movie that debuted in theaters Dec. 12, 1996. Its revenue is just over $100 million. The aliens had large bulging eyes and a prominent brain. The movie was centered around the government trying to be nice to the aliens, but the aliens resorted to violence, which portrayed them negatively.

The Fifth Element

Directed by Luc Besson, “The Fifth Element” is a movie that debuted in theaters May 9, 1997. Its revenue is almost $264 million. The movie is based in the year 2257. The aliens portrayed in this movie are known as the Mondoshawan, which represented grounded birds on earth. They were large robot-like creatures with armor.

Slither

Directed by James Gunn, “Slither” is a movie that debuted in theaters March 31, 2006. Its revenue is almost $13 million. The movie is about a small town that gets taken over by an alien plague. The plague is carried through red slugs that shoot themselves into people’s mouths and turn them into aliens.

Avatar

Directed by James Cameron, “Avatar” is a movie that debuted in theaters Dec. 18, 2009. Its revenue is almost $3 billion. In this film, a Marine is dispatched to a distant world called Pandora, where the aliens are lean and blue-skinned. They have cat-like noses and tails with large ears. The aliens speak Na’vi, which was created by Dr. Paul Frommer. The Na’vi language can be learned at Learnnavi.org.

Stranger Things

Directed by the Duffer brothers, “Stranger Things” is a television show on Netflix that premiered July 15, 2016. According to Yahoo Finance UK, after its season four release, it made over $28 billion in brand placement alone. The show is based in a fake town in Hawkins, Indiana. The season’s first alien, the demogorgon, originated from the game Dungeons and Dragons. It has muscular, sticky skin with a gaping mouth.

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

Directed by Steven Spielberg, “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” is an alien story with a lot of heart behind it. The movie, which debuted June 11, 1982, brought in $435.1 million domestically and $793 million worldwide. The alien portrayed in this movie had a misshapen head and long index fingers. E.T.’s face was reportedly based on the facial features of Albert Einstein, Ernest Hemingway, Carl Sandburg, and a pug.

Above: The xenomorph from Ridley Scott’s “Alien”. Below: The demogorgon from “Stranger Things,” directed by the Duffer brothers. Illustrations by Meghan Holt

By Antonia Liakas

Charles W. Brown Planetarium

The Charles W. Brown Planetarium at Ball State University contains the largest dome in the state of Indiana. It seats over 150 people and is home to a star projector, which is displayed in 70k resolution. The planetarium welcomes over 20,000 visitors a year.

Ball State has had a planetarium since 1967, inside what was the Cooper Science Complex. This was later demolished and upgraded to what is today the Cooper Science Building, which holds the Charles W. Brown Planetarium (added in 2014). The planetarium is now operated by Ball State’s ﬁrst female director, Dayna Thompson.

‘The Dayna Special’

Dayna Thompson, the planetarium director at Ball State, is one of the familiar faces behind the planetarium on campus. She started at Purdue University

A Stellar Role

The women who power the Charles W. Brown Planetarium.

Northwest and attained a bachelor’s of science in physics. Afterward, she went to Ball State as a graduate student in the physics and astronomy department, eventually earning her master’s degree.

Dayna has spent 13 years at Ball State. Once she graduated from the university, she applied for the role as assistant director of the Charles W. Brown Planetarium, which was new at the time. After seven years in that position, Dayna was promoted to planetarium director in 2019.

Dayna says she enjoyed science ﬁction throughout her childhood. Growing up, her family always watched the genre on TV; speciﬁcally, Star Trek was one of Dayna’s favorites.

While her interest in science ﬁction played a part in becoming planetarium director, Dayna’s educational journey is what led her to the position. She was mostly captivated by math, but her interest in space evolved over time. Mathematics came naturally to Dayna.

She started by learning about quantum physics through NOVA specials, a science series shown on PBS.

“That really interested me, using math to understand how things work in the world and understand our place in it,” Dayna says.

She later switched over to astronomy to pursue her interest in the subject’s beauty and fascinations. She began focusing on red dwarf stars. Red dwarf stars are the smallest and most common type of star in the Milky Way.

The planetarium displays a number of programs, including one of Dayna’s own. It is titled “Sunset Meditation” — a health and mindfulness oriented program that discusses the role of astronauts and how they deal with feelings of anxiousness while undergoing space travel.

Dayna expresses how the topic is important to her, so she wanted to make this show free and accessible for all. Her show was so popular that it was sold to several planetariums across the United

Planetarium show being displayed using the projector’s at the Charles W. Brown Planetarium. Ball State Marketing, Photo Provided

States and distributed worldwide. The guided meditation is even translated into six different languages: English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Slovak.

‘The voice of the universe’

Nicolette Terracciano is the planetarium show specialist at Ball State. She is the voice of the majority of the shows that take place in the Charles W. Brown Planetarium.

Nicolette was an undergraduate student here at Ball State, and she obtained her degree in astronomy and physics. She is currently a graduate student working toward her master’s degree in physics. She started her work within the planetarium as an assistant and was later promoted to show specialist because of her enthusiastic personality.

Nicolette’s interest in astronomy started when she was 10 years old. When she was a child, her older sister would take her stargazing in the ﬁelds of their neighborhood. Her sister would tell her about the constellations and star forms.

“Eventually, I started asking too big of questions,” Nicolette says. “She would look at me and say, ‘Nic, I have no idea.’”

This was when Nicolette realized that she wanted to dig deeper into the world of science.

When it comes to understanding the environment around her, Nicolette has always been curious.

“I don’t like leaving questions unanswered,” she says. “I want to know.”

With that, Nicolette worked hard to pursue her career in STEM. She found great interest in the stars and universe and came to a realization.

“I discovered that I can make a career out of studying astronomy … something that I love,” she says.

From there, she ﬁnished up her schooling and applied for the role as planetarium assistant, and she was recommended by her professors. She was later named the show specialist for Charles W. Brown Planetarium, where she conducts public shows, show

scheduling, planning events, prepping activities, and more.

When being introduced to work in the planetarium, Nicolette was heavily influenced by Dayna. She was the first woman in the STEM field that Nicolette had ever met. Dayna believed that Nicolette was suitable for the job and that she was capable of conducting scientific presentations.

Because of Dayna’s faith in her, Nicolette pushed herself to jump at the opportunity to work as an assistant. She also admired Dayna’s professional and intelligent character. Dayna’s trust and support helped Nicolette thrive in the industry, take risks, and prepare her for her career. The two of them have a trusting bond and work well together.

“The best part about my job is making it a safe place for everyone to talk with me or with Dayna Thompson or with anyone on our staff and be able to learn something new,” Nicolette says. 

Show specialist Nicolette Terracciano and planetarium director Dayna Thompson in front of the star projector Oct.13, 2023 at Charles W. Brown Planetarium. Antonia Liakas, Ball Bearings

IN THE Growing End Zone

Illustration by Brenden Rowan

Ball State alumni share their experiences on the ﬁeld.

By Dillon Rosenlieb

In a small Indiana town, where State Road 38 and Highway 47 meet, the green grass of a ball ﬁeld can be the gateway to the world. It was on those ﬁelds that Brad Maynard, former NFL player, found his dreams.

Brad found his future as a three-sport athlete in Sheridan, Indiana, a town home to only about 2,000 people in the early 1990s.

“For as long as I can remember, I would always be carrying a ball in my hands,” Brad says.

His dad had him carry a ball in both hands because he knew how important being ambidextrous was for sports.

Brad played football in the fall, baseball in the spring, and basketball year round. He says it was a great way to grow up.

“I have just had a love for sports since the day I was born,” Brad says.

As high school graduation neared for Brad, the multi-sport athlete started looking for places to continue playing. Ball State University wasn’t initially on his radar, but a coach who knew Brad mentioned the player to then-offensive coordinator Bill Lynch.

Bill aggressively pursued the punter, and soon enough, Brad was suiting up for the Cardinals. His career with Ball State

included a trip to the Southwest for the 1996 Las Vegas Bowl, where the Cardinals squared off against the Nevada Wolf Pack.

