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FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – “I just can’t imagine starting a brand new life.”

20-year-old Carlos Lopez came to the U.S. from Mexico when he was 7 years old. To him, this is home.

The mechanical engineering sophomore at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne is one of the thousands of DACA recipients unsure what’s next after Trump decided to end DACA.

“I wanted to breakdown and cry. Like what am I going to do now? I’m going to lose everything I achieved through DACA,” Lopez said.

Trump has called on Congress to take action. There is a six-month delay for people currently enrolled. Those whose permit expires between now and then, which is March 5, can apply for renewal. But that has to be done by Oct. 5.

That’s where groups like Neighborhood Christian Legal come in. They’ve been hosting clinics to offer legal advice. They will be having one at IPFW to help those submitting their paperwork.

“If it’s rejected, they’re probably going to miss that deadline. So, our goal here is to help them package all of those things, have attorneys look it over in hopes that it will be correct the first submittal,” Desiree Koger-Gustafson said.

As for Carlos Lopez, his permit expires next year, but he’ll continue asking questions and exploring options.

“We’re all trying to contribute to the United States. We aren’t part of the stereotype. We aren’t here to kill or steal, whatever; we are here to make a difference in the United States and hopefully show that through DACA we’re progressing. We were given an opportunity, and we took advantage of it,” Lopez said.

The DACA clinic is from 12-3 p.m. There is no cost for the clinic, but the petition fee is $495. Attendees should bring two passport photos, a money order for $495 and a work authorization card. Click here for more information.

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WISH) — It looks as though a Fort Wayne college will be receiving a new name.

Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) released the following statement Friday about the action taken at the Purdue University Board of Trustees meeting regarding the future name of the Fort Wayne campus:

During the Purdue Board of Trustees meeting earlier today, the trustees approved a resolution to designate ‘Purdue University Fort Wayne’ as the new name for the campus that will arise from the realignment process, pending approval of the realignment by the Higher Learning Commission. The campus will be commonly known as ‘Purdue Fort Wayne’ on the realignment effective date of July 1, 2018. “We continue working with Purdue and IU to implement the realigned structure with a view toward making it a success for our students, our campus community, our city, and the northeast Indiana region. Today’s action brings us yet another step closer to solidifying the future of our campus.

“What is important for everyone to remember is this: Purdue Fort Wayne will have the same mission that sustained IPFW for more than 50 years: an unmatched commitment to student success and the community,its employers and our alumni. Now, with a clearer focus and as the region’s premier comprehensive public higher education institution, we are better positioned to provide a differentiated, unique experience to our students and contribute to the many endeavors in northeast Indiana aligned with our areas of impact.

“This university is proud of its legacy, optimistic about the future, and remains committed to working to remove barriers and develop innovative ways to provide a world-class education that makes an impact in northeast Indiana-and beyond. As we move forward, we seek to collaborate to make this change successful and ensure our work remains rewarding and fulfilling.”

Additionally, the Indiana University Board of Trustees also recently approved the name of Indiana University Fort Wayne for its health science programs. The naming will take effect with the July1, 2018 realignment.

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FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) – Purdue University officials are floating suggestions for renaming the Fort Wayne campus once its partnership with Indiana University there ends next year.

An online survey asks students, faculty members and others to rate two possible new campus names. Those names are Purdue University Fort Wayne or Purdue University Northeast.

Other names suggested in the survey’s first days include Summit University and Fort Wayne University.

The boards of both universities approved plans in December for splitting up programs effective July 2018 at what is now Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. Purdue will oversee the campus and most programs, while IU will manage medical and social work programs.

The online survey continues until Thursday. Purdue officials say a final naming decision will be up to the university’s Board of Trustees.

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FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – IPFW says no weapon has been found after a campus-wide alert warned of a dangerous situation at IPFW on Tuesday.

According to university police, a student saw a man with a handgun in Lot 11 before 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Police said the man did not point the gun at anyone or fire, but the university police department wanted to make sure the campus was aware of a potentially dangerous situation.

