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(07/25/02 8:23pm)
I slid to my right and strained to hear my opponents over the techno music that boomed through the game field. I stepped from behind my barrier at a glimpse of the blue team's blinking chest plate against the black lights, determined to make the first tag. I aimed through the holes in a few of the barriers and held my breath as the laser beamed through the fog that clouded the room, striking the chest plate of another player. I smiled just before my own rig started vibrating and my phaser shut down. Dang it, I thought, as I turned to see a yellow team member lower his phaser. \nI got tagged! \nThis isn't a description of some 1980s sci-fi movie, but a scenario that occurs every night in the LazerLite facility that opened last November at 4505 E. Third St. LazerLite is an arcade, but it boasts the only laser-tag facility in Bloomington, and those that haven't tried it don't know what they're missing.\nSophomore Kara Argus says laser tag provides a diversion from spending the weekends at the dorms.\n"You can sit around with your friends for so long," Argus says, "or you can go play laser tag."\nYou enter the facility through the arcade portion, which has games but nowhere near the amount a normal arcade should. Not to worry, the adventure's only starting. First you sign in to the computer system with a little help from Adam Abel, the 13-year-old son of the owner and the person who holds every high score in the arcade.\n"I wouldn't come in if you plan on playing against me, because you'll probably lose," says Abel.\nAfter noticing that every game has "AWA" as the high score because of Abel, you receive your ID card and enter the briefing room to receive instructions about the short list of rules and how to properly wear the laser tag harness. \nThen it's time to suit up. The harness fits like a not-so-bulky life jacket with blinking sensors on the chest, back, shoulders and phaser. Twenty-one possible players are split into three teams of blue, red or yellow, though the highest number of players without crowding the floor would be about eight.\nNow everyone is ready to play. The attendant checks one last time to make sure everyone is squared away before the doors open to the foggy, black-lit arena, and everyone has 20 seconds to spread out before the game begins. Each game lasts about 10 minutes, which is more than enough time to break a sweat while dodging laser beams and ducking up and down through the camouflage maze of the playing floor. \n"It gives them something to do," Bloomington resident Brian Hastings says. "The theme is nonviolent. They make sure to call them phasers instead of guns."\nWinners and losers are not based on kills or hits, but the amount of points scored ... the more you tag the other opponents, the more points you get. Each time a person is tagged, the harness will vibrate and shut down for five seconds, giving each person enough time to relocate within the arena. The situation is complicated by techno music and several fog machines, which serve to reduce visibility and marginalize any noise an opponent might make.\n"I loved sneaking up on people," sophomore Andy Shoulders says. "The place had a real maze feeling to it."\nTen intense minutes later, the alarm will sound and the game will be over. "Drinks, please!" the sweat will scream as it trickles down your face. While you sit and enjoy the after-game relaxation, Abel will bring each person the results of the game, complete with how many times you were tagged versus how many times you tagged someone else, allowing you to retell the entire game to those who didn't see your incredible tags.\nYou can choose from playing one to three games in a row, and getting three games instead of one or two is cheaper in the long run. One game is $6, two games cost $11, and three games cost $14. \nLazerLite is open 4-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 4 p.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
Some kids will run for miles to find new trees to climb, and after they master that tree, they go out farther for another. When they grow up, they might go to the other side of the world -- to climb mountains, not trees. For those people who can't make it that far, an indoor climbing facility might bring the mountain feel closer to home. For those who can, destinations in United States or around the world await the intrepid climber.\nAt Hoosier Heights, an indoor climbing facility at 5100 S. Rogers St., colorful handholds dot the painted walls and chalky hands decorate the spaces between, offering a great alternative to outdoor climbing.\n"It's a great climbing facility," freshman Josh Spencer says. "There are lots of different types of climbing."\nAt Hoosier Heights, climbers can do everything from belaying, in which one partner acts as an anchor for the one climbing, to boldering, which is sidling around the holds close to the ground without the aid of a climbing harness.