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(02/06/01 6:03am)
Pledging to focus on the students and their needs, the Imagine ticket announced its candidacy forthe IU Student Association election Thursday.\nExecutive candidates are senior Sidney Bosley, president; sophomore Benjamin Lewis, vice president for Congress; senior Dietrich Willke, vice president for administration; and junior Johnathan Goo, treasurer.\n"We want students to imagine what student government can do for them, how we can serve them," Bosley said.\nMembers said they want to set realistic goals for the residence halls, the greek system, off-campus students and graduate students. They said they hope to build alliances with student groups and organizations.\n"We are meeting and talking to people to see what they want," Bosley said. "We are building our platform as we go along."\nMaking a difference in how student government is run is another important issue for the Imagine ticket, the candidates said. The group hopes to increase student awareness and involvement in IUSA.\n"We want to take a different approach to IUSA," said graduate student Mike Fowler, campaign manager. "We are going to run a different campaign, and we are going to run IUSA differently."\nThe group filed for candidacy Thursday, the day applications were due, because they wanted to develop a clear vision of what they wanted before they filed, Bosley said.\n"We knew that if were going to do this, we wanted to do it right," Goo said.\nThe group is taking an altered approach to the election with its strategy, the candidates said. The ticket did not name a full congressional slate, which is typical of most tickets. \nThe group members said this is because they want everyone on the ticket to be 100 percent behind the ticket, and said it is impossible to find enough students with that kind of support for all the tickets. \nThe 32 vacancies in the current Congress, Fowler said, show those people did not really believe in the ticket that won last year. He said everyone on the Imagine ticket supports the ticket and its objectives. \nThere are three congressional candidates on the ticket -- sophomore Neil Bahri, junior Richard Hinshaw and freshman Mark Waligora, and there will be a number of write-in candidates, Fowler said. The group plans to use its candidates' experiences from many different facets of IU, including the residence halls, greek system and a variety of student groups to help members better represent students, the candidates said.\n"We have experience all around," Fowler said. "This varied experience is a good combination."\nThe group said they also brings a will to make changes in IUSA.\n"We have the passion to make a difference," Goo said.\nAs the election approaches, the group plans to be more specific with its platform, Bosley said. Group members said they will focus their campaign on supporting the IUSA creed, "we stand for students"
(02/06/01 5:19am)
Students, professors and fans packed Indiana Memorial Union's Monday afternoon to hear feminist scholar, poet and writer bell hooks' keynote address for Black History Month.\n"I feel enormously blessed to have so many people coming out," hooks said. \nHooks is known for her analysis of race and gender issues, said Gloria Gibson, associate vice chancellor for multicultural affairs, in her introduction.\n"She is a prolific writer and is involved with so many different disciplines, which makes her very knowledgeable," Gibson said after the speech. "We wanted a prolific speaker who would address the theme of the month, which is historical landmarks.\n"We also wanted a dynamic writer who would captivate the audience, and I think bell hooks did both of these." \nEarly in her career, hooks adopted and lowercased the name of her great-grandmother, Bell Hooks. \nSince then, hooks has written more than 20 books, the most recent being "Salvation: Black People and Love." She is an acclaimed public speaker and spends her time writing and lecturing across the country, Gibson said.\nHooks addressed several issues in her presentation, including African-American landmarks, the theme of the current Black History month, as well as the opening of the Neal-Marshall Center, an African-American Cultural Center.\nGibson said the black cultural center should be finished in September.\nHooks also stressed the importance of landmarks to our culture. She said landmarks are our testimonies to the past.\n"The landmarks that have been created show where we have been and where we have to go," hooks said.\nLandmarks for many African Americans were created by moving from the home to the public sphere, she said. hooks said the vital struggles African American's undertook occurred during this time. \nHooks read excerpts from her various books which addressed race issues.\nShe then discussed her preoccupation with love in her writing, which has recently been noted by critics.\n"My goal is to be the high priestess of love," she said.\nHooks said she wrote about love because the topic reaches the whole population. \n"I liked how she said love is profoundly political," said junior Carolyn Thomas, who attended hook's speech. hooks said this is what makes love an enduring issue.\nAnother issue hooks discussed was the civil rights movement. \nHooks said she thinks about which social movements have had the greatest impact on our lives. The civil rights movement, she said, shows the breakthroughs society has made. She said the multiplicity and diversity of the audience could not have happened if not for the civil rights movement.\nAfter discussing these issues, hooks opened the floor for questions and discussion, saying dialogue is the wave of the future. Audience members brought up a variety of issues, ranging from the Rev. Jesse Jackson controversy to President George W. Bush's presidency to education philosophies.\nHooks discussed her firm belief in the education philosophy of pedology. Pedology is the bringing of love into the classroom. Care, knowledge, responsibility, respect, honesty and trust, hooks said, are all a part of love and must be a part of the education experience.\n"Teachers should be able to express love," she said.\nGibson agreed, saying the professors in attendance should take note and implement this advice in their teaching.\n Hooks said her theme of love was the importance of encouraging love in black families. She said bringing love into black families will have a great impact on the black struggle. \n"If you have loving homes, children will be transformed," she said.\nHooks concluded her presentation with thoughts on the challenge for Christians in the world today. Christians should embody love in their actions, she said.\nHooks was met with applause at the end of her presentation. Thomas said she felt the speech was inspiring.\nGibson said she was happy with the turn-out.\n"There wide spectrum of people represented," she said, from historians to people involved in English and fine arts. \nhooks' presentation was organized by the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Office of the Vice President for Student Development and Diversity.\nAudience members were invited to go to the Frangipani Room for further discussion with hooks following the speech.
