Category: News Stories

Few people are talented enough to play a sport at the collegiate level. Even fewer people can say they play multiple sports.

Braxton Hinders, a senior at Morningside University, somehow has managed to juggle being a collegiate golfer and a pitcher for the Mustangs baseball team for the last four years.

Graduating from Carlisle High School in 2018, Hinders came to Morningside after being pursued by both the golf and baseball coaches. He had to strike a deal in order to make this unusual combination of sports work: he would golf during the fall season and play baseball during the spring.

“I’m so lucky I could go somewhere that I could continue to play the sports that I grew up loving,” Hinders commented. “I’m also lucky to flexible coaches that are able to work with my schedule.”

Hinders stressed that it also helps that he has had some amazing teammates along the way, such as Gunnar Cale.

“Braxton has got a work ethic like no other. He’s a great guy and always is pushing us to be our best,” describes Cale, a baseball player who has been teammates with Hinders for the past two years. “He’s one of those guys who stays even after practice ends to keep working to make himself better.”

On top of playing two sports, Hinders also is a Resident Assistant in the Plex, one of Morningside’s three dorm buildings. He has been an RA for the past two years. 

“Not only do I get to live here for free, I get to meet and interact with so many people on a daily basis,” Hinders said when asked what his favorite part of being an RA was.

Hinders also dedicates one night a week to lead a worship group for seniors from surrounding high schools. 

When asked what he likes to do in his free time, Hinders let out a laugh. “You know, I don’t have much free time,” he joked. “But when I have time to myself, I love to watch sports or play video games with friends.” 

Did you know an asteroid almost hit Earth last week? Don’t feel bad — neither did scientists.

According to Space.com, an asteroid the size of a refrigerator flew past Earth last week, and astronomers were not aware of its existence until it had already passed our planet.

From a cosmic perspective, it was a close call. The asteroid came within 1,800 miles of Earth last Saturday, which is closer than some satellites orbit. It is the third closest asteroid to fly past the planet without hitting it. 

Scientists were unaware of the object because it came from the direction of the sun. It wasn’t until four hours after it passed the planet did scientists realize the near-miss. 

Here is ###’s reaction to the incident:

Even if the asteroid were to have crossed paths with Earth, it would not have posed a threat. Due to its small size, most of it would have burned up in the atmosphere before touching the ground.  

A year after the COVID-19 pandemic forced many Homecoming events to be canceled or scaled back, Morningside students turned in overwhelming numbers to celebrate the first-ever Morningside University Homecoming Week.

This was clear during the annual bingo event. Unlike previous years, this year it had to be held in the Yockey Room in the Olson Student Center as Eppley Auditorium was occupied. Unfortunately, this also coincided with the largest ever turnout for bingo, with over 310 students showing up to win prizes.

“Yockey, unfortunately, was not meant to hold much more than that 200 number, causing some frustration from MAC and the attendees as well,” Emma Hannasch said in regards to the event. “MAC has formally apologized to those in attendance and hopes to see everybody at future events!“

All of the Homecoming events were sponsored and planned by the Morningside Activities Council (MAC), the student-led group in charge of providing “quality entertainment as well as educational opportunities to the students of Morningside College,” according to their Constitution.

Hannasch, the President of MAC, said Homecoming Week “went really well.” In regards to the turnout, she said, “It was exciting to see the large attendance numbers and it was an amazing feeling honoring President Reynders and Robin throughout the week.”

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Morningside wasn’t able to fully celebrate the 2020 Homecoming as much as most students would have liked to have seen. This year things were able to return to normal.

The first event of Homecoming week was held on Monday. During this event, students were able to create their own custom street signs. An annual Homecoming event, students went to Yockey Room in the Olson Student Center and customized the design and words on these signs. 

“I’ve gone to this event every year so far, and it’s one of my favorites,” said Alex Freeman, a junior political science and business major. “I have one from each year hanging in my room still.”

This event, as well, was flooded with students. People were forced to wait for over an hour to get their sign due to the high demand.

“I didn’t really mind the wait too much, but it was annoying that I had to stand there for a while,” Freeman commented.

On Saturday night, a live band was brought in to play for students to show off their voices singing karaoke.

“It was great to see another event for students to gather at, relax their mind, and have fun at,” said Sam Petersen, a senior who attended the event. 

The first 75 attendants at the karaoke event were given a free MAC blanket. However, well over 75 students showed up for the event, forcing many to leave without a blanket.

“I’m lucky I got there early enough to get a blanket. They are really nice, and I will definitely use it at home,” Petersen remarked.

However, not all of the events were overwhelmed with a high number of students. 

Tuesday brought the annual Homecoming Coronation followed by the first-ever lip sync battle contest.

