Professors discuss recent democrat walkouts as panel
Students gathered in UIndy Hall B on April 11 to learn more about the political situations in both Wisconsin and Indiana. The event was organized by the Janus Club and was dubbed “Political Unrest.”
Democratic members of the Wisconsin state legislature left their state to take refuge in Illinois early last month to stall the political agenda of the Wisconsin Republican Party regarding a minimization of union workers’ rights. Soon after, Indiana democrats followed suit for similar reasons, also fleeing to Illinois.
A panel of three professors from the history and political science department discussed, analyzed and took questions regarding the recent Democratic walkouts and turmoil in the Wisconsin and Indiana state legislatures.
Carrie Cihasky, assistant professor of history and political science, Ted Frantz, associate professor of history and political science and James Fuller, associate professor of history and political science, made up the panel.
Cihasky was the first to speak and drew both from her political science background as well as her experiences as a Wisconsin resident. She gave the audience a brief summary of the events taking place in Wisconsin and Indiana, outlining the time frame in which they occurred.
“There are two things you don’t mess with in Wisconsin: the Packers and labor unions,” Cihasky said.
Fuller then focused on the historical context of walkouts in the Midwest, highlighting a similar occurrence in the 1830s in Indiana in which the Republicans used a similar tactic.
While he focused on the historical aspects of walkouts, Fuller also mentioned that he took issue with the name chosen for the event.
“This isn’t political unrest,” Fuller said. “It’s democracy!”
Frantz, who, like Cihasky, has spent time living in Wisconsin, spoke on the history of labor unions and their stronghold in America over the last century.
“Public labor unions began in Wisconsin,” Frantz said. “And what’s happening there now has a symbolic power.”
