April 10, 2024 | The Reflector

President Tanuja Singh inaugurated

By Michael Harrington FEATURE EDITOR

The University of Indianapolis and the surrounding community experienced a historical ceremony honoring UIndy President Tanuja Singh. According to UIndy’s Website, Singh’s inauguration was held on April 4-5. There were a variety of events, beginning with a Corporate and Community Leaders Breakfast and concluding with an open student reception.

Vice President for Corporate and Community Partnerships Andy Kocher said the inauguration allows UIndy to gather with the community to celebrate a new future for the university. According to Kocher, the event allows UIndy to celebrate everything great about the institution.

“It celebrates not just a new leader in Dr. Tanuja Singh, but also a new vision and a new path forward into what we know is going to be a prosperous future for the university,” Kocher said. “The inauguration is a moment to celebrate all the things that make the University of Indianapolis great, and then all of the things that Dr. Singh and our community are going to achieve together as we move forward.”

Kocher said the choice to hold an inauguration months after Singh took the position as UIndy’s president was intentional. While people may think a president’s inauguration occurs shortly after taking the role, Kocher said traditionally UIndy has held inauguration ceremonies in April.

Singh said having an inauguration occur eight months into her presidency gave her the chance to give the audience a reflection of herself and her values. According to Singh, she used her eight months in office to learn more about UIndy as a community and an institution.

“In these eight months, I have learned from a lot of people about what matters in this state, to the state, how we might grow as a university, how we might partner with institutions that'll help us grow,” Singh said. “If I had done it [the inauguration] earlier in my career, it

would've been more a concept. Now, it is more a reality because a lot of the things I'm going to talk about in my comments are things we are already beginning to do in partnering with this community, in helping deliver our promise.”

The event is important to students and faculty due to how rare it is, Kocher said, and is a moment to celebrate something that will be remembered for years to come. As UIndy has only had 10 presidents since its founding in 1902, Kocher said students should attend special events like these.

“It's not quite as infrequent as the eclipse on Monday, but it is a very infrequent thing that we get to inaugurate a new president, and it's an exciting time for an institution,” Kocher said. “These are opportunities to engage in that and hear the conversations, what we are going to be talking about as part of the celebrations and part of the events.”

According to Singh, the inauguration is not just historic for her but for UIndy as well. She said contributing to a major event for the university is humbling and is a way to strengthen UIndy as a whole. Singh said she wanted the event to connect with the external community and celebrate UIndy’s students and faculty.

“Everybody that's attending the event is connected and will get connected,” Singh said. “I wanted it to be a celebration of our students and our faculty. Once I gave my vision to Andy Kocher, I asked him to help translate it into something that's meaningful to our faculty, that's meaningful for the community, that's meaningful for our students and that's meaningful for my family.”

Singh said she wanted to highlight the impact higher education has on the community during her inauguration. According to Singh, she hopes the inauguration showed how much she values the community and highlights how she has engaged and wants to continue engaging with students.

“Everything we are doing during this week will showcase that impactful part of higher education,” Singh said. “The greatest joy I have, the biggest thing

I get out of this job, is when my students are successful. And I hope that is showcased in every comment that I make and in everything we do because ultimately higher education matters a lot to society. It matters a lot to the world, it matters to our city, it matters to our state. And I hope we see the power of higher education and those are some of the things that I hope are reflected in my comments and the celebrations this week.”

This is a moment to celebrate all the things that make [UIndy] great."

Kocher said the student reception portion of the inauguration allowed for students to get to know Singh as a person, rather than just their president. Singh wanted the celebrations to be relaxed and enjoyed spending time having personal conversations with the students during the reception.

“Dr. Singh wants the student reception to be fun and informal and engaging,” Kocher said. “When you are a student and you want to engage

According to Singh, everyone from students to senators attended the inauguration. She said it was wonderful to see community leaders in attendance, but she was most excited to see her friends and family. “I had a senator in my office, Senator Andrea [Hunley], and she's coming,” Singh said. “I met her as soon as I arrived here, but we have now really come to know each other and all of these people who care about the city. I'm looking forward to seeing everybody but most of all I'm looking forward to seeing my personal friends and family who are traveling from across the country.”

with Dr. Singh, I think you'll find that the investiture ceremony and in the following student reception will be an opportunity to both participate in the formal, but then really get to know her and talk to her and kind of just participate in a really fun, informal opportunity that celebrates the moment.”

Singh said she hopes attendees see that UIndy has the power to change lives in Indianapolis. UIndy is more than just a place to get a degree, Singh said, it is an institution that gives people life skills.

“We are a university that's connected to the world and we have tremendous presence in the city and we have tremendous power to change lives in the city,” Singh said. “I hope they see us as an innovative, forward-thinking university that is preparing people for life skills, not just job skills … they see us truly as a lifelong learning opportunity institution and I hope they see a lot of pride.”

Leadership award given to Tamika Catchings

By Olivia Pastrick MANAGING EDITOR & NEWS EDITOR

The University of Indianapolis Center for Ethics recently held its inaugural ceremony for the Kevin R. Armstrong Ethical Leadership Award. This award, which will be awarded annually to an Indiana resident who has made an impact

on their community, was given to former WNBA player and Founder of the Catch the Stars Foundation Tamika Catchings. According to their website, the Catch the Stars Foundation is a nonprofit organization that seeks to empower youth with fitness, literacy and character development programs.

Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Director for the Center for Ethics Lacey

Davidson said this award was named after Kevin R. Armstrong because of an endowment for the celebration of his retirement. According to Davidson, Armstrong was a board member at UIndy, the president of Methodist Health Group and chief of staff at Indiana University Health. Davidson said Armstrong wanted to invest in ethics education at UIndy because of his background in helping people.

“The purpose of the award is to honor an Indiana resident who makes contributions to their community through strong ethical leadership,” Davidson said. “The reason why we decided to kind of [frame] it that way is we really want to highlight people, our Hoosiers … who are really being reflective in how they think about the future of our state.”

Catchings started the Catch the Stars Foundation in 2004 because she understands the need for positive programs, mentors and support for young people, according to their website. Catchings said she struggled with finding her purpose after getting injured during her senior year of college basketball and

found ways to get involved with the Indianapolis community in the wake of her injury. “We love what we do with the Catch the Stars Foundation. My sister and I, we started it back in 2004,” Catchings said. “I actually tore my ACL my senior year in college, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I was on my way to the WNBA. … I could be mad that I was hurt and injured and I couldn't participate with the team. What a second choice was, is I could get out in the community and figure out and learn what is being a Hoosier.”

The Catch the Stars Foundation has given out over $48,000 annually through its Scholar Athlete program, according to its website. Catchings said the program sends former athletes to college because not every athlete will be able to or want to play at the next level, much less for a scholarship. She said the Scholar Athletes also come back and volunteer with the foundation.

“We really focus on developing those character and soft skills,” Catchings said. “That's something as you enter into the real world, you got to have those skills, you got to be able to look somebody in the

face, you got to be able to communicate without having to type, you got to be able to spell. … So there are things that they need to learn.”

Catchings said her discipline and faith have played a large role in her success. Catchings was born with a hearing disability, which she said she was made fun of for when she was younger, which led her to sports. She said through sports she was able to focus on something and discipline herself to become great at it. This discipline has followed her throughout her life and has guided her through difficult times, she said.

“As I've lived my life—and the principles and the journey, and just everything that I represent, faith, my family—my faith is always number one, first and foremost,” Catchings said. “… And what I do in the community, I think everything that I represent, kind of goes along with that.”

