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(08/05/02 3:32am)
The man charged with the murder of retired IU-Northwest Vice Chancellor Silas W. "Bill" May is eligible for the death penalty, according to Indiana law. \nThe law stipulates that intentionally killing a person while committing a robbery is considered an aggravating circumstance that may warrant the application of the death penalty. \nLamar Pierre Ricketts, 23, has been officially charged with murder and murder in the perpetration of a robbery. He will stand trial in the court of Judge Joan Kouros, who recently entered a plea of not-guilty on Ricketts behalf.\nDiane Poulton, public information officer for the Lake County prosecutor's office, said while the death penalty may be in play, the prosecution has not yet discussed whether they will pursue it in this case. If they choose not to seek the death penalty, Ricketts could face up to 65 years in prison.\nMay was found dead from stab wounds and massive head trauma July 18. Gary Police officer Lanita Titus said the murder stemmed from an altercation that began when May refused to allow Ricketts to take his car without making the final payments. Ricketts was arrested after police officers in Merrilville, Ind. made a traffic stop on May's black Chrysler.\nGary Chief of Police Garrett Watson said Ricketts waived his Miranda rights before police began interrogating him. In an incriminating conversation with Sgt. Jack Arnold, Ricketts admitted to hitting May in the head with a hammer three of four times when he refused his demands for the money he claimed to have paid for the car.\n"We consider it to be a confession," Watson said.\nWatson also said police recovered a hammer, which is believed to be the murder weapon, as well as the gun Ricketts was carrying at the scene of the crime.\nRicketts is currently being held without bond at Lake County Jail. The trial date will be set during a Sept. 26 hearing.
(08/05/02 3:22am)
In recent letters to the officers of the Graduate and Professional Student Organization (GPSO), both President Myles Brand and Chancellor Sharon Stephens Brehm formally recognized the GPSO as the official governing body of IU's graduate and professional students. The administrative endorsement concludes the organizations two-year effort to gain autonomy from the IU Student Association. \n"In short, I am pleased to support and endorse the proposal for a separate student government for graduate and professional students at IUB," Brand stated in his letter. "A separate student government will better enable student representatives to articulate and advocate for graduate and professional students." \nBrehm joined Brand in supporting GPSO's independence. In a brief letter, she offered congratulations to GPSO officers for their "sustained and thoughtful effort to create this new organization that will be the voice of the graduate and professional students on the Bloomington campus."\nThis past May, graduate and professional students in 52 departments ratified the new GPSO constitution, which asserted the organizations independence from IUSA. Despite achieving the necessary majority of departmental votes for ratification, the organization continued to encourage departments to vote. \nGPSO moderator Rachel Anderson said nearly all graduate departments have endorsed the new constitution, indicating broad support for GPSO autonomy. But she said the organization was not truly independent until just recently when the administration offered its endorsement. \nWith administrative backing, the GPSO and IUSA will now concentrate their efforts on their own constituencies. Anderson said independence will not necessarily change the way the GPSO operates, but it will allow work to be divided more efficiently between the two organizations. \n"We can all be more effective if IUSA concentrates the majority of its efforts on undergraduate students' needs, the GPSO concentrates on graduate students' needs and we work together on issues that effect both groups," Anderson said. \nBrand agreed, stating the GPSO was "correct to observe that the areas of interest of the graduate and professional students diverge from those of undergraduate students. Issues such as assistant instructor training and mentoring, professional development and health insurance, to name only a few, pertain primarily, if not exclusively, to graduate and professional students. \n"While there are some issues that pertain to both graduate/professional and undergraduate students, such as information technology infrastructure, campus physical environment, and so on, these issues can be equally well -- or perhaps, even better -- addressed by both student governing bodies working in parallel or jointly." \nAfter investing effort into breaking away from the IUSA, the GPSO is now making it one of its first priorities to develop a strong working relationship with that very organization, Anderson said. \nRecently, GPSO officers met with junior Bill Gray, IUSA president, to discuss how they would stay in contact and work together effectively over the course of the next year. \nGPSO coordinator Andrea McDowell said the organization is particularly pleased to be working with the current IUSA administration, which openly supported GPSO independence as part of its Kirkwood platform. \n"With the two groups finally working together amicably instead of at odds, all IUB students should benefit from better representation and more effective student government," McDowell said.
(08/01/02 1:10am)
For all their idealism, the baby-boomers sure didn't leave much of a world for us to inherit. Their dreams, however beautiful, were fated to end with their youth. So, despite years of incessant whining, there is nothing to make me believe that democracy and harmony will soon burgeon in the world's most turbulent regions or that bi-partisan grooviness will ever be achieved here in the U.S., the great paradigm of democracy.\nThat said, I must admit the hypocrisy in imputing the baby-boomer generation with failing to build solidarity for change and settling comfortably into the status quo. We, the generation they sired, appear destined to become even more self-indulgent and apathetic than our predecessors. But we can explain … really. \nWe've been accused of being completely bereft of work ethic, morals and capacity for critical thought. But it's not as if we were all born half-witted with split-second attention spans; the crushing pain of modern life simply instilled this sense of apathy in us. (In regard to our image, the Viacom media machine certainly did us no favors. Apparently, executives atop the monolith deemed us too smart, meaning a systematic dumbing down in the form of a decade-long "Real World" marathon was in order.) But let's face it, the "real" real world is a graveyard for ideals and idealists -- offering that it's best to categorically denounce everything, without really offering a solution. \nA cynicism and indifference like this doesn't arise overnight; it comes on gradually as evidenced by 30 years of declining voter turnout among registered voters. \nEventually you wake one morning to find you've lost confidence in everything: partisan bickering has left the political system virtually impotent; free trade, which you once considered to be unambiguously beneficial, will never lead to the development of a worldwide middle class, rather it will intensify the sickening disparity of wealth; months of bombing Afghan caves and/or hospitals will only result in a slightly more palatable brand of iniquity; Palestinians and Israelis will continue to grievously violate human rights without considering a political solution; corporate executives and workers alike are callously manipulating the gears of capitalism with the unwashed, invisible hand of self-interest. Finally, the dreadful state of the world has paralyzed your ability to form an opinion on anything so you temporarily declare a moratorium on giving a damn. \nNow you stay up late into the evenings watching infomercials, either waiting for the sleeping pills to kick in or the ephedrine to wear off. And where is the lingering malaise that defines the human condition more evident than in late night television? You cannot help but wonder how many people at that moment are sitting in front of their television sets in quiet desperation, waiting for some new product to ease their seemingly never-ending despair. \nLuckily for a lot of people, the abundance of new and exciting ways to sculpt your body without spilling your beer fills that gnawing void in their life just fine. Unfortunately, for the rest of us, even a particularly convincing pseudo-science will not suffice. We'll continue our search for validation in our lives elsewhere, perhaps somewhere where intoxicating substances are sold. \nBut I must say I was relieved last night to find that the reason for my absent-mindedness and insufferable personality was a dangerous lack of magnesium in my diet and not the culmination of years of mental atrophy or deep-rooted psychological distress. I cannot explain how calming it was to discover that with two pills a day and a colorful tutorial, both available on a limited-time basis, I could once again be able to remember my best friend's telephone number and with minimal side-effects. Had I called within 15 minutes, as I was advised, I'd be wearing a handsome bathrobe right now. What was that I saying about my generation again?
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
In spite of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's proposed cease-fire May 22, the fighting between Israel and Palestinians continues. The cease-fire, the first step in implementing the U.S. Mitchell Report aimed at rekindling peace negotiations, was roundly rejected by Palestinians and described as propaganda. But Saturday evening, in the wake of another suicide bombing which resulted in 20 deaths and at least 90 injuries, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat issued a cease-fire order, which Israel agreed to. In the past eight months since fighting resumed, at least 484 Palestinians and 107 Israelis have been killed.\nBecause Israel and the occupied Gaza Strip and West Bank -- especially the city of Jerusalem -- are of considerable importance to three of the world's most prominent monotheistic religions, it is small wonder that people have strong and diverging opinions regarding the conflict.\nPalestinians believe they are a people living in occupation. In 1967, as a result of a six-day war between Palestinians and Israelis, Israel gained control of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and Israelis have been settling in these areas ever since. \n"Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza are not only an impediment to peace; they are illegal under international law, and are maintained only through the oppression of and violence against the Palestinian population," said senior Rima Kapitan, president and founder of Students for Justice in Palestine.\nIn a visit to the West Bank last summer, Kapitan encountered a village that had had its orchard confiscated by Israeli settlers. Kapitan said such incidents occur with regularity and are often accompanied with threats of arrest or violence. Many feel Prime Minister Sharon's rejection of the Mitchell commission's recommendation to freeze settlement construction signals his intent to maintain occupation of land and impede the creation of a Palestinian Arab homeland. Palestinian leaders say they will do what is necessary to resist occupation until the formation of an Arab homeland. \n"No people on earth would tolerate such treatment, and Palestinians are no exception," Kapitan said.\nFor many in the Jewish community, the violence constitutes acts of terrorism and wanton disrespect of life by the Palestinians. Terrorism in Israel and the threat of deadly violence for those who live in settlements of the West Bank and Gaza Strip are worse than ever. Because of the escalating threat of violence in these areas, many Israeli settlers fear sending their children to school and have even had to move family celebrations into Israel. \nDr. Martin Spechler, a professor in the Jewish Studies Department, commented on the use of force by Israelis as a response to Palestinian terrorism. "Palestinians have refused to stop the shelling, shooting and human bomb attacks on ordinary Israelis, and so the Prime Minister of Israel will have little choice but to defend his people by all means available. An American President would do the same," Spechler said in a recent letter. \nDr. Spechler said he believes the Palestinians have been unwilling to settle on a compromise to resolve the issue and that reducing settlement activity as an incentive to end violence is not the answer. \n"A few leftists favor reduced settlement activity as an incentive to end the violence. This would be to reward the intifada begun by the Palestinian Arabs after they refused the generous offer of Israel, backed by President Clinton, to set up a Palestinian state on most of the West Bank, share Jerusalem, and compensate the refugees," Spechler said. Spechler also mentioned that many of the new settlements, which are the cause of much uproar in the Palestinian community, would be traded in any final peace accord.\nAbstracting from the religious and political debate attached to the violence in the Middle East, the situation involves great human loss and tragedy and has thus captured the attention of groups such as Amnesty International. Many reports indicate that human rights violations have been accumulating rapidly during the course of the uprising.The Israelis have reportedly targeted and executed Palestinians suspected of attacking Israelis. Amnesty International likens this practice to state assassination, noting that suspects could have been arrested instead.\nSimilarly, Palestinians have been accused of targeting civilians and settlement areas for attack. There is also reasonable belief that Israeli troops have used disproportionate and, at times, reckless force resulting in needless civilian deaths. Also, there are reports of the following abuses on both sides: arbitrary arrest and detention, denial of fair trial and cruel treatment to prisoners. There is some concern that the United States, a major arms supplier to Israel, may have supplied weapons used in some of these alleged atrocities.\nPerhaps above all, people are concerned that a dangerous cycle of violence and retaliation is being cultivated in the Middle East. Junior Ari Joffe, who lived in Israel for several years, said "As an Israeli I hate to see it as much as anyone, but realistically the violence won't end in an agreement, but rather in a surrender." \nThe Associated Press contributed to this story.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
During the past six months, President George W. Bush has upset environmentalist groups. Within 60 days of his inauguration, Bush had reneged on his campaign promise to force energy companies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. And, in March, the Bush administration rejected the Kyoto Protocol, which is committed to reducing greenhouse emissions in 37 industrialized nations.\nBush has expressed concerns that emission reductions may have a negative impact on the U.S. economy and has questioned the science behind global warming.\nBut scientists and environmental groups feel that global warming is a serious and real dilemma.\nAlex Veitch, a spokesperson of the Sierra Club, said global warming is the most imminent environmental threat that the world now faces. \nHe said what is particularly alarming to environmental groups like the Sierra Club and the countries trying to piece together the Kyoto Treaty is that the Bush administration would adopt such a stance in spite of the fact that the United States has such a distinct emissions problem. \n"The United States is by far the largest producer of global warming pollution," he said. "We have just over 4 percent of the world's population and we produce 25 percent of the world's carbon dioxide. Clearly, we have a special responsibility to decrease the amount of pollution that we emit."\nGlobal warming is caused when greenhouse gases trap heat that would normally escape through the Earth's atmosphere. \nAuto companies are a major source of carbon dioxide and are a major target for enviromentalist groups.\nVeitch said the transportation sector is the fastest growing source of carbon dioxide emissions in the world. \n"In the United States it accounts for over 20 percent of carbon dioxide global warming pollution," he said.\nThe Sierra Club and Greenpeace have been especially enraged by the proliferation of SUVs. The Ford Excursion, which won Ford the Sierra Club's Exxon Valdez Award for environmental destruction, manages only 12 miles per gallon, well below Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards for cars (27.3) and light trucks (20.7). \nVeitch said he feels extending the CAFE standards is one of the best tools the government has to force the auto manufacturers to lean up their vehicles. \n"The biggest single step we can take for curbing global warming is to make cars and light trucks go further on a gallon of gas," said Veitch. "There's a direct relationship between more SUVs on the road and lower fuel economy. What we need to see is a law changed to include SUVs in a more active way. We would like to see SUVs get the same gas mileage as cars. Then we want to see both SUVs and cars get 40 miles per gallon, which would save about 3 million barrels of oil a day and save about 600 million metric tons of CO2 a year."\nThe Sierra Club believes that auto companies have the technology to comply with more demanding fuel economy standards, but are not applying it to their mass produced models for fear that it would make the vehicles overly expensive and affect sales. Veitch contends that a market with more choices will allow consumers to direct how clean vehicles should be, citing market share as a major incentive for auto manufacturers. \n"They're worried that emission reduction technology will make cars too expensive, where as, in fact, any cost that is applied to the car to improve its fuel economy will be made up very quickly at the gas pump," said Veitch.\nHybrid cars, those with both battery and gas power, are, in fact, emerging from the prototype stages into viable road vehicles. The Honda Insight and Toyota Prius are the first mass-produced hybrid cars to hit the North American market. Though hybrid vehicles are certainly still part of a small, niche market, they are generating significant consumer interest. Matt Nekola, a sales consultant of Royal Toyota in Bloomington said the Toyota Prius, which averages 48 miles per gallon, is selling "as quick as we can get them, on a special order basis only. Toyota gives us a demo unit to give people test-drives and we order the car for them. There's about a four or five month wait right now."\nNekola said he feels that hybrid vehicles have the potential to become mainstream vehicles rather than mere novelty cars that cater to a small, environmentally-minded market. "Mass-producing hybrid vehicles is what Toyota has planned," Nekola said. "They have a total of five hybrid vehicles in their product development line and their going to release a second one in about two more years in the form of a minivan."\nIn a Feb. 6 press release, Honda also announced plans to apply hybrid technology to some of their mass-produced models, which would drastically lower emissions on some of the most widely-driven vehicles.\n"In the near future, we will also be introducing our hybrid technology to the Civic, the best-selling small car in the United States," Honda said in the release. \nIn the past few months, there has been concern that environmental groups have been vandalizing SUVs in an effort to express their distaste for the fuel inefficient vehicles. Instances of spray painting and slashing of tires seemed to be directed at gas-guzzling vehicles. \n"We saw three [SUVs] that got spray-painted on the Bloomington campus at the end of the school year," said Nekola. "I think Bloomington tends to be a hotbed for being pretty emotional about the environment."\nVeitch said the Sierra Club objects to such forms of protest, urging environmentalists to place the pressure on auto manufacturers, not consumers, to clean up vehicle emissions.\n"As for the Sierra Club, we condemn any kind of damage to property," he said. "We need to pressure the auto companies to make cleaner cars."\nThe IU Police Department said there have been many reports of vandalism to SUVs in the past months, but there are no discernable environmental messages on the vehicles.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
