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(02/10/14 4:59am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The game was won, and the IU hockey team silently jumped the rink barrier and formed a circle in the middle of the arena, sticks in hand. John Gerhan, an IU player, took off the No. 5 jersey he was wearing, slid it onto a hanger, and hung it on the rink’s wall. It wasn’t his jersey, it was his best friend’s. It was Goose’s.He picked up his stick and joined the rest of the team.The players pounded their on the ice about five times, and then raised them in the air. It was a final salute to their former teammate and friend, Michael Giesler. Everyone called him Goose.Single file, the players left the ice as silently as they came. Gerhan kissed two fingers, brushing them on the jersey as he skated past.One other player had worn No. 5 since Goose left the team in 2012. But after Goose died suddenly while skating on Feb. 1, they all agreed they should retire it in his memory.“He only played really one full season, but he was all of our best friend,” Gerhan said. “I wouldn’t want to see someone else wearing his number, personally ... that was his number.”Giesler only played on the team for the 2011-2012 season, but he was a member of a Bloomington league team after he left and was familiar to everyone in the Bloomington hockey community.Stephan Nicklow, a close family friend, said a sense of camaraderie was what drew Giesler to hockey. Gerhan described Goose as “a total rink rat.”Gerhan and Giesler were friends since the pair tried out for the team. Both from Minnesota, they shared a history in hockey. Gerhan’s school beat Giesler’s in the sport during high school.“He never let me live it down,” Gerhan said.That was the topic of conversation the last time Gerhan saw his best friend. Giesler was at one of the “hockey houses,” as the team referred to the house where many of the hockey players live and socialize, drinking a couple beers and having a good time.“It really could not have been a better last night with him ... it gives me good peace of mind,” Gerhan said. “It was everything I could ask for, for sure.”Giesler was the sort of person that everyone in the Bloomington hockey community knew, said Dan Emanuel, a senior member of the IU Men’s Hockey team.“If you were to go out and ask people if they knew who The Goose was, you would find so many people who would know instantly what you were talking about,” Emanuel said.At the time that he died, he was practicing to play in the Winter Classic, a hockey tournament in Bloomington. Giesler still came to IU hockey games whenever he could, Emanuel said, even though he was often working on Saturdays at Kilroy’s.Giesler was finishing his degree requirements at Ivy Tech, living in Bloomington and working at the local bar, said Nicklow. Emanuel said even though Giesler was no longer on the team and not an IU student when he died, he was still a part of the IU hockey brotherhood.“We’re a family,” Emanuel said, adding that most of the hockey players live in the same area, practice three times a week and stay in hotels together when they go to games. Giesler, he said, was loved by everyone.“He was one of the most genuine, loving people I knew,” Emanuel said. “He loved being the center of attention. He would bring that energy to the room. No matter what kind of mood you were in, he would put a smile on your face.”Nicklow grew up with Giesler and said he could not imagine anyone thinking poorly of him.“Everyone around him always felt Gies’ love,” Nicklow said. “You knew that man loved you every step of the way.”Nicklow was especially close to Giesler’s cousin. Giesler was the best man at his cousin’s wedding, and the two were really more like brothers, Nicklow said. Giesler’s father died before he was a year old and he had no biological siblings. Since he grew up with a single parent, Giesler was particularly close to his mother.“I’m so close with my mom,” Nicklow remembered his friend saying. “She’s my best friend.”Nicklow added that it was rare to catch his friend in a bad mood, and Giesler was the sort of person that had been known to have a 45-minute conversation with his taxi driver in a driveway.