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(03/22/12 3:55am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Hundreds of students stood in a line outside of the Whittenberger Auditorium in the Indiana Memorial Union. The coiled line wrapped around half the perimeter of the third floor, leaving anxious students squirming, jumping and talking among each other in anticipation of what was to come — but Stifler’s mom was nowhere in sight.Union Board representatives and those who were helping to organize Wednesday’s screening for the fourth theatrical installment of the American Pie franchise, “American Reunion,” scrambled in and out of the auditorium doors and offered assistance wherever it could be utilized. Everyone seemed to be shuffling to their designated places.“I need four waters,” said Ami Lapinski, Universal Studios publicity and promotions coordinator. “I need this area cleared. I’m bringing them in.”The time was drawing near, but the cast and crew had taken a wrong turn on their way to the event and were running late.Moving around in every which direction was IU junior and Universal Studios intern Nikki Labaschin. Labaschin said she was part of the brains behind the whole operation and was first confronted with the opportunity to promote the film by Lapinski, her internship coordinator, right before spring break.She added that the promotional tour for the film will also be making stops at University of Michigan and University of Florida.“I put (the event) on to help sponsor us,” Labaschin said.Union Board Director of Films and IU junior Graham Davis was part of the behind-the-scenes work to pull the event together. Davis said he played a large role in the coordination and was in contact with both Lipinksi and Labaschin to make everything come full circle.The time had finally arrived. Shortly after 7 p.m., cast members Jason Biggs and Seann William Scott sat behind an extended table draped with a crimson tablecloth and scattered with teaser posters and promotional merchandise for the film. The two spent an hour gripping hands and grinning with excited fans as well as shy and squealing admirers alike.Biggs, sporting a button-down dress shirt, jeans and All Star tennis shoes, agreed to every picture and signed autographs alongside his co-star, Scott, who sat to his immediate right, laughing and making conversation with fans who stopped at the table.“Star struck,” a woman said as she walked away from taking a picture wih Biggs. “I could’ve done better,” she said nervously to her friend.The excited energy in the atmosphere was unmistakable. Biggs and Scott both expressed words of enthusiasm about their visit to Hoosierland.“It’s fucking great!” Scott said. Although the tour will make appearances at two other universities, IU is the only school at which the two American Pie stars will make an appearance in tandem. Scott said he is unable to attend the rest of the college tour because of other press for the promotion of the film.College students are a major factor of the film’s targeted marketing audiences. Biggs said making appearances and coming to the same level as the students is important and serves as a way to give back to the fans.“It’s a thrill, that’s for sure,” Biggs said. “It’s incredibly important. (We have) the most dedicated fans I ever met. Super loyal.”
(02/14/12 4:02am)
High expectations are the norm for IU alumnus Christian Hines.
As a former Wells and Lilly Scholar, Hines spent his undergraduate years
at IU studying history and establishing an individualized major in
democratic theory and contemporary American citizenship. He graduated
last spring.
Hines was recently selected as the University’s third presidential
intern. As he works with the president’s office, he will perform
research testing the feasibility of a new program to advance the
undergraduate experience at IU.
(02/08/12 4:44am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Tuesday afternoon, when Proposition 8 was declared unconstitutional in the state of California, a mass victory was declared for sexual-minority activists and advocates around the country.Many of those affiliated with support and advocate groups, such as the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Student Support Services and the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Equality group, celebrated the decision, which will more than likely eventually work its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.Members including former SAGE President Rick Stark said this is the kind of attention the case needs.Stark announced the decision that is now being heard around the country to audiences on his social networking accounts.“FEDERAL COURT RULES PROP 8 STILL UNCONSTITUTIONAL!!!!!!!!!” Stark wrote in a status update.Although the decision is being regarded as a victory for those affected in the state of California, Stark said affected individuals residing in Indiana will have a harder time reaching the same point, as there is currently a potential amendment to the Indiana constitution that would bar gay marriage.“Since we’re in a state where it’s never been an option, we can’t do much at this point,” Stark said. “It does appear to give us better position than what we had before.”Stark, an advocate for gay rights, is an active voice in the battle for individuals belonging to the sexual minority trying to establish equality across the spectrum. He said there is really no action to be taken from this point other than to remain idle until the presidential election in the fall.“(We’re) playing the waiting game, doing some networking and doing what we can,” Stark said.Similarly, Doug Bauder, director of GLBT SSS said that, as far as being proactive is concerned, little can directly be done at this point.“I’m sorry it’s such a methodical process,” Bauder said. “The good news of this is that we learn to ask the right questions in the process.”Bauder said aides to the University are working to keep the measure from coming to the statehouse floor and that “supportive Republicans and Democrats do not want to see it pass.“I appreciate the effort of the administrators working behind the doors,” Bauder said. “Up to this point, it’s been somewhat effective. It’s hard to read the climate right now.”Bauder stressed much of the success of positive turnouts in current movements and the removal of the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy had a lot to do with the efforts of public figures such as prominent politicians and celebrities.He said that while he appreciated and respected the initiatives and advocating from students, they are not the individuals who will put a face on the matter.“I don’t have that prominence. The students don’t have that prominence. There are a number of people asking for this,” Bauder said. “The LGBT community doesn’t have a Martin Luther King.”Bauder said someone who can be taken seriously by political leaders or educators is needed under the current circumstances to take their fight to the next level.“We’re going to be debating this in Indiana for a while,” Bauder said.
