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BASEBALL
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O’Guinn new IU dean of students By Dominick Jean drjean@iu.edu | @Domino_Jean
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Zachery Mezger sits in the stands of Bart Kaufman Field prior to IU’s game against Illinois on April 27. Mezger is an honorary assistant coach for the IU baseball team.
Scars are for studs Zachery Mezger is more than just an honorary coach for IU’s baseball team. He’s an inspiration to many within IU athletics. By Stefan Krajisnik stefkraj@iun.edu | @skrajisnik3
It’s the top of the fourth inning at Bart Kaufman Field and the IU baseball team finds itself in a jam. Illinois is in Bloomington for a lateApril game and has runners on first and second base with one out. As the Hoosiers look to get their defense set, one voice echoes around the stadium. “Double play, guys, double play.” It’s not the voice of IU Coach Chris Lemonis. He might be telling his team the same thing, but he has hand signals for that. Instead, the voice is coming from the stands — specifically from IU’s unofficial assistant coach, Zachery “Coach Z” Mezger. Zach has long been connected with the turnaround of IU’s baseball program. He joined the team before Bart Kaufman
Field even existed. He was brought in by former IU Coach Tracy Smith while Sembower Field was the home of the Hoosiers. Zach was the manager of the Bloomington High School North football team while Smith’s sons played, and through that connection, he was brought to IU. “He was there when there was not a lot of support for baseball, and he’s grown with the program,” Smith said. “That’s one of those things that makes the story so special.” However, IU’s turnaround story pales in comparison to the story of Zach’s battle. Zach has been diagnosed with septo optic dysplasia, cerebral palsy, hydrocephalus and pulmonary hypertension. In simpler terms, Zach, 26, is cognitively 10-12 years old, struggles with short-term memory and is considered legally blind.
When he was less than six months old, an MRI discovered excess fluid in his brain. Kelly Mezger, his mother, said she recalls doctors telling her he would be a “vegetable.” Due to the excess fluid, Zach experienced seizures before doctors decided to place a shunt to drain the fluid. Twentythree years later, Zach finds himself in the stands for most, if not all, IU baseball home games. Zach’s condition requires constant care, but Kelly and his father Jeff will do anything to get him to the games. “They give him so much,” Kelly said. “I will sacrifice my sleep to keep his heart happy.” The work of the Mezger family does not go unnoticed. “It’s a three-person team, it’s not just Zach,” Smith said. “The fact that they’ve SEE SCARS, PAGE 4
Black y Brown Festival celebrates diversity By Kathleen Clark-Perez kpclark@iu.edu | @KatPerezIN
The inaugural Bloomington Black y Brown Arts Festival will take place from noon to 4 p.m. May 19 at the Banneker Community Center, located at 930 W. Seventh St. “Events highlighting the artistic achievements of Latino and African American artists have been hosted in the past, but the representation of black and Latino culture in the same venue makes this event unique,” Rafi Hasan, Safe and Civil City director and coordinator of the city’s Black History Month Celebration, said. The event will feature visual and performing arts including storytelling, painting, ceramics and jewelry, Sean Starowitz, assistant director for the Arts in the City of Bloomington Economic & Sustainable Development Department, said. The city is closing down Elm Street adjacent to the Banneker Center and will offer food trucks, street performances and tables for information about local, minority owned business, in addition to displays of art in the Banneker Center, Starowitz said. “We are trying to activate the Banneker Center which historically was the school for children of color,” Starowitz said. “The idea of having the Black and Brown Festival in that space and activating that community hub promotes a new type of future for the venue.” The event is hosted by three entities of the city of Bloomington: the Black History Month Planning Committee, the Commission on Hispanic and Latino Affairs and the Department of Economic and Sustainable Development. Starowitz said this event is the city’s way of showing a commitment to promoting diversity and equity in the culture of Bloomington. “This is a community for all, and this is a community that reports a variety of different aesthetics,” Starowitz said.
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Maurisa Li-A-Ping is this year’s featured artist at the Black y Brown Arts Festival. The festival takes place Saturday, May 19, at the Banneker Community Center in Bloomington.
