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(07/25/02 8:23pm)
For those of you addicted to front-page news stories and television, I just wanted to give you a brief update about some Bloomington area news that might have been overlooked: Mike Davis was hired as the men's basketball coach.\nYeah, that news has been swept under the covers of the latest scoop about Bob Knight -- he has been hired by Texas Tech University, a once highly regarded school. \nBased on the news coverage around here, it's hard to tell we're in Indiana. At least two of the three major network stations out of Indianapolis bothered to send a reporter 1,000 miles to provide live reports back to those of us here in Indiana telling us about the hiring of Knight at the home of the Red Raiders.\nSuch obsessive behavior even extended to the Sunday Hoosier Times (the Sunday publication of the Bloomington Herald-Times), in which an exclusive Knight interview from Lubbock, Texas, by Lynn Houser appeared. One can only surmise that this Bloomington-based newspaper will soon be stationing a sports reporter in Lubbock so it can remain the leading source for all Knight news.\nKnight has shown a clear and unmistakable pattern of behavior over the years -- one that really isn't worthy of front-page coverage in any newspaper. He's a jerk, we all know it, and if we did not know it before, it was certainly confirmed in the March issue of Playboy magazine.\nThe situation is a bit unbelievable: Knight thrives on headlines, and I am sure that he is extremely happy that his hiring in Lubbock has managed to overshadow the hiring of his former assistant here in Bloomington. \nSo toward this end, I have a special message for the professional journalists around this area: Give it up!\nLet's wipe Knight off the front pages and relegate him to the inside pages of our sports sections -- if there at all. For people who truly are obsessed with Knight, they are more than welcome to spend time on the Internet visiting ESPN.com, Sports Illustrated and Texas Tech-related Web sites to learn the latest Knight news.\nMeanwhile, there are a few Bloomington news and sports stories worthy of television coverage in Indianapolis. Davis is one, but so is the woman sitting in the tree on the west side of Bloomington who is protesting development. \nOr how about contestant No. 3 on the America's Messiest College Apartments Contest, a senior named "Matt," who from the pictures seems to like Pizza Express but doesn't know what a trash can is. (And if you vote for him, he might win $10,000.)\nThe local newspaper could also show us more detailed photographs of this guy's apartment (in all fairness, 6News did the story, and it sent chills down my spine when Matt showed us the cheesecake spouting green things). The local newspaper could also redeploy its Knight correspondent in Lubbock to Bloomington and have more coverage of lesser-known IU sports teams, such as women's crew, women's water polo or any of the club sports on campus. There is no point in wasting good money sending reporters to Lubbock to cover a man who no longer coaches in this state.\nI doubt the local media will pay any attention to my pleas. I suspect I will have to jump over pages of Red Raider coverage over the next year before I can learn about the Hoosiers. It's sad; the current IU basketball players deserve better.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
I wrote the following speech for a high level IU administrator to deliver at the 2001 commencement. Then I decided to share it with you readers instead.
(04/10/01 3:46am)
Every so often I do things that remind me of why I believe in certain things. These little explorations into my soul usually happen when I least expect them. My latest soul searching came after I accidentally stumbled upon the anti-liberal Web site LiberalWatch.org.\nIt was a disturbing experience. After clicking past the splash page, I was taken to a list of the top 10 liberal degenerate Web sites. My gut reaction was to laugh out loud: the list consists of the North American Man Boy Love Association, Hatewatch, Inc., Anti-Racist Action, CruisingForSex.com, the National Organization for Women, Planned Parenthood, the Anti-Defamation League, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Southern Poverty Law Center and (last, but not least) MTV.\nFive of these organizations are centered around civil rights issues: NOW, Planned Parenthood, ADL, NAACP and the Southern Poverty Law Center.\nWhich leaves five to be digested. The first of these is NAMBLA, an organization with which I do not really agree. I couldn't read up on the latest NAMBLA happenings because its Web site was down, but in general, I oppose lowering the age of consent much below where it rests in Indiana. \nHatewatch Inc. and Anti-Racist Action Web sites gave me no clue about their happenings. Hatewatch's site wasn't responding, and the Anti-Racist Action site was last updated in 1999. I haven't heard of either organization and so reserve judgment. \nThe next listed Web site is Cruising for Sex, a site where gay men who like anonymous sex can get tips on the best places to cruise. Consider it the Internet version of picking somebody up at a bar.\nIt's an interesting list: The LiberalWatch site combines five serious organizations that are doing their best to improve the quality of life for all Americans and four organizations that are not active on the liberal civil rights front. This makes all the organizations look bad. \nMTV is included, according to the site, because it "works its will 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, promoting its liberal filth into the minds of young kids all over the western world."\nI was disturbed on two fronts: one, that conservative groups seem to think NAMBLA represents mainstream liberal thought. That would be akin to me thinking that the Westboro Baptist Church (most famous for its antigay protests) accurately represents mainstream conservative thought. Neither organization represents mainstream thought, so for serious people to believe these are the key representations does nothing to enhance dialogue.\nThe other issue I found disturbing was the sudden and overwhelming presence of racist and homophobic attitudes. In the LiberalWatch diatribe against the Southern Poverty Law Center, the site notes that the organization smears anyone who "opposes racial preferences, dislikes homosexuality" and that the ex-wife of the organization's founder "cited in divorce documents at least one homosexual encounter, and numerous mistresses."\nThe diatribe against NOW is also disturbing in its anti-civil rights stance and homophobic nature, claiming that NOW's mission is "to secure a woman's 'right to choose' whether her children should be aborted at any stage of pregnancy and to promote lesbianism."\nI also visited one of the Web sites Liberal Watch recommended for news: the New Nation. The top stories were about crimes committed by Hispanic males. Another story is about "Mexican Migrant Invaders," and another about "Berkeley black pack hate crime attacks on white youths." The blatant use of racial descriptors is an obvious attempt to inflame hate based on race, as opposed to trying to figure out what caused the crime.\nWhich brings me full circle to reminding me why I am a liberal: I believe all people are created equal and should have equality of opportunity. I believe racism and homophobia stand in the way of a better, more tolerant society. I believe America benefits from the diversity its citizens represent.\nThe value of having a conversation involving people of all backgrounds brought together is a synergist release. The sum of the knowledge generated by having these interactions is what has propelled the U.S. to being the lead innovator in the world.\nMost of the time, I chose not to believe that the conservative viewpoint does not embrace racial diversity. Whenever I encounter people who proclaim their conservativeness out of one side of their mouth, and then say something inherently racist, homophobic or otherwise bigoted, I have to stop and remind myself that they are -- I hope -- in the minority.