(02/06/12 4:03am)
The parents of missing IU student Lauren Spierer, along with site visitors and supporters, expressed disappointment Saturday at the University’s decision to “rotate” the button linking to information about the student’s disappearance.
(02/02/12 4:07am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Super Bowl plans for a group of Kentucky preachers included making a stop at IU so students on campus could hear their warnings about the condemnation of sinners.The two preachers, John McGlowne and Kerrigan Skelly, are part of the organization PinPoint Evangelism. They travel to heavily accessed public openings and more than 75 colleges and universities across the country to ensure their voices are heard and their messages are received.Students shouted remarks as they passed by the preachers. A woman wearing what McGlowne seemed to consider a low-cut top walked by without paying any attention to McGlowne or his associates.“Women walk around with stuff like this on,” McGlowne said, gesturing to the woman as she walked by. “Exposing their breasts to people, and then men lust after that.”McGlowne hoisted a large sign over his head, warning against what he believes to be the evils of society. He said he believes individuals such as homosexuals and members of other religious groups are wrong and will be condemned.A man walking through the crowd stopped briefly to offer dialogue.“Jesus is God. I love Jesus,” he said. He then paused. “Too bad I’m gay.”The crowd began to grow, and students started to offer rebuttals.“Would you like one of these?” McGlowne asked, extending his arm, pamphlet in hand, to a woman in the crowd.“No, thank you,” she said.“Why not?” McGlowne asked the woman. “It’s just a piece of paper with Jesus on it.”“I don’t believe in what you’re talking about,” the woman said.McGlowne asked why.“Because I believe gay people should get married,” she said. “I believe I should have sex when I want. I believe in everything that’s on there.” She pointed at a sign McGlowne held in the air.“It’s not OK, young lady,” McGlowne. “You’re going to go to the fire forever.”Senior and Campus Crusade for Christ member Karen Groth stood alongside McGlowne, citing verses out of a Bible she kept in her handbag. Groth attempted to convey to McGlowne her messages of acceptance for all.Tears began to roll down her face and whimpers sounded as McGlowne called her out and argued against her evidence.Freshman Isaac Miller was walking past the entrance behind Woodburn Hall when he took notice of the Evangelists’ demonstration. He said he called his friend, freshman Amanda Loch, and decided to take action.The two made a makeshift sign and stood in the same vicinity as the preachers, offering free hugs to all who passed.“We accept everyone! Free Hugs!” the sign read.“It’s wrong to make people feel like they’re going to hell for having their ownbeliefs,” Miller said. “Everyone has the opportunity to be who they are without being judged or tormented.”Groth said this is not the first time the street Evangelist group has caused a stir with its presentation.McGlowne said the group is headed to Indianapolis to preach to the masses within the Super Bowl Village.“Jesus commands us to go out and tell people to turn from their sin and trust him,” he said. “So that’s the message we have. Most people don’t want to heed it, but that’s beside the point.”
(01/30/12 4:21pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Renowned opera singer and retired professor Camilla Williams died Sunday, according to the Jacobs School of Music. She was 92.“The Jacobs School of Music is saddened by the death of opera star Camilla Williams,” the school tweeted early Monday.In 1954, Williams became the first African-American to have a major role with the Vienna State Opera.Williams was also the first African-American professor of voice to work in the music school.Her accomplishments and accolades for her talents and services to the University accumulated throughout her time at IU. Williams was a recipient of IU’s President’s Medal for Excellence, as well as the Sagamore of the Wabash, the highest honor the governor of Indiana can bestow. Indiana State Rep. Peggy Welch, D-Bloomington, presented the award to Williams at the Black History Month Gala on Feb. 27, 2010.Retiring from the opera stage in 1971, Williams became a professor of voice at Brooklyn College and Bronx College until 1973. Her teaching career took her to Queens College in 1974, and she also began working with the group Talent Unlimited.Williams began teaching on the IU-Bloomington campus in 1977 and remained in her position until her retirement in 1997.Those she worked with said she was an inspiring force and a master of her own craft.“Camilla Williams was an incredible inspiration to generations of singers around the world,” said Marietta Simpson, a professor in the Jacobs School of Music. “Her outstanding artistry and inner strength enabled her to rise above the clouds of racism as she was received on many of the world’s concert and operatic stages.” Simpson said the sheer beauty of Williams’ voice and her enduring faith will forever be etched in the hearts and memories of the many young singers she inspired through her singing, teaching and mentoring. “She was a great gift to the world and a precious and treasured member of the Jacobs School of Music family,” Simpson said.
