The Stylus- Volume 127, Issue 1

s u l y t S e h T

2021-22

A student publication of Park University since 1895

Volume 127

ISSUE

#1

Visit stylusonline.org for online news and student blogs FB: ParkUniversityStylus stylus@park.edu January 28, 2022

Park community walks to celebrate MLK day Yi Li Editor Nearly 60 students and faculty gathered on Jan. 17 to commemorate the life of Martin Luther King Jr. and participate in the second annual MLK Unity Walk at Park University.

The MLK Day Unity Walk began outside the new Multicultural and Student Engagement Resource Center in Thompson Commons. According to Allison Anderson, graduate assistant of Pirate Fitness in the Student Life office, they chose to gather there because they wanted people to become familiar with the new place they are trying to create.

That place is “a spot where it’s inclusive of people from different cultures and different backgrounds,” Anderson said. The goal is to provide a safe space on campus for everyone, she added.

Shane Smeed, Park University president, spoke before the unity walk.

While preparing for the walk, people could check out the space and also enjoy coffee and donuts. Many people stopped to look at the portraits of Martin Luther King Jr. in the Multicultural Center.

After students and faculty gathered, the crowd moved from Thompson to Milsap Foyer.

There, Anderson made a brief announcement and Park President Shane Smeed gave a speech about the newly-opened center and King’s life. He included that students from any part of the world could be the next great leader and that Park University is there to support all students.

“As I think about our Park University Core values, some of them are civility and respect and integrity,” Smeed said. “Today’s walk gives us an opportunity to look at not only where we are with our core values but also, using that moral compass, that each of us, all of us have ingrained in us to know what’s right and what’s wrong and how we can make them make this place better.”

After Smeed finished, Amanda Bryant, director of student support, began to split the students into three groups. The leaders of each group were Anderson, Bryant and Tiana Key, graduate assistant of student engagement. These groups allowed for social distancing and to keep everyone on the correct path in the Underground. Everyone walked a total of 2.5 kilometers.

The original plan was similar to the first MLK Unity Walk, except that the starting point was changed from outside of Copley Quad to Thompson Commons. Due to concerns about icy roads and the weather, the event was moved inside to the Under-

PHOTOS/Li Yi On Jan. 17, Park students walked from the new Multicultural Center in Thompson Commons to the Underground in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. ground ensure the safety of all participants.

While many people commented that the change was regrettable, Ali Haider Sian, a graduate student majoring in business administration, said, “It was a good change because I never got the opportunity to see the complete Underground of Park University.”

Many people took part in the walk. Sian said that what surprised him was the diversity of people who participated.

See Unity Walk on page 6

In This Issue: Opinion..............2-3 Campus Life.....4-6 Sports...................7 Features...............8

OPINION

Page 2 January 28, 2022

Poor gym facilities in opposition to Park’s core values

Skyler Jensen Editor-in-Chief Healthy is a word that sparks many images. For most, including myself, a healthy person is someone who eats fruits and vegetables and exercises on a regular basis.

However, at Park University, there is a significant hindrance to students’ access to a healthy life.

There are two main gyms on the Parkville campus. One is in the Underground and the other is in Labor Hall.

However, only athletes can access the gym in the Underground and any student can access the gym in Labor Hall.

The one in the Underground is considered to be the nicest gym on campus with updated equipment and a fully furnished gym. The other facilities are lackluster in

Be a DJ on 90.5 FM All majors welcome.

No experience necessary.

Commit to one two-hour shift playing music per week.

Contact Kristin.Shaw@park.edu to learn more.

comparison.

In Labor Hall, the gym is outdated and lacks quality equipment. There are no barbells, and the mechanical equipment, including the treadmills, frequently fails.

In spring 2021, most of the treadmills broke until there was only one left for students to use for several weeks.

This is disappointing because there are many benefits to having an adequate exercise facility.

First and foremost, exercising can help improve people’s physical health. Consistent exercise can reduce a person’s risk of a heart attack as well as lower the risk of type two diabetes and some cancers. The risk of high blood pressure is also reduced by regular exercise. It can also strengthen people’s bones, muscles and joints, according to the CDC. Improving physical health can lead to a longer life. It can also decrease stresses of people’s lives. Many people with these health issues have to worry about paying for their medical appointments and medicine. These issues often become lifelong worries as the health issue are typically permanent.

