“The team’s reaction was very special as we caught it on video. I know they had a great deal of anticipation as the project was being [completed]. However, they were blown away by the finished product,” said Dustin Combs, head softball coach.

This project was in the works long before construction actually began.

“I remember back to my sophomore year, actually, when the parents of the softball team saw a need and came together and drafted up some of the things that our field was lacking,” said Morgan Olson, senior psychology and ACT-In major, communications minor and member of the softball team.

Since then, there has been a lot of work done in order to put this plan into action. The team and coaches worked hard to gain the permissions, funds and materials to build the new locker rooms.

The new facilities have impacted the team, providing them with a space to gather before games and practices, a place to bond and sometimes even a quiet place to study. In addition to benefitting the team, the new facilities have handicap accessibility, which the players find is helpful for members of their families who may need extra help getting to the field from the parking lot.

Inside of the facilities, there are offices for the coaches, bathrooms, locker rooms with cedar wood lockers, two futons, an Apple TV and a fridge.

“Our hope is that [the facilities] will be a great recruiting tool for our program on top of our already great school,” said Olson.

The team and coaches are very grateful to Dr. David Sallee, Dr. Darlene Bailey and Randy Allerwine for helping them through the planning and execution of this project.

Photos by Elizabeth Messina.

For some reason, the majority of this campus doesn’t understand that we have just as big of a problem with sexual assault as do the big state schools. Just having a small population doesn’t mean that it doesn’t happen here at Jewell. In fact, to my knowledge, it occurs at a frighteningly high frequency in comparison to other schools.

I’m so happy with the fact that the school is carrying out the activities of SAAM that last year’s Pryor Legacy Class began. It looks like the beginning of a long and winding road for this school to become more aware of what happens on our campus. But just dedicating the month of April to sexual assault awareness doesn’t mean that we have suddenly become perfect. There’s still so much to do.

I’m ready for people to take off their blinders and face the reality of what we are dealing with. There are few things that compare to the pain that one feels when he or she has been sexually assaulted by someone considered to be a peer and has to continue to see this person every single day. Victims exist and live on this campus, just the same as predators exist and live on this campus.

We need to foster an environment in which victims feel like they can come forward and be surrounded by love and support. We need a population of students who will no longer stand for the silence that we continue to hold on this subject. I no longer want this to be a place where women feel unsafe walking into their own dorms at night or going to a fraternity house on the weekend. We should be doing more to ensure the safety of every single student and to hold everyone accountable to the values we claim to have.

Honestly, I feel like if somebody says that he or she was assaulted, there should be no speculation as to whether or not that happened. Victims should immediately be provided with support, but many victims don’t have that support and don’t feel like they would have it if they came forward with their stories.

I think some people are so blissfully ignorant towards rape culture and sexual assault on college campuses because they think it could never happen to them; therefore, they have nothing to worry about. The reality is quite the opposite, and I think we would all be more sympathetic and supportive if we put ourselves in the perspective of those who have experienced something as horrible as sexual assault.

I think that if we all get on the same page, as a college and as a community, we can make the biggest impact in preventing sexual assault. I think that sexual assault education courses or Title IX refreshers would be beneficial. Outlining what kind of behavior is okay and not okay may help people learn to respect others just because they are people.

In addition, I think there should be more open and direct contact with the students about the counseling services provided here on campus. Banishing the stigma attached to mental trauma due to sexual assault would likely make people more willing to find help if they are sexually assaulted.

I hope to see some of these changes occur on campus next semester and truly urge anyone needing help to reach out and find support.

William Jewell College is home to the Alpha Eta Mu chapter of TAK. The members and faculty had a chance to attend the regional meeting for The Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) over spring break. The meeting was held in St. Louis, Mo. March 13 and 14. Jeremiah Smith, senior history, religion and culture and Spanish major; Abby Bland, senior English and religion and culture major; Caroline Wells, senior religion and culture, nonprofit leadership, Spanish and ACT-In major; Rebekah Schaefer, senior religion and culture and international relations major; and Alex Dressman, senior religion and culture and psychology major each presented his or her research at the meeting. Joining them were Dr. Brendan Benz and Dr. Milton Horne, professors of religion.

“We each presented our senior capstone papers which we’ve been writing [and doing research for] since last fall,” said Wells.

Each of their papers was on a different topic, and while they were at the conference, they had to defend their research in front of a panel of judges. For some, this might be nerve wracking, but the TAK students felt well prepared.

“It wasn’t as scary for me, because my evidence is all material evidence that you can’t really refute,” said Smith.

Smith’s research is on the Philistines, and his paper discusses archaeological evidence that shows what time in history they may have immigrated and assimilated in the Palestine area.

Wells wrote her paper about a type of theology called liberation theology.

“It’s all about God having a preferential option for the poor and the oppressed in society… This is saying that there’s poverty because humans are sinful, and it’s our job as humans – or in this sense, as Christians – to help eradicate that poverty,” said Wells.

Bland presented on another very different topic. She chose to look into the role of church in the nonprofit sector.

“I wanted to look into the cultural reasons and ramifications for why [churches] would [choose to be nonprofit]”, said Bland.

Dressman’s research covered a variety of topics, from the Book of Amos to Deuteronomy’s fourth and fifth commandments, the centrality of participation and memory and Israelite social order.

The SBL meeting allowed these students to learn about the research of other academics from the region and learn how to present a paper in front of others. It also provided networking opportunities that they may be able to use in the future.

“Going to [the conference], I learned what it looked like and felt like to effectively and concisely present the main points of extensive biblical research within a time constraint confidently,” said Dressman.

While at the conference, Dr. Horne was re-elected for another three year term as regional coordinator, and Dr. Benz was elected as treasurer of the annual meeting. Dr. Benz also held two presentations of his own.

Dr. Benz’s research focused on the phenomenon that millennials have had a drastic decrease in being able to empathize and take perspective due to their increased use of screens, such as phones, computers and iPads.

“That is the foundation for the idea of moving more toward reducing the amount of note taking, or use of computers in class, and transitioning to taking notes by hand… And something I’ve been working on the past couples years is drawing paradigms for what we’re discussing on the blackboard,” said Benz.

It is Dr. Benz’s belief that using pictorial representations of what is being discussed in class will lead to better comprehension and a deeper understanding of the material being learned.

This meeting proved to be a great opportunity for each of the students and the faculty members.

“I mostly enjoy bringing scholars together for enriching conversation. Those of us at this college who participate in such meetings on a regular basis appreciate those who expend the energy to make them happen,” said Horne.

In his next term as regional coordinator, Dr. Horne expects to see the SBL doing much of the same that it’s already doing. They are planning on expanding the opportunities for students to participate in the activities and on making the meeting more cost efficient.

Most of all, the members of TAK have found that the religion department as a whole has been what’s truly led them to their success.

“I’m really thankful for the religion department in general and the ways that they’ve shaped my education, and going forward, that will probably have the most impact on my future,” said Bland.

A previous version of this article was published incorrectly quoting Caroline Wells. It has since been changed to reflect the correct quote.