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(12/21/18 7:21pm)
When was the first Christmas as we know it celebrated? When did we first start watching Christmas movies and specials, listening to Christmas songs, putting up Christmas trees, sending Christmas cards, and waiting for Santa to bring us presents? And what do those who celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday believe that it’s about?
Christmas movies (1980s to 2000s)
Among all of the Christmas traditions, the most popular theatrical films about the holiday remain the most recent additions. A YouGov poll conducted in December 2018 found that Americans favorite Christmas movies include It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), A Christmas Story (1983), Home Alone (1990), National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989), Elf (2003), Miracle on 34th St. (1947), Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), and The Polar Express (2004).
A majority of the most popular feature films that Americans identify with Christmas were released during the adulthood of all baby boomers (born from 1946 to 1964), most Gen Xers (born from 1965 to 1980) and the childhood of all millennials (born from 1981 to 1996). If one cannot remember seeing any of these movies for the first time in theaters, they likely have parents who can.
Christmas specials (1960s)
Compared to the most popular Christmas movies, the most popular Christmas specials on television are a couple decades older on average. According to a Monmouth poll conducted in December 2017, the most popular Christmas specials were Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964), A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966), and Frosty the Snowman (1969). The Rudolph and Frosty specials were created by the now defunct Rankin/Bass Productions, who were known for their stop motion animation. Other Rankin/Bass specials that have since become Christmas classics include The Little Drummer Boy (1968), Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town (1970), and The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974). Almost all of the most popular Christmas specials on television were released in the 1960s and re-aired ever since, embedding them in the childhoods of many Gen Xers.
Christmas songs (1930s to 1950s)
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, or ASCAP, found that a majority of the most popular Christmas songs were written between the 1930s and 1950s. The oldest popular Christmas songs are “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and “Winter Wonderland”, both released in 1934. The newest among the twenty most popular Christmas songs are “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” (1963) and “All I Want for Christmas Is You” (1994). But for the most part, Baby Boomers, Gen Xers and millennials will have heard almost all of the same Christmas songs since they were young. Only the Silent Generation (born from 1928 to 1945) and the Greatest Generation (born 1901 to 1927) would be able to recall when most of these songs first hit the radio.
Christmas trees (1848)
The tradition of putting up evergreen trees and decorating them in celebration of Christmas first began in 16th century Europe, with candles used before the advent of electricity. This custom was first brought to North America by German immigrants, but did not become popularized in most of the English-speaking world until 1848. That year, Queen Victoria had a Christmas tree put up in Windsor Castle and decorated for her German prince consort Albert. The Illustrated London News published a lithograph of the royal family’s tree adorned with ornaments and candles, sparking renewed interest in the German custom throughout the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States.
A Christmas Carol and Christmas cards (1843)
On Dec. 19, 1843, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol was published and introduced the world to Ebenezer Scrooge and the three spirits of Christmas. The work and its many adaptations throughout the years emphasize the virtue of generosity and the importance of family. The depiction of the Cratchit family sitting down to eat a turkey dinner together became influential. For those who couldn’t be with their families on Christmas, an increasingly cheap postal service in the United Kingdom helped people to send letters.
This became a problem for those like Sir Henry Cole, the founder of the Victoria and Albert Museum. According to John Hanc of the Smithsonian.com, Cole was inundated with Christmas correspondence and feared being seen as rude if he failed to reply. Thus, he asked an artist friend of his, J.C. Horsley, to create illustrated cards that read, “A Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year To You.” These were the first Christmas cards, invented in the same year as the publication of A Christmas Carol.
Santa Claus (early 1820s)
Almost all of the traits that we now associate with Santa Claus first appeared together in the early 1820s. The 1821 illustrated children’s poem “Old Santeclaus with Much Delight” depicts Santa Claus, a man with red cheeks framed by a full beard and outfitted in a heavy red coat and hat, traveling on Christmas eve from rooftop to rooftop in a sleigh pulled by a reindeer to deliver toys to good children and black wooden sticks to bad children. Two years later, the Troy Sentinel newspaper in New York published the anonymously submitted 1823 poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas”, known as the “The Night Before Christmas” from its first and most iconic line. The poem describes Santa Claus with a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dunder (Donner), and Blixem (Blitzen). In the poem, Santa enters the house through the chimney with a sack of toys and uses it to fill the Christmas stockings of the children inside. Santa is also described as a “jolly old elf”, and the 1857 poem “The Wonders of Santa Claus” published in Harper’s Weekly describes “a great many elves at work” creating toys for Santa.
In the 1860s, political cartoonist Thomas Nast first depicted Santa Claus with essentially all of his defining characteristics, such as living in the North Pole, having a workshop for toys, and creating a list of names of good and bad children. Contrary to some urban legends, depicting Santa in a red suit with a white-trim was not an invention of Coca-Cola. While the soft drink company helped to popularize this image of Santa, Nast and other illustrators had been depicting Santa this way long before Coca-Cola did. And Santa Claus as we know him today draws from the characteristics of even older historical, legendary and poetic figures, including Saint Nicholas and Father Christmas.
Saint Nicholas of Myra was a third century bishop from what is now Turkey, a patron saint of children known for his generosity. In one story, Saint Nicholas secretly left gifts in stockings or shoes that had been hung to dry over a fire. He was later conflated with Father Christmas, the personification of Christmas merriment in medieval England. Father Christmas traditionally appeared with a long, white beard, as well as a hat and coat with fur trimming, as he did in an illustration for the 1658 book, The Examination and Tryall of Old Father Christmas. The book depicts a trial against Father Christmas to satirize the Puritans who ruled the English republic at the time. This was because the Puritans in England had banned Christmas, along with Easter and other holidays, due to celebrations’ perceived ties to Catholicism.
According to historian James Howard Barnett, the Puritans in the New England colonies were similarly contemptuous of Christmas because they thought it was an ahistorical Christianization of a pagan holiday. Christmas would not be restored until Britain become a monarchy again under King Charles I in 1660. According to Barnett, the laws against Christmas celebrations in New England were not repealed until 1681. Fellow historian Karal Ann Marling wrote that the holiday would not become popular in New England until the revival of Christmas celebrations during the 19th century.
Conclusion
Like Santa Claus, Christmas as we know it has changed and grown with our society. The television sets that had found themselves in 90 percent of American households by 1960 were showing Christmas specials and introducing characters like Rudolph and the Grinch to new audiences. When radio entered its golden age in the 1940s, the most popular Christmas songs began to be sung for the first time over its air waves. And when newspapers began to be enjoyed by mass audiences who could now read and afford them in the 19th century, they told readers about ornately decorated Christmas trees and a jovial man who flies throughout the town in a sleigh pulled by reindeer to deliver presents.
But no matter how much the celebration of Christmas has changed throughout the years, for Christians it has remained a celebration of the birth of Jesus for nearly 1,700 years or more. In a 2017 Pew Research Center poll, almost all Christians surveyed said they believe that Jesus was born of the virgin Mary and laid in a manger, before an angel announced his birth to shepherds.
Luke 2:10-14 reads, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
(12/06/18 12:05am)
“Hanukkah is a time for me to be with family and friends and loved ones and celebrate our heritage and our traditions,” IUPUI student Belinda Oberman said.
Oberman was among the Jewish students and faculty celebrating Hanukkah at the Campus Center this week. The Jewish Student Association informed others about the holiday, listened to Hanukkah songs and offered oil-based food such as doughnuts to those who shared what they knew or thought they knew about the holiday.
Hanukkah begins on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev, which fell on Dec. 2 this year. The festival lasts for eight nights and days, and will end at nightfall on Dec. 10. The holiday recognizes the victory of the Maccabees, a group of Jewish rebels who retook Judea from the Seleucid Empire over 2,100 years ago.
Jeremy Price, assistant professor of education and the faculty adviser for the Jewish Student Association, explained why this was important and the reason that the festival lasts for eight days.
“They were able to retake the city of Jerusalem, retake the Jewish temple in Jerusalem,” Price said of the Maccabees. “And what they did was they went to relight the eternal lamp, which is supposed to be lit at all times."
Price said, “Apparently they only had oil enough to light the lamp for one day but the oil lasted for eight days instead.”
This is known as the miracle of the cruse of oil, which is recognized by the lighting of the candles of the menorah during Hanukkah.
Oberman said that the miracle is one of the most important things about the holiday for her.
“Remember the miracle and that miracles do happen,” Oberman said.
Price said that while Hanukkah has significance, it is not a major holiday like Yom Kippur or Passover.
“It was originally a commemoration of a military and political event, and it was reframed as a religious event,” Price said of Hanukkah.
Price said that Hanukkah had more importance attached to it due to the festival being adjacent to Christmas. Aside from its origins, Price believes the most important part of Hanukkah is celebrating the Jewish community and identity.
“What it means to me is reminding ourselves that we’re Jewish in a non-Jewish society,” Price said. “It’s also a way to be together with family and community.”
Oberman recalled memories of celebrating Hanukkah with her family.
“I remember celebrating and lighting candles with my family every night as a kid,” Oberman said. “Or like going to Hanukkah parties and feeling a sense of unity with other people.”