Students voted for who they thought should be on the Homecoming Court, and the top five men and women were chosen from the senior class to be on the Court.

The men on the Court consisted of Braxton Hinders, James Spicer, Tyler Carney, Carter Anderson, Tyler Anderson, and Drew Binning. The women on the Court consisted of Marissa Hernandez, Sophia Peppers, Hannah Capps, Lindi Pojar, Rachel Barkema, and Betsy Ridout. 

In the end, Hinders was chosen to be the first every Morningside University Homecoming King and Hernandez as the first-ever Queen.

“It was such an honor to elected King,” said Hinders. “I never really thought it would happen, to be honest.”

After hundreds of pictures were taken and hugs were given, it was time for the lip sync battle.  

Five groups participated in the contest, which was judged by President John Reynders, his wife Robin, Dr. David Elder, Wendy Wilde, and Shari Benson. 

The winning group was comprised of Ridge Hoffman, James Evans, Brian Nathaniel, Bess Telfer, Kirstin Verplanke, and Zach Craig. The group sang “Summer Nights” from Grease. 

“I think everything had a fun time dancing and acting. I know I did,” Hoffman said, who was responsible for getting the group together.

On Friday night, magician/mentalist West Mathison entertained students with his tricks in Eppley Auditorium.

“I really like going to watch magicians, and Mathison didn’t disappoint,” said Freeman.

After the conclusion of a long and busy week, Hannasch had some thoughts about how MAC was able to grow. 

“The biggest things learned for MAC during homecoming week this year was to just roll with the punches. We aren’t going to know everything in advance and that’s okay. Our focus needs to not only be on the students having a good time but the MAC team as well.”

Unlike last year, this year’s Morningside Homecoming Week was filled with events, prizes, and lots of entertainment. 

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Morningside wasn’t able to fully celebrate the 2020 Homecoming as much as most students would have liked to have seen. This year things were able to return back to normal.

All of the Homecoming events were sponsored and planned by the Morningside Activities Council (MAC), the student-led group in charge of providing “quality entertainment as well as educational opportunities to the students of Morningside College,” according to their Constitution.

Emma Hannasch, the President of MAC, said Homecoming Week “went really well.” In regards to the turnout, she said, “it was exciting to see the large attendance numbers and it was an amazing feeling honoring President Reynders and Robin throughout the week.”

Starting the first-ever Morningside University Homecoming Week off on Monday was the creation of custom street signs. An annual Homecoming event, students were able to go to the Yockey Room in the Olson Student Center and customize words and the design of these signs.

“I’ve gone to this event every year so far, and it’s one of my favorites,” said Alex Freeman, a junior. “I have one from each year hanging in my room still.” 

Tuesday brought the annual Homecoming Coronation followed by the first-ever lip sync battle contest.

Students voted for who they thought should be on the Homecoming Court, and the top five men and women were chosen from the senior class to be on the Court.

The men on the Court consisted of Braxton Hinders, James Spicer, Tyler Carney, Carter Anderson, Tyler Anderson, and Drew Binning. The women on the Court consisted of Marissa Hernandez, Sophia Peppers, Hannah Capps, Lindi Pojar, Rachel Barkema, and Betsy Ridout. 

In the end, Hinders was chosen to be the first every Morningside University Homecoming King and Hernandez as the first-ever Queen.

“It was such an honor to elected King,” said Hinders. “I never really thought it would happen, to be honest.”

After hundreds of pictures were taken and hugs were given, it was time for the lip sync battle.  

Five groups participated in the contest, which was judged by President John Reynders, his wife Robin, Dr. David Elder, Wendy Wilde, and Shari Benson. 

The winning group was comprised of Ridge Hoffman, James Evans, Brian Nathaniel, Bess Telfer, Kirstin Verplanke, and Zach Craig. The group sang “Summer Nights” from Grease. 

On Wednesday night, the annual Homecoming bingo event was held. Unlike previous years, this year it had to be held in the Yockey Room. Unfortunately, this also coincided with the largest ever turnout for bingo, with over 310 students showing up.

“Yockey, unfortunately, was not meant to hold much more than that 200 number, causing some frustration from MAC and the attendees as well,” Hannasch said in regards to the event. “MAC has formally apologized to those in attendance and hopes to see everybody at future events!“

On Friday night, magician/mentalist West Mathison entertained students with his tricks in Epply Auditorium.

“I really like going to watch magicians, and Mathison didn’t disappoint,” said Freeman.

On Saturday night, a live band was brought in to play for students to show off their voices singing karaoke.

“It was great to see another event for students to gather at, relax their mind, and have fun at,” said Sam Petersen, a senior who attended the event. 

The first 75 attendants at the karaoke event were given a free MAC blanket.

