Euchre nights, cemetery visits, ax throwing, aerial aerobics, glass blowing workshops and community volunteering. This is what it’s like to be a part of Tri Kappa Muncie. “It’s a place where you can socialize with people, but you also feel like you’re doing a service to the community,” Diane Frye, president of Tri Kappa Muncie, said.
On Feb. 4, Troy Dobosiewicz passed away unexpectedly at 51 in his home in Muncie, according to his obituary in the South Bend Tribune. Though the professor is no longer alive, his memory and his impact on the Department of Theatre and Dance and its students continue to serve Theatre Education students at Ball State.
Five children in a high stakes battle. Who can play piano the best and win the cookie? When Michael Rafter is your brother, there is no chance. The Emmy-award winning conductor and professor at Ball State University discovered his musical talent through an at-home piano playing competition. Rafter’s older sister would babysit and teach her five other siblings something on the piano, and whoever could play it best would win a sweet prize. “I always won the cookie,” he said, “but my brothers beat me up and ate the cookie.” Though the rest of his brothers were athletic and could pick up a football and throw a “perfect spiral,” the keyboard is what made sense to Rafter. He won the cookie for a reason. Today, Rafter is the musical director for the Broadway revival of “Funny Girl” starring Lea Michelle.
There was political unrest and several things needed to be addressed on Ball State’s campus. Fifty Black students were up for the test. Sparked by the racial complications and the conditions of the 1960s, college campuses across the United States were in an uproar. African Americans were fueled with determination to change academic bureaucratic policies. During the 1967-68 academic year, Ball State’s African American population faced two main concerns: the university’s lack of social activities for Black students and the need for representation of Black minorities in the curriculum and faculty. However, the demand for their issues were not met until a walkout was correctly timed.
He greeted every single person who stepped foot on the bus with a smile. He knew multiple students by name. He knew their major, their schedule and where they were headed. He knew their plan for the day, and what they were doing that evening. He knew when they were graduating, how their extracurriculars were and what they planned to do after school. He took care and pride in keeping students safe, especially at night. Ball State University bus driver Brian Kemp has driven campus shuttles for five years. For him, the best part about this job is the students.
Kamara Heier stood at the front podium of SunShine Cafe Muncie. She watched customers come in and helped them pay out. The cafe wasn’t new to her; she’s been working on and off there for the last 14 years.
From the outside, the strip mall on West Fox Ridge Lane appears to be a typical building in Muncie. However, once you step inside, you’re faced with countless possibilities. The Rizzo family opened the virtual reality arcade, Reality Bytes, in July 2022, and their novelty idea has taken entertainment in Muncie to a new level.
On the corner of South Cherry and West Adams, husky howls and barking can be heard in the air, though usually only for a few minutes. On that corner in downtown Muncie, sits Amy’s Pet Spa. Owner Amy Shears has been busy since she opened in November 2022, and her business is only growing. Kelley Stewart, Shears’ neighbor and owner of Sit-Stay-Play Pet Grooming Kelley Stewart, recently broke her wrist, leaving Shears to help Stewart’s clients in the midst of a pet grooming shortage.
Sigma Chi fraternity brothers stand in the formal room, waiting for a special girl to arrive. A white rose, the fraternity’s flower, is handed to her as the brothers serenade her with their sweetheart song and welcome her into the fraternity. She is now their sweetheart.
With 52 percent of Americans’ New Year’s resolutions being to exercise more, according to Statistica, and 12 percent of new gym members starting in January, according to RunRepeat, gyms have been filling up. This means new people to fitness centers, some who don’t know the “unwritten rules” of the gym. Here are five rules of gym etiquette for all those visiting the gym.
For the last couple years, COVID-19 has been an excuse for dismissing travel plans due to borders being closed and high chances of getting sick. Though COVID-19 is still a problem all over the world, life is beginning to return to normal, and with that, more study abroad opportunities are opening.
The first step third-year Ball State student Hunter Seagraves took to winning the Pre-Seed Fund: rejection. Two years ago, when Seagraves applied to the Entrepreneurship Center’s bi-annual grant, he was turned away. He said he was never going to apply again.
New Year’s resolutions are supposed to correlate with the renewal of the year and its seasonal cycle; new beginnings are the cue for a person to grow and change. However, despite people’s best intentions, a study performed by the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that about two-thirds of people in the U.K. and Australia gave up on their New Year’s resolutions within the first month of 2021.
Ball State students in the ROTC are one-half scholar, one-half soldier. Maddie Dilds, an ROTC cadet, and Nathan Dunn, recruitment operations officer for the Ball State ROTC, give an inside look into the most rigorous leadership academy the school has to offer.
Two fourth-years in the Department of Theatre and Dance reflect on their experiences, how it lead up to their respective roles in "The Nutcracker" and where it will take them in the future.
Finals week is coming up and some students may be wondering: how can I remain calm and do my best? Here are five tips for managing stress during finals.
Justin and Rachel Patten, two former teachers who now run their own art company, had to make tough decisions to grow their business and become licensed artists for universities and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Ball State welcomes a new chapter of Active Minds, a mental health advocacy organization founded in 2003, with Kelsey Dunn at the helm as president. She and her fellow members discuss what drew them to the organization and how they hope to give back.
Representatives of Native American tribes that used to live in the space where Muncie is now comment on their history as it relates to Muncie.
Ball State alumnus Jake Letts (School of Theatre and Dance, '21) passed through Indianapolis with the traveling company of the Aladdin musical North American tour. He shares his humble beginnings and how he got to the stage he finds himself in now.
