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THE OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF INDIANAPOLIS
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reflector.uindy.edu
NOVEMBER 25, 2014
Students’ needs generate campus accommodations By Kylee Crane MANAGING EDITOR For sophomore communication major Jimmy Kennedy, travelling to and from East Hall to various buildings on campus is not as easy as it seems. Kennedy relies on both a mobility scooter and a rolling walker to help him get from point A to point B during the day. He is not the only student who needs accommodations, and making the campus more accessible is an important part of university planning. Executive Director for Student Development Debbie Spinney’s job is focused on accommodations made on campus. She not only coordinates services
for students with disabilities, but the Academic Success Center, new student experience course, Bridge Scholars and BUILD programs and with students on probation. The Bridge Scholars is a campus scholarship program while BUILD helps students that have learning disabilities. Spinney said the university abides by the law campus wide by providing enough access to doors in and out of buildings. Every residence hall, except for two, is wheelchair accessible. Warren Hall and Cravens Hall have steps to get into the building, and a ramp would be too steep, according to Spinney. However, the university places students in halls that are accessible to them. “We work with the students to put
Party Identification 48% Independent
32% Republican
20% Democrat
them in other halls that are accessible,” Spinney said. “And if they have family members who are wheelchair users, we move them into the other halls so they [family members] can come and visit as well.” Spinney said the university also makes sure to go above just what the law regulates, to make many situations easier for students. “When Hanna was under construction a few years ago, we didn’t want to have students who were wheelchair users or who were blind crossing the street, so we moved their entire classes across to the north side of Hanna Avenue. We work with where the student is and what they need to make accessible situations for them,” Spinney said. “We don’t have to have automatic doors.”
> See ACCESSIBILITY on page 3
Midterm Election Participation
88% did not vote in midterms
Planning to vote in the 2016 Presidential Election 21% Unsure
76% Yes
3% No Graphic by Kyle Dunbar
Sophomore communication major Jimmy Kennedy, who uses a mobility scooter and walker, scans a book in Krannert Memorial Library. Kennedy said the library is one of the toughest places for him to access at UIndy.
Dispassion for politics affects UIndy students By Michael Rheinheimer & Sarah Hunker OPINION EDITOR & STAFF WRITER
12% voted in midterms
Photo by Eric Moore
An informal survey recently conducted by The Reflector on the subject of student political involvement has found a change in political identity and involvement. Of 75 students, ranging in class rank from undergraduate to post-graduate students, 48 percent declared themselves to be independent voters. Thirty-two percent reported that they were registered members of the Republican Party, while 20 percent reported that they were registered members of the Democratic Party. The poll found low involvement in the recent midterm elections. Only 12 percent of those registered to vote did so. Those numbers did not extend to plans for 2016, however. Seventy-six percent of respondents reported that they planned to vote in the next presidential election.Three percent said that they did not plan to vote for the president, while the remaining 21 percent were unsure. Average party affiliation has changed since 2008, according to a similar survey reported by The Reflector in its Oct. 29 issue
of that year. Forty-four percent of respondents identified themselves as Democrats, 36 percent identified themselves as Republicans and 20 percent identified themselves as independent voters. According to civicyouth.org, only 62.1 percent of registered voters with at least some college experience turned out to vote in the 2008 presidential election between Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain. That number was down ten points from the 1972 presidential election between Senator George McGovern and Republican President Richard Nixon. The same website reported that for the 2010 midterms, 34.7 percent of college students said they did not vote because they were too busy, while 12.2 percent said they were not interested. Johanna Richardson, a first-year occupational therapy graduate student, describes herself as politically involved. “That’s the point of America,”she said. “I think if you’re going to live in a country where you have the freedom to make a
“I think people are frustrated with how it works. They feel like nothing’s working.”
