March 9, 2022 | The Reflector

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VOL.

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I S S UE 9

MARCH 9, 2022

Eli Lilly COVID treatment By Jacob Walton EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorization for a combination of Bamlanivimab and Etesevimab, a new prophylaxis drug for COVID-19 developed by Eli Lilly & Co, on Feb. 11, according to the FDA website. This drug, known as a monoclonal antibody treatment, is an alternate treatment for COVID-19, and while not being the first of its kind, it is one of the first that is resistant to its variants, such as Delta and Omicron, Assistant Professor of Public Health Kara Cecil said. According to the drugs fact sheet, the pairing of the drugs can work as a treatment for mild symptoms, as well as post-exposure prophylaxis, or treatment, for those that are either not fully vaccinated, immunocompromised or otherwise at high-risk from COVID-19. Cecil said that one of the most important things that come into play when addressing if you should take the Eli Lilly-produced drug is your risk factors and making sure you understand those. “In terms of chronic diseases, that will impact a lot of this audience. Heart disease is going to be rather low in this audience, but obesity and smoking

behaviors is the other thing, and those Cecil said that drugs like this are are modifiable health behaviors,” Cecil helpful in moving away from COVID-19 said. “So if someone is concerned about infection resulting in hospitalization. their risk for severe disease, of any shape The goal is not to decline the number or form, COVID[-19] or otherwise, of cases, she said, but rather to focus on those are modifiable health behaviors. So making the disease less severe and more there's something you can do about that controlled, similar to influenza and the to decrease your risk of severe disease.” common cold. The drug is still going through “That's really the measure we want to trials as of Reflector press time, and be looking at when we're looking at the the fact sheet states that there is still burden of disease. We never want to get limited information about the safety or to zero colds; I mean zero colds would effectiveness of the drug pairing. Cecil be great, but it's not going to happen. said the emergency It's just not realistic. use authorization But we don't want process is a lengthy colds killing people one and goes and putting them ... there's something through several in the hospital. you can do about that to steps before being It's the same thing given approval. happening here,” decrease your risk ..." “If the testing Cecil said. “. . . But of the new drug is the benefit of having consistently looking these medications positive . . . and there’s a significant benefit [is] to provide to someone post-exposure to getting that drug to market, they can who was also high-risk….So if I have a issue an emergency use authorization,” COVID[-19] exposure having no other Cecil said. “And that is a temporary risk factors, my concerns are minimal authorization to use that drug while they …. So we want to prevent those highcontinue those studies until it does or risk individuals from developing severe does not receive final approval. Now, if the diseases. That's the goal of these.” data were to come back in a surprising way Cecil said the best way to see how that it would be causing more harm, or effective drugs like Bamlanivimab and it wasn't having the efficacy that initially Etesevimab will be is to look at the showed, it would be pulled.” past behaviors of disease and use those

as predictors. Prior to the development of these drugs, they had monoclonal antibodies which she said is similar to sharing immunity from one person to another. Cecil said these pills are using a similar science but with a lower barrier to entry as monoclonal antibodies, which have to be injected intravenously (IV), compared to the pills seen with Bamlanivimab and Etesevimab. She said the lower supply of monoclonal antibodies paired with the cost makes these new drugs much more valuable. “One, it takes fewer medical resources between the monoclonal antibodies and the pills; you can take it home,” Cecil said. “And two, people have genuine phobias of needles, and that comes in all shapes and sizes, and so that would include intravenous transfusion of antibodies. People will avoid getting that or put off getting that because they just simply don't want to have a needle stuck on their arm—they don't want to have an IV.” The difference between these treatments and the vaccines that have been rolled out is the difference between active and passive immunization, Cecil said. The vaccines provide your body with the map for fighting the disease, but these pills are helping fight the virus before it becomes more severe within the body, she said.

Traffic stop training for students UIndy police department expands its workshop availability for all students By Hallie Gallinat FEATURE EDITOR

In an email sent out on Feb. 16 by Vice President for Student and Campus Affairs and Dean of Students Kory Vitangeli, the University of Indianapolis will start holding traffic stop training beginning in March. Sgt. Dallas Gaines Jr. said these traffic stop training sessions discuss what happens during a traffic stop, or when someone is pulled over. The training began on March 3 and will continue through the month of April, according to the email. Workshop instructor Lt. Brandon Pate said that this training was originally taken by criminal justice students, where they would go through traffic stop scenarios. However, he said he spoke with Vice President and Chief Inclusion and Equity Officer Amber Smith about expanding the workshop. “… We had talked about, ‘Is there something that you can do to bring more students in that have questions about traffic stops and how they should go?’” Pate said. “And the more you see in the media traffic stops going bad, the more it raises questions about, ‘What should we do? What is legal, what's okay? What can we ask?’ So just kind of a natural progression from something we were already kind of doing with a certain group to something that we can do with everybody.” The training begins with laying out one of a couple different pre-built scenarios, Pate said, and they will go through the scenario and follow it with a debriefing. After this portion, people will have the opportunity to ask questions. “It's a chance for students to look at an officer directly and say, 'Hey, why are there four cars on a traffic stop sometimes?' Or 'Why does it seem like there's always one officer standing there watching the car while the other one's talking to somebody?’” Pate said. “Or 'Do I have to

Photo Contributed by Brandon Pate

University of Indianapolis police officers simulate a typical traffic stop with criminal justice students. The police department had been conducting this workshop with criminal justice majors in the past, but have decided to make the program to all students on campus.

get out of the car? Does the passenger have to show their ID?' So it's a chance for students to interact, ask us those questions that they've been wondering, or maybe some of the questions that they've heard of a bad scenario, and they want to ask, 'Hey, how can we prevent that from happening?' Or 'Why did it go that way?' And it's just for us to get together and talk it out.” The training features a relaxed environment, Pate said, and while each training session features the same content, each session is designed to have a different group attending. While these groups are invited to come, they are open to anyone, Pate said. “The first one is Greyhound Village, [University] Lofts and College Crossing. That's who we're inviting to that,” Pate said. “Then we have northside residence halls, southside, RSOs [Registered Student Organizations], commuters and then some of the equity and inclusion groups. So it'll be the same kind of structured scenario that will lead up to open conversation.” Gaines said attendees can expect to learn how to conduct themselves at a traffic stop. He said that the traffic stop training sessions feature a low-stress

environment and gives police officers a chance to engage with students. “… It's kind of giving the perspective from being in a traffic stop from the officer's view and what we would like to see and what we're kind of looking for, and the person that's being stopped, what they see and what they should do during a traffic stop,” Gaines said. “But it's a controlled environment; it's safe. It takes the whole stress level out, and it's kind of a learning tool between the community and the police department where we can have a Q and A session afterwards where they can ask us questions where you typically wouldn't be able to ask when you're on a traffic stop.” Pate said the traffic stop training not only gives opportunities for community interactions, but it can also help make attendees less nervous when getting pulled over. He said that being anxious during a traffic stop can factor into someone’s reaction and an officer can notice this reaction. “If we can kind of bridge some of that unknown, maybe on a traffic stop we won't be as nervous. We won't be as worried,” Pate said. “It's important to know what your rights are on a traffic

stop. It's important to know what you can and can't do. I think the biggest thing you can take away is just a little more comfortability. Learn the agency, learn the officers and know your rights.” Gaines said this training can create a plan in attendees’ minds for what happens if they get pulled over. He said that for young drivers, this experience can be traumatizing, so he believes people should attend for the experience and knowledge. “Sometimes people react differently when they're nervous or when they're scared, but if you have a plan ahead of time, it kind of eases that tension,” Gaines said. “When officers train, and you train for the unexpected or you train for different scenarios and stuff like that, if it's nothing brand new, then you have some framework and some groundwork to kind of work from. But I think everybody should go through something like this too.” The next traffic stop training will take place on April 6 from 12 p.m. - 2 p.m. at the University Police Department, according to Vitangeli’s email. Attendees will meet at noon in the parking lot or inside in the case of bad weather, Pate said.

reflector.uindy.edu

Update to mask and capacity policies By Kiara Conley ONLINE EDITOR

The University of Indianapolis has updated their COVID-19 mask and space capacity policies, with university spaces being allowed at full capacity and masks will be optional on campus except for classrooms, labs, instructional areas and close contact areas, according to an email sent by University President Robert Manuel on March 2. These changes were implemented following a meeting of the COVID-19 Task Force and considering the recently updated recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released on Feb. 25. Masks: • Masks will be optional for all locations on campus excluding: classrooms, labs and instructional areas. • Areas that are considered close contact environments, such as COVID-19 testing areas, the counseling center and health center, will still require masks. • Occupants of private offices will be allowed to choose if visitors must be masked or unmasked. • Manuel said in the email, “While many people feel safe removing their masks in public settings, please recognize that there are others who may not have reached that same level of comfort, for a variety of reasons. I ask that you be respectful of them and their decision to remain masked.” Capacity: • UIndy will operate at full capacity, excluding classrooms, labs and other instructional areas. These areas are excluded so as to not disturb current class schedules. • If infection rates do not increase, those areas will move to full capacity by semester’s end. Vaccinations: • The current vaccination policy will remain in place. Manuel said that recommendations from the CDC, other public health officials and state legislation will be monitored if changes need to be made in the future. • The current policy is that those with on campus activities must be fully vaccinated with a booster or provide eligible exemptions. The campus community is still urged to stay home if they are feeling ill and to seek out testing when they feel unwell to know if it is COVID-19, according to Manuel’s email. Testing will still be provided on campus and those with vaccination exemptions are still to test weekly to follow the current vaccination policy. Manuel said that the impact of COVID-19 on UIndy’s community will continue to be monitored and the policies will be adjusted as needed.


