This is the WFHB Local News for Thursday, April 10th, 2025.

In today’s newscast, WFHB correspondent Brookelyn Lambright brings to us another segment of Unbound. Today, she features the life and legacy of the Lawrence Family Glassblowers from Nashville, Indiana. More in today’s feature report.

Also coming up in the next half hour, local journalist Anne Kibbler speaks to the importance of wetlands on Civic Conversations – a podcast collaboration between WFHB and the League of Women Voters of Bloomington and Monroe County.

IU Grad Workers Protest Visa Revocations, Demand University Action to Protect International Students

Photos by Jessie Grubb

On Thursday, demonstrators gathered for a protest at the Sample Gates. This comes after the Department of Homeland Security revoked visas for several graduate students at Indiana University.

The Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition, who organized the protest, demanded that the university ensure the safety of students impacted by providing emergency academic leave. Furthermore, the grad workers union are demanding the university to publicly communicate how these students can complete their degrees.

Elijah Beaton, a graduate student in the history department at IU, said that members of the grad workers union had their visas revoked.

“It’s a direct attack, not only on the IGWC as a union, but on IU as a whole,” said Beaton.

Beaton says he wants people to understand the severity of the situation. He said this has serious consequences for the students whose visas were revoked.

“Frankly, if IU doesn’t step in and make sure the students complete their degrees, this is a career-ruining thing to happen,” said Beaton. “As graduate students, we spend 5 to 10 years of our lives working towards this and to have that interrupted – it’s just a waste of the previous years.”

He described his concerns for the implications this has on international students’ rights at IU. In his opinion, international students are essential to the grad school programs at the university.

“The university doesn’t function without international students. And I think IU knows that,” he said. “As graduate students and as friends with all these people, we know that for sure.”

Beaton said the graduate workers coalition wants to to support the students impacted in the best way they can – using both protests and working with university officials.

“I think one of the most important things we can do is make a big deal on their behalf,” said Beaton. “We’ve seen across the country, the universities that have been unprepared or didn’t respond quickly have had the most sort of intense repression.”

He said that it brings him no joy to be at the Sample Gates protesting. In his view, an injury to one is an injury to all.

“I am sad to be out here,” he said. “An injury to one is an injury to all. I think that’s the one thing I’m trying to tell everyone I interact with.”

Feature Report:

In today’s feature report, WFHB correspondent Brookelyn Lambright brings to us another segment of Unbound. Today, she features the life and legacy of the Lawrence Family Glassblowers from Nashville, Indiana. Listen along to hear how twin brothers Jim and John Lawrence got their start and their reflections on the craft after 57 years of glassblowing. Plus, Jim walks listeners through the process of making a glass horse.

Two hundred years ago, Indiana had 5.5 million acres of wetlands, but now it has only 800,000 acres. Until 2021, Indiana had stronger wetlands protections than many other states. Since that period, however, the Indiana legislature has significantly loosened regulations, allowing people to build more in areas once designated as wetlands.

We turn now to Part 1 of an interview with local journalist Anne Kibbler on Civic Conversations. Stay with us next Thursday to hear Part II.

Credits: