3.3.20 issue of The Standard

Upcoming census Students advocate for local census participation

Dear World Campaign uses peoples’ stories to create connections

Lady Bears turnout

Despite success, students aren’t attending games

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M I S S O U R I S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y

VOLUME 113, ISSUE 20 | THE-STANDARD.ORG The Standard/The Standard Sports

TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2020

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Bowl Voyage! PSU bowling alley closes its lanes GRETA CROSS Digital Editor @gretacrossphoto

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The Level 1 Game Center bowling alley, located on the first floor of the PSU, closed its lanes Friday night.

According to Level 1 Game Center employee Jordan Galkowski, a senior marketing, advertising and promotions

major, the bowling alley was not popular with students and didn’t bring in enough revenue for maintenance upkeep.

Galkowski said a board game cafe is in the works of taking the bowling alley’s place. The cafe will include an array of board and video games for students, along with more snack and drink options.

Over the last several years,

the Student Activities Council hosted Rock ‘N’ Bowl at the game center, a themed bowling party, on Friday nights.

Friday, Feb. 28, the PSU and SAC co-hosted Bowl Voyage, a free celebration in honor of the bowling alley’s closing, from 6-10 p.m. Special Bowl Voyage T-shirts were given to the first 50 students to enter and while supplies

SARAH TEAGUE Editor-in-Chief @sarah_k_teague

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MSU students rally for Bernie

Clif Smart shares plan for COVID-19 Missouri State University officials are continuing to monitor the threat of coronavirus to the community in the coming months, especially with the Disease Control and Prevention’s recent warnings, and the partnership MSU has with its “China branch campus” in Dalian, China.

The Office of the President sent a release to the university community on Feb. 26 reassuring faculty, staff and students “a core team meets on a regular basis to discuss the changes and the potential impact to university travel and campus safety. Contingency plans are being developed.”

These personnel, the release read, are participating in CDC calls, maintaining education on disease prevention “and developing health protocols.”

As of Feb. 26, there are 14 confirmed cases of coronavirus, or COVID-19, in the United States, according to the CDC. This does not include the cruise ship fiasco, where 14 Americans were infected with the virus amidst hundreds of others aboard the Diamond Princess. The World Health Organization is monitoring worldwide reports. The latest report states there are over 80,000 cases globally.

The university’s release comes after the CDC’s warning spread of coronavirus into American communities is inevitable.

“Ultimately, we expect we will see community spread in this country,” Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said.

“It’s not so much a question of if this will happen anymore, but rather more of a question of exactly when this will happen and how many people in this country will have severe illness,” she said.

The release from the university emphasized there are no cases in Missouri at this time.

lasted, students could take home a used bowling pin.

Mason Todd, a sophomore psychology major and resident assistant, said he often used the bowling alley as a space for his floor’s events and is disappointed to see the bowling alley go.

Todd said the idea of a

TINSLEY MERRIMAN Staff Reporter @merrimantinsley

“We had a set goal of 75 and we actually got over that,” said freshman biology major and Love Your Melon member Haley Oetterer. “I think around 80 was our final count.”

Love Your Melon has been a part of MSU for a while now, but they are just starting to get out into the community a little more, according to Zanger.

“Being involved with LYM has really opened my eyes to how such a small group (less than 20 MSU students) can make such a big impact on our community and towards to LYM mission,” Shoot said.

Love Your Melon also has a website where you can buy merchandise such as beanies, shirts, sweatpants and other accessories. 50% of the profit sales goes towards charities for families fighting cancer.

You can keep up with LYM events by following them on Instagram @mostatelymcrew.

Missouri State University students hosted a small rally for presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on March 2.

The rally organizers, senior political science major Sean Atkins, MSU alumni Reed Dressler and communications graduate student Amy Ramirez handed out fliers at a table outside Siceluff Hall.

The three supporters are part of the Sunrise Movement, a youth-led effort to combat climate change by electing officials who would vote in favor of climate-centered legislation.

Dressler named three goals the ralliers hoped to accomplish.

“First, (we want people) to know March 10 is the day to vote,” Dressler said.

“Second, to convince them to vote for Bernie Sanders.

And third, to get them to volunteer to help Bernie Sanders to win the March 10 Missouri primary day.”

Atkins expanded upon those goals, saying the members were trying to convince passersby that Sanders is the candidate with the best policies, and that they should vote for him in the upcoming primary. Atkins said Sanders is the only candidate who could beat President Donald Trump in his reelection campaign.

“Really we are trying to increase awareness that the primary is coming up in eight days here in Missouri,” Atkins said. “It’s going to be incredibly close, we are trying to energize a lot of students for Sen. Sanders and talk people-to-people who are on the fence, flip them over.

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Maryssa Ainsworth, Katherine Hager, and Anna Flauter attend the swab drive on Feb. 26.

Love Your Melon hosts campus swab drive to help international nonprofit fight blood cancer CAROLINE MUND Staff Reporter @cemund32 In an effort to fight blood cancer, the DKMS organization partnered with Missouri State’s Love Your Melon to look for potential bone marrow matches. The event swabbed volunteers’ cheeks on Feb. 26 in the Plaster Student Union.

“The mission of Love Your Melon is to raise awareness for pediatric cancer and help improve the lives of individuals and families suffering from that,” said Jenna Zanger, president of Love Your Melon at MSU. According to Zanger, DKMS is an organization dedicated to help people with blood disorders and diseases.

They do this by adding people to the bone marrow registry.

Students who attended the event received information about what Love Your Melon is and what they are donating toward. Students also watched a short video that described

Photos by KENDRA KERNEL/THE STANDARD

(Left) Buttons were passed out during the drive.

(Right) Junior Natalie Sykora participates in the swab drive put on by the DKMS organization.

that goal of DKMS, answered a few questions to see if they are compatible candidates for the program and had their cheeks swabbed.

“We were very adamant to point out that we don’t want people signing up just to do it,” junior finance major Kylie Shoot said. “It is a bit of a commitment in the sense that if you do happen to be a match for someone, we want you to actually go through with the bone marrow donation.”

DKMS will reach out to

those who matched to someone, help set up travel and cover any other expenses that you may need if they go donate.

“We were so surprised by the turnout,” Zanger said. “It was really amazing to see people excited about the event and excited to help people outside just the Missouri State community.”

While they surpassed their goal, Zanger added that they will have swabs until early this week so if students couldn’t make it to the swab drive, they can meet individually.

Rundown of the 2020 presidential candidates plus student opinions KELSEY BENACK Staff Reporter @kelseybenack Missouri State political science professor Gabriel Ondetti said he believes the 2020 presidential election will be “unusual.”

“Everything about America under Trump is unusual,” Ondetti said. “In addition to being only one of three presidents in history the House has impeached, his presidency has been very unorthodox regarding his words and conduct.”

The chance of his reelection

is a heated subject for some, and Ondetti said Trump evokes polarization from the American people.

“You either adore him as some people do, or you despise him,” he said. “There’s not much of a middle ground.”

Ondetti said President

Trump has basically secured his spot as Republican nominee. On top of the advantage of incumbency, only one other candidate currently challenges him: William Weld.

Ondetti said while Weld is very articulate, moderate and reasonable, he did not capture

the mood of the country.

While the Republican nomination seems set in stone, the Democratic nomination is less predictable. The candidates are battling each other in the primary debates, trying their hardest to pull ahead. u See POLITICIANS, page 2

2 THE-STANDARD.ORG

THE STANDARD

“His plans alone cost a combined total of 70.2 trillion dollars.”

TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2020

POLITICIANS

Elizabeth Warren

Continued from page 1

“The left candidates are Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren; they’re more of the extreme liberal Democrats,” Ondetti said. “And then you “I believe Bernie have the moderate candidates Sanders is the which is essentially everybody obvious else, headed by Buttigieg, front-runner.”

Biden and Klobuchar. You can -Schatz basically divide them into those two groups.”

“Warren’s plan is to decriminalize According to Ondetti, all illegal Democratic candidates talk immigration.” about doing more for global warming, limiting certain kinds of firearms and ending repressive immigration poli“I would still vote cies. So what are the differencfor her if she was es between the two groups of the primary candidates? nominee.”