OPINION

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Sexism within fan culture THE REFLECTOR

MARCH 9, 2022

Misogyny-laced comments and actions in fan culture can drive people away from their interests By Kiara Conley

Differing interests, whether it be a passion for sports or having an incredible interest in a band, is what creates an incredibly diverse society that allows us to share the interests we have and expose others to mediums they may not be familiar with. However, there is almost a “danger” in sharing what you are interested in as you can be exposed to like-shaming or ridicule from others unprompted, simply for the fandom you are in, according to an article from The Reflector in 2018. Unfortunately, this has evolved into a sexist form of bullying, mainly aimed at women or anyone who isn’t a cisgender male for showing passion in an interest. The glaring misogyny that has always been in fandom has continued to make itself known and some are choosing to take pride in it. New York University’s Applied Psychology Opus explains that fan-based communities are built on people trying to connect with one another, but there seems to be a divide between genders. According to the article, women are typically in marginalized groups, while men are in groups deemed “socially acceptable.” Socially acceptable, i.e. knowing everything there is to know about an athlete and/or sports team, but knowing the same information about an actor or singer is seen as obsessive. It’s confusing that knowing the background of an athlete, such as their high school, college, average statistics in their sport and their journey to where they are today is normal and makes you a better fan, but knowing a personal story about my favorite musician seems a little too intrusive. As I have gotten older, I have decided to care less about how people view my interests and have at least tried to allow myself to talk openly and passionately about the music I like, the hobbies I have, things of that nature. Unfortunately, there have been instances where I have felt incredibly judged for doing so. Sharing the music I like has been something I have always liked to do, but there have been times where I have gotten worried about admitting liking a certain genre of music or group because I may be seen as an obsessive fangirl. I vaguely remember the looks and some of the comments my male classmates in middle school made to me and other female classmates because we were celebrating a member of One Direction’s birthday. I remember getting asked why a lot of us were wearing blue and wrote “Nialler” on our wrists for Niall Horan’s birthday, but they never got asked why they were wearing a jersey

and talking about Peyton Manning every time the Colts had a game. At the time, I didn’t really understand why my interests were odd or questionable, but theirs were normal. Even now, I get nervous about getting those same comments because I have had the K-pop group ATEEZ or one of their members as my lock screen on my phone. So I will either change it to a default background or lower the brightness because I don’t want to experience that type of judgment again. It’s not because I am ashamed to be an Atiny (ATEEZ’s fan name)—I am incredibly proud of it. It’s being considered a weird, obsessive fangirl for having a group that I enjoy as my wallpaper when most people have their phone’s wallpaper as something that brings them joy. In several TikToks I have seen recently, there has been a discussion about how women are seen as obsessive and made fun of for when they openly talk about boy bands for example, but men can paint their entire bodies and scream at the top of their lungs at a football game and no one thinks twice about it. Another video pointed out the irony of getting made fun of as a girl in school for liking One Direction and then saying those same boys have grown up and are now making a huge dedication post to Tom Brady because he retired. This is not to say every man who enjoys sports does this or liking sports is the issue. The issue is the sexism-laced comments

made to people in fandoms, with a lot of that stemming from that community. I, for one, enjoy sports, but I also run into the problem of usually men gatekeeping their team from me because I don’t know everything that Devin Booker has done or his field goal average since leaving the University of Kentucky, which is a whole other issue. Gatekeeping and misogyny go handin-hand with fandoms and it can and will drive people out of them. I become nervous when I get asked about the stickers on my laptop for two reasons: one, I am terrified of being judged because some of them are anime or music related and two, being quizzed on how much I know about the anime, manga and/or character of those series or the artists. With portrayals of it in the media, seeing comments about it online and even seeing female friends of mine being quizzed on how much they know about a show or game, makes me fear when people, unfortunately most of the time those people being men, approach me about them. While I do enjoy the franchises I choose to display on my laptop, it does not mean I need to prove to a stranger, or even someone I know, my knowledge of that series. It’s like videos that circulate of women saying they have been harassed about the knowledge of a band T-shirt they wore just because they named a popular song instead of a B-side (songs that aren’t singles on albums). In high school, I would second guess wearing

the Green Day hoodie I owned for fear that I would be tested on if I knew their discography or not. In a video posted in 2017 from Sarah Hawkinson, she said what comments she has received as a female wearing a band T-shirt, like being called a “poser” or being asked if she “really listens to these bands.” She shares a story of being stopped in a parking lot by a man asking, “Your favorite Slipknot song is … ?” which seems harmless, but it is the intent of which a question like this is asked. Typically, it’s being done as a test to see if you really know the band or not, or know anything about the team’s jersey you’re wearing and frankly, that is not anyone’s business, if that is their intent. More often than not, these types of quizzes are aimed towards women, while if a man sees another man wear a band T-shirt or a jersey, it is a genuine question. However, I have experienced incredibly pleasant interaction regarding the stickers on my laptop and several male classmates who have genuinely asked me about the anime those stickers are from and what I thought of the most recent season or even if they should watch it if they haven’t. The intent of the question is what matters and what the person behind the question’s motives are and if they are trying to get a rise out of the other person. Still within the realm of fandoms, but also a hobby I have, is the role-playing game (RPG) of Dungeons & Dragons (D & D) and the experiences I have had

with playing a character seen as, for lack of a better word, useless. Questions I have been asked as a woman who plays D & D are usually genuine, but I have had an experience where I was almost being put down for the character I built and not choosing a different class. In D & D, you will build a character either on your own, with the help of your Dungeon Master (DM) or as I did, a bit of both because I entered the campaign later on, so I asked the party what type of character they needed to balance the party. I was asked to make a character better suited to roleplay/character interactions instead of a combat-heavy character, like most of my party already was. I had been playing for a few months at that point when I got asked by a male classmate about the campaign and my character. I explained that I was a rogue (which are not really used combatively at lower levels) and I got interrupted by him telling me that he had heard how my party probably sees me as a less than useful character, at least when it comes to combat, which is not what our campaign is centered around. I told my party this later and I contemplated quitting so I wouldn’t hinder their experience. I found out from them that they saw me as very useful and that I should not be driven away from something I enjoy because of one person’s comment. I am playing a strong female character who’s intelligence and quick thinking, accompanied by her physical strength, is necessary. Fandoms are imperfect because the people in and outside of them are. Allowing snide comments,especially those with sexist undertones, is unacceptable regardless of their gender identity. If a man knows every team Michael Jordan played for, his game statistics for his entire career as a Chicago Bull and his birthday, that is the equivalent to a woman knowing every word to Harry Styles’solo work and his work with One Direction, the awards he’s won and his birthday. Different fandoms have different aspects to them because basketball and music are not the same thing, but having the same knowledge of people is the same. A male fan screaming at the top of his lungs and decking himself out in all blue and white body paint to watch the Duke University Blue Devils play a game is the equivalent to a female Atiny dressing as Halateez for an ATEEZ concert. The passion a person expresses for a fandom is not mutually exclusive to what fandom they are in. Obsessive fan culture is not a feminine-exclusive thing. Just being a fan of something does not make an obsessed fan and basing that on their gender identity is incredibly problematic and misogynistic and should never be tolerated, ever.

As the second full academic year plagued by COVID-19 comes closer to an end, those who are going to be graduating in May have reflected on how certain university requirements have changed as a result of the pandemic. One of the major changes has been to Lecture and Performance (L/P) credits, a graduation requirement where students must attend 20 events approved as L/P credits, which had to adjust to a primarily virtual format. With the change to virtual events, the university has been holding fewer events than before the pandemic, giving students fewer opportunities to fulfill their L/P credits. A huge downside to this is that the amount of required credits to graduate has not changed to reflect this decrease. Students who began their degrees at the start of COVID-19 in an almost completely online format have been facing the brunt of this because there have been fewer events over the past two years. In addition to hosting fewer events, a majority of these are held virtually, with not as many opportunities

to attend in-person events. While some of these are held in a webinar format, there are some requiring students to have their cameras on, making it feel as if they are being monitored during Zoom meetings they are required to attend.This format also contributes to Zoom fatigue from sitting in several online meetings. Overall, this mostly online set-up makes it difficult for students to remain attentive during these events because it is not as engaging as actually going and attending an event in person. Another problem that has resulted from the pandemic is that the university does not promote L/P events as efficiently as it used to. When students receive emails adver tising L/P events, it is typically only a few days in advance. Occasionally, some events aren’t advertised at all, except for posters seen around campus. This makes it difficult for students to plan L/P events into their schedules. And while there is an L/P calendar on my.uindy.edu, there is no way for students to register for events through

that webpage. Additionally, some events are held in the morning or early afternoon when most students have classes, contributing to scheduling issues. Certain events, like the theatre performances, also take several hours out of students’ days only to fulfill a single L/P credit.This adds to difficulties meeting the 20 event requirement for graduation. Similarly, a decrease in the amount of events and overall scheduling conflicts makes it a hassle for commuter students. Some commuters do not live close enough to campus to warrant driving all the way back to attend in-person L/P events, and with the commuter lounge in Schwitzer Student Center being replaced by the new gym, there are few places on campus for these students to stay while waiting to go to events. There is also a general lack of information about the L/P requirement. Freshmen are told very little about how L/P events work when they get here, putting them at a disadvantage from the beginning. Advisors don’t properly

explain the purpose of this requirement or how registering for the half-credit class affects whether or not L/Ps are counted toward graduation. Students are also often not told how to check how many L/P credits they have fulfilled on my.uindy.edu.. A lot of these credits also sit at a pending status for an extended period, leaving students anxious as to whether or not these credits will be counted. The Reflector staff has determined that in light of these issues, the best course of action would be for the university to amend the guidelines surrounding L/P events. In regard to COVID-19 making it difficult to host and attend more events currently, the requirement should be changed from 20 to 10 to ensure that students feel they are able to fulfill their credit, and longer events should also be considered worth two credits instead of one to account for the time students have to spend attending, similar to the credit hour system used for classes. These events should also be held at times that, more often than

not, do not heavily interfere with class times. Freshmen should be properly taught about how L/P requirements work and how heavily they can affect their ability to graduate. It should also be easier to check how many credits have been earned, potentially by creating a portal in the UIndy app for quick access. Both of these changes would make sure that students are fully aware of how L/P credits operate and whether or not they are meeting their requirements. Additionally, to avoid overall Zoom fatigue, L/P credits should be more balanced between online and in-person now that fewer classes are virtual. The events should cover more topics in order to hold the interest of all students and should be interactive when possible to ensure students pay attention and feel engaged when attending. These can help students to feel more attentive at these events, which creates more incentive for them to go and fulfill these credits. If L/P credits are vital for graduation, the university should ensure students can meet the requirement.

