Morty was the first of 68 dogs rescued from a seizure in 2023. Now, he’s the last one waiting for adoption.
By Mia Hilkowitz
mhilkowi@iu.edu | @MiaHilkowitz
The first thing Michael Clarke noticed as he stood in front of the Bloomington home was the smell of skin infection.
With his first steps inside, the animal control officer also quickly picked up the smell of feces. Of urine. Of ammonia. His eyes watered as he moved further into the home.
Stepping over the straw and excrement covering the floors, Clarke looked at the chaotic scene in front of him — and dozens of dogs stared right back at him.
Some of the dogs, mostly Carolina dogs, sat in wired cages. Others strode throughout the two-bedroom house, their eyes tracking the officers as they walked across the room. In the kitchen, a large male Carolina dog with pointed ears paced back and forth. His black fur coat was marked by light brown on his paws, chest and face — two small patches above his eyes almost resembled eyebrows. Though his path was somewhat obstructed by a wire cage, he walked, panicked, close to where another dog lay under the sink with her litter of puppies.
Clarke put a pile of nylon rope leashes down on a kitchen counter. He’d start
by trying to take this dog out of the house first. But as he slipped the leash over the dog’s neck, the Carolina dog dropped to the ground. He started alligator rolling and pushed away.
“He will be difficult and may bite, none of them have ever been on leashes,” the homeowner told officers.
It took several officers to carry the dog, flailing, out of the house and into a plastic carrier waiting to transport him to the Bloomington Animal Shelter. Though the homeowner had given officers names for some of the dogs as they brought each one out; others didn’t have names yet and the animal shelter would rename many of them.
As officers coaxed the dog into a carrier to transport him back to the shelter, there were 67 dogs waiting back in the house — assigning each dog a number would have to suffice for a short while. The officers made a note and headed back into the house.
Dog number one was accounted for. Now just 67 more.
Every day, animal shelter and control representatives in Bloomington and across the country see the harm humans can inflict on animals.
Maybe a resident, strug-
gling with mental health, accumulates more animals than they can feasibly take care of, crowding dozens of pets into a single room. Sometimes a family decides their lifestyle is incompatible with a young, energetic puppy and turns it in to an overflowing shelter. In some cases, animal control finds an animal already deceased, physically abused by a previous owner.
The Bloomington Animal Shelter was already nearing capacity when animal control and local police seized 68 dogs, mostly Carolina dogs, in March 2023 from what people familiar with the case described as the largest animal hoarding complaint ever received in Monroe County.
In every case, the shelter tries to heal some of this harm. But these 68 dogs tested this ability. Perhaps no dog tested it more than this first dog, who now goes by a different name: Mortimer (but many call him “Morty”).
Almost two years after the initial seizure, the rest of the Carolina dogs have slowly disappeared from the shelter’s list of adoptable animals — a sign of success. But though he was the first one taken out of the house by animal control, Morty’s page remains, the last of the dogs from the seizure waiting on adoption. It’s left those close to him wondering: can they
help him find a home?
Clarke had started his job at Bloomington Animal Control a month and a half before a woman called his department to deliver a complaint that, at first, didn’t seem like anything out of the ordinary.
She had purchased a dog from Robert Pryor, who was living in a two-bedroom home on North Adams Street. She told animal control she could smell feces and urine from the home’s front yard. Animal control and the Bloomington Animal Shelter had heard of Pryor before. In years past, he lived just outside of Monroe County. From 2018 to 2023, the shelter received at least 10 dogs associated with him. But because he lived outside of Bloomington municipal limits, there wasn’t much they could do.
The shelter also wasn’t a stranger to animal hoarding and neglect situations. Even in Bloomington, which had an ordinance banning the retail sale of cats and dogs until the state legislature voided it this year, animal neglect is prominent. A shelter representative said animal control officers respond to several thousand calls — ranging from reports of neglect, to stray animals to animal infestations — each year.
After receiving the complaint March 8, 2023, Officer Clarke and another animal control officer approached the home, unsure of exactly what they would find. Immediately he noticed dirt buildup on the home’s windows, trash bags of dog food in the yard and insects flying around the property.
After a few knocks, Pryor opened the front door.
Clarke told Pryor he would need to fill out the proper litter and boarding application to keep the animals in his home — and that he would need to schedule a required home inspection. They wanted to give him a chance to keep his breeding business. Pryor, who officers and shelter representatives described as very cooperative and helpful, agreed. Pryor also told officers he planned to bring some of the dogs to a Carolina dog rescue in South Carolina that month.
The animal control officers didn’t enter the home their first visit. But before Pryor closed the door, Clarke noticed three Carolina dogs peering out at him.
Carolina dogs are a relatively rare breed that are usually found living near the Georgia-South Carolina border, according to the American Kennel Club, a not-forprofit dog breed registry.
SEE MORTY, PAGE 4
Dunn Meadow to open
The meadow has been closed for more than 100 days
By Benjamin LeGrand benlegra@iu.edu | @benlegrand11
Dunn Meadow is set to reopen by the end of this semester, over 100 days since its closure began on Aug. 2. New turf installation and a re-servicing of the irrigation system after the 100-day pro-Palestinian encampment this past spring brought about the closure, although communication regarding the opening of the meadow has been unclear until recently.
“Dunn Meadow will reopen by the end of the semester,” IU Executive Director of Media Relations Mark Bode said in an email Dec. 9. When asked for reasons or any other restoration work still delaying the reopening, IU referred back to an old statement from Vice President of Capital Planning and Facilities, Tom Morrison, which was sent out to the IU community on Aug 2. The fall semester ends Dec. 20, with many students leaving at various points during finals week starting Dec. 16. In an Indiana Public Media article from Oct. 4, officials did not give a timeline for the opening of the meadow with a spokesperson citing the precaution of allowing the turf to grow. Turf takes around six weeks to fully establish itself, and foot traffic should be minimized before six weeks.
Bode said in a previous IDS article that initial estimates for the work were $100,000, with potential to increase throughout the project. The Indiana Daily Student obtained contracts for the sod and fence through a public records request in October. The contract for the turf, installation, delivery and other charges totaled $86,600. SEE DUNN, PAGE 4
What Trump’s plan could mean for IU, MCCSC
By Andrew Miller ami3@iu.edu | @andrew_mmiller
Trump plans to abolish the Department of Education during his term as president
President-elect Donald Trump has promised to axe the Department of Education in his upcoming term. If he were to do so, what could that mean for IU and Bloomington?
An IU spokesperson declined to comment on whether it had plans for how to proceed if the department is abolished. A Monroe County Community School Corporation spokesperson said the district didn’t have one. Both said it would be
speculative to comment on the effects it would have on the institutions.
That’s likely because most experts believe the plan is not going to go through. John Graham, an IU professor who worked in President George W. Bush’s administration, said there’s not much political will to do so.
The Washington Post reported it would likely take 60 votes in the Senate to go through if the filibuster stays in place. A House vote in 2023 on an amendment that would have abolished the department saw 60 Republicans
Bloomington's
vote against it.
Trump has even announced Linda McMahon, a former head of the Small Business Administration and previous professional wrestling executive, as his nominee to lead the department. McMahon has limited experience with education, only serving on the Connecticut State Board of Education from 2009 to 2010.
Graham also brought up President Ronald Reagan’s attempt to abolish the department decades ago, which failed due to a lack of congressional support. He said a
7 Day Forecast
similar situation would likely happen this time around.
Still, the proposal is being taken seriously. Last month, North Dakota Sen. Mark Rounds, a Republican, introduced a bill that would abolish the department. If that goes through, one of the largest issues the federal government would need to reconcile is the $1.7 trillion in student loans it has issued, growing by about $100 billion each year. Trump’s allies have suggested moving those over to the Treasury Department.
Details like enforcement would still need to be ironed
out, but proponents say the program designed to assist students from lower-income households would be handled more effectively outside the Department of Education. Still, Graham said he’s skeptical. He said it’s not likely that Trump, nor the Republican party, would have the political will to substantially shrink the department, either.
“It’s not just Democrats. Republicans are interested in Pell Grants, loan guarantees for students,” he said. “They don't necessarily want to
cancel all their debt, all these things, but they do think there's a need for these programs.” In fall 2022, IU found that about 17% of undergraduates had Pell Grants at its Bloomington campus. The department also provides Title 1 funding — dollars intended for schools with high percentages of lowincome students — public education around the country, distributed by states. Data from fiscal year 2023 show that MCCSC received nearly $2.7 million from this program.
BRIANA PACE | IDS
Mortimer Ocatvius, or "Morty," looks at his dog friends playing outside while he stands just past the doorway of his foster mom, Casey Green's, house Oct. 5, 2024, in Bloomington.
Casey said Morty is her longest-term foster, but she can't keep him because she might have to move for her job.
Students attend UN COP29 in Azerbaijan
By Riya Malik rimali@iu.edu
A group of Indiana University students attended the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference to engage with world leaders and climate professionals as student delegates.
The conference, more commonly known as COP29, took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, from Nov. 11-22 as this year’s annual international meeting to assess climate change progress and multilateral agreements based on Articles of the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The 16 students attended COP29 as a part of associate professor Jessica O’Reilly’s course International Climate Conference. O’Reilly has taken students to attend the conference since she arrived at IU in 2016, but it took two years before she could obtain observer status for IU to take more students using credentials provided that allowed her to form a full student delegation.
O’Reilly said one aspect of her program that doesn’t change at all is the students’ passion for climate justice.
“Our students really want to learn about this, not just because they’re interested in the UN and international diplomacy, but because they see it as a defining issue of their lifetimes. They want to contribute to the solutions, so they’re always very idealistic and hard-working,” O’Reilly said.
The undergraduate, master’s and doctorate students O’Reilly takes with her all enter COP29 with an individual research project to complete. They interview professionals and leaders at the event based on their prior interests and experience in a climate change-related research endeavor.
“What we try to put together is a delegation that is really looking at the climate problem from multiple angles,” O’Reilly said. “Because the issue is so complex, it’s so critical that we use every skill possible in order to address it. I think it’s really important that we have people looking at the mental health impacts of climate change alongside policy, alongside how music and the arts can help us ad-
dress it.”
