Feb. 7, 2024 | The Reflector

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Art & Soul highlights Black artists people and to really get out there so, I was hitting up open mics and doing local ONLINE EDITOR vending shows and the block fairs, the block parties, the fairs and festivals— everything on a grassroot level to The Art & Soul Festival is kicking connect with community and connect off Black History Month with its 28th with people. So that really became an annual festival this month. The festival, inspiration to my practice because they presented by Indy Arts Council, hosts definitely received my work and became events which celebrate Black visual art, very encouraging. Just the opportunity music, dance and literature, according to meet so many different new people, to the Indy Arts website. This year, the it adds to the catalog of the art that I events will take place at various locations can create.” on Feb. 2, Feb. 7 and Feb. 23 with The theme of this year’s festival is “We featured artists doing live performances.

Are One, The Naptown Experience,” According to Event Producer Valerie according to Phelps. According to Phelps Art & Soul has provided a Indianapolis Monthly, Africanplatform for up-and-coming artists to American Indianapolis residents began become known in Indianapolis since using the nickname “Naptown” to refer 1996. She said the importance of Art & to the city in the 1920s during the “Jazz Soul stems from its history of helping Age.” Phelps said that she is honored to artists. Every year, artists are invited be able to bring that history to younger to apply to be featured at the festival, generations who do not know about according to Phelps.

Naptown.

“It is so worth it if you make it, because “It doesn't mean that we're sleepy,” all year they help promote you and do Phelps said, “Basically, what that means all these different things for you and is that we're really cool. We are really to make you known in the city,” Phelps cool and to this day said. “And it's just artists all around a great way for an the world refer to artist, especially a … Indianapolis opened up us as Naptown.” new artist, to be Boxx said known in the city a pathway for me really to the theme is about for what you do. connect with people ..." honoring the past.

It’s a really amazing To her, it is a recognition, and timeline traveling had I been able to through the rich history of Indianapolis. do something like that when I was The festival shows that the arts and just starting off, that would have been culture in Indianapolis should not be phenomenal.” overlooked, according to Boxx.

Boxx the Artist is one of the four “[The theme] is really homage to featured artists chosen to perform at the past, and really connecting to the festival this year. Boxx is a full-time the arts and culture when it comes visual artist based in Indianapolis and to Indianapolis and the history that originally from Gary, Indiana. She said has been established from just the she has been practicing art for six years overwhelming amount of talent,” Boxx now and works with different mediums said. “So with looking and honoring the such as public art installations, murals, past we kind of go down this timeline photography and film. and get to learn and experience more “I practice expressionist portraiture,” about the present.”

Boxx said. “So I just create versions of Being part of Arts & Soul is portraits through my own lens.” meaningful because it means getting Boxx went to Purdue University to contribute to its ongoing history, where she studied mass communication, according to Boxx. The festival has African-American studies and political provided an amazing platform for the science, she said. She worked in project Black art scene, including performing management and marketing after she artists, musicians, singers, rappers, graduated, but after experiencing two dancers and poets, she said. layoffs in three years, she decided to “Being able to contribute to that pursue art. She said the Indianapolis history and to be a part of the legacy community has inspired her artistically. that's being built with Art & Soul, it's “I like to draw faces, so that's gonna definitely in honor and I'm grateful to always connect and draw me to people be able to contribute to that,” Boxx said. because that's just the lane that I enjoy,” More information about Art & Soul Boxx said. “… Indianapolis opened up a can be found at IndyArts.org. pathway for me really to connect with

By Olivia Cameron

Photo by Allison Cook

Indianapolis residents gaze at the works on display at the 28th Art and Soul festival. Art & Soul provides a platform for Black artists of various mediums and celebrates Black culture through their works of art with the theme “We Are One, The Naptown Experience.”

Photo by Allison Cook

The 2024 Art and Soul festival began on Feb. 2 with a kickoff at The Cabaret. Performances by artists such as Boxx The Artist, Austin Day, jus Will, Dexter Clardy of Shvdy Rollins and many others will have the opportunity to showcase talents on Feb. 7 and Feb. 23.

UIndy CCI encourages student business The School of Engineering's Center for Collaborative Innovation helps develop business ideas

By Michael Harrington FEATURE EDITOR

The University of Indianapolis Center for Collaborative Innovation, located in the R.B. Annis School of Engineer ing, helps students develop, prototype and explore their entrepreneurial ideas, according to the CCI website. While originally utilized exclusively by engineering students, the CCI now extends its services to students of all majors and communities outside of the UIndy community thanks to the Elevate Nexus Higher Education G r a n t , a c c o r d i n g t o t h e CC I .

The CCI currently has teams of

multidisciplinar y students who work on their prototypes over nine months throughout their junior year.

UIndy Associate Professor of Engineering David Olawale said the CCI separates UIndy ’s School of Engineering from others due to creating the DesignSpine curriculum. DesignSpine helps students develop their entrepreneurial and prototyping skills in a hands-on approach, according to Olawale. “ The CCI actually stands for the Center for Collaborative Innovation, and one of the visions when we star ted the CCI was because part of the engineering school, we are what is called

INSIDE: OPINION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3, 8 SPORTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4, 5 FEATURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 ENTERTAINMENT . . . . . . . . . 7

the DesignSpine curriculum,” Olawale said. “That's what makes our engineer ing sc hool unique compared to other engineer ing schools across the nation. One of the things that we discovered, as par t of our DesignS pine … people from different programs of engineering work together and work on entrepreneurial ideas.”

According to Elevate Nexus, the grant UIndy received totaled $50,000 and went to support the DesignSpine Engineering Entrepreneurship Program within UIndy ’s CCI. Olawale said the grant has helped students since 2020 who have had entrepreneurial ideas but did not have access to

t h e re s o u rc e s n e e d e d t o m a k e prototypes. After the grant, the CCI now also provides business training and feasibility support, according to Olawale.

“We've been doing this for I think five years now. So the engineering students, they can do that and we have a lot of resources to support them but they were not thinking of what about other students who are in business, who are in finance, who are in arts, who are in sciences that also have entrepreneurial ideas but they don't have access to prototyping,” Olawale said. “ So without thinking, ‘No, this is unfair,’ we now had the opportunity to write a grant to the Elevate Nexus Venture and

we were successful and we got a $50,000 grant from Elevate Nexus that helped to establish the CCI.” According to Olawale, the CCI has seen a large amount of student involvement over the past few years.

People outside of UIndy go to their training sessions as well, according to Olawale.

“All our engineering students i n t h e j u n i o r ye a r go t h ro u g h and we can be saying that and I think we've done that for almost five years. And we take about an average, maybe we're talking about let's say each year an average of not less than 20, 24 students,” Olawale said. “You're talking about over a > See CCI on Page 3

2024 SUPER BOWL PREDICTION

UINDY SPRING SPORTS BEGIN

STUDENT WINS ISBC AWARD

The Reflector’s Sports Editor has put pen-to-paper to share her predictions for the 2024 Super Bowl. Check out Page 2 to see what she—and UIndy students—thinks!

The spring sports season is ramping up with upcoming games for lacrosse, softball, baseball and more! Check out some of the excitement to come on Page 4 and 5!

Get ready for a home run with ‘Grand Slam Sports’! Turn to page 6 for a play-by-play of these internationally acclaimed student commentators!

> See SPORTS

> See FEATURE

> See OPINION

OPINION

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FEBRUARY 7, 2024

THE REFLECTOR

The new FAFSA is problematic

U.S. Department of Education has made getting financial aid in college harder with new FAFSA

By Olivia Pastrick

MANAGING EDITOR & NEWS EDITOR Many college students—myself included—rely on federal student aid to afford the cost of attending college, which we get through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Passed in December 2021, the FAFSA Simplification Act amended several parts of the 2024-2025 FAFSA— including pushing back the date the form was released. Many students have felt lost and worried about how the delays and changes caused by the act will affect the federal aid they will be able to receive this coming school year.

I think there are good and bad aspects of these alterations, but overall, these changes have caused more problems than they have solved.

FAFSA became available to students on Dec. 31 and the deadline for full consideration for federal aid is June 30, according to the United States Department of Education. The State of Indiana’s deadlines are “as soon as possible” for some awards or “April 15, 2024, midnight Central time (CT)” for others, per StudentAid.gov. The release date was months later than it used to be (the FAFSA is typically released in October of the year before the next school year starts) which left many students to wonder when they would be able to apply for aid or what the changes would mean to them. For me, this was a source of anxiety.

Without federal student aid, I would certainly struggle to afford tuition at the University of Indianapolis. While this later roll-out was inconvenient and anxiety-inducing, this is one of the more minor issues I have found with the new FAFSA. The pushed-back start time also likely has an impact on

students who are deciding which college to attend in the fall of 2024.

Cost is typically a large factor when a student is deciding where to go (it certainly was for me), and if they do not know how much federal aid they will receive, they may not be able to estimate or compare the affordability of different universities. In addition, many col leges gauge students’ financial aid based on data f rom the FAFSA—How are colleges and students supposed to have everything all figured out by when college applications are due?

One of the more controversial changes to the FAFSA is that every “contributor” needs to have a Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID and has to fill out their income information individually.

A contributor includes the student or the student’s spouse, one or both biological parents or one or both adoptive parents, depending on the student’s state of dependency and their or their parents’ tax filing information.

The reason many students, myself included, find problems with this change is the complications that come with requiring multiple different people to input their information.

