Dec. 14, 2022 | The Reflector

Living with disabilities at UIndy

By Olivia Cameron MANAGING EDITOR & CO-ONLINE EDITOR

International Day of Persons with Disabilities took place on Dec. 3 this year. According to the Baccalaureate for University of Indianapolis Learning Disabled (BUILD) Program Director Betsy Fouts, the university has not done any events for this day in the past. Generally, most people with disabilities do not like to claim or be known for having a disability, Fouts said.

“A lot of times to have something like that where you are celebrating a disability means that people have to come out and admit that they have one,” Fouts said.

Fouts said she feels the university does a good job when it comes to providing services for students with disabilities. She said they meet the criteria of the Americans with Disabilities Act and offer all the support that students need.

“I think as long as students take advantage of the opportunities and the support that they are being offered through the campus, I think they will be just fine. I think we do a great job with our disability programs across campus,” Fouts said.

Latin American studies major Dusty Gaunt is a retired veteran of the United States Military. Gaunt served for over 20 years in the Army and National Guard and now attends UIndy through the Vocational Rehabilitation program. He said UIndy could improve on recognizing students with disabilities, particularly veteran students.

“I'm not the only one; several of my fellow veterans are attending UIndy. And we're kind of overlooked,” Gaunt said. “That's good and bad. We're looked at as just other students, but we don't have a separate subgroup like other minorities.”

Gaunt said that through Social Security he is 100% disabled, and 80% through Veteran Affairs. Different disabilities make up those percentages, such as combat-related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, hearing issues, a knee replacement and nerve damage, he said. He has not needed to use any of the disability services or accommodations

offered through the university’s Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD).The university does well with mental health services and providing elevators and parking, according to Gaunt.

“When I'm in class, I wear my hearing aid so I can hear the lectures better. I tend to sit closer to the board, so I can see the lecture notes that are being put up,” Gaunt said. “Having elevators available on the days that I'm having issues with mobility, and handicap[ped] parking is a big thing. I've not had an issue of getting to any of my classes.”

According to Executive Director for Student Development Debbie Spinney, the process for accommodating students with disabilities is interactive. She said via email that students must submit a request for accommodation and their medical professional submits paperwork

in advance.

Nugent said she was accepted into the BUILD program, but financial issues and other difficulties have prevented her from officially being in the program. Fouts said that students in BUILD have to pay an extra fee of $3,500 per semester because of the extra services they offer. Although the accommodations from SSD meet ADA requirements and do not have extra fees, she said.

According to Nugent, BUILD offers tutoring from professionals and specific courses for people with learning disabilities. One of those courses is Spanish, which Nugent has to take.

“So that'll be really beneficial for me because they don't make the curriculum completely different, but it's definitely aimed towards people like me who struggle with school or who have these different disabilities to understand better,” Nugent said.

Nugent said the university could improve at communicating with students through the process of getting into BUILD. She said that she dealt with trying to speak to many different people at one time and not receiving the necessary information from everyone she was in contact with.

confirming eligibility. A conversation also takes place with the student in order to determine their needs.

“We provide a wide range of accommodations but they are individualized to a student’s needs. Accommodations could include extra time to take an exam, flexibility in attendance or sign language interpreter,” Spinney said via email.

Sophomore psychology major Molly Nugent has gone through this process herself. Prior to a formal diagnosis, Nugent was able to visit Spinney’s office and receive some temporary accommodations until she had a diagnosis from a medical professional, she said. Nugent said that she was diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), nonverbal learning disorder and specific learning disabilities with mathematics, reading and written expression. With these diagnoses, she is now able to have some permanent accommodations, such as extra time to take tests in a private room and access to materials such as notes and study guides

“It really was a lot of lack of communication. I don't know what that was from—people not holding up their end, I don't know. But it was kind of like an unfortunate time for me to find out all this information,” Nugent said.

“And then having to go through all these different things in order to fix what's going on. But I would say I would be in so much worse shape [if I was] someone who wasn't being proactive. Like, I can't imagine if I didn't take the steps that I did. I don't know where I'd be, honestly.”

Nugent said it is important to recognize people with disabilities because she has had experiences with teachers being upset with her because she was struggling. It is hard when people do not understand and doubt you, she said.

“It's important to be aware… I've had experiences, even on campus, where I've had faculty talk to me in a tone that I didn't feel comfortable with,” Nugent said. “With ADHD, that's a big thing, for people to be hypersensitive.That's me, I am a very sensitive person. And that's

okay. That's just what comes along with me being me. I've had those instances where I've been very upset with professors and faculty talking to me how they were because I didn't understand or there were issues, things like that. So, it's just important to put other people's feelings into perspective.”

Gaunt said UIndy could bring more visibility to the disabled veterans on

campus with some kind of recognition. He said they are not your average students, and they have a lot of life experience.

“We've been around the world, we've been to places you can’t imagine, in the most austere conditions; we have a lot of life experience,” Gaunt said. “Take advantage of that, engage us, speak with us.”

Violence against LGBTQ community

Recent deadly shooting in Colorado Springs reignites conversation about safety for minorities

By Michael Harrington BUSINESS MANAGER

On Nov. 19, a shooter went into the LGBTQ nightclub Club Q in Colorado Springs and opened fire, killing five and injuring 19, according to CNN. In 2014 (the most recent year for available data), 18.6% of reported hate crimes were committed on the basis of the victim’s sexual orientation and 1.8% were committed due to the victim’s gender identity, according to the Fenway Institute, an LGBTQ health center.

Hate crimes such as these can be sourced from the societal structures that individuals live in, the media individuals consume and personal bias, University of Indianapolis Assistant Professor of Sociology and Co-Director of the Community Research Center Elizabeth Ziff said. According to Ziff, gender roles also have much to do with hate crimes toward individuals of the LGBTQ community

“It's important to look at the way that sort of overarching structures like patriarchy and religion has played a role in constructing people, either the nonbinary sexuality or the non-binary genders, as somehow problematic, different, something to be feared, something to be seen as worrisome,” Ziff said.

According to Ziff,the nature of humans is one of fear, projection and suppression. The ability to hate and commit hate crimes is due to the dehumanization or political power leveraged against members of a community.

“It is relatively easy to hate, and especially when you see others as not equal or dehumanized in some way, shape, or form. I think it also speaks to the power of fear in people,” Ziff said. “I think it shows the negative side of humans, that we do have this capability, and that, arguably, there are lots of parts of society that are built upon these more negative or punishing parts of human nature.”

According to Associate Professor of Political Science and Co-Director of the

University of Indianapolis Gender Center Laura Merrifield Wilson, a reason behind recent anti-LGBTQ legislation is due to the legislators themselves.

“Particularly with LGBTQ issues, gender rights and women's issues—any of these issues—most state legislators are men,” Wilson said. “They're white men, they're older men, they tend to be well educated, and that's not representative, necessarily, of the entire constituency.”

Wilson said it is essential that everyone recognizes that they are affected by politics, even if they are not directly involved.

“Everybody's impacted by politics, regardless of whether or not they pay attention,” Wilson said. “There's a special level of responsibility, and I think we all need to play and make sure, especially if views aren't being heard, people know those experiences exist and matter.”

According to Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication, Director of the Forensics Speech and > See LGBTQ on Page 3

Photo by MaKenna Maschino

Molly Nugent is a sophomore and psychology major at the University of Indianapolis. Nugent has utilized different measures of assistance through UIndy to help her succeed.

Photo by MaKenna Maschino

Dusty Gaunt stands in the atrium of Esch Hall. Gaunt is a Latin American studies major at the University of Indianapolis and served for over 20 years in the United States Military.

Graphic by Max Shelburn

... It's important to put other people's feelings into perspective."

UIndy needs authentic student advocacy

Lack of effective student government has students wondering when their voices will be heard

By Hannah Hadley NEWS EDITOR

I have always had a passion for leadership. I was heavily involved in student government throughout high school. I was class president during my freshman and sophomore years and on the Student Council Executive Board during my junior and senior years. One of my favorite things about being in student government was being able to advocate for the student body and make change happen. My fellow officers and I would constantly suggest polling students when weighing important decisions.

My brother attended the University of Indianapolis from 2013 to 2016 when I was still in K-12. He always fostered my love of leadership and encouraged me to join my future college’s student government and urged me to choose UIndy as that future college.

Before I enrolled at UIndy, the university’s student body government went through a major transformation in August 2020, according to a Reflector article. The Indianapolis Student Government, Campus Programming Board and Residence Hall Association consolidated into one organization–the Student Leadership and Activities Board, commonly known as SLAB. According to the SLAB page on UIndy’s website, “SLAB offers students opportunities for advocacy, programming, and leadership development, all while impacting the

UIndy campus community in a positive way.”

When I looked at SLAB’s official Instagram page at the end of November, I kept searching for posts in which the organization advocated for students at the university, but I did not find much.

