Author: Cincade Drudge

Building Global Connections at Purdue Fort Wayne

By Cincade Drudge

As campuses across the country recognized International Education Week (IEW), Purdue Fort Wayne used the Nov. 17-21 celebration not just to highlight global cultures for a few days, but to showcase a growing community of international and multicultural students who enrich campus life year-round.

PFW has been participating in the week-long event for over a decade. According to Shelby Mansfield, assistant director for International Student Services, IEW has been part of U.S. higher education since 2001.

Mansfield explained that International Education Week began as a joint initiative between the U.S. Department of State and the Department of Education.

“So it was a collaborative effort to really highlight the value of international education and also exchange opportunities for U.S. students going abroad and the value of having exchange students come to the U.S.,” she said.

For PFW, the centerpiece of the week is the Global Student Celebration, a Friday-night event featuring cultural food, performances, and the annual Parade of Nations.

“The International Ballroom is typically full, sometimes standing room only at the sides,” Mansfield said. “It’s an awesome opportunity to exchange culture through food and performance.”

One of her favorite moments each year is the parade. “Students come on stage, and they say something [typically a greeting] in their native language,” she said. “It gives me goosebumps because it might sound like a really simple idea, but it’s just awesome when you’re in a room when that happens.”

This year’s events also included international bingo and trivia events hosted by the Office of International Education. Mansfield spoke on how the events are connected to international education.

Students Enjoying International Bingo
Indian Student Association Performance at the Global Student Celebration

“Not necessarily each prize, but each round of bingo will have something international attached to it,” Mansfield stated. Trivia night, she added, is a campus favorite: “It’s super fun because we have a couple of student workers that help create this trivia … We all try to see how well we did at the international-themed trivia.”

The purpose of all these events is to shed light on and provide a sense of community for the international students. PFW currently enrolls 269 international students, with representation from more than 50 countries. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Ghana are among the most represented.

Mansfield emphasized that affordability and the Purdue name continue to attract international students to come to PFW from their home countries.

 “The Purdue degree, the reputation behind what that means when they’re getting a job, and searching for a job after graduation, but also affordability,” she explained.

International students arrive through a mix of recruitment strategies. PFW’s admissions staff physically visits countries to recruit students. They also host virtual fairs that high school students or current college students can attend.

But Mansfield stressed that the support for these students goes far beyond recruitment. Her office assists with everything from immigration advising and how to avoid scams to simply helping students adjust to their new environment.

For many students, the Global Student Celebration is a rare opportunity to publicly represent where they come from.

International Foods at the Global Student Celebration
Bangladesh’s Appearance at The Parade of Nations

Nishad Parulekar, an engineering student from India, said he chose PFW for its close-knit campus feel and supportive faculty. But adjusting to life in the United States came with challenges.

“Being away from family was the hardest part,” he said. “But events like this help you interact with people.”

Nishad performed at this year’s celebration, sharing a piece of his culture with the campus community. He said International Education Week personally represents a time to “meet people, share traditions, and understand what other students have experienced.”

His dream is to work in robotics, hopefully in Germany, a place he believes offers strong opportunities for engineers. But for now, PFW has provided a sense of belonging for him.

Not all students who participated in the celebration are international; some are domestic students with multicultural backgrounds who use the event to express identities that often go unnoticed.

Milayi, who grew up in Fort Wayne but whose family is from Myanmar, performed a dance she choreographed for the Water Festival, her ethnic group’s New Year celebration. Many people assume she is Burmese, she said, but she is actually part of a minority ethnic group within Myanmar.

“Not many people know who we are,” Milayi said. “So it’s meaningful to represent my culture here.”

She added that IEW gives students a chance to learn how many cultures exist on campus, cultures that might not be visible in everyday classroom interactions.

Tips from the Office of International Education

While IEW is designed with internationally connected students in mind, domestic students are also engaging with global cultures on campus.

Siddharth Vemparala, a domestic student who attended the international-themed bingo night because he heard about it from friends, said events like these broaden student perspectives.

“I’ve learned that people grow up with completely different experiences,” he said. “When you meet students from other countries, you gain a lot of perspective. It changes how you see the world.”

He recalled friendships with former dorm neighbors who shared meals from their home countries with him. “It’s really fun to learn from each other and try their local dishes,” he said. “PFW does a good job mixing students in classes and housing, so you interact naturally.”