The clearest difference be-Schatz tween the more liberal candidates and the more moderate candidates has to do with their position on health care reform, Ondetti said.

Sanders and Warren mainly “He refuses to seek to eliminate private insurcondemn late term ance and replace it with a fully abortion- up to public health care program nine months.” funded by the government.

-Rutherford The moderate candidates want to establish different versions of an extension of “Pete Buttigieg's Obamacare. They want to add platform is a public option, the aspect of moderate at best.”

Obamacare that Congress did -Schatz not pass during Obama’s “When the person terms, but unlike Sanders’ and holding office is Warren’s proposals, citizens running for reelection, would have the option of keepthey have a better ing their private health care chance of securing insurers. a win.”

Another difference between the liberal and the mod“Trump has almost erate candidates is the wealth certainly secured tax, Ondetti said. Sanders and the nomination Warren advocate for a wealth for the Republican party.” tax, which would tax richer -Schatz citizens on their assets.

“Elizabeth Warren, in particular, has talked about an annual tax on assets above a Graphic by JADIE ARNETT/THE STANDARD certain value,” Ondetti said.

“That would generate a lot of income for the government, and it would come basically only from wealthy people. It wouldn’t come from anyone else.”

Ondetti says the last big difference between the groups consists of the liberal Democrats pushing for free college tuition.

Student opinions

Loren Rutherford, freshman political science major and president of the conservative club Turning Point USA, and Madeline Schatz, senior professional writing major and president of MO State College Democrats, stated their positions on the major candidates.

Bernie Sanders

Rutherford said she beleives Sanders is a “self-proclaimed socialist.”

“He advocates for canceling all student loan debt, universal childcare and pre-K, housing for all, implementing the Green New Deal and Medicare for all. All of these ideas sound wonderful on the surface. Unfortunately, they lack a dose of reality. These plans alone cost a combined total of $70.2 trillion, according to his own website.”

“I believe Bernie Sanders is the obvious front-runner,” Schatz said. “His progressive policies and positions, along with his support from the working class and students, will hopefully make him the primary nominee. He had outstanding support in the caucuses and with the (Feb. 25 debate) in mind, the other candidates are obviously worried. Most of the attacks were focused on him.”

“Warren’s plan is to decriminalize illegal immigration,” Rutherford said. “I agree with Warren in the sense that our country is made up of immigrants and that immigration is one of the things that makes America so unique. However, this does not mean that immigration can be a free-for-all.

There has to be guidelines and cautions for the safety of everyone. In the same way that you lock your door at night, America needs to have control over its doors, too.”

“I used to be a Warren supporter, and I would still vote for her if she was the primary nominee, but at this point, that does not seem likely,” Schatz said. “I would go back and forth between supporting Warren and Sanders in the earlier days of the race, but I am now backing Sanders.

Sanders’ policy propositions and positions are simply a bit more progressive.”

that is how it seems to me,” said Schatz. “He also proposed a national service program where, if not legally obligatory, it would be the social norm to serve (in the military) for a year after they turn 18, which I am strongly against.”

Donald Trump

“The candidate I most agree with is Donald Trump,” Rutherford said. “That does not mean I agree with every decision he has ever made or every tweet he has ever sent out. But it does mean that his policies value the things that I value — more jobs for more Americans, lower taxes, freedom of speech and religion, strong military and strong borders, less ‘red tape,’ school choice and the protection of life inside the womb.”

“Donald Trump has almost certainly secured the nomination for the Republican party,” Schatz said. “History has shown us when the person holding office is running for reelection, they have a better chance of Pete Buttigieg securing a win. I think DemoTwo days before “Super crats have a good chance to Tuesday,” the day the most defeat him, however.” states vote in the primaries, Importance of Voting Buttigieg ended his campaign.

He announced his candidaIt’s important that students cy in April of 2019 and ended stay informed, Ondetti said. If it on March 1, 2020. Although students decide to vote, they he won the Iowa caucuses and need to pay attention and know came in second at the polls in the candidates and policies that New Hampshire, he came in they are voting for. fourth place in South Carolina.

Rutherford and Schatz, tak“One of my biggest prob- ing into consideration their lems with all the candidates, but activeness in on-campus polPete in particular, is his view on itics and their attentiveness to abortion,” Rutherford said. “Not the 2020 election, have done only does he allow abortion in their homework.

“All kinds of things that are general, he refuses to condemn late term abortion all the way up important aspects of our lives to nine months.” are affected by government “Pete Buttigieg’s platform policies, and if we just decide is moderate at best, and he to not vote or not take an indoes not have the necessary terest in it, it’s not like it goes support from the working away,” Ondetti said. “It’s still class, which is why he relies out there.” heavily on large donors and DISCLAIMER: Madeline elite supporters — or at least Schatz works for The Standard.

Student team explains importance of participating in Census in the Missouri 2020 Census.

The Census is an overall count of the nation’s population every 10 years for governmenA team of Missouri State tal consideration. A constant University students is pushing count of different regions of the for other students to take part country is taken every year by TINSLEY MERRIMAN Staff Reporter @merrimantinsley

six different offices.

Junior public relations major Chris Leonard enrolled in COM 519, which is in turn partnered with the Public Relations Student Society of America through the Bateman

Photo submitted by Christopher Leonard

Competition. The team also consists of Morgan Hill, Chloe Dosier and Bella Orlando.

Leonard said students who find the Census unimportant

Students advocate for the census at MSU.

u See CENSUS, page 8

Weekly Crossword © 2020 King Features Syndicate

ACROSS 1 TGIF part 4 Bing’s buddy 7 Block the flow 12 Just out 13 “Hail!”

14 Become one 15 Meadow 16 High-flying tourist 18 $ dispenser 19 Soviet cooperative 20 Genius 22 Decorate Easter eggs 23 Boast 27 Discoverer’s cry 29 Weaken, in a way 31 Nary a soul 34 Star in Orion’s left foot 35 “Now” or “never” 37 Drench 38 TV dinner veggies 39 “Go, team!”

41 Wild and crazy 45 Rescues 47 “The Raven” writer 48 TV show for entrepreneurial hopefuls 52 Transgression 53 Asian nation 54 Hockey surface 55 Superlative ending 56 That is (Lat.) 57 “Ben-Hur” author Wallace 58 Vast expanse DOWN 1 Extended family member 2 “Choppers”

3 Hindu ascetic 4 Mexican peninsula 5 Exaggerate 6 White or Grable 7 One-on-one fight 8 Pismire 9 Bay State sch.

10 Multipurpose truck 11 Apiece 17 Start a garden 21 Regions 23 All-out attack 24 Carpet 25 Consumed 26 Solidify 28 That woman 30 Anger 31 Siesta 32 Praise in verse 33 Eggs 36 Unruly kid?

37 From what place 40 Use

42 Church recesses 43 Din 44 Busybody 45 Old card game 46 Distort

48 Tackle moguls 49 Scuttle 50 Exist 51 Scale notes

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opinion

TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2020 | THE-STANDARD.ORG

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‘The Sailor’ album shows vulnerable side of Rich Brian KAMRAN CHOUDHRY Music Critic @KamChoudhry Now I am a huuuge fan of Rich Brian. I discovered his music when he dropped his first album, “Amen,” in 2018 and when he changed his stage from Rich Chigga to Rich Brian. His first album was an absolute banger. Every song is fun and danceable and is quite entertaining. You can tell that Rich Brian had a lot of fun creating each song and his talent is undeniable.

When Rich Brian dropped his second album, “The Sailor,” in the summer of 2019, I was a little disappointed. The music was not as upbeat as his first album but instead more somber. It did not take me long to understand this album was much more emotionally raw.

Each song has a strong feeling that Rich Brian wants to explore and ultimately express within himself. The title of the album and the first song “The Sailor” is the classic expression of a wandering soul. The tail end of the song expresses questions that are hard to answer such as “Where do we go when we die? / What is the color of blue if there isn't a sky? / What is the meaning of life? / What is a life if a moment can end in the blink of an eye?"