Julianne Hatcher, a senior majoring in international studies and environmental sustainability, attended the second week of the conference as a part of the student delegation. Hatcher’s research project stemmed from her passion for islands and her study abroad experience in the Galapagos Islands.
“I studied noneconomic loss and damage of small island states,” Hatcher said.
“So I spoke with people from the Cook Islands, Marshall Islands, Samoa and small islands, mostly in the Pacific. And I was lucky to have found a plethora of people to talk to. People were really nice.”
Hatcher said she expected delegates to be extremely serious, but she found them to have fun and be excited about the conference, which helped her feel more welcome.
Hatcher, who is currently applying to law school with an interest in environmental law, also appreciated being able to talk to environmental lawyers and advocates at the conference.
“You see a room full of people that are doing things and then you realize like, ‘I’m in the prime position of my life to get started on doing that as well. I am on the precipice of my career, and I can go join that and be part of that as well,’” Hatcher said.
Madison Harris, a senior studying international law and policy analysis, has been interested in the UN since she was in middle school.
She applied to O’Reilly’s program to combine her passion for the UN with her experience in international institutions and climate governance. Her research project for COP29 was examined what international legal frameworks could be used to protect the rights of climate migrants. During the conference, she had the chance to speak to the prime minister of Tuvalu, a small island in the Blue Pacific Continent that is being threatened by rising sea levels.
At first, Harris said she felt overwhelmed by all the people at the conference and was expecting the negotiations to be unimpressive; however, seeing people from across
the world come together to speak about climate justice helped her leave the conference more hopeful than expected.
“I think that there’s a long way to go, and there’s a lot to be done with climate change, adaptation and justice. But I think that the fact that there’s people talking about it, advocating and fighting for it gives me a lot of hope that change will continue to be made,” Harris said.
With observer status, O’Reilly said she and her students received access to formal negotiations, plenaries, side events and pavilion events. Their only access limits included sensitive negotiations or smaller bilateral meetings.
Hatcher’s favorite event was “The People’s Plenary,” which featured high-level discussions over climate financing with activists. She said it featured activists from Sudan and Palestine, youth activists, disability activists and more who shared their
experiences as people directly impacted by climate change.
“There’s a popular chant, ‘What do we want? Climate justice! When do we want it? Now!’ And they’re all chanting it and you know that the negotiators are right next door,” Hatcher said. “They can hear it, and they’re kind of being forced to listen to the people. I think that was probably the most powerful moment for me. I teared up a little bit. It was pretty cool.”
Harris said she was impacted most by a climate mobility pavilion event on Young and Future Generations Day at COP29 that emphasized the human factor of climate injustice. She was able to hear from the people she was researching about firsthand as they talked about their experiences with climate displacement.
Over the years, youth activism and involvement in COP29 have grown more, which Hatcher said she believes is important in
involving the people most affected by climate change.
“I know our generation, a lot of them are frustrated that they weren’t necessarily the cause of this issue and will be bearing the brunt of its effects,” Hatcher said. “So I think empowering students to be part of those conversations is an owed thing because 19-yearolds didn’t cause climate change, but they’re going to be feeling these effects, and having them in the room is really important, especially young students.” Harris said as climate change gets worse, it’s important for people to recognize the value of having youth discuss their futures at events like COP29.
“Obviously we weren’t a part of the negotiations themselves, but having the opportunity to talk to prime ministers and different ambassadors, it was really cool to be able to kind of share that perspective of the youth,” Harris said.
Because of the global scale of climate issues, Harris said it makes the work, conversations and news feel hopeless at times.
“I think that it’s very easy when you read the news or hear about all of these different global conflicts to kind of lose faith and in global negotiations, global collaboration and diplomacy. But to be in that space and see that people are genuinely making an effort to collaborate and to work together and to make progress on an existential crisis — that’s definitely something that I’m going to take away,” Harris said. O’Reilly said that one of the most rewarding parts of attending the conference with her delegation is seeing how much her students gain in research, future plans and friendships.
“Meeting with bright eyes helps me learn so much, so I’m really thankful for them and really love getting to know students by traveling with them. It’s really a privi-
Cheryl Munson, Monroe County civil servant, dies at 80
By Andrew Miller ami3@iu.edu | @andrew_mmiller
Monroe County councilor Cheryl Munson died Dec. 10 after decades of service to the county. She was 80. She was surrounded by family and friends, B Square Bulletin reported, after a period of illness that made her unable to attend the county council’s meetings since mid-September. The council postponed its Dec. 10 meeting. Munson was elected to her fourth term on the council in November. She moved to Monroe County in 1971 when her husband accepted
a job at IU. She later joined IU’s Glenn Black Laboratory of Archaeology, one of only a few women at the time, where she worked until 2021.
Munson started her career in local government in 1994, running for the Indian Creek Township Board of Trustees. She won and served on the board for 16 years. She volunteered for Planned Parenthood, several Monroe County Community School Corporation committees and county commissions, along with various youth support centers.
David Henry, who was
also elected to one of the three county council’s atlarge seats last month, wrote he was lost for words in a post on Facebook.
“Before Cheryl Munson was a County Councilor, she was a mom, wife, grandma, and friend,” Henry wrote in the post. “My heart goes out to her family and friends as we lost a great person in our community today. Please keep Cheryl’s family and friends in your thoughts in our time of grief.”
The office of Bloomington Mayor Kerry Thomson posted on Facebook on Dec. 10 as well, writing that Munson’s dedication to public
service left a lasting impact on Monroe County.
“Her commitment to collaboration and service set a standard for civic engagement that will continue to inspire those who follow in her footsteps—and her legacy will endure through the positive changes she helped bring to Monroe County,” the post read.
The Indiana Daily Student is working to write an obituary for Cheryl Munson. If you have any memories or information about Munson that you would like to share, please contact us at editor@ idsnews.com.
COURTESY PHOTO
Cheryl Munson is pictured. Munson, a longtime Monroe County councilor, died Dec. 10.
COURTESY PHOTO
Abigail Garrison, Madison Harris and Daniel Farrell pose for a photo Nov.
Asian American Association hosts first Snow Ball
By Deshna Venkatachalam devankat@iu.edu
Dressed in suits and sparkly dresses, students filtered in through the doors of Alumni Hall at the Indiana Memorial Union on Dec. 6. They were welcomed with blue lights, projections of snowflakes on the walls and white balloons. Pop music blasted from speakers and photo backdrops were set up by the entrance, allowing dance attendees to capture the moment.
The Asian American Association at IU hosted the Snow Ball, a winter-themed formal celebration including raffles, live music, dancing and food. It teamed up with IU Late Nite and other Asian student groups from state universities including Purdue, Ball State University, Butler University and IU Indianapolis. The ball itself is not an annual event. Howeve each year the AAA at IU hosts a holiday program where they collaborate with these student groups.
“I really wanted to branch out and specifically connect with the Asian community in all of Indiana, that is why we decided to reach out to a couple of the bigger universities in Indiana,” sophomore and External Events Coordinator for the AAA at IU Olivia Braswell said.
Braswell said IU Late Nite leaders learned of the event and reached out to the AAA to be part of it. Collaborating with IU Late Nite allowed for a larger budget and an opportunity to grow the event.
However, a couple of the universities she had reached out to could not make it due to conflicts in scheduling. This issue will not discourage Braswell moving forward, though.
“We told them this is kind of like the first step in creating a long-lasting bond and partnership,” Braswell said. “We are hoping to maybe have bigger events in the future where we can invite these schools out and more can join.” As for the AAA’s most recent events like Snow Ball, she said she had one goal in mind for the IU community.
“These events are used to uplift our community and also come together as people,” Braswell said. “We want to make sure our club does not seem like just an East Asian club. We want to make sure that people from all parts of Asia are valued and acknowledged in our club.”
themed festival; however, changes were made this year as they teamed up with AAA.
“We first went in 2022; it was called the Yule Ball back in the day,” Kwak said. “I liked coming to these events because when I was younger, I was always super insecure. But when you dance, it does not really matter if you are good or not.” Kwak and Lewis met dancing, and two years later are still showing off their swing dancing moves. For Lewis, her love for dance goes far beyond the physical aspect.
“It is like a conversation too — a non-verbal conversation where you might initiate something and then they embellish it, and it is always just a lot of fun,” Lewis said.
While Snow Ball provided the music and area to dance, it also provided a space for people to mingle and make new connections.
“I heard about this event from a friend, and we just decided to come,” AAA member and freshman Alexander Jacob said. “Coming to these events is just an easier way to meet people because I am new here.”
Aside from the social events, the AAA also hosts meetings every month to discuss specific advocacy topics. Since 1987, AAA at IU has been working to instill and maintain a spirit of community for Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders and those interested in learning more about different cultures.
Looking forward, Braswell said the AAA plans to continue expanding its reach and enhancing its events to foster even greater inclusivity and cultural awareness on campus. “Since I became a freshman, we have grown exponentially,” she said. “Each
Selena Vu, a sophomore and member of AAA said the club’s efforts to welcome everyone allowed her to find friendships though the AAA and grow as a person.
Vu said she enjoys attending events hosted by the AAA, but appreciated the
For this event in particular, dinner featured dishes from different parts of Asia, such as orange chicken, crab rangoon dip, vegetable stir fry, white rice and lo mein.
chance to attend a dance like Snow Ball in particular.
“I just feel like it’s a really cute event because you don’t get a chance to dress up in college like you did for prom in high school,” Vu said. “I loved seeing everyone’s outfits, like out of their normal school clothes.” Dance attendees moved
around the dance floor to songs of different genres, ranging from upbeat pop to slow love songs.
Bloomington residents and members of the Swing Dance Club at IU, Kat Lewis and Dylan Kwak, said this is their third year attending an annual holiday ball. IU Late Nite hosts a yearly winter-
Legislators preview Indiana General Assembly at town hall
By Adelyn Rabbitt adrabb@iu.edu
Rep. Matt Pierce and Sen. Shelli Yoder discussed education, Medicaid, the economy and more at a virtual town hall Dec. 7 sponsored by The League of Women Voters of Brown, Johnson and Bloomington-Monroe Counties and the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce.
