A Taste of Home | Ball Bearings Magazine | Volume 13 Issue 1

The Home Issue

Fall 2021

BALL BEARINGS MAGAZINE

A TASTE OF HOME Ball Bearings | Ball State University | Muncie, IN | Fall 2021 | bbmagazine@bsu.edu

Stories Better Told, Lives Better Lived.

SAME MISSION.

NEW NAME. Follow Us on Social Media @bsu_sjsc

What’s Inside

Contents

The Home Issue - Fall 2021

A Letter from Home 02 Letter from the Editor 03 Meet the Staff 26 Recipes from Home 52 Which Recipe are You?

News 04 One Last Shot 06 “We Fly” for Football 07 A Planet in Crisis

Columns 20 Living Between the Lines 23 From Fixed to Fluid 40 Under No Roof 42 As We Were

Lifestyle & Photo 14 Comfy as Can Airbnb 16 Life by Lakeshore 48 One Dog, Two Newlyweds & Shutter Speed the Skoolie

Features

08 A Home of Their Own 10 The Third Place 28 Hope From a Hospital Room 34 Identity Beyond Borders 44 A Beacon of Hope Cover Photo By Shannon McCloskey Cover Design By Kami Geron BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021 | 01

Letter from the Editor

From the Editor

H

ome is so much more than a house. It’s so much more than four walls, a roof over your head, and a warm bed to sleep in at night. Home is often a feeling, not a place. And it’s yours to define.

For me, home is the smell of my mom’s chicken pot pie on a chilly fall night. It’s my twin sister’s laughter filling the room and the sound of 90s country music on the radio.

Home is the first sip of an 89-cent Coke slushy from the gas station after a long day of chores on the farm in the July heat. Home is my boyfriend’s hugs and my big sister’s advice. It’s the smile on a stranger’s face. It’s the cozy coffee shop downtown. It’s the crunch of tires on a gravel road and the taste of a sugary lemon shakeup at the county fair. That’s home to me.

But home is different to each of us. No two people have the exact same definition of home; we all have our own unique experiences relating to home, and that’s what makes it so special. For students at Ball State University, they might find a sense of home in their classrooms, dorms, dining halls, and study spaces across campus. For the Ball Bearings team, the Unified Media Lab located on the second floor of the Art & Journalism Building provides a sort of home to us.

Ball Bearings Magazine is an award-winning, completely student-run magazine publication. Our impressive and creative team of writers, editors, designers, photographers, and videographers tell important and captivating stories.

Ball Bearings truly has served as a home for me, and the staff have been like a second family. When I graduate next month, I know I will be leaving a huge piece of my heart here in the Unified Media Lab. Because that’s the thing about finding a home: once you find it, it’s hard to leave it behind.

This semester, Ball Bearings proudly presents you with The Home Issue. This edition of Ball Bearings is filled to the brim with what home means to a wide variety of people.

In some cases, home is a renovated school bus (“One Dog, Two Newlyweds, and Shutterspeed the Skoolie”). In others, home is a library, a church (“The Third Place”), or a hospital room (“Hope From a Hospital Room”). Sometimes, people have to pick up their lives to make a new home (“Identity Beyond Borders”). Other times, they must find a way to create a home with no house at all (“Under No Roof”).

No matter what place you call home, I hope The Home Issue resonates with you in some way. Our team created this vision statement for this edition of the magazine: “We all need people, places, and things that create a sanctuary, warm the heart, and make us feel safe and loved.”

Our hope is that this magazine finds you at the perfect time and that the stories it contains fill you with a sense of compassion, warmth, and belonging. May they remind you of the people, places, and things that create your sanctuary, warm your heart, and make you feel safe and loved. So sit back, relax, and enjoy a taste of home.

Becca Foerder

Editor-in-Chief | rafoerder@bsu.edu | @becca_foerder

Ball Bearings executive team pose for a picture at SuperParty 2021.

Ball Bearings | Ball State University | Muncie, IN | Fall 2021 | bbmagazine@bsu.edu

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BALL BEARINGS BallBearingsMag.com @ballbearingsmag

Executive

Visual

Editors-in-Chief Becca Foerder Shannon McCloskey

Photo Editor Janie Arseneaux

Executive Editor Haley Boyce Managing Editor Arianna Sergio Art Director Kami Geron Digital Design Director Alex Bracken

Editorial Social Media Editor Alex Bracken Senior Editors Evan Chandler Savannah Jordan Brianna Morton Amy Schwartz Staff Writers Haley Boyce Alex Bracken Evan Chandler Grace Duerksen Becca Foerder Audrey Freeland Kami Geron Jevin Jones Shannon McCloskey Daniela Morales Rosie Mitchell Brianna Morton Sarah Olsen Arianna Sergio

Video Editor Zoe Hagymasi Staff Photographers Nathan Abbott Janie Arseneaux Carsten Beyer Haley Boyce Becca Foerder Shannon McCloskey Erik Henderson Staff Videographers Jacob Boissy Jared Bowman Jake Nolan Olivia Pollard Giovanny Romero Annika Sharlow Staff Designers JC Camacho Sabine Croy Audrey Freeland Milo Hardison Samantha Martin Amber Pietz Avery Sallee Alison Smith Adviser Lisa Renze-Rhodes

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News

One Last Shot

By Evan Chandler

Percentage of Fully Vaccinated Individuals in

41%

50%

59%

50%

U.S. Population

Indiana Population

Illustration By Milo Hardison Source: usafacts.org

04 | BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021

I

n December 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued the first approval for emergency use of a COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer.

While vaccination numbers started out stagnant, as of mid-November, 2021, over 51 percent of the world’s population has received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, according to Our World in Data.

This figure equates to over four billion people.

In the United States, according to the White House, over 175 million people have been fully vaccinated. This number represents more than half of the United States population. With these statistics also emerges a major obstacle for the Biden administration: administering booster shots to those already vaccinated.

In Indiana, just over half of the population is fully vaccinated, according to the Indiana State Department of Health. Brian Reed is the planning chief of the incident command structure at IU Health. This title put him in charge of leading the response during the pandemic.

As far as booster shots are concerned, Reed says Hoosiers are receiving boosters at surprising rates.

“We gave more booster shots over the last couple weeks than we gave first doses,” he says, referencing data from the Indiana State Department of Health.

Following research published in the Lancet medical journal that points to the weakening of COVID-19 vaccine doses after six months, the CDC initially greenlighted booster shots for those 65 and older who received the Pfizer shot, as well as for those aged 18 and up with underlying health conditions. At this point, however, Reed says these eligibility

As the pandemic rages on, some people are about to receive their booster shots.

Page By JC Camacho groups are much larger. “[The CDC] has really intentionally left [those eligible to receive the shots] a little vague,” he says. “They really want people to make their decision based on their own risk, and those 18 and up who want the booster shot can get it.”

One of those people to receive a booster shot was Michele Douglas, a substitute teacher from Indianapolis.

Michele got her vaccine after closely observing her parents’ experience with it.

“My parents were the first ones who were eligible, so once they got vaccinated, I was one hundred percent totally for it,” she says.

The vaccine and its booster solved two major problems for Michele: one year of unemployment and the risk of visiting family members, such as her son at Indiana University (IU) Bloomington.

“When it started, I did not work just because of being exposed to people and the unknown of what was going on,” Michele says. “I have parents in their 80s and as the situation progressed with all the deaths, it was a pretty scary situation.”

According to the CDC, there are various potential side effects after taking the vaccine and its booster. Many people report headaches, sore arms, and tiredness, among other symptoms.

Michele’s experiences with the vaccines varied.

“With my first shots, I had a sore arm, and I felt really tired,” she describes.

“With the booster, I felt nothing.”

As time passes, more mandates are appearing for the vaccine. The Biden administration recently required vaccination for all federal employees.

Although some politicians introduced legislation against mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations in response, Reed speculates that these vaccine mandates could have a domino effect.

“As Pfizer got the full FDA approval for certain ages and then certain government programs rolling out, too, we may see more employers or schools or other organizations requiring the vaccine,” Reed says.

Michele has seen these COVIDrelated mandates firsthand through her job as a substitute teacher.

“There is a mask mandate,” she says.

“But also the majority of the teachers that I sub for are vaccinated.”

Though there are many doubts and anti-vaccine movements, Reed has one reassuring message.

“First and foremost, I would recommend anyone who hasn’t already gotten a vaccine to definitely get a vaccine,” he says. “Unequivocally, all of our doctors [at IU Health] are vaccinated and would all recommend getting the vaccine...They are incredibly safe and effective.”

Michele’s message is very similar.

“If we all do our part, we can get through this,” she says.

Hoosiers can get vaccinated or receive boosters in hospitals or local pharmacies such as CVS and Walgreens. If you are unsure of where to go to receive yours, visit vaccines. gov or text your zip code to 438829 g

BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021 | 05

News

“We Fly” For Football An overview of Ball State football and the Cardinals’ journey to becoming 2020 MAC champions.

By Audrey Freeland

F

ighting to defend the 2020 Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championship title, the Ball State Football team returned this year for another season.

Winning the 2020 MAC Championship sent the team to the Offerpad Arizona Bowl, where the Cardinals defeated San Jose State and took home the first bowl win in program history.

This was also the first time the Cardinals were ranked nationally in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for Division I football since 2008, and finished their season ranked 23rd in the final Associated Press poll. Previously, Ball State had competed in nine bowl games, but last year marked the first time they were able to take home the trophy.

As a result of COVID-19, fans were unable to attend games during the 2020 season. This year, fans are welcomed back into Scheumann Stadium to cheer on the Cardinals, including 20 starters from last year’s team that have returned for the 2021 season.

In addition to fans and students coming back this year, Ball State celebrated its 95th homecoming with weekly events and traditions.

A full list of homecoming events, such as the food truck festival, talent search, air jam, bed races, and the parade were brought back for students and the university leading up to the homecoming football game that Saturday.

Scheumann Stadium holds years of tradition and history for the university’s fans, alumni, and students.

According to the Ball State athletics website, the stadium is named after former Ball State football player, John B. Scheumann, and his wife, June M. Scheumann, who donated $4 million for renovations to the stadium in 2007. These renovations included new lighting for night games, new turf, new concessions, a larger press box, private luxury suites, and the stadium’s exterior.

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With a current record of 5-5 (as of Nov. 14, 2021), Ball State currently ranks third in MAC West. Whether or not the team reclaims their championship title, one thing is for sure — players, students, and fans alike will all gather at Scheumann Stadium to cheer on the Cardinals for years to come.

To stay up to date with Ball State Football, including the rest of the conference season, follow @BallStateFootball on Facebook, and @BallStateFb on Instagram and Twitter.

BSU BSU BSU BSU BSU BSU

Illustration By Audrey Freeland Photos By Madison Surface

CARDINAL FOOTBALL CARDINAL FOOTBALL CARDINAL FOOTBALL CARDINAL FOOTBALL CARDINAL FOOTBALL CARDINAL FOOTBALL CARDINAL FOOTBALL CARDINAL FOOTBALL CARDINAL

A Planet in Crisis The Earth is experiencing a sharp increase in natural disasters as a result of rising temperatures.

By Jevin Jones

I

n the world’s estimated 4.5 billionyear history, our planet has never faced a crisis like the one it is up against today: a sharp rise in natural disasters as a result of climate change. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports the annual average of climate disasters over the last five years to be roughly 16.2 events, a little over two times higher than the 7.1 annual average between 1980-2020.

As of Oct. 8, 2021, 18 recorded climate disasters have occurred in the United States alone, as reported by the NOAA, starting with California flooding and severe weather in January. The most recent climate disaster to impact the United States was hurricane Nicholas in Texas, arriving on Sept. 14 and lasting until Sept. 18, leaving more than 100,000 Texans without electricity in their homes, according to the CenterPoint Energy outage tracker. The leading risk solution company, Risk Management Solutions, estimates the U.S. total insured loss to be between 1.1 and 2.2 billion dollars due to hurricane Nicholas.

The high prices of these climate disaster events are affecting more than the U.S. economy.

According to the World Economic Forum, international insurance firm Aon has announced that from the first half of 2021 alone, the world’s economy has culminated $42 billion in insured losses due to climate disasters.

Scientists estimate that we will be seeing even more of these high-intensity

Illustrations By Milo Hardison environmental events in the future as the Earth gradually begins to rise in temperature.

According to the United State Environment Protection Agency, natural disasters, such as wildfires, hurricanes, and even rain are intensified by heat, and the Earth’s temperature has risen nearly 2 degrees Fahrenheit since the late 1800s.