\nHoosier Heights has many skill levels from beginner to expert and has instructional courses for those new to the sport. The facility also offers semester-long passes for students and full equipment rental.\nHoosier Heights opened in May of 1998, much to the surprise of owner Mike Thurston.\n"When I first saw (the facility), it was a dirt floor with stacks of hay everywhere," Thurston says.\nIt developed into an indoor climbing facility with more than 7,000 square feet of climbing surface with 33-foot high walls and a 33-degree overhang.\nThe result is a climbing facility that attracts many regular climbers as well as new members. \n"Most of the same people are always here, and the new people always seem happy when they leave," senior Jenn Swab says. "It's about reaching goals."\nThough indoor climbing can be fun, many people brave the outdoors to climb to bigger and better places.\nJeff Sikori, assistant manager to Upper Limits indoor rock climbing facility in Bloomington, Ill., is one of many people who have climbed Arizona's Mount McDowell, which rises to a 1,000-foot summit. \n"It's a great workout, and the level of personal achievement is unbelievable," Sikori says. "It's just you and the rock."\nTo climb Mount McDowell, Sikori used a climbing method called Multi-Pitch, where one person climbs to a given point and then helps the partner climb on ahead. The partner then acts as anchor and lets the first person climb ahead again, which ends up looking like a game of mountainside leap frog. \nAt the summit is an old army storage bin that is bolted to the top and contains the journal where climbers can sign their names as those who have reached the top. \n"It felt awesome to make it to the summit and sign my name in the journal," Sikori says.\nIndianapolis resident Dave Carter went even farther when he took three and a half months of 1997 to climb Mount Everest. He says he took with him about a lot of gear, most of which was dehydrated food. At night, he would rest his tent on a ledge dug into the side of the mountain. After months of climbing through unbearable cold, he reached the summit and says he was just glad to be done with it. \n"I didn't think I was a badass or anything," Carter says. "I was too busy worrying about dying on the way down."\nNinety-five percent of climbing deaths occur on descent, and Carter warns that one should go while still single instead of having to worry about a family. Although he now has a wife and kids, Carter recently returned from a two-week climbing trip to Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.\nIndoor or outdoor, hot or cold, many say rock climbing is one of the best ways to reach new heights on both a physical and mental level.\n"You're challenging yourself," says Zack Patton, 17, a volunteer at Hoosier Heights.\nPatton, a Bloomington resident, volunteers at Hoosier Heights two days each week in exchange for free climbing privileges. He also deals with many newcomers and has never seen a negative response to the sport.\n"I've never had anyone say they wouldn't come back," Patton says.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
Many of today's teen fashions lean toward showing more skin, and some high school students head off to the mall in low-rise jeans and tight tops. It's apparel deemed unsuitable for the classroom, but students at area high schools had varying opinions about the rules.\nBloomington High School North and Bloomington High School South dress codes prohibit bare shoulders, backs and midriffs, as well as shorts or skirts that rise above the reach of fingertips. Bloomington North allows spaghetti-strap shirts while Bloomington South doesn't. \nMary Sieve, a Bloomington North student, sat in the cafeteria eating and laughing with friends last week. Sieve, like her friends, wore a short-sleeved shirt in accordance with the school dress code. \nShe said she has no problem with the code and said she thinks it's necessary. \n"Without it, people would be wearing really odd stuff, and it's going to be distracting," Sieve said. \nAndrew Deckard and Steven Wilcoxon, both Bloomington North seniors and friends of Sieve, nodded in agreement, saying the dress code a good precaution against classroom distractions.\n"Backless shirts are distracting," Deckard said. "They're always flying open and guys are always checking them out."\nDeckard and Wilcoxon said the dress code doesn't apply as much to male students. The school requires that male students have their shoulders and torsos covered and that their pants be around the waist. \nWilcoxon also said most male students are less affected for style reasons as they don't wear tube-tops or backless shirts. \nBut other Bloomington North students said they feel the dress code is unfair.\nKattlyn Miller, a Bloomington North underclassman, wears a black spaghetti-strap top, allowed by the school. Miller was told on her way to lunch to pull the shirt down. It had jogged upward with that day's walking, exposing her stomach. \nShe said she dislikes her school's policy.