24 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(01/30/06 4:52am)
Every day, senior Bailey Redick gets up by 8 a.m. \n"I always have something to do," she said.\nRedick is a runner who has competed in a 26-mile marathon. She wants to join the Air Force and she is a resident assistant in McNutt Quad.\nAdditionally, since she majors in costume construction technology, she has the skill to make her own clothes.\nRedick will graduate in May 2007 from the Individualized Major Program with a Bachelor of Arts in fashion design, a Bachelor of Science in apparel merchandising, an associate's degree in costume construction technology and a business minor. Many would be intimidated by such a load, but Redick said she loves what she does.\n"I run," Redick said. "If I stopped running, it's like everything just comes crashing down." \nShe said she has to find time to run at least twice a week. Training for the Los Angeles Marathon two years ago helped her to learn the benefits of long-term goal-setting, she said. \n"I still can't fathom that I did that," she said, adding that she finished in the top 25 percent of her age division.\nThose who know Redick acknowledge her proactive attitude.\n"When Bailey makes up her mind to do something, I don't think there's a lot that can stop her," said John Summerlot, a residence coordinator at McNutt. \nSummerlot has worked with Redick since August 2004 and said her ability to work with residents and fellow employees, along with her attention to her personal health, makes her an asset to the staff. \nSummerlot has had the privilege of benefiting from Redick's craftiness. He said last year Redick had to make a toddler's outfit for a class, and his 2-year-old daughter was the perfect age to be the recipient of the piece.\n"Bailey made an awesome pair of blue corduroy overalls for her that have rainbow suspenders and colorful buttons on them," Summerlot said. "(My daughter is) almost 2 now and they are soon going to be too small for her but yet if she picks out her own clothes that day, she will pick those every time." \nSummerlot said Redick also made a matching purse, and his daughter carries it with her every time she wears the overalls. \n"We knew how much it meant to Bailey," Summerlot said.\nRedick has also created an original tutu, corset, vest and party dress for her classes. Still, she insists her work could use improvement.\n"When I look at things, I think 'I could have done that so much better,'" she said. "As I keep learning, I'm going to get better."\nRedick said she has learned a lot about time management and how to balance a social life through her job at McNutt on top of a full load of school work. She said she became an RA because she realized what a great advantage she had in coming to IU. \n"I became one because I wanted to give back to the University," Redick said. "I wanted to be a part of the bigger picture."\nShe said the job is challenging, but worthwhile. \n"Things that happen are so unexpected," Redick said. "It's my job to be there for people. This job makes me feel I'm doing something right, something good."\nRedick said she also wants to do something good by joining the Air Force Reserve when she graduates, even enduring Basic Training that lasts six weeks. Her father has been in the Air Force for 40 years, and she recently decided it would be a good choice for her to start out with before she dives into the competitive world of fashion design. \n"I don't know yet what I want to do," Redick said. "If I were to graduate and go into the fashion design world right away, I'd be a little lost. A part of me wants to do something good and give back to everyone"
(01/13/06 4:39am)
As a graduate student, Kate Bingaman kept all her receipts. In fact, she even took photographs of items she purchased, all the way down to a pack of gum. But it wasn't because she's a stickler for balancing her checkbook; it's because she's an artist.\nBingaman's Obsessive Consumption exhibit, located in the School of Fine Arts Green Room, runs through Jan. 21. She will lecture on her work and exhibit from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Friday in the Fine Arts building, Room 102. \nBingaman, an assistant professor of graphic design at Mississippi State University, decided to document all of her purchases in graduate school simply to track the amount of money she spent consuming just about anything.\nSmall photographs of everything she bought during graduate school, all the way down to a Scotch-Brite Lens Cleaning Cloth, line the wall while rows and rows of bank statements reveal the spending of consumers and the tight grip credit card companies have on them.\nThe idea was hatched when her job as a graphic designer for a gift company in Omaha, Neb., revealed to her the fickle nature of consumers and the sheer volume of the things they consume. \n"It was amazing to see what people bought," Bingaman said. "What was hot, what was not. So I quit my job and went to grad school where I became obsessed with trying to find out the history of objects."\nBefore completing her master's degree in fine arts in 2004, she began documenting all of her purchases by keeping receipts and photographing the things she bought. Bingaman's exhibit is a personal documentary of her own habitual consumption. \nIan Whitmore, the SoFA gallery designer and a longtime friend of Bingaman, said the exhibit is playful on the surface. \n"The playfulness draws you in because it's visual eye-candy," he said. "But once you get into the content, it is an obsessive examination of the consumer culture and how (consumers) live and how they spend their money."\nHer current phase of "Obsessive Consumption" addresses credit card debt. She hand-copies every credit card statement she receives in the mail using funky fonts she thought up herself. She said she will continue to do so until each credit card is paid off.