This average temperature is estimated to rise another two degrees Fahrenheit in the 2100s. This average temperature could rise even higher if countries do not find sustainable alternatives to combat high greenhouse gas emissions, as stated

by NPR. The IEA’s Global Energy Review 2021 reports that CO2 emissions will increase almost five percent this year. This will be a surge of 1.5 billion tons of emissions, the

As of October 18th, 2021, 18 recorded climate disasters have occured in the United States alone.

second-largest increase in history.

Although the current climate crisis may seem daunting, active participation in working towards a greener future has the power to make a change. While we might not be able to control the amount of greenhouse gas emissions our country uses, we can help in small ways by reducing our carbon footprint.

The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions recommends some steps we can take, such as reducing the amount of plastic we use and the amount of water we use daily, as well as being more conscious about not wasting food.

Through small steps like these, we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help secure a more environmentallyfriendly future. g

Features

A Home of Their Own

An overarching look at domestic post-pandemic housing trends.

By Sarah Olsen

P

eople tend to view buying a home as a way to jumpstart the ascent into the rest of their adult lives. For some of the people, the path toward purchasing their first home begins following the completion of their undergraduate degree.

Unfortunately, it is not as simple as trading your diploma for a deed following graduation. Before you start to look at homes, contact realtors, and book showings, there is work to be done.

The Federal Trade Commission reports that one of the most significant things for any prospective first-time buyer to do is to check, manage, and upkeep their credit score. Low credit means a higher interest rate on any homeowner loans they may take out. And with the current market as unstable as it is, even a few percentage points can make all the difference.

But because it can be hard to build your credit score following an expensive college education, many have opted to work for about a decade following college before purchasing a home. This has caused the average age of first-time homeowners to creep up to 34 years old, which the National Association of Realtors reports is the oldest buying age since 1981.

With the future uncertain because of the pandemic, there has been a homebuying frenzy and a home-selling freeze.

This means that right now, high housing prices combined with low mortgage rates means that selling your house is incredibly easy, as illustrated by the Housing Affordability Index.

However, assuming someone is looking for another property to purchase once selling their home, it can be difficult to find anything that is reasonably priced.

Houses are quick to be snatched up by those that can afford the exorbitant prices, and even then, they are often overpaying due to the bloody bidding wars that result.

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The future home of Sophie and Jessica Richau. The house was built in 1914, and will become theirs upon completion of underwriting. Sophie Richau, Photo Provided

[My ideal] night would be Sophie coming home to a dinner I’ve made and maybe going out and walking because we’re in downtown.”

- Jessica Richau, Muncie Homeowner

This means that first-timers trying to tackle housing purchases are likely to be swamped by the intricacies of postpandemic properties. Two people who have experienced this market and all of its confusion first-hand are Muncie homeowners Sophie Richau, and her wife, Jessica.

Sophie, 35, was born in Richmond, Ind. and raised in Greens Fork, Ind., while Jessica, 27, hails from South Carolina.

After tying the knot on June 4, 2021, both women decided to tackle the next step in life — buying a home of their own.

“We got a letter from our landlord saying she was raising our rent 50 bucks, and we were just like, ‘Well, screw this,’” recalls Sophie, as she reflects on the couple’s motivation for moving.

Unfortunately, the transition to their new place was not as smooth as they hoped.

With the market the way it is, it was expected, yet still discouraging, that they

Two bikes form a silhouette in a window. This is located in the attic of the home. Sophie Richau, Photo Provided

would hit a few roadblocks along the way.

“We’re about three weeks behind where we thought we were going to be.

We thought we’d be closed and into the place by now. The last email we got from our lender said that we were going back into underwriting now,” Sophie says.

Underwriting refers to the process through which the buyer’s lender verifies a person’s eligibility for a mortgage loan.

The full mortgage loan process can take up to 30-45 days, from underwriting to the final step of closing, according to mortgage banker Craig Berry.

This means that it could very well be a while before the Richaus are finally moved in.

However, the unexpected hitch in their plans failed to derail them. As they move forward with the rest of their lives, they look forward to entertaining, relaxing, and spending time together. “[My ideal] night would be Sophie coming home to a dinner I’ve made and maybe going out and walking because we’re in downtown,” Jessica says. “Maybe do some work on a hobby or start our own tiny business like selling dried plants or clippings or jewelry.”

Though our present is still occupied by the pandemic, the United States is slowly but surely moving toward the future. And for many like the Richaus, that future involves a new house— one that may be filled with new memories, but is yet still teeming with the same people. After all, there is no place like home. g The interior of the dining room prior to the Richau’s move in. The couple is looking forward to making it their own. Sophie Richau, Photo Provided

BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021 | 09

The Third Place

Libraries, churches, and other social spaces serve as environments for people to connect outside of their homes and workplaces.

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Stacks of books line the shelves of the Maring-Hunt Public Library. Becca Foerder, Ball Bearings

By Becca Foerder

I

f time was money, each day we would wake up with $24 in our wallets. Most people split the large majority of this hypothetical cash between two places — work and home. But an increasing number of people are finding alternative spaces, otherwise known as third places, that are worthy of spending their 24 precious daily dollars on.

The third place is a term coined in the 1900s by sociologist Ray Oldenberg.

Third places refer to spaces where people spend time between home (the first place) and work (the second place). They are often locations where we exchange ideas and build relationships. Centered around social interaction, people may seek out third places for a sense of community and belonging.

“Humans usually seek out groups of people in order to engage in social learning. We’re very social creatures,” says Caitlyn Placek, an associate professor of anthropology at Ball State University.

Classic examples of third places include libraries and churches. These two spots are public spaces that allow for interaction and relationship-building.

Muncie called “Hair People,” where he still works with a limited clientele today.

It was around the same time he graduated from beauty school in the 1980s that McKinley started regularly visiting the Muncie Public Library. Back then, he would go to the Carnegie Library since it was the main public library in the city at the time. Today, he bikes the nineteen blocks from his house to the Maring-Hunt Library on an almost daily basis. He proudly boasts that he has his library card number memorized by heart.

“I would say the best thing Muncie has going for it is the Muncie Public Library,” McKinley says without hesitation.

For the most part, McKinley goes

to the library for the wide array of resources available to him there, such as CDs, movies, books, audio tapes, and access to computers and a stable internet connection. He also enjoys interacting with the people, in particular the staff.

“I don’t know anyone here outside of the library,” McKinley says. “But I don’t know of a bad person who works here.

They’re all really nice people.”

Mary Lou Gentis is one of the many people on staff at Maring-Hunt. She started as a part-time paraprofessional at the Carnegie Library in 1994. Gentis eventually moved up the ladder and now works as the manager of the Maring-Hunt Public Library.

LIBRARIES Cosmetologist, United States Army veteran, world traveler, That 70s Show fanatic, and self-proclaimed history buff Michael McKinley is a busy guy. At 73 years old, he has enough hobbies to last him a lifetime and enough stories to entertain a crowd for hours. With a life as adventurous as McKinley’s, it’s no wonder he sought out the most quiet and comfortable third place ­— the MaringHunt Public Library.

Born and raised in Muncie, McKinley graduated from Southside High School before enlisting in the Army. He was stationed in Germany for three years in the heat of the Vietnam War and was there to witness the Soviet invasion in 1941.

Upon returning to Muncie after serving overseas, McKinley started working as a barber. He eventually realized that his true passion was for more than traditional barbershop-style haircuts and quit his job to go to cosmetology school. McKinley graduated from Amber’s Beauty School in 1985 and opened his very own salon in

I don’t know anyone here outside of the library, but I don’t know of a bad person who works here. They’re all really nice people” - Michael McKinley, Regular at the Maring-Hunt Library Lifetime Muncie resident Michael McKinley browses a computer at Maring-Hunt. McKinley has been regularly visiting Muncie’s public library since the 1980s. Becca Foerder, Ball Bearings

BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021 | 11

Features

CHURCHES Gentis says McKinley has been coming to the library for as long as she can remember. She recalls him frequently using the Interlibrary Loan service back when she worked the reference desk at Carnegie.

“Public libraries have always offered services and resources for lifelong education and entertainment. However, they have also provided a place of safety and security for everyone in a community,” says Gentis. “A public library is a friendly and neutral place that welcomes everyone from all walks of life.”

One thing McKinley loves about the library is the diverse books and movies available to him there that have allowed him to chase after a variety of passions.

“Your interests really change as you go through life,” he says.

While planning his upcoming trip to visit six cities across Ukraine, the library had tapes for him to learn the language before his travels. When he was studying at Amber’s Beauty School, the library had cosmetology books to help him in his studies. During periods where he was particularly fixated on various historical events, the library had movies and documentaries for him to learn more.

For people like McKinley, libraries are more than just a place to check out a book every once in a while. They serve as a haven — a perfect third place.

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Michael Greener is a junior architecture student at Ball State University. Despite late nights and early mornings at the College of Architecture and Planning (CAP) building working on projects for his classes, Greener finds a way to spend time at least five days a week at his favorite place — St. Francis of Assisi Parish & Newman Center.

Greener proudly serves as the vice president of Ball State University’s Catholic student community group, Cardinal Catholic. In this role, Greener is responsible for planning and hosting events for students and being an active member of the community, both on campus and at St. Francis.

Raised Catholic, Greener was a Knight of the Holy Temple and served masses at his home parish throughout high school.

When he moved to Muncie as a freshman, he sought out a faith community and quickly found St. Francis and Cardinal Catholic.

Third places are all about creating a connection and finding a space where you are able to build and foster relationships.

According to Greener, churches are a perfect example of this social space.

“The heart of this place, I think, is in relationship,” says Greener.

Greener doesn’t mind sharing his third place with others. In fact, he enjoys it. He recalls a time when he was on campus with

one of the missionaries at St. Francis. They were inviting students who walked past to join them at adoration hour. Greener wasn’t surprised that most students walked by without acknowledging them, but he remembered one student in particular who was in a rush. The student said he needed to go grab dinner on campus, but that he would join them at adoration after he ate.

The guy seemed busy and had only vague instructions to find the church, so Greener wasn’t expecting him to show up, but, during adoration later that night, Greener looked up from praying to see the student kneeling across the church from him. Eventually, the two became friends and maintained a relationship.

Likewise, Greener says he stayed involved in the Catholic Church even after leaving Muncie.

“He was looking for a place. And he found home here. He found friendships and a community,” Greener says.

According to the Pew Research Center, the number of Americans who identify as Catholic decreased from 23 percent in 2009 to 20 percent in 2019. Greener recognizes this change in his church and admits there is some work to do, but he encourages people to let go of biases and preconceived notions about the Catholic Church.

The sanctuary of St. Francis of Assisi Parish. Janie Arseneaux, Ball Bearings

FINDING & FOSTERING THIRD PLACES

Michael Greener, junior architecture student at Ball State University, by the front doors of St. Francis of Assisi Parish. Janie Arseneaux, Ball Bearings

“Disregard the reputation and know that the people here want to love you and want to serve you,” Greener encourages.

According to Greener, third places are about real connections, not superficial or surface-level ones. He smiles as he reminisces on dinners at Texas Roadhouse, late nights playing card games, and Wednesday night meals and events like “country night” and “boo bash” at St. Francis.

He was looking for a place. And he found home here.

He found friendships and a community” - Michael Greener, junior Ball State Student “We’re all on the same page that this place is home and that this place is about relationships,” Greener says. “Even though we’re all different, we can talk to everybody. We can talk to anybody and be honest with them and love them and welcome them. So that’s been really beautiful to be a part of.”

Places like libraries and churches that have traditionally served as third places have taken a hit in recent years. This slow and silent death of the third place in the wake of digitization is hard to ignore.

The Institute of Museum and Library Research (IMLS) data published in July of 2019 shows a steady decline in physical library visits of about 3 percent each year for the past seven years. This data is pre-pandemic, before 97 percent of the country’s libraries shut down, at least temporarily.

Likewise, the number of U.S. citizens affiliated with a church decreased from 73 percent of the population in 1940 to 60 percent of the population in 2018.

Even places like coffee shops and cafés that once served as hubs of social interaction and community have experienced the effects of this decline as the number of people who get coffee via drive-thru versus in-store has increased by 6 percent in the last five years alone.

Many people now turn to technology and social media for “connecting,” but founder of the third place Ray Oldenburg notes the most effective means for building real community seems to be physical places where people can easily and routinely connect with each other.

Although not everyone resonates with the concept of the third place, many people rely on them on a daily basis. A study conducted by Cleveland State University in 2009 found that third places can enhance overall quality of life and foster a sense of community.

