Look inside for special offers from Kroger. Find the insert in the IDS print edition each Thursday. Thursday, July 12, 2018 | Indiana Daily Student | idsnews.com
Student continues to critique University
IDS
By Dominick Jean drjean@imail.iu.edu | @Domino_Jean
An update containing Ellie Johnson’s response to this article is included below.
PHOTOS BY MATT BEGALA | IDS
The Lenco BearCat armored vehicle sits parked on display Tuesday in the Switchyard Operations building. The viewing was the first official unveiling of BPD’s new armored vehicle to the public.
Armored police truck arrives at last A controversial armored truck purchased by the city has arrived and is ready for use. By Dominick Jean drjean@imail.iu.edu | @Domino_Jean
After months of public debate, discussion and protest, the longawaited armored truck, a Lenco BearCat, has arrived and is ready for service with the Bloomington Police Department. After spending July 9 undergoing some last decal work, the truck arrived for a show-and-tell event at the Switchyard Park Operations Building at 1611 S. Rogers St. on July 10. The steely gray exterior of the truck, combined with the spacious, matte black interior and the large “RESCUE” decal on the side, stand in stark contrast to early suggestions by a Monroe County Commissioner to paint the truck pink and to keep it “funky.” BPD Lt. Mick Williams, the Critical Incident Response Team commander, said he’s pretty happy with the vehicle now that it’s finally arrived. “It makes me feel a lot better about sending guys out,” Williams said. Williams has also spent time walking different community members and city leaders through some of the truck’s features. As many as
10-12 officers can stay in the vehicle comfortably, with room for more. Other features include a bulletproof roof hatch that is able to rotate, allowing officers to conduct rescue operations. Other important aspects for Williams are the numerous gunports around the vehicle. While technically they are gunports, Williams said he preferred to call them ‘pull throughs,’ because he and his team would be able to pull cameras through those areas without risking their lives. Mayor John Hamilton and BPD Chief Mike Diekhoff also hopped inside the vehicle to take a look at a few of the armored truck’s main features. While looking around, Hamilton said he hopes the vehicle never needs to be used, but he’s glad the city has the vehicle to keep people safe. While Hamilton said there have been other armored vehicles that have been misused in other cities nationwide, he said he’s confident in the transparent way the city has gone about the purchase and said the process will benefit everyone. SEE TRUCK, PAGE 4
Top Bloomington Police Department Chief Mike Diekhoff speaks with an attendee at the official unveiling of BPD’s new armored vehicle Tuesday in the Switchyard Park Operations building. Bottom Mayor John Hamilton arrives at the first public viewing of the Bloomington Police Department’s new armored vehicle Tuesday in the Switchyard Operations building.
Mathers shares memories with photography By Christine Fernando ctfernan@iu.edu
Visitors can take a stroll through Bloomington’s history as they walk the hallways of the Mathers Museum of World Cultures. Along the walls are historic photos of Bloomington paired with photos of the same places today. The “Then and Now” photos make up the museum’s exhibit, “Memories Shared: Photographs of Historic Bloomington,” which is connected to the City of Bloomington’s bicentennial celebration and will be open until July 27. “It’s in the spirit of looking back on the past of this community with images that reflect spaces and places we know today,” Judith Kirk, the museum’s assistant director, said. A basket of markers sits at the entrance to the exhibit, along with a sign encouraging visitors to grab one and write on the exhibit’s photos about their own memories of Bloomington. The exhibit’s first photo depicts the courthouse square with horses where cars line up today. Messages left by visitors are scrawled in red, black and blue ink on the photo. “The owlery go vegan,” one message reads. “Had dinner here with Abby. She is nice,” states another message. “Scholar’s Inn — best breakfast in town,” another visitor wrote, along with an arrow pointed toward a building along the street. “We just said, ‘comment if you’d like,’ and people did,” Kirk said. When she drives past the courthouse on her way to work every day, Kirk can now imagine the horses and carriages pulling in and out of the square. She said the photo reflects the vibrancy the courthouse square has offered the Bloomington community through history.
MATT BEGALA | IDS
A note left by a museum attendee is on display over one of the historic photographs as part of the “Memories Shared: Photographs of Historic Bloomington” exhibit Tuesday at the Mathers Museum of World Cultures. A sheet of plastic was placed over each of the photographs so museum attendees could draw pictures and leave notes. The exhibit runs until July 27.
