WEBVTT 00:00:00.898 --> 00:00:09.087 - It's a good time to get started. So my name is Gerhard Blom. I work at a large educational institution 00:00:09.087 --> 00:00:17.038 - just a little bit north of Fatwater. None of the things said here tonight represent the use of that 00:00:17.038 --> 00:00:25.069 - institution. And I want to welcome you all. Thanks for coming. So I'm going to talk very long, but I 00:00:25.069 --> 00:00:27.454 - thought I'd say a few things. 00:00:27.618 --> 00:00:35.427 - So I think many of us are sad, angry, frustrated with things that are going on in the country. And not 00:00:35.427 --> 00:00:43.009 - too long ago, I actually watched a speech that Robert DeNiro gave, like a seven-minute clip. And he 00:00:43.009 --> 00:00:51.198 - basically asked questions like, can you love a country where mass agents spread fear across the population? 00:00:52.418 --> 00:00:58.390 - Can you love a country where 70% of the people that are detained by ICE have no criminal record? Can 00:00:58.390 --> 00:01:04.302 - you love a country where science and scholarship is undermined? Can you love a country where entire 00:01:04.302 --> 00:01:10.333 - civilizations are threatened with extinction? Can you love a country where law firms and universities 00:01:10.333 --> 00:01:16.246 - are extorted? And when you listen to that speech by Robert De Niro, everybody said, no, no, no, no, 00:01:16.246 --> 00:01:20.030 - no, we cannot love a country. My attitude is perhaps different. 00:01:20.994 --> 00:01:26.778 - And when I thought about it, this is like a child. If you're a parent, you have a child that 00:01:26.778 --> 00:01:33.123 - has a devastating medical diagnosis. It might be angry. It might be grief. There might be fear. There 00:01:33.123 --> 00:01:39.467 - might be pain. But in all of this pain and anger and bewilderment, I think all of us as parents would 00:01:39.467 --> 00:01:45.936 - choose to love our child, perhaps even with more intensity. So perhaps you could do the same thing with 00:01:45.936 --> 00:01:49.854 - our country when things go wrong. Love it with more intensity. 00:01:50.082 --> 00:01:56.872 - love it with more passion, love it with more resourcefulness, love it with more clarity of mind, and 00:01:56.872 --> 00:02:03.663 - perhaps with more hope and more cooperation. That's the spirit in which I would like to proceed, and 00:02:03.663 --> 00:02:10.588 - I'm very grateful. When I asked three fabulous folks to help us out tonight, they all said yes without 00:02:10.588 --> 00:02:15.966 - any hesitation. So we have Matt Pierce, who represents Bloomington, Albin Indy, 00:02:16.290 --> 00:02:22.542 - We have Sidney Suleik, who represents a bunch of people in Bloomington in the city council. And we have 00:02:22.542 --> 00:02:28.553 - a fabulous student, Brooklyn Lembright, whom I listened to at a speech that she gave last fall. And 00:02:28.553 --> 00:02:34.565 - all of those folks basically said, yes, I'll come. And I'm very, very grateful that you're here. So 00:02:34.565 --> 00:02:40.697 - each one of the speakers will have about eight or so minutes to give and take. And since we have such 00:02:40.697 --> 00:02:45.566 - a huge group, we have to be very, very formal about the conversation afterwards. 00:02:45.730 --> 00:02:52.737 - So afterwards, we have a conversation. And then we have a few people here from local community organizations. 00:02:52.737 --> 00:02:59.298 - They're going to say a few things about their organization and their sign-up sheets outside. So if you 00:02:59.298 --> 00:03:05.923 - want to get more information about those groups, if you want to help, you can sign up outside. And then 00:03:05.923 --> 00:03:12.421 - that would be the end of the day. So without further ado, why don't we welcome Matt Pierce to lead us 00:03:12.421 --> 00:03:13.822 - off with his thoughts 00:03:42.242 --> 00:03:50.659 - job is a senior lecturer in the media school so I have to prove I know how to handle a microphone. Okay 00:03:50.659 --> 00:03:58.834 - well when I was asked to speak tonight about kind of what we think of our country and how we proceed 00:03:58.834 --> 00:04:07.332 - from here and what's really important in this 250th anniversary of the founding of our nation, the first 00:04:07.332 --> 00:04:08.222 - thing that 00:04:08.674 --> 00:04:16.957 - immediately came to my mind was the very beginning of the preamble of the Constitution of the United 00:04:16.957 --> 00:04:25.403 - States, which says, we the people of the United States in order to form a more perfect union. And they 00:04:25.403 --> 00:04:34.096 - didn't say to form a perfect union because they knew they couldn't reach perfection, but the Constitution 00:04:34.096 --> 00:04:37.950 - set out this aspiration that we would continue 00:04:38.114 --> 00:04:45.948 - it would become more perfect. But we know at the time that we had those words of aspiration that in 00:04:45.948 --> 00:04:54.253 - fact it was far from a perfect union and you might argue it's far from perfect today. But we had slavery, 00:04:54.253 --> 00:05:02.244 - obviously, which after the Civil War became a century of Jim Crow laws. We had women who had to fight 00:05:02.244 --> 00:05:07.806 - for their rights, right to suffrage, and other equal rights over time. 00:05:08.162 --> 00:05:16.266 - had a lot of situations where we had an opportunity to make our union more perfect and what I believe 00:05:16.266 --> 00:05:24.291 - makes our country so great is that although it often takes too long, although it's often too much of 00:05:24.291 --> 00:05:32.316 - a struggle, eventually we come to grips with some of the biggest problems confronting our nation and 00:05:32.316 --> 00:05:36.766 - we address them and we fix them. We basically strive to 00:05:36.898 --> 00:05:45.209 - make our country more perfect. And President Obama, back in 2008, you might remember his campaign for 00:05:45.209 --> 00:05:53.032 - president, and the issue of race came up in the campaign. And he felt the need to make a speech 00:05:53.032 --> 00:06:00.854 - in Philadelphia about race. And it became known as the More Perfect Union speech, which I think 00:06:00.854 --> 00:06:05.662 - is interesting. And in that speech, one of the things that 00:06:06.370 --> 00:06:14.610 - President Obama said, is what would be needed were Americans and successive generations who were willing 00:06:14.610 --> 00:06:22.536 - to do their part through protests and struggle on the streets and in the courts, through a civil war 00:06:22.536 --> 00:06:30.461 - and civil disobedience, and always at great risk to narrow the gap between the promise of our ideals 00:06:30.461 --> 00:06:32.894 - and the reality of their time. 00:06:34.306 --> 00:06:41.778 - And I think that is the key thing. Each generation, if our country is to continue to progress, is to 00:06:41.778 --> 00:06:49.325 - become more perfect, each generation has to recognize the imperfections of our country. And they must 00:06:49.325 --> 00:06:56.723 - work to fix them and to make progress. And once again, we probably won't ever get to the point of a 00:06:56.723 --> 00:07:03.678 - perfect nation. But we have made progress in a lot of ways that made our nation more perfect. 00:07:03.874 --> 00:07:11.403 - What is so disturbing about the time that we live in now is it seems like we're going backwards. And 00:07:11.403 --> 00:07:19.603 - it's scary to kind of see maybe how quickly things can devolve. We always had the sense that our institutions 00:07:19.603 --> 00:07:27.132 - were strong. And I don't think that we fully realized how much our democracy depends upon individual 00:07:27.132 --> 00:07:32.798 - office holders, people of power and authority, of respecting the traditions 00:07:32.962 --> 00:07:39.727 - and kind of the mores of our country. And what we've seen is you can have some things written on paper 00:07:39.727 --> 00:07:46.425 - about how it's supposed to work, but if you don't have people who respect that, your nation can be at 00:07:46.425 --> 00:07:52.993 - risk. And so our generation has to be willing to step forward because the key to our greatness as a 00:07:52.993 --> 00:07:59.889 - country is recognizing our imperfections and trying to fix them. And really, if we look back, most every 00:07:59.889 --> 00:08:01.662 - generation has had to face 00:08:02.434 --> 00:08:09.632 - imperfections and sacrifice a lot to keep our country progressing forward, whether it's what's referred 00:08:09.632 --> 00:08:16.553 - to as the greatest generation, fighting off fascism across the country and preserving our democracy 00:08:16.553 --> 00:08:23.474 - from external threats, whether it's the people we spoke of in civil rights movement, women's rights 00:08:23.474 --> 00:08:30.465 - movement, all those attempts out there. We each generation was willing to step up and do their part. 00:08:30.465 --> 00:08:32.126 - And so the question is, 00:08:32.418 --> 00:08:39.469 - you know, what shall we do in our generation? How will we try to make our country more perfect? And 00:08:39.469 --> 00:08:46.732 - what should we focus on? And this is something where it's easy to kind of be paralyzed because there's 00:08:46.732 --> 00:08:53.924 - so much going on. There's so many things that we need to correct as a country at this moment in time. 00:08:53.924 --> 00:09:01.116 - And it's easy to become kind of, you know, paralyzed. Just thinking about where do I even begin? What 00:09:01.116 --> 00:09:02.174 - do I confront? 