INDIANAPOLIS — As gun violence continues to impact young people in Indianapolis, one organization is working directly with teens to make a change.

Brandon Randall, founder of Tru Colors Consulting, has spent 20 years mentoring youth. He said the work is deeply personal.

“I’ve lost over 50 students to gun violence and several more to the criminal justice system,” Randall said. “For me, it’s very personal work.”

Randall is currently working with 11 young men who have spent the past year researching the root causes of violence in the community.

“Hopefully, they influence other young people to get involved in the community as well,” he said.

Between July and September 1, six children under the age of 18 have been killed by gun violence in Indianapolis.

Police continue their efforts to get firearms off the streets. Just this past Sunday, officers arrested a 16-year-old on Washington Street downtown who was carrying a gun.

“There was some investigatory work being done, and that’s how officers located that individual,” said Officer Tommy Thompson with IMPD. “This is not uncommon. Our teams work very hard, our officers on the street work very hard.”

Thompson stresses that parents and guardians also play a role.

“Where is our child at? Why are they out at night? Are they allowed to be out at night? Why do they have a firearm? Who are their friends?” asked Thompson.

The 11 young men working with Randall will share their findings and personal stories during the Power of TRU Generations Violence Conference at the Madame Walker Theater.

“There are a lot of young people wanting to change,” Randall said. “They want to turn their life around, and they want their peers to change. I’m hoping people who attend this conference walk away with that.”

The conference is scheduled for Saturday, September 20, at 1 p.m.

BISE Ambassadors taking part in the 2025 LIV Golf Tournament street team. Photo courtesy of Bob Schultz.

PIPER BAILEY | MULTIMEDIA EDITOR | pcbailey1@butler.edu 

The new Butler Institute for Sports & Entertainment (BISE) program integrates the Butler and Indianapolis communities.

Founded at the beginning of the school year, the program offers new opportunities for Butler students and faculty to join the Indianapolis sports scene through various volunteer, semester-long, one-hour credit and multi-semester opportunities. 

BISE was created following the success of the NBA All-Stars, Taylor Swift and Olympic Trials street teams under the guidance of strategic communication lecturer and BISE Director Robert “Bob” Schultz.

“Butler was made for [these] moments,” Schultz said. “It has created a culture here that says we’re innovative, flexible and adaptable… All we’re doing is building…[an] interactive hub to make connections between different colleges on campus and programs to have a multidisciplinary approach.”

The first partnership with Hamilton County Sports Authority took place from June to August. BISE student ambassadors were hired to work the 2025 LIV Golf Tournament and assist the company with their social media, hospitality, street ambassador and documentary teams.

Sophomore strategic communication major, Regan Canada, who served as an ambassador for three of the teams during the tournament, described the atmosphere as fast paced.

“The pace of the work environment was something that you can’t get in the classroom,” Canada said. “I [had to] learn to quickly adapt, generate ideas and kind of roll with whatever was thrown at me.”

The BISE social media team was led by Sarah Hale, Hamilton County Sports Authority’s Sports Marketing Coordinator and 2024 Butler alum. 

“Over the course of three days, we were able to gain over 200,000 impressions across all of our social media platforms,” Hale said. “As well as gain a 30% increase in followers.”

Schultz originally hoped for two or three partnerships for the 2025-26 school year, but instead accumulated over double in the first three months. Including a collaboration with TEDSportsIndianapolis this week and another with Hamilton County Sports Authority for the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup set for Oct. 10 through 12.

Butler’s proximity to downtown Indianapolis provides BISE with unique opportunities and partnerships that other universities are unable to compete with. Schultz believes that this aspect is key to getting students real world experience before graduation. 

“These types of contextual learning opportunities — partnering with businesses, having civic connections — [are] the way for our continued growth as a university,” Schultz said. “From [the] Founders College all the way through every major on campus.”

For more information about upcoming volunteer opportunities with BISE, contact Professor Schultz at rschultz@butler.edu. 

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