Muncie Southside’s robotics team fosters STEM learning
After a school day ends at Muncie Southside Middle School, most students return home, but a select few enter Brian DeRome’s classroom to learn about robotics.
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After a school day ends at Muncie Southside Middle School, most students return home, but a select few enter Brian DeRome’s classroom to learn about robotics.
For the first time in almost 1,200 years, East-Central Indiana, and its surrounding cities, experienced a total solar eclipse. All over the region, visitors, locals and students took the afternoon to take in the experience.
Ball State President Geoffrey Mearns used his remarks at Ball State’s Board of Trustees meeting to address the concerns and complaints around Senate Bill (SB) 202, which was signed into law by Governor Eric Holcomb March 13. The legislation, which will become effective July 1, is intended to increase “intellectual diversity” in high education across the state.“We will comply with the letter and the spirit of SB 202,” Mearns said.There has been concern growing among Ball State students and faculty about how this would affect the quality of education and concerns about disciplinary actions for tenure who fail a mandated review of tenured faculty.In his address, Mearns said the extended commitment to diversity “is not foreign to us at Ball State,” pointing to the university’s strategic plan which points out inclusivity as one of the university’s “enduring values.” He included that the university added a standardized test-optional admissions policy in 2018, there was a $5 million Multicultural Center built in the heart of campus and Ball State has the most diverse senior leadership team in the school’s history.Mearns said with some of SB 202’s contents — such as policies regarding freedom of expression and educating students and faculty about such policies — Ball State already has such policies and there needs to be a “few modest changes” for it to comply with the new legislation.Changes to the policies and practices will be presented to the board for consideration and approval in time for the June 14 meeting, Mearns said.Mearns addressed the critics and skeptics of SB 202 and said that some of the concerns are “not well-founded because they aren't based on what is actually in SB 202.” He brought up the belief that SB 202 precludes a university from admitting an applicant or hiring someone if they provide a statement regarding diversity, equity and inclusion.
The area where Ball State University’s new Peace Plaza stands, in University Green between the architecture building and the Whitinger Business Building, was once informally referred to as “the ashtray.”“The pavement was all cracked around the landscape, and it was not maintained that well,” Lawrence “Larry” Gerstein, a psychology professor at Ball State, said. Gerstein also serves as the director of the Center of Peace and Conflict Studies. The center's mission on Ball State’s campus is to research conflict and provide outreach and support on the issue. When Gerstein and the center’s advisory board started to explore the opportunity of a peace plaza on campus, they contacted Jim Lowe, associate vice president for facilities planning and management at Ball State. “We created this for impact,” Lowe said. “It defines what we are as a campus in terms of our inclusiveness, responsibility and gratitude.”Lowe’s hope for the Peace Plaza, currently under construction, is to be a place where students and community members alike can gather and have conversations about peace and violence.
The major action of Friday’s Ball State Board of Trustees meeting was approving resolutions allowing the university to move further with their Village revitalization project. Five resolutions were brought to the board, including signing Build Operate Transfer agreements with Fairmount Properties for two sites in the Village. These agreements allow for a public institution, like Ball State, to work with a private firm that builds the project. Once the project is completed, control returns to the public entity. Randy Ruttenburg, the principal of Fairmount Properties, expressed his gratitude towards the board and members of the Ball State community.“This is at the top of the list when it comes to its transformational potential,” Ruttenburg said. “The first time we came onto Ball State’s campus [12 years ago], we recognized the potential.” Details of the approvalsThe first site, on the intersection of McKinley Avenue and University Avenue, will include the new Performing Arts Center. The center will include both a main theater and a studio theater as well, as well as a shared vestibule connecting it with the nearby Tapestry Hotel by Hilton. The total budget of $69.9 million for the site includes the construction and site improvements and infrastructure. The second Build Operate Transfer agreement was for the Center of Innovation, which will be at the corner of Martin Street and Ashland Street, across the street from the Foundational Sciences Building and the Alderdice Gates. Alan Finn, vice president of business affairs and treasurer, said he has had conversation with several groups in and outside the university about utilizing the space. These groups and organizations include the Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts, the Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute and the Emerging Media Development and Design program.
The 44th annual Unity Week came to a close on Sunday evening with the crowning of a new Miss Unity.The university’s Black Student Association (BSA) hosted the 56th annual Unity Pageant at Pruis Hall, with the theme running throughout the show of “A Night in New Orleans.”The spirit of New Orleans was shown in the opening dance number, which had jazz as the background music. Six women contested for Miss Unity, who presented their talents, community dedication and experience in front of a vocal crowd. Niecy Caldwell, a third-year dance major, was honored as Miss Unity. Gizelle Smedley, a fourth-year biology and pre-dentistry major, was the first runner-up; and Akailah Shepherd, a fourth-year elementary education major, was the second runner-up.Two other awards were given out: highest advertising sales and audience’s choice. Both awards were won by Taylor Johnson, a second-year marketing major.