“I love the blanket, and I’m going to treasure it forever,” said Petersen.

After the conclusion of a long and busy week, Hannasch had some thoughts about how MAC was able to grow. 

“The biggest things learned for MAC during homecoming week this year was to just roll with the punches. We aren’t going to know everything in advance and that’s okay. Our focus needs to not only be on the students having a good time but the MAC team as well.”

Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill on Thursday preventing social media companies from banning users or removing posts based on political views.

CBS News reported the new law affects platforms with more than 50 million users and blocks them from removing users because of their political opinions. Companies such as Twitter, Google, and Facebook are affected by this law

The legislation allows users to sue the platforms to get reinstated if they believe the platforms unfairly terminated their accounts. It also allows the Attorney General to sue on behalf of affected citizens.

“We will always defend the freedom of speech in Texas, which is why I am proud to sign House Bill 20 into law to protect first amendment rights in the Lone Star State,” Governor Abbott said in a post to Facebook, reported on by CBS News. “Social media websites have become our modern-day public square. They are a place for healthy public debate where information should be able to flow freely — but there is a dangerous movement by social media companies to silence conservative viewpoints and ideas. That is wrong, and we will not allow it in Texas.”

In addition, the law requires platforms to disclose their moderation policies and create an appeals process for banned users. It also requires the companies to remove illegal content within 48 hours of being notified. The companies would have to produce regular reports of the removed from their platforms.

Social media platforms have claimed they do not discriminate based on the viewpoints of their users. Instead, they claim to be enforcing their rules on what content is allowed and only will delete users who violate the term of service they agreed to when signing up.

“This law is going to put more hate speech, scams, terrorist content, and misinformation online, when most people want a safer, healthier Internet,” Adam Kovacevich told the Wall Street Journal. Kovacevich is the chief executive of the Chamber of Progress, a newly formed left-leaning tech policy group.

Texas is not the first state to take aim at these companies. Others are also taking similar measures against social media platforms. In May, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill that prohibited platforms from banning politicians from the Sunshine State. USA Today reported a federal judge has recently blocked the law, and it is pending further appeal.

All of this comes less than a year after former President Donald Trump, a Republican, was banned from major social media platforms. Fellow Republicans have denounced the move and pointed to it as an example of anti-conservative bias by big tech companies. Platforms, meanwhile, have defended the decision, citing the inflammatory rhetoric used by the former President and his involvement in the January 6th demonstration at the Capitol.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill on Thursday preventing social media companies from banning users or removing posts based on political views.

CBS News reported the new law affects platforms with more than 50 million users and blocks them from removing users because of their political opinions. Companies such as Twitter, Google, and Facebook are affected by this law

The legislation allows users to sue the platforms to get reinstated if they believe the platforms unfairly terminated their accounts. It also allows the Attorney General to sue on behalf of affected citizens.

In addition, the law requires platforms to disclose their moderation policies and create an appeals process for banned users. It also requires the companies to remove illegal content within 48 hours of being notified. The companies would have to produce regular reports of the removed from their platforms.

“We will always defend the freedom of speech in Texas, which is why I am proud to sign House Bill 20 into law to protect first amendment rights in the Lone Star State,” Governor Abbott said in a speech post to Facebook. “Social media websites have become our modern-day public square. They are a place for healthy public debate where information should be able to flow freely — but there is a dangerous movement by social media companies to silence conservative viewpoints and ideas. That is wrong, and we will not allow it in Texas.”

Social media platforms have claimed they do not discriminate based on the viewpoints of their users. Instead, they claim to be enforcing their rules on what content is allowed and only will delete users who violate the term of service they agreed to when signing up.

“This law is going to put more hate speech, scams, terrorist content and misinformation online, when most people want a safer, healthier Internet,” Adam Kovacevich told the Wall Street Journal. Kovacevich is the chief executive of the Chamber of Progress, a newly formed left-leaning tech policy group.

Texas is not the first state to take aim at these companies. Others are also taking similar measures against social media platforms. In May, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill that prohibited platforms from banning politicians from the Sunshine State. A federal judge has recently blocked the law, and it is pending further appeal.

All of this comes less than a year after former President Donald Trump, a Republican, was banned from major social media platforms. Fellow Republicans have denounced the move and pointed to it as an example of anti-conservative bias by big tech companies. Platforms, meanwhile, have defended their decision, citing the inflammatory rhetoric used by the former President and his involvement in the January 6th demonstration at the Capitol.

Source from facebook or social media company ****

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-social-media-bill-censorship-signed-law-governor-abbott/

https://www.wsj.com/articles/texas-law-would-allow-users-to-sue-social-media-companies-over-account-bans-11631230104

https://www.texastribune.org/2021/09/02/texas-social-media-censorship-legislature/