For me, getting both my parents and myself to have the free time to fill this confusing government form out is not an easy task. Previously, I could fill this information out myself and only ask my parents questions as needed which was a much easier process. The reason for this, according to the U.S. Department of Education, is to streamline the FAFSA process, as each contributor will have their income information input directly from the IRS, which was made possible through the Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education Act. I understand that the main goal

of the FAFSA Simplification Act was to make FAFSA an easier process, but I think most of the changes have done the opposite and made it much more difficult.

One of the biggest factors that will likely affect me is the 2024-25 FAFSA no longer takes into consideration whether a family has more than one child attending college at the same time. I have a twin brother who is attending Vincennes University and we each pay our own tuition. FAFSA has always primarily based financial aid on the income of parents of dependent students, although many college students pay their own tuition. For me, especially with this change, it is likely that I will receive less federal aid because FAFSA no longer considers that, theoretically, my parents' income would be affected by two students in college at the same time. This is one of the changes that I am most unhappy with because I fail to see how this would benefit anyone applying for federal aid.

One change that will be a potential benefit for students is the expansion of Federal Pell Grants. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the new FAFSA will link Pell Grant eligibility to family size and the poverty level.

Students who are incarcerated will also gain eligibility for these grants.The latter does not affect me, and only a matter of time will show whether the former does, but I think these changes have the least negative impact on students applying for federal aid.

Overall, I am not happy with the changes that have been made to FAFSA. Not only will the lack of consideration for families with multiple kids in college affect the amount of aid I will likely receive, but the process hardly seems streamlined to me, which was one of the primary goals of the FAFSA

play for the first time in 32 years. Teams who were expected to be in the contest unexpectedly fell off. Unexpected teams like the Lions, as well as a young Packers roster, were able to make headlines for just securing a playoff spot. Rookie C.J. Stroud led the Texans to a postseason win against veteran quarterback Joe Flacco in his first season in the NFL. In this year’s matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, I am picking the Chiefs to win.

The 49ers are a defensively sound team, but their offense has been struggling as of late, and young quarterback Brock Purdy (though he has proven his ability) has never had experience in a game like this. However, Chief ’s Patrick Mahomes is a veteran who has been in this game, and won, as recently as last year, has won a total of 14 playoff games in only seven seasons of playing.

San Francisco star wide receiver Deebo Samuel had been hurt in their

game against the Packers, though he did play in the game against the Lions, recording 89 yards on eight receptions and plans to play in the Super Bowl— which is a good sign for the 49ers. San Francisco will have a tough time against a sound Chiefs defense who is experienced

Editorial Cartoon by Michael Harrington

Simplification Act. And, to top off all of the chaos even moreso, a calculation error by the Department of Education will delay FAFSAs from being sent out to institutions until at least March,

according to NBC News. I guess students have two options now—bury themselves in more debt to afford tuition or pray the Department of Education can get their act together.

more in this season than any other, but still hold a winning record and are ranked third in the AFC (only behind the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens, both of which they already beat in the path to get to the Super Bowl, despite being picked as the underdogs in both).

For the first time since 2018, the Chiefs did not host the AFC championship, but do not let this sway you to count this team out. Mahomes is arguably one of the best quarterbacks we have ever seen, and Kelce one of the best tight ends, surpassing Rob Gronkowski in stats this season according to the NFL. The Chiefs boast a strong defense but have struggled with rookie receivers not producing as much as expected. I have seen these receivers improve exponentially over the season, so the Chiefs have a strong chance of winning this game—especially given the experience they have based on playing in this game for the last three years and the veteran leadership they have on the team.

The 49ers have a strong defense including star All-Pro linemen Nick Bosa and boast some of the most talented offensive players in the league including Christian McCaffery, George Kittle and Samuel. McCaffery is the best running back in the league and is almost impossible to stop, so the 49ers will need him to show up in this game if they want a chance at winning. Notably, the 49ers went down early in the NFC Championship game against the Lions, but were able to fight their way back and eventually win the game. While I do see this as a good sign that they were able to make this comeback, if they get behind early against the Chiefs, I do not think it would be possible for them to dig their way out of that hole.

When it comes down to “the big game,” I think it will be a test of who is better under pressure—and for that reason, I am taking the Chiefs over the 49ers.

Super Bowl LVIII opinions, predictions

By Caroline Krauch SPORTS EDITOR

Since its inaugural year in 1967, the National Football League’s Super Bowl championship has been an honorary American holiday. Family and friends gather together, food is made in preparation and relationships are tested—all parts that make holidays so fun. The 58th Super Bowl, which will be played on Sunday, Feb. 11, has the makings to be one of the most exciting yet. With my excitement for the “big game” comes my thoughts about the season thus-far and my predictions for the final matchup of the season.

For starters, the Philadelphia Eagles (last year’s runner-ups) are no longer even in the running for the Vince Lombardi trophy after getting knocked out by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Additionally, the Detroit Lions participated in postseason

...I am taking the Chiefs over the 49ers. in these high-stakes games. Purdy does not have the versatility to match up with Mahomes or an offense which boasts multiple threats—including All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce, running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire and breakout receiver Rasheed Rice.

The Kansas City Chiefs have struggled

Letter to the Editor Reflector Editorial Team,

Your article, ‘What there is to know about Israel and Palestine,’ November 21, 2023, approaches the subject f rom a largely one-sided p e r s p e c t i ve, w i t h t h e s o u rc e s cited as telling as those not cited.

Journalistic integrity and calls for moral clarity on truth and error, right and wrong, good and evil not only impel revisiting the topic, but represent a tremendous opportunity for a college newspaper to boldly set the standard for real investigative journalism on this topic, insisting on

the discovery of truth and resisting pressures to conform to the ‘narrative’ which has swept many college campuses. We have a tremendous opportunity, at a time when some college campuses have come under withering criticism for failing to define and stand for moral c larity, to set ourselves apart as able to take on tough, intensely emotional issues in a civil tone and reasoned debate.

Sincerely, Mark D. Richardson Assistant Professor, School of Business

Corrections The 2021 and 2022 homicide statistics are flipped within the article "Indy breaks 200 homicides for fourth year" in our last issue.

A few corrections are needed in regards to the article "Changes to general education curriculum" from Volume 102 Issue 5. Firstly, only Spring Term classes which additionally satisfy the "Experiencing Cultural Differences and/or Global Awareness" distribution areas can complete a Gen Ed requirement. Secondly, all majors have a capstone requirement.

If you catch a mistake, please contact us at reflector@uindy.edu.

The opinions in this section do not necessarily reflect those of "The Reflector" staff.

What do you think?

Send your letters to the editor or other correspondence to reflector@uindy.edu Graphic by Mariana Fletes-Cuevas

NEWS

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THE REFLECTOR

FEBRUARY 7, 2024

Once-in-a-lifetime class offered at UIndy

By Caroline Krauch SPORTS EDITOR

A total eclipse of the sun is something that happens rarely, and according to Assistant Professor of Physics and Aerospace Science Sarah Reynolds, Indianapolis is one of the best places in the world to see the upcoming solar event.This is the first time since the 1200s there has been a total solar eclipse visible in Indiana, Reynolds said, which means that the sun, moon and Earth will all align.This means the sun will be completely covered by the shadow of the moon, causing complete darkness.

“So a total solar eclipse is what we have,” Reynolds said. “We will actually be in the portion of the planet where the darkest part of that shadow—the full shadow of the moon—passes over. And so we will see the sun, the bright surface, being completely blocked.”

Because of the upcoming eclipse, or fail, according to Reynolds.

Reynolds created a class: Reynolds said that although the class “Discover Eclipses: is completely online, there will be Together!” where not some in-person events on only UIndy staff and campus where all students students can learn are welcome to attend to and prepare for learn more about eclipses the eclipse, but andpreparetowatchthe even people eclipse when it arrives. outside of “Eclipses are one the university of those things that are able to join like, they've had and engage all sorts of impacts as well. People throughout history and in the surrounding culture and art and community were given literature,” Reynolds said. a chance to join the class, and if “We try to give people a little sense students are still interested Graphic by Hannah Hadley of that, as well as some of the in the class they will have science connected with them.” a chance to join until Feb. 10, but would The eclipse will occur on April 8 no longer be given the option for credit. around 3 p.m., and all afternoon classes Every week the class is given a topic to that day will be canceled to give students focus on, as well as resources to go along the opportunity to observe the eclipse. with said topic.The class is graded via pass The hope with the cancellation, Reynolds

said, is not for students to go home and relax but take the time to observe and take in the eclipse, as it is something that only happens once in a lifetime. Another important thing for everyone to note is that it is not safe for people to directly look at the eclipse during the lead up to totality, which should take about an hour and will last around four minutes, according to Reynolds. People observing the eclipse are advised to wear specific eye protection of the right kind, which the school will be providing.

“We will have UIndy eclipse glasses that are available on that day for people that are viewing here,” Reynolds said.

“There's also other ways that people can view it during that time … You can look at the shadow effects and you can look at how it projects through something.

So there's other ways of seeing some of that. And then the exciting thing is when totality happens, when you have that like four minutes where it's fully blocked—you

don't need glasses then.You can take them off and look at it and enjoy and kind of see the whole thing.”

Environmental science and earth space science major Annie Hadley is a teacher’s assistant for the class and aids in monitoring discussion forums as well as seeing how students are enjoying the class.Along with some L/P events that will be offered in conjunction with the class, Hadley said they will also be sending out informational emails periodically to help those not enrolled in the class prepare for the eclipse as well.

“I just want to stress that this is a really big thing for the university and we're going to be having a big event that will have a lot of opportunities to connect with student organizations,” Hadley said. “We're also inviting more than just students—we're inviting community members. So if you want to bring your families or friends or anyone to view the eclipse with you, they are more than welcome to come.”

Housing, equality bills die in committee Indiana House Bills proposed to prohibit race-based discrimination and establish affordable housing

By Derrick Jones STAFF WRITER

A number of bills brought to the Indiana General Assembly died on Jan. 29 after their first reading in committee. Among them were bills addressing issues such as race-based hair discrimination and a lack of affordable housing in Indiana. House Bills 1124, 1126 and 1128 were proposed by Democratic Rep. Vanessa Summers.

HB 1131 was proposed by Democratic Rep. Mitch Gore, and HB 1176 by Democratic Rep. Earl Harris. According to Assistant Professor of Philosophy Lacey Davidson, the bills are considered dead because no action was taken after their first readings in committee. The committees that read the bills were the education, judiciary, ways and means, commerce, small business and economic development committees.

HB 1124 was proposed to prohibit discrimination based on traits historically associated with race, such as hair texture and protective hairstyles. Assistant Professor of Sociology Colleen Wynn explained that similar legislation has been brought up in committees before and that this bill was not the first of its kind.

“We have some more protections already in place, but it [HB 1124] would prohibit race-based discrimination or discrimination based on hair texture in school,” Wynn said. “So this would sort of be a version of the CROWN act.”

The CROWN Act, which stands

for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair, was created in California in 2019 to ensure protection against discrimination based on racebased hairstyles and protective styles such as braids, locs, twists and knots in the workplace and public schools, according to CROWN Act Coalition. Wynn said many other states have a version of the CROWN act in effect, and that HB 1124 would have been Indiana’s version of it.

“Other states already have a version

If you really oppose or support a bill, you can call ... your representative.” of a CROWN act in place, either that specific bill or legislation kind of embodying that,” Wynn said. “So, this [HB 1124] would be a version of that in Indiana here, which would be great, right? We would be joining many of our other peers in offering those protections for people. We know that racial discrimination is real, [that] this is a form of discriminating against people because of their hair texture [and] would be a form of racial discrimination. …This [HB 1124] would allow specifically kids in school to have these kinds of important cultural hairstyles.”

HB 1176 addresses investor ownership of single family residences. The bill establishes a housing down payment

assistance fund and a tax of 50% of the fair market value of a single family residence for each single family residence acquired by an applicable taxpayer, according to the IGA 2024 Session. According to Investopedia, fair market value is the price an asset would sell for on the open market when certain conditions are met. These conditions are that all parties involved in the purchaase are aware of all the facts, acting in their own interest, are free of any pressure to buy or sell and have ample time to make the decision.

According to Wynn, many properties in Indianapolis are bought up by investors who will raise the price above fair market value.This lowers the number of available, affordable residences in Indianapolis.

“This bill is attempting to address the issue that many homes in Indianapolis are owned as kind of investor properties, and some even by people out of state. … And so that creates a lot of issues for people who live here, because their landlords aren't here and easily accessible to address any issues that come up, but also they might be charging high rents,” Wynn said. “This means if you're an investor, and you can buy up those homes … people who are trying to buy a house—maybe especially first-time homebuyers or something, or lowincome homebuyers—might not be able to compete and offer as much money.”

According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, in 2023 there were 39 available and affordable rental homes in Indiana per 100 extremely low income households. This leaves 70% of

extremely low income renter households was allocated and appropriated, and it will with severe cost burden, according to be given out next year,”Merrifield Wilson the website. said.“So you have to make hard decisions “[HB 1176] is trying to prevent a and budget like someone's going to lot of individual investors from get money and buying multiple someone's not. homes in Yo u n e v e r Indiana, as well have enough as establishing m o n e y a housing forever. So we down payment separated out, assistance fund and we ran to help people a two-year [afford] money budget. And for the mortgage they already ever y month,” had to figure Wynn said. “But out where to for so many spend their people, the down money, and payment is such they'll wait a big barrier. So until next year you have to save when another up quite a lot b u d g e t of money, and passes.” so this would Davidson establish a fund said she to be able to believes it is provide some important for assistance.” everyone to be A s s o c i a t e a part of legislation.

Graphic by Olivia Cameron Professor of Political Science She said citizens need to Laura Merrifield Wilson said that educate themselves on important issues HB 1176 may not have been passed in the state. because this is a non-budgeting year.

“Anyone can testify in a committee Representatives are not likely to vote for hearing.You can always sign up to testify,” a bill that would spend a lot of money Davidson said.“In the committee is often when they are preparing for re-election, the best time for a citizen to go and say she said. whether they're in support and why, or “Money was given out last year, or it whether they oppose and why. And then

Housing affordability near record low CCI from Page 1 hits Black buyers particularly hard

By Jarrell Dillard, Jonnelle Marte BLOOMBERG NEWS (TNS) After years of mostly steady decline, the Black homeownership rate in the US saw its largest jump on record in the early days of the pandemic. Now, soaring borrowing costs and home prices threaten to erode those gains.

Black Americans — who for decades in the mid-20th century were shut out of swaths of the housing market by redlining and other racist practices — are disproportionately likely to be first-time buyers. And newcomers face a particular disadvantage in this market: They haven’t benefited from rising home equity, so they may need to come up with larger down payments.

And that may prove an especially big hurdle in a demographic group where the median household income is lower than

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the national average.

Black buyers must navigate a drastically different landscape than in 2020, when mortgage rates had not yet climbed to their recent highs and federal stimulus checks were helping many consumers feel flush. That year, Black homeownership jumped to nearly 46%, the highest since 2010, according to Census Bureau data, and held close to that rate in 2021 and 2022.

But that relatively brief window of opportunity has closed.

“It’s an incredibly difficult market for all home buyers right now, especially firsttime home buyers and especially first-time home buyers of color,” said Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist for the National Association of Realtors.

Affordability crisis Almost half of Black home buyers in 2022 were first-time buyers, according to a report by the NAR. to condensation and editing to remove profanity.

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Their challenges are in sharp relief in the Atlanta metro area, which is home to the second-largest Black population in the US. The median home price there in November was 54% higher than it was four years ago, a larger jump than the 37% increase seen nationwide.

That’s made for a frustrating househunting experience for Shakeira Wesley and her husband Tyreke Wesley, who have been looking for a home in Atlanta since September. The couple has been pre-approved for a $265,000 mortgage loan, but is struggling to find a place in that price range. They have extended their search a bit further out into Decatur, Georgia.

“In our area where we’re renting, for $265,000 you can get, like, a shack — and I’m not even exaggerating,” Shakeira Wesley said. > See Housing on Page 8

hundred engineering students going to our program. And then we've also have people outside of engineering, student faculty and staff who are going to our training, and they've been continually providing these consulting services.”

The program has five UIndy Innovation Fellows, each of which has disciplines in different areas of entrepreneurial expertise, according to CCI. There are also intellectual property seminars that are led by I n d i a n a p o l i s - b a s e d I P l a w ye r s , according to Olawale. Olawale said these highlight faculty involvement within the CCI. “If your projects or entrepreneurial idea have to do with computer programming software, we have innovation fellow Dr. Paul [Talaga], [who] is an expert in that everything that involves prototyping business styles with our lab manager James Emery,” Olawale said. “If you need help with something that involves

some law or corporate style, we have Dr. Eric Harvey in the school of business who we're able to research [with].”

Olawale says he hopes the CCI will have a greater impact on both the students and the external communit y. The CCI is tr ying to help students start successful businesses post-graduation, according to Olawale. “ We ' r e l o o k i n g f o r w a r d t o making a greater impact, both within the university and outside of the university,” Olawale said. “ We are looking for a great opportunity to support our students and actually having a student, maybe outside of engineering, actually starting successful companies and doing great things. The second part is that want to be able to extend our services out to businesses in our community, whether they're part of UIndy or not. What we're looking for is greater impact.”

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SPORTS

4 THE REFLECTOR

FEBRUARY 7, 2024

Women’s lacrosse expects exciting 2024 really help us. We’re jumping right into it.” for a week and play Regis, which is also According to attacker Mackenzie a big rivalry.”

ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Winn the upcoming season is a Romig is in her first year as head challenging one. Winn said that the coach, having previously attended UIndy The University of Indianapolis schedule takes the team around the as student and a player for the lacrosse team. Romig said that new changes on women’s lacrosse team kicks off their nation.

“We have a pretty difficult schedule the coaching staff has been one of the season later this month with an away game against Florida Southern. They will play this year, which is really exciting,” hurdles the team has had toovercome.

“I know the in Alabama on Feb. 16 before traveling Winn said. “Our first game is against culture [of the] to Georgia to play Feb. 18. According to Florida Southern U n i v e r s ity of new head coach Peyton Romig, the team which will be a great Indianapolis, but We’ve got a pretty tough is eager to finally get onto the field. challenge for us. overall with just “This year, [I’m] pretty excited to one, schedule, a good mixture a new team, with just get started,” Romig said. “We’ve got Of course we have girls I didn’t know a pretty tough schedule, a good mixture our rival GVSU, of games...” before [and] first of games and it’ll be good to see how we Grand Valley State University, which year as a head coach, play from years past. So I’m excited to see is up in Michigan. [there will] always where the team goes and the schedule will And this year, we get to go to Colorado be some bumps in the road and getting used to some things. But not too many,” Romig said.

According to Romig,another challenge the team has been faced with is less roster depth compared to previous years. Despite the lack of numbers, Romig is confident that the team will be able to perservere through this.

“I guess our biggest thing would be just that we have a small roster size this spring,” Romig said. “That’s gonna be tough to overcome, but the girls are tough and they’ve shown that they’re okay with it, and we’re gonna get through it.”