“It’s a staple,” Kirk said. “The square is always part of everyone’s connection to Bloomington.” Kirk said her favorite part of the exhibit is reading the notes and memories visitors leave on the photos. “When you see all the comments on the photos, it reflects a sense of community and connection,” she said. While historic information can be found in books and documents, Matthew Sieber, the museum’s manager of exhibitions, said the comments left by visitors show history can also be found in the people around you. He said he’s even noticed families scribbling memories on the photos and having conversations about different memories they had of each place photographed. Sieber grew up in Bloomington
and saw the exhibit as an opportunity to reflect on the changes the city has seen, as well as the buildings and places that have remained. Sieber also worked with other museum staff members to select the photos, whittling them down from hundreds to just a handful. He said he wanted to discuss the photos with people of different ages, who would have different memories of Bloomington. Kirk said the exhibit is a chance to introduce people to the museum’s photo collection, but it also helps Bloomingtonians reflect on the history and progress of their community. “They inspire memories, give people a chance to remember and think about the past,” Kirk said. She said seeing the exhibit come together has allowed her
to see the history around her every day. She said people often walk into Bloomington buildings without knowing or thinking about their histories, but now she stops to appreciate the stories and memories each historic building holds. “History is around us every day,” she said. “We may be oblivious to the past, but it’s evident around us.” For Sieber, the exhibit is an opportunity to not only reflect on the past, but also take a peek into the future. By looking at the photos, people can learn a lot about themselves and their community, he said. “It’s important to know where you came from to know how you got to where you are, and where you’re going to go in the future,” Sieber said.
IU, both the University as a whole and individual staff and faculty, have come under fire as a student’s posts about her sexual assault case have continued on social media. The student, Ellie Johnson, has posted online the University violated Title IX while investigating her case. Her first tweet about her case was posted June 25, and has been shared more than 2,000 times and been liked more than 5,000 times, and resulted in the creation of the #WeStandWithEllie hashtag, along with numerous responses and interactions with other Twitter users. Since then, a stream of comments and remarks from Johnson have been attached to different IU social media posts. As of July 10, Johnson had also posted the contact info, personal information and, in one case, the Facebook profile for the different panelists for her case. In her posts, Johnson said these people destroyed her life and should be held accountable. Chuck Carney, IU director of media relations, said while the University has no gag order on students like Johnson, there is an expectation the outcome letter students receive will and should remain private. “There really is no precedent for this,” Carney said. “The expectation is that students would not reveal the outcome letter which has the name of the panelists on it.” Carney explained Johnson’s actions might make it harder for IU to find panelists willing to undergo the training and time commitment required for panelists to hear sexual assault cases. At least one person Johnson mentioned confirmed they had received an email related to Johnson’s case and IU’s sexual assault procedures in general. Johnson responded to Carney’s comments and this story, saying via Twitter that she expected IU to keep her safe. But, according to her, the panelists protected her rapist and his actions instead. She also called Chuck Carney out personally for his comments in this story. Also on July 10, Johnson posted on Twitter that she filed a Title IX complaint with the Office of Civil Rights, which is a subagency of the U.S. Department of Education. According to that reporting, hearing panelists are selected based on a list of IU employees who have completed IU’s sexual misconduct training. The training is available to faculty and staff across various departments, and no legal expertise or continuing education is required. One panelist must be a student affairs administrator, and each member must complete an annual day-and-a-half-long seminar composed of in-person and online parts. Those are the main components for eligibility on a panel overseeing sexual assault cases. In a series of tweets posted by Johnson since June 25, she said IU violated Title IX and University procedures in her sexual assault case. She said her appeal was denied and IU was “standing by their original decision.” Johnson also tweeted she would have been better off not reporting her case to the University, saying, “I could’ve spared myself the heartache, despair and agony knowing the system was against me from the start.” On the evening of June 26, the University published a response on social media and also provided a fuller statement to the Indiana Daily Student when asked to do so. In the statement provided, Carney reaffirmed the process used by the University in the investigation. “A three-person panel, pulled from a pool of faculty and staff who receive extensive training in matters of sexual assault, carefully considered all facts and evidence presented and rendered its decision, which is based on a preponderance of evidence,” Carney said in the statement.