April 27, 2022 | The Reflector

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THE OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF INDIANAPOLIS

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APRIL 27, 2022

Spring Fling Field Day Annual Field Day event was held for students to participate in on April 23

By Lindsey Wormuth EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Spring Fling Field Day, held on April 23, was an event hosted by Student Leadership Activities Board (SLAB), and took place at Schwitzer Park. It was filled with games, food trucks, obstacle courses, crafts and much more, according to the email Kory Vitangeli sent out March 5. Students were able to register for the event online.

According to sophomore finance major and Finance Chair for SLAB Maggie Viewegh, the event is a tradition at UIndy, but due to COVID-19, it has been challenging to allow campus traditions to continue the last couple of years. Viewegh encourages students to participate in Spring Fling because it is a tradition.

“I would encourage students to come out and check out what is going on. It is a great opportunity to go outside, take a break from school for a Saturday because finals week is approaching and just have some fun,” Viewegh said.

“I think for me, the last two weeks leading up to finals are probably the busiest weeks of the semester, so it's nice to have a day that’s planned by the school and take a break from studying and go out and have some fun with your friends.”

Throughout Spring Fling, there will be carnivalesque games for students to participate in, as well as a drive-in movie, snacks, popcorn and soda, according to Viewegh. There will also be a showing of “Spider-Man No Way Home.”

Junior elementary education major and Campus Tradition Chair of SLAB Abigail Postma says the event is a field day setting that is group-based instead of individual activities. There were trophies for the winning teams.

“We are hoping people will bring their friends and it will be collaborative, because based on events we have had in the past because of COVID[-19], you haven't been able to bring outside guests but now, because we are allowing you to [be] outside,” Postma said.

“Guests [are welcome] and they can come participate as well, which we think students will have a lot more fun with us too.”

There were a variety of games and activities for students to participate in, from a mechanical bull ride to tug of war. According to Postma, the

event was mainly held in the park alongside the basketball court and volleyball area outside of Schwitzer.

“One of our students is f rom Jamaica, and so she is actually running a version of Jamaican freeze tag and she is going to teach students how to play that so students can also learn different cultural games that they can also teach other students later on, which is really exciting,” Postma said.

Not only did they offer different cultural games, but there was also a variety of games that are typically played during a field day, according to

Postma. The games range from Hungry Hippo Chow Down, a large interactive inflatable based on the board game, to hoop shots on the basketball court.

She encouraged people to participate in the field day because it was a fun event.

“We are going to have food and games and after that we are showing the new 'Spider-Man' movie, which was super popular,” Postma said. “So we have a feeling a lot of people will enjoy that and so we think that it will be a really big hit so we encourage you to come out.”

Graphic by Hallie Gallinat

In-person graduation returns

By Blanca Osorio-Ortega STAFF WRITER

After more than 1,300 colleges and universities in the United States were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the Spring of 2020, according to the National Conference of Legislators, the University of Indianapolis will return to an in-person graduation. Vice President for Student and Campus Affairs and Dean of Students Kory Vitangeli said that hopefully the university will be getting back to where it was before COVID-19 and one way by doing so is by bringing in persongraduation back.

“That's the last time that we had an in-person graduation [in 2019], and the year after that we had a virtual graduation, and then last year we had the graduation parade where people for the most part stayed in their cars,” Vitangeli said. “This will be the first time that the entire community and families will be able to gather in person….

Moving to an outdoor graduation allows us to have unlimited guests, allows us the safety of having fresh air outside, not being confined to an indoor space and just really get[ting] back to having that true sense of you and the community.”

Vitangeli said when planning an be allowed to have four tickets per outdoor event, weather is going to be graduate for the indoor ceremony. For a risk factor. The UIndy president's the students who have a larger family, cabinet, which is made up of the president graduation will be live-streamed so and vice presidents, the faculty senate, people who were not able to attend Student Leadership Activities Board would be able to watch the ceremony (SLAB) and the COVID-19 Task Force take place. all had a conversation to decide what Another factor that plays into the 2022 commencement ceremony graduation is the length of the was going to look like and Vitangeli said procession. Vitangeli said that the they are all prepared. student arrangement will include “We've had outdoor and indoor, but students sitting by their school when you go indoor, you have to have starting with doctorates first. Vitangeli multiple ceremonies mentioned that because we can't having the most accommodate efficient ceremony The hope is that we'll be e v e r y b o d y, ” will be key to this Vitangeli said. “The graduation. able to stay outside and hope is that we “We're talking have the ceremony." can just do one about having two ceremony, have readers up on stage everybody that's to read names, graduating [able to] graduate and instead of one, to try to get through be outdoors. Obviously, weather is those names quicker…. That's our goal dependent upon what we do, but right now. We're meeting on a weekly we'll make the call early that morning basis, we have a commencement planning of commencement as to whether or committee … to talk about ‘Now that not we're gonna be inside based on we've made the decision to be outdoors, weather. The hope is that we'll be how do we make sure that it is an efficient able to stay outside and have the ceremony where people feel like, again, ceremony.” they're not sitting there for hours and Vitangeli said that if weather does hours?” not permit for graduation to take University Events is going to be place outside, then students will only one of the many groups that will help

INSIDE: NEWS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3, 8 OPINION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 SPORTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 5 FEATURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 ENTERTAINMENT . . . . . . . . . .7

SENIOR SEND-OFFS The

with graduation day, and so far they have already taken care of a few things.

Director of University Events, Jeffery Barnes said that they are still working on the logistics of getting the stage and the chairs rented as well, since UIndy does not have a stage that is big enough. University Events staff will have both the outdoor and indoor spaces set up days before the event to make sure that there is no rush last minute.

“My team and I will be … making sure that everything looks the way that it's supposed to look and that all the pieces are in place so that everyone else can do their job and people can come in and have a great graduation experience …,” Barnes said. “Lots of different people are monitoring the weather leading up to that [the day of graduation] and we have to plan an outdoor event with an indoor backup plan. So we'll have both set up a few days in advance.”

So far the plan is to move forward with the outdoor ceremony and then on the morning of commencement, if necessary due to weather, the call would be made to then have it indoors, Barnes said. He said everyone is excited about being able to do graduation outdoors together again as one big ceremony.

DANCE TEAM WINS NATIONALS The UIndy Dance Team

’s six graduating seniors look back on their time at UIndy.

College Classic National Invitational in Division II.

> See OPINION

> See SPORTS

reflector.uindy.edu

Students showcase academic work

By Molly Church

ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR The annual Scholars Showcase at the University of Indianapolis was held this week, running April 25-27, and allowed people in UIndy’s community to present their current projects, according to Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Scholars Showcase Committee Co-chair Lori Bolyard. She said there were presentations both inperson and virtually, with the in-person events held in the Schwitzer Student Center.

Bolyard said there were a mix of projects being presented, with some students only having worked on their project for a couple of months, and others presenting projects they have been working on for years. She also said that students may have even presented an idea on something they are interested in to open up conversations about that topic. Presenting these topics are important, she said, because it allows students to see how far they have come.

“I think it's good to pause and acknowledge what you've done, even if you haven't completed a project to see what you have accomplished. . . .

Sometimes when you're working on a project long-term, you don't realize how much you learned or how much you accomplished,” Bolyard said. “It's good to take time to stop and kind of see, even if it's not complete, see what you've done so far. I think they're a real confidence booster for them [students] too, when they start talking to other faculty and other students, and they realize how much more they know about the topic than even other learned people on campus just because they've been so immersed in it.”

Students who participated in the scholars showcase also had the opportunity to win awards for their projects, according to Assistant Professor of Public Health and Scholars Showcase Committee co-chair Angelitta BrittSpells. She said those who wanted to have their presentations judged had to submit their application at an earlier deadline than those who did not. “… During their presentation time, we have at least two judges come in and watch them. We have a rubric score that basically scales how they are presenting the content, their expertise, a variety of different areas,” Britt-Spells said.

“Quality of work from the other scores are calculated and then it's all put in to compare them to other presenters to give them an overall score to see where they rank.”

Britt-Spells said the scholars showcase allows students to talk about and study areas that they are really interested in and make new discoveries within that field of interest. She said encouraging these students while at UIndy is important because they will then be able to take what they learned here and take it with them wherever they go.

“It really gives them opportunities to see how even something that they may have not realized could turn [in] to something big, can become a passion and something that they really are able to invest in, really be able to pursue,” Britt-Spells said. “I think it's important because it allows them an opportunity to kind of connect, to kind of take their career, their direction and journey a little > See Students on page 8

STUDENT ART DISPLAY The Annual Juried Student Exhibition will display work from over 50 students and will include art from several mediums within the Department of Art & Design.