00:09:02.306 --> 00:09:09.390 - What do I work on? And as I look at it, we definitely have these most immediate things where we ask 00:09:09.390 --> 00:09:16.545 - ourselves, you know, will our democracy continue to function? Will there be full voting rights? Will 00:09:16.545 --> 00:09:23.700 - it become so hard to vote that a lot of people just can't or won't kind of work through the hurdles? 00:09:23.700 --> 00:09:30.430 - I mean, there's a lot to think about just in the mechanics of our democracy. But I think that, 00:09:32.002 --> 00:09:39.002 - While we certainly have to pay attention to that, and maybe that's the ultimate battle to be fought, 00:09:39.002 --> 00:09:46.349 - I really think when I look at it as a state representative and from kind of talking to people and getting 00:09:46.349 --> 00:09:53.557 - feedback from people, to me, the biggest threat right now to our nation is having an economy that seems 00:09:53.557 --> 00:09:59.934 - to be leaving people behind. I think, to me, this is kind of the core problem that we face. 00:10:00.130 --> 00:10:07.904 - going to have a brighter future as a country, we have to have an economy where everyone can prosper. 00:10:07.904 --> 00:10:15.601 - And that means we have to do some hard work of fixing problems. And to me, the core problem that we 00:10:15.601 --> 00:10:23.298 - have as a nation is the government has evolved to a point where it seems reluctant to invest in its 00:10:23.298 --> 00:10:24.222 - own people. 00:10:25.538 --> 00:10:31.539 - So at the state level, it's interesting because we can come up with hundreds of millions of dollars 00:10:31.539 --> 00:10:37.600 - in short order to, in the name of economic development, support corporations and industries. And the 00:10:37.600 --> 00:10:43.601 - theory is that that will kind of trickle down and ultimately benefit the population as a whole. But 00:10:43.601 --> 00:10:49.602 - I think that after kind of seeing that for the last 40 years, you could ask yourself whether that's 00:10:49.602 --> 00:10:50.622 - really the case. 00:10:51.842 --> 00:10:58.159 - And so I think that what needs to happen, what I would see as the biggest imperfection to be corrected 00:10:58.159 --> 00:11:04.415 - at the moment is to create, get back to a government that's willing to invest in its people. And that 00:11:04.415 --> 00:11:10.732 - means not leaving people behind in our economy. And so I think these are fundamental areas that people 00:11:10.732 --> 00:11:16.987 - are telling us they need help in and things that I think are important for our future. And the number 00:11:16.987 --> 00:11:19.870 - one thing I think it starts with is education. 00:11:21.090 --> 00:11:28.777 - All right, so we have to have a well-funded K through 12 public school system. And I think beyond educating 00:11:28.777 --> 00:11:36.037 - our students, because the legislature is obsessed with workforce training and development. It's as if 00:11:36.037 --> 00:11:43.368 - all the education system is supposed to do is make sure we have someone who can make a widget when the 00:11:43.368 --> 00:11:44.222 - time comes. 00:11:45.474 --> 00:11:51.024 - But I think that overlooks the real value, and again, the genius of our nation, of having a system of 00:11:51.024 --> 00:11:56.466 - common schools, of putting in our very first state constitution in Indiana, there shall be a system 00:11:56.466 --> 00:12:01.908 - of common schools. It took a while to make that a reality. But I think we missed the fact that when 00:12:01.908 --> 00:12:07.349 - you have a diverse set of students coming from all different walks of life, different socioeconomic 00:12:07.349 --> 00:12:12.900 - levels, and you have them in a school together, learning together, learning about each other, that is 00:12:12.900 --> 00:12:14.750 - what melds your country together. 00:12:16.066 --> 00:12:21.984 - And so that alone is an important value when it comes to education, as well as what some people might 00:12:21.984 --> 00:12:27.843 - call book learning. And then when you get up to the college level, there's no reason we have to have 00:12:27.843 --> 00:12:33.645 - a country in which you have to go into tremendous debt to afford to get a higher education. There's 00:12:33.645 --> 00:12:39.621 - no reason why it has to be that way. The government could be funding our universities. We could create 00:12:39.621 --> 00:12:44.030 - a system in which college students don't have to have all this debt burden. 00:12:44.866 --> 00:12:51.882 - And I think that's another thing that would be very helpful, investing in our people. And I remember 00:12:51.882 --> 00:12:58.828 - very clearly when there was a shift in supporting students going to college. So I began school here 00:12:58.828 --> 00:13:05.496 - in 1980. And that was the very beginning of the Reagan administration. And up until that point, 00:13:05.496 --> 00:13:12.442 - student loans, telegrants, which before that telegrants were called National Defense Student Loans, 00:13:12.442 --> 00:13:14.526 - but the idea was that getting 00:13:14.914 --> 00:13:21.463 - your citizens through college, getting a higher education, not only benefited that individual, but it 00:13:21.463 --> 00:13:28.140 - benefited society as a whole. It would help us have a more educated, learned population, and this would 00:13:28.140 --> 00:13:34.689 - end up advancing America as a whole. And in those 1980s, it kind of switched to, well, you know what? 00:13:34.689 --> 00:13:41.238 - If you get a college degree, you'll probably earn more than those with only a high school degree, and 00:13:41.238 --> 00:13:43.870 - you are going to be the main beneficiary 00:13:43.970 --> 00:13:50.511 - of your education. Therefore, you should bear the burden of paying for your education because you are 00:13:50.511 --> 00:13:57.117 - the one who will benefit. And so they took what was kind of a public good and they just turned it into 00:13:57.117 --> 00:14:03.594 - a private benefit. And so we need to get away from that and actually invest in our students who want 00:14:03.594 --> 00:14:09.493 - to go to school. Child care is just another example. We have an opportunity to ensure, one, 00:14:09.493 --> 00:14:13.726 - that all children, no matter what their socioeconomic background, 00:14:13.890 --> 00:14:20.353 - have the kind of early childhood education that's necessary to be able to advance and keep up and do 00:14:20.353 --> 00:14:26.880 - well through K-12. All kinds of study and research about this and how good it is for that. And in the 00:14:26.880 --> 00:14:33.599 - process, it helps our economy in general because now both parents can be in the workplace if they choose 00:14:33.599 --> 00:14:40.062 - to do that. And so that's a greater benefit. And so that's an investment we can make. Health care, I 00:14:40.062 --> 00:14:42.622 - don't even know where to begin on that. 00:14:42.946 --> 00:14:49.681 - I personally think that we could do a lot better with a universal single payer system than kind of this 00:14:49.681 --> 00:14:56.157 - crazy insurance system we have now. But others would argue with me about that. But the point is, as 00:14:56.157 --> 00:15:02.633 - the United States of America, if we put our energy into solving this problem of how do we make sure 00:15:02.633 --> 00:15:09.822 - that everyone has affordable healthcare, we're America. We have the power to innovate. We can figure this out. 00:15:09.954 --> 00:15:16.262 - But we have to have the political will to do it. We have to be willing to invest in our people. And 00:15:16.262 --> 00:15:22.697 - that's another area where we fail to do it. Housing is another issue. We can be helping people try to 00:15:22.697 --> 00:15:29.636 - afford housing and make housing more affordable. So all of these things, I think, are examples of investments 00:15:29.636 --> 00:15:35.944 - we could be making in people today. History shows that when we invest in our people, it strengthens 00:15:35.944 --> 00:15:38.846 - our country. And so investment in individuals 00:15:38.978 --> 00:15:45.151 - is an investment in America. It's an investment in our future. And that's what we should do. And I think 00:15:45.151 --> 00:15:51.265 - if you look back, Franklin Roosevelt during the New Deal, during the Great Depression, really no social 00:15:51.265 --> 00:15:57.496 - safety net, nothing. And at that time, there was the political will to do something about that, to tackle 00:15:57.496 --> 00:16:03.669 - our problems. So they would look at these problems and say, we have senior citizens that are in poverty. 