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THE OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF INDIANAPOLIS
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VOL.
96
I S S UE 3
OCTOBER 11, 2017
A silent walk for Dreamers
The UIndy community comes together in support of Dreamers and DACA as the last day for status renewal passes
Photo by Zoë Berg
Students, staff, faculty and community members walked around Smith Mall in support of DACA on Oct. 4 for the DACA Walk of Silence. Ali Burt and Noah Hinkley held signs made by students supporting UIndy’s Dreamers.
By Zoë Berg EDITOR-IN-CHIEF On Oct. 4, the day before the final day Dreamers could renew their Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status, University of Indianapolis students, faculty, staff and community members gathered in the Schwitzer Student Center Atrium at 3 p.m. for the DACA Walk of Silence ceremony. The event was sponsored by Interfaith Scholars, PRIDE and Student Organization of Latinos. The first speaker at the event was Director of International Services Mimi Chase. She focused on explaining DACA and its importance. “In order to have a position on any issue, we must first become informed,” Chase said. “So my goal today is to educate you on DACA.” Chase explained that those who are sheltered under DACA are called Dreamers. President Donald Trump recently announced plans to end DACA, which has protected about 800,000 young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. by their parents as children, according to CNN.com. Congress has been given until Mar. 5, 2018 to keep the protections granted to the Dreamers, otherwise they will lose their status and risk deportation. When Chase discussed this deadline and upcoming decision, she said the best
thing that could happen would be for Congress to pass permanent legislation that would be favorable to Dreamers. Junior psychology major and CoPresident of PRIDE Noah Hinkley then spoke about how to be a good ally to Dreamers. He said there are three steps: realizing that there is a problem and internalizing it, speaking up about the problem and stepping back to let those who have been directly affected have a chance to share their experiences and concerns. Kimberly Romero, a Dreamer, Latino and student from Ben Davis High School spoke about her experiences. Romero said she came to the U.S. in 2001 and quickly assimilated, learning English and even losing her accent. “From the moment I arrived in the U.S., I felt like any other citizen,” Romero said. She said that growing up, she lived in constant fear that her house would be raided and her parents would be arrested and deported. Before she got DACA status, Romero said, she often had to make excuses about things, such as why she did not have a car or drive, why she never traveled outside of the country and why she did not apply for scholarships,
but DACA helped with that. Vice President and Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer Sean Huddleston spoke about unity on campus and how the UIndy community could come together to support Dreamers. He said Dreamers often have to live in the shadows, in fear of deportation, and he would like to see a permanent pathway for Dreamers to stay in the U.S. Huddleston said that it is important to look at what unites people and that without the Dreamers, U I n d y wo u l d not be the same. “All of us at some point in our lives. . . want to not be in the shadows, and that’s what unity is,” Huddleston said. After the ceremony, attendees silently walked around Smith Mall to show their support for Dreamers. In addition to the ceremony, there were about 50 signs on Smith Mall all day that were made by UIndy students to show support for Dreamers, along with 18 printed educational signs, according to Hinkley. Freshman exercise science major Hillary Carnall attended the DACA Walk of Silence and said she came to the event not knowing much about DACA, but learned a lot. “I didn’t realize how many people it affected. When they mentioned that people
“We are asking for peace, some of us in the only country we call home.”
here—students here—were affected, I didn’t realize that,” Carnall said. “I walk around this campus every day and I just don’t know their stories. I was privileged. I was born here. My parents were born here, so I’ve never had to deal with that fear. And to walk around knowing that some people do have to deal with that fear is just—it hit me.” Chase, Hinkley and Huddleston emphasized writing to members of Congress, and at the ceremony, a table set up so that attendees could have the chance to send letters to Indiana’s senators and show their support for Dreamers. “We are asking for peace,” Romero said, “Some of us in the only country that we call our own.” Hinkley said his own generation will often see articles or posts on social media and re-share them without thinking about them too much, but he would like to see students at UIndy do more. “First, you’ve got to educate yourself.” Hinkley said. “[You have to] learn about the issue and learn about your stance. And then you need to make sure that you communicate that stance to people around you and try and educate them, and also to your representatives, because in the end, they’re the ones making legislation on our behalf.” He said it is not difficult to reach out to a senator or representative, and he recommends that anyone who supports DACA do so.
reflector.uindy.edu
Counseling Center hosts drop-in events By Maia Gibson NEWS EDITOR The University of Indianapolis Counseling Center is hosting Stress Less Drop-In workshops over the course of the semester. The workshops take place on Tuesday afternoons in the Health Pavilion Room 108 at 1 p.m., and cover a variety of topics, including homesickness, time management and self-care, according to Staff Psychologist Alicia Simle. She said that she had been thinking about starting the workshops since she came to UIndy last year. “I knew that, as the groups coordinator, I was going to have to start thinking of new and creative ideas about what types of groups to offer and when to offer them and what would help students the most,” Simle said. Simle collected data from 55 student surveys. She asked questions about potential topics that would interest students, the structure of the workshops and when they should occur. She used these responses to structure the program. “From the information, from the surveys, a lot of the themes that were coming up were related to stress, relaxation and anxiety,” Simle said. “People indicated that they would like something that’s a drop-in. They don’t have to come here for a certain number of weeks and then commit to that, so that’s more flexible for the students, because students have very busy schedules. By having a drop-in workshop, it allows people to come when they can, on weeks that they can, and then also focus on a variety of tips that might be of interest to them, so they can pick and choose which ones they think would be most helpful to them.” Counseling Center Director Kelly Miller said that the drop-in groups can be less intimidating than traditional therapy or group sessions that the Counseling Center offers. “It’s not therapy. It’s just these pop-up groups that are related around topics that might be more inviting for students,” Miller said. “There’s no long-term commitment. You can come to one of the 10 or so that we have scheduled, or you can come to as many as you want. So it’s come and go. You don’t have to sign in or anything; you just have to show up.” According to Simle, each topic is planned separately. Some weeks will feature a discussion among participants; others will consist of the Counseling Center staff sharing information with students. Simle also said that participants will learn stress management strategies. “Some of it [the workshops] might be practicing one of the strategies together. So if it’s learning how to breathe properly in order to relax your body, then we might practice that,” Simle said. “And so hopefully, they [students] would have something to take with them that they can practice at home or wherever they are.” Simle said that she is looking forward to working with students on relaxation
> See Workshops on page 10
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Intellectual Life Vision looks to set UIndy apart Graphic by Erik Cliburn
By Erik Cliburn MANAGING EDITOR
When the Vision 2030 Plan comes to mind, many may think only of the physical changes that have been made to the University of Indianapolis campus,
such as the renovation of Krannert Memorial Library and the construction of the Health Pavilion and Greyhound Village. However, the Intellectual Life Vision is essentially the next phase of Vision 2030, according to Executive Vice President and Provost Stephen Kolison,
and, as the name suggests, is more related to the overall intellectual aspects of UIndy’s future. Shortly after his recent arrival at UIndy, Kolison was tasked with establishing a committee that would oversee an “Academic Master Plan” that would cover the bases of what UIndy is to become
over the next 10 to 15 years. The Academic Master Plan Committee essentially is exploring what will make UIndy stand out from other universities. Although still in its infancy, according to senior political science major and Indianapolis Student Government
President Jason Marshall, the committee has divided into subcommittees (e.g. student initiative programs) so that a wide variety of information can be gathered to move the university forward in its vision.
> See ILV on page 10