In addition to physical health, mental health can also be improved with exercise. Exercise can boost a person’s energy and improve their mood. It can also help to increase sleep and reduce anxiety and depression, according to the CDC. This means it may also help with small issues, such as anxiety students have or stress from classes. In a meta-analysis by Steven J. Petruzzello and Allyson G. Box in Kinesiology Review, exercise was highlighted as a way to facilitate better mental health among college students. Even beyond the specific stressors of college, a lot of students also have larger mental health issues that could benefit from the effects of regular exercise.

Mental health has become a large issue in society. The stigma surrounding it has lessened and more people are speaking out about their own difficulties with mental illnesses. Because so many people have concerns with their mental health, it

PHOTO/Skyler Jensen On a weekday in October 2021, Labor Hall sits empty with outdated equipment. All Park University students are welcome to use this gym during its operating hours. should be a greater concern to Park University.

One way to show that concern would be to upgrade the exercise facility for all students.

Non-student-athletes do not get to benefit from the same mental and physical health benefits that student-athletes get to experience.

If these students who are not officially Park athletes want to live a fully healthy lifestyle, then they have to pay for access to other gyms in the area. Even a reduced rate to the YMCA may still be too large of an expense for a college student to pay.

They may not have the funds for both their education and their health. It also makes it less convenient for students to have to go off campus in order to be active.

Park University has multiple core values. Two of which are inclusivity and social responsibility. To demonstrate their dedication to those values, Park should improve the gyms that all students are al-

lowed access to in order to improve the quality of life for their students.

Staff List Editor-in-chief Skyler Jensen

Editors

Nathan Dunn Yi Li Mariana Figueroa

Reporters

Bryce Butler Jaylynn Tucker

Adviser

Kristin Shaw

OPINION

Page 3 January 28, 2022

Holding on to memories of Chinese New Year

Yi Li Editor Spring Festival has always been the most important festival in the hearts of Chinese people.

This year it will occur on Feb. 1. Every Spring Festival, we will eat a family reunion dinner, set off firecrackers, paste Spring Festival couplets around, receive New Year gift-money and more. In short, there are many customs to do with the family as they say goodbye and welcome the New Year. Many in the U.S. know Spring Festival as Chinese New Year.

For international students from China, Chinese New Year is the most difficult day, because they cannot feel the same excitement. There is an old Chinese poem that goes: “Alone, a lonely stranger in a foreign land, I pine for kinsfolk doubly on a holiday.”

As an overseas student, I have empathy for this sentence, which has been passed down for thousands of years.

They say wherever there are Chinese people, there is Spring Festival. Every Lunar New Year, there are always a group of overseas wanderers who get together to hold the Spring Festival Gala, make dumplings and eat hot pot. In 2021, there was estimated to be more than one million Chinese students studying in the world, and most of them have not returned home since the day they left.

But no matter where you are, the

Chinese New Year is always a wanderer’s obsession. On the day of the Spring Festival, they will wear festive red clothes and paste the character “fu,” which means “blessing,” upside down on the dormitory door to introduce various Spring Festival customs to foreign friends. Spring Festival Gala gradually waned in China, but in foreign countries we have pinpointed the time to see the Spring Festival Gala. It seems that the Spring Festival in foreign countries is more active than in China.

Whenever some Chinese friends ask me if I want to go home for the Spring Festival, I can only reply that I cannot, because I do not have a break, and I have classes to attend at school. And then they say, “Do you want to go home?” I always have to send some laughing emojis. They laugh and say, “Oh, who doesn’t want to go home for the Spring Festival?” That is correct, who does not want to go home for Chinese New Year?

What they do not know is that I have not been home for the Chinese New Year in four years. When I recall Chinese New Year in the United States, many assignments stress me out. I usually find a quiet corner of the library, then dive into a 20page assignment. If I am tired of writing a lit review, then I go to Starbucks for coffee. When I came across a Taiwanese professor, the other side said kindly: “Happy Chinese New Year.” It warmed my heart.