00:16:03.669 --> 00:16:08.254 - So let's have a social security system. Let's create a system that will work. 00:16:08.834 --> 00:16:14.334 - You know, all of the, I mean, kind of leveling the playing field for the average person, right? So the 00:16:14.334 --> 00:16:19.835 - wealthiest people were benefiting from the stock market, there were no rules and regulations, and they 00:16:19.835 --> 00:16:25.602 - figured out a way to, you know, have unemployment insurance, have workers' compensation, basically creating 00:16:25.602 --> 00:16:31.049 - a social safety net. And then Lyndon Johnson, in The Great Society, he continued advancing that. What 00:16:31.049 --> 00:16:36.550 - is our problem? We have a lot of seniors who don't have access to healthcare, so let's have a Medicare 00:16:36.550 --> 00:16:38.686 - program. Let's have a Medicaid program. 00:16:38.978 --> 00:16:46.114 - for those who are unable to get access to health insurance. And so essentially creating a more robust 00:16:46.114 --> 00:16:53.250 - social safety net. And so certainly you can argue that all these programs are not perfect, that maybe 00:16:53.250 --> 00:17:00.456 - there's a better, more innovative way to do it. But the point is, at times in our past, the government 00:17:00.456 --> 00:17:07.452 - and the people demanding things from their government movements, social movements, got our problems 00:17:07.452 --> 00:17:08.222 - addressed. 00:17:08.514 --> 00:17:14.965 - in one fashion or another. And that's what we really need today. We need to have the generations that 00:17:14.965 --> 00:17:21.352 - are on the planet at the moment working together to make our union more perfect. We need to create a 00:17:21.352 --> 00:17:27.929 - movement that demands our governments at both the federal, state, and local level invest in our people. 00:17:27.929 --> 00:17:34.507 - And I think that together, if we were to kind of build this movement, this political movement, we could 00:17:34.507 --> 00:17:38.238 - generate the political will among our elected officials to 00:17:38.370 --> 00:17:45.104 - actually focus on the problems that the public needs to have solved. And we owe it to the previous 00:17:45.104 --> 00:17:51.974 - generations who did the hard work of getting us to this point, of making our nation more perfect, of 00:17:51.974 --> 00:17:58.775 - doing the really hard things and trying to advance equality and the economic social safety net. All 00:17:58.775 --> 00:18:05.713 - of that was done in the past and we ought to be able as the current generations be able to do this as 00:18:05.713 --> 00:18:08.094 - well. We owe it to them that much. 00:18:08.226 --> 00:18:14.227 - You know, the good news is, I hope, I don't think we have to fight a civil war to do it or maybe even 00:18:14.227 --> 00:18:20.404 - spend a lot of time in jail. But we do need to speak up and we need to essentially seize political power 00:18:20.404 --> 00:18:26.346 - through the constitutional systems we have in place so that we can redirect our government to do the 00:18:26.346 --> 00:18:32.288 - things that need to be done to help our people. And I think that we can do that and not have to make 00:18:32.288 --> 00:18:35.582 - the tremendous sacrifices that previous generations had 00:18:36.834 --> 00:18:43.404 - maybe four. And so I think that in the process of doing that, we can also reinvigorate our democracy. 00:18:43.404 --> 00:18:50.039 - Because so many people have checked out of the system, because they just feel it doesn't really matter 00:18:50.039 --> 00:18:56.609 - who I elect, or this government is so far away and detached from me, there's no way that I can really 00:18:56.609 --> 00:19:03.308 - impact it. Because I complain, I may even vote, but I don't seem to get my problems solved. And because 00:19:03.308 --> 00:19:06.078 - of that, a lot of people are checking out. 00:19:06.338 --> 00:19:13.271 - And so I think if we had a broad social movement seeking to solve these very basic problems of our citizens, 00:19:13.271 --> 00:19:19.823 - I think not only would that give people a purpose and strive for, but I think it would build hope. And 00:19:19.823 --> 00:19:26.502 - I think it would restore people's faith in our democratic system. And I think that is maybe the greatest 00:19:26.502 --> 00:19:32.990 - benefit of all. Even if you fall a little short of solving the very real everyday problems of people, 00:19:33.218 --> 00:19:39.992 - I think you can show them that there's a way forward. And it makes sense to participate in your government 00:19:39.992 --> 00:19:46.766 - and have faith in your democratic system. So I would say now is the time for us to get started in building 00:19:46.766 --> 00:19:53.160 - this new America, a more perfect union. And the important thing is, let's be able to say that we did 00:19:53.160 --> 00:19:56.958 - our part to make America as perfect as possible. Thank you. 00:20:07.938 --> 00:20:15.656 - Brooklyn, I would imagine after all the things that Matt said about education, you're not going to disagree 00:20:15.656 --> 00:20:22.803 - too much. But Brooklyn's a student here at IU, and I heard her talk about her experiences, what she 00:20:22.803 --> 00:20:30.236 - was told before she came to IU, her experiences at IU. And I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts 00:20:30.236 --> 00:20:32.094 - on those questions again. 00:20:54.658 --> 00:21:01.608 - that I'm a senior here at IU. I'm studying journalism and American studies. I grew up in Indiana. I 00:21:01.608 --> 00:21:08.628 - got my education in Indiana, so I'm very aware of what the educational climate is here in the state. 00:21:08.628 --> 00:21:15.716 - I first gave this speech at the AAUP meeting. It was to faculty and students. And so the goal of that 00:21:15.716 --> 00:21:23.014 - speech, as well as my remarks today, is to sort of complicate what we've been taught about how education 00:21:23.014 --> 00:21:24.126 - should function 00:21:24.514 --> 00:21:31.502 - and to imagine the ways that education can and should be serving us. So I want to start today by asking 00:21:31.502 --> 00:21:38.490 - what may seem like sort of a simple question, and that is, what does it mean to be a student? So almost 00:21:38.490 --> 00:21:45.477 - all my life, that question has been answered by everyone except me. Growing up in a rural, conservative 00:21:45.477 --> 00:21:52.062 - Indiana town of about 900 people, the top priority was not education, but rather acquiring skills 00:21:52.162 --> 00:21:58.134 - that directly translated into a high paying career. This is what employers want to see, has been one 00:21:58.134 --> 00:22:04.343 - of the most frequently repeated phrases throughout my education. Making myself profitable to an employer 00:22:04.343 --> 00:22:10.611 - was always at the forefront of my mind during high school and college. Many people in my community didn't 00:22:10.611 --> 00:22:16.820 - go to college or even graduate from high school. Instead, they worked at local RV factories that offered 00:22:16.820 --> 00:22:20.190 - to pay them nearly $50 an hour right out of high school. 00:22:21.314 --> 00:22:27.321 - And if my peers did choose to pursue higher education, they were encouraged by high school administrators 00:22:27.321 --> 00:22:33.045 - to pick a degree program where a direct path to employment was emphasized. And I wanted all of this, 00:22:33.045 --> 00:22:38.712 - too. I'm not going to stand up here and say that I was any different. I wanted a typical 9 to 5 job 00:22:38.712 --> 00:22:44.662 - after I graduated from college. I didn't want to worry about my finances or work a laborious, physically 00:22:44.662 --> 00:22:50.046 - demanding job like I saw both my parents do. Education, as it had been defined to me thus far, 00:22:50.434 --> 00:22:57.011 - was about securing a job once the learning was over. And that's just it. At some point, I had to get 00:22:57.011 --> 00:23:03.523 - serious and stop learning so I could enter the real world. Education was merely a stepping stone to 00:23:03.523 --> 00:23:10.296 - that real world. Education itself had no value otherwise. But the secret that I held deep down was that 00:23:10.296 --> 00:23:16.873 - I really loved learning. I used to tell my friends and my family and my teachers that I'd be content 00:23:16.873 --> 00:23:19.934 - if I could just spend my entire life learning. 