(01/24/12 4:52am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Nine students of the Women’s Student Association stood bouncing and swaying against the January winter wind Monday. The students held handcrafted poster boards marked with pro-choice messages.As the car horns sounded from passersby, fists went up, voices rose and members of the group erupted in unison with a cheer.“Most of the interaction comes from honking,” one of the members said after a motorist passed by and blared his horn.Standing at the front of the line of activists was freshman Marcella Ettinger. Her older sister, Miranda Ettinger, is the president of the Women’s Student Association.“We just kind of agreed that it would be fun to come out here,” Marcella Ettinger said. “I think they do it every year.”Senior Evelyn Smith, the director of educational programming, said it is not uncommon for men to participate in the WSA. From 1 to 3 p.m. Monday, the group stood outside of the Sample Gates.Smith said the reason for the bouncing back and forth stemmed partly from being so animated for the group’s cause, but also from the need to keep somewhat warm in the cold weather conditions.“Yesterday was the 39th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, so we always do this around this time,” Smith said. “We did it last year and have for many years in a row.”The now landmark court case was decided on Jan. 22, 1973. The decision issued by the U.S. Supreme Court gave women the right to have abortions, providing that the right is balanced against the state’s legitimate interests that regulate abortions. This includes the protection of prenatal life, as well as the protection of the woman’s health. The Court eventually decided the case by directly comparing the woman’s respective state of residence and her current trimester of pregnancy.The decision’s anniversary tends to spark debate and demonstrations about the still controversial issue. Throughout Sunday afternoon, the 2012 Rally for Life took place on the lawn of the Monroe County Courthouse. This was the 20th year the event took place. The rally drew more pro-choice advocates than ever before in the event’s past.“This is one of the biggest anti-life crowds I’ve seen,” Andrew Henry, a pro-life activist who attended with his daughter and pregnant wife, said Sunday. “I had a couple of guys say things I’d never repeat. Often, they are very rude and impolite while we are here very calmly, peacefully.”Lane Bowman, a former IU student in attendance at the Rally for Life, said he felt compelled to join the students in protest, but chose to remain indifferent.“I was ignorant to how prevalent it was and pleaded ignorance,” he said.On Monday, senior and Director of Activism Rachael Richter stood behind her year-old, marker-soaked sign which read “If can’t be trusted w/a choice, how can I be trusted w/a child?”Richter said she thought about what points would be supportive of her argument and constructed her own sign.“I made this last year, and we were kind of just brainstorming about what points we thought were really critical arguments,” Richter said. She said some pro-life supporters don’t take into full consideration what happens to a child after birth.“They don’t think about that child, that mother, that person after the baby is born,” Richter said. “So this is kind of my point in saying, like, ‘Let me control my own life, and (others should) trust that I’m a smart human being, and if you don’t think I’m smart enough to be able to make those choices for myself, why would you want me to be raising a child?’”— Jaclyn Lansbery contributed to this report
(01/24/12 4:48am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Nirupama Menon Rao is the current Ambassador of India to the United States of America. She first came into office in August 2011. Before Menon Rao served as ambassador she held the position of Foreign Secretary of India for two years.She is the second woman to have served as Indian Foreign Secretary, having succeeded Chokila Iye. Menon Rao has also served in positions such as Minister of Press Affairs in Washington, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson (the first woman to do so), Chief of Personnel, Deputy Chief of Mission in Moscow, High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, and Ambassador to Peru and China.Menon Rao has also been noted in terms of her writing, as she has written a book of poetry called “Rain Rising.” EVENT Indo-U.S. Relations: Where We Stand,Where Are We Headed?FEATURING Nirupama Menon Rao, Indian Ambassador to the United StatesWHEN 5 p.m. Feb. 2WHERE Whittenberger Auditorium, Indiana Memorial UnionSTAY AFTER the reception to follow at 6 p.m. at the University Club in the Indiana Memorial UnionFOR INQUIRIES email ovpia@indiana.eduEvent free to public.— Michael Majchrowicz
(01/21/12 10:45pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Around 4:50 p.m. Saturday, a campus bus collided with a yellow Chevy Cobalt on South Jordan Avenue in front of the Jacobs School of Music.Sophomore Nathaniel Staggs was operating the Cobalt and sustained minor injuries to the left side of his face.Staggs, who was pulling out of the Read Center parking lot, said he did not see the bus approaching as he pulled into the street, and by the time he realized it, the bus was unable to avoid collision.Despite thin streams of blood on the left side of his cheek, Staggs said he did not believe his injuries required treatment. However, an ambulance was later summoned to the scene.
