Indiana
Indiana woman pleads guilty to hate crime after stabbing Asian American college student
New report reveals hate crimes spike during president election cycles
A new report released by the Leadership Conference Education Fund shows trends of hate crimes increase during election cycles.
Ariana Triggs, USA TODAY
An Indiana woman has pleaded guilty to a federal hate crime after she repeatedly stabbed a Chinese American teenager on a city bus while yelling slurs, court records show.
Billie Davis, 58, admitted to stabbing an 18-year-old Indiana University student in her head seven to ten times last year. The teen survived the pocketknife assault but suffered several wounds.
Davis told police she “snapped” when she saw the woman and attacked her because she was Chinese. She added that she wanted to make “one less enemy,” according to the plea agreement.
Trinh Le, community care director at civil rights nonprofit Stop AAPI Hate, told USA TODAY the guilty plea hasn’t erased the grief of Indiana’s Asian American community that they have grappled with since the assault.
“Students we supported at (Indiana University) after the attack shared that they’ve been living in fear ever since,” Le said. “We know that racism against Asian American communities continues to be a pervasive issue, and it’s being dangerously fueled by xenophobic, anti-immigrant comments from politicians and leaders. It’s time to hold our leaders who embolden racist attackers accountable as well.”
The announcement in Indiana comes less than two months before the election as some civil rights leaders warn the campaign cycle could trigger a spike in hate crimes. A study by the Leadership Conference Education Fund found reported hate crimes have increased during the last four presidential election cycles – and warns this year could see another dangerous rise.
Asian student stabbed several times on Indiana city bus
On Jan. 11, 2023, Davis boarded a Bloomington Transit bus that the victim was seated on, according to the plea agreement filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.
After the victim, identified as “Z.F.” pulled a cord to indicate she wanted to stop at the next exit, Davis removed a folding knife from her right front pocket and opened the blade, the agreement said. As the student stood to exit the bus, Davis turned toward her and repeatedly stabbed her in the head, according to court filings.
“Z.F. exited the bus screaming in pain from the stab wounds,” the plea agreement read. “The Defendant collapsed the knife and put in back in her pocket and sat back down on the bus.”
The student suffered several wounds on her head, including a deep cut that required sutures and staples, according to court documents.
Another passenger followed Davis when she got off the bus. “The defendant called the passenger a ‘chink lover’ and said the woman she attacked was going to blow up the bus because she was Asian,” the plea agreement said.
Security camera footage from the bus showed no interaction between Davis and the 18-year-old student before the sudden attack, which happened at 4:43 p.m. as the bus came to a stop.
Court documents say Davis “has demonstrated a recognition and affirmative acceptance of personal responsibility for the defendant’s criminal conduct.”
Lawyers representing Davis argued she was mentally ill and incompetent to stand trial. But after she was put on proper medication, her condition improved. This January, the judge in the case ruled Davis was competent and that a trial would be scheduled.
A plea agreement says Davis will be sentenced to no more than six years in prison when she comes before the judge on Dec. 3.
A public defender listed for Davis in court records didn’t immediately return USA TODAY’s request for comment.
Election year could be fueling a rise in hate crimes
The Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University released a report earlier this year that found hate crimes rose by an average of 17% across 25 American cities in 2023. Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston and Austin all broke hate crime records dating back to the early 1990s, according to the center.
In one of the latest hate incidents, Springfield, Ohio, has faced a slew of violent threats after Republican leaders, including former President Donald Trump, spread false claims that Haitian immigrants were eating pets.
On Wednesday, federal prosecutors announced that a “self-described racist skinhead” was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for threatening his Black neighbors in Maine. Charles Allen Barnes, 47, admitted to sending a Facebook voice message saying he was outside his neighbor’s apartment and would kill anyone who emerged, while repeatedly using racial slurs.
A Boston-area man earlier this month was sentenced to 18 months in prison for an anti-Asian hate crime. Prosecutors said John Sullivan, 78, encountered a group of Asian Americans he hadn’t met before outside a post office — including three children — and yelled: “Go back to China.” Sullivan threatened to kill them, then drove his car into one of the adults, eventually causing the man to fall face-first into a ten-foot-deep construction ditch, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
With the presidential election weeks away, one report warns the nation could be seeing a rise in hate incidents. The Leadership Conference Education Fund, a national civil rights group, said in a study last year that data going back to 2008 reveals that hate crimes against racial groups increase around general elections.
“From the mainstreaming of hate and the failure of social media platforms to adequately address disinformation, the current climate is rife with opportunities for the trend of increased hate to continue into the 2024 election — unless action is taken,” the report said.
Contributing: N’dea Yancey-Bragg and Claire Thornton, USA TODAY
INDIANAPOLIS — With hopes to meet Caitlin Clark, Kestas Jociuf and his 8-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, left their seats in section 119 and went to the tunnel next to the Indiana Fever bench. Before her family started their nine-hour drive from Minnesota to Indiana, Elizabeth painted a picture draped with Fever logos and a “Caitlin, we love you” message.