00:23:20.898 --> 00:23:26.287 - So as I began college and worked toward my journalism degree, the secret sort of gnawed at me. It kept 00:23:26.287 --> 00:23:31.518 - me up at night. I felt like I had to live a double life, fighting the one part of me that was being 00:23:31.518 --> 00:23:36.854 - told to earn a degree in something practical, and the other part of me that really wanted to continue 00:23:36.854 --> 00:23:42.400 - asking questions and building knowledge. Then I took a class in the Department of American Studies called 00:23:42.400 --> 00:23:47.684 - What is America? And this class had nothing to do with my major in media studies. All it offered was 00:23:47.684 --> 00:23:50.718 - a chance to do critical thinking about the United States. 00:23:51.138 --> 00:23:57.585 - and to question the dominant narratives of American history. This class opened up an entirely new world 00:23:57.585 --> 00:24:04.279 - to me. And for the first time, I got to define my education by asking questions and engaging in discussions 00:24:04.279 --> 00:24:10.602 - that influenced my own personhood. For the first time, it offered a chance to see education as a tool 00:24:10.602 --> 00:24:16.925 - for personal growth and a new way to relate to the world around me. I got to engage in the shaping of 00:24:16.925 --> 00:24:19.838 - my own mind. So I took more classes like this, 00:24:20.130 --> 00:24:25.609 - I read more books and I wrote more essays than I had ever done before. I expanded my mind by thinking 00:24:25.609 --> 00:24:31.464 - critically of the world that surrounded me. And eventually these classes and the American Studies Department 00:24:31.464 --> 00:24:36.944 - became my second major. They led to research opportunities that took me to the archives at the Sophia 00:24:36.944 --> 00:24:42.423 - Smith Collection of Women's History in Northampton, Massachusetts, as well as an independent research 00:24:42.423 --> 00:24:46.398 - project through the Center for Research on Race and Ethnicity in Society. 00:24:47.010 --> 00:24:52.907 - I wrote a paper on incarcerated black women's personal narratives, such as poetry, personal essays, 00:24:52.907 --> 00:24:59.040 - and music, and their significance in black feminist studies. I ended up combining my interests in media 00:24:59.040 --> 00:25:05.231 - and American studies to create and produce a show with the local community radio station WFHB. I created 00:25:05.231 --> 00:25:11.246 - episodes about the student-led protests at Dun Meadow and the subsequent silencing of those students' 00:25:11.246 --> 00:25:13.310 - concerns by campus administrators. 00:25:14.146 --> 00:25:21.341 - And I also created more historical episodes, including one about the origins and development of whiteness 00:25:21.341 --> 00:25:28.265 - in America. For the first time, I felt like the shaper of my own mind, of my education. In developing 00:25:28.265 --> 00:25:35.529 - my own consciousness, I worked to create more equitable spaces in my local community. And then the Indiana 00:25:35.529 --> 00:25:37.022 - legislature passed HB 00:25:41.314 --> 00:25:48.663 - know HB 1001 is the bill that forced university departments across the state of Indiana to consolidate 00:25:48.663 --> 00:25:55.798 - and eliminate programs that did not meet a certain number of enrollment. So once again my education 00:25:55.798 --> 00:26:03.075 - was in the hands of people who thought they knew what was best for me. Governor Braun through his act 00:26:03.075 --> 00:26:08.926 - emphasized programs and departments that offered a direct ticket to employability 00:26:09.858 --> 00:26:15.407 - Governor Ron said, quote, line up where the good jobs are that have the highest wages. Those are the 00:26:15.407 --> 00:26:21.120 - degrees that are going to be the most important, end quote. My own American studies department has been 00:26:21.120 --> 00:26:26.889 - deemed impractical by the state of Indiana. The degree which has offered me so many pathways to exciting 00:26:26.889 --> 00:26:32.383 - and innovative research, to expanding my critical thinking skills, and to contributing knowledge to 00:26:32.383 --> 00:26:38.206 - my local community. That is now considered disposable to state legislators because the value of education 00:26:38.530 --> 00:26:44.963 - is only measured by its profitability. But if we judge education solely by its economic return, we may 00:26:44.963 --> 00:26:51.521 - miss the importance of education as a tool to understand ourselves as Americans. Shouldn't I, as a human 00:26:51.521 --> 00:26:57.767 - being, have the opportunity to understand who I am in relationship to my community, my country, and 00:26:57.767 --> 00:27:04.450 - the rest of the world? Without the pursuit of a broad liberal arts education, my understanding of American 00:27:04.450 --> 00:27:07.198 - history and culture would remain one-sided. 00:27:07.938 --> 00:27:13.964 - I wouldn't know about the lives and ideas of so many important and formative Americans. Rather, my ignorance 00:27:13.964 --> 00:27:19.604 - would remain an integral part to my formation as the perfect worker. Young people like me deserve the 00:27:19.604 --> 00:27:25.409 - authority to shape our own minds, whether this leads to a nine to five career, the pursuit of knowledge, 00:27:25.409 --> 00:27:30.993 - or something else entirely. But our state legislators are no longer allowing us the autonomy to make 00:27:30.993 --> 00:27:34.974 - these decisions for ourselves. Their trust lies in profits and capital, 00:27:35.746 --> 00:27:42.006 - than the young guys that would shape our very state, nation, and eventually the world. In total, 584 00:27:42.006 --> 00:27:48.328 - degree programs like mine were merged, consolidated, suspended, or eliminated across Indiana's public 00:27:48.328 --> 00:27:54.712 - colleges and universities. 584. And I understand that some of you may see this as an act of efficiency 00:27:54.712 --> 00:28:00.909 - to streamline taxpayer dollars toward programs with higher enrollment numbers. You may even see low 00:28:00.909 --> 00:28:05.310 - enrollment as evidence that something within the program or department 00:28:05.666 --> 00:28:11.619 - isn't working. Purdue University's Provost Patrick Wolf described consolidation and elimination efforts 00:28:11.619 --> 00:28:17.686 - as a type of accountability in which they strive to support taxpayers, employers, educators, and citizens 00:28:17.686 --> 00:28:23.695 - in the best way possible. As a student who has lived in Indiana all her life, I've heard these arguments 00:28:23.695 --> 00:28:29.820 - repeatedly. I understand that many across the state see efficiency and profitability as the top priorities 00:28:29.820 --> 00:28:35.486 - for higher education. I, in fact, for the majority of my life, also saw higher education this way. 00:28:36.290 --> 00:28:41.854 - But you're conditioned to believe that the primary goal of education is to obtain a high paying job. 00:28:41.854 --> 00:28:47.804 - But I'm asking you today to imagine a different world with me. And I'm asking us to strive for a university 00:28:47.804 --> 00:28:53.698 - that sees the development of young minds and the cultivation of critical thinking as its highest priority. 