\n"As long as another student doesn't make a complaint, we should be able to wear what we want," Miller said. "People have more important things to worry about than what someone else is wearing." \n Miller said clothes are an expression of individuality, and the idea that revealing clothes are a classroom distraction is a weak point in arguing for stricter dress codes.\n Trent Parker, a Bloomington South student, shares a similar opinion. Parker said revealing clothing doesn't sidetrack him from studying.\n"I always found time to look at other students and still get As," he said.\n But many students at Bloomington South think that risque clothes, though having a place, are unacceptable in the classroom. \n Susie Schunk, a senior at Bloomington South, said she enjoys wearing clothes prohibited by the schools because they're comfortable and stylish, but does so on her own time.\nInside the school there should be limits, she said. Her friend and classmate Amber Knowlton shares this opinion.\n"I think the dress code is a good idea because it takes away from some guys' attention," Knowlton said.\nSome students said the dress code keeps students focused on their algebra equations and subject-verb agreement.\n"I think it's fine the way it is now," Jim Schroeder, a senior at Bloomington South, said. "It keeps us guys focused on school. We're here to learn. It's not a fashion show"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
Jared Schlanser arrives early to class to set up his stenography equipment, the laptop whirring on the desk next to him. Students nod to him as they enter the room. For the next hour he transcribes everything the teacher says for a hearing-impaired student to read from the screen. The student hears little, but is able to participate without missing a word. \nSchlanser works on campus for Accu-Type, a company that provides computer-aided, real-time transcription for the hearing impaired. \nJunior Katie Southern has five classes with Schlanser's assistance. Southern can read lips in one-on-one conversations, but her classes involve student questions and the professor's movement, making Schlanser's help invaluable. As the instructor speaks, the keystrokes on the stenograph transmit to the computer screen. Schlanser loves helping, and said it gives him a personal satisfaction.\n"If I write really well for a class, then Katie will say, 'Wow, thanks a lot, because I never would have gotten that on my own,'" Schlanser said. \nSchlanser trained to become a court reporter at Sparks College in Shelbyville, Ill., and worked doing depositions for a court reporting firm in St. Louis, Mo. before calling Accu-Type. He was not satisfied with his job. \n"He has a very caring heart and is perfect for this kind of work," says Stephanie Piratzky, founder of Accu-Type. \nSophomore Josh Reiher attends three classes with Schlanser. He has trouble hearing in lectures where the teacher's microphone is unrecognizable to his hearing aid. Also, many professors have beards, making their lips unreadable in a lecture hall, Reiher said. In these cases, Schlanser can be of immense help. \nWhen a recent knee surgery kept Reiher out of class for a week, Schlanser recorded them so Reiher wouldn't miss anything. Schlanser drives Reiher to his classes while his knee heals.\nReiher calls him a dedicated and extremely reliable friend, and said the two take time to get to know each other by playing golf, talking and hanging out. \nReiher said the funniest moments are in class, when, after an hour of starring at a computer screen full of dry information, something humorous from the professor will pop up. Reiher glances at Schlanser and bursts into laughter. \nSchlanser helps his students in any way he can, once flying to Chicago with a student to help him through interviews. Schlanser's sense of responsibility makes him Piratzky's first call if she needs business taken care of in Indiana.\nSchlanser's classroom presence piques both professors' and students' curiosities about himself and those he helps. \n"People, at the beginning of the semester, wonder what all the stuff is," Southern said. "Some guy came up to me and asked if I was from another country."\nSchlanser recalled that one professor asked him to the front of the class to explain who he is and what the equipment is for. Professors go out of their way to help him by restating students' questions, and many think well of the program. \n"I was delighted to hear that it exists," said Professor John Turner of the School of Fine Arts. "Education at this University should be open to everybody, and it should be possible for anybody to take a class."\nTurner helps Schlanser by writing new terms on the overhead before class and spells out the same terms while teaching, as Schlanser may not have technical terms entered into the dictionary. \nSince starting at IU in September 2000, Schlanser's operating dictionary has swelled from 13,000 to more than 30,000 words. He works until early morning, sometimes entering new words into his dictionary and memorizing the keystrokes for those terms. He said the Fine Arts classes have done the most to expand the dictionary, as many terms are unique to particular time periods.
