Hannibal-LaGrange University Student Publication
THE EXPERIENCE January 2022 Issue 66
THE EXPERIENCE Table of Contents
Facebook Files
NFL Playoffs
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3 Mental Health & Money COVID Impact
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HLGU Base Season Pre
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Advisor:
Dr. Chris Brennemann
Staff Members:
eball eview Joy or Happiness
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Gracie Fath Hannah Gates Cade Slaughter Sam Leon Nick Gilbert Autumn Brookshier
The Experience is a student-run publication at Hannibal-LaGrange University. All content is written, edited, photographed and designed by staff members unless otherwise noted. The experience publishes on a monthly/bimonthly basis on-line with no cost to its readers. For more details, check the works cited page!
The facebook files By: Sam Leon According to the Pew Research Center, 72 percent of the American public as of February 2021 uses social media. Social media’s presence in today’s culture has been deeply rooted into the daily routine of numerous American lives. In a graph from the Pew Research Center, it was shown that the amount of adults who said they used YouTube had increased from just above 70 percent in 2018, to 81 percent in 2021. Facebook’s numbers increased as well, peaking during 2016 and staying just below 70 percent even today.
In 2021, Frances Haugen, a former product manager at Facebook, leaked documents from the company that owned social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. Documents were given to the Security Exchange Commission as well as multiple media outlets. Research reports, online employee discussions, and drafts of presentations to senior management were among types of content in the mix. The leakage included data that demonstrated how the company understood the risks The impact of social their sites posed media on the general to the mental population remains health of youngan ongoing discuser generations. sion. Its heavy use and Some documents strong presence have also displayed caused many people proof that the to live by standards algorithms used passively approved to cycle content through such platinto user’s feed forms. Although not was contributing all those standards may be entirely to misinformation and further political negative, and users are given the choice divide. Tools such as Cross Check were to engage with such media, there is a used in Facebook to control actions of strong general consensus high profile accounts, protecting select that its influential power is users from typical company rule enof immense weight. forcement.
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is to do about issues in social media that even its owners cannot operate well. Haugen charged to the SEC that Facebook was unclear with and deliberately misled its shareholders about issues with Facebook’s platform. Facebook vice president for trust and security says in an interview with National Public Radio’s Ari Shapiro, however, that Facebook’s only intention is to create more “meaningful experiences.” Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, wrote in a memo on his Facebook page that, “The argument that we deliberately push content that makes people angry for profit is deeply illogical. We make money from ads, and advertisers consistently tell us they don’t want their ads next to harmful or angry content. And I don’t know any tech company that sets out to build products that make people angry or depressed. The moral, business and product incentives all point in the opposite direction.” In a March 2020 slide presentation in a Facebook internal message board, it was found that 32 percent of girls said that Instagram contributed to their personal, negative conception of their body. Additionally, data showed that some users were even able to trace their suicidal thoughts to Instagram. The impact on younger generations is not of much shock with over 40 percent of Instagram users being 22 years old or younger. In this age of strong digital presence, it is a question of what there
As the presence of media like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and others continue to climb the ranks, the morale and responsibility of both its users and providers alike have become more questioned. Such companies are forced to face those who challenge them, and the effects of their platforms may start to unfold even further.
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nfl divisional round By: Nick Gilbert The NFL’s Divisional round has come to an end, and there is just one game separating four teams from making it to the big stage. The Kansas City Chiefs and the Cincinnati Bengals will face off in the AFC Championship, and NFC West division rivals Los Angeles Rams will go up against the San Francisco 49ers. This is familiar territory for all but one team. The Cincinnati Bengals are in the championship game for the first time since 1988. Having only made the championship game once prior, they hold an overall record of 2-0 in the conference championship. Their opponents are the Kansas City Chiefs who look to make history in hosting their fourth straight AFC Championship game when they take the field this Sunday. The Chiefs are 2-1 in that timeframe. The Chiefs are coming off of an instant classic over the Buffalo Bills with their win in OT. The teams scored a combined 25 points in the game’s final 1:54. With a win this Sunday, Patrick Mahomes will have led his team to their third consecutive Superbowl. They are 1-1 in the previous two,
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which would make them the fourth team in NFL history to do so. Only the Bills have made four consecutive. The 49ers and the Rams are also in familiar territory having made the championship game at least once in the past four seasons. Niners quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo holds a slight advantage having a perfect record against the Rams in his career. He is 6-0 overall. Not having the best year, Garoppolo looks toward his team to help catapult them into their 2nd Superbowl in 5 years, and even further to hoist the Lombardi trophy for the first time since 1994. The Los Angeles Rams made the conference championship back in 2018 and winning that game punched their ticket to the Super Bowl, ultimately losing that game. The Rams only have one Superbowl win in four appearances. Their lone win came In 2000 while in St. Louis and led by Kurt Warner and the “Greatest Show on Turf”. The true underdog among all teams has to be the Cincinnati Bengals and Year 2 Quarterback Joe Burrow. He became the first quarterback to be selected first overall and led his team to a Conference Championship in his first
two years at the position. Having not been in the mix for the division let alone a championship, all eyes will be on him when he takes the field in Kansas City this weekend. All other teams have had this feeling before especially in recency.