While International Education Week is a highlight, assistant director Mansfield emphasized that its true purpose extends beyond the celebration itself.

“Every institution has its own spin on it,” she said. “So the main goals of it would be to share, I would say, share culture and traditions, and to help promote that sense of belonging on your own campus.”

As PFW’s international community continues to grow, IEW offers a window into the friendships, challenges, and cultural exchanges that shape campus life, not just in a single week, but year-round.

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Climate Change Is Transforming Midwestern Winters     

As climate change continues to shape weather patterns across the globe, some of its most visible effects are emerging not in blistering summer heat waves or devastating hurricane seasons, as one might expect from the effects of global warming, but in the quiet months of winter. Across the Midwest and northern states, including Indiana, winters are shifting in ways that are unexpected and contrary to popular understandings.  

While climate change is widely associated with warming temperatures, its influence on winter weather is far more complex. It actually intensifies weather extremes, scrambling weather patterns, and fueling heavier storms. Atmospheric patterns become more volatile, producing sudden temperature swings. Snowfall decreases overall, yet the snowstorms that do occur can be stronger than before.  

Much of the confusion stems from a common misconception: the belief that if cold days or snowstorms still occur, climate change must not be real. This conflation of weather and climate, short-term conditions versus long-term trends, remains one of the biggest barriers to public understanding. Even as the planet warms, individual winters can and will still deliver bursts of frigid weather. In fact, some of the most intense winter storms are now fueled by a warmer, wetter atmosphere. 

These changes are increasingly clear across Indiana, where winter is now a season defined by unpredictability. Indiana’s Thanksgiving weekend storm this year is a clear example of how this new weather pattern works. Even though average winters are warming, the storm delivered heavy snow, sudden temperature drops, and pockets of freezing rain. 

But behind these day-to-day variations lies a broader pattern: midwestern winters are warming, destabilizing, and becoming less reliable. 

Across Indiana, winter temperatures have risen steadily over the past several decades. Extremely cold days are less common, and winter nights are warmer than they were for previous generations. On the surface, this might sound appealing to those who hate cold weather, but the consequences ripple out in ways that touch ecosystems, infrastructure, and public safety. 

Warmer air means precipitation increasingly falls as rain rather than snow. Winter rainstorms, once rare, now commonly bring flash flooding and icy roads. 

Another growing challenge is the sudden back-and-forth swings between freezing and thawing. Instead of long stretches of consistent cold, Indiana now sees rapid temperature shifts, sometimes within a single day. These cycles damage roads and bridges, destabilize ice on rivers and lakes, stress plants, and create dangerous conditions for anyone spending time outdoors. 

These new winter patterns are reshaping not only the human world, but the natural world just as dramatically. 

Animals that rely on predictable cold seasons are struggling. Species that hibernate, such as bears, groundhogs, and bats, can emerge too early during warm spells, burning through precious energy reserves long before spring food is available. Small mammals like rabbits and mice lose their protective blanket of snow, leaving them exposed to predators and harsh cold snaps. 

Plants and vegetation are equally vulnerable. Early thaws can trigger out-of-season growth, only for sudden freezes to destroy these new shoots. Herbivores such as deer and moose then face food shortages, while heavy winter rains can wash away stored plant matter or disrupt food caches.  

Amphibians that wait out the winter in mud or under ice are especially vulnerable: repeated freeze–thaw cycles caused by erratic winter temperatures can stress or even kill them. 

Migratory species, mainly birds, are feeling the effects too. Unpredictable seasonal cues cause early or delayed migrations, leading to mismatches between arrival times and food availability. 

The weather changes, and ecological shifts are only part of the story. Warmer, wetter winters create substantial challenges for communities across Indiana. 

Rain replacing snow increases flood risk by producing immediate runoff instead of slow snowmelt. Cities are already seeing more burden on storm drains, bridges, and roads. Agriculture suffers when soils repeatedly freeze and thaw, damaging crops and disrupting planting cycles. Infrastructure takes a hard hit as well: potholes, frost heaving, and water damage drive up maintenance costs. 

Winter-based recreation is also changing. Winter sports like skiing, ice skating, and snowmobiling depend on consistent cold that the Midwest and northern states increasingly lack. While Indiana is not as dependent on winter tourism as northern states, snow-based recreation remains a nostalgic and formative part of childhood. Losing reliable snow means losing opportunities for outdoor play that many Hoosiers grew up with. 