“We’re going to miss him, but he definitely lived every minute to the fullest,” Nicklow said.No one saw Giesler’s death coming. The heart attack happened without warning. If there was a pre-existing condition, Nicklow said, no one was aware of it.“It was a complete shock to me, to all of us,” Gerhan said. “It was really tragic.”For the hockey team, hearing about the loss of their friend was very difficult.“When we found out, I don’t think a word was said in the house for two hours,” Emanuel said. “It doesn’t feel real.”A memorial service was held for Giesler on Wednesday morning. Emanuel said it was very well attended, with friends from work and hockey coming out to pay their last respects to Goose.“When I saw him in the casket, I couldn’t help but smile, because I could just imagine his big smile coming across his face,” Emanuel said. “He definitely will never be forgotten.”On Friday in Orono, Minnesota, where Giesler grew up, a separate memorial service was held. Gerhan flew out of Indianapolis in the early morning to attend the funeral and flew back late at night.“There’s been tears, but everyone’s been as positive as possible,” Nicklow said. “We’re going to miss him, but he definitely lived every minute to the fullest.”Nicklow said for family and friends, the past week has been a celebration of Giesler’s life. Knowing his friend, Nicklow said that he would have wanted everyone to be happy and remember the good times they had together.“I haven’t even cried because I know he wouldn’t want me to,” Nicklow said.Follow reporter Mary Katherine Wildeman on Twitter @marykwild
(02/04/14 5:44am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A 24-year-old Bloomington man died suddenly while ice skating Saturday afternoon. According to a report from the Bloomington Police Department, the man fell at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Frank Southern Ice Arena on South Henderson Street. IU men’s hockey Coach Pete Nelson said the man’s name was Michael Giesler.The cause of death is not yet clear. IU Health ambulance personnel attempted CPR at the scene but were unsuccessful. Later, he was pronounced dead in the emergency room, Bloomington Police Department Sgt. Joe Crider said.He had been ice skating and may have sustained a seizure, then fell down, Crider said. Giesler complained to two other people in the arena of feeling tired before he fell. Teammates of Giesler said he was an extremely friendly person and dedicated to hockey. “He was the definition of a rink rat,” said John Gerhan, who said he was Giesler’s best friend. Gerhan said his friend played on the official IU team for one year. After that year, Gerhan and Giesler became roommates. “He was a very effective, smart hockey player,” Gerhan added. Both from Minnesota, Gerhan and Giesler grew up in the same area and were hockey players on rival teams during high school. When they both showed up to hockey tryouts at IU, Giesler initially refused to speak to Gerhan. But soon, the pair were the best of friends. “As our friendship grew, I felt like he was more of a brother to me,” Gerhan said. “We just got each other.”Nelson had known him since he started coaching the team. Also a fellow Minnesota native, Nelson said he had worked with Giesler during his first year coaching. “He was one of the first people I met here,” Nelson said. “First and foremost, he was a part of our hockey team with IU.” Nelson said Giesler left the team because of academic reasons. He was finishing his degree requirements and was due to graduate from Ivy Tech at the time that he died. Nelson went on to explain that he is a member of the same men’s hockey league team in Bloomington of which Giesler was a member. Tommy Washburn said he was Giesler’s teammate for three years. He said the team is very close and that Giesler was a “huge spirit who truly cared about everybody.”“Michael played a big brother role for everyone on that team,” Washburn said. Gerhan said there will be a funeral for his friend in Minnesota and a service for him 10 a.m. Wednesday at Bloomington’s Allen Funeral Home. On Saturday, when the team plays University of Kentucky, Gerhan will wear Giesler’s jersey. “We’re going to retire his number after the game,” he said. Dennis Barbosa contributed reporting to this story.