Rachael Vettese, a residence coordinator for housing and residence life at IUPUI, remembered similar experiences.
“Lighting the candles when I was a kid, I loved during that. Making latkes with my mom, having my aunts’ family over, my grandma over,” Vettese said. “You get to come together with a group of people who are very much share similar life experiences to you and really just celebrate life.”
Caleb Potts, an IUPUI student, said that he didn’t have Hanukkah memories like these because he didn't celebrate it during his childhood.
“Hanukkah for me is an interesting piece of Jewish history and Jewish culture that is not something that I had celebrated growing up and not in my early adult life,” Potts said.
Potts said he began looking forward to Hanukkah later in his adult life, learning more about the holiday from his fellow students.
“Within the past four or five years, I started to be interested in it and research the tradition,” Potts said. “Since joining the Jewish Student Association, I started to learn more about it through the club.”
Oberman said that she hopes that more people learn about Hanukkah, either through the Jewish Student Association or by themselves.
“I’d like to encourage people, if you can, to learn about Hanukkah and learn about Jewish religion and learn about someone else,” Oberman said.
(12/03/18 12:34am)
The School of Science at IUPUI will receive a $1 million planned gift from science dean emeritus Bart Ng. The gift will be in honor of the dean emeritus’s late brother, Joseph S. Ng.
“His brother recently passed away and he made this gift in honor of his brother’s memory,” current science dean Simon Rhodes said.
When Ng’s planned gift become complete, Rhodes said it will go towards creating a named professorship within the Department of Mathematical Sciences.
“It would be prestigious,” Rhodes said. “That might help us attract a great, new faculty member or it may help us retain someone that another university is trying to lure away.”
The planned gift would be an endowment, the interest from which would be at the discretion of the appointee to the named professorship.
“That money is invested and presented by the university foundation, and it’s the interest that’s given to the faculty member to help them in their work,” Rhodes said.
Rhodes said the faculty member could use this discretionary fund in a variety of ways to help fulfill the mission of the department, such as supporting the research of undergraduate and graduate students.
“It helps the research but we have a strong value of involving students, undergrads and grad students in our research, and so it really helps the student side as well,” Rhodes said.
Rhodes said that the planned gift will come into fruition after Ng passes away, and that it will reflect Ng’s interest in the inter-disciplinary collaboration between mathematics and other fields.
“When it comes time to identify someone, that certainly will be a part of the decision, to help build inter-disciplinary research,” Rhodes said of the named professorship. “That’s one of things he thinks is important, is synergistic collaborations between mathematics and other fields, like biology, like neuroscience, like engineering and so on.”
Rhodes said that this reflects the inter-disciplinary nature of Ng’s career.
“His work certainly crosses boundaries and that’s true in his teaching too,” Rhodes said of Ng. “For example, a lot of the math he teaches is actually to engineering students, not science students.”
Bart Ng first joined IUPUI in 1975, serving in the Department of Mathematical Sciences before becoming its chair in 1986. In 1997, Ng became a Founding Faculty of University College at IUPUI. In 2004, Ng became a M. L. Bittinger Professor of Mathematical Sciences. Ng then served as the dean of the School of Science from 2008 to 2011.
Rhodes commended his predecessor Ng as outstanding in his work and expressed excitement for how his gift will be used.
“I love the idea that it is inter-disciplinary,” Rhodes said. “I love the idea that it can really help both sides of our mission, that it can help student success as well as research success.”
The gift will be counted towards the Indiana University Foundation's For All: The Indiana University Bicentennial Campaign, which seeks to raise $3 billion by June 2020.
(11/16/18 5:11pm)
Three months into his tenure, IUPUI’s LGBTQ+ Center director A.J. Young already has ambitious plans. Working with other campus organizations, Young has invited Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend to IUPUI in February 2019. During the spring semester, Young also plans to update the popular Safe Zone training program and seek out student feedback about the center. Young hopes that, under his directorship, the center will be both inclusive and collaborative with a diverse student body.
Buttigieg visit in February
Young said that the LGBTQ+ Center helped arrange for Buttigieg to visit campus in February, although the exact date has yet to be determined.
“We’re collaborating with a ton of people on campus, including the bookstore, to bring the mayor of South Bend to campus,” Young said. “He’s the first openly gay mayor in Indiana, and he’ll be coming to campus in February.”
Buttigieg secured his first term as mayor in 2011 with 74 percent of the vote. In 2014, Buttigieg temporarily left South Bend for seven months after being deployed by the Navy to Afghanistan. Buttigieg received a Joint Service Commendation Medal for his serve there. A year later, Buttigieg secured re-election with 80 percent of the vote.
In 2017, Buttigieg ran to be the chair of the Democratic National Committee. Buttigieg lost his bid to former Secretary of Labor Tom Perez, but he successfully raised his national profile and increased speculation that he’ll run for the presidency in 2020.
Other spring semester plans
In addition to the Buttigieg visit, Young said that the LGBTQ+ Center’s plans for the spring semester include restarting Safe Zone training. The LGBTQ+ Center offers Safe Zone training to inform participants about gender, sexual orientation, as well as history and current issues related to the LGBTQ community.
“One of our big priorities for the spring semester is to get our Safe Zone training program back up and running. We put a pause on that for the fall semester so one I can get acclimated and also so I can take a look at the curriculum,” Young said. “I’ll probably be doing a few updates to make sure it’s sort of contemporary. We’ve got a lot of good resources there”
According to Young, the LGBTQ+ Center’s Safe Zone trainings are high in demand on campus.
“I know we’ve had a lot of people around campus asking about those, so there’s clearly a demand which is a great thing to know, that people want these trainings,” Young said.
Finally, Young said that student feedback for the LGBTQ+ Center will inform its priorities in the upcoming year.
“I’ve been doing a lot of listening over the last three months,” Young said. “We’ll be asking for folks, students but also faculty and staff, to give some suggestions about what they think we should be working on, what things they think are important on campus that need to be addressed, but also what kind of events they’d like to see and other programming ideas.”
Young said that he views this feedback as important, because the LGBTQ+ Center was formed in part because of student feedback from the first Campus Climate Survey in 2014.
“The LGBTQ+ Center was created as a result of that information,” Young said. “So I’m very excited to have some of that data early next semester to be able to think about how LGBT folks feel welcome on campus, if they feel like the climate is inclusive to them.”
Inclusive to all students
Above all else, Young stressed that the LGBTQ+ Center is an inclusive space for all students, regardless of what community they belong to or identify with.
“I think the important thing for students to know about the LGBTQ+ Center is that it is open to everyone,” Young said. “You do not have to identify as part of the LGBTQ community to access our space or our resources, but it is a space meant to support and engage folks in education around LGBTQ issues and identities.”
Young said that making the LGBTQ+ Center more racially inclusive will be a primary focus of his directorship.
“I think one of the most pressing issues in the queer community, in general but also on this campus, is the racial segregation in our community,” Young said. “The assumption and the condensing of whiteness and queerness into an identity is also something that really needs to be addressed.”
Young believes that existing systems of racial discrimination and prejudice inform dynamics within the LGBTQ community, as well as its relationship with other communities.
“Structures of white privilege and supremacy color how we understand what it means to be queer and how queer communities are perceived and who gets seen as part of the community as well,” Young said.
Young also noted that in addition to racial inclusion, he hopes to address how socioeconomic class can impact those within the LGBTQ community.
“I think the intersection with class and the way in which marginalization and discrimination means that many folks in the queer community, particularly trans and non-binary folks, often don’t have access to resources,” Young said.
Young said that the diversity of the student body is one of the reasons he was interested in becoming the director of the LGBTQ+ Center at IUPUI.
“IUPUI draws from a larger group of students of color, a larger group of students who are LGBTQ identified, that are non-traditional age students who just aren’t coming in at 18, folks who are working or have families,” Young said. “And all of these other wonderful diverse aspects of the community is really what drew me to the university and wanting to be the director of the center at IUPUI specifically.”
Collaboration on and off campus
In addition to being open to a variety of students, Young noted that the LGBTQ+ Center collaborates with a variety of schools and organizations.
“We work with those offices to make sure that their programs are accessible and inclusive to LGBTQ students,” Young said.
As an example, Young said that the LGBTQ+ Center is working with the IUPUI School of Medicine to train future health professionals to be more inclusive to LGBTQ+ people in their practices.
“We have the medical school and all of these other health professions on campus, I think that’s going to be a really important area to collaborate both in terms of advocating for competent health care but also helping train so many of the future health professionals that we’re training,” Young said. “We’re helping to change that system so that there are more professionals who know and are capable of working with LGBTQ communities.”
Young said that the LGBTQ+ Center is doing similar work with professionals in the Indianapolis area as a whole.
“Just yesterday I was at a committee meeting for a council made up of social workers and mental health professionals in the area that are focused on making sure that the work that they’re doing in their different offices and departments are inclusive and welcoming,” Young said.
According to Young, the LGBTQ+ Center is developing working relationships with Indianapolis organizations such as GenderNexus, a nonprofit that offers workshops and referrals to inclusive providers to transgender and nonbinary people, as well as the Damien Center, an AIDS service organization focused on HIV prevention and care.