(01/17/12 3:52am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Residential Programs and Services has announced several changes to its housing contract for the 2012-13 school year for students who choose to break the contract so that they can participate in certain academic programs or because they have made plans to graduate at the semester’s end.“Currently, if a student leaves at the end of the fall semester for an academic reason such as student teaching, overseas study or because they graduate, no breakage penalty is assessed,” RPS Executive Director Patrick Connor said in an RPS announcement on its website.Now, students will incur financial penalties when they cancel on or after their contract date because of their participation in an IU-sponsored academic program. The fees, generally, will be lower with an earlier notification of cancellation. When students break terms within the contract, the vacated space, in theory, must be filled.In the past, they have been forced to turn students away, Connor said.
(01/17/12 3:48am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Students of the on-campus organization Coal Free IU hand-delivered bundles of petitions consisting of over 5,000 signatures to the office of IU President Michael McRobbie Friday.The stated objective of these petitions was to address the issue of coal as a source of heating and energy on the IU campus.The petition makes a call to action in starting a transition to a more environmentally-friendly and sustainable energy source.The student-led group, which formed in the fall of 2009, is sponsored by theSierra Club.IU’s club is part of a nationwide effort to end the use of coal on college campuses.Coal Free IU students personally delivered the petitions to the office of McRobbie.The students were unable to meet with McRobbie himself because he was out of the office during the time of their arrival.“We’re going to have students stopping by the office and/or making calls to the office everyday until we hear a response,” Sierra Club member Alexis Boxer said.Boxer said that, after two and half years on the campaign, it is time for students to take their concerns to the highest possible office.The group did, however, speak with McRobbie’s executive assistant, who assured them the president would indeed receive the petitions. The students behind the movement also penned a letter to McRobbie in hopes of representing a more personal side to the movement.The group remains adamant and persistent in expressing to the president how much power and control he holds in this situation, Boxer said.“We are working for a better level of transparency with University politics and policy,” Boxer said.The students have also spoken with figures such as Thomas Morrison, vice president for capital planning and facilities, as well as Bill Brown of the Office of Sustainability.“Coal Free IU has been working on campus for several years to engage the University about the on-campus coal plant, but more than that, we encourage students to actively participate in campus politics and policy, discuss the problems that plague our community and country and to strive for discussions and action regarding solutions to these problems,” Boxer said.He said the group feels that the coal plant is a threat to public health and that is pollutes the community’s air and water.The coal industry in Indiana holds major influence at the Statehouse, Boxer said.Boxer said the organization is working to confront injustices and bring about change in a local and immediate way.“We don’t imagine the coal plant will be shut down overnight,” Boxer said. “We aren’t asking that students learn in the dark. We are asking that the administration at IU takes a look at the bigger picture when making long-term decisions about energy policy.“IU is at a crossroads, and we are championing a transition to clean energy that will put Hoosiers back to work, improve our environment and economy and make IU a true leader in the Big Ten and among its academic peers.”
(01/13/12 5:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>On Friday morning, students of the organization Coal Free IU personally delivered bundles of petitions, consisting of over 5,000 signatures, to the office IU President Michael McRobbie. The petition demanded a transition off coal as an energy and heating source.“Today was a really great day and a really great time not just for Coal Free IU, but for IU students,” Alexis Boxer of Sierra Club said. “We’re really hoping the University will take heed and listen to the voices of thousands of community members and students when determining energy university policy.”Coal Free IU launched a three-day campaign to alert students about the negative effects of the coal plant on campus. Members protested IU’s use of coal by spelling out the words “no coal” in an aerial art display Wednesday in front of the coal plant on campus, which is on Fee Lane near the Kelley School of Business. The group also sponsored Thursday’s IU vs. Minnesota men’s basketball game. The student-led group, which formed in fall 2009, is sponsored by the Sierra Club. IU’s club is part of a nationwide effort to end the use of coal on college campuses.
