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(11/06/18 10:17pm)
by Baylie Clevenger
Over the last few years, gun violence in America has become a broadly controversial topic. School shootings have been particularly controversial, as there are varying opinions about what needs to be done to keep children safe while they are in school.
Regardless of any of those opinions, one thing that be agreed upon: keeping children in school safe is of the utmost importance. School officials around the country are scrambling to find the next way to protect students and staff. There have been stories of bulletproof backpacks, safe room installations, and even a panic button app.
For Mt. Vernon High School, about an hour away from Ball State, the utilization of such technology has become a prominent part of employee training. Recently, faculty and staff have been trained on how to use the Rave Panic Button.
This app connects users, specifically teachers and other school staff members, to authorities and emergency services with just the touch of a button.
“Each teacher received training on how to use the app last year during our prep period. At the training, we had to download the app as well as run through all of the functions of the app,” said Shannon Schiller, a teacher at Mt. Vernon. “After the training, we were told to use the app if the need arises. The school brought in trainers who work for the app company in order to make sure we could ask questions and get instruction directly from the source.”
There has been an exceptional amount of discourse surrounding what the solution to school shootings is. Whether that be new gun legislation or provisions like this app, something that is agreed upon across the board is that something needs to be done to keep students in this country safer.
This app, as well as similar technologies, are being used in states across the nation. For example, Arkansas has implemented the use of this same app statewide. Use of this app has also been reported in Michigan and Florida.
There is something to be said for an app that would improve student's overall safety.
“The app allows staff members to get in touch with emergency agencies outside the school, so it basically eliminates some of the wait time that would ensue if we have to contact administrators first. It also allows us to let emergency services know what is happening in case the administration office is not able to,” said Schiller.
Many schools are mainly concerned with how to protect students and ensure that they can get an education without a lingering fear of harm of any kind.
“The Mt. Vernon Community School Corporation takes student and staff safety as our number one priority. We frequently update our crisis plan and are continually examining ways to improve safety for our students and staff. The app is one more safety tool to be used in the classroom if necessary,” said Maria Bond, the Mt. Vernon Director of Community Relations.
An app like Rave could be the future of emergency safety in schools, especially in the instance of an active shooter.
“I would not be at all surprised if this app or similar ones start being used by schools. The ideology behind it seems very sound. I think everyone is for anything that makes it easier to report and respond to emergencies,” said Schiller.
The Rave Panic Button app is just a small look into the added safety that technology could bring to schools around the country.
(11/05/18 6:31pm)
Editor’s note: Dominic Bordenaro previously wrote columns for The Ball State Daily News. Ben Baker previously wrote for The Daily News. Jordan Moorman previously wrote for The Daily News.
(10/17/18 4:00pm)
You can catch Charlie Cardinal just about anywhere on Ball State’s campus. You can most notably catch him cheering on his fellow Cardinals at athletic events. But have you ever tried to catch him on foot?
(10/11/18 9:32pm)
by Eben Griger
(10/02/18 12:00pm)
It would be a massive understatement to say that the creation of film takes an enormous amount of work. Camera operators, editors, light departments, producers, set designers and actors all must work together in perfect harmony if they want to craft a brilliant piece of art. Neglecting even one department can result in absolute disaster. Despite the necessity of various departments and specialists, the first thing that comes to mind for many when discussing film is often the various visual components that make up a film. Editing, staging, choreography, acting, and camera-work often the most discussed aspects of a film, but visuals are hardly the only important aspect of filmmaking.
(09/30/18 4:41am)
by Eben Griger
The Batcave hosted the first of many shows in its basement last Sunday, with a four-band lineup. The venue gets its name not from the DC superhero, but from the bats found in the basement. The show was put on by Lame Brain Productions, a Muncie-native company that provides venues, booking, recording, and photography for local bands.
Sunday’s show consisted of The Sick Boy Method, a “progressive post-hardcore” trio; Shoot on Sight, a “sociopolitical egalitarian punk rock” band; Pat and the Pissers, a hardcore punk band; and headlined by Indian Old School, a post-hardcore grunge band. Sick Boy Method is from Muncie, both Pat and the Pissers and Shoot on Sight are from Indianapolis, and Indian Old School is from Anderson.
The show pulled in a good sized crowd, with people spilling out of the house and on to the front yard. During their set, Indian Old School gathered the crowd in to make a speech on the state of music and how shows like this one were working to improve music, with people doing what makes them happy. Raw music was being made because people wanted to make it, not because any record label wanted them to, continued the band. The trio then finished with a new song, ending their set with an announcement that they were taking a break to record new material and get their lives in order.