Hasan said many people know a large percentage of Africans who were transported to this part of the world arrived in Brazil. “In terms of recognizing that geography, we wanted to make sure we pulled in Afro-Latino forms of art,” Hasan said. “I’m happy to be working with the Commission on Hispanic and Latino Affairs.” Hasan said he wants the celebration of African American life, history and culture to be something that extends beyond Black History Month in February. “The community has let me know that the celebration of African American life, culture and history is something that needs to be normalized,” Hasan said. “We need to see these things as a part of the Bloomington cultural fabric.”
Featured storyteller, Maurisa Li-A-Ping, recently graduated from IU with a master’s degree from the School of Education. Li-A-Ping will perform two original poems for the Black y Brown Festival. One of them is titled “Words of Affirmation” and it’s a praise poem to black girls and black women, Li-A-Ping said. “This poem is to black women and girls to let you know you are loved, you are valuable, you are worthy just as you are and that someone sees you,” Li-A-Ping said. Li-A-Ping will also share the poem “Black Body Takes on the Role of Narrator.” “This poem is about the constant struggle for black life and black validity,” Li-A-Ping said. The poem is about police bru-
tality, systems of inequity and educational barriers that don’t allow us to live our full and prosperous best lives, Li-A-Ping said. In addition to the poems, LiA-Ping will bring a painting to accompany the “Black Body Takes on the Role of Narrator” and a large printout of “Words of Affirmation.” Li-A-Ping will invite audience members to write affirming and uplifting messages they want to say to black girls and women. “I knew I wanted to be a part of the Black y Brown Arts Festival immediately because this is the first of its kind in Bloomington,” LiA-Ping said. “I think this is going to be really great for Bloomington to feature black and brown artists who are part of this community and have something to say.”
IU has selected Dave O’Guinn to take over from Lori Reesor as the new vice provost for student affairs and dean of students, as of May 15. O’Guinn, who is currently the chief litigation counsel at IU’s Office of the Vice Dave President and General Coun- O’Guinn sel, has been appointed for a two-year term, pending approval from the IU Board of Trustees according to an IU press release. Reesor, who was at IU for two years, was recently selected as vice chancellor for student affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. O’Guinn joined IU as an associate general counsel in 2007 and later became chief litigation counsel in 2014. Before joining IU as counsel, O’Guinn was a senior associate in the labor and employment department at Dinsmore & Shohl in Cincinnati, Ohio. “It’s a huge honor to follow in the footsteps of our previous deans,” O’Guinn said in the press release. “I am humbled by the tremendous responsibility to care for our students and to take on this legacy. When I was an undergrad and a student leader at DePauw, each of my deans and mentors attended IU for graduate school, which was the primary reason I went to graduate school at IU.” According to the release, O’Guinn earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from DePauw University, a master’s degree in higher education and student affairs from IU and a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Notre Dame Law School. He has also served as a residential fellow for freshman and sophomores for the past four years, where he provided mentoring and guidance. The release also stated he’s taught at IU’s School of Education and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. “Dave has maintained a vibrant connection to his roots in student affairs,” IU Provost and Executive Vice President Lauren Robel said in the press release. “In this role, I know he will encourage and support students throughout their IU journeys, helping connect them with everything from health and wellbeing resources to leadership development and community engagement opportunities like IU Corps. Dave is well-prepared to effectively impart an understanding of what it means for students to be a productive part of a diverse community of scholars full of many voices, beliefs and experiences.” O’Guinn’s work and service is extensive. He worked with both the Indiana Memorial Union and the IU Career Development Center while earning his master’s at IU. According to the release, he also previously served as the assistant director of student activities at Quinnipiac College in Connecticut and was the director of students activities and greek life at Centre College in Kentucky. He also served as the vice chair of the Monroe County Chapter of the American Red Cross. He has volunteered with the American Red Cross since 2002. He was also assistant rector to residence halls and special assistant to the director of Notre Dame’s Student Union while in law school. His new position, if formally approved by the Board of Trustees, will have O’Guinn as dean of students and in charge of 14 departments and more than 150 IU programs and services for the Division of Student Affairs. The dean also works closely with Residential Programs and Services, Student Central and other faculty and staff to coordinate events and programming. “I learn as much from our students as they learn from me,” O’Guinn said. “I’m looking forward to developing and further strengthening my relationships across campus and leading the division with integrity and a strong passion for our students.”