“The Damien Center reached out to me as one of the first organizations to connect,” Young said. “A lot of the work we do with community organizations is just helping students and faculty and staff know what’s out there for them if they need assistance or they have questions about specific topics.”
Who is A.J. Young?
Before starting his tenure as director of IUPUI’s LGBTQ+ Center, A.J. Young lived in Philadelphia and received his doctorate from Temple University in sociology and gender studies. Young also worked for over ten years in student services, with a focus on civic engagement and inclusivity.
“The position here as director of the center was really appealing because it brings together two pieces of my life that I feel really passionate about. One is the academic side of thinking about gender and sexuality in an academic context,” Young said. “I also have worked for many, many years in student services and student affairs. The director position, because it serves the whole campus, really allows me to blend those two pieces of my experience that I really enjoy.”
Young said that in addition to his academic and community experience, he could draw upon his personal experience as a gay and trans man.
“I can speak from my own experience as a gay or queer and transgender person, I can speak from my experience working with a lot of folks in the community, but then I also have that experience of the academic field of gender and sexuality studies to draw on,” Young said.
Young said that in addition to his experience, he will draw upon the feedback he hears formally and informally from students. Young hopes that, under his directorship, the center can be more open and known to the student body as a whole.
“We’re hoping that the more we work with the community partners, more people will reach out and know that we’re here for them,” Young said.
(11/15/18 10:41pm)
Two donations drives were held today for Paw’s Pantry at IUPUI in anticipation of the upcoming holidays.
The first drive was the Pack a Meal with Million Meal Movement event, held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Campus Center atrium. As pop music blared from speakers, volunteers donned red hair nets and began to pack rice-soy casseroles in groups of 10 to 12. Event organizers aimed to pack 5,000 meals to feed over 1,200 families through Paw’s Pantry.
Shane Scarlett, general manger of the event and a member of the Indianapolis-based Million Meal Movement, actively encouraged bystanders to join in by microphone.
“We’re here to have one goal,” Scarlett said. “That is to end hunger in Indiana.”
According to Shaina Lawrence, assistant director for the Office of Student Advocacy and Support, this was the first Pack a Meal event to be held on campus.
“This event is the first time we’ve done this here at IUPUI for Paw’s Pantry,” Lawrence said.
Lawrence explained that the drive was a part of a broader effort for Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. The second donation drive held for this week today was the Jam the Pantry event, which took place from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Paw’s Pantry.
Dawson Groves is an IUPUI student who serves as vice chair of donations for Paw's Pantry. Groves is a junior and media arts major who first joined the pantry as a freshman.
“Knowing the impact that the pantry had on people, seeing people thank us for our services, really inspired me to become more involved,” Groves said.
As vice chair, Groves helped coordinate the Jam the Pantry event, which was scheduled to coincide with the winter holidays.
“It’s just in time for Thanksgiving, so it’s an opportunity for people to give back,” Groves said.
Groves said that the goal for the Jam the Pantry event this year was to receive two tons of food and other items.
“Our target items are Hamburger Helper, hygiene items, breakfast foods, stuff like that,” Groves said. “But people are welcome to bring anything.”
Groves said that those who are unable to contribute donations could contribute their time.
“We’re always open to help. People who want to volunteer, it’s a great help,” Groves said. “We always need more people.”
Groves identified the lack of knowledge that there are people on campus who lack consistent access to food as an obstacle for the pantry.
“I think another thing people struggle with is just knowing that there is a huge need for people with food insecurity on campus,” Groves said.
Asia Gibson is a senior at IUPUI majoring in social work who has worked at Paw’s Pantry for at least three months. Gibson said that it wasn’t just students who were food insecure on campus.
“I feel like here at IUPUI, we have some very vulnerable populations, student and staff, who are food insecure and who are maybe dealing with some type of form of homeliness,” Gibson said.
Gibson said the pantry was a good resource to mitigate food insecurity on campus.
“The pantry is just a really nice resource for them to have on campus to utilize that provides food for them,” Gibson said. “Also, too, it’s just a way for them to feel like they’re cared in some way.”
Gibson cautioned that she did not intend to speak on the behalf of those who came to Paw's Pantry and welcomed feedback from the community.
“I hope Paw’s Pantry is really impacting IUPUI and the community around it, and if anybody has any input on how we can better serve the community we’d really appreciate it,” Gibson said.
Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week events on campus will continue with the community volunteering event Jags in the Street with JagPass at Room 310 of the Campus Center from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 16.
(11/09/18 4:29pm)
On the day before Election Day, I created the first polling-based Campus Citizen forecast for the U.S. Senate elections. How’d I do and how’d I do it? Should preeminent electoral forecaster Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight fear for his job? No, but if current returns hold we correctly predicted all but 2 of the 34 races that held their general election Tuesday. FiveThirtyEight called all but 3 of the 34 races correctly. This is an overview of all of the elections that our forecast identified as the most competitive, with the ratings of either Tilt Democratic or Tilt Republican.
Arizona – Correct (so far)
I forecasted this race as Tilt Democratic with a 0.1 percent lead for Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) over Rep. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.). This race has yet to be called, but Sinema is currently ahead in the returns by the kind of narrow margin our forecast predicted. If Sinema wins, this race would be a pickup for the Democrats as it was formerly held by retiring Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.).
Florida – Incorrect (so far)
I wrote on Monday, “Nelson has recently pulled ahead in the polls, but his re-election is far from his certain in a state infamous for its close elections.” Florida is still too close to call, with a legal battle brewing over recounts in the state. I rated this as tilt Democratic, but Gov. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) is ahead in the results so far.
Indiana – Incorrect
Ironically, one of my missed calls was my home state of Indiana, which I ranked as Tilt Democratic with Donnelly boasting a narrow 1.4 percent lead in the polls. Republican candidate Mike Braun won in a slight upset victory by 7 percent, a margin no poll accurately called. One poll from Fox News, conducted from Oct. 28 to Oct. 30, showed a Donnelly lead of 7 points and was thus off by 14 points in the margin if current returns hold. Porter County’s results are disputed with the Porter County Board of Commissions requesting the FBI to investigate alleged violations of electoral law. The amount of votes in Porter County would not flip the race to Donnelly, but the final margin is still unknown.
Missouri - Correct
I forecasted Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), the sitting attorney general for the state, would prevail over incumbent Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) to win this race. Hawley was ahead 1 percent in the polling average which was weighted only by sample size, recency, and methodological quality. FiveThirtyEight incorrectly predicted that McCaskill would win, in part because of their aggressive polling adjustments in the margin which I voiced concerns about on Oct. 30. However, Hawley won by 6 percent over McCaskill, a much larger margin than predicted in this forecast.
Nevada - Correct
Rep. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) defeated incumbent Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.), as predicted by the Campus Citizen forecast. Rosen won by 5 percent, a greater margin than her less than 1 percent polling lead in the weighted average. A similar polling error happened during the 2016 presidential election, where Hillary Clinton won by 3 percent more than what a simple average of the polls in Nevada suggested was a narrow Trump lead. Rosen first entered politics when she won a U.S. House seat in 2016, previously working as a computer programmer.
Texas – Correct
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) narrowly won the election over Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) as the Campus Citizen predicted. O’Rourke performed the best of any Democrat in Texas since 1990, when former Gov. Ann Richards won the Texas gubernatorial election. O’Rourke also received more votes than Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election, notable for the fact that far fewer voters tend to turnout for a midterm election. Exit polls also suggested that O’Rourke is positively seen by Texans even though he lost the election. 52 percent of respondents say they had a favorable opinion of him, while 42 percent said they had an unfavorable opinion. This was a higher overall and net favorable rating than the victor of the election, Sen. Ted Cruz.
West Virginia - Correct
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) won his re-election bid over Republican nominee Patrick Morrisey (R-W. Va.), the attorney general for the state as predicted. Manchin won by 3.2 percent, slightly less than his weighted polling average lead of 3.8 percent.
Conclusion
My Senate forecast for the Campus Citizen used the same principles as my Congress Compass forecast, which accurately predicted 96 percent of the House races if current results hold. 366 polls were weighted by recency, sample size, and methodological quality fore the forecast, but the margins of the polls were never adjusted or skewed. And it’s for this reason that I was able to correctly nearly every Senate race, with the exception of Florida (so far) and, ironically, Indiana.
(11/08/18 12:24am)
While the 2018 U.S. Senate election in Indiana received the lion's share of attention on Election Day yesterday, the countywide officials elected by the voters of Marion County can have a direct impact on the lives of IUPUI students. This is an overview of the results for Marion County general elections, according to the uncertified returns from the official my.indy.gov website. Voter turnout in Marion County as a percent of registered voters was 40.81 percent. More detailed results by precinct will be available Nov. 18.