It also included being named the 1996 Mid-American Conference Kicker of the Year. He was the ﬁrst punter in the history of college football to be named the NCAA Division I most valuable player.

“The MAC Hall of Fame is awesome, just being recognized by writers, coaches as hall of fame material,” Brad says. “The guys that are in there, especially the NFL Hall of Fame, they change the game.”

In the spring of 1997, Brad got invited to the NFL Scouting Combine held in Indianapolis, where two teams in particular showed interest in him — the New York Giants and the St. Louis Rams. With the 95th pick in the third round of the 1997 draft, the New York Giants selected Brad.

He stayed with them through the 2001 Super Bowl, when the Giants faced the Baltimore Ravens.

Though the Giants lost, Brad recorded the most punts by any punter in Super Bowl history — 11 — and that record still stands to this day.

After playing his ﬁrst four seasons with the Giants, he decided to leave the team.

“I missed the Midwest … so when the time came four years later and I was a free agent, I left and went to Chicago,” he says.

I have just had a love for sports since the day I was born.”

- Brad Maynard, Former NFL player and Ball State alumnus

Evan Triggs looks over at the sidelines while playing a game in 1996 in Indianapolis. Evan Triggs, Photo Provided

Looking back at Ball State, I am grateful for the time I spent there. I am grateful that the coaches trusted in me and took me in — I am grateful to have been a Cardinal.”

- Evan Triggs, 2001 alumnus

His time with the Bears brought him to another Super Bowl, when Chicago faced Indianapolis in 2007.

Brad played for two more teams, the Houston Texans and Cleveland Browns, and by the end of his professional career, he’d logged 15 years in the NFL.

Like Brad, Evan Triggs started his football journey at a young age, when a family friend and a coach introduced him to the game.

Evan, a 2001 Ball State alumnus, said once he stepped foot on a football ﬁeld, he never looked back, following the yard lines from youth league ball to Cathedral High School in Indianapolis and a state title win in 1996.

Though he considered other schools, the defensive lineman ended up 60 miles from his hometown as a Ball State Cardinal.

One of his deﬁning moments as a Cardinal, he said, came during a game against Eastern Michigan University. The Cardinals were on track to win the conference that year, and Evan came off the bench on a play action fake, hitting the quarterback “clean in the chest.”

The quarterback fumbled the ball, and one of Evan’s teammates picked it up, going 65 yards for a touchdown. That score invigorated the team, and they ended up

winning by 10 points that day.

“That was a game winning play for me,” he says.

For Evan, the memories on the ﬁeld rival those off.

He says one of the beautiful things about football is getting to travel the country with teammates, forgetting about academics for a while, and just focusing on having fun with a team and playing football.

He pursued the NFL for his ﬁrst few years after college, but when he realized it wasn’t for him, he spent the next six years playing recreational football — both indoor and outdoor. Now, he’s the vice president of Earthwave Technologies, and he coaches at his high school alma mater, Cathedral High School.

Both Evan and Brad were influenced by their Ball State coaches to make the most in every game. For Brad, that coach was Bill Reynolds. Although he was a retired volunteer coach, he knew kicking and punting well and had a way of making Brad feel confident and relaxed on the field. Brad says he owes his Ball State coaches everything for getting him to the NFL.

“Looking back at Ball State, I am grateful for the time I spent there,” Evan says. “I am grateful that the coaches trusted in me and took me in — I am grateful to have been a Cardinal.” 

Abbreviations

Explained:

ATT = Punt Returns

TB = Touchback

LNG = Long Punt

AVG = Gross

Average Punt Yards

YDS = Yards

Evan Triggs poses for a photo after playing in a club football game 1987 in Indiana. Evan Triggs, Photo Provided

Evan Triggs poses for a photo after playing a game in 1996 in Indianapolis. Evan Triggs, Photo Provided

Brad Maynard punts the ball down the ﬁeld in 1994 at Ball State University. Maynard was inducted into the Ball State Hall of Fame in 2007. Ball State Athletics, Photo Provided

Source: ESPN Brenden Rowan

Brad Maynard’s NFL Stats

What does gentriﬁcation look like in Indiana?

By Lila Fierek

It’s 1954. The shops in The Village are booming after World War II, with a mini shopping mall and a high-end shoe store moving to the strip. The College Sweet Shop is the hangout spot for college kids, and The Village is all funded by Riverside Neighborhood.

Ball State University grows. Students and renters move into the area. McGalliard’s business increases. Muncie’s industry begins to die, and soon enough, The Village and downtown Muncie die with it.

After years and years of trying, Ball State and Muncie have hatched a plan to try to rebuild the famous strip on West University Avenue. With the addition of a theatre, a hotel, and a mix of housing and commercial sites, the city is committed to improve the area’s economy, but what does that mean for the businesses already there?

Is this gentriﬁcation or revitalization? This is the question that was asked early on in the research stages of the plan for The Village’s future. As a studier of Muncie, Jennifer Erickson, professor of anthropology, doesn’t know, but she’s looking to ﬁnd out.

What is gentriﬁcation?

In simple terms, according to the Urban Displacement Project, gentriﬁcation is a process where there is an economic change in a historically disinvested neighborhood. This change often comes when a wealthier group of people move into predominantly lowerincome neighborhoods.

It is a complex process that typically makes economic investment in the neighborhood increase, causing the rent and property value in those neighborhoods to increase as well.

According to the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC), in terms of gentriﬁcation and racial displacement, it’s often white home buyers coming and displacing the minority residents who lived there before.

Associate professor of architecture Tom Collins has lived in Muncie for the past eight years. He lives in downtown Muncie, and through his architectural work, he has seen gentriﬁcation ﬁrsthand.

“At a surface level, [gentriﬁcation] might seem like a good thing because depressed neighborhoods have a lot of blight,” Tom says. “But unfortunately, what

it also means is that as the property values rise, the folks that originally lived there no longer can afford to live there anymore, and they’re displaced.”

While there are a number of positives that can come with the process, including new people in the community; investment in the area; and improvement of the economy, the high taxes, and rent means long-term residents cannot afford to live there anymore.

The urbanization of gentriﬁcation

Gentriﬁcation is most common in big cities. In a study done by the NCRC in 2020, Indianapolis was number nine on the list of cities with the most gentriﬁcation.

Tom has done work in Indianapolis recently, and says he has seen much more gentriﬁcation there than in Muncie, not that it does not exist there too.

“People start to realize that maybe they want to live in the city or closer to the center of the city or they want a more urban lifestyle,” Tom says, “and they start buying up vacant parcels in these neighborhoods or they buy up old homes that are blighted or abandoned.”

It is most clear to Tom on the eastside of Indianapolis and in Fountain Square, a neighborhood that used to be “rough around the edges” but has transformed in the last few years. According to a report from SAVI, household income in Fountain Square increased by 47% from 2010 to 2016.

One argument against gentriﬁcation is that when a homogenous group of people move in, it eliminates the diversity and the culture of the neighborhood.

“It’s also about changing the things that make that particular neighborhood special or unique,” Tom says. “This is really where people who are very opposed to gentriﬁcation will say, ‘Look at that neighborhood, it used to be eclectic and quirky and fun … and all these little attributes that gave it its ﬂair, and now look, 10 years later, it’s not like that anymore because all of the people that made it like that aren’t there anymore.’”

The history of Muncie

With only 60 miles in between Indianapolis and Muncie, one might think gentriﬁcation would be in Muncie too. Some of it can be seen in small doses, for example, when it comes to The Village and

Gentriﬁcation Across Indianapolis

in certain areas of downtown.

But for the most part, gentrification is not an issue in Muncie, and the reason for that is due to a lack of demand for housing.

J.P. Hall, associate professor of historic preservation, served a term on the planning commission for Muncie and as regional director of east central Indiana for Indiana Landmarks. Therefore, he has been studying Muncie and its history for years.

Muncie is a post-industrial city. Hall says it boomed until the 1970s but has “steadily shrunk” ever since. Similarly to Detroit, South Bend, Indiana, and Gary, Indiana, most of the industry left Muncie after World War II.

“You see it in space, and you also feel it,” Hall says. “If you drive around the city, certain neighborhoods, certain areas are going to impart a certain feeling, and there are going to be certain conditions that you’re going to see in the built environment depending on where you’re at.”