There was a year, I just finished a midterm project, and my mother called me on a video call. In the video, my relatives are sitting around a table. I rub my eyes all night long and say Happy New Year to all my relatives. After the video ended, I opened the family chat and found that the screen was full of New Year wishes. So I scoured moments to see if everyone was as miserable as me, only to find that the screen was full of hot pot and photos of the New Year’s Eve dinner.

Ever since then I have warned myself never to open Chinese social media during Chinese New Year.

In the last video chat with my father,

I said, “I haven’t been home for Chinese New Year in a long time.” He did not answer immediately, I wondered if he was trying to remember how I had spent the Spring Festival away from home in the last couple of years. A few seconds later, he said only one word “yeah.”

When I was a child during the Spring Festival, the family celebrated with fireworks, and when eating dinner on New Year’s Eve, I would hurriedly pick up a few mouthfuls and run downstairs to put fireworks outside. I always lit multiple fireworks at the same time, watching them explode in the sky at the same time.

This was my limited happiness as a child.

I lit all the fireworks then came home just to catch up with the Spring Festival skits. I would use my hands to rub my frozen red ears, then grab some New Year’s goods, like sunflower seeds and peanuts, eating and laughing while watching the skits.

Unfortunately, the Spring Festival Gala became increasingly boring every year, and everyone did not watch TV. The memories of childhood Spring Festival may only be left with fireworks.

“Did you also buy a lot of fireworks

this year?” I asked. “We haven’t allowed fireworks for years, and now they’re all gone,” my dad said.

I checked my syllabus: there are two essays and a project due on New Year’s Eve. If nothing goes wrong, I should find a quiet corner on campus to write assignments and meet deadlines.

I hope that in 2022, we can all be safe and prosperous, everything goes well, we can harvest and still have something to look forward to. Happy Chinese New Year.

PHOTOS/Yi LI Chinese New Year decorations ready to put up on the 5th floor of Chestnut Hall.

CAMPUS LIFE

Page 4 January 28, 2022

Library flourishes with fewer COVID restrictions

Skyler Jensen Editor-in-Chief The McAfee Memorial Library is back in full force after shutting down resources and having a smaller available capacity last year.

While classes were in session during the 2020-21 academic year, the McAfee Memorial Library in Norrington Center felt like a ghost town. Few people were visiting during the day because of COVID-19 restrictions that were in place.

Opening back up to full capacity this year is not the only change that the library has made.

“We have really revamped our spaces in the library this year,” said Camille Abdel-Jawad, Park University instruction and outreach librarian.

Now, the upstairs is a quiet space where students can quietly study or work silently alone or in small groups. The first floor is the collaboration floor, explained Abdel-Jawad.

“That is where we have lots of groups that work together,” said Abdel-Jawad. Here the students can get together and study with friends and classmates.

On this floor, there are also two huddle rooms and a learning lab that allows students to collaborate more privately. Students can reserve the learning labs on the Park library website.

Several students have been using the huddle rooms since their reopening. One student who has taken advantage of it is Keaton Wilczynski, a junior biology major.

After struggling with a lack of social interaction last year, she has found it easier to meet more people as more classes have switched to in person. She studies with those people in the library, typically booking a huddle room to be able to concentrate more.

Wilczynski said she finds it nice to have an area to work with a group because the group lets her know that she is not alone when things are difficult. Plus, the huddle rooms allow her to isolate from others to prevent potential distractions.

On top of group work, it allows students who live off campus to have a place to go work outside of home during the day.

“I use the library most for a break spot in between classes,” said Chelsie Shepard, junior communication studies major. Shepard lives 30 minutes away, so with an hour in between classes three days of the week, having an open place to go work saves her a lot of time and gas.

Shepard also uses the library to work after class or to work with other people.

“It’s just kind of an area for me to get stuff done and park for the day,” she said.

She feels like she can find a quiet area where she still has her own space even though the library is open to all students.

The library also offers students many other resources other than quiet places to study and work. One of those available resources is student jobs.