The winter as we know it, in all its harshness and joy, is slipping away. If we continue on our present path, many of the defining features of Midwestern winters may disappear entirely. Preserving the season we know will require recognizing the changes already underway and taking meaningful action before they accelerate further. 

Cincade Drudge is a student journalist at Purdue University Fort Wayne and a Waterfield Environmental Intern at the Environmental Resources Center on campus. 

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Climate Change Preparedness Faces Political and Practical Challenges 

By Cincade Drudge

As extreme weather events grow more and more frequent and devastating, the question shifts from how to prevent climate disasters to how to prepare for when they strike.  

Around the world, weather-related disasters have already affected more than 2.5 billion people, caused 2 million deaths, and resulted in over $4 trillion in economic losses the last fifty years.  

Floods, droughts, and heat waves are intensifying, and their effects are rarely consistent. A region may face drought one year and flash flooding the next. These unpredictable swings make preparedness one of the most complex challenges in the fight against climate change. 
Preparation for climate change may be complex, but it is not an optional venture; it is vital. Because climate change cannot be fully prevented, adaptation and resilience efforts are now a core part of protecting at-risk communities. Preparedness now means developing plans, strengthening infrastructure, and improving response systems before disaster hits. 

These actions can take many forms: updating stormwater systems, building cooling centers, restoring wetlands, expanding urban tree cover, or ensuring emergency alerts reach residents in multiple languages. The question then becomes, where will the money to fund all this come from?  

The cost of funding preparedness is a frequent complaint of opponents. However, it has been found that every dollar spent on climate preparedness yields a $13 return in avoided damages and cleanup costs. In other words, investing in resilience pays off even if a disaster never occurs. 

Federal agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Homeland Security, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have all developed adaptation plans that integrate climate data into their operations and emergency planning. 

Funding programs such as FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Assistance and the EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants help turn these plans into reality, supporting states and cities with the resources to build resilience.  

Federal legislation like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act further bolsters clean energy and climate resilience investments, helping to fund clean energy projects and develop a federal climate planning strategy.  

But these positive efforts have not been without political friction. The current administration has signaled its intent to scale back environmental regulations and limit the authority of federal agencies, threatening to undo years of progress.

Some of the agencies that lead on preparedness have even faced existential threats through budget cuts, workforce reductions, and policy rollbacks. In addition, the administration has imposed new limitations on scientific bodies such as NOAA, restricting data collection and suppressing climate-related research. These moves have extended even to the political policing of language; agencies were reportedly discouraged or outright banned from using terms like ‘climate change’ in official documents.

That tension is especially visible at the state level, where climate preparedness can depend heavily on politics. In Indiana, for example, climate planning has faced major obstacles.  

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) recently created a Priority Climate Action Plan under an EPA grant, identifying vulnerabilities like flooding, extreme heat, and agricultural disruption. 

However, that work came to an abrupt halt. Governor Mike Braun ordered the agency to cease developing federal climate plans without his or the legislature’s approval—effectively freezing the project. IDEM returned the remaining federal funds, leaving no clear path forward. 

Regional organizations, like the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission (NIRPC), have tried to fill the gap with localized climate documents and community engagement. Yet, without state-level backing, these efforts often lack the resources and authority to create widespread change. 

This leaves much of the responsibility to local governments, who often face the steepest challenges and the greatest need, with fewer resources.  

Leaders have tried to step up here locally in Fort Wayne; under the Sustaining Fort Wayne Initiative, the city developed its Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CAAP), a blueprint for both emissions reduction and resilience.  

The plan outlines practical steps such as improving stormwater management, expanding urban forestry to combat extreme heat, and protecting waterways from contamination during severe storms. 

Inclusion is a core focus of Fort Wayne’s strategy. Emergency communications are being adapted to reach non-English-speaking residents, and the city uses the Hoosier Resilience Index to measure progress and identify vulnerable populations.  

These actions demonstrated that meaningful preparedness can happen from the ground up, even when higher levels of government falter. 

However, while these efforts marked meaningful groundwork, movement appears to have slowed in recent years. Since the second Trump administration began, there have been few visible updates or expansions to the city’s climate plans, raising concerns that momentum has stalled at a time when local leadership is increasingly critical.

Still, the road ahead is anything but simple. Many local governments lack the funding, staffing, and expertise to carry out large-scale adaptation projects. Federal support fluctuates with each election cycle, and state politics can either bolster or block local action. 

