On April 15, IU South Bend’s Student Government Association and the campus chapter of the American Association of University Professors hosted an event for the National Day of Action for Higher Ed. Held in the Grill and Fireside from 1-3 p.m., the event was the second of its kind, following the same teach-in format as last year’s Day of Action. 

About 100 students, faculty and staff attended, with some audience members in purposeful attendance and others listening while they ate lunch or worked in the Grill. Postcards were placed on tables in the room for audience members to write questions for the presenters, and in Fireside, attendees could make protest signs, collect resources about immigration rights and contacting representatives and even do some beadwork. 

Dr. Jake Mattox, English professor and president of IU South Bend’s AAUP chapter, was the key organizer for the event. He gave opening remarks, explaining that the Day of Action is observed by campuses across the country. The second part of his talk was titled “A Crisis in Indiana (and elsewhere),” and he said the Day of Action is not an event he wants to hold, but is instead a necessary response to extreme circumstances.

“I don’t want it to be annual – I want our university to be safe and protected and left to do its good work,” Mattox said. “But while these threats are increasing, we need to be talking. We need to be shouting about it. We need to be learning about it.”

Mattox called attention to the weakening of the independent judiciary, media consolidation and legislation threatening academic freedom.

Next, SGA President Jesuri Vazquez Garcia presented about the STAR Resolution, her statement against ICE presence on campus that was affirmed by the SGA and later endorsed and adopted by other campus SGAs. Search SGA on iusbpreface.org to find our coverage of the resolution and learn more about how it was developed and passed and what it means for IU. 

Other presentations included “AI Overload at IU” by Nix DeLucia, “Higher Ed Legislation & Prevailing Lawlessness” by alumna and former SGA President Chloe Garner, “The Essential Values of a Liberal Arts Education” by Dr. April Lidinsky, “Censorship in Higher Ed” by QSA President Robyn Weaver, “When Authority Conflicts with Principle” by professor Andrew Swain, “Giving Minoity Students a Voice” by Anh Hoang Tran and “Higher Education and You: How it All Adds Up” by Dr. Josh Wells. 

After Lidinsky discussed her experience as a student protestor against South African apartheid, Mattox drew a contemporary connection.

“We had a speaker today who was going to talk about Palestine and unfortunately he was not able to be here at the last minute. I’m speaking just for myself: what is happening in Palestine right now is the great crime of our time, and it relates in many ways to what happens on campuses, and it relates to IU in many ways,” he said. “You might be aware that a couple years ago, there were a lot of campus protests. Students who were trying to get their universities to not be complicit. I won’t go into all the details, but you can Google it – and IU came out looking not very good in terms of its policies on free speech. So I am encouraged to think that our leaders are improving our commitment to free speech, but that depends upon us demanding it and exercising those free speech rights like we’re doing today.”

After the event, Mattox said he was pleased with the turnout and engagement from students. When asked how soon after the first Day of Action he knew there would be a second one, he said “pretty early.”

“The day after, or a week after we did our event, you know, you don’t have to be a genius to realize that continued threats are happening, and unfortunately in the last year, I would say they’ve accelerated,” he said. “Do I want to be doing this again next year? Actually, I don’t, but will it be necessary? I fear that it might. I mean, I hope we as a society come to our senses.”