00:28:53.698 --> 00:28:59.262 - While I'm not admonishing the importance of income and the means through which we all earn a living, 00:28:59.746 --> 00:29:05.627 - I am instead suggesting that the state and universities recognize the importance of developing individuals 00:29:05.627 --> 00:29:11.673 - with critical minds and well-rounded perspectives. I am advocating for a world in which the arts, humanities, 00:29:11.673 --> 00:29:17.224 - and languages are not seen as secondary pathways or unnecessary degrees. We must remember that arts, 00:29:17.224 --> 00:29:23.105 - humanities, and language programs offer skills beyond what can be simply measured. The soft skills offered 00:29:23.105 --> 00:29:26.238 - by these degrees include communication, problem solving, 00:29:26.722 --> 00:29:32.471 - empathy, ethical decision making, research analysis, creativity, and teamwork, all of which are also 00:29:32.471 --> 00:29:38.561 - vital to the high wage jobs emphasized by the state. So let us question the state's push to employ numbers 00:29:38.561 --> 00:29:44.595 - to distinguish the worthiness of a degree. While the state says this consolidation and elimination effort 00:29:44.595 --> 00:29:50.457 - is to preserve taxpayer dollars, it's still unclear how much the state is saving in funding or whether 00:29:50.457 --> 00:29:52.222 - any of these savings will even 00:29:54.914 --> 00:30:00.450 - Once again, profits are used to justify the dismantling of vital liberal arts programs that provide 00:30:00.450 --> 00:30:06.319 - students with the necessary skills for their own development and therefore their community's development. 00:30:06.319 --> 00:30:12.077 - We must stop them from dismantling higher education in Indiana. Our future depends on young people like 00:30:12.077 --> 00:30:17.613 - myself having access to a quality liberal arts education, one that helps us make sense of the world 00:30:17.613 --> 00:30:23.149 - and our place in it. Caring about the preservation of our ability to guide our own education starts 00:30:23.149 --> 00:30:24.478 - with standing alongside 00:30:24.578 --> 00:30:36.418 - alongside those working to protect higher education in the state. I am asking all of us to make our 00:30:36.418 --> 00:30:48.257 - voices heard. Education and equal access to it is essential for each and every one of us. Thank you 00:30:48.257 --> 00:30:53.822 - so much. I'm going to say something that might 00:30:54.210 --> 00:31:02.533 - brand my ideas as being heretical among my econ faculty colleagues. I'm actually convinced that if we 00:31:02.533 --> 00:31:10.938 - offer education to young people and let them figure out what is in their own interest and let them ask 00:31:10.938 --> 00:31:19.342 - their own questions and let them find their own answers, perhaps with the help of some old people with 00:31:19.342 --> 00:31:23.422 - gray hair, that is actually good for the country. 00:31:24.514 --> 00:31:36.033 - Because I'm convinced that if you let young people do that, they will find themselves in that is what 00:31:36.033 --> 00:31:43.486 - makes America great. So thanks, Brooklyn. Sydney, you're up next. 00:32:10.818 --> 00:32:16.586 - Thank you so much for being here. I hope you've enjoyed yourself thus far. My name is Sydney Zulek. 00:32:16.586 --> 00:32:22.642 - I'm 23 years old and in 2023, I made Bloomington history by being the youngest person to ever be elected 00:32:22.642 --> 00:32:28.411 - to the Bloomington City Council. It's always an honor for me to speak at events like this because I 00:32:28.411 --> 00:32:34.352 - know how inspired I feel after leaving one. I love Bloomington and I am so grateful to have been given 00:32:34.352 --> 00:32:40.062 - the chance to succeed here. But I am very, very aware that the same luxury is not afforded to most 00:32:40.354 --> 00:32:46.832 - of the other post-graduates that we have in our community. My perfect Bloomington is one that every 00:32:46.832 --> 00:32:53.440 - young person is given the same opportunities to succeed that I was given. The chance that I was given 00:32:53.440 --> 00:33:00.371 - was truly once in a lifetime, but in a thriving community, opportunities are not rare, they are plentiful. 00:33:00.371 --> 00:33:06.979 - We're not there yet, and that's okay, but let this be the moment that you feel called to action. When 00:33:06.979 --> 00:33:09.246 - the world feels like a dark place, 00:33:09.570 --> 00:33:16.502 - and our country's problems feel insurmountable, it is our local community that reminds us why life is 00:33:16.502 --> 00:33:23.842 - worth living. The antidote to hate is very rarely more hate. We must instead fight back with joy. Sometimes 00:33:23.842 --> 00:33:30.706 - that joy looks like marching and protesting. But most of that time, our joy is more subtle. It looks 00:33:30.706 --> 00:33:37.502 - like volunteering for the breakfast shift at your local homeless shelter, hoping to ensure that the 00:33:37.602 --> 00:33:44.565 - Our most vulnerable populations have food in their bellies. It looks like joining a city or county commission 00:33:44.565 --> 00:33:51.211 - and advocating for the issues that you care about. And it looks like running for office, taking up space 00:33:51.211 --> 00:33:57.540 - in rooms where many of our perspectives are often discarded. There are over 60 elected officials in 00:33:57.540 --> 00:34:04.249 - this town. Some positions are flashy, some are less so, but they're still critical to our infrastructure. 00:34:04.249 --> 00:34:06.718 - Not every elected official is dynamic. 00:34:07.330 --> 00:34:14.218 - Some are soft-spoken. Some are abrasive. Very few are a happy medium. But there's no specific sound 00:34:14.218 --> 00:34:21.312 - or style that comes with running for or holding office. And most of us didn't study political science, 00:34:21.312 --> 00:34:28.613 - myself included. Instead, we're educators. We're doctors. We're lawyers, tradesmen, farmers, stay-at-home 00:34:28.613 --> 00:34:36.190 - parents. The only thing that we all have in common is that we are brave enough to try. Brave enough to fight. 00:34:36.322 --> 00:34:43.204 - in some cases. So once upon a time, I was approached about running like many of my colleagues have been. 00:34:43.204 --> 00:34:50.020 - It wasn't something I ever expected for myself until someone else believed in me. The people in my life 00:34:50.020 --> 00:34:56.573 - knew that I was capable of becoming something more. And so they pushed me to do it. So just in case 00:34:56.573 --> 00:35:03.389 - someone or a few someones in this room hasn't heard it yet or needs to hear it, I am going to take this 00:35:03.389 --> 00:35:06.142 - opportunity to say to all of you, run for 00:35:07.778 --> 00:35:13.914 - You don't need to be fearless. You don't need to have all of the answers. But I believe that you're 00:35:13.914 --> 00:35:20.295 - here today because you know that the United States of America has a better future in store. And we need 00:35:20.295 --> 00:35:25.879 - more leadership to get there. So run, fight, win, and serve your communities. So for those 00:35:25.879 --> 00:35:32.014 - who are apprehensive or feel like they're not ready, I get it. I've been there. But we must look no 00:35:32.014 --> 00:35:37.598 - further than former President Harry Truman, who shared his experience as a new politician. 00:35:38.690 --> 00:35:44.847 - In his own words, he says, I remember when I first came to Washington. For the first six months, you 00:35:44.847 --> 00:35:50.943 - wonder how the hell you ever got here. For the next six months, you wonder how the hell the rest of 00:35:50.943 --> 00:35:57.161 - them ever got here. Now, I can't speak for others, but I have had a very similar experience to former 00:35:57.161 --> 00:36:03.257 - President Truman in that regard. And so we all have our doubts. But I have to encourage each of you 00:36:03.257 --> 00:36:05.086 - to take a chance on yourself. 00:36:05.954 --> 00:36:13.800 - you will never know your full potential until it is realized. And I promise that you are much more powerful 00:36:13.800 --> 00:36:21.138 - than our education system has led you to believe you are. It would be my honor to help you step into 00:36:21.138 --> 00:36:28.549 - your power. So for anyone who would like to contact me, my cell phone number is 614-448-8154. That is 00:36:28.549 --> 00:36:34.942 - 614-448-8154. No one got it the first time. I'm more than happy to sit down and discuss 00:36:35.042 --> 00:36:42.812 - with anybody what our community offers and where someone might best step into their power here. So I'll 00:36:42.812 --> 00:36:50.358 - leave you with this. Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman to ever be elected to the United States 00:36:50.358 --> 00:36:58.128 - Congress, put it best, service is the rent that we pay for the privilege of living on this earth. Well, 00:36:58.128 --> 00:37:02.910 - y'all, rent is due. So whatever that service looks like to you, 00:37:03.714 --> 00:37:10.817 - encourage you to be brave in your pursuit raise your expectations for yourself get involved make a difference 00:37:10.817 --> 00:37:17.726 - and above all else raise your voice because I would really like to hear what you have to say and I imagine 00:37:17.726 --> 00:37:24.248 - a lot of other folks would too so thank you very much for your time thanks for being here and I hope 00:37:24.248 --> 00:37:24.958 - you have a 00:37:40.962 --> 00:37:47.873 - I think it's really hard to end in a more positive and joyful and cheerful attitude. Thank you so much. 00:37:47.873 --> 00:37:54.983 - And I guess the rent is due. There's an old wisdom that goes back thousands of years, which goes something 00:37:54.983 --> 00:38:01.695 - like this. It is upon us to start the work, and there are plenty of opportunities to start the work. 00:38:01.695 --> 00:38:08.606 - And it also says it's not upon us to complete the work. So Matt, you said it's going to take some time. 00:38:08.898 --> 00:38:16.059 - They're not going to be perfect. They're not going to complete it. It is not our duty to finish the 00:38:16.059 --> 00:38:23.579 - work, but then neither are we free to neglect it. I think that sums up what all of our fabulous speakers 00:38:23.579 --> 00:38:30.812 - told us tonight. So you have a chance to have a conversation. I have a microphone. I imagine some of 00:38:30.812 --> 00:38:37.758 - you will have questions. I will imagine some of you have comments. Feel free to speak your mind. 00:38:38.242 --> 00:38:44.904 - When I thought about this, in my mind, there's too much divisiveness in this country, too much name 00:38:44.904 --> 00:38:51.832 - calling. This is supposed to be a completely positive, hopeful, non-divisive event. I think it has been 00:38:51.832 --> 00:38:58.693 - so far. So each one of us should be free to speak up. And if you want to have a comment or a question, 00:38:58.693 --> 00:39:04.222 - I'll hand you the microphone. Perhaps you want to tell us your name. And go at it. 00:39:13.442 --> 00:39:22.850 - My name's Angela Blum, and I guess priorities, and I guess it goes to you, Matt. I'm wondering, you 00:39:22.850 --> 00:39:32.258 - started with education, so is that the number one, I mean, healthcare, childcare, all those things, 00:39:32.258 --> 00:39:41.854 - and it's hard to pick right now where we need to get going, but I'm just wondering if you think it's, 00:39:42.434 --> 00:39:53.802 - education, or who you feel first? Yeah, I think that, I think to me education is the key because you 00:39:53.802 --> 00:40:05.058 - can talk about education as a more formal, like earning degrees, advancing through the process, but 00:40:05.058 --> 00:40:10.686 - I think education also includes informing people. 00:40:10.978 --> 00:40:16.310 - about what their government is doing and what is impacting their lives, and then also providing them 00:40:16.310 --> 00:40:21.747 - with the information they need to figure out how do I get involved or how do I change it. So education 00:40:21.747 --> 00:40:27.131 - on both those levels is really important. But I think to get people engaged, because I know right now 00:40:27.131 --> 00:40:32.463 - people are like, will our democracy survive? What will be happening in the next two election cycles? 00:40:32.463 --> 00:40:37.214 - Will someone manage to subvert the system to the point where it doesn't function anymore? 00:40:38.082 --> 00:40:44.161 - And so you might say, well, why are you worrying about education, housing, and all that stuff? Because 00:40:44.161 --> 00:40:50.240 - our very democracy is at stake. But I think the reason why our democracy is fragile is because so many 00:40:50.240 --> 00:40:56.201 - people have checked out. And so I think you have to give people a reason to want to get involved and 00:40:56.201 --> 00:40:59.742 - to want to make our system really work and to fight through 00:40:59.970 --> 00:41:05.014 - the barriers that are being raised at being able to vote, whether it's getting the right ID, getting 00:41:05.014 --> 00:41:10.058 - registered, showing up to vote in the right place. I mean, there are all these twists and turns just 00:41:10.058 --> 00:41:15.102 - to show up and cast your vote. And so to get people to be willing to learn how to fight through that 00:41:15.102 --> 00:41:20.245 - and make sure their vote counts, you have to give them a good reason to vote. And so I think this idea 00:41:20.245 --> 00:41:25.439 - of let's have an America, let's have an Indiana where we invest in our people and we address these real 00:41:25.439 --> 00:41:26.238 - direct problems 00:41:26.498 --> 00:41:36.375 - face, I think that might engage them to get involved in democracy. And then you have the power of numbers. 00:41:36.375 --> 00:41:46.437 - And you have people involved. And so I think that's how you end up turning things around. I have a question. 00:41:46.437 --> 00:41:53.822 - This is a question for Brooklyn. I wanted to ask about, my name is Kate Steger. 00:41:54.210 --> 00:42:02.881 - And I wanted to ask you, as a future journalist, I talked about having the power to develop your own 00:42:02.881 --> 00:42:11.551 - critical thinking. And as this future journalist, I wanted to ask you about social media. And I want 00:42:11.551 --> 00:42:20.566 - to know what your thoughts are on how the algorithms are shaping our ability to think and what you think 00:42:20.566 --> 00:42:23.742 - you can do about it as a journalist. 00:42:24.290 --> 00:42:30.618 - how you will handle that as journalists. And that's the question on every journalist's mind right now. 00:42:30.618 --> 00:42:36.947 - Algorithms are really reshaping how young people are getting their news. And I think part of what Matt 00:42:36.947 --> 00:42:43.213 - was talking about was needing to increase our education is also to increase our media literacy. Media 00:42:43.213 --> 00:42:49.480 - literacy is vital for everyone, not just young people, but especially in the wake of algorithms. It's 00:42:49.480 --> 00:42:52.798 - really important that we understand how to fact check 00:42:53.858 --> 00:43:00.896 - how to check multiple sources, how to verify the information we're getting. Where do journalists even 00:43:00.896 --> 00:43:08.004 - get their information? Obviously, those are things that were taught in the media school, but those are 00:43:08.004 --> 00:43:14.904 - vital things that every American should have access to. And so I guess as a journalist, people want 00:43:14.904 --> 00:43:22.012 - to be stuck in their algorithms. There's not a whole lot we can do about that. But I guess my priority 00:43:22.012 --> 00:43:23.806 - as a journalist is always 00:43:24.162 --> 00:43:31.965 - just putting out stories that I think are vital to local communities. Covering local communities is 00:43:31.965 --> 00:43:40.315 - super important. There's a lot of news deserts that are happening across the state and across the country. 00:43:40.315 --> 00:43:48.352 - And so trying to fill those news deserts with things that are impacting local people is really, really 00:43:48.352 --> 00:43:53.502 - important in the age of social media. That kind of goes with what 00:43:54.114 --> 00:43:59.996 - City was saying, too, about the importance of the local community. So I really appreciate that focus. 00:43:59.996 --> 00:44:05.820 - I feel a little bit, I'm going into conversation mode here, but I feel like that's where we have the 00:44:05.820 --> 00:44:11.701 - only power. Outside of our road, we live in this local community, and we have to use our power in the 00:44:11.701 --> 00:44:13.950 - local community. So I appreciate that. 00:44:27.042 --> 00:44:36.377 - like this has been mentioned. But something I've been awakened to is this AIPAC, this Israel money. 00:44:36.377 --> 00:44:45.993 - That has to stop. I am just, the more I learn about it, we give all our money to this rogue state, and 00:44:45.993 --> 00:44:55.515 - the state is taking us down into the gutter. I mean, we're at war now because of that state. How does 00:44:55.515 --> 00:44:56.542 - that money 00:44:56.674 --> 00:45:07.288 - How do we stop that? Because it's infected everything in our country. There's not probably a politician 00:45:07.288 --> 00:45:17.493 - that doesn't take TAPAC or some form of money. I thought they were going to try to curb how many of 00:45:17.493 --> 00:45:26.270 - these groups can come into the White House and these lobbying groups. Stop that crap. 00:45:26.402 --> 00:45:35.543 - I don't know how to get the government to wake up because it's sick. We have a very infected, sick government 00:45:35.543 --> 00:45:44.019 - right now. And it's painful for me to see because it's hurting these young people. These young people 00:45:44.019 --> 00:45:51.166 - don't have the opportunity that we had. And it's sad because we can do so much better 00:45:52.194 --> 00:46:00.970 - But if we're going to put politicians in there, one thing that I demand now is no corporate money. That 00:46:00.970 --> 00:46:09.578 - has to stop. Because if you take corporate money, then you have to bow down to these people. If I was 00:46:09.578 --> 00:46:18.100 - to take money from you and you said, oh, by the way, I'm going to help you with this. And then after 00:46:18.100 --> 00:46:21.054 - a while, you said, but by the way, 00:46:22.242 --> 00:46:30.226 - I need you to help me now. It's sick. So how do we stop that? Education is wonderful, but these poor 00:46:30.226 --> 00:46:38.525 - students are in debt up through their eyeballs. Why can't we have free education in this country? Israel 00:46:38.525 --> 00:46:45.086 - has free education. Why can't we? So anyway, I've got burrs up my butt. I'm sorry. 