The first alert, which was sent out just before 1 p.m. on Tuesday, stated that a man had been seen with a handgun and that university police were investigating. This update was then sent at 1:13 p.m:

IPFW Fort Wayne: Due to length restrictions in text format, this e-mail is an update to the previous alert. Report of a white male (26-27 years old / brown hair) in an older model silver 4-door vehicle seen with a hand gun. The gun was not pointed at anyone, nor discharged.  The vehicle left the lot and has not been located, but UPD continues to investigate.

Around 4:30 p.m., IPFW said the car from the earlier report had been found and searched. No weapon was found.

Excerpt from IPFW Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct:IPFW may discipline a student for the following acts of personal misconduct that occur on campus property or in connection with an IPFW activity….

  1. Possession of firearms or other weapons; possession or display of any firearm except as authorized by the IPFW police; and intentional possession of a dangerous article or substance as a potential weapon, or of any article or explosive calculated to injure or discomfort any person. Public law enforcement officials who are required by their departments to carry their firearms at all times must register with the IPFW police.

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) – Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne has removed a businessman’s name from a bridge after they say he hasn’t made good on a $3 million pledge.

The Journal Gazette reports Donald Willis made the pledge in 2003. Colleen Dixon, director of advancement services at IPFW, says Willis made his last payment in 2006 and that he was supposed to have finished paying next year.

The school and state grants picked up the $2.2 million cost of the pedestrian bridge. Willis’ donation was meant to offset other bridge costs, as well pay for scholarships and an endowed entrepreneurship chair. Scholarships of $1,000 were awarded a number of years.

Willis declined to comment to the newspaper. His wife, Doris, says the couple is doing fine but that “enough has been said.”

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) – A newly released report that Purdue University had fought to keep secret concluded that school officials bungled the forced retirement of Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne’s former chancellor, causing his departure to turn into an “ugly situation.”

Former IPFW Chancellor Michael Wartell was forced to retire in 2011 at age 65 under a mandatory retirement age policy.

Wartell sued Purdue, which oversees the 13,000-student Fort Wayne campus, in federal and Tippecanoe County court in 2013, claiming discrimination and harassment by the university under then-Purdue President France Cordova.

He also alleged that Cordova, who recommended in May 2011 that the school’s trustees let Wartell’s contract expire, had a wish to fill more administrative positions with women.

Wartell was replaced in 2012 by Vicky Carwein, who was 64 when she became chancellor and still holds that post.

A recent settlement of Wartell’s federal lawsuit resulted in the release of a report attorney John Trimble had prepared for Purdue on Wartell’s forced retirement. The university spent more than $150,000 trying to prevent the release of that 2012 report.

A copy of the report released Friday shows Trimble found that Wartell’s allegations of discrimination were unfounded after interviewing Wartell, Cordova, trustees and witnesses, and reviewing nearly 250 pages of evidence.

But his investigation found that a top school official should have met with Wartell before any decision was made to explain to him that the “age 65 retirement policy would be enforced,” the Journal & Courier reported.

Instead, Wartell received “a cold call out of the blue telling him that the Board of Trustees had made a decision on this issue,” his report states.

“While I do not condone his threats of litigation against the university and against citizens who exercise their right to express their views about him, this ugly situation did not have to happen,” the report states.

The terms of the federal settlement between Wartell and Purdue are confidential, but both federal and state courts ruled Trimble’s report should be considered a public document – despite Purdue’s contention that it was protected by attorney-client privilege.

Purdue’s legal counsel, Steve Schultz, said in an open letter released in advance of the report that the university still believes “every institution must be able to rely on confidential processes like this when conducting sensitive internal investigations. … This was Purdue’s sole motive in defending the privileged nature of this report.”

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) – Attorneys for Purdue University say the school has settled a federal lawsuit over the forced retirement of Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne’s former chancellor.

The school’s attorneys say in a Monday court filing that Michael Wartell’s lawsuit “has now been resolved.” That filing includes no details of the settlement.

A message left Tuesday seeking comment from Wartell’s attorney, Blake Hike, was not immediately returned.

Wartell was forced to retire in 2011 at age 65 under a mandatory retirement age policy he alleges was not enforced against any other senior administrator.

Wartell sued Purdue in both federal and Tippecanoe County court in 2013.

The Journal Gazette reports the settlement ends years of wrangling over a report prepared by an attorney who investigated Wartell’s removal.

Purdue officials fought to keep that report secret.