The IU Indianapolis VR Lab provides a crucial service to both IUI students and faculty. Using only a handful of headsets, the VR Lab is able to provide VR-augmented learning and development opportunities that would otherwise be inaccessible to those who can't afford it. Multiple organizations at IUI are directly involved with the VR Lab, including the Center for Teaching & Learning, the Idea Garden, and the Speaker's Lab. All of this is to say, the VR Lab is a very important part of the IU ecosystem.

In early May 2025, Governor Mike Braun signed HEA 1001 into law. In addition to making Braun the sole decider on who is able to serve on IU's Board of Trustees, this bill reallocated spending for many state services. A part of this new bill is a massive bunch of budget cuts. The VR Lab at IUI is very likely to be caught in the crossfire of these cuts and closed entirely. 

Enter Save IUI VR Lab, an effort to plead for funding to be allocated to the VR Lab. Our goal, as a group, is to secure funding for the VR Lab so that it may stay open. We intend to do this by informing five parties of the VR Lab's importance and why it must be preserved:

• IUI Chancellor Landa Ramchand
• IU's Board of Trustees
• IU President Pamela Whitten
• Indiana's House of Representatives
• Governor Mike Braun

No matter what you're able to do, please remember that time is of the essence! The earlier we make our voices heard, the better. Also, make sure to be polite to everyone on the list of people we're trying to reach. While not all of them care deeply about education (although most do), we won't get anywhere with this by being rude. The new budget will be handed down anywhere from May 15th to June 31st. October is the make or break time, when the VR Lab is either shut down or kept open. Still, we can't make a difference by waiting for the cut to happen, only by acting now.

If you want to assist in other ways in addition to signing a petition, you can visit our neocities page, https://saveiuivrlab.neocities.org/