> See ENTERTAINMENT

OPINION

2 THE REFLECTOR

APRIL 27, 2022

Saying goodbye to our seniors

The Reflector's graduating staff members reflect on their time at the University of Indianapolis

By Jacob Walton

By Justus O’Neil

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

MANAGING EDITOR

There are a million things I could say about my four years at the University of Indianapolis.This school has changed my life, changed me personally and changed my outlook on the world. Throughout my four years, I’ve developed skills that will help me for the next 60 years of my life until I, hopefully, retire. In all those experiences, all those skills and new perspectives, there has always been one constant: The Reflector.

I still have vivid memories of being in Professor and Advisor to The Reflector Jeanne Criswell’s office for my official tour of the communication department, and by the time I had left I had met the entire staff, seen the entire department and absolutely loved every second of it.

I knew it was home. Since that day, I've spent thousands of hours working on this paper and I do not regret a single moment.

When I became sports editor my sophomore year, it was one of the best moments of my life, not just because I was happy to get the position, but because I felt that I had direction and I was moving forward. My actions, even as stupid as some of them were, led me to a role I had desired since I stepped on campus. I have always loved sports, even as I moved away from that role and became Editor-in-Chief (EIC) in May of 2021, that love and passion for sports held true. Through that lens of sports, I found myself fascinated with the storytelling aspect of journalism.

For those that were at my senior project, they will certainly know how important the aspect of storytelling is to me. In my two years of being sports editor and eventually EIC, the stories I was able to tell were my favorite moments. Some of the best stories included sitting down with Mickey and Shira Sasson to talk about their military past, talking to Dana Yousseff and asking her how she was able to get a 4.0 every semester while being one of the best UIndy women’s soccer players ever, finding out what made perhaps the greatest UIndy Athlete in Pilar Echeverria so great. Outside of the profiles of athletes—from talking poetry with Tyree Daye and examining his small town background, to Kenny Broberg and his talent with a piano—I’ve loved telling these stories to the UIndy community.

Aside from my work with The Reflector, the Department of Communication has been a home away from home. I’ve already mentioned how important Jeanne Criswell has been to me, but all the professors have impacted me in one way or another. They have all impacted me in one way or another whether it be lessons of compassion, leadership or anything else. Professors are not the only ones that I have to credit. Justus O’Neil has been one of my best friends, not only within The Reflector but overall in the communication department. I joked that we were war buddies, but no matter what challenges the journalism work threw at us, I knew he was there to back me up and I was there for him the same. I could continue to mention a million other people, but the majority of you know who you are. All I can say is thank you for putting up with my hyper, somewhat annoying and passionate self over the past four years.

Leaving The Reflector is something that I always knew was going to happen, it was inevitable. Even with COVID-19 throwing a couple semesters online, it has all gone by in a blur and at a snail's pace at the same time, and I would not change it for the world. Even though I’m not fully leaving the Department of Communication as I’m sticking around for my masters—thank you, UIndy Athletics, for that—I view these four years as something I will remember forever. My biggest piece of advice for those that come after me: cherish the good and the bad, because eventually they will all be memories. As Jeanne always says: Keep working hard, you die-hard journalists!

“Who am I?” I have spent the last four years of my life trying to answer that troubling question. Throughout these years, I had moments where I felt I had a clear answer and other moments where I felt more lost than ever before. With that being said, I have never stopped trying to find the answer.

Going into college, I had, what I thought was, a clear vision of the path I intended on taking. I enrolled as a Dean's Scholar recipient in the pre-athletic training program at the University of Indianapolis. My parents were pleased and I thought I would be fulfilled. Fast forward a few months and I found myself nearly failing human anatomy despite my incessant studying. I had everything going for me: I had great roommates, a wonderful girlfriend, who’s now my fiancée, supportive parents and even professors that clearly wanted me to succeed. It was not more studying that I needed, it was motivation that I wasn't finding in the subject, or even the path I was on at the time. I spent an afternoon in the Professional Edge Center and came to the conclusion that I needed to make a change before I got too far down a rabbit hole of coursework that I didn't want to be in.

I decided that I would try out a few different courses and branch out the following semester. I enrolled in a number of courses my second semester as a freshman, but the one that changed the course of my college career was COMM 120: Applied Journalism.There, I would come to learn that I had a joy for connecting with people, building relationships and telling stories. I would then change my major to communication and spend five semesters of my remaining seven working for The Reflector.

Spending time working for our student newspaper has been a defining aspect of my college experience, but the relationships I have made along the way is what made my experience positively special. From professors to classmates to roommates to friends, UIndy has graced me with more blessings than I can count.

The volume of these blessings is short of nothing compared to the impact that they have had on my life. These people have led me down a path of self discovery and realization that has given me the confidence to step out of college and into the wider world.

As I take my first step into this wider world, I feel as though I still can't answer the question of who I am, except this question isn't troubling anymore, it's exciting. Every decision I make defines who I am more and more. Who I am right now is likely a completely different person compared to who I might be five years from now, but right now, I'm a Greyhound.

Graphics by Jazlyn Gomez

By Giselle Valentin SPORTS EDITOR

I remember in fourth grade, we had to write a creative story using the week’s spelling words as an assignment. I wrote a story about an astronaut named Ned who had recently returned from a mission to Mars, and how everyone was utterly enamored with him and wanted to follow him around. After reading my story, my teacher approached me and expressed

her admiration for the story and how it made her laugh. I received an A+ on the assignment and I showed my parents my story, and they also were very impressed and proud of my work. “You have a true gift. I can’t wait to read more of your work,” my mom said while smiling and looking me in the eyes. I didn't think much of it at the moment, but I could never have imagined I would be pursuing it as a career ten years later.

I recall there being just a few weeks till the start of the school year. Professor Jeanne Criswell sent me an email inviting me to join the newspaper staff. I was a three-year member of my high school's newspaper, so I figured ‘Why not?’ I emailed Jeanne right away with a list of questions. Through email, I could sense Jeanne’s warm and welcoming soul. I changed my schedule at the last minute to add COMM 120: Applied Journalism.

From my first day at The Reflector, I knew this was the place I wanted to be.

The staff and Jeanne greeted everyone with open arms, and it was beautiful to see their enthusiasm for journalism. My mentor, and the current Editor-in-Chief Jacob Walton encouraged me to apply for the open position of distribution manager. As a result, I was able to hold the positions of distribution manager and sports editor.

Being a part of The Reflector, I discovered the true beauty of journalism.

I believe everyone has a story to tell, and having the chance to shine a light on those who may not have the opportunity to do so is an honor. I enjoy the interviewing process because it allows me to meet and interact with so many interesting people from all backgrounds.

As cliché as it sounds, it is crazy to believe my chapter is ending at The Reflector. I have been blessed to have worked with an amazing, odd, beautiful staff. They constantly pushed me out of my comfort zone as a writer and editor, which is something I will be forever grateful for. And they believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. I appreciate the support, encouragement and patience they have given me. I've made friends here who will last a lifetime and I've made memories that I will forever cherish.

To the new staff for the upcoming school year, never stop being you. Keep continuing to be the wonderful, original individuals you are. It's been a joy to see you all develop in so many ways both inside and outside of The Reflector.

As Jeanne always says, “Keep up the amazing work you die-hard journalists.”

who they are, their interests and what they’re passionate about; to me, it’s still a form of storytelling, even through small conversations. I think this is what pushed me to pursue journalism, as I have learned it’s not all big news stories and reporting on the latest information that the public needs to know: there is that aspect of human interest and why people search for feel good stories alongside the latest headlines.

My time at the University of Indianapolis and within the Department of Communication has taught me a lot about who I am and has given me great lessons along the way. I feel like I have grown exponentially and have gotten over many fears, pushing me out of my comfort zone and growing into a wellrounded writer and journalist. While I do wish I had explored more of what the department had to offer, I am incredibly grateful to the professors and peers who I have met here who encouraged me.

The Reflector became a second home to me. I met many incredible people through my work here, including who was on staff since my freshman year.

I hold many precious memories in the newsroom, even the ones from very long Friday productions, and it’s the place where I became friends with some incredible people. Each year, I had the opportunity to work with very talented individuals and to everyone who I have worked with, thank you so much for everything.To the 2021-22 Reflector staff, I am so incredibly grateful for making my last year on staff an unforgettable experience; I cannot thank you enough and I am so excited to see what the future holds for you.

While my college experience was not at all predictable and not fully what I expected, I don’t think there is much I would change about it. Each obstacle brought a great lesson and each victory brought immense joy. The support from peers, friends and family motivated me to finish what I had started and to each one of you, you have my gratitude.

I have held onto this mantra of “Your story will change” and it is something I think about from time to time. My story has changed and it will continue to change, and even in the times where I don’t feel fully prepared for that change, it is something meant to happen and I am ready to see where it takes me.

By Jazlyn Gomez ART DIRECTOR

By Kiara Conley ONLINE EDITOR

Bouts of confusion, endless questions and overthinking have come and gone the last four years of my college career, but I never let that overshadow the experiences, memories and personal accomplishments I had along the way.

