Latest news with #AndersonUniversity
Indianapolis Star
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Indianapolis Star
'I'm speechless.' Kya Crooke breaks 39-, 40-year-old records at IHSAA girls track state meet
INDIANAPOLIS – Kya Crooke pleaded with her mother for tickets to see R&B artist SZA in St. Louis. In ordinary parental fashion, Julie Crooke initially told her daughter no since the concert was three days before the IHSAA girls track state meet. The Heritage Christian senior persisted. With her persistence came a pledge. 'I told my mom, 'No, I have to be at that concert; I promise I'll do good at state,'' Kya said. Julie granted permission. In turn, her daughter did better than good. Crooke set state meet records in the long jump (20-4.75) and high jump (6-0.25) Saturday at the IHSAA girls track and field state meet at North Central. The long jump record stood for 39 years, and the high jump record, 40. 'That record has been around for so long, so it's been my goal this whole season to work toward breaking the long and high jump records,' Crooke said. 'Coming out here and being able to do that, I can hear the people clapping with me. It's just really cool to see.' IHSAA girls track and field state meet: Results, event winners, record breakers 'We did this as a team.' Carmel wins girls track state title without winning single event Crooke said she was anxious before her jumps but talked to friends to calm her nerves and 'have fun,' claiming, 'That's when I'm at my best.' Her best left her dad, Val, at a loss for words. 'I'm speechless. To have the last meet of her senior year and to break the long and high jump records, that girl has something special,' Val said. "I just sat back and watched; I didn't even have to coach anymore.' Val trained his daughter since she began track and field. He ran track on his native Caribbean island of St. Kitts and later attended college at Anderson University. When Crooke was in middle school, Val and Julie started the SocaSpeed track club. With four state titles, including one in soccer her freshman year, Crooke said it's 'awesome to be the person the girls at Soca could look up to.' 'We talk about the little brown and black girls that get to see someone high jump and say, 'I want to do that,' and there are girls in St. Kitts now going, 'What in the world, that girl is going crazy,'" Val said. "Now, I am going to have a ton of young ladies in the islands that want to high and long jump.' Val's confidence and excitement in his following comment released a strong Carribean accent. 'St. Kitts got the sprints covered,' he said. 'We got the jumps now.' Crooke hopes to compete for St. Kitts in future international competitions. After every meet, she sends videos to her grandparents and extended family on the island, and they often ask Val for ways to livestream her events. 'There's a whole other country behind me,' Crooke said. The City Female Athlete of the Year appreciates her domestic support as well. Born and raised in Indiana, Crooke acknowledged her parents, high school coaches and teammates for 'pulling for her to be the best I can be.' She praised Indiana for granting multiple opportunities, like the Indiana All-Star track meet, for its athletes to gain experience and showcase their talents. Crooke will attend Arizona in the fall, where she'll be trained by decorated jumps coach Bobby Carter. As Crooke builds a ladder of achievements in track and field, Val recognizes his daughter's inclination to carry others up with her. 'She understands she has a plan and purpose for her life and gets to walk in it and bring people along. It's not about her, it's about others,' Val said. 'At the end of the day, this is all about her love for Christ, so to see that play out in her athletics, where she gives God the glory for all of her successes, it brings tears to my eyes.' 'Let's try everything.' Heritage Christian's Kya Crooke City Female Athlete of the Year For Crooke, her actions must reflect that she represents someone beyond herself. 'I had to learn that whether I'm doing bad or amazing, people are watching and can see how I handle certain situations. Track is my ministry, so I like people to see something different in how I handle things and ask, 'Why did I do it that way?'' Crooke said. 'My athletic ability is a gift from God, and I love that I can show that through a sport I love so much. "The biggest compliment I've received these past two years from people is that they can see Christ through me on the track, and that's really why I'm out here. I want to continue to do that out in Arizona and whatever else is planned.'
