![IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Junior Zalie Mann performs “I Love to Cry at Weddings,” an ensemble piece from the fall musical Sweet Charity, to prospective students during the Fine Arts Showcase on Wednesday, Nov. 8. The showcase is a compilation of performances and demonstrations from each fine arts strand offered at McCallum. This show is put on so that prospective students can see if they are interested in joining an academy or major.
Sweet Charity originally ran the weekends of Sept. 28 and Oct. 8, but made a comeback for the Fine Arts Showcase.
“[Being at the front in the spotlight] is my favorite part of the whole dance, so I was super happy to be on stage performing and smiling at the audience,” Mann said.
Mann performed in both the musical theatre performance and dance excerpt “Ethereal,” a contemporary piece choreographed by the new dance director Terrance Carson, in the showcase. With also being a dance ambassador, Mann got to talk about what MAC dance is, her experience and answer any questions the aspiring arts majors and their parents may have.
Caption by Maya Tackett.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/53321803427_47cd17fe70_o-1-1200x800.jpg)
![SPREADING THE JOY: Sophomore Chim Becker poses with sophomores Cozbi Sims and Lou Davidson while manning a table at the Hispanic Heritage treat day during lunch of Sept 28. Becker is a part of the students of color alliance, who put together the activity to raise money for their club.
“It [the stand] was really fun because McCallum has a lot of latino kids,” Becker said. “And I think it was nice that I could share the stuff that I usually just have at home with people who have never tried it before.”
Becker recognizes the importance of celebrating Hispanic heritage at Mac.
“I think its important to celebrate,” Becker said. “Because our culture is awesome and super cool, and everybody should be able to learn about other cultures of the world.”
Caption by JoJo Barnard.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/53221601352_4127a81c41_o-1200x675.jpg)
On Feb. 6, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita announced in a press release his new Eyes on Education portal, which launched on the same day. According to the press release, the new website aimed to “further empower parents in their children’s education” and create transparency by allowing parents to submit and view what they called “potentially inappropriate materials.”
Several examples included in the press release and also found on the new website included a plan to protect and support transgender students at Clark-Pleasant Community School Corporation, a Pride/Black Lives Matter flag displayed in a Kokomo school, and a presentation from Martinsville High School about gender stereotypes, identity and transgenderism.
Rokita called his new website “a platform for students and parents to submit and view real examples of socialist indoctrination from classrooms across the state.”
The press release gave no information on how submissions are reviewed or published, or how they are even verified, other than stating his office may contact the submitter for additional information about their submission.
An important note, however, is that a spokesperson from the Indiana Department of Education stated that Rokita’s office did not consult the Indiana Department of Education, which is responsible for overseeing the state’s curriculum.
The website currently lists 13 school districts and the IU School of Medicine, each listing instances of “indoctrination.” However, even within the website, there is little to no evidence provided that any of the plans or pictures are from or were ever used in Indiana schools. In one submission, social media comments were used in a presentation as “evidence” of racism in Center Grove Community Schools’ curriculum. The presentation also went as far as to name teachers.
This lack of transparency further pits communities against teachers and creates false narratives. One can only assume the Attorney General would use them to further his own political ideology, the very thing this site claims to be combatting.
— HSEA Teachers
Even worse still, in one submission, the personal details of teachers are publicly available, including phone numbers and emails, opening the teachers up to harassment and effectively doxing them. In another submission, an email was sent to Rokita’s office over a year ago. The submitter’s personal name, address, email and phone number are also included, and there is nothing within the submission itself stating the submitter wanted the email published.
In another submission regarding Mooresville Consolidated School Corporation, there are over 160 pages of screenshots highlighting and circling any mention of racism, anti-racism, white supremacy, diversity and bias. It even went so far as to essentially stalk and screenshot teachers and faculty on social media for any mention of anything relating to those topics.
When responding to the Indiana Capitol Chronicle on the portal, 12 districts named on the website were not contacted beforehand by the Attorney General, and nine said the information on the portal was inaccurate.
In a statement by an alliance of seven teachers’ unions, they listed out prominent issues with the website, including misinformation, lack of transparency, privacy and political ideology.
“The Attorney General is choosing to push the spread of inaccurate, unfounded and manufactured outrage for his own political gain rather than using his platform to highlight the hard work and achievement of Indiana students and teachers,” the statement said. “Eyes on Education proves that the Attorney General gives no thought or priority to student well-being.”
The group called for the website to be taken down immediately.
The American Civil Liberties Union ( ACLU) of Indiana said the website is a way to “report schools teaching important racial equity and LGBTQ topics in an effort to intimidate teachers from discussing these issues with students.”
Indiana is in the middle of a teacher shortage, with nearly 1,800 vacancies statewide, and Attorney General Rokita continues to perpetuate an anti-educator climate which will only result in a worse shortage of teachers for Indiana. This isn’t the first time Rokita has targeted public schools as well in the name of furthering transparency for children’s parents. This includes Rokita’s Parents’ Bill of Rights, which includes sections regarding vaccinations, religious expression, transgenderism and homeschooling.
The Eyes on Education portal is a danger to Indiana teachers and only serves to further a conservative culture war against a purported “woke” public education system as well as Rokita’s own political career.
This story was originally published on LHS Magpie on March 8, 2024.