This fall, biology professors Howard Gest and Michael Lynch will join an eclectic group of newly elected Fellows and Foreign Honorary Members in the Academy of Arts in Sciences. Among the elite the two will be joining are Sen. Edward Kennedy, actress Anjelica Huston, violinist Itzhak Perlman and Nobel Prize-winning chemist George Olah. \nHoward Gest\nHoward Gest, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Microbiology, said he committed himself to a career in science during his high school years, a time when most people are paralyzed with indecision. After reading Sinclair Lewis' "Arrowsmith," Gest, a world-class conversationalist, was determined to become a bacteriologist. These seeds of scientific curiosity germinated into a long, successful career in microbiology. \nIn 1942, the U.S. government solicited Gest's expertise to further the war effort, interrupting his graduate studies at Vanderbilt. The following year, Gest began work on the Manhattan Project at the University of Chicago and later at Oak Ridge, Tenn., in the Clinton Laboratories. His involvement with the clandestine effort to produce the atomic bomb, as a researcher in inorganic nuclear chemistry, has left an indelible mark on him. Though Gest is extremely proud of the success of the project and the implications it had for future energy production, he regrets that the bomb was used against Japanese civilians. \n"It was one of the dramatic, great events from a scientific standpoint (the capacity to get energy from the atom)," Gest said. "In the end, it is obvious that we are going to have use nuclear energy to support our society, I think there is no question of that ... (However) many of us were unhappy when the second bomb was dropped three days later on Nagasaki. \n"The Japanese hardly had a chance to get over this crushing thing that happened three days earlier."\nGest, who retired from teaching in 1987, has published a memoir detailing the project and a little-known petition signed by the scientists, including Gest, immediately following the trial detonation of the bomb in Alamogordo, N.M. The petition was authored by Leo Szilard, the prominent Hungarian-born physicist, who spearheaded the Manhattan Project in response to the Germans, who were feverishly testing potential weapons of mass destruction as their prospects of winning the war dwindled. The petition urged former U.S. President Harry S Truman to consider the moral implications of dropping such a grimly, efficient weapon and to first offer the Japanese peace terms and advance warning of the devastation that would ensue if the terms were rejected. \nThe petition never reached Truman and was subsequently classified until 1958. But it did serve to document the dissent of Gest and his colleagues. \nAfter the resolution of the Second World War, Gest embarked on what would become a long and distinguished career researching photosynthetic bacteria. In 1984, Gest and his student Jeffrey Favinger discovered the bacteria, Heliobacterium chlorum, as the result of a botched experiment. This bacterium, which is extraordinarily sensitive to oxygen, is believed to be a link between the anaerobic bacteria that flourished in the Earth's early atmosphere and the more highly advanced plants that require oxygen for survival. \nMichael Lynch\nMichael Lynch, who arrived in Bloomington last summer, was one of the six inductees to be recognized for research in evolutionary biology and ecology. Lynch was a bit surprised to be inducted into the Academy, which boasts of such luminaries as Benjamin Franklin, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Albert Einstein. \n"There's a lot of people deserving of these awards," he said. "It's really a privilege to have (been inducted to the Academy). I suppose it does make a statement about what my peers think about the work I'm doing."\nIn a modest gesture, Lynch, who taught molecular evolution this past year, deflected some of the accolades.\n"I regard (the honor) as being more important for the department (of biology) than for myself," he said. \nAfter graduating from St. Bonaventure with a degree in biology, Lynch moved to the University of Minnesota, where he studied limnology, the study of lake biology. Upon completing his graduate work, he accepted a job at the University of Illinois. It was there, according to Lynch, that he developed an interest in evolution.\nSince then Lynch has been almost exclusively involved in the research of evolutionary biology. His work includes the study of gene duplication and mutation and genetic conservation. Lynch hopes his research will be able to translate into practical developments in medicine and the way we manage endangered species. \n"We've done a lot of work on the evolution of duplicate genes and how often duplicate genes arise. It turns out that a lot of human genetic disorders are actually associated with duplicate genes," Lynch said. "Also, the work I've done in genetic conservation has a lot of implications for how we manage endangered species. \nFor example, we worry about population sizes falling being below a certain point ... We've developed a lot of theory that provides a quantitative link between population size and the probability of extinction."\nAccording to Lynch, the field will continue to develop at an exponential rate as genome sequencing continues to expand.\n"It's an incredible privilege to be an evolutionary biologist right now ... Over the next 10 years we will have the genome sequences of many dozens of species," he said. "We really have an opportunity to understand how evolution occurs at the gene level."\nIn a recent press release, professor Jeffrey Palmer, chair of the IU Department of Biology lauded the two newly elected fellows.\n"I'm extremely proud," Palmer said. "This gives our department a total of five faculty who have been elected to the American Academy in just the past four years." \nThe Academy of Arts and Sciences will formally induct the new Fellows and Foreign honorary members during an Oct. 5 ceremony in Cambridge, Mass.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
A recent University of Michigan appellate court victory has left the courts split on the issue of considering race in college admissions. IU admissions officials are paying close attention to the case as they await a probable appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.\nLast month, in a narrow 5-4 decision, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati ruled that UM's law school may consider race in admissions, overturning a March 2001 federal district court ruling that disallowed the practice. \n"I think everyone in admissions will be watching it closely because it's going to control how we do our business," said Kevin R. Robling, assistant dean of admissions for the IU School of Law. \nRobling said while race is considered when selecting an applicant, it is not the primary consideration. He cited the 1978 University of California Regents v. Bakke case as legal precedent for IU's race-conscious admission policy. \n"IU follows the Supreme Court decision in Bakke," said Robling. "Basically it says that race can be taken into consideration in admissions as one factor amongst many when determining the quality of an applicant. It cannot be a decisive factor; we do not give additional points to someone based on race. It is just one factor that we consider amongst many others." \nSince the case was originally filed in 1997, UM has argued that increased diversity has educational benefits for all students. The appellate court agreed, stating in its opinion that "the law school has a compelling state interest in achieving diversity."\n"Diversity in law school may be more important than in engineering school," said Robling, reaffirming the Court's opinion. \n"There may be only one way to build a bridge but the law is extremely subjective; it applies to all people. It's important to have a class of diverse students."\nHowever, some view the consideration of race as a discriminatory practice that provides an unfair competitive advantage to some applicants. The 6th Circuit Court's dissent described the consideration of race as "a straightforward instance of racial discrimination" and found UM's efforts to attain a critical mass of minority students to be indistinguishable from numerical quota systems. \nSenior Jor Ming Goh, a telecommunications major, said that an admissions policy should strive for objectivity. \n"I think that admissions should be based on performance instead of race," Goh said. \nHe added that using race to differentiate two equally qualified candidates is "a clear-cut case of racial discrimination." \nDespite the strong dissent, the majority of the judges found the practice does not shield applicants from competition and UM does not reserve seats for minorities. Robling insisted that the IU Law School's admission policy is not anti-competitive. \n"It's not a trump card that's going to get you in the door," explained Robling. "It's not the only factor we consider." \nU.S. Congresswomen Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) likened race-conscious admissions policies to affirmative action. In a recent press release, she intimated the consideration of race and ethnicity in law school admissions may increase the number of minorities in the legal profession. \n"The lack of diversity is evident in the legal profession and confirms the continued need for affirmative action in law school admissions," Johnson said. "It is only fair to say that if the need for affirmative action were outdated there would be equal representation of racial minorities and women in the profession of law. Unfortunately, such diversity and inclusion has yet to be achieved."\nAn August 2001 American Bar Association (ABA) survey revealed that minorities, which comprise nearly 30 percent of the total population, accounted for only slightly over 8 percent of the ABA lawyers.\nRobling, however, says that the IU Law School's admissions policy should not be interpreted as affirmative action. \n"This is not meant to be a quota system," Robling said. "It's not meant to be an affirmative action program and it's not meant to right past evils." \n"I don't believe Michigan argued that it was any of those things. They were simply saying 'We have a better classroom environment if we have varying points of view coming from minority students and other areas of diversity,'" he said.\nIU professor of law, Daniel O. Conkle, said UM would have likely lost the case had the university argued solely on the grounds of affirmative action. \n"Recent Supreme Court cases have imposed extremely rigid evidentiary requirements in which the University of Michigan would have to provide clear evidence that the university had been engaged in clearly identified past discrimination of minorities," Conkle said. \nRobling said that, as of May 28, the law school had offered seats to 794 of the 2,453 applicants. Minorities will comprise 18 percent of IU's graduating class of 2005.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