(02/03/14 3:51am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>About ten pairs of boots squished along the half frozen, half waterlogged path in 30-degree weather at Stillwater Marsh on Monroe Lake early Sunday morning.Naturalist Jill Vance led a 1.75-mile hike through the seasonal wetland area, which is managed by the reservoir’s staff. Sunday was World Wetlands Day, an annual international event marking the anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands. The convention was signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, and was originally signed by 18 parties. Since then, the number of signatures has increased to 168 participating countries. There are 2,177 Wetlands of International Importance, according to the Ramsar Convention website.“The primary intention of this hike is to showcase what we do as far as managing the land for the wetland complex,” Vance said.The Paynetown Activity Center, also on Monroe Lake, organized activities for children from 1 to 4:30 p.m. in honor of World Wetlands Day. Children could assemble their own 3-D wetland animals and watch films about wetland wildlife while munching on popcorn. The levee path is closed to visitors October through mid-April to create a resting area for the birds. That said, the birds’ winter won’t be entirely peaceful. “We do provide some limited opportunities for hunters to come in here,” Vance said. “All the funds that we get to manage the habitat and support these wildlife populations actually comes from hunting dollars.” Dolores and Jason Francis, mother and son, said they usually hike throughout the winter and around their home — though not as much as they would have liked in the month of January because of the inclement weather. It was their first visit to Stillwater Marsh. “This is the first time I’ve ever been here, but I’ve been on a good many of Jill’s hikes,” Dolores said. “I just enjoy these kind of hikes. I always learn something.” The Indiana Wetlands website estimates there are 14,416 acres of wetlands in Monroe County and 1,007,194 acres statewide. “Wetlands are among the world’s most productive environments,” the website for the Convention on Wetlands explains. “They are cradles of biological diversity, providing the water and productivity upon which countless species of plants and animals depend for survival.”Stillwater Marsh is one of Lake Monroe’s seasonal wetlands. Contained by a man-made levee wall, Stillwater is flooded into one continuous wetland area in the winter months and is closed to visitors from Oct. 1 to April 15. “We have a bunch of different habitats, like a patchwork through this area, so we can support a variety of needs that wildlife are going to have,” Vance said. Vance said the Monroe Lake reservoir was established in 1974. As the lake was put in, some wetlands were created as well. She added that Stillwater is by far the biggest area in the reservoir. “The intent was — after the lake went in — to create not just a wetland area, but a true wetland-managed complex,” Vance said. The purpose of Stillwater is primarily to attract wildlife, specifically water fowl, Vance explained. In the summer, fields in Stillwater are planted with corn, millet and other crops. When the area is flooded with water, the birds are provided with an easily accessible source of food and a respite from predators who won’t follow them into the water. Pumps flood the reservoirs in early October, Vance said. The largest pump is 24 inches in diameter, and runs constantly for about ten days, moving 18 to 20 thousand gallons every minute. The Environmental Protection Agency estimated that Indiana lost 87 percent of its wetlands by the 1980s. “We don’t have nearly as many as we used to,” Vance said. “Although our numbers have trended slightly back up.”Natural wetlands are important to preserve not only for wildlife, but also because they act as a filter for water. World Wetlands Day works to raise awareness of the importance of these reserves. “It’s a celebration of wetlands and what they do for people and animals all around the world,” Vance said. — M.K. Wildeman
(01/28/14 8:19pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Bureau of Labor Statistics released data last Friday indicating Indiana workers are slightly below the national average in union membership. The United States had an 11.3 percent average of workers who were union members in 2013, a statistic that was unchanged from 2012. Indiana reported a 9.3 percent union membership, which represented a slight increase from 9.1 percent in 2012. These numbers do not represent U.S. or Indiana employees who do not report union affiliation, but whose jobs are still covered by a union. Twenty-seven states reported higher union membership rates than Indiana. North Carolina had the lowest rate for 2013 at 3 percent. New York had the highest rate at 24.4 percent. Thomas E. Perez, U.S. secretary of labor, said in a statement union members had higher salaries and better benefits, such as health insurance and vacation leave, compared to non-unionized workers in 2013.“Among full-time wage and salary workers, union members have higher median weekly earnings than nonunion workers,” Perez said in the release. “The median weekly earnings of union members were $950, compared to $750 for nonunion workers.”— Mary Katherine Wildeman