Davidson said ethics and ethical leadership can provide people with a framework to guide them through everyday life. She said everyone has goals in life, both long and short term, and

Photo by Allison Cook UIndy President Tanuja Singh receives a round of applause while standing on the stage of the Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center during her Investiture Ceremony. The inauguration is historic for the university, as Singh is one of 10 presidents since its founding in 1902. that

Photo by Allison Cook Kevin Armstrong presents Tamika Catchings the Kevin R. Armstrong Ethical Leadership Award, with President Tanuja Singh by her side. The award honors leaders in Indiana.

Caitlin Clark uplifts women's sports

By Olivia Pastrick MANAGING EDITOR & NEWS EDITOR

Almost everyone who tuned into March Madness recently has seen Caitlin Clark. The University of Iowa guard has been breaking records throughout her career, including the all-time NCAA scoring record, previously held by Pete Maravich of Louisiana State University, according to AP News, and the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Player of the Year Award in 2023 and 2024. Off the court, Clark has done many name, image and likeness deals, accumulating an annual NIL value of $3.1 million, according to social network website ON3 Elite. Clark’s value to the game of basketball spans well off the court, as she has uplifted women in sports in what is known as the “Caitlin Clark Effect.”

According to an article from the Des Moines Register, the “Caitlin Clark Effect” refers to the drastic increase in game ticket sales and revenue for the University of Iowa and the other universities she travels to. The article said season tickets for the Hawkeyes had sold out by August when the women’s basketball season did not tip off until November. According to Common Sense Institute, Clark’s economic boost to the University of Iowa could hypothetically pay for between 1,306 to 4,767 students’ tuition. Her economic impact is not only limited to Iowa—according to CBS, her influence helped sell out the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament, more than doubling the attendance for the previous year. According to The New York Times, Clark’s attendance at Iowa’s away games averaged 13,000 fans which is more than double the attendance for nonIowa games at the same universities. I have personally seen Clark’s effect on game attendance when I went to the Lady Hawkeye’s game against Indiana University in Bloomington. My parents and I arrived at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall four and a half hours before the game tipped off, and the line of people waiting was astounding—we could not even see the end of it from where we stood.

While of course Clark’s impact on

the game is substantial, it is important to note the other women who have and are continuing to shape the world of women in sports. Texas Christian University Center Sedona Prince, who played for the University of Oregon at the time, made a post on TikTok in 2021 highlighting the inequalities in the food, workout equipment and practice facilities for the men and women as they prepare for and play in the NCAA Tournament. This sparked national conversation surrounding the equality in the men’s and women’s tournament. The following year, the NCAA Women’s Tournament was allowed to use the “March Madness” branding for their tournament which they had never been able to do before, according to The Athletic. This season, athletes such as the University of Southern California’s Juju Watkins and Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo, two outstanding freshmen who were both named to the Associated Press’ AllAmerican First Team along with Clark,

It is so important for girls to have positive role models, and Clark is that...

have been able to rise to fame. Thanks to Clark, who has brought such a bright spotlight on women’s basketball, new players and new generations of women will be able to have the spotlight in sports. The Caitlin Clark Effect will not stop once she leaves college basketball. Clark announced her decision to declare for the WNBA on Feb. 29. The first pick in the 2024 Draft goes to the Indiana Fever which has seen dramatic increases in ticket sales and prices since Clark's announcement. The average price of a ticket to a Fever game is now $144, which is up 133% from last year, according to The Gist. The get-in price for the Fever’s home opener against the New York Liberty on May 16 is $487, and Fever fans are ready to travel an average of 314 miles to see the Indiana Fever this season, according to The Gist. Additionally, tickets for the draft in Brooklyn, N.Y. sold out within 15 minutes, according to the WNBA. While of course this is not solely due to Clark, the people she has won over into the world of basketball

have become invested in women and the WNBA. As a Fever fan, I am not looking forward to heightened ticket prices, but as someone who enjoys women’s basketball, I am thrilled to see the engagement and excitement for Clark’s debut in the WNBA and for women’s sports in general.

In addition to money, Clark has also helped set viewership records. The Hawkeye’s second-round game against West Virginia averaged 4.9 million viewers on ESPN, according to The Athletic, setting the record for the largest television audience for a game in the women’s NCAA tournament prior to the Final Four. Last year’s championship game, where Clark and the Hawkeyes fell to the LSU Tigers, reached 9.9 million viewers, shattering the previous record for the championship game set in 2002, according to Sports Pro Media. This season, women’s basketball games averaged more viewers than men’s basketball games on FOX, according to Sportico. Not only is Clark drawing viewers and fans to herself, she is also getting people invested in women’s basketball as a whole.These ratings do not solely reflect Clark’s games, meaning that people are by and large watching more women’s basketball than men’s, which is an unprecedented and incredible feat. Clark has also broken into the world of men’s basketball. According to Bleacher Report, Big3 made a $5 million offer to her on March 27 to play in ten games during their season. Big3 is a men’s three-on-three league that plays from June through August, which would only interfere with two WNBA games if Clark chooses to accept this offer. According to American rapper and entertainer Ice Cube, who owns the league, the organization made this offer to Clark because she is a tremendous athlete and they believe this could be another barrier to women in sports Clark could break down. Ice Cube said women athletes should not have to play abroad during the offseason to make money and continue playing basketball which many WNBA players do, and this opportunity would mean Clark could make more money while continuing to play in the United States. This offer is the first of its kind, and is yet another testament to the influence of Clark and how she is creating new opportunities for women

moving forward.

Clark’s impact can also be seen in the fans that attend Iowa games. At every game, many fans bring posters showing their support for either team. This is not a new thing, but Clark’s influence can be seen through them. In an Instagram post from @femalequotient, there is an image of a tweet saying “Look at all the young boys dying for a Caitlin Clark autograph” and there are several young fans holding posters for her to autograph posters and shirts. I think it is incredibly profound that young people are so excited to see Clark play, and even more special that young boys are just as excited to see her as they may be for their favorite NBA players. Even more special to me are the posters that little girls hold that say they want to be like Clark. It is so important for girls to have positive role models and people to look up to, and Clark is that for many young fans. In a Facebook post from the University of Iowa, a young girl holds up a sign that says “You are my hero, Caitlin Clark.” Clark has given these girls a person to look up to in the world of sports, and given them hope to pursue their dreams in sports. While there are millions of fans of Clark, she has her critics, as well. One of the most common complaints that I have seen is that she whines and flops too much during games. While I agree with her dad, who yelled at Caitlin during Iowa’s

NCAA Tournament opener against Holy Cross for her to stop talking to the referees, I think some of the criticisms are unfounded. In basketball today, men’s and women’s, professional and collegiate, flopping, which is when players overreact to contact during the game in order to convince the referee they have been fouled, has become a major part of the game. Additionally, it seems like there are many men who do the same things during their games, and rarely receive the kind of backlash Clark gets—the men are often called passionate and fierce, while she is criticized. I do not think that any player should be deemed as lesser or overdramatic for flopping because they are doing what they can to sell a foul to the referees and advance the game in their favor. Regardless of the opinions on Clark’s dramatics on the court, they should not take away from her impact on the game.

Overall, I do not think many people are confused about Clark’s impact on women in sports. She has produced thousands of dollars for the University of Iowa as well as for herself through NIL, turned into a role model for young girls who want to pursue sports at the collegiate level, and set numerous scoring, viewership and attendance records. The WNBA Draft takes place on April 15, and, hopefully, we will be seeing Clark play in Indianapolis this summer.