(04/12/01 4:00am)
Some kids will run for miles to find new trees to climb, and after they master that tree, they go out farther for another. When they grow up, they might go to the other side of the world -- to climb mountains, not trees. For those people who can't make it that far, an indoor climbing facility might bring the mountain feel closer to home. For those who can, destinations in United States or around the world await the intrepid climber.\nAt Hoosier Heights, an indoor climbing facility at 5100 S. Rogers St., colorful handholds dot the painted walls and chalky hands decorate the spaces between, offering a great alternative to outdoor climbing.\n"It's a great climbing facility," freshman Josh Spencer says. "There are lots of different types of climbing."\nAt Hoosier Heights, climbers can do everything from belaying, in which one partner acts as an anchor for the one climbing, to boldering, which is sidling around the holds close to the ground without the aid of a climbing harness.\nHoosier Heights has many skill levels from beginner to expert and has instructional courses for those new to the sport. The facility also offers semester-long passes for students and full equipment rental.\nHoosier Heights opened in May of 1998, much to the surprise of owner Mike Thurston.\n"When I first saw (the facility), it was a dirt floor with stacks of hay everywhere," Thurston says.\nIt developed into an indoor climbing facility with more than 7,000 square feet of climbing surface with 33-foot high walls and a 33-degree overhang.\nThe result is a climbing facility that attracts many regular climbers as well as new members. \n"Most of the same people are always here, and the new people always seem happy when they leave," senior Jenn Swab says. "It's about reaching goals."\nThough indoor climbing can be fun, many people brave the outdoors to climb to bigger and better places.\nJeff Sikori, assistant manager to Upper Limits indoor rock climbing facility in Bloomington, Ill., is one of many people who have climbed Arizona's Mount McDowell, which rises to a 1,000-foot summit. \n"It's a great workout, and the level of personal achievement is unbelievable," Sikori says. "It's just you and the rock."\nTo climb Mount McDowell, Sikori used a climbing method called Multi-Pitch, where one person climbs to a given point and then helps the partner climb on ahead. The partner then acts as anchor and lets the first person climb ahead again, which ends up looking like a game of mountainside leap frog. \nAt the summit is an old army storage bin that is bolted to the top and contains the journal where climbers can sign their names as those who have reached the top. \n"It felt awesome to make it to the summit and sign my name in the journal," Sikori says.\nIndianapolis resident Dave Carter went even farther when he took three and a half months of 1997 to climb Mount Everest. He says he took with him about a lot of gear, most of which was dehydrated food. At night, he would rest his tent on a ledge dug into the side of the mountain. After months of climbing through unbearable cold, he reached the summit and says he was just glad to be done with it. \n"I didn't think I was a badass or anything," Carter says. "I was too busy worrying about dying on the way down."\nNinety-five percent of climbing deaths occur on descent, and Carter warns that one should go while still single instead of having to worry about a family. Although he now has a wife and kids, Carter recently returned from a two-week climbing trip to Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.\nIndoor or outdoor, hot or cold, many say rock climbing is one of the best ways to reach new heights on both a physical and mental level.\n"You're challenging yourself," says Zack Patton, 17, a volunteer at Hoosier Heights.\nPatton, a Bloomington resident, volunteers at Hoosier Heights two days each week in exchange for free climbing privileges. He also deals with many newcomers and has never seen a negative response to the sport.\n"I've never had anyone say they wouldn't come back," Patton says.