Monroe County Police arrested Gosport, Ind. resident Robert S. Stewart Thursday evening in connection with the death of 2-year-old Steven Stewart Jr. and the attempted murder of 14-year-old Lisa Stewart. He is being held without bond at Monroe County Jail on charges of murder and attempted murder. \nAccording to a Bloomington Police Department press release, Stewart, an uncle of the two victims, was looking for the childrens' mother at her West Fifth Street residence. Finding the children alone, he reportedly slashed the throat of the 14-year-old girl with a kitchen knife and drove the children to a remote bridge on Moon Road where he then hurled the two into Bean Blossom Creek, an approximately 20-foot drop. \nAccording to the report, the girl was able to climb to the road where she was picked up at the 8000 block of Wampler Road. Before being taken to the hospital by ambulance, she identified her uncle as her attacker. \nThough an official motive has yet to be established, Stewart told investigators he was angry with the children's mother over money issues. \nThursday night, a canine search and rescue team, the Monroe County Dive Team and an Indiana State Police helicopter searched in vain for the infant's body until 3:15 a.m. However, at approximately 6 a.m. Friday morning, the 2-year-old body of Steven Stewart Jr. was found partially submerged in the Bean Blossom Creek by volunteer members of the Bean Blossom and Perry Township Fire Departments. \nThough no official ruling of death has been released, preliminary findings reveal that the boy was still alive at the time he was dropped from the bridge. Dave Tourney, Monroe County Coroner, said the boy appears to have drowned. \n"There was no sign of trauma or injury," Tourney said. \nAs of Sunday, the girl remains hospitalized at Bloomington Hospital after undergoing surgery for her two lacerations. Patient Care Director Kathy Robbins said the girl is in stable condition but is uncertain when she will be released. \nStewart will officially be charged with murder and attempted murder today at his initial hearing, which is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Monroe County Prosecutor Carl Salzmann said he is unsure whether or not the prosecution will pursue the death penalty. \n"It's still undecided," Salzmann said. "We're still trying to get more statements and affidavits."\nThe Associated Press contributed to this story.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
Several IU students were among 14 people indicted on charges of conspiracy to import and distribute the party drug ecstasy Tuesday in a U.S. District Court in Detroit.\nAmong those indicted by the Grand Jury are junior Brandon Wackowski, senior Jeremy Slyh, senior Brent Mortara and IU Southeast senior Samuel Cruz.\nDavid Ashenfelter, an IU alumnus and reporter for the Detroit Free Press, said eight of the 14 people indicted stood mute on Tuesday to charges of conspiring to import and distribute controlled substances. In addition, six of the defendants are charged with a second count of aiding and abetting the importation of ecstasy. Ashenfelter said each count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine. \nSeveral of the other people indicted were arrested in Cincinnati and other locations. Ashenfelter said while the majority of the 14 defendants were released on their own recognizance, one remains in custody and at least one other is at large, as of Wednesday. \nIn a sworn affidavit, Mike George, a special agent with the United States Customs Service, said Jay Brown, 23, Kristian Walter, 26, and Cruz, 23, arrived together at Detroit Metropolitan Airport on Oct. 2, 2001 from Amsterdam, Netherlands. George said the customs inspectors discovered 11,081 tablets of ecstasy, weighing 6.6 pounds, strapped to their legs with tape and ace bandages. George said Brown and Cruz provided U.S. Customs with a written statement, thus waiving their Miranda rights, admitting they had been recruited to smuggle the drug into the U.S. from Amsterdam for $10,000 each. \nThe federal indictment, filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald Waterstreet, claimed that Brown, Walter, Cruz and several others acted as couriers for Brent Killinger, Kip Presslaff and Wackowski, who allegedly distributed the drugs to IU, among other locations. The indictment claims that Wackowski, Presslaff and Killinger pooled resources to purchase ecstasy from a Dutch individual named Koen Michael Frans Van Riemsdjik Kreenen, or "Koon," and arranged for the couriers to smuggle the drugs into the U.S. George's statement revealed that on October 2, the three couriers, or "mules," as Ashenfelter referred to them, were supposed to meet an unidentified individual, who would distribute the drugs, at the Indianapolis Airport.\nA pre-trial conference has been scheduled for July 9, in which all 14 defendants are expected to enter a plea of not guilty in the court of U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman, Ashenfelter said.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
Particularly upbeat after an extraordinarily smooth meeting with Dean of Students Richard McKaig and Dean of Faculties Moya Andrews Thursday morning, in which they discussed the progress of the Benton mural initiatives, Chancellor Sharon Brehm declared "the hardest part of administration is getting the meeting."\nIndeed. Brehm's schedule is one meeting after another. One might imagine that if it were not for the large oriental-style rug, the sound of administrative terms like "strategic planning" and "new initiatives" and the seemingly endless talk of committees and subcommittees would perpetually echo off the wood floors of her spacious Bryan Hall office. \nNo one would argue there is a shortage of beautiful talk at IU. Wasn't it Dostoevskii's underground man who said it was the inescapable fate of all intelligent people to chatter away aimlessly, filling empty glasses from empty bottles? \nBrehm, however, said she made listening, not talking, a main priority in her first year as chancellor. She cited this strategy as a way to get acquainted with her new role.\n"I did, in fact, listen," Brehm said, reaffirming a statement she made last July. "It was a real opportunity for me to learn a lot about the campus and I enjoyed it thoroughly."\n"I think she has been very accessible and has really responded to the students' interests," McKaig said. "I am very impressed with the way she learned the IU systems. Everyone knows this is not an easy system to learn. It is very complex because of all the programs. It takes more than one year." \nIn a recent meeting with representatives from several departments, Brehm actually refrained from speech for the majority of the two hour meeting, which was called to discuss ways to use the $28 million of potential revenue from the recent $1,000 tuition hike. While academics filled the air with beautiful, well-developed arguments, Brehm sat quietly, jotting down notes and occasionally squinting her eyes and turning away when an argument struck a dissonant chord with her. \nWithout doubt, Chancellor Brehm's first year has been punctuated by exciting, controversial and, unfortunately, tragic events. On Sept. 11, shortly after her first semester began, terrorists flew 767's into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon. Students gathered around televisions on campus and in their homes, watching, in horror, as the surreal events unfolded. Brehm was in a meeting when she learned of the tragedy, though it was still unclear what had happened.\n"It was just hard to grasp," Brehm said. "We were all struggling to figure out what had happened."\nAs the surreal became real, administrators held emergency meetings, in which they decided to not cancel classes. Brehm, who visited students in residence halls that evening, said classes gave students an opportunity to escape the terrifying images the media was broadcasting.\nBrehm also noted that while the events were certainly tragic, they did serve to bring the campus together.\n"I think that event happened so early after I had come here that it created a certain type of bond between me and the students that would not have been created otherwise," Brehm said. \nThis year's IUSA elections, which later became a controversy in their own right, placed the spotlight on IU's alcohol policies, as many parties adopted platforms opposing the University's rules. Brehm was cautious when addressing the role of the University as moral watchdog, saying she was uncertain when authoritive action would be made but said she hoped to involve students in the decision making process. \n"We want to create an environment where students feel free to say 'no' or say 'enough,'" Brehm said. "There is huge peer pressure for students to drink and to drink a lot."\nAdministrators, notorious for their strategic ambiguity, are often put to the test when controversy arrives and decisive action becomes necessary. For Brehm, who certainly has some diplomatic qualities, that opportunity arose when controversy again surrounded over the Thomas Hart Benton mural, located in Woodburn Hall, over the artists depiction of Klu Klux Klan members burning a cross. After weeks of discussion, Brehm decided that mural would remain in Woodburn Hall.\nIn an effort to dampen the effect the mural may have on students, Brehm has launched a full-on public relations campaign on behalf of the mural that will leave even the most politically correct unoffended. The campaign includes videos, an enlarged and more informative plaque and guest lectures that will explain the history and importance of the mural. \n"We can't go through a Benton mural controversy every five years," Brehm said in a Thursday morning meeting. "That's no good for anybody." \nThroughout the year, Brehm has been plagued by the challenge of doing more with less, a result of the state budgetary crisis. She said the University has cut down on the administrative budget and used cash savings from the previous year in order to absorb budget cuts, which amounted to a half a percent cut in state appropriation.\n"We made a pledge early on that we would do everything we could to protect the academic mission," Brehm said. "We took the cuts in areas other than academics." \nUndoubtedly, many students see IU as an insatiable sponge, which goes about soaking up students' money even beyond graduation, but Brehm maintains the University is a model of budgetary efficiency. However, she warned that an economic downturn could be put the school in a difficult position. \n"We're living on the edge," Brehm said. "There are limits to how much more you can do with less." \nThis summer Brehm herself was surrounded by controversy when she was accused of suggesting shredding and altering dean evaluations while at Ohio University. Emitting an unconvincing laugh, she quickly denounced the accusations, stating she in no way violated the spirit of public records law.\n"People have said (to newspapers) that I didn't take that document and I didn't ask anyone to shred that document," Brehm said. "I didn't understand what the story was." \nBrehm reflected warmly on her first year, citing the post-Sept. 11 bonding and the basketball team's unlikely run to the championship game as the year's memorable experiences. \nLate into the afternoon Brehm was still at work, fielding phone calls and, most likely, arranging more meetings.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
