Author: Jes Beals

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Working with the Whitely Community to Identify Needs and Resources of Men who are Reentering the Community After Periods of Incarceration

In this immersive project, students identified obstacles men face as they work to reenter the community after periods of incarceration. They conducted interviews to gain a better understanding of the obstacles the group faced and identified resources currently in place to support these men and help them overcome obstacles. A booklet was created listing various resources and outlining the types of support that can be used by the community.

Faculty Mentor: Keisha Warren-Gordon
Department: Criminal Justice and Criminology
Community Partner: Whitely Community Council
Student Team: Tyler Albertson, Caitey Bowen, Evan Dewael, Autumn Evans, Shamyra Fitzpatrick, Alijah Forbes, Parker Hatfield, Taylor Heiser, Andrea Henderson, Jessica Jemison, Amanda Johnson, Heather Jones, Elizabeth Kerns, Aaron Lamey, Mary Lowry, Nathan Ogle, Kendra Quill, Victoria Scaggs, Lisa Sellers, Tyler Sharp, Lianna Shepard, Erin Silha, Lane Smith, Harley Steele, Blake Thomas, Keliah Washington, and Kaitlynn Whitaker

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Resiliency Plan for Muncie

In fall 2019, Urban Planning students under the direction of Dr. Michael Burayidi prepared a resilience plan for the City of Muncie, IN. Several steps were used in the development of the resilience plan including a review of previous city plans to better understand city priorities, what has been implemented in the past, and where additional focus may be needed. Students also assessed the hazard risk index for Muncie using the Calculated Priority Risk Index (CPRI) to determine the likely hazards that could impact the city. A community survey was conducted using Qualtrics, an online survey tool that obtained responses from community residents. Several civic leaders were also interviewed to gain insights about the state of resilience of the city and how their organizations are contributing to making Muncie a resilient place. The Muncie Resilience Plan is aimed at addressing concerns related to safety, infrastructure, education, economics, and the environment in order to prepare for challenges that may yet be foreseen.

See the plan (pdf)

Faculty Mentor: Michael Burayidi
Department: Urban Planning
Community Partner: City of Muncie

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Junior Producers Club

In the fall and spring semesters, Ball State’s Music Media Production faculty and students collaborated with the Boys and Girls Club in Muncie’s Whitley Neighborhood to install a recording studio at the Buley Community Center. The room is equipped with higher-end recording equipment to allow youth to record and produce music and develop new skills. Ball State students became problem solvers and communicators while learning to be empathetic to their young clients’ needs. The youth gained technical skills not only in music production but also in computers and digital media.

Faculty Mentor: Christoph Thompson
Department: Music
Community Partners: Boys and Girls Club, Buley Community Center
Student Team: Kyler Altenhof, Emma, Boyd-Ryan, Malik Brown, Chase Carter, Tessa Chason, Aaron Holloway, Max Lawson, Morgan Satterfield, and Makieya Street

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Muncie Neighborhood Visual Identity Design (ongoing)

snippet of one of the branding images

The City of Muncie has diverse communities with friendly people, exciting pasts, and outstanding cultural amenities that make it a desired place to live, do business, and visit. Starting in Spring 2019, Studio 165+, an immersive design studio in the School of Art, began working with neighborhood committees to develop their visual identity, elevate their image and evoke a sense of pride in residents. The students researched each neighborhood determining unique key aspects, characteristics, challenges, and opportunities. After developing a neighborhood identity, they created designs to captured those characteristics and established style guides to help the neighborhoods illustrate graphic standards and rules to ensure consistency and continuity across applications and platforms. The neighborhoods done so far include Gatewood, Halteman Village, Westbrier, Old West End, Robinwood Estates, Forest Park, McKinley, Southside, Riverside/Normal City, and Whitely.  With input from residents of each neighborhood, they created a variety of materials including logos for each neighborhood to choose from, each one tailored to what makes that area of our community special–from the mid-century architecture of Halteman Village, to the open hands of Whitely.

If Studio 165+ is coming to your neighborhood soon, please fill out this brief questionnaire to help them get started on your new neighborhood identity.

Photo Gallery | You can also check out the great work they’ve done so far!