The lack of industry in Muncie caused a loss of jobs, abandonment, poverty, and loss of income. According to StatsIndiana, the population of Muncie in 1980, at the end of the boom, was 77,216 people. In 2020, the number decreased to 65,194 people.

Source: indyvitals.org, FHCCI.

Illustrations by Meghan Holt

As Muncie began to be revitalized, this went toward building up Ball State and IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital, along with other things on the west side of Muncie. The “higher end neighborhoods” as Hall calls them, like Yorktown Breckinridge and Halteman Village, reside on the Northwest side of the city.

Where the industry and factories used to be on the east and south sides now sit an abundance of vacant and abandoned homes.

“We have more housing than we need,” Hall says. “Now, you might say, ‘Well, but that’s housing on the southside in a postindustrial neighborhood or that is working class housing that is not not up to my standard,’ but that is a different situation.”

While there is an excess of undesirable housing in Muncie, there isn’t enough affordable housing. Muncie mayor Dan Ridenhour recognizes this issue, making affordable housing one of his main goals for 2023’s Annual Action Plan. At the beginning of the year, 93 single-family homes were scheduled to be built in Muncie.

Because of these problems and lack of options, gentriﬁcation isn’t as present in Muncie as other cities.

Redlining

The lack of gentriﬁcation doesn’t mean it may not come or that there are no other issues. Redlining is a big problem in Muncie, and gentriﬁcation often comes after it.

Redlining, according to the Urban Displacement Project, was the practice of categorizing neighborhoods as undesirable on Home Owners’ Loan Corporation maps because they were deemed the riskiest in terms of loan issuance. These “hazardous” neighborhoods were predominantly ones of color. According to Federal Reserve History, redlining was outlawed in the 1868 Fair Housing Act because it was racially motivated.

“There is a lot of bias when uppermiddle class folks buy homes in old neighborhoods,” Tom says. “They tend to see poor, disenfranchised populations in these neighborhoods as a problem, like we need to get rid of them, and that’s gentriﬁcation.”

Tom believes a part of the divide, or redlining, in Muncie is attributed to people not being comfortable with people different from them living so close.

With a shortage of 7.3 million affordable houses, according to Urban Institute, the United States is in an affordable housing crisis. Affordable housing, according to Anchor Group Solutions, is housing that costs less than 30% of a household’s gross monthly income.

socially acceptable to say I don’t want poor people, … but they didn’t recognize that they’re one of them.”

Instead, some people like the idea of gentriﬁcation since it means property value goes up and they can try to sell their homes, but as families are pushed out because of gentriﬁcation, they often get into destabilizing patterns of moving from house to house.

“The real estate markets are so hot that there isn’t sufﬁcient time for folks to respond to these gentriﬁcation pressures,” Tom says. “In Muncie, because that doesn’t happen, I feel we have this opportunity if we can recognize it’s a problem, … we can start to address it before it happens.”

Revitalization

There are plans in the works to turn things around in Muncie and get ahead of these issues.

They tend to see poor, disenfranchised populations in these neighborhoods as a problem, like we need to get rid of them, and that’s gentriﬁcation.”

Along with the plan for The Village, there is the TogetherDM plan, which Hall is a big supporter of. The long-range proposal discusses how downtown, the center of the city, should be the epicenter of revitalization, turning things around in a spot that is “neutral territory” between the divided sides of Muncie. This comprehensive plan was created from community input and professional planning.

- Tom Collins, Associate professor of architecture

In Tom’s experience with affordable housing, he has attended meetings to revitalize neighborhoods, including ones in Muncie, and he says even people in affordable housing often don’t want affordable houses to be built in their neighborhoods.

“People use affordable housing as a shorthand way of talking about poverty, and people have these assumptions about who poor people are,” he says. “You start hearing people saying, ‘I don’t want affordable housing’ because it’s not

“We have to … build housing down there very strategically and intensely in order to kind of reverse all that action that happened after World War II and to kind of recenter things because things have gotten off center here in Muncie,” he says.

Erickson, associate director of the Center for Middletown Studies, thinks revitalization in Muncie could be good or bad: pushing people out or boosting business. She can’t predict what will happen, but she hopes this restoration will include places that people who don’t have a lot of money can enjoy.

“If you’re going to revitalize an area, to use that term revitalization instead of gentriﬁcation, you are going to try to involve the community as much as possible,” she says. “You will be thinking about who is at this table and who’s not at this table.”

HERE, Garmin,

Photo Provided

Photo Illustration by Meghan Holt

Speakeasy

The space inside Vérítà Oct. 10, 2023 in Indianapolis. The speakeasy is located under Bocca, a modern Italian restaurant. Daniel Kehn, Ball Bearings

Art Speakeasy

The of the

The most illustrious and infamous spots are usually the hardest to find.

By Daniel Kehn

Secret rooms, secret entrances, secret passwords, and secret menus.

It’s all a big secret.

But that’s why people go.

The ﬁrst speakeasies popped up after the passage of prohibition in the 1920s, according to Ball State University professor of history James Connolly. The Volstead Act, which enforced prohibition, said it was illegal to make or transport alcohol, rather than consume it.

was the law of the land, plenty of people

“People were willing to drink and, despite the fact that there was a law that said prohibition was to be enforced and was the law of the land, plenty of people drank,” Connolly says.

Illustration by Josie Santiago

You’re looking for that little bit of secrecy, that little bit of privacy, that little bit of the ability to step outside of the outside world a little bit more.”

- Zoe Hayes, Beverage director for Ambrosia Hospitality Group

There were “dry” areas in every state, but it was relatively easy to find an alcoholic beverage and a hidden spot in every major city, including Indianapolis. Today, the idea of a speakeasy comes down to its exclusivity.

“My definition of a speakeasy would be someplace where you kind of have to know somebody to get there or get in,” says Zoe Hayes, beverage director for Ambrosia Hospitality Group. “It’s that layer of secrecy, that thing where you kind of have to be in on the secret to get into it.”

As beverage director, Zoe is responsible for all beverage decisions across five Indianapolis establishments: Ambrosia, Nowhere Special, Commodore, Bocca, and Vérítà – which is housed under Bocca. Commodore and Vérítà are the business group's two speakeasies.

Zoe was a part of the opening team for Commodore, Ambrosia Hospitality Group’s first speakeasy, and became the bar manager at Vérità, eventually becoming beverage director of the business.

“Most of the people who come here are either people in the neighborhood who already know about it or people who have heard about it from friends because they know there’s a speakeasy in the basement,” Zoe says.

Vérità requires very little sleuthing to gain entry to the secret space. Next to the host’s stand at Bocca, there is a red velvet rope that guards a staircase underground.

“If the velvet rope is up, it’s closed. If it’s down, you can walk right in,” Zoe says. “We want people to come here, we just want them to work a little bit for it.”

Down the flight of stairs, guests are greeted by a sharp right turn and an exposed brick hallway. A few steps down and a quick left, visitors stumble into a small, dimly lit corridor with soft jazz playing low in the background. One bartender staffs the small bar with dark leather couches lining the walls of the space that can hold no more than 50 people.

“We’re going for sleek, dark, sexy [at Vérità], like a good date night spot, a good hang spot,” Zoe says. “I will say, the concept at Commodore changed a ton in that first year. That’s partly because your guests will tell you what they think you are and who they need you to be. Part of being a good venue is adapting to that a little bit.”

Zoe calls Vérità the simplest of the speakeasies, while the Commodore is much more complex. If one knows how to get there, it’s not that complicated, according to Zoe, but a first-time patron? A much different story.

“Commodore is an unmarked door, down a hallway, between two other unmarked doors,” Zoe says. “There’s no outside entrance to get in … You have to know which of the unmarked doors is the correct one. There are some visual clues, but there is no external signage anywhere.”

External signage is key when defining a speakeasy; it’s the main reason Adriana Rubio, bar manager at Wiseguy Lounge, believes the space behind Goodfella’s Pizza on Massachusetts Avenue in Indianapolis can classify itself as a speakeasy. Despite being a well-known chain, there is no advertising on the streets, and most don’t know about it unless they hear from someone else.

