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(07/25/10 11:04pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Brian Allen isn’t tired. He isn’t tired of “high school drama.” Allen is home-schooled.He isn’t physically tired like most high school students. Allen gets his eight to nine hours of sleep every night and is hardly ever sick.And he isn’t tired of playing the violin, even though Allen has been playing for more than 10 years. He was only 3 years old when he picked up his first violin. Allen’s father taught violin as a side job out of the family’s home.“I loved listening in on the lessons, and one day after a lesson, I asked my dad if I could play,” Allen said. “He had wanted to get me started at 5.”Allen began studying with a Suzuki-method teacher and then transferred to a more traditional-method teacher a couple of years later.“He was able to develop such a good technique,” Brian’s mother Jan Allen said. “At that point, we tried to make sure that we supported his interest.”At the age of 7, after moving to Bedford from Virginia, Allen began participating in the Jacobs School of Music’s Summer String Academy.“It was a great transition for him,” Jan Allen said. “We plugged him into the String Academy with Dr. Brenda Brenner, and in one lesson she fixed a problem with his posture that we had been struggling with for years.”After eighth grade, Allen and his parents made the decision that he would be home-schooled.“I think in his case the major benefit (of home schooling) is the added practice time and time for rest,” Jan Allen said. “He is able to get eight to nine hours of sleep every night and stays healthy most of the time.”In an average day, Allen practices three to four hours and travels to Bloomington for lessons in the afternoon.At 13, Brian was accepted into the Violin Virtuosi, the top performance group at the String Academy.And now, at the age of 16, Brian still isn’t tired. He recently won the Lions Clubs International Global Youth Music Competition. He was awarded a monetary prize of $10,000 and also traveled to Sydney for a week and a half to perform in the 2010 music competition. He helped represent the United States in the competition that included musicians from multiple global regions, and he won first prize.“The trip itself was wonderful, and it felt like a vacation,” Brian Allen said.Brian plans to continue playing the violin and incorporating music throughout the rest of his life. As a junior, he is getting ready to take the PSAT and is beginning to prepare for college.“My dream school is the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia,” Brian said. “Only about 150 students go there, and they accept less than one percent of applicants.”Brenner believes Brian has what it takes to succeed in the musical field.“Brian is very bright and hard-working and has a huge enthusiasm for the violin,” Brenner said. “He is just beginning on his pathway in the world of music. I expect to hear wonderful news of him in the next several years.”
(04/20/10 8:52pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A Little 500 cycling team’s budget only scratches the surface with the $100 registration fee. In fact, the elite teams often utilize — through sponsors, fundraising and out-of-pocket expenses — thousands of dollars of top-of-the-line equipment and apparel.Senior Gray Goat Cycling rider Matt Kiel discussed his team’s equipment and his own apparel for race day. GlassesCost: $100-$300Kiel’s gear: Oakley custom-made Jawbone, approximate value $250 (Oakley provides each rider with a custom pair.)A cheaper option: Oakley Flak Jacket ($150)“Glasses are important. Since it’s a cinder track, you get a lot of grit and stuff flying up from the track — you have to have something to protect your eyes,” Kiel said.GlovesCost: $15-$40 Kits (apparel)Cost: $80-$120Kiel’s gear: Custom-made outfit for the entire team (IUSF provides jerseys) ShoesCost: $75-$150Kiel’s gear: Taho Shoes from Specialized, approximate value $100A cheaper option: Your own running shoes“It’s not a road racing or mountain biking shoe,” Kiel said. “These are platform shoes so we want to get something that’s a little bit stiffer than your typical running shoe.”HelmetCost: $70-$175Kiel’s choice: Bell Volt Helmet, approximate value $175A cheaper option: Giro Monza helmet, $70“You just need a lightweight helmet that’s really well-ventilated,” Kiel said. “On a black cinder track, ventilation is really important. You also don’t want to carry along a lot of extra weight.”