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
AU cuts include campus police, lacrosse programs
ANDERSON — In an effort to trim costs, Anderson University is disbanding its campus police department and eliminating its men's and women's lacrosse programs. In place of the campus police department, AU will be transitioning to a safety and security staffing model, according to an email from the office of incoming President Scott Moats. Instead of reducing services, the university's approach to campus safety is being modernized 'to improve access, efficiency and student-centered care,' according to the email. Services like campus video surveillance, blue light safety stations, escort services for students and key card access to buildings will remain in place. AU also plans to continue its partnership with local police agencies for a 'rapid and professional response to any major incidents.' In a letter to AU students and families, Moats, who will officially become AU's sixth president June 1, said student safety is the highest priority. 'This change is part of a thoughtful transition based on national best practices, tailored to our location and campus community,' Moats said. 'The model focuses on maintaining a strong, visible safety presence while emphasizing prevention and care — consistent with what's common at small, private universities nationwide.' University officials said they are taking steps to ensure the campus environment would continue to help students thrive, according to the email. It mentions AU is currently putting a plan in place that is 'focused on fiscal responsibility, operational efficiency, and sustainable growth.' The elimination of the lacrosse programs comes as several other small universities in the Midwest either cut or consider cutting their lacrosse programs amid budget restraints and difficulty in maintaining roster sizes. The women's and men's lacrosse NCAA Div. III programs were started in 2018 under President John Pistole, who is retiring at the end of this month. The Ravens women's lacrosse team had two coaches and 17 players, including four seniors, on the roster this spring, as reflected on the university's website. Twelve of the players attended high school in Indiana, three in Ohio, and two in Illinois. The women's team had its best records this spring and last, finishing 8-8 both years. The 2025 season ended with a 19-4 loss in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament against Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky, on May 3. The AU men's lacrosse team had two coaches and 19 players but no seniors for the 2025 season, according to the school's website. Just four of the players went to high school in Indiana, where lacrosse is not sanctioned as a varsity sport for boys or girls by the state high school athletic association. Six of the AU players this spring are from Illinois, three from Kentucky, two from Ohio and one apiece from Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Florida. The best record for the men's team came in 2023, when the Ravens won seven of their 12 games. This year, they finished 3-12. Like the women's spring, the men's season ended with an HCLC tournament loss, 30-3, to Transylvania in Lexington The men's and women's lacrosse teams often had to travel out of state for competition. During the 2025 season, just four of the men's 14 opponents and just three of the women's 14 opponents came from colleges located in Indiana. The elimination of the lacrosse programs leaves AU with 18 varsity sports, nine for each gender.
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Yahoo
Lockdown lifted for Anderson University, schools after shooting; police apprehend suspect
The City of Anderson Police Department, SWAT, the Anderson County Sheriff's Office, and investigators are actively investigating a shooting incident near East Whitener Street in Anderson. According to a press release, at approximately 2:00 p.m. Senior Officer Ren Johnson and Detective Ross Richey responded to the audible sounds of a shooting near Renaissance Academy. Upon arrival, officers found a male victim with a gunshot wound to the calf in the 800 block of East Whitner Street. Detective Ross Richey immediately provided life-saving aid to the victim, applying a tourniquet to the upper leg to control bleeding until fire and medical personnel arrived. According to a press release, a suspect, described as a Black male, was seen fleeing the scene armed with a weapon. Officers pursued the suspect near Jefferson Avenue. Additional units from the Anderson Police Department (APD) and the Anderson County Sheriff's Office (ACSO) quickly responded to establish a perimeter around the area. A K-9 unit from the Anderson Police Department conducted a tracking operation assisted by the Anderson County Sheriff's Office. During the tracking operation, perimeter officers received a tip from a concerned citizen regarding a person matching the suspect's description seen hiding in D.B. Walker Park. Officers successfully located and detained an individual fitting the suspect's description in D.B. Walker Park. The person of interest has been transported to the Anderson Police Department for questioning. This remains an active investigation. Further updates will be provided as more information becomes available. The proximity of the shooting to local schools raised concerns, prompting both Nevitt Forest and CF Reames to go into "secure status." This procedure, as explained by Kyle Newton, chief communications officer with Anderson District Five, involves getting inside and locking outside doors. This is to ensure the safety of students and staff, he added. These measures were taken as a precaution, Newton said. The situation was resolved in less than an hour, and all schools resumed normal operations. Anderson University was also placed on lockdown. According to a press release, the university