And in this case, when I use the term “advocated,” I mean amplified and advanced students’ opinions in all things regarding the university and campus life.

I did not find any publications for this semester promoting the university-wide “Town Hall'' meetings hosted by SLAB.

These meetings are an opportunity for students to voice their opinions and hear about current happenings at the university. According to SLAB, only two were planned for the fall semester of 2022, on Sept. 14 and Nov. 9.

There does not seem to be enough marketing for (and explanation of) Town Hall meetings on social media and not enough meetings themselves for SLAB to properly advocate for students. I also briefly saw something about volunteering with the organization via “SLAB Council,” but there was no additional information about that opportunity. And yes, I did find posts for this school

year promoting celebrations of Hispanic Heritage Month and an event helping students understand Brightspace. However, those are not advocating for or uplifting student voices to university administration.

On the contrary, according to a Reflector article in 2016, the then-student body government ISG noticed that students were displeased with a change in UIndy’s dining policies that limited them to four swipes per day. In response, ISG partnered with a representative from the Office of Student Affairs to host an in-person forum where students could openly express their opinions to the university. Less than a week later, the university announced that it would increase the value of one swipe to $7.50 and set the limit at six swipes per day, which is still the case. It was largely due to ISG’s advocacy that students were able to make changes in the institution they pay to attend and have access to more swipes (and therefore more food)

Although I may not be a part of UIndy’s student body, as my brother once advocated, I have messaged SLAB’s Instagram account several times. The three most-

recent times were all student advocacy related. On Jan. 17, I suggested that SLAB look into getting an area/park for dogs on campus (think of all the emotional support animals at UIndy). I received no reply. On Aug. 1, I asked about student worker rights at UIndy. I received no response until Aug. 16, when they directed me to Human Resources. I still have not been able to get a solid answer from anyone at the university about whether there is a student union, but I digress. Most recently, on Aug. 26, I messaged SLAB to ask whether they would promote my petition for the university to provide an accessible color printer on campus.

I had amassed over one hundred student signatures on that petition. A week and a half later, they responded by asking me to send a link to the petition to their official email and saying they would look at the petition at their next board meeting. I was pleased that they had replied and were considering my request on behalf of the student body, and I promptly sent the link, but I never heard anything more from them.

sent an email on Nov. 30 to all registered student organization points of contact that proposed “bringing back student government at UIndy.” Mullinix expressed disappointment with the “[administration’s] responses to student voicing” and said that a novel student body government was in “preliminary stages of formation.”

I do not want "bread and circuses".... Give me a voice, instead.

Yes, I do appreciate that SLAB puts on various events for students. Yes, I do think it is important for students to feel engaged in their campus community, which can be fostered through events. Yes, I do believe a student body government should put on events for what can be considered their constituents–but those events should not be mostly for amusement.

I am not the only student who is concerned about the lack of an effective student body government. Sophomore chemistry and biology major and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Fellow for the UIndy Ron and Laura Strain Honors College Carson Mullinix

UIndy’s student body government should empower fellow students by acting as an arm of their “commonwealth”--not just an arm of the university. Student government should let the administration know how we feel about dining and housing; it should not just host a trivia night with prizes and catering by Chick-fil-A. Student government should promote and foster interactive, productive opportunities between students and administration. Ultimately, I do not want “bread and circuses” from any government representing me. Give me a voice, instead.

A conversation about gun laws in Indiana

By Olivia Pastrick STAFF WRITER

Many proponents of an increase in gun control in the United States do not take into consideration the ineffectiveness of the current laws in place regarding citizens’ rights to bear arms. For example, the Gun Control Act of 1968 prohibits holders of Federal Firearms Licenses from transferring licenses to certain groups of people classified as irresponsible or potentially dangerous, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

However, this small form of gun control is clearly not doing its supposed job to stop or limit gun violence in the United States, as indicated by the 110 homicides in Indianapolis alone this year as of June 30, according to Fox59.

The question is still whether federally imposed gun control laws can be effective in reducing gun violence in the United States.

For starters,the root of the problem is not guns, it is people. Criminals with the intent to kill people would not likely be swayed from committing crime by additional laws when they are already breaking other laws. According to the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action,43.2% of prisoners in state or federal prison got their guns "off the street or on the underground market,”which would not be affected by additional gun control laws. Similar logic can be applied in examining the effectiveness of background checks for people who purchase firearms with the

intent to harm others. These individuals already intend to break the law, so they would not likely be deterred by having to lie on a government form to pass a background check to obtain a gun.

Similarly, homicide rates in countries where guns are banned have not gone

the strictest gun laws in the country at that time, yet it did not curb murders in the city. According to the Chicago Tribune, in the decade after it banned handguns, murders jumped by 41 percent, compared with an 18 percent increase throughout the country. Again, this ban did not deter criminals with the intent to cause harm from obtaining firearms. The law was effectively made unenforceable by a 2010 Supreme Court decision that the Second Amendment protection of the individual's right to possess firearms applies to cities and states,according to ABC7.

By Lindsey Wormuth DISTRIBUTION MANAGER

Stricter gun control can sometimes seem like a never-ending argument against the Second Amendment and about whether gun laws can really keep people safe. The Second Amendment states that because a wellregulated militia is necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed upon. I never thought gun laws were too weak until I was in a situation involving a minor who had access to guns.

United States. To reduce shootings and gunrelated suicides,we need to raise the minimum age to purchase guns,ban assault weapons,and require a permit in all states to carry a handgun. Despite the ongoing arguments, gun control legislation must be passed. People are suffering mass tragedies as a result of legislators' inaction.

by Gabe Eastridge

down.According to the California Rifle and Pistol Association, the United Kingdom’s homicide rate in 1996, before handguns were banned, was 1.12 per 100,000 people. In 1997, the year handguns were banned, it rose to 1.24, and in 2002 it peaked at 2.1 homicides per 100,000 people.

There have been times when,in U.S.cities, bans have been placed on the purchase and possession of guns. For example, the city of Chicago enacted a handgun ban in 1982 that prohibited residents from owning handguns for their own use even in their homes and required existing gun owners to re-register their weapons every year, according to ABC7.This law made Chicago the city with

Additionally, there have been situations in the United States in which citizens armed with guns have helped take down people trying to inflict harm. For example, the Greenwood Park Mall shooting on July 17 was stopped within 15 seconds after it began by a citizen with a gun, according to WTHR. A ban on guns, or even stricter gun control laws, might have prevented the bystander from carrying a gun in the mall; and the shooting could have been much worse.

Finally, with distrust in the government so high in the United States, pro-gun citizens consider their guns a level of protection against tyrannical government practices,according to NPR.People fighting for their right to bear arms also worry that if the government infringes upon the Second Amendment, nothing will stop the government from changing or taking away other rights that are seen as cornerstones of American life.

In May of 2018, I was at Noblesville High School the day that a school shooting took placeatNoblesvilleWestMiddleSchool,nearly eight minutes away. I remember being told to barricade the door and windows and take cover in a corner. Although the shooting was not at my high school, not knowing what was going on and whether there also would be an active shooter at the high school was terrifying. The middle school shooter was a 13-year-old boy who injured a teacher and a student.According to The Washington Post, there were 90 school shootings nationwide in the two years of 20202022. Parents should be able to send their children to school and not worry about their childrenhavingtobarricadethemselvesbecause their school has an active shooter.

"When the Post analyzed these [school] shootings, it found that more than two-thirds were committed by shooters under the age of 18," according to the Austin AmericanStatesman."Theanalysisfoundthatthemedian age for school shooters was 16.”To gain more control over who has access to guns, they need to be less accessible to teenagers.

Besides school shootings, a gunman at the Greenwood Park Mall on July 17 "fired shots inside the food court . . . killing three people," according to WTHR. The gunman was 20 years old, another young shooter.

Gun safety will always be an issue in the

AccordingtotheIndianaGovernmentwebsite, as of July 1, 2022 the State of Indiana will no longer require a handgun permit to legally carry, conceal or transport a handgun within the state. A common misconception about the law is that it allows anyone to be able to carry a handgun. There are still standards you have to meet to be able to legally carry. For example, anyone who was convicted of domestic violence or battery charges, was imprisoned for a federal offense “exceeding one year” or anyone under the age of 18 will not be able to legally carry a gun in Indiana,according to the Indiana Government website.

