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(09/26/06 3:07am)
In its second year in Bloomington, Btownmenus.com is continuing to grow.\nThe business, started by juniors Peter Margulies and Michael Rollandhab when they were freshmen, continues to gain popularity as new people find out about the services the Web site offers, they said.\nThe site provides menus for every restaurant in Bloomington and allows users to order what they want right from the site.\n"Mike and I were sick of ordering food from the same restaurants over and over again," Margulies said. "We looked at each other and decided that there had to be a better way of ordering food from different places and started looking into it."\nOnline ordering with the Web site is simple. First, users find the restaurant they want to order from and select the link. The site then pulls up the menu of the restaurant. From there, users can choose what type of food they want to order. The final step is to "check out." Costumers can pay with cash, a credit or debit card. Food will then arrive at the doorstep or be ready for pickup at the restaurant.\nAlong with the menu of the restaurant, the site also lists the phone numbers of both restaurants that are already part of Btownmenus' online system and those yet to be added -- for those who prefer to do things the old-fashioned way.\n"It is very beneficial to me," said junior Matt Zacarias. "I use it about every two to three weeks, and it's extremely convenient just to hop onto my computer and look at the menu and order from there."\nMargulies said he believes the Internet has unlimited possibilities for online ordering.\n"This generation of students has been ordering everything online from shoes to clothes to socks since they were 7 or 8 years old," Margulies said.\nBtwonmenus has numerous specials that students can only take advantage of when they order from the site.\nAlthough Margulies and Rolland said they encourage anyone who wants to start a business to begin one, they've been swamped with being full-time students and running their own business.\n"We had to add someone to the team," Margulies said. "Zach Mitchell, a friend of mine for two years, has learned a lot about the business from being around us last year. He joined us during the summer as the vice president of operations."\nAlong with hiring a new VP, the business just added a new Bloomington restaurant to the list, with another coming soon. Both additions will have online ordering capabilities.\nDP Dough, which offers calzones until 4 a.m., was added a few weeks ago. Mixed Greens will be available in the near future.\nThe new restaurants also have specials: DP Dough is providing three calzones for $5 each when ordered online.\nBar specials are included for late-night diners. The Web site is updated weekly with the latest drink, food and entertainment specials, Margulies and Rolland said.\nAs the business continues to grow, the main emphasis will be on keeping hungry students up to date, Margulies said.\n"We always want to do what's best for students in keeping living cost cheap," he said. "With all of our specials, we want them to keep checking up and see what we offer, as we will continue to add more to this site in the future"
(07/12/06 11:23pm)
As the countdown ticker on the IU Mini Marathon's Web site clocks down the final two months until the race starts, organizers are growing more upbeat with every day.\nReaching 1,000 registrants Friday, the inaugural event raising money for the Bill Z. Littlefield Scholarship for Survivors, a fund that will help a cancer survivor attend any of IU's eight campuses. The group said it's well underway of reaching its goal of 5,000 participants.\nThe IU Circle of Life, a student-led organization that hopes to award one of the largest scholarships in the United States to a cancer survivor, has been organizing the event for the past two years and is hoping to create a week-long experience for participants. \n"From the Greek-challenge, which has all 43 houses involved, to the alumni event being held at Nick's Pub after the race, we want this to be an engaging event for everyone," said senior Kevin MacCauley, the president and CEO of the Circle of Life. "The event is being held during the second week of classes and we hope that will be an energizing time for the freshmen and for all of the campus to get out and support this event." \nBuilding on the foundation that IU has been ranked one of the most beautiful campuses in the nation, MacCauley and event organizers believe there is no better place to hold the first collegiate mini marathon in the state of Indiana.\n"The Indianapolis 500 Mini Marathon is the largest mini in the nation," MacCauley said. "But no one has utilized the fact that IU is one of the most beautiful campuses in the nation, and more scenic than Indy. We hope this will promote what IU stands for -- professionalism and good academic standing. IU doesn't really receive the recognition that it deserves."\nThe event will also include a five-kilometer run and walk in conjunction with the marathon, in which children can participate as well.\nOne big draw, said event organizer Don Carr of Tuxedo Brothers in Indianapolis, is it's a brand new course so many have never seen it before.\n"The Bloomington track has hills, which some people will enjoy," Carr said. "I think that it created a lot of excitement that the start-finish line is right by the IU Assembly Hall, which not many people have seen, which adds another aspect to the event."\nOrganizers decided to cap the race at 5,000 people due to logistical reasons. Since it's the inaugural event, planners did not want to ruin the quality of the race by having more than 5,000 participants.\n"We are better able to predict what will happen on race day," MacCauley said.\nCircle of Life believes that one reason the Indy Mini Marathon is so successful is because of all the support the community gives to the event and they hope the Bloomington community will do the same.\nThere has already been a response from community businesses as sponsors of the event, including Bucceto's Smiling Teeth and B97 radio station. Bucceto's will be providing the pasta for the pre-race pasta dinner at the DeVault Alumni Center, while B97 will receive song requests by participants and play them throughout the race along the course. Other sponsors, such as Chick-fil-A, Oakley, the Lance Armstrong Foundation and Coca-Cola have been a factor as well.\nAlthough event organizers are not satisfied with the amount of participants as of yet, they are hopeful that they will reach their goal and build on their success in the future.\n"Many hold off registering until the final week," MacCauley said. "Two months is still pretty far. We are not satisfied with being there right now, but we would like 2,500 to 3,500 for an inaugural race -- that would be a good number."\nAs for the future, the 2007 and 2008 Mini Marathons are already on the calendar, both of which will be held on a Sunday on the same weekend in September. \n"Since there is a football game on the Saturday before the race on the future dates, we hope this would be a big draw not only to our event, but to the football team as well," MacCauley said. "As for future participants, we hope we can grow 5 percent each year."\nAlthough success of the event has yet to be determined, the concert list yet to be named and the number of participants is not yet set, Carr said he is already pleased.\n"We are thrilled that so many people from around the Midwest have already entered the event." Carr said. "It has already proven that we will be successful by the amount of participants and the race being two months away"
(07/10/06 4:47am)