00:47:08.738 --> 00:47:16.223 - I'm Jenny Bass, and I'm actually, Gerhard invited me to come on behalf of, who's your action? 00:47:16.223 --> 00:47:24.185 - And let me just, some of us here are members, and glad to see you, and I know that Matt has seen us 00:47:24.185 --> 00:47:32.466 - at the State House, and I'm really inspired by the words that you use about the more perfect democracy, 00:47:32.466 --> 00:47:36.606 - more perfect union, and how do we do that in India? 00:47:37.282 --> 00:47:45.038 - How do we take it down a notch and include people who haven't been included in this process? Education, 00:47:45.038 --> 00:47:52.943 - health care, harm reduction, these things that are so important to people in their homes, and yet they're 00:47:52.943 --> 00:48:00.400 - not voting. They haven't been included, and they feel left out. So one of the things Hoosier Action 00:48:00.400 --> 00:48:06.814 - does is to create community organizations just for Indiana people, just for Hoosiers, 00:48:07.106 --> 00:48:13.548 - to give people the tools so that we can go to the state house and talk to our state representatives. 00:48:13.548 --> 00:48:19.925 - And we can go to Washington and talk to our federal representatives. And we don't care if you voted 00:48:19.925 --> 00:48:26.367 - for Trump or if you voted for Biden. We care about what are the issues that affect you in your home, 00:48:26.367 --> 00:48:33.000 - in your community, and how are we going to make a better Indiana? And how are we going to come together 00:48:33.000 --> 00:48:35.806 - in small, rural communities and protect our 00:48:36.162 --> 00:48:44.244 - hospitals, protect our own health care, protect SNAP benefits for children. So it's really a little 00:48:44.244 --> 00:48:52.569 - more basic. And it's a little more about how it affects people and directly in their families. And how 00:48:52.569 --> 00:49:00.651 - do we get those people to participate? They may not be going to college right now. And that's a lot 00:49:00.651 --> 00:49:04.126 - of people. And remember that 40% of people 00:49:04.290 --> 00:49:11.309 - or maybe over 40%, you know better than I do, of our voting population here is independent. They're 00:49:11.309 --> 00:49:18.608 - not Democrats or Republicans. So how do we encourage people to speak up and to represent their own best 00:49:18.608 --> 00:49:25.627 - interests? So that's what we're doing at Who's Your Action by organizing small communities and then 00:49:25.627 --> 00:49:32.926 - doing some more global or more statewide work. So I encourage you to get involved, and I'll leave these 00:49:34.562 --> 00:49:41.674 - So this is an example of how enthusiastic Hoosier Action members are. I was going to ask those members 00:49:41.674 --> 00:49:48.717 - of local groups to speak on their behalf later. But enthusiasm is always a good thing. So we have one 00:49:48.717 --> 00:49:56.036 - representative, Jenny, from Hoosier Action. We also have a representative from the League of Women Voters 00:49:56.036 --> 00:50:02.940 - who have been in the business of informing voters for a long, long time. And then we have two other 00:50:02.940 --> 00:50:03.838 - groups here. 00:50:04.194 --> 00:50:11.041 - and they can all say a few things. There are going to be sign-up sheets outside. So if you want to get 00:50:11.041 --> 00:50:17.756 - more information, or if you're convinced you want to jump right in and become a member and help out, 00:50:17.756 --> 00:50:24.936 - you can do that too. So League of Women Voters. Good evening. My name is Marion, and I am on the leadership 00:50:24.936 --> 00:50:31.650 - team for the League of Women Voters. And Jenny actually gave us the perfect segue. Our mission is to 00:50:31.650 --> 00:50:33.246 - empower people to vote. 00:50:33.794 --> 00:50:43.855 - We encounter a lot of people at fairs, at town events, who think that they are registered to vote, and 00:50:43.855 --> 00:50:53.720 - in fact, they are not, or they're registered to vote somewhere else. I think a week before, they can 00:50:53.720 --> 00:51:03.390 - go to the license branch and sign up, and that is not happening either. So we, on a regular basis, 00:51:03.650 --> 00:51:14.825 - have events where we register people to vote or help people to get registered to vote. We also, during 00:51:14.825 --> 00:51:25.675 - election years, sponsor forums where we invite candidates from both parties to answer questions. We 00:51:25.675 --> 00:51:32.510 - have our meetings in public places, like schools, the library, 00:51:32.994 --> 00:51:43.597 - For example, there is a meeting at the library on April 14th. And it would be great to see all of you 00:51:43.597 --> 00:51:54.097 - there. And here, it's a forum where all the candidates from one party have agreed to join us and ask 00:51:54.097 --> 00:52:00.126 - questions about science, technology, and the environment. 00:52:00.418 --> 00:52:10.092 - A few days ago, we had one with similar or the same candidates talking about the state of healthcare 00:52:10.092 --> 00:52:20.053 - in this state. It was enlightening. There are entire counties in this state where if you call 911 after 00:52:20.053 --> 00:52:30.302 - six o'clock in the evening, nobody comes because there is no emergency room. There are no rural hospitals. 00:52:31.106 --> 00:52:40.853 - And at the end of the day, the only way we will change this picture is if we get people to vote. League 00:52:40.853 --> 00:52:50.319 - of Women Voters is a nonpartisan organization. We have Democrats and Republicans on our board. So we 00:52:50.319 --> 00:52:58.942 - do not endorse particular candidates. We do endorse particular positions about health care, 00:52:59.138 --> 00:53:09.987 - housing, childcare, education, but we do not endorse particular candidates. And our current challenge 00:53:09.987 --> 00:53:21.261 - in this state is that when we sponsor forums, it is more likely than not, it is only the current opposing 00:53:21.261 --> 00:53:26.686 - party that shows up. So we are not able to present 00:53:27.042 --> 00:53:35.906 - clear picture to the people who are interested in information and there is another item that we will 00:53:35.906 --> 00:53:45.297 - not change unless we vote in significantly larger numbers than we currently do. If we have representatives 00:53:45.297 --> 00:53:54.249 - who are so sure that their party will win every district but one or two in this entire state, nothing 00:53:54.249 --> 00:53:55.390 - will change. 00:53:56.290 --> 00:54:07.224 - So again, we are the League of Women Voters. We hold quarterly meetings at St. Thomas Lutheran Church, 00:54:07.224 --> 00:54:18.052 - where we invite local speakers to come and talk to us about issues that affect us as voters and us as 00:54:18.052 --> 00:54:26.014 - citizens. And they are open to the public. They are on the second Tuesday. 00:54:26.946 --> 00:54:36.102 - I want to say once a quarter, if you log onto the website for the League of Women Daughters Bloomington 00:54:36.102 --> 00:54:44.993 - Monroe County, you can see all the events that we sponsor and all the meetings that we have where we 00:54:44.993 --> 00:54:53.797 - invite local speakers. I would greatly appreciate if you spread the word and participate. Thank you 00:54:53.797 --> 00:54:56.702 - very much. Thanks. We also have, 00:54:56.930 --> 00:55:06.250 - We're presented to you from two groups that are perhaps more specialized focus. So one of those is the 00:55:06.250 --> 00:55:15.390 - AUHI. And Annabel, you're going to say a few things about what AUHI stands for and what you guys do. 00:55:18.882 --> 00:55:25.601 - Hi everyone, I'm here with Ahi. We're advocates for the Unhoused and Housing Insecure at the University. 