Grayson Joslin is a third-year journalism major and writes “Soapbox” for The Daily News. His views do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper.
Grayson Joslin is a third-year journalism major and writes “Soapbox” for The Daily News. His views do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper.
Editor's Note: This article has been updated to correct a spelling error.
Ball State’s Counseling Center has launched its Self-Care 101 program in conjunction with the start of the academic year. This new program, located on the Canvas learning management system, provides resources for students to learn and improve their self-care practices.
Democratic candidate for Governor Jennifer McCormick spoke at a meeting of the College Democrats at Ball State. Members of other campus political organizations, such as the College Republicans at Ball State, were also welcomed to join the event at the L.A. Pittenger Student Center Sept. 27. McCormick was the state superintendent of public instruction from 2017 until 2021, as a Republican. Before running for office, she was a special education teacher, language arts teacher, and school superintendent of Yorktown Community Schools. After leaving office in 2021, McCormick switched her party affiliation to Democrat.McCormick said, when she served as state superintendent, her philosophy was that she was there to serve everyone, not just the people she voted into office. She also said she wants to continue her values of bipartisanship and public service into her run for Governor. “We should be having conversations together,” McCormick said. “If we're going to get things done for Americans, it's going to take a bipartisan, common sense, civil type of approach.”McCormick focused on the future of education, she said the public leaders who will be elected in Indiana’s 2024 elections could be the lawmakers “who are calling the shots for your kid’s future.”McCormick said she supports the implementation of universal pre-kindergarten across the state.“You have no idea the power of poverty in a classroom,” she said. “That should not be seen as an expense, that should be seen as an investment.”A self-described “firm believer” in public education, McCormick also said there are good private and charter schools as well. She said she believes private and charter schools should have public, transparent and inclusive admission policies before tax dollars fund them. She said she wants a fair playing game between these different type of schools.A 2022 Indiana Chamber of Commerce report found only 29 percent of 18-year-olds graduate and then stay in Indiana.
Grayson Joslin is a third-year journalism major and writes “Soapbox” for The Daily News. His views do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper.
The seven candidates for Muncie’s three at-large city council positions discussed their viewpoints on stage at a forum at Muncie Central High School Auditorium Sept. 20. The other city positions represented at the forum were city court judge and clerk-treasurer. Over the course of 90 minutes, the ten candidates talked about a variety of issues, such as brownfields and solar energy, the future of the 600,000 square foot Muncie Mall and abandoned homes in Muncie.The use of brownfields and potential solar energy The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classifies brownfields as “a property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.” As of Feb. 2022, Muncie has 64 brownfield properties that are a part of the Indiana Brownfields Program, according to the Indiana Finance Authority (IFA).In June 2022, the Muncie City Council voted down a proposed solar farm at the former General Motors (GM) property by a 5-4 vote. In a question directed to the at-large city council candidates only, they were asked how they would address the brownfields and solar energy in Muncie.William McIntosh, Democratic candidate, said that the city has to move forward when it comes to environmental issues such as solar energy and brownfields. He also said it is important to think of the big picture as well. Ro Selvey, incumbent Republican at-large councilwoman, said she supported the GM property plan, which failed to pass the city council, but she thought it would have been great for Muncie. When it comes to brownfields, Selvey said she would set some money aside to consult businesses who help write grants for cleaning brownfields.Steve Smith, Libertarian candidate, said that as long as the solar energy projects benefit the community as a whole and not specific organizations and outside interests, he would support solar energy projects.
Ball State University’s Board of Trustees held their first public meeting of the academic year on Friday.
The two candidates for Muncie’s mayoral election, Republican incumbent Mayor Dan Ridenour and Democrat City Council President Jeff Robinson, met in a forum at Muncie Central High School’s Auditorium.The main takeaways from the event were ethics, infrastructure, and economy heading into the municipal election November 7.Ethics an important focus for both candidates
Jeff Robinson, city council president and Democratic candidate for Muncie mayor, announced his plans for the city’s infrastructure, an issue he claimed is “one of the biggest issues on the minds of our citizens.”
Hope Churchill would look at her Ball State Outlook email to see the same pinned message.
“That I could make those people dance, and maybe they'd be happy for a while…”Don McLean sang these words in his 1971 song “American Pie,” a song dedicated to the 1959 crash that killed Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and the “Big Bopper” J.P. Richardson and the subsequent cultural and political changes of the 1960s. Since his debut album was released in 1970, McLean has sold over 50 million records according to his website, with “American Pie” being named one of the Five Greatest Songs of the 20th Century by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Recording Industry Association of America.
As the bell chimes at 10 o'clock, the video screen outside the David Owsley Museum of Art fills with live shots of the scenery.
Editor's Note: This story is part of The Partnership Project, a series of content written in an effort by The Daily News to follow the formal collaboration of Ball State University and Muncie Community Schools. Read more in this series here