(01/11/12 4:42am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A person dies from suicide every 18 minutes in the United States, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. The IU Student Association released a video Dec. 4, 2011, discussing issues ranging from student suicide to coping with emotional issues.The video was released in two parts. The first featured individuals speaking about utilizing campus resources and recognizing warning signs.“Research tells us that students value the opinion of other students and referral of other students almost more than the opinions of any other sources,” Nancy Stockton, director of Counseling and Psychological Services at the IU Health Center, told the Indiana Daily Student in November.Similarly, a YouTube video featuring a boy speaking against suicide and self-mutilation has gained viral notability after its August release. Certain users throughout the online community have questioned the validity of the video, and 14-year-old Jonah Mowry has defended himself and the video, staying true to his original message.Mowry introduced himself to an audience of what would become more than 8 million viewers.“I look happy, right?” Mowry wrote to his Web audience via a notecard and marker. “Well, I’m not. What you all see is the fake me.”Mowry composed the four-minute, 36-second video in the early hours of the morning only a week before the start of this school year.The eighth-grader now openly identifies with his homosexual orientation.Mowry said he struggled with his sexuality. Only his closest friends knew about his sexual orientation at the time the video was made. Mowry was previously victimized by his peers.IU students, along with other students across the country, began sharing the video through their social media accounts the first week of December.“I was surprised so many people cared about it,” freshman Elizabeth Gant said. “I guess the people that shared it on my Facebook were the kind of people I would have expected to actually be doing the bullying, but they were serious — they honestly cared.” Behind a set of glassy, watering eyes, sometimes turning away from direct view of the camera to regain composure, Mowry confessed to his audience that he had contemplated suicide on more than one occasion and that the first time he cut himself was as a second-grader.“I didn’t know how to say what I needed to say,” Mowry said in a recent written statement to his viewers. “All I could think about were all the bad things that had been happening at school last year, every year, for that matter. I just couldn’t bear to go through that anymore.”John McIntosh, professor of psychology at IU-South Bend, said in a press release that there are a number of widely believed but inaccurate assumptions, such as “how often it occurs, who dies of suicide, signs of risk for suicidal behavior and the myth of the suicide note.”McIntosh spoke in regard to the impact social media have on the reception of these particular social issues and how they affect the ways people actually feel about these situations. “From everything we know, there are so many listservs, websites, chat rooms (and currently existing social media sites) that are developing subareas for people who are suicidal, for that matter, (and) utilizing them to find out and make contact with other people with these cases,” McIntosh said. “People are going to use social media, because that’s what they’re using to find out about the world.”Social networking sites gain new members by the day.“We know those things are already rapidly expanding, and large numbers of people are using them,” McIntosh said.McIntosh said the expansion of these social media sites, in terms of both their users and how much they are accessed, is a factor in how comprehensive the information comes across as. “We’ve learned to try and expand and use whatever areas we think are important. We need to be flexible and open enough to move in the directions we see the social media going,” McIntosh said. McIntosh said social agencies and other kinds of organizations will try to keep pace with how people are communicating and utilizing the organizations.“They’re always one step behind,” he said.
(01/10/12 5:22am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Beginning today, Big Ten Network will run a series that features IU-sponsored activities, including a program for horse-assisted activities for children with special needs and veterans, as well as an HIV and AIDS control program based in Kenya.Actor Dennis Haysbert will be the host for the series, which will include a compilation of feature breakthroughs and inspiring initiatives, according to a University press release. The series will hone in on initiatives and stories from all 12 schools represented in the Big Ten Conference.“The two programs from IU, one in the American heartland and the other in Kenya, exemplify a heartfelt tradition at IU of helping and healing our neighbors, as well as people in need around the world,” Valerie Peña, associate vice president of public affairs and government relations at IU, said in a press release. “We’re proud of our cutting-edge research and how our faculty and staff use it to change people’s lives,” she continued.The program is set to be divided into two segments. One of the segments will involve the Horseshoes of Hope and Horses for Heroes programs, which are associated with the Department of Recreation, Physical Education and Recreation.The other segment will feature the Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare, Park and Tourism Studies in IU’s School of Health, which is in partnership with the IU School of Medicine, the Moi University School of Medicine and the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Kenya, according to the press release.AMPATH is a group that consists of North-American academic health centers that are headed by IU and other schools such as Brown, Duke, Purdue and Toronto. Faculty and medical students alike will share their experiences about the impoverished communities in which they worked. The program will run a second time at 10 p.m. on Jan. 19 following the finish of the Purdue vs. IU women’s basketball game, which will be at 10 p.m. At 9:30 p.m. today, viewers have the opportunity to observe how horses are used at Bradford Woods. These woods, which serve as IU’s 2,555-acre outdoor recreations and leadership development facility, are intended to assist children with conditions spanning from autism and cerebral palsy to Down Syndrome in cooperation with Horseshoes for Hope and Horses for Heroes. The groups use specially trained horses to care for both children and veterans in their objectives to improve self-control, encourage team work and build confidence.Following the conclusion of the Purdue vs. Iowa men’s basketball game at 10:30 p.m. on Jan. 17, viewers will be able to tune in and learn about the various HIV and AIDS control programs throughout the world. “‘Impact the World’ is the first Big Ten Network collaborative campus program series produced in conjunction with the Big Ten Conference and its 12 universities. Since the network launched in 2007, BTN has aired programs produced from each Big Ten university under the University Showcase heading. BTN is co-producing the series with Chicago-based TeamWorks Media,” according to the press release.