UIndy needs to do more than just comply with the federal Family Medical Leave Act policies UIndy should have paid parental leave

By Olivia Cameron

In December of 2021, I wrote an opinion article for The Reflector on my belief that paid parental leave should be available to everyone in the United States. It brings me no joy to say that in just over two years since that article was published, the amount of U.S. workers with access to paid parental leave has not dramatically changed. The 21% of workers reported to have paid parental leave in 2021 has only increased to 28%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

While it is a subject I have remained passionate about, I felt that I had said everything I needed to in that piece—then I found out about the Family Medical Leave Act Policy at the University of Indianapolis. According to a university handbook posted online from the Office of Human Resources, UIndy complies to the bare minimum of the Family and Medical Leave Act: 12 weeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period. I was shocked to find out none of my professors (or anyone employed by UIndy) are guaranteed any amount of paid leave.

On UIndy’s Human Resources page the university claims to have a “family-like atmosphere” for employees. However, I suppose I was incorrect to assume the university’s claims on the Internet meant it would be interested in supporting their workers’ actual families.

There is no good reason for the university to not provide paid parental leave of any kind. Although, I did wonder if it had something to do with the fact that UIndy is a private university, but I could not find any research on paid leave that differentiated between private and public universities. For comparison, Butler, another private university based in Indianapolis, provides eight weeks of paid leave within the 12 weeks allotted by federal policies, according to their website. Indiana University, a public institution, provides six weeks of paid leave, per their website. While these policies may not reflect the six months of paid leave recommended by both New America and UNICEF, they are at least a start in the right direction.

However, UIndy is far from being the only organization in Indiana to not provide paid parental leave to its employees. According to the National Partnership for Women and Families, approximately 2.6 million workers in Indiana do not have paid parental leave through their jobs, and “a typical worker who takes four weeks of unpaid leave loses more than $3,200 in income.” Unfortunately, even unpaid leave is inaccessible to 64% of Indiana residents because they are either ineligible for paid leave under FMLA or 12 weeks of unpaid leave would be devastating financially. If more than half of a state’s population can not even qualify or afford to take the unpaid parental leave they are guaranteed by the government, then the state’s policies need to change.

between a man and a woman, are the foundation of society.” If that’s the case, then why are both men and women in Indiana forced to choose between work and family?

Currently, only 13 states and the District of Columbia mandate paid parental leave, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. Most of these states are commonly considered “blue states” or states whose population votes predominantly for Democratic candidates. While it makes sense that Indiana, a red state, is not on this list, I do find it all ironic. Based on the “Core Beliefs” listed on Indiana GOP’s own website, one might assume that Indiana should have the most supportive infrastructure for parents and families. “We believe in strong families. We believe that strong families, based on marriage

Furthermore, according to the National Institutes of Health, “Parent–child bonding has been reported to promote children’s cognitive neurodevelopment and enables the parent–child bonding to mature into a better parent–child relationship when it is stronger. Additionally, it is an essential component of a child’s development and social well-being.” How can Hoosiers create “strong families” if they are unable to provide the bonding time necessary to positive parent-child relationships? If Indiana Republicans truly believe that families are the foundation of society, then they should be advocating for paid parental leave.

Another amusing belief shared on the Indiana GOP website is “the sanctity of life.” They say their “Republican-led legislature has consistently protected life.” Indeed, Indiana’s abortion ban went into effect in 2023. In an article by Deborah Widiss at Indiana University Maurer School of Law, Widiss reports that the division between red and blue states on family leave policy mirrors their

Corrections

divide on abortion rights. Widiss says that in red states “women are already being forced to carry pregnancies to term that, in the past, they might have opted to terminate. These women are disproportionately likely to have very limited incomes, and disproportionately likely to be people of color. They are also disproportionately unlikely to receive paid time off from work to care for a baby as a discretionary employer benefit.” The dominant party in Indiana bases all their beliefs in families and people having babies, but does nothing in their legislature to ensure support and/or care for the lives they “protect.” If abortion is not a right, then paid leave to take care of the baby is the least the state could do. In essence, the lack of paid parental leave at UIndy is a symptom of larger issues within the state of Indiana as a whole. Unpaid parental leave negatively impacts Hoosiers emotionally and financially. When our lawmakers continue to hold us back, it’s up to the people to enact change. After all, UIndy’s website claims: “When you graduate from the University of Indianapolis, you don’t just enter the real world; you lead the way.” UIndy should lead the way by providing paid parental leave to its faculty and staff.

"The Reflector" acknowledges its mistakes.

When a mistake occurs, we will print corrections here on the Opinion page.

If you catch a mistake, please contact us at reflector.uindy.edu

In the article “School of Engineering hosts open house” in our last issue, we incorrectly stated Autumn Hotopp’s first name was Audrey.

The opinions in this section do not necessarily reflect those of "The Reflector" staff.

What do you think?

Send your letters to the editor or other correspondence to reflector@uindy.edu

Editorial Cartoon by Hannah Hadley

Photo by Allison Cook

A mural of Caitlin Clark is on the side of a building in Indianapolis. Artist Kwazar Martin painted the portrait as Clark is expected to be drafted by the WNBA's Indiana Fever.

Telescope in Lilly Science Hall to be restored

By Olivia Pastrick NEWS EDITOR & MANAGING EDITOR

Students and faculty at the University of Indianapolis have been working to restore a historical piece of the university. The observatory in Lilly Science Hall is home to a telescope that many people at UIndy do not even know exists, according to junior environmental science and earth-space science major Annie Hadley. This telescope could provide a lot of opportunities for UIndy once it is built, according to Hadley.

Hadley said this project began from her job as a student worker for the Physics Department. There, she said she noticed the observatory in Lilly Science Hall has not been utilized much and chose to take on the restoration of the telescope there.

“The first thing I had to do was clear the observatory out because it has papers in there, like documentation and stuff from the 60s,” Hadley said. “… The first thing was to clear that out and also at the same time, we took apart the telescope … Once we did that, we took all the parts over to the engineering building.”

Manager of Mechanical Systems and Laboratories James Emery was one of the people from the engineering department who helped with this project. According to Emery, the team had to clean every part of the telescope as well as document it. He said there was no previous documentation on the telescope or its parts, and he had to do a lot of research to make sure everything

was accounted for. With all of the parts properly documented, any future rebuilds or renovations to the telescope will be much easier, according to Emery.

“I worked with them over winter break and we disassembled it, brought it over here to the School of Engineering and started cleaning everything up and cleaning it to rebuild it, fitting new parts that need fit,” Emery said. “And then they took pictures of every single part the way they disassembled it.”

Emery said the documentation process was somewhat difficult because many of the parts were not for the exact telescope UIndy has, but that they were retroactively fitted to work since the telescope is so large. Emery said the telescope is 12 feet long, and the lens is eight inches in diameter. According to Hadley, the telescope was originally created and donated to UIndy by Loren S. Noblitt.

Emery said working with the different departments involved in the restoration has given him a different perspective as to what other departments are doing as well as what the School of Engineering can do to help them. He said projects like these keep things in the engineering department interesting because it is so out of the ordinary.

“It gives a different insight of what they're [other departments are] dealing with, and what the School of Engineering especially can offer to the university because they doesn't necessarily seem to know what all we can do, what our capabilities are,”

Emery said. Hadley said it has been an honor to work on such an important project, and she hopes the experience will help her in her future career. She said she has enjoyed the learning process and the difficulties that have popped up, and she hopes more people will know about the telescope and the observatory once it is completed.

“The telescope definitely has the

possibility to be a huge asset to the university,” Hadley said. “Once we put it back up, we want to let people know that we have it because I feel like a lot of people didn't even realize that we have the observatory. And we'll have a lot of open houses and opportunities for UIndy students, faculty, to actually see up there, and then I'm planning on some scientific outreach projects.”

In addition to bringing multiple different departments together in collaboration, Emery said he hopes the telescope serves as a centerpiece for the physics and earth-space science departments. He said he hopes the university and the community will utilize it to its full potential. UIndy can expect the telescope to be fully restored within the next few weeks, according to Hadley.

