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THE OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF INDIANAPOLIS
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reflector.uindy.edu
APRIL 1, 2015
Olympic swimmer Anthony Ervin speaks about career, adversity By Quiaira Johnson ONLINE EDITOR
Photo by Ainger Alexander
Olympic swimmer Anthony Ervin talks with students after his speech. Ervin spoke at the University of Indianapolis on Tuesday, March 24 at 9 p.m. in UIndy Hall.
The University of Indianapolis Athletics Department hosted U.S. gold medal swimmer Anthony Ervin on March 24 at 9 p.m. in the Schwitzer Student Center’s UIndy Hall. The event was open to UIndy student-athletes and the general student population. Ervin was invited to campus to share his story about how he overcame adversity while managing to break world records at a young age. Ervin claimed gold and silver medals at the age of 19 in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, plus two gold medals in the 2001 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. He is a Division I National Collegiate Athletic Association seven-time champion, 27-time All-American as well as an eight-time record breaker. Ervin said that he has had the privilege of being a successful swimmer, but that the decisions he was making in his life were not in line with the type of athlete he eventually wanted to become.
“Just recently, I was reading some Plato, the philosopher, and he was like, you know, sometimes people feel compelled to go out to do some community services. And I know that is something that is big here,” Ervin said during his presentation. “But I’m somewhat caught up in a bind because I was reading Plato, and it says before you go out there and try to be help in society, you have to learn how to care for yourself. ” The event began with an introduction of Ervin by senior communication major Hayley Good, who is partly responsible for Ervin’s appearance. Ervin was honest with the audience as he shared the struggles he faced as a student-athlete and how some of his life decisions drastically impacted his life. He also said that he has terrible stage fright and almost had to cancel the event because of it. “I was stunned that you guys don’t know me at all and have invited me to speak here,” Ervin said. “Truth be told, all I can really talk about is my life. I can try to give you guys ‘six steps to success,’ but the hard part is actually doing them. …
So I am going to talk to you about my life. And the irony here is that because someone is a good athlete, or a great athlete, or the best athlete that does not make them the best person, or a great person, or even necessarily a good person.” Ervin began his presentation by talking about his college experience, and how he failed at being a student-athlete. He said that he grew up with a father that was an alcoholic and a strict mother who did not allow him to do much while he was growing up. He said that because he was so sheltered growing up, when he got to college he was out of control. “I didn’t get a lot of information from my dad, which is something that I really struggled with growing up,” Ervin said. “My mother was an orphan in New York City, so she went through some serious stuff that she won’t even talk about anymore, or really ever. Needless to say, it was bad enough that she became the most controlling, overprotective mother ever. I never got to do anything. So when I went away for college I just went completely crazy.”
> See ANTHONY ERVIN on page 3
ISA brings Indian holiday Festival of Colors to UIndy By Kylee Crane MANAGING EDITOR Red, blue, green and yellow colors flew through the air and marshmallows roasted over a fire as the Indian Student Association hosted its own Holi Festival of Colors at the Campus Apartments on March 20. Holi is a spring festival that has been celebrated for centuries in India. It is based on the story of Hiranyakashipu, who forced the kingdom to worship him instead of God. His son, Prahlad, went against his father’s wish and continued to pray to Vishnu. Hiranyakashipu decided to kill his son and asked his sister, Holika, who was immune to fire, to burn Prahlad to death. At the end of the fire, however, Prahlad was still alive because of his devotion to Vishnu and Holika was dead. Holi is celebrated for two days in India with a large bonfire on the first night, and the color celebration is the next day. The University of Indianapolis celebration lasted four hours, but still included a bonfire, a chocolate fountain and playing with colored powders. According to
graduate student and president of ISA Bhumi Rathod, Holi symbolizes many things for those who celebrate it. “The festivals are done so we can bring all the people together,” Rathod said.“Everyone gets to play together, and it is not separated by gender or social class. It’s a time for uncles, cousins and all the family really to come together and celebrate. We also celebrate to emphasize good over bad in the world.” While planning the event was timeconsuming, Rathod said that finding ways to get the necessary supplies was the most difficult aspect. “I and a few others have only been here seven months,” Rathod said. “And none of us have cars, so we had to beg our friends and people we know to take us to the store so we could buy supplies and food. It took a lot of planning.” The event was open not only to students involved in ISA, but to the campus community. Junior psychology and pre-occupational therapy major Caryn Kiel was interested in coming to this event to learn more about the festival and Indian culture as a whole. “I’m a part of Interfaith, and one of the big things is to learn about different
Photo by Tetiana Ntomnits
Students play with colored powders at the Holi Festival of Colors. The event was hosted by the Indian Student Association and included a bonfire and chocolate fountain. cultures. I don’t know much about Indian culture, so I decided this would be a good place to start,” Kiel said. “I think it is very important to embrace diversity, and the best way to do that is to get people to see the diversity and celebrate it.” Rathod also hopes students will take away knowledge about her culture and understand the events that occur in India.