(03/06/01 4:11am)
There has always been a subtle and quiet divide on the campuses of American universities between undergraduate and graduate students. Most of the time this divide is ignored and swept under the rug by all those involved in the discussion.\nUndergrad-uates sweep this under the rug because they don't understand what graduate students and graduate school are about. Graduate students ignore the issue because most of them do not feel that undergraduate students have much effect on their lives. Neither one of these approaches is correct.\nWhat needs to occur is a breaking down of this undergraduate-graduate student barrier and the building of understanding. This is a difficult task: Every year there are new undergraduate students who spend the first two or three semesters of college figuring out how to navigate the campus, both in physical terms (where is the library?) and finesse terms (how do I register for classes and get the good professor?). \nAt the same time, there are graduate students who are so serious about studying that they refuse to take part in campus life -- objecting whenever a loud party is within earshot. \nI propose a two-part solution to this problem: focusing both on undergraduates and on graduate students. As a part of campus orientation, undergraduates should be given a bigger picture of what higher education is about and how it works: the administrative structure of campus and the relationship between schools and between different higher education institutions. \nIncoming graduate students should receive a similar lecture and review of the higher education system -- one that focuses on the role of undergraduates at the institution.\nThe goal of this program would be to help prevent the misunderstandings that can sometimes occur on campus as a result of ignorance and lack of caring. Take for instance the recent example of the forum held to discuss the accidental release of names and Social Security numbers by the bursar's office.\nThis primarily affected graduate students, and a sprinkling of undergraduates. John Mersch, moderator of the Graduate Student Organiza-tion, led the forum, which brought University administrators together to talk to more than 300 affected students. \nMersch said the IU Student Association offered no assistance during the organization of the forum. While I will not say that the proposed courses on University structure would have driven IUSA to organize or assist in sponsoring the forum, an IUSA leadership educated about the role of graduate students on a college campus might have taken a stronger interest in an issue that was seemingly for graduate students only.\nNaturally, this can work in reverse. So many graduate students are absorbed in their own studies they often forget there is a physical and social campus surrounding them. These graduate students need to take some time and understand there are issues affecting undergraduates that they might be able to assist in resolving. \nThis can be as simple as participating in undergraduate student organizations and events, or as complicated as helping undergraduates fight inane enforcement of alcohol policies.\nThe strength of attending IU as an undergraduate is the wealth of opportunities it offers. The Bloomington campus offers more artistic activities, athletic events and class choices than a smaller liberal arts college. For graduate students, the reasons for picking IU are the same: artistic activities, athletic events and class choices. This is one thing we all have in common. A little time to understand our roles in campus life will go a long way to making this a better and more understanding campus.\nUniversities draw their strength from the combination of undergraduates and graduate students working together with the faculty and staff. We can have institutions of higher education where there is no campus community, but the learning that goes on at those institutions is more sterile and less involving. There are places for other types of institutions, but if we've chosen to attend this University, we should all be involved in the campus community.
(03/02/01 4:53am)
The recent discovery that someone downloaded 3,230 names and Social Security numbers, including mine, from the Bursar's computerized records has shaken my confidence in IU. What upsets me most about the situation is the amount of time that passed between discovery and notification. In my case a total of 18 days passed between the time my information was compromised and the time I received the letter telling me that an unknown user had downloaded my name and Social Security number.\nWhat is additionally upsetting is that the Bursar's office kept this information within its office until Feb. 20 -- a full 14 days after they discovered this information. Only then did the staff tell the University administration -- 14 days during which mass publicity could have put the University on alert and helped us protect and safeguard ourselves.\nWithout a doubt, the Bursar's office let down the 3,230 students whose names were compromised.\nThe initial letter I got from the Bursar offered no apologies, no details and no real assistance, other than two Web addresses. It was the news stories that came out after the letters that started to provide additional information -- the dates of break-in, the number of students involved and the assurance the problem has been fixed.\nLet me say right now I am glad the problem has been fixed, but I am still dismayed at the response of the Bursar's office and of IU administration in general. As such, I believe IU must take tangible actions to assure students this will not happen again and that there is genuine concern on the part of the administration, as opposed to platitudes that came out in the first few days. It was not until Wednesday at the meeting organized by the Graduate Student Organization that I heard anyone from the administration apologize.\nThis type of incident has happened before at IU and other universities, including the University of Utah. The major difference between IU's response and that of the University of Utah to a similar situation seems to be the level of caring. At the University of Utah, exposure happened two and a half years ago, and involved more than 23,300 students, faculty and staff. The university contacted local media even before sending out letters, to give people a heads up.\nHere's my proposed deal with affected students -- it is a plan that will help assuage the fears of those students whose information was compromised and a plan that will help send strong signals to University staff members.\n• IU should provide free credit reports to affected students twice a year for the next seven years, if not longer. This step will help assure affected students IU is being responsible for its gross error -- and minimize student costs associated with a mistake beyond their control. It will also bring peace of mind to many affected students.\n• Additionally, IU should compensate students for the time they have spent working on protecting their names. I would estimate that each student spent about four hours on the phone calling credit card companies and checking their credit reports, and at an average rate of roughly $10 an hour, or $40 each. This is real time people have lost from other productive uses of time.\n• IU should eliminate student Social Security numbers from the University's computer systems. There is no need to have these numbers as identifiers on Bursar accounts. There is certainly no need to put them on rosters and to use them in computer systems. I realize students at the forum were told new identification numbers were going to be issued in two years, but this could actually be implemented by the end of the semester, if the University wanted. The only place IU needs to use Social Security numbers is on federal financial documents.\n• IU must reprimand the Bursar. I realize Susan E. Cote is not directly responsible (University Information Technology Services has taken blame for the actual breach), but she is ultimately responsible for everything that happens through her office. This step will help send a strong and significant message to all University staff and faculty who have access to Social Security numbers that they will be held accountable for their mistakes.\nIU can learn a lot of lessons from this mistake, and I do believe it was just a mistake. Let's hope it doesn't happen again.
