Students plan 2nd protest at IUPUI, say concerns not taken seriously

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A second protest is being planned at IUPUI after students said they’re not satisfied with the university’s response to a recent sexual assault.

Freshman Noah Thomas helped organize the first demonstration on Wednesday, just two days after being alerted of a sexual assault in his dorm. Roughly 50 students showed up to rally in the rain.

They demanded the university add cameras to on-campus buildings and called for a universal alert system that notifies every student even if they don’t sign up for it. So far, Thomas said no serious action has been taken.

“They sent us the email saying we care about your safety, here’s all the resources you have, here’s the apps — which you still have to sign up to get notified. Not everyone is going to get notified,” said Thomas.

In an effort to spread the word and help other students feel safe, Thomas started a movement called the Indiana Sexual Assault Awareness Campaign (ISAAC). The group, along with IUPUI’s Undergraduate Student Government, has organized a second peaceful protest for Thursday at 5 p.m.

Thomas said this event will be much larger than the last. He said ISAAC has gained traction on social media, even reaching students at other universities.

“We’re gonna keep going with these peaceful movements and messages until the university responds in an appropriate manner and adds the cameras for our safety and changes their policies,” said Thomas.

Thomas said the goal is not to bash the university. Instead, he hopes it’s an opportunity for campuses across the country to work more closely with their students on important issues.

“This is not just an IUPUI movement. We hope this can become a movement that other students across the country can gravitate to,” said Thomas.

ISAAC is also organizing a much larger demonstration on IU Bloomington’s campus sometime in the coming weeks. For updates, check the group’s Instagram account.

An Indiana University spokesperson said leaders are still looking into the student’s request and pointed us back to their original statement.

Any instance of sexual assault on our campus is one too many. We appreciate our students calling attention to these most recent incidents. We constantly review our safety measures and are examining what policies and equipment, including some that the students are calling for, would make the most difference. We do want to make sure all IUPUI students are aware of the numerous resources now available through our sexual assault prevention, intervention and response task force at https://sapir.iupui.edu/.

Indiana University