1
I N D I A N A D A I LY S T U D E N T | T H U R S D AY, O C T. 8 , 2 0 1 5 | I D S N E W S . C O M
THE IDS WILL NOT PUBLISH FRIDAY, OCT. 9, IN OBSERVANCE OF FALL BREAK. WE WILL RESUME PUBLICATION MONDAY.
Transfer student Yaolin Wang remembered as proud, diligent By Alyson Malinger afmaling@indiana.edu | @aly_mali
Yaolin Wang was a proud young woman, very proud, her father, Mr. Wang said. The 21-year-old IU junior died Sept. 30, from multiple stab wounds purportedly inflicted by her boyfriend, Chaunlin Xiao. Yaolin was born and raised in a province of central China and traveled to the United States to pursue her undergraduate studies in business. She graduated from North Seattle Community College with an associate’s degree in business. She then transferred to IU this fall to pursue a degree from the Kelley School of Business. Yaolin had one older sister who Wang said she was close with and one younger brother who is 13 years old. Every time she would visit China, she would bring something special for her brother. All
her time visiting would be devoted to playing and taking care of him, Wang said. “If she had a problem or issue, she didn’t want to bother others with her problems and issues,” Wang said. “She consistently made the other people in her life the priority. When any family member texted her from China, she would immediately say ‘I’m very good, I’m fine.’” Wang said one of the most recent exciting things to happen to Yaolin in her life was getting accepted to IU. “She was so excited to have this opportunity,” Wang said. Only at IU for a short amount of time, Yaolin had a small group of friends within the Hoosier community. “Yaolin was very quiet, but a very sweet girl,” said Wanlin He, an IU sophomore and friend of Yaolin. Three weeks ago, Wang visited Yaolin at IU to celebrate her 21st birthday.
EDITOR’S NOTE This interview was translated by Alice Hsu, the Wang family attorney and close friend. Mr. Wang would not reveal his first name because he said he believed the Chinese media had initially put his daughter in a bad light, and until this misconception is fixed, he will keep his name anonymous. “When I saw her, I couldn’t be more than happy,” Wang said. On this visit, Yaolin brought her father around campus and the school to show off IU. At one point during the tour, they passed famous alumni statues. Wang told her she should treat these as role models and work hard toward this goal. “Yaolin said, ‘I promise to study hard, make good friends and to learn from my professors,’” Wang said. “She said, ‘I will make you proud.’” Yaolin’s father also recalled from
COURTESY PHOTO
Family of Yaolin Wang remember her as proud, diligent and driven. Wang died Sept. 30 from stab wounds. She was a junior who transferred to IU this fall to pursue a degree in business.
his visit noticing that Yaolin didn’t have a television. He offered to get one for her but she responded she had such a busy schedule and didn’t have time for television. He then in-
quired about an international calling card to call home and speak with her family. Yaolin again responded “no” SEE YAOLIN, PAGE 8
Fallen Hoosiers Smedley, Wang remembered in candlelight vigil
IDS BARI GOLDMAN | IDS
Candles are held in memory of IU students Yaolin Wang and Joseph Smedley during a vigil Oct. 7 in Dunn Meadow. Wang died Sept. 30 and Smedley was found dead Oct. 2. The IU Student Association organized the vigil.
By Carley Lanich clanich@indiana.edu | @carleylanich
lectric candlelight illuminated Dunn Meadow on Wednesday evening as students, friends and family remembered IU students Joseph Smedley and Yaolin Wang. The vigil began with two moments of silence — one in honor of Joseph and another in honor of Yaolin. Yung Yu Lin, a student in the Jacobs School of Music played violin, as flowers were placed below photographs of Joseph and Yaolin.
E
MEN’S SOCCER
IU shuts out IUPUI, extends its win streak 4-0 By Michael Hughes michhugh@indiana.edu | @MichaelHughes94
Eduardo Cortes was visibly frustrated. As the IUPUI goalkeeper picked himself off the ground and retrieved senior Femi HollingerJanzen’s penalty out of the back of his goal early in the second half, he couldn’t help himself. He booted the ball well past the half-line and almost to IU goalkeeper Colin Webb at the other end of the field. Cortes had to retrieve the ball out of the back of the net four times, three times in the second half, in IU’s 4-0 win Wednesday night against IUPUI at Bill Armstrong Stadium. “We didn’t want our guys to be frustrated if the goal didn’t happen because we knew we’d have more of the ball,” IU Coach Todd Yeagley SEE IUMS, PAGE 8
Family members took turns sharing memories of the two students. Vivian Brown, Joseph’s sister, said every picture and every video she has of her brother makes her laugh. “I feel like I’ve lost a part of me that I’m never going to get back,” Brown said. With the help of a translator, Yaolin’s father reflected on the excitement she felt when Yaolin was admitted to IU. “I just want everyone to know that Yaolin is pure and lovely,” he said. Yaolin’s family was refunded tuition for her studies at IU. Wang said he has plans to use this money to create a Yaolin Endowment Fund so Yaolin can “stay here
forever with us.” “Today I hope that everyone will come together and pray for Joseph’s family, as well as Yaolin,” Wang said. “So that they may both rest in peace in heaven, because there there’s no worries, no stress and no violence.” In addition to the families’ reflections, various student organizations across campus were in attendance in a show of solidarity and support. Representatives from the Chinese Students and Scholars Association, the Asian Cultural Center and the Black Culture Center assisted in the vigil.
“Today I hope that everyone will come together and pray for Joseph’s family, as well as Yaolin, so that they may both rest in peace in heaven, because there there’s no worries, no stress and no violence.” Mr. Wang, Yaolin’s father
SEE VIGIL, PAGE 8
Tibetan monks share Buddhist teachings By Lyndsay Jones jonesly@indiana.edu | @lyndsayjonesy
Homes sit alongside the winding Snoddy Road on the south side of town. Most of them are alike, their look quintessentially American. But the home at 3655 Snoddy Road is different. Kumbum Chamtse Ling Monastery is home for Tibetan Buddhist Monks who dedicate their lives to studying and living Buddhist teaching. It’s also home to the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center, a place where the general public can gather to pray, take yoga classes and listen to Buddhist teachings. The center and the monastery have been in existence since 1979, when a former monk and IU professor built the center hoping to preserve Tibetan culture and religion. It’s easy to miss the entrance if driving fast. A painted wooden gate and signs are the only evidence that the center and monastery exist on the road. But once you turn in, a paved, hilly drive leads directly to the cultural center. The drive passes a large garden, a long rectangular building dedicated for prayer and monuments that house colorful mandalas—geometric artwork made of sand. The atmosphere is markedly different from the rest of the city: except for the sounds of nature, or on the days that a monk rides a lawnmower, the property
ANNIE GARAU | IDS
Geshe Kunga La teaches visitors about Buddhist traditions. He is a monk at the Kumbum Chamtse Ling Monastery and dedicates his life to studying and living Buddhist teachings.
is pervasively silent. Geshe Kunga La is a monk who works in the cultural center. On Monday, he sat in a chair reading a book by the Dalai Lama, pausing to greet visitors. He makes sure people remove their shoes before entering and stresses the openness of the area so people of other faiths do not feel uncomfortable.
“The Buddhist temple is not the only temple,” he said. Those that come to the cultural center come primarily for one room in the middle—the “Big Room”—a small auditorium where they can pray or where lessons are had. At the entrance, a basket is brimming with sheets of pink paper. A note taped on the front asks people to write the
names of people so that monks can pray for them. The walls are orange with blue and green additions and gold Tibetan lettering. Beaded portraits hang there, artwork that Kunga said took an American Buddhist monk three years to create. At the front, several golden SEE MONKS, PAGE 4