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Thursday, March 12, 2026
How to ‘live your 20s’: IU students increasingly turning to Christianity
Indiana Daily Student | idsnews.com
‘People just need to know what's going on’ Hope and fear in IU's Iranian community that maybe they don't have a very coherent strategy of what they want to do.” Some attacks on civilian infrastructure, including Israeli strikes on fuel depots, have gone too far, Beshkar said. He wants people to contact senators, representatives and anyone in government to push for a clear strategy of regime change.
By Andrew Miller
ami3@iu.edu | andrew_mmiller
Alireza’s screen time has jumped. It’s reached more than 12 hours per day, he said. He’s an Iranian PhD student at Indiana University, constantly watching and reading the news of the war unfolding back home. Alireza calls his family in Iran when he can. Their conversations aren’t long; they just check up on each other and make sure everyone’s all right. His close family has already left Tehran, Iran’s capital, for another city. He said he last saw his family in 2023 before he left to study at IU. To protect them from Iranian government retribution, he requested his last name not be included in this story. Alireza said he’s hopeful for the future but scared in the present, a common feeling among Bloomington’s Iranian community. It’s unclear what’s next, but he thinks there’s a real chance the Iranian government falls and the country transitions toward democracy. In his ideal world, that’s what would happen. “I've never, like, feel like Iran would have a good future, but right now, it's possible,” Alireza said. It’s hard to focus on schoolwork, he said, but his friends and professors have supported him. He wants people at IU to understand what’s happening in Iran. “People just need to know what's going on,” he said. … The United States and Israel launched widespread strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and much of the country’s top officials. The two countries did not formally declare war against Iran; nonetheless, war has embroiled many countries in the Middle East. Human Rights Activists News Agency estimates more than 1,200 civilians have been killed since the strikes began in Iran. Israel estimates that it and the United States have killed about 3,000 Iranian military
“(People in Iran are) bare handed. They can't help, they can't fight, because government already killed and prisoned everyone who fought back.” A third-year IU PhD student
“The objective should remain liberating the country from this state, from this regime,” he said. “Just weakening this state and just leaving is not going to be a long-term solution for the West, and of course, it's going to be a terrible situation for people in Iran.” ANDREW MILLER | IDS
IU professor Babak Seradjeh waves a historical Iranian flag Jan. 11, 2026, outside the Monroe County Courthouse in Bloomington. While not currently used, the lion and sun were featured on Iran's state flag before the Iranian Revolution.
personnel. The conflict's death toll has grown outside Iran, as well: nearly 600 people in Lebanon. Seven American service members across the Middle East. Twelve civilians in Israel, and more than 30 people in other neighboring countries. Alireza saw a video of his high school in Iran after strikes hit, showing classrooms destroyed. “It's kind of sad to see these things,” he said, “but actually, what I believe is the high school or the classrooms are not important, the people are important.” A third-year IU PhD student, who requested anonymity to protect her and her family, said some of her close relatives’ homes had been bombed in Tehran. Some family members who could leave did so. Others had to stay for work. “They're not feeling that good, in general, because it's war, but they are hopeful that the regime changes and they wouldn't be dealing with this evil government
another 50 years,” she said. … IU professor Mostafa Beshkar was born in 1979, the year the Islamic Republic of Iran was established after the revolution that overthrew Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. His life growing up, he said, somewhat followed the population’s brewing disillusionment with the regime. He watched frustration develop, protests periodically swell, the population become less religious and the economy worsen. The last time he visited was in 2022, right before mass protests engulfed the country after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, arrested and accused of wearing her hijab improperly, died in police custody. Iran Human Rights estimates state forces killed a minimum of 551 protesters in the unrest. “You could feel it in the air that something was going to happen,” Beshkar said, “because of all the
conflicts between people and the morality police that year.” In January this year, protests again swelled. Contact with most people inside Iran became impossible for weeks as the Iranian government cracked down, killing thousands. Iran’s government put the number of protesters killed at nearly 3,000. Time Magazine, citing two unnamed health ministry officials, reported that as many as 30,000 people were killed. The Guardian, citing medics and morgue staff, estimated the death toll exceeded 30,000. Beshkar left Iran in 2003 to study in the United States, where he moved permanently. He’s now a professor of economics at IU, also watching and reading the news. “My sleep is completely messed up,” he said. His family is still in Iran and calls him periodically. He said he’s hearing a mix of hope and fear from them. People celebrated on the
streets of Iran after Khamenei was killed. But he’s afraid the war might be taking a different turn — from toppling the regime, toward weakening the state. The aim of the United States and Israel’s strikes remains unclear. On Feb. 28, President Donald Trump said the goal was to defend against imminent threats — an allegation countered in U.S. intel briefings — as well as to prompt regime change and destroy Iranian military and nuclear development. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio later clarified the imminent threat was an Iranian response to a planned Israeli military attack. More recent messaging suggests a de-emphasis on regime change. On March 1, Trump said the potential leaders U.S. government officials “were thinking of” to replace Khamenei had been killed in the strikes. “The U.S. every day seems to have — at least seems to propose — a different objective,” Beshkar said. “That makes me worried
… Explaining the nuances of the war is difficult, the third-year PhD student said. She woke up to the news of war breaking out in shock. When she heard Khamenei was assassinated, she was happy — she considered him the root of much of Iran’s problems. After hearing that news, the student said things have been different. It’s difficult to know what the war will hold. Worse, she said, it’s hard to explain what’s going on to others in Bloomington, or why some Iranians wanted a war. She and Alireza said it was inevitable. She views supporting the strikes as choosing a lesser evil. But that’s hard to communicate. There’s so much pulling her and Alireza in countless directions: hoping for regime change, fearing the war takes a turn for the worse or that the Islamic Republic remains in power. “(People in Iran are) bare handed,” the student said. “They can't help, they can't fight, because government already killed and prisoned everyone who fought back.”
Meet Sumi, the emotional support chicken By Emerson Elledge eelledge@iu.edu
Sumi’s life started out like most chickens. She lived on a farm, laid eggs and did everything else chickens do. She likes grapes and mealworms. She doesn’t like onions. In many ways, she’s a textbook chicken. The only thing not typical about Sumi is her retirement gig. While many embrace their old age as a chance to rest, Sumi has taken on a new mantle as an emotional support chicken at Friend’s Place Shelter — Bloomington’s primary overnight shelter for women. Friend’s Place is an affiliate program of Beacon. Erica Alvey, Friend’s Place case manager and team leader, raised Sumi. Alvey’s family has a farm, she said, and they raise chickens for eggs, goats for milk and grow vegetables in a garden. Sumi is a black Sumatra chicken, a breed that originated in the Sumatra Island of Indonesia. Alvey named Sumi after her breed. Sumi’s 13 years old, Alvey said. Sumatra chickens typically live to be about 8 years old but can live up to 20 with proper care. In Sumi’s old age, Alvey began to notice a major problem — as the chicken
ran around the farm, as chickens often do, her neck didn’t properly support her head. Instead of keeping her head stable, it would spin around in circles, causing her to lose balance and making Alvey concerned for her health. After the realization, Alvey began to keep Sumi indoors in pens, watching younger chicks. She was scared the grown hens and roosters would bully her. Alvey began her role at Friend’s Place in August, she said. So did Sumi. “I thought, ‘Well, let's see if, you know, people, maybe clients would like interacting with her,’” Alvey said. They did. Now, Sumi lives full time in a crate in Alvey’s office inside Friend’s Place. The office has become a sort of animal farm, because the shelter will sometimes foster animals for its clients while they find housing. Sumi’s current coworker, besides Alvey, is a white cat with brown spots named Snowball. “She doesn't make the ‘loud chicken noises,” Alvey said. “The first time a cat was in here, she made a little bit of a distress sound or one time, someone brought a dog in, she made a little bit of a distress call.” Sumi’s almost iridescent,
black feathers are softer than they appear. The colorful, reflective sheen over the black feathers was described by Lindsey Dominguez, the Friend’s Place program director, as mimicking the appearance of an oil spill. Whenever Sumi’s taken out of her cage and is put onto someone’s lap, she’s accompanied by a “just in case” green hand towel, functioning as a diaper. Alvey said many of the shelter’s clients seek out Sumi’s company. “It ended up being quite amazing, actually, the connection she's been able to make with some people and the comfort she's brought to some people,” Alvey said. One time, Alvey was comforting a woman going through severe psychosis. It didn’t seem like anything was helping. So, she brought out Sumi and started telling the client about her. “She was patting around seeing how soft she was and it kind of grounded her and enabled her to be able to sleep,” Alvey said. “It kind of brought her a little more back into our, you know, shared reality.” Dominguez helps care for Sumi when Alvey isn’t working. “Usually, I'm just talking to her as I'm doing whatever,” Dominguez said, before
EMERSON ELLEDGE | IDS
Sumi, the black Sumatra chicken, sits in Beacon Executive Director Forrest Gilmore's lap March 9, 2026, in the Friend’s Place Shelter in Bloomington. Sumi moved into the homeless shelter as an emotional support animal in August.
adopting a baby voice. “So, like, ‘Excuse me, I'm gonna get your water now.’” Clients talk to Sumi too. They hold her and tell her about their days. “I think all animals have a capacity to connect with human beings,” Alvey said. “I don't think people realize, a lot of people think chickens are stupid, but they're actually not. I mean, well, they're little dinosaurs in some ways. I think just any animal has a capacity to make connection, and I think she feels that. I think they innately feel that kind of energy or that
ability to connect with love and with affection, depending on how they're treated, you know? She's wise, she's old and she likes to give a little advice.” Dominguez said most clients just call Sumi by her name as they’re talking to her. “We have had a few people make like fried chicken jokes,” Dominguez said. “That’s not our girl. She's not interested in that.” Sumi’s tenure at Friend’s Place shows no signs of stopping. The clients love it. The employees love it. Sumi
probably loves it. “I think it's fun for people to have something unique, you know, something a little different,” Alvey said. “I know some of the people, some of our coworkers in the community and other agencies like to come by and visit her once in a while. She can add a little de-stress, you know like, ‘Hey, just stop by and hold the chicken.’” Sumi the chicken, though she was a rather vocal onlooker during most of the interview with the Indiana Daily Student, declined to comment.