While Rich Brian does not answer these questions in a satisfactory way, these questions help lead to self-reflection and greater self-understanding. These questions are quite relatable since I have asked these questions myself.

The lack of answers infuriates me but the quest for finding

these answers, even if they are technically impossible, would lead to a better understanding of self and others. This style of exploration of self is onbrand for Rich Brian since he hails from Indonesia where there is more Buddhist influence. In an oversimplified sense, Buddhism's answer to the meaning of life is to reach enlightenment, commonly known as Nirvana. The path to enlightenment is long and arduous but ultimately rewarding. Rich Brian leaning into these cultural and spiritual aspects of himself helps the listener understand the rest of the album with what he is trying to accomplish.

That being said, Rich Brian is still a young man and has undoubtedly changed when he gained all of his fame. Rich Brian became a viral phenomenon when he was making hits and that he perfected those hits when he debuted “Amen.” But after Rich Brian got used to fame, there was something lacking that many famous artists experience. There is a hole in one’s heart when you simply chase the high of fame and success at the expense of showing off his vulnerabilities and feelings.

Rich Brian acknowledges he does not see a lot of famous people that look like him. You can count on your fingers how many famous people are from Indonesia. But Rich Brian recognizes that he must blaze the path alone in order to see more of his people on the stage. He is such a large phenomenon that he showed his song, “Kids,” to the Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

What made Rich Brian the

Illustration by ALYSSA VANDEGRIFT/THE STANDARD

success he is now is that he spits straight facts on what it is like being a young immigrant in the U.S. He does not mince words about his exploits with women and it does get boring after awhile. But in “The Sailor,” there is more experimentation of his sound.

Many of his songs lack his unique instrumentation for a more soft sound that really makes the listener pay closer attention to his lyrics. My favorite song of the album, “Drive Safe,” is one of those softer tracks as it is his experience with a long-term relationship and his subsequent break-up. Not gonna lie, I tear

up every time I hear the chorus, especially when Rich Brian sings “All these thoughts I have in my head / Got me blinded from the sunset / I’m tryin’ hard to stop the rain / ‘Cause smilin’ doesn’t feel the same …”

I see Rich Brian wanting to show off his vulnerabilities and make you feel in your heart with this album and it would be a crime to at least listen to a few tracks. If you want more of a feel-good banger then “Rapapapa (feat. RZA)” and “Kids,” would be your go-to from this album. A more soft sound would be “Drive Safe,” “The Sailor,” and “Yellow

(feat. Bekon).” A more experimental sound would be “No Worries,” and “100 Degrees,” and “Slow Down Turbo.” Each of these tracks are highly recommended.

I honestly see a lot of myself in Rich Brian. He likes to have fun with his various antics across LA but he still ultimately is still learning how to feel himself. We think we know what we want until we find out it is not. It is my understanding that Rich Brian thought immigrating to the U.S. would be great not just for himself but for his family and his nation. The pressures to excel in a world that tells

you that you do not belong is immense. I cannot imagine what it is like to be in the music game but I know as a second-generation immigrant that I can imagine how hard it is to stand out. How the world privileges only one certain perspective and nothing else.

If you want people to hear your story, you gotta be amazing at telling it. I am confident that this is what compelled Rich Brian to create a more vulnerable album versus an album that would chart the Billboards. For what is the point, if people are not listening to the story you are trying to tell.

The Suzanne Collins series Heated democratic you probably didn’t read debates are not new as a kid but should have KATHERINE COOPER Columnist @k8iek8_

ANNELISE PINJUV Columnist @annelisepin If you didn’t read “The Hunger Games” in middle school, where were you?

Were you hiding under a rock? Probably, because that series was making big waves in the early 2010s.

But did you ever happen to stumble upon Suzanne Collins’ critically acclaimed series “The Underland Chronicles”?

I was visiting home for the weekend and doing some light spring cleaning when I came across my copies of the books in the series. I had completely forgotten about them even though the series was one of the best I had ever read.

I read “The Underland Chronicles” before “The Hunger Games,” so I didn’t catch the fact that they were both by Collins. This makes sense though because the detail and the world-building in this series blew my fifth grade mind just like “The Hunger Games” series blew my seventh grade mind. And while these books are predominately for fourtheighth graders, I think they The Standard Physical address: Clay Hall 744 E. Cherry St. Springfield, Missouri Postal address: 901 S. National Ave. Springfield, MO 65897 Newsroom: 417-8365272 Advertising: 417-

would be interesting to anyone. Here’s why.

The first book in the series “Gregor the Overlander” stars Gregor, and 11-yearold living in New York City.

His mom leaves him at their apartment with his grandma and little sisters. While he is doing some laundry in the basement with his baby sister Boots, she falls down an old air duct grate. Gregor dives in after and finds the Underland.

The Underland is composed of humans (or “underlanders”) with almost-clear skin and giant rats, bats and bugs.

The two land in the Underland on the outskirts of its capital city, Regalia. They meet some giant cockroaches who believe the two are there to fulfill a prophecy.

The roaches then bring them to the city.

They meet some locals — Luxa, who is slated to be the queen of Regalia, and her cousin Henry. They also meet the bats that are “bonded” to the humans.

Henry and Boots learn about the conflict between the Regalians and the rat

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king Gorger. Then Gregor gets attacked by some gigantic rats but the underlanders save him. This fuels the conflict between the underlanders and the rats.

The Prophecy of Gray, Gregor and Boots learn, is a tale that tells of two overlanders who team up with 10 underlanders to find Gregor’s father, who went missing in Underland long ago.

They gather the team and set out on their journey.

I don’t want to spoil too much, because I really do believe this is a series worth reading, even if you’re not in fifth grade.

The five books all contain action, emotion, struggle and some really cool characters.

It’s honestly a good read for any gender or any age. Besides, it may be nice for your brain to have a break from college-level reading.

Even though I read the series in grade school, I can still picture the Underland in my head today. While Collin’s Underworld may not have made as big of a splash as “may the odds be ever in your favor,” I promise that it is still worth your time.

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It’s a tired argument. People are riled up about the fact that the Democratic debates continue to be what some would call a hot mess. People complain there’s too much arguing and the nitpicking of every detail of various policy propositions is embarrassing and overdone.

Do you even understand what the debates are for?

First, I would like to remind people that the Republican primary was equally as “disastrous” as the Democratic primary. They too had many people, arguably non-viable candidates on the debate stage for far too long. They also had people shouting across the stage, interrupting each other and going over their allotted time for question answers and rebuttals. And in 2016, they won.

These are not new concepts and if you think this behavior is new, you haven’t paid attention.

Then you may say, “Why are Democrats focusing so much on the details of policies that most people do not even understand?” And to that, I have two responses.

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care plan proposed by some of the more progressive candidates. She said, “Let me tell you how many nickels and dimes we’re talking about: nearly $60 trillion … That is three times the American economy—not the federal government — the entire American economy.”

Regardless of policy ideology and economic solutions, these “details” are not even really details — they are fundamental to discussing the potential benefits and costs and therefore potential success and failures of huge promises made by various Democratic nominee hopefuls.

Second, I think it is safe to say that American civic education is lacking, which is a whole different conversation that needs to be had. In a Newsweek survey in 2011, 70% of Americans are not familiar with basic Constitutional principles and Supreme Court, and only 26% could name all three branches of government. While that is seriously concerning, it’s not representative of Americans’ ability or right to be a part of the conversation. Whether you have a Ph.D. in political science, a high school diploma or something in between, it does not equivocate your qualifications in having an opinion,

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and it does not mean you can or cannot be apart of the conversation.

I have more hope in the American people than most people I encounter and that is because, as individuals, people are very smart, have instincts that cannot be scientifically or factually understood and still have merit. If a candidate can explain their policies and the methods and measures in relatively plain English, that is what is important. If they can follow through and show their work, that is what is important.

But what we should not do is dumb the conversation down and decide for the electorate what they can and cannot handle intellectually.

I want a president who has answers. I want one who cares for people of all shapes, sizes, colors, preferences and wealth.

I want someone who can articulate the complexities of American government and policies and they themselves understand the nuance of running not only a large, diverse, democratic country, but also the free world.

