Indiana Statesman
Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019
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Derek Hough gets ISU crowd on their feet Lauren Rader Reporter
Indiana State welcomed Derek Hough, professional choreographer, ballroom dancer, and actor, to campus for his book tour on Feb.18. His book, Taking the Lead: Lessons from a Life in Motion, explains his journey through dance and how it creates positivity and confidence in his partners and himself. As soon as Hough came out on stage, the crowd went absolutely crazy with screams and happiness. He started to engage and get personal with the crowd from beginning to end. The auditorium filled up over an hour before the speaker was even supposed to come out. The people in the audience ranged from students to fans who have been watching him for years. Hough’s book was on sale in the lounge for fans to buy, and eventually get signed by him after his talk. “I’m excited to hear something new. I’m not really that familiar with his story, but I do know who he is and I’m excited to hear his take and view on life,” sophomore Emily Crouch said. “It’s important to be able to go out there and learn about different things no matter what major you’re pursuing or what you’re studying. It’s good to go and put yourself out there, and to experience different things.” She later joined him for a dance that pumped up the crowd. He got the crowd excited by asking fun questions and telling them to scream at the top of their lungs. He did little activities that included standing up and smiling at the ceiling. He demonstrated how to feel good in the moment you are in right now. While the crowd was standing and showing big smiles, he told them to try to make themselves depressed and they were
Anna Bartley | Indiana Statesman
Critically acclaimed dancer Derek Hough, visited Indiana State through the Speaker Series in Tilson Auditorium on Feb. 18.
unable to. He explained how just changing your posture and facial expressions can change your mood. He dove into his personal life and his experiences to relate back to all the information he wrote about in his book. Hough spent the majority of the time answering questions and connecting with all who attended. One person asked what confidence means to him. “What does confidence mean to me? Wow, okay. It’s hard because you want to say something that doesn’t sound Hallmark-y. You think about confidence and hallmark-y sayings and the things you
hear. The reason they sound that way is because they are true. We hear these things over and over again and sometimes we take them for granted, like ‘Believe in yourself ’, Right?” Hough said. “Then you ask yourself, ‘Why am I snubbing that?’ Maybe it’s because you’ve heard it so many times? Because you’ve tried and it hasn’t worked? For me, what keeps me confident, is knowing that I’m enough. And what does that mean?” Hough went on to explain the time he won Dancing with the Stars for the third time and had won many other awards. He explained the emptiness he felt after fo-
cusing everything on earning these superficial accomplishments. He explained that he “equated success with love,” and how he had to find himself again after feeling that emptiness. Hough shared his lows and his failures in a way that the audience could relate to their own lives. He connected with the audience by taking questions and sharing his experiences. This relaxed environment helped make the crowd feel comfortable. He made people even more comfortable by calling a few people on stage to dance. Hough showed how dance can create positivity in our lives. “We were meant to move, and when we do, something happens in our bodies. It feels like we’re reclaiming apart of ourselves that’s primal,” Hough said. He demonstrated this statement with an excited, energetic push to get the crowd moving. Many got up and danced with them. After his presentation, there was a meet and greet where Hough signed autographs and took pictures with hundreds of fans. If the line went outside, it would have stretched to Federal Hall. Everyone was talking about how excited they were to see him face-to-face, and shared their experiences with him. Many hearts were touched by this experience. The line took almost two hours and thirty minutes to get through. Hough created a vibrant atmosphere for anyone who attended. He constantly said “Where focus goes, energy flows”, and the message was shared by many after the event. Hough was vulnerable to the crowd and it created a positivity and light through each fan. He instilled a message that will be remembered at ISU for a very long time.
