People Re-Write IUPUI’s History

The Star has a story today about IUPUI’s history around its founding. They’re really only two trains of thought on it: either IUPUI pushed a bunch of black people out of the way for no good reason to sit up shop for the white man, or, IUPUI pushed a crappy part of the middle of town out of the way to make way for an integral piece of Indianapolis’ future. In which case, a bunch of black people got pushed out of the way:

Beginning in the mid-1950s and lasting well into the 1970s, hundreds of [African American] families were uprooted and relocated — their homes either purchased outright or condemned by the city and then purchased. This was done not just for the new university but as part of a larger redevelopment of an area that many considered a classic example of urban blight.

Local human rights activists at the time, including a Jewish rabbi and a Protestant minister, pleaded with city officials to stop the process because fearful residents were being bullied into selling. Some in the black community began to refer to the effort as a “black removal” plan.

“IUPUI, the city . . . they became the Ku Klux Klan,” said an angry John Lands, an area resident who once ran the neighborhood YMCA before it was demolished. “They took the black folks’ land. I think it’s a shame.”

The article is a little lengthy, but this part stuck out at me:

Kenneth B. Durgans, the assistant chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at IUPUI, said that although he is sensitive to history, he hopes people also take into account the good things the college has done for the city’s minority population.

Why am I paying for an Assistant Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion? Please tell me she’s an assistant to the university chancellor and that there isn’t also a head chancellor just for diversity, equity and inclusion.

The Bridge People

Somehow, overnight, Indianapolis is struggling to figure out a way to take care of “The Bridge People”, a bunch of homeless folks that have setup a ramshackle shanty town under the bridge on Davidson Street very near Downtown. If my geography is correct, this is very close where the old Market Street ramp used to be between Washington and Ohio Streets on the near-eastside.

Evidently, 30 or so people sit around, get drunk and toss their trash all over the street. They allegedly harass patrons of nearby businesses and residents that live near there are afraid to go near them. That area isn’t exactly the ghetto, so area residents are coming together to help:

“You can’t just kick them out, but until we get a solution, they should be required to clean up after themselves,” said Richard Campi, president of Friends of Historic Fountain Square, about the three dozen homeless people who live in the camp.

About 30 residents, advocates for the homeless, business owners, city officials and police attended the meeting at Campi’s house to discuss options for those living in the enclave.

…

The homeless at the camp said they prefer the bridge to shelters because the shelters have rules, including those against alcohol. But the camp can get unruly; recently a man was beaten by five other bridge people.

Yesterday, the Star had a story about this that included a line indicating that one man didn’t want to go to a shelter because he was required to take his shoes off before going to bed. Brandon tells me that this is because shoes are considered a valuable asset in the homeless community, so if they take them off they’re likely to get stolen. My solution was to offer lockers.

This whole thing smacks of all kinds of wrong. They don’t like living where they’re rules, so they live without them and then people get hurt and beat up. Shocking!

These people aren’t earning a lot of sympathy from most everyone else. Everyone has to live and play by the rules. So, somehow, these people just decide not to follow them and all sorts of laws get broken and hard-working people nearby just have to sit and suck it up. I doubt these nearby residents can help much. There’s not much you can do to help people that just want to drink and fight all day.

One thing is for sure, by February 2012 these people will be removed because there is no chance any politician in Indianapolis is going to sit idly by while the Super Bowl comes to town and get harassed by homeless people.

What Happens in Conservative Bastions?

The Denver Post has a very interesting piece on Colorado Springs, a so-called “Conservative Bastion“. It’s a lengthy read, but very interesting. For example:

More than a third of the streetlights in Colorado Springs will go dark Monday. The police helicopters are for sale on the Internet. The city is dumping firefighting jobs, a vice team, burglary investigators, beat cops — dozens of police and fire positions will go unfilled.

The parks department removed trash cans last week, replacing them with signs urging users to pack out their own litter.

Neighbors are encouraged to bring their own lawn mowers to local green spaces, because parks workers will mow them only once every two weeks. If that.