(02/22/01 3:52am)
Radio is a major part of many people's lives, and I've come to realize that for many people, radio helps pass the day. Radio doesn't help my day pass, but it does help me get the day started and has an effect on the kind of day I have.\nFor the first two years I lived in Bloomington, I listened to Rich Anton in the mornings on WTTS-FM, 92.3. I grew attached to this disembodied voice: he woke me weekday mornings with music, a tidbit of news and the weather forecast -- including details about Bloomington.\nUltimately, what astounded me about Anton is how attached I grew to the voice. I've never met the man, and he was only involved in my life for two years; yet when he took the occasional morning off, my days were noticeably worse. The different voice on the dial was jarring -- and the new voices didn't necessarily do the same things in the same order.\nI knew I was not going to do well when Anton announced last summer he was leaving the radio station. It was, for the first few weeks, as bad as I feared. I used to set my alarm so the first thing I heard was the news and weather, followed by music that would jar me out of bed and into the shower. After Anton left, it was anybody's guess what voice would come across the radio waves and what time those voices would announce information.\nThat was until Jill Savage arrived. Savage was stability, but unfortunately the wrong kind of stability. Her voice was there every morning, at roughly the same time, providing information. But around that time I started to notice changes -- subtle changes it took me a while to notice.\nA radio station that used to serve both Bloomington and Indianapolis is no more, for WTTS now appears intent upon serving only Indianapolis. Although the studios are still located in Bloomington, there's no more Bloomington weather and fewer Bloomington commercials. When they do appear, they sound out of place.\nI'll admit Savage is probably not to blame for these changes, but one thing is sure. It is no longer my radio station; it is merely a radio station, a spot on the dial that I now flip past. I can no longer listen to WTTS in the morning. I had to find a new radio station to call my own.\nIn Bloomington, this is no easy feat. Those of us not addicted to country music have a few sparse choices: B97, public radio and the Firehouse. I've had a few experiences with B97, and I listen to it every once in a while -- such as when the Hoosiers are playing and I can't be home to watch. National Public Radio has excellent national and local news, but it plays more classical music than should be allowed.\nThat left me with the Firehouse -- WFHB -- community radio. Community radio in Bloomington is truly special. The voices might not be consistent from day to day, and the music might not be consistent from hour to hour, but it is genuine and real. The people are local, doing radio for fun, and it shows through in their work and dedication. And they are local; this distinction is important to me, as I like to support local businesses and my community.\nAlthough my old radio station still broadcasts from Bloomington, it might as well be in Indy for all the local news that gets attention. On B97, I know some of the voices are local, but much of it is satellite radio with some disembodied voice sitting in a room 2,000 miles away. \nI miss Rich Anton. But for now, I have made a new selection from the radio menu, and I hope Bloomington's community radio becomes an involved part of my life. The station volunteers will know they have been successful when I call with my pledge of support the next time they hold a fundraiser.
(02/06/01 5:04am)
There are times to trust our government and times not to trust our government. To be honest, I'm upset with the number of photos being taken by our government and used for investigative purposes. I'm so upset I have decided to do my best to look suspicious to anyone watching me.\nTo that end, yesterday I purchased 10-inch Grip-Rite spiral shank nails at Lowe's hardware store. I used my credit card and did it within full sight of the video cameras that track every purchase and every purchaser. Should the FBI need to determine who's been buying the nails, they have me on record.\nIn future weekends, homework permitting, I might start hanging out in the state forests, allowing forest rangers to photograph my license plate, documenting that my car was seen in the forest -- a car owned by the same person who once, on a shopping trip to Lowe's, bought 10-inch Grip-Rite spiral shank nails.\nIt seems our state and national governments have taken to watching purchases at Lowe's and tracking license plates to determine who might have been out spiking trees in the Morgan-Monroe State Forest. The circumstantial evidence these efforts have turned up has been good enough to arrest Frank Ambrose, a local environmental activist. If convicted, he could end up with three years in prison and a $10,000 fine.\nOut of immense curiosity, I went to the Monroe County Justice Center and sat in on Ambrose's arraignment hearing Friday. There was no discussion of the evidence at this juncture, so all I saw was a nervous 26-year-old man sitting behind the defendant's table. He was there because of a security camera at Lowe's, a photograph of his car near a timber sale and investigators with active imaginations.\nI have never spiked a tree, nor do I have any immediate or long-term plans to do so. I have no idea whether Ambrose actually spiked the trees -- but I doubt it. Members of the Earth Liberation Front don't leave their cars parked near the sites of ecoterrorist attacks. If they did, the ELF attack at the Vail Resorts in Colorado would have been solved long ago.\nWhat upsets me about this case is the invasion of privacy. Cameras are everywhere, and it is not possible to buy things without being recorded. I think too much information is being collected about people and it is not always being used in ethical ways.\nIt's like when you register with an e-mail list for information you are interested in, and then your e-mail address gets sold. You start receiving e-mails inviting you to view "teenage sex stars," or worse. You can at least ignore the spam with effective filters, but when people start taking photographs and using them against you, the photographs do not exist in a context -- it is only a still image of a moment in time, devoid of meaning. Were you buying the package of condoms for yourself or for somebody too nervous to buy them? Were you visiting College Books because you wanted to buy some pornographic videos or because you got a flat tire a block away and wanted to use their telephone?\nStill images only record the fact that you bought condoms and that you were in College Books, not your reason for being there. Some might argue you should be willing to explain why you were in a particular place if you have nothing to hide.\nI disagree: The presumption should be innocence, and I shouldn't have to explain to anybody why I have 10-inch Grip-Rite spiral shank nails. I bought them, and why I bought them is none of your business.