Symposium highlights food insecurity

By Elyssa Merrill DISTRIBUTION MANAGER & BUSINESS MANAGER

The University of Indianapolis, partnered with Indiana Humanities, held the ninth annual Richard M. Fairbanks Symposium, an event hosting various conversations over equitable processes in producing, distributing and consuming food in Indianapolis. Receiving an endowment from the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation, this annual event is held over a topic related to civic leadership and changes topics each year, according to Professor of History, Chair of the Department of History and Political Science and Director of the Institute for Civic Leadership and Mayoral Archives Edward Frantz. The topics of food, food inequality, food access and food sovereignty was picked this year because they wanted something new and something those throughout the university and community could relate to, Frantz said.

“If you're talking about it from an undergraduate perspective, … whether you were a senior and whatever, you wouldn't have had the benefit of seeing each [symposium],” Frantz said. “But we'd like to try to keep the themes new and fresh and different because some of the community partners or some of the attendees … we want to make sure that we're not replicating that which we've already done.”

According to Frantz, there were three different panelists and a lunch event that discussed various topics during the symposium He said while he was not an expert within food inequality, he learned about it while preparing for and attending the event.

“I heard a lot of the panelists talk about, for instance, something called the idea of food sovereignty and the idea that food should be something that you have, individuals should have, rights and responsibilities when it comes to their access to food,” Frantz said. “And also what they talked about was culturally relevant food, … I'm gonna guess that's not something that was part

of their education, either informally through family networks or formally in school, and I think that was really eye opening and refreshing.”

Being the second symposium held post-pandemic, Frantz said working with community partners was even more important. Additionally, a collaboration with UIndy Dining Services served as a significant bridge between the conversations and the relevance to UIndy, Frantz said. “... Jacob [Schuller] at UIndy Dining … and [Executive] Chef Taylor [Hignite] were awesome in thinking through the menu and providing slides about what they've done and how they've sourced their foods and what Quest has done to try to be more environmentally responsible and all the rest of that,” Frantz said. “And I think that was fantastic. … Among the other things, what that food helps us do is tell stories about who we are and establish community. I think the establishing community part within our UIndy community was particularly noteworthy this time because again, coming together over banquets, coming together over these special events, you bond over them.”

I don't think there's any shame in leaning on your resources..."

Frantz said the keynote speaker of the event went into detail about how hunger is more than a food issue. In an email sent by Indiana Humanities summarizing the key points of the symposium, it discussed the current climate surrounding the food system in Indiana and whether or not it is working. Speaker and author Kelsey Timmerman said that despite being a state of agriculture, Indiana imports 90% of its food crops. Additionally, speaker and Director of Operations for Central Indiana’s The Garden Table restaurants Connie Lee said the broken food system causes those at risk to be those at the highest disparity with other speakers saying that the entire system

was designed to be fixed.

“‘The system isn’t broken,’ Soul Food Project Indy Executive Director Danielle Guerin suggested. ‘It’s operating exactly the way its designed to.’ Chris Baggott, founder of Tyner Pond Farm and co-founder of ClusterTruck, concurred, saying food access issues are fueled by food production, delivery and distribution systems that serve the purposes of massive companies rather than consumers.”

According to Assistant Director of Retention Strategy and Student Experience Design Kelley Lykens, there are resources available to students and those affected by food insecurity. An option on campus and exclusive to UIndy students is free grocery pick up from the UIndy Food Pantry, Lykens said.

“The way that UIndy students can sign up for free grocery pickup at the food pantry is by accessing the Google sign-up form for free grocery pickup and they can access that through the UIndy Food Pantry website,” Lykens said. “There's also QR codes posted outside of the Academic Success Center.”

However, Lykens said she knows there is stigma surrounding receiving need-based help and services. While it will be hard to remove the stigma, it is important to remember where people are as college students, Lykens said.

“I think for students to help remove the stigma is to remember that all students right now are here pursuing their UIndy degree and college is an investment of your time and your money,” Lykens said. “And so that is naturally going to take away some ability to be able to kind of like work full time or things like that. I mean, I don't think there is any shame in leaning on your resources and utilizing free resources when and where you can.”

Currently operating entirely on donations, the UIndy Food Pantry is just one resource UIndy provides to students, according to Lykens. While they are open based on availability, there is also the community garden available located on Standish Avenue to students. Additionally, Lykens said students can download the Community Compass App which has access to different

necessities such as groceries and meals for free, aiding in other processes such as food assistance programs. According to Lykens, it is important to know what is available, especially in a community where people are facing food insecurity.

“Knowing what resources are available, I think is something everyone should kind of be aware of in general, like just know your resources, know where you can go for support,” Lykens said. “So one big thing that I share with students that I'm talking to who might just want to have some extra resources in their pocket, have that extra like tool in their tool belt: the Community Compass app.”

According to Inside Higher Ed, students have higher rates of food insecurity than adults in the United States (33%-51% vs 9%), and the last point in the email sent by Indiana Humanities explains consumers have

Catchings from Page 1

those goals should serve as the “North Star” from which people should build an ethical foundation. It is important for students especially to see people like Catchings, who have a strong, ethical foundation and how they have found success, according to Davidson.

“That's really important for students to have the opportunity to engage directly with some of the people that we bring,” Davidson said. “It allows them to think about what they might want to ask, and it also just brings a different perspective.”

Catchings said her message to students is to keep an open mind and find what drives them to succeed. She said as a kid she never could have imagined herself as a public speaker, but with her support system and discipline she has been able to take advantage of opportunities and make the most of them.

“As you're being exposed to a lot of different things, I think just have an open mind,”Catchings said.“Through my faith and all of the skills and all the values that I've talked about already, one of the things is now, even more importantly, basketball kind of protected me. And I would really allow people that were like, we all are

the power to make a change. The email said the panelists recommended actions like demanding grocery stores carry foods relevant to the community, not being afraid to be antagonistic and watching where our spending is going to. Additionally, Lykens explained resources are always available to students in any type of need at the Phil and Janet Terry Center for Campus Connections.

“This is an office that students can come to whenever they're facing any type of challenge or issue or concern,” Lykens said. “We're here to connect students to resources both on and off campus. And we provide students kind of different resources to offer them financial, academic, social and personal support. So students can always come to us if they are having any issue or concern. It doesn't really matter how small or large it is.”

driven to succeed, we were all driven to play back, but we got driven and going the same direction. … Now that I'm outside of basketball, I'm in business and more in the community, commentating and doing a lot of different things that I never thought I would do.”

Catchings said it has been amazing to see more women succeeding and holding prominent roles in leadership and sports. When she grew up watching her dad play in the NBA, the WNBA had not even been formed yet, she said. Now, she hopes to be someone the younger generations can look up to both as not only a basketball player but also a leader and a businesswoman.

“You always hear that quote about ‘you can only be what you see,’ and so being able to have examples of people that you can see and that are being successful, but even more importantly, that are giving back to the younger generation,” Catchings said. “Even from where I stand, there’s gonna be somebody that’s going to step into my role at one point. And it’s important for me to make sure that I’m giving back to the next generation.”

Photo by Breanna Emmett

The observatory located on the Fourth Floor of Lilly Hall was originally built in the 1960s. The upgrades were an ongoing collaboration between the departments of engineering, physics and earth-space science. There will be upcoming open houses for people to visit.

