Articles by Sophia Leiter
Ball Bearings: The heroes who don’t need to be paid
Communities all over Muncie struggle with varying issues. While researchers study the causes behind many of today’s most prevalent social problems, nonprofits play a quieter but important role. From addressing child abuse to combating food insecurity, nonprofit organizations offer solutions as they focus on meeting community needs where they arise. Literature on societal issues often explores their origins and their impact.
Ball Bearings: How Ball State Fandom hatches and flies
Many factors go into choosing a university, such as Greek life, social experiences and academics. But for some students, the atmosphere surrounding athletics can be just as important. At Ball State, that spirit comes alive in the energy that shakes the rafters on a Saturday night, where pride painted in cardinal red and white transforms a game into something greater than competition.
Ball Bearings: 'Fight, flight, freeze:' A quarter of Americans live with Mental illness
“My most recent depressive state lasted for [four] months, and I just couldn’t pull myself out of it,” Cat Meier, Muncie resident, said. Cat said her mental illness ebbs and flows. Cat lives with major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). She describes her mental health as having been a source of turbulence in her life.
Ball Bearings: Swim and Dive makes a splash
Ball State Swim and Dive team practicing individual drills for competition, pictured on Mar. 10 How does a swim team “on lifeline, under threat of being dropped,” grow into a team capable of breaking 12 program records in just one season? Head Coach of Ball State University Men’s and Women’s Swim and Dive, J Agnew, has helped the program grow for the past eight years. Along with the help of his colleagues, Agnew has helped revitalize the team, a feat that he said he is very proud of.
Ball Bearings: Below the surface
Beneath the sidewalks of Ball State University, under North Quad and parking lots just past Beneficence, waves are moving. Not the kinds that crash or foam, but ones that radiate outward, slowly, silently, carrying heat through pipes buried hundreds of feet deep in the earth. Ball State is home to the nation’s largest ground-source, closed-loop district geothermal energy system, according to its website.
Ball Bearings: 'Creating a whole world'
As a child, Brandon Reed, assistant professor of sound design for Ball State University’s Department of Theatre and Dance, loved playing video games, though his reason for such a hobby went beyond just seeking relaxation. Brandon was “fascinated” by the mechanics that went into creating his favorite mythological and fantasy games, and he remembered being obsessed with recording technology and music.
Ball Bearings: 'Something that comes in waves'
“‘It doesn’t get better, but it does get easier,’” is a phrase former Ball State University student Emmett Bartholomew recalled a member of his grief support group saying aloud during a session. Emmett has been attending a grief support group through the organization GriefShare, an online network of faith-based support groups, since about two weeks after his grandfather, Michael “Mike” Bartholomew, died.
Ball Bearings: Art and advocacy
“Art means everything. It’s part of my DNA, and my ethos,“ said Muncie Arts and Culture Council Executive Director, Tania Said. Tania moved with her family from Malaysia to America at just five-years-old. They arrived in 1976, the bicentennial anniversary of America. Upon their arrival, the family traveled across the country to learn about their new home’s culture, chasing a deeper understanding of American society through the lens of art.
Ball Bearings: A story in every wave: Inside Color Guard
During her sixth-grade band class, Alivia Wolfe had the option to continue with instruction or step out to work with the color guard team instead. She decided to try something different and join the team. Without expecting it, she fell in love with color guard. As she approached her first year of college, her friend, Donaji Valdes, convinced her to continue with the color guard team at Ball State University. “It was one of the best decisions I’ve made,” Alivia said.
Ball Bearings: Community beneath the waves
Skip to Content, Search, Navigation, or Footer. Ball Bearings is powered by Cardinal Media A member of AQUA 220 at Ball State University is photographed March 13 at Ball Gymnasium. Isabella Kemper, Ball Bearings. Muncie, Indiana, a small, landlocked college town, is not known for having large bodies of water, but that did not stop local scuba instructor Tom Leaird from opening an underwater diving shop in the city in 1970.
Radio and company: The know-it-all behind radio frequencies and technology
In the age of wireless technology, everyone is connected more than they realize. Those in and outside of the Muncie community are important to helping the radio industry thrive, from radio studio producers to franchise business owners. Knowing how radio frequencies are able to make studios function is vital, but the radio industry wouldn't be a business without the people who run it.
Indiana locals recount how the act of collecting items has influenced their lives
Skip to Content, Search, Navigation, or Footer. Christian Mason, Ball Bearings Design For many people, collecting is a sentimental effort. For others, it’s a business investment. Regardless, collecting items can impact local communities. Due to online trends and locals sharing their collections, the market for old collectibles has increased in value and is expected to rise further into 2030.
Let’s Fall in Love – On a Budget
There’s something about being young and in love. It’s the thrill of getting to know someone’s interests, quirks, and personality that makes dating in college fun. With a mixture of new found independence and maturity, college is a place where love creeps in and out as students navigate hookups and relationships. When a relationship does start to blossom in college, it can be easy to get swept up in studies and social life and forget about an element of dating that makes a relationship flourish.
Add a Little Bit of Spice
Amanda and Kyle Reninger had to come up with a plan. After being told their cholesterol levels were too high, Amanda quickly began to research ways she could lower them. Without the aid of health insurance, the challenges of dealing with this issue became a mission complete with lots of personal initiative. She found that the best way to lower her cholesterol was to cut out animal fat. Before long, both Amanda and Kyle went vegan. “We didn’t want to be on cholesterol pills in our 20s,” she says.
Saying Yes to The Dress
Lexi Hubenak says she was never really a crier. She didn’t believe in getting emotional over a piece of clothing and used to think people who did were overdramatic. Maybe even a little crazy. Until she found her wedding dress. When Hubenak caught a glimpse of herself in the ivory, fit and flare gown with a low back and bohemian lace detailing, the stay-at-home mom from Iowa burst into tears and became one of the very people she used to laugh at.
The Ethics of Thrifting
Shopping at thrift stores and flea markets, better known by the popularized term “thrifting,” is one of fashion’s latest trends among young people. Hannah Heilman is a student at Indiana Wesleyan University who regularly thrifts. While she acknowledges the economic benefits, she says her reason to thrift is to play her part in combating climate change. “[Thrifting] is so good for the planet– so good environmentally.
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Editor’s Note: In the interest of transparency, the writer of this story is on Ball State’s Philanthropy Education Council with Emma Schneider and the Delta Sigma Pi fraternity with Andre Askew. 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.
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