From going back and forth on, “Was I in the right major?” “Will I be successful in my field?” “Will I be happy doing this every day?” I was scared of whether or not I would be happy continuing my studies. As I went through each semester and began to believe in my abilities and build a good foundation of skills, I began to not be as nervous and was excited to continue in something I fell in love doing.

Looking back, I changed my mind countless times when I was growing up thinking of what I would do when I was older and I don’t think I really knew what I truly wanted to do until my senior year of high school. I wanted to do something that would allow me to tell the stories of others, as I always had the notion that everyone has a story to tell, no matter how “big” or “small” their story was. Curiosity has been a driving force for me, which I guess explains why I went back and forth on several possible careers and my interests in many areas, from different genres of music to sports and just about anything in between.

That innate curiosity has continued throughout my life and why I try to get to know the people around me, to learn

Growing up, my dad would make my brother and I read the newspaper everyday. He would come home from work, hand us the latest issue and ask us to read it out loud to him. Even though I was only a child, I understood the importance of doing this one small thing for my father.

Sometimes when your parents are immigrants and your entire world is foreign to them, words help to string together their world and yours. The Spanish newspaper, La Voz de Indiana, became a staple in our home. As the publication unknowingly helped me to understand my parents point of view, it helped create a conversation at our family dinners.

Ever since my dad started this tradition, I became more interested in telling stories, connecting people and creating stories. I grew up with a fascination of listening to others and gaining as much of their perspective as I could. Throughout the years of my life, I would develop my storytelling skills through multiple mediums.

Coming to the University of Indianapolis, I could not have imagined the opportunities I have gotten and how much I have achieved. During my time here, I created memories I will never forget and I have learned lessons I will carry with me. Primarily, I got the opportunity to create and tell stories.

Whether it was on UIndyTV, UIndy Radio or The Reflector, I got to express myself and helped others express themselves as well. I got to interact with the world around me in so many different

ways and connect others together.

Despite the struggles and hardships I faced while studying here—and boy, did I have plenty of those—I would do it all over again. Because even when times became hard, I still wanted to tell stories.Through all of my broadcasts, onair shifts, articles and editorial cartoons I did what I have always loved doing the most since I was a child.

UIndy opened many doors for me and gave me the chance to see who I could be.

Most importantly, it helped me become who I am now. I became the person who can connect two different people with a simple string. I got the ability to start my way of becoming what La Voz de Indiana meant to my family for others.

As I look back at the past four years, I can only hope my dad is proud of me, wherever he is. I owe him and my family a lot for how far I have come.

By Alex Vela

BUSINESS MANAGER When I graduated high school, I did not have a clear path to follow. I knew I wanted to go to college, but did not know which one to attend. I knew I wanted to get a degree, but I did not know what to study. I knew I wanted to play baseball, but I did not know who would recruit me to their team or if my playing days were over.

All of these questions and concerns did not bring me to the University of Indianapolis right away. Instead it took me to Fort Wayne, Indiana to play junior college baseball at Ivy Tech Community College.

The two constants I have had in my life are family and baseball. After my time at Ivy Tech, it was time to transfer somewhere else to play the game I love, and it was time to move closer to home and the people that I love as well. When I received an offer from UIndy to play baseball before my sophomore season of college, I pretty much knew where I’d be playing ball for the next two years.

This is what I thought at least, but the world had different plans. The COVID-19 pandemic hit during my second semester at UIndy in my junior year, so I was limited to 15 games with my new team, and only about a little bit more than half of the academic year in person.

In an attempt to get things back to normal, classes were in a hybrid form the following year. I joined The Reflector during the second semester of my senior year. I was very behind on many of my major classes and requirements without really even knowing it. I enjoyed the class, because I love writing and the interview process. I think it’s amazing how there’s so much information out there that people know and the different opinions and beliefs that people have. I love talking to people about anything that they are passionate about.

If you do not know me or could not have put the clues together yet, my passion is sports. I want to be someone whose job revolves around sports. I am a college baseball player right now, but there will be a day where I am not able to run out on that field. I want to try my hand at a lot of things in this life.

Representing UIndy as a studentathlete and The Reflector as a staff member and business manager are things that I take pride in. Being from Indianapolis is a major reason I am here in the first place. However, baseball brought me here and the sport has brought me so much more than anyone could possibly imagine.

It has brought me friends for a lifetime, challenges that have made me stronger and the discipline and hard work that will help me in whatever I choose to do in the next stage of my life.

Thank you UIndy for having me these past couple of years. Thank you to all of the staff and faculty that has helped me get to this point in my life. Thank you to my family. Thank you to all of my coaches and teammates throughout all the years. If you have been with me on any part of this journey, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

NEWS

3

THE REFLECTOR

APRIL 27, 2022

Disaster simulation in R.B. Annis Hall

By Anika Yoder

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT The University of Indianapolis School of Nursing collaborated with the UIndy Police Department and School of Engineering to host a disaster simulation on April 13 in R.B. Annis Hall, according to Manager of Mechanical Systems and Laboratories at the School of Engineering James Emery. The disaster simulated a welding tank explosion and involved sophomore nursing students acting as victims for senior nursing students to assess and triage, Assistant Professor for the School of Nursing Toni Morris said.

The simulation consisted of 26 casualties showing various injuries, Photo by Logan Wong including impairments, shrapnel, A senior nursing student attends to a sophomore nursing student acting as a trauma puncture wounds and also multiple victim of a welding tank explosion. The students practiced patient triage techniques. major limb and chest injuries, according to Assistant Professor for the School disaster situations, and the Department kinds of simulations, and COVID[-19] of Nursing Cathy Miller, who of Engineering became part of the happened. And then last fall, we were teaches NURB 210: Nursing Health conversation. Emery said his role during able to come back to the table where it Assessment.The course is a first-semester the simulation was building props was now safe. We could start planning clinical class, according to UIndy for the event with students. this again, we brought it in at a much Nursing and consists of sophomores, “We had a brainstorming session smaller scale. So we started testing who made up the casualties in the with a bunch of students that we kind nursing,” Miller said. “We just did an simulation, Miller said. Students acting of came up with issues that can happen in-class simulation, and then I wrote the as responders in the event were senior that we can build,” Emery said. “We've grant in October of last year, received it nursing majors taking a course Morris 3D printed eyeballs and 3D printed from MICI AHEC, and then we were teaches, titled NURB 325: Promoting fingers and then, making eight-footable to purchase everything we moulaged Healthy Communities. Students also long sections of AC [air conditioning] with.” acted as responders, which included duct [which] back in the shop is 30 feet Some of what the grant paid for, students training with the police in the air.” according to Morris, included moulage, department, as well as three department According to Morris, the idea for the or makeup for the simulation. Morris cadets and three simulation came said moulage uses different materials officers, according about when she to increase realism as well as simulate to UIndy Police Lt. and Miller, who wounds and injuries. The They can analyze processes, has exper ience different Brandon Pate. makeup creates a base and then builds “As part of our with disaster upon that and uses different materials like they can help make us course content, simulations, face masks gelatin, Morris said. they learn what's collaborated to “We had a few impalements, and so called a start triage bring their idea we were able to safely, and engineering methodology of how of a simulation to [students] helped quite a bit too, take a to quickly triage victims if you were UIndy and presented it to administration. long wire and making sure that it's going ever to come upon or be involved in Funding for the event came from a to be safe, put against somebody’s skin a disaster event, or an event where grant received from the Metropolitan and use some glue and some makeup you would have to respond quickly to Indianapolis-Central Indiana Area to make it really look like it's impaled victims and figure out how to do the Health Education Center (MICI somewhere,” Morris said. most good with little to no resources,” AHEC) and Miller said she wrote the According to Pate, the police Morris said. “We had that education grant in the fall of 2021 and received department analyzed the simulation and didactic training in; they read about funding in October of 2021. Though using a situation manual, which outlines it in their assignments and in their the grant had been received last what the event is going to be and then textbook.” semester, the School of Nursing and attached to the manual is an elevator The School of Engineering became the UIndy Police Department had guide (EEG). Pate said officers take a part of discussions surrounding discussed developing a disaster simulation specific core capabilities that they are the simulation, according to Emery, since December of 2019, according to looking to test, and for the simulation, when UIndy Police and the School Miller. it was response communication, and of Nursing were collaborating and “Toni [Morris] and I both have the ability to set parameters, triage and figuring out scenarios that would involve experience outside of UIndy with these incident command.

Photo by Logan Wong

Sophomore nursing students act as victims of the simulated welding explosion and assess the more minor injuries. Engineering students helped build the simulation props.

Photo by Logan Wong

A sophomore nursing student lays under a fake air conditioning duct made of foam that fell during the simulation. Moulage was used to make students' injuries more realistic.

“We take whatever deficiencies there are and we submitted an after-action report that shows us where we have areas of growth opportunities to get a little bit better,” Pate said. “The whole thing is an evaluation method to get more efficiency.”