(01/28/14 4:55am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Workers from the Indiana Department of Transportation have been working consecutive 12-hour shifts to meet the needs of a brutal winter, said Harry Maginity, a spokesperson for INDOT Southeast. Some employees have had only one day off a week. “Last year was not a very hard winter,” he said. “This year has been pretty extreme so far.” Statewide, the department is spending money at almost twice the rate of the average for the past five years, he said.“This year we’ve spent $31 million already, and the winter is half over,” Maginity said. A press release from INDOT indicated the state spent $33.8 million in “winter operations” on average over the past five years. According to the release, INDOT has logged 4.3 million miles, used 265,000 tons of granular salt and 2.5 million gallons of salt brine on highways. Maginity said INDOT Southeast was contracted to buy rock salt at a rate of $61 per ton.A typical truck carries six tons. Another problem INDOT has been facing is extremely low temperatures. Normally, rock salt is effective down to about 20 degrees, Maginity said. Supplements such as magnesium chloride and a product called Beet Heat can bring salt’s effectiveness down to zero degrees.“The problem is that we’ve been experiencing temperatures below zero,” Maginity said.It is not only snow plow drivers who are working overtime to meet the needs of the state.Mechanics have been put through their paces trying to keep up with machinery maintenance, Maginity said. Equipment used by the department is suffering statewide, too.Poor conditions take their toll on the fleet of trucks, Maginity said. He added that it does not help that the state extended the number of years single trucks are allowed to be on the road.“Several years ago, they extended the service cycle from 15 years to 18 years,” he said. “That’s stretching the money of the taxpayer.” Extreme weather condition roads do not only affect workers and equipment for the INDOT. Using large amounts of rock salt can also have serious environmental consequences.“The salt, as the snow melts, gets transported into local streams,” said Todd Royer, an associate professor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. “There, it changes the water chemistry.” Royer said rock salt runoff from roads can increase the salinity of the water. If the salinity is high enough, it can be toxic to aquatic life. Roadside vegetation can be affected as well, Royer added, because road salt will accumulate on roadsides. Royer was not aware of any alternatives to rock salt that are both environmentally friendly and cost-effective. There are some based on sugars, but Royer said they tend to be less effective than standard rock salt. Salt levels are increasing in the ground water, and though much of the salt is flushed out of the water in the spring, some can accumulate in ground water salinization, Royer said. Royer cautioned against reading too much into increased levels for just one year. Long-term, chronic effects will not be affected by higher levels in a single year, he said. However, the acute effects, as Royer put it, could be visible within the year. “This year will have higher salt use than average. That means there’s going to be greater opportunity for salt to get into streams and rivers,” said Royer. “When the soils thaw, we will see effects.”
(01/28/14 4:54am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Workers from the Indiana Department of Transportation have been working consecutive 12-hour shifts to meet the needs of a brutal winter, said Harry Maginity, a spokesperson for INDOT Southeast. Some employees have had only one day off a week. “Last year was not a very hard winter,” he said. “This year has been pretty extreme so far.” Statewide, the department is spending money at almost twice the rate of the average for the past five years, he said.“This year we’ve spent $31 million already, and the winter is half over,” Maginity said. A press release from INDOT indicated the state spent $33.8 million in “winter operations” on average over the past five years. According to the release, INDOT has logged 4.3 million miles, used 265,000 tons of granular salt and 2.5 million gallons of salt brine on highways. Maginity said INDOT Southeast was contracted to buy rock salt at a rate of $61 per ton.A typical truck carries six tons. Another problem INDOT has been facing is extremely low temperatures. Normally, rock salt is effective down to about 20 degrees, Maginity said. Supplements such as magnesium chloride and a product called Beet Heat can bring salt’s effectiveness down to zero degrees.“The problem is that we’ve been experiencing temperatures below zero,” Maginity said.It is not only snow plow drivers who are working overtime to meet the needs of the state.Mechanics have been put through their paces trying to keep up with machinery maintenance, Maginity said. Equipment used by the department is suffering statewide, too.Poor conditions take their toll on the fleet of trucks, Maginity said. He added that it does not help that the state extended the number of years single trucks are allowed to be on the road.“Several years ago, they extended the service cycle from 15 years to 18 years,” he said. “That’s stretching the money of the taxpayer.” Extreme weather condition roads do not only affect workers and equipment for the INDOT. Using large amounts of rock salt can also have serious environmental consequences.“The salt, as the snow melts, gets transported into local streams,” said Todd Royer, an associate professor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. “There, it changes the water chemistry.” Royer said rock salt runoff from roads can increase the salinity of the water. If the salinity is high enough, it can be toxic to aquatic life. Roadside vegetation can be affected as well, Royer added, because road salt will accumulate on roadsides. Royer was not aware of any alternatives to rock salt that are both environmentally friendly and cost-effective. There are some based on sugars, but Royer said they tend to be less effective than standard rock salt. Salt levels are increasing in the ground water, and though much of the salt is flushed out of the water in the spring, some can accumulate in ground water salinization, Royer said. Royer cautioned against reading too much into increased levels for just one year. Long-term, chronic effects will not be affected by higher levels in a single year, he said. However, the acute effects, as Royer put it, could be visible within the year. “This year will have higher salt use than average. That means there’s going to be greater opportunity for salt to get into streams and rivers,” said Royer. “When the soils thaw, we will see effects.”