ONLINE EDITOR

Graphic by Jazlyn Gomez

Staff editorial: L/P needs alteration


NEWS

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THE REFLECTOR

MARCH 9, 2022

18 Collective discusses Black art By Anika Yoder

Photo Contributed by Sarah Denney

The members of the Eighteen Art Collective and Assisstant Professor of Secondary Education Sarah Denney pose for a picture during their discussion panel on Feb. 23 in UIndy Hall A. The artists spoke about how each of them became contributers in the collective.

Photo by Anika Yoder

Eight members of the Eighteen Art Collective pose for a picture after their discussion panel. The group discussed the importance of Black culture within art, as well as their own artistic endeavors in Indianapolis, including the Black Lives Matter mural on Indiana Ave.

came together to paint a Black Lives Matter mural on Indiana Avenue in EDITORIAL ASSISTANT downtown Indianapolis, and f rom there joined forces to infuse art into The University of Indianapolis’ the community and facilitate different Education Department sponsored a workshops with children and adults to discussion panel on Feb. 23 with the bring more art and art awareness to the Eighteen Art Collective, a group of community. The collective painted the 18 Black visual artists from around mural in August of 2020, where it stayed the Indianapolis Metropolitan area. for 15 months until construction began on Assistant Professor of Secondary the avenue, according to the Indianapolis Education and one of the course Star. Craig said the collective’s mission instructors for Education 290: Teaching is to present art to the public and get and Learning in a Diverse Society feedback as well as discuss their art Sarah Denney said she reached out to to begin conversations surrounding the collective in the fall to ask if they art with like-minded individuals. would be interested in speaking at the “We want to make sure that we're university as part of the course not only putting pretty pieces up on for students to engage in cultural the walls, but we are putting thoughts experiences. out there and getting feedback from Denney said the idea to reach out to people . . . ,” Craig said. “Whenever we the collective came from when she was get an opportunity to talk, we take it at the University of South Florida, where because you never know who you're she did her doctoral gonna meet. You work and worked never know what with contemporary connections you're We want to make sure that going to make and artists to create lessons for social we want everyone we're not only putting studies classrooms. to know our pretty pieces up..." Exposing the message.” students in her The collective course to the began a young experience of living and working as artists program for students in sixth a Black artist in Indianapolis with through eighth grade, Craig said. The the UIndy campus as the setting was program consists of nine students who part of exploring a different culture expressed an interest in wanting to and experiencing something different, explore the arts as a career field and Denney said. provides opportunities for kids to engage “Part of the course is asking in studio art visits, gallery visits, selfour students to experience cultural reflection workshops, learning about the experiences that they would not community and communicating how normally participate in,” Denney said. to be an entrepreneur, according to “Part of that could be going to an art Craig. exhibit, a new show, exploring a different “All the things about being a culture that's different from your home full-time artist is what we're wanting culture.” to teach them so that they get an idea According to the Eighteen Collective’s of what a typical career looks like; website, the group is a collective of 18 so that they know if they want to like-minded and civically engaged actually do that. We didn't have Black visual artists in and around that opportunity when we were the Indianapolis Metropolitan area. children,” Craig said. “So we're putting Visual artist and President of the 18 mentors in front of them so that they Collective Deonna Craig said the group can make an educated decision.”

Annual writing contests for prizes

English writing competitions across genres offer students opportunity to a win variety of prizes By Lindsey Wormuth EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Each academic year, the Department of English hosts creative writing award opportunities that allow students to enter their work into different genres of writing sections. Each contest has a set of guidelines that must be followed in order to enter the contest. Major John J. Dillion First-Year Composition Essay, Literary Essay, Ferlini Nonfiction Essay, Lucy Monro Brooker Poetry Prize: Sarah A. Chavez, Fiction Prize and the Pr o f e s s i o n a l Wr i t i n g Pr i z e are all open to any student who would like to enter their work, while the Udo Natterman Award is only open to graduate students. The deadline to enter these contests was March 4, according to Associate Professor of English Karen Newman. Newman said she will be announcing the winners of the prizes at the awards ceremony in April. She said all of the awards are open to anyone who wishes to enter the contest and most of these awards are won by students who are majoring in the fields of creative or professional writing, but anyone can enter the contest, and each award can differ depending on the contest entered. “The awards themselves, some of them are cash prizes, and some of them come in the form of tuition reimbursement. The awards essentially have been established either by alumni or faculty,” Newman said. Sophomore and professional writing major Emma Knaack entered two of the contests with writing pieces from classes she was taking. She said she was the winner of the Professional Writing

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contest and placed second for the Ferlini Nonfiction essay prize. “For the professional writing prize, I was actually recommended by my teacher [to enter] after we completed the essay. She was like, ‘Hey, everyone should submit their essays for this professional writing prize,’ so I was like, ‘I'll go ahead and do it,’” Knaack said. Knaack said her major was undecided but had considered an English major until she won the contest, which helped her solidify that English was the best fit for her. She said she plans on entering the contest this semester as well. “I plan on entering for the ones this year; I haven't entered yet because I just want to finalize what all I'm entering, but I plan on doing the literary essay prize, the poetry prize, the fiction prize and then the professional writing prize,” Knaack said. Newman said each contest is judged by an outside individual, which is known as a blind review where names are not attached, ensuring faculty would not be allowed to give prizes to favorite students. “I think many, many students as they become writers, there's a little bit of an intimidation factor of, ‘Is my writing good enough? How can I improve?’” Newman said. “I would certainly encourage any student to apply for this. Because sometimes, not always, sometimes you may get feedback on the piece.” Knaack said one thing learned from the Department of English is that people are going to have so many different opinions about your pieces, and writing is just such a subjective number, which will be verified. Letters are subject to condensation and editing to remove profanity. Submission of a letter gives The Reflector permission to publish it in print or online. All submissions become the property of The Reflector in perpetuity. Advertisers: The Reflector welcomes advertisers both on and off campus. Advertising rates vary according to the patron’s specifications. For advertising, contact 317-788-2517. Readers: You are entitled to a single copy of this paper. Additional copies may be purchased with prior approval for 50 cents each by contacting The Reflector business manager.Taking multiple copies of this paper may constitute theft, and anyone who does so may be subject to prosecution and/ or university discipline.

thing that you shouldn’t feel bad when some people don’t like it because as long as you feel proud of it and as long as you think that is is something that is worth putting out there, that’s all that really matters. “The thing is if you submit to it and you don't win, nobody has to know except you,” Knaack said. “And then, if you do happen to win, it's a cool thing to kind of say, ‘Hey, I won an English prize.’ And so either way, there's no

downfall for it. I definitely think people should [enter], and it's just a good way to get your name out in the English Department, too. Because it's just a really cool opportunity to have.” Newman said if students don’t submit the work then they won’t be able to grow their writing, win an award for their writing or gain a fellowship or scholarship. The awards they offer are preparing students for their future.

They might want to choose a certain pathway within the creative arts. Being able to submit work into the awards can ultimately help the writer's work be recognized. “We certainly want to encourage writers, and sometimes receiving an award helps a writer see that their work is valuable,” Newman said. “Their words matter. Their words are worthy of publication. Their words are interesting in their own right.”

Photo Illustration by Arrianna Gupton

STAFF DIRECTORY EDITORS / MANAGERS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF...................JACOB WALTON • waltonja@uindy.edu MANAGING EDITOR.....................JUSTUS O’NEIL • oneiljl@uindy.edu NEWS EDITOR.............KASSANDRA DARNELL • darnellk@uindy.edu SPORTS EDITOR...............GISELLE VALENTIN • valenting@uindy.edu OPINION EDITOR..............OLIVIA CAMERON • camerono@uindy.edu FEATURE EDITOR...............HALLIE GALLINAT • gallinath@uindy.edu ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR.....MOLLY CHURCH • churchm@uindy.edu ONLINE EDITOR.......................KIARA CONLEY • conleykf@uindy.edu PHOTO EDITOR.......MAKENNA MASCHINO • maschinom@uindy.edu ART DIRECTOR............................JAZLYN GOMEZ • gomezj@uindy.edu BUSINESS MANAGER..........................ALEX VELA • velaa@uindy.edu DISTRIBUTION MANAGER.........LOGAN WONG • wongla@uindy.edu ADVISER............................JEANNE CRISWELL • jcriswell@uindy.edu THE REFLECTOR • 1400 EAST HANNA AVENUE INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA 46227

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ANIKA YODER..............................yoderav@uindy.edu LINDSEY WORMUTH.................wormuthl@uindy.edu

LILY FISCHER BLANCA OSORIO-ORTEGA CONNOR MAHONEY ARRIANNA GUPTON BAILEY CLARDY

Contact Us: The Reflector office 317-788-3269 Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. 317-788-3269 after hours or fax 317-788-3490.


