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IDS
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
2023 FRESHMAN EDITION
Indiana Daily Student | idsnews.com
T TAL ECLIPSE Bloomington prepares for 2024 solar eclipse visitors
Congratulations on becoming a Hoosier! Beginning your college experience at IU-Bloomington is an incredible achievement and I wish you all the best during your freshman year. This is the Freshman Edition of the Indiana Daily Student, the student-run, independent newspaper here at IU. This issue compiles some of our best stories from the past academic year. The IDS has been a part of Bloomington since its founding in 1867 and is a vital resource for the community. Everything you see in this paper is pro-
By Luke Price lwprice@iu.edu
File photo by Sarah Verschoor
Hotels in Bloomington are already sold out for a total solar eclipse more than a year away. The city is an optimal viewing location for the phenomenon on April 8, 2024, which is expected to draw many visitors to Bloomington. Hotels including the Biddle Hotel at IU, Cascades Inn, Graduate Bloomington and Travel Lodge by Windham have no available rooms April 5-9. BPD Capt. Ryan Pedigo said the department began discussing how to handle the large amount of people coming to Bloomington for this event and the precautions they will take for the eclipse but did not list any specifics. According to the ECLIPSE IU website, the path of the eclipse will begin in Mexico and travel through the U.S. directly over central Indiana. Bloomington and IU will be in the center of the eclipse’s predicted path, so residents will be able to see the total solar eclipse. The solar eclipse is expected to last four minutes and two seconds and is estimated to begin at 3:04 p.m. A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon moves directly in front of the sun, blocking out sunlight for a brief period. The phenomenon occurs around once every 18 months but is not always visible at the same location. IU and Bloomington will be partaking in festivities such as live performances, art, poetry, special guests and trivia competitions,
duced by students — stories, photos and even the layout of the pages.. The IDS covers a variety of topics including local and regional news, IU sports and arts events. Stories are published daily on our website, idsnews. com, and in our free weekly print edition that can be found all around campus and in the city. Students working at the IDS have the opportunity to write about all the topics in this issue and much more. The IDS is also home to photographers, graphic designers and web develop-
according to IU’s ECLIPSE IU website. More details for these festivities will be released in the coming months. Catherine Pilachowski, astronomy professor at IU, said communities along the path of the 2017 partial solar eclipse in Indiana had triple the population during the event due to large amounts of tourists. Pilachowski said this put strain on public resources such as public safety, communications, food services and emergency management. “The eclipse in August of 2017 was only partial here in Bloomington,” Pilachowski said. “This is a total eclipse; it will be like multiple football games at once.” Pilachowski is part of a group of Bloomington and IU representatives that was put together to prepare Bloomington for the eclipse. She said the group works with several departments on campus, including astronomy and optometry departments, in addition to community representatives from the city who deal with community needs. The group is working to plan special events and to make sure the appropriate public resources are available in Bloomington on the day of the eclipse. Pilachowski said there will only be around four minutes of total darkness from the eclipse, but the moon will begin to cross in front of the sun an hour before the eclipse. She said there will be about an hour after totality before the moon moves completely out of the way of the sun. This story was originally published March 1, 2023.
ers. If you are interested in joining our team, please feel free to reach out me at editor@idsnews.com and keep an eye out for us at student involvement fairs this fall. Please enjoy the stories we’ve put together for you and good luck with your first year at IU!
Cailin O’Malley Editor-in-Chief
Kerry Thomson wins Democratic nomination for mayor By Marissa Meador
marnmead@iu.edu | @Marissa_Meador
Kerry Thomson emerged victorious in the three-way Democratic primary race for Bloomington mayor May 2. Thomson is currently unopposed and will take office in January if no challenger files to run against her by this summer. Thomson won with 43% of the vote, beating out Don Griffin with 24% and Susan Sandberg with 33%. Thomson garnered more donations than her competitors and lauded her experience as CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County as an example of how she would approach the affordable housing crisis. Thomson is currently the executive director of the IU Center for Rural Engagement. TAt the Ivy, a downtown event venue where Thomson’s watch party occurred, former mayors Mark Kruzan, John Fernandez and Tomi Allison introduced Thomson. As she approached the podium, the crowd started chanting: “Kerry! Kerry!” Dealing with issues with the microphone, Thomson asked “Can I turn this off?” “You can do whatever you want, you’re the mayor!”