PROSECUTING ATTORNEY
Terry R. Curry (D) - 64.6%, 166,712
Benjamin D. Strahm (R) - 35.4%, 91,474
CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT
Myla A. Eldridge (D) - 64.5%, 160,233
Kyle Leffel (R) - 37.6%, 96,337
MARION COUNTY AUDITOR
Julie Voorhies (D) - 64.2%, 165,049
Caarn Heir (R) - 35.9%, 92,253
MARION COUNTY RECORDER
Kate Sweeney Bell (D) - 62.3%, 161,521
Paul Annee (R) - 37.1%, 95,364
MARION COUNTY SHERIFF
Kerry Joseph Forestal (D) - 63.4%, 164,358
Brian K. Durham (R) 36.6%, 94,899
MARION COUNTY ASSESSOR
Joseph O'Connor (D) - 100%, 184,751
(11/07/18 12:17pm)
Final election map as of 5:oo a.m., Nov. 7, 2018.
(11/07/18 1:44am)
Mike Braun has just been elected to be the next U.S. Senator for Indiana, defeating Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) and defying what the polls suggested would be a narrow victory for the incumbent.
During a midterm, campaigning against the status quo is usually left to the opposition party. But with the popularity of President Donald Trump in Indiana, Donnelly attempted to tether himself with the president in policy areas such as immigration. It was thus left to former state legislator and businessman Mike Braun to take up the mantle of outsider in the 2018 U.S. Senate election.
“I’ve done things in the real world. This gentleman is a career politician,” Braun said of Donnelly during the first debate. “I’m a job creator and a political outsider.”
The Washington Post described Donnelly as the “accidental senator”, which is borne out by the 2012 exit polling for the U.S. Senate election in Indiana where Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) won his first term. In that poll, 46 percent said they would have voted for former Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) and 39 percent said they would have still voted for Donnelly.
Thus, Donnelly’s victory there was something of a fluke, more based on the weakness of his opponent State Treasurer Richard Mourdock (R-Ind.), who defeated the popular Lugar in the Republican primary that year.
Donnelly attempted to compensate for the accidental nature of his senate win through attacking those to his left. The senator labelled plans to expand Medicare to all Americans as “socialized medicine” and promised that it’d only happen, “Over my dead body.”
That strategy did not appear to net Donnelly more support in the rural and suburban counties that traditionally vote for the Republicans, who voted for Braun in similar numbers to Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) during the 2016 Senate race in Indiana.
Even in the relatively neutral national conditions where Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton won the national popular vote by more than two percent, former Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) lost to current Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) by nearly 10 percent. Bayh had previously won the same Senate seat by over 24 points in 2004 and nearly 29 points in 1998.
Donnelly’s strategy to succeed where Bayh failed was to focus on health care. In a YouGov poll conducted in October, health care had a greater share of Hoosier votes deeming it important than any other issue, with 97 percent of those surveyed saying it was either very or somewhat important.
In both debates, Donnelly argued Braun wanted to take away coverage for pre-existing conditions because of his Republican opponent’s support of a lawsuit that would eliminate the ACA including its pre-existing conditions coverage if successful.
“Hoosiers, clearest difference: He won’t even denounce the lawsuit that will take away your coverage for pre-existing conditions,” Donnelly said at the first debate.
“I would never be for not covering pre-existing conditions,” Braun countered.
65 percent of Hoosier voters surveyed by YouGov said they believed Democrats would try to require insurance companies to cover them if they had pre-existing conditions. In contrast, 51 percent of Hoosier voters surveyed believed that the Republicans would try to let insurance companies charge more or reject coverage for those who had pre-existing conditions.
In an October poll from SurveyUSA, Donnelly lead Braun by 38 percent among voters who named health care as the most important issue to their vote.
Donnelly repeatedly touted his support for the Affordable Care Act.
“I’m the person who cast the final vote to make sure your child with asthma can get their inhaler,” Donnelly said during the first debate.
With Braun’s victory, Republicans would now have the votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act if they keep the House.
Braun is a sure vote to repeal, saying in a letter to the Kokomo Tribune,“When I’m in the Senate, I’ll take action and keep pushing for the full repeal of Obamacare.”
Mike Braun will take office at the seating of the next Congress on Jan. 3, 2019.
(11/05/18 11:48pm)
Polls will close in most of Indiana less than 24 hours from now, but who will win Congress? Based on weighted averages of 366 polls, this is the Campus Citizen prediction for the Senate. Overall, the Republican Party is ahead or favored in 50 seats, enough to maintain control of the upper chamber with the tie-breaking power of Vice President Mike Pence (R-Ind.). But in decisive seats such as Missouri and Texas, the Republicans are ahead by less than 5 percent, and the overall result could range from Democrats beating their polls to retake the chamber or sustaining net losses. You can see who's ahead, where and by how much here, along with all of the polls used to create this forecast.
Arizona (Tilt Democratic) - 48.6 D, 48.4 R
After the retirement of Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), this seat became one of the most competitive in the country. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) is about even with Rep. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.), boasting a 0.1 percent lead in the weighted polling average. Arizona is one of a handful of states where 2016 presidential nominee Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) improved upon the performance of former President Barack Obama (D-Ill.), losing the state by under 4 percent. If Sinema wins, she would be the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Arizona since 1988. Either Sinema or McSally would also be the first woman to represent Arizona in the Senate.
Florida (Tilt Democratic) - 51.2 D, 48.8 R
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) easily won re-election to this seat in 2012, so why is this even close? The answer is his opponent, Gov. Rick Scott (R-Fla.). Scott has used his stature and fortune to make this a competitive and expensive race, trading the lead with Nelson throughout the year. Nelson has recently pulled ahead in the polls, but his re-election is far from certain in a state infamous for its close elections.
Indiana (Tilt Democratic) - 47.9 D, 46.6 R, 5.5 L
Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) was first elected to the Senate in 2012 as the result of circumstances that could be dismissed as a fluke. The popular Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) didn't even have a Democratic opponent in 2006 despite the blue wave sweeping the country at that time, but he couldn't overcome the frustrations of the Republican base in 2012. Lugar lost his primary to former State Treasurer Richard Mourdock (R-Ind.) that year. Mourdock then engendered nationwide condemnation for saying that God intended abortion caused by rape to happen during the second 2012 U.S. Senate debate in Indiana. Donnelly pulled ahead in the polls and won by less than 6 percent over Mourdock.
Donnelly has found his current opponent, Mike Braun (R-Ind.), much harder to defeat than Mourdock. Donnelly is ahead in the weighted polling average by 1.4 percent, and he has traded the lead with Braun in the waning days of the campaign. Braun has emphasized his status as an outsider, while Donnelly has stressed his bipartisanship. Whether or not Donnelly's strategy of appealing to the "Hoosier common sense" middle is a successful one will be borne out by the result of this race.
Missouri (Tilt Republican) - 47.5 D, 48.5 R
Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), the attorney general for Missouri, is about even with incumbent Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), boasting a 1.0 percent lead in the weighted polling average. McCaskill's Republican opponent in 2012 committed a major gaffe when he claimed that women's bodies have a way of preventing rape if it's a "legitimate rape" during an interview. Hawley has not made any gaffes on a similar scale, and this combined with the Republican lean of the state of Missouri may prevent McCaskill from securing her third term as Senator.
Nevada (Tilt Democratic) - 46.8 D, 46.2 D
Incumbent Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) represents a state that President Donald Trump lost in the 2016 presidential election. Heller has thus faced an uphill battle in securing re-election against Rep. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), who first won election to the House of Representatives in 2016. Rosen previously worked as a computer programmer before being asked to run by former Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). Rosen is about even with Heller, boasting a lead of 0.6 percent in the weighted polling average.
Texas (Tilt Republican) - 46.3 D, 50.7 R
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has gone from a plausible 2016 presidential hopeful to barely holding onto his seat in the 2018 Senate election. Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas) is a three-term Congressman who has attracted national attention for his "Kennedyesque" charisma and his liberal stances on the issues. The ideological contrast between Cruz and O'Rourke is perhaps the widest of any competitive race in the country. For example, Cruz has called for a full repeal of the Affordable Care Act, while O'Rourke advocates for single-payer health care. Cruz opposes the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, while O'Rourke favors comprehensive immigration reform. Cruz is about even with O'Rourke with a lead of 4.4 percent, and if O'Rourke wins, he would be the first Democrat to win statewide in the state since 1994.
West Virginia (Tilt Democratic) - 49.9 D, 46.1 R
West Virginia voted to elect President Donald Trump by over 42 points, making it the second-most Republican state in the 2016 presidential election. But Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) first won his seat during the Republican wave of the 2010 midterm elections, and has made himself distinct from the national Democratic Party in the state through his opposition to regulations on the coal industry and firearms. Patrick Morrisey, the attorney general of West Virginia, now seeks to become the first Republican to be elected to Manchin's seat since 1956. Manchin is about even with Morrisey, with a lead of 3.8 percent in the weighted polling average.
Conclusion
The Republican Party is the narrow favorite for retaining control of the Senate, but the polling suggests they will likely lose the House of Representatives. This is consistent with the fact that the party that controls the White House usually sustains losses in Congress during the midterms. However, the unusually large number of Democratic seats up this year in states that President Donald Trump won has made the Democrats' quest to retake both chambers of Congress an uphill battle. And while an approximation of what may happen in the 2018 midterms can be suggested by the polls and seasoned prognosticators, only the voters can decide what will happen.