Sonia Leerkamp, vice president of the Brown County League of Women Voters, said the league is a nonpartisan organization and all legislators in the Brown, Johnson and Monroe counties are invited to the town halls, regardless of party. Only Democrats Pierce and Yoder, who both represent Bloomington and Monroe County, agreed to participate.
Education Pierce said education is an important topic in the upcoming session and about half a billion dollars has been put toward Indiana’s school choice voucher program that could instead be focused on the public school system. Yoder, who is on the Senate Education and Career Development Committee, emphasized protecting the public school system and transparency about how taxpayer dollars are spent. She said the education committee is focused on addressing chronic absenteeism of public school students, and she is working on legislation to fix it.
When asked whether the school choice program will remain capped at a certain income level, Yoder responded saying she has heard Governor-elect Mike Braun may eliminate the cap. The current cap is 400% of the income required to be eligible for federal free or reduced lunch, which
amounts to $270,692 for a household of five.
Pierce agreed, claiming “these Republicans do not want a system of public education” and instead want to provide universal school vouchers. He said Braun seeks to “siphon” state education money to private or charter schools rather than supporting public schools.
Braun’s proposed education policies include universal school choice, boosting teachers’ pay, prioritizing school safety, investing in programs for incoming teachers, raising academic standards, preparing students for success after high school and “protecting parental rights.”
Medicaid and health
Pierce noted recent changes to the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration have hurt senior citizens and people with disabilities. These changes came after state officials found an error in the budget that they predicted would cause a $1 billion deficit, forcing FSSA to decrease reimbursements for families and replace programs for inhome care.
Yoder echoed concerns
for those who would be hurt by potential Medicaid cuts, emphasizing the issue of inaccessible childcare in Indiana. She said FSSA does not have enough of a budget to provide childcare statewide.
Yoder said she is working on a bill that would implement a nurse visitation program to provide universal aid to all new mothers and babies in Indiana. She also plans to continue her efforts to allow universal abortion access in the first trimester of pregnancy, she said. Abortion is illegal in Indiana except if the mother’s health or life is at risk. Additionally, if a lethal fetal anomaly is detected, abortion is allowed before 20 weeks of gestation and up to 10 weeks in cases of rape or incest.
She added that she wants to have Medicaid cover overthe-counter birth control.
Pierce said the state health budget will likely be tight. He said Braun is focused on employer-based healthcare policies rather than improving the public health system. Yoder said she has heard from local health departments about their concerns about reduced or cut funding but has not yet
heard from Braun’s team on specific healthcare budget numbers.
“So, the amount of work that our local health departments do, we just need to make sure that that money is protected,” Yoder said. Democratic minority, proposals
Pierce also discussed the House’s bill-pending rule, which puts the legislature’s minority at a disadvantage.
“If you introduce a bill and it goes to committee and the committee chair refuses to give it a vote, you are not able to offer that same subject matter on the House floor as an amendment to another related bill,” Pierce said.
As a member of the Democratic minority, Pierce said it is important to leave options open to offer amendments on the floor by not introducing many bills.
However, Pierce hopes to introduce two bills: an endof-life options bill, which would give people suffering terminal illnesses the choice to end their lives, and a bill banning signal jammers, which are devices that block Wi-Fi or cell phone signals. Signal jammers are illegal
under federal law, but Pierce hopes to mirror this in state law.
The economy
Yoder said she was taken off the Senate Committee on Appropriations. She expressed her unhappiness about the decision, which leaves only one woman on the appropriations committee. However, Yoder said these developments have only made her want to work harder for Hoosiers.
Yoder said she hopes to improve Indiana’s economic vitality and provide living wages for Hoosiers. She is working on legislation to create a state-supported, employee-owned resource center to help Hoosiers start co-op businesses.
Leerkamp asked about taxpayers’ frustration with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, a public-private partnership led by the Indiana Secretary of Commerce that works to grow the state economy. Yoder said the IEDC needs to be transparent and accountable, as residents do not feel like they have a say in what it does, including the IEDC’s massive innovation district in Boone Coun-
ty, the Limitless Exploration Advanced Pace, or LEAP, district.. Pierce said Braun seems to share that goal.
Environment
Both Yoder and Pierce said the General Assembly likely won’t focus on environmental issues due to the Republican supermajority and incoming governor. Pierce added the environmental affairs study committee has not been assigned any topics for around 10 years.
Yoder said, as a U.S. senator, Braun was responsive to climate issues but did not focus on the environment during his campaign for governor. She said even without majority legislative support for climate issues, she continues to work toward protecting the environment.
Budget session, new administration Pierce said the upcoming session is a budget session, and Indiana’s is tight this year.
Pierce also stated his concern about how Braun’s tax cut plans will be funded with such a tight budget. He referenced Braun’s focus on protecting the coal industry from plants closing and being replaced with natural gas as a “battle” he is anticipating.
Pierce said the upcoming session will be interesting with a new governor, agency heads and a lieutenant governor who is “really interested in fighting the culture wars.” Something that will stay the same, Pierce said, is the minority Democratic legislators making sure all views are heard and joining in on Republicans’ positive policy proposals.
“We won’t give up and we’ll just see what kind of positive things we can make happen in what I consider to be a pretty challenging
envi-
IDS FILE PHOTO
The Indiana House of Representatives chamber is pictured Feb. 20, 2023, in Indianapolis. Rep. Matt Pierce and Sen. Shelli Yoder discussed education, Medicaid, the economy and more at a virtual town hall Dec. 7 sponsored by The League of Women Voters of Brown, Johnson and Bloomington-Monroe Counties and the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce.
DESHNA VENKATACHALAM | IDS
Singer Kylie Miller performs “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga at the Snow Ball on Dec. 6, 2024, in Alumni Hall at the Indiana Memorial Union. The event was headlined by the band Yours Truly, with live performances by Miller, Britney Ho and DJ Caiya2Fiyah.
DESHNA VENKATACHALAM | IDS
IU juniors Simran Shah and Shlok Ghiya dance to live music together at Snow Ball on Dec. 6, 2024, at the Indiana Memorial Union. The event, hosted by the Asian American Association at IU, offered a space for the community to spend the night dancing together.
A contract for a fourmonth rental of the fencing surrounding the meadow and other costs was $20,040.38 and listed an approximate “ending” of Dec. 1. The fence is scheduled to be picked up Jan. 2, according to the contract.
The request did not return any contracts relating to the reservicing of the irrigation system.
Dunn Meadow has been a historic free speech zone at IU since 1969 after anti-Vietnam War protesters negotiated with the then Dean of Students Robert Shaffer. An ad hoc committee changed the policy the night before April’s pro-Palestinian encampment began, making structures prohibited. IU’s Expressive Activity Policy approved July 29 and enacted Aug. 1 prohibits camping and any nonapproved structures in the meadow.
The dogs are hesitant with strangers but adopt a pack mentality.
Over the next few days, officers communicated with Pryor over the phone and email. In an email, Pryor gave officers a list of seven adult dogs and 12 puppies that he planned to register with the shelter. Then, officers scheduled an animal permit home inspection for March 16, 2023.
By the day of the scheduled home inspection, animal control and the shelter suspected the number of animals at 227 N. Adams St. was much higher than the list Pryor gave them — especially when a man arrived to the shelter the day of the inspection with a U-Haul carrying 10 dogs in wire cages, most with skin infections and urine scalding. Pryor had asked him to hide the dogs until officers finished the home visit, the man told animal control.
The first day officers en-
tered the home for the inspection, they tallied 50 dogs and puppies — but the number rose to 68 when officers returned the next day to officially remove the animals. During the initial inspection, officers took photo evidence of the home and wrote affidavit statements to obtain a seizure warrant, which judge Mary Ellen Diekhoff signed. However, when officers reached out to Pryor, he said he would rather freely sign over all the Carolina dogs to the shelter.
***
When Morty and the other dogs arrived at the shelter on March 17, 2023, it was staggering.
In addition to arriving with skin infections and urine scalding, one of the dogs from the seizure, a dachshund, was in poor health and the veterinarian recommended euthanasia. Emily Herr, an outreach coordinator who has worked at the shelter for 17 years, said she has seen sei-
zures where the dogs were in much worse physical condition. But Morty and the other dogs posed what she believes is a bigger challenge for a local shelter: behavioral issues.
Many of the dogs’ behavioral issues manifested as soon as officers entered the home for the seizure. Some of the dogs seemed uncertain or scared to see a human being, Clarke said. Others, like Morty, were terrified of leashes.
For a small shelter with only 20 people on staff, these challenges could be much more time-intensive and tougher to address than infection.
After they placed as many dogs as possible in foster care, shelter staff identified eight dogs who were “struggling behaviorally the most.” Morty was at the top of this list. Herr said he could not even lift his head to look at the staff and volunteers who tried to meet him.
Morty, like all the at-risk dogs at the shelter, received a team of four people. Their ob-
jective? To help Morty reach small goals — goals that might appear natural to other canines. One of Morty’s goals was simple: to wear a collar. Their strategy all depended on Morty’s love for cheese whiz. First, a staff member would put a collar on Morty. Then, before he could think about his new accessory, they would give him some cheese whiz to eat, drawing his attention away. Then, they would take the collar off. And repeat.
“He had very small goals in the beginning,” Herr said. “But piece by piece, they all fill in and make almost a real dog.”
Slowly, Morty came to accept the collar and would take on a new goal. But while Morty made progress, some other dogs regressed. Herr said the shelter was forced to euthanize three Carolina dogs who became “offensively aggressive,” trying to bite people with the intention to harm — something that can be dangerous for shelter staff and potential foster and
Physicians
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“Those were really, really hard decisions because obviously we want to take animals from a situation like that and give them a better outcome and regardless, I still do think we did,” she said. “We could at least provide them with a clean space to rest and food and water and fresh air. And though they didn’t want our love, we still love them.”
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Health Spotlight
Joey Sills (he/him)
is a senior studying English, comparative literature and political science.
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain—
All, all the stretch of these great green states—
And make America again!
