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(02/01/13 5:27am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>About 25 people, mostly IU students, gathered Thursday in the first floor hallway of Ballantine Hall to recruit for a strike planned for April 11 and 12. Although the major purpose of the strike is lowering tuition fees, the protesters have other demands, including less privatization of things such as parking lots and higher wages for IU staff.Senior Thomas Munster said President Michael McRobbie created a rule last year that gave no tuition raises to juniors in good academic standing. Munster said this rule was created in hopes that students with good grades would not have to work to pay for their tuition, since paid work can often distract from schoolwork. It was created as an incentive to maintain good grades.“(McRobbie’s policy) does nothing to address the already extremely high tuition for students that continues to increase every year,” Munster said.Senior Kelsey Pitts said movements within the student body to stop the tuition increases have been unproductive.“People are just worried about (tuition increases) rather than trying to solve,” Pitts said.Senior Dave Hamilton said he has $33,000 in student debt. He spoke out to the students passing through the halls, and some stopped to listen.“(Education) is a public good,” Hamilton said. “It should be treated as such ... We’re not saying education should be free, but they want to make it a spa for the rich, instead of an academic and research university.”Another demand the protesters have expressed is doubling the African-American enrollment to 8 percent. They recall that in 2006, President Adam Herbert elicited a commitment from the Board of Trustees to raise African-American enrollment. The protesters explain that now, seven years later, the University plans to use its newly-hired Vice Provost of Admissions to work on the problem.Junior Nick Greven said it’s taken too long for this policy to be instated and it was an unnecessary use of funds. “I don’t think you need another administrator to oversee that,” Greven said.The students are planning further events leading up to the strike. They are having weekly meetings at 7:30 p.m. Mondays by the IMU bowling alley, and a concert Feb. 7. A blog is available at iuonstrike.tumblr.com with more information on the proposal.
(02/02/12 4:09am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU Student Association Congress assembled Tuesday to vote on issues including mandatory Friday classes, the placement of outdoor recycling bins next to trash cans, the firing of University Chancellor Ken Gros Louis and a new IUSA budget.The Congress said the issue of mandatory Friday classes has gone without resolution for months. Last semester, the Bloomington Faculty Council announced its intention to change course offerings to encourage students to take Friday classes. Congress voted on a resolution to combat this intention. It said Friday classes should not be mandatory because they would interfere with many students’ in-field work for majors, as well as part-time employment. The resolution passed with 86 percent in support. IUSA voted on a push for recycling bins to be placed beside all trash cans on campus, arguing that students are more likely to recycle if it is more convenient and adding more recycling bins will promote overall sustainability efforts at the University. The resolution passed with 86 percent in support.The next issue was the firing of Ken Gros Louis from the position of University chancellor. The only other person in IU’s history to hold this title was former University President Herman B Wells. Congress members said Louis deserved the position for his outstanding service to IU throughout the years. Among his achievements was his founding of the Committee for Fee Review, which protects students from unjust fees.In 2006, the IU Board of Trustees granted Louis the title of chancellor. It was specified at that time that Louis’ possible future demotion from this title was to be decided by a formal review process, including the opinion of Louis himself. In April 2011, Louis was fired from his post as chancellor by the Board of Trustees with no comment from the board or from its chairman, William Cast.In the resolution, Congress said Louis’ firing was without a formal review and requested a reversal of the Trustees’ decision. The resolution passed with 67 percent in support.The final issue Congress considered was a revised budget for IUSA. Some categories of the old budget were erased or combined, and new categories were created. The new budget passed with a unanimous vote. The new budget totals $95,447, which is $400 less than the old budget.
(01/26/12 5:11am)
College Democrats, the Indiana Public Interest Research Group and Union
Board co-sponsored a panel called “Hot Chocolate and Hot Topics: Income
Inequality” on Wednesday with about 20 people in attendance
(01/11/12 4:36am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Home-field advantage is scientifically provable. Just ask Ben Motz, IU professor and scientist in the Department of Psychology and Brain Sciences. National Football League statistics show that between 1981 and 1996, the home team won 57 percent of all games. Motz explained that this is partially due to officials making favorable calls for the home team.“If 100,000 fans are screaming at you, you’d be a sociopath if you weren’t affected by the crowd,” he said in a press release.In 1999, when instant replay was allowed in the NFL, the percentage of home-field wins became slightly less dominant, Motz noted.Another factor in this phenomenon, according to the Football Freakonomics videos that Motz uses in class, might be the noise level of the crowd. The noise level is commonly up to about 30 decibels higher when the home team is playing defense than when it is on offense. This correlates with higher penalties for the visiting team’s offense. Football statistics are one of Motz’s main tools for teaching his research methodology courses. He also discusses topics such as whether quarterbacks are the dominant influence on the NFL, why coaches are fired and how injuries can be significant. Motz’s new course next fall will be called Prediction, Probability, and Pigskin. Students in the course will use fantasy football leagues to learn statistics, and each will create his or her own team. The point will be for students to use lessons from the course to make stats-based decisions in drafts and trades for their teams. The course will have six leagues, each consisting of 10 students’ teams.Motz decided to use fantasy football in teaching when he joined a fantasy league two years ago. He saw that the people in his league were using the same kind of statistical thinking that he wanted his students to learn.“They were thinking critically about data, using patterns they were seeing and making extrapolations about data yet to come,” Motz said in a press release. “It was pretty clear to me that it had the power to help people think empirically about data.”Motz said people do not have to be football fans to learn through this teaching technique.“I’ll teach them everything they want to know about fantasy football, and it’ll help them become more empirical thinkers,” Motz said.Motz believes in original ways of teaching that make the class interesting.“I think that it’s the instructor’s responsibility to motivate students to find interest in the course material,” Motz said. “Success, both for the teacher and for the student, is found when the learning process becomes enjoyable and self-reinforcing.”
(01/06/12 4:41am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Since the 1960s, IU Professor Peter Finn has wondered why people use drugs. As a doctor in psychology, Finn set out to find the differences between the minds of those who abuse substances and those who do not.In 2002, Finn received a grant of $1.3 million from the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. He was able to conduct the study with the grants. Finn gathered data on 500 subjects ages 18 to 25. He found that people who abuse drugs and alcohol have a hard time effectively directing their attention.“An impulsive individual tends to focus on the immediate,” Finn said. “A good decision involves thinking about now, then thinking about tomorrow, then coming back and thinking about now and how one’s behavior may affect tomorrow. Individuals who have a hard time shifting their attention back and forth seem not to do as well at inhibiting their behavior.”In 2009, Finn wrote a new study to further build on the 2002 study. This time he received a grant of $1.9 million from the National Institutes of Health. The study is currently in progress.Subjects are tested on their ability to direct their attention and make decisions regarding present or future benefit. For example, subjects are asked if they would rather have $50 now or $100 in six months. Then, $80 now or $100 in six months. In psychology, this is called the delayed discounting task, Finn said. He also used several other psychological tasks in the study.Finn said he believes this can lead to better treatment for addicts in the future. “All scientific discoveries are really for the public good,” Finn said. “The more we know about the world around us, and in this case, people’s behavior with regards to substance use and abuse, the better off we are. Ultimately, I hope that the results of this study will help us design interventions that may help in the treatment of substance abuse and related disorders.”