The Batcave joins the ever-growing list of venues for local bands to play at in Muncie, which includes The Basement, The Sauna, and Be Here Now.
(09/27/18 6:42pm)
by Blake Chapman
A new short film being written and produced through Fringed, a feminist Ball State TCOM organization is currently in the casting phase of its schedule.
After something huge happens on campus, a student feels she just can’t stand around and let injustices happen any longer. She attempts to recruit people who are as interested and as dedicated as she is to this social issue, but no one seems to care. Will she be able to rally her community together or will she give up her fight?
This is the plot of The Bake Sale, an upcoming short film written by senior Jada Burt and co-written by graduate student Sephora Mentado. The Bake Sale follows two African-American women as they navigate the hardships of living and studying on an apolitical campus while looking to enact change in the student body.
As of right now, the main cast has already been selected with rising juniors Zaria Butler and Akile Mcduffy from the Department of Theater and Dance in both leading roles. “I’m just looking for the secondary characters right now,” mentioned Burt. Inspiring change and sending the right message is the cornerstone of this project, especially for those who see the film and don’t happen to be of color. This plays into the meaning of the film Burt explained, “I hope they encourage minorities in their class to give their opinions on the issues that are happening…[and to] be an ally to them.” Mentado goes even further saying, “This is a story that has women of color as leads but is not the main thing of the story...we hope to normalize things like that...there are other parts to these main characters and it’s very exciting to see that.”
The feminist film group was created as a way to introduce women interested in filmmaking to the industry and having only started two years ago, Burt and Mentado have gotten the chance to witness growth firsthand. “I’m excited to see how the women I knew and worked with do this thing,” said Mentado.
The film is scheduled to be released in January or sometime during the spring semester with a possible premiere at the Frog Baby Film Festival. To find out more information on Fringed you can follow them on Facebook @fringedfilms or if you are looking to join the group they hold weekly meetings on Wednesdays at 6 p.m. in Bracken Library Room 201.
(04/28/18 9:24pm)
Starting at 5 p.m. on Friday, April 20th and ending at 5 p.m. the next day, eight Ball State student competed in the annual AT&T IoT Civic Hackathon. The event had teams developing Internet of Things devices to improve certain professions. This year’s profession was first responders.
(04/28/18 9:09pm)
by Gabe Hua
Starting at 5 p.m. on Friday, April 20th and ending at 5 p.m. the next day, eight Ball State student competed in the annual AT&T IoT Civic Hackathon. The event had teams developing Internet of Things devices to improve certain professions. This year’s profession was first responders.
The Ball State group’s submission to the competition is called Seek. It is a system that tracks cards that students could carry around for use in emergency situations. This includes tracking students in the event of a school shooter or a fire. With a real-time view of every student inside or near the school building, first responders would be able to find students in danger to bring them to safety.
Unfortunately, Seek did not make it to the finals of the competition, but several officials from the event were interested and pleased with the idea that they were developing. Footage from the kick-off presentation and the finals can be found be found here.
(04/25/18 2:24pm)
The Cardinal Screenplay Festival, now in its third year, is a celebration of the Department of English’s best scripts, written by students and performed by both students and faculty. The scripts are chosen from the screenwriting courses, in this case English 410 and 615.
(04/15/18 5:24pm)
by Eben Griger
The Xenharmonic New Music Showcase 2018 features composers from all around Indiana, as well as from Denver, Colorado and Boston, Massachusetts. BSU graduate student Stephen Weigel will be performing as well, and was able to answer a few questions for us.
Xenharmonics refers to any music that does not stick to the 12-tone system that most people know. The music is mostly performed in traditionally non-European music. However, simply departing from the traditionally contemporary western tuning systems is not the only feature of modern xenharmonic music.
"It’s actually the deliberate usage of a plurality of tuning systems that is not... Electronics and technological advances have enabled people to play in any tuning system they like." said Weigel. “I find that tunings illicit different moods.”
And mood is a big focus for xenharmonic music. Traditionally, most 12-tone music is either major or minor, which tends to sound happy or sad respectively. Because xenharmonic music doesn’t follow the same system, composers create pieces that bring about different feelings from listeners.
“Why would you have only major and minor when you could have everything?” Weigel said. “That’s why I use xenharmonics."
The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, April 15 in Sursa Hall.
(04/15/18 5:24pm)
The Xenharmonic New Music Showcase 2018 features composers from all around Indiana, as well as from Denver, Colorado and Boston, Massachusetts. BSU graduate student Stephen Weigel will be performing as well, and was able to answer a few questions for us.