AccordingtotheNationalRifleAssociation, “Even if criminals did submit to background checks, we’ve seen that these checks aren’t effective at stopping those who intend to use guns to commit crimes.”The NRA-ILA has created scenarios showing how background checks can be ineffective. One NRA-ILA scenario says this: “A drug addict lies about their addiction on a federal background check form. Although this individual is committing a federal crime,a background check most likely won’tstopthem.”AnotherNRA-ILAscenario says this: “A person with no criminal history walks into a store to buy a gun they’ll use to commit a crime. A background check most likely won’t stop them.”Ultimately, there is no guaranteed way to identify whether someone who is purchasing a gun will commit a crime, but minimizing the people who can access guns can. Increasing the amount of steps with a background check could help eliminate the peoplewhobuythemtocommitcrimes.People should be able to go to school,the mall,or a club withoutthefearorthreatofashooting.Theonly way to reduce shootings is to change the laws.

Corrections

The Reflector acknowledges its mistakes.

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

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

In our Nov. 9 Issue:

On Page 5, we misspelled Cory Miller Jr.'s name.

In our Nov. 22 Issue:

On Page 4, a photo caption we stated that Zoe Pentecost competes in shot-put, but she actually competes in the weight throw.

In a subhead, Doug Haugh's name was misspelled as Dough.

What do you think?

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

Graphic

Graphic by Hannah Hadley

Global population 8 billion

there does appear to be a link between women’s access to higher education and the rate of population growth.

According to the Population Reference Bureau, there is also a link between women’s ease of access to contraceptives, as countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are seeing the highest rate of population growth as a result of a lack of availability to them, especially to the poorest onefifth of the population. For example, women in the richest one-fifth of the population in Tanzania have about three children, while those in the poorest onefifth have an average of seven to eight, according to PRB. Assistant Professor of Earth-Space Science at the University of Indianapolis Nick Soltis says that one of the problems with the concentration of population growth in these countries is the imbalance cause and effect on climate change that these countries have.

By Olivia Pastrick STAFF WRITER

As of Nov. 15, 2022, the Earth’s population hit eight billion people, according to the United Nations’ Department of Economic and Social Affairs.The global population is currently growing at its slowest rate since 1950 and fell below one percent of growth per year in 2020. In the United States specifically, there is a decline in the average life expectancy as well as in the birth rate, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Tufts University’s non-partisan publication EconoFact.org, respectively. Retired Professor of Biology and Anthropology at the University of Indianapolis John Langdon said this is a reflection on the United States’ ability to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, and more generally about American healthcare.

“You can see that decline [in population

Graphic by Olivia Cameron growth] because of COVID[-19] and then [other developed countries have] recovered. The United States hasn’t recovered—that's saying some very negative things about our healthcare system,” Langdon said.

According to Langdon, another factor that contributes to the declining rate of population growth in the United States and other developed countries is the role of women and their availability to earn an education. According to Education Sub Saharan Africa, only 7.19% of women are enrolled in higher education programs in Sub-Saharan Africa, which is substantially lower than the global average for women, which is 41.66%.

The rate of population growth is 2.6% for Sub-Saharan Africa, according to WorldBank.org. Comparing this to the United States, where the population growth rate is 0.1%, according to the World Bank, and the rate of women enrolled in higher education is 44% (in 2019), according to the Postsecondary National Policy Institute; Langdon said

“For example, when you talk about climate change, most of the countries that are producing the mass amounts of carbon dioxide and are leading to global warming are those developed nations,” Soltis said. “The countries that are feeling the impacts [of climate change] because the Earth doesn’t care where the carbon comes from, are places like the Sahel region of Africa.”

Consequently, as populations grow in these countries, there will be an increasing competition for resources, according to Soltis. As more people are being born and climate change is causing resources to deplete, people are forced to leave where they’re from in order to find places that have suitable water and suitable land for agriculture.

“As the population rate goes up, we see less availability of food…. Which requires people to… basically move or perish,” Soltis said.

Soltis also said the inequitable distribution of environmental impacts

can lead to misconceptions about what are considered developing countries.

He said these nations feel the impact of climate change, urbanization and biodiversity loss because of things that are happening elsewhere on Earth.

“When we talk about environmental issues, it’s not because people in these developing nations are not taking care of their environment or they don’t care. It’s because environmental impact doesn’t always come from right where you are…,” Soltis said.

On the other hand, there are also concerns for the countries that are seeing declines in the rate of their population growth, according to Langdon.

“The people who worry about the decrease [in population for developed countries] are the ones who are looking at the economic outlook,” Langdon said.

“If the number of babies being born is not replacing the current set of adults that are retiring and so forth, we have fewer people working to support more people who aren’t working.”

Another effect of the declining rate of population growth is immigration, according to Langdon. According to Stanford News, natural disasters around the world forced 30 million people to migrate elsewhere. For the U.S., this manifests both as people moving elsewhere within the country as well as those who seek refuge in America from other countries. This mass migration of people can lead to political and ideological clashes within the U.S. as well, according to Langdon.

Soltis said that in order for individuals to help ease the effects of increasing global population and climate change, it is important to live sustainably whenever possible, as well as to recognize the impact the environment in which they live can have across the world.

Twitter: Free speech policies

Changes in the social media platform's leadership influence rules, guidelines

By Mia Lehmkuhl OPINION EDITOR

Twitter has gained national attention over the past few weeks because of various changes in its policies and company culture, largely due to a change in its ownership and leadership. According to ABC News, multi-billionaire Elon Musk secured a deal with Twitter’s now dissolved Board of Directors to take over the platform as its CEO for a cost of roughly $44 billion on Oct. 28. In the following days, Musk began the process of firing top executives, laying off half of the company’s staff, forming a content moderation council tasked with reviewing account reinstatements and, finally,revamping the platform’s subscription service, according to ABC News.

Twitter’s policies regarding free speech on the platform have sparked public discourse after Musk’s multiple statements commenting on his views on the doctrine of free speech.

“By ‘free speech,’ I simply mean that which matches the law,” Musk said in a tweet posted on April 26 this year. “I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law. If people want less free speech, they will ask [the] government to pass laws to that effect. Therefore, going beyond the law is contrary to the will of the people.”

Along with these changes for Twitter, Musk introduced a new subscription service for those seeking out the blue checkmark feature for their account, according to Twitter’s Help Center. Twitter’s Blue Checkmark system was originally put in place to verify popular accounts such as celebrities, public officials and social media influencers in order to ensure that users knew that what they were reading was from a verified account. Under Musk, the blue checkmark system took a subscription form whereby any user could choose to enter into the “Twitter Blue” service by paying $8 a month to receive a blue checkmark on their account. Musk opted for a gray check mark system that would be used to verify accounts such as governmental or major commercial entities,according to CNN.Its purpose was to give verification to “select” accounts even if they did not subscribe to the new Twitter Blue service. As of now, this system is no longer in use after a few hours of it being implemented, according to ABC7 News.

Some people, such as Washington Post technology columnist Geoffrey A. Fowler, have criticized the change, saying that it reduces the ability to filter out misinformation and establish

credibility on the platform. According to Director of UIndy’s Forensics Speech and Debate Team and Assistant Professor of Communication Stephanie Wideman, the removal of the organic nature of the blue checkmark results in the verification having less influence because anyone can buy one. A recent example of a user using Twitter Blue’s services for harm occurred with Indianapolis-based company Eli Lilly.

“Hence, you saw things like what happened with Eli Lilly…Somebody paid $8 to be Eli Lilly with a [blue] checkmark and then posted that insulin is now free,” Wideman said. “And Eli Lilly never said that, but their stock went down…”

Eli Lilly’s stock did fall 4.37% after the user posed as the pharmaceutical company, according to Forbes Magazine, but it is unclear whether the fake account was the sole cause.

One of Twitter’s core values is dedicated to “defending and respecting the user’s voice,” according to the platform’s Help Center. Musk’s changes to Twitter have allowed for previously banned users’ accounts to be reinstated. For example, former United States President Donald Trump’s Twitter account was reinstated after Musk posted an online Twitter poll asking users for their opinions regarding the matter.

A large portion of the recent spotlight on Twitter is its historical relationship with free speech. According to Associate Professor of History and Political Science

“…It's a private entity. But it's speech within a large framework,” Wilson said, “That’s part of what the freedom of speech is. It’s the government's protection against the government,not against private entities or individuals.”

Twitter being a private company means that it has a right to define what is and is not acceptable on its platform, according to both Wilson and Wideman.

“The Constitution is really set up to identify responsibilities of government and individuals,” Wilson said. “A good example I could use for Twitter is [that] you're not compelled to participate. No one forces you to get an account. If you choose not to use it, you could go to another source. You could eliminate it altogether or you choose to abide by the user regulations, the things we quickly scroll through and say ‘yes, I agree’ in order to create the account. So, applying it [the First Amendment] to businesses would be very different than applying it to the government…. Whereas you do have to abide by the government of the United States.”