4

SPORTS

THE REFLECTOR

MARCH 9, 2022

Photo by Jacob Walton

Sophomore Lindsey Wormuth finishes in second place in the 60-meter hurdles at the Indianapolis Winter Break Classic on Dec.11, 2021 in the ARC. According to UIndy Athletics, Wormuth finished the race in 9.31 seconds.

Photo by Jacob Walton

Freshman MaKenna Maschino throws 12.75 meters in her first collegiate meet. She improved that mark to 14.75 throughout the season, qualifying for the GLVC Championship. She finished in 11th in her appearance.

Celebrating Women's History Month Female athletes share their perspectives on being in college sports in a male-dominated world By Lindsey Wormuth EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

I became interested in playing sports at a young age, and I wanted to do something that got me moving and got me excited to be a part of a team with other people. I didn’t think that choosing track and field would have stuck with me all the way to college, but I'm glad it did. My parents and I decided that I should try track in middle school, which is where I started. Throughout high school, I was able to win some of my high school indoor meets and ended up securing two indoor hurdle records. During my senior year of high school, my indoor and outdoor track season got canceled due to COVID-19. I wasn’t very passionate about continuing with running in college until my senior year got taken away. I felt like I needed one more chance to be able to run in order to feel satisfied. I got an opportunity to come on a University of Indianapolis college visit and meet with the Director of Track and Field Scott Fangman on the same day. I felt like I knew I wanted to come here and run after that day. The conversation with Fangman helped me realize that maybe I was good enough to continue to run in college and hopefully show my full potential. Choosing to come to UIndy prior to my visit was not my first choice, but I am very glad that it became my final choice. My favorite thing about being an athlete is being able to compete, as well as visiting other schools. Being able to compete every weekend against girls who push you to go faster and train harder than ever is something that I looked forward to. Visiting another school is also very exciting. While our facility at the University of Indianapolis is nice and I am

happy to have it, being able to look at other facilities to see where the teams train is something to be excited about as well because training styles at other universities can be different. Being an athlete allows you to meet new people who are interested in the same things you are. With track, I have been able to meet some of my best friends while also running and getting better at my sport.Throughout my career, the workouts got harder and wanting to be faster became more of something that was achievable to me. Becoming better was easier because of the coaches that want you to succeed for meets. Being a female college athlete can feel intimidating and overwhelming at some points if you are in a male dominated sport. Coming here, the first people I met on the team were males. I was intimidated being thrown in with a team where it was majority males. Throughout my time on the team, I became less intimidated because they started to become my friends. My experience has been amazing. I feel like I have learned and improved so much from working with my teammates everyday because they push me harder than in high school. Having a good experience as a college athlete has been a gift because everyone motivates each other no matter what. Celebrating being a female athlete during Women's History Month is very important.There are so many women out there who have overcome obstacles to be where they are now. The women who have families and children but still have an athletic career are the women I looked up to when I was little. My advice to female athletes is to never let anyone tell you that you can’t do anything. No matter what sport you play, there will always be someone who will doubt you, but don’t let what other people think or say affect your mental attitude or will to play sports out of high school.

By MaKenna Maschino PHOTO EDITOR

Throughout my entire life, one thing has always been a constant for me: sports. Both of my parents shared their passion for sports with my older brothers and I from a young age. They had already bought me my first basketball before I was even born. The majority of my childhood was spent either going to soccer tournaments to watch my brother or at my own softball, soccer or basketball games. When we weren’t at games or practices, we would watch college games on TV. This presence of sports did not change when I got to high school, as I continued to play soccer and basketball and started throwing on the track team my sophomore year. I think I can count on one hand the number of times during my high school career that I didn’t have to go to a practice or game after school. Because sports had been a major part of my life, it wasn’t something that I just wanted to give up after high school was over. I had talked to a couple of coaches from smaller Division III schools but it wasn’t until the last week of April of my senior year of high school that I reached out to Throws Coach Matthew Royer and Director of Track and Field Scott Fangman about being a walk-on for the track team at the University of Indianapolis. They answered within the next few days and I made my choice to come be a part of the team in the fall. I was not really sure what to expect when I went to my first practice with the team because I had never actually met any of the coaches or my teammates until that day. However, I can say that the dynamic of the throwing team is by far the best of any team that I have been on in my

life. It was a bit intimidating at first because the men’s team was double the size of the women’s team, but what I have learned and really enjoy is that the divide between both teams really only exists in competition, meaning that we are just like one big team. The men’s and women’s team practice the same, we do the same lifts in the weight room and we are all coached the same way. Any guy on the throwing team is just as much of a teammate to me as any girl on the team, and we support each other in the same way. One challenge I face personally, and that many other female throwers face that I feel is not talked about as much as it should be, is body image issues. Most of the sport is about being strong and, in most cases, in order to be able to throw farther, it is almost crucial to bulk up and put on weight. This in particular is something I really struggle with because society is not really accepting of more muscular women, as it is seen as less feminine. While this factor does bother me from time to time, I care way more about getting better at a sport that I enjoy way more than I care more about what society thinks that I “should” look like as a woman. I think it is important to celebrate female athletes and being a female athlete because it gives the next generation of young girls women to look up to. I know a big part of why I wanted to be so involved in sports as a young child is because I grew up watching women playing sports on TV. I would watch them and want to be just like them, so I think it is important to celebrate these women because they inspire the next generation and that generation will inspire the generations after them.

Echeverria's journey to Epson Tour By Molly Church

ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Graduate student and former University of Indianapolis golfer Pilar Echeverria has taken her career a step further as she begins her journey as a professional golfer. Echeverria started playing with the Epson Tour on March 4 at Florida’s Natural Charity Classic and said the thought of going professional has been both exciting and scary. Echeverria said it took her about two years to decide that she wanted to go pro. Something that helped her feel confident in her decision, she said, was the support she received from those around her. “Once I made up my mind that that's the thing I was doing, it's been super exciting, and everyone here has been very supportive, so it just makes me more excited,” Echeverria said. “If I think people that are close to me were kind of doubting it, I'd be like, ‘Maybe I didn't [make] the right decision.’ But they've all been super supportive.” Her golf career really took off at UIndy because of all the support she received, Echeverria said. She said she started to really focus on golf when she was around 13 or 14 years old, but didn’t start to show real growth until she came to UIndy. “I wasn't that good before I came here and it's like, having a plant, [it] depends where you're planted, right? Like if you give it a lot of good soil and water and stuff, and I feel like that's how

I was here,” Echeverria said. “I was just a little plant and then they just fed me good stuff and water and love. I just grew better here, so I'm super thankful for everything here.” Echeverria's accomplishments while at UIndy included leading the team at conference championships and at National championships, according to the Head Golf Coach Brent Nicoson. Echeverria was a two time National Player of the Year and was a five time First Team All-American, an achievement that will never be touched, Nicoson said. But Nicoson said Echeverria’s awards are only part of what makes her a great

golfer. He said the way she always showed gratitude and never took things for granted was what really set her apart from other talented golfers. “She's just such a humble and unselfish kid…. A girl that has all the accolades that she has, it was still all about her teammates first. Always,” Nicoson said. “Any meeting we had, any talk we had in the office, it was how she could help the team. It wasn't ever about her.” The hard work that Echeverria put in is unbeknownst to many, according to Nicoson. He said she succeeded at UIndy not only because she was so cared for, but also because of the practice that she put in.

“What people don't see about Pilar [Echeverria] is that it wasn't easy. There were a lot of tears in the office,” Nicoson said. “People see the outside, people see the accolades and all that; they don't see what goes on behind closed doors, and they don't see the extra effort that she put in.” The process for becoming a professional golfer involves qualifying schools and three different stages that determine where they make it, Echeverria said. She said the first stage is played in California, and only about 90 out of 390 make it to the second stage. The second stage, according to Echeverria, opens up to other professional golfers that might

Photo Contributed by Pilar Echeverria

Graduate student and former UIndy golfer Pilar Echeverria prepares to become a professional golfer as she goes through qualifying school to determine where she will play golf. Echeverria is currently playing with the Epson Tour with her first tournament in Florida.

want to improve their status, and those who make it through the second stage move on to the third and final stage. Echeverria’s results from qualifying school are what led her to playing with the Epson Tour. She said going through the qualifying school was one of the hardest experiences she has had, but ultimately led to her learning how to better manage her emotions and communicate what she needed. “ … I've never faced a mental challenge the same as qualifying school; just how emotional, and basically everything's on the line–either you make it or you have to wait another year to try it again,” Echeverria said. After leaving her mark on the UIndy golfing program, Echeverria is ready for this next stage in her career. Her end goal includes going to the 2024 Olympic Games, which she said would be important to her home country of Guatemala. Since golf is not very big there, she said it would mean a lot for the sport of golf in Guatemala. As Echeverria begins her new chapter, Nicoson tells her to just keep being herself. He said she will need to adjust to focusing more on herself and to thinking more like an individual player, but said he knows he will see her succeed because of the impression she left on UIndy golf. “The biggest compliment I can tell you about Pilar [Echeverria] is [that] she's irreplaceable. There will never be another Pilar [Echeverria],” Nicoson said. “There might be great players, and there might be All Americans, there might be national champions, but there's never gonna be a Pilar [Echeverria] that helps our program as much as she did.”


