IDS Thursday, September 12, 2024
Indiana Daily Student | idsnews.com
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SWIFTY FEST VISITS BLOOMINGTON
Athlete alleges misconduct from IU physician By Daniel Flick
danflick@iu.edu | @ByDanielFlick
Indiana University is investigating allegations of inappropriate behavior against IU Athletics Hall of Fame member and former team physician Brad Bomba Sr., it announced in a press release Wednesday. The allegations were made by a former Indiana men’s basketball studentathlete who competed “several decades ago,” according to the release. IU was notified recently in a letter from legal counsel representing the undisclosed studentathlete. “The former student-athlete alleges he was subjected to inappropriate prostate and rectal exams during annual physicals with Dr. Bomba, Sr., something that he also alleges was a practice for all basketball student-athletes assigned to Dr. Bomba, Sr. for
physical examinations,” the release said. Bomba played football at Indiana from 1954-56 before becoming a contracted physician for IU’s sports teams from 1962-1970. In 1979, Bomba was hired as Indiana’s men’s basketball physician, a role he held through the late 1990s. He was inducted into the IU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1994. Bomba also served as a team physician for Bloomington High School South according to the Monroe County Sports Hall of Fame and was the physician for the USA Olympic Men’s Basketball Team in 1984. Upon receiving the allegations, Indiana retained Jones Day, an international law firm with a track record of handling similar investigations, to do an independent review.
IDS FILE PHOTO
front of Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall is pictured at sunset May 9, 2024, in Bloomington. Brad Bomba Sr. served as a physician for the Indiana SEE PHYSICIAN, PAGE 4 The men's basketball team from 1979 into the late 1990s.
Monroe County Democrats react to the debate By Andrew Miller
ami3@iu.edu | @andrew_mmiller
They had high expectations. But Monroe County Democrats lauded Kamala Harris' presidential debate performance Sept. 10 in what organizers say was the largest debate watch party turnout since 2008. Several dozen people — more than organizers expected — flocked to Nick's English Hut for the Monroe County Democrats’ debate watch party. Many said Harris exceeded their hopes. Nick’s waitstaff buzzed through the crowd of young and old; a much busier Tuesday night than normal. Soon the televisions airing the debate, which was to be relegated to the back room, spread throughout the entire bar. As it started, lively conversation shifted to light murmurs. High expectations Talon Hawkins, a freshman at IU studying theater and drama and political science, was there looking to get more involved with College Democrats at IU. He said he was excited to see former President Trump and Vice President Harris onstage — much more optimistic than he would have been if President Joe Biden had stayed in the race.
He watched the first debate between Trump and Biden while doing laundry. Like many Democrats, particularly younger voters, he was disappointed with Biden’s performance. “I even watched it again with friends,” he said. “And we agreed Biden’s responses weren’t good enough.” Some at the watch party felt apprehensive due to that debate performance. But Biden’s withdrawal and Harris’ nomination, according to multiple Monroe County Democratic officials, breathed new life into the party. David Henry, the county party’s chair, said the night of Sept. 10 was their largest watch party crowd since 2008, the year former President Barack Obama won Indiana. There are no premonitions of Harris winning Indiana this year, barring extreme circumstances. Still, many felt optimistic she would perform well nationwide. Bloomington Councilmember Sydney Zulich said she had high expectations, having seen her speak in person twice before. “She knows when to hit hard, and I think she knows when to pull back,” she said before the debate started. Zulich said she wanted Harris to bring a core tenet
of her campaign to the debate stage: joy. She said she didn’t want Harris to hit Trump too hard, but rather focus on her own priorities, her own policies.
“I love Joe Biden, but this is so refreshing” The crowd only murmured as Harris spoke, speaking at a more typical volume of a bar when it was Trump’s turn. They booed him and cheered for her — as one might expect a group of Democrats to. But many felt immediately optimistic after the debate started. “I love Joe Biden, but this is so refreshing,” one attendee said in the first minutes. At three points, one could have heard a pin drop — while Harris answered questions about abortion, the Israel-Hamas war and Trump’s comments questioning her racial identity. The crowd was happy the moderators interjected at times to fact-check Trump. Hawkins said Harris performed best while speaking on abortion. Others echoed his sentiment, with some of the loudest cheers of the night coming as Harris gave examples of how widespread abortion bans could impact victims of rape and incest. Josh Montagne, College Democrats at IU’s finan-
ANDREW MILLER | IDS
The Monroe County Democrats’ debate watch party is pictured Sept. 10, 2024, at Nick’s English Hut in Bloomington. Attendees had high expectations and thought Vice President Kamala Harris performed well against former President Donald Trump.