The simulation, Morris said, is a first for the university and in the future, the event will be recreated with different scenarios in the fall and spring semesters. According to Miller, the grant is a returning grant so there will be more simulations. Morris said the Department of Nursing looks to make improvements in the future and running

the drill again with different scenarios.

Cross collaboration is also important, she said, and that interprofessional education is something that should be integrated into the curriculum.

“We're very, very excited about the addition of the university police being able to offer some training or have them incorporate training for their cadets, and then the addition of the School of Engineering has been very exciting,” Morris said. “They can bring so much to the table as well. They can analyze processes, they can help make us more efficient.”

HB 1041 affects transgender athletes

House Bill regarding participation of transgender women in sports could still pass despite veto

By Olivia Cameron OPINION EDITOR

House Bill 1041: Participation in School Sports was vetoed by Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb on March 21. It had originally been passed in the Indiana State Senate on March 1 by a vote of 32-18. Indiana House Republicans plan to override Holcomb’s veto on May 24 when lawmakers meet for technical corrections day, according to a WTHR article about the override.

The bill, which would prohibit transgender girls from playing on girls’ sports teams, was authored by Republican Rep. Michelle Davis and co-authored

by Republican Reps. Chris Jeter, Joanna King and Robert Heaton. HB 1041 says that any student considered male, based on biological sex at birth and reproductive biology, may not play on athletic teams or in sports designated for females, women or girls. “ I appreciate the numerous discussions that went into crafting this bill and moving it through the legislative process, and I look forward to seeing it become law,” Davis said in an email statement prior to Holcomb’s veto. “As a former college athlete, I believe girls deserve to compete and win on a level playing field. This legislation is focused on protecting fair competition and athletic opportunities in girls' sports in Indiana.”

Similar bills have moved forward in other states, such as House Bill 11: Student Eligibility in Interscholastic Activities in Utah, where the bill’s veto from Gov. Spencer Cox was overridden, and Senate Bill 83: AN ACT relating to athletics in Kentucky. According to Elizabeth Ziff, assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and interim co-director of the Gender Center at the University of Indianapolis, bills such as HB 1041 would put discrimination against transgender students on the books. She said the concept of fairness

is used to shut down further discussion about this issue, despite the bill being unfair to the transgender community.

“If we're genuinely worried about protecting kids, or making things fair, then let's get equitable access to training facilities,”Ziff said.“Or let's get equitable access to get coaches or mentorship. Let's give everybody a way to participate if they want.”

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Indiana website says that the organization opposes HB 1041, and that such bans have been found to violate the Civil Rights Act and Equal Protections Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Medical organizations have decried such blanket bans on transgender youth participating in sports as unnecessary and unscientific, according to the ACLU of Indiana website, which also said that Indiana’s athletics policy for schools is already determined by the Indiana High School Athletic Association.

According to the IHSAA Gender

Policy, transgender students are not allowed to play on teams that do not match the student’s birth gender unless there is medical evidence that the student’s gender has changed. Ziff said people who are against moving the needle on gender categories have issues with these standards because it still allows transgender people to play on the teams they want to play on.

Ziff said the bill predicates the notion of fairness based on the assumption that someone who is genetically male is more athletically gifted than someone who is genetically female. She said that although maybe some biologically driven male categorized advantage exists, it is just one part of the equation.

“First and foremost, we see as much variation within categories [of gender] as we do between categories. So it's a big assumption to make that anybody who is born with a certain set of chromosomes, or a certain set of hormones, is just inherently already

going to be better than somebody else,” Ziff said. “It might be in an individual case, perhaps, but definitely not across the board. And second, this notion that it's only one's physical abilities or capabilities that factor into what makes a good athlete, that is also not the case.

It's going to depend on a lot of different variables.”

Ziff said that for young people to participate in sports that align with their gender identity is important. She said that for them to have an activity that also provides social and emotional components from being on a team is beneficial.

“It's a really crucial—or a really all-encompassing—socialization tool,” Ziff said. “So it does mean a lot to tell somebody while they’re in their developing years and are already navigating a difficult time for all students, but to then restrict them [transgender youth] and bar access to something that we know leads to emotional, social,

psychological and physical fulfillment.

That's why it really does matter.”

Ziff said she would like for people to investigate why bills such as HB 1041 are being created and ask what that really means. She said that considering what a bill is actually protecting is important, because anything justified with discrimination should not have a place in our society.

“I think it's important to also remember that while society has become a lot more accepting of LGBTQ populations, it's still not easy,” Ziff said, “and especially going through your developmental years, being a kid becoming a teen, trying to find yourself.

We are still just seeing such astronomical rates of self-harm or suicide or significant mental health issues because of the stigma. And you really do need to work towards legislation that's actually going to help people feel [they are] part of the community and seen, and recognize them how they want to be recognized.”

Graphic by Jacob Walton

4

SPORTS

THE REFLECTOR

APRIL 27, 2022

Dance Team wins DII nationals

Photo Contributed by Carlee Bachek

By Arrianna Gupton STAFF WRITER

The University of Indianapolis Dance Team won first place at the Division II College Classic National Invitational on the weekend of April 9. This is the team's first national title after becoming a club sport earlier this school year, according to UIndy Dance Team Head Coach Carlee Bachek, and is the first major championship of club sports overall. She said the competition was very rewarding overall, as it was the first time they had been able to compete in-person since the start of the pandemic.

According to Bachek, the dance team

has been preparing two routines for the national competition since Oct. 2021.

She said the team had several practices throughout the academic year, but after spring break, the team practiced non-stop to be ready for the competition.

“We learned our first routine back in October, and then we learned our second routine in November, and we really didn't practice them all too much until about Christmas [Winter] break, that's when practices started getting longer and harder,” Bachek said.

“Then from about spring break until the last month, we've been non-stop practicing it seems like. We had practice every Monday and Wednesday and then we also had extra practices on the weekends to get ready for the

competition.”

Although junior team captain Taylor Rice was unsure if they would be allowed to travel this year because of COVID-19, the team was excited when they learned

I knew that we had the skills, we had the performance..." they would travel to compete in Florida for the competition. She said the team knew that they would have to push themselves and do what they came to do.

“I was really confident, in my mind and

in my heart, I really knew that we could do it. I knew that we had the skills, we had the performance. We had everything and we worked so hard for that moment …,” Rice said. “We weren't really even worried about placing, honestly, we just wanted to go out there and do our best and have fun.”

She said the team won by twotenths of a point despite being down going into finals by two-tenths of a point. According to College Classic, the UIndy Dance Team’s final score was 84.46 while runner-up Wayne State’s final score was 84.26.

“When they announced second place and it wasn't us, I realized that we had come in first,” Bachek said. “I kind of screamed, and I started a video

to make sure that I caught the moment on camera…. Our program had never won first place before, so I just yelled, screamed, ran up on the stage; we were all crying [and] jumping.”

Rice said the win was a shock as it was the first time in the dance team's history that the girls had won a title. She said she hopes this win will bring the team and their coach more recognition across campus.

“I think that the fact that we now have national champions on our back, I think that'll really help keep bringing us up every single year,” Rice said. “I just hope that we can all get recognition and my coach can also get recognition for everything that she has put into this team.”

Rivas: Pitching another strikeout

Xavier Rivas' eight game streak of 10 strikeouts, putting him on pace for UIndy Baseball history

By Connor Mahoney STAFF WRITER

Stepping to the mound, University of Indianapolis baseball’s sophomore starting pitcher Xavier Rivas has taken the leap towards a potential recordbreaking season, according to Pitching Coach Adam Cornwell. In his first season for the Greyhounds, Rivas never hit 10 strikeouts in a game, finishing the season with 29 strikeouts. As of Reflector press time, Rivas has sent 94 batters back to the dugout on strikeouts while delivering at least 10 strikeouts in eight straight games this season, according to UIndy Athletics. Rivas said that even with his success, he is focused on growing his game and credits his mentality as being his best asset.

“It's my mentality,” Rivas said. “Even if I come out, and I don't have any of my pitches; I'm still gonna shove the zone.

I'm still gonna attack the hitters.”

By attacking the hitters, Rivas has cemented himself as the leader in strikeouts in the Great Lakes Valley Conference as just a sophomore, according to the GLVC. As a result, he’s been GLVC Pitcher of the Week three times this season. Additionally, Rivas has the best earned run average (ERA) with 2.01 in the conference.

“He's probably made one of the biggest jumps, just as a teammate, and as a person that I've seen in my four years of coaching,” Cornwell said. “It shows on the field, that kind of stuff goes a long way, when you're in a game.”

When preparing for his starts, Rivas said that even with his success he still gets nervous when it comes close to the first pitch. However, when he gets ready to throw his first pitch, everything changes.

“I get butterflies just like everybody else, but once I step on that mound, it's [my mind] just blank,” Rivas said. “My head clears and it's just me and [Will] Spear the catcher, and it's just me and him all game.”