“I wanted to work for the library because I’m interested in getting my master’s in library sciences after my bachelors, so I thought it would be a great experience to have,” said Alicia Gray, senior English major and student library assistant.

She enjoys the sense of community that the library brings to the campus, the great resources and welcoming feel.

Another resource the library offers is the online chat, which allows students to talk with a real librarian anytime during the evening said Abdel-Jawad. It is featured on the

PHOTO/Skyler Jensen The first floor common study space in Norrington Center sits quiet during a weekday in October 2021. library website and is going to grow more this semester. Abdel-Jawad explained that, beginning Jan. 1, the chat transitioned to be open 24/7 so students can access librarians for research help at any time.

In addition to the online chat, students can also meet with reference librarians if they are struggling with finding sources for a class.

The reference librarians are great at finding sources and helping students get access to books or databases, said Gray. She added that people might forget about this resource or be nervous to ask for help, but that it can make research easier.

Students also appreciate that the Jolly Roger Coffee Shop has also opened again in the library.

Wilczynski said that the coffee shop might be her most-used resource at the library because she uses the caffeine to help motivate her and get her through her assignments.

Also in Norrington Center is the Campanella Gallery, located on the second floor.

It features exhibits from Park students, faculty and other local artists.

The library has also started to host in-person events this academic year. Last semester, events included a board game night, with the collection the library started in August, and a de-stress event with therapy dogs. They also partnered with the Park Speech and Debate team to host an event for Banned Books Week, said Abdel-Jawad.

Through these events, the hope is to let the Park community know that the library offers more than just study space, continued Abdel-Jawad. She plans to host more events this semester and hopes to work with more student organizations on the events.

“The library is a great space. I’m very thankful. I feel like it is an underused resource by students,” said Wilczynski.

To use the space, students can go to the library between 7:30 a.m.- 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday. On Friday, it is open 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. On Saturday, the building is open from 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. and on Sunday, it is open 4 p.m.-9 p.m.

To contact the library, email library@park.edu or one of the other email addresses or phone numbers listed on the library’s contact us page.

CAMPUS LIFE

Page 5 January 28, 2022

“It’s 2 a.m. Where to go study on campus?”

Yi Li Editor It is common for students to complain about how hard it is to find a comfortable place to study with backpacks full of books on campus, especially when they’re looking for somewhere to study late at night.

“I’m a night owl,” said Simon Sharber, a sophomore majoring in mathematics. “I’m used to finishing all my work in the early morning; it would be great if we had a late-night space.”

There are hundreds of classrooms in the academic buildings on campus, which have been used as temporary study spaces for students who are determined to find learning places. However, they cannot guarantee there will be open classrooms available when needed.

It is often impossible to know whether there will be a course in any given classroom. If a student does find an empty classroom, that student

may find himself or herself kicked out unexpectedly. This option is also unreliable for late night learning.

According to Brett Gregory, Campus Safety officer lead, most academic buildings are closed late at night, which reduces the study space options for students with full schedules during the day. However, students could call Campus Safety to unlock the door for them if they need to use a classroom for the purpose of studying.

“For certain areas, students would need to have their professors’ permission to be able to get in,” Gregory said.

Besides classrooms, there is the option of utilizing common spaces. However, in many places, such as Park Avenue in the underground, there are many people talking with friends or wandering around, which may be distracting, especially when students want to be quiet.

Sharber also mentions that he needs a study room with a whiteboard in it because he is a visual learner.

PHOTO/Yi LI Muntaka Fawziah, a freshman geography major, is working on her homework at one of the student 24-hour study spaces in the Underground.

PHOTO/Yi LI Jana Bauk is doing some academic research for a project in a huddle room which located in the Norrington Center.

Some departments have study spaces for their majors only. For instance, the communication department has a media lab located in CO100. Students from that department could easily come to that space to study at any time. Their ID card gives them access to the Copley-Thaw building and the media lab.

In other cases, the problem is more structural because some departments have no learning space at all.

“We really need a quiet, large, study space, like some lounge,” said Lora Cohn, Ph.D., an associate professor of communication. She also thinks we need picnic tables for students to have the opportunity to study outdoors in warm weather.