Many years ago, it took only one person to complete the job of a housing assistant in one of IU's 11 dormitories.\nToday it takes as many as five in each residence hall to complete the tasks necessary to house the 22,000 conference guests who come through IU's dorms this summer. \nHousing assistants are just a few of the more than 60 live-in summer staff who make their residence in the dorms during the summer. Other live-ins include administrative assistants, orientation assistants, summer school and groups resident assistants and a handful of graduate assistants.\n"Most of the summer staff are RAs during the regular school year," said Michael Moore, associate director for Residential Programs and Services. "We don't hire just anybody -- they have to have some background in housing."\nSince the focus is on using the dorms as a recruitment tool for future students, Moore said it is essential to provide a welcoming and friendly environment for conference guests and the summer staff helps put a good face on RPS.\nSummer staffers have various duties that often don't resemble the RA duties they are responsible for during the regular school year. \n"We check guests in and out, make sure the guests and their supervisors are comfortable while they stay with us in Briscoe," said senior Endy Obianozie, a housing assistant in Briscoe Quad. "But we do more than that. We check the doors at around 11 p.m. to make sure the buildings are secure, we do other various duties such as desk shifts, forwarding mail to former residents and give tours to those who want to see our facilities during orientation, among various other things that our resident manager needs us to do."\nThe summer staff, unlike RAs, does not have to deal with disciplinary problems during the summer unless the staff for the visiting conference guest is not around. Instead they mainly deal with building facility management. \n"From checking on broken windows, to lockouts, HA's are trained to do it," said Graham Shepfer, special services manager and acting director of RPS conferences. "They make sure that availability is there 24 hours a day in case something goes wrong and something needs to be done for the conference on a whim, whether it is at 10 p.m. in the evening or 4 a.m. in the morning."\nFor their service to RPS during the summer, summer staff members receive various incentives. All receive free housing in their various capacities, HA's, RA's and graduate assistants receive a meal plan and are also paid an hourly rate after serving past 20 hours during the week. \nFor the most part, the staff lives in the same area of the dorm, out of the way of conference guests. Living on the same floor provides various opportunities to get together for activities. \n"It's kind of nice living in the same hall with other RA's because during the school year we live on separate floors," said junior Joe White, an HA in Teter Quad. "It gives us an opportunity to play video games, basketball and chess among other activities that help us interact with each other. It helps us to get to know each other better on a personal level than during the regular school year."\nAlthough the job of the summer staff could be done by full-time staff, Shepfer said the amount of work would not be feasible for that situation.\n"We couldn't do it without them," Shepfer said.
(10/19/05 4:52am)
A device that delivers bone grafts, a closure device for vascular surgery and a diabetic rat model are just a few of the many inventions the IU Research and Technology Corporation have created in the last eight years. \nThe IURTC, which specializes in speeding up the process of commercializing scientific discovery, reached a milestone this week, having created more inventions in the first three months of the fiscal year of 2006 than it did the entire fiscal year of 2005.\nThe non-profit agency of IU is located in Indianapolis and is supported by the National Institute of Health and the National Science Foundation.\n"I think the real point is providing the products of this research for the public good," said Mark Long, president and CEO of the IURTC "The tissue closure device is used for vessel repair surgery and the diabetic rat model is used throughout the world to mimic the human condition through rats."\nThe continued growth in the life science industry at IU has led to the many private, corporate and federal grants the University has received over the past few years.\n"Right now, the IURTC has just marketed a product which will be able to help patients with prostate cancer," Long said. "These products which we are creating will become products which will enhance the quality of life and the quality of health care in particular."\nWith Indiana as a hub for the life science industry, the IURTC attempts to shine a worldwide light onto the state through its creations.\n"The way Indiana is going to be successful in the 21st century in the U.S. is to be competitive in (the life science) market," said IU spokesman Larry MacIntyre. "The IURTC are coming up with a number of things which can be marketable to the world-wide market and because they are invented here and because we have the license and the patents, we can control where they are produced and we want them produced here in Indiana." \nAs more researchers and scientists come to IU, both Long and MacIntyre agree the University is in this field for the long haul.\n"I think we will continue to see this type of research as we continue to get more and more prominent professors to complete this work," Long said.\nMacIntyre said this is something the University must have to compete with the other major universities throughout the world.\n"One of the expectations for IU and any large university is it contributes to the state's economic development efforts and this is one of the principle ways we do that," MacIntyre said. "We are still at a fledgling level and as time goes on, we expect the IURTC to be more productive and sooner or later the things that come out of there will be big. There is no way to predict when the next big cancer treatment will come out of that place"
(09/13/05 4:58am)
When Peter Margulies and Michael Rolland, now IU sophomores, began looking for an easy way to view restaurant menus and find out which restaurants delivered or offered carry-out, they were met by rejection from the numerous phone books around campus. \nThey were also met by rejection from the Internet as well. Bloomington did not have a central Web site customers could use to order food or view menus from different restaurants and bars throughout town, unlike some college towns which do, such as State College, Penn., home of Penn State University. \n"We were tired of not being able to find menus from different restaurants," Margulies said. "We knew there had to be a way to solve the problem."\nIn turn, the frustrated duo decided to put their minds together and create a Web site for the benefit of students, faculty and residents of IU and Bloomington with the creation of www.btownmenus.com, based on Penn State University's version, www.lionmenus.com. \nBtownmenus.com brings a wide range of dining choices at the click of a mouse -- everything from a glimpse of Cheeseburger in Paradise's menu to a way to order Mad Mushroom Pizza online. The Web site also features drink specials and weekly entertainment information for the Bloomington bar scene.\nIn addition to listing local bar specials, Btownmenus.com will also provide specials for restaurants, which are exclusive to the Web site itself. For example, if customers order $9 worth of food from Dominos through the site, they will receive a free order of Cinnastix with icing.\nFor Margulies and Rolland, the entire summer was spent getting the site set up and ready for school to start, and they said they hope it pays off.\n"We launched the site on Aug. 30," Margulies said. "In the first week, we had over 300 visitors a day and 15 orders placed online."\nThe site currently shows menus for all dine-in restaurants in Bloomington, Margulies said. He and Rolland are working on having all delivery companies on their site for online ordering by the end of the year.