(01/23/01 8:14pm)
Starting this week, we will be assaulted by candidates in the IU Student Association elections, which will be held later this spring. As a veteran observer of people running for office in student governments (this is my ninth year of collegiate experience), I am willing to bet that, like the last eight student government elections, people are going to run on unimportant issues, nonissues and issues about which they could not make a difference if they really wanted to.\nSo instead of settling for somebody who pledges to lower tuition (something IUSA will never really change, but the state legislature might), or a group that promises to increase IU's national ranking, think about issues student government can have an effect on and vote for the people who want to make a positive difference in our daily lives as students. \nWith that in mind, the key issue for any IUSA administration will be the infamous bus plan. I am a strong supporter of the bus plan, but from what was promised to what was implemented, it has been badly fumbled. The next leader of IUSA must be committed to getting the bus plan we were promised at a reasonable price. This isn't rocket science. Whether you walk, ride, drive, take a bicycle or levitate across campus, the bus plan will benefit everyone once properly implemented.\nBut the rest of the details are important: rather than pledging to decrease tuition, IUSA needs to focus on real problems and offer solutions that are within grasp. So here are some simple ideas for tickets to work on:\nWhy do we pay $19 if we register for classes by phone? Does it really cost the Registrar more than if we trek to Franklin Hall and register in person? I'd bet it costs the Registrar less to have us register by phone, so why are we paying $19 to do this? IUSA should work on eliminating this silly fee.\nThe litter problem around campus needs to be addressed. More garbage cans along popular pathways and more frequent pickups of cans that overflow would be a start. Or how about working on getting the sand cleaned up after the snow has melted? During the winter, there is more than enough sand on the sidewalks around campus to fill the sandboxes of every kid in the county.\nIt would be nice if IUSA took the time to convince the campus physical plant to mow and water lawns at times other than lunch time. People like to sit outside and enjoy the expansive green spaces on campus, and there is no reason they should acquire a wet bottom when they sit down, or be pushed away by lawn mowers.\nAnother issue, and you might laugh at this one, but we do need more pencil sharpeners around campus. \nWe need an activist IUSA that reaches out to faculty and staff to encourage amicable relationships among everybody on campus. \nIUSA needs to push for a safer campus: better lighting and snow shoveling along key pathways. \nBetter food options in the main library's cafeteria and reasonable heating and air conditioning of classrooms across campus: It's hard to learn if you're sweating or freezing.\nThe election rules this year, as in previous years, seem a bit insane, so candidates probably cannot avoid violating them. Right now it is a bit early for an endorsement, because the scandals that can (and will) come about, have yet to materialize. \nSome of the ideas discussed by the parties that have already declared their candidacy seem good. Of course, there are still several weeks before the election. More parties will probably appear and existing parties can (and probably will) put their feet in their mouths.