(03/29/01 5:00am)
I slid to my right and strained to hear my opponents over the techno music that boomed through the game field. I stepped from behind my barrier at a glimpse of the blue team's blinking chest plate against the black lights, determined to make the first tag. I aimed through the holes in a few of the barriers and held my breath as the laser beamed through the fog that clouded the room, striking the chest plate of another player. I smiled just before my own rig started vibrating and my phaser shut down. Dang it, I thought, as I turned to see a yellow team member lower his phaser. \nI got tagged! \nThis isn't a description of some 1980s sci-fi movie, but a scenario that occurs every night in the LazerLite facility that opened last November at 4505 E. Third St. LazerLite is an arcade, but it boasts the only laser-tag facility in Bloomington, and those that haven't tried it don't know what they're missing.\nSophomore Kara Argus says laser tag provides a diversion from spending the weekends at the dorms.\n"You can sit around with your friends for so long," Argus says, "or you can go play laser tag."\nYou enter the facility through the arcade portion, which has games but nowhere near the amount a normal arcade should. Not to worry, the adventure's only starting. First you sign in to the computer system with a little help from Adam Abel, the 13-year-old son of the owner and the person who holds every high score in the arcade.\n"I wouldn't come in if you plan on playing against me, because you'll probably lose," says Abel.\nAfter noticing that every game has "AWA" as the high score because of Abel, you receive your ID card and enter the briefing room to receive instructions about the short list of rules and how to properly wear the laser tag harness. \nThen it's time to suit up. The harness fits like a not-so-bulky life jacket with blinking sensors on the chest, back, shoulders and phaser. Twenty-one possible players are split into three teams of blue, red or yellow, though the highest number of players without crowding the floor would be about eight.\nNow everyone is ready to play. The attendant checks one last time to make sure everyone is squared away before the doors open to the foggy, black-lit arena, and everyone has 20 seconds to spread out before the game begins. Each game lasts about 10 minutes, which is more than enough time to break a sweat while dodging laser beams and ducking up and down through the camouflage maze of the playing floor. \n"It gives them something to do," Bloomington resident Brian Hastings says. "The theme is nonviolent. They make sure to call them phasers instead of guns."\nWinners and losers are not based on kills or hits, but the amount of points scored ... the more you tag the other opponents, the more points you get. Each time a person is tagged, the harness will vibrate and shut down for five seconds, giving each person enough time to relocate within the arena. The situation is complicated by techno music and several fog machines, which serve to reduce visibility and marginalize any noise an opponent might make.\n"I loved sneaking up on people," sophomore Andy Shoulders says. "The place had a real maze feeling to it."\nTen intense minutes later, the alarm will sound and the game will be over. "Drinks, please!" the sweat will scream as it trickles down your face. While you sit and enjoy the after-game relaxation, Abel will bring each person the results of the game, complete with how many times you were tagged versus how many times you tagged someone else, allowing you to retell the entire game to those who didn't see your incredible tags.\nYou can choose from playing one to three games in a row, and getting three games instead of one or two is cheaper in the long run. One game is $6, two games cost $11, and three games cost $14. \nLazerLite is open 4-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 4 p.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays.
(02/15/01 9:43pm)
Thor Martin, captain of the Hoosiermama?s Ultimate Frisbee team and a senior, tore downfield, looking back in time to see his teammate dodge free of a guard and throw the Frisbee toward the goal. Martin sprinted just a little farther, turning to see the disc coming toward him. \nStill moving, he jumped, turning in mid-air to catch the Frisbee before his guard did. Martin howled as he slammed down on his tailbone, but his pain turned to joy when he saw that he landed inside the end zone. One point for the Hoosiermama?s, IU's Ultimate Frisbee club team. \nUltimate Frisbee mimics both soccer and football, but what attracts some people to the sport is the way it's played. Fast or slow, competitive or easygoing; there's a team for everyone.\n"You gotta be in tip-top shape to play," junior Tim Farmer says jokingly as he smokes a cigarette, his second in the past 20 minutes. Farmer is part of the Collins Center team, a group that meets together Tuesday and Thursday nights from 9:30-11:30 at Woodlawn Field. Farmer says, "I'm out to have a good time, not to win."