The odds-on favorite to advance is the Kansas City Chiefs who are a 7 point favorite and the Rams who are a 3 point favorite.
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hlgu baseball season preview Quick Recap As the new semester begins, many questions arise as to how the HLGU Trojans will bounce back from an upsetting end to the season last year during conference play. The Trojans ended their season last year with a record of 18-26 and a conference record of 8-21. While the numbers may seem rather low in the wins column, last year was one of the best years for Hannibal-LaGrange baseball, especially when considering the school’s record books. During the 2021 Spring Season, many records were broken, and many big games were won. Hannibal-LaGrange University baseball’s home run record now stands at 14, with ex-star shortstop Jared Remspecher, now playing for Fresno State University, breaking Garrett Welschmeyer’s previous record of 10 in a single season. The Trojans ended their season against the William Woods Owls in double elimination play at Car Shield Field in O’Fallon, MO by a close score of 10-6 in the final inning. The Trojans’ last year’s closer, and now graduate, Grayson Peneston gave up the walk-off grand slam, the Owls stunning the Trojans in the final inning of the game. Peneston was one of the team’s best relief pitchers during the 2021 season. “I am so proud of the way our players went out and played in the conference
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By: Cade Slaughter
tournament,” said HLGU baseball head coach Ben Strother after the last game of the 2021 season, where the Trojans fell short to the William Woods Owls. “Hitters came up big, fielding was there, and pitchers had great efforts on the mound. We had an exciting season. Our players made huge strides for Hannibal-LaGrange baseball.” Hannibal-LaGrange is looking to fill the shoes of their ace starting pitcher from last year, which may seem to be one of the rather questionable situations on the team currently heading into the 2022 Spring season. The Trojans’ last year starter Jordan Billings, now graduated, had a year to remember, defeating top conference schools Missouri Baptist and Columbia College, nearly no-hitting both schools. The Trojans current options to fill that role will be between starters Jacob Rhoderick, JR, and Jacob Bone, GS. Bone looks to bounce back from last year’s record of 0-2 with an 11.40 ERA. Rhoderick is currently trying to bounce back from one of his best years as the second man in the rotation, and top-3 on the team last year in earned run average. New additions Coach Ben Strother has been busy with his coaching staff tracking down the individuals he needs to fill positions and fit at HLGU. So far, one of the newest additions to the team Rafael Nolasco, Mexican-born
Junior pitcher out of Veracruz, Mexico, looks to help with the pitching staff, whether it be in a closer role or a starting pitcher spot in the rotation. The Trojans have also added three new freshman arms and one Junior transfer arm to help bolster their bullpen depth. What’s new? The American Legion conference has decided to go away with the typical 4-game weekend conference series games, and to cut it down to 3 games. While the shorter season will help keep players better rested, it is rather concerning for certain players’ roles and how the pitching rotation will look compared to last year, or any typical year with two doubleheaders in a series – one on Friday and another on Saturday. One thing is certain, and that is COVID-19 and it’s variants still lurk around the sports world. To some, that may be rather concerning. However, CDC guidelines have had more lenient protocols for quarantine and exposure. Luckily, the NCCAA’s ‘Return-To-Play’ protocol is a lot simpler than in years past. This will make it easier for players to come back healthy, prepared, and ready to “jump back in” with their respective teams. Current plans The Trojans will get rid of their usual schedule of traveling to Dallas to face Dallas Christian College. Rather, Hannibal-LaGrange will face off against Crowley’s Ridge University in Paragould Arkansas to start the season. HLGU will play on the road against Crowley’s on the 17th of February, with one game on Thursday and a doubleheader on the following Friday. A Farewell to Coach Strother The Trojans look forward to the upcoming season, especially as this will be Coach Ben Strother’s final year as the head coach here at Hannibal-LaGrange University. Coach Strother has been with the team
since the 2014-15 season. Strother was a member of the Hannibal-LaGrange baseball program from 2005-2009, finishing his collegiate career with four academic all-conference honors. Before coaching at HLGU, Strother was the head baseball coach at Mark Twain High School for five seasons.
