June 24, 2021
IDS Indiana Daily Student | idsnews.com
'When's it time to forgive and forget?' p. 3
Missing person found deceased
Students sue over vaccine mandate
By Phyllis Cha cha1@iu.edu | @phyllischa
By Kaitlyn Radde kradde@iu.edu | @kaityradde
Colten Booe, 31, was found deceased in a pile of flood debris the morning of June 20 by a search party that consisted of family and friends about 50 yards south of County Club Drive near Clear Creek, according to a press release from Bloomington Police Department. Booe’s brother reported him missing the morning of June 19 to BPD. A friend Booe was with Friday night told investigators that Booe had tried to drive through floodwaters near the intersection of South College Avenue and West Dodds Street, according to the release. As they drove through the water, the car began to drift and crashed into an unknown object, the friend told BPD. The friend said he climbed out of the open passenger window, was dragged under water but was able to grab tree branches and pull himself out, according to the release. He said he never saw Booe or the car again. BPD found the car June 19 on its side in floodwaters in Switchyard Park. Booe was found the next day, where officers determined he was deceased, according to the release. An autopsy is scheduled for Monday to determine the cause and manner of death.
Kirkwood Avenue flooded Storms By Phyllis Cha cha1@iu.edu | @phyllischa
Kirkwood Avenue was flooded after heavy thunderstorms, including torrential rain and high winds, hit Bloomington on Friday. There were multiple flash flood warnings Friday night that continued into Saturday morning from the National Weather Service. Emergency responders had 17 water rescues and there are currently no known deaths, according to a press release from the City of Bloomington. The release said members of the Bloomington Fire Department, Bloomington Police Department, Public
PHOTOS BY LUKE CHRISTOPHER NORTON | IDS
Top Debris cluttered outside of Chipotle on Kirkwood Avenue after Friday night's flood. Multiple Bloomington residents found themselves stuck in town during the storm. Left Leaves, dirt and twigs sit on table June 18 on Kirkwood Ave. Right The inside of Nick's English Hut is pictured June 18 after a flood that occured on Kirkwood Ave.
Residents experience flooding By Phyllis Cha cha1@iu.edu | @phyllischa
Kirkwood Avenue, known for its bars and restaurants, was a scene of floating trash cans, flooded cars and Bloomington residents wading in knee to waist deep water after a flood left water levels as high as five feet Friday night. The Bloomington Fire Department got 37 calls and conducted 17 water rescues, most of which were downtown. Alyssa Harvey, 23, said she arrived at the Upstairs Pub around 10:30 p.m. and it started raining shortly after. She said when she got there, the power went out so she and her friends decided they should walk home. When they walked down the stairs from the bar, they saw water rushing in. After waiting in the pub for an hour or two, Harvey said she decided to go home in what would typi-
SEE FLOOD, PAGE 5
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Grace Berger wins gold medal By Evan Gerike patfelts@iu.edu | @patrickjfelts
USA Basketball, including IU women’s basketball senior Grace Berger, won the gold medal at the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup on Saturday. USA beat Puerto Rico 74-59 in the title game to claim the gold after going 6-0 in the tournament. Berger averaged 6.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game in the tournament. The tournament was Berger’s first career competition with USA Basketball.
cally be a ten minute walk. In knee deep water, the less than a mile journey to her apartment took double or triple that time, she said. Noah Davidson, 23, said he was at the Comedy Attic around 10:30 or 11 p.m. when they decided to see if they could get back to his friend’s apartment. On the run back, they were near Taste of India behind Kirkwood Avenue when he said they saw lightning strike the electrical transformer. He said the street lamps surrounding them went out. “Everything just kind of went blank, like dark at once,” Davidson said. “And then that’s when we decided that we need to take shelter.” Davidson said they went into the Root Cellar, where the staff had put candles out for light. He said he tried to get an Uber home but none were available. Davidson and his friend were able to walk back to his friend’s apart-
ment on Eighth and Grant through ankle deep water, he said. Uber Driver Matt Rogers, 46, said he picked a passenger up at 10:40 p.m. to take them downtown when the lightning and thunder started. Once they got downtown, most of the buildings had no power and visibility was zero, he said. “Around that time, people became extremely desperate for rides,” Rogers said. “But after a couple of rides, there was absolutely no way to get to people.” Rogers said he saw multiple cars on Kirkwood that were flooded and people wading through waistdeep water. On his drive home, Rogers said many of the traffic lights were out on College Avenue and Walnut Street and some cars were driving straight through them. When Clifford Bakehorn, 33, was standing outside of Malibu Grill, he said he saw lightning hit
the transformer, heard a boom and saw bright green before the lights went out. When he was three blocks away from his house, the car he was in got stuck in a puddle of water. His friend was able to pick him up in a Humvee and they went to Kirkwood to see if anyone needed help. When they got to downtown Bloomington around 1 a.m. he said he saw a car that was almost on its side stuck on the yellow bollards that are used to block Kirkwood off for outdoor dining. Bakehorn said he saw trees that had fallen over on Washington Street, flooding against the windows of Goodfellas Pizzeria and other Kirkwood businesses and vacant, flooded cars on Kirkwood Avenue. While Bakehorn said he was fine once he got home, he wasn’t sure how others had fared around town. “I was very much concerned for friends and family here in town,” he said.