Blubaugh wins national championship

By Elyssa Merrill DISTRIBUTION MANAGER & BUSINESS MANAGER

After a decade of competition since winning their last national title, the University of Indianapolis wrestling team brought home another one following this 2023-2024 season. The national-qualifying wrestlers on the team competed for the championship, last won in 2011, on March 16, 2024 in Wichita, Kan. according to UIndy Athletics. Redshirt junior Derek Blubaugh was successful in securing the title for the 197-pound weight class after beating fellow competitor Dalton Abney from University of Central Oklahoma, earning him not only national recognition, but also the Outstanding Wrestler award, according to Head Wrestling Coach Jason Warthan. “… He was announced the outstanding wrestler of the tournament,” Warthan said. “So he, out of all the national champs, the 10 weight classes, he was the one that the coaches voted to be the outstanding wrestler of the tournament.”

Competing in Kansas this year put them in close proximity to University of Central Oklahoma, Warthan said. According to Warthan, the crowd had a lot of Central Oklahoma fans, featuring blow-up images of their wrestlers and signs in the crowd, which made the final match a tough crowd to overcome. However, Warthan said there were many people in the crowd supporting Blubaugh as well. “It was a hostile crowd that I felt like we had to overcome,” Warthan said. “The crowd was going to be cheering for his opponent, but it was, the rest of the stadium, it was all for Derek. And by the end of it, there were chants, there were people. It just was really cool and a lot of the stadium I think had seen that match so many times, and he was the underdog going into it.”

The history between Blubaugh and Abney as competitors is one of respect and drive, Blubaugh said. According to UIndy Athletics, Blubaugh has been the national runner-up in his weight class the past two seasons, competing against Abney in the final round both

times. Losing to Abney in regionals placed Blubaugh as the No.2 seed going into this national competition behind Abney, the one seed, once more, Warthan said. For Blubaugh, he said he has found a reason to keep working hard through their matches to improve and get better.

“... He’s beaten me a lot more times than I’ve beaten him,” Blubaugh said. “I think he won six or seven times and I’ve beat him twice now. [I] was definitely really happy to get the win over him when it counted the most. It was definitely a great rivalry, definitely fueled me to continue to train hard every day. I’m sure I did the same to him.”

However, Blubaugh said Abney was not his only driving force to get where he is today. Wrestling goes back in the Blubaugh family two generations, and he has competed for the past 16 years, he said. The passion for the sport and the people around him supported him to reach his goals, Blubaugh said. “I could probably go on for days about people that have influenced me,” Blubaugh said. “My parents have both been super supportive, my girlfriend has been super, my teammates have always had my back. They are teammates that I wouldn’t trade for anybody, [who] would always push me. My coaches in high school were definitely great on pushing me to go to the next level and now, being under Warthan—all the coaching staff—they’ve always wanted the best for me. That’s definitely aided my path in the direction that I wanted to go in ways that I couldn’t even put it into words.”

Beyond his national title, however, Blubaugh has shown leadership on and off the mat, Warthan said. Winning various departmental awards and mental attitude awards, Warthan said Blubaugh is an example to everyone on the team, showing them that it is possible to attain and strive for a national title. Blubaugh said he hopes his success brings a fire to the team and that he can be the motivator and role model he strives to be.

“All the sportsmanship awards … [and] mental attitude awards, as much as it might be of a surprise, mean more to me than probably anything else,” Blubaugh said. “Being a great wrestler

is one thing, to have success on the mat, but I think what matters more is who you are off the mat. And that’s something that I definitely have always prided myself on and always strive to continue to hold that sort of integrity.”

For Warthan, he said it was clear that Blubaugh was deserving of the

mental attitude award and all the success he has seen throughout his career. Beyond Blubaugh’s talent, Warthan said his work ethic, mindset, approach to competition and practice are things he has worked very hard for, deserving all the recognition he has received. Being a redshirt junior,

Blubaugh has one more season to compete.

“[I am] thankful for the opportunity to compete and thankful for everyone that I’ve been around,” Blubaugh said. “And I’m looking forward to my future opportunities and to continue the sport that I love for one more year.”

Interim director receives promotion Sprinting into

By Derrick Jones STAFF WRITER

Brad Robinson was officially promoted to Director of Track and Field and Cross Country at the beginning of this outdoor season, according to UIndy Athletics. Robinson is a former student athlete from the university and worked on campus as a graduate assistant. He came back to UIndy and was given the opportunity to be head coach of the cross country team and assistant coach for track and field.

“When I graduated, I took three years away and then came back and worked as a graduate assistant,” Robinson said.

“That would have been starting in the fall of 2011, I worked as a graduate assistant for three years, and completed my master’s degree in BA…I was given the opportunity to be head cross country coach and assistant track and field coach. I have retained that up until this year of October 2023 and then in October 2023, I was promoted into the Interim Director of Cross Country and Track and Field and then this month in March, and now the director.” Robinson said since he is now the director of both Track and Field and Cross Country, his responsibilities have increased. He said he now oversees official fundraising, recruitment, and travel for the team, which are just some of his day-to-day worries. Robinson added that he feels as though the team is ready for the outdoor season since the women’s track and field team finished 12th at the end of the indoor season, according to UIndy Athletics.

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indoors with the national champion, another first team, All-American, and then another athlete finished Second Team All-American, so it was a good showing across the board,” Robinson said. “The team collectively is mostly anxious, excited and ready to compete, but we added a few extra events for an outdoor season that we feel are favorable for us. Some of those events being the 400 hurdles, we will have a few more guys competing in the multis [multiple events], the decathlon in this outdoor season, which is beneficial on the guys’ side, and then for the throws they had a couple of extra throwing events as well.”

... Hopefully we will be faster, jump higher, jump further...”

“Things went well for the indoor season and we capped off things well on the ladies’ side as they finished 12th at the national championships

Graduate student and sprinter for the women’s track and field team ZaLeeya Martin said she is excited for the outdoor season. Martin believes with the great indoor season and training they had from Robinson, they will be able to do great in the outdoor season, too. “I made it to finals for the 60-meter dash, so that was great because I was nervous for that,” Martin said. “I was consistent the whole year with the training that we are getting from our coach and hoping to again make it to the finals for the 100 and maybe the 200 meters. It is my first outdoor season with this team, so I’m just very excited about the 4x100 relay and just making it to the conference and competing with my friends.” UIndy Track and Field will be competing against CAL State on April 11, according to UIndy Athletics. Robinson said he is more than confident this outdoor season will be great. “We’re still just excited to keep moving on this,” Robinson said. We had indoor and hopefully we will be faster, jump higher, jump further, check all the boxes and have a great season.”

Photo Contributed by Blaze Lowery

Junior Derek Blubaugh standing on the podium with a first place award after securing the title for the 197-pound weight class. He also won the Outstanding Wrestler award of the championship tournament. Blubaugh has won various departmental and mental attitude awards.

Swim & Dive nationals

Men’s and women’s

team bring home 84 All-America honors

By Olivia Hogsett STAFF WRITER

The University of Indianapolis Swim and Dive team recently competed at nationals to represent the school. Earlier in March, UIndy Swim and Dive traveled to Geneva, Ohio and found success on their nationals trip, according to junior swimmer Andrea Gomez. According to UIndy Athletics, the men and women had a total of 84 All-America honors, 12 school records and seven event national champions. Head Coach of Men’s and Women’s Swim and Dive Brent Noble said although the teams had lots of success, there is always work to be done.

“It’s hard to quantify a meet that you score third and fourth. You know, really, really good finishes,” Noble said. “So many event wins and records and school records, but not as good as our team finishes from a year ago. And there were a couple holes, so we’ll have to work to fill those holes in the future. But really exciting performances with all the wins and the records.”

Gomez said that she had success at nationals as she had a few personal and school records. According to UIndy Athletics, Gomez had personal bests in the 1000 Free, 200 Back, 200 Fly and 400 Individual Medley. Gomez said as

the season went on and the freshmen got used to swimming at the college level the team improved.