Polls will be open in Indiana from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time on Tuesday, Nov. 6.
(11/02/18 3:26pm)
IUPUI’s Social Justice Scholars will run the fifth annual Tunnel of Oppression from Nov. 5 to Nov. 8 on the fourth floor of the Campus Center. The topics of this year’s interactive exhibits include abortion, deportation,
interracial relationships and housing discrimination.
Sarah Long, the program coordinator for Social Justice Education, explained that the exhibits are intended to inform attendees about issues relating to inequality and injustice.
“Participants are guided through a series of scenes that use theater and storytelling to educate and challenge them to think critically about issues of oppression,” Long said.
This year’s production will also host the Center of Hope, a local guide to resources intended to combat inequality.
The Tunnel of Oppression will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday and Wednesday and from noon to 7 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday. Attendees are assembled into groups of 30 to 40 and then led through an approximately 30-minute tour of the exhibits, which have ranged from audiovisual presentations to live productions in previous years.
“At the end of the tour, participants are provided with the opportunity to discuss their experiences with each other through a guided facilitation led by a faculty or staff member,” Long said.
Judith Atibil, a Social Justice Scholar who created the exhibit about abortion for this year, views the Tunnel of Oppression as a discursive and educational tool. As the topic of abortion can be contentious, Atibil invites those who may have a problem with her production to discuss it with her.
“If they have an issue, I’d hope they’d like to have a conversation about it, because we need to have conversations to be able to get past conflict,” Atibil said.
Atibil said that she hopes her production about abortion will encourage people to refrain from judging those who make decisions they disagree with.
“The biggest takeaway that I want people to have from my room is not to judge people for the choices that they make, because you never know why that person has made that choice,” Atibil said.
Atibil said that there are misconceptions about abortion that she plans to address through her exhibit.
“People think people wanting to get an abortion are promiscuous,” Atibil said. “But we forget about two-parent households with four children who can’t afford more children.”
In a 2005 study from the medical journal Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 74 percent of the 1,209 abortion patients interviewed cited their financial inability to support a new child.
“I think it’s multi-layered, and I hope people see that,” Atibil said.
Atibil said that while she identifies as pro-choice, she does not intend the room to be a polemic for her political beliefs. Instead, Atibil’s production will be based in part on real stories of those who have had abortions.
“There is one person in my script that I ‘created’ who I based off of an article I read,” Atibil said.
“That one has true to life connections.”
Atibil has previously incorporated the stories of those at the center of current events in her past exhibit about the Flint water crisis. Atibil used environmental storytelling to convey the conditions of Flint residents.
“We put together a walkway of water bottles to illustrate how many water bottles need to be used daily by people in Flint,” Atibil said.
According to the quarterly magazine Popular Science, 757 bottles of water would be needed to replace the average American’s daily water usage.
While her previous exhibits used videos and environments, Atibil said that her exhibit this year makes use of live performances.
According to event organizers, actors from the Sapphire Theatre Company will be featured in many of the exhibits this year. The Sapphire is an Indianapolis-based non-profit performing arts troupe.
Atibil believes that the actors will help audience members connect with and understand the stories featured in her exhibit and the Tunnel of Oppression overall.
“This is going to be the best one yet,” Atibil said.
(10/31/18 12:36pm)
Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly, Republican Mike Braun and Libertarian Lucy Brenton clashed with quips and catchphrases in the final 2018 U.S. Senate debate for Indiana.
“Mike Braun is an errand boy for Mitch McConnell,” Donnelly said.
“The senator, he takes his orders from Chuck Schumer,” Braun said.
The Indiana Debate Commission hosted the debate from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct 30. at Tobias Theater in Newfields. Emmy Award winning PBS anchor Amma Nawaz served as moderator.
The candidates drew upon familiar narratives, as Braun repeatedly positioned himself as an “outsider” with accomplishments in “the real world” through his tenure as president and CEO of Meyer Distributing.
“I’ve done things in the real world. That’s the difference between me and the senator,” Braun said.
Braun served for three years as a state representative and ten years on a school board, for a combined thirteen years of holding public office. Donnelly has served over five years in the Senate and six years in the House of Representatives, for a combined eleven years of public office. During the debate, Donnelly touted his bipartisanship during that tenure.
“I’ve passed 50 pieces of legislation with a Republican partner every single time, and Mike can’t even name a single Democrat that he would work with,” Donnelly said.
According to the Lugar Center, Donnelly is the fourth-most bipartisan senator over a period of 20 years from 1993 to 2014. Donnelly has also voted with President Donald Trump nearly 54 percent of the time, according to FiveThirtyEight.
However, Donnelly expressed disagreement with the president on his approach to Saudi Arabia in the wake of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder.
“The Saudis murdered a journalist who’s simply trying to make sure word gets out about what goes on,” Donnelly said. “I have said we should have a temporary halt to arm sales until we figure out what’s happened.”
President Donald Trump opposed this proposal and received broad support from Braun for his foreign policy.
“I support his leadership and the way he’ll handle the Saudis,” Braun said. “We now have regained respect in the world because it’s based on strength.”In response to reported plans from President Donald Trump and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) end birthright citizenship, both Donnelly and Braun said that they have to first look at the specifics of the proposal before deciding one way or another.
“I’d want to see that legislation and make sure it’s constitutional,” Donnelly said. “That’s the 14th Amendment of our constitution.”
“It will be something that I take a look at,” Braun said. “I’m not going to say whether I support it or not.”
Both Donnelly and Braun said they were “pro-life”, but Donnelly criticized Braun for not sharing his position to allow abortions in the case of life-threatening pregnancy, or when the conception was incestual or nonconsensual.
“If your daughter happens to be raped, Mike thinks the government has a role in the middle of that. I don’t,” Donnelly said.
“When it comes to the sanctity of life you cannot say you are pro-life and have your voting record,” Braun said.
In the press conference held after the debate, Donnelly labeled Braun as extreme on the issue of abortion. Donnelly staked out another contrasting position when he responded to reports that the Trump administration plans to rollback protections for transgender Americans under federal civil rights law.
"I support our LGBTQ brothers and sisters, and I don't think rolling back the rights of any American makes much sense,” Donnelly said.
Braun did not address this issue as he skipped the press conference, but as a state representative he voted against statewide discrimination protections for LGBTQ people.
The U.S. Senate election in Indiana will coincide with other several federal, statewide and local elections in the state on Tuesday, Nov. 6 from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time.
(10/28/18 2:50pm)
IUPUI hosted the second annual Hoosiers Out Together Conference, or HOT CON, from Friday, Oct. 26 to Saturday, Oct. 27 at Hine Hall. The organizers of HOT CON aimed to strengthen the bonds of the LGBTQ community both on campus and statewide through its presentations and workshops, including a photo exhibit from local photographer Mark A. Lee and a keynote address from organizer and artist elle roberts.
HOT CON organizers anticipated an attendance of approximately 150 people, including LGBTQ students from Ball State University, IUPUI, IU Bloomington, IU Northwest, Marian University and Purdue University. The event was sponsored by the IUPUI Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the IU LGBTQ+ Alumni Association, the Purdue University LGBTQ Center and GenderNexus.
Day One
During the first day of HOT CON from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at Hine Hall, attendees viewed Mark A. Lee’s “A Visual Journey: From AIDS to Marriage Equality”, a traveling photo exhibit sponsored by the Indiana Historical Society and shown throughout the state since 2014. The exhibit condensed 30 years of Lee’s work documenting the tragedies and triumphs of LGBTQ people, from the height of the AIDS crisis to newly legal gay marriages.
“I started taking pictures then in college, but it wasn’t until after college when basically my friends started dying from AIDS,” Lee said. “It became more important for me to document their lives and to let people know they were here, because if we don’t do it, no one else is going to do it for us.”
Lee said that he donated over 18,000 photos of his work to the Indiana Historical Society. Lee said that 60 of these donated photos became a part of the organization’s first LGBTQ exhibit. Lee said that the first photo he took was of Vicci Laine, a Hoosier performer and openly transgender woman who received the 2008 Celia Busch Award for her contributions and work for HIV/AIDS service organizations. Lee explained that when the exhibit first debuted, Laine was dealing with cancer.
“The last couple years had been tough for her going through chemotherapy,” Lee said. “She had been questioning whether or not her life meant something. It wasn’t until she went to the historical society and turned and saw her picture larger than life in there that she knew her answer.”
“That to me made everything you see here worthwhile,” Lee said.
Day Two
The second day of HOT CON, held from 9:00 a.m. to 3:50 p.m., began with a keynote address from Indianapolis-based organizer and artist elle roberts. The address focused on how seemingly inclusive changes can still reinforce oppressive structures in society.
The address focused on how seemingly inclusive changes can still reinforce oppressive structures in society. As an example, roberts pointed to medical barriers for transgender people and gender minorities who do not exclusively belong to female or male genders.
“In order to fit even the Obama administration’s memo of what gender is, you had to have gender dysphoria on your medical chart,” roberts said. “You had to be a certain kind of trans in order to access gender-affirming care. And if you were not, you were just out of luck.”
