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(02/18/11 4:52am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It has been more that two weeks since former IU employee Mark Zacharias appeared in court for his first pre-trial conference.According to a probable cause affidavit, the 55-year-old male is charged with institutional criminal mischief, a class D felony. He allegedly threw a rock that shattered a glass display case at the Robert A. and Sandra S. Born Jewish Studies Program office in Goodbody Hall.“Essentially it’s vandalism,” the defendant’s lawyer Samuel Shapiro said. “Sentence carries from zero to three years, and up to 10,000 dollars in fines would be possible.”Shapiro said Zacharias would like to say his side of the story but because “he is charged with a crime, I won’t let him talk to anybody.”Shapiro said Zacharias is not charged with the other reports of anti-Semitic vandalism.The other incidences include eight different Hebrew texts that were thrown into toilets and urinated on and the rocks that were thrown through windows twice at the Chabad House.“This would be about what happened on or about November 30,” Shapiro said.Shapiro said the prosecutors have reported knowing someone who can identify Zacharias, but the description isn’t completely accurate.“If I show you a picture and then later I show you another photo lineup and ask you to pick out the person that you think it was, and you’ve already seen the picture of one of the people that’s in the lineup, it’s suggestive that you are going to pick the one you’ve already seen,” he said.Shapiro said this is called suggestive photo lineup.“That’s kind of what happened in this case,” Shapiro said. “Whether there was some suggestion, or whether there was an accurate description of the person who broke the case and whether that description fits Mr. Zacharias.”Law professor Craig Bradley, an expert in criminal law and procedure, said once the preliminary motions are settled then the case will go to trial.According to a waiver of initial hearing demanding for a jury trial, Zacharias pleaded not guilty.Bradley said judges like to encourage guilty pleas because the case would have a fairly quick resolution.Shapiro said he and Zacharias filed a notice of alibi Jan. 25.The alibi states that the defendant and witnesses agree to testify that Zacharias was at work at the Hutton Honors College. It also states that they will testify that he was there from 7:40 a.m. and “remained at work thereafter and was not at the Goodbody Hall at the time indicated by the State in its probable cause affidavit.”One of the prosecution’s lawyers, Robert Miller, said he couldn’t talk about the pending criminal case.“All I am allowed to say about this case is that it’s moving forward,” Miller said.Shapiro said people have to be patient with this case.“Wait for the evidence to show itself and then make your decision based on that evidence,” he said.In the mean time, IU Police Department Chief Keith Cash said in an e-mail the department cannot comment on specifics of an ongoing investigation. “I can say that we are still processing information related to that case, and if something is actionable, we will share,” he said in the e-mail. “At the present time he is charged with the crime related to the vandalism at Goodbody Hall. He is out on bond and awaiting trial.” Shapiro said he hopes the case will go to trial this fall or early next year.Cash said at this time there are no federal charges, but the U.S. attorney is aware of the case and is in contact with the local prosecutor.Zacharias’ next pre-trial conference is set for 1:30 p.m. April 28.
(12/09/10 5:38am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It has been almost two years since the sailing club got its sails back in the right wind. Sophomore team captain Hays Formella refounded the club his freshman year after it had been inactive since 2006.The club was officially approved in January and was able to compete for the first time in March.Its treasurer, junior Sam Kent, is also a founding member.“It’s been an interesting experience,” he said. “It’s cool to see something you build kind of functioning.”Junior Katy Aiello said she wanted to get involved as much as possible in reopening the club. While the club started with only a few members, it had about 60 people come to its fall call-out meeting.The team competed in two regattas this semester while also focusing on recruiting new members and the recreational aspect of sailing.“We are looking to create more bonds in a social atmosphere,” Formella said. “We also want to increase the spirit of sailing and introduce people to sailing.”Kent said he is not in the club for racing.“The team is really laid back, it’s easy going and you don’t have to be a good sailor. I’m personally not a good sailor,” he said. “I like the recreational aspect of it.”After winter break, Formella said he is hoping to have the team signed up for at least four, if not six regattas. There are almost 30 teams in the Midwest and a regatta every weekend or even several in one weekend. “The problem is not getting signed up in a regatta but getting one where there’s competition,” Formella said.Although the team finished in the middle of the pack, Aiello said she believes they showed maturation.“For us being a brand new team, we can definitely hold our own against other teams,” Aiello said.This came to fruition when the team finished third out of 16 teams in a Labor Day tournament. “We’ve definitely gotten a lot better,” Hayes said. “We did very poorly in the spring — figuring out which pairs have more chemistry, who has the right weight distribution. It was really shaky.”While the team has shown signs of improvement, the club does not have a locked team since it is always changing and adding people. Aiello said she believes improvement will come from experience.“As a team, we want to try to get to many regattas as possible and finish those races in the top three,” Aiello said. “We want to improve our overall racing skills.”Although the team lists several goals that it has yet to meet, Formella said he believes that it all starts with increasing membership.“We’d like to see more people invest in it so we can have more boats in each regatta,” he said. “We want to increase our presence and promote the sport of sailing at IU.”