SPORTS

5 MARCH 9, 2022

THE REFLECTOR

Joining the 1,000 point club

Cory Miller Jr. becomes the 43rd player in Greyhound basketball history to reach 1,000 points By Giselle Valentin SPORTS EDITOR

Senior guard Cor y Miller Jr. stepped to the free-throw line in the first minute of the University of Indianapolis men’s basketball game against the Missouri S&T Miners.With the first free throw made, he joined an elite club as the 43rd Greyhound to reach the 1,000-point mark in his career, according to UIndy Athletics. As fellow senior guard Dee Montgomery grabbed his head in excitement,Miller was greeted with cheers from the fans. He said in the moment, it felt surreal. “Honestly,what was going through my mind was,‘Don’t miss the next free throw.’ The fans went crazy,” Miller Jr. said. “And then there was no time for me to just take a minute to enjoy.The referee had thrown me the ball, like, okay, just don’t miss this one.” Miller Jr. said reaching that mark in two years was going to be tough. It was always a goal to reach 1,000 points, he said, but he never counted how many points away he was from the record until Head Men’s Basketball Coach Paul Corsaro said he was approaching the mark. Prior to UIndy, Miller Jr. was an AllAmerican at the junior college ( JUCO) level, playing two years at John Wood Community College, according to UIndy Athletics. He averaged 21.5 points and 5.3 rebounds during his time with the Blazers, leading him to receive accolades, including All-America First Team, Region 24 Conference Co-Player of the Year and Mid-West Athletic Conference Co-Player of the Year, according to UIndy Athletics. His turning point was sophomore year, where his confidence began to blossom, Miller Jr. said. “Having success in [ JUCO] built my confidence, and then being recruited by coaches who are telling me you can have that confidence and excel at this level, too. And that’s what made it all possible,”

Miller Jr. said. After being recruited in the national tournament, Miller Jr. said he came to visit UIndy. He said he loved everything about the university, from the facilities to housing and the team, and realized he wanted to be a part of the Greyhound basketball program. Miller Jr. has averaged 12.7 points and 2.9 assists throughout his career at UIndy, according to UIndy Athletics. His athleticism earned him a spot on the 2020-21 GLVC Second Team and a twotime GLVC All-Defensive Team. Miller Jr. said one moment that stands out from his time at UIndy is when the team upset Truman State in the first round of the tournament last year.

He’s already such a gifted athlete and such a versatile player...” “I think the moment stood out for me the most was last year, we didn’t have a season we want. Everyone can say that. We started off at 0-7, no one wants everyone’s ideal season is to never lose,” Miller Jr. said. “ But we finished strong. We’ve set goals out for us and we achieve them at the end of the season.” Miller Jr.’s achievement, Corsaro said, was special because Miller Jr. is the first player he has coached to reach that milestone. Corsaro said he is proud of the player Miller Jr. has developed into. “Knowing that he did that in two of his three seasons under our regime, and just seeing his development over the last couple of weeks, over the last couple years,” Corsaro said. “I watched a lot of film on Cory when I took the job and I definitely thought that he got better from year one to year two, and he got even better from year two to year three. So just to see his growth and his

work ethic and all that come to fruition is really rewarding.” Corsaro said a key to his success is the strong relationship he has with Miller Jr. on and off the court, which he said will continue after Miller Jr.’s time at UIndy. He said he is such a joy to work with along with being a gifted athlete. “... He’s already such a gifted athlete and such a versatile player, but very rarely [you] find someone who’s [as] gifted and versatile as him that A) works as hard as him, and then B) are as coachable as him,” Corsaro said. When it comes to Miller Jr.’s leadership, Corsaro said he leads by example every day. And the leadership styles that Miller Jr. was able to develop will be emulated and passed down to future generations. “I think the fact that his legacy will live on for years to come in terms of how to conduct yourself on a daily basis, how to go about your business. I think that’s such an impressive thing that he’ll leave his mark on [this] program,” Corsaro said.

Photo by Jacob Walton

Senior guard Cory Miller Jr. stands next to Head Men’s Basketball Coach Paul Corsaro with the 1000 point celebration ball before a game against Drury University on Feb. 19.

Photo by Jacob Walton

Senior Guard Cory Miller Jr. looks to pass the ball during a game against Truman State University. This season Miller Jr. leads the team in scoring with 16.5 points per game. He has done this on 47 percent shooting from both the field overall and for three pointerscv.

Seven wrestling athletes to nationals By Jacob Walton EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Since 2014, the University of Indianapolis wrestling team has not sent seven wrestlers to the NCAA DII National Championships, but that changed this year when at the NCAA Super Region IV. Seven wrestlers graced the podium notching their place at the national meet in St. Louis on March 11., according to UIndy Athletics. Not only did the Greyhounds have seven podiums, they had two regional champions in redshirt sophomore Jack Eiteljorge (165lbs) and redshirt junior Andrew Sams (174lbs) both bringing home championships. According to Head Wrestling Coach Jason Warthan, the success came down to preparedness. “Those guys have been preparing, I think mentally they were ready when they stepped on the mat,” Warthan said. “They were excited to wrestle, go see kind of where they’re at. Our schedule has been really tough all year. And they were well prepared and ready.” The group that will be heading to nationals alongside Eiteljorge and Sams is freshman Logan Bailey (149lbs), redshirt freshman Derek Blubaugh (197lbs), freshman Cale Gray (285 lbs), redshirt junior Breyden Bailey (141lbs) and redshirt sophomore Dawsome Combest (157lbs). Sams said the large group the team is sending is awesome. “Everybody we’re sending, I feel like can be in the finals, can be on top of the podium,” Sams said. “We have some of the best seven kids in the country at that tournament, and I think we’re prepared, we know that. And just going with each other, being able to wrestle with each other every day, makes us so much better.” For Eiteljorge, this is his second regional championship win having won previously in the 2019-2020 season, while for Sams it is his second trip in a row to the national meet and his first gold in the 174 weight class for the regional, according to UIndy Athletics. Sams said a large goal of his this year was to improve upon his second place finish from last year’s regional. He felt like last year he was just happy to have made the national meet, Sams said, but this year his goal is much higher. He said what sets him apart from last year is versatility. “I feel like I’m really good in all three positions,” Sams said. “I know I’m incredibly hard to score on my feet, on

top I really improved. I think I can ride people to win matches, and on bottom, constantly getting better and better. And if I’m really hard to score on a single position, I don’t think anybody can beat me.” Warthan said both Eiteljorge and Sams have worked against each other in practice all year and that plays into the confidence they both carry onto the mat. That confidence does not stop at the pair of champions as Warthan said the entire wrestling room’s skill is what makes them such a quality team this year. “One of the themes was that they’re not going to see anything that they haven’t seen before [because] our room is so good,” Warthan said. “That when they go out and they have the number three kid in the nation, it’s not better than their practice partners….They know

that their opponents aren’t going to have anything on their drill guy. It gives them confidence knowing we have assistant coaches and All-Americans at 157 lbs and All-Americans at 174 lbs and two-time national qualifiers at 184 .... We have built a really strong group, and so to have those strong guys and practice just gives them confidence that they can do it on the mat.” For Eiteljorge specifically, Sams said, it was confidence in knowing how skillful he was as a wrestler and knowing that when he wrestles like he does in practice, nobody in the country is better. Warthan said Eiteljorge is one of the most coachable wrestlers he has had come through his program and even with how good he came in as, he has still continued to work and get better. “I was so happy for him, he’s been

wrestling well, he put in a lot of work over the summer,” Warthan said. “... I think the biggest thing for him was he had put in the work and wasn’t seeing the results happen as easy or as much as he would like, or as quick as he would like. He took a couple close losses where in the past, he’d beat some of those guys, and I think he just needed to relax and trust who he is and let some of those things come to him. And he was firing on all cylinders this weekend. He wrestled composed and relaxed but also was aggressive.” Warthan said Sams is a student of the game and not only understands where he needs to improve but understands his opponents. His ability to get takedowns from his feat in tough situations is really what sets Sams apart from other wrestlers, according to Warthan. “He also has this confidence that he can go and get a takedown when

Contributed photo by Jackie Paquette

Redshirt junior Andrew Sams (174 lbs) controls his opponent in the NCAA Super Region 4 match on Feb. 26. Sams finished the day with a win against Josh Jones of McKendree University in a tiebreaker. That left Sams with a 28-4 record heading into NCAA nationals.

he needs it, and so if you look at his record, he has a lot of wins against the Top 10 in his weight class, and a lot of them are close, where he’s went and got to take down to the last 10 seconds of a match,” Warthan said. “I think during the Midwest Classic his quarterfinals and semis and finals, he was able to get a takedown within the last 10 seconds of a period and that’s huge... He’s done that in a couple other big matches. That’s a pretty nice skill to have, to know that if I need to go get one, I know exactly what I’m doing and I know how to do it.” Besides the confidence of the team, Warthan said a lot of their success comes from the incredibly tough schedule they have faced this year. Throughout the season, the team have had nine duals where they have battled Top 25 competition with a 4-5 record in those matches, according to UIndy Athletics. Warthan said keeping with the theme of no competition is going to be the best they have ever seen and that most of the preparation is done for the national meet. “We’re ready I think as far as competition goes; there’s not going to be anything we haven’t seen before, and a lot of these guys have been to the national tournament or been in stages like this before,” Warthan said. “...The coaches watch a little bit of film and make sure that we’re prepared that way…Guys know who they are and what they do well, and really, that’s what you want going into a match. It’s not necessarily what your opponent does is kind of knowing your strengths and weaknesses and wrestling to your strengths.” This current roster is a fun one, Warthan said, and they all come in with different strengths and personalities which creates a diverse and fun environment. He said as much as he does teach them, he learns from them just as much and that this current roster might have the capacity to be one of the best to ever exist at UIndy. “We always think about the best that’s ever come through, and we always kind of set the bar at the 2014 team,”Warthan said. “...I think the most we’ve ever had is four All-Americans in one year and we keep thinking like this could be a group that surpasses some of those great all time teams in the past and I definitely think it’s within reason that we can do that.”


