Sept. 22, 2022 | Indiana Daily Student | idsnews.com
IDS
Loved ones remember the life of IU junior Nate Stratton By Helen Rummel
hrummel@iu.edu | @helenrummel
Nate Stratton would always take on a challenge. Whether he was competing against his dad in a pickleball game or daring his older sister to a wrestling match, he always put in his full effort. “It’s just those little moments,” Nate’s dad Greg said. “I’ve been going to sleep every night thinking about him dancing around the pickleball court with a big smile on his face because he beat me.” Nate was never full of himself or overly cocky
though, as his family described him as goofy and often light-hearted. He worked hard at what he put his mind to. And, just days before he died, he celebrated his acceptance to a study abroad program in Australia for this upcoming summer, something his family said he had been working toward for some time now. Nate died early Sunday morning after an alleged drunk driver struck him on an e-scooter while making his way back from Raising Cane’s. He was 20-years-old. Stratton was a junior in the Kelley School of Business
and is originally from Excelsior, Minnesota. A vigil for Nate will be held 7 p.m. on Thursday at Showalter Fountain on IU’s campus. From all over the country, people have reached out to the Strattons to let them know what Nate meant to them. His friends living in other time zones remember how Nate would stay up late waiting for them so they could play a video game together. He would invite new friends over, never letting them be a stranger for too long. His determination inspired those around him to reach for goals they said they
never would have on their own. His sister Ceci remembers several years ago when she and Nate came across a goose that had died in their yard. Nate took the goose, wrapped it up and prepared a small funeral for it with her. And, after commemorating this goose’s life, she said he buried the goose next to the family’s outdoor fireplace — where it still is today. “That’s exactly how Nate was,” Ceci said. “He found the light in weird situations like that.” Nate was an avid skier, beginning when he was
only 2-years-old. When he and his sisters were younger, they were all a part of a family skiing team called “The Need for Speed.” After a certain point, his dad said Nate surpassed him in his abilities. Through his love for skiing, Nate traveled to places all over the world including Switzerland and Belgium. In addition to the vigil, loved ones can show support through a fundraiser Nate’s family has organized in support of research for Type 1 diabetes, for which he was diagnosed with at 16-yearsold. Nate is survived by his
father Brad, his mother Elizabeth, two older sisters Abby and Ceci and grandparents Chuck and Sandy Landman.
COURTESY PHOTO
Man charged after hours long storm drain search By IDS Staff
news@idsnews.com
The man, who claimed to be armed and barricaded himself for over seven hours in a storm drain, was taken into police custody around 5 p.m. Tuesday afternoon after causing a large-scale police operation and a partial IU campus lockdown. Police identified the suspect as 37-year-old Eli Swartsentruber. He was considered an "armed subject" but not an active shooter. No shots were reported. Police say they found unspent rifle rounds, a hand scythe and a machete in the storm drains. No guns were located, and police are no longer searching the drains for weapons. After a hospital visit, Swartsentruber was booked into the Monroe County Correctional Center with preliminary felony charges of attempted battery with a deadly weapon and intimidation. Bloomington Police Department Capt. Ryan Pedigo said Tuesday that the Monroe County Sheriff's Office previously found probable cause for the Swartsentruber's arrest for four felony counts stemming from an event he was involved in Tuesday morning. Additionally, Swartsentruber was wanted for a warrant in Daviess County for a felony charge of battery against a public safety official. In a BPD news release, Pedigo said there may be additional charges since it is an active case. Other involved agencies may also criminally charge him. Timeline of events BPD was called to Seminary Square Park around 9:30 a.m. due to a report of a man, Swartsentruber, attempting to hit people with a 3-foot pry bar, Pedigo said.