Graduate students also need more study spaces. Janine Wilkins is a graduate student majoring in communication and leadership. She said that she usually wants to enter the library after

the end of the evening course at 8:45 p.m., but the fact that the library closes at 9 p.m. bothered her. She said, “it would be great if we had a 24/7 selfstudy room in every building!”

Gregory also said that even for Norrington Center, allowing students to enter unattended facilities at night will bring security risks.

One suggestion is a system to make it easier for students to enter empty classrooms when they want to learn.

Park University used to track classrooms used all day in Ad Astra. Staff and faculty can use the database to see if the classroom is available. If the database were available to students, it could be much easier to find study places on campus.

It’s also been suggested that a registration system, similar to the huddle room in Norrington Center, could also be used to create an accountable and accessible system for students.

CAMPUS LIFE

Page 6 January 28, 2022

Park students settle into the new semester Bryce Butler Reporter Students at Park University have a variety of academic obstacles to face since the start of the new semester.

While academic struggles are a common part of the college experience, the amount of adversity students have had to face over the last two years has increased.

Jasmine Banks, a junior majoring in criminal justice, said that Spanish II has been her hardest class this semester, so far. This is mainly due to the speaking aspect of the class.

“The biggest obstacle I’m facing right now is scheduling all my classes and making sure I’m getting my work turned in,” said Banks.

Time management has always been,

The biggest obstacle I’m facing right now is scheduling all my classes and making sure I’m getting my work turned in.

Jasmine Banks Junior criminal justice major and continues to be, a major stumbling block for students of all levels.

Banks finds it helpful that the university continues to be there for her mentally as a support system. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has made a significant impact on the mental health of

many, almost two years in.

This is even more reason why it is important for students to stay in communication with one another.

“I’m probably not the only one who’s struggling you know, it’s always… somebody else struggling too,” Banks said.

For Michael Moore, a freshman multimedia journalism and public relations major, managing his time was not always easy.

“I’m working on my time management because that was a big issue last year. Now, going into this semester, it is not that much of a problem,” said Moore.

Moore’s focus has shifted more to the financial component of his education. He deems it most helpful that the university bundles the cost of books into the tuition, to avoid coming out of pocket for materials.

As for what he can do to improve, Moore has a hopeful perspective on the academic school year: “There’s always a storm before the sunshine, so just keep going and eventually things just gon’ get better on its own.”

Unity walk is a reminder of the importance of diversity Continued from page 1

PHOTO/ Yi Li Park students have a conversation while on their 2.5 km walk through the Underground to remember Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights activists.

Demetria Byers, a senior majoring in criminal justice, said that students and faculty can still follow King’s example and walk to show support for social or political causes.

What human rights activists of the past did to make the United States what it is today is important to people, said Bright Ajayi Oluwadamilola, an MBA student with a concentration in business analytics. The walk is not only to honor Martin Luther King Jr., but to also fight for the rights of African Americans.

“The walk isn’t just in honor of Martin Luther King,” Olumadamilola said. “It’s important as a reminder of the works that… activists of the past, have done to make America what it is today.”

“We celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. more, so that we understand him and what he stood for,” said Michael Willis, a senior studying business administration.

“He was very religious, he was very zealous, and he was a force of love,” continued Willis.

The walk was hosted by the Office of Student Life and organized by Anderson and Key. Anderson said it was a big challenge for them to plan the whole thing.

“Luckily like we had Mya (Lawrence) and Amanda who kind of helped us prior, and helped us get used to communicating with different parties (in order) to get the event rolling,” Anderson said.

The Office of Student Life hopes this event will become an annual tradition, aiming to celebrate King’s legacy while promoting unity among the Park community. Anderson said she would be happy to see it continue to grow over the years, until even people from outside the Park community attend.

SPORTS

Page 7 January 28, 2022

Women’s Track and Field begins spring semester at Washburn Open Jaylynn Tucker Reporter

PHOTO COURTESY/Dalton Tripp Sophomore forward Augusto Hausmann guards an opponent during a game against Culver-Stockton.

Men’s basketball turning a corner Nathan Dunn Editor

Starting the season with a 2-5 conference record, the Park University men’s basketball team sat in last place of the South Division in the Heart of America Athletic Conference.