The hallway leading to Vérítà on Oct. 10, 2023 in Indianapolis. Daniel Kehn, Ball Bearings

Prohibition and Temperance in the U.S.

1826

1830

1842

The American Temperance Society was founded. The goal of the organization was to promote abstinence from alcohol.

The Indiana Temperance Society was established.

Local option laws were enacted by Indiana state legislature, which mean localities were able to prohibit liquor sales in certain businesses.

In Indiana, only Rush and Harrison counties did not use local option laws. 1847

1895

1898

1905

The Anti-Saloon League of America was founded. The organization worked toward the legal abolition of alcoholic beverages and saw it as a solution to societal problems at the time.

The Indiana chapter of the Anti-Saloon League was formed.

States across the nation imposed laws that prohibited the manufacture and sale of intoxicating beverages.

“Blind tiger” law allowed for search and seizure, with those found to be operators of such places a mandatory jail sentence for a convicted operator of a "blind tiger." A “blind tiger” is another term for “speakeasy.” 1907

1917-1918

With support from the Anti-Saloon League led by Reverend E. S. Shumaker, the Indiana legislature approved a statewide prohibition bill. Statewide prohibition went into effect on April 2, 1918.

Congress passed the Volstead Act, which provided legislation to enforce the 18th Amendment. 1919

The 18th Amendment goes into effect, and national Prohibition began. The amendment prohibited the manufacture, sale, transport, import, and export of alcohol. 1920

In New York City alone, there were anywhere from 30,000 to 100,000 speakeasy clubs.

The 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution went into effect, repealing the 18th Amendment and ending Prohibition.

“It’s not nearly as speakeasyesque as other speakeasies,” Adriana says. “If you just go past the bathrooms a little too far, you’re like ‘Oh my gosh, what’s going on here?’”

In the front of the house, guests can grab a $4 slice at the local pizza chain, but if one takes their meal for a short walk around the dining rooms and just a hair past the bathrooms, a large entranceway welcomes them into a hidden hangout. The massive shelf is lined with more than 100 different bottles.

All Wiseguy Lounges specialize in whiskey — referred to as a whiskey bar — and have six signature drinks.

“Each whiskey tastes so, so, so different,” Adriana says. “It does take a while to start to be able to pick out those flavors, but there’s some whiskeys that are really fruity … it’s such a vast flavor profile across all of them.”

Adriana caught onto the speakeasy idea after her first visit to a Wiseguy Lounge in Covington, Kentucky.

“I didn’t know I was walking into a bar,” Adriana says. “The one I went to was up on a deck area, and it looked really different than the inside … Then you open the doors, and you’re in this really dark, dark leather, dark brick [space with] mood lighting.”

There is an energy in the speakeasy scene that draws people in and makes them stay connected.

“You’re looking for that little bit of secrecy, that little bit of privacy, that little bit of the ability to step outside of the outside world a little bit more,” Zoe says.

People travel state-to-state looking for new speakeasies to try, especially spaces like Bootleggers.

While Wiseguy Lounge, Commodore, and Vérità do not require a password, one speakeasy in Indianapolis stands out as the most secretive.

The spot is housed in a high-end restaurant filled with various rooms and corridors. Most of the doors open, but one — with an old twisting doorbell — will only open if a password is spoken through the slit in the door.

If guests guess the password — which is supposedly hidden somewhere in the restaurant — correctly, the door opens to a dark set of stairs. Around the corner at the bottom, past a vintage Coca-Cola machine, and through an actual hole in the wall, is a secret hiding place that has captivated most speakeasy goers in Indianapolis: Bootleggers.

For those who can find the spot, there are rewards to be had in the drinks to share. Popular drinks include the Delilah and the Sidecar, and that’s about all of the information available.

While those clues do not give away much, there is still an opportunity to find the exclusive spot.

It just requires one to start sleuthing. g

People were willing to drink and, despite the fact that there was a law that said prohibition was to be enforced and was the law of the land, plenty of people drank."

- James Connolly, Ball State professor of history

The selection inside Wiseguy Lounge Oct. 10, 2023 in Indianapolis. The lounge is considered a whiskey bar, meaning they specialize in whiskey. Daniel Kehn, Ball Bearings

A SPACE YOU FOR

The Big Four organizations create welcoming communities for underrepresented groups on campus.

By Jessica Velez

Racism. Discrimination. Harassment. Verbal and physical assaults. Microaggressions. Mental health concerns. These are just a few of the issues that, according to The Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds, minorities and LGBTQ+ students are more likely to face while on a college campus.

To combat and prevent these issues from impacting students at Ball State University, the Multicultural Center houses four big organizations that prioritize drawing together underrepresented students and giving them a community on campus. These clubs include: the Asian Student Union (ASU), Black Student Association (BSA), Latinx Student Union (LSU), and Spectrum.

Happiness and appreciation (LSU)

A quinceañera, a Latinx celebration of turning 15 years old and entering womanhood, is considered a rite of passage in many Latinx countries.

However, LSU public relations director, Natalia Ramos, says many Latinas aren’t given the chance to have one. With this in mind, on April 19, LSU gave some of their senior members the quinceañera experience they never got.

“We did it during Women’s Week because we want to uplift women. We want to help show this representation, so we did that, and it was really nice,” Natalia says.

According to Ball State’s Student Organizations webpage, through food, games, and discussions, LSU promotes the identity and unity of Latinx students through intellectual, cultural, and social

growth. Every Wednesday, the club meets for a new opportunity to share about Latinx culture.

For Natalia, being a part of LSU has helped her find friends with similar interests and connected her to other Latinx students on campus. The Mexican American student says it can be discouraging to not be able to share her culture with others, and she experiences cultural differences at times with her white roommates.

“I eat so many different things that they don’t eat, and I’m like, ‘Oh, guys, please just try it,’ and they don’t want to,” Natalia says.

According to the Ball State Common Data Set, the amount of undergraduates enrolled in the 2021-2022 academic year was 14,409. Of that number, 7.3% identified as Hispanic or Latino.

After joining LSU in 2022, Natalia says she found community and mutual respect

through the club. Connecting with other students through LSU encouraged Natalia to be proud of her culture and heritage while going to a predominantly white institution (PWI).

“There are going to be other people that understand you and your culture and appreciate it,” she says. “I feel like having that self-appreciation is very important.”

LSU is known for their annual Fiesta on the Green and game nights. LSU also hosts meetings discussing important topics to the Latinx community. Natalia encourages students to attend those meetings as well as the fun events.

“We love when people are just coming to our events and, all of them, not just the big party ones,” Natalia says. “We want people to go to those, but we also want people to come to our discussions about intersectionality.”

While tackling relevant issues, LSU prides itself on creating a calm and secure

Left: Spectrum president Connie Reed poses for a photo Oct. 25, 2023 in the Art and Journalism Building. Right: Asian Student Union president Betty Zathang poses for a photo Oct. 25, 2023 in the Art and Journalism Building. Mya Cataline, Ball Bearings

environment where students can share their thoughts and experiences. The organization understands that students have enough stress and want to help relieve it rather than contribute to it.

There are going to be other people that understand you and your culture and appreciate it. I feel like having that self-appreciation is very important.”

- Natalia Ramos, LSU public relations director

Happy place (ASU)

The Chin Burmese people are a small ethnic group from a mountainous range in Western Burma.

According to the World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples, after 1990, a large presence of military personnel forced many of the Chin population to ﬂee to other countries to escape tyranny and oppression. This is how Betty Zathang’s family found themselves in Indianapolis.

The architecture major and ASU president, whose family battled hardships to ﬁnd a better opportunity in the United States, found a slice of home and comfort in Muncie as a result of

joining the organization.

“I was kind of worried that I would be in an unfamiliar place, but seeing a lot of other Asian people because of the Asian Student Union, I felt relieved,” Betty says.

According to Ball State’s Student Organizations webpage, ASU is a group of students whose purpose is to provide cultural and educational programming about Asian, Asian American, and Paciﬁc Islander history, culture, and interests.