6

FEATURE

THE REFLECTOR

MARCH 9, 2022

Chai and Chats, a home away from home By Logan Wong

DISTRIBUTION MANAGER

Rare Indiana plants

Graphic by Olivia Cameron

Botanist visits UIndy, gives presentation about threatened plants in Indiana By Anika Yoder

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT The University of Indianapolis hosted Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Nature Preserves Botanist Scott Namestnik on Monday. The presentation Namestnik gave involved the topic of rare endangered Indiana plants and was titled “Indiana’s Threatened and Endangered Flora – Why Our Rare Plants Are Rare.” The presentation discussed the rarity of Indiana native flora and why the plants are considered to be rare, according to Namestnik. Namestnik said he decided to present at UIndy because sharing information surrounding rare plants and the difference between rare and invasive species allows more people to become aware of the existence of the native Indiana flora. He said college campuses have buildings and lawns that can maintain gardens that can contain native plants, but colleges can also own properties off campus that contain natural areas that may provide habitat for rare plants, Namestnik said. “I think just having college students aware that there are these natural areas

and these rare plants is important so that they can potentially study those rare species and help to conserve them long term,” Namestnik said. According to Professor of Genetics and Plant Biology and Chair of Biology Sandra Davis, she invited Namestnik to give his presentation for a course she instructs titled Biology 350: Plant Biology. Davis said she chooses guest speakers to come to campus to talk and give students an idea about people who study plants and the applications of plant biology outside of the classroom setting. The biology department strives to give students a wide breadth of knowledge in biology, and students that may be pre-med or pre-physical therapy can maintain good foundations in all areas of biology, including plant biology, according to Davis. Students in the biology department have to take introductory biology, which covers subjects such as bacteria, mold, produce and plants, Davis said. Indiana native plants and according to President of the Indiana Native Plant Society and President of the Monroe County Identify and Reduce Invasive Species coalition Ellen Jacquart said one of the main causes of plant rarity is destruction of habitat. Jacquart said

some plants were part of natural plant communities that were always rare, like bogs, as Indiana has almost no bogs. The very few that are left have already been plowed up and turned into farmland, Jacquart said. “... If you're a bog plant, you're out of luck if you’re in Indiana,” Jacquart said. “You have just like two places to live because of destruction of habitat. Then the other big one, the one that I focus[ed] on when I worked for The Nature Conservancy, I focused on invasive species and managing for rare plants to abate the threat of invasive species. That's probably the second most common reason that a plant is rare, is because its habitat has been not destroyed, but degraded by invasive species coming in and starting to out-compete it.” The Indiana Natural Heritage Data Center maintains records on rare plants, animals and natural communities that occur throughout the state of Indiana, according to Namestnik. The job of a botanist is to help to maintain lists of endangered and threatened species, conduct surveys for endangered and threatened species and monitor known endangered populations, Namestnik said. According to Namestnik, helping with plant inventories relating to what

is on nature preserve properties as well as other natural areas owned by different organizations is part of what he does as a botanist for the center. “… But the Division of Natural Resources is tasked with maintaining natural areas in the state, dedicating properties with the highest level of protection as dedicated state nature preserves and maintaining those areas in perpetuity so that future generations can see what natural Indiana really looked like,” Namestnik said. Namestnik said he discussed rare plants, why they are rare and about plants that are at the edge of their global ranges in Indiana during his lecture. He said the state has species that are disjunct, which means that they occur in different parts of the country. According to Namestnik, Indiana does have some plants that are truly rare everywhere they occur. It is important to understand which ones are rare and which areas have plants that have become rare because of invasive species and man-made influences, Namestnik said. “ … It's impossible to want to conserve things that you don't know exist and that you don't know anything about, and so the more information we can share on that, the better,” Namestnik said.

families regardless of faith, through at her home town in Fort Wayne, Ind., support, compassion and professional doing some work in community outreach. guidance. SEC’s services include Seeing the needs of kids in foster care their adoption programs, donation and in bad situations made her want to program and community outreach, work with SEC to help match kids with which encapsulates adoption training, families and set them up for love and education and advocacy. success, she said. Higgenbotham said that while they “I go [to SEC] for two hours on do have some full time staff, what they Mondays. So far, I’ve mostly helped with do at SEC could not be possible without the clothes donations; the first week I was their volunteers. UIndy volunteers there I helped [with], they call it a layette have been flexible in the projects they bag that social workers can [request] commit to, which for their clients,” has been helpful Henkle said. “[The for placement ’s client] gets a whole If you're passionate about bunch of outfits for sake, according to Higgenbotham. kids for the something, you can always their “I can pretty whole first year and find time to volunteer ..." bottles,diapers,bath much group all of the UIndy care, bedding, all the volunteers that I’ve stuff that they need had so far because I’ve had one that to start out.” I’ve had since f reshman year, she Henkle said that the last week she doesn’t have to do it for class, she just went to volunteer, she spent her time loves coming,” Higgenbotham said. making outfits for various requests. She “Every single UIndy volunteer that said she not only matches the outfits, has come in has just been so willing but also matches it to the children’s to help with whatever project we have. sizes. Henkle said volunteering at SEC is There’s never been any confusion beneficial to her future career in nursing or anything because there is open because she can use it as a resource to communication . . . . I just love how willing refer women to. they are to help and accept [constructive] Sawin said that other donation orders criticism if they need to.” can include blankets, toys, dishware, Higgenbotham said she has always books and other items that families had a major heart for adoption agencies might not ask for. Sawin said SEC doesn’t because she herself was adopted, which is always just help a family one time, which what led her to SEC.According to Henkle, is reflected on their orders, so that they before attending UIndy, she volunteered can focus on getting the family more of

what they need if they do come back. “They have a lot of donations . . . . They have a whole back barn full of stuff,” Sawin said. “I know the back room that we [volunteers] work in has eight or nine rooms full of stuff like diapers, onesies, wipes, all of that stuff.” According to Higgenbotham, the donation program didn’t start until about 11 years ago when her previous supervisor realized that some people coming into SEC didn’t have things like shoes or coats. She said that her supervisor would collect things and when they eventually asked the community to donate, it exploded. Organizations that center around topics like adoption and foster care are things that Sawin said she is very passionate about. She said she knew she wanted to volunteer in the field of pregnancy services or adoption services. Henkle and Sawin, being in the nursing program, as well as being resident assistants, are both busy, but Henkle said they both are passionate about volunteering, which is why they made the choice to take the course and volunteer at SEC. “If you’re passionate about something, you can always find time to volunteer somewhere. It might only be two hours a week, but people are sitting on their phones on TikTok for two hours at least a week … ,” Henkle said. “It really isn’t that much of a commitment and the satisfaction from helping is a lot bigger.”

Volunteers at adoption agency By Justus O’Neil

MANAGING EDITOR Through the help of the Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement, volunteer opportunities for students are made accessible to any and all students at the University of Indianapolis. Some students opt to take Sociology 103: Social Problems (SOC 104), but an even more select few take the optional service lab attached to the course, Sociology 104: Social Problems Service Learning Lab. According to Coursicle, SOC 104 is designed to add a real-world dimension to the study of social problems by allowing students direct experience of addressing social problems in the community. Students spend 28 hours throughout the semester volunteering with an organization in Indianapolis and record their experiences in a journal, according to the website. Two students in the course, sophomore nursing students Kristin Sawin and Lindsey Henkle, chose to spend their time volunteering at St. Elizabeth Coleman Pregnancy and Adoption Services (SEC). SEC, a nonprofit organization rooted in Catholic tradition, believes that every child has a right to a healthy, loving family, according to Program Coordinator and UIndy alumni Christine Higgenbotham. According to the SEC website, SEC works to provide services to empower

