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(07/04/08 2:29am)
Phi Delta Kappa International, a professional organization for teachers located in Bloomington, is currently in talks with the IU Foundation to buy PDK International’s building at 408 N. Union St., said Barbara Coffman, IU Foundation executive director for strategic planning and communications.\nPhi Delta Kappa Executive Director Bill Bushaw said the organization’s board decided it had more space than it needed.\n“They decided if the Foundation was interested in buying it, the board would sell,” he said.\nHe added that when the building is sold, Phi Delta Kappa staff members would stay for a period of time and would use the money to buy or build a new building elsewhere.\nIU Foundation Executive Director of Real Estate John Wilhite said after the IU Foundation purchases the building, it will be leased out. \nCoffman said the reason the IU Foundation agreed to buy Phi Delta Kappa’s building was because the foundation is able to do certain kinds of financing the University can’t do quickly – if property becomes available that IU wants, she said, the IU Foundation is asked to buy it.
(07/03/08 1:44am)
Eugene Tempel has been chosen to take Curt Simic’s place as IU Foundation president starting Sept. 1, according to an IU press release.\nIU President Michael McRobbie appointed Tempel, the current executive director of IU’s Center on Philanthropy on the Indianapolis campus, to the position Wednesday, according to the press release. IU Foundation Board of Directors Vice Chairman Gus Watanabe, who was on the search committee for the new president, said it will be difficult to replace Simic, but because of Tempel’s experience in philanthropy, Watanabe has no qualms.\n“I think the transition will be smooth and easy,” he said.\nTempel was chosen after a 15-member search committee conducted a nationwide search. The committee was made up of three IU trustees, two deans of a couple of schools on campus and the rest were members of the IU Foundation board, he said. \nTempel is active in the Association of Fundraising Professionals and helped create the Center on Philanthropy in 1987, according to the news release. He holds various leadership positions on the Bloomington and Indianapolis campus, and last year he received the James L. Fisher Award for his service to education.\nTemple said he was excited about the appointment, and is looking forward to starting in the fall. \n“The key thing is to take a look at the success at the IU Foundation over the past 20 years and look at how we can build on that,” he said.\nThe IU Foundation will have a large role in the coming years executing the vision McRobbie announced for the University last year, said Barbara Coffman, IU Foundation executive director for strategic planning and communications. McRobbie’s vision includes campus improvements regarding financial aid, construction and other areas, \n“All of those are going to require private support,” she said.\nDuring Simic’s time as the IU Foundation’s president, its endowment grew from $214 million in 1988 to $1.6 billion, according to the news release. IU is also one of the top 20 colleges in the country for support from the private sector. \nTempel, who currently lives in Indianapolis, said he will take up residence in Bloomington and commute between the two cities. Before he officially takes office in the fall, he said he wants to meet with other leaders on campus as well as the staff at the IU Foundation.\n“It’s just a general excitement about what’s possible here... to be able to lead an organization like this,” he said.
(07/02/08 11:46pm)
After being chosen for a third term as trustee on Monday, Patrick Shoulders said he has both long- and short-term goals he hopes to achieve.\nShoulders, who won with 14,507 of 32,552 votes cast, said he plans to work with IU President Michael McRobbie on the agenda McRobbie announced at the beginning of his presidency last year.\nAlumni had the option in this year’s election of voting online for the first time. Shoulders said he thought that aspect of voting went well.\n“It seemed to have been absolutely wonderful,” he said. “It was easy to use, and appears to have functioned without error.”\nAlumni Trustee Election Coordinator Shawny Taysom said there were only a couple of minor problems with online voting. The main problem, she said, was that the University’s firewall was set too high, causing a few alumni to be unable to log in to the board of trustees’ Web site. She added that some alumni returned paper ballots after voting online, but due to an identification number each person received, the double votes were noticed and not counted.\nIndiana attorney and trustee candidate Kelly Smith received 11,306 votes in the election. She said she liked the online voting option but thinks everyone involved in the election should get the word out more. \nBut, Smith said, she plans to run for trustee again in the future.\n“At the moment, I’m planning on coming back,” she said.\nThe online voting option will be used in future elections, Taysom said, and after this election, alumni who voted online this year will only receive the online voting option in the future. She added that she wants to create a larger pool of online voters in the future, but the paper-ballot option will also be available.\nShoulders, who has been a trustee since 2002, will stay on as vice president of the board of trustees and chair of the external committee. He said he wanted to congratulate his opponents and alumni who voted for him.\n“I am just humbled and gratified that the majority of alumni saw fit to re-elect me,” he said.