initially warned students of an 'armed intruder on campus,' leading to immediate shelter-in-place orders. However, officials have since clarified that the suspect was never on campus. Instead, he was in a nearby area and headed toward the university. In a follow-up message to the Anderson University community, the school clarified that the original alert contained inaccurate wording. There are no injuries reported on campus, and students are being urged to remain indoors as a precautionary measure. Law enforcement presence will remain high in the area until the situation is fully resolved to ensure the safety of everyone involved. University officials are working closely with local authorities to monitor the situation and provide updates as necessary. An Anderson University student said the school was on lockdown for about 15 minutes. At approximately 3:30 p.m., about an hour after the initial report, Anderson University Campus Safety lifted the lockdown after receiving confirmation from the Anderson County Sheriff's Office that any potential threat had subsided. The Renaissance Academy, which was also in the vicinity, was not involved in the incident. According to a press release, as a precautionary measure, students were safely dismissed from the rear of the school, and staff members were assisted in exiting through the front. Anderson University was also notified due to its proximity to the scene. Director of Campus Police Eddie Amen says the lockdown only lasted about 30 minutes. Photographer Ken Ruinard contributed to this article. This is a breaking news story and will be updated. Travis Rose covers Anderson County for the Independent Mail. Reach him via email at trose@ This article originally appeared on Anderson Independent Mail: Lockdown lifted for Anderson University, schools; suspect caught
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
SC Medal of Honor hero Freddie Stowers erased then restored amid DEI purge
World War I hero Freddie Stowers is honored with a statue at Anderson University created by South Carolina portrait sculptor Maria J. Kirby-Smith. (Photo by Paul Hyde/Special to the SC Daily Gazette) The good guys won one. A Defense Department page mentioning South Carolina hero Freddie Stowers has been restored after it had been removed amid the department's efforts to eliminate content singling out contributions by women and minority groups. Cpl. Stowers, who died in battle, was the first Black American to be awarded the Medal of Honor for 'extraordinary heroism' in World War I. Stowers apparently suffered the same fate as baseball legend Jackie Robinson and thousands of others who were removed from the Defense Department's website because of the Trump administration's strident, unreasoning opposition to diversity, equity and inclusion. Stories about the Tuskegee Airmen, the Navajo code talkers and a Native American Marine who helped raise the flag at Iwo Jima were among the webpages removed. Photos of the Enola Gay, the B-29 that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, were flagged for removal, seemingly because of the word 'gay' in its name. Some of those pages are being restored following a public outcry, but many may be lost forever. Last week, the page mentioning Stowers titled 'Intrepid African American Soldiers Broke Barriers, Paved the Way,' read '404 Page Not Found.' The letters 'dei' were added to the URL. Even now, Stowers merits only a few lines on the restored webpage. The Medal of Honor is the United States's highest military recognition for valor. The Defense Department's website purges are a national outrage, but for South Carolinians the case of Freddie Stowers hits close to home — literally close to my home. Stowers, who died on the battlefield in 1918 at the age of 22, was a native of Anderson County, where I have lived the majority of my life. There's a fine statue of Stowers at Anderson University about a two-minute drive from my home. There's a moving tribute to Stowers at the Anderson County Museum. Stowers' elimination from the Department of Defense website was really a second erasure for Stowers, both due to his race. Recommended for the Medal of Honor in 1918, Stowers' recommendation languished for 73 years, until he was finally recognized in 1991 by President George H.W. Bush. Many historians and others, including his great niece, believe Stowers' heroism — and that of many other Black Americans — was shamefully overlooked in a segregated Army. Stowers, grandson of a slave, grew up in a hard-working farm family in the tiny community of Sandy Springs. Drafted in October 1917 at the age of 21, Cpl. Stowers would serve as a squad leader in an all-Black regiment. Stowers' Medal of Honor citation, read to his surviving sisters Georgina and Mary in a White House ceremony, eloquently expresses his valor on the day he was killed in the line of duty: 'The president of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pride in presenting the Medal of Honor (posthumously) to Cpl. Freddie Stowers, United States Army, for exceptional heroism on Sept. 28, 1918, while serving as a squad leader in Company C, 371st Infantry Regiment, 93d Infantry Division. Cpl. Stowers' company was the lead company during the attack on Hill 188, Champagne Marne Sector, France, during World War I. 'A few minutes after the attack began, the enemy ceased firing and began climbing up onto the parapets of the trenches, holding up their arms as if wishing to surrender. The enemy's actions caused the American forces to cease-fire and to come out into the open. 'As the company started forward and when within about 100 meters of the trench line, the enemy jumped back into their trenches and greeted Cpl. Stowers' company with interlocking bands of machine gun fire and mortar fire causing well over 50% casualties. 