The distinction between protected speech and unprotected speech is that the First Amendment protects U.S. citizens

from government censorship, whereas a platform like Twitter has a right to limit what is on its platform because it is not a federal entity, according to Wilson. Therefore, Twitter establishes its user guidelines that users must follow to create and maintain an account.Twitter’s content moderation team is responsible for filtering content and ensuring that users follow the platform’s policies and guidelines that all users agree to, having read through them or not, to create an account. Although Musk has expressed his sentiments about the preservation of free speech in regard to Twitter as a platform, Twitter can ban users for violating its user guidelines, especially, for example, prohibiting violent or hateful speech.

“So some people are interested to learn that, actually, hate speech—to a degree— can be protected as free speech,”Wideman said. “It becomes not protected when it violates somebody else's right. So when hate speech turns into what we call ‘fighting words,’then it is no longer protected speech [or] free speech,” Wideman said.

Although Twitter has cracked down on ‘fighting words,’ recently banning a celebrity from the platform after an antisemitic tweet, according to The Washington Post, the question of what the change in leadership and social media culture means for free speech, both constitutional and via social platforms, has yet to emerge.

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EDITORS / MANAGERS

from Page 1

Debate Program, Basic Course Director and Co-Director of the UIndy Gender Center Stephanie Wideman, the UIndy Gender Center allows students to connect to resources that allow one to not only advocate, but help represent the LGBTQ community at UIndy and outside the university.

“The Gender Center [acts as] a resource hub for all things related to gender expansively,” Wideman said. “We're a resource hub to make sure that we pull together to solve issues and to promote the way gender impacts all of us.”

Wideman said it is important for the Gender Center to be community and student-run, rather than have a board direct it.

“We want students to feel like this is a place that there's ownership, that they have ownership over as well,” Wideman said. “We don't want it to be facultybased; we want it to be a community.”

According to Wilson, the Gender Center’s purpose is to cultivate and encourage conversations regarding sexuality and gender identity, as well as provide the opportunity for people to address any questions and fears students may see as important.

“There's a role the center plays in engaging everyone in this kind of dialogue because we know everybody is impacted by issues of gender and sexual orientation, and we aim to be a centralized space that can help cultivate these kind of conversations,” Wilson said.

Director of the Center of Service Learning and Community Engagement and Adjunct Instructor for the Sociology Department Marianna Foulkrod said that both the Gender Center and student-led advocacy groups at UIndy are available for supporting LGBTQ students.

“Students can choose to give their time and energy in anything that they choose to, whether it's direct service, indirect service, fundraising for a course, advocate, create policy change,”Foulkrod said. “[Students] have access to the Gender Center, the Center of Service Learning and Community Engagement and different academic areas of inclusion and equity.”

For LGBTQ students looking for support at UIndy, the Rainbow Pack holds weekly meetings on Tuesdays at 11 a.m. in the Student Counseling Center.

Photo Illustration by Hannah Hadley

Laura Merrifield Wilson, freedom of speech comes with protection from the government, but that specific element of the First Amendment is important because Twitter and Musk are not the government.

Environmental impact doesn't always come from right where you are..."

UIndy claims conference

UIndy football holds the 2022 Great Lakes Valley Conference championship trophy on campus

Additionally, Keevers said he could not have been more proud of the football team this year. Many players Keevers said told him that the team felt like a true family and that it was nice to get back to winning.

“The family component this year… didn’t feel forced, it was natural,” Clinton said. “And that’s what makes it stronger because it was so natural, we want it to be that way, not because we have to be [that way].”

Throughout the season, the team could not have felt any closer, according to Hunnius. Having booked their ticket to the NCAA National Tournament, the Greyhounds traveled to Pittsburgh State University where their season came to an end, according to UIndy Athletics. Keevers said that in those situations, the team just needed to be better. Even though the team lost in their first game of the tournament, many players received accolades presented by the GLVC, according to UIndy Athletics. The Greyhounds had 25 All-GLVC players, while 11 surfaced on the All-GLVC first team.

“[The accolades] show the talent [of the team] a great deal; I think it also shows the dedication that everyone had…,”Hunnius said. “You see what they put in to get there. There’s some kids that got [All-GLVC] for the first time. There were some kids that returned and got it again, but it all comes down to their dedication. It feels nice to see what they’ve accomplished, [what] the whole team has accomplished.”

By Connor Mahoney SPORTS EDITOR

Pointing to his ring finger, University of Indianapolis Football Head Coach Chris Keevers said he was ready for the celebration when the UIndy football team defeated Truman State University 28-14 for the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championship, according to UIndy Athletics. The Greyhounds defeated the Bulldogs on their home-turf, lifting up the trophy at Key Stadium.

“I’m all about the celebration-you fight and you dig and claw and you do what we did make[ing] such a commitment…85 guys here all summer long,” Keevers said. “We made a commitment to win the championship and to be able to do that

banged-up and not at full-strength says a lot about the character of this football team.”

At halftime, the Greyhounds were trailing 14-0 before UIndy rattled-off 28 unanswered points against Truman, according to UIndy Athletics. Graduate student linebacker Ben Hunnius said the team was focused on going back out after halftime and winning the game.

“[The locker room] was the same kind of atmosphere going in at halftime of the GLVC championship-looking around the room seeing everyone. There wasn’t much talking between the players, it was [a lot of] looking at each other being like, ‘Okay, we got this, everyone’s mood was up, they weren’t scared of what was gonna come,” Hunnius said. “Everyone was just understanding that, ‘Hey, it’s time to win a

championship and we got to go out [the] second half winning [the game.]’”

Hunnius said that he could feel that the trophy was coming their way when the Greyhounds sealed the victory with an interception. Hunnius said he did not know how to describe the feeling of lifting the trophy.

“I don’t know how else to put it; [holding the trophy] just felt amazing,” Hunnius said. “... [The championship was] good to have it with [the] group of people to be able to have some young kids that made a great effort towards it [and] got to have it for the first time, some of them for the older guys [too]... It felt like something that we were supposed to do… it finally came to fruition, and we had it done.”

Before the Conference Championship,

the Greyhounds suffered a defeat to Saginaw Valley State University around mid-season, according to UIndy Athletics. However, senior running back Toriano Clinton said it was an opportunity for the team to learn from the loss, but to not dwell on it.

“When you go from [the] winning streak that we were on, to a team like Saganaw, they were a great team…” Clinton said. “We were definitely humbled in that situation, and it made us realize that we were not where we needed to be… And that’s not the route that we needed, [so we] decided to keep climbing, keep going. The main important thing was just not focus so much on that loss.”

One common theme the team shared with each other was the feeling of family, which came naturally, Clinton said.

With these accomplishments, the UIndy team had more players on the All-GLVC teams than any other program in the conference. After the season was over, Keevers said he told his team, that for next year that it all is going to start over again.

“I told the 2023 team… we haven’t won a doggone thing; time to get to work,” Keevers said. “Our whole work wins, everything’s based on [that]-we outwork people.”

Even after the 2022 team’s season, Clinton said he is thankful for all that UIndy football has given him and that the players know that they all have each other, even if it is not football-related. The family aspect is something that is prominent-once again-with this group, according to Clinton

“It’s [the team] more than football; it’s always been more than football,” Clinton said. “Football is what brought us here; that’s our common goal, and that’s our similarity. But it’s so much more than football.”

Volleyball’s season comes to an end

By Max Shelburn STAFF WRITER

The University of Indianapolis women’s volleyball team recently capped off their season with a record of 1314, according to UIndy Athletics. The season came to an end when the team lost to Rockhurst University in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament with a match score of 1-3. Although the season is over, the players and head coach Jason Reed are excited for what is yet to come.

Reed said he enjoyed the season and will look back on it very positively.

Additionally, senior defensive specialist MaKenna Barnhart said there were a lot of memories made throughout this season. A solid team and a new gym floor introduced an exciting and promising season, according to Barnhart

“...We had a great group of girls and we meshed really well this season together…,” Barnhart said. “I made the best memories I’ve had this last year.

Everyone always says that when you look back on your college career-but you don’t necessarily look at wins, losses or how that season went-you think about the friendships and the memories you’ve made. I think I’ll remember this past year for a long time”.

Barnhart is a senior and plans to graduate in December. Although Barnhart and other seniors will not be returning, Reed is still looking forward to the next season, saying that seniors, such as Barnhart, did a great job of building a foundation for the future.

“I’m really optimistic, and I guess that’s the ‘tip of the cap’ to that group that’s leaving…,” Reed said. “They helped lay that foundation that we get to build upon for the future.”

Planning for next year’s season,

Reed said he wants to work on mental toughness this spring. The team recently had exit evaluation meetings, and each player was mentioning the same thing-being mentally tough. Reed said being comfortable in uncomfortable situations could be the key to next year’s success.

Reed said that the team fell short in a few matches, giving their opponent an advantage after making costly mistakes.

“We need to get tougher. That’s something that was a resounding theme

in all of the meetings, the consistent urgency,” Reed said. “Mental toughness is something we learned, and we were a little short of that. That’s very

much a focus in the spring, which means spring gets to be a challenge. We need to push ourselves, we need [to] put ourselves in some uncomfortable situations, and then deal with those uncomfortable situations.”

Reed said experiencing these situations in the spring could make them easier to deal with in the fall.

“That way when we see those same uncomfortable situations in the fall, it’s not unique,” Reed said.

“We were so close in so many matches, and then it’d be a couple of

mistakes at the end-costly, timely, mistakes-that ended up helping out our opponent. As we figure out how to get over that hump, we’re going to be pretty scary.”

Looking back and reflecting on the season, Barnhart said that there was one game she will remember for a while. She said it was towards the beginning of the season, when the team had just started playing on the new floor.

“I believe it was when we played Bentley, at Ruth Lilly Fitness Center. It was one of the first times we got to play on the new floor,” Barnhart said. “We had an incredible weekend. It was towards the beginning, so it was a lot of fun. It is definitely a game I’ll remember from this past year.”

Reed also said that the team was connected, even with all sorts of things going on in the background. However, the team continued to focus on winning, according to Reed.

“This season was kind of crazy, in terms of everything that happened around the team…. We had crazy things happening within the [volleyball] department,” Reed said. “I tore my meniscus, I got into a car crash, it was a wild couple of months. On top of that, you’re still trying to win volleyball matches… I enjoyed the relational aspect of the group. I felt that despite all the noise going on everywhere else, for me, the connective piece was really really strong.”

The team will start working again in the spring and Reed said that although it may be a challenge, it will end with the team being a tough opponent for other teams to deal with.

Barnhart said that this program has taught her to be a leader, and has shaped her into a better person. She said that she will miss the friendships she made.

“Sometimes it wasn’t even about volleyball; it was just about the friendships that I had,” Barnhart said.

Photo contributed by Tanner Royer/UIndy Athletics

The University of Indianapolis football Head Coach Chris Keevers lifts the Great Lakes Valley Conference championship trophy in front of the home fans at Key Stadium. The Greyhounds finished the season with a 9-2 record while having an undefeated record in the GLVC. Additionally, the Greyhounds did not lose a game at home for the entire season.

Photo by MaKenna Maschino

The University of Indianapolis volleyball team celebrates the points as MaKenna Barnhart rallies the team in the Ruth Lilly Fitness Center. The Greyhounds finished their season having a home record above .500 at 7-6. Volleyball also played in the GLVC tournament.

That way when we see those same situations in the fall, it’s not unique.”

Hiring a new head coach

UIndy women’s lacrosse program hires Elaine Jones going into new season

By Mia Lehmkuhl OPINION EDITOR

Elaine Jones has taken over the position of head coach for the UIndy women’s lacrosse team, according to a UIndy Athletics article posted on Nov. 9th. Her taking over the position follows the Greyhounds bringing home the NCAA Division II National Championship during the spring. The process that went into selecting Jones for the position spanned several months, according to Associate Athletics Director for Business Operations Erin AbbottGillin.

“Coming into the program, we wanted somebody who could continue the winning tradition [when] we just came off of a national championship, and we thought that was really important for the girls who came here and chose to be part of UIndy because they felt like it was a winning culture,”Abbott-Gillin said.“So first and foremost, picking somebody who could continue with that trend and transition.”

Jones has also had an extensive career in coaching women’s lacrosse, according to UIndy Athletics, Jones led the women’s lacrosse program at Longwood University in Virginia and in 2018 had the team leading the league in assists. Although Jones will not have much time with the players before students get out for winter break, she is optimistic about the team’s performance.

“I think [the team] look[s] good. I think they’re receptive. I think there are somethings that I do differently than their previous coaching staff did or what they had done in the fall,” Jones said. “So I think there’s just a little adjustment period where they have to be like, ‘Well, we haven’t done this before, but we’ll give it a go.’”

Given the changes in play style that might occur, the players have

been responsive and open to learning, according to Jones.

“I think they’re being receptive and I think in the two days that I worked with them, they seem to be working hard,” Jones said. “So, I’m excited to see what tomorrow brings.”

Winning a championship is hard, but defending the title is even harder, according to Jones. Additionally, Jones said she intends to help the Greyhounds keep their national title.

“... Winning a national championship

is an amazing feat and not everybody gets to do it,” Jones said. “There’s one winner in [Division] I, [Division] II, [Division] III. And this team got to do it last year and I think that should be celebrated. We should be proud of that. I’m proud of them even though I didn’t coach them.”

Jones has also had extensive playing experience, according to Abbott-Gillin. The experience of playing and being a coach is something that can benefit this team, according to Abbott-Gillin.

“She’s a huge testament to the

sport and has seen it through for a long time. I mean, I laughed with her that not a lot of people know this [but] lacrosse used to be played without boundaries,”Abbott-Gillin said.

“So if you think about a field, there were literally no sidelines….She’s excited about the direction of the sport. And I think that that’s really cool that she’s bought into where we’re going and she’s always learning and always watching lacrosse, and always seeing how she can improve as a coach.”

Soccer season comes to a close

By Michael Harrington BUSINESS MANAGER

While the University of Indianapolis men’s soccer team has wrapped up its fall season, Head Coach Gabe Hall said there is still more to come for the team’s development. After making it to the NCAA Tournament and finishing with a 10-5-3 record, according to UIndy Athletics, the team is now focusing on learning how to develop as individuals and as a team, according to Hall.

“The spring’s where we get to develop and grow [and] I think that the fall is very much, how do you find success…,” Hall said. “[In] the spring, we get to talk about how do we develop individuals [and] how do we develop as a team from a team concept.”

According to UIndy Athletics, the team saw a turnaround with a positive stretch of matches that allowed for the team to progress to the NCAA Tournament. Hall said that this does not change the teams goals for the spring season and the team has not lost its view of itself.

“[Past success] never changed our goals and it never changed who we thought we were,” Hall said. “The goal’s the same: how do we develop and how do we move closer to winning a national championship?”

According to UIndy sophomore and defender Pierre Lurot, the bond between the players allows for the team to improve.

Hall said that the team’s main strength is the bond the players have and that it is something that he wants to see in the spring season.

“We’ve got a lot of guys that like each other and like to be around each other…,” Hall said. “The more a team is cohesive and gets along with each other, the better, because they’ll fight for each other.”

While the team’s strengths come from its bonding, Lurot and Hall both said that the team needs to work on being focused on the game for next season.

“We’ve got to be a little bit more practical at times…,” Hall said. “We’ve got to be a little bit more resilient or a little bit tougher when we don’t have the ball winning it back and willing to fight to win it back.”

The team is consistent in practicing out of season and hopes to get better each and every day, according to Lurot.

“I would say sometimes we are not focused on the game,” Lurot said. “We do [need] to try to do better every day.”

According to UIndy Athletics, three players were able to receive All-Midwest

Region honors. Hall said he is proud of those players who gained these achievements because this reflects not only the players, but the team as a whole. Lurot also came away with defender of the year in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

“Know [that] those guys that didn’t receive honors and weren’t recognized, those guys that did receive them can’t do it without those [players],” Hall said. “If we don’t have success as a team, we don’t have success as individuals and vice versa.”

For the future of the team, Lurot said it is important for the team to go as far as it can compared to the fall season. He said that the preparation

for the spring season includes working both in the gym and on the field. Hall said it is important to look for players who can not only reflect the strength of the team, but also the culture of the team.

“[It is important to] keep growing, keep building and keep looking to bring in guys that fit us as a team and as a culture…,” Hall said. “We’re targeting guys that we think can drive us to that next step. That can help us get closer to winning the national championship.”

Family legacy in UIndy wrestling

By Hannah Biedess STAFF WRITER

Head Wrestling Coach Jason Warthan said it seems somewhat of an anomaly having so many brothers on the team. He said there are a lot of younger brothers who come to meets and camps to watch their older brothers, so the relationship with them starts early. He said he hopes this trend continues because there are some younger brothers that have lots of talent.

“One of the biggest compliments we can get as a program [is] when somebody feels strong enough about our program that they recommend it to their brothers to come here and follow in their footsteps,” Warthan said.

The team currently has a 2-0 record; they won against Glenville State and Mercyhurst on Nov. 10, according to UIndy Athletics with their next match on Dec. 17. According to Warthan a lot of the wrestlers on the team are from Indiana and hang around the sport. When there is an older brother that is good, there is usually a younger brother following in their footsteps, Warthan said.

Warthan said there is so much pride in family and it is important to keep records of their wins and career accomplishments because of that pride, it pushes the wrestlers to work harder. It seems important to the families to have the brothers on the same team, he said.

“If it was just an individual record [in the record book], I don’t think anyone would care as much but when you’re fighting for your brother and your family, it just seems [to have] more pride about it,” Warthan said.