(06/24/08 5:42pm)
As Paul Horst looked at ground charts to prepare for his flight to Huntington, Ind. on June 20, his instructor, Curtis Lentz, said something unusual for a pilot to hear. \n“You are going to get lost tonight, I guarantee it,” he said to Horst’s immediate laughter. “No, I’m going to make sure you do.”\nHorst, a recent IU graduate, is working on fulfilling the requirements for his private pilot license at BMG Aviation, Inc., which offers flight instruction and aircraft rental and maintenance. Although IU doesn’t offer an aviation program, Horst is one of about four to six IU students and staff members who pay around $6,000 to take flying lessons at BMG Aviation at any given time, Lentz said.\nAfter he came to IU, Horst said he started to seriously think about flying and finally decided to take lessons. On Aug. 24 of last year, Lentz took him for his first flight over Bloomington.\n“We came back in early, as I recall, because I got sick,” Horst said, adding that becoming nauseous cut his flights short for a while. “I eventually got over it.”\nThe list of requirements for getting a private pilot license is long and detailed, Horst said, including being able to do certain takeoffs and landings, stalling and recovering the plane, flying “cross country” from airport to airport and wearing “foggles,” which gives the illusion of flying through fog.\nWhile it may sound like completing all of the requirements would take a long time to do, Assistant Women’s Soccer Coach Woody Sherwood said he finished the program and received his license June 18 after only a four or five month process. His family had a history of flying planes.\n“Both of my parents flew – not as a profession,” he said. “I knew at some point I was going to end up doing it.”\nAfter soccer season ended last year, Sherwood decided to learn how to fly, scheduling about three or four flights a week. \nSherwood said he read up on flying and planes enough before he started lessons, so nothing really surprised him. Horst, on the other hand, said he hadn’t realized how little control there would be – he always assumed every airport had radar and air traffic controllers. But only one control tower sits at the Monroe County Airport, next to which BMG Aviation is located. \nWith news stories about crashes involving small planes every so often, including one in which five Jacobs School of Music graduate students died in April 2006, Sherwood said many people think the probability of going up in a small plane and crashing is high.\n“I’ve been surprised at how many people perceive this as more dangerous than it is,” he said, adding that he knows it’s still important to keep safety a priority.\nAfter finishing up the requirements and taking written and in-flight tests to get his license, Horst said he plans to fly his uncles’ planes in his spare time. Sherwood said it’s still in the works, but he wants to fly to games around the country in order to recruit new players for the women’s soccer team.\nAs the sun set at around 10 p.m., Horst and Lentz checked the plane before climbing in, yelled, “Clear!” and kicked the engine on. Dogs barked and the smell of gasoline filled the air as the plane lifted off the runway, making its nearly two-hour trip to Huntington and back. After the trip, Horst said Lentz did not, in fact, drive him off course.\n“It went well,” he said. “We got all the way there and back.”
(06/16/08 1:47am)
People cheered and a car horn blared as the parade for Bloomington’s 10th annual Juneteenth celebration turned into the parking lot of Bryan Park on Saturday.\nThe day’s festivities began with a parade from the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center to the park. After the parade, the smell of grilled food wafted over a crowd of about 100 students and community members as they gathered to talk, eat and learn about different black organizations on campus.\nJuneteenth, which began in Texas in 1865 and celebrates the emancipation of black slaves in 1863, isn’t an officially recognized celebration in Indiana. But event organizer Sachiko Higgins-Kante said about 300 to 500 people attend the celebration in Bloomington each year. \n“The people here aren’t just African-Americans,” said Virginia LeBlanc, president of the Bloomington alumni chapter of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. “They’re from all walks of life.” \nUnder one tent, booths featured various organizations, sororities and fraternities on campus. \nUnder another traditional African clothing, carvings and drums were sold. Virginia LeBlanc, president of the Bloomington alumni chapter of Delta Sigma Theta sorority, said the celebration has grown by word of mouth but still isn’t well-known in Indiana.\n“More people should know about Juneteenth,” she said, adding that many people may not know about the day because history is largely not told through diverse views.\nThe celebration’s lineup of events included speeches, including one from a representative for the mayor, a King and Queen pageant and a clown. \nSenior DeOndray Pope said he helped set up the parade and has been involved with Juneteenth since he came to IU four years ago. He said he enjoys seeing members of the community come together for the celebration each year.\n“I enjoy the fellowship... just the laughter we’ve had,” he said.\nLeBlanc said during the parade she talked to a sorority sister who is from Mississippi and had never wanted to celebrate Juneteenth because it started two years after blacks were freed from slavery. Despite this, Higgins-Kante said freedom is always a good thing to celebrate.\n“It’s important to acknowledge the day and acknowledge the fact that it happened,” she said.
(06/15/08 11:15pm)
IU has raised more than $60 million for graduate fellowships through the University’s “Matching the Promise” campaign, a three-fold increase in funds since the campaign’s inception, said Kent Dove, IU senior vice president for development.\nThe campaign, which began in July 2003, works to provide financial aid to low- and moderate-income undergraduate and graduate students, as well as funding building and academic projects. As of now, the campaign has raised about $800 million of its $1 billion goal – a goal the campaign hopes to reach by June 2010, Dove said. But the campaign is already starting to pay off, said University Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Neil Theobald. \n“We’ve been able to recruit the best students regardless of (their) financial situation,” he said.\nThe campaign has three parts – undergraduate scholarships, graduate fellowships and other University projects. Dove said the campaign committee identified the greatest need among students and found more scholarship opportunities were available for undergraduates than oppurtunities for graduates to receive fellowships. Fellowships, Dove explained, are essentially like scholarships, but for graduate students. The campaign has now helped create 67 new graduate fellowships, Theobald said.\nDonors to the campaign have mainly been individuals, but some corporations and foundations have also contributed, Dove said. When someone donates to the campaign, he or she has the ability to choose where the money goes. \nThe $60 million raised by the campaign is up from $22 million the campaign started with in 2003 for graduate fellowships, Dove said. Theobald said IU matches donations of $50,000 or more. With that, the University has about $135,000 to contribute to fellowships, according to an IU news release. Theobald said across universities in Indiana, he thinks IU has worked the hardest to make sure bright students who may not be financially well-off can still attend the University.\n“I think that fits our mission as a public university very well,” he said.