The organization meets every Monday from 6-7 p.m. in the Multicultural Center.

Despite being from a smaller Asian ethnicity, Betty has found that meeting other Burmese students has allowed her to be proud of her culture and build strong relationships with others. They help each other practice speaking Burmese and talk about their heritage to keep it alive.

“I really appreciate the people,” Betty says. “I’m always with them, and I feel very at peace when I’m with them.”

Left: Latinx Student Union public relations director Natalia Ramos poses for a photo Oct. 25, 2023 in the Art and Journalism Building. Student Association event coordinator Leeyah Grifﬁn poses for a photo Oct. 25, 2023 in the Art and Journalism Building. Mya Cataline, Ball Bearings

members are adopted and didn’t grow up immersed in the culture they’re from. ASU acts as liaison for those adopted students to connect them with their roots, Betty says.

Along with educating Asian students about different Asian customs and putting on weekly events, ASU aids the diversiﬁcation of Ball State.

As of 2022, Asian students make up 2.2% of all Ball State undergraduate students. Betty says, ASU aims to thoughtfully introduce different communities on campus to Asian culture and to encourage students to learn more about them.

“Having these clubs, I think it would improve the diversity and inclusivity a lot of colleges advocate for,” Betty says. “... We’re far away from home, but if we

Black Student Association event coordinator Leeyah Grifﬁn poses for a photo Oct. 25, 2023 in the Art and Journalism Building. Mya Cataline, Ball Bearings

have people that look like us, it will feel

Love (BSA)

North Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio, and Indiana all had one thing in common for Leeyah Grifﬁn: strong Black communities with strong Black community leaders. However, despite growing up in communities with Black culture, Leeyah didn’t see Black women in leadership positions. She often saw male leaders in male dominated organizations. Joining BSA, Leeyah says, was her ﬁrst step toward shifting that narrative.

“I want to change that within my community,” Leeyah says. “You can be a woman, you can be Black, you can be whatever, and you’re going to run it.”

One large factor that sets BSA apart from the communities Leeyah grew up in is its leadership dynamic. The last three presidents of BSA have been Black women, and members of the executive board

belong to all identities and genders. Leeyah describes BSA as a true representation of the Black community on campus.

According to the Multicultural Student Organization’s webpage, BSA’s mission is to aid in the growth and development of students through a series of culturally, socially, and academically-focused discussions and programs from a unique African-American perspective. BSA meets bi-monthly on Tuesdays from 6-8 p.m. Leeyah says the organization strives to assure Black students can be themselves and talk about their experiences because many of the other students are going through the same things.

“We’re all in PWIs, and we’re just trying to ﬁnd our space, our community, and our group,” Leeyah says.

As a third-year member of BSA and the organization’s event coordinator, Leeyah describes BSA as a safe space for Black students, who make up 9.3% of Ball State’s undergraduate students as of 2022.

Leeyah assures new students that joining BSA can give them a close-knit on-campus family that supports and loves each other.

“Within BSA, it’s like I see myself. I see people that look like me and that are a part of so many different things,” Leeyah says. “It’s like we just help each other. We feed off of each other.”

Every year during Black History Month, the organization has an entire month of events that celebrates Black culture and success. BSA partners with the African Student Association (ASA) to put on an all white brunch where both organizations wear all white clothing, share food, and honor Black history.

“We do a toast; we do a prayer,” Leeyah says. “We usually partner with ASA, … so it was really just a whole Black moment.”

The support from BSA members goes beyond events related to the organization. While running in the 2023 Homecoming court, members would often come up to Leeyah to tell her she had their vote.

The organization ends every year with a farewell party in The Village that allows seniors to enjoy one last hurrah with their chosen campus family.

Safety, hope, assurance (Spectrum)

Connie Reed isn’t a stranger to conservative families. As a transgender woman, being a part of a “traditional” family has forced her to hide her identity when she’s home. However, since joining Spectrum last September, Connie says she’s found a fresh start and support system on campus. Through meeting queer students and transgender friends, Connie was able to gain the courage to start experimenting with her gender identity and pronouns.

“My time at Ball State has been signiﬁcant toward ﬁguring out who I truly am,” Connie says. “I couldn’t be more thankful to all my friends and experiences

that have helped me through that messy process.”

According to Ball State’s Multicultural Organizations webpage, Spectrum has served as Ball State’s organization for the LGBTQ+ community and their allies since 1974. The organization meets on the ﬁrst Thursday of every month from 5-6 p.m. in the Multicultural Center, and Connie welcomes all students to join the club even if they can’t attend all the meetings.

We’re all in PWIs, and we’re just trying to ﬁnd our space, our community, and our group.”

- Leeyah Griﬃn, Black Student Association event coordinator

Known for their annual drag queen show, where members of the community and organization are invited to perform on a stage in their drag persona, the organization often holds events focused on creativity and expression without fear.

“It can be a very tense time to be queer right now, but we want to stress to as many people as we can that we are a space you all can rely on,” Connie says.

This year alone, 17 bills that pertain to transgender youth in Indiana have been reported by Trans Legislation Tracker.

Among these bills, some prevent gender-afﬁrming care for transgender

minors while others prohibit the usage of preferred pronouns and chosen names in classrooms.

According to the Postsecondary National Policy Institute, in a 2020 survey from the Association of American Universities that sampled more than 180,000 undergraduate and graduate students, approximately 17% identiﬁed as gay, lesbian, bisexual, asexual, queer, or questioning.

After becoming the president of Spectrum this fall, Connie is hoping to return the favor by helping Ball State students that have doubts and anxieties about their sexuality or gender know they are not alone. She emphasizes that students, especially ones that have recently come out, may worry about the violence happening against members of the LGBTQ+ community. That’s where Connie sees Spectrum’s importance lies: in being a safe space for queer students to be themselves.

“If we’re not there to give them the opportunity, then who would be?” Connie says. “I just know that I’ve been incredibly honored to give my fellow students courage and conﬁdence.”

A message to all students

A common misconception about the big four organizations is that members have to identify with the race or sexualities the clubs support and represent. However, Natalia encourages all students who are interested and willing to learn to attend meetings for these clubs.

“With people that are minoring or majoring in Japanese and they’re not Japanese, if you go to the Asian Student Union, you can see why it’s important to them, and you should be understanding [of] their culture if you’re going to be working with people in that [culture],” Natalia says.

ASU members are a mix of Asian and non-Asian students, Betty says. She emphasizes that joining a big four organization is an opportunity to learn about a different culture and show appreciation for it.

Spectrum welcomes allies who want to support the community and doesn’t discriminate against members, Connie says.

Students who are interested in joining a big four organization should visit the Multicultural Center’s student organizations webpage to learn more. 

Illustrations by Jessica Bergfors

Summer camp: A welcoming space for children.

By Mya Cataline

The sun shines as it comes up across the lake for the morning. It’s an early rise for everyone in the cabin as there is a day ﬁlled with activities ahead. The overnight camp experience is one etched into a child’s memories for life.

Kids all across the United States get ready for summer vacation every year. While some spend their time at home, others are heading out to camps their parents have signed them up for.

The environment of summer camp is something that can be unique to a child, but to the staff, it is one that should help the children ﬁnd themselves.

“One of the things that we do is we try to provide a safe environment,” says Mark Battig, executive director at YMCA Camp Crosley.

Camp Crosley, located in North Webster, Indiana, is a coed, overnight camp for kids 6-15 years old. According to Camp Crosley YMCA, the camp was founded in 1921 as a gift from Edmund Ball and Bertha Ball as a memorial to their son, Clinton Crosley Ball.

According to the American Camp Association, if a child that comes to camp has trauma, it can affect their sense of safety and attachment. It’s important

to be reliable, available, predictable, and honest to provide a safe space for children with trauma from home or from a past experience.

Another aspect of a summer space is a safe and comforting counseling staff. The camp counselors are who the kids will be around the most when spending their time at camp.

“The biggest thing for our staff is having that empathy, listening ﬁrst to the camper, so we can understand and move forward from there,” Battig says.

The camper is the main focus of camp. If a child is scared or not comfortable around the counselor, their experience could be affected.

