Thanks to volunteers We would like to thank the Delta Gamma volunteers at Indiana University for donating their time at the Bloomington Hospitality House. Their quality of service and compassion toward the residents were outstanding. Our residents always enjoy seeing their smiling faces and appreciate all the time the sorority has spent here at the facility. We always look forward to their next visit.
Kerry DeLaney Public relations coordinator for Bloomington Hospitality House
Eradicate hunger and homelessness I would first like to publicly praise Jeannie Annan, the graduate student who used compassion to call attention to the problem of homelessness in our community. I'd like to present some statistics regarding poverty in Monroe County that may be easy to grasp but difficult to digest. According to Monroe County's "Service Community Assessment of Needs" report, the poverty rate in Monroe County is 18.9 percent, the highest of all 92 Indiana counties. Still, the cost of housing -- a median rent of $560 -- places Monroe county as the 10th highest in the state. These two startling statistics exacerbate the national problem of hunger and homelessness on a local level. Unfortunately, we as students share the blame for the high cost in housing. When students live together in houses, landlords are able to charge a higher overall rate since the cost is split separately. This drives the price of two-bedroom houses close to $1000, and three-bedroom houses surpass that total with ease. This makes it nearly unaffordable for a family with one to two wage-earners working in the service industry. To give another example, the living wage for a one-bedroom apartment is $9.83 per hour, well above the minimum wage of $5.15. There are several commendable agencies filled with people who are dedicating themselves to fighting this problem. Night shelters such as Martha's House and day shelters like Shalom Center are in constant need of resources and volunteers. When President Bush announced the budget for FY2005, it included an $800 million cut from Section 8 housing. Locally, this means an already under-funded program will place even more of a burden on local agencies to provide emergency food and shelter. If these issues mean anything to you, as they should on one level or another, you can get involved today. The Hunger and Homelessness campaign of INPIRG is a student organization that raises money and donates time to help these agencies continue their invaluable work. On a national level, the campaign advocates for greater appropriation of funds to one day hopefully eradicate the unnecessary crisis of millions of hungry and homeless people in the richest country in the world. If you are interested, get involved -- inpirg@indiana.edu.Jesse Worker Senior, campaign coordinator for Hunger and Homelessness
The answer for IU football The Indiana football program has been dismal for decades. We have consistently been the whipping boy of the Big Ten and have failed to succeed even with great talent like Randal El. Is it because IU loses state recruits to Notre Dame and Purdue? Is it that the basketball program overshadows the football team? The problem is obviously a complex one; however, the solution is simple. If Indiana is serious about turning around the football program it needs to do one thing, hire Steve Spurrier. Hiring Spurrier would raise IU to the next level. While this goal may seem lofty, it really becomes simple when viewed from the appropriate perspective. First, the move would be cost-effective. Although Spurrier would command a high salary, the athletics department would be happy to fix the program with one contract as opposed to the hiring and firing and stadium improvements etc., that they are currently trying. Additionally, Spurrier would be attracted to a school like IU. Lou Holtz went to South Carolina and did wonders to turn its program around. Indiana could turn into Spurrier's project and would be a huge contrast to the pressure and failure he faced in the NFL. He would also be attracted to the opportunity of Big Ten play with such great programs as OSU and Michigan to compete with. Spurrier would be met with immediate adoration from IU students and alumni and it would be refreshing to know that for once Indiana was finally getting serious about their football. Attendance would soar and recruits would pour in from around the country. Improvement would be inevitable and, for once, dominance a possibility. Indiana needs the big name. It is time for the athletic department to wise-up, evaluate the situation and exploit the opportunity. Go at Spurrier with everything Indiana has, offer an exorbitant contract and bring him to IU. Spurrier is the Bob Knight that Indiana football has needed; it is time for the athletic department to jump on the loose coach before someone else recovers him.Dan Knecht Junior
'Attaboy, A.J. I just wanted to write a public thank you to A.J. Moye. Thanks for showing us -- even during a tough season -- what it means to be an Indiana basketball player. While it's tough to watch IU lose this year, at least we can cheer for A.J. His effort and commitment to Indiana University is refreshing and inspiring.David Pierce Graduate student
Long-term bridge paintings essential to tradition I just want to set a couple things straight. I'm the person who painted the 9/11 piece that was used on the front page of last Wednesday's IDS, and for the record that piece was painted under the bridge at Tenth and Jordan. Although I appreciate that my artwork was in the newspaper, I'd like to say that the piece was a tribute to 9/11 (I live in New York City, in downtown Manhattan) and I did it all by myself on that day in 2001. So, contrary to some parts of the article ("Painted Jordan Avenue bridges steeped in IU tradition"), artwork on the bridge can be respected for much more than two days, and it is the pieces that stay that are essential to the feeling of tradition. Furthermore, bridge painting isn't limited to just groups of fraternities and sororities. In fact, I encourage everyone to paint a bridge. However, I just wanted to acknowledge that this artwork is not done by a group of Greeks but rather by a single New Yorker, and it has lasted for two and a half years.Ian Aliman Senior