The wrestling record book goes back to 1961, with the Graves brothers, according to UIndy Athletics. It says that the Kieffer brothers have the most wins at 179. Additionally, the Lutgring family has the most pins at 50. The wrestling record book also says the Bailey brothers have 71 wins and 28 pins, according to UIndy Athletics.

Sixth-year wrestler Breyden Bailey and his brother, Logan Bailey, have been wrestling together for 17 years, Bailey said. In high school, he said that it was nice to have his brother on the team with him. Now in college, Bailey said his brother made the decision to come to UIndy to wrestle and it has brought them closer.

“It’s been really really cool, I really like having him on the team with me,’’ Bailey said. “It gives us a really close bond and it brings us together.”

Warthan said that having brothers on the team brings everyone closer together. It helps bridge the gap between the freshman and seniors. Bailey said he thinks the team is a close group and having all these brothers on the team really helps.

“We’re already all pretty close and it’s even better to have your brothers because you push each other and it’s kind of cool to have a similar feature with the people on the team,” Bailey said.

Photo by Gabe Eastridge

Women’s lacrosse head coach Elaine Jones stands in front of the camera for a photo at lacrosse practice. The Greyhounds are coming off of a monumental year having won the national championship, and they finished the season with a 22-1 record and 12-0 at home.

Photo by MaKenna Maschino

The University of Indianapolis men’s soccer team celebrates the goal underneath the lights at Key Stadium. The Greyhounds went on a seven game win streak during the middle of the season. Additionally, UIndy ended the regular season with a 7-3-2 conference record.

Photo by MaKenna Maschino

University of Indianapolis sophomore defender Pierre Lurot dribbles the ball up in the Greyhounds attacking third. Lurot claimed many honors at the end of the season as an All-Midwest Region player. Lurot played 1509 minutes throughout his entire fall season.

“We’re targeting guys that we think can drive us to that next step.”

UIndy Aspiring Educators Club hosts first Greyhound Winter Market, local businesses sell items

By Hannah Biedess STAFF WRITER

The Aspiring Educators club held the first Greyhound Market event in the University of Indianapolis Hall A in Schwitzer Student Center on Dec. 11, 2022, a fundraising event to bring the community together, according to Vice President of Aspiring Educators and junior elementary education major Cassandre Thrash. Local small businesses and students on campus were invited to set up a booth to sell their homemade products, Thrash said.

“We wanted something where we could reach out to the community because we spend a lot of time at local schools and are involved with

other teachers and parents and we wanted a way that we could bring the community together because that’s something as a group we strive for,” Thrash said.

Thrash said President of Aspiring Educators and junior elementary education major Grace Silcox came to her with a fundraising idea and Silcox was there to help. Silcox made sure the room was booked, the marketing aspect taken care of and was the go-to person if Thrash had any questions or concerns.

Silcox said this idea started in September 2022 with selling teacher appreciation gifts and then transformed into a market for Christmas gifts. She said the Greyhound Market was like a holiday bazaar and craft fair

with different booths, including a photo booth. In addition, Grady was invited, The Perk was open and a raffle was offered, Silcox said.

“It’s really just a place where you can go buy gifts for the holidays for friends, family, yourself [and] just promote local small businesses. We also have a lot of students on campus who have their own businesses that are selling their stuff,” Silcox said.

Thrash said there were some

booths that sold jewelry, clothing, candles, sweets and treats and handmade crocheted items. This is something they hope to continue in the future to help promote small businesses and the Aspiring Educators club, she said.

Senior elementary education major Haley Harper had a crochet booth at the market called Haley’s Creations. Harper said she started crocheting around seven or eight years old when her grandma taught her a few stitches. One day, she started crocheting again and is now selling her products at the market, she said.

Harper said she crocheted hats, scarves, blankets and headbands, as well as a baby bundle which includes a beanie, diaper cover, booties and a pacifier clip. Her mother-in-law

was also a part of her booth, and she made cricut items with wood and wine bottles.

“I was wanting to get people excited about wearing [and] having a handmade hat or beanie. And I have been wanting to do something like that but I haven’t had enough gumption to do it,” Harper said.

Silcox said that they hope this is something they can do annually and make it bigger and better as the years go on.

“I think it’s so important to get the community involved on campus, especially for the kids and families around here, [to] show them what a college campus is like and get them excited about coming to the college and going to college…,” Silcox said.

Positive thinking presentations

By Connor Mahoney SPORTS EDITOR

In the basement of the Schwitzer Student Center, senior business administration and management major Lainey Willis has been giving presentations on her honors project surrounding positive thinking and the Law of Attraction. Willis said she gained inspiration for this project from suggestions from others and she decided to go specifically into positive thinking.

“I was really interested in the whole concept of the Law of Attraction- so you think it and then it comes to you. And I wanted to do something with that, but I felt like that wasn't very academic, and there wasn't too much hard research on that,” Willis said. “… Whenever you think positively, you typically notice more good things around you and things like that. So I wanted to research how exactly you

create a positive mindset.”

Similarly, Willis said that with everything going on in the world today, she wanted to create an opportunity for others to have information about positive thinking. She hopes providing tools for listeners can help their own positive thinking, according to Willis. One of these tools is thinking of something positive and then putting it into action.

“I know that there's a lot of stuff out there about how beneficial positive thinking is, but I really wanted to give people the tools that they need to actually enact this stuff,” Willis said. “So one thing that I found that was really helpful is called learned optimism and learned helplessness and basically it's just [a] set [of] ways of thinking about certain events that can either be positive or negative.”

According to Willis, learned optimism and learned helplessness involves doing hobbies someone

enjoys to create a more sustainable, positive mindset. Executive Director of the Ron & Laura Strain

“This [the project] is Lainey’s [Willis] journey of self-discovery,” Williams said. “It's what she really wanted to spend her time learning more about, and you're not going to get it in a classroom setting.”

Williams said this is part of the first phase of Willis’ project and the final results are still yet to come. Willis plans on delivering her project and presentation in more places than just the University of Indianapolis.

or in their own ways to spread this message.”

Referencing an article by MindShift, a service from KQED News in California, Williams said the article stated that depression and anxiety are the main reported mental problems of college students. He said these mental problems are universal, so any tools he and others can bring to the table are welcome.

Honors College

“I'm actually going to be giving these presentations in local high schools and churches and community groups to further spread that message, and then, also, the end product of the project is that I'm going to create lesson plans for these events,” Willis said. “So it can either be for events like I've been doing on campus –that was the original goal – or they can be compacted into one or two events. And I'm going to publish these lesson plans so that other people can use them in their own classrooms

“[Stress and depression are] pretty uniform across all college campuses, that students really get stressed out about all the things that they have to juggle and they get really stressed out about how they perform on the work that they have to do,” Williams said. “From that standpoint, I think Lainey’s project has really identified an area where we need more support for students, and that is to help create for them a positive mindset so that they can overcome that distress that they feel in the classroom.”

Yoga for Service provides more than exercise

By Steven Pagel STAFF WRITER

This semester, opportunities for yoga have been provided to students, faculty and staff through Yoga for Service. Started and currently run by Assistant Professor Taylor Gurley, she first had the idea after teaching yoga in a kinesiology course for undergraduate students and said there was a lot of interest in yoga from faculty and staff.

Gurley said she wanted to find a way to instruct her yoga sessions while also giving back and avoiding not having to charge people to come to them. Through donations, people come to each yoga session and put forth a donation to a respective cause or theme during the month they are happening.

Administrative Assistant Franci Dilk, a repeat participant at yoga events throughout her time at UIndy, believes that Gurley offers yoga sessions that are different from ones in the past.

“I think Taylor [Gurley] in particular, I think she has a really

different approach than what we've been used to,” Dilk said. “She has a lot of variety in her class. She will always give modifications for someone new. If it's a pose that might be difficult, she's aware of that and she'll give modifications.”

While in the yoga sessions, students, staff and faculty follow the instructions Gurley gives, usually lasting around 45 minutes to an hour, according to Dilk.

“Taylor introduces herself, explains what the routine is going to be, and then really we just jump in,” Dilk said. “She does… basic stretching, and then we start moving into the poses and at the end, [we] do a little more stretching and then have a deep relaxation, where you’re literally just relaxing and

taking in the quiet time and just having a moment to yourself… Usually, people don't want to get out, they're so relaxed and they feel so refreshed, it's hard to get back to work.”

Gurley runs the sessions in the yoga room on the first floor of the Health Pavilion. She runs everything, creates and leads the workouts.

“I create the yoga flow for all different body types and ability levels,” Gurley said.

“We have all the materials, we have yoga mats, blankets, blocks, any props that they might need. They'll just be welcomed in and participate as they can. They can make their donation and that's about it.”

There have been two scheduled yoga sessions across this semester. The first yoga session held this semester held a donation towards the

Graphic by Breanna Emmett

UIndy Food Pantry, according to Gurley. She said she will try to make each Yoga for Service session next semester a theme relative to the month.