(06/08/08 10:51pm)
Senior Kyle Simcoe said he’s heard the story of an incoming freshman bringing his kayak to campus after hearing about the “mighty” Jordan River. In the story the student arrived at IU to find a not-so-mighty river. But on June 4, the river was raging.\n“It was pretty mighty,” Simcoe said. \nSimcoe and his friend, senior, Alex Lodato took the opportunity after rains flooded much of campus last week to canoe a part of the Jordan River, from the more shallow waters near the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center to the tunnel that begins at Indiana Avenue.\nLodato said Simcoe sent him a text message between storms asking if he wanted to rent a canoe from Outdoor Adventures in the Indiana Memorial Union. The two friends, who Lodato described as “spontaneous,” decided to grab the chance, although the weather was dicey.\n“We almost got struck by lightning a couple times,” Simcoe said.\nWhile canoeing, Simcoe and Lodato said IU faculty members and employees came up and told them they hadn’t seen anyone try to canoe down the river. When they came to the tunnel by the IMU, Simcoe said he was a little nervous to go through it – electrical wires hung in front of it, and it was pitch black inside. But Lodato said the tunnel was one of the best parts.\n“That’s when we started getting the best flow,” he said. “It was like a log ride at an amusement park.”\nHe and Simcoe came out of the tunnel by Ernie Pyle Hall and continued on until Indiana Avenue, where another tunnel leads under the road. The two decided to end their adventure there.\nAfter he graduates, Simcoe said he will head to Dallas to work with Texas Instruments. Lodato said he will move to Virginia to join the Marines. Both said canoeing the Jordan River was one last fun, spontaneous thing to do before graduation.\n“This summer there’s been a lot of things I wanted to do,” Simcoe said. “I would highly recommend it.”
(05/27/08 11:16pm)
The Monroe County Sheriff's Department is investigating a one-car accident that occurred May 20 involving Indiana Daily Student Editor-in-Chief Michael Reschke.\nAn Indiana State Police crash report indicated alcohol was involved in the accident, which damaged a utility pole and a mailbox in the 5500 block of South Fairfax Road. Driving south down a curve in the road, Reschke lost control of the car, which hit the mailbox and utility pole before flipping over. The accident, which officers were called to at 4:19 a.m., caused no serious injuries, but Reschke reported pain in his shoulder, according to the report.\nReschke said if charges are filed, the IDS would handle the situation the same as it would if any other prominent campus organization leader potentially caused an alcohol-related accident.\n“We’re treating the situation the same as we would for any student leader on campus,” he said.\nReschke was not given a breathalyzer test, but took a blood test, the results of which are still pending.\nInterim Student Media Director Nancy Comiskey stressed that, while waiting for the blood test results to come in, the situation will be given the same attention and treatment as it would if any other student leader on campus were involved.\nComiskey said her first reaction was to make sure no one was hurt in the accident.\n“Fortunately, there were no serious injuries other than a sore shoulder,” she said.
(05/22/08 3:06pm)
At a celebration for the 10-year anniversary of IU’s 1998 Information Technology Strategic Plan, IU President Michael McRobbie attributed the success of the University’s Information Technology services in the last decade to the University staff and faculty.\n“It is the people that have led us to the position we are in today,” he said May 20 to a packed house at Ruth N. Halls Theatre. He went on to name IT staff members and colleagues in the audience who contributed through the years.\nThe celebration gave McRobbie, Vice President for Information Technology Brad Wheeler and IU-Purdue University at Indianapolis Chancellor Emeritus Gerald Bepko a chance to thank those who helped implement the 1998 plan and announce the launching of a new IT plan that will help IU build on its technological successes. Video presentations also described projects, research and departments that have come out of the 1998 plan. \nWheeler introduced a video presentation that described how the 1998 IT Strategic Plan came about when McRobbie was IU’s first vice president for Information Technology. Myles Brand, IU’s president at the time, gave McRobbie the task of creating a plan to increase the use of technology on IU’s eight campuses. The video then outlined the plan, which included 10 “General Recommendations,” including providing all campuses with desktop computers and basic technology, providing network access at any time of the day, getting faculty and staff involved and providing technology support for students. The plan also involved 68 specific actions the University would take.\nThe new 2008 IT Strategic Plan will be created by IT staff, faculty and students, and headed by Kelley School of Business Associate Dean Frank Acito, Wheeler said. \nAs he gave the opening remarks, Wheeler joked about changes in technology since 1998.\n“Ten years hence, we think back to the zippy signal of 33.3K modems,” he said to an eruption of laughter in the audience.\nAll of the speakers noted the creation of projects encouraged by the 1998 IT Strategic Plan, including a new IT building on the IUPUI campus and the creations of Oncourse and the School of Informatics. \n“Indiana University showed the larger world ... that large-scale concrete change can take place,” Bepko said of the 1998 plan. “IU could execute a plan just as well as any business or organization.” \nDuring the ceremony, Wheeler highlighted a number of departments and people on the IU campuses who use new technologies including performances using digital technology in the Jacobs School of Music and an IUPUI study of fluid dynamics during wind storms. For his work over the past decade, McRobbie was also given an entirely computer-generated work of art at the end of the ceremony titled “Heart Packets” by digital artist and assistant professor of Fine Arts Margaret Dolinsky.\nWheeler presented a video demonstration from a Sony 4K projector, which showed nature and city scenes in extremely high definition. The projector, worth $40,000, was being shown as a possible investment for IU’s IT in the near future. It came through IU’s partnership with Sony, which Wheeler announced in December 2007.\nAs he talked about the new IT Strategic Plan, Wheeler asked IT staff, faculty and students to share their input throughout the process and explained why it’s important to keep up with new technologies.\n“IU should not only cope with an ever-changing landscape but put together a plan to master it,” he said.