(10/22/10 4:17am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Swimming and diving head coach Ray Looze said last season was a good year for both the men and women’s team.“The women won Big Ten’s and finished 10th at NCAA,” Looze said. “Those were two fine results and then we had our first individual NCAA champion, Kate Fesenko. In the men’s side, we finished fifth in the Big Ten and 31st at NCAA.”Friday both teams start their dual meet season. Looze said these home meets, against Northwestern on Friday and Kentucky on Saturday, are useful to get the team ready for the championships — the Big Ten championship at the end of February and the NCAA championship at the end of March.“We’ll continue to have two to three dual meets a month and they are designed against competition that’s really going to push us,” Looze said. Looze said each season builds upon itself, and this year he would like to see both teams compete for Big Ten titles.“I’d like to see a large group of the boys and the girls make the NCAA meet so that we can be represented in the national championship at a higher level, ideally top ten,” he said.Looze said this year the women’s team has a lot of veterans that have done the whole season and know what it’s going to be like through the dual meets and through the championships.“We have a pretty big freshman class of girls, and our upperclassmen are doing a good job of trying to get them prepared for what they are going to face,” Looze said. “The dual meets that we have set up for the women should get them prepared to be at their best when it’s most important, which is at the end of the season.”Junior Katelyn Ishee said the women’s team has made really big strides to get to where they are now.“This program has come a long way,” she said. “The freshmen we have brought in this year are amazing. I’m really looking forward to see how great the freshmen do.”Looze said this year the men’s team has more talent than they have had in a while.Senior Bryan Chovanec has been in the team since he was a freshman. He said over the years the program and the team has certainly gotten better.Freshman Cody Miller, said that coming form a club team in high school and now been at a varsity team it’s a lot more intense and a lot more technical.“Our incoming freshman class is really strong and it’s just going to get stronger every year,” Miller said. “We are building a really strong team.”Chovanec said he is looking forward to the Big Ten championship and also to be able and compete at the NCAA championships. As for the team’s strength, Ishee said the strength of both teams lies in how hard they are training right now.“At this early in the season I think we have been working really hard, and we are ahead of where we were last year,” she said.Looze said he encourages anybody who has never been to swimming and diving meets to come and watch both teams.“We have a new high definition score board, which is really going to improve the experience of the fans,” Looze said. Chovanec also said he would like to see more people come to their meets.“That would be a nice thing, because we don’t have that big of a fan base,” he said. “People probably don’t think it’s exciting, but if they would come and see, it gets pretty exciting, especially when we are facing big teams and it’s a close race.”Ishee said this year the team has Big Ten meets at home, adding she hopes those events will encourage people to come and fill the stands.“This year has been a lot about ‘24 Sports, One Team’ so we’ve been trying to go see a lot of other sports compete and it’s really great when we have people at our meets,” she said. “We’re working really hard to represent IU.”
(10/06/10 3:59am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Senior Jonathan Grzesik might not be a varsity athlete, but he sill knows the commitment it takes to balance sports and school. As president of the men’s volleyball club, Grzesik said he has one goal in mind: “Contend and improve upon lasts year’s performance.”Even though this past season the team was a few games shy of the chance to play for the national championship, Grzesik said their performance earned them ninth place in the country, making this ranking their highest since 2003.“Due to the fact that NCAA men’s volleyball is very limited, the club level is extremely competitive,” Grzesik said.This year the team has 12 new members, including freshman Kyle Cook.“We had to play our best during tryouts,” Cook said, adding he had to adjust to a playing environment that is faster paced than what he was used to in high school.The team might not have a coach, but its four leaders — president, vice president, treasurer and secretary — are able to manage the club and run practices. With this set-up, Grzesik said the team not only saves money by not paying a coach, but it also helps them bond on a more personal level.“We are all united by a great passion to play volleyball at the highest level we can,” Grzesik said. “We’re all willing to help the person next to us do it.”Senior co-captain Steven Gorski said they all give each other good feedback and help each other in what they need to work on. He also explained the commitment it takes to be on the team.“You have to dedicate many hours every week,” Gorski said. “You have to be committed to travel and make accommodations in school for the team.”Grzesik said members need to commit six hours every week for practice.“Three hours every Tuesday and Thursday night,” he said. “Then, an additional number of weekends to travel to tournaments. We also expect a good amount of participation in fundraisers.”This year the club hopes to raise money by selling a catalogue of men’s club volleyball gear to parents and alumni.Meanwhile, the team is preparing to compete and host the Hoosier Fall Classic on Oct. 9.The team’s rival is Illinois, and Grzesik said the team is “working toward being as well prepared for a team of their caliber as we can.”Gorski said this year, the team’s goal is to be champions. He said they have gotten better since last year, and now they have a lot of young talent.Cook said he is looking forward to the season and feels confident the team has a lot of potential.Grzesik said he is excited for the upcoming tournament and feels positive about the team they have this year.“We have a great group of core guys who are very open to share their experiences with the club and use that to lead the way for the newer guys,” he said.