This week IU was awarded a four-year $2.2 million Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Undergraduate Science Education Program grant. The HHMI, the nation's largest private source of support for biomedical research and science education, selected 43 colleges and universities to receive the grants which ranged from $1.2 to $2.2 million.\nThe HHMI, which donated a total of $80 million to various institutions, said the grants will subsidize programs that allow graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to sharpen their teaching skills. The grant also stipulates the money should be used to introduce undergraduate students to emerging scientific disciplines such as genomics and computational biology. \n"Biology is progressing so rapidly and interfacing with so many other disciplines that undergraduate teaching runs the risk of substituting quantity for quality," HHMI president Thomas R. Cech said in a recent press release. "Through these grants, the Institute is providing resources to help universities bring their undergraduate science teaching up to the level of their research programs."\nThe HHMI considered proposals from 189 universities and colleges. A panel consisting of scientists and educators was assembled to review the proposals and determine which institutions would receive the funding. \nIU's proposal included plans for four initiatives: a summer research institute, an integrated freshman learning experience, inquiry-based curriculum enhancement and the Capstone program, which will give 230 undergraduate students the opportunity to get funding for research in one of three designated scientific fields. The programs are expected to bridge the gap between research and teaching and incite scientific passion in students. \n"We want to excite students about science," education professor William Harwood said. "As a research faculty, we would like to share that experience and offer the students the opportunity to get involved early and as often as possible." \nAndrew Feig, assistant professor of biochemistry and bioinorganic chemistry, said the integrated freshman learning experience, which will begin next summer, will allow students to get hands-on experience in scientific research, develop critical thinking skills and cultivate relationships with students who share similar academic interests. This is also designed to provide students with interlocutors for heated scientific debate. \nStudents participating in this program will choose a scientific question and, in the process of seeking for an answer, discuss the issue from several angles including biology, biochemistry and neural sciences. Feig said the program provides the students with considerable freedom. \n"It inverts the process of education; it's not the faculty but the students that dictate what the course is about," Feig said. \nIU was one of only seven academic institutions to be awarded the maximum amount of the grant, receiving more funding than such prestigious schools as Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton and Yale. Harwood said the grant was an indication of the excellence of IU's programs and award-winning faculty, especially in the scientific fields. \n"This is a real feather in IU's cap," Harwood said. "We should feel really proud. (This grant) says that we have a very strong program and a strong proposal for helping students learn science." \nHowever, Feig warned that the amount of funding awarded should not be mistaken as a mark of distinction, conveying IU's comparative superiority to those schools, but said the grant was an indication of IU's strong proposal and financial need for implementing the initiatives.\n"I am not sure that it means that much," Feig said. \nLynda Delph, biology associate chair for teaching will head the administering committee, which will oversee the programs and report to the HHMI.\nThis marks the second time IU has been awarded the HHMI grant.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
For 34 years, Carol Jenkins' killer has skirted the criminal justice system. Now, it appears the man charged with her murder may elude his day in court.\nThursday, Morgan County Superior Court 2 Judge Christopher Burnham ordered Kenneth C. Richmond to submit to a psychiatric evaluation, to be performed by two court-appointed psychiatrists. If Richmond is found to be mentally incompetent he will be committed to a mental health ward, where he will remain until he recovers sufficiently enough to understand the charges filed against him, said Morgan County Prosecutor Steve Sonnega.\nRichmond, 70, was arrested on May 8 and charged with stabbing the young black woman with a screwdriver on Sept. 16, 1968, while she was selling encyclopedias door-to-door in Martinsville. The murder went unsolved for 34 years before Shirley McQueen, Richmond's daughter, identified him as the alleged murderer. If convicted he will face a life sentence.\nSteve Litz, Richmond's court-appointed lawyer, said the defendant's mental condition has degenerated precipitously. \n"Lately there have been times when he doesn't know who I am or what day of the week it is," Litz said. \nSonnega agreed, saying, until recently, there was nothing unusual in the way Richmond had comported himself.\n"Up until the last hearing there had been no obvious sign that there were any problems," Sonnega said. "The hearing on Thursday was the first sign. The court has a statutory obligation to investigate."\nThe court-ordered evaluations may lead to a delay in the trial, which is scheduled to begin Oct. 1; seemingly jeopardizing Richmond's right to a speedy trial. Indiana law stipulates that a defendant has the right to a trial within 180 days. However, if there is a delay in the trial it will be attributed to the defense, Sonnega said, meaning Richmond would not be released from jail in the event trial is unduly delayed.\nHowever, it is becoming increasing likely that the case will not make it to court. Beyond his psychiatric problems, Richmond's health is reportedly deteriorating quickly. Litz said Richmond suffers from bladder cancer, hepatitis, seizures and incontinence. To accommodate his medical and mental needs, Richmond, who is currently being held without bond at Morgan County Jail, will be moved to a Department of Correction facility next week.\nAlso Thursday, the defense filed a motion to suppress potentially incriminating medical health records, which the prosecutors hope will illuminate crucial facts about the case. The records were obtained by the prosecutors from two state mental hospitals and Wishard Memorial Hospital in Indianapolis psychiatric facility. The defense has argued that using the records would constitute a breach of patient-physician confidentiality. \n"We obtained what we believed were medical records," Litz said. "In those records were things that could be determined to be mental health records."\n"We followed the proper legal procedure. If the judge says we got more than we should have, we'll go from there."\nBurnham will rule on admissibility of the mental health records in a hearing scheduled for Tuesday at 10 a.m.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
A new bacterial forecasting system developed by Greg Olyphant, associate professor of geological sciences, has made it possible for cities to accurately predict potentially hazardous bacteria levels along Lake Michigan. The system may potentially eliminate unnecessary beach closings, which have plagued lakefront cities such as Chicago and Milwaukee. \nOlyphant's system uses weather characteristics such as recent rainfall, wind, lake levels, air and water temperature and sunshine to estimate E-coli levels in the water as well as on the beach. What makes the model so valuable is its timeliness, Olyphant said. The new computerized approach can forecast E-coli levels within just three hours. \n"The variables are observable on a real-time basis," Olyphant said. "We plug the numbers into the forecasting model and we can make a decision on the basis of that." \nCurrently, health officials evaluate water safety by collecting samples and sending them to a lab to be cultured. Olyphant claims this process can often take more than a day and does not provide reliable information about future bacteria levels. \n"There is no good statistical relationship between the bacteria levels yesterday and the levels today," Olyphant said. \nLast summer, Olyphant developed and tested forecasting models for the cities of Chicago and Milwaukee. The models accurately determined whether to close beaches 81 percent of the time in Chicago and 83 percent of the time, 75 out of 90 days, in Milwaukee. \nClay Fuqua, assistant professor of biology, said detecting E-coli in water is a strong indication that other dangerous bacteria such as proteus and yersinia are present. \n"Those pathogens are very well correlated with E-coli tainted water supplies, but they are hard to detect directly," Fuqua said. "The numbers you need to get sick are below the levels that would be easily detected. (Testing for E-coli) is an indirect way of determining that there are other, more hazardous microbes as well." \nAlthough most E-coli strands that one might encounter on a beach are non-virulent, Fuqua said any level of E-coli is considered to be a health hazard and, if ingested, may result in nausea and moderate diarrhea. The federal limit of E-coli for safe swimming is currently 235 colony forming units (cfu) per 100 mL of water. \nIn 2001, there were 601 Lake Michigan beach closings due to tainted water, eclipsing the previous record by nearly 200. Illinois alone experienced 339 closings last year, compared to 10 in 1994. \n"Beach closings from bacterial pollution are reaching disturbing highs," said Lake Michigan Federation Executive Director Cameron Davis in a recent press release. \nAccording to the Federation, the increase in closings was concurrent with the release of nearly 2 billion gallons of untreated sewage from Chicago wastewater facilities into the lake. In Indiana, closings and advisories rose to a record-high 92, largely due to the Chicago sewage discharges. \nThe beach closings may be symptomatic of poor sewage management. Olyphant said our contaminates are not being handled in "the most optimum ways," noting that E-coli levels can rise precipitously during the peak of a storm, perhaps up to 30,000 cfu's per mL. \n"When a storm occurs, sewage facilities cannot handle the amount of sewage," Olyphant said. "(Instead) they are willing to pay the fine and let the human sewage end up in the lake. The people with the money in the sewage plants can manipulate things away from the direction of public safety. \n"There has been a system in place for years in which they keep track of how much water is bypassed; they pay a fee based on how much is bypassed. I would guess the estimates are a bit on the low side."\nSince the completion of testing, Milwaukee has implemented the forecasting model at two beaches. The models have been linked to a Web site and telephone hotline, allowing beach-goers access to up-to-date information about waterfront bacteria levels. Aside from increasing beach health, officials hope the model will reduce the economic loss that accompanies unnecessary closures, which have been frequent due to the primitive nature of past forecasting techniques. \nStrapped for funds, Chicago was unable to continue the project, Olyphant said. Olyphant has also been contacted by officials in New Zealand, Australia, Boston and Santa Monica who are searching for ways to solve their own waterfront quagmires. \nOlyphant's findings are slated to be published later this year in the international journal Environmental Monitoring and Assessment.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