(01/09/01 5:32am)
AUSTIN, Texas -- This city of nearly half a million straddles the Colorado River in Central Texas and is home to two distinctly different presidential flavors: Democratic and Republican. I realized this as I stepped out of The Hideout, a coffeehouse located just off Austin's Sixth Street (akin to Kirkwood Avenue in Bloomington), and waited for two motorcades to pass by.\n That was my first Presidential Encounter in Austin last week: I got to watch President-elect George W. Bush speed down the street, complete with a motorcycle escort and a bonus traffic jam for unsuspecting motorists. I was merely an inconvenienced pedestrian trying to go shopping. I couldn't attempt to keep walking for another 10 minutes while I waited for Vice President-elect Dick Cheney's motorcade to depart the Driskill Hotel. Bush was waving out the window; Cheney appeared to be using a cell phone.\nMy second Presidential Encounter of the week was by choice: I visited the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum at the University of Texas at Austin. I also visited the Johnson Settlement located 50 miles west of Austin in the Hill Country, to see where our 36th president grew up.\nI was swept away by both: taking a break in the Hill Country, I sat down and looked at the landscape that surrounded me. It was by no means a lush environment, but it was a hearty environment, one that develops character in people -- Rugged American Individualism at its best -- and an understanding that government serves a purpose in the life of people. \nAt the LBJ museum, one gains an appreciation for the former president and his momentous works. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act, the Clean Air Act and Head Start are examples of LBJ's impressive legacy. \nAlthough Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves, it was LBJ who gave their great-great grandchildren the freedom to participate in our democracy. \nWithout a doubt, LBJ was a president who desired to do good for his country. He drew upon his experience growing up in poverty to become a more compassionate and decent man whose chief domestic policy goals were to eliminate poverty and raise the standard of living for all. A war he inherited -- one that right wing anti-Communists wanted escalated and one that the left wing wanted finished -- hampered him. It could be said Vietnam ended up costing LBJ his job.\nBut the basic facts remain: LBJ was a decent man. He wanted to do the right thing for the people of the United States, something that appears to stand in stark contrast to the aspirations of the latest president-elect to come from the state of Texas.\nBush was born rich, stayed rich and only as an adult realized he was interested in politics. He wants to give the rich a tax break under the assumption that since they pay the most they deserve the biggest break -- there's nothing like a regressive tax scheme that punishes the poor for being poor. Two of the most important components of life in America face reversal under Bush's administration: civil rights and environmental protection.\nFirst, with former Missouri Sen. John Ashcroft as attorney general, protection of key civil rights, such as the right to an abortion, will fall by the wayside. I also suspect a full investigation into the voting rights abuses that occurred in Florida will never take place -- something LBJ was active in trying to prevent.\nSecond, with Bush announcing he is interested in drilling for oil in the Alaskan wilderness, we have a threatened environment. Regulatory powers will be shifted to the states and the ensuing race to the bottom will be sickening\nBush's agenda, if he can successfully carry it out, appears to be in direct opposition to the LBJ legacy.\nI'm not sure, but I imagine that the people of Austin will be glad to be rid of Bush, just to get him out of their town. It's unfortunate that we have been saddled with him instead.
(11/30/00 4:08am)
I believe it is time for Myles Brand to step aside and allow IU to seek new leadership. To lead effectively, University presidents must inspire confidence in those whom they are leading -- the faculty, staff, alumni and students. Yet many of IU's stakeholders no longer have confidence in Brand, creating a leadership vacuum that threatens IU to the core. It is time for Brand to go. \nI came to this realization during Thanksgiving Break, when I took time to consider Brand's behavior and the troubles at IU. It is clear he is no longer an effective leader -- he is too bogged down in questions and doubts about IU's rankings and his performance as president.\nLet me make a couple of points right off the bat. First, a university does not need to be ranked one of the top institutions in the country to provide its students a top-notch education; in fact, a top ranking for a university might actually be an indicator the school is too interested in research to adequately educate its undergraduates.\nSecondly, Brand's behavior has been reprehensible, but that does not necessarily mean he's a bad president. Many of our nation's greatest leaders have not always conducted themselves in desirable manners -- take Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton as examples.\nWhat is at issue here is public dialogue, and it has become mired in these two subjects. Many stakeholders have become fixated on IU's ranking and have chosen Brand as the target of blame. And Brand's behavior has been so publicized that it is now something that needs to be discussed.\nWith respect to IU's rankings: IU has fallen in the rankings, and it has called into question the quality of education provided to students here in Bloomington. Brand set out to defend Bloomington in an Oct. 2 IDS column entitled, "IU education is far from mediocre." The headline shows Brand is governing ineffectively, and it shows he's worried. By stepping aside, Brand can allow IU, which is far more important than any one individual, to gain breathing room from the University's stakeholders with respect to its rankings and allow the University time to fix the problems that do exist. \nAnd problems do exist.\nNow, to Brand's behavior: It is reprehensible. His series of meetings with trustees before firing Bob Knight were violating the spirit, if not the letter, of Indiana's open meetings law. By having two "informal," non-voting meetings in a row with groups of four trustees at a time, a strategy designed to skirt the law, Brand signaled he was willing to bend the rules to suit his agenda.\nWhen Brand put Knight under a "zero-tolerance" policy, I think it was designed to eventually fire Knight. But instead of using the zero-tolerance policy as justification, Brand justified Knight's firing by saying there was a "series" of incidents violating the spirit and the letter of the contract Knight holds with IU. \nThis indicates a lack of backbone in Brand's leadership, because zero tolerance means zero tolerance, with no leniency at all. While I think Knight ought to have been fired in May and not September, zero tolerance meant he ought to have been fired the first time there was an incident, not four months later after multiple incidents, when a freshman went on television to tell his story about encountering Knight at Assembly Hall.\nThis behavior suggests Brand is incapable of doing his job with the confidence of the University's faculty, staff, alumni and students, as well as taxpayers. All of them will be constantly questioning his motives and stances. As such, he is handicapped as president.\nI won't forgive him for his behavior. Brand's presidency is tainted with scandal and slipping rankings, and the best thing for him, and for the University, is a fresh start -- under new leadership.