\nBeing able to just see the menus of restaurants all around town is what enticed sophomore Marrell Johnson.\n"Not only are the menus online, but it tells whether or not the restaurant is open or closed as well," Johnson said after visiting the site Sunday. \nIt's this kind of attitude that Margulies said he is looking for in customers.\n"We are happy we were able to create something that helps out the students, faculty and residents of Bloomington," Margulies said. "We know how important food is in college life and think this will benefit the whole Bloomington community."\nOrdering online is quick and easy. With just a few clicks of the mouse, the order can be delivered without the hassle of the person who took the order messing it up.\nBecause college students tend to look for ways to make life easier and cheaper, this new business can provide ample opportunity for students such as freshman Todd Hatten to do so.\n"I can easily see the menu without leaving the room, see if they can deliver the food to me or if I have to pick it up and see the specials for the week," said Hatten. "Everything is right in front of me -- it makes life so much easier."\nMaybe the most beneficial aspect of the site is the search engine, said Johnson, which lists all Bloomington restaurants alphabetically. \n"The search engine is very helpful," said Johnson. "You don't have to search through the entire site just to see if the restaurant is there which you want."\nMargulies and Rolland have an objective which they hope will make everyone involved in their venture a happy participant.\n"Peter and I are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in case something is wrong with the site or customers just want to drop us a line" said Rolland. "We stress customer service. We want people to know we are there and available to listen to what they have to say."\nHowever, Hatten said the way the Web site is set up could be the most enticing to the hungry masses.\nThe site is set up to be simple for students to use -- the company owners said they believe simplicity is the best way to go about business. If the customer is looking for pizza, there is a pizza button which will list each restaurant that serves pizza in town, or customers can go directly to their favorite pizza restaurant's name to find a menu.\n"The site was very well set up," Hatten said. "It makes ordering food faster and easier"
(09/07/05 4:59am)
A study performed on smokers by IU researchers has been temporarily suspended after it was discovered some subjects' names and addresses had been compromised.\nLed by the IU Psychology Department, it is thought to be the longest-running U.S. study of smoking behaviors in the same subject. The study tracked teens through adulthood and followed up on their smoking habits. It began in 1980 and surveyed 8,500 students in Monroe County middle and high schools. The IU researchers continually kept in contact with the students through adult-hood with many follow-up surveys.\nIU professor Peter Finn, head of the Institutional Review Board that halted the study, said the breach "started quite a while ago," as early as 1994, but came to light within the last two weeks. Finn said study workers gave the names and addresses of some subjects involved in the study to class reunion organizers.\nFinn said the Board's review, which is not completed, aims to determine how the breach happened and then figure out what the researchers are going to do about it.\n"We need to make sure that they're clear," he said.\nFinn said that sensitive information beyond the subjects' names and addresses were not compromised.\n"We are waiting for the \nreview board to begin re-examining the situation at this months meeting," said Ann Gellis, associate dean in the Office of Research.\nTo prevent the releasing of any further information by researchers, Gellis said that various educational programs will be given to make sure a situation such as this does not happen again.\n"Some of the people who were disclosed are ones in which we have been in contact with for over 20 years," Gellis said. "The people who wanted the information had the various class numbers of their former classmates, and the researcher had the current contact information."\nThe study, which was initiated by Jim Sherman, IU professor of psychology, had follow-ups with students in 1987, 1994, 1995, 1999 and a new survey was introduced in 2004.\nAs the students became older and graduated from high school, the study became more complicated and now has both a survey for adolescents and adults who have continued to volunteer for the survey as they have grown older.\nFinn said in a best-case scenario, the study will resume in a week and a half. In a worst-case scenario, the study could be fully revoked. But he added he doesn't think the breach will be a "huge problem" and that the issue will be resolved soon.\n"The study is an extremely important study," Finn said. "Some errors have been made that need to be rectified."\n-- Campus Editor Rick Newkirk contributed to this \nreport.
(08/29/05 5:07am)
Being a freshman in a campus of nearly 40,000 can be a little scary.\nBeing a freshman looking for his or her first class today can be a little daunting.\nBut the Office of Orientation Programs, in conjunction with the Office of the Dean of Faculties, is making the transition from high school or another college just a little easier for the new students who will flood the campus today for their first class with the inaugural year of IU Guides.\n"It's the older, more experienced people introducing the campus they know to the younger, less experi-enced students," said Emily McCallister, graduate assistant for the Office of Orientation Programs.\nNew students should be paying atte-ntion to kiosks all over campus featuring upperclassmen, administration members and faculty and staff wearing crimson shirts which have a compass to symbolize a guide on them, she said.\n"The people who are standing around campus with those shirts will be handing out maps and pointing people in the right direction for their class," McCallister said.\nThe campus guides will be available for the first two days of classes from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.\nMelanie Payne, associate director of orientation programs, said orientation can also can help some lost faces.\n"This is something where I expect a lot of friendly faces to be around to help make sure people get to their classes," Payne said.\nA reason they created the program was to help extend orientation into the school year instead of just in the summer, McCallister said.\n"This is just one of our last phases to welcome them to their new home," she said.\nWith Monday being the opening day of classes and many students wondering where to go, IU guides, like senior Will Rodgers, will offer some hope.\n"Tomorrow is going to be a great day," he said Sunday. "People will see familiar faces, get reconnected or connect to others for the first time. This will help to further them into their studies and find people who can help them."\nA goal for the IU Guides program is to get the new students thinking this is a home for them, not a place where they just have to go to school and have no fun.\n"The IU Guide program is unique that is going to help turn what can be a rather large and intimidating campus into a home away from home or a second home for a lot of students across campus," Rodgers said.\nThe program is expected to become a tradition at IU, and organizers expect it to draw a lot of attention from the new students.\n"I expect this to become a tradition and be the first out of many years we do this," Payne said. "We've had a lot of freshmen come to us and say, 'Thank you so much, we are so glad you are doing this for us."
(08/26/05 5:30am)
Newsweek's recent nomination of IU as the "Hottest Big State School" had many criteria to meet, but the one which stood out most was "IU's embrace of the information age."\nOne part of that embrace is shown by a $4.4 million grant from the National Science Foundation for IU's role in the nationwide TeraGrid, a network of supercomputers which gives scientists the ability to better study fields such as genomes, brain function, the diagnosis of diseases, weather forecasting and even how the universe was created.\nVice President for Research and Information Technology Michael McRobbie said TeraGrid does what a powergrid does -- integrating certain portions of a system for the success of the entire grid. The key to success for computers, McRobbie said, is to draw power from multiple resources.\nOther schools in the nation, including Purdue University, the University of Chicago and six others, are participating in this venture, which McRobbie believes will give a glimpse into the future of computers.\n"This is a prototype for what people will use for computing and storage in the future," McRobbie said.\nThe NSF has given $150 million toward the entire project, which will eventually be able to help improve aircraft design.\nMost of the grant money will support the grid staff and infrastructure, said Craig Stewart, acting assistant vice president for research and academic computing. Because of the improvement IU continues to make in the computing fields, the University will be in a better position than ever to compete for technology grants, McRobbie said.\n"Participation in the TeraGrid project is a tremendous opportunity for Indiana University to contribute to cutting edge research, particularly in life sciences and data-intensive computing, and help shape a national computing environment that will enable exciting new possibilities for investigation and collaboration," McRobbie said in a statement.\nCooperation will be the key to the advance in research, Stewart said.\n"The key to the TeraGrid is by linking all these resources together, you can enable research that would not be possible even with the largest single supercomputers in the U.S.," he said.\nIn particular, the TeraGrid project will enhance research in life sciences and data-intensive computing, McRobbie said. IU's grant will allow the University to become an elite member of the TeraGrid network and one of the leaders in information technology throughout the United States.\n"We're not just embracing the information age," Stewart said. "We are helping to create the next steps in the information age."\n-- Campus Editor Rick Newkirk contributed to this report.
(05/02/05 5:56am)
An old adage goes, "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it."\nDonald Carmony learned history and was determined to make sure his students, colleagues and friends never repeated it through his teaching and his own learning and research.\nThere was more to "Mr. Indiana History" in the eyes of those people whom he touched than being someone who knew about the past. Carmony, who died Feb. 14 at the age of 95, was honored as a friend, a role model, a leader and a teacher, as the students and colleagues relived the memories of the late IU history professor Saturday afternoon at the Meadowood Retirement Community. \nThe memorial, which lasted an hour and a half, featured the President of the University of Indianapolis, Jerry Israel, who presided over the ceremony.\n"Don was a student, alumni and benefactor of the U of I," said Israel. "He was special to it, because of his love for humanity."\nCarmony first began attending classes at University of Indianapolis at the age of 15 and graduated when he was only 19. The professor then attended classes at the IU satellite campus in Indianapolis, now known as IUPUI, where he received both his masters degree in 1931 and his Ph.D. in 1940.\nIn 1930, Carmony did something most people would not have even considered at the time -- he was a guest speaker at an NAACP convention in French Lick, Ind. \n"If you can't sense how progressive and risky this was in 1930 Indiana, ask any historian in this room," said IU professor of history James Madison. "He went on to tell me he was the only white person in the room."\nA former student of Carmony and now professor emeritus of history at U of I, the Rev. Fred Hill went on to say that for all of his traits, Carmony always expressed modesty.\n"He would not be labeled a 'self-made man'," Hill said. "Those around him, such as his wife and his father, whom he looked to for wisdom, were who he gave credit to."\nTo his students at IU, he meant the world. One of those, John Worth, recounted the reasons why Carmony was an important person in his life.\n"He loved education, he touched so many students, and he did so one-on-one," Worth said. "From Don, I found a love of learning. I knew him as a teacher, a leader and a true friend, and I really, really miss him."\nAnother of Carmony's passions included being editor of The Indiana Magazine of History, which he was a part of for over 24 years.\n"He enjoyed writing, research and editing," said another of his former students Stephen Moberly. "This is what led him to this position at the magazine, along with his general love of history."\nIn Arthur Franklin Mapes' Poem, "Indiana," which was read by Carmony's two granddaughters, a line states, "I must learn more of my homeland/For it is paradise for me."\nAnd as professor Madison said, no one learned more of his homeland than Donald F. Carmony, because it was paradise for him.\n"Don loved this state, it reminds me of the thousands and thousands of miles which he traveled across the state -- he was a public historian," said Madison. \n-- Contact Staff Writer Ryne Shadday at rshadday@indiana.edu.
(04/29/05 9:24pm)
The man who many knew as "Mr. Indiana History" will be remembered by friends, colleagues and his family Saturday at a memorial service in the Meadowood Retirement Community, 2455 Tamarack Trail.\nDonald Carmony, who passed away in early February at 95, was a professor emeritus of history at IU. He won two Sagamores of the Wabash and was the editor of the Indiana Magazine of History, where he worked for more than 24 years.\nCarmony began his teaching career 76 years ago at the University of Indianapolis when he was 19. He received his master's degree in 1931 and his doctorate in 1940 from IU. In 1939 he became part of the IU family as he began to teach at IU-Purdue University Fort Wayne. \nLowell Carmony, the late professor's son, said due to the amount of speakers and the arrangement of travel by two of the professor's granddaughters, it was difficult finding a time when everyone could get together. However, this was the right time.\nHistory professor James Madison, a close friend and colleague of Carmony, will speak at the service.\n"Don was more knowledgeable than any other person that I know of about the history of Indiana," Madison said. "He spent hours reading the primary sources. You knew because it came through in his research and his service."`\nThe memorial will begin at 2:00 pm in the Terrace Room of the retirement community. Former students and colleagues will give brief speeches. A reception will follow.\n\nA gift in Carmony's name should be sent to the IU Foundation, P.O. Box 500, Bloomington, IN 47402 with a memo on the face of the check for the IMH Second-Century Fund or to the University of Indianapolis, Advancement Office, 1400 E. Hanna Ave, Indianapolis, IN 46227 with a memo on the check to the Donald F. Carmony Scholarship would be most appropriate.\n
(04/28/05 6:16am)
The Indiana Public Interest Research Group is one step away from becoming another victim of the switch from the INSITE system to OneStart.\nIn the past, INPIRG collected pledges on paper from students who would typically donate $5 each semester until they graduated. INPIRG would give the slips to the Office of the Bursar, which would automatically bill the students. \nHowever, with the implementation of OneStart as the Student Information System, the programmers had problems placing INPIRG into the system. Thus INPIRG was unable to collect funds in the fall semester, greatly reducing the group's income for the spring semester.\nUnlike other programs which raise money through Student Information Systems Insite or Onestart like the IU Rape Crisis Fund and IU Dance Marathon, INPIRG didn't have a box students could check to donate money after they registered for classes. \n"We are not under-funded, we have no funding at all," said Jessica Vollmer, INPIRG's board chairwoman. "We must have this funding to survive and the change from INSITE to OneStart has prevented the sources for our funding."\nTo make sure INPIRG has enough funding, the group need at least 1,000 students to donate on its online pledge system found within the registration page on OneStart, she said.\nINPIRG would have liked to keep its system of pledges, however, but because of the technology of OneStart, they were unable to do so.\n"Since INPIRG had qualified as an 'optional selection' several years earlier, we suggested that they offer this opportunity for students to pledge as they registered for classes," said IU Bursar Susan Coté. "INPIRG did not choose to do so until the current registration period."\nBut help has arrived in the form of the Associate Dean of Students Damon Sims and Coté, who have both taken an active role in helping INPIRG stay alive.\n"The campus administration has provided INPIRG consistent support for many years," Sims said. "It has done so because INPIRG provides many of our students an opportunity to meaningfully participate in significant public issues that affect us all." \nINPIRG is a student interest group that campaigns for change in areas relating to the environment and social issues on the IU campus. Its main focus is educating people about the poverty in the greater Bloomington area, campus recycling and energy conservation.\nHowever, without funding or support from the student body, the group will no longer be able to advocate issues such as these.\nThe Office of the Bursar is helping INPIRG by providing the number of students who pledged $5 to the cause -- along with their e-mail addresses -- so the research group can contact the students and follow up with them at a later date, Coté said.\nSims is sure INPIRG will overcome its financial situation and believes INPIRG is necessary for the IU-Bloomington community.\n"I've always found the INPIRG students to be among the most interesting and energetic of all our students," Sims said. "They have a positive can-do attitude that's infectious, and I've appreciated the chance to get to know many of them through the years."\nVollmer, INPIRG's board chairwoman, also the group will overcome this obstacle and believes it will do so soon.\n"We have been around forever and we are good for just about everybody on campus," Vollmer said. "I think it would be in everybody's interest if we were around a bit longer."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Ryne \nShadday at rshadday@indiana.edu.
(04/20/05 4:51am)
When the day ends and students head home to do homework, some head to the Indiana Memorial Union's Studios, formally known as the Creative Learning Center. Students like senior Megan Barchet come to the Union Studios to express their artistic side in a classroom setting. Though these classes do not provide credit, they offer a fun and relaxing atmosphere.\n"It gives me a place to have fun along with taking a class which doesn't matter grade wise," Barchet said. "I can do what I want and make what I want along with get whatever I want out of the activities I do."\nStudents and community members can also establish a membership, which allows for use of both the dark room and the pottery area for $45 and $65 respectively. They also have personal workshops, in which a student and a few friends can get together for an event for $15 per person.\nKatie Dickman, a graduate supervisor in Eigenmann Hall, is one of many who has already gotten a group together to go to the workshops.\n"I thought it would be a fun and crafty thing for some of the Eigenmann residents to do," Dickman said. "We had about eight to 10 residents attend. I think it brought out their creative side."\nEven if you are not an artistic person, Susan Ashe, union studios program coordinator, refers to the program's motto to get people interested.\n"Our tag line is, 'a place for the crafty or not so crafty,'" Ashe said. "It's a place you can learn about ceramics and photography without being in an intimidating situation, such as receiving a grade for your work."\nDickman finds their motto fits the bill.\n"I'm crafty, but not super crafty," Dickman said. "The staff helps you to make something cool and they help you to make stuff that is personalized to your interest."\nAlthough they cater to IU students, the Union Studios also open the doors to Bloomington residents. Classes for non-students are $70, while students receive a $5 discount.\nAshe said the studios are a place for students and residents of Bloomington to come and blow off steam and have a relaxing and welcoming environment for everyone who is interested in doing some work.\nEventually Ashe would like to add painting classes to next fall's list. However, for now they are focused on photography and ceramics.\n"We have a great staff which can help students understand the technical aspects of photography and ceramics, but it allows students and instructors alike to have fun while doing those activities," Ashe said.\nThe Studios will have a pottery sale from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday and Tuesday in the Georgian Room of the IMU. The sale will feature work from students, staff and members. All proceeds will go to the students and the studio.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Ryne \nShadday at rshadday@indiana.edu.
(04/18/05 4:45am)
With Little 500 festivities in full swing, the Central Neighborhood took its chances and held its own party for the event on Thursday afternoon.\nWith bright skies, smoky smells of a grill and the sights and sounds of a festival which included human foosball, a rock climbing wall, sumo wrestling, concerts and cotton candy, the first Centralpalooza event got underway well.\nThe event consisted of Wright and Teter Quads, Ashton Center and Eigenmann each holding separate events to pull together the Central Neighborhood campus dorms for the day.\n"It was truly a cooperative effort," said Jenn Leitner, former president Ashton Center president. "We planned it all in about three weeks and no one center went over the other in planning."\nOne reason the Central Neighborhood planned the event was to promote unity within the community Leitner said. People walking along Tenth Street were able to get out and get a free snow cone or bag of popcorn as they made their way through the numerous events.\n"It's a great way to start off Little 500 weekend," said freshman Emily Shafer who was outside of Teter watching one of the numerous bands perform in front of the quad.\nSophomore Nick Buck played in one of the bands on hand for the event.\n"I think Centralpalooza is a great event," Buck said. "We had a decent turnout for our concert -- I think it just gives people something to do at night."\nTo help staff the event, the centers offered free "Come get Lei'd" T-shirts for anyone who was willing to volunteer an hour.\n"This not only helped us with manpower, but also helped our shirt sales," Leitner said.\nThe event had volunteer cooking hotdogs and hamburgers, all of which were free, and staffing the games and events held, such as the nighttime outdoor movie at Teter.\nThe sunny, 70 degree Thursday weather also brought out many students like sophomore Shawn Charlton.\n"Good times, great weather, good people, good food and great girls," Charlton said. "I came out for the food; I didn't get any, the line was too long."\nBut the long lines showed the popularity of the first-ever Centralpalooza -- an event Leitner hopes will continue in the following years.\n"We definitely hope we started a great Central Neighborhood tradition that will carry on for years to come," Leitner said.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Ryne \nShadday at rshadday@indiana.edu.
(04/14/05 4:14am)
Driving down the road listening to the radio, you come across a great song which you don't recognize but really want to download or purchase on CD. \nThe problem arises. You won't know the song's title or artist unless the disc jockey specifically says it while you're in the car.\nNow, with the help of technology including cell phones and computers, naming that tune is as simple as making a phone call.\nNMK, Inc., a New York City-based company specializing in wireless music applications, has introduced 411-SONG, a program that allows users to listen to a radio anywhere, call (866)411-SONG, let the phone "listen" to the music and, in a matter of minutes, receive a text message with the song title and the artist.\nSunjay Guleria, chief executive officer of 411-SONG, said the music system can hit all demographics and is useful for people of all ages.\n"411-SONG is for everyone who loves music and has a cell phone," Guleria said. "Not only can anyone from an 18-year-old girl to a 48-year-old man ID a song, but they can do it from just about anywhere as long as music is playing."\nAlthough she probably would not use the service, senior Whitney Bond said it will help others.\n"It will help people find new talent and discover new artists that they have never heard," Bond said. "It can also further their interests in music that might sound familiar or artists who sound familiar."\nGuleria said the reason for beginning this company was the simple idea of being able to find good music and to know what is being played -- sometimes people just can't remember the artist's name or the title of the song.\nNot only does the company let users find songs in a database of more than 2.5 million tunes, it can keep track of the ones requested. Then, users can go to www.411song.com and download the song for 99 cents for a ring tone, buy the CD and keep a list of their tracks.\nThe fee is necessary to keep the service on the cutting edge of technology.\n"The mobile carriers all take a lot of revenue," Guleria said. "We would like to offer the service for free, but that just isn't feasible with the technology fee."\nFreshman Jon Coombs finds novelty in the venture.\n"I think it is a clever idea," said Coombs. "People can buy the ring tones and CD off the Net, and it just makes finding music more simple."\nGuleria said future use may include the incorporation of song-list sharing among friends.\n"This gives it a community angle," said Guleria. "But for now, it is about getting what you love."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Ryne Shadday at rshadday@indiana.edu.
(04/12/05 6:27am)
It's the boob tube, the idiot box, the TV, the television.\nNo matter what term college students use to describe their televisions, the Student Monitor is interested in only one thing: How college students interact with TV. The Monitor, a group that studies and compiles market research of college students, claims 96 percent of college students nationally watch television regularly.\nAnd according to the Monitor's data, as well as other numbers compiled by Nielsen Media Research, they watch it a lot.\nThe average time spent watching television is around 11 hours per week, or 1.5 hours per day, according to a study conducted by the Monitor in 2004.\nThe Nielsen Media Research rating system puts the figures even higher at three hours and 41 minutes of TV watched per day, according to information published by The Associated Press.This figure is still roughly one hour less than the average American watches.\nHowever, assistant professor of communication and culture Ted Striphas believes the data gathered might not accurately reflect the actual time spent actively watching a program. He put more emphasis on the quality of the viewing. \n"People routinely turn on the TV as background noise, much as they do with radio, to accompany their daily routines," Striphas said. "Does this mean we're watching? Probably not."\nNielsen has tried for years to tabulate college students' viewing habits accurately but has not found a successful way to do so; the organization gathers information solely through the times the television is reportedly on, as well as journals from "Nielsen families," or randomly selected testers. These methods can lead to discrepancies among the statistics the company provides, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal.\nFree time factors into how much TV students watch. And many college students, such as sophomore Danny Marsh, tend not to have a lot of extra time on their hands.\n"I don't watch a lot of TV now because there is a lot less time now with more school work, and the free time I do have I would like to spend doing something else," Marsh said. "I also don't believe students around here don't watch as much TV as these agencies claim."\nSophomore Cody Carter agreed with Marsh -- although he is one student who does claim to watch a lot of TV, with a self-described amount near that of the Nielsen figures.\n"Everyone makes fun of me for the amount of TV I watch," Carter said. "So I get the general feeling that most people just do not watch the three plus hours which I do."\nAlthough Carter manages to keep up with his schoolwork while maintaining his TV-habit, many students cited academics as a reason for not watching too much TV. However, some professors don't believe having the television on necessarily effects students' school work.\nTelecommunications professor Annie Lang said the effects of television on homework generally are minimal. Although a student might finish only two assignments instead of three, studies show it will not affect the outcome of the final grade, she said.\nAlthough recorded figures and students' opinions might not quite match, statistics typically reflect the quantity rather than the quality of the television students are viewing. \n"If we keep the quality of television watching in mind along with researchers' claims about the quantity, a whole different picture of television's social uses starts to emerge," Striphas said.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Ryne Shadday at rshadday@indiana.edu.
(04/08/05 6:25am)
Development of technology on all of IU's campuses continues to be at the forefront of the UITS agenda. Throughout the remainder of the spring semester and at the beginning of the fall semester, it will introduce better interfaces for both Webmail and Oncourse.\nWebmail has already begun to transition from its current platforms to the new Cyrus mail system, moving between 8,000 and 10,000 accounts per day until April 22. \n"However, if the accounts have not completely been transferred by that date, we will cease transferring until after finals are complete and grades have been sent," said Vice President of Information Technology, Chuck Aikman.\nThe new e-mail system includes 100 MB storage capability allowing students, faculty and staff to send and receive larger attachments and multiple e-mails.\nAlso included in the new Webmail system is the ability to filter the e-mail into separate storage boxes once received.\n"For example, if you receive a spam e-mail, you can set up rules for it to be filtered into a separate box," Aikman said.\nAttempting to prevent a reoccurrence of last semester's e-mail outage which affected many students right before finals week, UITS has set up a separate server in Indianapolis which can be switched on in case of a flaw in the Bloomington system.\nJunior Detroit Spencer is satisfied with the changes and said he believes them to be appropriate.\n"More space means I can send bigger presentations and projects," Spencer said. "Also, spam control would be an excellent thing this way I can avoid those unwanted e-mails with ease." \nIn the fall semester, students can expect a change to Oncourse, as the new Oncourse CL will be introduced. Already, students can access the feature and take a tutorial of the new design on the current Oncourse Web site. It will take a total of 18 months, however, to migrate from one system to the other.\nOncourse CL is a collaborative effort between IU, MIT, Stanford and the University of Michigan. However, the design of Oncourse CL has been made to fit each university for their specific needs. \nUITS Communication Specialist Angie Quick cited a couple reasons for the switch, including the wide use of Oncourse and the fact that its capabilities were being used to capacity.\n"It helps to advance what students and faculty do online," she said. \nThose advancements include features that allow students and faculty to drop and add what they want to see on their Oncourse CL homepage. Those features include a place where instructors can place assignments onto the site and students can even turn in their assignments in the same area. \n"You can create a project site, where all the students that are involved in the project can get together and meet to discuss what is going on and what part of the project they are assigned to, etc," said Quick.\nA new feature which the current Oncourse was unable to incorporate will allow students and staff to create their own tool bars for their own specific needs.\n"If they have a tool that is not currently in the application, they can build it and UITS will just plug it in for them," Quick said.\nAlthough the system is not completely available yet, Director of Learning Technology Operations for IU Beth Van Gordon said instructors can currently teach in it.\n"Right now we are involved in the testing and preview phase; however, faculty can teach if in it if they want to," she said. "But, we do not have the complete functionality of the program into the version as of right now."\nFreshman Cody Collier tested the new Oncourse CL system by checking on the Oncourse Web site where there is a testing tab on the lower left-hand corner.\n"Everything is so much better organized," Collier said.\nFor Webmail, expect to see an e-mail in your inbox when the change occurs saying "Welcome to Cyrus mail." The change to Oncourse CL will not occur until next year, however, even than you will still be able to use regular Oncourse for other needs.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Ryne Shadday at rshadday@indiana.edu.
(04/07/05 5:01am)
When IU alumnus Jeff Memmer came home from the Navy in early 2002 and began attending classes at IU, he realized something was missing from the campus.\nThe item on his list that wasn't to be found was a true place for people who were in the military to get together so they could find out what kind of benefits they had. More simply, he couldn't find a place for all veterans to get together so they could talk.\nIn April of 2004, Memmer began to think of ideas to create what he was looking for. The result was IU's Military Veteran Student Society.\n"There was no mention of what to do when we got here, no mention of VA benefits, just nothing," Memmer said.\nThe group wasn't predicted to be as large as it has become, however more and more students contacted Memmer about different issues they had involving coming back from the military.\n"Since I was getting so many e-mails and phone calls, (the group) began a Web site so it could centralize information for students to go when they returned from over-seas, and what to do when they came back to school," Memmer said.\nThe Web site provides information not only about the benefits they receive once they return from active duty, but also steps current national guard members who have not been called up can take if they must serve.\nThursday nights the group meets at Yogi's to talk about politics, the war on terrorism and the war in Iraq, among other issues. \nAnother venue to communicate with the more than 300 veterans on the IUB campus is through the groups that United States Marine Sergeant and junior Brandon Nordhoff began on www.TheFacebook.com -- "U.S. Military" and "The Few, the Proud, the Marines."\n"The camaraderie that you feel is great, I have over 100 members on TheFacebook who have been in the military," said Nordhoff. "I didn't realize that there were that many people here (who have or currently are serving)."\nSecond-year optometry student and Navy veteran Rachel Davis, took over the club from Memmer when he graduated last year. Davis, along with IUB Associate Vice Chancellor for Extended Programs Les Coyne, has been working to help students returning from overseas adjust to being back in an academic environment.\n"One of our main goals is to help people who are coming from active duty, those who are coming back into a school atmosphere," Davis said. "When you come back at age 22 to 23 and are a freshman, you really don't fit in, but that's what this group is for."\nOne of those students is Nathan Bobay, who served in the Army National Guard in Iraq and Kuwait in 2003.\n"Returning to campus was tough because everyone I had been here with previously had pretty much moved on and graduated," said Bobay. "It was really different coming back to Bloomington after being away from school for a year and a half."\nFrom young to old, the club is not exclusive. Even those who are not in the military but have an interest in it can join the group.\n"I thought it was just important that we could make it (as) open and available to people as possible," Memmer said.\nThe group doesn't only help members, but it helps future members who are in Iraq by sending care packages.\n"We sent 21 care packages a few weeks ago and 10 at Christmas," said Davis. "We raised $750 through fund-raising on this campus so we could send those packages."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Ryne Shadday at rshadday@indiana.edu.