In a Tuesday morning press conference, Monroe County Councilman Scott Wells announced that he had filed a defamation suit against local resident Kevin Shiflet, who has accused Wells of having prior knowledge of the Pedigo Bay fire.\nAccording to the complaint, Wells and Shiflet spoke after a July 2 press conference regarding the Pedigo Bay project. A week later, during a televised Monroe County Council meeting, Shiflet read aloud an affidavit, alleging that during their July 2 conversation, Wells confided he had knowledge of the fire before it happened and that he knew, but would not reveal, the people responsible. On July 10, Shiflet read the reproachful document again on WGCL Radio. While on air, he also claimed he had notified the FBI, the ATF and state and local law enforcement agencies. \nThe $725,000 home of Steve Smith burned to the ground on June 27. Investigators found a propane tank in the garage of the 3,400 square-foot home, prompting many to suspect arson.\nElizabeth Cure, who along with David Colman is representing Wells, said while the First Amendment grants the right to openly criticize public figures, Shiflet's actions are more grave in nature. \n"What you can't do is knowingly publish false statements that tend to harm another's reputation, as to lower him in the estimation of the community or deter others from dealing with him or associating with him," Cure said. "And that is the definition of defamation in the state of Indiana." \nThe complaint also imputes Shiflet with defamation per se and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Colman described defamation per se as an elevated form of defamation, which may affect the amount of damages awarded by the jury. \nIn a prepared speech, Wells, who has spent the past seven years teaching advanced classes at Owen Valley High School, steadfastly defended his reputation. Accompanied by his lawyers and a small troupe of friends, Wells invoked childhood conversations with his grandfather, who he said taught him the importance of truth, honesty and integrity. \n"I believe that without those three things guiding everything I do, I really have nothing," Wells said. "I can have my house, cars and all of my materialistic desires fulfilled. But, when the end comes, the only thing I will really be judged and remembered for in this materialistic world is my reputation. I believe that without your reputation, you really have nothing.\n"Until recently, I believed the dangers that I confronted in my work were from those who were willing to damage the environment for profit. Now, I know that the danger comes from people who are not only willing to damage the environment for their profit, but who will also attempt to destroy those who stand in their way."\nIn his introductory speech, James Alexander Thom, an Owen County author, defended Wells. \n"They can't get him in his pocketbook so they went for the only valuable thing he had -- his reputation," Thom said. \nThe complaint filed by Wells and his lawyers does not define the appropriate amount of monetary redress. Colman said that amount will be determined by the jury. \n"We plan to investigate this matter, we intend to pursue it and it will ultimately result in a trial with an appropriate penalty," Colman said. \nWells and his lawyers intimated that the lawsuit may implicate others as their investigation continues.\n"If the involvement of others comes to the surface, they will be named as defendants," Colman said.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
In a morbid turn of events, one of the 14 people indicted on charges of smuggling ecstasy to be distributed in Bloomington, was found stabbed to death in Indianapolis Saturday morning. Layton Chambers, a 22-year-old Bloomington resident, was found dead at the intersection of Bluff Road and Pleasant Run North Drive, on the South Side of Indianapolis. \nIn a federal indictment, filed June 5 by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald Waterstreet, Chambers was one of 14 people charged with conspiracy to import and distribute ecstasy. The indictment claims Chambers acted as a drug courier for Brent Killinger, Kip Presslaff and Brandon Wackowski, who collectively purchased ecstasy from a Dutch man named Koen Michael Frans Van Riemsdjik Kreenen in Amsterdam.\nIn a sworn affidavit, Mike George, a special agent with the United States Customs Service, said Jay Brown, 23, Kristian Walter, 26, and Samuel Cruz, 23, were collectively carrying 11,081 tablets of ecstasy, weighing 6.6 pounds when they arrived from Amsterdam at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport on Oct. 2, 2001. Customs agents discovered the tablets strapped to their legs with tape and ace bandage. Brown and Cruz admitted in a written statement that they had been recruited to smuggle the drug into the U.S. for $10,000. \nAccording to the office of the Registrar, at least eight of the 14 defendants have been enrolled either currently or in the past at IU. However, the Registrar has no record indicating that Chambers was ever enrolled as an IU student.\nOn June 18, eight of the 14 defendants stood mute to the charges in a U.S. District Court in Detroit, prompting Judge Bernard Friedman to enter pleas of not-guilty on their behalf.\nLt. Jerry Minger declined to comment on the specifics of IUPD's role in the investigation, stating only that the department had been contacted by U.S. customs agents due to the involvement of IU students. Minger said the department's role was marginal. \nU.S. Assistant Attorney Ron Waterstreet was unavailable for comment.
(06/27/02 3:09am)
With just a cursory glance at a bursar bill, students will find a wide variety of enigmatic fees, including additional course fees, technology and health fees. One fee that students may find particularly confounding is the student activity fee, which, according to the Office of the Bursar, is appropriated down to the very last cent to no less than 13 different activities and services.\nCurrently, students pay $58.87 each semester or $29.43 for an individual summer session in activity fees. The lion's share of this fee, $37.46 or $18.73 for one summer session, is allotted for recreational sports. This portion of the fee entitles a student to unlimited use of the Student Recreational Sports Center; the facilities in the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation; and the North Fee Lane Field Complex as well as group exercise sessions. \nStudents not enrolled in summer classes must purchase a membership, which costs the same as the activity fee, for each summer session in order to use these facilities. The remainder of the fee is applied to Union Board events, auditorium events, WIUS radio, the IU Student Association and Student Legal Services amongst numerous areas.\nJackie Puterbaugh, associate director of the Recreational Sports Division, said the fee is primarily used to provide programs such as strength and conditioning, group exercise and informal swimming. \n"Most of the fee goes directly to programming, she said. "It also subsidizes the cost for club and intramural sports."\nA small portion of a student's activity fee, $1.16, is appropriated for equipment replacement.\n"We have about $1.6 million dollars worth of assets. That money goes towards replacing equipment at the end of it's life expectancy," Puterbaugh said. \nMuch of the money is used to pay the wages of the recreational sports staff, which Puterbaugh said consists largely of students. \n"A good percentage of that money goes back into students pockets through student employment. We have about 800 student employees that work for us in part-time positions." \nThe activity fee, which comes under review every two years, is established by students, a fact that may assuage students' fears of misappropriation.\nThis fall a committee of five to seven students, who will be chosen from a field of applicants, will meet with various student factions including student government, greek representatives and the Student Recreational Sports Association (SRSA) to determine the activity fee. The committee's decision will be reviewed by Dean of Students Richard McKaig and Chancellor Sharon Brehm before being passed on to the trustees. \nMcKaig said the process is a balancing act. Naturally, some students feel they are being unduly charged for activities they will rarely, if ever, use, while others would prefer to see more activities covered by their activity fee. McKaig said while a system which would charge students according to their own individual use would be ideal, "it would prevent us from developing an expansive program." \nMcKaig said the goal is to apply the funds for the "common good" of the student body. \nEvery year student groups such as the SRSA conduct surveys to gauge student participation in various activities and services. These surveys determine what activities will be included in the activity fee. \n"We try our best to get feedback from participants and the entire student body, including non-participants," said SRSA President Brooke Albright. \nPuterbaugh intimated the surveys result in an activity fee that represents the general interests of the student body. \n"Students are paying for the programming that the majority of students participate in," Puterbaugh said.\nOne particular issue that may provoke the ire of students is the additional fee that is paid upon each visit to facilities such as the IU pool, tennis pavilion and the golf course. Puterbaugh claims the IU pool and tennis center are not covered by the activity fee because these activities are not under the authority of the Rec Sports division. But Puterbaugh said the exclusion of these activities is not due to a lack of participation though. \nAlbright said activity fees will be a priority for the SRSA this fall. \n"We'll be meeting every other week with an umbrella association, and I know that activity fees will be discussed in every meeting," Albright said. \nAmong those represented by the umbrella association, which consists of 16 groups, are club sports, the greek community and the residence halls. \nThis fall, the SRSA will also pursue additional equipment replacement and an increased budget for facility maintenance, Albright said. \nAlbright conceded that regardless of how hard the SRSA campaigns, the decisions are made by the directors of the Rec Sports division and, ultimately, the board of trustees. \n"It's really up to the supervisors. They definitely have veto power," Albright said. "However, the supervisors we have now are pretty open to our opinions." \nMcKaig said the committee's decision will likely be upheld by the board of trustees. \nMcKaig expects the student committee to reach a decision no later than February. \n"To my knowledge, every recommendation that has come from the committee in the past 20 years has been approved by the administration," McKaig said.