(01/25/01 6:00am)
There will be no more 7 a.m. wake-up calls for students living in residence halls near campus construction, thanks to efforts of the IU Student Association.\nIUSA members met Dec. 1 with the University architect, the director of the bureau of facilities and the director of administration to discuss a proposal to limit construction hours. The plan focused on construction near residence halls, said sophomore Justin Barnes, IUSA University Division representative and sponsor of the bill. \nAfter discussion, the University agreed to re-write its construction contracts, so construction within a block, or 400 feet, of a residence facility cannot begin before 8 a.m., except in cases of emergencies.\n"It was a very reasonable request," Robert Meadows, assistant vice president of facilities, said. "We have to remember our customers are the students."\n"I think this will greatly benefit students. It will create a more student-orientated environment for students in residence halls, and really all students," Barnes said.\nThe new provisions will not take effect with current construction projects because they are already under contract. It will affect all new construction projects and will immediately affect internal employees' projects, Barnes said.\n"Everything we set out to do was accomplished and then some," said junior Ben Piper, IUSA legislative relations director.\nIUSA lobbied the University to reduce loud construction near the business school during finals week last semester.\nThe University has further implemented changes by halting loud construction at the graduate business school last weekend during testing, Meadows said. \n"We are here to provide an atmosphere and facility where students can learn," Meadows said.\nThe idea for the revamp of construction hours was sparked by students' concerns with construction outside of Read Center at the beginning of the fall semester, Barnes said.\n"Students came to us with a problem, and we wanted to come up with a solution," Piper said.\nBarnes, Piper and other IUSA members formulated a bill, which was passed by the IUSA congress. IUSA then contacted administrators to present them with the proposal.\n"We knew we had to be successful or nothing would happen," Piper said. "Administration was extremely willing to work with us."\nBut the debate about construction is far from finished, Meadows said. \nOne of the areas of concern to the administration is the proposed construction of a new science building, Meadows said. The University is talking to several firms about solutions to the possible noise problems during construction.
(12/11/00 5:54am)
The IU Student Association closed the semester passing several key resolutions at its meeting Thursday.\nWith a vote of 31-0-0, the group passed a bill recommending a turning arrow be placed at the 10th Street and Fee Lane intersection, an idea brought up at the Nov. 30 meeting.\n"It's a good bill. I would like to see something get started," said senior Dustin Sulak, IUSA's Health, Physical Education and Recreation representative.\nSome IUSA members expressed concern the bill will only have a minimal impact, but said passing the resolution is a step toward working to relieve the congestion on 10th Street.\nThe congress also discussed a resolution to cut Commitment to Assisted Student Initiatives funding from 90 percent to 75 percent. CASI funding, which comes out of the Student Organization Fund, provides money to groups for special events. If the bill is enacted IUSA will fund student group initiatives up to 75 percent, a 15 percent reduction from current funding regulations.\n"I'm strongly in support of this bill," said University Division Representative Meredith Crain, a sophomore and member of the CASI funding board.\nA new congressman was appointed at the meeting. The Chief Justice swore in junior Marisa Zoller.\nPresident Meredith Suffron , a senior, asked the Congress for feedback on the bus plan situation. The Universal transportation plan was first proposed by IUSA last year and the trustees approved the plan in 1999, but the University is still looking to rework the original plan.\nSuffron, along with other student leaders, administrators and professional consultants, are all a part of the bus plan implantation committee that is working toward creating a new plan for IU.\nSuffron said several different plans being discussed, including scrapping the whole bus plan, adding more services and keeping everything the same.\n"I don't like the whole idea. I think it creates another monopoly on campus," said junior Ben Piper, a junior and director of IUSA's Legislative Relations Office.\nCongress members had a variety of opinions, which Suffron said she would bring back to the Committee.