(04/20/10 8:35pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>With help from Black Key Bulls rider Jordan Bailey, the IDS defines some of the most important race day terms.Spring Series EventsFour events — Qualifications, Individual Team Trials, Miss ’N Out and Team Pursuit — test individual and team strength. They precede race day on weekends in April.Rookie Week Ten-day crash course in bike and track basics taught by the Riders Council for all riders who have never raced Little 500 beforeRookie Hours Rookies must attend track times for at least 75 percent of their availability until the Wednesday before the race.Fifth Rider A rider who has trained with the team but does make the final four card for the race“Mount your Schwinn Bicycles” The historic words that mark the start of every Little 500. Often given by a dignitary of the race, the phrase is likened to the Indianapolis 500 command of “Gentleman, start your engines.”Pole Position The team that qualifies first for the race. This team is given the green jersey to wear on race day. The reason that they call it “pole position” or “being on top of the pole” is again another Indy 500 term. At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on the front straightaway, there is gigantic pole that has numbers one through 33, then next to those are digital numbers with the corresponding car numbers. To start the race, the numbers are set accordingly to how teams qualified for the race, but then once the race starts, the numbers change based on the current leaders for a given lap.Draft The rider who sets the pace out front does approximately 33 percent more work than the rider behind him because he is cutting the wind. Therefore, every rider behind the leader is doing significantly less work than the leader, so long as they are a half an inch to six inches behind the rear wheel, or in the “draft” of the person in front of him. This is why during the course of the race, the front five or six teams in the pack will exchange pulls every half lap to full lap.The Peloton Also known as the pack, field or bunch is the large main group of riders during the race. Riders who are in the peloton have an easier time riding because they are within the draft of the riders in front of them.Getting a Gap When a rider wants to come in for an exchange, he will usually try to get a gap on the field. In other words, the rider will try to put distance between himself and the lead rider in the peloton. Teams will do this because usually an exchange will lose a team anywhere from a half to a full straightaway of distance compared to those teams behind them. So ideally, when a rider gets a gap on the field, completes the exchange, the next rider on the bike is up to speed and will either be at the front of the pack or just behind it.Borg-Warner Trophy A replica trophy of the actual Indy 500 trophy that is presented to the winners of each Little 500. While the winners do not get to keep the Borg-Warner Trophy, their team name as well as their winning race time is engraved on the trophy, along with all of the other teams that have won the race.Fly Lap Is a term used in qualifications for the lap prior to the start of a team’s run. The first rider during qualifications is given a fly lap in order to get up to speed.Face LapLeisure rides around campus, especially down Kirkwood Avenue, the goal of which are not to train but to boost a team’s confidence and public image.— Stephanie Kuzydym
(02/04/10 12:58am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The essentials are the things a person cannot live without: food and water. And then there’s shelter. When deciding on a place to call home there are options that allow students to prioritize their savings. Living off-campus might be a great way to save money for one person, while living on campus might save someone else time. Sophomore Logan Fox said he estimates that he saves about $200 a month by living off-campus. Fox said he also likes that he doesn’t have many neighbors.“It’s quiet and I don’t have to deal with loud neighbors out here,” Fox said. “It’s easier to concentrate and study out here.”But with benefits come hassles for some off-campus residents. “I spend more gas money,” Fox said. Sophomore Samantha Stillions lives at home, and said she has some of the same issues as Fox. “It takes me 20 minutes to get to campus on a good day,” Stillions said. “I have to leave my house an hour before my class starts to get there on time.”But Stillions can’t complain about the home-cooked meals and the money she saves in rent. Stillions said she saves about $600 a month by living at home.“I put the money into my savings account because I know that I will need it one day,” Stillions said.Senior Elise Rivas said she opted for a more expensive apartment on campus. Although Rivas estimates her rent and utilities to be about $750 per month, she likes the fact that it is located in a central place in Bloomington.“It was really convenient and close to classes,” she said. “I can walk to all of my classes in 10 to 12 minutes. It’s also close to the bars, and I don’t have to worry about driving.”Rivas said she also likes that her friends enjoy hanging out at her apartment. “It’s a place where a lot of my friends want to come,” she said. “It’s a good meeting place before we go out.”On-campus housing like Willkie Quad is another option.Junior Erin Morton has lived in Willkie for three semesters and said she finds little to complain about. Like Rivas, Morton said convenience was a big factor."I’m not a morning person, so I can sleep in 'til the last minute and get up and go,” she said.Greek houses are also an option for on-campus living. Junior Madisen Lehr estimates that she spends $8000 per year living in her sorority and finds it to be cheaper than some of the other on-campus apartments.“Some of the on-campus apartments can cost $900 to $1000 a month,” she said. “If you want to live on campus in an equivalent location, a sorority can be cheaper.”
(10/12/09 12:45am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Be careful. We don’t know what’s going on in there.”This was the warning offered by a Salvadoran border immigration official to those wishing to cross into Honduras the day after Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was awoken in the middle of the night and flown to Costa Rica in his pajamas. Nearly four months later, Hondurans were finally able to take a 90-minute break from the coup-induced political turmoil to focus on their chance at a World Cup berth. On Saturday, the United States men’s soccer team took on Honduras in the World Cup qualifier match in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. While the Americans came out ahead, winning 3-2, the atmosphere surrounding the game was still a major accomplishment for Hondurans, highlighting the recent progress seen in negotiations and perhaps acting as a harbinger of peaceful talks to hopefully come. The presence of the U.S. soccer team in Honduras was impressive because of the international strain caused by President Obama’s position that Zelaya be returned to power. No country has recognized the de facto Honduran government, and the United States, the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have all suspended aid to Honduras in protest.But following somewhat successful peace talks on Friday, fans were calm and even respectful of the American soccer players. The crowd was quiet during the playing of the U.S. National Anthem – a stark contrast to the boos that drowned out the anthem in Mexico City this past August. Rude gestures were rare, if not absent, and some Hondurans even waved to the U.S. team. The country has been reeling from government-imposed curfews and protests both in support of and opposition to Zelaya. For a short time, Hondurans were able to be on the same side, more than happy to be vying together for a World Cup spot. And on Friday, negotiators representing Zelaya and de facto leader Roberto Micheletti left a Tegucigalpa hotel smiling, noting that they had “advanced 60 percent.” Peaceful talks and progressive negotiations, given the apparent mood in Honduras, where people seem tired of turmoil and exhibit a willingness to cooperate, are the most likely methods to lead to peace. We hope the current approach that focuses on conversation continues, and we hope talks can bring about a legitimate president come Nov. 29, when Honduras will hold national elections, regardless of whether Zelaya returns to power or not. In the words of Micheletti: “Dialogue will resolve the problem in Honduras.”