In a class lead by Professor Kelsey Kauffman, six DePauw students have been preparing to testify against the bill HJR-3, formerly HJR-6.
While this course may seem to be just another step by DePauw University in the fight against HJR-3, an amendment that would effectively ban same sex marriage in Indiana, it is not. It is instead a class that was open to students from either viewpoint; it just happened that all six students who joined opposed the bill.
The idea behind the class, taught by Kauffman, a professor of university studies, was to teach students about the legislative system and learn about local politics.
The class involves a great deal of work and daily workloads last between four and five hours, sophomore Mickey Terlep said. That workload is only for research days.
"If there is going to be a bill we are actually going to testify on it's usually like a 16 or 17 hour day at the statehouse" junior Ryan Pranger said.
Pranger's hard work has paid off as he was originally chosen by Freedom Indiana, a coalition lobbying against the bill, to deliver the closing testimony for the bill's initial presentation to state representatives.
While Pranger's testimony was the only one chosen, Kaufmann said, "All six students have written great testimony."
Due to the intense course load, Kauffman required students to contact her before allowing them to enter the course. This screening was designed to ensure that students understood the amount of work that would be required of them.
The house committee, which originally intended to vote on HJR-3 on Mon. Jan. 13, decided to postpone the vote after testimony surpassed the allotted amount of time. There has been no date set for the vote.
Unfortunately for Pranger, he was not able to give his testimony in front of the panel, instead he was able to deliver his work at a Freedom Indiana rally.
"It was a very cool experience," said Pranger.
While the main focus of the course is the HJR-3 bill, students will continue to research and study other bills going through the Indiana legislator even after HJR-3 is voted upon.