(01/27/14 10:50pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Since the polar vortex struck, propane shortages have plagued Indiana. Sub-zero temperatures have increased demand as people attempt to heat their homes, while trucks carrying propane have been delayed because of road conditions. “Just ugly shortages,” said Dennis Clark, owner of Clark’s LP Gas in Bloomington. Clark said that his propane dealing business has been dealing with 50 percent less gas than what the company normally has at this time of year. Clark said the shortages have been a problem throughout January. He attributed the lack of propane not to a scarcity in supply but to increased demand for the gas and an inability to transport resources. “We’re rationing the gas allocation,” he said, saying that each customer was allowed 200 gallons maximum, whereas the normal limit would be between 250 and 350 gallons. Sandy Clark, an employee at Clark’s LP Gas on South Ketcham Road in Bloomington, said this means they can only fill a standard 500-gallon tank halfway. This amount of propane could last between three weeks to a month, depending on the weather, the home’s insulation and other factors, Sandy Clark said. Dennis Clark said the customers understand the need to ration, but they usually hate the decreased allocation of propane.For the time being, Bloomington residents will have to make do with the rationed amounts.“This will help them through this cold spell until we can do better,” said Sandy Clark. Gov. Mike Pence has been easing restrictions on the transportation of propane due to the “extreme winter weather,” according to a press release. Pence issued a proclamation on Jan. 3 waiving the limit on the number of hours truck drivers were allowed to be on the road in order to compensate for slow transportation.This proclamation, which was originally set to expire on Jan. 17, was extended through Friday in order to accommodate for persistent cold temperatures and poor road conditions. Transport drivers’ hours are normally limited, which has worked to contribute to shortages, according to a press release from Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller. “Consumers have likely noticed the spike in propane prices as the costs of heating their homes have jumped significantly,” Zoeller said in the release. “Unfortunately, there is no easy solution to the current situation so we urge consumers to take adequate precautions now to make sure their homes stay warm during these frigid temperatures.” The proclamation estimated that 500,000 Hoosiers use propane in their homes and acknowledged demand for propane has increased because of “near-record cold temperatures.” Additionally, a press release from the Indiana Senate Republican Caucus said an amendment will be announced to Senate Bill 1 today to “offer support to Hoosiers who may be affected by the Midwest propane shortage.” It was not made clear what exactly the amendment would do.The National Propane Gas Association reported the challenges in supplying propane began in October, when grain crops were being harvested. Because the harvest was large in quantity and very wet, a huge amount of propane was needed to dry crops prior to their storage. As a result, stores of propane were depleted, according to the NPGA. The NPGA also reported that 31 states have issued Hours of Service relief proclamations similar to the one issued by Gov. Pence. Dennis Clark said he does not think the propane shortage will last for too much longer. As weather improves, the propane deficit should stop being a problem, he said. “I think about the second week of February it’ll probably let loose a bit,” Dennis Clark said.
(01/27/14 5:32am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Monroe County was sixth in the state in total meth labs discovered by police in 2013.This is an improvement from 2012, when the county was listed at fourth in the state behind Madison, Vanderburgh and Delaware counties.There were 62 labs seized in Monroe County in 2013 and 60 seized in 2012.Vanderburgh County topped the 2013 charts with 115 meth labs seized by the Indiana State Police or reported from another agency.A press release from the Indiana State Police Meth Suppression Section said it expects Indiana will be first in the country in clandestine lab incidents for 2013, also noting that lab seizures have risen continuously in recent years.This is in contrast with national meth lab seizures since 2010. Based on data from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s website, the number of seizures decreased by 13 percent between 2010 and 2011 and by 18 percent between 2011 and 2012. There is no national data for 2013 listed at this time.In 2001, three labs in Monroe County were seized by the ISP. Rates in Monroe remained relatively low until 2011, when there were 54 seizures, up from 18 in the previous year.