“There could be lots of benefits [to having a third place],” Placek says. “For some people, it helps them think more creatively. It just depends on the type of place.”

Placek, the anthropology professor, says her third place is the yoga studio where she goes multiple times a week to relax, stay in shape, and connect with people that share similar interests. For McKinley, it’s a computer station at the Maring-Hunt Library. For Greener, it’s the pews of St. Francis. For me, it’s Noble Coffee & Tea, the local coffee shop in my hometown of Noblesville, Ind., where the baristas knew me by name and where I would regularly sit for hours after school, nursing an iced chai while doing homework. We have found our third place — our safe haven. Our home away from home. Our space to belong and connect.

Where’s yours? g

Finding Third Places A 2009 study conducted by Cleveland State University surveyed nearly 500 people and asked them to identify third places within their communities.

10%

of people identified churches as a third place

13%

of people identified coffee shops as a third place

12% of people identified restaurants as a third place

7% of people identified libraries as a third place BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021 | 13

Lifestyle

Comfy As Can Airbnb Airbnb gives travelers a variety of unique and comfy places to stay.

By Haley Boyce

T

he modern day traveling experience is ever-changing.

Travelers have swapped their paper maps for the GPS app on their phone, long car rides for short flights, and now their hotels and resorts for Airbnbs.

Airbnb has crafted an intimate way to feel at home even when you’re in a foreign place. The company allows people from all over the world to rent out their homes in order to give travelers a more personal place to stay during their trip.

In 2007, Airbnb was born after three travelers in San Francisco stayed in the homes of two hosts. Fourteen years later, the company has over five million listings in more than 220 countries and regions.

When it comes to the global economy, travel and tourism make up over ten percent. These activities were put to a halt when the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic hit. But Americans are ready to get back on the road and up in the air.

According to a 2021 Airbnb survey, 24 percent of Americans have been feeling isolated and alone. The survey also reports that although Americans miss going to restaurants and events, they miss traveling the most.

While Americans are ready to get back into the swing of traveling, Airbnb hosts are also ready to start welcoming guests back into their homes.

Rebekah Hanna is an Airbnb host in Muncie. She currently has two units, both in a house on Jackson Street.

The house isn’t just your average Airbnb — it’s one of Muncie’s historic landmarks.

The property stuck out to Hanna as soon as she saw it.

“We moved here in 2002, and I wanted to buy it at that point,” says Hanna. “It was for sale for a while, and it was in really bad shape.”

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Rebekah Hanna sits on a couch in her upstairs Airbnb unit. Haley Boyce, Ball Bearings

According to Hanna, who also works as a renter, the house was slowly deteriorating. Large holes were beginning to form in the backyard, ready to consume the house.

Hanna was finally able to rescue the house in 2018. She got to work right away and began renovating the property that same year.

“To do any renovations on old homes, whether they’re a landmark or not, is very, very expensive,” Hanna says.

In January of 2020, she began to turn a profit by renting out her units. Since then, she’s become a “superhost.” To qualify as a superhost, Hanna had to host at least ten stays yearly, keep at least a 90 percent response rate to messages, receive five-star reviews from at least 80 percent of her guests and have a low cancelation rate.

Not many hosts have achieved superhost status. According to AIRDNA, an application used to track data from Airbnb, only 19.4 percent of hosts in 2017 became superhosts. That’s only

392,000 hosts out of 2.2 million possible.

But before she began renting out her property, Hanna did her research — she read books about Airbnb and looked up listings in bigger cities like Chicago.

“There’s not a lot of people who do this as a business,” says Hanna.

The stained glass window in the lower unit glistens in the sun. Haley Boyce, Ball Bearings

Rebekah Hanna’s Airbnb units sit in this house on W. Jackson Street in Muncie. Shannon McCloskey, Ball Bearings

With her Airbnb units, Hanna's goal is to have her house feel like real estate. The unit has a modern feel to it, with splashes of its history. She decorates it with leather couches, black and white patterned rugs, and pillows. But there’s also the stained glass window in one of the rooms and the staircase draped in a red carpet.

Hanna is satisfied with the way her Airbnbs have been doing, even during a pandemic. She says there were only two months where she didn’t have any guests.

As the pandemic continued, Hanna eventually had a traveling nurse stay at her Airbnb which helped keep her units afloat. The nurse stayed with her about ten times.

“That helped me stay positive,” says Hanna. “I think people are honestly more comfortable staying in an Airbnb setting.”

Staying in Airbnbs for remote work was a common trend in 2020. One in five Airbnb guests were staying in an Airbnb for remote work or travel.

Some of Hanna’s guests during the pandemic were also having small events that required them to stay in her unit.

“People were doing small things like small weddings. The groom-to-be stayed here, and they did some photos here,” says Hanna.

So what makes Airbnb unique? For one, the options for where guests can stay can make for an unforgettable trip.

Airbnb allows their customers to

I think people are honestly more comfortable staying in an Airbnb setting.”

- Rebekah Hanna, Airbnb Host search for “unique homes,” such as yurts, islands, huts, earth houses, barns, farm stays, houseboats, treehouses, cabins, domes, apartments, and tiny homes.

During one trip to Kentucky, Hanna and her family stayed in a treehouse.

She’s also had the opportunity to stay in

A light shines on a bedroom in on of Hanna’s units. Haley Boyce, Ball Bearings

a historic neighborhood in Fort Wayne thanks to a rental on Airbnb.

Whether you’re in a historical home like Hanna’s unit in Muncie or a glamping dome in Gann, Ohio (yes, you read that right), the options are endless for your Airbnb stay. g

Carpet drapes the stairs leading toward one of Hanna’s units. Haley Boyce, Ball Bearings

BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021 | 15

Photo

Life by Lakeshore Miller Beach businesses find new life as the Indiana Dunes go national.

By Shannon McCloskey

M

y family comes from the southside of Chicago, but the Region is my home. Many from northwest Indiana say they’re from Chicago, but fail to mention the unique experiences and people who exist within the Region. For my family and me, Lake Michigan has always just been there. I remember taking field trips to the Dunes and massive beach parties on the last day of school. This body of water and its coarse sand hold an abundance of memories for me, and the view of the city from the beach cannot be beaten. The Indiana Dunes is a special place, and so are the people who call that area home.

Miller Beach, resting on the southernmost tip of Lake Michigan, is a neighborhood of Gary, Ind. that acts as its own unincorporated city. The community is 35 miles from the Chicago Loop and includes its own train stop to get to the heart of the city. Since the Indiana Dunes and the Indiana National Lakeshore were named a national park in 2019, Miller has become the first stop on the trail. Miller embodies what it’s like to find a home in water-side communities.

According to the Miller Historical Society, the 20th century was when Miller Beach blossomed as the lakefront potential was finally recognized. The city of Gary annexed Miller in 1918 to make it an individual community based on tourism.

Editor’s Note: This story was originally published on ballbearingsmag.com in Fall 2020.

16 | BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021

Joyce Davis has owned her Lake Street gallery since 1993, offering “artisan jewelry, pottery, glass, and the ever-popular reproductions of vintage South Shore posters.” Davis recaps her childhood and water constantly being the centerpiece, making Miller an ideal location.

“When I moved here to be with my ex-husband, I tried to leave, and I just couldn’t. As a child, I lived near the lake in Chicago. Being by the water is addicting,” Joyce says.

I tried to leave, and I just couldn’t.

As a child, I lived near the lake in Chicago. Being by the water is addicting.

- Joyce Davis, Owner of Lake Street Gallery

Steve Rossi, park ranger for the Indiana National Lakeshore, was an electrical engineer for 12 years before finding his happy place at the Indiana Dunes. With the area recently being named a national park, Steve has seen an “uptick of 20 percent” when it comes to visitors and national attention. Steve’s favorite part of his job is interacting with the children that are eager to learn about the resource-rich area.

“There’s a lightbulb. When you say something to a kid, you’ve just changed that kid’s life,” Steve says.

There’s a lightbulb. When you say something to a kid, you’ve just changed that kid’s life - Steve Rossi, Park Ranger

“We, the Catholic faith community of St. Mary of the Lake, strive to continue the mission of Christ through Word and Sacrament, spiritual formation, stewardship, and advocacy for social justice,” says the mission statement presented on their website.

St. Mary of the Lake Catholic Church just celebrated their 90th anniversary as a part of the Miller community. Sunday mass ritually begins at 10 a.m. on Sunday mornings, with the recent addition of a Youtube live stream. St. Mary of the Lake also offers online giving, a way to donate to different church activities without having to sit in the pews every week.

Vibrations is a local well-being space that offers all-natural food, juices, and smoothies, as well as gifts and earthly items. Kyle Davis’ mother, Rebecca “Raspberry” Davis, owns the shop. Kyle cuts the never-frozen fruit and vegetables himself, fresh, before squeezing or blending them without ice or added flavorings. Vibrations offers a patio for the summer months and yoga classes on their upper level.

Their breathing room is home to yoga and Reiki practices for clients to come and cleanse their mind, body, and spirit.

Vibrations compares humans to an onion, where each layer has to be peeled to unravel and reach the inner self.

Kyle Davis continues the work of his grandfather with his mother. The two of them “carry on the tradition” of always-

We see more people because of the national park and the bikers.

- Kyle Davis, Grandson of Vibrations Owners fresh food and beverages along with gifts and items that all seem good for the soul.

“First, it was really slow. We upgraded to more food, and business has picked up. We see more people because of the national park and the bikers,” Kyle says.

Vibrations prides itself on being a part of the efforts to bring life and revitalization to the neighborhood.

Dan Trutter, owner of Indie Indie Bang!

Bang!, has owned the store in Miller for six years. He himself is a resident of Miller, and explains that, being so close to Chicago, places like Miller make for a day trip some people are after.

Dan also attributes some of the success of his shop to Miller being the first stop on the trail for the national park. Indie Indie Bang! Bang! is a multi-store business with locations in both Miller Beach in Gary, and Valparaiso, Ind. “It’s a lot of pretty things that make people happy. When you give someone a gift, it’s a nice gesture,” Dan says. g

18 | BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021

It’s a lot of pretty things that make people happy. When you give someone a gift, it’s a nice gesture.”

- Dan Trutter, Owner or Indie Indie Bang! Bang!

BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021 | 19

Column

Living Between the Lines

Boundaries created almost 85 years ago still haunt Muncie’s urban neighborhoods.

By Alex Bracken

I

n the 1930s, U.S. citizens were in a panic. Home values were decreasing, inflation was out of control, and the American economy was in shambles.

According to the Harvard Business Review, house prices dropped about 67 percent between 1929 and 1932. This means that in 1932, a home that cost about $76,000 just three years earlier would be worth a measly $46,000.

As home values dropped, the Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) was created with the purpose of saving lenders by increasing confidence and stabilizing prices. HOLC advised them which areas were “desirable” and safe for mortgages.

Regions of selected cities were classified into four categories — A, B, C, and D. According to the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, factors that influenced the classifications included the general condition of housing in the area, proximity to amenities like parks, the economic class of residents, nationality, and ethnic/racial composition.

Areas with immigrants or people of color were frequently labeled C and D which were named “definitely declining”

20 | BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021

and “hazardous,” respectively. These determined sections were outlined on maps of 150 cities in yellow and red, separated from richer, and mostly white, neighborhoods.

Redlining, the practice of appraising areas as “hazardous,” has had negative effects on the areas it has been applied to. But redlining isn’t the only harmful classification — yellow areas, classified as “definitely declining,” have suffered similar consequences. This classification is known as yellowlining.

Although legislation like the Fair Housing Act of 1968, which prohibited discrimination concerning housing based on factors like race, religion, and sex, work to combat issues like redlining and yellowlining, the effects of these practices still linger.

Jena Ashby is the director of impact and programs at Muncie Habitat for Humanity, where she leads a team called the 8twelve Coalition. Their focus area includes the South Central and Thomas Park/Avondale neighborhoods, both of which were once classified as yellow.

One of the effects of redlining and

When you can answer that question of, ‘Where do I live?’ then there are so many other things you get to pay attention to in life - Jena Ashby, Habitat for Humanity yellowlining is a decrease in available mortgages.

“We know that our neighborhoods, which have historically been neighborhoods of color and even probably more southside-focused neighborhoods, do tend to have lower home ownership rates and less equity available to people to just fix their homes up,” Ashby says.

One of 8twelve’s goals is to ensure residents have access to decent, safe, stable, and affordable housing. While there are many ways to accomplish this, they’re often dealing with existing construction.

