IDS Thursday, September 26, 2024
Indiana Daily Student | idsnews.com
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PHOTOS: IU FOOTBALL SETS HIGH HOPES
scores 73rd, Jennifer McCormick talks state policy toward IU IU Kelley School
By Andrew Miller
ami3@iu.edu | @andrew_mmiller
If elected governor, Democrat Jennifer McCormick wants change in Indiana’s education system. In her speeches, she frequently cites Indiana’s ranking near the bottom of states in bachelor’s degree attainment — less than 30%. That’s leaving her concerned about the future of the state. Her education plan would push high school graduates toward colleges while her opponents, and the current state government, seek to implement more trades instruction. As governor, she’d enjoy various powers over IU, including influence on budget appropriations coming from the Statehouse, trustee selection and policy enforcement. In an interview with the Indiana Daily Student, McCormick answered how she would go about university issues. Board of Trustees McCormick would have the opportunity to appoint six members to IU’s Board of Trustees — one student
member on a two-year term, along with five other appointees on three-year terms. Those appointments would begin as current trustees’ terms expire in 2025, along with several throughout the rest of her term. McCormick said she wasn’t able to comment on the board’s current performance. “I haven’t done enough homework on the board to be able to do that at this time,” she said. “But I know too it’s a big decision, and
“For me, it’s about taking care of and attracting good people to be at Indiana University, and then retaining them." Jennifer McCormick
when I get to that point, I’ll make sure I do my due diligence.” Regardless, she said she would only nominate those with a “passion for higher education” and proven competency. “A lot of people are depending on them to get it
Sexual assault awareness, prevention tips By Nicole Blevins
neblevin@iu.edu | @nblevins01
Editor’s Note: This story includes mention of sexual violence or assault. The seven sexual assaults and seven rapes reported on campus since Aug. 21, according to IU Police Department’s crime log, typically fall into the period known as the “Red Zone.” A recent literature review suggested that a “defined Red Zone” is yet to be reached. The “Red Zone” is referred to as the period that spans the beginning of the fall semester to Thanksgiving break of the first semester on a college campus, when students are particularly at risk of sexual assault or rape. Senior Scientist and Director of the Kinsey Institute Sexual Assault Research Initiative, Zoë Peterson, focuses her research on sexual assault and sexual aggression. She has researched the term “Red Zone” within her career, but the review explained there is not enough empirical evidence to establish the existence of a Red Zone within the first few months of the semester. “No one’s to blame,” Peterson said. “We’ve all been promoting this idea of a Red Zone.” The review found it more viable to extend the time of a potential Red Zone to include college women’s first or second year on campus, but the “usefulness of considering half of a woman’s college career as high risk for sexual violence” was questioned by researchers.
9th in national rankings
right,” McCormick said.
Rhetoric and tenure One of the largest controversies in Indiana’s higher education came last year when the legislature passed Senate Enrolled Act 202, which increased state oversight of universities and changed conditions for tenure. It requires universities to prohibit faculty members from receiving tenure or promotions if they are deemed unlikely to foster free inquiry and expression, or unlikely to give learning material from a variety of standpoints. McCormick said the law threatens to chase good professors and students away from Indiana. Several protests last semester condemned the then-bill, along with other issues facing IU. “For me, it’s about taking care of and attracting good people to be at Indiana University, and then retaining them,” she said. “And you don’t do that by putting rhetoric out there that’s putting people at risk.” As governor, McCormick would have a variety of options to combat SEA
By Chloe Oden
chloden@iu.edu | @chloeoden0
ernor, served in the Indiana House of Representatives for 20 years. McCormick said his experience in the chamber would help her work with the legislature more effectively.
U.S. News and World Report scored Indiana University Bloomington 73rd out of 436 national universities and 34th out of 225 public schools this year in a new ranking released Sept. 24. The Kelley School of Business was ranked ninth in the country — tied with University of Southern California and Cornell University’s business schools — and first in the state for best business schools. Seven programs from Kelley also received rankings in the top 10 in the country according to IU’s news release. Kelley’s marketing program was ranked third nationally, accounting was fourth, entrepreneurship fifth, management information systems eighth, finance 10th and production/operation management 10th.
SEE MCCORMICK, PAGE 4
SEE RANKINGS, PAGE 4
JENNIFER MCCORMICK
202’s effects. She said she’d work with the Commission of Higher Education, other state agencies and the general assembly, where her running mate Terry Goodin would come in. Goodin, the Democrats’ nominee for lieutenant gov-
ARTS
Witch Fest casts a spell on Bloomington By Riya Malik rimali@iu.edu
A rise in reports is often hard to interpret, Peterson said, because most sexual assaults are never reported to police or campus authorities. Increased reports do not always correlate with a rise in occurrences of assault. “It could be a bad sign that actual rates of sexual assault are increasing, or it could be a good sign that people are feeling more comfortable coming forward and reporting their experiences to authorities,” she said. Sexual assault is underreported for various reasons, but many victims who do not report their experiences often do not know if what happened to them qualifies as sexual assault or rape. Legal definitions of each vary by country and by state. Most research definitions consider sexual assault to be nonconsensual sexual contact due to incapacitation from drugs or alcohol, threats or physical force. Rape is often reserved to penetrative acts that occur through similar circumstances, she said. Sexual assault prevention programs are available on campus to educate students to make healthy decisions and remain safe. You can report sexual assault to IU on the Stop Sexual Violence webpage. You can also report directly to campus authorities or Bloomington police. If you are seeking support about an experience you may have had, The Office for Sexual Violence Prevention and Victim Advocacy can be contacted at cva@indiana.edu or 812856-2469.