(12/07/00 3:43am)
A resolution to amend the IU Student Association bylaws and name the supreme court chief justice as the elections coordinator was passed by Congress Nov. 30. \n"I really like the idea," said junior Jacob Oakman, Willkie Quad senator. \nSenior Aaron Johnson, vice president for Congress, said, "I think this move gives the IUSA supreme court chief justice more of a well-rounded look, from the beginning phases of student government."\nThe responsibilities of the elections coordinator include overseeing the election of the Commitment to Assist Student Initiatives funding board, coordinating activities of election commissioners, executing the decisions of the election commission and acting as a voting member and chair of the election commission, according to the IUSA resolution.\n"The elections coordinator acts to inform candidates of the rules and regulations within the elections code and should be knowledgeable of the organization, structure and constitution and bylaws," states the resolution sponsored by IUSA president and senior Meredith Suffron. \n"There seems to be a lot of support for this change among Congress members," Suffron said. She also noted one of the reasons for this change is the trouble they are having finding a election coordinator for this year.\nDuties of the supreme court chief justice include executing the duties of the role of elections coordinator, this is why IUSA wants to combine the two positions.\n"I think the process will work better now," said Chief Justice Robert Cioffi, a junior.\nTo make such changes to IUSA bylaws, there must be a two-thirds majority in congress. Congress passed the decision 32-0-0 to override the bylaws. The resolution then went on to pass 29-1-0.\n"This process not only gives the chief justice more insight on the election process for candidates for student government, but it also leads way for other justices to grow and learn as well," said Johnson. "This process is going to help benefit all forthcoming chief justices because the chief can establish communication with other justices about the responsibilities of the job throughout the year, therefore, the training period would not be as difficult."\nThe election commission was also appointed at the meeting. It is the job of the president to appoint the commission, and the appointments must be approved by two-thirds of congress members present and voting. Congress approved the appointments by a 29-0-0 vote.\n"I have faith in these people. Now they will be able to settle deadlines and move on with the election in the spring," said Suffron.
(12/05/00 3:56am)
At its bimonthly meeting Thursday, the IU Student Association discussed a variety of resolutions, including recommending a turn arrow be placed at a busy intersection on campus and support for students with disabilities be extended.\nTreasurer Steven Bierly, a senior, put together a resolution suggesting a turning arrow be placed at the intersection of 10th Street and Fee Lane after he received complaints from many students that they were frustrated with the congestion at the intersection.\n"It is a great idea, it would be a intelligent move," Collins Center Sen. Jeramy Foltz, a junior, said.\nBut the bill was tabled until next meeting so the group could put together more information about making the change.\n"This will help us inform people that there is a issue on hand, and then we can inform the appropriate authorities about the issue," Bierly said.\nUniversity Architect Robert Meadows said IU is restricted by what the city wants. Meadows explained that if any changes are to be made, the city must first do a traffic study to determine the use of the street and then would decide what measures need to be taken. He said he does not know of any such study done by the city, although he said IU has done a related study and found the traffic counts are very high on 10th Street.\nMeadows said University planners have come up with a few plans to combat the problem on 10th Street, including a plan to create a two lane, one way road north of the railroad tracks, running west, allowing through the Route 45/46 Bypass. They would then change 10th Street into a two-lane, one-way road going east. But Meadows said the city is not receptive to the idea.\n"There is no question we need another road," Meadows said. "We would really like to resolve this ... 10th Street is a mess."\nAnother campus change proposed at the meeting was to increase the accessibility for students with disabilities, to increase awareness of issues facing students with disabilities.\nIn the resolution, IUSA suggests that Dean of Students Richard McKaig add a Disabled Student Services representative to the Student Advisory Board membership.\nOff-campus Sen. Debbie Cooper, a senior and the bill's sponsor, said some changes on campus have already been made.\n"This is a appropriate resolution to show support for the University, so that even more advances are made," Cooper said.\nThe bill passed 28-0-0 in Congress.\nIUSA had several other resolutions on its agenda concerning internal issues. A resolution to amend the bylaws and add responsibilities to the student body president, including monthly meetings with the highest ranking officers of designated student governing organizations called by the president, was passed 29-1-1. The meetings will primarily serve so these groups can share their ideas with one another.\n"Communication is the No. 1 priority," said IUSA president Meredith Suffron, a senior. "Presidents will talk about what they are working on, and we will be able to communicate and really talk to each other"
(11/20/00 6:18am)