— Langston Hughes
The presidential election year is a year of celebration and a year of sorrow, at once a party and a funeral procession. I was at a house show the Saturday after Halloween, the Saturday before Election Day, and the drummer in one of the bands was dressed up as Uncle Sam. I was reminded of the documentary “Gimme Shelter,” wherein Mick Jagger was fitted with a similar garb at the 1969 Altamont Free Concert: a concert that, infamously, ended with the deaths of four people. It was a snap back to reality from the heady trip of the ‘60s, a reminder that the center was crashing in on itself and peace and love were far from the collective spirit.
That same Saturday, I was on campus reading Allen Ginsberg’s 1956 poem “Howl” for my Introduction to Poetry class. It’s a lot of things, but at its core it’s a celebration of the
We mustn’t give up in our search for America
so-called “angelheaded hipsters” who, disillusioned with the status quo, represented a nation of young people desperately vying for change — a change they’d soon find in the burgeoning counterculture. While I was reading, an older woman passed by and stopped to see what I was doing.
“Oh, you’re reading ‘Howl’ — that’s cool!” she said.
And, as she shuffled off, she stopped as if she suddenly remembered: “Don’t forget to vote!”
In a twist of fate, we were scheduled to talk about this poem, and the Beat Generation as a whole, in class the morning of Election Day.
It felt appropriate, having a conversation about these authors who were ushering in, through their art, a social revolution. We opened by listening to and analyzing Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” and, somehow, his cracked, cigarette-addled croon still succeeded in speaking to the tumultuous absurdity of the moment.
And it is all absurd. There’s a certain feeling of existentialism that comes with the election year, a startlingly American existentialism that feels almost like a road trip to the object of our national Dream that, despite being totally imagined, still seems completely unimaginable. Every four years, like melting clockwork, we’re inundated with cautious patriotism, a cacophonous chorus of voices crying to us, pleading for us, to vote because the future
of our country depends on it. And, of course, this necessarily means that human life itself depends on it. After class, I hitched a bus back to my apartment and I drove to the Bloomington Eastview Church of the Nazarene and I voted. That night, Donald Trump, once again, won the election.
This is not a column about the United States of the 1960s, however: it’s a column about the United States of 2024, a retrospective on a year of pandemonium. But that mid-century era feels weirdly relevant, doesn’t it? It continues to haunt the country like a ghost, inspiring a hundred think pieces on the parallels between now and 1968. Trump’s attempted assassination in July, the torrent of campus anti-war protests, the sitting president’s decision to step out of the race and, of course, his replacement by the Republican opposition. Trump, like Nixon 56 years ago, took advantage of a split in the Democratic Party: progressive voters, then and now, were disillusioned with establishment politics, and I still contend Kamala Harris lost, in part, because of it.
This culture of disillusionment has been well documented, especially among younger voters. I talked to several people over the past several weeks who’ve divulged similar feelings, people who either chose not to vote for Harris out of protest
or voted for her begrudgingly. At a Hutton Honors College watch party the night of the election, Ram Cassidy, a junior studying psychology, and a transgender man, expressed his dismay with this election again being between the “lesser of two evils,” that adage of American politics that never ceases to be relevant. He voted for Harris, not because he was particularly excited by her policies and rhetoric but because she was, ultimately, better than Trump.
“I’m voting for my own rights, and because it’d be nice to not be criminalized,” he said. “And we’re also more likely to sway Kamala on things like trans rights and Palestine.”
I sat in, on a town hall, titled “New Strategy of the Left,” held at Redbud Books on Nov. 14. Here, attendees engaged openly with this feeling of alienation with electoral politics, and the topics ranged from the importance of community spaces like libraries and homeless shelters to the nature of civil disobedience. But all of it came down to one thing: Harris lost because the establishment opposition didn’t do enough, but it doesn’t need to be this way.
Even at the Monroe County Democratic Party watch party the night of the election, though far more optimistic for a Harris presidency than some of the progressive spaces I was used to, there was an unavoidable hint of trepidation. Damian Aram-
bula, press secretary for the IU College Democrats, was sympathetic toward left-wing voters who had spent the cycle protesting Harris’ campaign.
“She has this famous bit, the ‘I’m speaking,’ and people eat it up,” he said. “I don’t. I think people have a right to protest the politicians of their own party.”
However, he still contended that progressives had a responsibility to vote for her over the radical rightwing sect of government that Trump represents. The twoparty system is flawed, he said, but it’s simply the reality of the current moment.
In the end, though, Trump garnered roughly 2.2 million more votes than Harris; for comparison’s sake, she ended up with about 7 million less votes than Joe Biden in 2020, and Trump received about 3 million more than he got then. This discrepancy cannot simply be explained by a hard rightward shift in the electorate: Harris and the Democratic Party did something wrong, and that’s precisely where we ought to begin the discussion.
* * *
I’m not looking to provide an electoral analysis; I’ll make no pretense at even trying to grasp for some solution to the problems we’re facing. These things are important, but I find little interest in them. What I find much more interesting is what this sense of dejection says about
our collective understanding of “America” as an abstract concept; I opened this column with an epigraph from Langston Hughes’ poem “Let America Be America Again” precisely because it enunciates, better than I ever could, this portrait of America as an unrealized idea.
Hughes, a Black man born in 1901, knew better than perhaps anyone the material cruelty of the American experiment. When he cries “make America again!” — a phrase that, today, is almost impossible to not subconsciously associate with Trump’s campaign slogan — he isn’t hearkening to some mythical period of greatness. He’s using the concept of America, the concept espoused by our founding documents, the concept that, to date, hasn’t been. But it can be, and it must be, and we have the power to make it be. It’s entirely possible we’ll search our entire lives and never find America; but it’s also possible that through our activism, through our, as James Baldwin put it, insistence “on the right to criticize her perpetually,” we can one day craft a state that really lives up to its ideals. It’s true that these contradictory feelings of optimism and disillusionment aren’t easy to reconcile, but it is not impossible. Anything else would be surrending to despair. We absolutely mustn’t give up in our search for America — it is, in the end, all we have.
sillsj@iu.edu
I miss my tech-free childhood
I have a love-hate relationship with technology, more specifically, everyday devices like smart phones, iPads and computers. Although I am very grateful to have access to such technology, I think it has poisoned my brain, like it has for so many others. I find myself on my phone for more hours than I’d like, and even though I have always been good about limiting my time on my device, being in college has changed my ways. This change in behavior has got me thinking about my childhood. I miss it. Well, certain parts of it. The techfree parts, to be precise. I remember spending days and days running around my backyard with my sister for hours on end. We would play with our toys, make up stories, go to other kids’ houses and ask to play; very rarely would we sit in front of the TV all day. I miss the spontaneity, the excitement and the creativity. And I know kids still experience these moments today, but it isn’t
the same. It seems like modern childhood has drastically changed and morphed into something more tech-heavy. I know, I sound like an old lady cursing technology, but it really is concerning to see kids with phones and tablets at an extremely young age. They’re learning to walk with their heads down, headphones in and have no social and spatial awareness. The number of times I’ve had to drive really slowly behind a child who was walking toward the middle of the road, had their head down and headphones in has been too many. Technology has become too powerful. I feel like American society has accepted technology for children a little too easily. iPads are implemented into elementary schools, and I think that’s too early. I got my first iPad in fifth grade, when I was 10, and I think kids are getting them even earlier than that now. Monroe County Community School Corporation say that all students grades K-12 receive a device for educational use. So, kindergarteners, at age 5, are using devices all day
every day? Kindergarten and elementary school are where kids learn how to read, write, problem-solve, socialize and do hands-on activities — not learn how to be addicted to a device.
According to Pew Research Center, 60% of children start engaging with technology under the age of 5. That is unbelievable to me, but it’s also not that surprising. There are many reasons why kids could need technology at such a young age, like contacting their parents, using educational apps, watching videos or playing games, but I don’t see why they should need to do these things at 3 years old. It feels like society is placing a lot of responsibility and power on little kids by expecting them to contact their parents on their own and by giving them access to the whole internet. And using technology to fill their free time is not right. Kids should be outside, playing with other kids, playing with toys, reading books and engaging in other tech-free activities.
Social media is another big one. I get it, some kids on social media are funny and
don’t really do any harm, so why not just let them use it? This may be true in some cases, but think about what social media does to us. It’s essentially an addiction. It’s a time trap that sinks its teeth into our lives and doesn’t let go for as long as we’re still online. Social media is merciless, and we as adults already feel insecure and experience the fear of missing out when online, so why should we instill these feelings in young kids?
In my opinion, the appropriate time for a child to ob-
tain a device should be from the age of 12 to 13. And I’m not alone in this thinking. A lot of sources, including American Academy of Pediatrics, Child Mind Institute, and the Cleveland Clinic agree that ages 12 to 13 are the perfect time for a child to obtain a device. Age 11 to 13 is the middle school period. This is when children are starting to mature; they’re meeting new friends, they’re wanting to stay after school, they’re making decisions on their own. This is when kids should have a phone to contact their parents and friends. By waiting until they are older, children get to experience a childhood that is a lot more active and way better for their mental health. I worry for this next generation. I hope new families will break from the grasp of technology and teach their children about the importance of tech-free activities like being outside, reading, socializing and drawing. Let kids be kids without devices. evstraus@iu.edu
Evelyn Strauss (she/her) is a freshman studying international studies and human biology.
ILLUSTRATION BY ALAYNA WILKENING
‘Holiday Market Experiment’ spotlights local artists, live music
By Lily Saylor saylorl@iu.edu
Local T-shirt shop
badknees and Bloomington Farm Stop Collective transformed their small Kirkwood Avenue parking lot into a festive wonderland Saturday, complete with live music, art vendors and food trucks. The lot was bustling with Bloomington residents of all ages who enjoyed four live performances and 18 vendors selling items such as handmade jewelry and knitted eyeglass cases.
The event, coined the “badknees Holiday Market Experiment” by badknees business owner Jim Beck, is not the first market event he has held.
“I started doing what I call ‘market experiments’ in June, I’d do a once-a-month market outside when the
weather was nice,” Beck said.
These monthly outdoor markets were so popular, Beck said he decided to host a night-time event as well. Despite the cold weather, around a hundred people showed up to the parking lot, which was equipped with outdoor space heaters to help combat the December wind.
Attendees circled around the heaters, sipping hot apple cider from the Farm Stop, a farmers market and cafe owned by over 60 local farms. As well as offering a variety of hot and cold drinks, the shop also sells fresh produce, meat products, pastries, salsas and more.
