Monday, Jan. 14, 2019 | Indiana Daily Student | idsnews.com
IDS
Former Dean of Students Michael Gordon remembered as mentor By Peter Talbot pjtalbot@iu.edu | @petejtalbot
Former Dean of Students Michael Gordon, who was one of the first black men to hold a high administrative position at IU and whose strict policies toward student drinking earned him a reputation as a campus enforcer, died Jan. 7 in Tallahassee, Florida. He was 82. His daughter Maura Lynn Byrd said her father had heart problems for years and underwent open heart surgery in November. She said he died peacefully and will be buried at Trinity Episcopal Church in Bloomington to be close to IU.
Gordon served as dean of students from 1981 to 1991 and was a professor of music in the Jacobs School of Music from 1975 to 2001. Though he played many roles in life as an administrator, teacher, mentor and minister, Gordon began his career as a performer, and friends said he brought that love of performance to much of his work. “Wherever Michael was, there was music,” said James Mumford, a friend of Gordon’s and a retired IU professor. As dean of students, Gordon kept a piano in his office. Mumford said Gordon would often sing with music students who visited
him. He was known for once starting off a budget meeting singing “I got plenty of nothing,” the first line of a song from the opera “Porgy and Bess.” Ken Gros Louis, then Vice President of IU, asked Gordon to sing the next line, which was “and nothing is plenty for me.” Gordon received his bachelor’s degree from Virginia State University in vocal music and his Ph.D. in music and music education from Columbia University. He worked as an administrator and music educator in New York City public schools and perFILE PHOTO formed regularly with chamber Former Dean of Students Michael Gordon died Jan. 7. He wasARBUTUS 82 years old. He was dean of students from 1981 to 1991, when he stepped down, and was a
SEE GORDON, PAGE 5 professor until 2001.
LITTLE 500
Petition started for race equality By Phillip Steinmetz psteinme@iu.edu | @PhillipHoosier
‘Be there or be square’ By Annie Aguiar aguiara@iu.edu | @annabelaguiar
The IU Classifieds advertisement is tucked among reminders of college life and adulthood, caught between Finite textbook listings and summer sublease options. “Do you love 4 square? 4 + square = a good time,” the title reads. Then, a winking emoji. It’s written by two friends who want to play four square, but realized that they don’t have at least two other friends. Would anyone want to meet up and play with them? “Yes, we’re serious,” the ad reads. That “we” is Ben Wallace and Teresa Perez, two IU students who recently decided to start an organized effort to play four square in college. Wallace, 21, is a senior studying information systems, sustainability and computer science. He’s one of the founders of Code@IU, a club meant for beginners to
learn how to code. Perez, 19, is a freshman studying mathematics and computer science. She joined Code@IU last semester, which is how she met Wallace. “Adulting is frustrating,” Perez texted Wallace one day. “So don’t grow up,” he responded. The conversation then became about when they were kids, and playing four square came up. Wallace told Perez he had spent a fair amount of “respectable minutes in the king square.” Perez wanted him to prove it. Even though the idea of playing four square is silly, the game itself is serious business, they said. For many, the chalkdrawn recess gridiron was the traditional pre-adolescent proving ground. The rules vary from playground to playground, but the struggle for a player to make something of themselves remains the same: try to get to the highest ranked box, stay there as long as possible and defend your empire from those who would
TY VINSON | IDS
Senior Ben Wallace and freshman Teresa Perez sign “four square” with their hands in the Starbucks in the Indiana Memorial Union. Wallace and Perez posted an ad on IU Classifieds asking for people to play four square with them.
want to undermine you. It’s a democratizing sport: anyone can become king in minutes, only to lose everything with a single fatal bounce of the ball a second later. Players do not need to be particularly athletic or cool or popular: just willing to play. When Wallace and Perez realized they didn’t have enough people for a full game, they turned to the internet. Neither have large social media followings, so IU Classifieds, a free and online advertisement listing open to those with IU emails, was their best shot. The ad took 20 minutes to write. To Wallace and Perez, the world takes
The women’s Little 500 race has been around since 1988 and consists of 100 laps, while the men’s race is double the laps with 200. But one women’s team has started a petition to try to get the women’s race changed. Independent Council cyclists Hayley Kwasniewski and Celine Oberholzer started a petition to change the women’s race to be equidistant with the men’s race at 200 laps. “It’s really just to show support, to show that there is proof that there are several people on several different teams and in the community, alums that are on our side,” Kwasniewski said. The link to sign to the petition is in each of their Instagram biographies in addition to that of fellow Independent Council cyclist Marie Wirsing who created a post on the site about trying to get more people aware of the petition. “The Little 500 has made a tremendous impact on mine and many other women’s lives and we believe it is time for the women’s field to have the equal opportunity to race the full 200 laps,” Wirsing said in the post. The social media post credits the two for creating the petition and mentioning how to sign it. The petition has been live for over
SEE FOUR SQUARE, PAGE 6 SEE LITTLE 500, PAGE 6
WRESTLING
Chi Omega on cease and desist, ordered to stop recruitment By Emily Isaacman eisaacma@iu.edu | @emilyisaacman
AUSTIN RETTIG | IDS
IU wrestles against Maryland on Jan. 13 in Wilkinson Hall. IU defeated Maryland 36-3.
Hoosiers win new facility debut By Jacob Garza jagarza@iu.edu
During the intermission of IU wrestling’s Wilkinson Hall debut against Maryland, the team welcomed a group of 30 wrestling alumni down to the mat. They greeted head coach Angel Escobedo, a former IU wrestler himself, with a flood of smiles, hugs and pictures.
36-3 Together, Hoosiers new and old celebrated the future of the program as IU snapped their Big Ten dual meet losing streak with a 36-3 win over Maryland Sunday. Escobedo is proud of the way the now 4-7 team has competed
so far this season, and has placed an emphasis on stepping up to the level of its opponents, regardless of how talented it may be. “It sets it in their mind that we’re going out there to dominate, not just to compete,” Escobedo said. “We’re going out there to try and score bonus points and feed off of each other as teammates.” SEE WRESTLING, PAGE 5
The Theta Beta chapter of Chi Omega stopped recruitment Saturday night after IU put it on cease and desist Friday afternoon, IU spokesperson Chuck Carney said in emails. Organizations on cease and desist are required to suspend chapter activities such as parties and meetings. The women’s fraternity was originally allowed keep recruiting, Carney said. Recruitment began Jan. 3, when Potential New Members visited all 22 chapters over two days. Women came back to a maximum of 16 chapters for the second round Jan. 5 and Jan. 6. They continued with the third round of sorority recruitment, the Sisterhood Round, Friday night and Saturday until 6:30 p.m., when they were informed that Chi Omega executive headquarters decided to not let them finish, Carney said in an email. The last round of recruitment was Sunday. PNMs will receive bids Tuesday night. Whitney Plumpton, director of
marketing and public relations for Chi Omega Executive Headquarters, said in a Friday statement to the Indiana Daily Student that her organization had been made aware of an IU investigation into allegations made against the Theta Beta chapter. The statement said the national organization would be partnering with IU as the investigation proceeds, and that the extent of chapter activity suspension was still unknown. “Chi Omega Fraternity does not tolerate harassment, hazing or bullying of any kind and prohibits any activity that endangers the mental or physical health or safety of a person,” Plumpton said in the statement. “In fact, Chi Omega members are educated on expectations for membership, and as a condition of membership, each individual bears the personal responsibility to abide by applicable federal, state and local laws and college/university rules and regulations, as well as Chi Omega policies, rules and procedures.” Carney said he did not know why the sorority was placed on cease and desist or stopped recruitment.