As an out-of-state student at Indiana University, I am cripplingly unfamiliar with the towns surrounding Bloomington. Until last week, I didn’t even know our campus was located in Monroe County.
However, this weekend I went canning to raise money for the Indiana University Dance Marathon with my committee members. I was finally able to take a step outside of our Big Ten bubble and truly explore the state of Indiana. On Saturday, we went canning outside of a Jimmy John's in northern Indianapolis. Despite the fact that it was an hour and a half away, it looked strangely similar to what you would see if you were off campus in Bloomington. On Sunday, we went canning outside of Bub’s Burgers in Carmel; I was blown away. After passing smaller, run-down towns scattered across the flat land of Indiana all day on Saturday, I did not expect to see such a beautiful community.
Caramel is the epitome of a stereotypical, All-American town. It is the perfect size: not too small, not too big, and their high school is gigantic. I can just imagine the charged atmosphere on game days and picture the students cheering during football games or swim meets; the school spirit would be undeniable.
As someone who spent half of her high school career in Melbourne, Australia, this was not something I was used to. After moving back to New Jersey during my junior year of high school, I ended up attending a small, private school and graduating with around 90 people. While driving, I found myself feeling jealous of the students who attend Caramel High School; they’re getting the All-American high school experience - the kind you see on TV, the kind I always wanted. That was the moment I realized that Indiana is not this insane state that I originally thought it was. Carmel actually reminded me of a lot of towns in New Jersey, like Chatham or Summit.
It made me realize that I had been making generalizations and stereotypes about people I didn’t even know, simply based on where they lived. Not everyone comes from a family of farmers and lives in the cornfields. Just like other places and cities, I realized that Indiana is filled with different types of people and can be inconsistent. But no matter where we went, people remained friendly and accepting, like they are in Bloomington.
After having such an eye-opening, positive experience off campus this weekend, I was disturbed to discover that the Ku Klux Klan wants to hold a rally in Bloomington this spring. When reporters at WTHR-Channel 13 in Indianapolis asked Phil Lawson, the Imperial Wizard of the KKK's United Northern and Southern Knights how he chose the location for this rally, he responded, "We were actually contacted by residents in Bloomington regarding membership into the organization. And the response was great so we decided to go ahead and go with it." I gasped.
In the past, the Ku Klux Klan has attacked African Americans, Jews, immigrants, anyone in the LGBTQ community and until recently, Catholics. Yes, the most infamous hate group in America wants to come to a college town containing one of the most diverse student bodies in the nation and recruit more members. Just like any other Big Ten school, Indiana University is home to almost 50,000 students, and many of them will become targets to hatred and violence if this rally happens.
Although it is absolutely mortifying, especially because we are in 2016 and we should be past the racism and discrimination, this has happened before. In spring 2012, members of the KKK decided to have a rally in Bloomington. During the time, the city of Bloomington lacked an anti-mask law, which meant Klansmen intended to wear their all-white uniforms and their pointed hats that include a full-face mask with eyeholes. This not only terrified the residents, students and faculty living in Bloomington, but also enraged them. It sparked the initiative to make a change and make sure that the community would come together and prevent backtrack in American history that was happening right in their backyard.
Members of Antifa, Bloomington’s Hoosier Anti-Racist Movement, went after Thomas Buhls, a white supremacist activist operating in Indiana, after he called for a Klan rally on the courthouse lawn of Bloomington. Although only three other people showed up, members of Antifa still protested against them, proving that justice and equality still exists and will always exist here in Bloomington. This type of hateful behavior is horrific and will not be tolerated, especially in a college town where students come from all walks of life, different countries, states and backgrounds.
Luckily, Mark Kruzan, Bloomington’s mayor, has encouraged residents who received the Klan’s leaflets to throw them in the trash. Although he said the group is only looking for publicity, their hatred is still very real and should be taken seriously. As a community known for its diversity, Bloomington needs to come together again and ensure that this doesn’t happen. Whether it is through protest or word-of-mouth, make sure to let your friends and even strangers know that racist, hurtful comments are not okay. Speak up. This type of thinking leads to violence, and we cannot backtrack on the progress we have made, as a nation and as a society. In the words of Martin Luther King Jr., “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