The result is a patchwork of preparedness across the country; some regions are building up preparedness and resilience with strong leadership and investment, while others remain dangerously unprepared. 

The stakes could not be higher. Climate preparedness isn’t about distant future threats; it’s about protecting lives, homes, and communities right now. Investing in preparedness saves money, prevents loss, and ensures a safer, more stable future for everyone. 

While Fort Wayne has already made a meaningful attempt at preparedness, we can always push for more support for these efforts and encourage similar preparedness efforts in surrounding communities and on a federal level.  

Cincade Drudge is a student journalist at Purdue University Fort Wayne and a Waterfield Environmental Intern at the Environmental Resources Center on campus. 

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Environmental Disinformation Poses Growing Threat

By Cincade Drudge

Part of the challenge of protecting our planet today is not just the very real effects of the changing climate itself, but the flood of false and misleading information regarding it. 

Environmental disinformation, which is the intentional effort to mislead the public about environmental issues, has become one of the biggest barriers to meaningful action. It often comes from industries or political actors with a financial stake in delaying change. 

Climate misinformation has surged in recent years, with multiple studies showing that misleading posts from unreliable sources often attract two to three times more engagement than accurate information on platforms like Facebook and Instagram. 

We’ve seen this playbook of purposeful falsehoods before. Tobacco companies once funded doubt about the dangers of smoking, delaying public health reforms and costing countless lives. 

Take the myth ​of plastic recycling. For decades, the plastics industry​ ​has promoted recycling as a solution to environmental damage caused by plastic waste​, even though only about 5% of plastic in the U.S. is actually recycled.

The result? People blame themselves for not recycling enough instead of asking why so much single-use plastic is produced in the first place. 

Or consider “clean coal.” Despite the name, coal remains one of the dirtiest energy sources on Earth, responsible for air pollution and millions of dollars in public health costs. Marketing it as “clean” allows companies to appear responsible while avoiding meaningful reform. 

Perhaps most crucially, the fossil fuel industry has taken this same strategy to a global scale, using misinformation to question the reality of climate change and the science behind it. The goal is the same across industries: to confuse, divide, and stall progress. 

Why should you care? Because disinformation doesn’t only distort the debate around climate change, it changes real material outcomes. When the public is unsure what to believe, it’s easier for policymakers to do nothing.  

Every year that passes without decisive climate action adds to the cost, environmentally, economically, and socially. Before long, we will find ourselves in a world of hurt, with a destroyed climate and a population too steeped in disinformation to do anything about it. 

These stories are not isolated; they form a pattern of deception that benefits a few while harming many. And now, with social media, this misinformation spreads faster than ever.  

Influencers, podcasts, and partisan outlets amplify misleading claims, often without fact-checking or accountability. Consider this: eight of the top 10 online shows are spreading climate misinformation.  

So what can be done? Transparency would be a start. When corporations, politicians, and media outlets are required to disclose who funds their messages, the public can make informed decisions about credibility.  

Media literacy is another key step: teaching people how to recognize biased sources and understand how scientific consensus is built. 

This scientific consensus concept leads to another important point: Scientists, too, must meet the public halfway by communicating clearly and openly, without the technical jargon that can alienate audiences.  

The need for scientific clarity doesn’t erase the blame we as individuals face. We must take steps (no matter how small) toward reaching climate accuracy via verifying info before sharing, supporting credible journalism, and challenging falsehoods when we see them. 

The battle for truth is part of the fight for a livable planet. If we allow disinformation to shape public understanding, the consequences will be very real.  

Take voting, for example; U.S. voters’ opinion on climate change has been found to have swayed enough voters in 2020 to account for a 3% swing in the popular vote. This shift, if reversed by disinformation, could have switched the winner of the presidential election, dramatically shifting U.S. Climate policy.  

This shows that holding powerful actors accountable and demanding honesty in environmental communication isn’t optional; it’s vital to securing a bright future for both us and hopefully those long after us. We can’t allow misinformation to affect the outcomes of our elections, our policies, or our future.  

If you encounter misleading environmental claims or wish to learn how to identify them, consider using resources such as Science Feedback, Media Bias/Fact Check, and Hot Air, each of which provides accessible tools for fact-checking and misinformation reporting. 

We all have a role in protecting not just our environment, but the truth that helps us defend it. 

Cincade Drudge is a student journalist at Purdue University Fort Wayne and a Waterfield Environmental Intern at the Environmental Resources Center on campus. 

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