Muleskinner Vol. 118 Issue 1 by Muleskinner

Muleskinner

WELCOME MULES & JENNIES!

Downtown 'Burg businesses optimistic with options

Unique and fresh shopping and dining finds just a walk away

LINDA ALVIAR

News Editor

The Warrensburg community is home to many small businesses that many believe makes Warrensburg a unique place to be. Whether you are looking for quality second-hand clothing pieces, vintage video games, or fresh American street food, there can be something for everyone to enjoy around town.

Downtown Warrensburg is home to many dining options for students. Heroe’s Restaurant and Pub, located at 107 West Pine Street, offers homemade burgers among other traditional American comfort foods.

Just a few doors down Pine Street is another Warrensburg staple, Fitter’s Pub, located at 131 West Pine Street.

Fitter’s offers a variety of freshly made pizza, sandwiches and burgers. Every Saturday from May through September, Warrensburg Main Street hosts the Warrensburg Farmer’s Market. From 8 a.m. to noon, local vendors line the sidewalk outside of the Johnson County Courthouse to bring fresh produce, food and artisan goods to Downtown Warrensburg. Whether you are looking for freshly baked bread, locally grown plants or hand crocheted goods, the farmers market can be a great place to consider shopping. The Farmer’s Market also often hosts local musicians to play.

downtown scene with the beginning of August marking the opening of Bodie’s Street Food and Catering. Formerly known under different management as Bodie’s, Bodie’s Street Food and Catering has transformed the 126 West Pine Street location. Bodie’s Street Food and Catering offers freshly squeezed lemonade with unique flavor add-ins, along with American street food.

Other dining options around town include Subai Thai Cusinie, located at 214 East Colton Street. Subai Thai Cusine serves authentic dining in Warrensburg. They offer both carryout and delivery options, which can be perfect for college students in need of a bite to eat. Warrensburg is also home to a variety of small businesses with unique shopping finds.

Those Were the Days Antiques located at 138 West Pine Street is one of the largest antique shops in Missouri. Those

Were the Days offers decor, furniture and clothing, among many other items in store.

Other downtown shopping options include Rock N’

Sports Entertainment at 113 N Holden Street. Rock N’

Sports offers vintage video games, trading cards, vinyls and collectibles. Located just up the street from Rock N’

Dip your toes into all that UCM has to offer

AARON BAX

There are almost 200 registered student organizations at the University of Central Missouri. Together, these organizations range from the religious to the recreational, the academic to the athletic, and the governmental to Greek Life. Together these organizations provide a wide variety of ways to interact with fellow students.

The student organizations at UCM are roughly divided into nine categories based on what type of organization. The categories are:

1. Academic/Departmental 2. Community Service 3. Culture and Identity 4. Governance

Honorary

Recreation and Sports Clubs

Religious

Social Greek Organizations

9. Special Interests

Together these organizations vary wildly. Some, for example, might provide a chance for students interested in a certain career. Other UCM registered student organizations might simply serve as a way for students to get to know each other. While more group options still might provide a way for students to continue playing a sport that they did in high school or interact with others of a similar religious or cultural background. Getting involved or learning about a student organization can occur through a variety of methods. Many believe one of the best ways students can interact with student organizations is through the UCM Involvement Fair hosted by UCM’s Office of Student Activities from 3 to 5 p.m. on Aug. 21 at the Union Mall. At the UCM involvement fairs, which typically last two hours, student organizations will have a desk and display things about their organization such as sports equipment and trophies for a sports club. There will also be members of the organization that you can interact with and ask any question you have about their organization.

Another way students can interact with student organizations is through the Modern Campus App and Central Connect. Alongside a complete list of student organizations that students can use to discover, contact and even sometimes join organizations, Central Connect also provides information on upcoming events around campus and information about traditions keepers.

Recently, Warrensburg welcomed an addition to the

Sports is Tranquility Shop at 128 N Holden Street. Tranquility Shop is a location for alternative wellness products or unique gifts.

Finally student organizations also use bulletin boards around campus to advertise upcoming events on campus. These bulletin boards can be found around campus in the majority of buildings and provide a way to learn about upcoming events held by student organizations.