To help the children heal from trauma associated with adults and negative emotions, it is important for counselors to display positive emotional responses toward the kids, according to the American Camp Association.

The feelings of a child are an important part to think about to give the child a safe and welcoming space.

A camper at Camp Barakel and now camp counselor, Lauren Metzger, sophomore architecture major, has been going to camp since ﬁfth grade.

“I think it’s made me the person I am just because of how it’s deﬁned how I want to live my life,” Lauren says.

A camp’s environment is not the only thing that can inﬂuence a child. The worryfree feeling for the child can help them learn life skills.

Battig says Camp Crosley tries to teach many skills to the kids like responsibility, self-conﬁdence, one-on-one interactions with other people, sportsmanship, among others.

Whether it is a religious camp or not, these characteristics and life skills can be taught through different activities and social aspects of the camp.

“We have a counselor circle every day when the kids are in their morning chapel,” Lauren says. “That has really inﬂuenced me to just want to study the Bible more and know more.”

Camp is a place that allows kids to embrace learning without thinking about it. With the amount of activities the children do, each activity can have teaching aspects in it that the kids don’t notice.

“We’ll talk about how in order for this person to move on, they need support of those other individuals for them to move forward,” Battig says. “Especially on the Giant Swing, where in order for them to get up to the top, they have to get the help from all the other individuals from pulling on a rope in order for them to experience that full swing.”

The moments at camp can be impacted by different aspects of the space. Memories can even be made from the simplest things, and it can be magical for a camper.

One of Lauren’s favorite memories from camp was writing “cute little notes” and thank you notes for all of the people and staff at the camp.

According to the American Camp Association, lasting memories can be created by meaningful moments anytime and anywhere. The big part about camp experience is the way the moments happen and who they happen with. If campers do something for the ﬁrst time, make friends, or go out of their comfort zone, they grow their skill set.

When it comes to camp, it can impact a child’s memory and behavior so much that it can inﬂuence who they want to be as adults and what they want to do as adults.

Lauren says dressing more modestly, worshiping, and reading her Bible have inﬂuenced how she wants to live and do things in her life. She dedicated everything she does to honor the things that camp has taught her.

To some campers, an easy-going environment and a no worry feeling can help them make career and adult choices in their lives that will forever impact them.

The choices are all because of the magical feeling of summer camps.

“I am here because of my experience as a camper … because of [the camp] experience, and because of how camp impacted me, it brought me to be the executive director at a summer camp,” Battig says. “I personally know ﬁrsthand the impact of a change that can happen at camp, through relationships that are made not only with other campers but relationships … you have with the camp counselors.”

TRAILS

CABINS

LAKE

Lauren Metzger (center row, middle left) forms a pyramid with her fellow co-counselors June 2023 at Camp Barakel in Fairview, Michigan. Camp Barakel, Photo Provided

Illustration by Jessica Bergfors

Illustrations by Jessica Bergfors

Lauren Metzger (sitting far left) poses for a photo with her cabin June 19, 2018 at Camp Barakel in Fairview, Michigan. Camp Barakel, Photo Provided

Campers sit and read the Bible June 2016 at Camp Barakel in Fairview, Michigan. Camp Barakel, Photo Provided

Lauren Metzger (far right) runs to welcome campers with her fellow co-counselors June 2023 at Camp Barakel in Fairview, Michigan. Camp Barakel, Photo Provided

Lauren Metzger (far right) and fellow campers pose for a photo June 2016 at Camp Barakel in Fairview, Michigan. Camp Barakel, Photo Provided

Campers sit around a campﬁre June 2016 at Camp Barakel in Fairview, Michigan. Camp Barakel, Photo Provided

Lauren Metzger (second to last far right) and fellow campers get ready to go ziplining June 2016 at Camp Barakel in Fairview, Michigan. Camp Barakel, Photo Provided

The Space Between Us

The journey to setting boundaries in a relationship.

Illustration by Grace Adcock

By Zach Gonzalez

What do people look for in a relationship? Trust, affection, companionship, and compassion could be some examples of what empower and grow any type of relationship. While people spend time together to become more connected, it’s also important to know the limitations and restrictions in their relationships.

Ivy Tech Community College legal studies student Laura Romero found space for herself across the country from her past relationship in her hometown in California. Laura says the goals her partner and she had did not line up with each other.

“They weren’t on the same page about me moving, they weren’t supportive, they weren’t motivating,” Laura says. “When I was applying for schools out back in California, where I was raised, I felt like it was really one-sided.”

Growing up, she mentioned they both were exposed to different environments where Laura felt she was more career-oriented while her partner did not want to grow. “When I would ask about what future we had like, ‘Where is this going, where do you see us three or four years from now?’ it was just like, ‘I don’t know, we’ll see,’” Laura says.

Laura also said she worried about where her partner was and their outgoing, talkative interactions with other women. When it came to boundaries, they were completely nonexistent when it came to checking out and messaging women on social media.

“‘I don’t think I’m OK with you telling someone else that they’re attractive, and I’m with you,’” Laura says. “They made me really insecure; it made me feel, I’m not saying you have to worship me, but where’s the respect?”

“It gave me this anxious communication style, where I feel I’m talking too much or l’m over explaining myself.”

- Laura Romero, Ivy Tech Community College legal studies student

6 Tips for Healthy Relationships

1 2 3 4 5 6

Get to know yourself

Source: Mental Health Foundation Grace Adcock, Ball Bearings

When she moved to her apartment in Muncie, Indiana, Laura realized things about herself from her past relationship. She found an opportunity to start her law career through Ivy Tech Community College, understood she did not need a partner, and discovered her artistic abilities. While she recognized various aspects about her identity when she moved, Laura also understood important people in her life couldn’t check in with her as much as she originally thought for reasons such as the different time zones: her parents.

“Emotionally, I was like I have no one to talk to about my day,” Laura says. “It made me realize this is what it feels like to be independent, but I was relying on the communication part on their end.”

She also says she feels this in part because her parents wanted to give her space for self-discovery.

Her household back then consisted of hard-working parents who were constantly busy with work. Laura said a lot of times her parents were too tired to give much effort when conversing with her, and she felt she was a burden to them or too clingy.

Healthy relationships are ones that are negotiated between all parties in a relationship and work for all parties.”

- Brenda Karns, Psychologist and associate director for training at Ball State University

“Financially, we were taken care of, but the emotional aspect gave me this anxious attachment style where my feelings would get hurt if they didn’t ask me how my day was or how I was doing,” Laura says.

Being bilingual and the oldest child, she grew up being the English speaker and nurturer in the family, which left her with the translator responsibility for the rest of the family. While she says it helped her become more articulate, it also made her insecure about how she communicates.

“It gave me this anxious communication style, where I feel like I’m talking too much or l’m over explaining myself,” Laura says.

Ultimately, Laura believes relationships must build their space around trust, where both partners are honest with the other about what they’re doing, where they’re at, and who they’re with.

“You need some time to go to the gym, you want to listen to music, or you want to go out with your pals, or I want to go out with my homegirls, that’s fine,” Laura says. “As long as the trust is established there, space is very important.”

According to HelpGuide, without space and boundaries, relationships suffer the risk of becoming toxic, draining, and unsatisfying. But how do couples or friendships determine how much space they need, what boundaries they need to set, and which boundaries are unhealthy?

According to psychologist and Ball State associate director for training Brenda Karns, it’s not just a one-answer question that ﬁts all relationships since most of them work differently. What does work for each relationship, however, is communication and mutual respect for the wants, needs, and values of everyone involved in a relationship.

“Healthy communication is the basis for determining the boundaries in a relationship,” Karns says. “Healthy relationships are ones that are negotiated between all parties in a relationship and work for all parties.”

One reason why communication is so important for determining how a relationship functions is because people go into relationships with differences. For example, there are differences in cultures people surround themselves with and grow up in, which creates unique distinctions between all members of a relationship.

“If you come from different cultures, sometimes it’s hard to understand how they think about things, and it makes relationships difﬁcult in setting boundaries,” Karns says.

“You start to have tension when people in a relationship disagree on what healthy boundaries are.”

