Indiana Statesman For ISU students. About ISU students. By ISU students.
Indiana Statesman
Monday, February 27, 2017
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@ISUstatesman
Volume 124, Issue 58
State Dance Marathon exceeds goal Adrienne Morris Reporter
Indiana State Dance Marathon hosted its eighth annual dance marathon fundraiser for the Riley Hospital for Children this past Saturday. This all-day event was extremely successful, raising approximately $116,850 for the kids at Riley. Throughout the event, participants gathered together for eight hours in which they remained standing or dancing in an act to raise money for the Riley Children’s Foundation. Indiana State University alum, Evan Austin, spoke to the audience about his experience with his illness and how Riley Hospital has impacted him throughout his life. Austin also discussed his Paralympic endeavors and his other career highlights as a Paralympic swimmer for Team USA. “When they got up there and were talking about the impact that this makes, I thought I was going to cry. It was so moving how passionate people are about the Riley
Kabrisha Bell | Indiana Statesman
Many groups like this one, attended Dance Marathon and danced the night away for the children of Riley.
Children’s foundation,” ISU senior Markanda Baugh said. Many fundraisers throughout Indiana, such as StateDM, help the Riley Hospital to maintain its pediatric research and the constant treatment for many children. Riley Hospital has existed for 90 years, and throughout that time,
it has become Indiana’s largest research program and known as one of America’s best children’s hospitals. The Riley Children’s Foundation is supported by multiple groups throughout the state of Indiana, including high schools and colleges.
“As a titleholder for the Miss America organization, Riley is one of those organizations that we definitely volunteer and spend time working with, and I think it is pretty cool that the school I go to is hosting one of these events. I’m really just here to come out and
support the families and children that are a part of Riley Hospital,” Miss Indiana State Tiarra Taylor said. Throughout the night, the event was filled with ISU students who were actively participating and showing their support for the Riley Hospital and the Riley Children’s Foundation as a whole. “I definitely think it’s good for college students to get active and volunteer and take the time out of their day to raise money for these children. The money that we raise tonight goes to these children and their families. This is reality for families and sometimes as college students we take what we have for granted,” Taylor said. At the end of the night, the StateDM fundraiser raised over $100,000 for the Riley Children’s hospital, exceeding its initial $80,000 goal. “It shows that ISU is invested in the community, and it shows that ISU is more than just a college. It’s making a difference, and these kids are going to remember that,” Baugh said.
Speaker visited campus for Black History Month Anthony Goelz Reporter
Vagina Monologues brings awareness to sensitive topics Grace Harrah Features Editor
“The Vagina Monologues,” a play originally written by Eva Ensler, was performed by Indiana State University students over the weekend. The performance was sponsored by Feminist Majority, an ISU organization that promotes and advocates for gender equality and to demystify feminism. This year the play was directed by Sierra Stein and Kate Forness. Stein is the president of Feminist Majority at ISU, which was founded in October of 2013. The play cost $5 for students and $10 for general admission. The proceeds raised from the play went directly to Terre Haute’s Council on Domestic Abuse and the VDAY foundation to help end domestic violence. VDAY foundation supports the prevention of violence against women and children in the local
CODA shelter. “The Vagina Monologues,” despite the title of the play, is based off of real interviews of women done originally by Eve Ensler. The play has been performed on Broadway and HBO, finding popularity and bringing awareness to topics such as rape, genital mutilation and self-discovery. The monologues also includes personal and touching stories of women through different perspectives of strictly woman related experiences. T-shirts were also sold at the event, supporting the proceeds that go toward VDAY and CODA. Melissa Mitchell, junior at ISU and a performer for “The Vagina Monologues,” expressed her enjoyment of being part of the play for the second year in a row. “I enjoy hearing the different monologues and the stories of real women that are like me the most. Sometimes, as a woman, it’s taboo to discuss the issues we
face such as menstruation, sexual encounters and other more ‘intimate’ situations. It was nice to hear those stories being told unabashedly by real women, and to be able to connect with them as my cast members is a unique experience that many women don’t get to have,” Mitchell said. The play brings awareness to issues that often go unheard and not talked about. “I think the guests that attended the event benefitted the most from hearing the stories of real women that may have gone through the same situations or felt the same way about something as them. I also believe that the play in general shows the audiences that women should be just as comfortable with their bodies and sexuality as men are, and that our bodies are nothing to be ashamed of. ‘Vagina’ is such an unmentionable word in our society, and this play broke that mold in a great way,” Mitchell said.
President and CEO of Indiana Black Expo, Tanya Bell, visited Indiana State University to give a talk in honor of Black History Month on Thursday. Bell began speaking to the large crowd about the current problems with modern day education. “(Black History Month) is a time to showcase the contributions and accomplishments that African-Americans have made to society. It is a time for us to acknowledge the complete history because so often our history is forgotten, is concealed, it is erased,” Bell said. It is a commentary on the fact that African-American history is not a separate entity from the history taught in schools today, but is in all actuality American history. During the talk, Bell played a clip from Glenn Beck’s “Founder’s Friday” that originally aired on May 28, 2010. Throughout the clip, Beck kept emphasizing the heroes of the American Revolution, those heroes who have been forgotten by many educators due to an education system desperately in need of improvement. So often is African-American history left out of textbooks, despite these unknown people holding significance rivaling that of the more commonly known founders such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. The second half of Bell’s talk was focused around her trials
“THE COMPETITIVE EDGE”
OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST
and tribulations to get to where she is today. She was a first generation college student, a single mother and had a low LSAT score, but battled past adversity with determination and hard work. This half Bell emphasized on the meaning of hard work and what it can produce. This was an encouraging message that was well-received by the people in attendance. Bell is the President and CEO of Indiana Black Expo. Indiana Black Expo has been a pillar of the African-American community for decades as a year-round, multifaceted community service organization with 12 chapters around the state of Indiana. Indiana Black Expo offers multiple programs. “The Youth and Family Programs Department strives to serve as a catalyst throughout Indiana to foster relationship between businesses, governmental agencies, educational institutions, youth service agencies, churches and other community-based organizations. This department serves as a clearinghouse for quality chapter youth programs that address issues affecting youth while preparing them for full participation in society as adults,” according to the IBE website. This is to live up to their mission statement, which is “to be an effective voice and vehicle for the social and economic advancement of African-Americans, and to achieve their vision that African-American youth and families achieve their highest potential and reflect pride in their ethnicity.”