Justin Shupe, Ball State senior business administration and risk management major, was with two friends when the idea to travel by boat from Indiana to Florida was born.
Shopping at thrift stores and flea markets, better known by the popularized term “thrifting,” is one of fashion’s latest trends among young people.
When Ball State sophomore Emma Schneider launched her own fashion apparel company Reflections Boutique two years ago, she had a specific vision in mind — for people to look in the mirror and love the reflection they see, feeling confident from the inside out.
A $3 tank top. $8 pants. $10 shoes. While these affordable pieces might be trendy right now, the ethical and environmental issues that come with fast fashion are harming communities and natural resources.
With shirts, socks and even breath mints made in Bob Ross’ likeness, his calm demeanor and positive outlook appear to have captivated people nearly 26 years after his death. From 1983 to 1994—the run time of his show, “The Joy of Painting”— Ross became a household name. Then, a few years ago, his name resurfaced and became more iconic in popular culture.
Right off of Ball State University’s campus sits a small strip of shops. When you scan the stores in this strip, commonly referred to by students as “The Village,” there are bookstores, bars, and pizza joints. But, above a café, lies a hidden gem: Body Language Tattoo.
Theater costumes can enhance a show by describing a character’s personality, their feelings, and the action that is taking place on stage. So what goes into making these magnificent costumes?
Coffee shops are still the center of culture in many cities. They provide a common place for people to meet and study together outside of their homes, and Muncie is no exception with these three local coffee shops.
For Robert La France, director of the David Owsley Museum of Art (DOMA), pop art represents hope during difficult times. The exhibition “POP Power from Warhol to Koons: Masterworks from the collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and his Family Foundation” is a show La France thought could bring some joy to people as they feel safer visiting museums during the COVID-19 pandemic.
When Cheryl LeBlanc was 9 years old, she came across a Lady Slipper orchid in her backyard. Right before her eyes, this orchid sparked a life-long passion for nature she would later incorporate in both her personal and work life.
As the 2021 school year comes to a close, soon-to-be graduates may feel their time at Ball State is ending too fast.
Sunlight beams through the wide glass windows onto masked customers waiting to have their hair washed and styled at various hair salons in Muncie. Stylists, muffled by masks, talk with clients about families and long days at work while dryers blow and water pours into shampooing basins.
To unwind for the evening, Hannah Moody, circulation department manager at Kennedy Library, opens her copy of “The Ballad of Black Tom” to her favorite bookmark with blood-red lettering, which reads “Papercuts: an Adult Horror Book Club.”
When Stacy Steggs was about 8 years old, her grandmother was her first student she taught sign language to.
As Erica Forstater, the assistant for the Dr. Joe & Alice Rinard Orchid Greenhouse, walks to the “Cool House” section in the back, she searches for Pleurothallis orchids, which have tiny blooms often smaller than her fingernail.
Sitting on her dorm room’s beige carpet, freshman psychology major Maiya Garcia spends her mornings using her teal pliers and black wire cutters to hand-assemble earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings for her jewelry business, Maiya Makes Jewelry.
Because of this semester’s adjusted school calendar due to the COVID-19 pandemic, students weren’t able to travel home for their typical week-long spring break from classes.
Sunday mornings throughout her childhood, Tiara Hicks would wake up on her grandparents’ farm to the smell of freshly brewed coffee.
On a rainy fall day two years ago, Muncie local Patrick Conner was driving around Muncie’s Prairie Creek Reservoir when he spotted an eagle flying over the water.
Born and raised in Detroit, the city where “everybody can sing,” Aaron Paige, Ball State assistant professor of music, said music has been a prominent part of his life for as long as he can remember.