With Rivas pitching strong, he has developed into the ace of the team, taking the mound at the beginning of each series, according to Cornwell. Given this significant role, he is tied for eighth in total strikeouts this season in division

II baseball, according to the NCAA. Therefore, Rivas has caught the eye of Cornwell as one of the best pitchers he has ever coached.

“I've been at the Division I level for the past three years, and I put Xavier right at the very top of my board of guys that I've coached …,” Cornwell said. “He's definitely one of the top three pitchers.”

According to Cornwell, Rivas is on track to break a strikeout record held by Bill Bright ‘54, who the ballpark at UIndy is named after, that has stood since 1954.

Bright’s record stands at 148 strikeouts with second having only 106 strikeouts Cornwell said.

“That record hasn't even come close to being touched, and Xavier has a good chance as a sophomore, to break that record,” Cornwell said. “I think that, that in itself speaks to how impressive he has been this year.”

With the team being young, Rivas has looked to be a leader on the team, he said. As a result, he has developed into a captain as a sophomore, according to Cornwell.

“We just recently named captains, and there's a reason why he was one of the guys that was named captains,”Cornwell said. “It wasn't because of his play on the field, it's because of the work he puts in and the person that he's become.”

In addition to being a leader, Rivas is constantly looking for opportunities to get better outside of practice. Rivas said he has a structured routine for off days and in between games he is pitching in.

“On Friday nights after I pitch, I'll just go to the gym late [at] night, and then I'll work out hard, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, then get some running and stretching [in],” Rivas said. “Then Tuesday's my bullpen day, and then Wednesday light throwing, Thursday I’ll throw a little bit and then back to Friday.”

Growing up, Rivas said he had always felt a love for baseball that was kindled from an early age with his dad loving the game, too. In addition to baseball, Rivas was a multi-sport athlete but his love for baseball was unmatched.

“I wrestled, I played football, [and] a little bit of track; I did everything but baseball was always just my love,” Rivas said. “Now [I] watch it all the time, like I can't get enough baseball.”

Contributed photo by Jordan Menard, UIndy Athletics

Sophomore pitcher Xavier Rivas fires the ball to the plate in a game at Greyhound Park against the Lake Erie University Storm. In that game the Greyhounds went on to score 26 runs behind Rivas' seven innings of shutout work. He finished with 13 strikeouts.

Photo by Jacob Walton

Sophomore pitcher Xavier Rivas storms off the mound in an intersquad scrimmage on Feb. 11. The Greyhounds opened their season on Feb. 18 with Rivas being the game-one starter. He went for eight innings of scoreless pitching, tallying 11 strikeouts and one walk.

SPORTS

5 APRIL 27, 2022

THE REFLECTOR

Noble stays on as head coach Interim head coach Brent Noble removes the interim title, Scott Young announces full time hire

By Jacob Walton EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

It was announced on Dec. 17, via an email from Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Scott Young to the University of Indianapolis Swimming and Diving team that long-time head coach of the team, Jason Hite, was terminated from the university. With that news, the tenure of Interim Head Coach Brent Noble began. Now with four more individual national championships, 63 All-Americans and 31 All-American honorable mentions, his interim title was replaced with Young announcing on April 5 that Noble was staying as full-time head coach of the Greyhounds.

According to Young, having the luxury to hire within was valuable as they decided who was going to lead the program into the future.

“I was able to go down to Greensboro [N.C.} and spend the week with them [the team] on the pool deck, and was just very pleased with the teams, not only performance, but with their mentality, their culture and things,” Young said.

“In that situation, I just felt like he was the right fit for the program, taking it forward.”

This year was a historic one for the Greyhounds overall, with the women’s team finishing second at the NCAA Championships, the highest finish in program history, and the men finishing third at the national meet, tying the program’s best finish, according to UIndy Athletics. Noble said he is happy to be back with the program long term, but the promotion was not incredibly important to him.

“The interim tag, the position, the title, none of that is important to me, the idea is putting our team in the best position to be who we can be, and making sure that we have the leverage and the opportunity to keep progressing and keep providing the best experience that we’re able to,” Noble said. “I’m happy to be here, I’m happy to be representing UIndy, I’m happy to be working with the people I’m working with. I’m happy that things are clear and what our future is, and that’s all really exciting.”

Noble said what he has done was never for the purpose of becoming head coach, but instead to do the most good within the program and for the swimmers. He

Photo Contributed by Jeron Thompson

Noble started as an assistant coach for UIndy in 2019 and was promoted to Associate Head Coach the following season. During his interim coach year, Noble led the UIndy women’s swim team to a school-record second-place result and the men’s team to a third-place finish at the 2022 NCAA DII Championships, according to UIndy Athletics.

said during the transition of head coaches, his goal was to make it as seamless and smooth as possible. Young said hiring for sports like swim and dive, track and field, wrestling and other individually focused sports is always a challenge and coaching those sports is equally as challenging.

“It’s challenging because you can be in the same events in the same race, have someone that’s had the best swim of their life, and then someone else had their worst swim at the National Championships, and he’s got to be able to celebrate the success with one individual and then motivate the one that had a bad day to turn around and have more success the next day,” Young said.

“Think about it from an individual sport standpoint, any of our individual sports,

that’s a challenge to be able to interact with those two individuals in the same event at the same time almost.”

Young said when looking at the candidates and Noble specifically, he

checked all the boxes. He said he fits well within the department, communicates and works well with other coaches well and is easy for the administration to work with. The fit was especially important to

Young, as he said coaches need to have the ability to relate and pick each other up when necessary.

“I think that they have successes and failures as well. And when they’re willing to work together, they’re able to go to another head coach and say, ‘Hey, I’m working through this, have you had a similar situation, have you managed [this]?’ Coaches in this department do a great job of picking each other up when they’re going through a tough spell. They’ve lost a couple of tough games in a row, coaches will just pop in their office,” Young said. “It’s just like being good teammates, but they’re a family, they work well together, and the next person in any position needs to fit into that.”

Prior to UIndy, Noble had a wealth of experience working within swimming for the past seven years, according to UIndy Athletics. Noble said with his experiences, he has been able to see the good situations and the bad and understands how good of a situation he is in at UIndy. He said the program is taken care of very well from an administrative standpoint and that he is grateful for what the program has been given. Noble said he is ready for more with UIndy Swim and Dive.

“I don’t think it’s any secret that we want to win. We are inching closer, we scored more points than we ever had this year. Our women finally were second but we want to win and I think we can,” Noble said.

combined the air conditioning with the new court, he said.

“It’s an honor of Dr. Willey and her retirement, it’s the first opportunity to bring her back for Homecoming next year and name the court after her and just give a little bit of time for the university to fundraise the additional dollars that we needed outside of what the university had to put in for the air conditioning,” Young said. “The court and the lights are being basically fundraised by the university, so that gave us some time to get that accomplished … [for] people that wanted to honor Dr. Willey.”

Brubeck said he thinks the air conditioning will be the most beneficial thing for everyone. Air conditioning in a gym is a huge piece because it helps the humidity for the gym floor, according to Brubeck.

“I do think it’ll help the classes as well. I mean, there are classes that are held in the gym itself, and then there are classes held in the classrooms at the top,” Brubeck said. “That should help those rooms, and the other units not be overworked, and [when] you leave the door open when the students are coming, the air conditioning units won’t have to be as tasked, so it should make the classes even easier to sit in.”

In terms of how this will affect the future of UIndy Athletics, Young said it is great for student-athletes. He said it will benefit volleyball, especially with their competition venue and basketball which uses that area for practice.

“That court is pretty hard and not very giving on the lower body, so it is really huge for our student-athletes,” Young

said. “I’ve always been a big supporter that the court will go in before the air conditioning just because it impacts so much just with the physical aspect, but luckily we were able to do both.”

Brubeck said the lighting will be a big addition for the gym as well.

According to Brubeck, the lights make

it very loud in the gym and distracting for classes in the surrounding rooms, but now there will not be much noise to compete with when the athletes and fans are in there for games.

“I think it’ll be huge for our studentathletes for the practice venue … there will be considerably more bounce and it’ll

be softer on the student-athletes lower extremities,” Brubeck said. “I also think it’ll look really good for recruits and things like that as we walk admissions tours through and things of that nature.

And people in general walking through campus will see a gym that looks considerably nicer.”

I think it’ll be huge for our student-athletes for the practice venue ... “

Renovations for Ruth Lilly Fitness Center

By Alex Vela

BUSINESS MANAGER Plans are in place for students to enjoy future facility renovations for the Ruth Lilly Fitness Center (RLFC). According to UIndy Athletics, RLFC opened in 1984,and it is the center of the Greyhound Athletic Department. Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Scott Young said the announced renovations include court, air conditioning and lighting in Ruth Lilly Fitness Center.

Associate Vice President for Athletics & Campus Wellness Bob Brubeck said there have been a few cosmetic things done in the past at Ruth Lilly, such as paint on the outside and the doors.

However, according to Brubeck, those alterations were made several years ago, and these renovations should be much more apparent.

