Over the course of our high school career, we are supposed to prepare and plan for college. We are supposed to use these four years as the building blocks for the rest of our lives. So, when we learn that the Indiana State Legislature passed a budget that has last-minute additions, giving the Governor of Indiana complete control over the Board of Trustees of our largest university, how are we supposed to plan for the future? 

We put a lot of trust in our universities. They are the hives for which we learn to create new ideas. How can we trust and create innovative ideas when the members of the body that controls Indiana University can be removed and added at the Governor’s will? 

Not just that, but the language of the policy changes effectively removed the election process for alumni board members. It is outlandish to even begin thinking of the rational reasons for this. If this move really was for the betterment of education, why was it added behind closed doors and not the subject of a filed bill or amendment? If you think that is ridiculous, it didn’t even get a public testimony. 

Part of my plan for my future career depended on the high level of IU’s music program, but I don’t want to apply to a school directly controlled by the governor. Yes, the government sets the vision for education. Do I agree with that? Possibly. However, Indiana has gone too far with state control at this time, and it’s time for them to hear what we have to say. 

If no one complains, ruffles the feathers, or takes action, imagine how far they can go? Purdue and Ball State, both universities with national recognition, could be implicated in the complete takeover of education by the state. One of the most surprising elements of this takeover is that no one is complaining. No one is trying to break away from the cell being placed around IU’s leadership. 

It might sound corny, and very well might be, but we have a duty as the adulting generation to prove ourselves. Every other generation had their big fight, it’s our time. It’s our time to show them, whether that be state government, local or national, that we will not go quietly into a mindless future. 

I call on everyone reading this article not to limit themselves. We have the passion and the willingness to save our education. In the words of Winston Churchill, “Hear this, young men and women everywhere, and proclaim it far and wide. The earth is yours and the fullness thereof. Be kind, but be fierce. You are needed now more than ever before. Take up the mantle of change. For this is your time.”