After roberts’ address, attendees could attend the resource fair or a series of workshops on topics ranging from the lack of workplace discrimination protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity to navigating the health care system as a LGBTQ person.
Jessica Chen, a medical student with the Alliance at IUSM (Indiana University School of Medicine), explained that LGBTQ people are often afraid of discrimination from doctors or health care providers.
“I know that as an LGBT person, it’s kind of scary to go to the doctor. You don’t know what they’ll say, what they’ll do. And that can have a huge impact on your health, especially if you’re so afraid you won’t go to a doctor,” Chen said.
According to a study from the Center for American Progress, 29 percent of the transgender people surveyed said a doctor or provided refused to see them because of their gender identity. The Alliance at IUSM has partnered with the non-profit organization OutCare Health to help LGBTQ people identify find doctors and providers who can meet their needs.
“For any of your friends or peers in the queer community that are afraid to see doctors, I just want to say that there is hope out there,” Chen said.
Noelle, an aspiring web developer who graduated from IUPUI with a degree in computer science, said that she found hope and community in HOT CON as a whole.
“I think it provides a really important resource for the queer Hoosiers out there who don’t really have gathering places,” Noelle said.
Noelle identified a need for community, especially in the wake of reports that the Trump administration plans to roll back civil rights protections for transgender people in education and health care.
Noelle said, “Being able to participate in celebrations of our community is a nice antidote to all that."
(10/19/18 3:46pm)
Johnson County voters broke a record this week by showing up in unprecedented numbers to cast their ballots early. This county in the Indianapolis metropolitan area could be a part of a national trend for the 2018 midterm elections, NPR reports that the percentage of eligible voters participating this year could reach a high unseen since 1970. Analysis from FiveThirtyEight suggests that voter turnout among young voters may also climb to hitherto unseen heights. If you want to join those voters, here’s how you can make a plan for when, where, and how to vote.
When?
The election will take place Tuesday, Nov. 6, when polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time. If you showed up before 6 p.m. but are still in line after the polls close, voting officials must still allow you to vote. If you can’t make it at those times, you can still vote early on a day that works for you either by mailing in an absentee ballot right now, or by showing up to one of these six polling locations during the times listed starting Oct. 26 if you live in the Indianapolis area.
Where?
The six early voting locations in Indianapolis are all located near bus stops and have free parking nearby, and are among many throughout the state. One of these locations, Glick Technology Center at Ivy Tech Community College, is less than 3 miles away from the IUPUI campus. If you have a state or federal government issued photo ID, poll workers will provide you the necessary paperwork to cast a ballot on site. Without showing your ID, you can also mail in an absentee ballot using the form listed on this page. If you don’t plan to vote early, you can find your election day polling location and check your voter registration status at indianavoters.in.gov or vote.org. For voters who need transportation, Uber and Lyft are offering free or discounted rides to the polls on election day.
How?
If you are voting in person on election day, be sure to bring a government issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license, and line up at your correct polling place. But what can you do if something goes wrong and you get rejected at your polling place? The Indianapolis Star reports that there are several fail-safes in place to allow you to still vote if something comes up. For instance, if your name doesn’t appear on the poll list, you can sign a written statement affirming you live at the same address or you can swear to that in front of an inspector or a judge on site. Or if you changed your name, you can sign the poll book, or an affidavit provided on site, with your new name. If you still have problems voting despite all of that, you can still vote by requesting and casting a provisional ballot.
If you don’t know the candidates that will be appearing on your ballot, you can check indianavoters.in.gov. And if you want to know where the candidates stand on the issues, you can use this guide from the Campus Citizen about the U.S. Senate race, as well as NUVO’s guides with responses from the Senate candidates and those contesting the elections for Indiana’s 9th Congressional District, Marion County Recorder, Marion County Prosecutor, Indiana’s 98th House District, among others. For the nonpartisan judicial retention elections, you can view the biography and records of the judges on the ballot here.
Conclusion
Voters in Indiana have sometimes faced an uphill battle in participating in this year’s elections. 481,235 registered Indiana voters were purged from the voter rolls last year by Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson, and the voter registration website had a glitch that slowed down absentee voting. After years of Republican officials reducing early voting locations in Marion County since 2008, a federal judge ruled that this was a violation of equal ballot protections and ordered the county to open more. Despite all of these challenges, millions of Hoosiers are expected to vote this election season. And armed with your own plan of when, where, and how to vote, you can join them in casting your ballot.
(10/09/18 8:17pm)
Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly, Republican Mike Braun and Libertarian Lucy Brenton clashed in the first 2018 U.S. Senate debate for Indiana. The debate took place at Purdue University Northwest in Westville from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Oct. 8.
The Indiana Debate Commission sponsored the debate and broadcaster Anne Ryder served as the moderator. Candidates staked out contrasting positions on topics such as health care and the confirmation of Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.
Donnelly repeatedly touted his support for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or Obamacare, while Braun criticized the law.
“I’m the person who cast the final vote to make sure your child with asthma can get their inhaler,” Donnelly said.
Donnelly was referring to his vote against the June 2017 proposal to repeal and replace the ACA. The repeal proposal failed by a vote of 49 to 51. If Donnelly had voted to support it, the vote would have been a tie that Vice President Mike Pence could have broken in the favor of the repeal.
Braun criticized Donnelly’s support for the ACA, arguing that the program was failing.
“The senator gave us Obamacare, which has no choices and is falling apart,” Braun said.
However, Braun voiced support for certain parts of the law, including coverage for pre-existing conditions.
“I would never be for not covering pre-existing conditions,” Braun said.
Donnelly argued that this was untrue because Braun had supported a lawsuit that would have eliminated the ACA, including its coverage for pre-existing conditions. Donnelly challenged Braun to denounce the lawsuit, which Braun did not do in his following rebuttal.
“Hoosiers, clearest difference: He won’t even denounce the lawsuit that will take away your coverage for pre-existing conditions,” Donnelly said.
Braun argued that Donnelly’s vote for the ACA suggested that the senator was beholden to Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the Senate minority leader for the Democratic caucus.
“He voted for Obamacare originally, he voted against its repeal,” Braun said. “He says for other reasons, but he did it because he takes his marching orders from Chuck Schumer.”
“I go against my own party all the time,” Donnelly said. “I went against my party when I voted for Justice Gorsuch.”
Donnelly was referring to his vote to confirm Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, who was appointed by President Donald Trump and confirmed by a vote of 54 to 45. Donnelly, along with Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.), was one of three Democrats to vote to confirm Gorsuch.
Braun argued that Donnelly’s vote against the confirmation of President Donald Trump’s second appointee to the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh, suggested that he did not support Trump’s agenda.
“Democrats, including Joe Donnelly, will do or say anything when it comes to their political interests,” Braun said.
Kavanaugh is alleged to have committed sexual assault by multiple accusers, one of whom was called to testify before the Senate. Donnelly previously cited these allegations as the reason he voted against Kavanaugh’s confirmation, but the senator did not mention this during the debate.
“I voted against Judge Kavanaugh because of concerns about his impartiality and concerns about his judicial temperament,” Donnelly said.
“This will be a clear separator between us,” Braun said, before he offered praise for Kavanaugh. “There is no doubt he is not going to legislate from the bench. He is not going to do things the court has done for a long time.”
Braun drew another contrast between himself and Donnelly.
“I’ve done things in the real world. This gentleman is a career politician,” Braun said of Donnelly. “I’m a job creator and a political outsider.”
Donnelly has held public office for eleven years since 2007, serving for over five years in the Senate and six years in the House of Representatives. Braun has held public office for thirteen years since 2004, serving for three years as a state representative and ten years on the Jasper school board.
Donnelly criticized Braun’s record as a state representative.
“Mike increased taxes 45 times while in the legislature, the largest tax increase in Indiana history,” Donnelly said.
Donnelly was likely referring to the 45 tax increases passed by the Indiana state legislature during 2017. The Associated Press reported that Donnelly’s claim was misleading because the largest tax increase in Indiana’s history was likely in 1983, accounting for inflation.
In turn, Braun criticized Donnelly for voting against the Trump tax cuts last year.
“Small businesses would have been left out in the cold when we did tax reform,” Braun said. “I didn’t hear this senator’s voice because he never speaks up."
Donnelly argued that the Trump tax cuts would have increased the deficit by $2 trillion, a claim supported by projections from the Congressional Budget Office.
Donnelly expounded more on his positions in a post-debate press conference along with Libertarian nominee Lucy Brenton. Braun declined to participate in the conference, while the other candidates addressed reporters and took questions from them.
One issue addressed at the press conference but not the debate itself was whether or not the candidates would support the Equality Act, a bill that would prohibit discrimination in workplaces and schools on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
As NBC News reported, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people are not currently protected by nondiscrimination statutes. Statewide, Indiana lacks such protections for LGBT employees in the private sector.
When asked if he would cosponsor the Equality Act, Donnelly answered, “I’ll be back this weekend. I’ll take a look at it and be right back to you.”
