Hello students, staff, faculty, and community members of IUPUI,
The executive board of the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) at IUPUI remains committed to standing for and representing all students within the University, regardless of their identities or beliefs. The recent Supreme Court decisions regarding affirmative action, LGBTQ+ rights, and student loan relief will continue to affect students both today and in the upcoming years. As a university with a diverse student body and a university that values an equitable education for all students, the executive board of USG does not support these decisions.
The decision of the Supreme Court to strike down affirmative action and go against decades of precedent is a decision that will continue to affect not only students applying to colleges and universities across the country but will also create a ripple effect of less diverse and equitable participation in American industries for decades to come. Society is not color-blind, and we continue to fight against the effects of systemic racism. These effects are particularly salient when considering the largely prominent and continuing practice of legacy admissions. Ending the reparative practice of affirmative action without an appropriate replacement will only continue to hurt future generations. Many institutions recognize the harm that this decision will cause to their populations. Indiana University and IUPUI derive a rich culture and diverse community from its students, faculty, and staff and we must seek to preserve this great strength of ours.
The Supreme Court has also made the recent ruling of striking down the student loan relief plan. Striking down this ruling puts some individuals at a much greater disadvantage than others. Our American education system should strive to represent opportunity and inclusivity to all students. First-generation students and others coming from a less advantageous background will be harmed in particular as the financial support from the federal and state governments continues to fall short. The massive amount of student loan debt held by college students and graduates has long been a burden on the American economy, further exacerbated by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The increasing cost of higher education often leads many students to pursue financial aid. However, we are fortunate to be at an institution that boasts its generous financial aid awards and lower tuition costs.
Additionally, the Supreme Court halted its decades-long expansion of LGBTQ rights to allow businesses to deny service on the basis of religious expression. As students at an institution with a strong LGBTQ+ community, we are troubled by the ongoing and potential future discrimination that could affect members of the IUPUI community.
In addition to the Supreme Court rulings, Indiana state legislators recently passed five new laws regarding LGBTQ+ rights, some of which include restricting the use of pronouns or preferred names in K-12 schools, the performance of gender-affirming transitions on Hoosiers younger than 18 years-old, banning books from libraries around Indiana, and lifting previous bans on conversion therapy. These recent changes will create barriers for LGBTQ+ Hoosiers, further perpetuating a society of inequity.
Therefore, your executive board does not support these decisions as they are against our beliefs of building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community within the IUPUI campus. While these events clearly show a step back, we will stand to promote an inclusive campus where everyone independent of race, gender, sex should have equal opportunities.
If you would like to get more involved in these issues, please refer to the following resources:
Stay politically active and register to vote: https://indianavoters.in.gov/ https://vote.gov/
o Deadline for registration is October 10 for the 2023 Municipal Election
o Deadline for registration is April 3 for the Municipal Primary Election
Look at applying to other scholarships and payment plans through the university:
https://studentcentral.iupui.edu/funding/scholarships/index.html
The LGBTQ+ Center and the Multicultural Center continue to support students:
https://diversity.iupui.edu/offices/lgbtq/index.html
Report all discriminatory incidents on campus:
https://diversity.iupui.edu/report_bias/index. html
Best Regards,
USG Executive Board