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how money has affected mental health - the hit of covid-19 By: Autumn Brookshier Money has always seemed to be a big factor in our everyday lives. We use money to buy groceries for a hungry household, to pay bills to keep a roof over our heads, and to buy gas for our cars that we rely on to get us from one place to the next. With all this use of money, it can get incredibly stressful when you begin to run out and you cannot afford what needs to be paid. According to Money and Mental Health. org, 46% of people in debt also have a mental health problem, and they have found that almost four in ten (39%) of people with a mental health problem said their financial situation had worsened their mental health problems. This is even more so since the hit of the contagious pandemic, COVID. During this period of chaos, everyone was rushing to shut their windows and doors to the outside and hold up in the only place that seemed safe from this pandemic. Businesses were shutting down their services, masks became a clothing trend, and a vast number of people were in hospitals fighting this sickness, thinking to themselves, “Why me?” This went on for almost a year and a half and is still a problem to this day. In 2020, the start of the pandemic, a huge number of people lost their jobs and were forced to figure out how to have a steady income and
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keep their lives and everything in it afloat. Because of this, many people began to spiral down a staircase of depression and anxiety, searching for some way to financially support themselves. However, after experiencing this financial depression for a long time, many people lack motivation to manage their finances and feel it’s not worth trying anymore. According to Dr. Maura Boldrini, a neuroscientist and psychiatrist at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, “We know things like isolation, financial burden, and increased drug use due to the pandemic may cause anxiety and depression.” Money has always been a mental health problem, but with the hit of COVID-19, it added onto the stress that was already there before. People began to feel overwhelmed with the idea of a contagious disease outside their front door and how it will impact their future. They become isolated, unable to reach out a hand for help because their friends and family were most likely going through the same predicament. The financial burden of getting medical care for this disease is increasingly difficult. FAIR Health, a non-profit that manages a medical billing database, estimates the average bill for patients hospitalized with COVID-19 to be $73,300. For patients with private insurance, the average
is estimated to be around $38,221. Not only do people have to worry about catching the disease, but they must worry about paying an obscene amount of hospital debt to become better. Most people do not have the medical care to even think about going to a hospital to get treated and would rather wait out the sickness or succumb to it. College graduates looking for a career during the pandemic are drowning in student debt and must compete with older generation workers with more experience for jobs. Economists state that it could take up to ten years for those students to recover from having to start their careers during the economic downturn caused by the pandemic. Those students who have just begun college during this time are facing obstacles that affect their education, as well as their financial situation. Although the pandemic has brought about a lot of financial stress, the government has offered many ways of relief from this financial burden. Students in college are given more grants and scholarships than ever before, and those who are struggling to find jobs receive money to pay bills and keep everything together. According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, The American Rescue Plan provides $350 billion in emergency funding for eligible state, local, territorial, and Tribal governments to respond to the COVID-19 emergency and bring back jobs. It also provides nearly $10 billion to provide relief for the country’s most vulnerable homeowners, and federal financial assistance is
available for students. As the earth continues to spin and days continue to pass, we trust we can recover from the negative impact COVID-19 has had on our financial struggles. All we can do now is handle this the best we can, and hope that tomorrow will bring a new light.
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joy as opposed to happiness By: Hannah Gates Joy There is not one person who can truly say they have never experienced joy. We pick and choose interests and experiences that we think will benefit us. Going to the movies with friends, eating out at our favorite restaurants, taking part in our hobbies, surrounding ourselves with people who make us feel something good. Joy is a source of fun and thrill. Joy is something that is brief, or everlasting, but always memorable. Joy is a state of bliss. It’s something that you experience internally and can transcend into something bigger. Joy is a practice that takes time to make consistent in your life. You choose joy. Joy is scriptural; it is something God asks us to attain every day. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” — Galatians 5:22-23.