The cold weather didn't deter rushees this weekend, as about 1,600 women turned out to visit 19 chapters in two days.\nSenior Jaime Cutler, president of Kappa Kappa Gamma, said the weekend was a success.\n"It went great," Cutler said. "I give so much credit to all those girls for standing outside in the cold."\nSenior Alyson Jamell, vice president of recruitment for Panhellenic Association said spirits were high despite the weather.\nThe sororities had their annual 19-party Saturday and Sunday. Participants went to 10 houses the first day and nine houses the second day, with each visit lasting about 30 minutes. During the visits, members of houses gave tours to potential members, answered questions and told the women about their chapter, said Alpha Phi President Jen Urbanski, a senior.\nEmily Hendricks, a freshman participant, said she enjoyed the weekend.\n "The girls have all been really great," Hendricks said. "They've all made me feel really comfortable."\nThe houses were prepared for the event with banners promoting reasons to go greek. Campus buses were also ready to take rushees to and from different houses.\n"Recruitment counselors were out there doing chants and cheers to help the girls with the wait," Jamell said. "The buses were all working well this year ... It was a pleasure to go through."\nUrbanski said 19-party allows girls to get to know more about the greek system and acquaint sororities with potential members.\n"Most girls are freshmen, and many of them don't know what rush recruitment entails," Urbanski said. "This gives them the chance to see what sororities are like. It is a opportunity for them to get to know what greek life is all about. It is more for promoting rush."\nThe 19-party's theme was "19 reasons to go greek." Each chapter talked about one of those reasons at their party. Jamell said the reasons included leadership, intramurals and philanthropy.\nRecruitment takes place in three stages, starting with 19-party. The next step will be the 12-party, Jan. 3-4, where houses call back a certain number of girls. Twelve-party is a mutual selection process, where potential members list their 12 top choices for houses and also the chapters put together a list of women they would like to have back to the house. Jamell said a final list is then made by combining the lists.\nDuring 12-party, girls visit 12 houses in two days, spending about 45 minutes at each house, said Urbanski. Next is six-party where potential members visit six houses in one day and spend a hour in each house. Finally, there is three-party where the women have their choices narrowed down to three houses, spending about a hour and 15 minutes in each house. Potential members rank their top choices after each step in the process, Urbanski said.\nThe participants are placed in groups for the recruitment process and are assigned a recruitment counselor who will help them through the process, Urbanski said, making a list and ranking the houses and answering other questions.\n"Everything went really smoothly," Urbanski said. "After a long night, we're tired, but we're left with good feelings."\nWomen's Rush Recruitment\n• Starts with the 19-party event.\n• Next step: 12-party, Jan. 3-4. Certain girls are called back and spend 45 minutes at each of the 12 houses in two days.\n• Third step: Six-party. Potential members spend one hour at each house in one day.\n• Last step: Three-party. Women narrow it down to three choices and spend about an hour with each house.
(11/15/00 4:58am)
At its bi-monthly Congress meeting Thursday, the IU Student Association passed resolutions recommending revisions to the meal plan and supporting the administration in the creation of a sexual assault prevention program.\nSeveral members drew up a bill recommending IU give all students in the residence halls the option of customizing their meal plans with no obligation to buy meal points. The recommendation is similar to the options Willkie and Student Apartment residents have.\n"It is an unfair system," the bill's sponsor and Willkie Sen. Jacob Oakman, a junior, said, referring to the current meal plan. He pointed out what he said were unreasonable and inflated prices at many of the center stores and said he hopes the bill will cause the Residence Hall Association to improve its services and offer more competitive prices.\nJunior Ben Piper, a co-sponsor of the bill and member of the Legislative Relations Office, said the bill gives students more options.\n"It's a great bill," Piper said. "It gives students the freedom to choose and empowers them to make the changes they feel necessary."\nComments and suggestions about the bill flowed through Congress. Several members of IUSA suggested working with RHA and Residential Program Services to push the decisions to the administration. The final wording of the resolution called for IUSA executives to send a copy of the bill with a cover letter to the administration, including the board of trustees, and the director of RPS. The final resolution was adopted by Congress, 37-2-3. IUSA President and senior Meredith Suffron will present the opinions of Congress at the next trustees meeting when the meal plan budget is to be decided.\n"It will have a positive impact on the students on this campus," Piper said.\nA resolution to support a new sexual assault prevention program that will be targeted toward freshmen was another item IUSA discussed. Senior Rebecca Snyder, the sponsor of the bill and health and safety director, said the presentation will be required for all incoming freshmen and would take place during Welcome Week Activities in the Fall. She said it would be modeled after presentations given by Steve Thompson, a notable speaker on sexual assault issues. The presentation would get students involved and aware of the issues concerning sexual assault, she added.\nThe resolution was adopted unanimously by Congress, 41-0-0.\n"A program like this is long overdue," Treasurer Steven Bierly, a senior, said. "It can only do good for IU students."\nAmong the other issues touched on at the meeting was the process to get clocks on campus. Bierly said he and Suffron met with Vice President for Administration Terry Clapacs and University Achitect Robert Meadows, who both liked the idea. The two will next be meeting with Curt Simic, president of the IU Foundation, to talk about funding.\nVice President for Congress and senior Aaron Johnson said IUSA is also working on getting more pencil sharpeners on campus. Johnson said IUSA members passed out more than 1,000 pencils this week and are getting more people talking and aware of what they say is a problem.