(06/24/02 2:28am)
Since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, no Monroe County prosecutor has pursued the capital punishment of a defendant in a murder trial. In fact, no one has been sentenced to death by a Monroe County court in the past century. This precedent will be weighing heavy on the minds of prosecutor Carl Salzmann and deputy prosecutor Mary Ellen Diekhoff as they consider whether to seek the death penalty in the trial of Robert S. Stewart.\nAccording to Indiana law, the death penalty may be applied in a murder trial if at least one aggravating circumstance can be proved beyond reasonable doubt. The law stipulates that the kidnapping and intentional killing of a person less than 12 years of age constitutes two aggravating circumstances that could warrant the application of capital punishment.\nLast Monday at the initial hearing, Stewart pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and attempted murder. Stewart is being held without bond at the Monroe County Jail, under the orders of Monroe Circuit Judge Marc Kellams. The fathers of the two victims, who are both brothers of the accused, attended the hearing.\nStewart, 30, is charged with slashing the throat of his niece Lisa Stewart, 14, on June 13 and dropping her and her 2-year-old brother Steven off a remote bridge that crossed Bean Blossom Creek. The body of the 2-year-old was found partially submerged in the creek the following morning by Bloomington firefighters.\nIn a sworn affidavit released to the Herald-Times, Monroe County sherriff's deputy Ann Maxwell stated that the 14-year-old girl was able to climb to the road where she was found with two lacerations on her throat. The girl confided to police that her uncle slashed her throat at her home and drove her and her brother to the bridge, where they were both thrown into the creek, according to the document.\nMaxwell stated, in her affidavit, that Stewart confessed to detectives that he slashed the young girl's throat and dropped them both from the bridge.\nPreliminary findings from an autopsy performed at Terre Haute Regional Hospital last Sunday revealed that Steven Stewart, Jr. was still alive when he was dropped from the bridge. \n"My preliminary finding is that the cause of death was drowning." said Monroe County Coroner Dave Toumey. "There were no signs of trauma."\nToumey said he is unsure when the final ruling of death will be issued. He said he is still awaiting toxicology tests results but declined to comment on the details of those tests.\nKathy Robbins, patient care director at Bloomington Hospital, declined to discuss the health status of Lisa Stewart, who underwent surgery for her two lacerations shortly after the incident, but said the 14-year-old girl had recently been released from the hospital's care.\nIf the prosecutors choose not to seek the death penalty, Stewart could face up to 115 years in prison. According to Indiana law, IC 35-50-2-3, murder carries a fixed sentence of 55 years with no more than 10 years to be added or subtracted for aggravating and mitigating circumstances. In addition, Stewart could receive up to 50 years for attempted murder. A preliminary trial date of Sept. 10 was set at the initial hearing.
(06/03/02 3:41am)
For the past month, Indiana residents have continually been reminded to buckle their seat belts, whether it be a stern television or radio advertisement or a uniformed officer issuing citations in the middle of the street at one of the 4,000 conspicuous seat belt enforcement zones. \nAs of May 30, over 24,000 Indiana motorists have been issued citations as a result of the "Click it or Ticket" program, which is part of a nationwide campaign to increase the use of seat belts. \n"Click It or Ticket," which concluded June 1, used increased traffic enforcement, paid advertisements and public education in an attempt to increase seat belt usage and compliance with child restraint laws. The program was subsidized by a $1,550,509 innovative grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). In addition to the innovative grants issued by the NHTSA, states that exceed the national average seat belt usage rate for two consecutive years or exceed their best usage rate are eligible to receive incentive grants from the federal government. \n"Click it or Ticket" has provoked the ire of local Libertarians who claim that the enforcement zones breach motorists' civil liberties. When a motorist is pulled over at a checkpoint, police have the opportunity to procure criminal evidence without probable cause. In fact, according to the Indiana's Governor's Council on Impaired and Dangerous Driving, 531 citations or arrests were issued for offenses unrelated to seat belt usage during the two week increased enforcement period. \n"The Fourth Amendment guarantees our right to be free from unwarranted search and seizure," said Erin Hollinden, press secretary for the Monroe County Libertarian Party. "And in many cases when you are pulled over for a seat belt violation, you are subjected to an unwarranted search. When the seat belts laws were first instigated in the 1980s, we were told that they would only be applied if you had already been pulled over for another offence and that this would be only an additional charge. \n"And as is typically the case with bad laws, they are not applied as intended but extended to jeopardize civil liberties."\nThe directors of "Click it or Ticket" steadfastly believe in the constitutionality of the program. Jennifer Cox, public relations manager for the program, invoked an old maxim in defending "Click it or Ticket."\n"Some Hoosier motorists believe seat belt usage is an individual right and that it cannot be mandated under the Indiana or United States constitution," Cox said. "Those motorists are wrong. Driving is a privilege, not a right. When Hoosier motorists sign for their drivers license, we agree to abide by all of the laws and regulations that govern the operation of our vehicles on Indiana's roadways."\nUnlike alcohol or drug checkpoints, the constitutionality of which have been challenged in the courts, seat belt enforcement zones target motorists who are only endangering their own safety and do not present a risk to the general public. Libertarians, the third largest party in the U.S., believe that while wearing a seat belt is most certainly the safe and smart thing to do, failing to do so should not be a criminal offense. \n"The main problem with this is that it is what we call a victimless crime, or a consensual crime, where nobody is involved in the situation that is not there voluntarily," Hollinden said. "It is not what we Libertarians would consider a crime at all. We only think there is a crime where there is force or fraud involved.\n"If everything that was stupid was illegal I think that one third of Americans would be in prison, one third would be cops and the last third would be stuck paying for it."\nThe Governor's Council on Impaired and Dangerous Driving however, defends its mandate to protect people from themsleves. Cox said failing to wear a seat belt is not an entirely victimless crime and said she expects the program, in addition to saving 50-100 lives, to generate an economic savings of $150 million for taxpayers due to reduced injuries; the result of increased seat belt usage. \n"We feel we are protecting all citizens by enforcing the seat belt law. When one person is seriously injured or even killed, it affects us all," Cox said. "When a person is serious or fatally injured in a motor vehicle crash, society pays for much of the cost associated with the crash. Included in society's costs are emergency services, uninsured medical care, tax supported rehabilitation programs and increased insurance premiums.\n"The fact is 85 percent of all medical costs for crash victims are paid for by society, not the individuals involved. Hospital costs are 60 to 80 percent lower for belted crash victims than those victims who were unrestrained."\nStill in the midst of a state budget crisis, Libertarians question whether or not seat belt enforcement is the best appropriation of police and monetary resources. Hollinden believes that police officers should be focused on fighting "real crimes" and stresses that millions of dollars of taxpayer money are being allocated for this initiative. \nIn a confounding statement, Cox explained the origin of the funds.\n"This program is 100 percent federally funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation. There is not one state taxpayer dollar paying for this campaign. They are all federal funds. Some argue that they are still paying taxpayer dollars for federal funds. That is correct, these federal tax dollars are yours, but if this money had not have gone to Indiana, another state would have received them for the same initiative," she said.\nIn 2001, 894 Indiana motorists were killed in automobile accidents, 127 fewer than 1999. During that time period, seat belt usage increased to 67 percent from 57 percent in 1999. Director of the Governor's Council on Impaired & Dangerous Driving Jerry McCory noted the progress in a recent press release. \n"Remarkable progress has been made over the past couple of years in increasing Indiana's seat belt usage rate," McCory said.\n"However, much more is needed to keep Hoosiers safe and alive on our roadways"
(05/09/02 3:29am)