Cultivating Community

By Becca Foerder Tomatoes, grapes, and peppers are among the produce ripe for the picking at the South Central Community Garden, located at the corner of Jefferson and 7th Street in Muncie, Ind. The harvest is available to all members of Muncie’s South Central neighborhood. With the intention of uniting and bettering the community, this garden is one of the many revitalization projects in Muncie funded and managed by organizations like the 8twelve.

Ashby says the 8twelve Coalition and their partners have improved 160 properties in some way. That could be anything from repairing a house, building a small “pocket park,” or creating a rental property. All of this contributes to improving lives for people in the community.

“We want people to live in homes where they experience safety and affordability,” Ashby says. “When you can answer that question of, ‘Where do I live?’ then there are so many other things you get to pay attention to in life.”

Affordability is another challenge for organizations like 8twelve that focus on community revitalization. If not managed correctly, the prices of housing can inflate and push residents out of the neighborhood, also known as gentrification. Ashby says that Muncie has been fortunate that they haven’t experienced a lot of this phenomenon.

Another factor that can negatively affect safety and affordability in urban areas are blighted properties, or properties that are abandoned or unproductive. These properties are sometimes a result of the HOLC maps, and are generally reflective of the lack of investment in urban areas.

Blighted properties decrease the value of neighboring houses, and can create opportunities for illegal activities. Muncie has an estimated 2400 vacant lots, 1300 vacant structures, and 750 blighted structures which costs the City of Muncie $2.3 million in tax revenue.

Zane Bishop is the former Blight Elimination Program coordinator for the City of Muncie. Through this program, Bishop reports that Muncie has

demolished 249 residential properties.

But demolition isn’t always the answer.

Even when homes are demolished, the properties can become problematic.

“Sometimes nothing gets done with the vacant lots, and they just sit there.

The grass gets tall. It attracts trash, debris, dumping, and parked cars,” Bishop says.

That’s where community revitalization organizations like 8twelve come in.

“We are kind of the point of entry and acquisition for property, and then we are able to hold on to that property until an end user can take title to it,” Ashby says.

Those “end users” can then develop the lots into productive properties that add value to the community. At the end of the day, Ashby says their focus is on improving the lives of people who live in their target area.

“I think there’s such a great spirit of collaboration, where I feel like we want everybody to win. So whatever I have that I can bring that helps you win, I want to do that. And I think our partners, especially in the coalition, have the same thing,” she says.

Ultimately, housing is just a portion of the work Ashby does at 8twelve. Their larger purpose is making people feel at home in their area.

“We’re always looking at that sense of community,” Ashby says. “We want people to feel connected to the place that they live, but also connected to the people that live near them as well.”

Although redlining and yellowlining have had a lasting effect on the Muncie community, work being done by organizations like 8twelve allow room for these labels to be erased. g

We want people to feel connected to the place that they live, but also connected to the people that live near them as well.

- Jena Ashby, Habitat for Humanity

BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021 | 21

Visualizing Blight in Muncie A visual representation of the impact that redlining and Halteman yellowlining has on Muncie neighborhoods

By Alex Bracken

Northview Morningside

Sky Park

Norwood

berlane Cowing Park

Anthony-Northside

Granville

Aultshire

Pettigrew Acres Johnson Woods Orchard Lawn Minnetrista

ing Pines Westbrier

Westridge

Whitely

Ball State University

University Heights McKinley

ern

Riverside/Normal City

Gatewood

Eastside

Kenmore

Gilbert

East Central

Downtown

udingwood

Westside Carlton

Old West End

Blaine

Industry

Southeast

South Central Forest Park mandy

Thomas Park/Avondale

Southside

Neighborhoods Neighborhood

8twelve Area

INBEP Demolitions Size indicates condition “score” of the property

HOLC Grade B (Still Desirable)

C (Declining)

22 | BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021

D (Hazardous)

Column

From Fixed to Fluid Homes A comparison of roles in the home and how they have changed over half a century of growth.

By Grace Duerksen

P

opular television shows and movies, such as The Donna Reed Show and I Love Lucy, tell the story of traditional, affluent, white 1950s housewives in this way: After the husband leaves for a day of work, the dutiful housewife begins her daily tasks. Cleaning the house, shopping for essentials, hemming clothes, tending to the children, and ensuring that supper is warm and ready when her husband returns is a typical day for the housewife.

After dinner, the housewife clears the table and begins doing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen while the hardworking husband begins to retire for the evening after his long day of work in the city. As they both get into their bed after putting the children to sleep, the two prepare to wake up the next day to do the

Illustration By Kami Geron same things all over again.

This 1950s “traditional” household portrayed on-screen is dramatically different from the households that many of us are familiar with today. Homes all vary in their own ways, and most modernday homes have strayed from the cookiecutter 1950s image.

In the 1950s, conformity was key, according to Khan Academy. Along with the rising marriage rates, the number of American homeowners grew just as dramatically as it did quickly. According to U.S. History, a textbook written by P. Scott Corbett, homes could be purchased in cash for as little as $8,000, resulting in suburban areas growing by 46 percent during the decade. It was clear that the “American Dream” was in progress for many people at this time.

While life may have seemed near perfect to the average passerby, it may not have been as perfect as it seemed underneath the surface.

The Turning Point During World War II, women flooded the workplace while men went to fight overseas. After the war ended, the women who weren’t displaced by the returning soldiers continued to contribute to the workforce, and their discontent for the status quo was growing day by day.

Although the media and culture expected them to silently and respectfully give up their jobs and return to “normal” life, these women in the workforce made up one-third of the workforce at the time, according to Khan Academy.

Although the “traditional” household roles were extremely prominent in the BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021 | 23

See theStats 2019

1 5

The Census Bureau found that nearly one million households were composed of same-sex couples

in

Parents are stay-athome parents Women earned

84% of what men earned in 2020, according to Pew Research.

24 | BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021

Photo by Juliån Gentilezza on Unsplash

Source: census.gov

Column

1950s, the decade also marked the turning point where things began to change.

Baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, were widely recognized as the largest generation. As the number of children rose, the need for caregivers rose alongside it. Yet despite the circumstances that created a breeding ground for social norms and gender roles, according to Khan Academy around 40 percent of women with younger children made the decision to stay in the workforce to provide for their families financially rather than staying home. According to a study conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the percentage of women in the workforce grew from 34 percent in 1950 to 60 percent in 2000. Having the ability to feel as if one was contributing to something larger was beginning to gain popularity.

People, especially women, began to realize the importance of self-satisfaction in their work lives and recognized that it would ultimately lead to being independent. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an increasing number of women remained single, and women who did choose to marry during this time did so much later in life.

The change between these different lifestyles was a slow shift, and it even continues to change today.

The New Normal Flash forward to the present day.

While gender roles still exist in everyday life, they are a lot more fluid. People are encouraged to do whatever fulfills them in their work and in their pastimes, no matter how they identify. It seems as if

society has come to the realization that household duties can be completed by anyone, regardless of gender.

Additionally, households today are not always made up of a female and male partnership. LGBTQ+ households are much more common now that there are laws that protect queer marriage and relationships. In the year 2019, the Census Bureau found that nearly one million households were composed of same-sex couples. Most same-sex couples were women rather than men, also according to the Census Bureau.

The Census Bureau also reports that same-sex married households are more likely to be in the workforce than opposite-gender households by just over four percent. Same-sex couples make nearly $10,000 more annual income than opposite-sex couples. However, same-sex male couples make nearly $36,000 more annual income than same-sex female couples.

For the past 15 years, the pay gap has remained moderately steady. But why does the gap still exist? Pew Research claims it may be due to factors such as previous work experience, education, or occupational segregation.

A 2020 Pew study found that women earned 84 percent of what men earned and that it would take an extra 42 days for women to make up for the gap. While the gap is still significantly large today, it is slowly closing in. In 1950, women made 59 to 64 cents for every dollar their male counterparts earned.

Gender Roles: Reversed or Eradicated?

Traditionally, women are recognized

Infographics By Samantha Martin

By the Numbers

Source: pewresearch.org

Same-sex couples make nearly

$10,000

The number of stay-at-home moms remains steady at

more annual income than opposite sex couples

27%

The number of stay-at-home dads has risen from

4% to 7%

Photo Sofia Hernandez on Unsplash 24 | by BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021 24 | BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021

as staying home after having a child more often than men. Out of the more than 11 million parents in the United States that don’t work outside of the home, nearly one in five is a stay-at-home parent, according to Pew. While income may not always be everything, it is still important. Stay-athome parenting has become a “luxury” for some in recent years. Being able to afford to live on a single spouse’s salary is desired by some couples due to the costs of caring for a child. According to a study conducted by Zillow, higher incomeearning households are more likely to have a stay-at-home parent than their lower-income counterparts.

Pew reports that the number of stayat-home dads has risen from 4 percent to 7 percent in the past 30 years, while the number of stay-at-home moms remained steady, around 27 percent.

Because of these changes, Donna Reed and the 1950s housewife are no longer as confined as they were 70 years ago. Cooking, cleaning, and caring for children is now widely seen as a job that any gender is capable of. The roles we see within the home today include more than just a mom and a dad, or two kids and a white picket fence. Instead of fitting into the cookie-cutter mold, homes have started to transform into more inclusive and accepting spaces. g

Staff

RECIPES FROM HOME

Food carries a load of memories, emotions, and reminders and captures a specific feeling of home that warms the heart the second it hits your tastebuds.

Our identities as individuals are shaped by the foods we eat and the foods we make. Sharing a recipe is romantic in the sense that you are sharing a piece of yourself. Food connects us. Food makes us human.

26 | BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021

When the weather turns cold, your throat is sore, and your body aches, a big warm bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup may be all you want, or maybe even all you are able to eat. On the 4th of July, the smell of barbeque sauce and charcoal fills the backyard; hot dogs come out with perfect grill marks, and juicy watermelon drips down your hand when you take the first bite.

Ball Bearings staff members share a taste of home with a collection of their familyfavorite recipes.

When the temperature starts dropping and leaves begin to crunch under your boots, you dream of hot apple cider and a fresh slice of pumpkin roll. On a snowy Christmas morning, you are sipping a mug of hot chocolate filled to the brim with marshmallows and enjoying a plate of ooey gooey cinnamon rolls while gathered around the tree with your family.

No matter the season, holiday, event, or occasion, food is at the center of the human experience.

Because food is so integral to home, the Ball Bearings Magazine team wants to share a couple of their favorite family recipes with you to celebrate The Home Issue. Whichever recipe you decide to try out, we hope you enjoy!

BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021 | 27

Features

Kerry Geron sits with her two children, Kami (7) and Kurt (4), before her first transplant in 2008. Photos Provided

More than

100,000

men,

women and children nationally are waiting right now for an organ transplant. Over 1,000 of those waiting are Hoosiers.

As a registered donor, you can be the reason a life is saved, a debilitating injury is healed, eyesight is restored.

2020

was a record-breaking year for saving lives. The generosity of Hoosier donors and their families impacted the lives of thousands in need.

Kerry sits with her children before her second transplant in 2019 . Photos Provided

28 | BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021

Source: indianadonornetwork.org

Hope From a Hospital Room Sometimes the best way to heal is a little bit of love.

By Kami Geron

C

omfort. Noun. A state of physical ease and freedom from pain or constraint. The easing or alleviation of a person’s feelings of grief or distress.

If you were asked to define comfort, what would you say?

It’s easy to describe getting into relaxing clothing or eating favorite foods, but the true definition is deeper. The world can be a stressful place to live in, so seeking comfort is at the forefront of people’s minds and health.

So again, what is comfort to you?

For me, it is being able to cuddle with my dogs at the end of a long day. But it’s also being able to tell myself that everything is going to be alright. At the age of 20, you wouldn’t think I’d have to remind myself of that so often, but I have been doing it since 2008.

I grew up with kids always pointing and staring at my family.

When you would see us out, my younger brother and I would be running ahead of my parents, my father alongside my mother, pushing her oxygen tank. We were young, seven and four years old, so we didn’t know it was out of the ordinary. We would take turns riding on the oxygen cart. Other children always asked to feel the air that came out of my mom’s tank, but the adults always rushed them off like she was some monster.

My mother was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in 2001. To simplify the medical jargon, she had scarring of her lung tissues that made it hard to breathe.

She had to take frequent trips to IU Health Methodist Hospital for checkups, tests, and treatments.

However, after exhausting all medical options, she was put on the transplant waiting list.