And the only way we can find that person is on the debate stage, through real conversation in real time, which will inevitably be accompanied by real human emotion.

Let’s not shy away from that.

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THE STANDARD

life

TUESDAY, MARCH112, 3, 2020 THE-STANDARD.ORG TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2019 | THE-STANDARD.ORG

Share your story: Dear World campaign travels to MSU

KENDRA KERNEL/THE STANDARD

Jasper Risenhoover participates in the Dear World event by getting his photo taken with the phrase "You are loved" written on his arms. Dear World is an international organization that attempts to create meaningful connections through peoples' stories.

LAUREN JOHNS Staff Reporter @lje2017

Do pictures say more than words? The Dear World Campaign has built up quite the collection of stories, 125,000 to be exact, from refugees to celebrities and everyone in between. Annually the campaign travels to 50 different campuses to spread their cause and emphasize the importance of a judgment-free community, according to their website. Using black ink on their skin, words or phrases are utilized to signify a person's true identity.

“This campaign first started in New Orleans, and they were just taking pictures of this party or some kind of event,” said Abdillahi Dirie, student body president. “Someone came up and wrote ‘Cancer Free’ on themselves and wanted a picture taken. They agreed and realized people can share stories via photo, it doesn’t have to be just talking verbally.”

Dear World came to MSU on Feb. 26 in the Plaster Student Union. The night prior to the event was a private shoot, gathering at least 100 faculty, staff and student leaders. Those in attendance learned more about the campaign and promptly received their portraits to promote the free event on social media.

“It’s called the VIP photoshoot,” Dirie said. “It helps encourage others when they see what the event looks like.”

According to Dirie, he was attending a Student Body President Conference when he first discovered the campaign. The University of Iowa was talking about the Dear World campaign being held on their campus and its substantive impact.

“This is pretty cool because one of the things we want to accomplish is to bring students together and help them feel more welcome at Missouri State,” Dirie said.

After contacting Dear World, Dirie was informed of the initial processes, and he started a committee to publicize the event.

“I’m in the Student Government Association with the student body president,” said Cameron Jordan, one of the committee members. “He brought the event here and asked Avionne and I to cochair it, so I guess we were just in the right place at the right time.”

Jordan and his co-chair, Avionne Jones, reserved the space in the PSU, worked to increase publicity and made sure the photographers were well-equipped.

“I had high expectations from the start,” Jordan said.

“We set our goal at around 200 people and 100 at the VIP event. For us to have close to 130 people in the first couple of hours has exploded that.”

Throughout the event, students allowed themselves to become more vulnerable through telling their stories,

“One of the things we want to accomplish is to bring students together and help them feel more welcome at Missouri State.”

- Abdillahi Dirie, student body president shedding their insecurities or fighting for a worthy cause.

“We’ve gotten so many inspiring stories from people sharing that their parents are back in Mexico or South America and they are still here and they’re fighting for them to come back to America,” Dirie said. “We’ve gotten people using the picture to come out to their family.

I’ve been going through the hashtag ‘Dear Missouri State’ on social media and I did shed a couple tears.”

Dirie took a photo to honor his hardworking mother and all the sacrifices she made to help him reach the level of success he has today.

“I made a heart shape with my hands and had the

words, ‘thank you’ and then ‘hooyo’ which is Somali for ‘mom,’” Dirie said. “She left her family to move to a country where she didn’t speak the language and was a minority to ensure that I would have the best education.”

Dirie and Jordan believe everyone has a story worth sharing, regardless of preconceived doubt.

“You can look at other people posting things and connect with them a bit more, it humbles people, humanizes them,” Jordan said. “If you see a lot of student leaders you look up to, posting about struggles they’ve gone through, it can be very beneficial to prove that you are not alone. Everyone has a story worth sharing they just don’t know it yet.”

In regards to the future of the campaign at MSU, Jordan acknowledges that the event was costly but was a priority.

“We are gonna evaluate how the event went and see, but it really depends on whoever gets elected next year,” Jordan said. “They might decide to connect students in a different way and that’s ok too.”

As for now, the potential for a follow-up event is in the works.

“In the next couple of weeks, students who did this today might be able to go on stage and actually talk about their stories instead of just doing pictures,” Jordan said. “We want to move this forward. It starts today, but doesn’t necessarily end today.”

Branson Con celebrates second year next weekend GRETA CROSS Digital Editor @gretacrossphoto Cosplayers, comic book collectors and everyone in between are invited to take a break from reality next weekend to enjoy the second annual Branson Con. The con, hosted at the Welk Resort, is from March 6-8.

Andrea Smith, Branson Con’s organizer, was previously a staff member of Visioncon, which will celebrate its 30th anniversary this May. Visioncon was originally hosted in Branson but recently moved to Springfield.

Smith said a handful of Visioncon’s staff remained in Branson and wanted to fill the gap left in its absence, which lead to the start of Branson Con. This year’s special guests include Kevin Sorbo, who played Hercules in five movies and six seasons of “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys,” video game voice actor David Eddings, Jennifer Cihi, the singing voice of Sailor Moon in “Sailor Moon R the Movie: Promise of the Rose,” four of the original Power Rangers, social media personalities with Nerd Informants Tim Church and Josh Grisham and illustrators Josh Farley and Jim Mehsling, according to a Branson Con press release.

From convention to convention, special guests and events vary. Smith said she believes Branson Con offers new, different opportunities for a wide range of people.

On Saturday at 5 p.m. the SlapFIGHT IV Championship will be held at the Welk Resort Theatre. Smith said no other con has hosted SlapFIGHT, which makes the event unique to Branson Con. According to the press release, Light Heavyweight Champion Kody Fout will defend his championship against fan favorite Ron “The Wolverine” Bata during the competition.

“It is exactly what you think it is,” Smith said with a laugh. “There are professional MMA fighters and they take turns slapping each other as hard as they can.”

Another event special to Branson Con is Nerd Church.

Andy Field, voice actor for the character Butters in the video game “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” will host a church service Sunday at 10 a.m.

Fans will have the opportunity to get photos and autographs with Field after the service for an additional cost, according to the Branson Con website.

Throughout the weekend, guests can enjoy Foam Master

Cosplayer Bruce Holt’s Forged in Foam workshops.

According to the press release, “attendees will have the chance to craft a pair of Hercules Bracers, a tiara or a shield.” Each three-day workshop costs $55.

Cosplay, the practice of dressing up as a character from a movie, television show, book, video game or any other type of media, is extremely popular at comic conventions.

Guests may participate in or observe the Branson Con Cosplay Competition on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Welk Resort Theatre. Smith said the competition will be broken up into four categories: kids, novice, master and an exhibition category.

Smith said the exhibition category is unique to Branson Con. Guests dressed in premade costumes, rather than original, handcrafted costumes, are able to compete in this category.

The competition will offer more than $5,000 in cash prize money, which is significantly more than what other comic con’s typically offer, Smith said.

“We try to focus very heavily on the costuming part of our convention because, let’s be honest, that is the one part where everyone can participate in,” Smith said.

For the second year in a row, Branson Con will be teaming up with The Boys and Girls Club of the Ozarks as a charity partner, the press release said. Guests can purchase raffle tickets at the con with all proceeds going to the organization. Raffle winners will be announced following the Cosplay Competition on Saturday evening.

Smith said she believes comic cons are special because they bring people of many different social groups together.

“I am really proud of conventions as a whole,” Smith said. “We are some of the best groups of people — kindest, most inclusive people — that you’ll ever meet. I think there are a lot of closeted nerds out there, and I do not take the term ‘nerd’ to be a derogatory term. I’m a nerd and proud.”

Advanced sale on Branson Con tickets has passed, but tickets will still be available for purchase at the door. Youth weekend passes for children 12-15 are $45 and adult weekend passes are $70.

Students who present a student ID at the door can still purchase a weekend pass at the advanced sale cost of $39.

Friday and Saturday, the con will be open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday, doors will open at 9 a.m. and close at 2 p.m.

Students, instructors of African American Studies classes recommend all students take courses within the discipline DIANA DUDENHOEFFER Staff Reporter @kisstein Scrolling through Missouri State University’s course catalog, students have likely seen African American Studies in the class offerings. It’s at the top of the alphabetical list, after all.