Amtrack offers 15 percent student travel discount

LINDA ALVIAR

News Editor

Amtrak, America’s National Railway Passenger Cooperation offers student passengers ages 13 - 25 a 15 percent discount on all Midwest Amtrak travel. Students interested in traveling with Amtrak have access to the Missouri River Runner, a 238-mile passenger train route spanning from Kansas City to St. Louis, from the Warrensburg Amtrak station. Tickets for the route can be purchased on the Amtrak website. Historic downtown Warrensburg is home to one of the Midwest's oldest Amtrak railway passenger stations. Located at 100 S Holden Street, the station has served the greater Warrensburg community since 1889. The station is open 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays, and 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends. The station also offers same-day and overnight parking

for Amtrak passengers. The Missouri River Runner stops four times daily in Warrensburg, offering students many opportunities to ride the rails. Amtrak offers a variety of amenities that students can take advantage of while traveling. Amtrak offers free wifi and power outlets in passenger cars, as well as a wheelchair lift on the River Runner. The Missouri River Runner route also offers accommodations for passengers to store bicycles on the train for an additional fee. The Missouri River Runner makes stops at stations in Kansas City, Independence, Jefferson City, Kirkwood, and St. Louis among many other cities.

For a full list & more information:

A local vendor sells fresh produce to a Warrensburg Community member at the Warrensburg Farmer's Market. Many local businesses and vendors regularly attend the community event in downtown Warrensburg. Photo Submitted by Warrensburg Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Graphic by Nate Sullens

2 KICKOFF Muleskinner

CAMPUS MAP MuleskinnerskinnerMule

Mo' ways to get involved with UCM sports

AARON BAX

Online Editor

There are many different types and levels of athletics at the University of Central Missouri. They range from Division II athletics to college intramural sports to just getting together with friends.

There are four general levels of athletics at the University of Central Missouri. First there are the Division II sports. The university competes in 14 Division II sports, ranging from American football to soccer, and 1 Division I sport, bowling. The university has won multiple national titles in many sports such as baseball, basketball, bowling and soccer. These sports compete during either the fall, winter or spring. Students receive free admission to any regular season home game with UCM athletics.

The next level of athletics found on campus is the various sports clubs on campus. While not NCAA organizations, these clubs still compete against teams from other schools, unlike intramurals. There are a variety of sports clubs on campus ranging from the badminton club to the fencing club. Students can also get together and create a club if they can’t find one for the sport they are interested in.

The third and final organized level of athletics on campus is intramurals. Unlike sports clubs and NCAA sports, intramurals compete against fellow students at the University of Central Missouri. There are a variety of ways teams for intramurals are formed, from fraternities and sororities, to dorm teams, to just getting together with a bunch of friends

Sadie Staker, Editor-in-Chief

Darby Mostaffa, Managing Editor

Aaron Bax, Online Editor

Braeden Sholes, Multimedia Manager

Vinaydeep Ambati, Promotions

Manager

Ella Bland, Sports Editor

Linda Alviar, News Editor

Kaia Trujillo, Opinions Editor

Dr. Julie Lewis, Faculty Adviser

to play. The university has a variety of sports to choose from for intramurals ranging from team sports like football to individual sports like Table Tennis. Students can register with the QR code to the right.

Another way you can get involved with athletics on campus is to get together with some friends and play pick up sports. There are often pick up games held around campus from football, soccer and cricket at UCM’s East Ellis field, to basketball and ping pong at the Student Recreation and Wellness Center. The Student Recreation and Wellness Center also has a variety of sports equipment for checking out. Most groups also meet at regular times during the week such as a soccer group meeting Tuesday and Thursday from 6:00-8:00 pm.

Top: Former Basketball Coach Kim Anderson is showing the cut basetball net in the 2014 National Championship of the NCAA Division II Basketball Tournament. After winning the game, the whole team cuts a small strip of the net to keep. Submitted photo by UCM Athletics.