\nThe games played during that time are laid back, with people being only as competitive as they want to be. Farmer says the only challenges to the game are those he imposes on himself. \n"I want to do better, but I don't have to be the best," Farmer says. \nThese games consist of as many as 12 people per team and last as long as participants want. Anyone can play regardless of skill level, so long as they're willing to learn. \nThe Collins team, unlike the more aggressive club teams, prefers to play with a bare minimum of rules. The field boundaries are loosely defined and foul calls are rare, though the disc still switches possession whenever it hits the ground.\nIU's club team calls itself the Hoosiermama?s. This team is very different from the Collins team, which doesn't have scheduled practices or tournaments. The Hoosiermama?s have seven players on a team. The length of games and score limits vary with each tournament.\nThe Hoosiermama?s practice as a team up to six times a week, and a single practice might include a three-mile run followed by sprints, calisthenics and practice games. All of this paid off during the team's Jan. 27 tournament in Ann Arbor, Mich. The team won. \nThe team entered the indoor field in Ann Arbor to confront its first problem -- the turf. Rather than traditional Astroturf, the field was constructed of a more realistic floor made with a dirt-like base of granulated rubber. \n"It's the same sweet stuff that they have at the SportsPlex," Martin says.\nThis newest type of turf doesn't give rug burns like traditional Astroturf, but it helps to have cleats when running, and half the team didn't bring cleats along. \nNo problem.\nThe Hoosiermama?s played six 45-minute games, winning the tournament in a 10-7 victory against University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio. This was the first time the team has won a tournament since 1997. \nThe tournament had no referees, and the players insist that officials are not necessary.\n"It works on the honor system. Whoever has a better view of the field makes that call," Martin says.\nAnother interesting sight at the Ann Arbor tournament was the skirts worn by the team from Purdue University.\nThe Hoosiermama?s team follows stricter rules than the leisure players, which include stall counts, or limits to how long one person can be in possession of the Frisbee, and fouls, which more casual players like the Collins team just shrug off. The club teams are also more likely to crowd one side of an opposing player, forcing him to throw a certain direction, which doesn't happen as often in casual games.\nThough there are only a few rule differences between teams like Collins and Hoosiermama?s, those differences change the whole face of the game, and people who have played both say that it can be hard to play on both teams.\nUltimate Frisbee offers many different teams in Bloomington alone, and each team has its own personalized way of playing. Either way the game holds something for everyone.\n"Between Collins and (Hoosiermama?s) there's not even a comparison," junior Casey Donnelly says. Casey has played on both teams in the past and now plays with another local team called Community Ultimate, which meets every Friday night at the SportsPlex, 1700 W. Bloomfield Road.\n"If you just want to try it out and play, go to the Collins team, but if you want organized competition, go play with the Mama?s," Donnelly says.
(02/15/01 5:00am)
Thor Martin, captain of the Hoosiermama?s Ultimate Frisbee team and a senior, tore downfield, looking back in time to see his teammate dodge free of a guard and throw the Frisbee toward the goal. Martin sprinted just a little farther, turning to see the disc coming toward him. \nStill moving, he jumped, turning in mid-air to catch the Frisbee before his guard did. Martin howled as he slammed down on his tailbone, but his pain turned to joy when he saw that he landed inside the end zone. One point for the Hoosiermama?s, IU's Ultimate Frisbee club team. \nUltimate Frisbee mimics both soccer and football, but what attracts some people to the sport is the way it's played. Fast or slow, competitive or easygoing; there's a team for everyone.\n"You gotta be in tip-top shape to play," junior Tim Farmer says jokingly as he smokes a cigarette, his second in the past 20 minutes. Farmer is part of the Collins Center team, a group that meets together Tuesday and Thursday nights from 9:30-11:30 at Woodlawn Field. Farmer says, "I'm out to have a good time, not to win."\nThe games played during that time are laid back, with people being only as competitive as they want to be. Farmer says the only challenges to the game are those he imposes on himself. \n"I want to do better, but I don't have to be the best," Farmer says. \nThese games consist of as many as 12 people per team and last as long as participants want. Anyone can play regardless of skill level, so long as they're willing to learn. \nThe Collins team, unlike the more aggressive club teams, prefers to play with a bare minimum of rules. The field boundaries are loosely defined and foul calls are rare, though the disc still switches possession whenever it hits the ground.