Outside, food and drinks were also provided by the Orbit Room, selling hotdogs and alcoholic beverages, and The Crêpe Outdoors, selling both savory and sweet
crêpes.
Bloomington local and owner of The Crêpe Outdoors, Kevin Glenn, explained that he was working on Kirkwood Avenue, before the weather got cold.
“I’m trying to find more events through the winter,” Glenn said. “Spring will be Food Truck Fridays that the city puts on at Switchyard Park.”
After trying an Eggy Brecky crêpe, a savory concoction loaded with eggs, ham, cheddar, feta, spinach and sour cream— one of Glenn’s personal favorites — or a classic hotdog from the Orbit Room, attendees could peruse one of the 18 vendors located in the parking lot as well as inside badknees and the Farm Stop. One of these vendors was Violet Bridge Gallery, a family-
owned business that sells hand-made crafts, including jewelry and paintings.
Kenton Weaver was one of several family members manning the Violet Bridge Gallery Booth, owned by Monique Proffitt.
“Sometimes we bring in stuff that my grandparents make, like kitchen stuff and what not, and then my little sister does some things, and we just sell family stuff,” Weaver said. “I like selling the prints, mainly because it exposes my older sister because she’s an artist.”
Weaver added that he believes Bloomington is a very inclusive town with a lot to do for local artists and businesses.
“There’s a lot of communities,” he said. “I believe that Bloomington is pretty interesting, and you can really find your place
here.”
Over the hustle and bustle of drinks and conversation, four different musical acts serenaded guests, including local artists Step Twins, Prairie Scout Band + Brick Lancaster Duo, Moon News and Nicholas Graham Hall.
In between sets, speakers blared popular hit songs while the bands set up.
Weaving in and out of the crowd to check on each vendor and performer was Beck, alternating between working in his store and assisting with the outside vendors.
As for the company name, badknees, Beck explained that it’s simple —people have bad knees.
“My dad had two (knee) replacements, and so I’m probably headed there, but it just kind of seems like this universal acceptance that
we all have them, or we’re all going to get them,” Beck said. “We’ve all got something bad going on.” His company creates an expansive number of designs, most of them relating in some way to Bloomington, which Beck said was intentional. His products include postcards, stickers and even a whole merch line for Shalooby’s, a made-up restaurant that has become an internet inside joke on Bloomington social media.
“I’ve always liked local businesses, especially quirky, unique businesses,” he said. “I feel like I’m trying to, in my own little way, keep that vibe going of a ‘one of a kind’ kind of place with a lot of Bloomington references and a lot of inside jokes that the majority of the world might not really appreciate.”
Arts Alliance in Bloomington hosts arts and craft fair
By Lauren Kopka lkopka@iu.edu
For the fourth year, the Arts Alliance of Greater Bloomington will host the Holiday Arts and Crafts Show this December. Housed in the Arts Alliance Center in College Mall between Foot Locker and Southern Style Boutique, the storefront displays art and holiday gifts for sale from local artists.
The show, which opened Nov. 29, runs 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 6 p.m. Sundays until Dec. 22. It is free to attend.
It’s located inside an unassuming storefront, but when patrons walk inside, they’re greeted by the artists’ creations adorning the white walls and shelves. Locally blown glass sits next to hand crocheted bookmarks, framed watercolors, photography collections and more. Everything displayed is for sale and the holiday show is another chance for local artists to display their work to the Bloomington community.
Visitors will find booths with the artists sitting behind their displayed work. Sarah Asher, Arts Alliance treasurer and center coordinator, started planning the event
and booth spaces weeks ago. On Thanksgiving Day, it was Asher who drove around town planting yard signs promoting the show.
“It is the fourth year we’ve put this on,” Asher said. “We have a lot of people who come in and are looking for Christmas gifts or just browsing and will come back each year, which we are really pleased with.”
Up to nine booths are available for rent each weekend. The call for artists went out in November and booth rental discounts were offered to Arts Alliance members. For many artists, these “arts and crafts” stem from years of working on their passions.
Basket maker Bonnie Martin, alongside her husband Barry, creates distinctive rope baskets with her four vintage sewing machines. Her baskets are uniquely hand woven and adorned with a decorative knot from Barry, or perhaps even a sleek copperwork detail that’s hand pressed by Barry as well.
“Each basket can take anywhere from 20-30 minutes to several days, depending on the size, Barry said.
“It started when she got a sewing machine from her father in 1974 and that’s really turned into something special for us to work on.”
Other artists sold items like frames, intricate crochet or jewelry, like local artist Theresa McClure. The beads and rare stones she uses in each piece are personally sourced, giving her more control in the jewelry making process to create items full of color and
Dogs celebrate the season
By Lily Saylor
individuality. One website McClure sources from sells the beads of artists in developing countries, giving the artists back their profit after the sale. McClure’s collection includes pieces with authentic roman glass beads, or paper beads created by artists in other countries.
“They’re beautiful beads that I’ve gotten in the countries that they came from,” McClure said. “People benefit, so it’s a good relationship.”
Others, like local artist Anahaí Courperus, are able to share pieces of their heritage through the show.
Courperus specializes in Ñanduti, a Paraguayan art form of woven lace. A sign at her booth states “I had the privilege of learning from two of the most recognized teachers in Paraguay and since then I have dedicated my life to practicing this art form.” As visitors browse around, they’re not just shopping, they’re supporting Bloomington’s thriving art scene. More information on the show can be found on the Arts Alliance website.
at ‘Yappy Howl-idays’ event
part, we usually get that 25 (person) range.”
Although the event has been held for multiple years, this was attendee Gwen Fisher’s first time, and she brought along her Bernedoodle, Maple.
“In Bloomington, everybody loves their dogs, and the dog events are really well attended, so we’ve been doing it ever since,” Ream said. “There’s been a few years that it was pretty cold where we didn’t get a whole lot of people, but for the most
Dressed in a bright red Santa suit and donning a long white beard, Bloomington Parks and Recreation Community Events Coordinator Bill Ream posed for photos with dozens of dogs Sunday at Switchyard Park. The “Yappy Howl-idays” event gave Bloomington dog owners the opportunity to get the perfect Christmas card photo of their pups posed next to “Santa Paws.” The fourth annual “Yappy Howl-idays” event is one of several holiday activities that Bloomington Parks and Recreation holds. It also hosts a holiday farmers market, Skate with Santa and Sensory-Friendly Photos with Santa, accommodated for children with sensory issues to meet Santa in a stress-free environment. Out of the holiday events, “Yappy Howl-idays” is historically a success.
“We come to a lot of the park’s events with her,” Fisher said. “I wanted to get her picture with Santa Claus so that we could put it on our Christmas cards and mail them out to all our loved ones.”
Fisher said that Bloomington is very dogfriendly and said that both Switchyard Park and Ferguson Dog Park are
excellent facilities to bring furry friends.
“There’s so many trails, which I know is primarily because Bloomington is such a bike place, but it’s still really nice to be able to have so many easily accessible trails to take your dog on,” she said.
Non-resident Danielle Toner is in Bloomington often to spend time with family. Toner was unaware that the Yappy Howl-idays event was occurring; she was just going outside with her dog, Micky — named after Mick Jagger, when the pair stumbled across the event.
As well as dog parks, Toner also said she enjoys
walking the biking trails and exploring Griffy Lake Nature Preserve and Jackson Creek Park.
“(Bloomington) has good infrastructure, and it’s always adding to the parks,” Toner said. “I’m a real outdoors person.”
The event kicked off at 1 p.m., with dogs sprinting into the park’s gates to greet a costumed Ream with excitement and slobber. Some dogs even leapt onto his lap in a flurry of fur, as if reuniting with an old friend.
After being made aware of the event, Toner went to check out the festive scene with Micky bounding in
front of her. A few of the dogs were matching with Santa, sporting jingle bell collars and little Santa suits. Ream has been working with Bloomington Parks for 15 years, with plenty of events and volunteer experience under his belt. He said he is glad he’s able to provide a little bit of holiday fun for Bloomington residents and visitors alike.
“I appreciate being with the parks, I appreciate how much it’s appreciated and how the park itself is trying to be ahead of the curve, so to speak, and trying to get trends and do fun things,” Ream said.
INIGO YBANEZ | IDS
Two Bloomington residents pose for a photo while looking
and crafts during the “badknees Holiday Market Experiment” on Dec. 7, 2024, at the Bloomington Farm Stop Collective in Bloomington. The event featured live music, indoor and outdoor markets and various drinks.
How Indiana looks to remain a Big Ten contender
The Hoosiers
By Savannah Slone srslone@iu.edu | @savrivers06
Mackenzie Holmes’ Indiana women’s basketball career ended March 29, 2024, with a loss in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 to the University of South Carolina, the eventual NCAA Champions.
“Mackenzie Holmes has been one of our greatest players ever to put on an Indiana uniform,” head coach Teri Moren said after the loss. “And will go down in history as one of the greatest.”
Holmes was Indiana’s first ever First Team AllAmerican and ended her career as the program’s leader in four categories: all-time leading scorer (2,530), field goals made (1,043), field goal percentage (63.9%) and wins (123).
Exhausting her eligibility alongside Holmes was guard Sara Scalia. In two seasons at Indiana, Scalia became the program’s leader in 3-point percentage (39.5%) and freethrow percentage (90.5%).
Holmes and Scalia were a part of Indiana’s second-ever Big Ten title in 2022-23 and led the Hoosiers to a tie for second place with Iowa last season. Both were in the top 10 of the conference in scoring average during Big Ten play.
In the offseason, the Hoosiers needed to combat the losses of arguably one of the greatest players in program history and a sharpshooter, who combined for 45.7% of Indiana’s scoring last season. So, they brought in a pair of Power 4 transfers.
***
Indiana signed junior guard Shay Ciezki from Penn State and senior forward Karoline Striplin from the University of Tennessee in April 2024.
Ciezki is known for her
enter full conference play with injuries and without former stalwarts
shooting abilities. During the 2023-24 season, she was Penn State’s leader in 3-pointers made (74), averaging 10.7 points, 2.6 assists and 2 3-pointers per conference game for the Lady Lions. Her shooting will be a key contributor in replacing the production lost from Scalia.
