Nick Roberts, an economics student at IUPUI, has always had a passion for maps. Growing up, Roberts and his identical twin would spend hours studying maps with his great grandfather, which naturally lent itself to the study of political maps. Today, Roberts uses his passion for maps to address gerrymandering in Indiana.
On Sept. 27, Roberts gave testimony at the Senate Elections Committee shared by Sen. Jon Ford about the current state of Indiana’s districts. In the testimony, Roberts said that Fort Wayne’s minority population of Burmese and blacks do not have proper representation because the city has been “so egregiously split.”
“The idea that a Fort Wayne resident has more in common with a rural voter an hour away than with their neighbor is unreasonable,” Roberts said.
According to Roberts, many voters view gerrymandering as a “non-issue” or they simply don’t know what gerrymandering is or why it’s a problem. Furthermore, they may see the issue and care about it but don’t know what can be done about it.
“When it comes to potholes on the road, when it comes to crime, when it comes to education, people see it,” Roberts said, “But when it comes to gerrymandering, it’s such an abstract thing to basically everybody that it’s challenging to make people care about it.”
Roberts said another obstacle to the issue is apathy in addition to ignorance. According to Roberts, using terms such as ignorance can be condescending. He said that politics isn’t “friendly” to people outside of it, and voters tend to be “plugged out of” politics as a result. Additionally, Roberts said politics doesn’t favor new faces that could disrupt the status quo.
Roberts’ political career started in 2017 when he worked an internship with the Marion County Democratic Party. From there, he worked his way up and was a full-time campaign manager for three local campaigns. Roberts is currently the College Democrats of Indiana vice president.
“I know it sounds cliché, but there is no career path that will have more obstacles than politics,” Roberts said.
Roberts said that his career in politics was a long time coming. His family always had an interest in politics, but no one had ever gotten involved. At age 14 and 15, Roberts spent his free time delving into world topics, and by the time of the 2016 election he began to attend rallies and supported Bernie Sanders. Following the election with the victory of Donald Trump, Roberts said he felt the need to finally do something.
“I saw what was going on, and thought why not get involved?” Roberts said.
According to Roberts, independent commissioning is the solution to gerrymandering. Independent commissioning is present in France, Canada, and the U.K. In the U.S., Iowa has an independent commission, and zero counties are split in the entire state. The commission is appointed by the state, made up of geographers and other community members with no political ties, and its goal is to keep cities and communities together.
Roberts said that more grassroots work needs to be done, and that people devoted to changing the current system are needed. Roberts knows people dedicating 80 hours per week, but he said even five hours would be more than enough.
Looking ahead to the 2024 APIDA Heritage Fashion Show
By Daniel Guevara | April 24The Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Fashion (APIDA) Show will held on Wednesday, April 24, in Campus Center Room 450B and 450C at 6 p.m. Ahead of the show, committee members Katherine Shr and Hang Doan discussed the planning process behind the show and the message behind this year's event to present cultural backgrounds authentically.
What the vote of no confidence means for the future of IUPUI
By Abby Godsen | April 13On April 16, a vote of no confidence presented by Bloomington’s Faculty Council will be held against IU’s current president, Pamela Whitten, provost, Rahul Shrivastav and vice provost of faculty and academic affairs, Carrie Docherty. As IUPUI approaches a pivotal point in its history with the split, the unrest within leadership could disturb the continued cultivation of IUPUI’s campus.
Indiana legislature passes major bills affecting the education system
By Abby Godsen | April 1Editor’s Note: This article highlights only a few of the bills being presented in Indiana courts and does not address any bills impacting other states. The research and information presented is accurate to the time of publication and does not reflect developments after the publication date. The views ...