(11/18/11 2:36am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>About 40 members of Occupy Bloomington prepared for the 5 p.m. march.Inside the tents of Peoples Park, they made sarcastic signs that said such things as “Terrorism Terrorism Terrorism ... Stay scared GO SHOPPING.”Others watched the live stream of the march in New York. Ray, a former employee of IU and current member of the movement who declined to give his last name, sat alone on a bench, knitting.“I would like to see the current fiscal fiasco addressed,” Ray said. “This is supposedly a free market economy. But when you bailout banks that should have failed ... well, what does that make you think?”Ray said conflict of interest was created by the reinterpretation of the Glass-Steagall Act in 1987, which allowed for more connections between lending and investment banks.“I think that’s partially where things went south into the current situation,” Ray said.Members of Occupy Bloomington gathered at the Sample Gates to start the protest. They held signs and shouted chants such as “You are the 99 percent!” and “Banks got bailed out, we got sold out!”The crowd began to march west on Kirkwood Avenue.“Everybody pays their tax! Everyone but Goldman Sachs!” they shouted. “You pay taxes, so do we! Everyone except GE!”The protesters stopped by the old courthouse downtown, and individuals made soap box speeches.“This day is a day of international solidarity,” said member Justinian D., who declined to give his last name. “Earlier today I was watching a live stream from Greece (the Occupy movement there). And you know what? They were watching a live stream from New York. How cool is that?”Another protester, Chris Albert, then took the soap box. “Why I am here is because we need new ways to relate to each other and relate to the earth,” Albert said. When Albert stepped down to the crowd he smiled and said, “So you’re quoting me, huh? Well, then say this: Fuck capitalism. It’s a system that forces people to compete with each other and screw each other over in order to survive.”Then junior Evan Rocheford took the floor.“The era of greed is coming to an end,” he said. “We are the evolution. We are the revolution. This earth is shared. This earth is beautiful. Not something to be exploited.”The march continued around the Courthouse Square downtown.Walking back to Peoples Park, retired nurse Charlotte Wolff said she had been fighting for rights for 40 years. She protested for civil rights, women’s rights and the end of the Vietnam War.“The end of the American Dream is when whatever the government gives you, it can take away,” Wolff said. She said she is proud of Bloomington for this Occupy movement, and she is optimistic about its future. “It will keep spreading,” she said. “You watch. It’s too big to go away. So let me ask you a question, young man. What do you stand for?”
(11/09/11 3:06am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>College Democrats met at 8 p.m. Monday in Ballantine Hall to hear a speech by Jonathan George, a Democratic Party candidate for Congress in Indiana’s 9th District. George, a retired Brigadier General with more than 4,000 hours of cockpit time and multiple honorable medals, was once a director of the National Security Council. George started the speech as a philosophy lecture by talking about physics.“Physics are cast in stone and don’t change,” he said. “That’s another way to say the world isn’t always as it seems to you.”George then discussed the philosophy of why we should help the poor.“People with less resources figure out a better way of doing things because otherwise, they stop existing,” he said.George also placed a great deal of importance on youth.“Creativity is the realm of the young,” he said. “What I mean by that is this: Almost every great invention discovery was done under the age of 30.”On the other side, he also commented a potential demise as a nation.“America’s great society is closer to its end today than it was at its beginning, oh, about 50 to 100 years ago,” he said.About half an hour into his speech, George talked about his first policy stance. He said community productivity needs to increase. George continued by listing issues that need work in southern Indiana. He said the lack of jobs is a problem here.“How many of you expect to find great employment where you can find careers that you can thrive through when you get out?” he asked rhetorically. “Not many.”George compared southern Indiana to Afghanistan, listing similarities like leprosy, agricultural basis, drugs and bad education, health care and transportation.“It stood out to me that he always brought all of the issues back to southern Indiana,” said junior Hannah Dixon, a member of College Democrats. “This shows me that he was interested in making things better for his district.”“I think it’s extraordinary to have the experience of serving our country,” senior and President of College Democrats Logan Souder said. “Veterans like General George have gained experience throughout their service that makes great public servants.” Joshua Roberts, a freshman and member of College Democrats, said George’s faith in young voters appealed to him.“Most people these days, particularly politicians, seem to ignore the younger generation, yet we are the ones that hold the biggest influence on the future,” Roberts said.