Finding her place in the Hoosiers’ offense wasn’t instant, however.
Through her first three games, she averaged 7.3 points per game while shooting 36% from the field and only making one of her nine 3-point attempts. Over Indiana’s last seven games, the Buffalo, New York, native has averaged 12.6 points per game, headlined by her 34-point performance against then-No. 18 Baylor University on Nov. 24.
Ciezki also led the way for Indiana during its win over the University of Southern Indiana on Dec. 4 when it overcame a 15-point secondquarter deficit. She scored 10 of her 17 points in the second half, and she hit a corner 3-pointer to give Indiana a 4-point lead with just under 30 seconds to play, proving Ciezki’s scoring abilities can guide the Hoosiers to success.
Striplin has played a key role in filling the gap in the lineup along with junior forward Lilly Meister. Last season, Striplin helped the Lady Volunteers to a tie for fourth place in the Southeastern Conference. She played in all 16 SEC games and averaged 4.4 points and 2.3 rebounds in 11.8 minutes per game.
“I’m going to do whatever Coach Moren needs me to do, and I feel like that’s kind of (Meister’s) mindset as well,” Striplin said at Indiana basketball’s institutional media day Sept. 18. “We’re just going to go in and do what they need us to do.”
After Indiana’s win over
the University of Maine on Dec. 1, when Meister scored 18 points, Moren said that Meister needed to approach scoring more like the way Holmes’ attacked the paint.
“She has a different mindset — where Mack begged for the ball all the time, we got to get Lilly to be,” Moren said. “And she’s not going to be Mackenzie (Holmes), not suggesting that, but we have to get her to beg for the ball a little bit more because she is efficient around the rim.”
Play from Meister and Striplin has been hot and cold so far. The duo opened the season with a combined 30 points and 17 rebounds against Brown University but have struggled to find their rhythm in the paint. But the two seemed to be rounding into form in Indiana’s first conference game against Penn State on Saturday as Striplin scored 27 points and went perfect from the field while Meister added another 10 points in the Hoosiers’ win over the Lady Lions. ***
Indiana’s depth has been tested early.
Graduate student guard Sydney Parrish suffered a left knee injury against Baylor University on Nov. 24. Moren said her injury will sideline Parrish for a couple of weeks. Indiana will also be without sophomore guard Lenée Beaumont for an undetermined amount of time as she will soon undergo a procedure on a left knee injury she sustained over the summer.
With injuries already affecting depth early in the season, it is even more crucial that graduate student guard Chloe Moore-McNeil and junior guard Yarden Garzon are dependable leaders for the Hoosiers.
Indiana also started its season without junior guard Lexus Bargesser who missed
the first four games of the season with a right foot injury. Bargesser’s first game back from injury was the Hoosiers’ win over Columbia University on Nov. 23. Since her return, Bargesser has added another level of physicality to Indiana’s defense.
In the offseason, Bargesser worked on improving her shot to make it cleaner and more efficient.
“I want (defenses) to guard me on the perimeter,” Bargesser said. “But I also want it for my teammates, too, because I don’t want my defender being in their way.”
If Bargesser’s new shot helps improve her shooting ability, she could provide increased scoring production and help free up her teammates, giving them increased opportunities to score.
Parrish, Moore-McNeil and Garzon provide a veteran presence as returning starters who started all 32 games last season. The group of veterans has had some underwhelming performances this season, including during the Hoosiers’ overtime loss to Harvard when the three
scored a combined 2 points in the overtime period. But as Indiana looks toward its full conference play slate, it will need to lean on the experience of these players and rely on them to step up when their team needs them to.
***
Indiana’s start to the season has proved that a player of Holmes’ caliber cannot be replaced and filling the gaps left by her and Scalia is difficult and comes with an adjustment period. The Hoosiers suffered back-to-back losses to Harvard University and Butler University. Indiana started 1-2 for the first time since 2008-09 and fell out of The Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since 2018-19. In response, the Hoosiers went 6-1 in their last seven games –– the only loss coming by 30 points to the University of North Carolina on Nov. 25.
“I don’t think any of us walked into this thing at the beginning of the season thinking that our lines of suc-
cess was going to look like a straight line,” Moren said after the win over Maine. “I think we all kind of felt like we were going to be a little bit up and down and I tried to prepare the kids for that because when you’re used to playing with a kid like Mackenzie Holmes, it’s an adjustment for us.”
During Holmes and Scalia’s two seasons together, Indiana went 31-5 in conference games. And while there is uncertainty with how the Hoosiers will look different without the duo in conference games, their Big Ten opener against Penn State on Dec. 7 was a promising start. The Hoosiers used efficient post play and solid defense to claim a 15-point victory over the Lady Lions in their seventh straight conference opener win. “We have to turn the page,” Parrish said Nov. 4. “This is a new year, this is our team, and I think people have to realize that. Even though we were such a successful team last year, I think we still have the potential to be that this year.”
GISELLE MARSTELLER | IDS
Indiana women’s basketball head coach Teri Moren instructs her team in a game against Maryville University on Oct. 30, 2024, at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington. The Hoosiers began Big Ten play with a 15-point victory over Penn State.
BLISS
HARRY BLISS
Indiana earns College Football Playoff berth
By Dalton James jamesdm@iu.edu | @daltonmjames
Indiana football earned its first selection to the College Football Playoff on Dec. 8 as the bracket was revealed on ESPN’s CFP selection show. The Hoosiers are seeded No. 10, setting the stage for a first round matchup with the University of Notre Dame at 8 p.m. Dec. 20 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. The winner of the matchup will then face off against the University of Georgia in the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans at 8:45 p.m. Jan. 1 inside Caesars Superdome.
The Fighting Irish (11-1) are coming off a 14-point victory over USC on Nov. 30, cementing its CFP berth. Led by senior quarterback
Riley Leonard, who transferred from Duke University in the offseason, Notre Dame is in the midst of a 10game winning streak after falling to Northern Illinois University on Sept. 7 in its lone regular season loss.
“How are we not, right now, seeded for a home game? That’s what I want to know.”
Head coach Curt Cignetti
Dec. 8 selection marks the Fighting Irish’s third playoff appearance — the first in 2018 and the second in 2020. They are 0-2 alltime, as they fell to Clemson University and the University of Alabama by a combined score of 61-17. In his third season at the helm, head coach Marcus
Freeman led his squad to three ranked wins throughout the season — then-No. 20 Texas A&M University, then-No. 15 University of Louisville and then-No. 19 Army West Point.
Notre Dame leads the all-time series between the two squads, 23-5-1, with the last meeting coming in 1991. The Hoosiers haven’t beat the Fighting Irish since 1950 and have won just once in South Bend — in 1898.
But perhaps no Indiana squad has a better chance of beating Notre Dame than this season’s squad. The Hoosiers (11-1) capped off their best regular season in program history with a 66-0 drubbing of Purdue on Nov. 30. Led by first-year head coach Curt Cignetti, the Cream and Crimson’s only loss during the regular season came to No. 8 Ohio State
on Nov. 23 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
Ahead of the Big Ten Championship on Dec. 7, Cignetti joined the CBS pregame show and expressed his displeasure with Indiana’s standing in the rankings ahead of Sunday’s bracket reveal.
“How are we not, right now, seeded for a home game? That’s what I want to know,” Cignetti said. “We got the largest margin of victory in the country. Take out the FCS and the G5, P4 only, we’re outscoring people 4017 — second in the country.”
Cignetti went on to claim that if Indiana had a different name such as Michigan, it would be ranked higher.
But despite Cignetti’s pleas for a home game, the Hoosiers are now set to hit the road to take on the Fighting Irish.
Lifeway Baptist Church
Sunday:
9 a.m., Bible Study Classes
10 a.m., Morning Service
5 p.m., Evening Service
Student Ministry: Meeting for Bible study throughout the month. Contact Rosh Dhanawade at bluhenrosh@gmail.com for more information.
7821 W. State Road 46 812-876-6072 lifewaybaptistchurch.org facebook.com/lifewayellettsville
Steven VonBokern - Senior Pastor Rosh Dhanawade - IU Coordinator 302-561-0108 bluhenrosh@gmail.com
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Bloomington Young Single Adult Branch
2411 E. Second St. To Contact: Send message from website maps.churchofjesuschrist.org/ wards/237973
Sunday: 12:30 p.m.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has four congregations in Bloomington—Three family wards and our young single adult branch for college students. This info is for the YSA Branch. Weekday religious classes at 333 S. Highland Ave, Bloomington IN 47401, next to campus.
More info at churchofjesuschrist.org.
Lutheran - Missouri Synod
University Lutheran Church and LCMS U Student Center
607 E. Seventh St. 812-336-5387 indianalutheran.com facebook.com/ULutheranIU instagram.com/uluindiana
Sunday:
9:15 a.m.: Sunday Bible Class
10:30 a.m.: Sunday Divine Service
Wednesday:
7 p.m.: Wednesday Evening Service
Student Center open daily:
9 a.m. - 10 p.m.
The LCMS home of campus ministry at IU, our mission is to serve all college students with the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ, located across from Dunn Meadow and the IMU. The Student Center is open daily for study, recreation, and prayer. For full schedule, visit our website.
Rev. Timothy Winterstein - Campus Pastor
United Methodist
Jubilee
219 E. Fourth St. 812-332-6396 jubileebloomington.org
Facebook: First United Methodist Church of Bloomington, IN Instagram: @jubileebloomington
Sunday: 9:30 a.m., Classic Worship 11:45 a.m., Contemporary Worship Wednesday: 7:30 p.m., College & Young Adult Dinner
Jubilee is a Christ-centered community open and affirming to all. We gather on Wednesdays at First United Methodist (219 E. 4th St.) for free food, honest discussion, worship, and hanging out. Small groups, service projects, social events (bonfires, game nights, book clubs, etc.), outreach retreats, and leadership opportunities all play a significant role in our rhythm of doing life together.
Markus Dickinson - jubilee@fumcb.org
Inter-Denominational
Redeemer Community Church
111 S. Kimble Dr. 812-269-8975 redeemerbloomington.org facebook.com/RedeemerBtown
Instagram & Twitter: @RedeemerBtown
Sunday: 9 a.m., 11 a.m.