It’s not just where someone is from that causes the differing views each partner maintains in a relationship. More importantly, Karns views culture as something with social expectations set for how each person involved expects to live.

For example, Karns mentions some societies live by individualistic cultures while others take a more collectivist cultural approach to life.

According to AFS-USA, individualism centers around independence, separating oneself from others, and personal traits. Meanwhile, collectivism focuses on interdependence, relationships with others, and social harmony.

To further elaborate, Karns says individualistic cultures rely on themselves and live by standards, such as “I don’t need help,” or “I can do anything I want to do if I work hard enough.”

Another challenge with relationships, especially when it comes to the differences between all parties, involves stereotypes and assumptions people make about each other. Karns says it’s difﬁcult to form relationships and set boundaries if those stereotypes aren’t discussed.

“If you don’t talk about those stereotypes, it can cause people to make assumptions about them,” Karns says.

But above all, communication helps relationships accommodate differences in areas, such as cultures, while making clear what each person wants out of the other. In other words, communication deﬁnes space in a relationship when people from different perspectives merge together.

“As long as the partners can agree on what a healthy relationship looks like, then the boundaries fall into place,” Karns says. 

Illustration by Grace Adcock

Worlds Worlds

Personal space norms are explored across different countries.

By Kaira Carter

South Africa escapade

In 2019, Zoe Whitacre, Ball State University advertising student, went on a trip with her family to visit relatives in South Africa for two weeks. Her South African relatives live in the suburbs of a large city called Johannesburg. Upon reaching their home, she observed a brand new environment that starkly contrasts American culture.

Houses in neighborhoods were packed closely together, and locals did not practice as much personal space as Zoe was used to. What factors determine how people choose to act, travel, and position themselves in their culture? The answer may be found in cross-cultural examinations and Classical Proxemic Theory.

Apart Apart

Classical Proxemic Theory

According to the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology (IACCP), the Classical Proxemic Theory is the idea that preferred amounts of social distance across cultures depends on environmental and socio-psychological factors. Because of these factors, cultures tend to be split into two groups: contact culture and noncontact culture. Contact cultures are more comfortable being close to others than people in noncontact cultures, who prefer a lot of space.

Edward T. Hall, a cross-cultural researcher, published a book in 1966 called “The Hidden Dimension” about this theory, and he analyzed in his studies how personal space varies across different countries. He identiﬁes several reasons why different cultures and demographics have their own preferences. Some of these reasons include age, gender, climate, environment, cultural values, social situations, and personal attitudes.

A research team working with the IACCP published their research this year in the Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, analyzing Hall’s theories. It clariﬁed how each element affects each other as well as speciﬁc societies.

For instance, Hall theorized that cultures located in warmer geographical regions are more likely to be contact cultures. The IACCP research team clariﬁed that this is an observable trend in warmer climates; however, disease can cause a culture to become a noncontact culture. While their research reafﬁrmed that there are observable trends that can indicate spatial preference in each society, it’s important to pay attention to the individual societal elements before labeling them.

Illustration by Josie Santiago

Public spaces and transportation

Richard King, a teaching professor in modern languages and classics at Ball State, studies abroad with his students each year to Greece to experience its culture and history. During his travels, he noticed that in public spaces and on public transportation, people in Greece tend to stand closer to each other than in the United States. It’s very common for strangers on the street to bump into each other and brush shoulders.

“Sometimes, you’re traveling, in say Greece, and you’re wondering ‘Why are all these people on me?’” he says.

On public buses in Greece, King says that people from all kinds of backgrounds don’t mind being close to each other. Peoples’ identity is a large factor in how close an individual may choose to stand next to another person.

Social environments

While on a trip to an open-air market in South Africa, Zoe discovered a new kind of workplace where proﬁt matters more than social distance.

“People will grab you or pull you into their market, and they’ll put stuff in your hands,” she says.

In such a competitive social environment, there is more beneﬁt to having a large presence than there is to being reserved. Because of this, South African open-air markets tend to reﬂect contact cultural values.

The culture and beauty of Santorini, Greece, has inspired artists and painters for centuries. Nearly 2 million guests annually visit the island. Image by wirestock on Freepik, Photo Provided

Illustration by Josie Santiago

I think, in retrospect, that she was simply trying to be friendly and engage in a face-to-face cultural way.”

- Richard King, Professor in modern languages and classics at Ball State

‘Face-to-face’

During a personal trip to Athens, King decided to go souvenir shopping in the small, local businesses. Once there, he noticed a phenomenon surrounding small business spaces: they were often located in people’s houses. Doors to Greek shops would often open to a local resident’s basement, and their living room would be just up the stairs or behind a door. When he entered one of the shops and started looking around, the shopkeeper came up to him and immediately started up a personal conversation.

“I think, in retrospect, that she was simply trying to be friendly and engage in a face-to-face cultural way,” he says. “The tradition in old Greece is that it’s face-to-face. We are like brothers and sisters.”

This marketing style reﬂects the culture’s traditions and beliefs that everyone should be treated like family, even strangers. By inviting their patrons into their space, they create a more domestic environment that encourages social interaction.

It’s a vibrant contrast to how American housing tends to be more personal and limited to friends and family members. In the rise of online shopping, fewer people are required to physically enter a store and talk to employees about products. The face-to-face interactions are not as big of a necessity as it is in Greece.

“They want to interact to establish a basis for a relationship, whereas we don’t need a basis,” King says.

A photo of a landscape Dec. 31, 2019 in Clarens, South Africa. Marc Ashwell, Photo Provided

Penguins sunbathe on Boulders Beach Jan. 6, 2020 in Cape Town, South Africa. Marc Ashwell, Photo Provided

Cultural responses to disease

There are always outside factors that can overturn a culture’s way of life in a matter of days. One of the most infamous factors to do this in recent years is COVID-19. Disease has always been a driving factor for societal change. It forces the population to invent new strategies to protect themselves and the people around them, and these strategies continue to persist.

“The upkeep of public space, sanitation, the sewer system; having a sewer system can save lives because the water is part of the space,” King says.

In South Africa, Zoe’s great aunt struggled through the COVID-19 lockdown. In quarantine, she struggled to work her job remotely. She is a teacher and had to work around the city’s load-

shedding schedule. During load-shedding, all electricity in the city is shut off. During these times, Zoe’s great aunt could not teach virtual classes, turn on the air conditioning, heat, or television.

“I think she had to get someone else to go buy her groceries for her,” Zoe says. “I don’t think she was allowed to leave for long.”

Older generations were pressured to stay confined in their houses for their health, and families had to make changes to get the income they needed.

Similar changes happened in both contact cultures and noncontact cultures.

According to research conducted by the Interational Journal for Equity and Health, the study analyzed information from case studies conducted across 15 different countries such as the U.S., the United Kingdom, Canada, China, Germany, Japan, Israel, and many more. Every

generation had to consider their neighbor’s health and take precautions to ensure everyone stayed safe. While disease can reduce social interaction, it can also create a collective goal to protect each other.

Contact culture and following trends

“Culture changes over time,” King says. “Just because they did it that way when you were young, doesn’t mean they’re going to do it when you’re old, because they have a right to change their culture too.”

Humans are unpredictable. The world is always changing, and the same can be said for its inhabitants. While a culture may fall into a certain pattern today, it may be something completely different tomorrow. g

Buildings line down St. James Beach Jan. 6, 2020 in Cape Town, South Africa. Marc Ashwell, Photo Provided

Car Centricity of Muncie

Experts discuss the car centricity of Muncie and how it is aﬀected.

By Zach Gonzalez

The United States rides on the automobile industry. Whether it’s a gift for a 16-year-old who just received their license or a purchase worth a massive amount of savings, cars are one of the many products bought and sold in the U.S. economy.

According to the Montana Associated Technology Roundtables, car-centric planning is any type of urban planning and development beneﬁting those who own and primarily use private automobiles.

On the ﬂipside, some individuals, such as those who don’t have access to private transportation, might struggle in a heavily car-centric environment.

Inside the Muncie Mission, a shelter serving many individuals with different situations, such as those without a home, employees consider the need for clients getting around Muncie and if transportation is a challenge for them.