When she received her lifesaving call in 2008, I remember being carried to the car with my Raggedy Ann and Andy quilt and drawing on the cold car window all the way up to Indianapolis. While my parents stressed out about the final steps of surgery, my brother and I were running around the hospital playing with the train displays. I remember walking out of the elevator the next day, the nurse and I holding onto my Raggedy Ann doll. We walked into my mother’s hospital room and there she was: no nose-hose in sight.

The next 11 days seemed like forever to me. I remember drawing snowflakes, snowmen, and family portraits, all that were hung up by the nurses. I drew the nurses their own snowmen and dolls,which they laughed at and hung on their desks. We received crocheted Christmas trees my brother and I would decorate with pipe cleaners, and we watched Animal Planet on

the television in the hospital bed with my mother. Now, 13 years later, we are still putting up the same crocheted Christmas tree with its pipe cleaner ornaments when the holiday season rolls around.

Going through the transplant process again, at the age of 18, proved a lot more stressful. After almost 11 years my mother’s body went into rejection, meaning her immune system failed to recognize her new lungs and tried to get rid of them like it does a virus. I had to step up my senior year of high school and juggle my own school work and extracurriculars with taking my brother to his practices and making dinner.

The uncertainty of my mom’s life was a lot of pressure for all of us to handle, a n d

Illustration By Kami Geron

Features

After recovering from her transplant, Kerry Geron poses with some Christmas presents from her children. Photos Provided

it never dawned on me how much I was carrying until we got the call again in 2019.

Not to brag or anything, but her surgery the second time around only took five and a half hours. She was in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for a week. When she got to the hospital room she would spend the remaining four weeks of her recovery in, she instantly requested that I bring her comfort items. We had pillows, blankets, her cross-stitch, and tea bags to make her as comfortable as possible. She got to sit by the window and watch the snowfall and watch The Mandalorian with us every Friday when we would visit and sneak her soup.

Looking back on all of my 20 years of life, I was most comfortable in a hospital room.

It wasn’t because of “Alfred,” my mom’s new llama pillow, or a snowflake drawing, it was because I no longer had to worry about the uncertainty of my mom living to come to my graduation, my wedding, my child’s birth, and so many other big life

30 | BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021

events. For her, it was being surrounded by the people she loved that brought her comfort, and when we couldn’t be there, photos, drawings, llamas, and blankets were all there to support her through the hardest thing she’s ever had to do.

Ball State freshman Kennedy Brantley can relate to my experience with hospitals more than most.

I remember every single thing that happened [when we got the call].”

- Kennedy Brantley, Ball State freshman “Honestly it was one of the worst experiences I can think of,” Kennedy says. “Seeing my dad struggle to hold a conversation with us, mostly because of the medications he was on, was rough. It

didn’t really seem like I was talking to my dad, and I couldn’t stop crying the whole time. I remember I sat in the waiting area for a really long time because I didn’t want to leave immediately after I had gotten there, but I only stayed for one day because it was too difficult to watch.”

At the age of 16 years old, Kennedy found her father facing the inevitability of genetic diseases. He suffered from polycystic kidney disease for five years, a hereditary disease that his grandmother had. They knew the journey would be long and difficult, with an unknown timeline and dialysis treatments. The long-term solution to this disease is a kidney transplant, but since the need for organ donation has increased, so has the wait time for patients.

“I remember every single thing that happened [when we got the call],” Kennedy says. “We were off school for a ‘Red for Education’ teacher’s wage awareness day.

I had bought tickets for a Lana Del Rey concert with my best friend in Nashville

Organ Donation: Quick Facts You can save 8 lives through organ donation and heal 75 lives through tissue donation.

20 people die each day waiting for an organ.

Every 10 minutes, another person is added to the transplant waiting list.

Illustration By Kami Geron

Corneas Heart Lungs Liver Kidneys

Intestines

Tissue

Pancreas

Anyone can register as a donor. Don’t rule yourself out due to age or medical conditions.

Be a hero. Save a life.

Source: indianadonornetwork.org

BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021 | 33

Features

How to Register to be an Organ Donor There are many ways to register to be an organ donor.

• You can register by saying “yes” when you get your drivers permit, license, or when you renew your license.

• You can register online at donatelife.net/ register/ • Indiana residents can register at donatelifeindiana.org/ signup/

INDIANA

and my mom and her best friend were going with us to hang out in the city while we were at the concert. My mom received a call from my dad and he was crying hysterically. He told her that the Louisville transplant center had called him and that he had to be there within three hours of the call. Immediately everyone in the car started crying with joy, and I turned to the closest exit. I still remember there was a Loves Gas Station. I turned around and admittedly sped as fast as I could without being reckless.”

Kennedy said they turned an hour drive into about 30 minutes. As soon as they pulled into the driveway, Kennedy burst out of the car and hugged her dad.

They all had tears streaming down their faces. In true parental fashion, he told Kennedy: “You better get back on the road before you miss your concert.” Due to the lengthy transplantation process, she decided to drive back toward Nashville.

When they were waiting in line for the concert, Kennedy’s dad FaceTimed her right before going into surgery. Looking back, she still considers it the craziest and happiest day of her life. However, his time in the hospital was no easy ride.

Floor nurse Megan Noble has traveled to several hospitals since she began working in 2012. During her nine years as a nurse, she has seen thousands of patients and their families. With the stress of extended hospital stays, Noble has witnessed how families come together during these difficult times to make their loved ones comfortable.

“I have seen patients bring in all sorts of things to make their room more like home. The most common thing I think is pillows from home and a favorite blanket, hospital linen is made to be used over and over and it just is not the same as what

OPERATOR LICENSE

bmv.IN.gov

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Infographic By Kami Geron

we use at home,” Megan says. “I think depending on how long a patient is going to have to stay in the hospital determines what kinds of things they might bring in. A quick overnight stay is kind of like a hotel stay, you don’t need much, but a long stay, like months, people tend to make their rooms feel more like home.”

Kennedy still remembers what they brought to her father’s hospital room when he was recovering after his transplant surgery. At the top of his list was his own pillow and throw blankets from home, as well as his everyday clothes so he could begin feeling normal as quickly as possible.

I think making the hospital room homier helped my dad and our family to try to forget that we were in the hospital and focus on celebrating the fact that my dad received a new chance at life” - Kennedy Brantley, Ball State freshman “I think making the hospital room homier helped my dad and our family to try to forget that we were in the hospital and focus on celebrating the fact that my dad received a new chance at life,” Kennedy says. “When you see someone so close to you in that position, it makes it difficult to see the positive outcome of the situation.”

Making a patient feel comfortable isn’t just a family’s job. The doctors and nurses put in extra effort to help patients through their time at the hospitals. Megan recalls buying many birthday cakes and decorations for her patients because no one wants to be in a hospital on their birthday. She has crocheted scarves, hand warmers, and hats for patients, too.

“I think anytime you have to be in the hospital it is stressful and as humans, we find comfort in things we are used to,” Megan says. “In the hospital, you have to keep to the hospital schedule and what the doctors and nurse need or want you to do with little say as to when and how it happens. Bringing comfort items from home gives patients a sense of normalcy and also helps them focus and remember what they have to look forward to when

they are able to go home.”

There is no better way to look forward than to thank the donor. According to WebMD, it’s common for recipients and families to feel guilty about receiving the gift of life, but connecting with donor families is one of the main ways to overcome the guilt and to honor their memories. Kennedy says they hung up the donor family’s letter on the wall of the hospital room so that they could read and reflect on how grateful they were for their

donor, and for her dad to get his second chance at life.

“I remember when we first arrived in the room there was nothing to remind me of how lucky we were to be in this situation,” Kennedy says. “It was difficult to see all the pain and emotions during that time and remember how lucky our family was that my dad was going to survive. I think if there are people going through this same situation, remind yourself that it is perfectly okay to be upset and scared.”

I have had patients that make your day when you get to take care of them, I have even visited them in other units after my shift if I know they are somewhere else in - Megan Noble, Floor Nurse the hospital.”

Megan recalls a time when a patient encouraged her to try out a particular crochet stitch. The pair worked on the stitch during the patient’s treatment.

Megan still has the book, hook, and yarn.

In fact, her collection of memorabilia is full of crafts patients have tried during their time in the hospital.

“I think when you take care of patients, especially as a nurse, you develop a unique relationship with them and some start to feel like family to you,” Megan says. “I have had patients that make your day when you get to take care of them, I have even visited them in other units after my shift if I know they are somewhere else in the hospital.”

And sometimes having one person is all you need. When my mom met Megan, she was in the middle of grueling treatment sessions while awaiting her transplant.

The pair immediately became friends, chatting about their families and lives beyond the hospital walls. Megan was a light for my mom–someone she looked forward to seeing, the perfect distraction from treatments and testing.

Megan continued to visit my mom in the hospital after she stopped serving as her floor nurse. She even gifted her a homemade, crocheted scarf in her favorite color. Her continuing selflessness and passion for her work were a priceless comfort for my mom during her time in the hospital. Whether it’s your favorite nurse to chat with on the tough days, a handwritten letter from a donor family hanging on the wall, a llama pillow named Alfred, or friends and family to keep you company, there are many ways to make a hospital feel a bit more like home. g Illustration By Kami Geron

Just days after moving from the intensive care unit after her second transplant, Kerry walks with her family around the transplant floor.

Photos Provided

BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021 | 33

Features

When I was around two years old, my dad was studying in Germany and my mom and I moved to Germany with him. This is a picture of my mom and me, in front of the Semper Opera in Dresden, Germany.

Paola Fernandez Jimenez, Photo Provided

Going to visit London is one of my favorite memories from traveling around Europe with my family. This picture was taken by my dad in front of the Tower Bridge in London, England. In the picture are my mom, my brother, Daniel, and me. Paola Fernandez Jimenez, Photo Provided

56 | BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021

Identity Beyond Borders

This was me dressed up in a traditional Mexican dress in Sweden for a school event when I was around seven or eight years old. There were a couple of times where I had the chance to introduce my Mexican culture to my Swedish classmates at school in the town we lived in which was Södertälje, Sweden. Paola Fernandez Jimenez, Photo Provided

Finding the balance between different cultures and experiences

By Daniela Morales Editor’s Note: The writer of this story, Daniela Morales, is also a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) at Ball State University.

I

mmigration. It has become a topic often considered politically controversial.

People are divided, not knowing if they should support it or deny it. The debate surrounding immigration has existed since Congress passed the first immigration law, the Naturalization Act of 1790.

According to the Oxford Dictionary, an immigrant is, “a person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country.” This is a definition that Ball State student Paola Fernandez Jimenez relates to, as well as the many struggles that come with it.

Paola grew up in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, with her family until riots and chaos forced their family to move out of their home country.

After Paola’s dad was offered a job in Sweden, the family moved and lived there for three years.

Moving to Sweden was not easy for Paola, especially since she was only six years old and didn’t speak Swedish or English.

However, it wasn’t the language barrier that held her back, it was the fact that she was from a different country that scared people.

“A lot of people didn’t like the fact that I

was Mexican. In Sweden, there was a problem with immigration over there, as well. So I just felt like I didn’t fit in. I also felt really excluded most of the time,” Paola says.

According to a study by Jadelyn Kuuipo Martinez from Florida State University, such attitudes can be traced back all the way to the 1920s when Congress passed certain acts that aimed to ban immigrants, or even when President Eisenhower created “Operation Wetback,” a law that deported many Mexican immigrants. Today, both a physical barrier and a socially-cultivated barrier separate Mexico and the United States. According to Professor Kevin Moloney, all of these movements stem from one motive.

“We just seem for some ridiculous reason and unfortunate reason to transfer our fears from one set of people to the next set of people, and it’s usually the group that is immigrating in the greatest numbers that aspires the greatest fear at any one time,” Moloney says.

Moloney is an assistant professor in the Center for Emerging Media Design and Development. Over the course of his career,

A lot of people didn’t like the fact that I was Mexican.

In Sweden, there was a problem with immigration over there, as well. So I just felt like I didn’t fit in. I also felt really excluded most of the time,” - Paola Fernandez Jimenez, Ball State student.. he has covered many immigrant stories such as detainment, border crossings, and sanctuary movement in Latin countries.

Coming from a long line of immigrants from Mexico since 1598, he sympathizes with the prejudice that Paola faced in Sweden.

Paola’s family ended up moving to the United States when she was just nine years old.

BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021 | 35

In the picture is my little brother Diego and me in front of a medieval castle called Brahehus in Gräna, Sweden.

My parents really wanted us to learn and see new things when we traveled around Europe and Sweden, and visiting ancient or medieval places was part of it.