Redeemer is a gospel-centered community on mission. Our vision is to see the gospel of Jesus Christ transform everything: our lives, our church, our city, and our world. We want to be instruments of gospel change in Bloomington and beyond.
Chris Jones - Lead Pastor
American Restoration Movement
North Central Church of Christ
2121 N. Dunn St. 812-332-2248 nc3family.org Facebook.com/nc3family
Sunday: 10 a.m., Worship 11 a.m., College Class
Come learn about historic Christian teaching on theology, ethics, and culture. We offer an alternative to the post-modern ideologies and teachings you often see in your lives today.
Shane Himes, PHD - Senior Minister
Christian Science
Christian Science Church
2425 E. Third St. 812-332-0536 bloomingtonchristianscience.com facebook.com/e3rdStreet
The Bahá'í Association of IU works to share the Teachings and Principles of the Founder, Bahá'u'lláh, that promote the "Oneness of Mankind" and the Peace and Harmony of the Planet through advancing the "security, prosperity, wealth and tranquility of all peoples."
Karen Pollock Dan Enslow
MICHELLE REZSONYA | IDS
Junior wide receiver Elijah Sarratt celebrates his touchdown during a game against Michigan on Nov. 9, 2024, at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington. The Hoosiers earned their first College Football Playoff berth Dec. 8.
BASEBALL
Bart Kaufman dies at 83
Kaufman was a former baseball player and philanthropist
By Dalton James jamesdm@iu.edu | @daltonmjames
Barton “Bart” Kaufman, a former IU baseball player who’s the namesake of IU’s baseball stadium, died Dec. 3 at his home in Phoenix. He was 83 years old. Kaufman, who was born in Shelbyville, Indiana, earned All-Big Ten honors twice and was the second-leading hitter in the conference in 1961. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in life insurance in 1962 before graduating from the Indiana University School of Law in 1965.
After leaving Bloomington, he joined his father, Nate, in business. Kaufman’s father founded and served as the chairman of Kaufman Financial Corporation. After his father’s death in 1981, Kaufman has since served as the chairman and CEO of the corporation, which provides wealth transfer strategies to families in the U.S. According to his obituary, he was active in philanthropies such as the Indiana University Foundation, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Congregation Beth-El Zedeck. At IU, he fundraised for the Helene G. Simon Hillel Center, the Bess Meshulam
Society of Friends (Quaker)
Bloomington Friends Meeting
3820 E. Moores Pike
812-336-4581
bloomingtonfriendsmeeting.org
Facebook: Bloomington Friends Meeting
Sunday (in person & Zoom) :
9:45 a.m., Hymn singing
10:30 a.m., Meeting for Worship
10:45 a.m., Sunday School
(Children join worship 10:30-10:45)
11:30 a.m., Refreshments and Fellowship
12:30 p.m., Events (see website)
Wednesday (Zoom Only) :
7 p.m., Meeting for worship for Peace
Friday (Zoom Only) :
9 a.m., Meeting for worship
We practice traditional Quaker worship, gathering in silence with occasional Spirit-led vocal ministry by fellow worshipers. We are an inclusive community with a rich variety of belief and no prescribed creed. We are actively involved in peace action, social justice causes, and environmental concerns.
Peter Burkholder - Clerk burkhold@indiana.edu
Non-Denominational
Christ Community Church
503 S. High St.
812-332-0502 cccbloomington.org
facebook.com/christcommunitybtown
Instagram: @christcommunitybtown
Sunday: 9:15 a.m., Educational Hour
10:30 a.m., Worship Service
We are a diverse community of Christ-followers, including many IU students, faculty and staff. Together we are committed to sharing the redeeming grace and transforming truth of Jesus Christ in this college town.
Bob Whitaker - Senior Pastor Adam deWeber - Worship Pastor Dan Waugh - Adult Ministry Pastor
Christian Student Fellowship
1968 N. David Baker Ave. 812-332-8972 csfindiana.org
Instagram: @csfindiana
Monday - Friday: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Christian Student Fellowship (CSF) exists as a Christ-centered community focused on helping students truly know Jesus Christ. Our ministry operates from an on-campus house where students can live. Reach out to schedule a tour of the house or a visit to our Thursday night worship service!
Ben Geiger - Lead Campus Minister
Stephanie Michael - Campus Minister
Joe Durnil - Associate Campus Minister
Hailee Lutz - Office Manager
Simon Music Library and Recital Center, Simon Hall and the Bren Simon Cancer Center.
In February 2012, Indiana Athletics announced that its new baseball facility would be named Bart Kaufman Field in honor of Kaufman’s monetary donation to Indiana Athletics. Kaufman and his wife, Judy, have four children and 15 grandchildren.
City Church is a multicultural church on the east side of Bloomington. We provide transportation from campus. Our college and young adult ministry meets on Tuesday nights.
David Norris - Pastor
Sacred Heart Church
615 N. Fairview St. 812-345-5239 sacredheartbloomington.org facebook.com/sacredheartbloomington
Sacred Heart is a nondenominational church that seeks to follow Jesus by acting justly, loving mercy and walking humbly with God. We strive to be a safe, inclusive community where you can bring your doubts, questions, struggles, and joys before a loving God and find true belonging. All are welcome! Dan Caldwell
Episcopal (Anglican)
Canterbury Mission
719 E. Seventh St. 812-822-1335 IUCanterbury.org facebook.com/ECMatIU
Instagram & Twitter: @ECMatIU
Youtube: @canterburyhouseatiu9094
Sunday: 3 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Mon., Wed., Thu.: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Tuesday: Noon - 8 p.m. Fri., Sat.: By Appointment
Canterbury: Assertively open & affirming; unapologetically Christian, we proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ by promoting justice, equality, peace, love and striving to be the change God wants to see in our world.
Ed Bird - Chaplain/Priest
Independent Baptist
Lifeway Baptist Church
7821 W. State Road 46 812-876-6072 lifewaybaptistchurch.org facebook.com/lifewayellettsville
IU adds Butler University transfer
By Mateo Fuentes-Rohwer matfuent@iu.edu @mateo_frohwer
Only a week after its season came to an end against No. 3 University of Denver in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen, Indiana men’s soccer has already added a top transfer from the portal.
Butler University’s Palmer Ault announced his transfer to the Hoosiers on Dec. 7 on his Instagram account. The junior forward played three seasons for the Bulldogs.
A native of Noblesville, Indiana, Ault began his career with the Bulldogs in 2022. His freshman campaign ended with 10 goals and six assists, earning him unanimous Big East Freshman of the Year honors as well as a place on the AllBig East First Team.
Ault’s next two seasons failed to match the output of his first, but his sophomore and junior years featured six and five goals
scored, respectively. Both seasons ended with All-Big East Second Team selections.
Indiana lost three key veterans in its attacking line from 2024, with the graduation of seniors Tommy
United Church of Christ and American Baptist Churches-USA First United Church 2420 E. Third St. 812-332-4439 firstuc.org facebook.com/firstuc
Sunday: 10:30 a.m., Worship
Monday: 10 a.m. via Zoom, Bible Study
We are an Open, Welcoming, and Affirming community of love and acceptance dedicated to welcoming the diversity of God’s beloved. We exist to empower, challenge, and encourage one another to live out Jesus’ ways (compassion, truth, and justice) authentically as human beings in community to create a better world.
Rev. Jessica Petersen-Mutai Senior Minister
Baptist
Emmanuel Church
1503 W. That Rd. 812-824-2768 Emmanuelbloom.com Instagram & Facebook: @EmmanuelBloomington
Sunday: 9:15 a.m., Fellowship
Sunday: 10 a.m., Worship Groups: Various times
Emmanuel is a multigenerational church of all types of people. Whether you are questioning faith or have followed Jesus for years, we exist to help fuel a passion for following Jesus as we gather together, grow in community, and go make disciples.
John Winders - Lead Pastor
Second Baptist Church
321 N. Rogers St. 812-327-1467 sbcbloomington.org facebook.com/2ndbaptistbloomington youtube.com/@secondbaptist churchbloomington
Sunday Service: 10 a.m., In house and on Facebook/YouTube Sunday School: 8:45 - 9:45 a.m. Bible Study: Available In House and on Zoom Wednesdays, 6:30 p.m., Thursdays, Noon
Please come and worship with us. We are in training for reigning with Christ! Need a ride? Call our Church bus at 812-3271467 before 8 a.m. on Sunday
Rev. Dr. Bruce R. Rose - Pastor Tallie Schroeder - Secretary
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Rose House LuMin & St. Thomas Lutheran Church
3800 E. Third St. 812-332-5252 Stlconline.org lcmiu.net
Rose House LuMin and St. Thomas Lutheran Church invite you to experience life together with us. We are an inclusive Christian community who values the faith, gifts, and ministry of all God’s people. We seek justice, serve our neighbors, and love boldly.
Unity of Bloomington A Center for Spiritual Growth
4001 S. Rogers St. text/call: 812-333-2484 unityofbloomington.org IG: @unityofbloomington facebook@UnityofBloomington
Sunday Celebration: 10:30 a.m.
Discover a vibrant, welcoming community at Unity of Bloomington – “a positive path for spiritual living”. Our center offers a space for spiritual growth; embracing all with open arms. We proudly affirm and welcome the LGBTQ+ community, fostering love, acceptance, and inclusion. Join our loving congregation, where everyone is valued and encouraged to explore their spiritual journey. At Unity of Bloomington, all are welcome and together we thrive!
Minnassa Gabon - Spiritual Leader Phyllis Wickliff - Music Director Reformed Protestant
Trinity Reformed Church
2401 S. Endwright Rd. 812-825-2684 trinityreformed.org lucas@trinityreformed.org facebook.com/trinitychurchbloom
Sunday: 10:30 a.m., Sunday Morning Services 7 p.m., Bible Study at the IMU
We are a Reformed Protestant church on the west side of Bloomington with lively worship on Sunday mornings and regular lunches for students after church. We love God and His Word. Please get in touch if you’d like a ride!
Sunday: 9 a.m., Bible Study Classes
10 a.m., Morning Service
5 p.m., Evening Service
*Free transportation provided. Please call if you need a ride to church.