(11/09/00 4:22am)
The IU Student Association is looking to learn from its Oct. 27 Association of Big Ten Students conference. Each school sent about eight representatives to IU to discuss issues related to student government, senior and IUSA President Meredith Suffron said.\nThe conference consisted of four issue sessions with three topics discussed in each, said junior Kal Mehta, IUSA director of Inter-University External Affairs. He said the issues discussed this year were transportation, lobbying, student confidentiality and administration.\n"It's a great way to learn what other big schools are doing. You can see other schools' ways of doing things," Mehta said.\nAmong all the issues discussed, senior Scott Witoszynski, student body vice president for administration, said the schools planned a collective lobbying trip to take place either in February or March. Witoszynski said representatives from each school will go to Washington to meet with their senators and representatives on various issues, including financial aid and state assistance.\n"I think us going there all together will make a more powerful stand," Witosyznski said.\nHe also said IUSA is planning to create an online auction site, which Witosyznski said he hopes will be up and running by next semester. He said IUSA hopes to be able to share more information about the site, including its implementation, with the other schools at the next conference.\nThe association meets three times a year, once in the fall, spring and summer, at different Big Ten schools, Mehta said.\nEach issue session is monitored by one of the schools, who does research on a certain topic. Mehta said the representatives presented their research to the other schools.\nMehta said one of the issues IUSA was particularly interested in learning about is bus plan implantation, which is something they are working on this year. The University of Illinois and Iowa State University have previously implemented bus plans on their campuses.\n"We get a chance to see what they did that was good or not good and hopefully do better," Mehta said.\nAlong with the four issue sessions, this year IUSA added a counterparts meeting, said Witoszynski.\n"This meeting allowed students who share the same positions in their student government to meet and discuss various issues," Witoszynski said. "Also, representatives from the various schools were able to present to everyone their best practices, the one thing they think their school does really well"
(11/03/00 4:38am)
Late for class? Not wearing a watch?\nThe IU Student Association wants to alleviate this situation and has issued a formal proposal to get a series of external post clocks to be placed around campus.\n"We think it will improve the quality of student life," said senior Steven Bierly, IUSA treasurer and sponsor of the proposal.\n"It will allow students to be outside and enjoy the beauty of campus and still be on time for their classes," said IUSA President senior Meredith Suffron, another sponsor of the bill.\nIUSA is suggesting between five and 15 post clocks be placed "near paths along which students walk to their classes." The new post clocks would also be synchronized with all the other clocks on campus, creating a universal "IU time" for the campus, according to the proposal.\n"I think it would add a lot to the campus. It's a great idea," said University Division Representative Brian Daviduke, a sophomore.\nThe proposal was sent to 15 different administrators for consideration, including IU President Myles Brand. IUSA members said they want to coordinate meetings with decision-makers to discuss the proposal. The group would like to begin the process of looking for funding as soon as possible, Bierly said, which will include a meeting with the president of IU Foundation. The group will be meeting with Vice President of Administration J. Terry Clapacs and Assistant Vice President and University Architect Robert Meadows Tuesday to discuss the proposal.\n"We will be asking them for their feedback on the proposal, and also finding out more information about the procedures and logistics that are involved in a plan like this and how we should proceed," Suffron said.\nThe proposal contains three different plans for the amount and placement of the clocks on campus. The plans range from having 15, 11 and five clocks in various locations.\n"I think they would really add to the beauty of the campus," said Jeff Wuslich, a freshman and another University Division Representative.\nIUSA has outlined several different ways to fund the clocks in their proposal. Among the ways are donations from student groups, greek houses, residence halls and alumni. A plaque with the donators name will then be put on the base of clock, Bierly said. The clocks range in price from $8,000 to $15,000 depending on the style, Daviduke said.\nThe original idea for putting clocks on campus came up during student government elections last spring. The idea became a part of Platinum ticket platform, which all four executives of IUSA and most of the members of Congress ran under last year.\n"We want to fulfill our promise we made to the students," Bierly said.\nSince the election, the proposal has become an idea supported by all of IUSA, Suffron said, adding that they have received overwhelming support for the plan from Congress.\nDuring the summer, Bierly and Suffron started working out the details and putting together the proposal. They talked to Brand briefly about the idea and he was very positive about the project and encouraged them to write up a proposal, Bierly said.\nBierly and Suffron said they, along with all of IUSA, are excited about the positive feedback they are receiving from students about the idea.\n"We have been getting a lot of student support," Bierly said.\nSuffron added, "A lot of students think it is a great idea. And many of them are wondering why we never had any before." \nThe specific time frame for when the clocks will be installed on campus is not yet certain, Bierly said, but he said ideally they would like to see the plan implemented by next summer.\n"We have to realize that changes in campus can take a long time ... the effects may not be seen this year, but at least the process is started. The ball is rolling," Wuslich said.