“Conference was really good and nationals was amazing,” Gomez said.

“Overall I’m happy with myself, all the work I put in that pool. And practicing with my teammates and seeing them every day, that makes me keep pushing and vice versa. So overall, I feel like the season could have been better, but I’m happy with it.”

We have a group of people that care very much about representing our school...”

Gomez said the team’s biggest strengths were working hard and having good communication between one another. She said they do a good job of talking through problems and asking each other for help. She said they also push each other before and during races and cheer each other on.

“I feel like in every sport, you just need to support each other,” Gomez said. “Practicing with friends makes you somehow practice harder or swim faster.”

Noble said one of his favorite

moments from this past season was the conference meet. He said it was special because the whole team is present at this meet. Although nationals was exciting, conference is when you get the whole group there and so it is always the most fun, according to Noble. The team is developing, Noble said, and preparing for next year now.

“You finish a season and you get perspective on a lot of things that can be better,” Noble said. “So I’m really excited to do that. I think that we have a ton of room to improve some things and be better as a group. We have a ton to build around. Almost all of our points are returning from nationals which is super exciting. So we’re going to be good. And so the question is how much can we button everything up and do better.”

Gomez said when she returns home for the summer she is going to continue to practice. She said she is going to prepare for next season by lifting, swimming and talking to her coaches about things she wants to improve upon. Overall, she said she is happy with how the season went. “We’re proud to represent UIndy,” Noble said. “We have a group of people that care very much about representing our school in the best way and working hard to do things in the swimming world that reflect well upon UIndy. So we’re all really proud Hounds.”

UIndy dance hopes to repeat their national win in Florida

By Brid Peoples ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

The University of Indianapolis Dance Team is set to compete in Nationals in Orlando, Florida, according to Head Coach Carlee Bachek. According to the College Classic 2024 National Championship website, the competition kicks off April 12.

The team is the defending champions, having won the competition in 2023, according to Bachek. This year she said the team

has been increasing their focus on mental preparation.

“The last two years, we’ve come home with a national championship,” Bachek said. “I think there’s some pressure that’s kind of building to make sure that we’re continuing to represent our program well … but the way we prepare is the same. We’re just trying to kind of outdo ourselves every year so whatever we did last year, we’re trying to one up it this year.”

Team Captain and junior communication major Andi Parks said the team has been practicing around the clock to prepare for the competition. According to Parks, this

includes long hours and hard work over the weekends.

“We’re working really, really, really hard,” Parks said. “Lots of long practices, lots of long hours, but we really hope that it was worth it. And we’re gonna go out there and put our best foot on the floor in Orlando.… Fridays can be from like, about like four to eight and then Saturdays can be anywhere from like 8 a.m. to like five o’clock somewhere in between that time.”

According to Bachek, she has been on the coaching staff for ten years so it has been exciting to watch the team grow. Bachek said when she first started coaching, the program was much smaller than it is now and the team did not enter competitions, much less at the national level like they are doing now. Bachek said over the years, the competition has gotten harder, but the girls on the team have also become more technically advanced and stronger, culminating in back-to-back championship wins.

In addition to practicing and improving with long, intense practices, Parks said the practices have also helped fostering a ‘family’ atmosphere among the team. According to Parks, this has allowed the team to create a strong bond.

“Our team culture is very family oriented, kind of like we’re all one big family,” Parks said. “We have to get along with each other so much, we have to create those bonds and we do feel like sisters by the end of it.”

The team competed in a virtual competition earlier this year and the scores were not what the team wanted, Parks said. Because dance is subjective, it is up to judges to determine the best team, she said.

“I think that while that did suck to get scores back that weren’t the best, not exactly what we hoped, it’ll help us and direct us this next two or three weeks that we have left into the right

direction,” Parks said. “We’re making the changes, we’re doing what the judges told us in our critiques.”

However, Parks said this season the team has worked incredibly hard to improve and build upon previous seasons. According to Parks, the team has already accomplished so much.

“No matter what happens, I’m so proud of this team and I’m so proud of everything that we’ve accomplished so far and we have such a strong bond and we’ve just had an overall great season,” Parks said. “… But as long as we go out there and we put on the best performance that we have so far this season, then I say we won.”

Photo contributed by UIndy Athletics

Junior swimmer Adrea Gomez poses with her 1000-yard freestyle trophy for her third place finish at the NCAA swim and dive national competition. Gomez had personal bests in the 1000 Free, 200 Back, 200 Fly and 400 Individual Medley during the meet.

Graphic by Breanna Emmett

Photo by Allison Cook UIndy dancers hit a formation while running their pom routine for their upcoming national competition. The team has been practicing long hours to prepare for the competition.

Photo by Allison Cook Team captain and junior communication major Andi Parks during a series of turns while rehearsing. The team hopes to win another title on April 12 at the national competition.

Students dig new minor

By Elyssa Merrill DISTRIBUTION MANAGER & BUSINESS MANAGER

The story of the world around us can now be discovered through a new minor recently implemented by The University of Indianapolis Shaheen College of Arts & Sciences according to You Indy. This past summer, a paleontology minor was added as an option according to You Indy and the 21-credit minor falls under the EarthSpace Science coursework, according to the UIndy Registrar’s Office. Those interested in adding the minor or who have questions can email Assistant Professor of Earth-space science Nick Soltis,according to the Registrar+’s Office. Although the courses have been offered, Soltis said this was a way for people to specialize in this specific interest.

“The paleontology minor is brand new this year,” Soltis said. “All the courses have been offered in the past.It's a mix of biology courses and earth-space science, geologytype courses. But the minor curated those, so people who are interested would know what classes to take and would be the most relevant if you did want to go on to graduate school or pursue paleontology down the road.”

According to Soltis, paleontology is interdisciplinary, and the minor requires coursework that may seem surprising. Soltis said it offers a structure to help two types of students who want to specialize in paleontology: those who are already majoring in earth-space science or those who have an interest in paleontology.

“I noticed we had a lot of students who are interested in paleontology, both within earth-space science and also a little bit in archaeology,” Soltis said. “And then students of the general interest like dinosaurs and past life and fossils in general … We also saw it as a way to bring in

students who might be exploring majors or students who [are] doing something else.”

According to senior Earth-space science major Spencer Shroyer, his pathway to get to his final year was an exploration of what he is passionate about. Even though he started at UIndy on the prephysical therapy track, Shroyer said he did not like the required courses. When discussing future options after dropping his pre-physical therapy minor, Shroyer said he remembered always being a fan of dinosaurs.

“I was a huge dinosaur kid, I would watch a bunch of dinosaur documentaries,” Shroyer said.“One year my dad got me this whole DVD set of dinosaur documentaries,

and I would watch them all the time. And I love going to natural history museums. I grew up in Cincinnati and whenever my grandpa would watch me,we'd go there and then we'd spend probably way too long in there. But, my grandpa would sit around while I would look at everything and it was amazing.And so I [thought],‘I think I really wanna go down the paleontology route.’”

Senior Earth-space science major Connor Epler said his passion for his major is also one that has followed him since childhood. Additionally, this new minor implementation adjusted his plans for his senior year, he said.

“It had a really big effect because I was going to graduate, or at least be done with

my major last year in 2023, and I was going to be a part-time student to finish up my senior research throughout this year …” Epler said. “It was a pretty big switch for me and changed my trajectory because I ended up shifting my focus from my research and maybe doing internships to wanting to get this minor and fill that out as well. I'm glad I did because it's been probably the most enjoyable year of classes that I've had so far.”

