In between bites of Mother Bear’s Pizza, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita talked with a group of IU students Monday evening about his job and the College Football Playoff National Championship.
College Republicans at Indiana University hosted Rokita as a guest speaker at its meeting in the Indiana Memorial Union. Around 20 students came to hear him speak.
Rokita was first elected to office in November 2020, and previously represented Indiana’s 4th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011-19. He was also Indiana’s secretary of state from 2002-2010.
“Outside of public service, Todd’s successful private sector experience has enabled him to bring a fresh perspective to the office of attorney general,” IU College Republicans President Dillon Burns said when introducing Rokita.
At Monday’s event, Rokita talked broadly about American exceptionalism, politics and leading what he referred to as “the largest law firm in the state of Indiana.”
During the event, Rokita asked the crowd who had learned the concept of American exceptionalism in school. A few people raised their hands and talked about things they learned in school related to American history, such as pioneers and American settlers.
“The fact of the matter is, we are the first nation in world history where the best ideas for self-governance ever came together at the same time, in the same place, and it's written down and manifested in the Declaration of Independence, and more particularly, our Constitution,” Rokita said.
College Republicans Vice President Hamza Sahli said the group is considering going to see the Lilly Library’s exhibit for the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which features an original copy of the declaration.
At the event, Rokita discussed religion in schools, stating that detaching God from classrooms leads to distraction and chaos.
“And that's why it's so bad not to have God in the classroom, not to have this idea of a higher authority watching over the teacher, watching over the students, watching over the principal, watching over everything,” he said.
Rokita gained statewide attention for his “Eyes on Education” website launched in February 2024 to monitor and make public allegations about educational content at Indiana schools.
His involvement in Indiana’s education system as attorney general began in June 2021 when he released the “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” a document created due to concerns about critical race theory that informs parents of ways to challenge school curriculum.
The website has a portal for concerned parents, students and teachers to report “classroom materials, curricula, and policies they find objectionable,” although the portal accepts submissions from anyone.
The Attorney General’s website says its office does not evaluate submissions for legal violations, but it may contact people who submit to the portal.
The portal has been criticized for causing “a climate of fear,” with the Hamilton Southeastern Education Association calling on Rokita to shut down the portal in an X post a few days after its release.
Currently, the portal also features a section dedicated to submissions about right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated last September at an event at Utah Valley University.
When discussing justice, Rokita brought up the well-known symbolism of Lady Justice wearing a blindfold.
“She's blindfolded because she doesn't care what color you are, she doesn't care if you're a man or woman or how rich or poor you are,” Rokita said. “That's why this DEI bullshit is so toxic and bad.”
The event comes just over a year after the start of the second Trump presidency and one of the group’s leadership elections, where then-president Jack Henning said he hoped to bring in more prominent speakers.
“Typically, when we have guests come, a lot of times it’s a campaign speech, which isn’t bad at all,” Sahli said. “But I felt like he really wanted to have a meaningful conversation with students rooted in American history and stuff like that.”
Sahli, who is a field representative for Indiana Sen. Jim Banks, said Rokita’s message to the students echoed the group’s goal to “take up the mantle,” and that he feels College Republicans is stronger than it has been in years.
Burns said one of the group’s goals is to connect people with their elected officials at different levels, and to eventually host members of Congress or senators.
“One of our primary missions as the College Republicans at IU is just to try and help connect primarily Republican and conservative students on campus, but our meetings are open to anybody,” Burns said.
Rokita, who graduated from Wabash College, also mentioned his surprise that he was one of only a few people wearing red despite not attending IU, and asked attendees if they were still proud of IU football’s national championship win.
He told the attendees the best play in football, and sports in general, is the pass, and said the sacrifice and love involved in the pass is something innately American.
“It’s the love to not mutilate a child under the age of 18 by changing their sex,” said Rokita, who has supported the state’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors and told families seeking gender-affirming care to get it outside of Indiana.
Rokita also told the group social issues are economic issues, because he sees the family unit, and the importance of parental authority, as the foundation of a free enterprise system. As examples of taking away parental authority, he pointed to the concepts of transgender youth in sports and schools not being required to tell parents when children choose to change their name or pronouns as an example.
The event ended with Rokita telling attendees that the topics discussed, such as maintaining a free society, would be their responsibility one day.
“I promise you, if you wait for me to do this, and wait for others to do this, we will lose this country,” he said.