Winn said that winning the conference championship is one of the major goals the Photo by Jonathan Adams team is aiming for this season. However, Senior attacker Mackenzie Winn drives againstfreshman defender Amanda Hurry in a Winn said that taking the season one

By Brid Peoples

scrimmage during practice while preparing for the upcoming 2024 lacrosse season.

Softball seeks success

Softball works to build on the success they had in 2023

By Caroline Krauch SPORTS EDITOR

The University of Indianapolis softball team is practicing and preparing for the upcoming spring season with a goal of making it even further than they did in their 2023 season, where they made it to super regionals and ended out the season with a record of 53-10 according to UIndy Athletics.

The team is set to start their season on Feb. 9 in Tennessee and will play their first home game on Mar. 23, per UIndy Athletics. Head Coach Missy Frost is in her 20th season of coaching and says she has high hopes for what the team can accomplish this year.

“We just had our first full week of practice,” Frost said. “I think the effort, the attitude, the intensity is all there.

And it was there last year, but I think it’s just ramped up to a whole different level. And it’s really, really good to see the base of where the young ladies came back at and kind of our starting point. I think it really allows us to be prepared and get out and play in two weeks.”

Despite not being able to practice outside due to the recent weather, Frost says she feels the team is ahead of where they were at this point in the season last year. The team does not expect to be able to get outside until they leave for their first game.

One of the biggest challenges for the team this year, according to Frost, will be building on the success the team already experienced last year having won their conference and qualifying for postseason play. Along with this, Frost said integrating the new girls into the already established team culture is a focus for the team but not something she is worried about because that is something she faces as a coach every year with a new team.

Frost has high expectations for her

team this year, which comes along with high intensity during practices, and she is proud of the way the team has handled it thus far. The team has a good group of senior leaders, Frost said, who have taken in the younger and new players and helped to create a positive, different space than they were in last year. Fifthyear catcher Lexy Rees has already spent four years playing for UIndy and has enjoyed seeing the growth not only in herself but the team as well. What she loves about the team is the culture that they have created over the years and its continual development to make it stronger.

“I think the girls who continue to come back take where we were at the end of the year and that’s where we start,” Rees said. “Like, the love that we had for each other at the end of the year, it just continued to grow throughout the next season.”

According to Rees, the team got a reality check when they came back from summer break and the team became aware of some areas where they needed to improve. The goal of the team, Rees said, is to have the best year that they can and leave the program better than when she and the other, more experienced, girls came in. One of the ways the team does that is by looking to improve every single time they come out for practice.

“I think that our goal is just to come here and get better every single day, no matter where we are,” Rees said.

“You get better in hitting one day, you get better in fielding, you get better in leading, communicating, it doesn’t matter what it is.”

For Frost and her team, a focus for this year will be making this team the best the program has ever experienced in order to build on to the successful season they had last year. The goal for the team, as it is every year, is to win a national championship. According

to Frost, this comes with a number of smaller goals to achieve this. “[There are] a lot of things that we strive for yearly.We want to break the wins record here,” Frost said. “We want to turn around and break the home run record. We want to break the strikeout record. I mean, I feel like all those things just are a byproduct of the winning piece of it. But I think that’s something that this crew, I’d like to see them go down in history as doing that. I think our senior classes have done a tremendous job at being leaders … I think they uphold the culture of this program. When things have not gone in the direction they’ve wanted it, they’ve stepped in and found a way to fix it.”

The team has a lot of obstacles and objectives ahead of them before setting their sights on the end goal of making it to the NCAA national championship.

According to Rees, this means that the team needs to focus on one game at a time and earning the wins to make it that far.

“I would love to win a natty [national championship], but we have it in our heads we have to win conference regular season and then we win the tournament and then we get to host,” Rees said.

“We take it one at a time, but winning a natty, that’s the goal.”

The softball team is hoping to have another successful season, according to Frost, and she encourages students and fans to come experience and share those thrilling moments with them. Frost said the team is fast paced and exciting to watch and as a coach and fan.

“I think that that’s something that the fans see as well,” Frost said. “They get to see the big plays and it looks routine to them and to us, it’s really big victories for all the work that they put in on the backside.”

The softball team kicks off their season on Feb. 10 against Mercyhurst and Lee at Lee University.

Photo contributed by UIndy Athletics

Fifth year senior catcher and infielder Lexy Rees readies herself for a catch in a doubleheader against the Quincy Hawks on April 2, 2023 in which they won both. The Hounds kick off their 2024 softball season on Feb. 10 in an away game against Mercyhurst.

game at a time is something the team has been focusing on.

“That’s all we can really do, focus on the present,” Winn said. “I think we, as a team, have been trying to come to that understanding of taking one thing at a time, control what we can control. Some goals that we have is maintaining our GLVC conference championship streak.

And all four years that I’ve been here, we’ve won it. So that has been a major goal for us this year” Romig said that adapting to being a coach at UIndy instead of a player has proved to be something different, but not difficult. Romig praised the behind the scenes support that the UIndy women’s lacrosse program has gotten from the administration and throughout the university.

Winn said that the team has faced a lot of ups and downs, but that they have been able to stick together to get through it. According to Winn, the culture of the team has become stronger due to their resilience. Winn said that fans of UIndy women’s lacrosse should look forward to the upcoming games.

“I’m definitely looking forward to it,” Winn said.“Super excited to get the games started, and I think most of the girls can agree with me on that.We’ve been working really hard in the offseason, and in the preseason right now throughout January.

We’re all really excited for our season. And we’re excited to have our coaches on board with the same goals as us.”

Photo by Jonathan Adams

Women’s Lacrosse Head Coach Peyton Romig watches the team during practice.

She attended UIndy and returned to coach for the 2024 season.

SPORTS

5 FEBRUARY 7, 2024

THE REFLECTOR

Men’s lacrosse seeks redemption

By Michael Harrington FEATURE EDITOR

The University of Indianapolis is seeing many of its teams gear up for their spring seasons, and the men’s lacrosse team is no exception.

According to Men’s Lacrosse Head Coach Greg Stocks, the team is not only getting into shape for the upcoming season, but also getting used to a new roster of players compared to the past few years. Due to this, the team’s new faces are stepping up to fill the spots left open by the 2023 graduates, Stocks said.

According to UIndy Athletics, last season the men’s lacrosse team fell short to Limestone University in the conference tournament. Stocks said the loss was bittersweet, but the team still had a good enough season to make it to the NCAA Divison II tournament.

“I think we had kind of a bittersweet ending. We lost in our conference, which hurt,” Stocks said. “It was during our graduation and something like that, so there were a lot of family and friends in town for that. So that was a tough loss, but we had done enough through the regular season to get us into NCAA tournament play and it was nice to go down to Wingate and kind of avenge the loss that we had in the middle of the year in NCAA tournament play.”

While in preseason, Stocks said he noticed strengths within the team’s defense. He said this should allow the team to develop its offense for upcoming matches. However, Stocks said the team will need to tighten up their plays this season.

“We have been a little sloppy, so we have got to limit our turnovers, be a little bit more crisp in our clears and just be able to make plays without giving the ball back to the other team,” Stocks said.

The team’s determination is what is going to win matches this season, according to senior defender Dougie Crawford. Crawford said he hopes the new players learn how to integrate into the team from the upperclassmen on

the team. of the things that we look to work on “I hope they can look at the older throughout the season,” Stocks said. guys in the team- especially our senior “Having good results against our class, those who have played a while, out-of-conference opponents is really or those who are just getting their first a big thing. So we always, we want to opportunity now- to learn how to grow do as well as we can and our end goal as a player and become what they see is always a national championship, ahead of them because our program is but we got to hit all those little goals outstanding and has been ever since it moving up to it.” started,” Crawford said. “So if the older Crawford said he is looking forward guys are role models for the younger to this spring season, which will also guys and the younger guys learn from be his final season playing for UIndy. them, we can continue to have a great Crawford said he was able to learn program year after year.” both lacrosse and life skills from past Crawford said he noticed that the players. Now, he said he is mentoring freshmen players are connected to each other players in communication and other on and off the field. He said their defensive skills. relationship with each other reminds “Specifically, this year, I’ve worked Crawford of his freshman year. Players a lot with Adam Wong, one of our having a strong relationship with each freshmen poles who’s going to start. So other help to keep players on the team, we’ve been talking a lot and I’ve been according to Crawford. helping him get used to our defense “Our freshman class is quite large and how to work within it and excel this year, so we have 20 guys, they all within it,” Crawford said. “Beyond kind of live within the same dorm as that we also have short stick D-mid did I freshman year,” Crawford said.“I Jason Davide that I’ve worked with and believe that’s the communicating best scenario for how to clear the the kids. They can a little bit We’re out here to win, we ball grow up and be better, little things, already connected are going to do everything how to play oneso well just because on-one def ense we can to win.” they live with each and what we ’re other and they’re looking for from a little bit closer them as part of from the start, as well as the amount of our defense.” players, if you have more in your class, The team’s first match was on Feb. 2 it’s easier to find your best friends that against Alabama Huntsville, according way. And that’s what gets people to to UIndy Athletics. Crawford said he stay at the school a little bit more. So wants to see the team keep pushing it helps to have a retaining group of the entire season as well as redeem guys that will continue to come back themselves from their match against and then grow the program like we did.” Limestone last season.

Stocks said his goal for the team, like “I think personally that the team always, is to go to both the conference shouldn’t take their foot off the gas,” and national championships. They Crawford said. “We’re out here to win, also want to host the conference we are going to do everything that championship after winning their we can to win. That’s never been in re g u l a r s e a s on’s c h a m p i on s h i p, question, but I hope we can come out according to Stocks. strong with a few first wins against “Our goal is always a national Alabama the first weekend then championship and conference continue to take that to the national championship. Now some of the champions, which is LR [Lenoir smaller goals like winning our regular Rhyne], the next week after that and season championship so that we host show them we’re not just someone the conference championship are some who’s fallen off.”