(04/14/18 9:00am)
Jeremy Rogers
Ball State’s Spectrum will be putting on their semi-annual free drag show open to the public on Saturday April 14 at 7:00 p.m. in the Ball Gymnasium.
The proceeds generated by audience donations will be going towards the Trans Women of Color Collective.
According to their website, “At Trans Women of Color Collective, our work centers healing and restorative justice by elevating the narratives, lived experiences, and leadership of our community members in the trenches and at the forefront of creating healing spaces, building socio-economic growth, development, and power, but most importantly, leading with love.”
Students interested in learning more about the organization do so through Benny Link or by looking up BSU Spectrum on social media.
(04/14/18 1:01pm)
Ball State’s Spectrum will be putting on their semi-annual free drag show open to the public on Saturday April 14 at 7 p.m. in the Ball Gymnasium.
(03/28/18 4:58pm)
Created by ENG 494 students at Ball State University, the InQueeries & Theories series focuses on topics pertaining to the LGBTQ+ community, including literature, movies, music, television shows, recent news, pop culture, etc.
(03/27/18 7:57pm)
by Eben Griger
We’ve all got those old electronics laying around. That old flip phone, the laptop that failed, the old CRT computer monitor. It’s that (information) age-old problem. Old electronics aren’t exactly trash, nobody tosses their old MP3 player in the garbage, but you can’t really throw it in a recycling bin either. Until now, that is.
The Ball State Technology Center, located in Bracken library, is now taking your old technology and recycling it for you, free of charge. Byte spoke to BSU Director of Unified Technology Support Laura Petty about the program.
“Ball State is always looking for ways to be environmentally responsible, and so providing a way for folks to recycle or dispose of their technology items properly was a big thing for us,” Petty said. “It just seemed like a good service for the university community.”
So let’s break down some things about this service. First, what they’ll take. All of the standard items are there, laptops: desktop computers, mobile phones and tablets. Also accepted though, are monitors, printers and network equipment like modems and wireless routers. The only thing they don’t take is TVs.
All the Technology Center asks you do is wipe the device of any personal data. If you’re not sure how to do that, the Technology Center has you covered there too. TechTime, free to all enrolled students, will walk you through how to wipe all your data. After it’s wiped, bring it to the Technology Center in Bracken, fill out a quick form, and you’re good to go.
And if you’re worried about anything you’ve forgotten to wipe, have no fear because no one gets that data anyways. Instead of being resold or repurposed, all donated technology has their hard drives and other memory devices taken out and smashed, ensuring that any personal data can’t be recovered.
“We want to make sure that we’re being good stewards of university resources, make sure were taking all appropriate security measures to protect data and by destroying those drives, wiping them and everything, then we can be assured that everything is safe.”
For any questions on the new program, contact the Technology HelpDesk at (765) 285-1817, Monday-Thursay 9 a.m.-7 p.m. and Friday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
(03/27/18 7:57pm)
We’ve all got those old electronics laying around. That old flip phone, the laptop that failed, the old CRT computer monitor. It’s that (information) age-old problem. Old electronics aren’t exactly trash, nobody tosses their old MP3 player in the garbage, but you can’t really throw it in a recycling bin either. Until now, that is.
(03/23/18 10:34pm)
Ball State is known for its telecommunication program and the amazing artists it has turned out. With greats like Jim Davis and David Letterman behind us, it’s encouraging to see Cardinals still managing to produce well received content. One such student is Connor Keaney.
(03/23/18 7:55pm)
by Matthew Yapp
Ball State is known for its telecommunication program and the amazing artists it has turned out. With greats like Jim Davis and David Letterman behind us, it’s encouraging to see Cardinals still managing to produce well received content. One such student is Connor Keaney.
Connor Keaney is a 20-year-old sophomore studying video production here at Ball State. We were given the opportunity to sit down and ask Connor some question about his experience as a film maker and the process of creating his newest documentary The Red Road. The documentary depicts the struggles of Native American youth dealing with high suicide rates, self-harm and a legacy of drug use. The Red Road is currently a semi-finalist for Los Angeles CineFest.
In the past, Connor has also written for The Television Academy. He is currently and editor for SoapBox, an art magazine here at Ball State. In the future Connor intends to continue film making and is already in the process of creating his next documentary.
(03/19/18 7:00pm)
As promised at the beginning of the school year, the Counseling Center is continuing to implement changes to best serve Ball State students.