On the same question, Brenton said that she would support a boycott of any business that would fire an LGBT person for their sexual orientation or gender identity. However, she voiced opposition to statutes that would make it illegal to fire someone for being a member of the LGBT community.
“When there’s corporate injustice, we all have the responsibility to band together and put them out of business,” Brenton said. “It’s not the government’s responsibility to do that.”
The three candidates for the Senate election in Indiana will participate in the second and final debate for the 2018 cycle on Oct. 30 in Indianapolis.
(10/08/18 2:30pm)
Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly, Republican Mike Braun and Libertarian Lucy Brenton are scheduled to debate at 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Wednesday, Oct. 8 at the campus of Purdue University Northwest in Westville. The Indiana Debate Commission organized the debate and selected broadcaster Anne Ryder to moderate. Seasoned political forecasters consider the Senate election in Indiana to be competitive, with no major party candidate having a prohibitive lead or advantage over the other.
So, who are the candidates and what do they stand for?
Background
Joe Donnelly is the senior senator from Indiana seeking re-election this year. Donnelly was first elected to the Senate in 2012 by a margin of 5.7 percent. Donnelly previously represented Indiana’s 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2007 to 2013. Donnelly is a Democrat with a centrist voting record according to the UCLA’s Department of Political Science. Donnelly said, “I never went to Washington to fight for the far left, or the far right. I went for the Hoosiers in the middle who want to see us deliver results.”
Mike Braun is a businessman who represented the 63rd District of the Indiana House of Representatives from 2014 to 2017. Braun is the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate who seeks to unseat Donnelly. Braun serves as the president and CEO of Meyer Distributing, a company headquartered in Jasper, Indiana. Braun has an 82 percent lifetime conservative voting record according to the American Conservative Union. Braun’s campaign website describes him as “a Hoosier conservative who can get the job done.” The website touts Braun partnering “with conservative leaders like Vice President Mike Pence.”
Lucy Brenton is the Libertarian nominee for the Senate race this year. Brenton previously attained the Libertarian nomination for the 2016 Senate race and received 5.5 percent of the vote against Republican Sen. Todd Young and Democratic former Sen. Evan Bayh.
Health care
Donnelly voted for the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or Obamacare and voted against attempts to repeal the law. In June, Donnelly said, “Health care is a basic human right for every single American.” Donnelly’s Senate page claims the ACA “lowers the cost of prescription drugs for our seniors by closing the Medicare “donut hole,” requires health insurance companies to cover those with pre-existing conditions, allows young adults to stay on their parents’ health insurance until the age of 26, and provides tax breaks for small businesses.” Donnelly supports repealing the ACA’s medical device tax and redefining full-time under the law to mean those who work an average of at least 40 hours per week instead of 30 hours.
Braun’s campaign page describes the ACA as an “unmitigated disaster.” In a letter to the Kokomo Tribune, Braun said, “When I’m in the Senate, I’ll take action and keep pushing for the full repeal of Obamacare.” In the same letter, Braun urged Indiana Republicans in the House to support a bill that would end the Medicaid expansion, the individual mandate, the mandate for large employers, the premium assistance tax credit and subsidies for cost-sharing. Braun’s campaign page states, “There is no repairing this broken law; the only option is to repeal and replace every word and regulation.” Braun’s campaign page states that he instead supports, “allowing individuals to purchase insurance across state lines and allowing small businesses to pool together to purchase insurance at lower prices.”
Economy
Donnelly voted against the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act or the Trump tax cuts. Donnelly said, “The benefits from the McConnell tax bill have largely gone to the wealthiest Americans and multinational corporations.” In April 2014, Donnelly voted for cloture for a bill that would have gradually increased the federal minimum wage over two years to $10.10 an hour if the bill had not died in the Senate.
Braun said, “I strongly support President Trump's tax cuts for Indiana small businesses and hard-working Hoosier families.” Braun attributes recent GDP growth and job gains to Trump’s economic policies. “All sectors of our economy benefit from President Trump’s economy policies like his historic tax cuts,” Braun said. Braun opposed a legislative amendment that would have increased the Indiana minimum wage to $10.10 an hour while serving as a state representative.
Immigration
In an ad, Donnelly said, “I voted for and supported Trump’s immigration bill including funding for the border wall.” Donnelly also opposed the immigration policy of separating children from their families if their parents entered illegally, and supports passing legislation to bring “clarity and stability” to those who were not deported due to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy.
Braun’s campaign website states, “We must act immediately to secure the border by building a wall.” In June, a Braun spokesman said, “Just like President Trump, he doesn’t want to see families separated.” Braun has vowed to end “chain migration”, a process under federal law formally known as “family reunification” in which legal U.S. residents may sponsor a family member for immigration.
Firearms
As previously reported, Donnelly supports a bump stock ban, preventing those on the no-fly list from purchasing firearms, and expanding background checks for gun shows.
Braun is supported by the National Rifle Association, an organization that opposes expanding firearm regulations including the specific reforms called for by Donnelly.
Judicial nominations
Donnelly voted against the confirmation of President Donald Trump’s most recent Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh. Kavanaugh was alleged to have committed sexual assault by Christine Blasey Ford, among other accusers. “Sexual assault has no place in our society,” Donnelly said. “When it does occur, we should listen to the survivors and work to ensure it never happens again.”
Braun supported the appointment of Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, and said that the accusations against Kavanaugh were smears from a “Democrat media circus.” Braun said, “Donnelly’s decisions to oppose President Trump’s highly qualified nominee is a grave mistake.” On the day of Kavanaugh’s confirmation, Braun said that Kavanaugh would “protect our Constitution on the Supreme Court.”
LGBT rights
As a senator, Donnelly voted for federal legislation to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity at work and in school, as well as in programs for homeless youth and domestic abuse victims. Donnelly said, “We want to be a state where we treat everybody equally, where everybody feels welcome.” Donnelly also opposed President Donald Trump’s proposed ban on transgender people serving in the armed forces. “People who love this country and want to serve our nation should have the chance to do so,” Donnelly said.
Braun opposes federal legislation to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, and voted against statewide protections for LGBT people as a state representative. “If there is something that would prove salient in the fact that there is discrimination or some right not there that others have,” Braun said. “But there's nothing that stands out now.” Braun also voted for the Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which generated nationwide controversy as opponents argued the law would permit business owners to discriminate against LGBT people.
Polling
An average of the polls for this race weighted by recency, sample size and methodological quality suggests the major party candidates are closely matched in margin. The weighted average suggests Donnelly is polling at 44 percent, Braun at 42 percent, Brenton at 4 percent, and the remaining 10 percent are undecided.
(10/04/18 9:30pm)
IUPUI held a mock election from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 3 at the Campus Center atrium. One hundred and fifty-four students filled out sample ballots and cast them in a real voting machine provided by the Marion County Board of Elections.
IUPUI civic engagement area manager Brant Johnson said that the event was for individuals who are new to the election process or are interested in voting and have never voted before.
“It gives them an opportunity to become acquainted with the voting process and also meet community partners that are there to advocate for them throughout the voting process and provide them with any information that they may need,” Johnson said.
The Marion County Board of Elections sponsored the event in partnership with the ACLU of Indiana, Indiana Disability Rights, League of Women Voters of Indianapolis, and Women4Change Indiana. An Indiana Campus Compact Election Engagement Project Grant helped to fund the event.
“There a ton of resources out there from the League of Women Voters to the Indiana Election Commission to provide voters with information about who’s going to be on their ballot,” Johnson said.
Voters in Indiana can register to vote, check their registration status, and find their polling location at indianavoters.in.gov, and find additional information at vote411.org from the League of Women Voters.
Johnson said that the event was to help get voters acquainted with these resources and raise awareness for the midterm elections.
“Midterm elections are important,” Johnson said. “Indiana doesn’t vote very strongly during midterms, so what we’re trying to do is bring attention to the midterm election this year.”
During the last midterm elections in 2014, Indiana had among the lowest voter turnout rates nationwide with 29 percent of the voting eligible population casting ballots. Turnout is expected to be higher than the last midterm due to the presence of a competitive U.S. Senate election, with FiveThirtyEight forecasting a voter turnout of 44 percent in Indiana.
The sample ballot allowed students to choose among the real candidates for the U.S. Senate race and two U.S. House races, as well as elections for the statewide offices of secretary of state, auditor of state, treasurer of state, and Marion County offices including prosecutor, clerk of the Circuit Court, auditor, recorder, and sheriff.
One of the participants in the mock election, IUPUI student Hunter Adair, affirmed his belief that these upcoming midterm elections would be consequential.
“It’s going to be very important for the United States of America, and I think it’s one of the most important elections I’ll see in my life,” Adair said. “I think a big problem is people not voting, and we should definitely push people to vote.”
Adair identified acrimony and reflexive partisanship between the two major parties as one of the issues he was concerned about in the upcoming midterm elections.
“I don’t agree with the two-party system, so I’m against that. I believe you should vote based on who a person is, and not which party they run under,” Adair said.
Voters in Indiana have the option of casting a “straight party vote”, when one selects a political party near the top of their ballot which counts as a vote for every member of that party. Of the 154 students that cast a ballot, 74 percent voted straight party vote. 54 percent of participants voted straight Democratic, 15 percent voted straight Republican, and 5 percent voted straight Libertarian.
