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IU McKinney students witnessing the divisiveness left in the wake of the 2016 presidential election decided they wanted to do something to help those who hold varying political views to find common ground.

“We are law students,” 2L Ashley Eve (in the photo at left) said about the impetus for forming the student group, the Bipartisan Circle. “It’s up to us to create the kind of discussions where we can focus on common ground, even when we disagree.”

Although Eve “skews extremely left,” in her words, she also has a great deal of respect for her 2L classmate, Clayton Lengerich, who says he has a conservative point of view. Eve talked to Lengerich about starting the group, and it was formed just after the presidential election in November 2016. Eve is the group’s president; Lengerich serves as vice president.

“The goal is to separate politics from the individual,” Lengerich said (in the photo at left). “Once you start listening to one another, then you realize that we’re all individuals who are able to find areas where we can agree.”

The group strives to keep political party affiliation out of its discussions so members can focus on finding common ground. Eve and Lengerich believe the labels “Democrat” and “Republican” only make people hold more strongly to those ideals and not listen to what people on the other side have to say about an issue.

“After that,” Eve said, “even if you disagree, that’s positive.”

“Once you start listening,” Lengerich said, “you realize that we’re all individuals, and you can find areas where you can agree.”

Eve is originally from Avon, Indiana, west of Indianapolis. She began her undergraduate studies at IUPUI on the pre-med track as a psychology major. Then she took a class on the death penalty. “That got me fired up,” she said. After completing her undergraduate studies, she ran a legislative campaign for State Representative Shelli VanDenburgh in 2010. Next, Eve did research on the disproportionate number of minority juveniles in the justice system throughout Indiana for the IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs. She met then-Governor Mike Pence, ’86, in 2012 and she told him about her interest in law school. Eve said Pence gave her advice and encouraged her to attend IU McKinney. She currently works as a law clerk for the Public Defender of Indiana, where she has been since July 2015. Eve works primarily on homicide cases and is also on the capital unit.

Lengerich, originally from Monroe, Indiana, which is south of Fort Wayne, pursued his undergraduate studies at Wabash College, where he studied classics, philosophy, and religion. His liberal arts background has prepared him well for law school, Lengerich said. He spent Summer 2016 in the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office, and will spend Summer 2017 in the Fort Wayne office of the law firm, Carson Boxberger. In addition, he will serve as the law school’s Moot Court Society’s Assistant Chief Justice of National Teams, and as Treasurer for the Student Bar Association for the 2017-2018 academic year.

The Bipartisan Circle has caught the notice of state legislators who also want to approach problem-solving in a less heated way. The group plans to look for community partnerships outside the law school, and wants to stage events at IU McKinney with other student groups during the 2017-2018 academic year.