Hoosier at heart

During winter break while spending time in my hometown of Lafayette (in the depths of Boilermaker country), I developed a desperate longing to return to IU. While I enjoy time with my family and old friends, something inside simply pulls me to Bloomington. And for many students, I'm quite sure it is the same. \nIU has many faces. It is a different place for every student who sets foot on the campus. Whether it's a group of friends we are close to, a job we can't live without, an activity that inspires us or the memories of love present and past, the characteristics of IU vary. Such is an amazing feature that it has to offer. But there is something more to IU that draws us here. It's a bond, something that holds us together -- that each and every one of us is a Hoosier. It is unclearly defined but clearly evidenced.\nThat bond results in so many taking pride in the high rankings of IU departments, such as the Kelley School of Business and School of Journalism, despite their varying levels of interaction with each, and it results in advocacy for them by all Hoosiers alike. It's what drives us to denounce reports such as the Princeton Review when they inaccurately assess IU's student body. \nIt's what caused a commonly held sense of frustration and subdued congratulations as Bobby Knight won his 880th game. So many of us at IU were not present under the Knight era, yet he was the popular face for all Hoosiers for 29 years at the University. It is with a bittersweet taste that IU must take this victory.\nAnd it's why so many students looked solemnly at the headlines on Oct. 31, 2006, some letting their eyes drop in remembrance, others tearing up with sorrow and still others with a type of grim satisfaction. \nAs the news broke that John R. Myers II had been found guilty by a jury for the 2000 murder of IU sophomore Jill Behrman, students, faculty and alumni all felt the shock waves of the decision. And again, so few of us ever met Jill Behrman. On that day we mourned her loss, those of us who were so distant from her passing, absolutely because of the pain to her family and absolutely because of its tragic nature -- but also because she was one of us, undoubtedly tied to each and every individual who has passed through and entered IU.\nSo as we return for yet another semester of classes, jobs, fun and newfound relationships, it may be worth identifying what IU is to you. And when you discover the answer, cherish what is found as your own, for we are all individuals here with different views of the same world. And then, when you know what or who IU is, know this as well: I, for one, will never hesitate to stand up next to you and proudly call myself a Hoosier