The Indiana Commons

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Logo of The Collegiate Commons

The Indiana Commons is a Collegiate Network-affiliated online student publication serving Indiana University-Indianapolis and the surrounding community. [1] It is published by Collegiate Commons, Inc., a 501(c)(3) which aims to preserve the "Christian intellectual and social tradition while promoting civic virtue in the next generation." [2] [3] The publication was launched in 2023, and its name was based on an older publication with a similar editorial stance known as The American Commons, which was founded in 2018 and started being published by Collegiate Commons, Inc. in 2024.

Contents

The publication also hosts online copies of historic student newspapers from the Indiana University Indianapolis extension campus (1916–1969), including the Indianapolis Student (1958–1969) and the Indiana University Onomatopoeia (1969–1971) that have not been indexed online yet by the Ruth Lilly Special Collections Archive at IUPUI.

History

The Collegiate Commons was launched as a free online newspaper in August 2023. Initially conceived as being a voice for the consistent life ethic on the university campus, several of its early editors, reporters and advisors were involved in anti-abortion activism in the Indianapolis area and nationally. Having been launched the same month as Indiana's partial abortion ban went into effect, [4] many early articles involved state and local responses to the new law.

In September 2023, the publication attracted national attention within the anti-abortion movement for exposing the identity of the owner of a Medium blog and Instagram account that published the personal information of anti-abortion activists. [5]

The publication's editorial staff also joined other Christian student organizations at IUPUI in opposing Cindy Smock ("Sister Cindy," known for her slogan "Ho No Mo" when preaching on college campuses), when she visited the campus in October 2023, stating in an editorial that "we believe it is the duty of purportedly Christian individuals and organizations on campus to use their power of free speech and their organizing capabilities in a way that does not threaten their witness, nor the witness of other Christians to the world, and to confront those self-professed Christians who do."

In February 2024, the publication attracted national attention after publishing an article about a university-sponsored "bondage workshop" at IUPUI. Backlash from several community members led to the event being cancelled, and the story was subsequently picked up by local media [6] as well as the New York Post, Breitbart, Campus Reform [7] and others.

Through a Freedom of Information Act request, Campus Reform uncovered that IUPUI Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, Dr. Eric Weldy called the publication "illegitimate" and requested staff members to not have any contact with the publication after the article about the bondage event was published, [8] and that the IUPUI Office of Health and Wellness had spent more than $100 on 500 feet of nylon rope and other supplies on the event. [9]

That same month, the publication attracted attention from the Indiana Daily Student for uncovering vast disparities in compensation of undergraduate student government officials at Indiana University Bloomington and Purdue West Lafayette as compared to IUPUI, despite their significantly larger size and budgets. [10]

Later that month, the publication published a letter to the editor criticizing Dr. Joshua W. Brown, Indiana University Bloomington professor of psychology and neuroscience, for praying over a student in front of a crowd and claiming to have healed him of "left kidney pain" at an event sponsored by several Christian organizations at IUPUI.

In April 2024, The Collegiate Commons published on opinion column supportive of the Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition, which suggested that Indianapolis students should consider the benefits of unionizing as well. [11]

The American Commons

The American Commons was founded in 2018. Several of the founders were members of the American Solidarity Party [12] or the And Campaign. The website largely published columns about national issues and their relation to the consistent life ethic, Christian Social Teaching, and Christian Democracy. It went inactive in 2022, but was restarted in 2024 by students and community advisors affiliated with The Collegiate Commons. It merged with The Collegiate Commons in the summer of 2024 to become The Indiana Commons.

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References

  1. ↑ "Campus Journalism". Intercollegiate Studies Institute. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  2. ↑ Stewart, Jacob. "About the Collegiate Commons".
  3. ↑ "Company Search Subscription Service". www.bizapedia.com. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  4. ↑ Comber-Wilen, Lauren Chapman::Violet (2023-07-31). "Indiana's near-total abortion ban takes effect Aug. 1. Here's what you need to know". WFYI Public Media. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  5. ↑ Micaiah Bilger (2023-09-13). "Educator accused of harassing pro-life students online, comparing girl to blow-up sex doll". The College Fix. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  6. ↑ "The Indianapolis Star Subscription Offers, Specials, and Discounts". subscribe.indystar.com. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  7. ↑ Arns, Emma (2024-02-07). "University removes 'Introduction to Bondage' from 'Healthy Relationships Week' after backlash over presenter's disturbing online activity". campusreform.org. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  8. ↑ Arns, Emma (2024-04-03). "IUPUI calls Campus Reform correspondent 'not to be trusted' after 'Introduction to Bondage' piece: EXCLUSIVE". campusreform.org. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  9. ↑ Arns, Emma (2024-04-08). "University administrator bought 500 feet of nylon rope ahead of planned 'intro to bondage' workshop led by rape-porn author: EXCLUSIVE". campusreform.org. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  10. ↑ "Stipends not included in IUSG's current fiscal year budget". Stipends not included in IUSG's current fiscal year budget - Indiana Daily Student. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  11. ↑ Stewart, Jacob (2024-04-09). "OPINION: The conservative case for Indianapolis students to unionize". The Collegiate Commons. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  12. ↑ "About • The American Commons". theamericancommons.com. 2021-05-01. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
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