Thursday, December 7, 2023

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IDS Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023

INSIDE, P. 7

Indiana women's basketball defeats Maine in slugfest 67-59

Indiana Daily Student | idsnews.com

MIRANDA MILLER | IDS

IUSG members are pictured on Nov. 28, 2023, in Ballantine Hall. Former executive members share their experience within the IGNITE administration.

IUSG investigates accusations of antisemitism

IU Student Goverment is investigating the IGNITE administration, but the investigation was accused of bias By Salomé Cloteaux and Miranda Miller

objective throughout the investigation.

Following the resignation of five IU Student Government executive members, the IUSG Congressional Oversight and Finance Committee held three public hearings Nov. 28 – Dec. 3 to investigate accusations of antisemitism and the leadership style of the Student Body President Aaliyah Raji and Vice President Marsha Koda. The Oversight and Finance Committee members — including Committee Chair John Lane, Speaker of Congress Jack Tyndall, Recorder Aidan Chism, Parliamentarian Drew Yeager and representatives Justin Farajollah, Shane Sanders and Elizabeth Conley — subpoenaed and interviewed 11 students. The committee admitted publicly available evidence, such as emails and recordings, some of which were later sealed from the public. Two IUSG executive cabinet members not on the committee, who spoke with the Indiana Daily Student and asked to remain anonymous due to fears that revealing their identity would influence the outcome of the investigation, expressed concerns that some committee members were biased against the student body president and vice president and were not

The resignations and responses The oversight hearings come three weeks after two members of IU Student Government’s executive branch — former IUSG Treasurer Alex Kaswan and former Co-Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Makiah Pickett — resigned from their positions in a letter criticizing Raji and Koda for allegedly failing to address antisemitism on campus. In a statement responding to the allegations posted to IUSG’s Instagram account Nov. 15, Raji acknowledged the issue of antisemitism on IU’s campus and apologized for the unintended harm her words caused. The same day, U.S. Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana sent a letter to IU President Pamela Whitten about the resignations, saying that if IU condones antisemitism on campus, the university could lose access to federal funding. The IUSG Congressional Steering Committee posted a statement to the IUSG Instagram on Nov. 16 stating the Oversight and Finance Committee was blindsided by the resignations and would launch an investigation into the allegations. The next day, Raji and Koda recognized their failure to address the rise of

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antisemitism and promised to protect Jewish students from hate in a letter posted to IUSG’s Instagram. Before Kaswan and Pickett sent their letter, External Chief of Staff Patrick Lee and Internal Chief of Staff Abby DeArmitt resigned from their positions Nov. 12 and Nov. 10, respectively. In the oversight hearings, Lee and DeArmitt cited having different leadership styles from Raji and Koda as their main reason for resigning. Congressional Secretary Abigail Garrison also resigned Nov. 13. During the first hearing, she said she did not sign the letter with Pickett and Kaswan due to her own personal reasons; however, her thoughts about IUSG leadership, specifically Raji and Koda, and her reason for resigning are closely aligned with the contents of the letter. Before the first hearing Nov. 28, Hoosiers United Against Antisemitism posted a letter on Instagram calling for Raji to resign and for cabinet members who are allegedly “complicit in her antisemitism” to be removed. 16 Jewish student leaders from organizations on campus signed the joint statement. Allegations of antisemitism Concerns about Raji’s lack of knowledge about the experience of Jewish students began over the

summer, when on July 1, IUSG released a statement regarding the United States Supreme Court’s affirmative action decision, which listed all the culture centers on campus with the exception of IU Hillel and the LGBTQ+ Culture Center as resources for students. Raji said she only included culture centers that were based on race, but she later realized it was an unintentional mistake due to miseducation. When interviewed during the first hearing Nov. 28, former IUSG Treasurer Alex Kaswan said he was concerned about the exclusion of the two culture centers, and he had to have an uncomfortable conversation with Raji. “I had to explain to Aaliyah that Judaism was not only a religion but an ethnicity and that not all Jews are white,” Kaswan said at the oversight hearing. Kaswan, who is Jewish, said during the semester he spoke to IUSG leaders about antisemitism on campus, but when he saw that nothing had been planned to address this issue weeks later, he felt his concerns had been completely disregarded. It discouraged him from advocating for himself and other Jewish students, Kaswan said. Ethan Fine, a Jewish student and president of the Indiana Israel Public Affairs Committee, was also sub-