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Happiness Happiness, however, is the quality or state of being happy. You show and reflect happiness through facial expressions and verbal emotions. You can show you’re happy through physical touch, verbal communication, or your attitude towards others. Happiness is a reaction to something that attracts the mind of a soul. Joy can be realized through good and bad times. It’s internal and can be abundant with Christ as the center of it. Happiness is not consistent and isn’t present in hard times. It’s rather a state of being that can be faked and deceiving to those who witness it. Why joy is a must When we experience joy as humans, we have hope. Our troubles are ways to grow and produce greatness, build internal love and respect for ourselves, and to give to others. It is something that progresses through real-world applications. Joy is something that in your heart feels genuine and real. To have joy means that you know deep down that all of what you are and will be is for a bigger purpose. It is a reminder
that God is always near, that you are not alone, and that you can overcome all that there is through Christ. Joy is beautiful, and to have joy is to have God. What can you do to feel more joyful? If you find yourself in the situation this semester feeling discouraged, hopeless, or depressed, make sure you choose joy over happiness. We all need to acknowledge that this pain is an opportunity for success. Making it through a semester is something that should be celebrated. It’s a milestone that you’re are overcoming, despite the barriers you face. Be mindful of your success, seek guidance from family and friends who are either experiencing that same situation or have been through similar troubles. The most important thing to remember is that God is present and that without barriers, there is no growth. Every experience that you have is temporary, but to be willingly joyful about the impact it will have on your life and others is a blessing. How does God Define Joy? The biblical definition of joy says that joy is a feeling of good pleasure and happiness that is dependent on who Jesus is rather than on who we are or what is happening around us. Joy comes from the Holy Spirit, abiding in God’s presence, and from hope in His word.
“The joy of the Lord is your strength” Nehemiah 8:10 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.” Philippians 4:4
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Thanks for reading
THE EXPERIENCE!
Works Cited: Cover Page: HLGU PR dept. Pages 03/04: https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-whistleblower-pushback-political-spin-zuckerberg-11640786831; https://www.bgca.org/news-stories/2021/October/effects-of-social-media-on-teens-understanding-recent-headlines; https://www.bgca.org/news-stories/2021/October/ effects-of-social-media-on-teens-understanding-recent-headlines; https://www.wsj.com/articles/ who-is-frances-haugen-facebook-whistleblower-11633409993; https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-files-xcheck-zuckerberg-elite-rules-11631541353?mod=article_inline; https://www.wsj.com/ articles/the-facebook-files-11631713039; https://www.forbes.com/sites/gradsoflife/2021/11/03/ rethinking-the-so-called-skills-gap/?sh=39793f0110fd; https://www.franceshaugen.com/; https:// www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/social-media/; https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/ wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/04/PI_2021.04.07_social-media_0-01.png?w=640; https://www.npr. org/2021/10/06/1043138622/facebook-instagram-teens-mental-health; https://theconversation.com/ facebook-whistleblower-frances-haugen-testified-that-the-companys-algorithms-are-dangerous-heres-how-they-can-manipulate-you-169420; https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-08/ zuckerberg-can-skip-testifying-in-court-case-as-rough-week-ends Pages 05/06:NFL Championship Sunday matchups: Dates, times, odds, previews for Rams vs. 49ers, Chiefs vs. Bengals - CBSSports.com. Top 10 photos from the Divisional Round of the 2021 season (nfl. com) Pages 07/08: https://hlgtrojans.com/sports/baseball?path=baseball Pages 09/10: “Covid-19 Economic Relief.” U.S. Department of the Treasury, 16 Sept. 2021, https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/coronavirus; FinSMEs. “The Financial Impact of the Coronavirus (Covid-19).” FinSMEs, 19 May 2021, https://www.finsmes.com/2021/05/the-financial-impact-of-the-coronavirus-covid-19.html; “How Does Covid Affect Mental Health?” Columbia University Irving Medical Center, 19 July 2021, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/news/how-does-covid-affectmental-health; “Money and Mental Health Facts and Statistics - A Money and Mental Health Policy Institute Factsheet.” Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, 22 Dec. 2021, https://www.moneyandmentalhealth.org/money-and-mental-health-facts/; [{“@type”:”Person”, “name”:”Megan Liscomb”. “How Has the Pandemic Year Affected You Financially?” BuzzFeed, BuzzFeed, 5 Mar. 2021, https:// www.buzzfeed.com/meganeliscomb/how-has-the-pandemic-affected-your-finances-add-yours. Pages 11/12: https://cdn.tinybuddha.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Joy.png; https://www.uckg. org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Temporary-joy-versus-permanent-joy.pnghttps://2.bp.blogspot. com/-Vg40qa4j5V4/WaQu2xWiptI/AAAAAAAAHZU/JBkHzTxNOJ4k2AeETpXmhs4gES4KlXJrwCLcBGAs/s1600/joy%2Bof%2Bthe%2Blord%2Bgreg%2Bolsen%2B2.jpg; https://dg.imgix.net/how-do-i-pursue-joy-in-christ-7tozrj38-en/landscape/how-do-i-pursue-joy-in-christ-7tozrj38a9b62740eb34182dd0cb8231261b3c47.jpg?ts=1559077120&ixlib=rails4.2.0&fit=crop&w=2000&h=1050