Monday, May 15, 2017
IDS
One last look at what’s on display at the art museum, page 7
Indiana Daily Student | idsnews.com
ROWING
LEFT BEHIND Additional IU rower comes out with allegations of mistreatment in the women’s rowing program after she said she lost her scholarship due to injuries.
ETHAN BENNET | IDS
Members of the IU women’s rowing compete during the Varsity 8 race during the Dale England Cup regatta in 2013 at Lake Lemon, Indiana, placed third in the regatta with a final score of 84 points. Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish took home the gold trophy with 118 points.
By TC Malik tcmalik@umail.iu.edu | @TCMalik96
Bridget Smith joined the rowing team in the 2012-13 academic year and wasn’t prepared for what was about to happen. If all things went according to plan, she would’ve graduated from IU last year. Smith is now attempting to get her associates degree at a community college near her hometown of Vienna, Virginia. Smith said she had to return home because she lost her scholarship due to injuries. She’s the second IU rower to make these sorts of allegations in recent weeks. Her story is similar to that of Katlin Beck, the former IU rower who alleged that IU attempted to cover up her injuries and forced her to practice despite the pain. Both rowers dealt with severe injuries while at IU. Smith’s problems started her freshman season at IU when she was diagnosed with three slipped discs in her spinal cord. She found out spinal surgery was needed in order to be able to row. However, if the surgery wasn’t successful, there was a chance she wouldn’t be able to walk again.
“They thought, ‘why should we spend time, money, resources on getting this person better when we have other athletes who can bounce back from their injuries and row again.’” Bridget Smith, former IU rower
“I was told by IU doctors that even if the surgery went 100% well, there would only be a 70% chance that I would be able to row again,” Smith said. “The long term effects of having the surgery wasn’t worth it to keep rowing.” Smith had heard some of the horrors of spinal surgery and wasn’t willing to take that risk. She also said she was already hesitant to get the surgery because of some previous traumatizing experiences with the same doctor. She could not remember the name of the doctor when asked. “I had already had a botched procedure with the doctor that would’ve done the surgery,” Smith said. “I got a cortisone injection, something went wrong and I had sciatic nerve pain down both legs.” IU trainers and doctors told Smith she wouldn’t be able to row again since she chose
Acclaimed ballerinas to join Jacobs ballet faculty From IDS reports
not to have the surgery. This occurred during her sophomore season and that’s when she says the quality of her medical attention decreased, as coaches realized she wouldn’t be of any use to the team in the future. “Once that point was realized, I was seen as an empty money pit,” Smith said. “They thought, ‘why should we spend time, money, resources on getting this person better when we have other athletes who can bounce back from their injuries and row again.’” After electing not to have the surgery, Smith felt like she was pushed to the back burner by the IU coaching staff. IU Athletics would not comment on her specific situation. “Although we will not comment on any specific medical case, we are confident that Indiana University provides and has provided quality medical care to our students participating in intercollegiate athletics,” IU Athletics said in a statement. “Any concern relative to medical or other treatment that has been brought to our attention has been immediately addressed with the highest level of seriousness and thoroughness, and we will continue to do so with any concerns raised with us.” SEE ROWING, PAGE 3
McRobbie to lead overseas delegation to France and Spain From IDS reports
Two acclaimed ballerinas will join the faculty at the Jacobs School of Music in August, according to a Jacobs School of Music press release. Kyra Nichols will become a professor of music in ballet and will hold the Kathy Ziliak Anderson Chair in Ballet, a position previously held by Violette Verdy. Carla Körbes will become an associate professor of music in ballet. Nichols danced for 33 years with the New York City Ballet and since retiring from the stage in 2007 has taught ballet lessons, including private lessons in her New Jersey studio. “When we consider her stellar tenure as a principal dancer, her post-performance career staging ballets around the country and working with Pennsylvania Ballet, and now her eagerness to bring her knowledge and wisdom to our students, we are proud to make such an addition to our faculty,” said Jacobs Dean Gwyn Richards in the SEE BALLERINAS, PAGE 3 COURTESY PHOTO
Carla Körbes will become an associate professor of music.
IU’s Madrid study program is celebrating its 50th anniversary this summer. With the golden anniversary of the program, IU President Michael A. McRobbie is leading a delegation overseas to participate in the festivities, according to an IU press release. The anniversary ceremony will take place Wednesday. McRobbie’s trip will last 10 days and will began Monday, the release said. The visit will mark the McRobbie’s first trip to Spain and France as University president. Around 370 IU students study in these countries each year. In Madrid, IU currently collaborates with Purdue University and the University of Wisconsin at Universidades Reunidas to allow students to study abroad in Spain’s capital and largest city. The partnership started during the 1965-1966 academic year between IU and Purdue for students in advanced Spanish. Wisconsin joined the partnership in 1970. “The remarkably successful and enduring Madrid study abroad program reflects the best
of Indiana University’s longstanding tradition of international engagement and continuing key institutional emphasis on developing the global literacy of our students,” McRobbie said in the release.” Nearly 3,000 students have participated in the program since its establishment. “For a half-century now, this program has been a hallmark of our efforts to provide IU students with meaningful and immersive international experiences that can be life-changing and that, increasingly, our state’s employers are seeking as they recruit new talent,” McRobbie said in the release. During the anniversary ceremony, McRobbie will present the Thomas Hart Benton Mural Medallion to Complutense University President Carlos Andradas Heranz. This award is given for meritorious international service to IU or exceptional achievements worldwide, according to the release. In France, McRobbie will meet with students participating in the Aix-en-Provence Program, which SEE MCROBBIE, PAGE 3