(01/09/12 3:43am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Junior Sarah Bauer said she believes she won a spot on the long-standing game show “Jeopardy!” through luck.“Last March, I took the college online test. It’s a 50 question test. The whole test only takes about 10 minutes, and they give you seven seconds to answer each question,” Bauer said. “By May, I had gotten an email saying that they were giving me an audition, which was super exciting because I didn’t think I would get an audition because the online test was super hard.”The following June was when the audition was supposed to take place. Around the time of her audition, she was set to take flight to Paris where she would be interning with the state department. Bauer attempted emailing the producers in hopes of being able to schedule a different audition day, but the earliest she was able to schedule an audition for was the exact day in which she was supposed to check in at the embassy in Paris. Through cooperation with Bauer’s internship coordinator, she was able to push her arrival date to Paris one week later so she was able to audition for the show.The next thing Bauer said she knew, she was packing her bags and heading to Washington D.C. for her second and final audition.“I didn’t look back, I guess,” Bauer said. “So that was pretty great, even the government sees the importance of “Jeopardy!.”12,000 college students took the online test, and from that number, only 300 individuals were called back to actually audition to be on the show. From the 300 prospective contestants, 15 were selected to participate on the show and called back for filming. “They put us up in a hotel by Universal Studios, so there were things to do, and you get two free days before the show starts,” Bauer said. “We flew out there, just got some time to run around in California, and then Thursday morning, bright and early, they shuttled all of us to Sony Studios. The families also got to sit in the audience.”After a number of rehearsals and practice-type rounds, it was time for the show to begin. As the rounds before Bauer’s took place, there she sat — locked away in a secluded, claustrophobia-inducing room with a movie playing in the background so that she wasn’t able to hear what was happening on the set.“It’s a pretty small studio. It’s not as big as I would have thought,” Bauer said.Bauer has been a fan of the game show for as long as she can remember and recounts competing with her family members.“I’m totally an avid watcher. I remember first coming home from school and watching “Jeopardy!” when I was in like second grade,” Bauer said. “That’s when I would watch with my family, and it can be competitive. I wanted to be good at it so that I could beat my brothers and sisters and stuff. We don’t really keep score, but we know who wins,” Bauer said with a confident smile.Back at the studio where the game show was being filmed, executives would constantly, but always nicely, remind the contestants that everything they were participating in would have to be kept essentially a secret up until the actual episode airs in February.“We know we can trust you,” they would say. “We’re just not allowed to.”Being on the show was the ultimate experience for Bauer, one she said that she lucked out on in the sense that she has heard of older prospective contestants who had spent many years trying to get onto the show, but to no avail.“It’s hard to talk about my performance without giving too much away, but I’m pretty satisfied with how things went.”Bauer still swears by the luck that she said she believes landed her a spot performing as a contestant on the game show that she grew up with.“I guess part of it is luck, and part of it is being culturally literate,” Bauer said.
(12/09/11 4:01am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>School of Informatics and Computing Dean Bobby Schnabel is among 12 individuals who will be honored at the White House today for efforts to recruit girls and women within science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.The honorees will be acknowledged as “Champions of Change,” which is a program that was introduced in tandem with President Obama’s “Winning the Future” initiative. The 12 honorees come from a variety of backgrounds and professions, including industry leaders, teachers, nonprofit leaders and students, and all have contributed a substantial amount of effort to “reduce barriers” that would otherwise typically drive girls and women away from such careers, according to a press release from the University.“Bobby Schnabel has been an outstanding leader and mentor in advocating for education programs at the local, state, regional, national and international level designed to make improvements for girls and women in identifying the rich opportunities that exist in the STEM fields,” IU President Michael McRobbie said.