poenaed for an interview at the first hearing, during which he said the administration failed to reach out to any Jewish student groups — especially after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel — but met with other organizations, such as the Muslim Student Association and the Middle Eastern Student Association. He reached out to Raji on Oct. 25 to discuss the issues he had seen surrounding antisemitism on campus, Fine said. Fine, Raji and Lee were present at the meeting Oct. 25. In his interview, Fine said he viewed Lee’s presence as an “intimidation tactic” by Raji. He mentioned a post Lee had shared on social media, which he described as “Hamas propaganda.” During his interview at the third hearing, Lee clarified he was only at the meeting to take notes and offer solutions to Fine’s concerns. He also explained he was just sharing information about the war — information which did not come from Hamas — on his personal Instagram story. Raji said she was glad Fine felt comfortable coming to her to express his concerns at the meeting. She said he gave examples of what was going on in the Jewish community and asked for support. During the meeting, Lee said he suggested IUSG host an event addressing

antisemitism, and Fine was receptive to the idea. When Lee briefly spoke about it to Raji, she said he could pursue the idea, but she would not herself. In his interview, Fine said his biggest concern was that he had heard students on campus saying that Jewish students were “playing the victim.” This same rhetoric was used by Raji about Abby Rose, a Jewish student and vice president of Chabad, during the Oct. 30 Congress meeting when Rose was sworn in as the Chabad representative in Congress. In that Oct. 30 meeting, Congress discussed the committee of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’s advocacy agenda, which outlined its priorities for the legislative session including reducing antisemitism on campus. When another representative said the section about antisemitism should also mention Islamophobia, Rose argued it should be added to the agenda but in a different section. Because of the prevalence of antisemitism on campus for many years, she said, it deserved its own section. Raji then told Pickett that Rose was “playing the victim.” In her testimony, Raji admitted to and apologized for making the hurtful comment. SEE IUSG, PAGE 4

One dead after shooting in Bloomington early Dec. 3 morning By Madelyn Hanes mrhanes@iu.edu

A Bloomington resident was killed and one was wounded after a shooting at a large house party in Bloomington near campus early Sunday morning. The suspect was remanded. According to the Bloomington Police Department news release, around 2 a.m. Dec. 3 BPD responded to the 500 Block of S. Park Ave. regarding a report of weapon

related call. According to the release, bystanders exiting a large house party told officers someone had been shot. Officers located the victim, a 23-year-old Bloomington man, who had a gunshot wound to his chest. The officers began life saving measures but were unsuccessful and the victim died from his injuries, according to the release. Officers also located a second victim, a 19-year-

old Bloomington man, with a gunshot wound. He was transported to a local hospital for treatment and his injuries were deemed not lifethreatening. After interviewing witnesses who stated the suspect was a larger-build white male, BPD spread identifying information to all officers. An Indiana State Police trooper performed a traffic stop on a vehicle shortly after the shooting with a passenger who matched the suspect

description. The man was identified as 21-year-old Linton, Indiana resident Isaiah Ramos. The trooper located a handgun inside the vehicle and all three individuals in the vehicle were detained and transported to BPD for interviews. According to the release, detectives responded to the scene of the shooting and interviewed multiple witnesses, where they learned Ramos and the two other individuals in the vehicle were

denied entry into the party because one of the individuals had a visible handgun in their waistband. After the three men demanded entry into the party, a physical altercation began which made its way into a nearby alley. At that time, witnesses stated Ramos began firing a handgun into the crowd. One of the individuals in the vehicle stopped by the Indiana State Police trooper told investigators he believed he had been shot but did not suffer from

Bloomington's 7 Day Forecast

any injuries. At the conclusion of the interviews, Ramos was transported to Monroe County Jail and was preliminarily charged with murder and criminal recklessness. The investigation is ongoing and no further information is available for release at the time, according to the press release. BPD requests that anyone with any further information about the shooting call Detective Rob Shrake at (812)339-4477.

SOURCE: XANDER LOWRY | XLOWRY@IU.EDU GRAPHICS BY: THE WEATHER CHANNEL

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