(11/01/00 4:34am)
The IU Student Association adopted a resolution Oct. 12 to recommend a morning time limit for construction on IU's campus.\n"We are hoping to improve living conditions on campus and in the residence halls," said sophomore Justin Barnes, IUSA representative for University Division and sponsor of the bill.\nThe idea for the bill was sparked after students in Read Center and Collins Center expressed concern with the loud construction around the residence halls that would sometimes start as early as 6:30 a.m., said Jeramy Foltz, a junior and Collins senator.\n"The University has to realize students should come first," said Marc Kelly, a senior and off-campus senator.\nThe bill was put together by IUSA members and passed in Congress, 39-1-2. The final resolution is a recommendation to University Administration that noisy construction projects near residential areas should not be started before 8 a.m., except in the case of a emergency.\n"We don't think it is a unreasonable request," said Foltz, a co-sponsor of the bill.\nThe city of Bloomington has a noise ordinance that prevents such early construction, but because IU is state property, it is exempt from this law, Kelly and Barnes said.\n"Waking up to construction is not a pleasant way to wake up," said Barnes, also a Read resident.\n Since the resolution has already passed in IUSA, it will now be sent to pertinent administrators for consideration. Administrators were already aware of the bill, Foltz said, but a formal letter written by one of the four executives of IUSA, along with a copy of the resolution will be sent to administrators. Barnes said, the letters should be out soon.\n"The next step and the time frame depends on administration and when they will want to meet with me and IUSA," he said. "We want to work with administration to change the policy."\nAfter the letters are sent out to administrators, the next step will be getting more students involved and lobbying the administration to make the change. Kelly said this is a student based issue that might make administrators more apt to change policy.\n"The more the student body gets behind it, the more pressure and force we can have on administration.We need to be united, not fragmented," he said.\nIUSA and particularly the sponsors of the bill said they hope to continue the process of working with administration, so this resolution becomes policy, Barnes said.\n"The University will continue to expand by the dorms and other living facilities," Foltz said. "So not only will students today benefit from the resolution, but future students as well"
(11/01/00 4:33am)
Ghosts, firemen and princesses traveled to greek houses along North Jordan Avenue from 6-8 p.m. Monday night for the Safe Halloween program sponsored by greek organizations on campus.\n"I think it was a huge success," said sophomore Lauren Davis, an Alpha Gamma Delta member. "There were a ton of kids out there. It was really great to see so many kids."\nChildren who participated in the event were able to go from house to house, where students gave them candy. IU police were on hand to help the children and their families cross the street and get to the different houses, further adding to the safety of the event, said Josh Kaplow, a sophomore and member of Chi Phi.\nBesides being given a variety of treats, children were also given a little trick. At the Delta Chi house, "Jason," with plastic knife in hand, was roaming the lawn and was met with screams of excitement and fright from all around.\n"It was really well organized and well run," Kaplow said.\nThis is the second year of the program, and senior Alison Bouffard, president of Alpha Chi Omega, said there was a huge increase in the number of kids participating this year. Bouffard and Davis said their houses had to go out to buy more candy for all the kids who were coming.\n"We had a crowd the whole time. There was always a steady flow of kids," Bouffard said.\nThe program had a slight change this year in that sororities and fraternities along North Jordan Avenue and the extension were paired with other sororities and fraternities from around campus, including multicultural sororities.\n"It was a really great idea. It gave us all a chance to expand our horizons and meet new people," said Bouffard, whose sorority was paired with a new fraternity chapter on campus with only six members and three pledges.\nThe program brought the greek community together with the Bloomington community, participants said.\nDelta Chi President Brock Berry, a sophomore, said, "This event helps the Greek community as a whole express its willingness to give back to Bloomington and all the people that support us as students."\nBouffard said she hopes the success of this year's program will draw even more kids and their families to next year's event.\n"It was really enjoyable and fun. It's a great program, I hope it continues to get even better in the future," she said.