“I think the university saw a need; we really needed the air conditioning,” Brubeck said. “Ruth Lilly has needed an upgrade for some time. You hear the buzzing of the lights, and it’s the hottest place on campus, and oftentimes it’s cooler outside in the summer than it is in the gym.”

According to Young,these renovations started with the Board of Trustees wanting to honor Sue Willey, her time at the University of Indianapolis and what she meant to the athletic department.

The new court is going to be named Sue Willey Court, similar to the Ray Skillman Court in Nicoson, Young said.

This is where the concept began, and the university took that forward and

Graphic by Arrianna Gupton

FEATURE

6 THE REFLECTOR

APRIL 27, 2022

Out of the Darkness Walk returns University of Indianapolis Social Work Association brings community together against suicide

By Justus O’Neil

MANAGING EDITOR For the first time in two years, the University of Indianapolis Social Work association brought the Out of the Darkness Walk back to campus as an in-person event on April 23.

Working with the Indiana division of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), junior social work major and Social Work Association Secretary Hannah Dobbs is the head chairman for the UIndy Out of the Darkness Campus Walk.

She said the event brought together the UIndy community as a whole, various Registered Student Organizations (RSOs), as well as non-profit organizations in the Indianapolis area.

“The walk in general really just means all of the community coming together and being vocal about this [suicide awareness]. Literally the name, ‘Out of the Darkness Walk’ is saying, ‘We’re going to talk about this, and we’re not going to sit in darkness about this topic,’” Dobbs said. “There’s a larger version of this walk as well in Indianapolis—the Indianapolis Out of the Darkness Walk—and they even have [a theme like] ‘Seize the Awkward’ because it ’s an awkward conversation and we want to bring it to the forward and have more people talk about it.”

D o b b s s a i d t h a t t h e e ve n t included an opening ceremony, a bead ceremony in which each color of bead represents a reason why someone is attending, such as loss of a family member and the walk itself. The opening ceremony is where non-profits and RSOs set up tables and talked with students prior to the walk. “… What that [working with nonprofits and RSOs] does is it makes the walk more involving and so having tables and such for people allows people to see other organizations that help for the same cause because AFSP’s main cause is suicide awareness,” Dobbs said. “They want to spread awareness about that and mental health and ultimately other organizations also do the same thing. So we want to spread more awareness to other groups as well.”

According to Dobbs, the ceremony is put on in a way that people are able

to talk about a serious topic without pushing social boundaries. Attendees were welcome to wear a specific color, as well as participate in the bead ceremony to signify how they have been affected by suicide, Dobbs said.

Senior social work major and Social Work Association President Madeline Abramson worked with Dobbs throughout the event's creation and planning for the second year.

Abramson said this is the third year in a row that UIndy has held the event, and each year it gets more exposure and promotion.

“I think the main picture overall is to show that even though we are different clubs, different organizations, [have] different views in any aspects, we all come together for the same cause and we all want to help prevent something that is very preventable,” Abramson said.

According to Abramson, with the walk being virtual last year, they had reached their goal over a month before the walk took place. She said they reached $8,000, while their goal was $5,000. Dobbs said all donations go directly to AFSP which uses their funding to create changes in policy and education to improve and lower the rates of suicide in the United States.

Abramson said she went to a previous Out of the Darkness Indianapolis Walk in Sept. that proved to be impactful.

“I think it just truly helps everyone feel connected and not feel better, but feel that they’re not alone in it,” Abramson said. “That there is light at the end of the tunnel, that we are getting out of the darkness.”

Dobbs said she believes this type of walk brings mental health to the forefront of difficult conversations. She said it is a hard conversation to have and many people do not want to have those conversations,.

“The one thing I’ve talked about a lot when talking about this event is that mental health is something that a lot of people like to say they want to support, but deep down they don’t . . . ,” Dobbs said. “Having these walks allows people to come together and say, ‘We’re going to figure this out together,’ because I think that’s the best way to handle a situation like this, is community fixes these type of problems because community kind of causes them and we need to work to help people.”

You good?

Reach out to a friend about their mental health.

Find more ways to help at SeizeTheAwkward.org

UIndy student publishes book

By Logan Wong

the way because of everything like air pollution, smog and just legit pollution,” DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Nichols said.“They're still there, but from now, we see things in different ways.

So literally, times are changing.

University of Indianapolis junior That's what the book is supposed education major Kendall Nichols to represent. . . . Originally, [the title] released his first book “Modern was ‘Looking At the Stars With Closer Constellations,” a collection of Fascination.’ But my publishers were poems and short stories published by like, ‘we like your theme and we think Atmosphere Press on March 10, 2021. you should modify it,’ so we came Nichols said writing the book took up with ‘Modern some time and Constellations.” he was adding When Nichols pieces of work and was in the beginning editing right up stages of the writing until he sent in the process, he worked final draft to the with senior Cornell publication.

University student “It took me a Trisha D ube, a good two weeks friend who helped to one month to him with editing flesh ever ything and reading things out,” Nichols over. He said he said. “When I got first met her as a accepted, I'm like, freshman when he ‘Oh I don't like this was at Cornell. as much, let me add “Initially, when this piece.’ Literally Kendall [Nichols] two days before I came to me and was sent them my final telling me that he publication, I added was going to write a one poem, which book, he had a pretty is now my favorite large collection of poems that poem in there. I just felt like NICHOLS he was working with and it had to go in there and working on,” Dube said. “I've always now I'm really happy that I did.” been interested in poetry, so we would Ni c h o l s s a i d h e h a d s o m e share our poetry with each other. Then issues with the publication and I was super excited when he asked me their suggestions with the book, such as to go through them and see which ones removing or adding certain works. The I liked.” editors did, however, help with the final D ube said she is grateful title of the book that made it to release, for her f riendship with Nichols. he said.

B e c a u s e o f h i m , h e r o u t l o ok “I view it as, back in ancient and perspective on poetry changed from times, the Babylonians, Spartans, the traditional poetry she studied in Alexandrians, whatever, look up and class, she said. constellations mean something, right?

“He [Nichols] provided me with We look up nowadays, constellations a very interesting perspective to are still there, but we can't see them all

poetry. I don't know if I've ever expressed that to him,” Dube said.

“But it's interesting because, to me,

They're still there, but from now, we see things in different ways." what I know about poetry has been through school…. There was this one poem that Kendall [Nichols] had me read that he wrote, and I was like ‘this is nothing like I've ever read before.’

It kind of challenged my perception of what poetry is.”

Nichols said more recently, the Chicago Public School district is using “Modern Constellations” as teaching material and has students study the poems and short stories in it. He said he was contacted by a teacher who needed a lot of copies, so Nichols gave them a discount.

“I never thought they'd be teaching this for a creative process, let alone from someone as erratic as me,” Nichols said.

“I talked to a couple of teachers and I was like, ‘hey, if you ever need anything, I'm here.’”

Nichols said his goal is to be able to have as much creative freedom in his

work as possible. The main issue is it can be hard to find a publisher that will let authors have freedom and generate revenue from the book at the same time, he said.

“I want to find somewhere that allows me to be as creative as I possibly can in poetr y,” Nichols said. “ …In the worst case scenario, I'm just going to go self-published, but I really don't want to do that because that's way too much more work than I ever want to put in.”

“Modern Constellations” is currently being sold on Nichols’ website, www.kendallwrites.com.

Nichols said he has two other books currently in the works.

ENTERTAINMENT

7 APRIL 27, 2022

THE REFLECTOR

Art & Design scholars showcase skills

By Olivia Cameron OPINION EDITOR

For the 2022 Annual Juried Student Exhibition, art and design work by over 50 University of Indianapolis students has been put on display in the Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center Gallery. The work displayed includes pottery, paintings, graphic designs, needlework and more. The reception and award ceremony took place on April 11, where Art & Design Department Awards and Juried Student Exhibition Awards were presented. The Juried awards are selected by two anonymous jurors that are professionals in their fields, according to Assistant Professor in the Department of Art & Design Sarah Pfohl.

The exhibition, Pfohl said, is planned by a committee that she is on with Assistant Professor in the Department of Art & Design Nathaniel Foley and Associate Professor in the Department of Art & Design Katherine J. Fries.

All of the faculty in the Department of Art & Design helped in some way and some students volunteered as well, according to Pfohl. Gallery Coordinator for the Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center and Adjunct Faculty member Mark Ruschman and his ART 475: Gallery Studies class set up the gallery and hung the students’ work, Pfohl said.

Foley said he enjoyed being able to

celebrate the students and their work at the exhibition after the event’s three year hiatus from having an in-person gallery due to COVID-19. He said the department was able to come back together as a community to celebrate the work they have all been able to do. “[I enjoy] just being able to see all the work, see all the students, see the students’ families come in—to be able to just celebrate them and be able to show off what they’ve done,” Foley said.

