Students participate in an interactive drama in the Supreme Court courtroom.

The Indiana Supreme Court is hosting an interactive educational program to commemorate a famous 19th century case about women and voting.  “My Place is in the Voting Booth:  Hoosier Suffragette Helen M. Gougar” will be performed with about 250 Indiana school children.

Tuesday, November 10th
10:30 a.m. EST and 12:30 p.m. EST
Indiana Supreme Court Courtroom
3rd Floor, Indiana State House

The one-hour interactive program will commemorate an 1890’s case about women and voting.  Hoosier suffragette, Helen Gougar, was denied the right to vote in a Tippecanoe County election.  Gougar took her case all the way to the Indiana Supreme Court (Gougar v. Timberlake.)  Gougar was one of the first women to argue before the Indiana Supreme Court.

The program is a scripted drama with about 80 student parts.  The 4th-12th graders will play the role of judges, attorneys, family members, and picketers.  Those roles have already been filled by Indiana students from the following schools:

• Northside Middle School, Columbus
• Sidener Academy, Indianapolis
• Pine Tree Elementary, Avon
• Indianapolis Metropolitan High School, Indianapolis

“My Place is in the Voting Booth:  Hoosier Suffragette Helen M. Gougar” was developed by Courts in the Classroom in conjunction with Dr. Jennifer Adams of DePauw University and with funding from the Indiana Humanities Council.  The program is also part of the Spirit and Place Festival which runs through November 15th. The performances will be webcast live at courts.in.gov/citc.

Courts in the Classroom is the educational outreach department of the Indiana Supreme Court.  Courts in the Classroom hosts approximately 5 major programs a year designed to teach students about the judicial branch.  For more information about Courts in the Classroom contact Dr. Elizabeth R. Osborn, Assistant to the Chief Justice for Court History and Public Education, at eosborn@courts.state.in.us or visit courts.in.gov/citc.