(11/10/00 4:18am)
Trust me when I say, this was a watershed election for me. Every which way I turned, I faced decisions on the ballot between the lesser of two or three evils. Ultimately, I held my nose as I pressed the button that recorded my decisions at the Monroe County Court House Tuesday. \n To be honest, neither Gore nor Bush are particularly appealing presidential candidates, and looking into my crystal ball, I doubt either one has the ability to last more than one term in office. \nWith that thought, I actually would prefer Bush to be president of the United States for the next four years, and not because I am a Republican. I'm not. I voted for Ralph Nader this year, and I am, for the most part, a left wing liberal with a few odd conservative streaks in me. \nBush as president is a strategic thought -- with the House and the Senate so closely divided, whoever is president will not be able to get much done, and we will have the ultimate "do nothing" Congress -- hamstrung by the close split and the constant threats of filibusters in the Senate. This "do-nothing" Congress will probably not pass a lot of laws, which might be a blessing in disguise -- considering Congress's past record.\nThe one downside to a Bush presidency is the Supreme Court. Bush has threatened to make appointments to the Supreme Court that will take the United States back in time to a period when women had no right to choose, when prayer in school was state-sanctioned and when free speech was restricted. Realistically, that's not likely to happen, since it takes a two-thirds majority of senators to confirm judicial appointments and only 50 or 51 senators are Republicans. Bush will be forced to moderate his nominees in the hopes that they are confirmed.\nThe advantages of a Bush presidency are too numerous to tally, but I shall take a shot:\n•Usually the party of the incumbent president loses seats in the House at mid-term elections, which means Democrats might control the House that is currently controlled by Republicans after the 2002 elections. If Gore is elected, Democrats will probably lose seats in 2002, and that's not really desirable in my book.\n•Environmentalists have had allies in power for too long and have grown soft. By having a Bush appointee at the Interior Department, one who is certain to be in favor of mining and drilling on federal lands, environmentalists will again have a cause to rally around. Remember that Secretary of the Interior James G. Watt in the early 1980s was a rallying cry for environmentalists; invoking his name and actions helped the environmental movement grow both in stature and fiscally.\n•Rush Limbaugh will be put out of business. Limbaugh has thrived on the Clinton presidency, and if Clinton had not been elected in 1992 and re-elected in 1996, he wouldn't have had anything to complain about for the past eight years. Limbaugh really wants Gore to win so he can spend the next four years complaining about Gore on his radio talk show, thus making money. Nobody will want to listen to him praise Bush for the next four years -- people only want to listen to whiners (thus explaining the success of weirdos like "dr." Laura who does nothing but whine about what she thinks is the immorality of society).\nIf Bush is president for the next four years, all of this sets us up for a Democratic president starting in 2004, and that is something to look forward to.
(10/19/00 4:24am)
For the two and a quarter years that I have lived in Bloomington, I have restrained myself from complaining about Ameritech.\nI've finally had it -- I cannot hold back anymore. I had to call them for customer service last week and had yet another bad encounter. They just cannot get things right without making it complicated or taking multiple tries.\nThe sad part is that I am but a minor cog in the Ameritech system; other people have gone without service for a month and have never had their problems fixed. These problems have been so bad for so long that the five states that Ameritech has screwed over are finally ganging up on the company, and, thankfully, Indiana is in there. \nRegulators from these states voiced their displeasure to the company in a meeting in Chicago. In response, Ameritech promised to have its service restored to "normal levels" by Dec. 31.\nThe problem is that it's not good enough. Hoosiers need at least decent, if not good, phone service and Ameritech's "normal level" of service is somewhere between awful and terrible.\nWhen I moved here, it took them about three tries to get my phone service right -- they gave me features I did not want and did not give me the features I wanted.\nLet's just say that of all the utilities that I've had to deal with in Bloomington, Ameritech has been the only one that has caused me any headaches. The others actually resolve problems quickly when they occur. On the other hand, Ameritech has lied to me about service issues, including a huge mistake that left me without phone service for several days last year.\nSince then I have been on a personal quest to reduce Ameritech's profits, and trust me, the company and its parent are making a lot of money.\nAfter an exhaustive search in which I couldn't find another local carrier, I decided my only recourse was to reduce the number of features on my phone, so the latest item I dumped was voice mail. It too proved to be a problem.\nYou see, I called the number listed on my phone bill for Ameritech Local Service, and I was routed into a telephone push button hell. First, they wanted to know if I was calling about service on the number I was calling from. Then, they wanted to know if I was calling to add or subtract service, and finally, they wanted to know my great-grandmother's aunt's uncle's first name and country of birth.\nI finally was rewarded with a human being, who immediately tried to convince me that dropping Ameritech's VoiceMail '98® service was going to be a terrible tragedy.\nI explained to her that I was switching from Ameritech Voice Mail to a cheap Web-based voicemail service from www.evoice.com, and she said it wouldn't be able to pick up while I was online. I told her it would, once I implemented call forwarding and busy line transfer -- for less than the $5.95 Ameritech was rooking me for.\nShe deferred and asked me the next critical question, "How long have you had voice mail?"\nI said, "Oh, two and a quarter years or so."\n"You'll have to call another number, we can only cancel voicemail accounts that have been active for less than 30 days," the voice on the other end of the line told me.\nI told her I wasn't going to press another button on my phone to disconnect my voicemail service. Between her and her supervisor, they transferred me directly to the voicemail help center, where the human being I connected with first asked me my phone number and then told me again that switching off Ameritech VoiceMail was going to be a terrible tragedy. I had to explain myself to her again before she gave up and told me that my voicemail would be disconnected within a few days.\nOther relatively inexpensive alternatives to Ameritech's voicemail service exist, including services that will pick up your phone while you are on the phone and send you e-mail alerts that somebody has left a message. \nHopefully, real competition and choice in local residential service will be the end of Ameritech, because trust me, as soon as a true competitor comes to town, I'm gone.