Sophomore visual communication design major Alyssa Todd won the Best of Show: Visual Communication Design award for her work titled “4-Cultural Stamps,” as well as an Indiana ArtistCraftsman Award. Todd said she had submitted graphic design pieces for awards last year that were not accepted, but she decided to submit new pieces again this year because she felt more confident in her work.

Todd said her mom, dad, uncle and best friend attended the reception and award ceremony with her. At first, she said she was not sure that she wanted her family to come to the event because it was a long drive and she thought she would not win any awards. However, having them there to see her work and watch her receive the awards was a really good feeling and something she would never forget, she said.

“I feel like it’s [the exhibition]

definitely a good opportunity to get your work out there.… It’s a good feeling, knowing people want to come see your work,” Todd said.

According to Foley, it is important for students to see each other’s work in a professional setting. He said it gives students the opportunity to practice submitting their work in a digital format, which is what they will be expected to do in the professional world. Students also learn how to prepare their work to be displayed and make sure it is exhibition ready, he said.

“That’s one of our functions as being artists, to share voices, share experience, and be able to provide that to our campus community,”Foley said.“[It is important] being able to show off, wave our flag and be able to show that to the campus, and have fun and be able to enjoy it.”

The exhibition provides students with the experience of submitting work to jurors and being accepted or rejected, according to Pfohl. She said that the ceremony is a great opportunity to celebrate students and what they have created.

“It was really nice to see how many family and friends came to support our students, and how many students were there to see their own work and their peers’ work,” Pfohl said. “It’s celebratory and it’s kind of like a community experience. It’s sort of how we round out the year.”

Photo by Kiara Conley

The Annual Juried Student Exhibition includes work from over 50 Art & Design students.

The exhibition allowed students to win different awards for their artwork on April 11.

“The Last Days of Judas Iscariot” play

Guest director comes to UIndy to present play on Judas and the final days before his death

By Hallie Gallinat FEATURE EDITOR

Set in a courtroom in purgatory, a lawyer tries to appeal Judas Iscariot’s eternal damnation. As the case progresses, others share their memories of Judas while also seeing his last days before his death and what led to it. All of this is part of the play “The Last Days of Judas Iscariot,” created by playwright Stephen Aldy Guirgis, and being performed at the University of Indianapolis with guest director Kelsey Leigh Miller.

According to UIndy Events, this play will be performed from April 22-24 and 28-30.

Miller said she is an actor, director and artistic director for an Indianapolis theatre company called Summit Performance Indianapolis. She said she knows people at UIndy and they said they were still looking for a director for the production.

“They liked my vision well enough and hired me and brought me in. So I’m new to most of the people that I’m working with,” Miller said. “I don’t know the students previously, I don’t know the designers previously. There’s a couple of

them that I know a little bit, but I’m the guest here, if you will.”

Preparations for the play included gathering research, getting to know the actors who were casted and knowing their takes on their characters, according to Miller. She said that “The Last Days of Judas Iscariot” is a rich piece that she has seen produced a few times before.

“There’s a lot going on in it.There’s a lot of ideas being presented and some really fun characters and it really challenges your assumptions about the story and asks you to look at things in a different perspective. so it’s been in the back of my mind and on my radar for quite a while,” Miller said.

Senior communication and theatre major Kyle Jeanor plays both Jesus Christ and Mattias of Galilee. He said preparing for these two roles has been interesting due to how different both of his characters are. One of his characters, Mattias of Galilee, is an eight-year-old who is focused on getting a spinning top.

“He’s just trying to live his life, and he sees Judas with a spinning top and he wants to play with the spinning top, and he has a great little conversation

with Judas,” Jeanor said. “So for that, it’s just kind of looking at children and not trying to make it over childlike, like to where it’s like a mockery, but kind of trying to find the balance of not being whiny because it’s not supposed to be whiny.”

Jeanor said while playing Jesus Christ, he wanted to get away from preconceived notions about the figure. For example, he

said that his costume for the character is different from what someone may envision him looking like.

“I’m not in robes and I’m not flying like I feel like people might expect.

I don’t ascend from anything…. The way I like to put it is I look like someone who would shop at Whole Foods or lead a cult,” Jeanor said. “Because I have this white tunic and then I’ve got this blue and green kind of vest over the top of it and I’ve got these Galaxy Converse

and some cargo pants and a beanie.

I look like I am strolling into Whole Foods, is what I like to say. But putting it on, I will say like, even though it’s not, once again, the traditional way Jesus looks, it made me feel a lot more confident in a lot of my character decisions.”

Sophomore theatre major Abigail Wittenmyer ser ved as the stage manager for “The Last Days of Judas Iscariot.” She said her job included speaking with the director and designers and calling lights and sound cues. Wittenmyer said one of the most exciting aspects about the play is the set. “… It’s set in a courtroom, and the idea is that it’s purgatory and that there’s a million cases that they can’t possibly get to,” Wittenmyer said. “And so we’re lining the stage with books on books of new cases and files and there’s paper everywhere and it’s a bit chaotic, but it looks really beautiful and realistic to a courtroom. So that’s been probably my favorite thing to see evolve and for me to help build.”

One of Miller’s favorite aspects about the play and about theatre in general is the collaboration between different parts of the crew, such as between

the actors, lighting designers and set designers. She said that she also enjoys how this play discusses topics like the contrast between the facts and realities of people’s consequences and their actions.

“I think there’s just a lot of gray that’s presented in this play,” Miller said. “It doesn’t really give us solid answers, and I love that because it lets you, as an audience member, walk away and sort of fill in your own values and your own experiences and maybe reflect on your life in a little bit different kind of a way or the lives of other people that you might have made assumptions about before.”

“The Last Days of Judas Iscariot’’ is being held in the Ransburg Auditorium in Esch Hall, according to UIndy Events.

Jeanor said the play is two hours and 45 minutes long, but he said that people should not be scared away by its length and should come see this play. “ … It’s long, but I think it tells a really fantastic story and I think you’re gonna walk away from it thinking about it for quite some time,” Jeanor said. “And everyone’s put in so much fantastic work, so it’s gonna be exciting to see it all fully realized and put together.”

the purpose of the recital was to help piano students learn to play collaborative pieces instead of just solo work.

“The collaborative repertoire is a completely different animal, and you need to develop an entirely new skill set as a musician and performer and developing artist in order to be able to perform these pieces,” Behan said. “You, in many ways, need to be able to play your accompaniments better than your solo pieces because if you make a mistake in [a] solo piece, you’re not having an impact on anyone else but yourself. . . . Also in engaging in collaborative ensembles, one learns how to communicate with others

and builds connections, skills that are extremely invaluable when one moves into the professional life.”

According to UIndy Events, there were eight pianists, seven vocalists, an oboist and a violinist. Piano students enrolled in the MUS 179: Collaborative Piano course are required to perform in the recital, Behan said, but the singers and instrumentalists are voluntary participants. Behan said the recital gives students a chance to appreciate the importance of working with other musicians. By performing in a collaborative setting, pianists are able to enrich the solo work that is such a

large part of their regular repertoire, Behan said.

“You could live 10 lifetimes and never get to play every piece of solo piano music ever written. Stepping outside of that momentarily seems like too big of a departure from your solo work,” Behan said. “But really, when you accompany a singer who is singing an aria by Mozart, you realize that Mozart wanted to be an opera composer and that when you learn his operas, it informs how you play his solo piano sonatas; you realize that there’s opera in the solo piano sonatas and it enriches your interpretation.”

Junior music therapy major Heather

Dawson was one of the singers that volunteered for the recital. Dawson sang alongside freshman pianist Gabriel Harlan for their performance of “Voce di Donna”by Amilcare Ponchielli, which is an Italian piece that falls into the classical style, she said. Dawson said she volunteered for the recital because it was a chance for her to perform with another student and make music as a team effort.

“In my lessons, I have an accompanist that comes every week. I really have built a relationship with them,” Dawson said.

“Working with a student that I don’t know very well, we’ve had to develop this relationship so when we performed it really felt like a team. I felt like when we went out there, it was two people performing and not just a vocalist or pianist, it was like an actual team going out there to perform.”

While this recital helps piano students learn to perform collaboratively and in turn hone their skills as solo artists, Dawson said the experience also helped her to improve as a singer. She said it helped her with her self-discipline as well as helped her work on her communication skills in a performative setting. “[It] helped me improve vocally, just utilizing more self-discipline, because there wasn’t anyone telling me I had to have this learned by this and this time,” Dawson said. “It was just the pressure of the concert. Being able to discipline myself and then working with, or collaborating with Gabe [Harlan] helped me out a lot too, like learning how to work with other people and communication.”

... You’re going to walk away from it thinking about it for quite some time.”

Students perform together at Collaborative Piano Recital

By Kassandra Darnell NEWS EDITOR

The University of Indianapolis held its annual Collaborative Piano Recital on April 14, an event that allows student pianists to work with other musicians, including singers and other instrumentalists, in an effort to build their collaborative performance skills, Director of Keyboard Studies and Assistant Professor of Piano Ryan Behan said.