Water cutbacks mean most parks will be dead, brown turf by July; the flower and fertilizer budget is zero.

City recreation centers, indoor and outdoor pools, and a handful of museums will close for good March 31 unless they find private funding to stay open. Buses no longer run on evenings and weekends. The city won’t pay for any street paving, relying instead on a regional authority that can meet only about 10 percent of the need.

The article goes on to make the point that many folks, not just in Colorado’s second-largest city, are flat exhausted with what appears to be severe ineptitude and idiocy on the part of government officials. They’re not necessarily wrong. In Justin’s fantasy land, the Mayor would have all his department heads say precisely how much they need to do their job with an emphasis on looking ahead. I imagine the conversation going something like this:

Mayor: “Ok, what do we need to get done?”
Public Works: “It costs us $X per street light per day, so, for 365 days we need $Y.”
Police Chief: “It costs $X per cop per day, so I need $Y to cover us for the year. And, we have 10 old cars on their last few miles, so we should replace those 10 this year. We can do 5 more next year.”
Fire Chief: “It costs us $X per fireman per day, so I need $Y to cover us for the year.”

This is not that hard. At the end of the day, you add up your total and figure out your tax rates to meet that demand.

What people want at the local level is really, really straightforward. Plow the streets, fix the holes, plug the leaks and protect the people. And only hire just enough people to get the jobs done. So, you don’t get to hire an executive assistant to the assistant deputy mayor. And, while we’re at it, you don’t get to spend $800 per chair for meeting rooms and you don’t get to spend money on things no one really uses – especially when they’re better alternatives nearby. For example, someone in the comments says:

These cuts are not major quality of life issues. For example, they are talking about closing an indoor wave pool. I have been at it twice now, where my 2 kids and I were the only people enjoying it. Four lifeguards were watching us and the city was wasting a lot of energy running it. We prefer the YMCA pools — they are cheaper and nicer.

City government has no business running these kinds of things – not when you’re scaling back on police and firemen when you may really need them to have adequate coverage.

It’s hard to say what’s really happening in Colorado Springs. I think you can get away with turning off every other streetlight and closing a few water parks and not watering the grass (seriously – they live near a desert, why are they watering grass?). The citizens may have very good reason to doubt their government’s ability to spend money wisely. Until we start seeing our Mayors at rummage sales and flea markets, that opinion likely won’t change much.

The Future is Grim & We’re OK With That

It was a slow news weekend last weekend and the Indianapolis Star had a piece on helping Indy’s kids for Sunday’s Star. It’s a noble goal to help the worse-off children in the community.

Then, you realize we’re all doomed and that we’re all ok with that idea based on today’s Star poll:

So, there you have it, kids. Looks like you’re on your own.

Sled FAIL

Did Colbert Feature Lucas Oil Stadium?

Stephen Colbert was picking on Hannity’s “Liberty Tree” last night and noticed that his “Liberty Tree” had a root of liberty, too. According to Colbert, “That’s like building a stadium reinforced by concrete and steel with another stadium on top.”

Is it just me, or does that look like Lucas Oil Stadium on top?

Dear IUPUI: Stop Sucking

Dear IUPUI,

I’m a Junior at your fine establishment. I’ve been attending classes there since 2005 and have been there long enough to see the JagTag change looks, the parking lot across from Cavanaugh go to a Student Center then to a Campus Center. I’ve seen students hit by cars crossing the oft-clogged Michigan Street.

Now, as I’ve completed 75% of my college career, I’ve got enough experience to state my opinion with authority: you really suck.

I came to IUPUI for the New Media program. At the time, it was the only program of its kind in Indiana. So, what are my qualms?

For one, I’ve been paying $700 per class and not getting anything out of it beyond wasted time. It’s not anything I couldn’t lookup on Google or in an application’s Help files. $700 to read Help files is a real smack in the face and my financial sensibilities.