'Faced with incredible enemy resistance, Cpl. Stowers took charge, setting such a courageous example of personal bravery and leadership that he inspired his men to follow him in the attack. With extraordinary heroism and complete disregard of personal danger under devastating fire, he crawled forward leading his squad toward an enemy machine gun nest, which was causing heavy casualties to his company. 'After fierce fighting, the machine gun position was destroyed, and the enemy soldiers were killed. Displaying great courage and intrepidity, Cpl. Stowers continued to press the attack against a determined enemy. While crawling forward and urging his men to continue the attack on a second trench line, he was gravely wounded by machine gun fire. 'Although Cpl. Stowers was mortally wounded, he pressed forward, urging on the members of his squad, until he died. Inspired by the heroism and display of bravery of Cpl. Stowers, his company continued the attack against incredible odds, contributing to the capture of Hill 188 and causing heavy enemy casualties. 'Cpl. Stowers' conspicuous gallantry, extraordinary heroism and supreme devotion to his men were well above and beyond the call of duty, follow the finest traditions of military service and reflect the utmost credit on him and the United States Army.' Stowers was the first of only two African Americans to receive the Medal of Honor for conspicuous heroism in World War I. Lt. Col. Taylor Voorhis Beattie, in an article for the magazine Military History, compared Stowers to the World War I hero Sgt. Alvin York, immortalized in a classic 1941 film starring Gary Cooper. Both York and Stowers were poor, devout Southern farm boys who grew up with limited educational and economic opportunities but were drafted into the U.S. Army and earned the Medal of Honor for their inspirational courage under fire. Stowers' life and sacrifice are an important part of our state's and nation's history and deserve to be amplified, not erased. As a Pentagon spokesman said Friday in addressing what he called a mistake: 'History is not DEI.'
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
At AU's 60th Peace and Justice March, participants in first event reflect on civil rights progress
ANDERSON — In April 1968, Carl Kramer was a senior at Anderson University when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. He remembers comforting a fellow student who was sobbing with grief after she heard the news. 'She said, 'Dr. King has been shot,'' Kramer recalled. 'I just took my arms around her and she cried on my shoulder. I had never felt so helpless in my life. 'It was…a reflection of what was going on across the country,' he continued. 'Now we are finding ourselves in the same situation where people are trying to deprive people of their voting rights.' Kramer recounted his experience after participating in the university's Peace and Justice March Tuesday morning. The one-mile walk from Reardon Auditorum to Dickmann Town Center took place 60 years after Kramer, Jacquie Sellers-Womack and Connie Hippensteel participated in the inaugural march in 1965. The trio was recognized during a brief ceremony at the conclusion of the march. Kramer said that first march had a significant impact on him. 'It was a very meaningful experience, I think, for me and the other students and probably the faculty and staff because of the tension that existed in the country,' Kramer said. 'For a lot of us, it was a real commitment. I think it was really a pivotal moment in my life. Looking back, it set me on the trajectory that I have as far as advocating for racial justice.' Tuesday's march was held at the same time chapel would normally be held, so students would be able to attend and not have to miss class. Organizers estimated more than 100 people participated. Martin said he was thankful for that number. 'I thought it was a great turnout,' Martin said. 'It was an optional thing for students to come to. We did it during the time we knew they would be available to come, but for that many students and faculty and staff to participate, it was just a great turnout.' Martin said he wanted his students to realize that the march looked and felt different 60 years ago. 'I was talking to some of my students, and I said, 'You know, 60 years ago when they did this, I don't think they were all smiling and having fun like we are right now,'' Martin said. 'There was a lot of tension back then. There were a lot of people not wanting them to do it from all different aspects.' Korey Rees, a senior at AU and the president of the Student Government Association, said the milestone anniversary of the march is significant. 'It makes the history of the Civil Rights Movement feel much more alive to me,' Rees said. 'Recognizing there are people in my community who, over the course of their lifetime, have seen the civil rights movement come to fruition and enact change in our culture, I think is really amazing. 'It serves as a good reminder to me that there are always important issues going on that are worth paying attention to and standing up for.' Antwone Whiteside, a senior at AU and the president of the Black Student Association, said the experience of participating inspired him. 'It felt amazing to participate in the march today to show appreciation for the ones who came before me,' Whiteside said. 'Seeing all the flags marching together was very impactful and inspiring for the next generation.' During the ceremony, Martin held an American flag that was hanging at the Capitol building when King was assassinated. The flag was donated to AU by an alumnus. Kramer said it is up to the current generation to move forward with obtaining justice. 'I hope people come away from this reinvigorated to carry on the work,' he said. 'There is so much going on today that is very similar to what we marched about 60 years ago. It is a warning that the battle for justice is never completely won and has to continue with this new generation to carry it on.'
