IDS Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024
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INSIDE, P. 5
OPINION: Tipping – an archaic practice with present consequences
PSC plants 10,000 flags in Dunn Meadow Missing The Palestine Solidarity Committee placed the flags to honor children killed in Gaza By Jack Forrest
jhforres@iu.edu | @byjackforrest
About 30 members of the Palestine Solidarity Committee placed around 10,000 white flags Jan. 28 night in Dunn Meadow to honor the children killed in Gaza since the start of the Israel-Hamas war Oct. 7. Undeterred by the darkness, upper 30-degree weather or the Dunn Meadow mud, PSC members placed the flags every 14.5 inches using makeshift measuring sticks. The completed display took around 4.5 hours to create and has dimensions of 210 by 70 feet, according to PSC graduate advisor Bryce Greene. The display features signs with Palestinian flags and captions like “1 flag = 1 child murdered by Israel in the last 4 months.” The signs also include a number people can text to send a pre-drafted email to Congress in support of a ceasefire in the war and
OLIVIA BIANCO | IDS
Flags are displayed outside of the Indiana Memorial Union on Jan. 29, 2024, in Bloomington. The flags were put up by the Palestine Solidarity Committee.
a QR code to a petition to reinstate IU professor Abdulkader Sinno. On Dec. 15, IU suspended Sinno, who was the faculty advisor for the PSC at the time, for violating university policy when he filled out the
room reservation form for a PSC event. “I came out because obviously I want to express solidarity with Palestinians, especially the children, because that’s what this protest is about,” PSC
member Gabe Roach said. “I think it’s important to put pressure on the university, and a big event like this is a great way to do it.” During a demonstration Jan. 26, members of the PSC and others pro-
tested Sinno’s suspension and demanded IU acknowledge Palestinian suffering and reinstate Palestinian artist Samia Halaby’s canceled exhibit at the Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art. Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack killed around 1,200 Israelis, and as of Jan. 25 over 25,700 Palestinian people have been killed in Gaza since, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The Gaza Ministry of Health estimated Jan. 16 that more than 10,000 children have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7. “This is to show the level of loss that were often put forth – these statistics, these numbers, things like that, but it becomes an abstract thing, and it becomes dehumanizing in a sense,” PSC executive team member Aidan Khamis said. “These flags are supposed to represent one life of every child.” SEE FLAGS, PAGE 4
Purdue student found dead By Madelyn Hanes mrhanes@iu.edu
A 19-year-old Purdue student, Neel Acharya, who was reported missing, was found dead Jan. 28 near the Purdue University Airport, the Tippecanoe Country Coroner’s Office confirmed Jan. 30 afternoon. According to the Purdue Exponent, social media posts from users who claimed to be close with Acharya say his last known location was in the same area where the body was found. According to the USA Today, Chris Clifton, the interim computer science head at Purdue, announced Acharya’s death in an email to the computer science department the night of Jan. 29 before the results of the autopsy. SEE PURDUE, PAGE 4
How Curt Cignetti rebuilt Indiana football's roster By Daniel Flick
danflick@iu.edu | @ByDanielFlick
Curt Cignetti was in third grade when he knew he wanted to be a football coach. Cignetti, then just 9 years old, watched as his dad, Frank Sr., became an assistant coach under Bobby Bowden at West Virginia University. He frequented the Mountaineers’ sideline and listened closely to the halftime speeches given by Bowden, who was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Now 62 years old, Cignetti’s ready for his most prominent job yet — turning around Indiana’s football program. Hired Nov. 30 after five years as head coach at James Madison University, Cignetti now lives in a university-provided house a few blocks from downtown Bloomington. He said he didn’t see the town in daylight during his first three weeks. “I leave in the dark, I get home in the dark,” Cignetti said at a press conference Dec. 20. “It's been a lot of
4:30, 5 a.m. mornings till 10:30, 11:30 at night. Was even in the office at 12:30 one night. Haven't done that since 1986, but it was crunch time. It had to be done.” Cignetti described his start as Indiana’s new head coach as 20 days of 4th and 1, emphasizing the importance of reconstructing a roster that lost over two dozen players to the transfer portal and several staples to graduation. Dec. 20 marked the early period for National Signing Day, with the Hoosiers bringing in 31 players then and seven others in the days thereafter. Some, like junior receiver Donaven McCulley and redshirt sophomore running back Trent Howland, withdrew from the portal, while 10 others followed Cignetti from James Madison. Toss in a handful of transfers from other schools and 16 high school signees, and Cignetti’s late nights and early mornings culminated in a filled-out Hoosiers roster. This was a critical stretch for Indiana’s 2024 season, Cignetti said, but his sleep-
deprived ways aren’t necessarily a product of desperation. Instead, it was about starting his tenure with the right habits in place, setting the stage to help the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, native build a legacy in Bloomington. “What drives me is winning, but we win the right way,” Cignetti said. “I think I'm one of the top winningest active coaches in college football. I think I'm in the top seven. I don't plan on that changing here at Indiana.” Cignetti boasts a career record of 119-35 as head coach, including a 52-9 record at James Madison. Over the past two years, the Dukes went 19-4 under Cignetti’s guide while leveling up from the Football Championship Subdivision to the Football Bowl Subdivision. A proven program builder in prior stops at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Elon University, Cignetti’s been entrusted to do similar things for the Hoosiers — and he’s already grabbed several wins in his two months on the
TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE
Carrollton quarterback Julian Lewis (10) attempts a pass during the first half against Mill Creek in the GHSA Class 7A finals, at Center Parc Stadium, Saturday, December 10, 2022, in Atlanta. Lewis is set to visit Indiana on Feb. 4, 202.