Now you’re thinking, “Yes, but we have lots of other classes that don’t come with Help files.” You’re right, we just read the book instead. I had an ethics course last year that was comprised of story time. The entire semester was spent reading the book. Word. For. Word. Again, hardly a good use of $700.

Next, I’ve spent time in english and math classes that were colossal wastes of gas. Frankly, those classes should be online. No group work was required and nothing I couldn’t have done from my desk at home with a Pepsi One.

Speaking of online classes, I’ve taken two. Both of which were technology-related and dated back at least three years. I don’t need to tell you the problem with watching three year old content related to technology.

And don’t even get me started on your inability to set out on a plan and stick to it. You promised to improve race relations when you pissed off the Black Student Union. Then, you turned around and told one of your own janitorial employees and student they couldn’t read a book about the defeat of the KKK because it “might be offensive.”

Oh, and do I need to mention the Student Center you shoved down our throats and switched it to a Campus Center at the last minute so you could move in four coffee shops to help cover the costs you couldn’t anticipate? Yeah, me neither.

But, thank goodness we have our Stude–er, Campus Center now. It’s really improved campus housing. I mean, everyone wants to quit their jobs and come make IUPUI the next IU Bloomington. They’re switching in droves. We’re talking the same percentage of Mac to Windows switchers here.

Alas, you’ll do nothing to serve the niche you’ve already built. Instead, you’ll try to change everything to “make things better” and instead drive up tuition costs and pass it along to students like me.

Thanks, IUPUI. You really suck.

Yours,

Justin

Something’s in the Air

Looks like we’ve found Indy’s strange odor. Now what do we do to get rid of it?

Indianapolis’ Department of Public Works may have gotten to the bottom of today’s stink. According to an email sent from Indianapolis Downtown Inc., “Per City Dept. of Public Works, the odor is due to a sewer line hook up on Pogue’s Run.”

Pogue’s Run is a small stream on the city’s east side.

Super Republican-Rama Bowl 2012

Yeah, that’s just what we need in this city. A bunch of uptight, old-fashioned white people. Oh, wait:

“I’m more convinced than ever that Indianapolis would be a superb place for a national convention for either party,” he said. “Having said that, the 2012 Super Bowl obviously is a big deal for the community, and we certainly wouldn’t want to be at cross-purposes with the Super Bowl.

“I’m not saying we would be, but we haven’t had all of those conversations.”

Some initial conversations have been positive.

“We have been encouraged to bid for the 2012 convention by some of the leadership in the party,” said Mike McDaniel, chairman of the Indiana Republican Party when it put in a bid to host the 2000 RNC. “They see Indianapolis and Indiana as being readily suited to hold an event of that kind because we have a track record of doing big events well.”

Luckily for Indiana, our citizens don’t have enough money to really fit in with the RNC types. Maybe Indy should stick to the Super Bowl and Carmel or Fishers can host the RNC in their Holiday Inn.

Assuming that all goes well, maybe Indy could bid for the Olympics in 2016. We oughta be a shoe-in for that. What with our “Crossroads of America” schtick, we oughta be able to get everyone downtown and parked in about 10 or 15 minutes.

The Bionic Peyton Manning

Sheesh:

INDIANAPOLIS — Chicago rediscovered its winning formula last night.

Play tough defense, control the ball and make no major mistakes.

No, it wasn’t enough to win a Super Bowl 19 months ago against Indianapolis, but it was the perfect scenario to ruin the Colts’ debut game in the new Lucas Oil Stadium 29-13.

Chicago ended Indy’s remarkable streak of 21 consecutive wins in September and October, the league’s longest run since Green Bay won 23 pre-November games from 1928 to ‘32. It’s also the first time since 2004 the Colts won’t start at least 7-0.

You’d think that with the $76 million price tag it cost us to build the frickin’ stadium we’d at least get a free Bionic Peyton Manning to go with it. Manning should be able to load the ball into his right arm and shoot it out over the field at no less than 110 MPH. Jeff Saturday’s knee could be fixed this afternoon while we’re at it.