A new look on our environment and us Nicole Nunez Reporter
To help captivate a wide variety of issues and ideas during Black History Month, the Office of Sustainability held their second speaker series of Taboo Topics this semester: Environmental Racism. The event was held this past Tuesday, Feb. 19 in the African American Culture Center and hosted by Anthony Rogers-Wright. “This one is environmental racism, it is part of black history month. Anthony has been working in the field for many years and that’s why we decided to bring him in,” said Sustainability Coordinator of the Office of Sustainability Nicholas McCreary. “I doubt anyone knows what environmental racism is and it’s an area and issue that covers so many different disciplines and interest areas… it covers everything
from social justice to environmentalism and I guarantee it will change your mind about something.” Anthony Rogers-Wright is a social justice activist from New York City. He has been working all around the country in environmentalism and social justice for the past twelve years. Rogers-Wright discussed a largely unknown, but very important topic called environmental racism. This is essentially the idea that issues, such as climate change, wildfires, and hurricanes, effect people differently based on their race and class status. Many controversial ideas were spoken on including ghettoization, red lining, and ‘natural’ disasters. Rogers-Wright spoke on creating a regenerative economy, one that is not capitalistic but creates sustainable energy and resources that do not harm the earth or
the working class. He has been working with a coalition and on a new project called Regeneration Proclamation. The goal of this project is to “emancipate” farmers through regenerative agriculture. The Office of Sustainability, the Office of Multicultural Services and Programs, the Office of Multidisciplinary Studies hosts three speaker series a semester. “The event is part of the speaker series that we have called taboo topics,” said McCreary. “We do three a semester and each one is a different topic and we bring a speaker in who is an expert in the area. All of the topics have to be what we call like ‘taboo’- something that you wouldn’t feel super comfortable talking to your grandma about.” The main thing McCreary wishes students understand is “that climate change is a lot more than just the world warming.”
Saabriah Muhammad | Indiana Statesman
Students watch Anthony Rogers-Wright speak about environmental racism on Feb. 19.
Can Bernie Sanders re-create the magic? Vermont senator joins 2020 Democratic race Evan Halper
Los Angeles Times (TNS)
The return of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders to presidential politics this week will test how much the Democratic Party has truly shifted to the left as well as gauge the resilience of a self-proclaimed democratic socialist candidate whose message has changed little even as the political landscape around him has shifted. Sanders plunged into the 2020 race Tuesday with a campaign video recapping many of the promises of his 2016 effort: Medicare for all, free college tuition for all and the dismantling of what he calls the rigged economy favoring the wealthy. But he did so at a time other candidates in the race — many of whom rode his coattails to progressive prominence — are modulating their visions for expanding government and increasing taxes on the rich. “We began the political revolution in the 2016 campaign, and now it’s time to move that revolution forward,” Sanders said in a radio interview. He described President Donald Trump as a “pathological liar,” adding, “I also
think he is a racist, a sexist, a homophobe, a xenophobe, somebody who is gaining cheap political points by trying to pick on minorities, often undocumented immigrants.” The Democratic Party has clearly moved at least partway toward Sanders in the last couple of years. At the same time, however, the candidates drawing overflow crowds in New Hampshire over Presidents Day weekend were hardly rushing to follow the same path Sanders used en route to a 22-percentage-point victory in the state over Hillary Clinton. “The people of New Hampshire will tell me what’s required to compete in New Hampshire, but I will tell you I am not a democratic socialist,” California Sen. Kamala Harris said Monday. Her comments came soon after Sen. Amy Klobuchar, answering questions during a CNN town hall, said, “I am not for free four-year college for all, no.” “If I was a magic genie and could give that to everyone, and we could afford it, I would,” she added. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the candidate who is probably closest to Sanders ideologically, has also carefully
avoided his “socialist” label, saying she favors “capitalism with serious rules.” Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas, who is weighing his own run and draws support from many young voters, much as Sanders did, has also been reaffirming that he is a capitalist. Sanders is in a very different race than the one he nearly upended in 2016, when he was the only progressive in a tiny field led by Clinton. This time around, several other candidates will vie to represent the party’s left, and many progressives, including some former prominent supporters of his, are skeptical that Sanders is best suited to carry their mantle. But his sustained popularity in early voting states, massive network of small donors and powerhouse digital operation, including a social media network far larger than that of any Democrat, give Sanders big advantages as the race gets underway. “He’s got a very strong, loyal following,” said Joe Trippi, who has advised campaigns for several major Democrats. “It makes him somebody the rest of the field has to take very seriously, and who has a better shot than many of them at emerging as one of the three or four who actually competes
long term for the nomination.” The transformative campaign the 77-year-old ran in the last presidential cycle drew masses of disaffected voters, including many millennials, to politics. The senator’s plans for expanding government, especially in guaranteeing health coverage, and his excoriations of the wealth of the richest Americans are now embedded in the Democratic Party’s platform. As much as he changed the party’s positions, Sanders’ bigger impact may have been in proving the viability of a new model for how to sustain a campaign. He unleashed a small-donor revolution that enabled him to raise unprecedented amounts without taking a dime from corporate political action committees or getting trapped in the relentless cycle of big-dollar fundraisers. Some 2.5 million Americans gave to him in the last presidential cycle. His invocation of the size of the average donation — $27 — became a staple of his campaign rallies, which routinely drew audiences that dwarfed those at events held by Clinton. More than 1.4 million people came out to
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Paulette Spicer
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