Chai tea, snacks, talks and games, Chai and Chats provides South Asian students with an opportunity to connect and have fun. Senior psychology and pre-occupational therapy major Hannah John created the club after being inspired by other South Asian centered clubs through an organization called Design, which is a branch of Cru. “… The overarching theme of [Chai and Chats] is to talk about faith, not specifically one faith, but just talking about what we believe and our spiritual beliefs and upbringings [and] traditions and how culture plays into all of that,” John said. Cru is a Christian organization that sponsors ministries all around the world, according to the Cru website. Design is a branch organization of Cru that centers around South Asian students, according to the Design website. Many universities have Design Movements and also have a Chai and Chats event, Indy Metro Campus Minister Joselyn Sands said. “I know that a lot of other schools who have Design Movements or are trying to start a Design Movement… Chai and Chats is something that often they will start with to gauge interest from the campus,” Sands said. John said she was first introduced to the idea of Chai and Chats while at a Design conference in Chicago, she said. The conference had a section dedicated to universities who did not have a Design Movement, John said. “Even just for Cru or I know other RSOs in general, I feel like [University of Indianapolis] is a hard campus to get involvement with," John said. "When we break it down to an even smaller population of specifically South Asian UIndy students, it is very hard to get involvement. I feel like a lot of people are interested. Whenever I bring up the idea to other people they're super interested and they're like ‘Oh, I've been wanting something like this to connect with other South Asian students.’ But then it's hard to get them to be involved and come to meetings.” John said she is the only student leading Chai and Chats. However, she works with Sands to help promote and come up with ideas. “I help [ John] with brainstorming of ‘What does she hope to see? What is our goal? What is our vision?’ A lot of helping her to brainstorm that way and then more of the nitty gritty as well of like, ‘Okay, so we want to do Chai and Chats or we want to bring awareness to campus. What are really practical ways we can do that?,’” Sands said. Currently, Chai and Chats meets once a week on Fridays at 5 p.m. on the second floor of the Schwitzer Student Center, John said. She said the time is not ideal and they are open to moving to different times in the week based on what the members want. “[My goal] is just to have a space for South Asian students to connect and feel at home,” John said, “I think there's a lot of students, at least a lot of the ones I've connected with so far, [who] are international or aren't originally from Indy. So I think just a space to feel welcome and feel like you have [a] community and people who understand your upbringing and your culture and to be able to relate to other students and learn about their cultures and their faith as well.” John said if Chai and Chats gets big enough, they may connect to the Indy Metro, which is a group of Cru staff spread across several universities around Indianapolis. “I obviously wish it wasn't my last semester,” John said. “I'm going to go to grad school, but I don't know if I'll be going here or not. I guess just to start it and see if there's any interest. I just think the hardest part is starting, so once you get it going and people are actually like, ‘Wow, this is really cool. I want to keep doing this,’ I'm sure I can pass that on to someone else.” Graphic by Kiara Conley


ENTERTAINMENT

7 MARCH 9, 2022

THE REFLECTOR

Tyree Daye reads work “Cardinal” By Jacob Walton EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

As a part of the Kellogg Writers Series (KWS), award-winning poet Tyree Daye presented several of his works to University of Indianapolis students on March 2. The centerpiece of this presentation was “Cardinal,” a book of poetry which details the experiences of a black man traveling throughout the southern region of the United States, according to Daye. “The book [Cardinal] relies on that history [of the South] to push the narrative, but also deals with modern subjects: me the speaker, being from the South and dealing with loving the South … as well its troubling history,” Daye said.“The book is constantly moving in time from past to present, but also movinginplace.Sothespeakerisconstantly moving, trying to figure these things out.” The ENGL 478 class: Lit Art Prog: Kellogg Series is in charge of KWS, and it is currently being taught by Assistant Professor of English Liz Whiteacre, who is filling in for Assistant Professor of English Barney Haney during his absence. Whiteacre said that so far her it has been a very rewarding experience.

She said seeing the behind the scenes of organizing an event like the KWS has been a great opportunity, but also giving the students opportunities to interact with these artists in a valuable way has been great. She said that the theme of family in “Cardinal” is what really connected her with Daye’s work. “I found myself able to kind of settle into the palms and imagine people I know, in those different situations, and I found that to be really rewarding as a reader,” Whiteacre said. “I think that students would also find his work very compelling … I know students in the class have really appreciated the different forms that he’s been using in his poems and how intimate and conversational they are. So I think that there’s a lot for students to be introduced to if the very first time they ever hear his work is at the performance.” Daye said when he went to college, having events like this helped him tremendously in becoming the writer he is today. He said these events also have the ability to help reinforce the idea that professional writing is a career and seeing someone doing that can help them realize that. Senior professional writing major Sam Jackson had a large part in planning the event and

said that prior to this one he did not have much experience in event planning. He said Daye’s voice in his poetry is what made him a good choice for the KWS. “He has a lot of power in his poetry, and I think there’s a lot of just emotional social topics that he talks about that I think are super important, especially nowadays, with everything that’s going

DAYE on in the world... I think he gives a lot of hope to people through what he does in his poetry,” Jackson said. “Bringing him to campus, in a way, it was kind of a boost that a lot of people needed.” One of the major themes that can be seen within Daye’s work is that of work and physical labor, he said. Alongside

that, he said many other themes are included, such as death, ghosts and nature, tying into the name of the book itself. Daye said a large amount of his poetr y is inspired by his experiences. “That is the landscape where I explore emotions; I think you got to give your readers a landscape, somewhere to put their feet,” Daye said. “Usually I’ll say, I’m usually placing my readers in Youngsville, North Carolina.Youngsville, Roseville and those little towns around North Carolina; really Southern landscape, pine trees. And I put your feet there to make all the other stuff happen.” The theme of small towns is another major part of Daye’s work. He said that the intimacy of a small town really can affect the topics he discusses and said that through these towns you can see how even the littlest things can affect the whole community. “In these tight little communities, you know everyone and you see people’s rise, and also in the small communities, unfortunately, you see people’s falls, and you watch it happen,” Daye said. “And I’m interested in that, the beautiful parts of that, and also the destructive parts of that, and what it means to be a human being right in a human town.”

Choir at Special Olympics Choir to sing the national anthem at Special Olympics opening ceremony By Kassandra Darnell NEWS EDITOR

The University of Indianapolis choir will be taking the stage to sing the national anthem at the Opening Ceremony for the Special Olympics State Youth Basketball tournament on March 26. The Concert Choir and Schola Mixed Ensemble Choir will be joining forces for the event, Director of Choral Activities Webb Parker said. The choir’s involvement with the event is a result of the program wanting to be more involved with campus life, he said. “I had gotten that word out to several folks on campus,” Parker said. “I believe it was [Director of the Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement] Marianna Foulkrod’s office of, . . . the Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement. I had let her office know that we would like to participate in any campus event that would have us. And so she passed that information along to Jennifer VanSickle, who is heading up the event and so she extended the invite to us to come and perform the national anthem.” Sports Management Professor Jennifer VanSickle is teaching the class that has been planning the

event is important because not only have basketball tournament and said that the they been trying to be more involved on university has been collaborating with campus, but Parker said these athletes Special Olympics Indiana to host the deserve time and attention f rom tournament since 2010. She said a campus groups that are a part of the student suggested a few years ago that event. they should try to have someone sing the “The other reason it’s special and it’s national anthem and helped secure the important is because these athletes, this event for the UIndy Choirs by reaching is something that is part of the fabric out to different departments. VanSickle of who we are sort of as a nation, that said this collaboration also allows this is what we do: we sing the national students to interact with the athletes at anthem before sporting events,” Parker the tournament. said. “I think these athletes deserve that, “One of the things that’s the goal and they deserve of this tournament the best national and bringing it on anthem that we can campus is just to ... they deserve the best put before them. I have an opportunity it’s awesome for that interaction national anthem that we think that because there’s . . . . They love it,” a group on campus VanSickle said.“The can put before them.” that can do that athletes love it in thing, that you’re terms of getting to invited to do that.” meet, hang around college students. To prepare for the opening ceremony, And what we’ve found in the past is [that] Parker said the choir will be using the the UIndy students love the interactions national anthem arrangement from with their athletes too. And so to have when they sang it at the Homecoming the choir there is something really, football game on Oct. 9, 2021. This will really special; we try to make the Opening make it easier for the choir to perfect Ceremonies a very special event, and the song in time for the event. having a professional choir come and “Most of the preparations went in sing will just make that opening last semester when we were learning the ceremony more special than it’s ever piece and . . . I will present the piece to been.” the choirs on Monday (Feb. 28), actually The choir’s involvement with this

starting in March, and so on Monday will be the choir’s first rehearsal this semester on it,” Parker said. “But that’s because . . . choir’s a one-year commitment, so you’re expected to take choir both semesters. And so I think we only have three or four new singers to us for the spring. Most all of these singers already know this arrangement. Basically, we’ll just knock the dust off of it and polish it back up to a performance level.” While Parker said the choir sees the invitation to perform as a huge honor, VanSickle said those involved with the Special Olympics are just as excited to have the choir be a part of it. She said she would love to see the choir interact with the athletes just as much as other students contributing to the tournament. “We’re excited to have them there,” VanSickle said. “Again, I think the athletes and those at the tournament that day will be wowed by their performance . . . . There’s probably going to be some athletes there that like to sing, and I’m hoping that the athletes will feel comfortable and the choir members will feel comfortable talking with each other after it’s over and get the opportunity to interact. I’m also hoping that this is just the start of having the choir there many more years, every year.”