Senior Earth-Space Major Joshua Gamble had a different origin story for deciding his major, he said. Coming to college, he was asked to pick a major, so he picked earth-space science to pursue astronomy,Gamble said.However,Gamble

said he took it for the space aspect but fell in love with the rocks and fossils aspect of it, also having to adjust his schedule for the new course requirements for the paleontology minor.

“I was supposed to have a really easy senior year, and I had to add a few things that I wasn't pumped about, but I really ended up loving those classes,”Gamble said. “It's probably provided a new perspective because I mean, through it, every aspect of even earth-space science, you can walk around outside and get a new appreciation for everything around you and understand the world that you live in. And that's my favorite part about the major is if I ended up doing a job later in life, that has nothing to do with earth-space science or paleontology or geology, I can still say I got more from it than I could have hoped for because I can look around and understand the world that I live in.”

This past summer, Shroyer said he interned at the Children’s Museum. Working on fossils and talking to curious visitors, he was able to share his knowledge and get experience in the field he was interested in, according to You Indy. Despite having guaranteed admittance into the master’s program for physical therapy, Shroyer went with the path that followed his passion and he said he has similar beliefs about his future career path.

“I'm definitely grateful for it because,yes, there was a lot of stability and certainty with the three plus three, but the fact is that I've been able to do so much with this major and all my minors and this department,” Shroyer said. “I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I don't know, it was hard to get away from it. And especially now because I applied to grad school, and I'm still waiting to hear from three or four and it's a month from graduation. But, even if I don't get in anywhere, I still wouldn't change it for the world. I would do it all over again. I've enjoyed myself so much.”

Crimson and grey take over UIndy

Campus prepares celebrations on UIndy Day, a community-wide, annual spirit event on April 18

By Caroline Krauch SPORTS EDITOR

Greyhound pride on campus is building up as UIndy Day, a day that is meant to unite The University of Indianapolis community, approaches, according to UIndy’s website. According to the site, UIndy Day will take place on April 18, this year, and is a day meant to celebrate and strengthen Greyhound pride for students. Associate Director of Annual Giving in the Office of Advancement Andrew Brown said an important aspect of UIndy Day is the prospect of being able to show thanks to those who donate and support the school.

“We always want to who are connected to the university an opportunity to give back to the university and stay connected to UIndy,” Brown said. “A lot of the things that students use throughout the entire

year are funded by things through gifts like the UIndy Fund, the scholarship fund.”

According to Brown, there will be two main events this year including the UIndy Day Headquarters, located in the Schwitzer Student Center. The headquarters, which will be open from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., allows students to visit and fill out postcards for donors and win prizes. There is also a new Crimson and Grey Fashion Show, according to Brown. Brown said he helped facilitate the fashion show, but students were the

a day when we want to see all students getting together and enjoying being students at UIndy.”

Senior Director of Annual Giving Lora Teliha said she was also in charge of planning the event. UIndy TV was tasked to create the video for the day, according to Teliha, and it shows how gifts and donations are used on campus. In addition to this, they also planned a happy hour event for the alumni that will be downtown. According to Teliha, UIndy Day is a vital part of creating an alliance between UIndy’s past and Teliha said UIndy Day is an essential part in creating a culture of generosity. She said it helps for all people, past and present, involved in UIndy to have a chance to unite and come together.

Its a day when we want to see all students getting together..."

People get to show their pride in the school and what they UIndy, Teliha said, to show why it is important to support UIndy students both now and in the future. According to Teliha she has been working with UIndy television to content to help promote the day. “We are working with UIndy TV to create the video for the day that shows how gifts are used on campus,” Teliha said. “We are working together to design emails social media posts that are available to alumni.”

By Mia Lehmkuhl EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Every year, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign announces its Snyder Scholars, a fellowship where students are hosted at the university to work with their organic chemistry faculty for 10 weeks during the summer, according to UIUC’s website. UIUC’s chemistry program is ranked ninth in the country, according to a 2023 U.S. News & World Report ranking. Among the few selected as Snyder Scholars, University of Indianapolis junior chemistry and biology major Grace Rout said she was excited to hear the news that she had been one of them.

“This program is specific for students interested in biochemistry and taking organic chemistry and the sort of chemistry background and applying it to biology,” Rout said. “It was sent to me by Dr. Burnell because I had told him that I was interested in biochemistry and since eventually, in the future, I would like to go on to get my Ph.D. And I've been looking at biochemistry-related programs, it was just sort of like a perfect fit for things that I've been wanting to do in the future.” Associate Professor of Chemistry Joe

Burnell said Rout has never wavered from her interest in biochemistry in her time thus far at UIndy. When an email appeared in his inbox asking for applicants to the Snyder Scholars Program, he said he immediately thought of her.

“... The letter of recommendation was easy to write because she's just been so proactive about her own preparation,” Burnell said. “She's so positive in class and she's curious. Right now, she's taking biochemistry as an honors class. And so, to get honors credit for the regular class, we have to come up with some extra project, right? She's doing investigations of just a literature investigation of a class of receptors in the brain that we don't get to usually talk about. And so in trying to keep up with her, I've had been having to read a bunch of stuff about this, and I was learning so much. There's a whole other class of these receptors that I knew nothing about.That I only learned because of Grace’s curiosity.”

According to Rout, her interest in chemistry was sparked by her high school chemistry teacher. To her, it was one of the only classes where there were no days she dreaded going.

“I wanted to pursue it in college,”Rout said. “But I knew that I liked more of the application of it. On the biological side,

I wanted to do something that would directly impact people, but I'm not much of a people person so I didn't want to do clinical. So I started leaning more towards neuroscience-related things. And then I, since taking organic chemistry and biochemistry, I've leaned more into that area of things and a more general interest in really any area of it.”

Rout said Burnell has been a big help

“I always tell students

‘You really go to an amazing school with unique and amazing opportunities,’” Brown said. “We should have a day to celebrate that. It's out there and celebrating, [that], ‘I'm a UIndy Greyhound."

Teliha says the organization encourages students to show support by using #UIndyDay on their social channels and wearing their UIndy gear. If students are interested in signing up to participate in the fashion show, Teliha said they can reach out to the Office of Student Affairs. Brown said the goal of the two events is to provide students with multiple avenues to show their support no matter what their level of engagement

UIndy junior named Snyder Scholar

throughout not only the Snyder Scholars Program application process but other programs she has applied to during undergrad as well.When she felt confused about what she wanted to do, Rout said Burnell was there to help her try and figure out what she wanted to do in the future as a career. With the help of Burnell and other chemistry department faculty, Rout said she now has a chance to work in a

bigger lab at a larger institution during her time as a Snyder Scholar.

“Being a smaller school, we're limited in that way, both in space and in funding,” Rout said. “So being able to go to one of these bigger state schools and get an idea of what chemistry research looks like, in a larger institution, and at the level that we'll end up doing it. We don't do much like synthetic biology related here. … So I’ll get to see what that looks like also.”

According to Burnell, Rout was also selected as a national student representative for Sigma Zeta, a national science and math honor society, where she would represent students on the honor society’s executive board next year. In addition to her roles as a student and laboratory assistant, Burnell said she is a good tutor for those in chemistry. Rout said she wants to highlight the importance of programs like Snyder Scholars.

“I think being at a small school, you can learn a lot from these programs, and of course, most of them are paid,” Rout said. “They don't pay great, but they pay, and it really looks great on a resume and it can really help you find what you want to do, but also help show that you're interested in these things and that you're committed to what you're doing.”

Photo by Breanna Emmett

Senior paleontology minors Joshua Gamble, Connor Epler, and Spencer Shroyer examine several rock specimens in the Rock and Mineral Lab. Epler, Shroyer and Gamble will be some of the first students to graduate from UIndy with the paleontology minor.