(01/13/14 2:51am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Royale Hair Parlor dedicated a day of haircuts to a fundraiser Sunday for the annual Bloomington PRIDE Film Festival, an event devoted to screening GLBTQ-focused films at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater.The salon also coordinated a silent auction to support the organization’s upcoming festival, scheduled to take place Jan. 23-25. Local businesses and organizations contributed gift certificates and other donations to be auctioned. “I think I cut off a lot,” said Annie Corrigan, who had just received a pixie cut from salon owner Bridgett Vohland. Corrigan is a regular customer at Royale and is planning on attending PRIDE’s film festival. The weekend is a great opportunity to see films that would be hard to see elsewhere, she said. “This was sort of a win-win scenario for me. I needed a haircut anyway, and it goes to a good cause,” Corrigan said. Haircuts were offered from noon to 5 p.m. In two hours, 17 people came in for haircuts, and Royale raised $500 of their $1,200-$1,400 goal, not including funds raised from the silent auction. Molly Lecount, a stylist at Royale, said she first started working at the salon partly because the business often donated money, time and space to philanthropic causes.Vohland, the owner, sits on PRIDE’s board of directors. “One thing that attracted me to working at this salon was that [Vohland] uses her advertising dollars to support things she cares about,” Lecount said. Sunday’s event was the third cut-a-thon the salon has arranged. Royale also played host to a children’s art show to benefit Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children, commonly referred to as CASA. The salon took second place in a national charity challenge called Hairdressers at Heart and was awarded a $2,500 scholarship for its work with CASA. Lecount said that PRIDE is expanding as an organization. “PRIDE used to just be a once-a-year movie festival,” she said. “Now they are planning year-round events. The reason we’re holding the benefit is to help them get the ball rolling.”Abby Henkel, a co-director for PRIDE, said the program has been run by the Buskirk-Chumley Theater for the past ten years.The Buskirk-Chumley’s executive director recently handed over the reins to Henkel, 27, and Sarah Perfetti, 29.Henkel and Perfetti were one of thirteen couples to be married in last year’s LGBTQ wedding, a mass marriage event at the end of the opening day of the festival. Now co-directors of the organization, the pair is working to expand PRIDE’s reach. “Our goal is within a few years to have other programs, depending on what the community needs are,” said Perfetti. The organization is starting to focus on working with queer youth, collaborating with Catholic Charities in providing therapy and support. Henkel and Perfetti also noted that many people had expressed interest in a summer Pride Parade. Money from the fundraiser held on Sunday at Royale is intended to support the costs of screening the films, paying performers and paying the Buskirk-Chumley. Henkel and Perfetti said the average cost of screening a full-length film is $600, and each of the 22 short films they hope to show at the festival cost $50-100. Excess funds will go towards fundraising for PRIDE’s other events. Royale is also providing free makeovers on the opening day of the festival. Henkel and Perfetti said they have four participants signed up at the moment, but there might be more by the end of the week. “People who want to do something different about their look will come to Royale for a consultation,” said Perfetti. Henkel and Perfetti share a residence in Bloomington, and for the time being, their home is the headquarters of PRIDE. Both have full-time jobs, and commented that organizing the event has been a significant undertaking. “We pretty much work all the time,” Henkel said. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s rewarding.”
(12/16/13 12:27am)
"Adderall: Easy A" Student Legal Services Director Randall Frykberg discusses the legal ramifications of illegal Adderall sale and possession.
(12/04/13 1:53am)
Stone Belt, a service provider for individuals with disabilities, set up a booth with items for sale at the annual Fair Trade Bloomington event.
(11/22/13 8:07pm)
The IDS sports crew previews the upcoming football game against Ohio State as the Hoosiers hit the road to Columbus.