The recital’s program consisted of works written by composers spanning from the Baroque to the modern era, he said, and

Photo by MaKenna Maschino

Music students Ellie Jones and Cordale Hankins play the piano as music student Tori Condra plays the oboe. The annual Collaborative Piano Recital took place on April 14.

Photo by MaKenna Maschino

Music student Cordale Hankins sings at the Collaborative Piano Recital. This recital allowed both singers and instrumentalists to learn how to work with other musicians.

NEWS

8 THE REFLECTOR

APRIL 27, 2022

Engineering business pitch School of Engineering participates in "Shark Tank" style competition as part of DesignSpine

By Jacob Walton EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Since the University of Indianapolis launched the R.B. Annis School of Engineering in the fall of 2017, one of the core principles of the program has been the DesignSpine program, which is an entrepreneurial focused curriculum that focuses on hands-on work, according to Associate Dean and Director of Engineering Ken Reid. One of the major parts of that program culminates into the Engineering Business Pitch Competition, where 16 students presented their work in R.B. Annis Hall on April 19. Assistant Professor of Engineering David Olawale said the presentations combine the entire picture of engineering with a heavy focus on the entrepreneurial side of the field.

Olawale said the students break into multidisciplinary teams where they go through the entire development process of a product, similar to how they would in the professional world, and he said that this experience of understanding not only development, but the research, marketing and other components associated with engineering is what sets this program apart from others.

“We're able to take them [the students] through that process to just start doing engineering. First, focus on the customer to understand the needs, and then based on that you can now apply engineering principles to create a solution that can compete,” Olawale said. “ . . .

They also now get to actually work with some students from Art and Design, and then this will introduce something new, they're able to work with MBA [Masters in Business Administration] students. So they just don't do the customer aspect to do the engineering aspect in technology development.They do the business model development, and then they run it up with this business pitch competition.”

The pitch competition was not just run by a group of professors, but

Photo by Jacob Walton

Photo by Lilly Fischer

Associate Dean and Director of Engineering Ken Reid introduces the Engineering Business Pitch Competition. Reid helped organize the event along with the students.

One group from the Engineering Business Pitch Competition shows their product, which was a new hidden box that is designed to protect users against "porch pirates."

had the students pitching products to professionals in the industry that are actively looking for new products, according to Reid. He said that giving the students the opportunity to present their work in this way gives them the confidence to do presentations in the future and learn how their body language affects what they are presenting.

“You can watch your audience to kind of judge their level of interest,” Reid said. “Here's all these different things that are embedded in professional communication that we know are important that this gives the students a better chance to experience it, and actually follow it.”

This is the fourth year of this specific program within DesignSpine, but Olawale said due to COVID-19, they have done the presentations virtually the past two years. The virtual environment created challenges and roadblocks,

to differentiate the UIndy graduates from the rest. Reid said that for some universities, students have to wait until their senior year to get the experiences that UIndy students get within their first or second year.

“Other engineering programs have senior design classes, but it's usually the first time that students have had a chance to do a design sort of on their own outside of a class and a lab,'' Reid said.“[At UIndy] they're actually figuring out who their customer is, they're actually coming up, going through the design process as a team. They have professors as consultants so that professors can help in the design, but they're doing it every year.”

According to Olwale, even with the youth of the program, they have seen students land high-quality jobs and many students point to the program as what shaped them into who they are. He said that UIndy students have been able

but now they are back in person and able to continue to grow the program, Olawale said. One of the key areas of growth was within the business side of the presentations, he said, and that enlisting the help and expertise of MBA students has allowed the engineering

... professors as consultants so that professors can help in the design." students to learn more about the financial side of engineering and entrepreneurship.

Olawale said that this program and this fast experience is what sets the R.B School of Engineering apart. With over 4,000 universities and colleges in the United States, he said, the goal is

UIndy Day draws in donations

By Alex Vela

BUSINESS MANAGER The University of Indianapolis’ seventh annual “UIndy Day” took place on Thursday, April 21. According to Director of Annual Giving and Development Writer Lora Teliha, this was a day where the university wanted all Greyhounds, from alumni to students, faculty, staff and supporters, to show their University of Indianapolis spirit to the world by wearing crimson and gray all day.

“As far as what to expect, it’s really a big online celebration, so we want everybody to follow our university Facebook, Twitter [and] Instagram accounts, and share any of their favorite UIndy memories and their favorite UIndy photos and their stories and what they love most about the University of Indianapolis,” Teliha said. “And it’s also a day where everybody comes together to support the university and the students alike; we really want this to be a day where everybody can participate at the level that they feel comfortable, and we really encourage them to give back at a level that they’re comfortable.”

Vice President for Student and Campus Affairs & Dean of Students Kory Vitangeli said that students should see a lot of social media attention, social media posting and people talking about ways that the university impacted them on UIndy Day. According to Vitangeli, students should always consider giving back to an institution that has helped them, but she said she also understands that for current students a financial contribution is not always possible.

“Even something on social media, whether it be on Twitter or Instagram, about how the institution has impacted

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them or helped them,” Vitangeli said.

“And keeping in mind for maybe when they financially are able to give back more as an alumni, to consider giving back later if they are not able to give financially right now.”

Teliha said that students were able to enjoy and give back to the university during this day by first and foremost getting online and using #UIndyDay when posting their favorite memories and photos. According to Teliha, the university wanted the students to stop by the UIndy Day Headquarters, which is on the first floor of the Schwitzer Student Center, and the Student Engagement Space between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

“We’re going to have treats and we really want students to help us by signing thank you cards for our donors and we want them to try and make a gift if they’re able,” Teliha said. “Grady will be number, which will be verified. Letters are subject to condensation and editing to remove profanity.

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available for taking pictures, and we also want them to be able to record a special thank you video to donors to show their appreciation for all that they have done for our students.”

According to Teliha, UIndy alumni were able to give back to the university as well. Everybody could do this by promoting their UIndy spirit and through gifts to either UIndy scholarships, UIndy funds or their favorite program on campus as well.

“Gifts of all sizes matter to the university because it all adds up,” Teliha said.“We have thousands of donors every year, and we really encourage people to give back to show their appreciation; what a lot of people don’t realize is that tuition doesn’t cover the entire cost of the university and donor support really helps to make up that difference and make a lot of things possible for students.”

Vitangeli said that the hope is whenever anybody is at UIndy or leaves UIndy, that they feel some sort of connection or can think back to a time maybe that they were helped by either the university or someone at the university. Having specific days like UIndy Day are a time for people to reflect on the ways they can remember a time when they were helped or as alums to give back and to come full circle, according to Vitangeli.

“I think everything that we do and how we continue to thrive as a university, alumni are a huge part of that because they keep the university’s memory and history alive; they’re the ones that are going out and sharing their experience of the university and encouraging other people to attend, so alumni remain the lifeblood of the institution even after they’re gone,” Vitangeli said. “If we didn’t have alumni that were out there supporting the university we wouldn’t be as successful as we are.”

Teliha said that in the past, gifts on UIndy Day have supported a variety of funds, from individual academic departments to UIndy sports and UIndy scholarships.This day is mainly about the number of donors, rather than the money raised, according to Teliha.

“We’ve always had a donor goal as a priority over the number of dollars that we raise, because we really want it to be a day when everybody can participate,” Teliha said “And especially for when people that have never donated before, people, students and alumni will be able to give through Venmo this year and PayPal, so we find that’s a really encourage way to get easy ways to get people to participle, so I would say this year we’re definitely striving for over 450 donors. We get about 500 donors every year from this specific day.”

to beat out other students with masters degrees due to the experience they have gained in this program. Reid said UIndy’s reputation for high-quality education and graduates continues to grow.

“We've had feedback f rom our Industrial Advisory Board, from people that hire our graduates, from our graduates themselves, that say they are so much better prepared to head into the workplace than they see their peers from other institutions,” Reid said.

“They've had that chance not only to do a design, but they've also had that chance to present it, work with peers, work with customers, have face to face meetings with customers, all these things that all of our employers tell us they need from graduates. Most other programs say that their students get experience in this but we actually give our students experience in these areas.”

Students from page 1 bit further.”

Students are encouraged to come out and see the different presentations, according to both Bolyard and BrittSpells. The last day of the scholars showcase is April 27 and Britt-Spells said students should come to the showcase so they can support their peers.

“It [the showcase] allows the opportunity to really see all the amazing things coming together in one place happening on campus,” Britt-Spells said. “And we don't really have this platform in other places because of the fact that there's not really another day on campus where we have all the different departments, all the different colleges and programs coming together and bringing their work together for everyone to see. So it's really a chance to really get a taste of what's happened at UIndy.”

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In our April 6 issue...

In the story "Charbel Harb wins title," it was stated that Harb had competed in the International Public Debate Association Novice division.

Harb competed in and won the Novice National Forensic Association tournament IPDA event.

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