But if you’re not African American, the class wouldn’t be interesting to you, right?

Sophomore psychology major Amber Dixon says otherwise.

She said the class is for everyone.

“I think it’s beneficial for everyone to learn about African American history,” Dixon said. “All through primary and secondary school, you don’t learn about it as much.”

Dixon enrolled in Introduction to African American Studies in fall 2018.

She said the class covers much of black history in America, from slavery to current events.

“I think it would be good for anyone to take it because you don’t really get to focus on African Americans in other history classes,” Dixon said.

Jacynda Ammons serves on the Diversity Council for the College of Humanities and Public Affairs, the goal of which, according to Ammons, is to promote retention among students from historically underrepresented groups. Ammons has been teaching AAS 100 at MSU since fall 2017, and she

says it’s no accident the class focuses so much on history.

“If you do not have the historic background to racial discrimination and how African Americans historically resisted systems of discrimination, then you cannot understand modern problems revolving around race and what forms of resistance have historically worked,” Ammons said.

For Dixon’s class in particular, most of the students enrolled were black. She said there were only a few white students and students of other races. Because of this, Dixon thinks it really means something for someone of a different race to enroll in the class.

“It just shows that they are eager to learn about our history,” Dixon said.

When a majority of the students in a class are the same race, she said, it can lead to an overall consensus reigning over class discussions.

“If someone had a different opinion, they might have been hesitant to talk about it or everybody would be quick to deny their opinion,” Dixon said.

It’s not always a bad thing for a class to have a majority race, though, Dixon said, because of a mutual understanding you have with your classmates.

She said she’s glad her class had majority black people because she got to be surrounded by people who are just like her.

“You can connect a bit

more,” Dixon said. “I’d hate to be in an African American Studies class and be the only black person.”

At the same time, she said it’s good to have students of different races in AAS classes because it can foster a diverse environment with lots of different opinions. ­ Senior psychology major Marye’ah Young took the class in fall 2018 as well. A lot of her experiences mirror Dixon’s; both students think everyone should take the class.

Ammons echoed both students’ thoughts. She said her sections of AAS 100 include students from many disciplines.

“There is no one way to describe students who take AAS 100,” Ammons said. “It is made up of a variety of students from a variety of backgrounds and majors.”

However, Young’s class did not have the same demographics as Dixon’s. Young estimated her class to have about 30% black students, 65% white students and 5% students of other races.

Young said she could feel the class discussion leaning a certain way, despite the class’s demographics.

When the class covered certain topics, Young explained, the discussion was centered mostly on the black students. Sometimes it felt like it wasn’t a full class discussion, she said; it was mostly the black students talking.

Graphic by MADISON HARPER/THE STANDARD

She thinks her class would benefit if more people spoke their minds.

“It’s more so (about) getting people out of their comfort zone, to feel comfortable to have such dialogue with everybody,” Young said. “It’s a safe space. We’re all supposed to feel like we can voice our opinions about various topics and not feel judged.”

Young thinks it’s important to analyze the racial breakdown of a class like AAS 100 because as a whole, students need to be more educated about different cultures and racial backgrounds.

On the other hand, Ammons thinks looking at the racial

breakdown of a class is not always a good thing.

“I do not go into the class counting students based on race,” Ammons said. “Quite frankly, knowing the ways in which African Americans and individuals from other underrepresented groups have been categorized or labeled with the ultimate purpose of creating some type of system to discriminate against them, it makes me uncomfortable to think anyone is going into a classroom trying to count their students by race or ethnicity.

“It would also be presumptuous of me to assume how any student wants to identify racially, nor should they be

required to do so in any class,” Ammons said.

In understanding all facets of an issue like university racial demographics, Ammons said it is sometimes appropriate to scrutinize racial breakdown of a given class. She pointed out any racial analysis will be affected by the fact that Missouri State is a predominantly white university.

“If any class lacks diversity… we should care about why,” Ammons said. “If it is because a student feels they are going to be discriminated against in some way, then that would need to be addressed. u See STUDIES, page 8

TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2020

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Sequel to ‘Witness at Tornillo’ in the works TAYLOR SCHWARTZ Staff Reporter @tay_schwartz Across the U.S. and Mexico border, asylum seekers live in temporary camps waiting to get into the United States.

Many of these refugees are living in poor conditions, waiting for a better life in the U.S. In June of 2018, Andrew Cline, a journalism professor at Missouri State, visited Brownsville, Texas with his friend, Shane Franklin, to take part in protests about the tent camps at the border. He never thought a documentary would come out of the experience.

During the trip, Cline and Franklin met Josh Rubin, the documentary’s subject, through a mutual friend. They got a chance to see the Tornillo tent camp shortly after it was built.

Rubin mentioned he was going to feel guilty going home to New York after seeing

all the struggle at the border.

He ended up going back to protest alone.

For weeks, Rubin stood at the border, holding signs and posting what he saw on Facebook. Eventually, people started showing up to protest with him, starting the Witness at the Border organization.

Cline and Franklin had the idea to document Rubin’s protest and began to produce a film through Carbon Trace Productions, a non-profit production company founded by Cline.

The documentary is called “Witness at Tornillo,” with Franklin as director and Cline as executive producer.

“Witness at Tornillo” has shown about 30 times so far in cities such as Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and New York City.

They debuted in New York with two sold out screenings.

“This is the first of the eight films (Carbon Trace Productions) completed so far that

Photography professor’s dedication to the arts translates through her work GRETA CROSS Digital Editor @gretacrossphoto A radiating passion for capturing stories through a lens began years ago in a science classroom’s closet. At the time, the idea of a future in photography was foreign.

She can be found working in her office surrounded by books of the great photographers Lee Friedlander and Mark Cohen or in the solitude of the concrete darkroom, creating her own bodies of art or guiding students who have their own deeply-rooted fascinations.

Gwen Walstrand is a familiar face at Brick City, home to Missouri State’s Art and De-

sign Department, as one of the two upper-level photography professors. But her story weaves deeper than what most of her students know.

Walstrand first became interested in visual storytelling as her high school’s yearbook staff photographer, where she was exposed to the inner workings of a darkroom for the first time. Her school’s science teacher had a darkroom in his classroom’s closet, where he taught students how to develop film and enlarge prints.

“I was like, ‘Wow, this is magic,” she said. “‘I don’t know what this is about and I know I’m doing a terrible job at it,’ … But, it was exciting and I knew there was a lot to

Esports aspire to develop their presence on campus through recruitment, scholarships ASH GARZA Staff Reporter @Ash_Hufflesnuff

KATE BROWN/THE STANDARD

Andrew Cline is an MJF professor at Missouri State and the producer of “Witness at Tornillo.” (has been) distributed beyond Missouri and beyond standard film festivals,” said Cline.

After the positive feedback from “Witness at Tornillo,” Carbon Trace is creating a sequel called “Witness at the Border.”

Cline says the sequel is “going to be primarily a story about the refugees in the camp in Matamoros, which is the largest of the tent camps along the border.”

“Witness at Tornillo” told Rubin’s story, and “Witness at the Border” will tell the stories of

the refugees in Matamoros.

“Witness at the Border” is a natural progression of Rubin’s story and the effects the Witness at the Border movement has made on the immigration issue.

“It’s about the asylum seekers that are waiting in a makeshift refugee camp on the other side of the port of entry in Brownsville in terrible conditions, and they’re being preyed

learn. I didn’t think, ‘Oh, I’m going to do this with photography.’ I had no clue, which is good because I was much more open to what the possibilities could be.”

After receiving her undergraduate degree in photography at Missouri State — Southwest Missouri State at the time — Walstrand worked various jobs around Springfield, including a part-time photographer position at the Springfield News-Leader.

However, after a year of work, she became bored.

“As an undergrad, it’s great because you get this breadth of education,” Walstrand said.

“You get to study lots of things and piece together all these different connections. That’s pretty cool, but I still hungered for more time to spend intensely on my photography.”

She continued her higher education at the University of Iowa and discovered a hidden appreciation for teaching through her work as a teacher’s assistant.

