Editor,
Indiana was shifted from its correct Central Time Zone to Eastern in the mid-1960s. However, we didn’t experience a sunlight-schedule change until 2006, when Eastern Daylight Savings Time was adopted.
Two resolutions in the General Assembly (HCR 2 and SCR 11) call for an examination of the effect of Eastern’s sunlight schedule on the well-being of Hoosiers. Why is this important?
While observing Daylight Savings Time has proven beneficial to Indiana’s economy by keeping our clocks in sync with other states, being in the same time zone as New York is no longer valid. In the meantime, statistics show that our current sunlight schedule is adversely effecting Hoosiers’ well-being. Hoosiers are the eighth-most tired in the U.S. Indiana’s teens have the second-highest suicide attempt rate in the nation. We are the eighth-most obese and seventh-least physically fit. Approximately 55,000 students are chronic absentees each year, most due to truancy, and approximately 630,000 adult Hoosiers don’t have high school or GRE diplomas.
Approximately 28,000 Hoosiers and 51 public school boards have signed petitions to restore Indiana to its correct Central Time Zone, which simply means that the sun would rise and set one hour earlier. Indiana’s counties would be reunited in the same time zone again. Broadcast of prime time programs and national events (NFL, NCAA, Olympics, etc.) would occur one hour earlier in the evening. July 4 fireworks could return to 9 p.m., and children could grow up seeing the stars and catching lightning bugs again. Students would travel to school in the safety of sunlight, and schools for teens could meet the recommended 8:30 a.m. start time.
Central Time is Indiana’s correct time. It’s a no-brainer.
Susannah Dillon, president
Central Time Coalition
Carmel