Gather and oak. hosted the third annual Witch Fest from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sept. 21 by the Monroe County Courthouse to commemorate their stores’ 11th and fourth anniversaries. Witch Fest has become a community event hosting a variety of artists, vendors and crafters specializing in all things witchery and magicrelated. The event featured astrologers, illustrators, piercing and tattoo artists, tarot readers and Reiki professionals. Witch Fest was organized by Talia Halliday, founder and owner of the local gift and plant shops Gather and oak. She designed the event to occur around the fall equinox and to commemorate the opening anniversaries of her two stores. Since its establishment in 2022, Witch Fest has allowed Bloomington residents and students to experience everything magic for free. Halliday organized the different vendors and activities for attendees to experience while also setting up local food trucks and tanghulu, a popular dessert made of hard sugar-coated fruits. “Nowhere else in town can you do that in the course of the day,” Halliday said. This year’s Witch Fest saw expansive growth in comparison to previous years. They now host over 75 vendors from just 15 in their first year. Vendor booths surrounded the square and extended onto W 6th St. as well, where food trucks were located by oak.’s actual store. A grant from Visit Bloomington also helped them expand the company’s promotion outside Bloomington and bring in new, excited attendees and vendors from further away. Vendors were selected for Witch Fest through a juried application process that
helped Halliday create an inclusive and diverse group of artists and handmade crafters to feature for the event. Her store oak. also had a large booth at the event featuring crystals, plants and tarot cards. A popular booth at Witch Fest was Crystal Moon, which featured many retail items such as clothing, candles, perfume oils, tarot cards and jewelry that are also offered in the lobby of their store located at 208 S. Dunn St. Annie the Impaler, owner and body piercer for Crystal Moon, has also been a vendor at Witch Fest since the beginning. “It’s definitely my favorite event I’ve ever done. I love it; the growth has been amazing.” she said. “And this year it’s even bigger because now we have the square and the road.” As someone who has worked with Halliday many times in the past for events like Witch Fest, Anna said she loves how Witch Fest allows people to connect with others who have similar interests and find a community. "(Halliday) is amazing for putting this on. It's so much hard work and we just really love it and appreciate it,” said Annie. “I know that everybody that participates in it loves it and is really excited to do it again the next year.” Kara Bookwalter offered massage services and aura fluffs, a practice to heal and cleanse people’s energies, at Witch Fest as the owner of In My Hands Massage and Bodywork located at 804 N. College Ave. She has been a vendor with Witch Fest since its first year and is also a member of the Bloomington Witch Collective, a group of local witches that host free events and form a community. Bookwalter and the Collective helped lead the opening ritual for Witch Fest which featured music and invocations. Her favorite part
RIYA MALIK | IDS
Forty-leven, a family-owned business that creates handcrafted brooms, displays them for sale at Witch Fest on Sept. 21, 2024, at the Monroe County Courthouse lawn in Bloomington. Their booth at Witch Fest featured dozens of unique broomsticks, dolls, jewelry and wands.
of Witch Fest has been getting to see all of the vendors come together from different parts of Indiana. “I don't think that there was anything like it until (Halliday) put together the first one,” Bookwalter said. “So I think that what (Halliday) has done is just really give a platform and give a space for people to feel like, ‘wait, I'm not the only one doing this.’” Granola Girl Skincare hosted their booth at Witch Fest this year for the first time. J.D. Grove, owner of the company, has worked with Halliday for many years with the Bloomington Handmade Market. Their skincare company produces different soaps, hair care products and teas for anxiety and depression. Grove chose to participate in Witch Fest this year because of their background with Halliday. “(Halliday) is a pretty amazing organizer and her events are usually off the hook. She is a real long term supporter of small indie brands, women owned brands and queer owned brands,” they said, “I'm also pagan, and it's important to me to see representation of witches in our community.” Witch Fest has also helped people learn more about witch practices and beliefs that vendors like Grove subscribe to. “I think it (brings) greater awareness (and) less stigma around paganism,” Grove
Bloomington's 7 Day Forecast
said. “I don't think a lot of people feel uncomfortable wearing crosses or other religious symbols, but paganism is really stigmatized. So I think (Witch Fest is) an opportunity to be like, ‘Witches are cool!’” Jenny Smedberg of Mystical Mavens said she also appreciated the support Witch Fest has brought to the witches and pagan community as a first-time vendor. “Witch Fest is great for the community because this group of people — pagans, witches, people of that nature — typically have to hide what they are, so this gives them a way to be out there to interact with other who have the same practices and just really have a social interaction without fear of appraisal,” Smedberg said. Irene Mudd, owner of Guided Hand Studio, sold various cards, stickers, prints, pillows and charms at Witch Fest as part of her esoterica and astrology-based shop. In her second year as a vendor, she said she was excited to see people come together and experience the great energy of the Witch Fest community. “I think it’s great to celebrate witches, especially in these times. I think it’s very much a symbol of women’s empowerment and queer folks’ empowerment. Seeing the community come together for it is really powerful. It sends a message that witches are accepted,” Mudd said.
SOURCE: ETHAN CHOO | EACHOO@IU.EDU GRAPHICS BY: ALAYNA WILKENING
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