“By week two, teaching my first class, I thought, ‘I think this

is for me. I think I could get good at this,’” Walstrand said.

She began teaching parttime at Drury University when she was asked to instruct an alternative photography processes course for the first time.

Alternative photographic processes are considered historic, as they were used during the beginning days of photography and are rarely used in today’s commercial photo industry.

The processes require chemicals that create different, unique results than typical black and white film developing and enlarging. Prints produced with these processes have their own distinct pigments, such as van dyke brown and cyan, which are often in the process names.

“I didn’t have a lot of expertise with it,” she said. “I started learning the processes in order to teach them. I’ve had to buy the kit version, read the books, figure out how to do it, troubleshoot and I did that with all of these different processes.

u See WITNESS, page 8

u Read more at the-standard.org.

As construction has begun on the new esports arena in the Plaster Student Union, the Missouri State University Esports Club is gearing up for a strong season of competition.

Led by President Roman “DudTheBomb” Thomas and Faculty Advisor Glen “SpartanLeonidus” Thompson, the esports club hopes to draw in new recruits and more scholarships for their players this season.

Roman Thomas, junior geology major, took over the position of president last fall, after the former president left for family reasons.

“At the end of last spring our president, she was going back home for the semester…

I just kind of almost fit myself into the role because no one else would.”

A goal of Roman’s for the current season is to start organizing formal meetings for the organization, which had previously conducted all business over the messaging app Discord. Roman believes the completion of the new esports room will help make this goal possible.

“We’re generally mostly introverts, you know… but having a room where we all feel at home I think will be more enticing for individuals to come to meetings.”

Another goal of Roman’s is to draw in new recruits for the organization’s many teams. The organization currently has thirty-seven members total across eight competitive teams playing 6 games: League of Legends, Overwatch, SMITE, Rainbow Six: Siege and Rocket League.

Each team is supervised by the team’s game’s coordinator.

The coordinator takes responsibility for finding and entering their teams into matches.

Super Smash Brothers coordinator Tanner “Kyrie” Thomas hopes he can help put a spotlight on the team by hosting Super Smash Brothers

Ultimate tournaments on campus, a series he calls “Respect the Bair.”

“There used to be only one tournament a week with about 20 or so people,” Tanner explains. “Now with Respect the Bair and the tournaments held

by Contender, we’re seeing large growth.”

Tanner believes that an increase in membership can lead to an increase in scholarships for their players.

“A lot of us believe that if we attract additional students to the university through esports, we could potentially see scholarships rise.”

Esports is a $906 million industry, with over $15 million in scholarships being offered at around 200 colleges here in the U.S. On top of scholarships, collegiate esports teams can earn money in tournaments, arguably the biggest of which being Collegiate Star League (CSL) tournaments.

A goal of Tanner is for one of their teams to win a CSL tournament, of which the 2019-2020 season prize pool is over $400 thousand. T. Thomas has bigger ambitions, hoping to one day host a CSL tournament at MSU. “I want one of our teams to win a CSL tournament, or some other event to show how good we are at supporting our players as a university.”

Roman and Tanner can’t do it all by themselves, though. Progress is made with the efforts of the various teams’ members, coaches, and coordinators. In some cases, these three roles may be performed by the same person.

Rohit “RoBoneHead” Utkarsh is the organization’s SMITE coordinator, serving as a member and the sole coach of the club’s SMITE team. Utkarsh is also the social media manager for esports.

Utkarsh, who joined in the summer of 2017, has run social media for about a year.

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THE STANDARD sports Student attendance at Lady Bears games remains minimal despite team success 6

TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2020 | THE-STANDARD.ORG

DEREK SHORE Senior Sports Reporter @D_Shore23 Many times this season head coach Amaka “Mox” Agugua-Hamilton has referred to the home faithful at JQH Arena as the Missouri State Lady Bears “sixth-man.”

And it could be argued the No. 17 nationally-ranked Lady Bears are one of the toughest teams to beat at home in the country. Missouri State has a perfect 13-0 record at JQH this season, and their home-dominance is a big reason why they have dreams of hosting the NCAA Tournament in March.

Home attendance numbers are up drastically from recent seasons. The team is on pace to finish the season with 42,179 fans this season — the highest mark since 2015-16 when home attendance was at 47,594.

“With the history of this place and back in Hammons Student Center days, this community loves basketball and they love the Lady Bears,” Mox said. “To see them get behind the team and the buzz around town — it’s been awesome to be apart of that.

“It means a lot to our players and it’s really helped us get over the hump in some games. Maybe the energy is low and the crowd gets into it. We’ve even had a bus load of people come on the road with us (this season) and it has sparked us.”

While the community is behind the women’s basketball program, why haven’t the students bought in to the Lady Bears?

The Lady Bears have proven to be far and away the best team on campus and yet game after game hardly any students are in attendance.

Chad Cox, a graduate student at Missouri State and a first-time season-ticket holder, said he believes there’s a stigma around women’s sports that makes attendance by someone of his age a “joke.”

“I don’t understand that logic at all,” Cox said.

Senior Adam Boonshaft is the president of Maroon Madness, which is the only official spirit organization of Missouri State athletics. He attributed the lack of student attendance to students not knowing about the Lady Bears and not knowing which games are free.

Boonshaft assists with ticket tabling for Missouri State basketball, and he said students are often surprised to find games are free.

“The university might want to advertise that more,” Boonshaft said. “There was also a lot of hype

File photo by GRETA CROSS/ THE STANDARD

Junior Brice Calip shoots the ball in front of a mostly empty student section on Feb. 21. Though the Lady Bears had 3,495 fans in attendance against Evansville, few students — except for the band and spirit squads — attend Lady Bears games regularly.

surrounding the men’s team and the university focused more on that, and when their season didn’t go as planned, a lot of students didn’t care about any basketball at Missouri State.

“I also understand that some students don’t enjoy watching basketball and it’s a tough sell to convince them

to spend two plus hours at the arena.”

Cox said lowered student attendance started with former head coach Nyla Milleson, who was at the helm from 2007-2013 — even though the team has produced a very entertaining product.

In Milleson’s first season, the home attendance was at 72,218 and

dropped significantly to 36,479 by the time she was fired in March 2013.

“My family has been season-ticket holders since before I was born in 1994,” Cox said. “I can remember attending games with large student attendance back in Hammons Student Center. I specifically remember a

student-led group under the nickname “Abe’s Army” for one of our former head coaches Katie Abrahamson-Henderson and haven’t seen anything replicated like that since.

“It’s honestly kind of frustrating to see an empty student section every single game.”

Senior environmental plant science major Will Edmondson said he doesn’t understand why students haven’t bought in and shown up to the Lady Bears games.

“They push harder than any team I’ve ever seen,” Edmondson said.

“Something I love about them is that they’re definitely a family and all-in together. They love each other. They love the fans and you can see that at every game.

“I wish students would see what they’re doing and buy-in. The Lady Bears are my favorite team to watch on-campus.”

Another reason students haven’t perhaps bought in to the Lady Bears is due to a lack of social media push.

With the rebranding of the student section to “The Cave,” Cox said it puts things through a loop.

The main Missouri State student section Twitter accounts are @MOStateCave and @MaroonMadness.

The Cave only has 716 followers on Twitter.

Cox said both accounts aren’t reaching too many students and it shows.

“They have to invest in the students again with giveaways and rewards, otherwise they are staying home,” Cox said.

Cox said Maroon Madness has “fallen off” to where it retweets and tweets negative thoughts about Missouri State commercial choices.

“That’s not the kind of image you want to show to your student body,” Cox said.

Boonshaft said he and his members need to use social media more often and more strategically.

uRead more at the-standard.org.

Beach Bears Women’s swim program continues successful reign 3-5 after two weeks TJ SCOTT Sports Reporter @iamtjs_

TJ SCOTT Sports Reporter @iamtjs_ After sweeping Florida Memorial University in their opening matchup on Friday, Feb. 28, the Missouri State beach volleyball Bears dropped three consecutive contests, finishing the Florida International University Beach Bash 1-3.