Police later said Swartsentruber is a man experiencing homelessness. Upon arrival, he ran away and went to a vehicle in the adjacent Kroger parking lot to retrieve what police think was either a small hatchet or axe. Police said he returned and started to throw it at people in the park. Swartsentruber was then seen heading southbound toward First Street, and officers could not find him in the area. However, clothes matching what people said he was last seen wearing were found near a large storm drain. He entered the storm drain through what Pedigo said was a very large entry into the ground. When officers yelled down into the drain, Swartsentruber advised officers not to come into the tunnel and said he was armed with a rifle around 9:40 a.m. Pedigo said the man told officers he would shoot them if they made an entry. From that point on, officers took cover and called in back-up and the Critical Incident Response Team, according to the release. Multiple local police departments responded with Bloomington Police Department operating as the point department working on the situation. Due to the large area Swartsentruber could travel, the Indiana State Police SWAT team was called in to assist with the search. Other local agencies, such as the Bloomington Fire Department and city utilities, were also on the scene to assist. Police began searching the tunnel for Swartsentruber using the City of Bloomington Utilities department's small robots that are typically used to inspect the storm drain. Utilities also provided diagrams of the underground storm system to determine what tunnels
An Indiana University Police Department vehicle blocks access to East Sixth Street on Tuesday across from Franklin Hall.
the man could fit in. "I have to admit in my almost 20-year career, I've never been inside of a storm sewer checking for someone," Pedigo said Tuesday. "It's certainly pretty unique." Police were worried for the safety of those near Dunn Meadow and Franklin Hall since an exit to the storm drain was near Sixth Street and Indiana Avenue. Officers were stationed there to ensure Swartsentruber did not flee out of that end of the drain. IU students, staff and faculty were first alerted via IU-Notify around 12:20 p.m. Just after, police started putting up caution tape around the intersection of Kirkwood and Indiana Avenue, as well as around Sample Gates and Dunn Meadow to block foot and vehicle traffic. Police searched for the man in the underground system for most of the day. Pedigo said Wednesday that Swartsentruber was in the storm drain for seven hours. The drain stretched under a large portion of downtown, meaning police were looking for Swartsentruber along Walnut Street near Seminary Park, as well on
29th annual Lotus World Music and Arts Festival to kick off Sept. 22
Kirkwood Avenue by Franklin Hall. Local police were seen blocking off the intersection at West Second Street and South College Avenue around 3 p.m. Police were guarding the sewer entrance right next to the Big Red Liquors and preventing cars from driving nearby. At 3:20 p.m., multiple loud noises were heard coming from the sewer entrances, and steam was seen rising from the sewer grates along East Second Street and South Walnut Street. Police warned on Twitter that people in the area south of Third Street, near First Street and Walnut Street, may hear such noises. The loud bangs stem from noise diversion devices, Pedigo said. The tool was employed in an attempt to get Swartsentruber to leave the underground storm drain. Police were seen attempting to speak with him around 3:30 p.m. by using a megaphone and asking him to come out with his hands up. Swartsentruber eventually told police through a camera they sent into the
drain that he would come out, the release said. However, when he destroyed the camera and turned to run back in, senior ISP Trooper Richard Klun deployed his K9 partner Loki to take him down. He finally emerged out the Sixth Street and Indiana Avenue drain exit around 5 p.m. partially clothed and surrounded by officers. Police patted him down before he was strapped onto a stretcher and taken for treatment for a K9 unit dog bite to IU Health Bloomington via ambulance. Police said he had an empty handgun holster, but no guns were found on him or in the drain. However, a hand scythe, a machete and several unfired .30-06 rifle cartridges were located in the drain. The police investigation is ongoing. Around Bloomington and IU The Monroe County Community School Corporation was aware of the situation and monitoring it. The spokesperson said schools in the area were on alert. The Project School was on lock-
ETHAN MOORE | IDS
down earlier this day, according to multiple sources. Around 1:45 p.m., a BPD spokesperson said everyone in Franklin Hall was being evacuated out of the building only through the southeast door. All remaining Tuesday classes in Franklin Hall were canceled per an email sent to students just after 2 p.m. This did not affect classes in other campus buildings. The campus bus system avoided stopping at Sample Gates, the Indiana Memorial Union and the Collins LLC for the remainder of the day. Several businesses near Indiana and Kirkwood Avenue were unaffected by the situation, including Goodfellas Pizzeria, Qdoba Mexican Eats and The Indiana Shop. They were open and serving customers. However, Bapu Fresh and Potbelly were closed for the rest of the day due to the situation. Where people were asked to avoid People were asked to avoid the area from First to Third Street and Morton to Lincoln Street and the area around Franklin Hall and Dunn Meadow.
