Thursday, January 11, 2024

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IDS Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024

Indiana Daily Student | idsnews.com

INSIDE, P. 2

Five things you may have missed over break

IU suspends professor after PSC event By Marissa Meador

marnmead@iu.edu | @marissa_meador

Indiana University administration temporarily suspended tenured IU political science professor Abdulkader Sinno following IU's denial of a room reservation for an event hosted by the Palestine Solidarity Committee while Sinno was the group's advisor. The decision has prompted pushback from faculty, with 14 current and former faculty authoring a petition in defense of Sinno and free speech on campus. “As faculty members of Indiana University, we condemn this persecution of a colleague and the administration’s shocking expression of contempt for IU’s longstanding practices of shared governance,” the petition reads. The suspension prohibits Sinno from teaching and advising graduate students during the spring and summer terms and prevents him from advising student organizations for one calendar year, immediately removing him

from his advising roles for the PSC, Muslim Student Association and Middle Eastern Student Association at IU. The letter also bars Sinno from engaging in “any and all student-related activities.” Since the Israel-Hamas war began after Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7 attack, American universities have faced difficult questions and public pressure in their responses to alleged instances of antisemitism and Islamophobia — and IU is no exception. On Nov. 15, U.S. Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana sent a letter to President Whitten, writing that IU could lose access to federal funding if they condone antisemitism on campus. Banks specifically mentioned the PSC in the letter and asked for any reports of harassment or illegal activity following the organization’s demonstrations. The PSC held demonstrations to support Palestine and honor the lives lost in the war, which totals at least 22,835 Palestinians — one percent of Gaza’s entire pre-war population

MARISSA MEADOR | IDS

Israel-American writer and activist Miko Peled speaks about Palestine to a crowd of about 75 on Nov. 16, 2023, in Woodburn 120. Indiana University administration temporarily suspended tenured IU political science professor Abdulkader Sinno after IU denied the room reservation for the event.

— as of Jan. 8 IU’s reasoning behind Sinno’s suspension In a letter to Sinno on Dec. 15, Carrie Docherty, vice provost for faculty

and academic affairs, wrote that Sinno violated IU’s Academic Appointee Responsibilities and Conduct policy, the Principles of Ethical Conduct and IU’s student organizations

policy when he attempted to reserve a room for the PSC’s event with IsraeliAmerican speaker Miko Peled on Nov. 16. SEE SUSPENDED, PAGE 4

Meet the IU Center for Spacetime Symmetries

The IUCSS investigates the universe’s symmetries and the established rules of physics. By Andrew Miller

ami3@iu.edu | @andrew_mmiller

“Perfect symmetry is boring,” Mike Snow, director of the IU Center for Spacetime Symmetries, said over biscuits, gravy and a much-needed cup of coffee early in the morning at Runcible Spoon. His organization works to find potential breaks in fundamental rules of the universe that much of modern physics is based on — rules so fundamental, that upending them would lead to a revolution in the field. These rules are known as symmetries. To the people in the IUCSS investigating these basic laws of the universe, their work is everything. And if their research bears fruit, it would be one of the most transformative events in modern physics in recent memory. Even if it doesn’t, their

COURTESY PHOTO OF DING YUNHUA

Members of the IUCSS at the eighth meeting for CPT and Lorentz Symmetry, held May 12-16, 2019, pose outside Swain Hall East. The organization has worked to find potential breaks in fundamental rules of the universe that much of modern physics is based on — rules so fundamental, upending them would lead to a revolution in the field.

research would still confirm basic assumptions and rules most of modern physics is based on, and their enormous body of work — the fleshed-out understandings of particles, math and phenomena — could

ripple through the field of physics for years to come. History of the IUCSS The work of finding potential aberrations in the established laws of physics began in the late 20th cen-

tury with the work of Alan Kostelecky, now a distinguished professor of theoretical physics at IU, and one of the world’s leading authorities on spacetime symmetries. Working within String