Trustee member nominated, sworn into Indiana Academy By Kayleigh Jordan STAFF WRITER
University of Indianapolis trustee Deborah Daniels was inducted into The Indiana Academy at its 44th annual symposium on Oct. 6 in Indianapolis in recognition of her personal accomplishments and contributions to Indiana. The honor was awarded by the nonprofit association Independent Colleges of Indiana. Independent Colleges of Indiana represents 31 private nonprofit colleges and universities in Indiana, including UIndy. Daniels was inducted with three other Hoosiers: Robert Jones (Evansville), John Zeglis (Culver) and Andrew Goebel (Evansville). She spoke very highly of the people of Indianapolis and how their willingness to help has shaped her life. “We live in a culture here in Indianapolis, and we are so pleased that we do, where people want to step up, and they want to help each other. People who visit Indianapolis are always astonished at how
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friendly and helpful people are, even on the street.” Daniels joined the UIndy Board of Trustees in 2007 and is active on its Campus Life Committee. She chaired UIndy’s most recent Presidential Search Committee and Inauguration Committee. Daniels said that she was nominated by UIndy president Robert Manuel, and had no idea that she was nominated until she was presented with the award. “You can’t apply for this,” she said. “Someone has to think enough of you to nominate you, which was incredibly flattering. It’s a great honor. I told them I can’t think of another time in my life when I’ve been quite so humbled by an award.” Daniels is a partner at the law firm of Krieg DeVault LLP. She has experience in corporate compliance and criminal and civil investigations. She also previously has served as a U.S. attorney of the Southern District of Indiana and an assistant attorney general with the U.S. Department of Justice. At the Department of Justice, she has
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won several awards for her management skills and her work on behalf of crime victims. She said that the motivation to serve others has been ingrained in her since she was young. “My parents taught me that. Depauw [University] taught me that. The University of Indianapolis has the same kind of [focus] on giving to the community, getting involved in the community,” Daniels said. “So I am guessing that students now are going to really grow up with this kind of mentality. It is very important to help other people in your community. That’s what gives me gratification. ” Task Chairman of the Indiana Academy and Vice Chair of Board of Trustees Yvonne Shaheen is on the nominating committee for the academy. Shaheen said that she and Daniels have known each other for about 40 years. She also served on UIndy’s Presidential Search Committee with Daniels. She said she is “very easy to talk to.” Shaheen also said that Daniels is a very good lawyer and earned the managing partner position at her firm, Krieg DeVault, effective starting in 2015. Shaheen said that Daniels earned her
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difference in how it runs—and we’re one of the few countries that you do have an opportunity to make a difference—I think it’s a bit asinine to not take part.” Richardson said she believed that low political involvement is caused by a lack of faith in the ability of a voter to affect real change. “ I think p e o p l e a re frustrated with how it works.They feel like nothing’s working,” she said. “They think, ‘I’ll never really make a difference. One vote can’t make a difference.’” Richardson said that she did not think one vote could make a difference either, but that one movement could. Associate professor of history and political science and director for the Institute for Civic Leadership and Mayoral Archives Ted Frantz was not surprised by the amount of political apathy. “There are a lot of reasons why people who are undergraduates now might find politics off-putting,” he said.
diploma from two different Indiana colleges—a bachelor’s degree from Depauw University and a juris doctor degree from Indiana University’s McKinney School of Law where she graduated cum laude. She said that she was also a former U.S. attorney and an assistant U.S. attorney general. Her expertise was in criminal and civil investigations, and she now practices in federal government relations. Shaheen said that all of these attributes made Daniels a prime candidate and winner for this prestigious award. With all of these activities and the jobs she has taken on, Daniels said that she has learned a life lesson about time management. “You have to know where to stop.This is a good life lesson that took me a while to learn,” she said. “If you get on too many of these boards [volunteer work] to the point where you don’t have the time to give [to] them, then you’re not helping any of them. So you really have to focus your efforts on a few things at a time and be honest with people about how much time you have available.”
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> See POLITICS on page 8
ONLINE THIS WEEK at reflector.uindy.edu
UIndy CELL director has day dedicated to him Executive Director of the University of Indianapolis Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning David Dresslar received one of the highest honor from the mayor’s office.
Modern Languages Movie Night shows ‘Even the Rain’ The modern languages department showed the movie “Even the Rain” as part of the Modern Languages Movie night that the department puts on twice a month.
SJP hosts civil rights attorney to speak about Palestine and Israel Students for Justice in Palestine in collaboration with Janis Club hosted an event to open a dialogue on the current situation between Palestine and Israel. The event, entitled “Peace in the Middle East: Palestine, Israel, and You,” featured guest speaker Mark Sniderman, a Jewish-American civil rights attorney.
Toys for Tots
> See Page 7