(04/06/05 4:01am)
A former IU-Bloomington chancellor will return to campus Thursday to speak with the Bloomington chapter of the American Association of University Professors on academic freedom and homeland security. \nRobert O'Neil, who is now a law professor at the University of Virginia, plans to discuss how American universities have had to adapt after the Sept. 11 attacks.\n"Bob has been a national leader for the AAUP for many years," said IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs professor Ted Miller, who is president of the AAUP Bloomington chapter. "One of his special areas is academic freedom. He is probably the most qualified person to speak about this topic."\nSince Sept. 11, perceived threats to national security have surfaced along with an interest in securing those places that might be attacked, he said.\n"One of the institutions which seem most vulnerable is the university environment, as a very free environment where people can follow their own ideas with very few restrictions and a general level about protecting people about threats," Miller said.\nAlthough political science professor Christine Barbour said Sept. 11 did not have a direct effect on IU, she believes the attacks raised issues still in need of discussion.\n"The Academic Bill of Rights is something which every student should be concerned about," Barbour said. "Some states will be able to sue professors who teach their views -- this is a great subject to cover."\nO'Neil's speech will address topics like free speech, privacy, censorship, divided loyalties, graduate recruitment, foreign travel and faculty retention in the post-Sept. 11 academic world.\n"With both sides arguing about which side is right in the Statehouse over the Academic Bill of Rights, over issues such as creationism versus evolution, it makes you wonder what is really true," Barbour said.\nWith IU acting as a center stage for this discourse, especially for Indiana, many professors worry how the Academic Bill of Rights will affect the way they run their classes given the bill's implications for the First Amendment right to free speech.\n"There is an inevitable clash between national security and freedom, and right now we are very worried about free speech," said political science professor Gerald Wright. "The protection of people's privacy is fuzzy right now. However, Congress seems more concerned about security than the implications on our First Amendment freedoms."\nAfter being IU chancellor from 1975 to 1980, O'Neil became the president of the University of Wisconsin and later the University of Virginia before settling into his current teaching position there.\n"There is a real tension between academic environments and the reality of the world," Miller said. "Bob has been thinking a lot about the interactions about these two things for a very long while, and I believe he will provide a lot of issues that must be solved and looked into."\nThe lecture will be held from 4 to 5:30 p.m.today in the Moot Court Room in the Law School. \n-- Contact Staff Writer Ryne \nShadday at rshadday@indiana.edu.
(04/01/05 5:08am)
The IU College Republicans and College Democrats kicked off their 2005 debates with a civil and scripted event Thursday night in the Georgian Room of Indiana Memorial Union. The debate touched upon events and issues each felt were important to their party.\nThe night began with both sides presenting their main arguments as political science professor Marjorie Hershey moderated.\n"Republicans are for states' rights, Republicans are for the power to choose, Republicans are for freedom of the market place, freedom of actions, freedom to do basically everything you can," said law student and member of the College Republicans debate team, Paul Rudolph. \nThe College Democrats and College Republicans presented information on how they feel about health care reform and social security reform along with issues over affirmative action to name a few.\n"Democrats have a vision that is based on core values, values which are shared by every single American," said senior Shaunica Pridgen in her opening statement for the College Democrats and who is an Indiana Daily Student employee.\nBoth parties believe Social Security is a core value, however the Democrats stated an overhaul was needed but did not agree with the Republican's plan of privatization. \n"Social Security is supposed to help those who do not have any other money," said sophomore and College Democrat Emma Cullen. "A universal pension plan would help to save money from the very moment they start working."\nAnother issue on the table is Governor Mitch Daniel's plan to reform the state budget within the next year. Both parties agreed the budget needed to be reformed, but disagreed with which areas. The College Republicans said education funding should be frozen; however, the College Democrats said it is hurting the state and the schools that it is affecting, which include small and minority school systems.\nThe debate began to heat up when discussion moved toward affirmative action.\n"The Republican party is against affirmative action," said Rudolph. "It doesn't help minorities, it doesn't help non-minorities, and there are just not very many people that it does help."\nThe Democrats argued that discrimination has not ended and there needed to be more done to fight discrimination in schools and in the workplace.\nSenior Kevin Bohannon said the debate was well run and very informative.\n"I was surprised by the depth of the questions," Bohannon said. "Although I believe the Republicans had ill-founded arguments against Social Security, I found everything else great debate material."\nPersonal views can also help to decide how much information one can gain from the debate as Sophomore Adrianne Dunlap experienced.\n"No matter what your views, it is very informational and can help you better understand what you already believe and provide substance behind it," she said.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Ryne Shadday at rshadday@indiana.edu.
(03/31/05 4:47am)
Although election season is nowhere in sight, the IU College Republicans and College Democrats think it's time to bring political discussion back to Bloomington. The two groups will square off in one of two spring semester debates at 7:30 tonight in the Indiana Memorial Union's Georgian Room. \nThe debate will focus on a variety of subjects, including federal and state education funding, homeland security, Social Security reform, the national budget, healthcare and affirmative action.\nAlthough it might be the political off-season, the two organizations feel there are topics still deserving of attention and student concern.\n"Public policy, economic and foreign relations are evolving topics of which students and the general public should be aware," said College Republican Chairman Andrew Lauck. "Without debates and forums for discussion, crucial topics would never come to surface."\nThese debates aim to bring attention to political topics and help clarify issues that can be confusing.\n"The elections may be over, but the issues are not," said Jared Fallick, president of the College Democrats. "Issues important to students and all Americans are always an ongoing process, and it is our hope that by holding these debates, we can help students understand them (the political process) and come to their own conclusions."\nStrategy becomes an important factor in debates like these. To make sure each group hits on the issues most important to them, they have prepared for the past few weeks and developed ways to better explain their points.\n"The CR strategy will be simple: We'll tell the Democrats how it is," Lauck said. "We already have confidence in our beliefs, and we're proud to stand for issues such as small government, and we'll be ready to show the Democrats that we know exactly what we are talking about."\nOn the other hand, the College Democrats will focus more on the community aspect of the debate.\n"This is a vision of community where we advocate a stronger America, broad prosperity for all, a better future, more effective government and taking care of one another," Fallick said.\nProfessor Marjorie Hershey of the IU Department of Political Science will moderate the event, which is expected to last about 90 minutes.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Ryne Shadday at rshadday@indiana.edu.