(10/27/00 6:42am)
The IUSA Congress was in session last night for its second bi-monthly meeting of October. A heavily discussed item on its menu was a proposal to provide more clocks around IU's campus.\n"We think its a good thing to do for students," said Treasurer and senior, Steven Bierly.\nPresident Meredith Suffron, a senior, and Bierly are among the sponsors that put together the proposal that contains three different options for both the number and placement of the new clocks.\nBierly said the clocks they are looking at will fit in around campus and will not detract from its beauty.\n"We want IUSA in full support of the bill," Bierly said.\nAnd full support is what Congress members gave the bill, passing it 42-0-1. \n"I really like the idea," said junior Jeramy Foltz, a Collins senator.\nThe passed proposal will now go to administrators for their input on funding and other factors, said Vice President for Congress, Aaron Johnson. \nBierly said the proposal calls for the funding of the clocks to come with the help of donations from various organizations including Greek houses, student groups and donations from Alumni. \nBierly, the co-sponsor of the proposal, said he hopes to get the clocks in place by next summer, but said the group must first meet with administrators to get a final approval. Suffron said the proposal was sent to 15 administrators Sept. 25. She said IUSA is still waiting for replies.\n"We hope that with the clocks, people can stay outside and enjoy the beautiful campus without worrying about where a clock is or having a watch," said Suffron.\nBierly added, "we hope to get the whole University on the right time."\n Among the other plans brought up at the meeting was IUSA's effort to get more pencil sharpeners on campus. Beginning Monday, IUSA will be holding a pencil sharpener drive, Johnson said. He said IUSA representatives will be giving out pencils to students in the Arboretum, across from the business school. Each pencil will contain the message: "Will you sharpen me." Johnson said he hopes to increase students' awareness of the lack of pencil sharpeners on campus with the drive.\nIn addition, several proposals were put before Congress last night regarding the allocation of the Grass Roots Initiative Fund, which gives money to various student organizations on campus.\nFoltz, a member of the Finance Committee laid out the rules of the allocation of GRIF money. He said no more then 75 percent of a single event of an organization can be funded by GRIF and no organization can receive more then 15 percent of GRIF's total budget, meaning no group can get more than $1,500 from GRIF annually.\nCampus Crusade for Christ was one group asking for money from GRIF. The organization is putting together an event for later this semester, in which they will have Stacey Kole, a motivational speaker and former Miss America candidate, come to speak. Kole is scheduled to discuss a variety of issues dealing with spirituality and women's issues.\nIUSA passed the proposal, allocating $945 to the organization.\nThe group also passed a proposal which gave about $684 to the Muslim Student Union, to help them fund Islam Awareness Week 2000.
(10/24/00 7:16am)
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and alumnus Tom French spoke to about 25 students and faculty Sunday night in the School of Journalism about his work, experiences, writing style and writing techniques.\n"I love storytelling. I've always been interested in storytelling," said French, spring 1981 IDS editor in chief.\nFrench's interest in storytelling and writing, he said, can be traced back to when he was a child and would climb up a tree in his backyard and look into other families' backyards. He said he knew each house he looked at had its own history and language and was so different from all the others. French said he would imagine what it would be like to spend time in other peoples' worlds.\n"It is our job (as journalists) to be interested in other peoples' lives," French said.\nFrench is a projects writer for the St. Petersburg Times in Florida. He started off at the Times covering police and court beats and then moved on to write news and features. French writes in a serial narrative form. \nFrench said he likes to use the serial narrative form of writing, because he feels stories need to unfold for themselves.\n"A lot of times journalism is about rushing, but a lot of stories need to be unfolded, to let readers see what is happening," French said. "Some news needs to be reported right away, but other stories need time."\nIn his writing, French said he becomes engrossed in the story that he is telling, and he loves how stories work and unfold.\n"Tiny little details reveal so much abut people's worlds," he said. "You have to be paying attention all the time."\nThe key to good storytelling and writing, depends not only on a eye for detail, but also a clear understanding of what moves the story, French said.\nSophomore Dana Parker, who attended French's presentation, said, "Very few people out there are so passionate about their work and passionate about life, like (French) is." \nShe said French gave her a new outlook on journalism and he helped her see that writing goes beyond what you learn in the classroom.\nIn his Pulitzer Prize winning narrative, "Angels & Demons," French traveled to Ohio and to the farm where the women who were murdered in Tampa lived. French talked to Hal, the husband and father of the victims, on many different occasions. By talking to Hal, French said he could begin to understand the story and understand the family's life. "You need to travel into their universe," he said. \nFrench said he feels this is the only way a person can understand how others deal with life. \n"I want to take the reader inside the secret garden," he said. \nThere is a official and unofficial version to every story, and as a journalist, he said his job is to go after the story behind the story. \n"The unofficial story is much more interesting, chaotic and messy," he said. "You have to look for how things really are, and not how they seem to be. We have to see how people live their lives, capture how people deal with things."\nFrench said he has many ideas for future stories.\n"There are just fabulous, vivid stories waiting out there," he said.\nFrench said he wants to do more daily narrative pieces, but continue with long narrative series as well. He said he believes we live in a sea of stories and that narrative is crucial to understanding ourselves.\nFrench is working on a first person serial narrative about his family.\n"It is terrifying to write about myself, but it is also very interesting," he said. "You are absolutely naked when you are writing about yourself. You don't have any distance from it."\nFrench's speech was sponsored by the IU chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and the IDS.