Theory — a promising framework developed in the late 20th century that attempted to unify physics under one theory of everything — Kostelecky said he demonstrated the existence of processes within the theory that could break established rules including Lorentz and CPT symmetry. This spurred him to look into other ways these symmetries could be violated in nature. He developed the Standard Model Extension, a theory containing all possible violations of these rules. This spurred a deluge of scientists to test if these violations exist, and; in the early 2000s, scientists at IU realized they had a critical mass of people who were interested in studying these potential violations. They founded the IUCSS soon after in 2010. SEE IUCSS, PAGE 3

FOOTBALL

Indiana snags James Madison’s leading receiver, 3 others in transfer portal IDS FILE PHOTO BY MATT BEGALA

Greg Pence, brother of Vice President Mike Pence tells the crowd to get out and vote during the Trump Rally Friday, Nov. 2, 2018 in the Southport High School gymnasium. Pence announced he would not seek reelection Jan. 9, 2024.

Rep. Greg Pence announces retirement from Congress By Christy Avery

averycm@iu.edu | @christm_avery

Republican U.S. Rep. Greg Pence is the latest member of Indiana’s congressional delegation to announce he will not run

for reelection to Congress, following in the footsteps of fellow members Rep. Larry Buschon, Rep. Jim Banks and Rep. Victoria Spartz. SEE RETIREMENT, PAGE 4

By Daniel Flick

danflick@iu.edu | @ByDanielFlick

Indiana football head coach Curt Cignetti continues to pull talent from his past destination, James Madison University. Receiver Elijah Sarratt, who led the Dukes with 82 receptions for 1,191 yards last season, announced his commitment to Indiana on Thursday night via X, formerly known as Twitter. The 6-foot-2, 207-pound Sarratt finished second on James

Madison in touchdown catches with eight and added another score on the ground, tying him for the team lead in total touchdowns. A native of Stafford, Virginia, Sarratt was a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Freshman All-American at Saint Francis University in 2022 before transferring to James Madison, where he earned first-team All-Sun Belt conference this past season. SEE MADISON, PAGE 4

PHOTO COURTESY OF INDIANA ATHLETICS

Indiana football head coach Curt Cignetti is pictured at his introductory press conference Dec. 1, 2023, inside the team room at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington. Cignetti landed four transfers Jan. 4.

Bloomington's 7 Day Forecast

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS Welcome back Hoosiers for the spring 2024 semester! We hope the first week of classes are going well and that you all had a refreshing holiday break. Here at the IDS, we have been working on and planning for the upcoming semester, ensuring we continue providing essential coverage for you in 2024. We are glad you decided to pick up a paper and are grateful you took time out of your busy schedule to read the IDS. This first paper catches you up on everything you missed over the break and looks ahead to major events happening this semester. For those new to the IDS, our paper publishes every Thursday and covers everything IU and the Bloomington community has to offer. Our website, idsnews.com, also publishes content daily. Whether it's breaking news or the latest Hoosier sports update, the IDS has you covered. As the IDS’s co-editorsin-chief this semester, we are dedicated to covering all of the Bloomington community, providing comprehensive and in-depth reporting on crucial topics and providing a platform for a diverse range of voices on campus. The IDS is built on a 156year history of serving you, our readers. Our dedication to the community is what drives every story we publish and every decision we make as journalists. We are also committed to upholding our code of ethics as we pursue complex and challenging stories. We wish you all the best in the spring semester and hope you will make reading the IDS a part of your daily routine!

Nic Napier and Salomé Cloteaux Spring 2024 Co-Editors-in-Chief

VOLLEYBALL

Steve Aird signs contract extension through 2029 By Dalton James

jamesdm@iu.edu | @DaltonMJames

Indiana volleyball head coach Steve Aird agreed to a contract extension through 2029, according to an IU Athletics release Friday. “Our volleyball program has shown impressive growth over the last several seasons under Coach Aird, to the point that we are now competing at a very high level in the best volleyball conference in the country,” Indiana Vice President and Athletic Director Scott Dolson said in the release. “I know that our student-athletes and coaching staff believe there are bigger things ahead for this program, and I’m excited to see what’s next for Indiana volleyball.” SEE AIRD, PAGE 4

SOURCE: ETHAN STEWARD | ETBSTEWA@IU.EDU GRAPHICS BY: THE WEATHER CHANNEL

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