BLACK VOICES
Juneteenth became a federal holiday By Donyá Collins doscoll@iu.edu | @artbyyay
President Joe Biden signed the bill establishing Juneteenth, or as the bill states “Juneteenth National Independence Day”, as a federal holiday. Juneteenth will be observed every year on the 19th. Juneteenth commemorates the day when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865 to inform and enforce that the state’s enslaved people, numbering more than 250,000, were to be freed. This occurred two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation took effect in 1863. Prior to General Gordon Granger’s arrival, the Proclamation was not enforced due to the lack of Union troops, which created a “safe haven” for slavery. In 1866 freedmen in Texas organized the first celebration of "Jubilee
ILLUSTRATION BY DONYÁ COLLINS | IDS
Day'' on June 19. Over time, Juneteenth commemorations featured music, barbecues and other activities, and as Black people migrated to other parts of the United States, the tradition spread. In 1979, Texas became the first state to recognize Juneteenth as an official holiday. Juneteenth celebrates the ending of chattel slav-
ery in the United States. With this in mind, when celebrating please do not turn this holiday into another Cinco de Mayo. What I mean by this is don’t whitewash and disrespect this holiday with culturally appropriated box braids, blackface makeup and tans, or wearing Black culture as a costume while you drink enough to get alcohol poi-
soning. It’s not okay on Cinco de Mayo and it’s not okay on Juneteenth. The Juneteenth Bill passed in the Senate unanimously, and saw opposition in the House by 14 representatives. This bill comes at an important time in terms of the debate on race in our country. While passing this bill, the United States has been debating over topics like critical race theory and police reform. In fact, because of these issues, some people opposed the bill. Rep. Paul Gosar, R-4th District of Arizona, called the bill “an effort to divide this country. Juneteenth is more debunked Critical Race Theory in action,” in a statement Wednesday. In context to critical race theory, which is a movement to examine the law as it intersects with SEE JUNETEENTH, PAGE 5
In a federal lawsuit filed Monday, eight students are suing IU over its vaccine mandate, arguing that it is unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment and violates Indiana’s recently passed law against “vaccine passports.” The students argue they are being coerced into receiving the vaccine under threat of expulsion, and that this coercion violates their Fourteenth Amendment right to bodily autonomy and the right to reject medical treatment. “The university is confident it will prevail in this case,” IU spokesperson Chuck Carney told the IDS in an email. “The attorney general’s opinion affirmed our right to require the vaccine.” After Attorney General Todd Rokita released a nonbinding opinion stating the requirement to receive the vaccine was allowed but that the reporting requirement violated state law, IU changed its policy to no longer require uploading proof of the required vaccination. Instead, IU is offering an incentive program of weekly prizes for those who report their vaccination. Like the 19 Indiana legislators that asked Rokita to write his opinion on whether the mandate violated state law, the plaintiffs argue the vaccine should not be required because it has Emergency Use Authorization rather than full FDA approval. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has confirmed that employers can require employees be vaccinated, even with Emergency Use Authorization. In the complaint, the plaintiffs argue that the “unknown risks associated with COVID vaccines, particularly in those under 30, outweigh the risks to that population from the disease itself.” According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and clinical trials with tens of thousands of particiSEE LAWSUIT, PAGE 5
BASEBALL
Players earn team honors By Evan Gerike patfelts@iu.edu | @patrickjfelts
IU baseball junior third baseman Cole Barr and sophomore outfielder Grant Richardson were named to the American Baseball Coaches Association and Rawlings Midwest AllRegion Second Team on Wednesday. Barr played in 44 games in 2021, finishing the season with a .292 batting average. He led IU in home runs with eight, RBI with 35, a .526 slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .415. It was Barr’s second time being named to the ABCA All-Region Second Team, following his sophomore year in 2019 where he hit 17 home runs and was named Second-Team All-Big Ten. Barr was selected Third-Team AllBig Ten this season. Richardson, a First-Team All-Big Ten selection, paced the Hoosiers with a .320 batting average. In 44 starts, Richardson had 33 RBI, 11 stolen bases and 18 extra base hits.