(05/12/08 1:32am)
After a year-long search, the IU School of Journalism announced Ron Johnson as the new IU student media director. Johnson, who has worked as a student publications director and adviser to the Kansas State Collegian newspaper, will start July 1.\nJohnson will oversee the Indiana Daily Student, Arbutus yearbook and INside magazine.\nInterim Student Media Director Nancy Comiskey has served in the position since the death of former director Dave Adams in June 2007. Johnson, who was a student and friend of Adams’, said while he is pleased to be the new director, the appointment is also bittersweet.\n“We cheered for each other when we had the opportunity,” he said of Adams. “It’s sad, the occasion that brought this about.”\nSchool of Journalism Dean Brad Hamm said Johnson’s career path matched Adams’ in an interesting way. Both were at Fort Hays State University in Kansas and then moved on to Kansas State University. In his new position, Johnson will follow in Adams’ footsteps to IU. \nAdams was known for his commitment to protecting student journalists’ First Amendment rights. Bonnie Brownlee, associate dean of undergraduate studies at the School of Journalism, was on the student media director search committee and said she expects Johnson to have the same passion.\n“I can imagine that he will be someone who believes that student media is truly independent,” she said.\nBrownlee said Johnson’s presence in the newsroom during his two visits during the spring semester helped him stand out.\n“We could see that he connected very well with everyone, especially with students,” she said. “He couldn’t keep himself out of the newsroom. He wanted to come and be a part of the newsroom.”\nBrownlee said while she is excited to have Johnson join the staff, it was important to note Comiskey’s “outstanding job” as interim director. \n“(Student media’s) awards ... couldn’t have happened without Nancy being there,” Brownlee said. “She came in under very difficult circumstances.”\nBut Johnson said he looks forward to meeting with students to share his goals and to hear theirs.\n“I’m a firm believer that we help the students with their vision ... (and) to help that along through planning, coaching and critiquing,” he said.
(05/09/08 10:22pm)
The IU School of Journalism announced Friday that Ron Johnson will be the new director of student media starting July 1. Johnson, who has worked as student publications director and adviser to the Kansas State Collegian newspaper, will oversee the Indiana Daily Student, Arbutus yearbook and INside magazine. Johnson said he is “very, very excited” about his new position.\nInterim Student Media Director Nancy Comiskey has served in the position since the death of former director Dave Adams in June 2007. Johnson, who was a student and friend of Adams’, said while he is pleased to be the new director, the appointment is also bittersweet.\n“We cheered for each other when we had the opportunity,” he said of Adams. “It’s sad, the occasion that brought this about.”\nBut Johnson said he looks forward to meeting with students to share his goals and to hear theirs.\n“I’m a firm believer that we help the students with their vision... (and) to help that along through planning, coaching and critiquing,” he said.
(05/08/08 12:22am)
No supporters of presidential or local candidates campaigned outside precincts Tuesday, but there were plenty of signs nearby with arrows telling people to “vote here.”\nBefore the polls closed at 6 p.m. Tuesday, some voters weighed in on which candidate they thought would win in Indiana. Most thought Barack Obama would win, but Hillary Clinton won by a small margin – 51 percent to 49 percent. A large number of voters turned out for the election Tuesday, with 1.3 million voting in Indiana on just the Democratic presidential ballot. In the 2004 general election, a total of 2.5 million in Indiana cast their vote. \nBloomington resident Sallie Moore, who walked through campus to vote for Obama at Read Center, said the flowers and warm weather provided an uplifting atmosphere for casting a vote. Moore then explained her reasoning for supporting Obama.\n“As much as we need to see a woman president, there is an energy for hope,” she said. “I think that’s what the kids want.”\nSome voters said they experienced the frustration of going to the wrong precinct. Moore was one of those people, but said she had a good experience nonetheless.\n“There were some precinct changes, but other than that everything went fast,” she said.\nLindsay Bruick, a Bloomington resident who also voted at Read Center, declined to say who she voted for, but said she thought the process went smoothly.\n“It was definitely easy and very well-organized, compared to the last time I voted,” she said. “It was a quarter of the time I spent last time.”\nThe national election was the main focus of the day, but some people voted in local elections. Deara Ball, a graduate student at IU, voted for Obama at Teter Center. She said she voted for some local candidates, but it was difficult to find information about them online. Bruick, who only voted for national candidates, was in a similar situation with local candidates.\n“I don’t vote unless I do research on them, and I didn’t this year,” she said.\nLike most voters interviewed, Bruick said although the race was close, she thought Obama would win Indiana. But for a few voters, as one man walking into the Read Center precinct put it, Clinton was the only way to go.\nBloomington resident Alice Dobie-Galuska voted for Obama at Bloomington High School South and said she would be fine if Obama or Clinton were president.\n“The thing that threw me off with Hillary was her support of the Iraq war,” she said. “I’m happy with either, but I like Obama better.”