Photo contributed by UIndy Athletics

Junior attacker Triston Schaffer surveys the field for a pass in their game against the Davenport Panthers on April 1, where the Hounds won with a score of 21-10.

Photo contributed by UIndy Athletics

Senior defender Dougie Crawford swiftly moves to scoop up a ground ball in a home game against the Westminster Griffins on Feb. 11, 2023. Their next game is on Feb. 11.

Tennis in 2024

UIndy tennis is hyped for their season

Baseball has high hopes

By Olivia Hogsett STAFF WRITER

The University of Indianapolis baseball team will start their 2024 campaign in hopes of making a return trip to the Divison II College World Series. The Hounds’ season opener is set to begin on Feb. 16. The 2024 National Preseason Poll has the Hounds at No. 6, according to the NCBWA Polls. The Hounds ended last season with a 3921 overall record, according to UIndy Athletics. For the first time in 11 years, UIndy baseball competed in the 2023 DII College World Series where they lost in double elimination to Millersville and Cal State San Bernardino, according to UIndy Athletics.

According to Baseball Head Coach Al Ready, the Hounds had an impressive offense last season, and the team has returned 6 of 9 starters on offense.

According to Ready, some notable returners include Will Spear, Nick Lukac, Easton Good, Zack Williams, First Team All-Region Caleb Vaughn and First Team All-American Drew Donaldson. Ready said the Hounds averaged close to 10 runs per game last season. According to Ready, one of the unique traits that this year’s team brings, along with talent, is experience.

“I think one of the things to note is our last trip to Cary in 2012 is that we were all seniors and, you know, the same sort of situation [happened last season.]

We played well,” Ready said. “We lost a couple of close games in 2012, but in that case, everybody was gone. In 2023, we were young and like I said, almost everybody’s back and when you lose a couple of close ones, but you’re there and you experience it and you realize, ‘Wow, we could have won,’ and then you have everybody back. That’s what I’m really excited about.”

This year’s team doesn’t have to focus as much on the fundamentals, according to Ready. He said the team culture is important and can feed into the dynamic on the field. Ready said that with a lot of returning players there’s no reason to think that the team chemistry is going to be an issue this year.

“Each year the team is different, and so you have to approach things differently each year,” Ready said. “This being a veteran group of guys,, we don’t have to really rely on focusing on our plays specifically, like our bunt coverages and our first and third situations, just situation-type plays, because they already know them. We’re about three weeks away from taking the field here, so we’re really trying to get our pitchers ramped up right now and not really having to worry about teaching guys our plays and things like that because they already know. If you have a younger team, it’s the exact opposite.”

Fifth year senior and second baseman Drew Donaldson said that one of his goals as an older player on the team is to lead by example. He said it is important

to show the younger guys what it means to be a Greyhound athlete. According to Donaldson, this means being a good teammate, holding his head up no matter what happens and holding himself accountable. “[What is] different from this year to last year is that you can tell that this year everybody has bought into the goal we have of reproducing what we did last year, going to Cary and being there for the World Series but now, we got a taste of it,” Donaldson said. “Now we all have the same goal of, yes, getting to Cary, but then winning the World Series. Now we all believe that we can do it, and we all have that same goal, same mindset.”

According to Ready, the team took advantage of the transfer portal this year with some impressive new players Greyhound fans can be on the lookout for. Ready said some of the new talent includes Jackson Kirkpatrick, Dawson Gabe, Cole Hampton, Dakota Sill, Payton Plym and Jake Barbeau.

“Hounds have a different energy this year,” Donaldson said.“You can feel it every day in practice, and you’re gonna feel it during every inning, every pitch in a game.”

According to Ready, the team was supposed to play Notre Dame College the weekend of Feb. 16 but the series was canceled. According to UIndy Athletics, the first game the Hounds will play will be the weekend of Feb. 23 in a series against Georgia Southwestern.

Photo contributed by UIndy Athletics

Senior infielder Drew Donaldson and senior outfielder Caleb Vaughn tap gloves on the field during a national tournament game against the Millersville Marauders. The Hounds kick off their season with their first game on Friday Feb. 16 against Notre Dame Ohio.

Photo contributed by UIndy Athletics

UIndy graduate student and tennis player Tom Zeuch celebrates a victory on the court.

The Hounds started off their tennis season on Feb. 3 against Grand Valley State Lakers.

By Derrick Jones STAFF WRITER

The University of Indianapolis tennis teams are excited to start this spring season and are setting a goal to make it back to the national championship after having athletes who qualified for it in the 2023 season according to UIndy Athletics. Head Coach Malik Tabet has been coaching UIndy’s tennis teams for 12 years now and is proud of the work his team has put in.

“The kids are eager to start,” Tabet said. “They have been training hard over Christmas and the last few weeks. They are ready to compete and are excited that it is all starting this weekend.”

The goal both tennis teams have set for themselves is to take every match a step at a time. They aim to reach nationals but are focusing on the matches ahead of them and daily work to reach their final goal, according to senior Diane Flament.

“Being consistent, fighting for every point, and as matches go on and as we improve towards the middle and the end of the season,we want to improve our games,” Flament said. “We want to play better, be even more consistent, be even more aggressive. We have ambition and goals for this season. Especially conferences.

We want to win the conference, then we want to win regionals and we want to go to nationals and go as far as we can.”

According to Flament, Coach Tabet has the team working on their doubles pairs so they have strategies down.Flament believes the team is ready now since they have been training their consistency and staying aggressive despite the challenges the teams may have to face.

According to graduate student Tom Zeuch, the men’s team has lost key players on their main line up. Even with this change, Zeuch is confident the team will still have a fantastic season.

“We brought in two great new guys from Bulgaria and two guys from South America who are doing good,”Zeuch said.

“We had freshmen last year who didn’t play but now have worked themselves up to be in the lineup now. I think the biggest

change or struggle we face is that we lost four players, but I’m confident enough that we can replace them and have a great, strong team again.”

Zeuch made it to the NCAA semifinals before losing to the Columbus State Cougars in a doubles match, according to UIndy Athletics. Despite the loss in the previous season, Zeuch is prepared for another match up in the NCAA Tournament.

“I do less stuff on the court and you would see me more in the gym or doing tennis specific workouts, whether it is being more flexible, working on strength as well as speed and more endurance,” Zeuch said. “If you look at the pros, these are complete athletes, where years ago, tennis was maybe a little bit more about finesse, good technique, like you don’t need like a strong body or strong legs, whatever it is. But now it’s all about being a complete athlete, like they can sprint, they can jump, whatever it is. So, this is what I really changed on, instead of me hitting a lot of tennis balls, I worked on my body to get me 100 percent in shape and maybe even more. With my overall speed and my shots got a little bit faster”.

According to Zeuch, both team’s goal is to strike back with vengeance. Zeuch also made a promise to his coach when he was a freshman that he intends to keep.

“I promised my coach a national championship in my freshman year,” Zeuch said“I’ve yet to prove that to him.So, this is my last year. It’s my last chance. So, my goal now is to bring that to him now,.”

The UIndy tennis teams are ready for this season and all they ask is that their fans come out and support them during the upcoming season. UIndy men’s and women’s tennis faced off against conference opponent Grand Valley State on Feb. 3rd on their home courts at the UIndy Tennis Center and played Ferris State on Feb. 4. The men’s team won 5-2 while the women’s team won with a score of 7-0 against GVSU and will play their next four matches at home as well.

“I want to encourage people to come watch us because it’s going to be an awesome season,” Flament said, “I can feel it.”

6

FEATURE

THE REFLECTOR

FEBRUARY 7, 2024

UIndy professor's first novel sees acclaim Nathan Johnson's debut novel is selected to win international award for Theological Promise

By Olivia Pastrick

MANAGING EDITOR & NEWS EDITOR The University of Indianapolis will be represented at Heidelberg University at the Manfred Lautenschlaeger Award for Theological Promise awards ceremony by assistant professor of religion Nathan Johnson. Johnson has been recognized for his book, “The Suffering Son of David in Matthew’s Passion Narrative” which was published this past June.

According to Johnson, his book was based on how early people in Jesus’ time viewed him as the Messiah, and what that meant. He said he used sources from the first century to learn about how people understood Jesus’ death and also used this lens as a broader commentary on how people, even today, view grief and loss.

“The Messiah,in Jesus’day,was expected to be somebody who would defeat the enemies of people in that area of Judea,” Johnson said. “And the weird thing is with Jesus, even though he's called Messiah, he doesn't actually defeat any of the enemies

in the area. He's actually defeated by them by the Romans and crucified by them …

So that was the beginning of it, and then researching that through and spending time looking at first century sources, material from 2000 years ago, to try to make sense of how these early people understood Jesus death. And I think it's a in a way a broader commentary on how do people make sense of tragedy? How do people make sense of difficult things like the loss of a loved one? And how did Jesus early followers describe and honor him?”

Johnson said he began the writin process for this book back in his doctoral program at the Princeton Seminary. He said there were four years of work to be done before he had to defend his studies in front of a committee. The inspiration behind the book came from the COVID-19 pandemic and the intense feelings of loss and tragedy, and how people came to understand and live with that, according to Johnson.

“This started off,actually,in my doctoral studies,” Johnson said. “I did work at Princeton Seminary, and this was based on my dissertation for that which was a four year writing process for that and have to have it approved by committee and

defended before a committee and an oral defense. So that was where it got its start.