“I hope students take knowledge about our festival from this,” Rathod said. “I don’t think anyone has ever participated in Holi on this campus, so we want to show them more of our culture. We had Diwali, the festival of lights, and now this is another festival. And so we just want the world to know what all exactly happens in India. We don’t just have Diwali, we
McCleary Chapel hosts justice concert Human Traff icking Awareness Concert raises knowledge and fun showcasing bands and speaker By Hayley Good STAFF WRITER McCleary Chapel hosted a Human Trafficking Awareness Concert on March 18 from 7 to 10 p.m. in UIndy Hall A. The event featured two local bands as well as a speaker from Purchased, an Indianapolis-based nonprofit organization that raises awareness about human trafficking. The Purchased spokesperson informed students of ways that they can get involved and spread the message. Craig Westberry, sophomore psychology and religion major and Chapel Steward of Justice, organized the campus-wide event with the help of the UIndy Keys Club President and junior psychology pre-occupational therapy major Michaela Thomas. “As an intern at Purchased, it was my job to facilitate events to raise awareness, and I decided that this would be a great way to reach out and educate an audience,” Westberry said. Both of the bands featured students
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from the University of Indianapolis. Nation Ever Changed started the evening with some of the group’s hits. Junior criminal justice major Grant Koenig performed with his band. “It was great to be able to perform at an event that raised awareness for a cause, rather than a regular concert,” Koenig said. Between band performances, a represent a t i ve f rom Purchased spoke on the impor tance of educating people about human trafficking. T h e Lasting H o p e then performed. Junior
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communication major Craig Banister is the guitar player for The Lasting Hope. “It was really cool to be able to play in front of my friends,” Banister said. Logan Oakes, lead singer for The Lasting Hope, also was grateful to be playing at UIndy. “Anytime we can come out and suppor t other ministries or other groups that are doing something meaningful, it’s really awesome,” Oakes said. The Lasting Hope bass player, Ta n n e r
Marling, was equally excited. “It’s a great cause, and we’d love to be a part of more events like this,” Marling said. Students, faculty and fans demonstrated enthusiasm throughout the night by responding to cues from the bands. Not only were students able to hear music, but they were informed about human trafficking. Senior criminal justice major Matt Mellencamp enjoyed his time at the event and said he learned about a serious issue. “I didn’t know very much about human trafficking, but this event really opened my eyes,” he said. “I think that other students learned something, too, and that awareness was spread tonight.” While the turnout was not large, Westberry was happy with the results of the event. “I hope that this event taught students to be open to doing something that benefits society,” Westberry said. “If [ending] human trafficking is that passion, then they should know that there are organizations like Purchased out there to help them.”
have other things, too.” While ISA has no other events planned for this semester, Kiel said she hopes to see more cultural events like this on campus and more students attend them. “Students should really attend these events in order to be educated,” Kiel said, “and be able to interact better with their peers.”
ONLINE THIS WEEK at reflector.uindy.edu
East Hall flood causes slight damage over Spring Break
The first floor of East Hall flooded, causing the lobby to be unavailable to students on March 7.
Justin Jones-Fosu gives lecture on life, career, passions, diversity
Leadership and diversity speaker Justin Jones-Fosu visited the University of Indianapolis on Thursday, March 16.
Bookstore raises awareness about the Thirst Project
The University of Indianapolis bookstore participated in the Thirst Project for World Water Day on Saturday, March 22.
Poet Teresa Mei Chuc shares Vietnam War experiences
Poet Teresa Mei Chuc shared her poetry as part of the University of Indianapolis’ ongoing Kellogg Writers Series on March 16 at 7:30 p.m.
FEATURE 7 Guest violinist performs > See Page 6 Student volunteers at MHA > See Page 7