(10/05/00 4:13am)
Call me a sucker if you will.\n While watching "Survivor" this summer I took notice of promotions for CBS's new television show, "That's Life," a show about a fictional 32-year-old woman who decided to go to college after having had a series of about 58 different jobs in her life.\n I've always admired people who decided to go to college later in life. At my old school, we called these students "non-trads," short for "non-traditional students." \n Traditional students were, of course, those of us who went to college straight out of high school: 18 years old and wet behind the ears.\nFortunately for me, I quickly picked up on the fact that non-trads were going to be my best friends. Simply put, non-traditional students were good students. They knew how to study, and they knew why they were in school. They were more likely paying for their education themselves, so they had no interest in failing. On the other hand, many of the "traditional students" spent a lot of time partying and not worrying about student loans.\nThat difference was responsible for my success.\nMy freshman year, I took a course on the art and history of Islam -- and I was failing. It was my first encounter with a difficult class, but fortunately, a non-trad also took the course. One warm Saturday afternoon, I sat down with her and went over the material for five hours, missing an important football game. They were not wasted hours, for I believe she single-handedly raised my grade from an F to a B, a dramatic improvement in that small amount of time. \nI've had encounters with these non-trads during my entire college career, and they've helped me better understand my world and helped me succeed in classes. I would say they are an often underappreciated resource on college campuses, even here at IU.\nSo, I sat down to watch the CBS show about Lydia DeLucca on Sunday, and I was struck by a number of unrealistic moments: like when the two guys helped push Lydia's broken down car from the street into a parking lot. Highly unrealistic for two reasons: First of all, two guys walking on any campus I've ever visited would never help push a car; and second, they found an empty parking space in time for her to make her first class.\nThey also suggested that 95 percent of students in college have cell phones. Maybe that's true in New Jersey, the setting for this show, but thankfully it is not true here.\nThe most believable moment in the show came when Lydia wandered into the bookstore to buy textbooks and discovered that the highlighted used textbook cost $25 less. She then managed to ignore the helpful traditional student who tried to tell her to buy the new books since you couldn't trust a previous owner's highlighting. However, the show missed out on one little detail: she didn't bother to check out the other used books to see if any had less highlighting. Sticker shock, though, was the name of the game, and I could certainly relate.\nWhat rung true about the whole show was the number of obstacles she had to overcome to attend class: a mother who was upset that her daughter was not getting married; a father who did not understand her return to college; a police officer brother whose best friend is her ex; and friends who epitomized the saying, "With friends like these, who needs enemies?" She also had to overcome the obstacle of a car that could only go about three blocks before breaking down.\nNon-trads really do have all these problems, and their experiences make them all the richer for it -- something I have come to appreciate in the classroom. I've been the lucky beneficiary of their lives.\nTo them, I say thank you.\nTo CBS, I say, the show doesn't work as it's written. Conceptually the show is intriguing, but as it is implemented, with the student talking to us from her job as a bartender to some anonymous customer who never says anything, it seems hokey. I might not be watching again.\nOh well, back to the books -- maybe I'll have time to watch "That's Life" again during Thanksgiving, if it is still on the air.
(09/21/00 4:35am)
If bad things happen in threes, IU is due for another catastrophe. \nThe University has already lost two prominent men in the year 2000, and neither experience has been pleasant or pretty.\nThe first catastrophe was the death of a man who meant much to IU -- Herman B Wells. Wells defined IU. He built the University from an average state school to a world-class institution known around the world.\n The second catastrophe, of course, was the firing of former coach Bob Knight. Knight defined IU to the rest of the world. Without him, it is likely IU would be a world-class school with the low profile of St. Olaf or Dartmouth, unknown outside the state.\nWithout either of these men, IU would be a vastly different place.\nWells, during his tenure at IU (starting in 1921), built up the University, setting a number of precedents that put IU at the forefront of higher education. As a strong supporter of the School of Music, Wells made a concerted effort to ensure IU had one of the best music schools in the world.\nHe also made IU a good campus, where students could live and study comfortably. For example, as University president he helped oversee the expansion of the Indiana Memorial Union. In 1957, under Wells' leadership, the IMU remodeled the bowling alley and the Commons. \nWells also left a strong natural legacy by creating a beautiful campus. He consistently opposed cutting down trees in Dunn Woods and building over the Jordan River.\nHe made important strides in integrating the campus, putting African Americans and other minorities in the classrooms together with non-minority students. IU was the first University in the Big Ten to have African-American athletes because Wells thought it should be so. If we remember Wells for only one reason, it ought to be this one.\nThe linkage between Wells and Knight was the library. In five years, IU will no longer have the Main Library, but instead the Herman B Wells Library. It's a fitting tribute to a man who requested money be donated to "The Herman B Wells Acquisition Fund" for the libraries instead of flowers for his memorial. \nBob Knight supported the libraries as well, making donations each year and by creating "The Bob Knight Library Endowment," which has more than $1 million.\nIronically, Knight's firing allowed IU to remove one more major racial barrier at IU. Mike Davis has become IU's first black head men's basketball coach. This is a significant step in the integration of the IU campus, and something of which Wells would be proud.\nThe loss of these two men was bad for the heart and soul of IU, whether you liked either one. One clearly represented the heart and soul of the University to those of us here, while the other represented the vibrant image of the University to the world. One was key in making IU a world-class institution, while the other made sure people all across the United States knew IU existed.\nIt is important for universities to have somebody or something to rally around or about. Everybody rallied around Wells -- I remember telling my friends about the first time I was in the same room with him. Everybody rallied around Knight, debating whether he should be our basketball coach and whether he was good for the University. \nTo lose both of these prominent men in the same year is an unfortunate thing. It means we are left without our beloved University chancellor and an irascible general.\nRight now it appears IU doesn't really have anything to rally around. In a few months, once the furor over Knight has completely died down, we will have neither of these strong figures. We will be left looking for common ground. \nIt will be difficult to find: Myles Brand does not endear that same kind of support. Neither does the retiring Kenneth Gros Louis.\nThere doesn't appear to be anybody who can fill the role both Knight and Wells performed so well. There are no burning issues for students on this campus to rally around or debate in a meaningful way. One can hardly call the campus parking problem, for example, a burning issue.\nUntil we can again find that unity in a prominent leader or on a particular issue, the IU community might be a bit aimless in its purpose and direction. \nWithout that sense of purpose, we are lost.
