From: Susannah Dillon, Central Time Coalition president
Carmel
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 saving time was adopted. Two resolutions in the Indiana 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 saving 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to Indiana’s economy by keeping our clocks in sync with other states, being in the same time zone as New York is no longer valid.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. We are the eighth most obese and seventh least physically fit. Also, 55,000 students are chronic absentees each year, mostly due to truancy. And, 630,000 adult Hoosiers don’t have high school or GRE diplomas.
To date, 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 4th 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.