The Pirates have since had a change of luck with four straight wins since Jan. 17. The team jumped three spots and sit fourth in the division with a 6-5 conference record, 11-6 overall, as of Jan. 25.

Park’s recent surge began with a 74-67 win on the road against Peru State. Then, they started a five-game homestand with an upset win over division-leading Evangel University by a final score of 88-62. The Pirates continued their home win streak against Culver-Stockton College 83-72 on Jan. 22 and an 84-80 come-from-behind win against divisional rival MidAmerica Nazarene University on Jan. 24.

For Park, it has been crucial to reach the 70-point threshold. They are 11-0 when scoring a minimum of 70 points this season and 0-5 when not reaching 70 points, in addition to a forfeit loss.

With a total of just 15 points from players coming off the bench over the past four games, the starters have been crucial to the team’s success. Head coach Jason Kline, who concluded last season as NAIA’s 13th winningest active men’s basketball coach, is relying on the same starting five that started most of last season. That starting lineup includes four fifth-year seniors using their addi-

tional year of eligibility: Rodrigue Marthone, Quez Williamson, Cory Reeves and Ernest Myles III. The lineup is rounded out with sophomore forward Augusto Hausmann.

Leading the Pirates offensively with 18.1 points per game has been Marthone, a guard who scored 30 points in Park’s win over Culver-Stockton. Reeves and Williamson have been Park’s greatest threat from deep, shooting a combined 39 of 114 from beyond the arc.

Myles III has been dominant on the boards, averaging 10.1 rebounds per game, followed by 4.4 rebounds per game for both Marthone and Reeves. Myles III recorded his eighth double-double of the season in the win over MidAmerica Nazarene, grabbing 10 rebounds and a season-high 23 points.

“These last three years we’ve been playing together, so we trust in each other. It feels good to look over and be like ‘this guy’s got my back; he got my back down the stretch,” Myles III told ParkAthletics.TV about the cast of leadership from the starting five, which overturned a 15-point deficit in their win against MidAmerica Nazarene.

Park’s conference turnaround came after the Pirates honored longtime athletic director Claude English by naming the Breckon Sports Center court Claude English Court in a dedication ceremony held on Jan. 8.

The Pirates will finish their longest homestand of the season when they host Missouri Valley on Jan. 26 and Graceland on Jan. 29. The Pirates will need to keep the turnaround going to reach the NAIA National Tournament for a second straight season.

On Jan. 28-29, Park’s track and field athletes will compete in a two-day meet at Washburn University.

This is the second meet of the season.

Allison Anderson, a graduate student, will compete in the 200-meter dash and the 4x400.

“I am feeling excited and anxious it being the first meet off of break and our competitors and conference competitors have been competing for the past two or three weeks while we are coming off of one meet that we had in December,” Anderson said.

I am kind of nervous about the meet considering I have been restricted with COVID for a week, so I have had some down time with practice. I still feel confident with my technique, but there’s always room to get better.

Shikayla Walker, senior

Last season was limited because of COVID-19 concerns, so the team did not compete in any indoor meets. Anderson said she has many goals for this year’s indoor season, including getting below 26 seconds in the 200-meter.

“And for the 4x400 meter relay my goal is that we qualify, so hopefully all the other girls are ready to run their butts off in that race,” she said.

Shikayla Walker is a senior member of the track and field team. At the Washburn meet she will compete in shotput and weights.

Following this competition, there are two more open meets for the women’s indoor track and field team. The season will wrap up with the conference championship on Feb. 18-19 and then the NAIA national championships March 3-5.

FEATURES

Page 8 January 28, 2022

You’ve got a friend in me

Park’s Student Activities Board holds a speed friending event to kick off spring semester

PHOTOS/Yi Li From top left, clockwise: Manika Karki, PSAB vice president of external events and senior criminal justice major, looks over the Speed Friending event at Thompson Commons on Jan. 12. Billy Rivera, an international student from Puerto Rico, enjoys talking with his new friends at the event. PSAB leaders welcome students and check them in before the event. Jade Galligo, an international student from France, waits to be assigned to her first partner.