IDS Thursday, October 30, 2025
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Indiana Daily Student | idsnews.com
SNAP benefits won’t be distributed next month By Ian Collier icollier@iu.edu
MOLLY GREGORY | IDS
Attendees sit ahead of Democratic State Rep. Matt Pierce's town hall meeting Oct. 27, 2025, at City Hall in Bloomington. The town hall focused on congressional redistricting, hours after Indiana Gov. Mike Braun called a special session on the issue.
Rep. Matt Pierce talks redistricting
By Molly Gregory
mogrego@iu.edu | @mollygregory22
It was standing room only at Rep. Matt Pierce’s town hall Oct. 27 at City Hall in Bloomington. Pierce, the democrat who represents Bloomington in the Indiana State House, held the town hall to invite constituents to discuss redistricting. Indiana Gov. Mike Braun announced earlier that day state legislators will be called to a special session Nov. 3 to redraw Indiana’s congressional map five years early. Pierce scheduled the town hall prior to the announcement, but Braun’s summons sharpened the event’s focus. Redistricting is the process of redrawing electoral district boundaries after the U.S. census every 10 years. The districts are drawn by the state legislature, but if both chambers of the legislature cannot agree on a new map, a backup commission must approve the new districts. Indiana was not due to redistrict until after the 2030 census, but President Donald Trump’s administration has pushed Indiana Republicans to ask for a middecade redo to give Republicans more power over the House of Representatives. Pierce opened the town hall by saying he does not believe many Indiana Republicans truly support redistricting. “I don’t think they really want to do it,” Pierce said. “I think they know it’s wrong.” Vice President JD Vance has visited Indianapolis twice to discuss redrawing the districts. Earlier this summer, Vance invited Republican leaders from Indiana to attend the State Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., where they discussed party strategy and key issues including redistricting. Pierce said some representatives may be hesitant to defy Vance because they are afraid of losing the White House's support ahead of Indiana House primary races in 2026. “There are a lot of people who are like, ‘I don't want to do it. Maybe I won't vote for it, but I don’t want to get out there and make myself a target and have all the stuff coming at me,’” Pierce said. After his opening statement, Pierce fielded questions from an audience of around 100 people. An attendee asked him why Indiana Republicans are unable to resist “a bribe” from Trump, and Pierce said it was “a mystery.” “Do you think the Republicans realize they are annihilating democracy?” another attendee asked. In response, Pierce said he thinks Republicans are concerned about “the look,” and that they do not have a resolute way to justify redis-
tricting. “I think that they're conflicted because they can't think of a good way to explain what they're doing, other than just, you know, a sheer, naked power grab,” Pierce said. The special session Pierce said the special session could last up to 30 days, but if the legislature is able to bypass the required three separate reading days with a two-thirds vote, the new maps could be voted on during the first day. Republicans have the super majority in the state House, so the day-of vote is a possibility.
"2025 is not an election year. To see so many people paying attention to something that’s going to be this pivotal is really exciting, and it makes me cautiously optimistic for higher engagement next year in 2026." Chrissie Geels, Monroe County Democratic party chair
Normally, the governor would not call for a special session unless he knew he had the votes to pass the redraw, Pierce said. However, Reports from the morning of Oct. 27 said the push for redistricting still does not have enough votes to pass. “I really think that they're probably a few votes short in the Senate of what they really need,” Pierce said. “And they're hoping that once they get into session and the focus gets on it, that essentially, that kind of MAGA base of primary voters will really start pressuring the people.” Pierce said he thinks calling for a special session is a strategy from the White House. “They’ve concluded that the best way to pressure the Republicans who said they don't want to vote for it is to get them into a session where the hot lights are on them and force them to put votes up on the board, because then they will be on record,” Pierce said. Chrissie Geels, Chair of the Monroe County Democratic Party, said Oct. 27 that MCDP would host a phone banking and letter writing “party” from 5-8 p.m. Oct. 28. to encourage state legislators to vote against redistricting. “I was heartened to see so many people turn out,” Geels said. “2025 is not an election year. To see so many people paying attention to something that’s going to be this pivotal is really exciting, and it makes me cautiously optimistic for higher engagement next year in 2026.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced last weekend that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits will not be distributed in November, according to a banner published on its website. For the 7,697 Monroe County residents who rely on SNAP, the lack of benefits could mean an increased reliance on food banks. The government shut down Oct. 1 after Congress couldn’t agree on a new federal budget bill. As a result, funding to the USDA, which handles SNAP benefits, has been halted. An Oct. 10 letter from the USDA directed state agencies that distribute SNAP benefits to not transfer November benefits to users’ electronic benefit transfer cards, which they use to spend SNAP funds. The USDA won’t receive new funds to provide SNAP benefits until the shutdown ends. The department used carryover funds from the previous fiscal year to fund SNAP through October. According to the monthly management report from Indiana Family Social Services, which manages SNAP funding, 571,594 Hoosiers received SNAP benefits in September, for a total of $111,460,740 in benefits issued across 273,867 Indiana households. Feeding Indiana’s Hungry, a non-profit that connects a large network of food banks, is bracing for the change in November. Executive director Emily Weikert-Bryant said the government shutdown has deregulated some federal employees' paychecks, as well as people who receive SNAP benefits. “Our folks are able to adapt quickly to meet the moment, but during a prolonged shutdown, food
NATALIA NELSON | IDS
Hoosier Hills Food Bank is pictured April 13, 2025, at 2333 W. Industrial Park Drive in Bloomington. HHFB announced plans Oct. 28 to spend nearly a quarter-million dollars on food purchases in November to counter the effects of the government shutdown.