IUPUI student Paije Jones said that she would likely vote straight party for the Democrats.
“I’m a Democrat, so I just go with the Democratic choice,” Jones said.
Jones said that this was because she trusted the party on the issue she cared about most: higher teacher pay.
“I feel like teachers should get a higher pay,” Jones said. “I want to be a teacher, so I feel like if we’re helping future generations to become the best they can be, I feel like they should be paid more than they get paid now.”
IUPUI student Estefania Gomez said that event organizers for the mock election did a good job of communicating how to vote straight party and the importance of the upcoming elections to a younger audience who may not otherwise exercise their right to vote.
“We are the future, so we should be the ones that decide our futures and who is in charge of our future,” Gomez said.
Gomez said it was important to research the candidates and where they stood on the issues before making a decision.
“I get a lot of commercials and stuff like that when I go on YouTube about Joe Donnelly and stuff like that,” Gomez said. “I realize that I have to look at different sources to see what they stand for. I mean, those commercials are meant to do something, meant to make you not vote for them.”
The most high-profile race on the sample ballot, the U.S. Senate election among Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly, Republican State Senator Mike Braun and Libertarian Lucy Brenton, had the fewest number of votes cast in the mock election.
Donnelly received the fewest number of votes of any Democratic candidate in the mock election with 98 votes, while Marion County Recorder Kate Sweeney Bell received the most support from students with 116 votes. Bell is a graduate of IUPUI and visited the College Democrats at IUPUI last year in her capacity as chairwoman of the Marion County Democratic Party.
In addition to candidate preferences, students could answer additional questions on the ballot about their beliefs. To the question, “Should colleges require SAT or ACT scores?”, 56 percent of participating students answered no, 38 percent answered yes, and 6 percent did not answer.
All interviewed participants praised the mock election process and urged their fellow students to vote. Washington Monthly ranked IUPUI No. 13 out of 1,488 colleges nationwide for its civic engagement.
“Whatever you stand by, just go vote,” Gomez said. “Get your voice heard.”
(09/30/18 1:05am)
Nearly three thousand people gathered for the Indianapolis Pagan Pride Day event from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 29 at the Marion County Fairgrounds.
“This is an opportunity that we use to gather together to show the strength of the pagan community and its ability to donate and help the outside community as well as our own,” event organizer Tom Jones said.
Indy Pagan Pride participants donated canned and dry goods as well as toiletries for the Damien Center, an AIDS service organization based in Indianapolis that has been partnered with the event for seventeen years. Organizers also received food and litter donations to Indy Feral, an organization which provides shelter as well as spaying and neutering services for feral cats.
Jones contrasted the many participants who donated to these causes to attendance at the first Indy Pagan Pride event in 1998.
“We started with 20 people,” Jones said.
Jones explained that that the social environment around paganism had changed since the event’s inception.
“It’s a much better atmosphere, it’s much more relaxed. We’re not in fear,” Jones said. “As a group and culture we’ve been through quite a bit with lawsuits and reassurance that we have validity.”
Jones referred to a 2004 case in which a Marion Superior Court judge ordered his son to be shielded from his “nonmainstream” Pagan faith of Wicca. On Aug. 18, 2005, the Indiana Court of Appeals threw out the order, ruling that the Marion Superior Court had overstepped its authority.
In contrast with this court order which sought to forbid a child from growing up in a pagan household, participants brought children young enough to be pushed in strollers to Indy Pagan Pride.
“It takes away the fear when you know that you’re not going to lose your children for being a pagan,” Jones said. “It makes you not afraid. It makes you powerful.”
Jones added that he is not afraid to publicly wear a pentagram or openly discuss his faith.
“As a general rule, I’m certainly not in the closet, hiding,” Jones said.
Jones observed that the phrase "in the closet" and many of the other terms pagans use to describe their lives are derived from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.
“There’s a lot of similarities between how both groups are treated by mainstream society,” Jones said. “There is a lot of solidarity. In fact, a lot of us are gay, bi. A lot of us are LGBT.”
This intersection between the pagan community and the LGBT community was evident from some of the organizations and vendors which had booths at the event. Among these was GenderNexus, a nonprofit organization headquartered in Indianapolis which provides resources for transgender and nonbinary people resources such as workshops, social events, and referrals to inclusive service providers.
At least three vendors at Indy Pagan Pride first sold their goods at the Indy Pride Festival for the LGBT community: Portia Joi Jefferson, Dio Mikko Lachance and Alexandria Swan Tuesday.
Portia Joi Jefferson said that it was her first year selling her crotchet and knitted goods from Hook ‘N’ Purl at Indy Pagan Pride.
“I feel like it’s pretty inclusive of beliefs and identities,” Jefferson said of the event. “Everyone’s been pretty nice and it seems like a comfortable, welcoming space.”
Jefferson first learned of Indy Pagan Pride from her friend Dio Mikko Lachance. Lachance is a poet and artist from the east side of Indianapolis who designs buttons and sells them at events.
“I make buttons, mostly queer-centric, but I like try to do stuff that’s kind of for pagan pride and just random things I think of,” Lachance said. “There’s a lot of different types of people here, and you don’t get too many people side-eyeing you for being queer or something.”
Lachance explained that they first went to Indy Pagan Pride last year with their girlfriend Alexandria Swan Tuesday. Like Lachance, Tuesday is a poet from the east side of Indianapolis.
“It was fun to meet a lot of different people who were just into a lot of different things I was into and they were into things I was curious about,” Tuesday said. “I was like, ‘this is a place where I can definitely continue to meet people.’”
After her first time at the event, Tuesday returned as a vendor, preparing and selling jewelry. Tuesday said that she believed Indy Pagan Pride was a safer space than most in the United States.
“I have my trans flag hanging right here not even a foot from us. I have not been called a single awful name yet today. I say yet because generally when I leave the house somebody has something to say about me because of who I am,” Tuesday said.
Tuesday contrasted the atmosphere of the event to current events. She specifically cited the support Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh has received despite being accused of sexual assault by Christine Blasey Ford, among other women.
“We need to regain the concept of human decency. There is nothing cute or attractive about the things that are going on in the United States right now,” Tuesday said.
Tuesday said this was a reason that spaces like the one offered by Indy Pagan Pride were necessary.
“At the end of the day, no matter what you do or do not believe in, we all got to move on from this dimension. So why are we gonna fight about it in the meantime?” Tuesday said. “So that’s why I appreciate this space.”
(09/22/18 4:39pm)
The Battleships competition saw water fly and canoes tip at the Natatorium this Wednesday. Participants sunk the competition to raise money for Riley Hospital for Children. The ultimate champions of the competition, Jag Track, stood tall above the rest.
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(09/14/18 3:53pm)
Registration is currently open for the upcoming Battleships competition from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 18 at the IUPUI Natatorium Competition Pool.
The object of the competition is for one team to sink the other team’s canoe while trying to stay afloat themselves. After a series of rounds, the team that successfully avoids being sunk will be crowned the champions of the event.
According to the IUPUI director of traditions Mackenzie Taylor, the Battleships competition is one of the charitable fundraising tradition that make up Jagathon.
“All of the money that we raise goes towards Jagathon and raising money for Riley Hospital for Children,” Taylor said.
The event is free, and organizers urge students to bring their Crimson Cards. Students can register to participate online.
“If you have a school or student organization that you’re a part of, then we encourage them to make teams,” Taylor said.
Event organizers confirmed that the School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA), as well as the Alpha Lambda Delta and Phi Eta Sigma honor society at IUPUI had registered to participate. Several sororities and fraternities are also expected to compete.
“A lot teams will get dressed up in some sort of theme to represent their teams, so if you bring your own fans they can be involved by also sort of representing your team,” Taylor said.
Teams are made up of four people, with three people in the canoe and one alternate that remains on standby. Each team receives a bucket that they may use to pour water into another team’s canoe, but they cannot use it to remove water from their own.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjBLRiD1pts
Spectators, including eliminated players, can also rent water buckets to help tip the scales by donating to Riley Hospital for Children during the competition.
“If you have a team that you’d like not to win, you can rent a bucket for that round and use it against them from outside of the pool,” Taylor said.
According to event organizers, the pool will be divided into two sections, with two rounds happening concurrently in each.
Battleships takes place during the 10 days of Regatta with the two events sharing the same large, metal canoes.
“It happens as a part of 10 days of Regatta, that’s sort of where it spawned,” Taylor said.
The event is a Jagathon tradition alongside Dancing with the Stars and Celebration of Miracles. The first Battleships event took place in 2013 during the fifth annual IUPUI Regatta.
“We’ve been doing it for a few years now so it’s become one of our traditions, one of our most exciting events other than Jagathon itself,” Taylor said.
Jagathon participants raised over $501,371 in March. According to IUPUI, the spring Jagathon set a new fundraising record for the third consecutive year.
“It’s so much fun, just to come and sort of partake. So even if you don’t end up getting into the pool, it’s really fun to just be there,” Taylor said. “It’s a super exciting event.”