(11/21/13 6:59pm)
A group of seniors from the Teaching All Learners Program held a freeze-mob to raise awareness of the improper use of the word 'retard.'
(11/21/13 3:14am)
A candlelight vigil was held for transgender victims of discrimination and violence.
(11/20/13 2:25am)
Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz speaks at a Rotary Club meeting the afternoon of Nov. 18 in Frangipani Room. In her speech, Ritz stressed a need for reform especially in evaluations of literacy and mathematics for students of all ages.
(11/18/13 3:29pm)
Jerome Sibulo sang at a concert dedicated to victims of the disaster in the Philippines the evening of Nov. 17, 2013.
(11/13/13 4:03pm)
IU basketball defeated LIU-Brooklyn 73-72
(11/12/13 5:54am)
30 servicewomen were added to a list of student veterans the afternoon of Nov. 11.
(11/08/13 6:15am)
Thomas Buhls and fellow Traditionalist Youth Network members Matthew Heimbach and Matt Parrott chalked sidewalks with white nationalist slogans the afternoon of Sept. 25.
(11/08/13 5:30am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Dressed in a crisp white button-up, khakis, heavy black boots and a paperboy cap, Thomas Buhls scrawls messages in chalk in front of the Herman B Wells Library. “TRADYOUTH.ORG FOR FAITH AND NATION” and “PATRIARCHY IS BACK” are among the slogans peppered down the sidewalk. A student stops in his tracks and watches Buhls’ work. A woman stops her bicycle to read one of the messages. They both move on without a word. Buhls is the president and founder of IU’s Traditionalist Youth Network chapter, a racist, fundamentalist and anti-gay group. Trad Youth became an official student organization at IU in June. Although Buhls, a 30-year-old senior at IU, would not comment on their membership, the group has close to 2,000 Facebook “likes.” In recent years, there has been a marked increase in the number of hate groups in the United States. The Southern Poverty Law Center, a non-profit civil rights organization, reported 1,007 known organizations in the U.S., an almost 30-percent increase in the last decade. But white supremacy and the Ku Klux Klan have deep roots in Indiana and at IU, with larger membership than the state’s largest Christian denomination in the 1920s. A decade later, faculty members and state legislators debated whether to display murals depicting Klansmen in Woodburn Hall, painted by Thomas Hart Benton to represent the previous decade’s political reality.The murals with the KKK still remain today, and a former Klan member continues to spread a similar message. “My ultimate goal would be to see another white ethno-state emerge — a state comprised of and built for exclusively white people,” Buhls said. * * *In Buhls’ ideal nation, members of other races would be welcome, but would be required to possess a passport to enter. Buhls said he would like to think his work with Trad Youth is equally approachable for anybody. He concentrates on spreading the ideology of the traditionalist school of thought, which promotes a lifestyle based on values of Christian fundamentalism and orthodoxy.“Probably the most controversial position which the Traditionalist Youth Network advances is the idea that we all have a tribe and we all have an identity and we all have a tradition,” Buhls said. “We encourage people to pick one and stick with it.” Buhls upholds traditional views, but he said his childhood was anything but normal. His father was in the Marine Corps until 1992, and Buhls spent his early childhood moving homes and schools for his father’s job. They moved from North Carolina to Marine Barracks in London, England, and landed in Bloomington after his father retired. In June 2001, eight years after relocating to Indiana, Buhls joined the Marines. During his time serving in the military, Buhls joined the Knights Party of the Ku Klux Klan. At the time, immigration was a hot topic, and he said he was frustrated by the lack of government action against illegal immigration. Buhls said his involvement with the Klan was “dedicated and passionate.” But over time, Buhls drifted away from the party’s position and methodology. “For someone like me who’s more interested in actual grassroots political activism, and getting out in the street and doing something, I found that the Knights Party was not structured in a way to do things in a very immediate fashion,” Buhls said. Through social media outlets, Buhls connected with other advocates for white identity in the country. Looking for an outlet to express his views and lead the charge on white nationalism, Buhls turned to Trad Youth. Matthew Heimbach is the co-founder of the national Traditionalist Youth Network organization. A friend of Buhls, Heimbach also formed a White Student Union on the Towson University campus in Maryland. A documentary on Vice.com showed Heimbach and other members of the WSU conducting crime patrols on their campus, specifically targeting “black predators.” In late August, a Towson University professor reached out to the IDS, expressing concerns at the Trad Youth Network’s planned protest at Boxcar Books in Bloomington. Trad Youth is the “national extension” of Heimbach’s White Student Union, Buhls said. The group supports a variety of fringe ideas that have been inflammatory for students on campus. “Ideally, we wouldn’t have to worry about multicultural issues,” Buhls said. “We wouldn’t have those problems because we wouldn’t have a multicultural society.”