“So we had one event last month, and we made donations to the food [pantry],” Gurley said. “And then December is warm clothing donations, and then my plan is to do one each month next semester to a different organization.”

Dilk said there is no judgment during the sessions and they are a great place to begin for those who want to try yoga. Gurley said there is appeal for different areas of donation themes from people who have attended.

“I want to be able to appeal to a lot of different interest level[s],” Gurley said. “Some people feel strongly about animal care, so I'll be able to offer that. We'll be able to offer more for the homeless shelter. I'm going to actually talk to some of my students just to see if they know of specific organizations in the community that they really feel have a need. We just want to go where the need is.”

Graphic by Breanna Emmett

I think it's so important to get the community involved on campus..."

James Williams said this project has given an opportunity for Willis to research something on her own that she truly has an interest in.

WILLIS

Senior directs play “The Gods of Comedy”

Senior Kathryn Rohlfing directs, designs play about gods meddling with mortals as capstone

By Kassandra Darnell EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & CO-ONLINE EDITOR

Missing manuscripts, Greek gods congregating among mortals and lots of laughs could all be found at the production of “The Gods of Comedy” on Dec. 2 and 3 in the University of Indianapolis studio theater. Directed by senior theatre education major Kathryn Rohlfing as part of her senior capstone, the play followed the story of college professor Daphne as the god Dionysus and muse Thalia come to the mortal world to help her as she struggles with chasing success, according to the production’s program.

When preparing for her senior capstone, Kathryn Rohlfing read through about 30 plays before landing on this particular production, she said. Part of what led her to choose “The Gods of Comedy” was that she wanted to give her audience a good laugh because of all the hardships in

the world right now. And while the theatre department capstone allows plenty of flexibility, Kathryn Rohlfing said she had to meet plenty of requirements.

“Theater ed[ucation] has a very specific capstone. We have to direct a show and design most elements, but we can have other designers as well,” Kathryn Rohlfing said. “I actually had someone [from] the lighting design class do my lights and one of my actors did the sound. But we have to direct it, we have to design it, as well as we have to have a freshman stage manager so that we have to teach people just like we would in a high school.”

One of the major challenges with this production, according to Kathryn Rohlfing, was having to make schedules work around the other productions in the department throughout the semester because everybody had to be involved in those in some way. But her favorite part of the process was seeing all of her actors bring something new to

each rehearsal.

“Sometimes when you’re doing a comedy for a while, you just keep rehearsing it [and] it can get a little stale because you know it,” Kathryn Rohlfing said. “But my actors continued to try new things. They continued to make it fresh and that energy and that vibe that they brought into every rehearsal was always so amazing to see. And now that we added props, and now that we added everything together, seeing it all just come together has been a delight.”

Sophomore studio arts major Evan Rohlfing played three different characters in the play, including Aristide, Aleksi and Ares. He said he was very excited to play such comedic roles, but playing each of those characters was his biggest challenge because each of them is very different.

“I have played multiple roles before, but this one was very much kind of heavy in accents and sound, and very quick changes of costume,” Evan Rohlfing said.

Sophomore theatre major Zac

Schneider played Dionysus, one of the titular gods of comedy, as well as creating some of the lighting and sound design. Schneider said they enjoyed playing this character because they had the opportunity to try doing certain things differently in every rehearsal and performance. One of their personal highlights of the production was being involved with many different aspects of the play.

“Doing all these different elements, being one of the bigger characters, and then also balancing that with doing lights and sound,” Schneider said. “Also helping a bit with building some of the stuff, helping Katie [Kathryn Rohlfing] wherever she needed. And that’s kind of also been my biggest obstacle of trying to dictate my time of where we needed to have it…. Because, again, the show doesn’t stop.”

For sophomore psychology major Dailyn Marie Burke, who plays Thalia, this was her first time performing in the theater department. She got involved with the production because she enjoys Greek mythology. She said her favorite

part of the show was getting close with her cast mates, specifically Schneider.

“Thalia and Dionysus are best friends; they’re like family. And before starting this I didn’t know anybody here,” Burke said. “And I didn’t know Zach whatsoever. But when we started practicing more, we started getting friendly and we became best friends. And now we’re inseparable. So I feel like we’re actually Dionysus and Thalia, in person.”

And despite the obstacles with this production and all of the moving parts, Kathryn Rohlfing said she was most proud of how far the production has come since its inception at the start of the semester.

“From first rehearsal to even off-book night, to the night of the show—seeing how far this show has come, from where we started, and where the actors started and where everything started to now, I’m just most proud of them,” Kathryn Rohlfing said. “I’m most proud of the actors, our designers and everybody and what we’ve accomplished together.”

End of the semester ensemble concert

By Quinn Malcolm STAFF WRITER

On Nov. 30, the Crimson Express Ensemble held a concert at Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center in the Ruth Lily Performance Hall at the University of Indianapolis from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., according to UIndy 360.

According to the Director of the Crimson Express Ensemble Erin Benedict, the performance ensemble presents everyone with a broad range of opportunities which enable them to build diversity in genres and styles. Such ensembles additionally allow students to become acquainted with the canon linked with their respective specialties, according to UIndy’s website.

The ensemble not only consists

of 14 singers, but also a rehearsal pianist, Cordell Hankins, according to Benedict.

“…For our concert, we bring in a group of professional jazz musicians and professional players to play with us,” said Benedict.

According to Benedict, he gathers a handful of tracks that [the ensemble] can collaborate on, and they all can determine if they enjoy them together– which in most cases they do. She said she strives to discover things that students would never know, which is why she tries to incorporate many different songs into the concert.

“We [played] some 80’s, some jazz, and some Christmas [music]…,” said Benedict.

Junior music performance major Elizabeth Enderle is also one of the members of the Crimson Express

Ensemble. She said she believes the purpose of this concert was to show what the ensemble has been working on all semester.

“The purpose of this concert was to basically show what we’ve been working on all semester,” Enderle said. “It was a really great variety of music… I would say it’s our vocal jazz and contemporary music vocal ensemble here on campus… that can range anywhere from like 14 to 20 [people], just depending on semester. It’s one of the small ensembles here on campus.”

While preparing for the concert, the ensemble did not have the opportunity to rehearse with microphones until the day of the performance, according to Benedict.

“So that’s always… tricky to have a quick mic technique class… Then a dress rehearsal, and then the concert–

it’s all in one day. I do wish we had more time to practice in the concert hall, but that’s the name of the game,” said Benedict.

Enderle said it is challenging putting all the puzzle pieces together and it is consistently different from practicing in a choir room and then with the band.

Eventually, the Crimson Express Ensemble had to add things including microphones, sound and audio, which can also be challenging, according to Benedict.

The most memorable moment of the concert, according to Benedict, was opening with the song “Edge of Seventeen,” as well as closing the show with “Holding Out for a Hero.”

The opportunity to be a part of the ensemble lets students have the chance to perform solos of songs of their choice, according to Enderle.

“All of the singers have an opportunity for solos at every concert… They can [also] do [a] duet. I really give them a lot of flexibility [with] the music that we’re going to do, because I want them to love it, too,” said Benedict.

According to Enderle, certain aspects of being in a choir ensemble is what makes being a part of the Crimson Express Ensemble so special to her.

“We get to sing and interact with each [other]…” Enderle said. “…I think that’s what makes Crimson [Express] special to me is that we just get to share so many different types of music that we love and do it in a way that really showcases everybody in the group too [where] everybody in the group can have their moment, their opportunity, and then together we can just do something so cool.”

UIndy African Drum Ensemble

African diaspora, African traditions and how to perform cultural music.

“African people went all over the world, and so we get music from those places, too. Like, we [play] Brazilian music, and we [play] Cuban music this semester, along with two African pieces. Part of what [students] are learning when they come in there is a cultural thing and how the music relates,” Reiner said.

According to the Center for Washington Cultural Traditions, the drum is a significant part of African culture and communication. The CWCT claims that instruments such as drums, shakers, bells and rain-sticks have been used for centuries in West African drumming.

By Grace Lichty STAFF WRITER

The ensemble is led by Arthur “Art” Reiner, Director of the African Drum Ensemble and percussion instructor at UIndy. Reiner said he has been teaching the African Drum Ensemble course since 1992. In the course, according to Reiner, students learn about the

“So we’re doing a piece [for the performance] called Funga Alafia, and it’s Nigerian folkloric, and it just means ‘welcome and peace be upon you,’ and they learn about call and response,” Reiner said. “That’s where either one drum plays something and then the other group of drums responds, or the leader says something and then the chorus responds.”

According to Reiner, students do not need to have any prior experience or knowledge of music to join the

African Drum Ensemble class. Reiner said the class differs from a traditional ensemble because the class works in a traditional African way. He said that the class consists of a master drummer that passes the traditional music down to the less-experienced.