Paola Fernandez Jimenez, Photo Provided

24 | BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021

I was around four years old when this picture was taken, next to me is my younger brother, Daniel, around the time he was born.

This was when we were living in Mexico. Paola Fernandez Jimenez, Photo Provided

“I didn’t really know how to fit in culturewise,” says Paola. “First Mexico, then Sweden, and now the United States, so I had to get used to how they did things.”

As soon as Paola started attending school in the United States, she understood the major reason as to why she was being treated differently. To her, it wasn’t because she was Mexican, but rather the fact that she didn’t know English very well.

“I remember the first day of classes. I got there and everyone was super excited, and after they got to know me, they realized I didn’t really speak English, they were like, ‘Oh maybe stay away from her.’”

Because of this, Paola never really made friends until high school.

However, even if she adapted well in the United States, there was still a part of her that was unsure. Paola was experiencing a cultural crisis.

Over the summer holidays, Paola and her family visit Mexico to reconnect with their culture and loved ones.

“Whenever I’m here I miss Mexico, and whenever I’m in Mexico I miss the United States,” Paola explains. “I think of it as having two homes. You know how sometimes kids with divorced parents, they have their moms home and they have their dads home. I kind of feel like it’s like that, so sometimes I’m at home in Mexico, sometimes I’m at home in the United States, so it’s just like I have two homes, that’s how I think of it.”

Nevertheless, finding this kind of comparison and assurance with the feelings she was experiencing was hard considering the many encounters she had with people growing up.

Assumptions were made about her identity by other people. Paola often heard things like, “Oh you don’t look Mexican,’’ and

she recalls being told, “You’re lucky cause you’re white so they won’t say anything,” during the 2016 election.

In order to combat this kind of prejudice, Paola found a sense of community within both homes. In Mexico she found time to reconnect with her family and roots, but while she’s here in the United States she confides in other people who have shared the same experience as her.

Because of this, Paola is currently the president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) chapter at Ball State. Through this club, Ball State students come together to help elevate the voice of Hispanic journalists in the communications field.

“Sometimes when I go home to Mexico I don’t feel like I fit in there and then sometimes when I’m here I feel like I don’t fit in here.

Which is precisely why I was so invested in

BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021 | 37

Features NAHJ because there are people like me. There are Mexicans, Latinos, or Hispanics but they live here so I feel connected to them,” Paola says.

Through this chapter, Ball State comes one step closer to diversity and inclusion within the community. Moloney, who is the advisor for NAHJ, agrees with the sentiment.

“It’s a community building thing for the members themselves, but it’s also a way to officialize and elevate that sense of diversity.

By having...organization[s] like Latinx Student Union (LSU) and NAHJ on campus, we get to push forward what makes being Latino so cool,” says Moloney. “We kind of work to diffuse some of that fear, some of that otherness that tends to make discrimination work.”

With the help of Ball State’s community, Paola has found many ways to make the United States her home, and through it all with the hopes of becoming a U.S. citizen in the next two years. As of now, Paola only holds her green card.

According to the U.S. Government

I think of it as having two homes. You know how sometimes kids with divorced parents, they have their moms home and they have their dads home. I kind of feel like it’s like that, so sometimes I’m at home in Mexico, sometimes I’m at home in the United States, so it’s just like I have two homes. That’s how I think of it.”

- Paola Fernandez Jimenez, Ball State student..

Services and Information, a green card gives those who come from different countries the ability to permanently reside in the country.

People who have green cards can work and obtain a license lawfully. After five years of holding a green card, permanent residents can apply to become U.S. citizens, which is what Paola hopes to do, given the fact she’s been here for half her life.

Paola describes the process of obtaining citizenship as lengthy. One has to take the naturalization test and meet many requirements, like being 18 years of age, and

When my family and I were living in Sweden, we would travel around Europe a lot and one particular place we visited often was Lego Land in Billund, Denmark. This is a picture of me standing in front of the Lego Land park entrance. Paola Fernandez Jimenez, Photo Provided

being able to read, write, and speak basic English. All of this can take anywhere from 18 to 24 months.

Paola is content with the ability to say that she belongs to two homes, and she embraces both of them with pride.

“My definition of home would be the people, so my friends, the people I find who speak Spanish, who share the same interests culture wise, like the food and dancing. I feel like that’s my definition of home. I can have both a home here and in Mexico.” g

While my family and I were living in Sweden, we would go ice skating often. This was one of the occasions when we went ice skating in Stockholm, Sweden. Paola Fernandez Jimenez, Photo Provided

This picture is another moment when we were traveling around Europe while we were living in Sweden. In the picture are my parents and my two younger brothers in Munich, Germany. Paola Fernandez Jimenez, Photo Provided

Illustration By Sabine Croy

Born in Cirudad Juarez, Mexico

Moved to Sweden at Age 6

Moved to the United States at Age 9

BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021 | 39

Column

As We Were Changing times don’t have to bring a change in our neighborhoods.

By Rosie Mitchell

W

hat is a neighbor? Sometimes, a neighbor is a person that you trust to watch the dog while you’re on vacation. Other times, a neighbor may be someone that you occasionally acknowledge with a head nod before driving off to work. The concept of a neighbor, and neighborhoods in general, can vary from person to person and can shift over time.

According to Jennifer Erickson, anthropology professor at Ball State and a member of the Muncie Neighborhood Board Association, a neighborhood consists of certain core values. These values differentiate the concept of a neighborhood from a group of houses living together.

“Neighborhoods are made of people that come together to work on and improve the place that they’re living in. They care about it enough to put time and energy into getting to know one another, building a community, and having social events together,” Erickson says. “Good neighborhoods are diverse,

welcoming, and safe.”

Bonnie Buuke, who has lived in a little neighborhood in Austin, Ind., for more than 45 years, shares Erickson’s expert analysis.

Located in southeast Indiana, Austin is a quaint city with a population just over 4,000.

“Neighborhoods are more of a community type thing because it doesn’t necessarily have to be neighbors right next to you. When you’re coming down a road and you get stuck in the snow, neighbors are the ones who usually try to help. We’ve done that many times. To help somebody is what makes a ‘neighbor,’” says Bonnie.

As many neighbors have moved in and out of houses over the years, Bonnie has tried to keep creating a sense of community, reminiscent of what she remembers when she was younger.

“I do a lot of walking. When I was younger, I loved bicycle riding. I’ll go out and say hi, and we talk quite a while,” says Bonnie.

“We’ve always made a point of talking to people and enjoying their company.”

Foundations of a Neighborhood According to Jennifer Erickson, good neighborhoods are:

Welcoming 40 | BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021

Diverse

Safe

Illustrations By Sabine Croy Bonnie explains her belief that neighborhoods are built upon the foundation of helping one another and her community.

She recalls an instance nearly two decades ago in which she and her husband, Ron, had to help a young man out from a ditch after he slid off the road while driving. She still remembers seeing the small gray car flipped on its roof and feeling relieved that nobody was hurt.

“We just wanted to help,” says Bonnie.

Bonnie and her neighborhood strive to get to know one another and preserve a safe environment by addressing previous problems within the community. Over time, she has seen an improvement in driving accidents because of the neighborhood’s efforts to get a stop sign on her road.

“The people driving will just think they have the right away, and they will run into each other even if they saw each other. We called a radio station. They came out here and did an article on our corner to tell people how hard it was to see, so the states put in a

To help somebody is what makes a neighbor.

- Bonnie Buuke, local from Austin, Indiana

Rate (per 100,000 people)

400

Neighborhoods are made of people that come together to work on and improve the place that they’re living in.

- Jennifer Erickson, Professor at Ball State University Many communities have faced a change in industry and commerce, thus creating a rise in economic instability. According to Erickson, this change can be seen in Muncie as well.

“50 years ago, [Munice neighborhoods were] primarily family neighborhoods with professionals. There was a factory in that neighborhood that people remember. Over time as industry decreased in Muncie, Ball State and Ball Memorial Hospital became the primary employers,” Erickson says.

Karley agrees, declaring that Muncie specifically has been economically disadvantaged due to the closing of many factories that caused neighborhoods to thrive.

Even in Bonnie’s community, there are many people moving in and out of homes due to the declining demand for the farm and factory work that her neighbors produce, as well as the rising expenses.

“There’s probably a few people that have gone bankrupt and had to sell out. And, just like how most things go, people die and the new ones take over,” Bonnie says. “So some can’t afford to stay here, and they leave us when they have to look for other work.

Some will do both and work uptown and farm within the community, until they can get enough built up to be able to buy their

Violent Crimes

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300 200 100

1960

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Source: disastercenter.com

Rate (per 100,000 people)

stop sign one way, which really curtailed that problem,” Bonnie recalls.

Neighborhood culture is centered around improving the environment in which certain people live. But the rising crime rates across the U.S. have stunted the hard work people put into their communities.

For instance, the Disaster Center lists the Indiana crime rates from 1960 to 2019.

There is an increase of violent crimes rising from 84.6 victims every 100,000 people in 1960 to 370.8 victims every 100,000 people in 2019. Similarly, the amount of property theft rose from 1,469.1 victims every 100,000 people in 1960 to 1,971.0 victims every 100,000 people in 2019.

Bonnie says that she and her fellow neighbors have seen a sharp rise in criminal activity in their neighborhood.

“I don’t remember much of any [crime] when we were first here. And gradually, it just kind of keeps getting worse,” she says.

“My brother-in-law has had stuff stolen, and I don’t really think there’s any cause to it. Just like everywhere else, if many people think they can get away with it, they will try something.”

But what caused this rise in crime rates?

Karley Dishmon, a student at Ball State and life-time resident of Muncie, blames poverty, as well as general rebelliousness.

“It is worse for younger generations now actually, specifically in my generation. These kids that are dying and doing these drivebys. They’re like my age, and I don’t know if it’s just because we’re hitting that adult stage, they’re just trying to show off, or the tensions in their daily lives,” Karley says. “I personally have grown up living off food stamps for many, many years. I’ll be honest, I don’t really know the financial situations of others but it would probably be exactly the same as my neighbors.”

own home.”

With the loss of many neighbors within a community, the importance of sticking together becomes more prominent. When inequality rises and people become more vulnerable, neighborhoods must come together in support.

“I know that the moratorium on eviction notices has benefited a lot of people. The federal government saying you can’t kick people out during a pandemic is really important, and I think speaks to just how vulnerable people are to the processes of jobs and housing and healthcare. And that economic inequality is this kind of driver of a lot of these social problems,” Erickson says.

However, while neighborhoods across the U.S. are facing economic challenges, rising crime rates, and a global pandemic, some people still value having a close-knit community. Karley shares a story about her neighborhood rallying around a family in support.

“One of my neighbors just lost his 19-year-old daughter to COVID. The thing about Black communities is that when specifically they lose a loved one, they come together. I can’t tell you how many days in a row my neighborhood was full of cars, because this entire community came to one house to give him love. Like it is the most loving community I think I’ve ever met in my life,” Karley says. “You just saw tons of people rallying together for days on end bringing in food, bringing in love and whatnot.”

Stories like Karley’s prove that some people are still as neighborly as ever, reaching out to lend hands or provide moral support. Rising statistics will not stop people from building communities where they can find a sense of home. g

Property Theft Crimes

2019

1,800

1,600

1960 1,400

Graphic By Sabine Croy

BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021 | 41

Features

A Beacon of Hope A recovering addict shares her story and how she made a local women’s recovery center home.

By Arianna Sergio Content Warning: This story discusses substance abuse that may be triggering to some. Please read with caution.

T

he very first time Emily Jamison used any type of drug was when she smoked marijuana at 12 years old.

She didn’t know anything about it, other than the fact that you were supposed to smoke it. So, after school, her and her best friend at the time did just that. They didn’t have any rolling papers, but that wasn’t an issue. They rolled it in regular notebook paper and lit up.

From that moment forward, Emily was consistently using some sort of drug.

The drug that she was addicted to varied throughout the years. She started off smoking marijuana, then popping opioids, and then injecting meth. She was drawn to opioids and meth for an array of reasons — one of the main reasons being accessibility.

She would consume whatever drugs the people around her were doing.

Emily switched from opioids to meth because she got “scared off.” The issue Emily ran into with opioids was that if she was in front of anyone, they could tell she was high and having “a lot of problems.”

The main issue was Emily nodding out.

This means that she would be sedated enough to the point that she would lose consciousness. She would go from feeling alert but sleepy, to falling into such a deep sleep that she couldn’t be forced to wake up. With meth, that wasn’t as much of a problem—at first.