* * *On July 4, 1999, Benjamin Nathaniel Smith, a member of a white supremacist organization and a former student at IU, murdered IU Korean doctoral student Won-Joon Yoon. After a three-day shooting spree across Illinois and Indiana, Smith drove by the Korean United Methodist Church, shooting the 26-year old. He shot himself later that day. Doug Bauder, co-chair for the IU Commission on Multicultural Understanding, remembers the fatal shooting on Independence Day almost 15 years ago.“When things like this come up, those of us who have been around are reminded how hate groups can lead to violent crime,” Bauder said. “It cast an absolute pall over the city.”An increase in hate groups is linked to President Barack Obama’s liberal policies, especially regarding gun control and immigration reform, Mark Potok, senior fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center, said in a report titled “The Year in Hate and Extremism.”Obama’s election in 2008 reflects a change in demographics. U.S. Census reports indicate that 2012 was the first year white births were in the minority. By 2043, the white majority will likely be gone. Potok’s report suggests the demographic shift is contributing to the expansion of hate groups. Despite not being in the historically conservative South, Indiana has deep ties to white supremacy organizations. In the 1920s, membership in the KKK exploded. The IU-affiliated Indiana Magazine of History reported Indiana’s Klan was “the largest, most enthusiastic and most politically powerful Klan in the country.”At its peak in 1925, Indiana’s Klan boasted more members than the Methodist Church, the state’s leading denomination.* * * On Aug. 6, Buhls received an email from the Office of Student Ethics. He was charged with “damage to or destruction of university property or the property belonging to others,” a violation of the Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities and Conduct. Buhls had chalked and posted fliers in campus spaces where chalking and posting was not allowed, including a bus shelter, in front of the Indiana Memorial Union and inside academic buildings. The office required him to attend a conduct hearing. “I got a little carried away,” he said.The First Amendment prohibits the University from obstructing students’ rights to free speech, so aside from regulating Buhls’ materials in prohibited areas, no action can be taken by the University to prevent Trad Youth from spreading their message. In order to uphold students’ freedom of speech, James Wimbush, vice president for Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs, said Trad Youth is a registered organization within IU. However, the University does not endorse the actions of the group. “We find their message to be absolutely inconsistent with the values of the University,” Wimbush said. “It’s a message we absolutely abhor.”Carol McCord, dean of students at IU, said many students have reported instances of Trad Youth’s chalkings and protests to the University’s Incident Teams. “I know a lot of people have been made very uncomfortable by the messages of Trad Youth,” McCord said. “Some are even fearful.”Although Trad Youth’s speech may be despicable to some community members, controlling hate speech has been unsuccessful on state and federal levels, Tim Lemper, IU law professor and one of Buhls’ instructors, said.Attempts tend to regulate speech based on content, “and that’s offensive to the idea of protecting freedom of speech,” he said. Efforts to put a lid on hate speech may actually be misguided, Lemper said. Every type of speech has value in the community by provoking dialogue and discussion, he said.“The answer to bad speech is not to suppress it or to eliminate it,” he said. “The answer to bad speech is good speech.” Despite run-ins with the law, numerous assaults on his person and the conduct hearing with the Office of Student Ethics, Buhls intends to push the limits of legality and University policy. The dance between his activism and University policy is a game, he said. It is important to Trad Youth’s form of activism to capture and keep attention on campus. “I just sort of do what I do and hope I get away with it,” Buhls said.Follow reporter Mary Katherine Wildeman on Twitter @marykwild.