\nThough she hates credit cards, she said she recognizes that she would not have been able to further her work without them.\nBingaman's ideas are not lost on her viewers. \nSenior Victoria Battista, a painter in the Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts, said she found the exhibit interesting because it was a different spin on something people do every day.\n"We are being hit over the head all the time with this stuff and don't even know it," Battista said. "We are just accepting these things are parts of life when we should pay attention to how they affect us."\nSome students are thoughtful about the implications of Bingaman's work.\nAlyssa Jaggers, a sophomore studio art major, said she feels the exhibit is an example of something of which she does not want to be a part.\n"It really makes you think about the idea, 'You are what you buy,'" Jaggers said. "I'm pretty anti-consumerist myself. At some point, I want to make clothes for myself and my family and not rely on sweatshops. My dad told me to get a credit card to establish credit, but I only got an ATM card because I just didn't want to end up spending too much money."\nBingaman said often her design classes turn into credit counseling sessions, and she finds herself answering numerous questions about how credit works. She said she constantly learns from her artwork and loves the prospect of presenting this side of culture while not necessarily finding a solution.\n"I just want to keep on making work," Bingaman said. "I don't ever want to stop. Is there a solution to obsessive consumption? For me? No. I love obsessive consumption. I don't want a solution. Then I would be done making artwork. Bring on the grossness of consumer culture. The funniness. The ridiculousness. The insanity. I love it all"
(08/26/04 10:24pm)
Not many people are willing to live and travel with Nazi Skinheads for two and half years to photograph and write about them. Not many people hang around gravediggers for a year and a half to see what makes them tick and to capture it on film. \nMarc Asnin has been there and done that, and he has a passion for it.\nAsnin delivered a public informal lecture for the Institute of Advanced Study as a Distinguished Citizen Fellow Monday night. He discussed his work, how it has shaped his life and why he does it. This vociferous Brooklyn man, sporting a goatee, glasses and a black brim hat, captivated his listeners with his photos, experiences and a New York accent. \n"The job does get overwhelming," Asnin admits, when asked if it was hard to live amongst a group filled with as much hate as the Nazi skinheads. "Even though they are very nice people on a personal level, I was surrounded by such a concentration of hate." \nAs he spoke of this experience, he clicked through images on his slide show involving crosses engulfed with flames, skinheads holding guns, skinheads involved in clan rallies and skinheads with large Nazi tattoos on their bodies. \nOne of Asnin's most acclaimed projects is his photo essay entitled "Uncle Charlie." For this project, Asnin became a fly on the wall to his uncle, his five cousins and their mother for 20 years. In the process, he took many pictures and accumulated over 100 hours of interviews with his uncle's family. He told about the difficulties and rewards of such a project. As he spoke, black and white pictures flashed on the screen -- images of raw life and the emotions of a family whose struggles deal with mental illness, broken relationships, drugs and poverty. Startling photos of his uncle staring hauntingly into space, getting high on crack and receiving oral sex from his crack-addicted girlfriend were among the images that portrayed every aspect of Uncle Charlie's life along with photos of the family standing straight-faced by the Christmas tree or Asnin's cousins rubbing their father's feet.\nMary Ellen Brown, director of the Institute for Advanced Study, said having a Citizen Fellow lecturer was part of a nomination process.\n"This time we had a fairly unusual lecturer," Brown said, considering past speakers who have served the same position. "But I see it as a breath of fresh air for everyone who partook. We heard from someone with real experiences, and I think that serves as an example for students, whether they take it positively or negatively."\nTyagan Miller, IU photojournalism teacher and good friend of Asnin, said he enjoyed Asnin's presentation and said students could obtain a lot of insight from the lecture.\n"He offered the idea that photography isn't always about income," Miller said. "It's not always about the prizes and the books. It is the commitment and value that goes along with a long term project that can provide a richer, deeper and more rewarding experience."\nMiller went on to say that through Asnin's talk, students should realize that social documentary photography does not pay well, and people rarely do it. Asnin has demonstrated how deep one can actually go into a project if one acquires a cavernous amount of commitment, he said.\n"It is not about that decisive moment," Miller said, concerning the quick click of a camera by many photographers just to get a picture. "It's the process of shooting and shooting and realizing there is more than one decisive moment."\nJunior Katie Griffin, Arbutus yearbook photo editor and photojournalism major, said she was stirred by Asnin and his work.\n"It's always inspiring to hear about someone who has done so much," Griffin said. "I very much enjoyed his ability to capture emotion."\nAfter seeing Asnin's work, Griffin said it motivated her to get out of the classroom and live that life right away.\n"It's what I want to do," Griffin said.\nAsnin will be in Ernie Pyle Hall Room 157 ("the Pit") Tuesday night for an informal gathering to talk with photography students and anyone who is interested in photography. On Wednesday, Miller and Asnin will be at IUPUI all day. Throughout the week, Asnin will also be visiting photojournalism classes.