Student Ministry: Meeting for Bible study throughout the month. Contact Rosh Dhanawade at bluhenrosh@gmail.com for more information.
Steven VonBokern - Senior Pastor Rosh Dhanawade - IU Coordinator 302-561-0108 bluhenrosh@gmail.com
Unitarian Universalist Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington 2120 N. Fee Ln. 812-332-3695 uubloomington.org facebook.com/uubloomington
Jody Killingsworth - Senior Pastor Lucas Weeks - College Pastor Church
Sunday: 10:15 a.m., via in person or livestream
We’re a multi dynamic congregation actively working towards a more just and loving world. We draw inspiration from world religions and diverse spiritual traditions. Our vision is “Seeking the Spirit, Building Community, Changing the World.” A LGBTQA+, Dementia Friendly, Welcoming Congregation to all ages and groups and a Certified Green Sanctuary.
Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray
Mihalic and Sam Sarver along with graduate student Justin Weiss. Ault joins sophomore forwards Clay Murador and Collins Oduro as well as freshman Michael Nesci as likely candidates to lead the front line.
FILE PHOTO | IDS
Bart Kaufman shakes an Indiana baseball player’s hand before an IU baseball game in 2013 at Bart Kaufman Field
COURTESY PHOTO
Butler University junior forward Palmer Ault runs to the ball in a game against Indiana on Sept. 4, 2024, at The Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl in Indianapolis. Ault announced his intent to transfer to the Hoosiers on Dec. 7.
In March 2024, Indiana
Gov. Eric Holcomb signed House Enrolled Act 1412. The law voided local municipal ordinances that banned retail dog sales in Indiana — including Bloomington’s own ban on the retail sale of dogs. Critics argued the legislation protects inhumane puppy mills and commercial breeders.
The law will also make commercial dog breeders subject to random Indiana Board of Animal Health inspections starting July 1, 2025. If breeders do not register with the Board of Animal Health, they can face a Class A misdemeanor charge.
However, Herr said many hoarding and breeding situations are not always that straightforward.
“I think the biggest misconception is that these people are monsters, and that’s just not the case,” Herr said.
“When we look at people who end up in hoarding situations, it’s oftentimes a symptom of a much bigger problem that they’re having. You know, there’s a lot of mental health issues that they’re struggling with, there’s a lot of financial issues that they’re struggling with.”
Herr said she felt Pryor was unfairly targeted after the seizure, including when a broadcast news team started
he was very kind,” Herr said. “And he became a target in Bloomington. Even though the things he did were not great, people did not treat him with any kind of respect at all.”
Both Clarke and Herr said they believed Pryor did care for the dogs — that he thought he was helping protect the Carolina breed. Clarke said when one of the Carolina dogs escaped from his original foster home, Pryor had called the foster offering to help find the dog. He offered to send the foster parent a voice recording of himself talking to get the dog to come back.
“What kind of ‘monster’ would reach back out like that and offer help?” Clarke said.
“That’s not a bad person, that’s a person with a great heart who still cares, you know, and just wants to do right. He wanted to make sure that those animals succeeded, and he thought he was doing that. He thought he was saving the breed.”
After the seizure, Pryor faced two different legal cases. In the first, he faced a civil charge for violating Bloomington’s local animal care ordinance, but this charge was dismissed. He was later convicted of a Class A criminal misdemeanor for cruelty to an animal. He was sentenced to 180 days in the Monroe County Jail — but this term was suspended — and 180 days of unsupervised proba-
Morty’s foster mom, thinks his middle name, Octavius, is more fitting for the canine. Green assigned him the name, which he shares with a Roman emperor, when he started to come out of his shell this past year.
“He’s an Octavius,” Green said. “He’s regal, you know. That just stuck.”
And one day in mid-September, Morty was living up to his courageous name: by leaving his bed in the kitchen to catch a glimpse of the stranger standing in his living room.
He started by peeking his head around the kitchen doorframe. Only for a second, though — he didn’t want the stranger, an IDS reporter, to see him. And he succeeded: by the time his visitor looked in his direction, Morty was already gone.
But it wasn’t good enough. His foster sister, Eleanor, was barking — what if she needed his help? He obviously needed another quick peek around the doorframe. This time he waited for a few seconds longer before bolting away.
Still, he wanted to know more. So, Morty continued his game of cat-and-mouse for the next 30 minutes, stuck between his curiosity and trepidation, before finally retiring back to his bed. Maybe he’d try again later.
For another dog, the task might be easy and an opportunity to snag a few treats and pets. But for Morty to even look at the newcomer from a distance, Green said, was “brave.”
Before coming to Green, Morty was in one other foster home for a few weeks. While he made significant progress in the shelter setting, Herr said they didn’t want to keep him there for long.
That’s when the shelter asked Green if she would be interested in taking him in. Green was known among the shelter as one of the best animal foster parents in Bloomington. She’s fostered around 130 dogs — mostly puppies — since she was in college.
She’s fostered lots of dogs with complicated histories. Sometimes she takes in puppies whose “mama dog” has tried to attack their litter. She’s fostered Pitbulls, mutts
and designer breeds she thinks “shouldn’t exist” due to their conflicting health and behavior qualities — like a “mastodor” named Mabel, whose family surrendered her to the shelter after refusing to bring her into their RV on a camping trip.
Before welcoming Morty, she fostered two other Carolina dogs from the seizure: Eleven and Kaia. Eleven’s adoptive parents, Karen and Mike Kelley, call Green the “kibble fairy,” because she hand-feeds all her animals.
The Bloomington Animal Shelter brought Morty to Green’s house in December 2023. Usually, Green would pick the animal up at the shelter, but she didn’t have a car at the time and Morty was too large for her to transport by herself. When Morty got there, he was covered in feces (a “panic poop,” as Green described it). It was obvious he was scared. That was nothing new for her.
She sat on her kitchen floor with Morty, as he avoided her gaze and tried to push himself against the walls of her kitchen. He didn’t know Green and likely didn’t know why he was in this unknown house. The presence of another animal, a curious hound-mix named Eleanor, who was separated from him by a baby gate, probably wasn’t clearing up the situation.
It took a few days after this first introduction, but he eventually started to explore his new home. He sniffed the kitchen floor thoroughly and started to look through a glass panel on the kitchen door that led to Green’s backyard. Slowly, he started to venture out more — into the living room, into Green’s bedroom. Eventually, the baby gate blocking him from Eleanor came down.
A few weeks later, Morty decided to try something he’d seen Eleanor doing: playing with a toy. While Green was at work, he experimented with a dinosaur squeaky toy. He wasn’t exactly sure what to do as he approached the toy lying on the kitchen floor. He picked it up and started swinging his head, before accidentally letting go and launching the
toy into the kitchen sink and hitting some dishes — a fun surprise for Green when she got home that night. His confidence grew even more when he met one of his first friends: a Pitbull named Bronson. Green was watching Bronson, one of her former fosters, for a few weeks when the two first met, as Bronson pummeled into the kitchen and took a “play bow” stance. Unsure of what to do, Morty imitated him, awkwardly trying out the stance himself. Luckily, Bronson didn’t care about Morty’s hesitancy and started playing with him anyways. Bronson was the one who got Morty to go outside for the first time in May 2024. Bronson was playing with Eleanor and Morty, and he ran outside into the backyard. Swept up in Bronson’s energy, Morty followed, stepping outside into the backyard full of scattered tennis balls, water guns and lawn chairs.
While he’s started to feel more confident going outside in the months since, sometimes he still needs an extra push. And one day in October, Green and four other canine companions — Bronson, Penelope, Sierra and Eleanor — gave him that push.
Morty was presented with a new challenge: go outside with five people (three of whom were strangers) to play with his closest friends. At first, Morty considered it too much to overcome — he would just stay in the kitchen. But as he looked out through a window at the game of fetch going on outside, he decided to give it a shot.
First, in his usual manner, he started with a quick look outside the door to assess the situation. It seemed like the other dogs didn’t mind the new people, but he couldn’t be too sure. He’d watch for a little while longer.
The dogs ran back and forth from the kitchen to backyard, as if begging him to come outside. Then, Morty, suddenly caught up in the energy, ran outside, jumping over Green’s welcome mat reading “Wipe Your Paws.”
Morty seemed just as shocked as Green that he was outside. Morty looked at her, then the strangers, then the dogs around him. He paced
back and forth on the concrete porch, trying to decide his next move. In the end, he didn’t join the dogs in their game of keep away in the yard or approach the strangers for the kibble treats they held in their hands. Instead, he chose to sit in the doorway, watching.
***
Green’s only ever failed at saying goodbye to a foster once: when she adopted Eleanor, her “foster failure.” Still, Morty is her longestterm foster ever. When she took him in December 2023, she thought she would foster him for a month. Then, she extended the foster by two months. Eventually, both Green and the shelter stopped assuming she would bring him back.
“(It’s) hard, because I want to keep him so desperately. But I just don’t... I can’t provide stability. I can’t guarantee the stability long term right now,” she said, noting she might move for work or adopt a “van life” in the future.
Morty’s last potential adopter called in March.
Everyone who knows the Carolina dog has said he’s come a long way since his rescue — much of this progress due to his time with Green.
“That foster mom taught him that being a dog can be a lot of fun,” the Bloomington Animal Shelter wrote on his adoptable pet profile page. “She showed him how to have best dog friends, how to get pets, how to be potty trained and how to love.” Green thinks each day Morty will grow braver and experience more of the world he didn’t see on North Adams Street. So much has already changed since he left the seizure. He rings a bell to go outside. He loves getting treats, specifically zucchini, frozen berries and pumpkin. Each night, he sits on the couch and snuggles with Green and Eleanor. He still has a way to go; Green and the shelter know that. But they hope that one day, someone will give him a chance. That someone will look at him and think he’s just a “normal dog.”
BRIANA PACE | IDS Casey Green gives treats to Morty's friends Penelope, Eleanor and Sierra on Oct. 5, 2024, in her backyard in Bloomington. Casey used to foster Penelope and was fostering Sierra that weekend. Casey fostered Elenor as a puppy, but couldn't return her to the shelter with the rest of her litter.