And then, actually, through the pandemic, thinking about loss, and that process of how we describe loss, how we make sense of loss. In the midst of the pandemic is

JOHNSON when I finished the book, and sent it to the publisher.”

The Manfred Lautenshlaeger Award forTheological Promise is awarded yearly to ten scholars who are working in the broad field of religion, Johnson said. He also said this award is specifically for first books,and

“The Suffering Son of David in Matthew’s Passion Narrative” is his first publication.

“It's an honor to be in that group and represent our university at the University of Indianapolis in that setting,” Johnson said.

In addition to accepting the award in Heidelburg, Johnson said he will also be presenting about his next book at the conference. He said he views this as yet another opportunity to represent UIndy on a larger scale.

Johnson said in his next project, he wanted to look at other people and movements in history centered around the Messiah. He said Jesus was not the only person to be known as the Messiah, and that in this book he wants to look at the similarities and differences between those movements and Jesus’ to analyze what it means to be called the Messiah.

“Part of that research, and something I talk about in a few of the classes I teach here, is Jesus actually wasn't the only person in his time to be called the Messiah,”Johnson said.

“There were other people who are known as Messiah, as well. And so my next project is to look at some of these other Messiah movements and draw some comparisons between their movements and that Jesus of

Nazareth so what did it mean to be called the Messiah?”

Johnson said,in his experience,being able to work on research like this while teaching at UIndy is incredibly rewarding. He said it is beneficial for himself and other faculty that publish books and research because it gives them a sense of ownership over what they are teaching in the classroom or researching.

This also benefits students because it enlivens the classroom when faculty have something that they are excited to teach and talk about, according to Johnson “[The] faculty at UIndy, we love teaching—that's why we're here,” Johnson said. “That is the thing that really animates many of us and is the most meaningful thing in terms of what we do is connecting with students and being in the classroom, seeing the lights come on those ‘Aha!’moments.So I think sometimes it's thought that research can be a distraction from the work of the classroom, I've found that it really enlivens it … If I have something new that I've come to a conclusion myself about as a scholar, I'm going to be excited to share that with students and discuss it with them and see what they think about it and get their feedback on it.”

Steel, sweat and sisterhood: RSO spotlight

By Caroline Krauch SPORTS EDITOR

The University of Indianapolis will now have a women’s weightlifting club that is f ree for all female s t u d e n t s t o j o i n , a c c o rd i n g t o founder and junior exercise science major, Lindsay Neighbors. The goal of the club is to help women by creating an environment where they can feel comfortable working out and asking questions about it as well, according to Neighbors.

Her personal experience with working out inspired her to create a club based on what made her feel comfortable at the gym, she said.

“I always noticed that when there were more women in the gym I always felt more comfortable and I would love to be able to facilitate that space for other people,” Neighbors said.

While the club is geared toward beginners, Neighbors said women at any level of experience in weight lifting are invited to join. There will

be other exercise science majors there to facilitate the workouts as well as make sure e ver yone understands what the exercises are and the proper way to do it according to Neighbors. Neighbors said the club will meet weekly in the Center for Applied Health and Performance for one hour, and there will be a workout already made that they will walk through with you.

Neighbors said that the club may break into small groups and will walk each group through the individual exercises, depending on the amount of people that attend the meetings.

According to Neighbors, the goal of exercise science is to get more people to use the gym and live healthier lifestyles. Her ultimate goal is to get more women involved in weightlifting and by starting this club, Neighbors said she is hoping to facilitate an opportunity for everybody to be able to comfortably pursue exercise.

Sophomore exercise science major Haley Slavens is one of the women joining the club. According

to Slavens, she heard about the club through Neighbors and encouraged her to start the club as she thought it was needed. Slavens said she has lifted before and has experience in a gym but recognizes the benefits of a club of this nature.

“I think it's important to make people feel comfortable in a gym setting,” Slavens said. “I think it would make people go a lot more if they had that space. Then, once we are able to learn these exercises, we can then teach other people. So we're gaining something f rom it, then, in turn, we can give as well.”

For any student who is hesitant to join Women’s Weightlifting, there are no commitment requirements for the club, Neighbors said, and showing up once in the semester is fine as her goal is to help. According to Neighbors, she also spoke on re c o rd i n g v i d e o s o f i n d i v i d u a l exercises and movements for situations where someone may not be able to come to the meeting and wants to do the workout on their own time or in their own space.

“If you are, for some reason, not able to come to meetings, or still don't have the courage to come j o i n , please reach o u t , ”

doing it weekly.”

Producer of “Grand Slam Sports” and sophomore communication major Charles Foster said the team set a goal to make it unique to other sports commentary shows out there. By talking about why things are happening rather than focusing on what is going on in the sports world, according to Foster, it makes for a show that does it a little differently from the rest. Going into the show, however, the team of then-three students needed a video editor—then, Porterfield entered the mix, according to Foster. “... We wanted to go into detail about who played well, what strategies went into the game, because we all believe we were very informed in sports and that our opinion, you know, we want other people to hear it,” Foster said. “And we have very differing opinions. So we thought it’d be a good dynamic to go out there and you know, do a little something different than other sports shows.”

Porterfield said that, when he found

out he won the People’s Choice Content Creator Award, he was excited and that he was most proud of the professional development that he is building during his time at UIndy. Foster said he was ecstatic that the show received international recognition.

“I think some people might have thought that we wouldn’t really succeed

Porterfield said he loves the editing side of making a show happen—especially the analytical side of content production.

According to Porterfield, little things such as where people are sitting in a video can affect how many people keep watching. “‘Why did people click off at this specific moment in the video? How can we edit it or change it up a little bit differently to keep people’s attention?’That really interests me… makes me excited,” Porterfield said.

General Manager of UIndyTV and WICR and Assistant Professor for the Communication Department Rick Dunkle said that producing a show takes a lot of preparation, and the amount of preparation varies depending on the kind of show. For example, according to Dunkle, a political show would require a different depth of research and information gathering than a sports show—especially since those involved in “Grand Slam Sports” are already knowledgeable about sports. Dunkle also said that, as a mentor

Neighbors said. “My genuine goal is just to help as many people as I can.”

Athletes are also encouraged to join, as Neighbors welcomes the different perspectives they might have on lif ting as well. Everyone who signs up will be added to an email chain where the time will be sent out weekly.

According to Slavens, she encourages all UIndy women to reach out and take advantage of this club and community they are

creating as it is a unique chance t h a t was not offered before.

“I think that [female students] should join,” Slavens said. “I think this is a great opportunity. I'm so happy that Lindsay actually put this together, and I think that UIndy definitely needed something like this.”

The women’s weightlifting club will meet on Thursdays at 7 p.m. in CAPS located on the second floor of Schwitzer.

If any female students are interested in joining, they can reach out to Neighbors at neighborsl@uindy.edu to get added to the regular email chain or with any questions that may come up in regards to schedule or remote workouts.

Graphic by Breanna Emmett

Student-led ‘Grand Slam Sports’ wins an international award

By Mia Lehmkuhl EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

“Grand Slams Sports,” a sports commentary show produced b by a team of four communication students throughout the semester, has won an International Student Broadcasting Championship award this past November, according to the ISBC website.The ISBC,according to their website, is a platform that is dedicated to talent discovery and development on a global scale.The competition is intended to serve as a launching pad for students seeking career advancement and development. Director and Editor of “Grand Slam Sports” and sophomore communication major Evan Porterfield was the recipient of the People’s Choice Content Creator Award for the social media content made for the show.

Porterfield said that it all started as an idea. “... It wasn’t an official thing,”Porterfield said. “And when Rick [Dunkle] saw our first show, he liked it. So then we started

And when Rick [Dunkle] saw our first show, he liked it." just because it was kind of just a thought that we just made happen,”Porterfield said.

“And we didn’t really go through the most official process. So I was excited because it’s kind of like, ‘Oh, we proved the people who didn’t think we’d be a thing that we’re actually a thing and we can create a show.”

Photo Contributed by Evan Porterfield

UIndy communication major sophopmore Jace Hodge, senior Samuel Gailey and sophomore Charles Foster at production of their sports commentary show "Grand Slam Sports." The show won an ISBC award last November.

in the production process, he was ecstatic when he learned Porterfield won the award.

Even when we found out about the competition, it was kind of neat,” Dunkle said.“Just in the way that they were framing it in terms of… this was just straight up like, ‘This is a competition.’This is the first international one that we’ve participated in and Evan winning it for social media, getting that People’s Choice Award, you know, just spoke to everything we’ve been talking about the previous semester where, you know, their episodes are great. They really are, but when you look at the social content they’re putting out,it’s a step above.”

Foster said the team is going to continue to post after a month-long break. He said they will continue to make the show even more interesting by adding more hosts and additional people in the backroom.

According to Porterfield, some upcoming social media content includes things like TikTok and other short-form content.

“So we're definitely going to be bigger and better than it was before.” Foster said.

Photo Contributed by Evan Porterfield

Director and editor of "Grand Slam Sports" and sophomore communication major Evan Porterfield, production assistant, host and sophomore communication major Kennedy Phelps welcoming guest speaker Ashton Kudlo.

ENTERTAINMENT

7 FEBRUARY 7, 2024

THE REFLECTOR

OIE sets to make an impact with Ripple

By Elyssa Merrill

DISTRIBUTION MANAGER & BUSINESS MANAGER The University of Indianapolis Office of Inclusive Excellence and Retention Strategy showcased a new immersive gallery exhibition titled “Ripple,” according to the OIE Instagram. Located in the Art Experience Lab in Schwitzer Student Center,“Ripple”debuted Jan. 25 as this semester’s art experience which is centered around exploring the range of human emotion, according to the OIE Instagram.