Reiner said that everyone who takes the class gets to try out every instrument and take on different roles in different songs. According to Reiner, the students prepare for their semester performance throughout the duration of their time in the course.

“[During] the first few classes, kids start to learn about the drums– what drums go with what kind of music– and then they learn how to strike them. Then we learn how to start and stop together and get loud and soft,” Reiner said.

“Then we learn rhythm patterns that are repeated until they can play them, and then we put them all together and

each of those rhythm patterns is part of whatever the main groove is.”

When preparing for the performance, Reiner said it went very smoothly since the COVID-19 pandemic has settled down. The students were able to rehearse easily and there were no major complications, according to Reiner. The only struggle, Reiner said, was that the ensemble had many more students in years past, but his classes are much smaller now, which has caused some strain on the program. Reiner said he believes the class is great for students to take if they need an art credit.

“In a lot of cases, this is the first chance– and maybe the only time–they’ll get in front of people, and some people are really shy about it and that’s another thing that’s good about the class is as people learn, they start getting more into it. …where at first they were more shy about it, or thinking that they couldn’t do it or that they couldn’t remember the pattern,” Reiner said. “After a while, they start figuring out that they’re better at it than they thought. By the end of the semester, everybody’s feeling okay about what they’re supposed to do, so that’s another kind of experience that leaves a mark.”

Photo by Kassandra Darnell Schneider and Burke unroll a large banner stating that they are the gods of comedy after meeting the play’s main character Daphne. After accidentally losing an ancient manuscript, Daphne called upon the gods for help.

Photo by Kassandra Darnell

Sophomore psychology major Dailyn Marie Burke and sophomore theatre major Zac Schneider play the muse Thalia and the god Dionysus, whom have just received a decree from Zeus to assist a mortal pursuing success.

Photo by MaKenna Maschino

Two members of the University of Indianapolis African Drum Ensemble play a rhythm pattern on the drums. One of the pieces played at the concert was called “Funga Alafia.”

...We [play] Brazilian music and we [play] Cuban music this semester...”

On Dec. 7, Ruth Lilly Performance Hall welcomed the University of Indianapolis African Drum Ensemble.

Nursing program accredited 57 years ago

Taking a look back at history of UIndy nursing program, its curriculum, technology advancement

By Anika Yoder EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

The University of Indianapolis’ Associate’s Nursing Program was the first to have received accreditation in the state of Indiana, as well as fourth in the nation. The last class graduated from UIndy from the program was around 2015, according to Dean of the School of Nursing Norma Hall, but since then the department has added the Bachelor in Nursing program. The accreditation for the nursing program, Hall said, is a national certification from those who provide services to the school, as well as clinical organizations that provide placement for students to learn outside of UIndy.

The nursing program was first accredited in 1965 by the National League of Nursing, according to the Dec. 15, 1965 issue of The Reflector. Since then, the School of Nursing’s bachelor’s and master's degree programs have been accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, as well as the department’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program and post-graduate Advanced Practice Registered Nurse certificate programs, according to the UIndy School of Nursing’s website.

“We have to submit things like our entire course curriculum with all of our courses. We submit things like how we evaluate students, how we evaluate faculty, how we obtain resources, how we use resources and how we communicate with other members in the community,” Hall said.

Throughout the history of the nursing program, there have been many technological advancements and one of those advancements, according to Hall, has been simulations. In nursing, simulations are artificial imitations made to replace real patients with virtual standardized patients or technologies and methods capable of reproducing actual clinical scenarios for therapeutic and educational purposes, according to

the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Hall said simulations were initiated into the curriculum in the early 2000s to simulate more invasive procedures that students might not be comfortable with performing on a real-life person for the first time.

“We have mannequins that do fullscale assessments; you can literally listen to heart [and] lung sounds. Some of them are really high tech that will even do things like pupillary changes. We have a bit; we have a mannequin that will deliver a baby,” Hall said. “So you're able to go in and really pretend to provide care or actually provide care in a situation where you can have practice in a safe environment. So, over the years, we've added up to about 25% of simulation into our curriculum.”

Associate Professor for the School of Nursing and alumnus of UIndy Jane

Evolution of grad programs

By Lauren Erickson ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

On Dec. 15, 1965 The Reflector announced to the Indiana Central College (now the University of Indianapolis) student population that a new graduate division would soon be underway. This new program was mainly added to the university for professors because in 1965, a new regulation in Indiana required that professors must begin their study for a master’s degree within five years of beginning their teaching career.

Due to this regulation, according to Admissions Counselor for the School of Nursing Brandon Doty, UIndy is one of few schools that takes certain steps to ensure that professors have the opportunity to earn their master’s degree.

“Something that is unique to UIndy, there are other universities that do that too, where employees can take advantage of graduate work…” Doty said. “[But] HR says after two years [of working for UIndy], you can then work on a master's [degree] and it's free.”

In July of 2016, Program Advisor for the College of Applied Behavioral Sciences Cecilia van Wijk said she was hired because UIndy had opened its new Master of Social Work program. Since then, she has been able to watch the program grow.

“…Starting with the Master of Social Work program with a new program that was really exciting to see that develop,” van Wijk said. “[UIndy] had already created [the program] prior to me starting and then just to see it grow, and learn about the different accreditation processes for our programs—that our programs are license-eligible.”

Although UIndy was able to open up new graduate programs, some previously offered programs are no longer available to take.

“[The School of Nursing] used to have a master's degree in midwifery,” Doty said. “We no longer have that. We didn't have students registered in the program because there just [weren't] enough students [registering for it].”

According to van Wijk, some UIndy graduate programs, such as the Gerontology Department, already offered some online classes prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Doty said it was COVID-19 that made certain graduate programs switch to online and hybrid classes. Even after the lockdown, [online programs] helped the School of Nursing realize that they could offer their Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing online as well as in-person.

“…That whole year where we had to be [at] home and online learning, it basically forced everybody to reexamine how we deliver classes,” Doty said. “…We can do quality teaching online if there are other things that are provided for [students].”

Due to the nature of certain graduate programs, they cannot be offered fully online, but van Wijk said that having certain online elements for the programs has helped them become more flexible.

“…Having interview days virtual has been really awesome because we can have interviews with students who otherwise maybe wouldn't be able to get to campus when we used to have them only in-person,” van Wijk said.

In regard to the future of graduate programs, both Doty and van Wijk hope that the graduate programs continue to grow, improve and strengthen as time goes on.

Toon said the nursing program has been very active in interprofessional activities through partnering with the other health care professions on campus for other learning activities, such as simulations.

According to Toon, over the years, the School of Nursing has moved from Lilly Science Hall, where the program originated, and then to Martin Hall which was built in the 1990s.The addition of the Health Pavilion in 2015 put all the health professions in one building.

“One of the purposes was not only space [but] that interprofessional collaboration,” Toon said. “So that allowed us to build upon that and we've done a lot with interprofessional collaboration and education with those various health professions over that time. So that's been a real asset to the nursing program.”

According to Toon, with the

healthcare field changing, the nursing program also has new curriculum, which focuses on transitional care, looking at how the patients transition within the various settings in healthcare. Toon said in the program’s 60-year-history, UIndy has maintained leadership in its community, and has prepared students to be well-rounded.The combination of the accreditation requirements, as well as the UIndy Liberal Arts Foundation, prepared nurses over the years to be effective in the nursing practice, Toon said.

“We have a great reputation in our community, Indianapolis and surrounding areas,” Toon said. “Our practice partners really recognize the quality of our program and want to hire our graduates. They recognize them as being professional and well-prepared.”

According to Hall, the technological advancements made throughout the

years in the field of nursing have allowed for the department to stay on the cutting-edge and look to where the field of nursing is going to go. Because of those advancements, the UIndy nursing program became the first in the nation to have a specialty minor in an undergraduate program. The minor was in primary and ambulatory care, Hall said. The addition of the minor was a result of hospitals’ expanding provision of care for outpatients, which means more nurses are needed to be in outpatient areas.

“We wanted to prepare nurses to work not just in the acute care setting, which is where we professionally teach nurses to work in hospital settings, but also to work where the jobs are going to be, which is going to be outside of the hospital as that area of healthcare continues to grow,” Hall said.

In honor of The Reflector's 100 year anniversary, each issue this year has one page dedicated to looking back on past front pages and the history within them. This issue features the front page from Dec. 15, 1965.

Photo by Kalenga Juma

Assistant Professor of Nursing Laura Darnell instructs a senior nursing student during the charge nurse delegation simulation. The simulations are a requirement for seniors.

Photo by Kalenga Juma

Two students participate in the charge nurse delegation simulation, with one student pretending to be a patient. Simulations help students learn how to best handle patients.

...Both Doty and van Wijk hope that the programs continue to grow...