(05/05/08 1:13am)
Things are heating up for Tuesday’s Democratic primary, and although finals are over, students are getting ready to cast their votes.\nMost of the 6,985 new-voter registration forms processed in Monroe County in April were IU students, said Jim Fielder, Monroe County clerk and secretary of the Monroe County Election Board, in the April 24 article “Early voting to be held at Union.”\nSophomore Maggie Hirschauer, who is from Indianapolis and registered to vote in Bloomington, said she is voting for Barack Obama on Tuesday. She said one of her friends plans to vote for Hillary Clinton, but most are voting for Obama.\n“I’ve listened to the Democratic debates,” she said. “I like his stance on issues.”\nIU Student Association President Luke Fields said he won’t vote in the primary because he is out of the country. His concern is that students were encouraged to register, but weren’t given enough information about voting itself before they left town after finals.\n“A majority of students are gone now,” he said. “Did they vote early?”\nJunior Sam Schilling said he thinks most students will vote for Obama, who has a large youth following. Schilling said he won’t vote in the primary, but he will vote for John McCain in November. Schilling said he went to Obama’s April 30 rally at Assembly Hall out of curiosity, but it didn’t change his stance.\n“(McCain’s) experience as a senator trumps Hillary and Obama,” Schilling said. “He’ll be better during this time of terrorism.”\nFields said some of his friends will vote in Tuesday’s primary, although they’re Republicans. \n“I have friends, who also fancy themselves game theorists, who support McCain but will go vote strategically for who they think will carry the Democratic primary,” he said.\nFields explained that these “strategic voters” want to \npit McCain against the candidate they think he can defeat in the November presidential election. Nonetheless, Fields said it doesn’t matter who students support.\n“What’s important is that we just go out and do it,” he said.
(05/02/08 3:17am)
Will Shortz graduated from IU in 1974 as the only person in the world to have a degree in enigmatology, the study of puzzles. Shortz, who is now the New York Times crossword editor, will speak at IU’s graduation ceremony May 3.
(05/02/08 2:26am)
In a speech at the Lilly Library on Friday, Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is expected to talk about the “current challenges facing Liberia,” said Patrick O’Meara, IU’s vice president for international affairs.\nSirleaf will give the speech before she is presented with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree during IU’s commencement ceremony Saturday. Sirleaf, the first female president in Africa, will speak at 4 p.m. Friday in the Lilly Library’s Lincoln Room.\nAfter giving a press conference at 3:30 p.m., Sirleaf will look at different items from the Lilly Library and the Liberian Collections Project, said Verlon Stone, the project’s coordinator. The Liberian Collections Project officially started in 1999 and aims to “collect, preserve and make available a comprehensive range of materials and information about Liberia,” according to the project’s Web site. Stone said the project creates a unique bond between the University and Liberia.\n“It’s the largest academic collection of Liberian materials,” he said. “(We’re) working with a number of Liberian institutions on archival projects.”\nSirleaf attended the College of West Africa in Monrovia, Liberia and received degrees in accounting and economics from two U.S. colleges and a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard, according to an IU press release. After an era of unrest, Sirleaf was sworn in as Liberia’s first woman president in 2006 in a democratic election facilitated by the United Nations.\nFaculty member Amos Sawyer, who was Liberia’s interim president from 1990 to 1994, chairs the Governance Reform Commission in Liberia.\n“As Africa’s first woman president, a lifetime champion of human rights and democratic governance, and an internationally celebrated development expert, President Sirleaf has been honored and continues to be honored by academic institutions and development-oriented organizations around the world. Indiana University is in good company in doing her this honor,” Sawyer said in the press release.\nO’Meara said while he didn’t have the details of what Sirleaf would discuss, he thinks Sirleaf will talk about her experience rebuilding Liberia.\n“They’ve been through a difficult time and a civil war,” he said. “There’s been damage done to the infrastructure.”\nAfter her speech Friday, Sirleaf will receive her honorary degree at Saturday’s first commencement session at 10 a.m. and will be present for the second session at 3 p.m.