Inside Higher Ed conducted a study in 2021 regarding students and whether or not they felt their voices were being heard.

They found that while 64% of students said that there was a way to share their feedback about their college experience, only 29% feel like their college actually cared about it, some students citing that the college will not do anything for them unless it affects them financially.

According to the Assistant Director and Title IX Coordinator Cari Freed, the Art Experience Lab was created to help students feel heard.

According to Freed, the first exhibit in the Art Experience Lab was in the summer of 2022.Their goal is to highlight

marginalized communities, members, and student voices, Freed said.

“Our first exhibit opened on June 10th of 2022 and it was called ‘Ode To Blackness,’” Freed said. “The art experience was actually generated out of this need for students to have touch points and representation. So our exhibits always focus on some sort of marginalized or underrepresented group, always highlight some sort of marginal or underrepresented artist. And we also try really hard to make sure that the curation of the gallery is led by student voice and student opinion.”

According to the OIE Instagram page, this year’s featured artist is Drece Guy. . According to the Drece L.Guy Fine Art website, he is originally from Fort Wayne. He participates in a variety of exhibitions based on an original interest in Ernie Barnes and graffiti in 1980s breakdancing videos which transitioned into his own voice in contemporary art, according to the website.

“Drece is a self-taught artist who continues to formulate his style and voice through the pieces that he creates,” according to the website. “Drece has an interest in contemporary art and describes painting as a form of expression that exudes freedom, joy and peace. Drece is inspired by creation, his faith and gospel music, which guides him to create bright,

bold, and vivid pieces.”

According to Freed, the collaboration of so many artists and groups allows students to see that the university is on their side. Getting a degree is not the most important thing, it is every student becoming their best selves.

“There’s going to be parts that as you go into the gallery that you’ll recognize spaces and you’ll see groups and organizations that have helped bring these things together,” Freed said. “And I think that once we see all of these organizations working together, you’ll understand that the university really is on your side and that we’re putting together the infrastructure to make sure you have the things that you need, that we care about your emotional needs, we care about your physical needs. We care if your belly is hungry, we care if your head hurts all of those things. And it’s not just about you getting a degree here, we want to see you become your best self.”

According to Freed, the Office of Inclusive Excellence and Retention Strategy is more than a place for underrepresented students. It is a place with resources, connections and mentorship. Freed said any time a student is feeling disconnected or lost, they are encouraged to go to OIE to get in touch with people who can help find answers and support you through clubs, RSOs

Photo by Allison Cook

Sy’mere Durrett’s photos aims to capture a range of emotions. The Ripple exhibition’s goal is to highlight student and marginalized voices through various forms of art.

or professionals.

“Of course, we want to make sure that students who don’t have representation, find a place, but, more than anything, OIE is there to help you become the person you wanna be,” Freed said. “So

in our office, you know, things like bias reporting, Title IX reporting, programs, mentorship, all exist. And those are things that outside of your academic experience help to make sure that your experience is all that it can be.”

Hoosiers curl on the canal this winter

By Mia Lehmkuhl EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

The Indianapolis Cultural Trail is an organization that manages some cultural experiences available to the public,according to their website. Partnered with the City of Indianapolis, Indy Cultural Trail also manages Pacers Bikeshare and many public destinations connected by the cultural trail,a 8.1 mile path that runs through downtown Indianapolis. Among these destinations is the canal, where residents can enjoy the “Curling on the Canal” event, where Indy CulturalTrail has partnered with Circle City Curling Club to bring the popular winter

sport to downtown Indianapolis.

Director of Planning and Public Programs at the Indianapolis Cultural Trail Amy Marisavljevic said that the idea for building the cultural trail emerged in the early 2000s. With mostly private fundraising and a federal grant, according to Marisavljevic, the original six-mile trail was built to connect cultural districts in downtown Indianapolis.

“The idea for the cultural trail has always been how to make our downtown a safe way to walk and bike, whether that’s for recreation or transportation,”Marisavljevic said. “But then to do it at a world class level. So we have five acres of gardens, we have public art along it, we also serve as the

hub of the city’s Greenway system. So we make connections, not only to the cultural districts, but also to all those bikeways and greenways. And then, in addition to that, we started doing programming.”

According to the Circle City Curling C l u b website, curling has been around since the beginning of the 16th century.

Nowadays, teams of around four players try to get their stone closer to the center of the target circles on the ice—using besoms

or brooms to clear snow and other debris from its path. The rink is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 12-4 p.m.. On Sundays, however, the Circle City Curling Club hostsaLearnto Curl Clinic from 1-3 p.m. where instructors work with participants to learn to curl, according to Indy Cultural Trail.

These clinics will run every Sunday until March 3, according to Indy Cultural Trail.

Weekly Instructor and sophomore data

science major at Butler University Jessie Gross said curling can be played at any age—one of her favorite things about the sport.

“I just love how excited people are,”Gross said. “It’s such a different thing. People are so excited to learn and they love all the little things about it. Like they love like, we have a stone down there. Like from our club, and people love to just touch the sound and look at the stone like, there.”

Students can get involved through volunteering opportunities on the Indianapolis Cultural Trail website as well as participating in Indy Cultural Trail programming that occur throughout the year.

Graphic by Breanna Emmett

Café Theatre to hit stage despite delay Café Theatre rescheduled to Feb. 9-10, highlighting the UIndy community’s artistic talents

By Michael Harrington FEATURE EDITOR

Student performers will be hitting the stage for “A Cabaret: An Artists’ S h o w c a s e , ” p re s e n t e d by C a f é Theatre, after a delay. As reported in an article by The Reflector, “A Cabaret: An Artists’ Showcase” was originally planned to be performed from Jan. 25-27 starting at 8 p.m.

Earlier this month, the dates were pushed back to Feb. 9 and 10 starting at 7 p.m., according to UIndy360.

Assistant Professor of Theatre Grant Williams said pushing the event back resulted from high hopes under time constraints.

“We were doing three nights for the public and now we’re just doing two mainly,” Williams said. “I think I had my hopes up high on it coming together, but it was coming together too soon after the winter break and I couldn’t get enough people in to work it. So we just pushed it back, shortened it, eased the stress on everybody. That was the whole rationale.”

Williams, the event’s organizer, said this will be the first time an event like Café Theatre has

occurred on campus. Café Theatre is an experiment, Williams said, so planning for this type of event does not need intense planning and staging due to its atmosphere.

“I guess we could say it’s our first time doing this, and I don’t need the type of planning that I would put in for an actual theater play show where we do dress rehearsals and technical rehearsals and make sure everything is set and everyone knows their lines,” Williams said. “These are people who are going to get up and sing a song, or they’re going to do a scene that they did in acting class in December.

They don’t need it, we’re not having a fully-fledged light scheme and sound ideas in rehearsals.”

According to Williams, the event has a more intimate setting where the performers are close to the audience and the event uses a makeshift stage.

It will also has music in between sets, Williams said.

“It is very intimate. With a big talent show where there’s judging and competition, it’d be more on a stage like the Randburg Auditorium,” Williams said. “Like a proscenium theater where you’re going to have audiences and there are going to be

a lot of lights and a lot of spectacles.

Ours is going to be people getting up on a makeshift stage and hitting some lights and just performing and having fun.”

Junior theatre major and performer Zac Schneider said that the intimate s e t t i n g o f C a f é T h e a t re i s a n interesting way to get performers out of their comfort zones. They said it is a new way of allowing many different

It’s a showcase of artistic talent at UIndy.” people within the department to showcase their different talents.

“I think it’s an interesting idea and I think it’ll be fun to see some of the different talents we have in the department because you only see so much of a person when they’re acting and doing plays,” Schneider said. “It’s cool to see people stepping outside of their comfort zones to try out something new or people who have been singing and doing things for

years, showing their talent.”

Schneider, who is also the event’s advisor for lighting, said they will be performing a solo and a duet for Café Theatre. Schneider said they became the advisor for lighting through a friend who was doing the event for their capstone project.

“I’ve been doing lighting since high school,” Schneider said. “At my high school, I was one of the lighting designers and did it for a lot of shows there, and then have naturally continued doing it throughout college.

And I am one of the people who have helped overhaul all the lighting in our department. The lighting designer for it is a senior, who’s doing it for their capstone, asked me if I would be willing to help her in any way she needed. She tends to be there to advise and answer any questions.”

Williams said students who attend the event can expect an atmosphere similar to 1960s New York coffee shop theatre. There are a variety of artistic talents from within and outside the theatre department that will be showcased, according to Williams.

“It’s a showcase of artistic talent at UIndy and specifically within the concentration of theater. But

we’re also highlighting some speech presentations and people in other areas of the university who wanted to sing a song or present themselves on stage to showcase talent,” Williams said.

“The Cafe theater part was [from] my own inspiration. I was inspired by coffee theater houses from specifically the 1960s in New York that would turn their little coffee houses into experimental forms of theater houses.

And they were a very laid back, DIY kind of theater, just put some milk crates down and aboard on top of it, people doing theater.”

Schneider said they hope this experience will strengthen their confidence as a person and performer.

While they are involved in theatre, performing as a character in a play is different than singing on stage as themselves, according to Schnieder.

“I hope to work on the confidence of being able to perform just as me because it’s a very different thing than playing a character because when you’re a character, you’re not yourself,” Schneider said. “You’re able to disassociate yourself and the nerves and everything just disappears. It’s a very different and scary thing to be performing as yourself.”