(11/30/11 3:07am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU sophomore Adam Justin is facing accusations of fraudulent standardized test taking. He now faces possible legal woes and disciplinary action from the University.Justin, however, is not the sole alleged conspirator. He is among a group of at least 15 individuals who have been connected to the scandal that broke in September.On Nov. 22. Justin admitted to investigators in Nassau County, N.Y., his involvement but left out his specific role.Chris Munzing, Nassau County District Attorney’s deputy communications director, told State Impact that Justin accepted a sum of $500 to take several standardized tests.However, Justin’s lawyer, Arnold Kriss, said Justin has made no such confession of actually taking the tests.“Notwithstanding the frenzy regarding this matter, the presumption of innocence still governs,” Kriss said. “This matter will be resolved in the appropriate forum in due time.”Since 1926, standardized test results have served as a means for determining a student’s admission status.The security procedures for the widely known standardized test, the SAT, have fallen under scrutiny in the last month or so as the scandal unfolded.The ring was first exposed when Great Neck (N.Y.) High School student Samuel Eshagahoff, now a student at Emory University in Atlanta, was arrested for fraud and criminal impersonation.The high school’s principal, Bernard Kaplan, spoke to Gothamist, a daily blog, about what he believes to be a flawed system.“Make up a school, put any name you like and your picture on the card, sign that name and pick a mascot for good luck. In fact, if you want to cover yourself, you don’t even have to go to the site you requested,” Kaplan told Gothamist on Oct. 25. “You can go as a walk-in to any site that you desire using that made-up ID.”Kaplan also went on to say how he believes that students should be required to take the exams at their own schools, and that if they want to go elsewhere, their reasons must be approved, according to Gothamist.For students already enrolled at IU involved in incidents like Justin’s, the University takes several things into consideration before deciding its response.“In general, if a student were accused of an offense off-campus that we feel impacts the University community, then we can do an investigation and determine if the actions constitute a violation of the Code of Student Conduct,” Dean of Students Harold “Pete” Goldsmith said.He said after that initial assessment, students involved in off-campus incidents could see University-given repercussions.“If we think that they do, then the student is charged and subject to the procedures and potential sanctions outlined in the Procedures for the Bloomington Campus,” Goldsmith said.
(11/29/11 3:13am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Students at IU can now capitalize from the sale of their class notes and study guides through the use of an online service.Notehall.com established momentum in 2008 when it was found that at least 40 percent of students at the University of Arizona were using the service.“The pay for note takers is commission and flat-rate based on notes you sell and what classes you’re in,” sophomore and note taker Gabrielle Rapin said. “Usually, the science classes make more money than, like, a history class would because there’s more people in it.”The service later gained criticism when it was expressed that the material distributed through the website was a violation of intellectual property rights, or students profiting off work that is not their own.Rapin said Notehall has made an agreement with the University to be allowed to post materials. She said that this agreement was made between Notehall and a committee she referred to as the “academic advising committee.”“They made an agreement with the University to be allowed to post notes and do all that kind of stuff, but it’s a national-based company,” Rapin said. “It’s not just for IU.”However, Dean of Students Harold “Pete” Goldsmith, along with Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education Sonya Stephens said no such agreement exists between the University and Notehall, and also said, to his knowledge, there is no such academic advising committee. “I personally have never heard of (Notehall),” Goldsmith said. “I don’t think very highly of (such websites).”Goldsmith said learning to utilize organizational concepts and actively participating in the academic environment are all part of the learning experience.Rapin said Notehall is hoping to establish a client base at IU.“Notehall is a site where kids can post their notes and study guides or flash cards, basically any form of study material and broadcast it through sites like OnCourse or Facebook and get their classmates to buy them as secondary study materials,” Rapin said. Rapin said freshman-level mass lectures, often containing hundreds of students, tend to be the most popular.According to the company’s website, Notehall’s mission is to “bring classmates together in a virtual setting in hopes of enhancing the overall academic success of college students nationwide.”The website said it aims to facilitate student success through ways that allow for interaction and also “the opportunity to seek supplemental study materials for thorough comprehension of all required subject matters.”Notehall does not produce the academic materials; it only markets them. “We are also dedicated to ensuring an equal playing field for all students to make the most of their academic career by providing a forum accessible to all students for the free exchange of intellectual dialogue and information,” according to the website. Rapin said her instructors have not yet raised any ethical concerns as far as the program is concerned and certain instructors have even purchased her notes through Notehall and used them as teaching aids.“It’s not to be something for slackers to use on a regular basis. Yeah, that’s going to happen, but you just hope that it’s not,” Rapin said.