The Jociuf’s attempt to meet Clark was successful. Elizabeth’s painting now has a new owner.
“Caitlin actually took the picture,” Jociuf said. “Elizabeth probably wrote Caitlin Clark at least 14 times on that drawing.”
Elizabeth and her father also told Clark to feel better soon, to which she thanked them. The Fever announced Monday that Clark would miss at least two weeks with a left quad strain. Since Clark’s injury, the Fever played the Washington Mystics and Connecticut Sun, losing both matchups. Indiana will be without their star guard for at least the next two games, when they host the Mystics on Tuesday and travel to the Chicago Sky on June 7.
Jociuf and his wife, Sulema, had taken their daughter and 10-year-old son to see Clark when she visited the Minnesota Lynx last season. Elizabeth and her brother fell in love with Clark, so Sulema and Jociuf bought seats closer to the court for the family’s first visit to Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
While Sulema admitted she was worried for Clark after hearing of her injury, she said her kids were “upset” when they learned Clark wasn’t playing.
“The visit was worth it even though she’s not playing because we wanted to experience Gainbridge and it’s been great. They have a lot of cool things for the kids. Also, there are other good people on the team,” Sulema said. “I told them we can get more tickets later in the season (to watch Caitlin).”
The family of four spent $900 on their tickets. On game day, the price for the same tickets in section 117 was $174.70. The price difference reflects the impact of Clark’s injury on tickets.
IndyStar collected data from Ticketmaster and found that selected ticket prices for Clark’s future matchups against the Sun, Mystics and Sky, in which she is expected to play, increased by as much as 366%.
Note: These are resale prices and may change daily. These numbers were logged up to two hours before the Fever and Sun tipped off Friday.
The most expensive ticket in section 120 for Friday’s contest against the Sun cost $86.25. When Indiana hosts the Sun on June 17, a ticket in the same section will cost $140.30, a 62.7% increase.
The price difference for a seat nearer to the court when the Mystics return to town Aug. 15 is more consumer-friendly. A seat in section 116 on Tuesday will cost $391.95. The price will increase 11% when Washington makes its final regular-season visit to Indiana.
Sky and Fever games are always a hot ticket, with Clark and Sky forward Angel Reese headlining the matchup. If a fan desires to sit in section 225 at the United Center and watch Indiana and Chicago square off in their WNBA Commissioner’s Cup matchup, the cheapest ticket will cost $57.50.
When the two teams reconvene in Chicago on July 27, the cheapest seat in section 225 will cost $267.95.
Although Clark’s availability may alter ticket prices, the impact of her presence remains the same.
”My 8- and 5-year-old daughters were sad not to see her play, but they were still glad to see her in the building,” said Chris Gerrity, a Fever fan who bought tickets for his family before Clark’s injury was announced. “We are still excited to support the city, the rest of the players and the WNBA.”
A look inside Ivy Tech’s restaurant run completely by students
“We have learned that employers want students who have gained the soft skills of working well together, serving their customers, and basically, working within a team.”
Mykal McEldowney, Indianapolis Star
More than 200 employees are expected to be laid off at Ivy Tech campuses across the state as a result of the Indiana General Assembly’s decision to cut funding to the college system.
This announcement was made by Ivy Tech’s president, Sue Ellspermann, on May 30, as she broke the news to many who were affected by this sudden development. Layoffs began the same day and continue into next week.
Emily Sandberg, Ivy Tech’s assistant vice president of communications, confirmed in an email to the IndyStar that the Indianapolis campus is expected to lay off seven faculty and 14 staff members, and the Hamilton County campus is expected to lay off two staff members.
In Ellspermann’s letter, she notes that the Indiana government’s decision to cut 5% of the school allocated fund, on top of the 5% cut from the state budget agency, would equate to an expected loss of $54 million over the next two years.
These cuts, coupled with Gov. Mike Braun and the Indiana Commission for Higher Education recommending a 0% tuition increase for all state educational institutions, left the school with another revenue option.
“Because the college’s primary revenue sources are state appropriations, tuition, and fees, these developments have had an immediate effect on our planning,” Ellspermann said in her letter. “We have reached the difficult decision to adjust our staffing levels, in addition to efforts to reduce our operational expenses.”
During the 2023 budget session, the General Assembly appropriated about $243 million and $245 million for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years, respectively. For 2025-26 and 2026-27, that will drop to about $236 million each. That doesn’t count additional reductions.
Laid-off Ivy Tech workers will receive separation packages, according to Ellspermann’s letter. However, details regarding the separation packages were not provided in the email, noting that laid-off employees will meet with human resources representatives to determine their package.
In total, 202 people will be affected by these layoffs across Ivy Tech’s 45 locations in the state.
“This is a challenging moment for our college, but I know Ivy Tech is strong,” the letter reads.
“I remain confident in our resilience and in our commitment to our students and to one another.”
Contact IndyStar reporter Noe Padilla at npadilla@indystar.com, follow him on X @1NoePadilla or on Bluesky @noepadilla.bsky.social. Courier & Press reporter Jon Webb contributed to this story.
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