“I didn’t really discriminate [with drugs], honestly. With opioids, I managed to scrape by, even though it was barely, but when it came to meth, once I started it went downhill fast,” Emily says.

Emily explained that there were times

42 | BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021

when she was heavily using drugs, and other times where she started to improve and wean herself off of them. Though eventually her habits would catch up to her and repeat themselves — leading her to relapse. It was a vicious cycle she fought time after time to stop.

The Lighthouse women’s recovery home is a residential program ran by Urban Light’s Community Development Program Avery Sallee, Ball Bearings

Emily’s drug abuse led to her being arrested multiple times. The first time she was arrested was in 2012 for driving under the influence because she had her son with her. Although nobody was hurt, he was still in the car, which is what made that charge a felony. Emily was then arrested in 2016 because she

overdosed and her children were home, another felony charge. She had several misdemeanors in between each of these arrests. After that, she was arrested for possession charges, in 2019.

At the time of the possession charge, Emily had been homeless for two and a half years. She carried whatever she could in her backpack. There were times when she lost her items, for whatever reason, and there were times when they were stolen, and she was left with nothing.

The Delaware County Jail conducted a brief evaluation of Emily after her possession charge. Because she was homeless, she wasn’t a good candidate for house arrest or pretrial probation unless she went into a long-term facility. That is when Emily was court ordered to apply to The Lighthouse. It took her roughly a month to get accepted.

The Lighthouse is a faith-based recovery women’s home through Urban Light’s Community Development Program. It’s a residential program that’s committed to promoting long-term and sustainable recovery. They accomplish this by their 3-phase program that is created around a 12-step program.

Phase I focuses on primary recovery and lasts 90-120 days. Phase II focuses on maintenance and lasts 1-6 months.

Finally, Phase III focuses on transition and lasts up to 90 days. The 12-step program works to flourish healthy boundaries with their residents and others.

“At the time, I was just doing whatever I could do to get out [of jail],” Emily says.

After being accepted into the program,

I could have just let them release me and gone back out on the streets and not gone into the program.

Eventually, though, I would have ended up back in trouble, - Emily Jamison, The Lighthouse graduate

Delaware County was going to release Emily on pretrial GPS into The Lighthouse until her court date. But, someone brought meth into the jail and Emily caved. Unbeknownst to anyone else, she was released from jail with meth in her system. Dori Taylor, director of The Lighthouse, picked her up and drove her there. Upon arrival, the staff drug screened her and she ultimately failed.

This landed herself right back in jail. On the drive back, Taylor urged Emily to reapply. So, Emily reapplied as soon as she could.

Emily got called to court sooner than she expected, in August 2019 instead of sometime in September or October. Emily remembers being really scared. When she went, the court offered her a plea for probation, and she signed it. She went back to jail and immediately called her mom. Emily asked her mom to call Taylor, because she knew there was a chance that there wouldn’t be a spot open for her, since The Lighthouse wasn’t expecting her so soon. Her mom called Taylor, and luckily

there was a spot open. When Emily was released from jail, Taylor picked her up and took her straight to The Lighthouse.

“I could have just let them release me and gone back out on the streets and not gone into the program. Eventually, though, I would have ended up back in trouble,” Emily says.

This time, Emily was determined to make The Lighthouse work. She was going on her own accord.

Emily describes The Lighthouse as intimidating at first because she was adjusting to it. Once she did she quickly developed a close relationship with all of the women there, due to how small it was.

Photo By Carsten Beyer The number of residents there fluctuated frequently. Emily recalls scenarios where The Lighthouse was full and other times where she was the sole resident there.

Emily says she feels like she grew up in The Lighthouse, because that’s where she became an official “adult.” She learned how to work a job, pay her fees, and manage a budget. “[The Lighthouse] gave me a support system. It taught me all the tools I needed as far as recovery is concerned,” Emily says.

Taylor was Emily’s biggest supporter during her recovery. She was like a “second mom” to her.

BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021 | 43

Features

The Lighthouse addiction recovery center Photo Provided by Joy Rediger

Emily and her biological mother developed an estranged relationship over the course of her drug abuse. They were always a tight-knit mother daughter duo, but they eventually shifted to an unhealthy, co-dependent relationship.

This led to her mom cutting her off for three years, with only a few messages exchanged during that time. Emily says it hurt really bad, but it was necessary.

“The relationship with my mom was so damaged, so it’s taken us some time to rebuild that. I wanted to have some boundaries there and space there to show her that I was really doing this [recovery] and also for me to be able to grow up a little bit and not run to my mom for everything,” Emily says.

Taylor is the heart and soul of The Lighthouse. She has a real passion for The Lighthouse and the women who go through it, and her faith is what motivates her.

“Sometimes I’m the taxicab, sometimes I’m the teacher, sometimes I’m the authority, sometimes I’m the mother, sometimes I’m the empath, sometimes

I’m the wise woman, sometimes I’m vulnerably sharing all my own stupidity and mistakes, and sometimes I just sit back and share my feelings. These ladies are my friends. I do whatever it takes to make this house run,” Taylor says. “The bottom line is I bring God with me every day.”

Taylor works alongside Executive Director of Urban Light Community Development Joy Rediger.

“We really do want [The Lighthouse] to be a safe home for these women. We intentionally make it beautiful and nice and comforting. It’s also a place where we want accountability. It’s just not all warm and fuzzy,” Rediger says. “It’s a space of what we hope is a safe place of vulnerability where women can really share and grow and learn and find some healing as they work through recovery.”

On average, Lighthouse graduates are able to complete the program in 10 months. Though the program timeline is flexible and accommodates every resident’s needs, it might take more or less time for some residents depending on how well they do in each phase.

Emily’s journey at The Lighthouse was a bit shorter, lasting only six months.

“Graduating [The Lighthouse] was the biggest accomplishment ever. I just felt really good, and it made me feel good about myself. It gave me encouragement to continue to move forward. I could see that I could accomplish something,” says Emily, who graduated in March 2020.

Emily now juggles working part time for In & Out Cleaning Services, going to service at The Jar Community Church, attending college full time at Ivy Tech, where she is majoring in human services

Emily, her boyfriend, and her two children, pose for a selfie at the fair. Photo Provided

44 | BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021

Top Five Most Addicting Drugs with a specialization in addiction, and being a mother. Her two youngest children still reside with her, and she works to maintain a strong relationship with her two elder ones. Emily says she knows a lot of people in recovery who don’t get the chance to have a relationship with their children, so she feels blessed to have that opportunity.

“I [got clean] for myself. I’m not gonna say, ‘Well, I got clean for my kids.’ Because if I did that, I would have done that a long time ago,” Emily says. “But they give me motivation to keep moving forward.

Having the relationship that I have with them now is motivation to continue, because I am not the same mother when I was using [drugs] that I am now.”

No matter what your addiction is, Emily wants others to know that you can recover from it and come out on the other side stronger than before.

“I just hope through sharing my story I can show others that [recovery] can be done. If I can come from where I was at and be where I’m at now, anybody can do it,” Emily says. “Everyday I try to remind myself even though I’m not where I want to be, I am so much closer than I was before.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with drug or alcohol addiction, please reach out to The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) at 1 (800) 662HELP (4357) or contact a local recovery home or rehabilitation center near you.

1. Cocaine A stimulant drug derived from the coca plant that grows natively in South America, cocaine is illicitly manufactured in either a white powder or rock form (“crack”). Depression and cravings are some of the more prominent features of cocaine withdrawal that make the drug more addictive and harder to stop using without professional help. NSDUH estimates that almost 1 million American adults were battling a cocaine use disorder in 2014.

2. Heroin Heroin is considered to be a highly addictive drug, as the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) estimates that nearly a quarter of those who try it become addicted to the drug. In 2014, approximately 586,000 Americans (those over the age of 11) were classified with a heroin use disorder. Flu-like symptoms, depression, insomnia, and anxiety are common when heroin use is discontinued, after dependence is formed, thus encouraging individuals to keep taking the drug to avoid discomfort.

3. Alcohol Alcohol is the most regularly used addictive substance in America, with 1 out of every 12 adults suffering from an alcohol abuse or dependency issue, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) reports. Alcohol acts on dopamine levels to enhance mood, like other drugs, but it also serves as a central nervous system depressant, slowing down nerve firings and the functions of the central nervous system.

Alcohol abuse, especially when alcohol is consumed in heavy or binge drinking patterns, can lead to a dependency on the substance. When alcohol begins to leave the body, withdrawal symptoms can range from mild to life-threatening.

4. Nicotine More than 32 million Americans aged 12 and older smoked cigarettes on a daily basis in 2014. Nicotine acts on the reward circuitry in the brain after being absorbed through the mucosal lining of the mouth and nose, through the lungs, or through the skin. Its pleasant sensations and elevation in both mood and cognition may encourage smokers to keep smoking. A dependency on nicotine can build up quickly when someone smokes regularly, and nicotine may be one of the toughest drugs to stop using without help.

5. Meth Over 500,000 Americans over the age of 11 were classified as current methamphetamine abusers in 2014. Methamphetamine, or meth, is a powerful stimulant drug that is man-made in clandestine laboratories in either a powder or crystal (“crystal meth”) form to be smoked, snorted, or injected for an intense euphoric “high.” Tolerance to meth can be developed rather quickly, prompting users to want to take more in order to keep feeling its effects. Increased dosages can lead to drug dependence.

Source: americanaddictioncenters.org

Graphic By Avery Sallee

BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021 | 45

Column

Under No Roof

There are many misconceptions about the complex issue of homelessness.

By Brianna Morton

H

omelessness is often thought of as people sleeping outside, consisting of tents, underpasses, and ragged sleeping bags. However, homelessness is often not quite as black and white.

Rich Jackson lost his job as a senior executive editor at the Bloomington Herald-Times on May 1, 2020. The loss of the job also meant the loss of a companyowned apartment.

According to the United States Interagency Council of Homelessness (USICH), it is estimated that 5,625 people were experiencing homelessness in Indiana as of January 2020. The USICH reported that from 2018-2019, an estimated 18,252 students across the United States experienced homelessness over the school year.

Indiana has one of the lower homeless populations in the United States. The greatest area in Indiana experiencing

homelessness is Indianapolis.

The Muncie Mission, a homeless shelter for men, helps provide assistance to families in Delaware County in an attempt to lower the size of the homeless population in Muncie. According to Bob Scott, vice president of development at Muncie Mission, it is estimated that there are 150 to 300 homeless people on the streets of Muncie on any given night.

Scott says this number can fluctuate depending on the season.

In Muncie, there is a large number of abandoned homes where homeless people will often seek refuge. According to Scott, Muncie’s homeless population is often not permanent compared to larger cities. It is difficult to know the total homeless population at a given time due to many calculations of the population being based on shelters and people on the streets, according to National Coalition for the Homeless.

Hostile Architecture In recent years hostile, or anti-homeless architecture, has increased. The goal is to make the environment less comfortable and force homeless people to find alternative places to sleep.

Source: newsroom.unsw.edu

46 | BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021

National Coalition for the Homeless explains that there are three main categories of homelessness — chronic, transitional, and episodic. Chronic is someone who sees the shelter as their permanent home and has been homeless for at least a year. Transitional homeless are those who go to shelters for short periods before finding stable homes.

The last type, episodic, are individuals who go in and out of homelessness with accompanying personal problems, such as mental health, unemployment, and substance abuse.

Rich himself was transitional, with no personal address.

According to Scott, Muncie Mission is launching a new initiative where they buy houses and make them into transitional homes for men. This is a way for them to live away from the shelter while still having support.

A Better Way is an additional shelter

2018

A study found that antihomeless structures were more likely to be placed further from homeless shelters.

Rich Jackson writes in his blog, The Homeless Editor, to document the lives of himself and those he meets along the way.

Graphic By Alison Smith for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in Muncie with a 24/7 crisis line. The Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) of Muncie also is available to house up to 65 women, including women with children.

At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an eviction moratorium put in place across the country. This restricted landlords from evicting renters who could not afford to pay rent. People were able to be evicted for other reasons, such as not following rules outlined in the lease.

Indiana’s order expired with the national order on July 24, 2020, according to the Federal Register.

Another moratorium was put into place by the CDC Aug. 4, 2021 and expired Oct. 3. This moratorium was based on the fluctuation of COVID-19 cases in each county. If a county had a decreasing infection rate then it could drop the eviction moratorium.

Over the course of the pandemic,

$46.5 billion in rental aid has been distributed. In August, letters were sent out to governors, mayors and other offices from Janet L. Yellen, secretary of the Department of Treasury, and others, urging the spending of rental aid money.

COVID-19 presented many challenges in regard to housing.

Without eviction moratoriums and rental aid, there is no telling how many more people could have been kicked out of their homes and forced to find new places to live.

“With it being a pandemic, it was incredibly hard to find a job. I was applying to jobs every day and hearing nothing back,” Rich says.

When Rich was trying to find a place to stay, a friend offered him his cabin to stay in for six months. Rich reflects on this experience, as well as many others that came along with being unhoused, in his blog, “The Homeless Editor.”

The blog is Rich’s way to stay connected

to his passion for journalism and provides an outlet for him to talk openly about living without a permanent address.

“Complete strangers were trying to help me from my blog. Humans are naturally kind,” Rich says.

When thinking of those without housing, more than just tents, underpasses, and, ragged sleeping bags are to be considered. People like Rich are a testament to the many types of homelessness that are experienced worldwide. g

There are four main types of hostile architecture

1990S

In the benches were removed in the middle of the night from Civic Central Plaza. The same thing happened in 2001 at the United Nations Plaza.

12%

California, which holds of the U.S. homeless population, has some of the most hostile architecture compared to other states.

Heavy-duty security features which could include concrete barriers or planters.

Benches designed to make sleeping uncomfortable.

Ghost amenities, which is the lack of public space amenities where they would be seen as necessary.

Anti-skateboard elements that are interruptions of flat ledges.

BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021 | 47

Lifestyle Photo

Kyle and Naomi Thacker, and their dog, Trip, are embarking on the adventure of a lifetime — renovating and moving into a school bus.

Erik Henderson, Ball Bearings

48 | BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021

One Dog, Two Newlyweds & Shutter Speed the Skoolie Kyle and Naomi Thacker are moving out of their house...and into a school bus.

By Tierra Harris

K

yle Thacker had a history of never finishing things. Since he was a child, he has had a knack for picking things up, getting semi-good at them, then leaving them unfinished. But the “skoolie,” a widely-used slang term for a renovated school bus, was different.

While dating his then-girlfriend, nowwife Naomi, Kyle planned an Asheville, N.C. getaway in a “Romantic Bus in The Woods” themed Airbnb. The couple giggled all night, taking in the surreal atmosphere of the unusual set-up.

Days after, the couple found themselves knee-deep in a Netflix documentary centered around a GermanAmerican couple and their adventure across the U.S. in a retro-fitted bus. The documentary, titled Expedition Happiness, planted a seed of curiosity to further their own adventure.

“He joked around saying ‘we could do this,’ but I always thought it would fall flat,” Naomi says. “But then, he kept talking about it.”

Kyle’s research began. He learned all about the best places to buy a bus, as well as the best engine and tire types for longdistance travel. He even developed a list of all their necessities as a traveling couple, including a rooftop deck, security cameras, and a raised ceiling to accommodate for showering and his height.

Naomi can still recall the day he found it.

“I remember it was a Thursday and I was at an office job at the time. He was like, ‘By the way, I think we found a bus.’

I was still typing and not really paying attention, but then he said he already put in an offer. So the next day we took off and drove down to Vicksburg, Mississippi,” Naomi says.

For a bit over $4,000, the Thackers purchased a 2001 Thomas International

school bus from the Yates family. Naomi remembers having no idea what they were getting into but knowing this was the start of a new chapter.

He joked around saying ‘We could do this,’ but I always thought it would fall flat. But then, he kept talking about it.”

- Naomi Thacker, Skoolie Owner “It was daunting when we first got it because it was such a giant shell,” she says. “We had never driven a bus. It was hideous and dirty; just the bare bones of what you hope to be your home. I was ready for the ride and he really stepped up to make sure that could happen.”

With their newfound bus, it was time to make it a home away from home.

SketchUp, a 3D modeling program, played a huge role in designing the bus, as well as outsourcing for plumbing and electrical needs.

As a videographer and photographer, Kyle put effort into booking gigs and marketing himself in order to pay for the necessary bus renovations. Naomi contributed to the process with work, research and constantly learning how to use tools.

With over 100,000 hours of videos watched, the couple gained knowledge about how to craft their new home, as well as the new community they belonged to.

Attending their first skoolie convention, the couple found friends that they could truly relate to. They received feedback on what looked good, what could be better,

and the do’s and don’ts of living in their bus. At home, though, they still received intrigued looks and pointed fingers.

“I believe that what we’ve done has indirectly impacted others in our lives,” Kyle says. “I’ve had someone reach out to me asking how to buy a bus. We don’t take credit, nor do we want to, but it seems like friends of ours are talking to me more about our trips and taking their own.

I want to inspire everyone to be more spontaneous.”

Their travels started with longweekend trips, but the couple is now making the leap of a lifetime: selling their house and officially living in their skoolie full-time. The reduction of 2,000 square feet to 200 was a big adjustment.

“For me, it’s getting used to a new routine. I’m very structured, so having to do something a bit different from the norm is difficult,” Naomi said. “Every night I take a bath and read my book; it’s ‘Naomi Time’. But now we have to take

Official Shutter Speed the Skoolie logo, provided by Kyle and Naomi Thacker.

BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021 | 49

Lifestyle

Newlyweds Kyle and Naomi Thacker sit on a couch in their renovated school bus (also known as a “skoolie”), which they have lovingly named Shutter Speed.

Erik Henderson, Ball Bearings

army showers and limit my routine.

Just shaping my mind around that has been the hardest struggle.”

However, their shift to sustainability and minimalism proved to be a bit easier than they anticipated. After getting rid of about 80-90% of their closet, the Thackers learned to value what they needed over what they wanted.

Things always work out the way they’re supposed to. Just live in it and go for it. Why not?”

- Naomi Thacker, Skoolie Owner

“We’ve got two plates and two glasses,” Naomi said. “Everything has a purpose.”

The couple created spaces that allow for alone time. Kyle’s TV time still happens front and center of the skoolie, while Naomi has the option of joining virtual meetings for her book club. Although

50 | BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021

After leaving behind their 2,000 square foot home and moving into the 200 square foot skoolie, the Thackers learned to value keeping only what they needed. Erik Henderson, Ball Bearings

accommodations have been made to maintain what keeps them sane, both have their individual struggles with letting go and adjusting to their upcoming move.

“Doing this project, dealing with the amount of money, time and finances and taking this leap is leaving a bubble of uncertainty,” Kyle said. “Getting rid of a good-paying job, a great house, a backyard, friends and family is hard, and I’m still working through that.”

Before settling down and having kids, the couple wants to fully experience the beauty of the world. Their philosophy is to live and inspire others to do this before their children move out and retirement is near.

The only child they do plan to bring on this adventure is their furbaby, Trip.

“Some dogs whine or become anxious, but Trip lives for the bus,” Kyle said.

The couple agreed Trip had just as much presence in their home, always being the first to hop onto the bus for a road trip. Named appropriately, Trip’s skoolie additions include his very own seatbelt and the open road for an adventure of his own.

Kyle’s growing documentary plans to capture every single moment–the ups and the downs. Until then, his vlogs have told the story of their growing relationship

and accomplishments with building their home on wheels, which they have named “Shutter Speed”.

“Right now, with van life and bus life, there’s a ton of accounts and stories about it where it’s the girl dragging the guy into the field or waking up with the blanket and coffee, basically saying their life is perfect,” Kyle says. “Frankly, I think it’s full of shit. I want to create a story that is unfiltered and so raw to show people they should just go for it.”

Just celebrating their first anniversary, the couple has a few final touches to put into Shutter Speed the Skoolie before taking off on their lifetime adventure.

With about $30,000 worth of renovations so far, the most expensive still stands: painting the bus. The minimum price they’ve come across is $13,000, but they’re considering making it a DIY project.

With their departure across the country taking off, the couple has prepared themselves for the not-soperfect skoolie life.

“It would be naive to think that we’re not going to be frustrated throughout the first month,” Kyle said. “We’re both new at this, we both don’t have the answers, we don’t know what we’re doing in a lot of ways, but we just gotta be a team and be

supportive.”

With heads-up pennies placed all throughout the base of their skoolie, the couple wants nothing but good luck and good times. Kyle believes they haven’t even “reached the tip of the iceberg” in what’s to come. To all the stressed 20 and 30-somethings not sure if they can do the same, the couple strives to tell their story of spontaneity.

“Just go for it. People always worry about what they can afford or what opportunities come their way, but things always work out the way they’re supposed to. Just live in it and go for it,” Naomi says.

“Why not?” g The Thackers’ bedroom in their new home on wheels. Nathan Abbott, Ball Bearings

Kyle and Naomi pose next to the newly-painted Shutter Speed. Erik Henderson, Ball Bearings

According to Naomi, the shift to minialism was important when moving into Shutter Speed. Everything in their bus serves a purpose. Nathan Abbott, Ball Bearings

BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021 | 51

Quiz

WHICH BALL BEARINGS STAFFER RECIPE SHOULD YOU TRY? Take this quiz to find out which recipe you should try from the family recipe boxes of our Ball Bearings Magazine staff RECIP

Which season is the best? a. Winter b. Spring c. Summer d. Fall

From th e

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Family Recipe B

RECIPE

ox of

Which breakfast do you like most?

Ingredie

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a. French toast b. Bacon and eggs c. Biscuits and gravy d. Avocado toast

cipe Box of

Re From the Family

BB Directi

ons

BB Directions

Ingredients

How would you describe your style? a. Basic b. Unique c. Chic d. Vintage

What is your ideal vacation? a. Laying on a beach in Mexico b. Road trip to the Grand Canyon c. Admiring the Northern Lights in Iceland d. Visiting the Eiffel Tower in Paris

What is the best Thanksgiving dish? a. Pumpkin pie b. Turkey c. Cranberry sauce d. Mashed potatoes

If you chose mostly As, you should try Zoe Hagymasi’s old fashioned apple crisp and Becca Foerder’s strawberry pretzel salad. These fruitbased dessert recipes come from Becca’s Grandma Kramer and the Hagymasi Family and are ideal for anyone with a sweet tooth.

What is your favorite time of day? a. Early bird gets the worm b. Night owl c. I’m most productive in the middle of the day d. It changes depending on the day

Which flavor do you like best? a. Sweet b. Spicy c. Savory d. Sour

If you chose mostly Bs, you should try Janie Arseneaux’s chocolate scotcheroos and Evan Chandler’s cherry cheese pie. These sweet treats have been made and enjoyed in the kitchens of Evan’s Grandma Winzenread and the Arseneaux Family.

Both recipes are perfect for people who love anything homemade and deliciously unique.

What is your go-to road trip snack? a. Anything from the candy aisle b. Sandwich from home c. Beef jerky d. As long as I have my coffee, I’m good to go

Which dessert is your favorite? a. Cookies b. Ice cream c. Cake d. Brownies

If you chose mostly Cs, you should try Haley Boyce’s apples and cranberries and Shannon McCloskey’s sausage, peppers, & pasta!

These warm and delicious dishes come from Shannon’s Nana and the Boyce Family.

These recipes are perfect for anyone who loves to make their kitchen smell like heaven!

If you chose mostly Ds, you should try Kami Geron’s gingersnap cookies and Alex Bracken’s banana bread.

Straight from the Geron and Bracken family recipe books, these fall-themed baked goods are perfect for anyone who loves to celebrate the changing seasons and are best enjoyed with good company.

You can find these recipes on page 26!

52 | BallBearingsMag.com | Fall 2021

START READING, FROM DAY ONE.

The Daily News is a weekly, student-directed and nationally award winning newspaper.

Its 90+ year history makes it the longest-standing student media organization on campus and one of the nation’s top college newspapers. Providing the campus community with breaking news and accurate, timely information both in print and online, students can get involved from day one by working on staff or just simply staying informed.

START WATCHING, FROM DAY ONE.

NewsLink Indiana is Ball State’s student-run news station. The stations produces a 30 minute newscast four days a week. Shows include: local news, national news, entertainment, weather and sports.

Every show is live and broadcasted to all of Delaware County. Students can apply to be anchors, reporters and or in producing positions each each semester.

NewsLink’s main goal is to cover as many stories as possible and keep audiences informed.

Did you know students moving off campus sign leases in the Fall for the following year?

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WCRD offers game play-by-play and coaches’ interview shows for Ball State varsity sports and much more for your listening pleasure or participation.

GET INVOLVED, FROM DAY ONE.

BallStateDaily.com is the online hub for all student media groups on campus. Stay up-to-date on the latest news, sports, community, entertainment and technology information through each unique student-produced media outlet.

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