Dance team showcase and silent auction By Alex Vela

BUSINESS MANAGER The University of Indianapolis Dance Team hosted its annual showcase & silent auction on March 6 in Ruth Lilly Performance Hall. The dancers performed routines from throughout the season, as well as student choreographed routines, according to senior biology and chemistry pre-optometry major Megan Rice. Those who bid on the silent auction items from local businesses help the team raise money for Nationals on April 9, Rice said. Rice was excited for the dance showcase because the team has not been able to do it for the past two years, according to Rice. She said the team was cut off right before the showcase and Nationals due to the COVID-19 pandemic during her sophomore year. “It’s really exciting to be able to do this,” Rice said. “Especially with the girls that have been on the team but haven’t been able to experience it—I’m excited for them too.” Junior business administration and management major Brooklyn Burbrink is unlike Rice in that she had never experienced a dance showcase at UIndy before. Burbrink said she is also a fundraiser chair for the dance team, which puts her in charge of finding and scheduling fundraisers for the team. “I’m excited because obviously COVID[-19] sort of messed up both my freshman year and sophomore year,” Burbrink said. “So this is my first showcase that I’ve been able to do with the team.” As for what the showcase looked like, Rice said there was a silent auction stationed in front of the showcase to help raise money for the team for Nationals. Rice said that when people walked in to the showcase, they saw a video playing of what the team has done throughout the year. “We do our two Nationals routines, and then we do all the routines we did during football and basketball season, and then dispersed in there are dances that we choreographed or maybe an old dance that someone did while they were in high school,” Rice said. “We all just do different dances that we’ve either done or choreographed in between those routines.” According to Burbrink, the showcase is really helpful for the team’s parents and families that cannot make the basketball and football games. The showcase gives them this one event that they can come see everything that the dance team has done all season, Burbrink said. “I would say it’s important because it gives us face-time,” Burbrink said. “I know a lot of people don’t know that we have a dance team. Also, it can sort of help us get recruitment, especially from people that are on campus that don’t know that we exist.” Rice said she is really happy with the group of girls on the dance team. This might be her favorite team in the four years she has been at the university, she said. “We’re really hard working this year and I think we can see our improvement and we want to keep improving,” Rice said. “I think everyone wants to work as hard as the girl standing next to them.”

Photo by Justus O’Neil

Members of the UIndy Choir begin rehearsal with announcements from UIndy Choir Director and Associate Professor of Music Webb Parker before all singing warm-ups.

Have an idea for a story or want to send us a tip? CONTACT US: reflector@uindy.edu Photo by Justus O’Neil

UIndy Choir Director and Associate Professor of Music Webb Parker conducts in front of a piano as members of the choir warm up with various vocal techniques and songs.

Photo by Justus O’Neil

UIndy Choir members rehearse the Star-Spangled Banner. The choir is slated to perform at the Special Olympics Indiana Youth Basketball tournament on Saturday, March 24.


NEWS

8

SNA discusses medical racism

THE REFLECTOR

MARCH 9, 2022

By Arrianna Gupton STAFF WRITER

The Student Nursing Association (SNA) at the University of Indianapolis hosts a series of events called the “Health and Equity Series,” where they discuss important topics pertaining to nursing. At last week's program, they discussed medical racism, talking about past instances and what it looks like. Senior nursing major and President of SNA Taylor Klene said the main goals of the Health and Equity Series are to spread awareness about inequalities and biases that future healthcare professionals see daily. “Our next program is the medical racism topic. A lot of what we're going to talk about—and I put a disclaimer out as well—is some of the previous atrocities in the medical field that were committed specifically pertaining to racism,” Klene said. “And also kind of talking about ways that we as future professionals or, just individuals, can prevent these things from recurring and what we can do to further make these biases less and less prominent.” Professor of Practice in the School of Nursing Janice Wellington said the topic of medical racism was chosen by the SNA because there is so much that happened in the past and there's a need to shed light on the issue. “There has been such [a number of ] disparities in the past with medical racism,” Wellington said. “And there are a lot of things that are trying to change some of those things. So we are trying to share light with our nursing students regarding that.” According to Klene, the SNA was approached by ‘The Inclusive Excellence Coalition’ to partner up to put on these events. Klene said she feels as though these events are important because they're typically topics people avoid because they are uncomfortable discussions. “I think the topics we have chosen, specifically medical racism, are important discussions to have so that we can be culturally competent providers . . . ,” Klene said.“I think that it speaks for itself that all individuals seeking healthcare should be treated equally. I believe that

Photo by MaKenna Maschino

Photo by MaKenna Maschino

Instructor for School of Nursing Janice Wellington discusses the problems of explicit and implicit bias within the medical field and how these biases effect the medical field.

no matter your past or maybe current decisions or even ethnic background racism, I believe that everyone deserves equal care.” Klene said she believes these discussions are necessary not only for future healthcare workers, but also students here at UIndy, and believes that everyone should attend because people from any major can benefit from the lectures.

... we are trying to share light with our nursing students ..." “I do believe that non-nursing students should attend the lectures,” Klene said.“Although they are pertaining more to the healthcare field, us as individuals, we can always grow and learn more about how to be, not necessarily accepting that might not be the best word, but just competent. And even like our last discussion on cultural humility,

just how to best treat people like people.” Wellington said she hopes people are enlightened by these programs and that they help open people's minds up to things like medical racism and health disparities. Klene also said she believes these lectures could help people overcome said biases and learn how to approach someone of a different racial or ethnic background. “These are not just focused [on] healthcare providers. I think, and I've said it over and over, but just learning how to [be] better, be more inclusive and just grow as people is an important thing to know how to do,” Klene said. “And I think that maybe even non-UIndy students, if there was a bigger audience that would like to attend these, that could even be something that we grow [toward] in the future.” The next SNA Health and Equity lecture will take place on Apr. 13 from 7 p.m. - 8 p.m. They will be discussing the LGBTQ community and how to interact with someone of different sexual backgrounds. You can learn more about this event through the UIndy events page.

Wellington introduces the Student Nursing Association's presentation which took place in Schwitzer Student Center Room 010 at 7 p.m. It was available to all students at UIndy.

Photo by MaKenna Maschino

Assistant Professor of Nursing S. Alexander Kemery presents in the Heath and Equity Series. Kemery showed several videos while allowing for discussion about the topic.

WICR 88.7 host wins cultural award Jurgen Jungbauer earns German-American Friendship award for contributions to community By Blanca Osorio Ortega

and Wheeler advised Jungbauer to head towards the path of radio and to STAFF WRITER host UIndy German Music Hour. “We had a German music show and A new wave of Hoosiers made their we no longer had somebody supplying way into Indiana in the 1850s and, new programs to us,” Pensis said. according to the German American “To make it actually continue as a Klub of Indianapolis, they became known piece of cultural entertainment, we as the “forty-niners.” These Germans needed to find somebody who could do made a home for themselves and their that. And that's when we were talking families right in the Midwest region. and I was talking with Scott Wheeler Through the years, Indiana has held and Scott was talking with him and he events dedicated to German heritage, like said, ‘I might be able to get this going the Oktoberfest and Christkindl Market. with the Jurgen.’” In the upper eastside of Indianapolis, Jungbauer hosts on Sundays on Jurgen Jungbauer is one of the many WICR 88.7 for the German Music who has brought Hour and the songs his German culture range from Bach to with him by Beethoven to polka opening up his own music. This past bakery called the December, he was Heidelberg Haus recognized with the Cafe and Bakery. Federal Republic Jungbauer said of Germany that his customers German-American encouraged him Friendship, to spread more according to the of his culture and City of Lawrence. was inspired to sell The award was German records presented to him by in the 1960s, then Governor Holcomb went on to sell for promoting cassettes and video German culture. t a p e s . D i re c t o r “Well, actually of Programming that is one of the for the University biggest award[s] of Indianapolis I ever got. I have JUNGBAUER public radio station been honored by WICR-FM/HD the governor. I got Henri Pensis said the establishment the highest award from the state of of Jungbauer’s bakery in Indianapolis Indiana . . . almost from the presidents, is a major reason why German music Lyndon B. Johnson, Robert Kennedy production was a big deal. . . . . I cooked in the center in the “A lot of the settlers, early settlers White House and the military sent me through here, have that background. all over,” Jungbauer said. “I was a It's one of the reasons why the member of the culinary Olympic team. Heidelberg house, I think, has a When Dave [an employee for the connection . . . ,” Pensis said. “That's City of Lawrence] finally came to me why I think the Heidelberg Haus was and said that is the highest award such a big deal and why we actually had the German government gives to German music. There were at least two American citizens. They only give it German music shows, if not three, at once a year for two people. And here, one point going on roughly at the same the little store here in Indianapolis has time . . . .” been honored with it. I didn't know Pensis said a radio friend of his that it was two years in the making, named Scott Wheeler knew Jungbauer our local consulate here in town, we from his time at the Heidelberg Haus have an honorary council . . . , came

one time. And he said that the general council in Washington [D.C.] wants to have a biography of me, and he said, ‘They want [to] nominate you for German American award.’” Jungbauer said he did not hear back from the council in Washington D.C. about his nomination for two years. He was later asked for more paperwork and then realized that he was chosen as the recipient of the award. Jungbauer has pondered on why he was chosen for the award and realized it was the atmosphere he displayed to anyone that stepped foot in the bakery. “I think for just being a nice person and [I] never got in trouble and doing nice things for everybody and being right here, in the Midwest, promoting German culture and German friendship to everybody who comes

in, anybody who comes in, when they leave here we are friends,” Jungbauer said. Jungbauer says even with the success he has received running his German bakery and hosting German music for WICR 88.7, he recognizes that the award is meant to represent more than just himself. “The award was given to me for promoting German culture and friendship [it] does not belong to me. It belongs to my employees and to my wife and my family. . . ,” Jungbauer said. Jungbauer said he wants to be a nice German person instead of being the stereotype of a greedy German, which is how some people view them. The first time that he came here, he did not know what to expect, since Germany was at fault for the outbreak

of World War II. “ W hen I came to America, I always was worried, right after the war [WWII], about all the bad things the Germans did to the Jews during the war and they killed them and started the World War and that people would have been really mean to me,” Jungbauer said. “But no, even the Jewish people and the Bengalis helped me when I started, when I came over with $30 in my pocket. I didn't inherit anything.” Jungbauer said his hard work, smarts and having served in the military helped him obtain everything he has. He said he only wanted to be in the United States for one to two years and then go back to his home country. Fast forward and he is still in Indiana promoting his German culture through baking and hosting German music at WICR 88.7.


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