PHOTOS: Macklemore and Ryan Lewis at Ball State

Grammy awarding win duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis played a concert at Emens Auditorium on Wednesday Feb. 3. They have been on tour promoting their new album which comes out on Feb. 26. Check out some photos from their concert in Muncie, Indiana.  

Student describes passion for design

Megan Bright is a senior apparel design major at Ball State University

Megan Bright hopes to one day create costume for the film industry. Bright is an apparel design major at Ball State University. After graduating in May, she hopes to move to Los Angeles and pursue her dream. Ever since she was a girl, Bright loved sewing and creating pieces. She even designed her own prom dress after she decided to attend at the last minute. View the audio slideshow to find out more about her insight on design and fashion.

The busiest man in the business

"I think the legacy that I hope to leave is that people think of me as their friend on the radio, their friend on TV, who made it look pretty easy and was a source or a conduit for escapism," -Ryan Seacrest

Photo: Business Wire

Ryan Seacrest is a media mogul. he does it all from radio and television to producing and editing. He is one of the only people to ever have partnerships with the big four broadcast networks. Viewers have seen his on-air work through his hosting on Fox's "American Idol," live correspondence from the Olympics on NBC and interviewing the biggest names in Hollywood on E!'s "Live From The Red Carpet." Listeners can hear him weekdays on his nationally syndicated radio show on KISS FM and American Top 40. These are just some of the many hats he wear in the business.

The quote at the top appeared in an interview with GQ where he discussed how he handles being one of the hardest working people in Hollywood. Many people have grown up watching him and he has become a familiar face whether it is on "American Idol or counting down the new year on "Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve" on ABC. In the quote he describes how he wants to be an outlet for people. He wants to be a friendly face to them and wants them show them what is going on in the world of pop culture.

Actors and academy members comment on the Oscar controversy

With the Academy Awards just weeks away, actors and members of the academy continue to weigh in on the lack of diversity in the nominees this year. For the second year in a year no actors of color were nominated in the acting categories, which has caused an uproar.

Penelope Ann Miller, member of the academy, said it was a competitive year in film and she supports the talent of black people.

She told The Hollywood Reporter, "To imply we are racists is extremely offensive."

Another member of the member said race was the furthest thing from his mind when his cast his ballot and he was also extremely offended.

Actress Halle Berry, who is the first and only African American woman to win the Oscar for best actress said the lack of diversity is "heartbreaking." Berry believed that her win was a break through for African American women but she is disappointed that no other woman of color has won since she won 15 years ago.

Actress Helen Mirren defended the academy and doesn't think it is fair to attack them. She said the industry needs to look at what films are made and how they are cast.

The problem with the lack of diversity in the nominations is not with the academy, but with the studios who are creating films. More films featuring people of color and different backgrounds need to be made in order to create more diversity. It is not the academy's fault if they don't not have enough movies about a variety of people to examine and vote on. Casting directors should hire actors of color.

The Fray at Ball State

The Fray performing at Emens Auditorium at Ball State. 

On Wednesday September 10, rock band The Fray stopped by Ball State as part of their "Helios Tour". They performed songs off their new album as well as their biggest hits such as "You Found Me", "How to Save a Life" and "Love Don't Die" to name a few. The band had such amazing energy on the stage and I really enjoyed the concert!

Lead singer Isaac Slade. 

My friends and I had floor seats with a nice view of the stage. You could feel the energy from the crowd as everyone sang along to some of their songs. Check out some of the raw videos I shot from the concert.

Morton Salt Girl Celebration at Wrigley Field

Morton Salt girls pose in front of Wrigley Field.

My father works for Morton Salt and on Saturday the company celebrated the 100th birthday of the the Morton Salt Girl which is the company's logo. There was a huge celebration held at Wrigley Field which is also celebrating 100 years. The day began with an appearance of 30 girls dressed as the Morton Salt Girls that caused quite the sight especially if you are driving or walking by and have no idea what's going.

Employees and Morton Salt Girls getting ready for photos.

Afterward Morton Salt employees and their families were invited inside the stadium before the gates opened to the public. This time the employees took a company photo under the iconic scoreboard.

My Dad getting ready for the photo, he is the one in the black cap. 

 Meanwhile the Cubs were having their batting practice before the game in the afternoon.

Cubs players practicing.

President Gora's celebration in Chicago

On Thursday night, I had a great opportunity to attend Ball State President Jo Ann Gora's retirement reception at the University Club of Chicago. I covered the reception for "The Ball State Daily News". In October 2013, Gora announced she would retire at the end of June of this year after serving 10 years as president. She is the first female to serve as president of a public university in Indiana.

Gora told me her and her husband love visiting Chicago, she thinks it's a vibrant and exciting city. She loves going to the museums including the Art Institute and walking down Michigan Avenue. She talked to all the alumni in the room and spoke about all the changes that have occurred during her tenure.

The reception proved to be an excellent networking event with alumni in the Chicago metropolitan area. Within the first few minutes of my arrival Julie Stroh, associate vice president of alumni programs, quickly introduced me to President Gora. After a few minutes of conversation, Gora then introduced me to Mike Smith who spoke to me about his career after graduating from the Department of Journalism. I also met Shawn Malayter who works with the Ball State alumni chapter in Chicago.

I saw a few familiar faces at the event as well. I talked to the former editor-in-chief of "The Ball State Daily News" Benjamin Dashley who I worked with the first semester of my freshmen year . He now works for the Associated Press in Chicago. I also ran into Joe Pavilonis, a friend from the Ball State Runners' Association who graduated from the College of Architecture and Planning earlier this month.

Check out more pictures!

Joe Pavilonis and I at the reception. 

The attendees during the presentation.