Graphic by Mariana Fletes-Cuevas

Photo by Allison Cook

Junior chemistry and biology major Grace Rout was selected to work with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign organic chemistry faculty through Snyder Scholars fellowship.

Marine band brings West Coast to UIndy

U.S. Marines performance group ‘Marine Band San Diego’ wows audiences as part of a national tour

variety of music to students, faculty, and community

attended, according to an announcement on UIndy 360.

The concert program featured performances from the band’s brass quintet, ceremonial band, rock band, jazz combo and brass band with multiple pieces played by each musical group. The rock band and ceremonial band featured UIndy alumni and Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps Logan Fox. Fox said he finished his undergraduate degree in music performance in 2017, went to graduate

“I had been wanting to do military bands for quite some time,” Fox said. “I had a friend who is now over in Cherry Point, Carolina. He’s a trombone player, and we went to grad school together. I set up an audition ironically enough here and entered into the delayed entry program, and then shipped out to boot camp in October of 2020.”

According to Fox, lots of hard work went into planning for the performances. Though he is part of the reason why the military band performed at UIndy, Fox said that through the tour, the band ultimately aims to increase awareness about opportunities in the military and, as a result, find recruits in new locations around the United States.

“The performance tonight was the

‘Happy Customers’ is a 2010s throwback

By Hannah Hadley

Although you may not have heard of the band “Two Door Cinema Club” since the heyday of Tumblr in the 2010s with their album “Tourist History” (2010), they do happen to still be my favorite band (Yes, I have the same music taste as a 22-year-old as I did when I was 13). Two Door Cinema Club released their newest single, titled “Happy Customers,” on March 6, according to Genius, an online website dedicated to lyrics and musical information (Yet another aside, but, they did happen to release “Happy Customers” the day after I saw them in concert in Cincinnati…). New Musical Express’s website states the band wanted to “return to their roots” with a single that was simpler and more ‘Indie’ than some of their more recent works. Although I love the more electric style of music they made on the albums “Gameshow” (2016) and “False Alarm” (2019), “Happy Customers” is a fresh yet immensely nostalgic throwback to the band’s roots.

“Happy Customers” is a bouncy, flowing, guitar-riff-filled Indie pop song, reminiscent of their past work. Lead singer Alex Trimble’s voice is smooth and melodic, and he has an impressive vocal range. Bassist Kevin Bairs and electric guitarist Sam Halliday“steer the ship”with rhythms that make me want to get up and dance. However, the lyrics are purposely “tongue-in-cheek and contrast the happy-go-lucky nature of the music,” according to NME. The chorus goes: “Days / Same as always / Somewhere halfway / Something new,” and the post-chorus: “We could wait /

For tomorrow / Where’d the time go? / What can we do?” If the listener is not actively listening, they may assume this is a silly little tune about sunshine and rainbows, when the lyrics really talk about a hopeless, monotonous life—I love it.

Two Door Cinema Club’s recent trend has been releasing singles in preference over albums. They said it is “freeing” to not have to wait for the fleshed-out production of a full record to share a song they love with fans, according to NME. And, as a music-hungry Two Door Cinema Club fan, I am not mad about it. NME additionally reports the band is planning on releasing more music in 2024 following “Happy Customers,” and I say, “Bring it on!”

My friend and I have tickets to see Two Door Cinema Club in Indianapolis this coming October at White River State Park, and I hope they perform “Happy Customers,” as I can only imagine the audience dancing around and happily singing along. And, hey, I definitely will be one of those boogying around if they do!

Tone: 10/10

Lyrics: 10/10

Sound: 10/10

Flow: 10/10

Overall: 10/10

The Goods:

• Everything — I just love Two Door Cinema Club.

The Bads:

• Not really a “Bad,” but they DID release the song the day AFTER I saw them in concert, so I did not get to see “Happy Customers” performed live :( (They better perform it in Indianapolis this coming October, though).

said having those he is close with see his roots has been something he has cherished.

“Ironically enough, this week is easily turning into the most memorable time I’ve ever had,” said Fox. “Especially getting to show people that I’m very close with, that I spend more time with than my own family, where I grew up and where I came from. It has been an absolute blessing.”

Sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps Kasie Wagner is the lead singer in Marine Band San Diego’s rock band. After taking a break when she finished attending the University of Florida for vocal performance and classical music, she said she felt called back to music and decided to audition for the Navy Band, but was persuaded to join the Marine Corps by a recruiter.

music for those involved in the military bands according to Wagner. “We’re the number one in the world of employing musicians. So, it’s a big thing,” said Wagner. “If you have a love of music, it’s kind of hard you know … it’s a smaller field. Nowadays, there’s a lot of good players. But with the Marine Corps or any other military branch, they provide a lot of security while also pursuing what you love.”

You could call us almost like ‘the keepers of tradition.’”

culminating event for us of about, I would say two months of work,” Fox said. “And, we had been prepping for multiple recruiting tours … These past four weeks, roughly, have been solely dedicated to the recruiting mission in the Marine Corps, as well as just building a relationship with the public that is kind of far removed from San Diego, California.”

Fox said he hopes that viewers of the performance will take away knowledge of opportunities in the Marine Corps they may not have known before. If these performances can help get a person’s wheels turning about their future, the musicians in the military band have done their job, according to Fox.

Though Fox has several favorite memories of being in the Marines, he said performing around his hometown has made for a very special week. Fox

“Music always calls you back,” said Wagner. “I ended up really wanting to continue to pursue a music career, and the Marine Corps provided me with that.” Wagner said that the Marine Band San Diego has a long history of tradition. According to Wagner, being a part of several events as musicians can go unnoticed at times, but it plays a very vital role in several ceremonies and customs.

“You could call us almost like ‘the keepers of tradition,’” said Wagner. “We’re a part of a lot of the traditions that are seen in the Marine Corps such as relief and appointments, change of commands and the cake-cutting ceremony for our Marine Corps birthday.”

Wagner hopes that others will take notice of the chances that the Marines can provide, especially musicians. She said there is a large span of musical opportunities for those involved.

Fox said the Marine Corps can align with someone’s goals and dreams, even if it is in the performing arts. There’s a lot of traveling, chances to see several different things, community outreach and ways to learn different genres of

Freshman studio art major Sophie Tintera attended the performance on March 26 and said she enjoyed every minute of the show. They said they wanted to get up and start dancing, as she loved the event so much. Tintera said that she knew the military performed music as she has family in the military but learned from the production more about the performing arts in the military.

“I didn’t know about the rock band. When they started singing. I was astounded,” Tintera said. “That was so amazing. I didn’t know that they went around and did concerts like this. I found out about this one last minute, even, and I am so glad I came.” Tintera said that from the performance, they hope people will become more open-minded to opportunities in the military. It is a great thing that those in the Marines, as well as other military branches, can pursue what they love while serving their country, according to Tintera.

“When you think of the military or the Marines, you think of war, or fighting … You don’t think of how these are real people,” said Tintera. “They got majors in music and music could be their passion, and they want to continue that, and they can in the military. That’s such an amazing thing that they can do both at the same time.”

Marine Band San Diego’s midwest tour ended March 29, with the final performance at North Vermillion High School, but more information about upcoming events and recruitment can be found on their website and social media.

The United States Marine Band San Diego performed in the Ruth Lilly Performance Hall as part of their RS Indianapolis Recruiting Tour, promising a

members who

By Allison Cook PHOTO EDITOR school at Roosevelt College, and then auditioned for the military band as a percussionist in 2020.

Photo by Allison Cook Sergeant Kasie Wagner singing during Marine Band San Diego’s rock band performance on March 26 in Ruth Lilly Performance Hall. The U.S. Military band features musical groups such as a brass quintet, ceremonial band, rock band, jazz combo and brass band.