It has come to my attention that Indiana University is currently… floundering a little bit, to put it lightly. In this year alone the university has been subject to over 100 million dollars in budget cuts, ended elections for the board of trustees, and gutted its DEI programs.
A recent report has ranked IU among the bottom three universities in the country for freedom of speech, along with Columbia University and Barnard College. On top of it all, the school’s top dogs are being suspiciously quiet about all of this.
Now, if I had entered college a few years later than I did, I would’ve taken this as a reason to choose a different university and been on my way. But I’ve fallen in love with this place. IU South Bend is where I discovered who I am, where many of my most important friends are, and where I found my stride again after the Covid-19 pandemic decimated my social life, self confidence and sense of connectedness with the world.
While I’ve greatly enjoyed my time here at IUSB (though recent developments may make it tougher going forward), I’ve noticed that many of my friends on campus have been having trouble getting their basic needs met.
One of my friends had to be driven to school and picked up every day for months because he lives in walkerton, his car broke down and his professors refused to offer zoom attendance. A few friends have been unable to find or access on-campus housing, and I’ve had several people ask me for money so that they can buy something to eat on campus.
I’ve heard more complaints than I can count about the difficulties of navigating IUSB’S bureaucracy in order to pay bills, enroll in classes, or simply talk to their professors about school work.
I’ve been classmates with student parents who couldn’t attend several days because their kids kept them too busy at home and there is a concerning lack of affordable childcare in this area. I’ve had friends drop out because they had full-time jobs, lacked time to study and tuition was too expensive for their suffering grades to be worth it.
I believe that every person has the right to a good education. If one is struggling to deal with basic, daily issues and provide for themselves, good education becomes much, much more difficult. The executives can say that they care all they want, but until they start talking with their money and their policies instead of their words, I’m not going to believe a bit of it.
For now, it’s up to us. I firmly believe that we, the students, have the power to take this into our own hands by organizing amongst ourselves, helping one another and pushing for better campus policies, better accommodations, and a better quality of life for working class students at IUSB.
In this blog I will be writing about some of the issues that students (especially working class students) face on campus and putting forth ideas about how we can help lessen those burdens. I and a few of my friends are currently in the process of trying to start a student union.
Our organization’s primary goal is to unite and support working class students on campus, helping one another through acts of mutual aid. I will most likely write in more detail about this in future blog posts because right now we are just getting off the ground, but our other main goal is to create a space where students can participate in dialogue with one another, talk about societal problems that we face, propose solutions, and become a force capable of making real changes in our school and in society.
I will refrain from writing too much about my own political beliefs in this blog, because even though I myself am a pretty staunch leftist, I believe that helping one another and working towards change for the benefit of the people should be a non-partisan issue.
I love my school with all my heart. When I first started attending here it had such a rich culture and an welcoming and inclusive community, but with rising fears about the economy and freedom of speech in this country, the atmosphere has become tense, hushed, chilled. My school was never perfect, but seeing the route we are going down has been a bit disheartening. Teachers fear for their jobs, students fear for their futures.
I want to do as much as I possibly can to make IUSB a better place, and that starts with informing students and teachers alike of what is happening at our school and how they can make a difference. After all, an informed public is infinitely more powerful than an ignorant one.
This initial blog post is very powerful! I like how you came out strong out of the gate. I think you did a great job expressing your presonal expierence here at IU South Bend aswell as your concern for the direction the university is heading. Your balance of critique and awe shows how much you care about this campus which is even furthermore inspiring. I think yout focus on student expierences, housing, and childcare brings an importa human elemenat to your blog and to the bigger picture. Creating a student union is inspiring and proactive. I look forward to reading your future blogs.
ReplyDeleteI suggest maybe changing the red font or red background though so it is easier to read.
Thanks for the feedback! I just changed the colors for my links— hopefully they are easier on the eyes now.
DeleteHi Sydney,
ReplyDeleteYour title feels grounded in purpose. I agree that you might consider adjusting slightly for inclusivity while keeping its strong message. I love the focus of “An IU for the Everyman.” because it is so important to acknowledge students who are struggling to meet basic needs while pursuing their education. I would suggest something like “An IU for Everyone” or “IU for All”, this would still keep with your vision, and have a broad appeal.
Your repeatable theme about addressing student welfare issues is relevant to the IUSB community. I really like your idea about revisiting the Child Development Center, due to the great need for childcare. Having a central location where students could get connected to resources, would make a big difference. Students would be able to see that they are not alone. They will find out how to overcome challenges, and how to find and connections with real solutions. This would help build a loyal audience, provide advocacy and awareness.
I’d suggest using warm, readable colors and incorporating a student survey to find out what the needs are to develop your content and to make readers feel like they are a part of the change you’re promoting.
Great work—your blog will truly make a difference on campus!
This was an interesting and thoughtful post. I really like how you tied in your own experiences with research and interviews, the issue feels real and urgent. It’s honestly surprising how many people didn’t know about the Child Development Center, and I agree that bringing it back could really help student parents who are trying to balance school and childcare. I was in a class I believe a year or two ago and one of my fellow classmates brought their child in a few times and it's unfortunately not the best option for everybody involved but it might be the only option. You did a great job connecting this issue to the bigger problems students are facing at IU South Bend, like funding cuts and basic needs not being met.
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