00:55:25.601 --> 00:55:31.680 - We're a relatively new club, so we try to get students involved specifically on housing issues 00:55:31.680 --> 00:55:38.143 - in Bloomington. So we started just a few months ago and we've been able to build a pretty impressive 00:55:38.143 --> 00:55:44.414 - base of students who are really, really great. They are really getting engaged in how to not only 00:55:44.738 --> 00:55:51.306 - work towards short-term solutions towards housing issues in Bloomington by volunteering at the Overnight 00:55:51.306 --> 00:55:57.750 - Shelter a lot, but also towards really long-term sustainable solutions. So we've been able to advocate 00:55:57.750 --> 00:56:04.443 - a bit against recent legislation that is really going to harm a lot of people. And we're really interested 00:56:04.443 --> 00:56:10.761 - in how people can work towards these sustainable solutions in our community. So it's been great. I'm 00:56:10.761 --> 00:56:12.638 - excited to see where it goes. 00:56:12.770 --> 00:56:18.900 - really great students, really great people to work with. So it's been exciting and good. Yeah. I wanted 00:56:18.900 --> 00:56:24.500 - to ask you how you're working with the city and what connections you have with the city. Yeah. 00:56:24.500 --> 00:56:30.394 - Right now, since we are pretty new, we don't have a lot of connections with the city. Personally, I 00:56:30.394 --> 00:56:36.465 - know more people. And I think people in our club do know people. But I think looking forward, our club 00:56:36.465 --> 00:56:39.294 - members would really like to get more involved. 00:56:39.618 --> 00:56:46.237 - I think it would be great to have people at least showing up to meetings where housing is discussed. 00:56:46.237 --> 00:56:52.921 - I think that is very needed advocating for or against different policies and also potentially working 00:56:52.921 --> 00:56:59.147 - with the city through meetings to think about how we can better implement solutions or respond 00:56:59.147 --> 00:57:05.438 - to legislation. So since we are pretty new, our basis is low, but I think that can be expanded. 00:57:11.234 --> 00:57:19.112 - The other group is trees, about trees. They're called Canopy. So John, do you want to say a few things 00:57:19.112 --> 00:57:27.066 - about Canopy? Sure. Thanks. Yeah, I think I've spent the second half of my career engaging communities, 00:57:27.066 --> 00:57:34.714 - mostly through the arts. But right now I'm working with a small nonprofit that's doing amazing work 00:57:34.714 --> 00:57:38.462 - here in Bloomington. It's CanopyBloomington.org. 00:57:38.946 --> 00:57:44.752 - And we are trying to build a more sustainable and equitable urban forest here throughout the city. And 00:57:44.752 --> 00:57:50.502 - we find neighborhoods that need trees the most. And we go in and we try to meet every single resident 00:57:50.502 --> 00:57:56.139 - within those neighborhoods and convince them to take free trees for the yard. We're grant and donor 00:57:56.139 --> 00:58:01.776 - funded. We have two more big plantings this spring, this Saturday and next Saturday. Or we'll plant 00:58:01.776 --> 00:58:07.582 - a couple hundred trees. So if you're interested in planting trees, check us out on the website. I also 00:58:07.582 --> 00:58:08.766 - have a sign up here. 00:58:09.282 --> 00:58:18.888 - Thanks. Thanks, John. And the last group is more broadly focused. I think it has something to do with 00:58:18.888 --> 00:58:28.494 - resistance and singing. So Kate, you want to talk about it? Or are you sisters going to fight it out? 00:58:28.494 --> 00:58:39.230 - I can speak and she can sing. But we're going to split it up. Singing resistance is a movement of singers who are 00:58:39.522 --> 00:58:48.412 - committed to protecting and caring for our communities and protecting us from growing authoritarianism. 00:58:48.412 --> 00:58:57.217 - And it really started in Minnesota this past winter. It's a kind of new movement. But it has its roots 00:58:57.217 --> 00:59:06.107 - in very old movements. So civil rights battles across the world and across the country have always used 00:59:06.107 --> 00:59:07.902 - singing and music to 00:59:08.194 --> 00:59:16.202 - sustain themselves. And Bloomington just started a chapter. There are 250 chapters. In two months, there 00:59:16.202 --> 00:59:23.981 - were pop-up chapters all across the country, 250 of them now. And Bloomington has one, and we're just 00:59:23.981 --> 00:59:31.989 - getting started. And the idea is that we will learn and teach and sing simple songs as part of political 00:59:31.989 --> 00:59:37.022 - actions and public actions to protect people, to build community, 00:59:37.186 --> 00:59:44.467 - to make our local communities stronger. So with that, I said that, and feel good, and bring joy, and 00:59:44.467 --> 00:59:51.820 - have something to do with protest other than the law of the F bomb. So here you go. Angela's going to 00:59:51.820 --> 00:59:58.524 - lead us in a song. The other thing that I really like about singing resistance is that it is 00:59:58.524 --> 01:00:05.949 - for non-professionals. I am not a professional singer. It's been years since I've sung in a choir, but 01:00:05.949 --> 01:00:07.102 - I love to sing. 01:00:07.554 --> 01:00:15.472 - Today, I spent a lot of time with my two and a half year old grandson, and we did a lot of singing. 01:00:15.472 --> 01:00:24.024 - And the earworm that is in my brain right now is, we are the dinosaurs, march, march. We are the dinosaurs, 01:00:24.024 --> 01:00:32.180 - we make the roof flat. And so, you know, that's not, I mean, if we hope to sing other songs like that, 01:00:32.180 --> 01:00:37.406 - we were at the Middle King's Rally, and there were a lot of folks 01:00:38.210 --> 01:00:48.955 - You know, there are so many issues. So tonight, I just would like to invite you to sing with me on just 01:00:48.955 --> 01:00:59.391 - a short song that is one that Serena Partridge has been singing in Minnesota. And it goes like this. 01:00:59.391 --> 01:01:04.350 - The future is calling. It's calling for vision. 01:01:04.834 --> 01:01:12.673 - And the people will sing along. And the singing will make us strong. So try that with me. We'll do it 01:01:12.673 --> 01:01:20.666 - just a piece at a time. It goes like this. And there are several people in this group that already have 01:01:20.666 --> 01:01:28.429 - been coming to some of the little gatherings. And we hope to have smaller gatherings of people where 01:01:28.429 --> 01:01:34.654 - we can discuss the issues and support each other on the issues that we think are 01:01:35.138 --> 01:01:51.330 - are important. So it goes like this. The future is calling. The future is calling. It's calling for 01:01:51.330 --> 01:02:04.446 - vision. It's calling for vision. And we will sing along. And we will sing along. 01:02:05.666 --> 01:02:18.364 - make us strong. And the singing will make us strong. So let's try it with another word. The future is 01:02:18.364 --> 01:02:31.684 - calling, is calling for trees. The future is calling, is calling for trees. Let's do it again with another 01:02:31.684 --> 01:02:35.294 - word. The future is calling, 01:02:35.586 --> 01:02:51.533 - is calling for action. The future is calling, is calling for action. Or the future is calling, is calling 01:02:51.533 --> 01:03:03.870 - for votes. The future is calling, is calling for votes. Or the future is calling, 01:03:04.674 --> 01:03:20.322 - is calling for housing the future is calling is calling for housing or the future is calling is calling 01:03:20.322 --> 01:03:34.014 - for education the future is calling is calling for education and we will sing along and we 01:03:34.370 --> 01:04:04.286 - This is probably a great way to stop. Singing for housing, 01:04:04.482 --> 01:04:12.895 - for trees, for voting, for action, for education. Even though I was seeing a little bit off key, but 01:04:12.895 --> 01:04:21.642 - it's not about that so much, I suppose. Thanks for coming. I'm going to hang around for a while. I guess 01:04:21.642 --> 01:04:30.138 - I would even be tempted. There's probably a place close by that serves decent German beverages. So if 01:04:30.138 --> 01:04:33.470 - you're old enough, I would love to just 01:04:33.634 --> 01:04:40.596 - and formally. So thanks for coming. I think this has been taped. And my understanding is the tape will 01:04:40.596 --> 01:04:47.422 - be available, shall we say, by tomorrow afternoon. So if I said anything really stupid, you can find 01:04:47.422 --> 01:04:54.384 - my mistakes there. But it's going to be available. Again, thanks for coming. And as you heard, there's 01:04:54.384 --> 01:05:01.886 - going to be lots and lots of opportunities and chances to make Bloomington, Indiana, and this country a better 01:05:03.842 --> 01:05:08.702 - That's the spirit of this evening. Thank you.