\nIU's club team calls itself the Hoosiermama?s. This team is very different from the Collins team, which doesn't have scheduled practices or tournaments. The Hoosiermama?s have seven players on a team. The length of games and score limits vary with each tournament.\nThe Hoosiermama?s practice as a team up to six times a week, and a single practice might include a three-mile run followed by sprints, calisthenics and practice games. All of this paid off during the team's Jan. 27 tournament in Ann Arbor, Mich. The team won. \nThe team entered the indoor field in Ann Arbor to confront its first problem -- the turf. Rather than traditional Astroturf, the field was constructed of a more realistic floor made with a dirt-like base of granulated rubber. \n"It's the same sweet stuff that they have at the SportsPlex," Martin says.\nThis newest type of turf doesn't give rug burns like traditional Astroturf, but it helps to have cleats when running, and half the team didn't bring cleats along. \nNo problem.\nThe Hoosiermama?s played six 45-minute games, winning the tournament in a 10-7 victory against University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio. This was the first time the team has won a tournament since 1997. \nThe tournament had no referees, and the players insist that officials are not necessary.\n"It works on the honor system. Whoever has a better view of the field makes that call," Martin says.\nAnother interesting sight at the Ann Arbor tournament was the skirts worn by the team from Purdue University.\nThe Hoosiermama?s team follows stricter rules than the leisure players, which include stall counts, or limits to how long one person can be in possession of the Frisbee, and fouls, which more casual players like the Collins team just shrug off. The club teams are also more likely to crowd one side of an opposing player, forcing him to throw a certain direction, which doesn't happen as often in casual games.\nThough there are only a few rule differences between teams like Collins and Hoosiermama?s, those differences change the whole face of the game, and people who have played both say that it can be hard to play on both teams.\nUltimate Frisbee offers many different teams in Bloomington alone, and each team has its own personalized way of playing. Either way the game holds something for everyone.\n"Between Collins and (Hoosiermama?s) there's not even a comparison," junior Casey Donnelly says. Casey has played on both teams in the past and now plays with another local team called Community Ultimate, which meets every Friday night at the SportsPlex, 1700 W. Bloomfield Road.\n"If you just want to try it out and play, go to the Collins team, but if you want organized competition, go play with the Mama?s," Donnelly says.
(01/26/01 5:46am)
A long-time Bloomington environmental activist was arrested Thursday and faces preliminary charges of timber spiking. \nState officials accuse Owen County resident Frank B. Ambrose, 26, of spiking trees -- driving metal spikes into them to prevent logging -- in a state forest last June. The eco-terrorist group Earth Liberation Front took credit for the incident. \nELF has claimed responsibility for more than $37 million in property damage, including five acts of vandalism in Monroe County. The FBI has been unable to trace anyone associated with the loose-knit, underground group, said Special Agent Doug Garrison.\nOfficers from the Department of Natural Resources arrested Ambrose at about 10 a.m. Thursday while he was working at Secret Sailor Bookshop, 202 N. Walnut Ave. He was released later that afternoon on $2,000 surety and $500 cash bond, said Sgt. George Trippenay of the Monroe County Correctional Center. \nTrippenay said Ambrose will appear in court Feb. 2. Timber spiking is a Class D felony carrying a penalty of up to three years in prison and a $10,000 fine. \nSpiking can be lethal to loggers if they hit the spikes with a saw. Charges of attempted manslaughter can be filed in some states, but not in Indiana. \nDNR Officer Marlin Dodge said a state employee saw a car in the forest on the day the trees were spiked and recorded the license plate. He said Ambrose owned the car.\nDodge, who is overseeing the case, said officers tracked the nails used in the spiking to Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse, where security cameras recorded Ambrose buying the same type of nails.\nWhile he said he believes Ambrose is connected to the group, Dodge said it would be hard to prove.\n"You can never tell who an ELF (member) is," he said. "However, we're prepared to show he committed a criminal act the ELF took credit for." \nCraig Rosenbraugh, the Oregon-based spokesman for the group, did not respond to messages left at the bakery where he works.\nAmbrose faxed a statement to the media after he was released from jail Thursday.