Decades of change in the resources available on Ball State’s campus has transformed student life.
1987
Jeff Joray arrived on Ball State University’s campus in the fall of 1987, admittedly lacking discipline in both his academic and social lives. Jeff had little idea about what he wanted to study. He tried criminal justice but grew tired of it. He then switched to marketing because it was, to him, one of the easiest majors at Ball State.
He liked easy. In fact, he decided to go to Ball State because he thought it was one of the easiest schools to get into. Although education was often the last thing on his mind, Jeff’s time at Ball State was wrought with individual growth.
According to Pew Research Center, half of Americans who attend a four-year college believe personal growth is more important during college than learning skills for a career.
This is especially true for the 33 percent of students who change their majors at least once during their time at college. College can be more about finding a passion than perfecting a craft. This was the case for Jeff.
After Jeff’s roommate moved off-campus following the first semester, his room became a hangout hotspot. He easily made friends with residents on his floor. He liked living by himself. So much so that when people who needed a room came by to meet him—before LaFollete and the rest of the campus was smoke-free—he purposely acted undesirable to live with, flicking cigarette ash on the floor.
His dorm fun might have gotten out of hand. With his tendency to play with fireworks and bottle rockets on his floor, Jeff thinks his resident assistant definitely didn’t like him, and was maybe scared of him.
He says there was simply nothing to do for fun that was legal.
Today at Ball State students can go rock climbing in the recreational center, watch a movie in Pruis Hall, and walk to see live music in the Village, all in one night.
Over the last 30 years, colleges have been devoting more funds to improving the academic and social lives of students. According to a study by Economic Commentary, public colleges increased spending on services like recreation centers and mental health counseling by 54 percent between 1987 and 2013.
Jeff didn’t work his freshman year, but he needed to fund his social life. He and a friend would ride borrowed bicycles to the plasma center in downtown Muncie to make a donation. They did this twice a week, and it paid $15—enough for him to buy a case of Old Milwaukee and two packs of cigarettes—each visit.
Clubs and organizations were relatively non-existent on campus to Jeff. And with no social media, it wasn’t easy to make friends from across all of campus; you stuck with people from your dorm.
Jim Hague, the director of student life, says students who get involved on campus, through co-curricular experiences, are more likely to be successful while at Ball State. He says there are many opportunities to do so as the university develops new programs to meet the needs of students.
Now freshmen like Jeff who haven’t declared majors can also join Career Connections, a program that allows students to meet with professionals and student leaders to help create an action plan for success to prepare for graduation and the world of work.
Even though Jeff didn’t have access to Career Connections, his classes taught him some of the important skills to do his job like budgeting, planning, communicating, and presenting. Outside of class, at his fraternity and his job, he was not only honing skills but developing a drive to better his community and lead others to a better tomorrow. His time and experiences at Ball State gave him the opportunity to learn, grow, and realize his passion.
2001
Matt Dennis’s post-high school academic direction differs greatly from Jeff’s. Matt already knew he wanted to be a teacher when he graduated high school in 2001, so he researched teachers colleges. Ball State’s teaching program had a great reputation, so it was the only school Matt applied to.
By this time—in contrast to Jeff’s experience—there was some, however limited, opportunity to bring dual and Advanced Placement (AP) credits from high school to account for college credit. Matt’s two AP test scores and his impressive SAT verbal score started him with nine credits.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, since the 2002-2003 academic year, the amount of high schoolers who take classes for college credit has increased by more than 60 percent.
For spending money, Matt tutored at the learning center, which was a great experience for his future in teaching and rewarding to help so many. He says it helped him learn patience and made him better at simplifying his ways of explaining foreign concepts. According to the BSU Learning Center Annual Report, in 2016-2017, more than 16,000 tutoring sessions occurred.
In Matt’s time as a tutor he was seeing students at the brink of academic failure. Today, the learning center is trying to eliminate the stigma against those who seek academic support.
Matt also sharpened his leadership skills as part of the interfraternity council and enjoyed helping others. While Matt was on campus, each fraternity had a main charity that they would primarily work with, give to, and hold fundraisers for. Matt was proud of his fraternity’s giving to the Special Olympics—organizing the local event was his favorite activity of the year.
Today he helps as much as he can. He helps his students in the classroom at Seymour High School, teaching AP Physics and a handful of other science classes. He helps his players on the soccer field as head coach of the varsity team since 2011.
Although he might not have known what the driving force was at the time, his experiences at Ball State were propelling him toward his present life.
2017
Ball State has morphed into something almost unrecognizable since Jeff attended, and it’s very different from the campus Matt recalls.
At the end of my summer orientation in 2017, I met with my freshman advisor. He was excited when scheduling my classes because I was transferring 46 credits from high school—the same high school that Jeff and Matt attended.
I didn’t work any harder than the two men. In fact, Matt got better grades than I did in high school. But now, my high school offers more classes that Ball State accepts for college credit.
Before arriving on campus, I downloaded the Benny Link app on my phone. Through the app, I was able to view a detailed description of every student organization on campus. I noted the ones I was interested in. So when I showed up at the indoor track field and saw more than 400 tables with posters advertising clubs, I wasn’t overwhelmed. I found the ones I wanted to join and gave them my contact information.
I also set up my Ball State email on my phone. After turning on notifications, I was kept up to date on all things Ball State, from parking information to extracurricular activities.
Before attending my first class, I felt connected to campus life. The opportunity to get involved outside of class has never been easier, so I was off on the right foot.
Today’s technology connects people in a way that past students like Jeff Joray—who shared a dial-up phone with his roommate and two others at his dorm, and Matt Dennis, who got his first cell phone during his sophomore year of college—could never even imagine.
