Thursday, July 11, 2019

Page 1

Thursday, July 11, 2019

IDS

IU decorations across town page 5

Indiana Daily Student | idsnews.com

In 1917, IU installed tiles with different cultural symbols in the Intramural Center, including swastikas.

After verbal abuse video, some ask IU to investigate By Ellen Hine emhine@iu.edu | @ellenmhine

IDS FILE PHOTO

A swastika symbol is displayed on the walls of the Intramural Center. IU has started to remove tiles displaying swastikas by sanding them down.

Now the university is spending $400,000 to remove them by early fall. By Ellen Hine emhine@iu.edu | @ellenmhine

For over 100 years, people entering the IU Intramural Center have been met with a shocking sight: swastikas. The swastikas were part of a display including other icons from across different cultures, all of which are meant to symbolize good fortune. For years, they drew controversy. But in the beginning of July, IU started to remove the tiles containing swastikas from the collection and sand down the images. IU spokesperson Amanda Roach said in a statement to the Indiana Daily Student the tiles have been brought up to administration every year, but a decision was made to remove the tiles this year. The tiles will be sanded over and altered to remove the swastikas. Work on the tiles is expected to be finished by early fall. The project is expected to cost around $400,000, according to the Bloomington Herald-Times. It’s a decision that has drawn praise and criticism. Professor Charles Beeker is the director of the IU Center for Underwater Science through the School of Public Health. He said while he agrees the symbol has been

used inappropriately, he thinks the swastika tiles need to be considered under the context in which they were installed. “It was meant to talk about wellness,” Beeker said. “It was meant to talk about the symbols that would be appropriate for a fieldhouse and the athletics and the events and now the School of Public Health.” He said he wished the university would use the symbols as a learning opportunity instead of removing pieces of a historic IU building. “It’s something that we want to teach about and talk about but not necessarily cover up and hide just to avoid controversy over something that is by no means intended to indicate any association with the atrocities that occurred later,” Beeker said. The removal is the latest incident of the university addressing controversial campus landmarks. The Office of the Provost announced in 2017 classes would no longer take place in Woodburn Hall 100, a lecture hall which contained a mural panel depicting a KKK rally. Trustee Ora Wildermuth’s name was taken off the SEE SWASTIKAS, PAGE 4

Panel to discuss farmers’ market and the law

ALEX DERYN | IDS

By Ellen Hine

An exit sign sits in front of the men's locker room entrance July 9 in the Intramural Center. IU has started to remove tiles displaying swastikas by sanding them down.

emhine@iu.edu | @ellenmhine

Bob Knight buys just-built Bloomington home By Dylan Wallace dswallac@iu.edu | @Dwall_1

After former IU basketball Coach Bob Knight returned to Bloomington for his first-known public appearance on April 6 for a IU vs Penn State baseball game, speculation circled about whether or not Knight missed the city in which he coached at for 29 years. His return made Hoosier fans happy, and now Knight’s face could potentially be seen much more in Bloomington. Recently filed property transfer records in the Monroe County Assessor’s Office obtained by The Herald-Times show that a just-built house in the 1500 block of South Andrew Circle in the Shadow Creek neighborhood was sold to Robert M. Knight and Karen Knight, his wife, on July 2. The 4,800-square-foot house reportedly has five bedrooms and four bathrooms and sold for $572,500. Knight was fired from IU Sept. 10, 2000, after winning three

National Championships with the program, along with 11 Big Ten Championships and 661 wins, making him the winningest coach in program history. He was fired after violating a zero-tolerance policy that was put on him in May of 2000. Fans were upset and protested the streets, but Knight officially bid farewell to the program Sept. 13 in Dunn Meadow in front of an estimated crowd of 6,000 people. He went on to coach at Texas Tech University in 2001 and decided to retire in 2008. Knight declared his intent to never return to IU on The Dan Patrick Show in 2017. “Well, I think I’ve always really enjoyed the fans, and I always will. On my dying day, I’ll think about how great the fans at Indiana were,” Knight said in the interview. “And as far as the hierarchy at Indiana University at that time, I have absolutely no respect whatsoever for those people. And with that in mind, I have no interest in ever going back

IDS FILE PHOTO

Former men's basketball Coach Bob Knight speaks at the event Spend an Evening With Bob Knight on Feb. 28, 2018. According to recently filed property records, Knight is moving back to Bloomington.

to that university.” But after his public return on April 6, fans became hopeful. In March, it was reported that Knight’s health was in decline. In April, when Knight spoke at Center Grove High School, he

A petition submitted Monday to the IU Board of Trustees is asking for an investigation into an IU professor after allegations of verbal abuse against a McDonald's cashier with a mental disability. The incident was detailed in a Facebook post by another McDonald’s employee, who claimed the woman identified herself as an IU professor. The professor allegedly called the cashier a derogatory term and suggested he work in the kitchen. Video footage included with the post showed a physical altercation between the employee who posted on Facebook and a woman she claimed was the professor. “Indiana University is aware of the off-campus incident involving an IU employee and the associated social media response,” IU spokesperson Amanda Roach said in a statement. “University leaders have heard from individuals engaged in or concerned about the matter and are taking steps to learn more.” While the professor declined to an on-the-record interview, she said in an email to the Indiana Daily Student she only had the best interest of the McDonald’s cashier in mind. The IU Neurodiversity Coalition, a group of IU students, faculty and staff that advocates for neurodiverse students, created the investigation petition. The coalition asked the university to investigate the incident, release a statement on the value neurodiverse people bring to the IU community, immediately remove the professor from all interactions with IU students and insure the professor will not use hate speech in future interactions with students. As of Wednesday afternoon, the petition had nearly 1,300 signatures, according to the IU Neurodiversity Coalition Facebook page. The McDonald’s employee’s original Facebook post has been shared over 1,500 times. Editor’s note: Since IU has not released the results of its investigation at the time of publication, the IDS chose to not include the professor’s name in this story.

had some memory lapses during certain stories. There is no current update on Knight’s health, but Hoosier fans can expect to see the coach that last brought the program a national title a little more often.

The City of Bloomington has arranged an official public panel at 6 p.m. Thursday night in City Hall to discuss potential legal implications for the Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market following allegations that a market vendor is run by white supremacists. A letter sent to the farmers’ market in June alleged one of the market’s vendors, Schooner Creek Farm, is operated by members of the white nationalist group Identity Evropa. The Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market Advisory Council held a public meeting on the matter June 17, where many citizens addressed their concerns about Schooner Creek Farm’s presence at the market. "I'm of Jewish ancestry," said a man who only gave his first name, Daniel, at the meeting. "If they get power again, I'm gone." Thursday’s meeting will discuss public questions raised at previous city meetings about the issue, according to a press release. The public can ask additional questions if there is time remaining. Panel members include IU Maurer School of Law professor Jeannine Bell, law school professor emeritus and adjunct professor of religious studies Dan Conkle and IU Ph.D. student Abby Ang, who drafted and sent the Schooner Creek Farm letter to the farmers’ market.


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