Bottom: On Jan. 24, fencing club practices at the University of Missouri’s Recreational Center due to the cold weather. Students work on proper stances as a group with the help of the officers of the club. Photo by Braeden Sholes

Megan Weaver

Hippensteel

Sholes

Sullens Elizabeth Reece

CAMPUS BUILDING DECODER

AMTAGRICULTURE

MECHANIZATION

AC - ART CENTER

D - DOCKERY

TRG - GAINES TECHNOLOGY

G - GRINSTEAD

HUD - HUDSON HALL

HUM - HUMPHERYS

JCKL - JCK LIBRARY

LOV - LOVINGER MAR - MARTIN

APT - SKYHAVEN AIRPORT

- W.C. MORRIS WDE - WARD EDWARDS WD - WOOD

2024 KICKOFF SCHEDULE

Thursday - August 15

9:00 am - 3:00 pm Move-in

9:00 am - 3:00 pm One-stop-shop in the Union Atrium

4:30 - 5:30 pm New Student Welcome/Parent Farewell (Band Performance, Mule Kickers, Cheerleaders, Mo the Mule, President Welcome, Alumni from Day 1, Class Picture in the stands, Break-off Mule Team Groups)

6:00 - 8:00 pm Student Rotations Two sessions of rotations (50-minute sessions) , Dinner, Team meeting

8:00 - 8:45 pm Residence Hall meetings / Commuter Student Social Friday - August 16

7:30 am - 8:30 am All Student Breakfast in Dining Halls (Commuters included)

8:30 am - 8:45 am Welcome Walk

9:00 am - 9:30 am Convocation in Hendricks Hall

9:30 am - 11:00 am Academic Meetings

11:00 am - 2:00 pm Lunch, Let’s Redefine What’s Possible, I see U at UCM Breakout

2:00 pm - 5:30 pm Success Advising, Walk your Schedule, Legacy Activity Break

5:30 -8:00 pm Dinner/ Free Time

8:00 - 10:30 pm UCM Roller Rink/Dance Party Saturday - August 17

10:00 am - 1:00 pm All Student Brunch (Commuters included)

9:00 am - 12:00 pm Pertle Springs and Downtown Warrensburg Experiences (Shuttles Running 09:00 am - 11:00 am)

11:00 am - 1:00 pm Lunch

1:30 - 3:30 pm Mules World Carnival outside of rec center

5:30 - 8:00 pm Dinner and Free time 6:30 pm Marching Mules Showcase on Kennedy Field

8:00 - 10:30 pm Glow Night on the Quad Sunday - August 18

All-Day Wrap-up Survey

9:00- 1:00 All Student Brunch 9:00 - 12:00 pm Free Time/ Optional Sessions: Worship or Yoga & Meditation on the Quad 12:00 - 4:00 pm Last Minute Prep

* Book Store will be open * Mule Team Leaders & Kick-Off Staff will assist students with last-minute needs to prepare for the first day of class.

Graphic by Ella Bland, Sports Editor

Campus Cupboard provides students with both essentials and jobs

AARON BAX Online Editor

The Campus Cupboard is in its 11 year at University of Central Missouri as a nonprofit organization serving all students, faculty and staff. It is hosted in the lower level of UCM’s Student Recreation and Wellness Center and is available to anyone with a UCM ID. Students can both get free food and even serve as a volunteer. According to Beth Rutt, the director of Student Activities and the Student Recreation Wellness Center the intention is to support those struggling with food scarcity “Our main goal for the Campus Cupboard is to help minimize food insecurity for college students,” Rutt said. “We are available for anyone that has a UCM ID to take advantage of, but, it [the intention of the Campus Cupboard] is to solve food insecurity issues.”

The Campus Cupboard is available to all students and staff at UCM. Open Tuesday’s, Wednesday’s and Thursday’s from 3 to 5:30 p.m. during the school year, and students are able to get a variety of food items each week for free. Students can interact in a variety of ways, one way is to get free food.

Selections vary based on what is available at the time but strives to offer the essentials of bread, protein, canned vegetables, as well as personal hygiene items. All are a first come first serve basis. Campus Cupboard volunteer Jackson Nimmo believes there is a variety of foods.

“We have a bunch of different sections. So you get one protein, one meal, a miscellaneous item, a soup of cereal, a vegetable, a fruit and a dessert,” Nimmo said. “So I believe that eight different categories and you get one option out of those and we have plenty of options in most of our categories. And yeah, it's very personalized with what you want.”

Students can volunteer during the fall, spring and summer terms. The group relies on volunteers to run check in, distribute food items and help keep up operations. Volunteers oversee its essential operations. To volunteer, perspectives should fill out the application found on the UCM Website or use the QR code above. According to the volunteer Aidan Jones, volunteers keep the Campus Cupboard running.