banks and meal programs will face increased demand as families navigate paycheck disruptions and high food prices and now likely not having SNAP benefits to help with their grocery budget,” Weikert-Bryant said. Weikert-Bryant said food banks were already in need of more resources before the shutdown. “We are pushing through resources that we have,” Weikert-Bryant said. “We are looking for more resources, and we're doing all that we can to ensure that our neighbors have what they need.” The Bloomington Township Trustee, which manages a food pantry for eligible residents, is also expecting a larger workload due to the loss of SNAP benefits. Trustee Efrat Rosser said the township was already under strain with Bloomington residents losing SNAP benefits under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed by President Donald Trump on July 4. “We were already seeing more people coming to us in recent months, anyone like refugees and certain
immigrants have lost their SNAP benefits,” Rosser said. Hoosier Hills Food Bank, an organization that gathers and distributes food to nonprofits in Brown, Lawrence, Orange, Owen, Martin and Monroe counties, is bracing itself for a larger workload, as over 16,000 people in their jurisdiction will be without SNAP benefits. “The government shutdown is placing an extreme burden on food-insecure Hoosiers and on the charitable food assistance system,” HHFB CEO Julio Alonso said in a statement Oct. 28. “We are facing a potential crisis that will change the dynamics of our discussion from food insecurity to actual, literal hunger.” According to the statement, HHFB plans to spend nearly a quarter-million dollars on food purchases in November to counter the effects of the government shutdown, which amounts to about 275,000 meals. Alonso says their aid is not a sustainable fix to food insecurity, as SNAP benefits provide nine meals for every one HHFB provides. “Only as a community
can we get through this, and we still need help to do so, but make no mistake – we will get through this,” Alonso said in HHFB’s statement. A coalition of 25 states including California, Washington, and Massachusetts filed a lawsuit Oct. 28 against the USDA and the Trump administration over the interruption of benefits and the refusal to use SNAP’s contingency fund to cover the loss. “USDA’s claim that the SNAP contingency funds cannot be used to fund SNAP benefits during an appropriation lapse is contrary to the plain text of the congressional appropriations law, which states that the reserves are for use ‘in such amounts and at such times as may become necessary to carry out program operations’ under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008,” the lawsuit reads. The lawsuit requests a temporary restraining order that allows the budget from the contingency plan to pay out SNAP benefits and block the USDA’s withholding of benefits.
The Great Faculty Debate: Two IU deans argue AI, technology and world peace Students organized a faculty debate Tuesday on technological advancement By Ella Curlin elcurlin@iu.edu
Two deans debated the effects of technology on world peace to a crowd of about 90 people Oct. 28 during "The Great Faculty Debate,” an event organized by student leaders at the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. Executive Associate Dean of the HLS David Bosco and Isak Nti Asare, assistant dean for undergraduate education and student affairs, discussed whether technological advancements including AI, surveillance technology, social media and satellites would contribute to world peace. Student ambassador Makenzie Smerud said the event was a test run for HLS student leadership, who hope to hold more faculty debates in the future. Attendees lined up along the hall of the Global and International Studies Building 30 minutes before the event for a buffet dinner. Katherine Ntiamoah, HLS director of policy engagement and strategic partnerships, brought her 3-yearold son and 5-year-old daughters. HLS senior Faith Shands, who interns with Asare, said colleges everywhere should strive to bring debates back to campuses. “It is so important for
college campuses and just students in general, to be able to openly debate both sides of an issue without it resulting in polarization,” Shands said. During the debate, Asare and Bosco took turns answering questions posed by the HLS student ambassadors, who acted as moderators. Bosco took the side against technology, arguing that technology will fail to bring world peace. Asare argued that if humans use technology carefully, it will bring advancements to help improve society. The questions included an initial response of a minute and a half for each speaker and a 30-second rebuttal period for one speaker per question. Asare and Bosco discussed topics related to technology’s impact on world peace, including the threat of cyberattacks, the use of warfare technology in Ukraine and Gaza, the International Criminal Court’s use of satellite data or video and the destabilizing impact of political polarization and privacy on social media. “It was awesome, it was so educational,” said Teagan Tingley, a cybersecurity and global policy major, said. “I actually have a class with Isak, and so, like, a lot of the concepts that were talked about in that class, I saw used in the debate to-
ELLA CURLIN | IDS
Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies Assistant Dean Isak Nti Asare and Executive Associate Dean David Bosco discuss technological advancement Oct. 28, 2025, at the Global and International Studies Building in Bloomington. HLS student leadership organized the event.
day.” Throughout the debate, Bosco and Asare frequently agreed with each other, conceded on key points or joked with each other and moderators. Bosco said the debate was a great opportunity to demonstrate healthy civic engagement. “We were able to show like, how do you have good conversation, you know, about things where you might have some agreement, might have some disagreement,” Bosco said. “And I think it was a really good model, for, you know, just intellectual engagement on something of huge importance, right?”
After a round of questions from attendees, the moderators wrapped up the debate with a "lightning round" of quick questions about casual topics like children’s television, cornbread and Taylor Swift. HLS senior Chase Nattkemper said the debate was a valuable opportunity for students to learn about critical topics like the AI industry’s influence on politics from some of IU’s most intelligent faculty. “I think it helps students think critically about this, and I think it motivates students go out make sure that there's change, especially in our political system,” Nattkemper said.