COURTESY PHOTO
Kerry Thomson, the executive director of the IU Center for Rural Engagement, is pictured. Thomson emerged victorious in the three-way Democratic primary race for Bloomington mayor May 2, 2023.
someone shouted. Thomson expressed gratitude for her large crowd of supporters and said her campaign had knocked on almost 13,000 doors. Thomson said everyone’s voice was important in the city, regardless of what they believed in or how much money they had. She said she hoped Bloomington could set an example for the rest of the country. “This is a new leaf for Bloomington,” she said. During her speech, Thomson also thanked Griffin and Sandberg for running a great race, saying they made her a better candidate. This story was originally published May 2, 2023
IGNITE pushes forward in journey for representation By Mackenzie Lionberger
mlionber@iu.edu | @Mackenzie_L42
When current IU Student Body President Aaliyah Raji first began her campaign under the IGNITE campaign, she knew exactly who she wanted by her side. “Let me ask a wonderful black woman,” Raji said in an interview with the Indiana Daily Student about the new Vice President Marsha Koda. Raji said originally, she was advised by some to run with a man as her vice president, but Raji wanted to support black women in power and wanted IGNITE to push for representation within IUSG. Raji and Koda have become the first Black women to be elected for either of their positions in IU Student Government. Raji and Koda were inaugurated at the 76th inauguration on April 14 and are planning for their historic term. “This campaign meant a lot just because I knew when we were doing it that if we
were elected, we were going to be the first,” Raji said. The new executive leadership said during their campaign, they purposely did not publicize they would be the first Black women to fill this position if they were elected, because they wanted students to focus on their policies. Raji and Koda hope this moment for IUSG inspires students from all backgrounds to believe they can make a difference. “Us being the first starts that precedent, allows students who look like us who've never had role models to take a step forward,” Koda said. Raji said IGNITE wants to inspire people to apply for cabinet positions to create a diverse and representative executive branch. Applications for cabinet positions are due April 29 and they are looking for students interested in helping to uplift the IU community. Koda says this achievement can inspire little girls to see it’s possible for two Black
women to win an executive position and become the voice for students at IU. Koda said it was moving to follow in the footsteps of many other alumni of her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, who have gone onto historic positions, such as Vice President Kamala Harris. IGNITE officially started campaigning after Raji asked Koda to join her as her running mate for the 2023 executive IUSG election. The two had previously known each other from being a part of the Kelley School of Business and student government. Raji was a co-director of the first-year internship program at IUSG and Koda served as vice president of Alpha Kappa Alpha and outreach Kelley Student Government. Alpha Kappa Alpha is a historic African American sorority that has 1,061 chapters at many universities all over the country and 11 nations, according to their website. During the campaign trail, IGNITE said they had
a smooth campaign and felt that their social media presence established recognition with students. They plan to use their Instagram to reach out to students and be transparent once they officially take over IUSG’s Instagram account. “Since we’re both African American, the Black IU side will be more involved and I know a lot of them who didn’t know what IUSG was before, know because it was me and Marsha running,” said Raji. Raji and Koda are preparing to meet with the IU dean of students and IU President Whitten to discuss potential initiatives, as well as plan permanent recurring meeting dates between the executive branch and IU administration. IGNITE is currently taking applications for positions in their cabinet for the 2023-2024 school year, which is linked in their Instagram bio and on the student government's website. Raji said agenda setting and planning for next year will begin this
summer to prepare for the following semester. The ticket plans to reach out to multicultural organizations, students and other groups on campus to listen to their needs. This will be done by initiating events to collaborate with multicultural originations instead of just donating to them, Koda said. A few initiatives Raji and Koda want to accomplish include launching a student bus-driver program, investing in the IUSG Plan B budget and expanding the interfaith prayer space. The student bus driver program would propose a system to combat the driver shortage, as well as offer students jobs. Raji and Koda would also like to expand the Plan B budget to continue the accessibility of Plan B on campus for students. Raji and Koda want to expand interfaith prayer spaces for students by creating accessible offices and spaces for students of all religions on campus to practice their faith.
Koda said the interfaith prayer space in the IMU is not a big enough room for people from all religions to practice their faith. “IGNITE is not just me and Marsha it is a team of wonderful people who will help change IU for the better,” Raji said. Raji said she wants to collaborate with their cabinet and all the branches of IUSG to ensure transparency between all the branches. IGNITE is excited to be the first Black women in these positions but have emphasized they will not be the last. They said they are excited to begin this position and continue to meet with students and organizations to advocate their needs. “All these different minorities, I just hope this inspires them and tells them that it's really possible because if we can do it, they definitely can,” Raji said. This story was originally published April 27, 2023.
Check out our features online:
The IDS publishes in-depth and feature reporting into topics that affect students and the Bloomington community. Visit our website to read the examples below.
‘THE CHURCH’S ANSWER WAS HURTING THEM’ Former members of Bloomington’s High Rock Church allege spiritual abuse.
NAGPRA AT IU
‘THEY CAN SEE ME’
Thousands of Native American remains, a legacy of offensive research and the effort to move forward.
How gender-affirming care affects the lives of four IU students.