cial director, said he felt the energy coming throughout the debate and thought her performance would impact many voters’ decisions. “Look at the last debate,” he said. “That clearly influenced people’s decisions.” At one point, Trump questioned why Harris didn’t meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his state visit in July, instead going to Zeta Phi Beta Sorority’s — one of the nation’s largest historically Black sororities — Grand Boulé in Indianapolis. Monroe County Councilwoman Jennifer Crossley
said this comment was insulting. She’s part of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the same as Harris. She said Trump dismissed the event as a simple get-together, rather than an important celebration planned well in advance. Harris also met with Netanyahu the day after. “For the people” Crossley described Harris’ performance as “for the people.” However, Zulich didn’t see Harris communicate the message of joy pervasive throughout her campaign. “I think it’s hard to be joyful when you’re talking
to someone as cruel and full of hate as the former president,” she said. Zulich said Harris was able to turn around those issues onto herself and her own policies. The crowd applauded Harris after the debate ended. Everyone thought she did well, some thought better than expected. The debate, Zulich said, was likely taken well by independents as well as Democrats. A CNN poll of split debate watchers found almost twothirds of debate watchers said Harris performed better. “She got him,” one attendee said afterward.
Ukrainians in Bloomington reflect on the war at home By Maddie Hensley henslemm@iu.edu
Slavic melodies echoed through Sample Gates on a Saturday in August. A group of Ukrainians and supporters stood united, donning Ukrainian flags and vyshyvankas — a traditional blouse patterned with intricate embroidery. Together, they sang traditional Ukrainian songs to commemorate the country’s 33rd Independence Day. Iryna Voloshyna, a doctoral candidate in the folklore department, helped organize the Independence Day event. Voloshyna, originally from Khmelnytsky, Ukraine, moved to Bloomington in 2016. She is the
founder and Artistic Director of the Indiana Slavic Choir. “We wanted it to be celebratory, because it’s important to leave yourself the space to celebrate with honor and respect to all the grief that is in Ukraine,” Voloshyna said. This is the third Independence Day Ukraine has spent at war with Russia. “The meaning of independence has changed completely,” Voloshyna said. She said she had the opportunity to return to Ukraine last year. “When I came to Ukraine...by bus, it was the middle of the night,” she said. “We were crossing the
border into Ukraine, and I saw the letters of Ukraine and the Ukrainian flag. I was profoundly happy... It was heartwarming to see my country standing strong, no matter what, and it was so wonderful to have the country to go back to, even if it’s war-torn.” Mary Druganova, a local Ukrainian artist, said this was her first Independence Day away from home. She said since the initial invasion in February 2022, she and her family in Kyiv were regularly awakened at night by air raid alerts on their phones. Because there are no bomb shelters near their building, she said she spent countless nights in their apartment hallway listening
to overhead missiles. “You’re just praying, because it’s a lottery,” Druganova said. “You don’t know if it will hit your house or the one next to you. Today it could be you; tomorrow it could be your relatives. Or you’re praying that it will not hit a house where your grandfather sleeps.” With family still living in Kyiv, she said she continues to receive air raid alerts on her phone. At the start of the invasion, Russia launched missiles at dozens of cities all over Ukraine. Russian ground troops overtook large areas of Ukraine and made advances toward Kyiv. Ukrainians rallied together to protect their capital.
Since then, the battles have been largely contained to the east. Russian troops continue to inch forward, while Ukrainian troops work to defend and take back villages. In early August, Ukrainian troops launched a cross-border attack into Russia’s Kursk region. In the span of two and a half years, the United Nations verified over 11,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed. An additional 31,000 soldiers have been killed in the conflict, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last February. Russian troops continue to target critical infrastructures, which can impact electricity, water and other
Bloomington's 7 Day Forecast
everyday resources. Druganova spoke of how this continues to impact her mother and brother in Kyiv. “Sometimes people are sitting without electricity for 10 or 12 hours per day,” Druganova said. “So, imagine, it's 35 degrees [Celsius] outside, and you have no AC, no fan, you're just melting in an apartment.” Stanislav Menzelevskyi, a doctoral candidate at the IU Media School, expressed similar concerns for family back home. Menzelevskyi said he moved to Indiana in August 2021, and many of his friends and former colleagues are still involved in the fighting.
SEE UKRAINE, PAGE 4
SOURCE: ETHAN CHOO | EHCHOO@IU.EDU GRAPHICS BY: ALAYNA WILKENING
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