(11/18/11 5:22am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The state’s $28 billion budget, introduced in April of this year, left the IU system with considerably less support and created concerns about the performance-based criteria system.“I am very disappointed that our efforts to improve the performance funding plan for higher education were unsuccessful,” IU President Michael McRobbie told Inside Indiana Business. “The plan proposed by the Commission for Higher Education and approved by the General Assembly has serious flaws.”McRobbie said he understands the state budget is a work in progress, but the new budget has cut funding to two of Indiana’s “highest achieving” and “best-performing” institutions, including the IU School of Medicine.The factors that determine how much state funding the University receives is performance-based. Therefore, that number can fluctuate from year to year.McRobbie said the system is flawed because “levels of excellence” along with research endeavors of IU-Bloomington and the health sciences schools located in Indianapolis went unaccounted for.Support from the state has fallen 8 percent across the IU system in the last three years. State support accounts for 16 percent of total funding on the Bloomington campus alone. “Over the last three years, due to rapid increases in resident enrollment in Bloomington, state support per in-state student has fallen by 17 percent, from $9,700 per student in 2008-09 to $8,100 per student this year,” said Ryan Piurek, director of University communications.Piurek said the other seven IU campuses receive state support for only 18 percent of total funding.State Rep. Peggy Welch, D-Bloomington, spoke of the factors taken into consideration when allocating state funding for a public university.“There’s concerns from most of our state-funded universities about the performance-based funding,” Welch said.Indiana universities come together to present their needs and proposed budgets, Welch said.Welch is a member of the Indiana Ways and Means Committee. The budget committee has hearings a year after every election. In this particular case, the last meeting was in 2009, Welch said. The meetings continued through January of that year.“The performance base is a very small part of the funding for a university,” Welch said. “(It) doesn’t mean it won’t grow to a large part at some point.”Welch said the budget is formulated and passed by the General Assembly and “truly developed” by the legislature.When the budget is approved by the House, it is reviewed by the Senate. The Senate then crafts a proposal for the governor. Welch said the proposal goes back to the House after the Senate has reviewed it, and a conference committee is assigned to “iron out the differences.” It is sent to the governor in its final stages.Students have posed concerns regarding the cuts and how they could negatively affect the classroom.Junior Carrie Roche said with less funding from the state, educators may lose enthusiasm.“Teachers wouldn’t be caring as much as they usually do, unless they’re just an extra dedicated (educator),” Roche said.
(11/17/11 2:26am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Wednesday marked National Censorship Day, and Congress took part in hearings for a bill that, if passed, would reserve the right to censor access to particular websites that are gateways for illegally hosted material.The website americancensorship.org was at the forefront of opposition to the bill. It highlighted several of the potential roadblocks it claims will become reality in the event the bill is passed.The website warned against “website blocking, risk of jail for ordinary users and chaos on the internet.”“It becomes a felony with a potential five-year sentence to stream a copyrighted work that would cost more than $2,500 to license, even if you are a totally noncommercial user, e.g. singing a pop song on Facebook,” according to the website.The Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property, or Protect IP Act, is also referred to as U.S. Senate Bill S-968. The bill was introduced in May of this year by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont with 39 co-sponsors.A House version of the bill, called the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) or H.R. 3261, was introduced Oct. 26.The bill’s objective is to provide the federal government, along with copyright holders in the entertainment industry, the ability to block access to sites that host infringed content by not allowing individual users access to the site’s domain name. However, the user could still access the site by obtaining its IP address and entering it into a web browser.Students reacted to Congress’ deliberations Wednesday.“Trying to censor the entire Internet is just not going to work,” sophomore Victoria Weitbrecht said. “I think people are on Facebook and Twitter too much anyways, so if we got rid of (access to copyrighted material on these sites), I wouldn’t go into outrage.”But, he said other people would be upset. Weitbrecht said students’ reaction depends upon how far the bill goes to censor certain websites. If social media is shut down, he said he thinks people will very upset.Sites like Google, Facebook, Yahoo, LinkedIn, eBay and Mozilla, sent a letter addressed to Senate and House members proposing that Congress reconsider the bill’s effects, the Washington Post reported. Protesters of the bill made numerous online video announcements that the bill is the start of something much bigger than a movement against online piracy within the entertainment industry.Video announcements, such as those hosted on americancensorship.org said PROTECT IP, could hurt new startups because it allows for companies to sue any website “they feel isn’t doing their filtering well enough.”