(09/05/00 4:52am)
I have a love-hate relationship with Bloomington. I hate the heat and humidity of this quiet Midwestern town, but I love the vibrancy and spirit this city has. It's the latter that keeps me happy. And it's going to be a September to remember in this place I now call home.\nIt started Friday with a trip to the Live it Up Late Nite at the Indiana Memorial Union, where I got a wonderful character sketch by a local artist, free with a student ID. She managed to capture me perfectly, and I now have an awesome present for my parents, although the parental units will probably only get a copy. I like the original too much to give it away.\nI wandered next door and watched Full Frontal Comedy, a group of IU students who do comedy sketches about life in the world and at IU. It's the latter that is particularly impressive. Friday night in a discussion of Napster, the group managed to get several sacred IU cows ' including Myles Brand ' in compromising positions.\nThe group is Bloomington's best and brightest star on the improv comedy circuit. Its willingness to take on hot potato issues makes members leading cutting-edge observers of the city and campus. They outdo all the columnists in The Herald-Times and the IDS, so go see them before you leave this campus. \nDuring the weekend, I wandered downtown for another Bloomington event: the Fourth Street Festival, an annual arts festival held every Labor Day Weekend. This particular festival reminds me of how far I have to go in life. \nMy apartment is filled with the typical trashy furniture and bad poster art you would expect from a college student. But at the festival, I discovered real art that I want on my wall, starting cheap ($50 for a photograph) and soaring to the expensive (thousands of dollars).\nBut even at the cheap end, this art is beyond my budget. I'm at a stage in which $50 is better spent on my electric bill or trips to the grocery store. But it was free to look and free to enjoy. My favorite items were the huge, hanging glass ornaments, so huge that even if I could casually drop a few hundred dollars for one, I wouldn't have a place to put it in my apartment.\nWhat's particularly impressive about all of this is that this is only the first weekend of September. There is more to come, with the best coming the last weekend of the month.\nSaturday, we can enjoy the first IU football game of the season. IU will be host to North Carolina State. Women's soccer will also compete in two games next weekend.\nThe last weekend of the month will bring us the Lotus World Music and Arts Festival, arguably the best festival in Bloomington all year. This event is five days of musical performance by groups from around the world, capped on Friday and Saturday nights by live performances at seven stages around downtown. This is a great way to learn about bands from around the world, such as Wimme from Finland, Lila Downs from Mexico and Dhagha from India. This might not be the Backstreet Boys or Madonna, but you will appreciate the difference.\nThat brings me back to the beginning: my love-hate relationship with Bloomington. I hate the Midwestern heat and humidity. But the vibrant life that exists here makes this one awesome place to live. The trick is balancing the school books with the festivals, and that's no easy feat.
(08/24/00 3:28am)
After being a nomad for several years, moving in and out of dorm rooms, my parents' home and apartments, I have finally come to rest, not moving once this summer. That sedentary state has allowed me to enjoy something I have not been able to enjoy before: the spectacle of people moving. \n Now I'm not sure whether the moving spectacle is a comedy or a drama. But I know from personal experience it can be a horror show for those involved ' either that or a comedy of errors. \nMy worst mistake in moving was not having a moving truck on the day I needed to move, and I felt lucky when I was able to find a U-Haul in Martinsville ' it was about three times the size of what I needed and much more expensive because I had forgotten to make a reservation. All of this occurred on a day when the temperature soared past 107 degrees, not counting the heat index.\nBut this seems mild compared to a problem I had not previously been aware of, although I could have fallen into this trap: temporary homelessness. This occurs when somebody's lease expires before his or her next lease begins. This might be one of the worst possible things to happen to somebody, as they are compelled to find someplace to store all their stuff, and that's often not easy.\nIt becomes a question of how many friends you are willing to impose upon, and how much free space your friends have to store your stuff. It's doubtful a friend will be able to store an entire living room set, but they will find space for that 25-inch television. You also have to be careful that you keep your clothing together, because there is nothing worse than having taking a shower at Susan's place, finding your pants, but discovering you left your underwear at John's apartment, five blocks away.\nSo you resort to a suitcase with your clothing and a storage unit for your furniture, which really isn't that bad a deal … or is it? At one storage company here in town, the smallest space goes for $25 a month, with a $15 nonrefundable processing fee. That's pretty pricey for two days, and you can't rent for less than a month.\nClearly there is a winner in this game: the companies that own storage units ' they must make a huge profit in August, the month when most of these temporary homelessness situations occur.\nThe dorm room experience is also interesting to watch and less exasperating for me because I no longer drive to work. There is nothing quite like watching an incoming dorm resident, especially a freshman whose parents don't really want to see their offspring leave the nest. Upon arrival into town, 10th Street becomes unbelievably clogged with cars as traffic crawls to a complete halt. This is probably the one day a year that campus has a legitimate traffic nightmare.\nI realize it's not amusing for the people involved and that it is quite stressful, but I remember the first time I moved into a dorm room: The elevators were rickety and I brought too much crap. Of course, not everybody at IU has the benefits of an elevator; a lot of people at IU have to haul their stuff up the stairs, one large object at a time. It's moments like these that you suddenly appreciate the 13-inch television and the beanbag chair your friends brought instead of that 35-inch television and EZ-Boy recliner you brought.\nOf course, the whole scenario starts up again next May when people move out of the dorms and apartments. What I constantly find amazing is how much more stuff I can acquire in a year and what took one trip to move this summer will take Mom and Dad two trips the next. I hope I will be on the sidelines yet again.