(12/04/07 5:11am)
The smell of chlorine fills the warm air as a couple of blurry masses move underwater. Scuba diving suits and other diving equipment hang on the wall in the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation building. In one corner, silver diving tanks are lined up like tin soldiers. The pool may seem like a normal practice area for scuba divers, until further inspection reveals a cabinet labeled “Archaeology supplies.” This is where students majoring in underwater archaeology and science through the Individualized Major Program practice. \nCharles Beeker, director of the Office of Underwater Science and the Academic Diving Program in HPER, said while other colleges offer graduate training in underwater archaeology, IU is the only college in the country to offer undergraduate work. While it may seem strange to offer an underwater archaeology degree in the middle of a non-coastal state, IU is known as a research university, he said. \n“Why not IU?” he said. “We’ve had one of the oldest diving programs in the country ... (and) one of the best anthropology departments in the country.” \nUnderwater archaeology is just one subcategory of the underwater science degree, which uses scuba as a tool in a range of fields like biology or geology. Underwater archaeology is more specific, focusing on man-made materials. Other subcategories include marine biology, geology and underwater resource management, all of which, Beeker said, relate to each other. For example, he said, an archaeologist can’t bring up an artifact from the ocean without first thinking of all of the organisms living on the artifact. \nJessica Keller, a junior who works as a conservation technician in the underwater science lab for credit, was recently accepted into the individualized major program for underwater archaeology. She will be one of fewer than 10 students a year who graduate with a degree in underwater archaeology. Keller, who started at IU as a theatre major, said she chose the major because she likes the idea of discovery.\n“There are so many things that aren’t found yet,” she said, which includes shipwrecks and artifacts. Keller isn’t sure what she wants to do after graduation, but she said graduate school would probably be her first choice.\nFrederick Hanselmann, research associate and anthropology Ph.D. student, who also studies underwater archeology, said many students go on to study underwater archaeology further after getting an undergraduate degree. \n“Everybody pretty much steers toward grad school,” he said. \nHe explained that underwater archaeologists, and archaeologists in general, have a greater chance of being hired to large organizations such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with a master’s degree. Some who look for a job with just a bachelor degree find jobs with Cultural Resource Management firms, which don’t pay as well. Cultural Resource Management firms work in salvage archaeology, where archaeologists go to a place that is about to be developed and try to excavate as much as they can before that happens. Also, depending on each student’s focus, they can go into the diving industry, marine conservation or biology, working on creating underwater museums of shipwrecks as well.\nBeeker and anthropology professor Geoffrey Conrad sponsor students who want to major in underwater archaeology. Conrad said he enjoys sponsoring the program because he knows students are really passionate about underwater archaeology. \n“I’ve seen students who’ve had undistinguished academic careers up to this point, and they come in here and it all clicks,” he said. “It’s something to get their hands on, and it’s very hands-on.” \nConrad, who is also director of the Mathers Museum of World Cultures, said the first student with an underwater archaeology degree graduated around 1998. \nConrad and Beeker have been working together since about 1996, when Beeker persuaded Conrad to travel to the Caribbean to look at a shipwreck Beeker was studying. Conrad said the trip grabbed his attention. \n“That’s when I got hooked,” he said.\nBefore taking any other classes, students must get scuba certification through E370 Scuba Certification or a similar class. After that, students can take the spring semester class, HPER E471, Underwater Archaeology Techniques, which combines archaeology fundamentals with scuba diving. However, there is plenty of activity in the lab and in the pool. \nThe lab is a small room divided in two with lingering remnants from its previous incarnation as a weight room. On one side of the partition, artifacts from various shipwrecks rest in fish tanks and in plastic tubs with bubbling water. Books line a bookcase that makes up the partition and on the other side are computers, rolled-up maps, an informal table for students and Beeker’s desk. \nBeeker, who is known to his students simply as “Charlie,” attended IU in the ’60s. He has been featured in programs on the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and The Learning Channel, especially with his work in studying shipwrecks. Senior Dylan Wickersham, who is double-majoring in underwater archaeology and environmental management, said Beeker’s knowledge is another reason underwater science is being taught in the Midwest. \n“He’s been in the academic community for so long,” Wickersham said. “His passion for it, his drive, is inspiring.” \nStudents interested in the underwater archaeology major apply through the Individualized Major Program, present a curriculum and are interviewed by a panel. After that, the most important part, Beeker said, is to be certified in scuba diving. \n“To me, the emphasis is ... taking a group of undergraduate students, giving them diving as a tool ... and putting them on a project,” he said. \nBeeker said students first practice scuba diving in the HPER pool and are then taken to Mitchell Quarry in the spring to practice with simulated shipwrecks and artifacts. From there, they can apply to go on trips to the Florida Keys or the Dominican Republic to look at actual shipwrecks. \nBeeker said it’s up to the students to come up with their own funds, but some students receive grants and scholarships. \nStudents in the underwater archaeology program are given small projects revolving around actual shipwrecks and artifacts to work on before doing their final senior-year project. Wickersham, who became interested in underwater archaeology after taking a scuba diving class with Beeker, is working on mapping a shipwreck site two hours north of San Francisco for his final project. \nMeasuring a shipwreck site, mapping it and working on proposals to make the site into an underwater park or museum are typical tasks, yet meaningful, Beeker said. \n“(Students) are being guided on stuff that’s on the cutting edge,” he said.\nKeller said pursuing an underwater archaeology degree requires adventurous, enthusiastic, hardworking students. Another crucial aspect, she added, is that underwater archaeology is the major to choose if “you don’t mind getting sand in your clothes.”