MSU won all five matches against FMU in straight sets. Redshirt junior Kelsey Larsen and redshirt freshman Alaina Tinsley lead the squad, collecting their school-record fifth win in the No. 1 spot.

The freshman duo of Parker McAllen and Siena Brewster improves to 4-1 on the season with a win in the No. 5 spot to finish the sweep for the Bears.

Their afternoon match against Tampa was the polar opposite.

MSU was swept 5-0. MSU put up a fight, though, going the distance in four of their five matches.

MSU’s Day 2 opponents were New Orleans and No. 14 Florida International. They lost to both and finished the weekend with a 3-5 overall record.

The Bears held a 2-0 lead over New Orleans thanks to wins by the pairing of Brewster and McAllen in the No. 5 spot and sophomore Kylee Davis and grad student Pamela Jaime in the No. 4 spot. MSU gave up the lead, losing its last three matches in straight sets.

Davis and Jaime were an effective pairing, picking up their second win of the weekend against FIU. They were MSU’s lone victor in that match.

The Bears will take their talents to Fort Worth, Texas, on March 6-7 for the TCU Tournament.

By definition, a dynasty is a line of hereditary rulers of a country. And although they are not hereditary rulers of a country, the Missouri State women’s swimming and diving team rule the Missouri Valley Conference.

Since joining the MVC in 1998, MSU has amassed 16 conference titles. The team’s current winning streak spans four years, from 2016 to February, 2020. Their longest streak of holding the MVC crown lasted eight years, 2007-2015.

Since MSU joined the MVC, the only other team to record a conference championship is Southern Illinois. And MSU more than triples the Salukis’ championship total in that timeframe.

Sixteen titles in 21 years. By those standards alone the MSU swim and dive team have created a dynasty.

“Obviously the success has been there,” MSU head coach Dave Collins said. “It’s something we take a lot of pride in.”

The program’s history is very recent, as the program was founded in 1998 by then-head coach and MSU hall-of-famer Jack Steck.

Steck served as the Bears’ head coach from 1983-2011 before Collins took over the position in 2012. While in the MVC, Steck guided the women’s team to eight of its 16 conference titles.

Collins served as an assistant under Steck from 2007-2011 before taking the reins in 2012. “(The dynasty) started before I got here,” Collins said. “What I was able to do as an assistant coach was learn a lot, and my goal as an assistant was to support the head coach.”

In his time as an assistant, Collins helped the dynasty hit its peak. From 2007-2011 MSU won four straight MVC titles, and Collins coached 26 individual champions.

The team was accustomed to winning when Collins took over, but he

File photos by AMANDA SULLIVAN/ THE STANDARD

(Above) Head coach Dave Collins, center, cheers during the 2019 conference championships.

(Left) Josie Pearson hugs her teammate after placing in the 2019 Missouri Valley Conference Championships.

The swim and dive team has 16 conference titles in 21 years. believes he and his staff elevated the level of success.

“The winning was a little more sporadic,” Collins said. “So our goal was to come in and try to take it to the next level and sustain it.”

And they have done just that.

Throughout the interview, Collins echoed two keywords: tradition and pride.

“We talk about our winning tradition quite a bit,” Collins said. “We make sure our team is aware of it, and

they are because they’re training in a pool with banners that have all the championship years on them.”

While Collins uses the rich history of the program to motivate his athletes, he also believes in ripping off the rearview mirror and focusing on the road ahead.

“I think there’s a balance,” Collins said. “When we talk about next year’s meet and goals for next year, we can’t look back at this previous year’s championship.”

Along with not dwelling on the past, Collins said he doesn’t want his coaches or athletes to get too happy with the championships.

“I think it’s really easy when you win championships to get comfortable and say, ‘We can just cruise and keep doing what we’re doing,’” Collins said. “I think that’s really important, and if you get comfortable, you can take a big step back.”

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TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2020

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Baseball loses road series 2-1, returns home this weekend DEREK SHORE Senior Sports Reporter @D_Shore23

Thirty-four games later, the Missouri State Ice Bears’ season is over.

It was not the season the Ice Bears had hoped for back in September, finishing with a final record of 14-17 and missing the American Collegiate Hockey Association’s national tournament.

The team had an interesting start to their season. The ice plant at Jordan Valley Ice Park, where the team practices and plays, broke after three practices. The Ice Bears had less than ten practices by the time they played their first game against Illinois State.

A combination of injuries early in the season and a losing streak in January knocked the team that was considered to be a threat to win the ACHA national championship out of contention.

It was not the top-ranked teams giving the Ice Bears problems — it was lower-ranked teams. They beat then-No. 2 Iowa State in the early part of the year and No. 10 Central Oklahoma in November. On the other hand — No. 49 Colorado won one game all season — and it was against Missouri State.

Head coach Jeremy Law said he needs to be better at getting his team to have a winning mentality every weekend.

“I need to figure out how to get

KAITLYN STRATMAN/THE STANDARD

Junior forward Nikita Salnikov skates past the defense on Friday. the group consistent,” Law said. “Because when we play our best, we’re a really good team. That’s my biggest task right now — finding what motivates these guys each and every game.

We underachieved this year, and part of that is on me.”

Final games

The Ice Bears played their last two games of the season this weekend against No. 3 Lindenwood. The Ice

Bears lost 5-1 on Friday night. Senior defenseman Chris Brown scored in the first period to tie the game at 1-1, but Lindenwood scored four straight to take the night 5-1.

Saturday night, which was senior night for the Ice Bears, things got interesting in the third period.

After one period, it was tied 2-2.

The Ice Bears took a 3-2 lead early in the second, but Lindenwood scored four goals in just over four minutes to secure a 6-3 lead.

Lindenwood’s lead eventually lengthened to 10-4. On the 10th goal, a Lindenwood player made a point of celebrating right in front of the Ice Bears bench.

The celebration led to the first fight of the Ice Bears season a few minutes after. Senior forward Hunter Saunders was the main fighter for MSU — he managed to land several punches on a Lindenwood skater while a referee tried to pull him away.

Fighting is banned in the ACHA and is punishable with a suspension.

It was Saunders’ last game, so he was only assessed a 10-minute misconduct penalty.

“There was a lot of emotion in that game, and when they guy celebrated in front of our bench — it was a huge sign of disrespect — especially in that big of a blowout,” Law said. “Personally, I thought (the Ice Bears) showed a lot of heart

taking care of it.”

Lindenwood won 11-4.

Family

The Ice Bears honored thirteen seniors on Saturday night. They were a part of the first two trips the team made to the ACHA national tournament and almost stunned No. 3 Adrian in the 2019 tournament.

Captain Chris Brown called them a family.

“To sum it up in one word, we’re a family,” Brown said. “I’ve said this before, but it’s hard to get us apart. It shows on the ice. I know we had a tough year — bounces didn’t go our way — but that kept us in a lot of games.”

Law said he was grateful for the effort the senior group put in for him.

“They’ve been the core group of guys since I got hired here,” Law said.

“They’ve worked so hard for me, it’s going to be sad to see them go.”

Roster questions

The large number of seniors leads to questions about roster spots next season.

Defensemen Chris Brown, Sam Hiserodt, Brian Shumacher, Chadd Lounder and Bryan Fuhler will most likely be leaving Missouri State.

Those five made up the core of the Ice Bears defense for most of the year. uRead more at the-standard.org.

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Club hockey team loses to Lindenwood in season finale, reflects on rollercoaster season

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Ice Bears end season at home

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KAITLYN STRATMAN/THE STANDARD

Senior Brian Schumacher skates to the puck during the Ice Bears’ Friday night game against No. 2 Lindenwood. Missouri State dropped both weekend games to Lindenwood, losing 5-1 on Friday and 11-4 on Saturday.

E

The Missouri State baseball team ended its brief three game road trip at Rice on Sunday, dropping the series two games to one.

The baseball Bears scored nine runs as part of their best offensive showing of the 2020 season in Game 2, but were outscored by the Owls 17-5 in the other two contests.

Winless over their first seven games of the season, Rice erased a four-run Bears rally by putting their first seven batters of the game on the board against Missouri State ace Logan Wiley. Trei Cruz belted a two-run homer and Rodrigo Duluc added a three-run triple to highlight an inning that saw Rice send 11 batters to the plate.