(10/31/11 1:09am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>On Friday night, Max’s Place featured bands Shaggy Wonda and Ladymoon. Shaggy Wonda played the Pulp Fiction soundtrack for its second set, and each band member wore a black suit with a black tie, mimicking Samuel Jackson and John Travolta’s characters from the movie.“That was awesome,” Ivy Tech student Max Boris said. “It shows that they have good taste.” The band members in Ladymoon were dressed as rappers. They gave no reason for this. The band mostly played its own songs, but its also covered old-school legendary artists such as Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, the Beastie Boys and the Meters. These songs involved the crowd, but not as much their original, “Mr. McMurphy,” a song that starts with a hard rock and funk style and then goes into a slow and smooth jam with no vocals for about seven minutes. The song’s title is in reference to Jack Nicholson’s character in the movie “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”“That was a tight jam,” Boris said. “You can’t even put that into a genre. It’s like Phish.”Band members from both groups said their favorite bands are Phish, Umphrey’s McGee and Parliament, among others. Ryan Brown, Ladymoon guitarist and vocalist, explained the band’s music.“It sounds like a polar bear crapping a rainbow,” he said.Ladymoon plans to continue playing shows, including a return to Max’s Place on Nov. 19. “Our short-term goal is to make it so we don’t have to have jobs,” said Kris Potts, Ladymoon bassist and vocalist. “Long term, we want to play big venues.”Band members of both Ladymoon and Shaggy Wonda expressed their realizations of the music industry’s change of direction that occurred in the 1990s. “Huge conglomerates bought all the radio stations,” Brown said. “And then bands like Limp Bizkit just killed the radio.”Steve Laine, Shaggy Wonda bassist and vocalist and IU alumnus, agreed with Brown.“There’s nothing (on the radio) that makes your hair stand up,” Laine said.Ladymoon and Shaggy Wonda both have albums that can be found on iTunes.
(10/28/11 12:58am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Last month, IU became the newest chapter of the Music & Entertainment Industry Student Association. MEISA is a nonprofit organization that educates students interested in careers in the music and entertainment industries.“The hardest part about getting into the music industry is it’s hard to get a formal education,” said senior John Parker, treasurer of the new chapter. The group will bring professionals from different fields of the music industry to talk to members. On Nov. 14, MEISA will bring booking agents and promoters to speak to the chapter about their jobs. The chapter members are also talking about bringing in a networking panel of venue managers for people who are interested in venue management to learn more about the field and make connections, Jamie Phipps, sophomore and chapter president said. The group is considering The Bishop Bar, the Bluebird Nightclub, Rhino’s Youth Media Center and other venues around Bloomington for the panel.Another major function of the new MEISA chapter is to help students build relationships with each another. Senior Stephanie Demar, vice president of marketing is a singer, songwriter and guitarist.“One of the most important things for me is the networking aspect,” Demar said. “I’m hoping to make connections with people with the same career interests as me. I didn’t start to meet people in my major until junior year.” “It’s a great networking tool for them,” Faculty Adviser Monika Herzig said about the new MEISA chapter. “We’re also trying to get them more regional unity with other chapters.”The chapter plans to attend the national or regional MEISA conference to make connections and coordinate with chapters from different parts of the country, Parker said.It is also fundraising for a trip to South by Southwest, a music festival in Austin, Texas, in the spring.Many other trips and events are being discussed, as well. “I’d like to make a networking trip to Nashville happen,” Kate Calvert, junior and vice president of event planning said. “It’s only four hours away, and there are so many valuable resources and connections down there that we should be taking advantage of.”Among the ideas for raising money for these trips and other operations are an autograph auction and a battle of the bands in Bloomington.The members of the MEISA Bloomington chapter are confident in the future of their organization.“We kind of all assume the same leadership role because we’re a new chapter,” Phipps said. “We have some young leaders who will be able to take charge as we go through school.”