“We need to have at least five people working the cupboard at all times,” Jones said. “Because when we're busy, it's go, go, go. So having our volunteers is very important.”

Campus Cupboard volunteer Jackson Nimmo carries a requested food item. Volunteers are relied upon by the Campus Cupboard for a variety of activities such as retrieval, check in and board maintenance. Photo by Aaron Bax.

Opinion: What

I wish I knew as a collegefreshman

KAIA TRUJILLO

Opinions Editor

From walking across your graduation stage to moving boxes into a dorm room, starting college is, to put it simply, terrifying. Being on your own for the first time is a tough transition that takes time to learn. Therefore, here are the things I wish I would have known coming into my freshman year, as a now incoming sophomore.

Now I could tell you the basics, about move-in supplies, joining clubs, the dorm basics, the same things any college

pus the proximity and forced factor of the friendship won’t be there. But the good ones, the ones you meet naturally when you are on your own path, content with yourself, those will be the ones that last.

Another thing I would tell incoming freshmen is to take care of themselves. Not just in a hygiene and cleanliness way, but mentally. Even though you are on campus, that doesn’t mean you have to be doing school all the time. Your dorm is your temporary home away from home. Be sure to find a way to separate from school sometimes, despite being there all the time, the same way you would at home after a day at high school. Take time to relax, and do hobbies that you did back home. If you’ve always liked to paint, do that,, or cook, or etc. Those things, they matter, they relax you, don’t be afraid to do them.

"Good friends, the greatest of friends, don’t come from that forceful friendship, and in the end, once the summer begins and we all leave campus the proximity and forced factor of the friendship won’t be there."

okay spending time alone with themselves. It’s scary to be somewhere new and feel like you don’t have people around you like you did with your friend group in high school. However, friends will come, we are all young adults that want friends, it’ll happen. However if you immediately latch to people out of fear of being alone, you may end up friends with people who aren’t that compatible with you. Good friends, the greatest of friends, don’t come from that forceful friendship, and in the end, once the summer begins and we all leave cam-

Further, recognize your social battery. Hanging out with people is amazing, and those are memories you will hold close to your heart. But if you are tiring yourself, trying to constantly hang out or draining your social battery, your mental health, grades, and college experience will suffer. It is okay to take time to relax, bed rot, or whatever it is that makes you feel recharged.

Altogether, this time in your life is going to be amazing. College is an adventure, and I am glad each of you are here to experience it with us here at UCM. But at the end of every day, just remember to take care of yourself. Your mental health is more important than any social pressure or grade. I hope you have an amazing freshman year experience!

A Letter From The Managing Editor

DARBY MOSTAFFA

Managing Editor

Although I have spent the last two and a half years studying English education, prior to college I spent three years writing and editing for my high school student newspaper, The Wildcat. I had predisposed ideas of news and how one goes about journalistic writing, my style was already in place. Joining The Muleskinner I was somewhat abruptly awakened to the world of newspaper reporting as I was asked to conduct my stories how I saw fit. My eyes were finally opened to just how impactful our words can actually be, I gained journalistic freedom in a way I never really imagined.

During my years as a student journalist, I have learned many things that I will cherish for my entire career. The quality I have taken on that brings me the most joy is my aspiration for innovation. Anybody involved in informative media can attest to the fact that our world and the way we digest information is rapidly changing.

Becoming the Muleskinners Managing Editor, one of my biggest goals is to push our publication to heights we didn’t know were possible. If we want to

stay relevant and produce life-changing, groundbreaking news, we must never stop getting better because as it shows, our society does not plan on slowing down anytime soon.

Nothing has inspired me more than our staff's idea to produce a “Special Kickoff Edition” of our Muleskinner print edition. I saw this opportunity to draw student attention to the beauty that is journalism. Since joining the Muleskinner I have built a confidence that I have never had in myself as a writer. I was provided with a family that supported me and wanted nothing more than for me to succeed, doing what I love, and producing interesting and informative news stories.

Being given the opportunity to write and influence the world with my stories allowed me to grow into the genuine writer and leader that I am. In the six months I have been a member of this staff I have watched not only myself but my peers blossom into the next generation of pioneering journalists and leaders. Our dedication to thrive under pressure and transform rather than combust has further solidified my career in journalism.