A three-cheer apology A journalist's number one job is to report an objective story, that is, one without bias and with the correct information. I am the author of the letter titled "Cheer for the whole team" (Feb. 3), and I admit I did not write in an objective form. The article ripped on the basketball cheerleaders for only wearing Bracey Wright jerseys against Purdue in a home win. First of all, the cheerleaders didn't wear the jerseys, it was the Pom Squad. Next on the correction list, they had already worn the jerseys for a competition. They all got No. 4 jerseys because that is the only jersey the company had fifteen of to sell. The Pom Squad wore the jerseys against the Boilermakers because they were performing the same routine at halftime as they performed in the competition, in which they placed third.Matt C. Williams Senior
San Francisco decision advances civil rights I apologize for not writing the entire story. These corrections should clarify the true intent of the Pom Squad as well as show how easy it is to learn from a mistake when the person who made it takes responsibility. Rather than looking at San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom's decision to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples as an end to social order and the family unit, I am instead looking to it as the beginning of the beginning for same-sex couples in this country. Mayor Newsom's willingness to take such a stand in defiance of a negative public opinion is extremely brave on his part, and he is already facing backlash for his courage; although he has already been vilified by some California conservatives as a dictator for his actions, Newsom's decision to say "I don't care if this is going to cost me my job, I'm going to do what I believe is right" puts him in a small and distinguished group of civil rights activists who have defied the law in order to fight for the rights of others. In fact, Newsom's action may be the most socially significant act of civil disobedience to occur in our country since Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat in 1955. How long these marriage licenses will be valid, or if they even are valid to begin with, is currently in question as conservative groups are trying to use the courts to get them nullified, and may succeed at doing so. Despite the actions of these groups, however, this event still represents a watershed moment in the gay rights movement, because these couples have achieved a unique recognition of equality and acceptance. Regardless if this acceptance lasts for a day, a week, a year or a single solitary second, the fact that these couples got the government to finally say, "Yes, we accept you as equals" marks the beginning of the beginning for equality for ALL couples in this country.Matthew Briddell Senior
Get out of my bar This is directed at all the little 18 and 19-year-old girls who have fake IDs. We all know what bars you can and can't get into with a fake. I wish they had two lines at these bars -- one for valid IDs and one for fakes -- because they're going to let you in, regardless. I also wish that there were two rooms at these bars -- one for people 21 and over and another for those that are still under age so I don't have to see you. You girls get into the bars and think that you are too cool. You flash around your Coach wristlets and your Louis Vuitton (for the super spoiled, I mean, special) bags. Wearing your damn stilettos (for safe walking on snow and ice), sport coats over your white tank tops, and your extremely short pleated skirts, you appear more than ridiculous. You are easily spotted on campus during the week wearing a North Face fleece, those stupid two-tone bags from Bloomingdale's (I have no clue the brand name and don't care), either velour pants or gray sweatpants, and loose side ponytails. Look, my point is, most of us can wait until we're 21 to go to the bars. Why can't you? Are you that impatient? Take your sport coat and go back to your dorm or hang out with your pledge class on North Jordan. Rather than sneaking into the bars and annoying the crap out of the rest of us, go on a shopping spree and get some individuality. You all look like morons. Get a life.Kourtney Teegardin Junior
Brand: from infamy to irony Myles Brand jumped into the national spotlight by firing Bobby Knight, the most successful basketball coach in IU's history. In firing Coach Knight, Brand maximized his personal air time through a lengthy press conference and several television interviews. Brand utilized this airtime to sell his message that no one man should be bigger than an entire university. In order to drive his point home, Brand oversaw the hiring of Mike Davis. In doing so, Brand wanted to prove that not only could he fire Coach Knight, but that he could give an under-qualified assistant a shot. Now whether you support him or not, it would be very difficult to argue that Davis was not one of the most under-qualified hirings in major college sports history. Coach Davis was given a top five college basketball coaching position despite having ZERO head coaching experience and only a few years of experience as an assistant. Ironically, Brand was able to use this hiring to gain further exposure as Indiana made a most improbable run to the Final Four during Davis' first full season. Again, Brand made a point to constantly get his face in front of the camera during Regional and Final Four coverage. In doing so, Brand apparently developed a reputation as an innovative thinker on college athletics and amazingly enough was rewarded with the job of President of the NCAA. Now, a couple years removed from the infamous coaching change, NCAA President Brand calls for increased graduation rates, less television coverage and increased emphasis on the student portion of student-athletes. Does anyone else find it ironic that Brand fired the coach that has embodied these principals for the past three decades? Conversely, Coach Davis recruits players who are considering jumping directly from high school to the NBA and have very little intention of getting a degree in Bloomington. Make no mistake about it; the Indiana program is in trouble. Meanwhile, the man who orchestrated its demise sits in a plush office in Indianapolis as the reigning King of the NCAA.Kane McCord '02 Dallas, TX
