STUDENT LIFE DIRECTOR RESIGNS
DN WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2015
Jones-Hall leaves after 4 years at university ARIC CHOKEY ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR | news@bsudailynews.com
Jennifer Jones-Hall, director of Student Life and adviser to the Student Government Association, resigned from her position Monday evening, the university said. Joan Todd, interim associate vice president for University Marketing and Communications said JonesHall resigned “to pursue other opportunities.” She had been with
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the university since 2011. Jones-Hall has not yet responded to attempts to reach out to her. She was recently mentioned in a letter to President Paul W. Ferguson from Student Government Association Chief of Staff Chris Taylor and the Student Government Association President Nick Wilkey. The letter expressed concern about the selection of the John R. Emens Outstanding Senior Award winner, racial sensitivity and the lack of dialogue on campus. In the letter, Taylor said leaders from the SGA and the Big 4 —
the Black Student Association, Spectrum, the Latino Student Union and the Asian American Student Association — had received threats of funding cuts for steering away from the university’s message. Jones-Hall said in an email: “The Big 4 are not making comments [about the Emens Outstanding Senior Award] because the[y] are funded through the University and so is SGA. I would be careful not to bite the hand that feeds you. My two cents.” Jones-Hall apologized Wednesday for her remarks.
BACKLASH
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David Jones, president of the BSA, said his organization was restricted from talking about the Emens controversy with anyone, including their own members. “In the back of our minds, we were thinking ‘If we say something, there won’t be a BSA,’” Jones said. Details for the search for her replacement have not yet been determined, Todd said. Sang Nguyen, president of AASA, said Jones-Hall “is an extremely compassionate and positive person with so much energy and love for her students.”
HITS HOME
DN PHOTO ILLUSTRATION KIRA RIDER
all State began to feel the effects of the national outcry against Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act Tuesday as the Mid-American Conference and the National Forensic Association decided to move their events, that draw thousands of people each year, out of state. RFRA prohibits laws that “substantially burden” a person’s ability to follow their religious beliefs. “Person,” according to the law, includes businesses, religious institutions and associations.
Gov. Mike Pence asked lawmakers Tuesday to create a clarification of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act he signed in private Thursday. Although the law doesn’t outright target LGBTQ people, many critics say the law gives businesses, like florists, bakers and caterers, the legal right to refuse service to gay and lesbian couples for same-sex weddings. Government officials, businesses and celebrities have been speaking out against the law and canceling travel and events in the state.
RFRA
MAC WILL NOT SCHEDULE INDIANA CHAMPIONSHIPS DAKOTA CRAWFORD DIGITAL EDITOR
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RELIGIOUS FREEDOM RESTORATION ACT “Prohibits a governmental entity from substantially burdening a person’s exercise of religion, even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability, unless the governmental entity can demonstrate that the burden:” “(1) is in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest;” “(2) is the least restrictive means of furthering the compelling governmental interest.” SOURCE: iga.in.gov
NFA DROPS BALL STATE AS COMPETITION HOST
dmcrawford@bsu.edu
KARA BERG CHIEF REPORTER
Days after the NCAA spoke out against Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the Mid-American Conference is making a statement as well. “The [MAC] will not schedule any more meetings or championships in Indiana until this current matter is brought to a sensible and appropriate conclusion,” said MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher. Conference championships in men’s and women’s outdoor track and field, scheduled for May 14-16, will still be hosted in Muncie. Several championships, primarily Olympic sports, are hosted by different MAC schools on a rotational basis. That means any member school could potentially host any of the rotational sports. Ken Mather, associate commissioner of media and public relations for the MAC, said both golf and tennis have been hosted in Indiana in recent years. Ball State athletic director Mark Sandy echoed statements from Steinbrecher, adding that the conference is making its stance clear. “They’re following NCAA leadership in saying that any kind of a rule that would be perceived as discriminatory is not a good thing,” Sandy said. “Any organization that has multiple members from different states has to take into consideration all of its members.” Ball State is the only MAC school located in Indiana. The conference also hosts its annual presidents meeting in Indianapolis, where NCAA headquarters are located.
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knberg2@bsu.edu
The National Forensic Association joined the ranks of other companies like Angie’s List, Salesforce and Gen Con LLC who have decided to pull business or events from Indiana after Gov. Mike Pence signed Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The NFA, a speech organization, pulled their 2016 national competition from Ball State. Mary Moore, director of individual events and instructor of communication studies, said the National Council came to the agreement to open the bidding back up to other institutions for the 2016 competition. “We feel compelled to protect students, so to ask colleagues to bring students into a state where this law would allow businesses to discriminate against them was something the National Council did not feel comfortable doing,” Moore said. Ball State is one of the organization’s founding members and is one of the 10 schools that have won the national tournament, so Moore said it was prestigious to be able to host the national tournament on campus. The city could lose between $1 and 2 million for not hosting the five-day tournament, Moore said. The tournament brings about 1,200 to 1,500 students and coaches from about 100 institutions from across the country to Muncie. Losing the food and lodging business from them could make a big impact, she said.
See NFA, page 3
OUR VIEW: FERGUSON MUST DIRECTLY OPPOSE RFRA TO ADDRESS DIVERSITY ISSUES PG. 2 LETTER TO THE EDITOR
‘CONDEMN ACTIONS NOT PEOPLE’
BENEFICENCE
DIALOGUE Administration, students meet to discuss diversity on campus
Former SGA president calls for ‘an end to the witch hunts’ when students, faculty make public errors in judgment THE PULSE OF BALL STATE
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