Review: ‘Mean Girls’ more fumble than fetch

By Brid Peoples

ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR The new “Mean Girls” musical treads no new ground in this slick, but ultimately flat movie. “Mean Girls,” released Jan. 12, is the film adaptation of the Broadway play, which in turn is an adaptation of the original 2004 movie.

Whether you are a fan of the original 2004 movie or not, it is undeniably a teen movie cult-classic. The script, writing and direction of the original are near perfection, but sadly the 2024 musical version does not live up to it in any way.

The movie follows Cady Heron, played by Angourie Rice, who moves back to America after living in Kenya with her mother, played by “The Office’s”

Jenna Fischer. Having watched the original movie many times, I knew I was not in for a surprise regarding the plot.

Cady is a socially awkward outcast until she befriends Janis and Damien, played by Auli i Cravalho and Jaquel Spivey. The film drags on rather slowly until we meet the Queen Bee of the school: Regina, played by the magnificent Reneé Rapp. Rapp is truly the star of the film, especially during the song “Meet the Plastics.” Her onscreen presence is one of the best parts of the movie.

Regina’s entourage, Gretchen and Karen, round out the rest of the “Plastics.” and Cady falls in with Regina and her divas. However, Janis and Regina’s catty history alongside Cady’s crush on Regina’s ex-boyfriend Aaron prove to be

the major conflict points of the movie.

Cady and Regina are played against each other in a battle for Regina’s title of Queen Bee of the school. Perhaps this is where the movie could have gotten a bit more creative from the source material.

Of course, the fundamental difference between the 2004 and 2024 version is the musical aspect. Unfortunately, this is where the film falls flat. There is not one memorable or catchy song in the entire movie, with the soundtrack is lacking in substance. Most of the songs lack good or developed lyricism. Overall, the songs sound generic and formulaic.

The production is good, but the acting, directing, writing and lyricism are nowhere near as sharp and witty as the original. The wardrobe choices for the Plastics look cheap, undermining

the ‘stylish and popular’ image that the writers sought to create. Regina’s outfits in the original was cool and chic for the time, and with the nature of fashion, this is beginning to come back in style for 2024. On the other hand, the Regina of this movie is dressed like she scrolled through the Shein ‘new in’ section and picked at random.

The extended cast features famous faces, such as Jon Hamm, Tina Fey and Busy Philipps. There are a few cameos from original cast members, including Linday Lohan herself. Rapp provides a strong performance as Regina, living up to Rachel McAdams’ legacy. However, the rest of the core cast such as Angourie Rice and the Plastics are unmemorable.

Overall, Mean Girls is a solid movie, although for a musical it is unfortunately

weak vocally-wise, a shoddy imitation of the original.

Ratings: Graphics: 6/10 Soundtrack: 6/10 Humor: 7/10 Overall Score: 6/10 The Goods: Reneé Rapp’s slightly reimagined Regina while maintaining the essence of the character is a joy to watch. Tina Fey once again delivers sarcastic and witty lines as Ms. Norbury.

The Bads: As someone who has seen the original many times, I found it a little boring.

The musical aspect was perhaps the least interesting part of the whole film.

NEWS

8 THE REFLECTOR

FEBRUARY 7, 2024

Students network at Community Partners Fair Campus event brings in several of the university's over 200 partners that students can volunteer with for service learning.”

The Center for At-Risk Elders STAFF WRITER was represented at the community partners fair by the Advocate and Volunteer Coordinator, Jennifer The University of Indianapolis Miller. Miller said the event is a great Community Partners Fair returned way for students looking to volunteer for another semester to allow students to network and make connections. to meet some of UIndy’s community If you are looking for an internship, partners and become more involved need service hours or just want to within the community. The Center volunteer, the Community Partners for Service Learning & Community Fair is a great place to go.

Engagement seeks to support the “I think [volunteering] gives you university’s motto: “Education for a more mature perspective overall, as Ser vice.” The center coordinates faculty development workshops, far as, you know, just being able to serve and help others,” Miller said. student ser vices and community “You get a lot out of it, and I don't connections such as the Community think 20-year-olds necessarily know Partners Fair, according to the Center that unless they've done community for Service-Learning & Community service projects in Engagement high school or, you page on UIndy’s know, unless that's website.

According to I would encourage students b e e n p r o m o t e d Program Assistant to serve or volunteer with a as you grow up. I don't know that all at the Center for community partner ..." college students Service Learning a re e x p o s e d t o & Community that. So yeah, if Engagement this is their first exposure, I think Jasmine Hayes, UIndy is partnered with around 200 community partners. that's a big deal.”

Hayes said that students can Hayes said students have the chance also find community partners on their to network and get involved with these own through Hounds Connect. On organizations at the Community Hounds Connect, you can research Partners Fair. This event occurs every the partners on your own time, upload semester, according to Hayes. resumes and transcripts and track “The event helps students find volunteer hours, according to Hayes. c o m mu n i t y p a r t n e r s t h a t t h e y “I would encourage students to may want to work with for their serve or volunteer with a community ser vice learning or just overall partner because not only does it help volunteerism…” Hayes said. “ We with your networking … but it helps have so many different community bring those leadership skills in of partners that can target every single helping the world and helping the major. There's literally not one community,” Hayes said. “There's major that could be left out. Every so many different social problems community partner and organization that need to be tackled in these can target every single major that is

By Olivia Hogsett

Photo by Allison Cook

Students talk with local community partners during the UIndy Community Partners Fair which was put on by the The Center for Service Learning & Community Engagement. Students had the chance to network with some of UIndy’s 200 local partners during the event.

communities. Partners tackle or look into every social problem of the world. It also just helps with your resume, and even if you want higher education, volunteering shows that you are dedicated to making a change in the world.

According to Hayes, if anyone missed this past Community Partners Fair, there are still opportunities for them to get involved. Students can stop by Esch Hall 134 or contact Hayes directly to see what community partners they may be passionate about.

Miller said if students would like to get involved with the Center for At-Risk Elders, they can contact her by email, Jen@indianacare.org. The information for the Center for AtRisk Elders is also posted on Hounds Connect, according to Miller.

Housing from Page 3 Omid Zanjanchian, Wesley’s real estate agent, said he’s seen a decline in clients and transactions since mortgage rates began climbing. Many of his clients, who he said tend to be Black first-time buyers, are being approved for smaller loans and taking longer to find homes.

“You have to get creative and kind of look at certain pockets of the city or go a little bit further out from the city to find that level of affordability,” Zanjanchian said.

The affordability crisis is hardly unique to Atlanta.The median home price in the Chicago metro area, another place with a large Black population, was $298,789 as of November, up 37% from four years earlier, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. And the median home price in the Washington metro area stood at $511,484 in November, an increase from $401,025 four years prior.

The Atlanta Fed tracks housing affordability back to 2006, and the national measure is near its lowest point in the available data.

Mortgage rates have begun to decline over the last couple of months, but remain well above early pandemic levels. The US average rate for a 30-year fixed loan was 6.69% for the week of Jan. 25, according to Freddie Mac. “The challenge for African Americans is twofold,” said Domonic Purviance, a subject matter expert at the Atlanta Fed. “It’s finding housing that is in an affordable price range, but also once you find a house, being able to qualify based on the minimum payment, because interest rates are much higher.”

House-hunting challenges Some 32% of those who bought homes in the year ended June 2023 were first-time buyers, according to a National Association of Realtors survey. That’s up from 26% the previous year,but well below the long-term average of 38% seen since 1981 – a sign of how difficult it is to gain a foothold in the market.

Black buyers face additional hurdles, too: They are more likely to hold student-loan debt, said Lautz, the NAR economist, which can eat away at money that might otherwise have gone to a down payment.

“If you’re a first-time home buyer in the market and you don’t have a generational transfer of wealth — which we know that Black home buyers are less likely to have — you’re going to have a harder

time entering into homeownership,” Lautz said.

One of the biggest challenges to Black homeownership historically has been higher denial rates for mortgage loans,and that issue persists. In 2022, the mortgage denial rate for Black applicants was 16.8%, well above the 6.7% denial rate for White, non-Hispanic applicants,according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The Black buyers who are managing to close on a home are sometimes finding it’s not the one of their dreams.

Khalid Smith and his wife, Holy, closed on a home in October in Atlanta.

Though the couple was pre-approved for a $325,000 mortgage, they wanted to find a home under $300,000, but had challenges finding one in that range that they liked.

The couple,also clients of Zanjanchian, put offers on multiple houses.

They ultimately closed on a $314,000 home that Smith described as “dated,”but move-in ready. He said a lending program that offers first-time homebuyers up to $12,500 for down payment and closing costs helped them to afford the purchase.

“We wouldn’t have been able to get this house without it,” Smith said.

‘Not enough supply’ Purviance of the Atlanta Fed notes that the shortage of affordable options for first-time buyers reflects more than the reticence of current homeowners to sell properties where they enjoy mortgage rates of 4% or lower.

“We’re not building enough new houses,” Purviance said. “And the new houses that we are building tend to be in the higher price points. So, it’s just not enough supply to meet the demand.”

In response to that mismatch, Karen Hatcher, chief executive officer of Sovereign Realty & Management in Atlanta,has begun working with minority builders who are willing to build starter homes at affordable prices.

Purviance said that while initiatives like Hatcher’s are helpful around the edges, they aren’t widespread enough or fast enough to meaningfully move the needle on affordability any time soon.

“The level that’s needed, it’s difficult to scale that level of affordability projects,” Purviance said.“It’s a tough issue to solve, because it really isn’t an easy answer.” ___ ©2024 Bloomberg L.P. V isit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.