Awards & Recognition:

Whitely Community Identity Design

  1. American Graphic Design Award (National Award)
  2. American Advertising Federation East Central Indiana, Silver ADDY (Local Award)

Old West End Neighborhood Identity Design

  1. American Advertising Federation East Central Indiana, Gold ADDY (Local Award)
  2. American Advertising Federation East Central Indiana, Judges Choice ADDY (Local Award)
  3. American Advertising Federation East Central Indiana, Best of Show ADDY (Local Award)

Studio 165+

Project Page: https://www.studio165plus.com/bbn
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/studio165plus/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/studio165plus

 

Spring 2019

Faculty Mentor: Shantanu Suman
Department: Art
Community Partner: Building Better Neighborhoods, Muncie Action Plan, Halteman Village, Robinwood Estates, Westbrier Neighborhood, Whitely Community, Old West End
Students: Nikki Abel, Ashley Allegretti, Hanna Boggs, Mariah Drake, Kate Hamilton, Valerie Francis, Emily Lipps, Sylvia Marbach, Samantha Robbins, Cameo Smith, Ashlyn Sterling, Katie Strader, Angel Winchester

Fall 2019

Faculty Mentor: Shantanu Suman
Department: Art
Community Partner: Building Better Neighborhoods, Muncie Action Plan, Forest Park, McKinley Live Learn Neighborhood, Southside Neighborhood
Student Team: Samantha Robbins, Ashlyn Sterling, Dominic Zelli, Erin Mawhorter, Jared Carter, Joel Hall, Katie Strader, Katie Hamilton, Mariah Drake, Ashley Allegretti, Jakob Rosenberger, Mariah Jester, Nikki Abel

Spring 2020

Faculty Mentor: Shantanu Suman
Department: Art
Community Partner: Building Better Neighborhoods, Muncie Action Plan, Riverside/Normal City
Student Team: Samantha Robbins, Ashlyn Sterling, Katie Strader, Valerie Francis, Angel Winchester, Hanna Boggs, Mariah Drake, Cameo Smith, Kate Hamilton, Ashley Allegretti, Sylvia Marbach, Nikki Abel, Dominic Zelli, Erin Mawhorter, Jared Carter, Joel Hall, Jake Gesick, Aubrey Hayden, Xander Crawley, Kimberly Holbrook, James Ong Jakob Rosenberger, and Mariah Jester

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Human Rights Symposium

Created in 1964, the Muncie Human Rights Commission studies problems related to discrimination in the city and advocates for quality in education, employment, youth recreation, and housing regardless of race, color, creed, or nationality. Students in this immersive project worked with the Human Rights Commission and other local institutions to develop, administer, and evaluate a Human Rights Symposium for the Muncie community. The purpose of the meeting was to increase awareness for residents’ human rights and the City of Muncie Human Rights Commission’s mission, services, and the process for filing and investigating complaints.

Faculty Mentor: Ruby Cain
Department: Educational Studies
Community Partners: City of Muncie Human Rights Commission, Industry Neighborhood Association, Whitely Community Council, Muncie Public Library, Muncie Housing Authority, It Is Well With My Soul, DePaul University School of New Learning and Service Engagement Projects, Northeast Indiana Workers Project, Inc.
Student Team:Karen Lloyd; Christina Martzall; Althea McWilliams; Taylor Mullins, Dewayne Richmond; Jenny Schultz; Alex Stoltie; Christinia Scott; and Danielle Vorhees

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Capturing “The Big Idea”

Sociology Capstone students administered a survey at 35 different “The Big Idea” school pantries within the eight counties of East Central Indiana. “The Big Idea” is a Second Harvest Food Bank program designed to encourage kids to dream big about their future goals and stories, and for families to encounter resources and relationships with a welcoming school staff that helps them foster big dreams. The purpose of the survey was to measure the degree to which “The Big Idea” has been successful in assisting families to connect with schools. The students also provided a chance to elevate participant voices and find stories about the program.

Faculty Mentor: Melinda Messineo
Department: Sociology
Community Partner: Second Harvest Food Bank
Student Team:Maegan Ackerson, Roseanna Barber, Grace Brenner, Phillip Brooks, Haley Cook, Emajh Donaldson, Margaret Fishbeck, Erica Fox, Gillian Gray, Lauren Kren, Kristen Leffler, Lilly McElwee, Ty Miles, Jasmine Moehn, Karissa Nance, Dana Northam, Sarah Rice, Jayla Robinson, Tia Sharp, Cassidy Stigall, Carrie Tackett, Catherine Teague, Madelyn Troy, Shelby Vaughn, Braxton Williams, and Amadi Wisdom

View inside Big Idea room Child's water color painting of a girl's face surveys arranged on a table