(12/03/07 2:25am)
When the power went out during the Supercomputing Conference Cluster Challenge, held Nov. 12 to Nov.14, junior Sarah Loos said the IU team’s first concern was the computers. \n“Our first thought is, ‘Oh, no, the cluster!’” she said, laughing. “Then our second thought is, ‘Oh no, it’s pitch black in here!’” \nLoos was part of a six-student IU group that traveled to the 21st annual Supercomputing Conference in Reno, Nev., to compete in the first year of the conference’s Cluster Challenge, which is specifically geared toward students who are undergraduates. The group, headed by Professor of Computer Science Andrew Lumsdaine, didn’t win this year, but Lumsdaine said that’ll be the goal for next year.\nLumsdaine formed the group from students in an independent study computing course. The students used the fall semester to study and then assemble nine Xserve computers provided by their partner company, Apple, into a cluster run by Apple’s OS X operating system. At the conference, the team, along with five other teams, competed to see how many applications each cluster could run in the 44 hours from 8 p.m. Nov. 12 to 4 p.m. Nov. 14. \nThe Supercomputing Conference, with vendor stations, competitions and demonstrations, highlighted the newest in high-performance computing technology. \nAt the start of the challenge, each team was first given a “benchmark” to test each cluster’s speed compared to the other clusters. The groups were then given three programs to run within the 44 hours. One program modeled chemical compounds and atoms, another simulated weather and the third created Pixar-like animation. Each group’s cluster was limited to 26 amps of power. After that, senior Andrew Schwenker said, each group was let loose. \n“We were given the programs, then the benchmark,” he said. “It was essentially open from there.” \nStudents took shifts manning the cluster, and each could only be in the convention center for 12 hours at a time. \nLoos said she had been to other smaller conventions and workshops, but nothing like the Supercomputing Challenge, which attracted more than 9,000 people. \n“They took this convention center and turned it into a small city,” she said, adding some computer vendors’ stations were two stories high. “It was interesting to be surrounded by so many people interested in things you were interested in.” \nHalfway through the challenge, the power went out in the convention center. The power outage, which officials told the teams was not caused by the conference, set teams back that were running all of the programs at once. \nFortunately, Loos said, IU’s team rebounded well because it was running a large number of short applications in the computer animation program. \nWhile the class was geared toward preparing the students and cluster for the challenge, Schwenker said students spent a lot of time working on the cluster outside class. Loos agreed, adding that, when the Cluster Challenge began, she felt it had already ended. \n“At that point I felt like the competition was already over,” she said. “We’d been working on the cluster the entire semester.” \nThe University of Alberta in Canada won the challenge. When it was over, Schwenker said the team went to an arcade to unwind. Loos said all of the teams went to the Blue Man group concert held at the end of the conference. After that, she said, she took a long nap. \nNow, Lumsdaine said, he and the students are looking at the cluster to see what went wrong and what went right at the competition, and then they will send the cluster back to Apple. Lumsdaine said he and a student group will be competing again. \n“We’re looking forward to doing it again next year,” Lumsdaine said. “And winning.”
(11/08/07 5:00am)
It's hot. Everything sucks. And all he can think about is his ex-girlfriend. If everyone found out suicide was like this, maybe fewer people would off themselves.\nUnfortunately for Zia (Patrick Fugit) in "Wristcutters: A Love Story," it's too late for that. After slitting his wrists over breaking up with his girlfriend, Zia finds himself in an afterlife where everything is the same, only a little worse. He can't smile. He lives with an annoying roommate. And he works in a crappy pizza joint. \nPassing his time in bars, he befriends Eugene (Shea Whigham), a former Russian rocker who lives with his family (because they all killed themselves, too). One day while shopping for cottage cheese, Zia runs into an old acquaintance and finds out his ex-girlfriend Desiree killed herself shortly after Zia's own suicide. So Zia makes it his mission to find his lost ex-love as he convinces Eugene to go on a road trip. Along the way, they pick up Mikal (Shannyn Sossamon), a hitchhiker looking for the people in charge because she believes they made a mistake in her case. Together, they bond as they travel on the road and pursue their causes. \nConsidering how many festival awards this film has won and the acclaim it has garnered, it comes as no surprise that "Wristcutters" is a hit. Goran Dukic's adaptation of Etgar Keret's novella gives us a fresh and smart take on what the afterlife holds for those who "off" themselves (as well as a few laughs about a topic as serious as suicide). Shot on super-16 color infrared film, the screen seems to be washed in a pale seafoam green throughout the movie, giving off the rundown feel of a cheap afterlife. Patrick Fugit does a solid job in the lead role, while Shea Whigham provides side-splitting laughs as Zia's Russian sidekick. The always stunning Sossamon continues to break hearts in this movie, and the ever-witty Tom Waits, as the miraculous happy camper Kneller, manages to steal every scene he's in (except, of course, when Will Arnett makes his brief but glorious appearance as "Messiah") while offering a few lines of insight. \nAside from the occasional "How does Shannyn Sossamon unsuccessfully hitchhike anywhere?" moments in the movie, "Wristcutters" is a strange yet pleasantly uplifting success. Hopefully, this movie will do for suicide what "Jaws" did for swimming at the beach.
