Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017 | Indiana Daily Student | idsnews.com
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MARLIE BRUNS | IDS
Scott Van Wye, Josh Carter, Kyle Mason, Justin Smusz, Garrett Thompson and Ben Dow preform "The Bitch of Living" in "Spring Awakening." The musical will be preformed at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 20 to 28 at the Ivy Tech John Waldron Arts Center.
Wake me up inside Spring Awakening portays coming-of-age in 19th century Germany through rock. By Clark Gudas ckgudas@gmail.iu.edu @This_isnt_clark
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ombine rock music and 19th century adolescents, and the result is Ivy Tech Student Production’s performance of “Spring Awakening.” “Spring Awakening” will be performed Oct. 20 to Oct. 28 at the Ivy Tech John Waldron Arts Center. Tickets starts at $5 with a student ID. “Spring Awakening,” set in late19th century Germany, follows a group of adolescent kids as they go through puberty and struggle with emotional and physical hardships. However, the understanding of concepts like depression and sexual, physical and mental health was not to the level it is today. This creates complications for the characters. “It shows the importance of educating not just adults, but especially youth when you’re going through all
those changes,” Kaila Day, actress playing Martha, said. Martha and Ilse are characters dealing with abuse in their relationships. They serve as foils — Martha represents what can happen to a person when they speak out about their abuse, and Ilse represents a situation where one stays silent. “Stepping into that mental space was kind of crazy and surreal,” Day said. “I think it’s important that people do that every once and a while to see something that you don’t see in your everyday life.” Ilse is given a vague description of sex by her parents, and as a result doesn’t comprehend the potential consequences when she has it. Moritz is a character dealing with depression, but nobody in his time understands his experiences. His struggles aren’t valid in the eyes of other characters. “When we keep people in ignorance, awful things happen,” producing artistic director and actor
playing multiple roles Paul Daily said. “If you simply arm people with knowledge, things can be averted.” The show breaks the conventional setting of the characters and story through its use of music. The score, written by pop artist Duncan Sheik, is defined by rock and punk rock sounds. “It really could read just as a rock concert,” Day said. Despite the disparity between the 21st century rock and 19th century setting, the play is still relatable, Day said. “It very much was written to kind of break out of 1890s Germany into modern day,” Daily said. “It’s still relatable hundreds of years later.” Songs such as “The Bitch of Living” deal with the emotional difficulties of love and loneliness, while other songs like “All That’s Known” convey aggravation with overbearing educational authority. Many numbers deal with adolescent sexual interest and the confusion that
Hearing technology helps students By Christine Stephenson cistephe@iu.edu | @cistephenson23
During deaf comedian DJ Demers' performance last week at IU, a man sitting in the fourth row used a Phonak Roger pen, which hung around his neck, to stream Demers’ voice directly into his hearing aids so he could fully hear the performance. Some audience members said they had never seen the Roger pen hearing technology outside of the performance. But through IU’s resources, it is available to any students with hearing loss who may need it. “Many students are unaware of the resources available to them, so they struggle to hear in the classroom,” said Jill von Bueren, community manager for Demers. “This can cause emotional distress, concentration fatigue, poor grades and more.” Currently, only two students at IU are using closed-captioning technology. Despite their availability, no students currently use an ASL interpreter. Shirley Stumpner, director of the Disability Services for Students, said the biggest challenge for students with hearing loss on campus is not with the technology, but with those who are struggling and have not yet reached out for help. “Students don’t want to feel different than their peers or don’t feel like they need help, so they don’t reach out,” she said. Some students don’t even know they have hearing loss.
comes with it. “Just listening to the soundtrack alone, it made laugh, cry, scream,” Day said. “It really sinks its hooks in you.” The musical version of “Spring Awakening” was written in 2006 and adapted from a play of the same name written in 1891. The show has won eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and has been performed in three separate tours across the United States. This production is directed by IU graduate David Anspaugh, who directed films “Hoosiers” and “Rudy.” Despite the heavy subject matter, the show forces viewers to question whether viewers are serving as good role models for the young and whether they are making a better society for the next generation, Daily said. “I want people to appreciate the honesty of it all,” Day said. “I want them to be more honest with themselves and with those in their lives.”
SWIMMING & DIVING
IU begins season with tri-meet in Florida By TC Malik tcmalik@indiana.edu | @TCMalik96
SAM OATES | IDS
D.J. Demers performs Oct. 10 in the Whittenberger Auditorium. Demers performed his stand-up comedy set at no cost to the listeners. Demers' comedy centers on his observations and experiences while living with and without his hearing aids.
“A lot of the time, you think others are having the same problem as you, but they’re not,” Stumpner said. Stumpner said they are always looking to help students overcome obstacles through the Phonak device and other hearing technology available, but only after they reach out. Students can contact the Disability Services for Students over the phone, on the website or through a walk-in appointment at their office. “Our job at DSS is to remove any extra barriers that students with hearing loss might face,” Stumpner said. “Even a case of mild hearing loss can affect a person greatly.” Although the comedy performance only highlighted the use of
OCT 31–NOV 2
the Phonak device, there is a handful of options available for students in the classroom with hearing loss. What the student chooses to use usually depends on the severity of his or her hearing loss, Stumpner said. “Before we even suggest any possible solutions to the student, we need to determine how serious it is,” she said. “Some cases can be solved by simply sitting at the front of the classroom, but some need the help of hearing aids or even closed captioning.” In the use of closed captioning, teachers will wear a lavalier SEE DEAF, PAGE 2
The season is finally here for the IU swimming and diving team as it travels to Gainesville, Florida, to take on the University of Florida and the University of Texas. Florida's and Texas' men's and women's teams are both ranked inside the top-20 of the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America . Day one of the meet will start at 6 p.m. Friday and the second and final day will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday morning. The IU's men’s team will have a top-10 meet on its hands with Florida and Texas, as all teams are ranked inside the top six. Texas is ranked No. 2 in the country, while Florida and IU aren’t far behind at No. 4 and No. 6, respectively. Head Diving Coach Drew Johansen said this type of competition early in the season gives the team a chance to prepare right out of the gate. “To be able to measure up against the top divers in the country, as early as possible, it’s just going to prepare them and focus their training as we get ready for championship season," Johansen said. One main storyline heading
into the tri-meet is the six freshmen on the diving roster that make up one of the top recruiting classes in the nation. “We have a group of veteran divers mentoring and working with one of the better recruiting classes in the country," Johansen said. "The best recruiting class I’ve had since I’ve been here at IU." The freshmen were a topic of interest for Johansen, as they will be experiencing their first collegiate meet. Johansen said it will be quite different from what they went through during high school. The team will fly to Orlando, Florida, and bus to Gainesville on Oct. 19 and practice during the afternoon to prepare for the weekend. However, before the team gets to practice, they will face a unique set of distractions. White nationalist and President of the National Policy Institute, Richard Spencer, plans on giving a speech Thursday night at the Curtis M. Phillips Center for Performing Arts on the University of Florida campus. The center is approximately two miles from the Stephen C. O'Connell Center Natatorium, SEE SWIMMING, PAGE 5