FOOTBALL
Indiana meets its match on offense, hangs on by a thread to escape in overtime thriller
By Tory Basile
vlbasile@iu.edu | @torybasilee
The 29th annual Lotus World Music and Arts Festival will commence with a variety of concerts, performances and hands-on arts activities throughout Bloomington on Thursday, Sept. 22, and will continue until Sunday, Sept. 25. Organized by the Lotus Education and Arts Foundation, the festival fulfills the non-profit's mission to “create opportunities to experience, celebrate and explore the diversity of the world’s culture, through music and the arts,” according to the festival program. More than 20 artists from a variety of genres and backgrounds will perform throughout the weekend. This year’s festival is presented by IU-Bloomington and the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President. Ticketed musical events will begin with the Lotus Opening Concert by singer Lucibela at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. Lucibela specializes in Brazilian pop, bossa nova, jazz, morna and coladeira music. Tick-
HARIPRIYA JALLURI | IDS
Indiana football lines up against Western Kentucky University on Sept. 17, 2022, at Memorial Stadium. Indiana defeated Western Kentucky University 33-30 and improved to a 3-0 record. IDS FILE PHOTO BY ETHAN MOORE
Saraswathi Ranganathan leads the audience of the Lotus World Music and Arts Festival through a meditation exercise Sept. 25, 2021, on the stage of the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. The 29th annual festival will begin Sept. 22 and continue until Sept. 25.
ets for her performance, along with the rest of the Lotus festival events, are available on the BuskirkChumley website. On Friday and Saturday, 15 different musical groups from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America will perform at various venues across Bloomington. Details on showtimes and venues for each group are available on Lotus’ website. A Sunday afternoon
performance by traditional Irish band Feddersen, Gourley and Miller, as well as Indian sarod duo Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash, will close out the weekend. The concert will begin 3 p.m. at the BuskirkChumley Theater. Guests who purchase the Lotus Festival Pin for $15 will be admitted to this performance for free. In addition to those SEE LOTUS, PAGE 4
By Jacob Spudich
jaspudi@iu.edu | @spudichjacob
In a class of up-tempo offenses, Indiana came back from behind and defeated Western Kentucky University in overtime at home, 33-30. With the win, the Hoosiers denied the Hilltoppers revenge from last year’s game. Before Saturday, Western Kentucky was 0-8 against Big Ten teams in its program history, including four losses coming against Indiana. For the majority of the game, it seemed the Hilltoppers would notch their first win. Consistency was a focal point throughout practice and preparation for Indiana’s
game against Western Kentucky. For the first time this season, Indiana would play football during the day as opposed to at night. After falling asleep under the lights it appears Saturday, the Hoosiers slept in to start the game. The matchup between the Hoosiers and the Hilltoppers Saturday afternoon pitted two similar offenses riding on different trajectories against each other. Both offenses operated at an uptempo pace, Indiana’s average drive length was 1:49 while Western Kentucky’s was 1:58. Both teams came into this matchup 2-0, but the differences were apparent. West-
ern Kentucky scored 87 total points compared to Indiana’s 58 through the first two games. Each team’s red zone efficiencies differed as well. The Hoosiers scored on just four of seven red zone drives — scoring a touchdown on three. The Hilltoppers scored on eight of their ten red zone drives, with a touchdown on seven. The up-tempo play was displayed by both teams early on with 15 different drives occurring in the first half. Eight drives took less than two minutes, including two touchdown drives. Not a single drive exceeded four SEE FOOTBALL, PAGE 4