This past week, junior Sarah McCauley, a political science major, was selected to receive a $30,000 Truman Scholarship from the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation. The prestigious scholarship was awarded to 64 scholars chosen from 600 candidates. \n"I was shocked," the junior from Panama City, Fla. said, describing her reaction to the news of the selection. Following the initial interview, which McCauley described as being "like nothing I have ever experienced," she was surprised to be called back later the same day for a brief second interview. Disappointed about the second interview, McCauley had doubts about her chances of being selected. \n"I hadn't written it off but I certainly didn't have my hopes up," she said. \nThe Truman Scholarship is awarded to college juniors pursuing a career in public service on the basis of the candidates' academic and leadership merits and their potential to become "change agents" for public institutions. The $30,000 grant includes $3,000 for senior expenses and $27,000 to be appropriated for graduate study in a variety of public-oriented fields. \nMcCauley's accomplishments elicited praise from IU President Myles Brand, as he notified her of the selection. \n"Your commitment to leadership and public service is inspiring. We are honored by your achievements and wish you all the best as you continue to pursue your goals," Brand said in a recent press release.\nMcCauley, who has been studying in Oxford for the past year, plans to enter law school to study public interest law. She has always been interested in politics and aspires to pursue a political career, a move that her father, Carroll McCauley, believes suits McCauley, the youngest of seven daughters, perfectly. \n"It is clear that she is well-suited for a career in public service and will follow through with this. She will have the skills to practice law in a number of areas but she is bound to affect the lives of other people in a positive way," he said.\nAlthough he faintly chuckled as he began addressing Sarah's ambition of becoming president, he said it's a possibility that's certainly not out of the question. \n"She really wants to hold public office and she is an excellent public speaker who is as comfortable in front of 10,000 people as she is with 10. Her character and reputation are impeccable and in public life scrutiny is now at its highest degree," he said.\nAs a recipient, McCauley will attend the Truman Scholars Leadership Week at William Jewell College in Liberty, Mo., near President Harry Truman's hometown of Independence. During this intense week, scholars will participate in activities designed to prepare them for a life in public service. Truman scholars are also eligible to participate in 10-week public service internships in Washington, D.C., during the summer, which in the past have included jobs at the White House, Capitol Hill and the Department of Justice. \nIn receiving the Truman award, McCauley joins a long lineage of recipients from IU. Since the inception of the prestigious scholarship in 1977, IU has produced 16 Truman Scholars.
(07/26/01 4:20am)
The International Olympic Committee announced July 13 that the 2008 Olympic Games would be held in Beijing. Thousands gathered as Tiananmen Square erupted into celebration following the announcement, which the Chinese government views as an international endorsement of recent reforms. But human rights groups still contend that China has a long way to go on the issue of human rights reform and are unsure whether or not China can uphold the principles of the Olympic Charter.\n"Considering the escalation in serious and widespread human rights violations over the past three years, the Chinese authorities have a long way to go to demonstrate a healthy and basic respect for human rights," Amnesty International said in a press release. "The Chinese government must prove it is worthy of staging the Games by upholding the Olympic spirit of 'fair play' and extending 'respect for universal, fundamental, ethical principles' to the people of China."\nAmnesty International, a steadfast opponent of the death penalty, claims that more than 1,700 people have been executed since April as a part of China's "Strike Hard" campaign against crime -- more than the entire rest of the world has executed in the past three years. The group said in many of these cases a fair trial was denied, noting that lawyers have been pressured not to offer a plea of "not guilty" and that some confessions might have been the result of torture. In a July 6 press release, the group intimated that as a result of the "Strike Hard" campaign, which aims to dramatically shorten the judicial process, many people may have been wrongly convicted.\n"Curtailed procedures plus great pressure on police and judicial authorities mean that the potential for miscarriages of justice, arbitrary sentencing and the execution of innocent people is immense." Amnesty International said, ironically, many of those sentenced to death were sent to sports stadiums for public humiliation before having their sentences carried out.\nTibetans protest Beijing Olympic bid\nTibetans and supporters of a free Tibet worldwide are voicing their disapproval of the IOC's decision to award Beijing the Olympics.\n"We are outraged that the IOC has chosen to overlook the systematic destruction of Tibetan culture and human rights abuses committed by the Chinese government," said Lhadon Tethong of Students for a Free Tibet in a July 13 press release.\nAccording to the release, in the six months leading up to the IOC decision, Tibetan freedom supporters sent 250,000 postcards, letters, e-mails, faxes and petitions to the IOC opposing Beijing's bid for the 2008 Olympics. \nFalun Gong Practitioners Protest\nPractitioners of Falun Gong, a lifestyle rooted in special exercises and meditations which has been banned in China since July 1999, are hoping that the IOC's decision to hold the 2008 Olympics in Beijing will bring attention to their plight. The group claims that more than 250 members have died in custody since the ban was issued, a number that Amnesty International corroborates. In a July 13 media advisory, practitioners sought assistance from abroad.\n"Our concern has been and continues to be the welfare of the Falun Gong practitioners in China who are being brutally persecuted for their faith," the advisory read. "We are sending out an urgent SOS to the international community to help secure their safe release from labor camps and prisons all across China. The ban on Falun Gong that began almost two years ago on July 20, 1999 must be lifted before more innocent lives are lost."\n"We hope that China will not see winning the Olympics as a license to kill," said Falun Gong spokesperson Erping Zhang. "In just the past week, we have had two reports of mass killings of Falun Gong practitioners in Chinese labor camps. We do not want to see more."\nTaiwanese Hold Doubts\nIn Taiwan, there is optimism that the IOC's decision might delay a war with China, but some believe that China must continue to improve human rights. \nTaiwanese student Pei Chi Chung is wary that the decision will not result in any appreciable changes to the state of human rights in China. \n"I hold a doubt on the degree of freedom that will actually be granted to normal people in China from now to 2008. Seven years later, can visitors to the Beijing city wave their Taiwan or Tibetan flags just like they usually do when they are in Taiwanese, American and many other democratic societies?" said Chung.\nTaiwanese and critics around the world are concerned that while China might be constructing a beautiful facade, the reality of the situation could be much different. Chung believes this might be occurring in Shanghai. \n"I have heard so many real life stories from relatives who hold business in China on how the PRC (People's Republic of China) government uses state power to change the city landscape of Shanghai. Thousands of trees can be planted in a short time just to improve the city view of Shanghai as the city is hosting the meeting of WTO. As for areas that foreigners won't have a chance to visit to, it's 'dirty, awkward, and disastrous,' according to my aunt." \nChinese Students Applaud IOC Decision\nLike those who reveled in the streets of Beijing on the night of the announcement, Chinese students here at IU, many of whom are weary of the media attacks on China's human rights record, are celebrating the IOC's decision.\n"It is a very positive and correct decision in which I see a chance that helps China develop and improve their human rights situation," said Hanwei Tan, president of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association.\nIU student Brandon Chemers Cheng Boran, who is living in Beijing and described the celebration in Millennium Square as one of the happiest experiences of his life, said Beijing deserved to win the Olympics.\n"Beijing's 2008 bid deserved to win because any mistakes with the 2000 bid have been improved upon. The human rights situation is growing better and better year by year -- (though) there is still the problem of Americans seeing human rights as something different from other people, especially those in Third World countries -- the environmental conditions are better, and overall the city and people are more mature and more ready for such a major event."\nChinese student Wei Wang dismissed much of the criticism as media propaganda.\n"The reason that most American people believe that mainland Chinese people don't have human rights can be tracked to the media," Wang said.\nBush Administration Neutral\nWhile some members of Congress have expressed discontent with the decision, the Bush Administration has remained neutral on the issue.\nWhite House spokesman Ari Fleischer released the following statement: "The president believes that the Olympics are a sporting event, not a political event. But having said that, this now is an opportunity for China to showcase itself as a modern nation." \nIOC executive director Francois Carrard said the committee hopes China will take action to improve the human rights situation in the next seven years.\nBeijing prevailed in the second round of voting by receiving 56 votes, soundly defeating runners-up Toronto, Paris and Istanbul. This will be the first time China, which comprises nearly one quarter of the world's population, hosts the Olympic Games.