A4 Elk accident
A7 Student follows dreams
A12 The Big Time
Conservationists speculate about the origins of an elk struck and killed on U.S. 71.
Undergraduate EDM major pursues interest and earns international scholarship.
Eight years after the death of coach Scott Bostwick, football continues to honor him.
NORTHWEST MISSOURIAN THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MARYVILLE, MISSOURI
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VOL. 108, NO. 6
FIGHTING AGAINST STIGMA Renamed club gains new focus, leadership
SAMANTHA COLLISON Campus News Editor | @SammieCollison
With a new name, new goals and a new outlook, the group formerly known as To Write Love on Her Arms relaunched this year under the name Active Minds with the aim to fight the stigma surrounding mental health. A ctive Minds held its first meeting of the year Sept. 18 in the J.W. Jones Student Union led by President Cayla Vertreese and Secretary Caleb Smith. Vertreese said she wanted a more inclusive-sounding name for the group, since To Write Love on Her Arms could be perceived as being only for women. She said Active Minds is also more recognized nationally on college campuses and could offer a larger platform to the group. The name Active Minds comes from a national organization started by Alison Malmon in 2000 at the University of Pennsylvania following the suicide of her brother Brian. Vertreese, a sophomore, said she’s always been passionate about mental health and has become more involved in advocating for those with mental illnesses through dealing with depression and being hospitalized in November 2018. “ I’ve been there, and so I understand what it’s like to be
39% of students in college experience a significant mental health issue
75%
50% of mental health cases begin by age 14
of mental health cases begin by age 24
No. 2 450+ 3,662
leading cause of death among students is suicide SOURCE: ACTIVE MINDS
there,” Vertreese said. “I understand what it’s like to feel like no one understands or feel like no one’s there or feel like I can’t talk to anyone about it because I’m not supposed to. I want to kind of end that.” I n July, Smith lost his brother to suicide, and he said no one should have to feel hopeless or alone like his brother did and families shouldn’t have to experience that grief. “ It’s terrible, and I think that with people, they’re just scared to talk about it and they shouldn’t be,” Smith said. “It should be OK to talk about your feelings because with my brother, he held all that in, like there were no signs whatsoever, and I don’t want to see anyone hold their feelings in and have that happen to them.”
SEE STIGMA | A4
Active Minds Campus chapters
events hosted by Active Minds
RACHEL ADAMSON, AJ BRADBURY | NW MISSOURIAN
SYDNEY GARNER | NW MISSOURIAN
Sophomore Cayla Vertreese presents the purpose of active minds Sept. 18 at the J.W. Jones Student Union during their first meeting.
University continues admin search
SAMANTHA COLLISON Campus News Editor | @SammieCollison
The University held two open forums for students and employees with Director of Diversity and Inclusion Justin Mallett, the second candidate for the new associate provost of diversity and inclusion position, Sept. 23. This position will bring diversity and inclusion under the office of the provost, according to University President John Jasinski’s newsletter “All that Jazz,” in an effort to decrease the gap in retention and graduation rates between majority and minority students. W ith diversity and inclusion being brought under academics, equity will fall under Student Affairs, which is in the process of hiring a new Title IX coordinator. Mallett has served as director of diversity and inclusion since 2017. In that time, he said the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion has done a lot for underrepresented students, but could focus on having a more “inclusive mindset” and focus on issues beyond race. “There are white students who go through some of the same things that a lot of the black students go through,” Mallett said. “There are white students who are poor; there are white students that are underprepared; there are white students that struggle in their day-today life.” Mallett said inclusion extends to age, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and urban versus rural upbringings. He said inclusive language in the classroom and on
MORGAN JONES | FILE
Director of Diversity and Inclusion Justin Mallett speaks during a Black Student Union meeting March 7 in the J.W. Jones Student Union. Mallett is a candidate for the associate provost of diversity and inclusion.
syllabuses is a big issue right now. Specifically, he said faculty including pronouns when introducing themselves and on their syllabuses would set an example for students, normalize establishing pro-
nouns as part of conversation and make transgender and nonbinary students feel more comfortable in the classroom. The biggest failure of DEI in his time, Mallett said, was center-
Thursday
September 26, 2019 @TheMissourian
ing efforts and funds on programming for black students, seeing no tangible changes in graduation and retention rates in that demographic. “Now what we see is how can we be equitable across the board,” Mallett said. “If we’re going to send the Black Student Union to a conference, are we going to send HERO (Helping Everyone Regardless of Orientation) to a conference? … I think that we have to define our roles clearer if we’re going to say that we’re going to be inclusive.” Mallett said taking on this new role would change his perspective and approach to the student body from a grassroots approach to a higher, overarching perspective. “It’s going to be tough, because I’ve always had that student interaction piece as a huge part of who I am. I always say it makes Justin, Justin,” Mallett said. “One thing that I’ve come to grips with is even though I’m looking at everything from a much broader scope … I’m still helping students, but at a much greater level.” Mallett said another shortcoming of DEI that he aims to correct is making diversity and inclusion campus-wide issues. He said rather than DEI solving every problem for every student, he would like to empower faculty and staff with the tools to handle those issues with their students. Forums were also held Aug. 26 with the first candidate for the position, Ade Oredein of Owensboro, Kentucky. The University has not said if Oredein is still a candidate for the position or when the hiring decision will be made.
Student creates business selling soul food at home SAMANTHA COLLISON Campus News Editor | @SammieCollison
When she offered to make dinner for a few University Police officers, junior Lexi Linton had no idea that in less than three years, most of her income at school would come from her soul food business. L inton said she cooks around three times a week and charges $8-12 per plate. She makes a variety of dishes from seafood to pasta, but she said her most popular dish is traditional soul food. “A lot of people miss a lot of soul food or food they can get at home,” Linton said. “Maryville needs different types of food, because here we only have an Applebee’s … and some people don’t like Applebee’s.” As a freshman cooking in her free time in Millikan, Linton said UPD Chief Clarence Green saw her in the kitchen and asked if she would cook for some officers, which she agreed to. That night, she got the idea to charge for her meals and the business was born. Linton said she gives surveys to her regulars, which helps her decide what meals to make. She lets customers know five days in advance through Snapchat, Instagram and group chats what she is making so they can get orders in and she can buy the right amount of supplies. In addition to soul food, Linton said she sells fake eyelashes, does eyebrows and applies eyelash extensions when she’s home in St. Louis. Linton’s roommate junior Beautyful-Tyanna Copeland said she knows she can always rely on Linton for great eyelashes or a home-cooked meal when she’s tired of dining hall food. “Sometimes, I can be last minute, and I know I can wake her up at 2 a.m. with all my lash needs,” Copeland said. “People are always coming up to me asking me where I got my eyelashes from, and so I kind of feel like a walking billboard, which is really cool.” Copeland said Linton’s soul food being convenient and at a great price keeps customers coming back. Linton said her cooking skills come from southern tradition through her dad, who is from Arkansas and has family from Alabama. “He just taught me how to cook growing up, so if we had Sunday dinners, he would tell me, ‘Hey, you want to come in the kitchen and help?’” Linton said. “Surprisingly, my favorite thing that he makes is a fruit salad, but he puts so much fruit in it, it’s so delicious.”
SEE STUDENT | A4
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