\n"I want to assure people of my innocence," Ambrose said in the statement. "I am only guilty of being outspoken about the issue of logging on our public lands. Although I have publicly supported groups that have at times engaged in clandestine campaigns."\nEarlier in the year, Ambrose participated in a lockdown in the Morgan-Monroe State Forest headquarters protesting the logging, which state officials say is necessary for forest maintenance.\n"Private lands can provide more than enough timber to meet consumer demands," Ambrose told the IDS at the time. "Public lands need to be protected; they belong to all of us."\nA resident of Owen County, Ambrose was involved in protests against a planned golf course near Griffy Lake in Bloomington and the proposed extension of Interstate-69.\nELF took credit for several criminal acts in Monroe County last year, including the arson of a home under construction in the Sterling Woods subdivision, the destruction of heavy logging equipment and setting fire to the Monroe County Republican headquarters. \nMost recently, it took credit for burning down three partly built homes in New York and lumber company offices in Oregon.\nAmbrose formerly served as receptionist for the Indiana Forest Alliance.\n"We are concerned for him," said Mike Englert, another environmental activist. "We really enjoyed having him around"
(11/28/00 5:50am)
Gravity is a well-known physical property of life on Earth. It's a force so powerful that even skyscrapers of glass and steel can only be built so high. But there's a place where these forces do not apply. \nThere is a place where magazines, CDs and boxes tower far above what physics should allow. This place is TD's CDs & LPs, 322 E. Kirkwood Ave., and, though it disregards the most basic law of physics, is not well known by most people. \n"I know what a CD is, and I know what an LP is, but what is a TD?" Tom Donahue recalls being asked many times when customers enter his store, of which he is the owner and sole employee. \nDonahue laughingly points to himself and watches as the "aha!" look comes to someone's face. \nThe store, which lies in the basement of Kirkwood Manor, is hardly the place one would expect to find such a varied selection of music. Donahue stocks everything from big-label bands such as The Beach Boys to local bands such as Songs: Ohia. \n"He has stuff I've never seen, and a great selection of indie rock," sophomore Dusty Clark said. \nDonahue peers over the top of CDs, which are stacked two feet deep on his sales cubicle, a polite smile on his face as he watches his store. \nDespite the lack of advertising, which consists solely of a small sign outside Kirkwood Manor, there are usually several customers wandering through the aisles, a testament to the word of mouth advertising, which Donahue feels is the best. \n"I'd rather have customers bring in their friends," Donahue said, adding that the responses from advertising never seem to equal the investments. \nTD's is successful because of the availability of the music. TD's carries music from local artists that can't be found anywhere else in town, and if Donahue can't find a specific CD in the store, then he will always have it ordered for a customer. \n"If you can't find it at TD's, you can't find it in Bloomington," Clark, a regular customer, said.\nDonahue is highly involved in Bloomington's music scene, in which he sponsors national acts such as The Flaming Lips and Tortoise.\n"(Donahue) energizes the scene with his enthusiasm for music," said Jim Manion, program and music director for WFHB. "He doesn't slow down, he's always up front watching the band." \nMost of the acts he sponsors are local bands playing at the Second Story or the Cellar Lounge. \nOne reason Donahue sponsors so many shows is because he sees it as a form of advertising. People go to the shows and have a good time, and because TD's sponsored the show, they might decide to stop by the store. \nBut The biggest reason is Donahue's passion for the music scene, and not just in Bloomington. Donahue has been involved in various musical outlets in Indianapolis and Austin, Texas. \n"I try to support the local musicians as much as possible because that makes the whole music scene here in Bloomington stronger," Donahue said. \nDonahue contributes from his own pocket as much as possible to strengthen the music scene in Bloomington. The budget for last year's Flaming Lips show was $10,000. Since the show took place during Easter weekend, Donahue shouldered a $500 loss. It's worth it to Donahue since he doesn't see this as just entertainment. To him, supporting local shows can benefit the tourism business in Bloomington.\n"If you get more local bands doing well, then it's going to be better for the entire music scene in general, and it will be better for Bloomington," Donahue said. \nAs far as the future of the store, Donahue is taking it slow. He has no concrete plans for the store other than to keep serving his customers in the best way he knows how. The only change Donahue sees as a possibility now is to get a cash register or maybe even a computer.