Indiana to host 5-star quarterback recruit By Daniel Flick
danflick@iu.edu | @ByDanielFlick
PHOTO COURTESY OF INDIANA ATHLETICS
Indiana football head coach Curt Cignetti speaks at his introductory press conference Dec. 1, 2023, inside the team room at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington. Cignetti rebuilt Indiana's roster in just under two months on the job.
job. McCulley, an All-Big Ten honorable mention who led the Hoosiers in receiving last season with 48 catches for 644 yards and six touchdowns, was expected to go to Florida State University, Cignetti said. Instead, a few hours
after Indiana landed the commitment of Ohio University transfer quarterback Kurtis Rourke, the 2022 Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Year, McCulley called Cignetti with a message: he’s back. SEE CIGNETTI, PAGE 4
'Samia Halaby Uncanceled' to take place Feb. 17 at BCT By Marissa Meador
marnmead@iu.edu | @marissa_meador
“Samia Halaby Uncanceled,” an event showcasing videos of Palestinian painter Samia Halaby’s art and life, will take place 7 p.m. Feb. 17 in the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. Sponsored by the IU Bloomington chapter of the American Association of University Professors and private donors, the event will be free but require a ticket. Halaby’s abstract art exhibition, which had been in the works for three years, was set to open Feb. 10 in
the Eskenazi Museum of Art. IU canceled the show Dec. 20, citing security concerns. In an address to the Bloomington Faculty Council Jan. 16, Provost Rahul Shrivastav said he could not say whether IU had received specific credible threats — instead calling the exhibition a “potential lightning rod” that could invite protests. Elizabeth Housworth, an AAUP member and mathematics professor at IU, said the event will likely be posted on the Buskirk’s website this week. The idea for the event originated with Housworth, who planned the
event and later secured the AAUP as a sponsor. Founded in 1919, Bloomington’s AAUP chapter has an overarching mission of protecting academic freedom and shared governance. The chapter advocated for the formation of the Bloomington Faculty Council in 1947 and circulates a newsletter roughly once a semester. In a Spring 2024 edition of Bloomington’s AAUP newsletter, the chapter condemned IU’s interpretation of university policy in suspending tenured professor Abdulkader Sinno and the cancelation of
Halaby’s exhibition. The report criticized the university for “corporatization” by attempting to minimize the risks of potentially controversial speech and accused the university of losing touch with its mission. “We see no purpose in treating the administration’s vague and unexplained ‘security concerns’ as anything other than a pretext to avoid subjecting to scrutiny the real reasons for its actions,” the newsletter read regarding Halaby. Housworth said the Buskirk-Chumley event will include Halaby’s kinetic
paintings programmed on a Commodore Amiga 1000, which is a computer released in 1985. Additionally, the show will feature YouTube videos about her life, including a video by awardwinning cinematographer Bill Winters, and a unique video created by Halaby’s grandniece, Madison Gordon. Housworth also said Winters will come to the event and may speak. “This is the event for people who actually want to understand what was canceled, who want to understand the art of Samia Halaby, her life and her history,” she said.
Bloomington's 7 Day Forecast
Indiana football is scheduled to host quarterback Julian Lewis, a 5-star recruit in the 2025 class, in Bloomington Jan. 28, according to 247sports. Lewis attends Carrollton High School in Carrollton, Georgia, and is currently committed to the University of Southern California. Still, his recruiting process remains open, as he’s slated to visit the University of Alabama and University of Georgia in the days before heading to Bloomington. Lewis, who is 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds, is the No. 8 player in 247sports’ composite rankings, and with a 0.9968 overall grade, he’d become the highest-ranked commit in Indiana football history. Lewis was named the MaxPreps National Sophomore of the Year and was a finalist for the Gatorade National Player of the Year after throwing for 3,094 yards, 48 touchdowns and two interceptions in 13 games this season. He reclassified from 2026 to 2025 on Jan. 16, making him a rising senior. 247sports Director of Scouting Andrew Irvin offered a glowing review of Lewis. SEE QUARTERBACK, PAGE 4
SOURCE: XANDER LOWRY | XLOWRY@IU.EDU GRAPHICS BY: THE WEATHER CHANNEL
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