(10/03/00 6:04am)
The IU Student Association is working on a variety of projects this year that range from putting together an IU auction Web site, where students can locally sell furniture and a variety of odds and ends to other students, as well as trying to get more pencil sharpeners in the buildings across campus.\nIUSA President Meredith Suffron, a senior, said the group is concerned with representing the wants and needs of the students.\n"We're here to represent student concerns and present them to the administration," she said. \nIUSA meets bi-monthly and has executive, legislative and judicial branches. The student body president, the vice president for congress, vice president for administration and the student body treasurer comprise IUSA's executive branch. The legislative branch is composed of student representatives from residence halls and greek houses and senators from each of IU's academic schools. The Supreme Court includes one chief justice and 10 associate justices, all of which are appointed by the president.\nScott Kirsch, a Teter Quad senator and junior, said he is happy to be serving his constituents.\n"Students' concerns are why I am an IUSA member," he said.\nVice President for Congress A.J. Johnson, a senior, said it's beneficial for students to become involved with IUSA.\n"We are student government and with student support we can do a lot of things to change this campus for the better," Johnson said.\nAt Congress meetings, resolutions are presented and discussed. The floor is then opened for questions and then the bill or resolution is voted on. Johnson said if the bill is passed, it goes to the administration for final clearing.\n"We may not see immediate results on proposals, but we are able to get our ideas out there and get administration aware of what students want," Suffron said.\nCurrent Proposals\nThe IUSA office is working on a variety of projects and proposals. Vice President for Administration Scott Witoszynski, a senior, said the legislative relations office, an IUSA department, is currently putting together a voters' guide. \nIUSA is also putting together a bill to remove sales tax from textbook sales. Witoszynski said the change could save students $30 to $50 a year, depending on how much they usually spend on books.\nHe said an IU auction Web site which would be accessible to students is a large project the group is working on. Members are coordinating efforts with local businesses and encouraging them to place items on the site for students to buy.\n"It will be for students who have anything to sell, anything they want to sell locally," Witoszynski said. "It will be a convenience for students."\nAnn Dolezal, a Kelley School of Business senator and junior said in addition to the Web site, other IUSA initiatives include more external clocks on campus, 24-hour on-campus dining, late night parking passes and more buses for different routes.\nIn early September, Congress sent a proposal to get more visible, external clocks on campus. Their next proposal will deal with either late night parking passes, pencil sharpeners in campus buildings or extended dining hours, Suffron said.\nIncreasing involvement\nWith a large student body to represent, Johnson said sometimes there can be a problem with apathy toward campus-related issues among the students. To compensate for this, Johnson said he, along with all IUSA members, would like to go out and contact students, because many times the students won't come to them.\n"Part of our goal for this year is to focus less on internal bureaucracy and focus more on the students," Johnson said. "My own biggest goal is to … bring IUSA to the students."\nSuffron said to attack the perceived problem, IUSA started two programs this year to encourage student involvement.\nOne of the programs is an internship program for freshmen and new students, where interested students can shadow an IUSA member. The group is also starting a liaison program where IUSA congress members will be going to the meetings of University groups around campus. Suffron said she hopes this will foster communication between campus groups and IUSA. Congress members can share what is going on with IUSA with the groups and also bring back any concerns and ideas from the groups to IUSA.