The Owls, which had scored just eight combined runs in its last four games, scored 12 unanswered runs to power past the Bears in the series opener.

In Game 2, Missouri State used a pair of big innings to build a seven-run lead on their way to a 9-3 victory over Rice. Freshman Drake Baldwin tripled home two runs in a three-run third inning, then plated two more baserunners as part of the Bears’ four-run outburst in the seventh that stretched their lead to 7-0.

Baldwin finished with a career-high four RBIs. The Bears also received a boost from senior Ben Whetstone, who went 3-for-4 with three RBIs after delivering run-producing hits in back-to-back innings to help put the game away.

On the mound, freshman starter Hayden Minton and sophomore reliever Forrest Barnes combined to keep Rice off the board for the first six innings. Barnes gave up three earned runs on four hits in 3.2 innings, but sophomore Trey Ziegenbein finished off the victory with a scoreless ninth.

In Game 3, Missouri State struck first with a run in the opening inning, but Rice held the Bears’ offense at bay for the rest of the game. The Owls took the series with a 5-1 win as Missouri State’s offense sputtered, finishing the day just 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

Sophomore lefthander Peyton Carson picked up the loss, his third of the season. Carson allowed four earned runs on seven hits over 4.1 innings of work. Baldwin led the Bears at the plate, going 2-for-2 with the team’s only RBI. Despite losing the series, Missouri State is still off to a better start than last season. The Bears are sitting 5-6, compared to their 3-8 start in 2019. The Bears play No. 23 Oklahoma State on Tuesday at 4 p.m.

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THE STANDARD

TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2020

BOWLING

CENSUS

Continued from page 1

Continued from page 2

are often “misunderstanding and simply being uninformed.”

Leonard said the census helps infrastructure, health and safety, and public transportation all across the country.

“City planners and real estate developers use the census to improve transportation and infrastructure, including affordable housing,” Leonard said. “Local government officials use the census to ensure public safety, provide health care and improve schools and hospital facilities.”

The team believes the census is important for college students to fill out since it will give them a presence and independence from their parents or guardians, as well as give college campuses and the federal government insight on what finances should be put towards students.

“It is especially important for college students, who live on and off campus, as they are known to be an undercounted population due to the misconception that they should be counted where their parents or guardians reside,” Leonard said. “College students benefit

board game cafe feels redundant, as all of the residence halls have their own selection of board games and the majority of students who utilize the game center are on-campus residents.

He also said he believes the bowling alley wasn’t advertised properly. “(The bowling alley) is very far on the list of amenities when you’re looking GRETA CROSS/THE STANDARD

Junior Christopher Leonard holds his team’s campaign poster, which reads their slogan, “Be the DOT. Be the difference.” from federal student loans, legislation, campus funding, campus improvements, and health and social services. The census data helps determine federal funding for the Pell Grant Program, helps provide student health care services, and more agriculture, science and engineering education.”

The amount of funding this year is over $600 billion, according to Courtney Pinkham.

Pinkham is the 2020 Census Complete Count coordinator for Southwest Missouri, which is partnered with the Center for Resource Planning and

Management at MSU. “$675 billion in federal funding will be allocated by the census,” Pinkham said.

“This is the funding for Federal Pell Grants, Adult Education Grants and so much more funding for programs that we all depend on. The data collected from the 2020 census will also be used to redraw congressional and state legislative districts.”

Pinkham confirmed the census affects infrastructure as well as major political funding.

“Everything from federal funding, highways and streets,

to where a business will expand to is based off of this data,” Pinkham said. “Missouri, from the results of the 2010 census, lost one U.S. House District and left an estimated $8 billion on the table of federal funding.”

Specifically, this loss of a House District cost Missouri a seat in the House of Representatives, due to a low census number. This census might affect that decade-old ruling.

The census begins on March 12 and all who take part must fill out where they will live by April 1.

GRETA CROSS/THE STANDARD

Level 1 Game Center employee Ethan Clemmer places Bowl Voyage! stickers on used bowling pins during SAC’s Bowl Voyage event on Friday night.

MSU hosts career expo STUDIES

American history and other underrepresented group histories have been undervalued at all levels of education.

“The contributions of African Americans in all aspects of history, culture, religion, politics and anything else you can think about have not been represented in curriculum at any level, or what is presented is uneven,” Ammons said.

“African American history is only talked about in February and then it is not inclusive.

“I could go on and on about the things people are under-educated about, and that fact

alone shows why African American history is a significant part of United States and world history. We see not only a lack of information, but a complete misrepresentation of African American history and culture every day. This will not stop until African American history is valued more and a required part of educational curriculum starting in Pre-K. The history of all groups of people should be represented as much as possible in all applicable classes,” Ammons said.

Young thinks there should

be more sections for AAS 100 because a limited number of seats can reduce the number of students who can take the class. On top of that, Young wants to see more classes similar to AAS 100 offered at MSU, such as a class on American Latino history class because it is important for her to learn more about different racial and ethnic groups.

Currently, MSU does not offer a Latin American Studies Class. Students can find similar classes on the Missouri State course catalog at https:// www.missouristate.edu/registrar/catalog/.

At the end of the day, Young wants to see a more diverse group of students taking African American Studies classes in the future.

“As a whole, everybody needs to learn about the culture,” Young said.

Ammons’ sentiments reflect those of Young.

“The idea is for everyone to learn more, and I encourage discussion of any topic,” Ammons said. “If we do not talk and learn more, all of the same assumptions, stereotypes, ignorance and equality will continue.”

and that’s the most important thing I want to do. I want to convey their stories to the audience,” said Franklin.

Cline said the border issue is a topic of international importance.

“As a former journalist and journalism professor and a person that has an interest in

documentary films, I am interested in telling important stories,” he said.

Cline, Franklin and their crew have already spent two weeks filming for “Witness at the Border.” He plans on going back to Brownsville and Matamoros over spring break to film more.

Franklin expects the sequel

to premiere sometime later this year. Bowers is hopeful it will be finished by the end of summer while Cline is predicting the release around December.

Carbon Trace is always looking for student volunteers and donations. For more information, visit carbontrace.net.

Continued from page 4

Photos by KATE BROWN/THE STANDARD

(Top) Taylor Monzyk converses with a potential employer at the Missouri State career expo.

(Bottom) Shadi Alzanbagi speaks with a potential employer at the career expo.

WITNESS Continued from page 5

upon by cartels,” Franklin said.

“The film goes right into that camp and speaks to people and gets their stories,” Franklin said.

The camp is temporarily home to between 2,000 and

online,” Todd said. “It’s not the most well-known part about our campus, but I think it (was) a really great one.”

Renovations of the bowling alley space are set for the long-term future, Galkowski said, but the game center hasn’t decided what the space will look like yet.

The board game cafe will be available for students Monday, March 24.

3,000 asylum seekers trying to come into the U.S. fleeing poor living conditions from primarily Honduras and Guatemala.

“At the end of the day,” said the film’s producer, Shannon Cay Bowers, “we’re all just people trying to do what’s best for our families … I just don’t think

That should be the case for any class.”

Ultimately, Young wants to see more classes with blended history lessons, where students can learn more than just the historical interactions between black and white people. There are plenty of other groups who have contributed to American history than just those two races, she said, just like there are way more demographics making up America. She pointed to Chinese and Mexican American history in particular.

“That knowledge is important,” Young said, “because throughout (other) history classes, we’re always learning about the same people, learning the same things. Sometimes I feel like history is whitewashed, meaning it is always about white history.”

She wants to see a more expansive education in elementary, middle and high schools.

For Young, the same thing needs to happen in universities’ gen-ed systems.

Ammons holds the same sentiment, and she said African that it’s fair or acceptable at all to keep anyone out of the country if they’re just trying to make a better life for themselves.”

Franklin says their goal is to inform people who otherwise wouldn’t hear about these issues.

“They don’t get the opportunity to hear the stories of the asylum seekers themselves,

DIANA DUDENHOEFFER/THE STANDARD

Amber Dixon sits in the Plaster Student Union talking about how she thinks African American Studies is a discipline for everyone.