(11/05/07 2:39am)
Although the campus doesn’t usually see much activity on weekend afternoons, about 15 to 20 people filter into the warmly lit Leo R. Dowling International Center each Saturday for the center’s weekly Practical English Tutorial sessions. \nThe session, held from noon to 1 p.m. on Saturdays, welcomes undergraduates, graduate students, visiting scholars and community members. The weekly sessions are free and open to the public.\nInternational Center Director Sandy Britton said the sessions help students with basic language skills they need when they arrive in the U.S.\n“It gives them an opportunity to practice the language,” she said. “That’s the main struggle for (international) students when they come.” \nBefore each session, students and tutors gather in the common room on the first floor of the International Center. Some catch up with each other and their tutors, and some sit quietly, waiting to be assigned a tutor. \nAs the session begins, Britton has the tutors go to one side of the room and assigns three or four students to each, depending on the turnout. \nOne tutor, Barry Dean, has been participating with the eight-year-old program since the fall of 2001 when he was a graduate student. He said in the past students used to be able to choose their tutor each week. \nNow the program rotates the students with each tutor. While one may think that having the same tutor each week would provide comfort and good rapport with a student, Dean said rotation seems to have a better effect.\n“It presents the student with a realistic expectation with not knowing what they’ll be experiencing (in real life),” he said. “Variety helps expand their language.” \nAfter tutors are assigned their students, each group disperses to different rooms in the building. Each week, a topic is assigned to talk about. For example, the Saturday before Halloween, tutors and students discussed jack-o-lanterns and costumes. \nTutors’ teaching techniques range from having a simple conversation to providing structure to the dialogue with a topical vocabulary list to discuss.\nDean said that although the sessions are fairly casual and unstructured, there are a couple of guidelines the tutors usually follow. \n“We try to be careful about talking about religion and politics,” he said. \nBritton said the number of students and tutors that come out each week varies. Tutors volunteer their time, and on any given week, four to eight show up out of the about 20 the program has. \n“We advertise to international students, but we also need American tutors,” Britton said. “We’re trying to recruit volunteers.” \nSophomore Alex Luboff has been volunteering as a tutor since the second semester of his freshman year. Luboff, who recently switched majors from international studies to political science, said the tutoring goes beyond simple grammar help. \n“You don’t realize how difficult not only the language is, but also styles of speaking,” he said. \nWhile a range of countries are represented in the students who come for tutoring, such as Vietnam, Germany and Russia, Dean said most of the students come from Korea, Japan, China and Taiwan. He said he assumes that people coming from European countries may have more exposure to the English language because of the close proximity to English-speaking countries, compared to Asian countries.\nChina native Tao Ma said he appreciates being able to speak with different tutors each week. \n“This is a good opportunity for us to practice English,” he said. “We have different tutors and can listen to different accents.” \nThe students aren’t the only ones that benefit from the tutoring sessions. Luboff said the sessions often end 20 or 30 minutes after they’re officially supposed to.\n“We get some good conversations going,” he said. “Our job as tutors is to help the students open up and express themselves using English.”
(10/31/07 4:40am)
Indiana Memorial Union employees hear disembodied footsteps behind them. The cries of children can be heard in the Career Development Center. \nThe clicking of a \ntypewriter emanates from an empty room in La Casa. \nThese are just some of the ghost stories associated with IU. While many hear these stories and accept them as fact, some wonder whether the stories are based on true stories, and if many can be explained by natural phenomena. \nStudents in both Wright Quad and Read may have heard of the “girl in the yellow dress.” A look into the IU Archives shows inconsistency in the story.\nIn one version, from an October 1984 Indiana Daily Student article, the story of the girl in the yellow dress originated at Wright. In an October 2003 IDS article, however, the girl was murdered by her boyfriend during an argument after a formal in the 1960s. Another IDS article from September 1996 ties a “woman in black” to Wright. \nAssociate Librarian Moira Smith, who works with the folklore section, gave one reason as to why she thinks the stories evolve. \n“Some stories appear because people decide there needs to be a ghost story,” she said. “People have heard enough ghost stories to make them up.” \nAnother specter floating around campus is the “woman in black.” She’s now mostly associated with Wright, but various IDS articles from 1911 through 1921 mention a “lady in black” wandering around as well. In various 1911 IDS articles, a “heavily veiled” woman wearing black was mentioned as following people around. She was even thought to be a burglar in disguise. \nAccording to a February 1921 IDS article, the “lady in black” was captured for peeping in windows. It turned out the woman was mentally impaired.\nSmith said IU’s haunted history isn’t unique. In fact, she said, there’s an American campus folklore section in the Anthropology Library, and more specifically, a series of volumes that focuse solely on haunted campuses. She said another reason for the fascination with ghost stories on college campuses is that they’re exciting.\n“It’s more of a game,” she said, like haunted houses and ghost walks. “It’s got that added sort of thrill.”