By Joseph Slacian
jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com
Manchester University President Dave McFadden joined 15 other leaders from Indiana colleges and universities in signing a letter that seeks stronger language in Indiana hate crimes legislation.
Meanwhile, Lee Lewellen, President and CEO of the Indiana Economic Development Association, penned a similar letter to members of the Indiana General Assembly.
A current bill was stripped of language that would enhance penalties against those who harm others based on their disability, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity.
In their letter, the college and university leaders wrote, “Passing SB 12 as it stands today — without explicitly listing specific classes — will bring more harm to our state and further perpetuate the negative perception of Indiana. It will push out more of our students and detract more talent from coming in.”
The leaders of Butler University, DePauw University, Earlham College, Franklin College, Goshen College, Hanover College, Indiana Tech, Manchester University, Marian University, Martin University, Rose-Hulman, Saint Mary’s College, Trine University, University of Indianapolis, University of Notre Dame and Wabash College also signed this most recent letter.
“For too long, Indiana has suffered the negative perception as one of the five states in the nation without a hate crimes law,” the letter said. “The world doubts that we care about our family, friends, and neighbors or that we are unwelcoming of others. And there are many in our community – including many of the students, faculty and staff we represent – who feel that Indiana is a place they don’t belong.”
In August 2018, McFadden co-signed a letter along with the presidents of 23 other Indiana private colleges and universities calling on the Indiana General Assembly to enact a hate crimes law.
In his letter, Lewellen noted the Indiana has the second lowest property tax burden in the U.S., is among the top five states for business, leads the nation in manufacturing jobs and has the 10th best tax climate in the U.S.
“These rankings position Indiana to compete favorably for new investment by attracting new companies to the state and encouraging those already here to expand,” he wrote. “It is Indiana’s placement on another list that is jeopardizing much of the progress we have made in the last few years: our continued placement on the list as one of the last five states to fail to implement a meaningful hate crimes bill.”
Business investment, Lewellen wrote, depends on the state’s ability to attract and retain a talented and trained workforce. Workers, he continued, are a mobile asset that will located where they feel welcome.
“Indiana’s lack of meangful hate crimes legislation keeps the state on a list that is a contradiction to our treasured sense of ‘Hoosier Hospitality’ and that burdens businesses and economic developers with an inability to attract what has become the most critical business of the 21st Century – a skilled workforce.”