Director of community engagement at Muncie Mission Leigh Edwards says many of the men residing within the shelter do not own a car. She also says there are people in the shelter who have a physical limitation lessening their ability to walk far, such as those with a walker or in a wheelchair.

Leigh believes it’s a signiﬁcant impact for clients who do not own a vehicle to commute and a barrier to ﬁnding employment and going to appointments. She also mentions some clients might rely on the town’s local bus service, Muncie Indiana Transit System (MITS), which causes problems if they can’t commute to a job through the bus.

“You’re limited in the places you can apply by places that can be reached through the bus system and also with the hours of operation,” Leigh says.

Unless you do something to restrict growth outside of the city, you're going to have more streets to take care of, and it’s going to be more costly to make those streets pedestrian friendly."

- John West, Urban planning professor at Ball State University

Last year, Muncie Mission started a free medical clinic inside the shelter operating two days a week to help those who would otherwise need to access healthcare elsewhere.

“One barrier to receiving good healthcare is transportation,” Leigh says. “We both transport clients very regularly to appointments as well as offering medical care on site.”

Muncie Mission provides rides for clients while also supplying and purchasing bus passes for individuals needing to use public transportation.

“We take them where they need to go if they have some place they have to be,” Leigh says. “It depends on the situation; if we have a resident who needs to go to the Veterans Affairs Ofﬁce, we will make arrangements to get them there.”

Whether through increasing parking spaces or building roads in public areas while excluding methods of pedestrian travel, numerous local and state communities in the U.S. convert their structures to beneﬁt those with personally-owned vehicles.

Depending on factors, such as the population, availability of public transportation, the amount of sidewalks, and more, some cities and states are more car-centric than others. When it comes to Muncie, Indiana, the question of how carcentric the city is isn’t simple.

Illustration by Mallory Tucker

As Adam Leach, Muncie city engineer, describes, the speciﬁc location and area of the town varies in car-centricity. Leach says certain areas, such as Ball State University’s campus, downtown, and Old West End, have more transportation methods accommodating pedestrian travel. On the other hand, he adds the south and east sides of Muncie are car heavy, given they were designed that way decades ago.

While Leach says the city will add more sidewalks to connect areas in Muncie, he also credits MITS as effective for promoting public transportation.

“They go a lot of places stopping where you want them to, which is not the norm for most public transportation systems,” Leach says.

He also mentions a lot of people ride bicycles and walk.

Currently, Muncie is focused more on repairing current roads than on building new ones. The process of determining which roads to focus on involves taking a yearly study of average daily trafﬁc, considering the types of vehicles, and the number of people using them on roadways each day.

“You basically design the road based on the trafﬁc, and you have full projections if you think there’s going to be growth or if you don’t think there’s going to be growth,” Leach says. “Sometimes, you can size the road down or change the design.”

He states trafﬁc counts are relatively steady right now but not large enough to upsize roads, which is why construction currently prioritizes ﬁxing roads, along with the need for repairing maintenance and condition issues.

Leach also says areas with public places signiﬁcant to citizens, such as hospitals, universities, and schools, tend to receive infrastructure improvements that accommodate travel methods beyond private automobile usage.

“If a person started here, could they get there? Is there something that both attracts or generates trafﬁc?” Leach says. “[For] example, an industrial area might be designed more to accommodate heavy truck trafﬁc and people commuting to work.”

Muncie’s Public Works Department is funded by the Local Motor Vehicle Highway (MVH) and Local Road and Street (LRS). But most Indiana cities also receive funding from them, so Leach conﬁrms all these cities are “ﬁshing in the same pot of money.”

As a result, they’re competing with other Indiana cities’ demands for funding projects. This presents difﬁculty for the city to tend to the travel needs of both public and private commuters.

“We barely have money to do adequate maintenance,” Leach says.

In a town with infrastructure built 100 years ago as Leach says, the car-centricity of Muncie, while improved over time, still needs further work to accommodate nonprivate transportation methods.

One barrier to receiving good health care is transportation."

- Leigh Edwards, Muncie Mission director of community engagement

Illustrations by Mallory Tucker

Furthermore, one strategy to reduce Muncie’s car-centricity, as Ball State urban planning professor John West says, is by considering how to ﬁnish the construction projects already in the works.

“You’re going to have too many streets to take care of,” West says. “It costs a lot of money to make complete streets, it costs a lot of money even to repave the streets that have potholes.”

He mentions Muncie’s decreasing population becomes even more of a problem when considering the increase in suburbs and peripheral areas.

“Muncie already has a network of built streets, and the places where new housing is going in is outside of our existing grid network,” West says. “Unless you do something to restrict growth outside of the city, you’re going to have more streets to take care of, and it’s going to be more costly to make those streets pedestrian friendly.”

It’s not just the convenience of private automobiles that’s an issue; it’s the limited alternative options the U.S. has in general.

“Whenever urban planners talk about reducing the car-centricness of a city, it’s rare that they talk about telling people not to drive cars,” West says. “The idea is that you want to expand other kinds of opportunities and make those other ways of getting around as easy as driving a car.”

Above all, for Muncie speciﬁcally, West believes it’s vital for the city to focus on transportation development in areas already containing infrastructure to reduce car-centric planning.

“Instead of subsidizing or allowing development in a cornﬁeld, we should be subsidizing and encouraging development in a poor downtown area in The Village,” West says.

For Muncie, focusing on developing existing roads and other pathways is the city’s main priority. 

Cities

Vehicle Ownership

2. 2. 3. 3. 4. 4. 5. 5.

Source: Titlemax.

Design by Mallory Tucker

Word Search SPACE

Illustration by Josie Santiago

Alien Black Hole

Constellation Cosmic

Eclipse Galaxy Meteor Milky Way

Moon Orbit Planet Satellite

Solar System Star Telescope

What Planet

You? are

How would friends/ family describe you?

A. Organized

B. Peaceful

C. Passionate

D. Stubborn

What is your favorite movie genre?

A. Historical Drama/ Documentary

B. Cult Classics

C. Rom-Coms

D. Action/Thriller

What do you do in your free time/at home?

A. Clean

B. Read a book

C. Hang with friends

D. Work out

What is your favorite color?

A. Yellow

B. Blue

C. Pink

What is your favorite season?

A. Winter

B. Fall

C. Spring

D. Summer

If you answered...

You’re very reliable. Saturn is the mom friend who plans a little trip. Saturn is based on the time god. You give off old school vibes, and you’re very focused on time, the future, and when you’re going to put a ring on it.

You’re very chill and go with the flow. You’re the friend who is down to earth and willing to do whatever comes your way. On the trip, you have the aux. Neptune is based on the sea god, and you just ride with the waves.

You’re the life of the party. You love to play matchmaker. When you go on a trip, you’re the idealist but not the planner like Saturn. You know how to have a good time. Venus is based on the goddess of love, so you wear your heart on your sleeve.

You’re very strong-headed. You’re confident, and you know what you want. You’re the driver on a trip because you love to be in control. Mars is based on the god of war, so you have great debating skills. You do it for the plot, and you keep people on their toes.

Illustration by Meghan Holt

ALIEN Abduction!

Charlie Cardinal has been abducted by aliens! Fill in the blanks with the words of your choice to follow him on his journey through space.

Copy by Lila Fierek, Josie Santiago, and Tori Smith

Charlie Cardinal was taken from a cornfield near _________________ . As he was beamed up, he saw a crop circle in the shape of a _________________ . He traveled through space in a _________________ . On the spaceship, he was with _________________ and an alien! The alien’s name was _________________ and it was _________________ . After flying through space for _________________ days, they landed on _________________ . At this planet, Charlie was so _________________. There were so many _________________ there! They planted a flag on the planet. Off in the distance, Charlie heard _________________ . “RUN!” yelled the alien. Charlie ran toward the sound and _________________ . The alien got _________________ and pushed Charlie off the planet. Suddenly, Charlie woke up and screamed “_________________ !” It was all a dream! (phrase) (name) (adjective) (number) (location) (verb) (plural noun) (planet) (Ball State staff member) (noun) (noun) (sound) (emotion) (emotion)

Illustration by Josie Santiago

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