(03/25/04 5:19am)
Once upon a time, children's alphabet books were filled with magpies and bullfinches while adventure books starred pincushions living their lives one escapade at a time. That time was the 18th century and children's books and their place in society have come a long way since then. \nIU's Lilly Library proudly stores a sprawling treasure of 14,000 children's books from the 18th and 19th centuries, donated by the Ball family of Muncie. George Ball (1862-1955), a wealthy man from an industrious family, indulged his favor of children's literature along with his only child, Elisabeth. \nBooks upon books were added from all over the world over a course of 20 years, and the collection expands all the time. After her death in 1982, Elisabeth's collection of books was donated to the George and Frances Ball Foundation, an establishment in Indiana that focuses on promoting cultural resources. \nBill Cagle, director and librarian at the Lilly Library from 1975 to 1997, emphasized IU's loyalty and concern with children's literature, so the collection was donated to the Lilly Library in 1983.\n"Children's books are an important part of both literary and cultural history, and the Lilly Library is proud of its outstanding collection in this area," said Breon Mitchell, current director of the IU Lilly Library. "Students and scholars pore over the books both for research and teaching purposes."\nNot only is children's literature useful, like Mitchell said, but it also reveals underlying threads of society's view of children, which has changed over the years, just as the books have.\nGillian Brown, an English professor at the University of Utah, recently visited IU to speak about her book, "Children's Print Culture in the 18th Century." Brown said our society recognizes children as people. This recognition did not start until the 18th century because of ideas from philosophical thinkers like John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau. \n"They introduced the concept of children as unique individuals with needs and desires of their own," Brown said.\nBrown said the idea took time to be accepted and institutionalized in laws and practices. Later sciences, such as pediatrics and neurology, helped bring this idea to where it is today -- a conventional value of modern life.\nThe idea that society's view of children has changed over the past 200 years is not uncommon. Rebecca Cape, head of reference and public services at the Lilly Library, said one of the biggest differences she has noticed between 18th century and 20th century children's books is the change in language. Older books have much more instructive tones and contain more sophisticated idiom, as mentioned earlier.\n"This might have come from their tendency to see children as small adults," Cape said.\nComparing the books themselves reveals a significant change in the amount of credit given to children who read them. Older books nearly always have a moral.\n"Mother Goose's Melody: or, Sonnets for the Cradle," a book of Mother Goose rhymes published in 1791, contains a "lesson" at the bottom of each rhyme. The lesson to the familiar rhyme, "Patty Cake," reads, "The surest way to gain our ends is to moderate our desires."\nThe majority of older children's books was more edifying than entertaining. One of the most popular books of the 18th century was Mary Ann Kilner's "The Adventures of a Pin Cushion." This book, "instructs in the proper conduct of life," according to the exhibit catalogue, written by Elizabeth Johnson. This book became so popular a companion volume was produced, called "Memoirs of a Peg-Top for Young Gentlemen."\nJohnson noted maybe times have changed and children are not looked upon so much as adults. \n"Children's books had a dual purpose of instruction and amusement, and I think today's books have a stronger amusement component," Johnson said. \nThis emphasis on play can be seen even in the presentation of the books themselves.\nEighteenth century books are much smaller than children's books now. About the size of a small calculator, their pages are filled with simple type, calligraphy and carefully lined, detailed, realistic drawings. The covers are void of titles, pictures and authors' names and are instead filled with brown, orange and green antique-looking swirls and flowers. \nBooks now are much more diverse and eye-catching. Pictures of people, animals and make-believe creatures are framed by titles in fancy fonts plastered across the cover.\nPart of the reason for this is the difference in printing methods which are available now, but were not available in the 18th century. Originally, illustrations were made from wood-cuts, which limited illustration, Brown said. But during the 19th century, cheaper methods were discovered which allowed color illustrations. The small size and sparse, or nonexistent, covers were used to save money.\nThe Lilly Library's collection is open to anyone wanting to browse these marvels of the 18th century. Students can do research or just get in touch with their inner child.\nJohnson said the change in children's books perhaps reflects a change in society's priorities.\n"Perhaps there is more of a recognition of a valid and important place for 'play' in our lives," she said.
(02/05/04 5:09am)
Seventh Street is packed with cars as people file into the IU Auditorium. Women's shiny heels click on the pavement while the men's best slacks barely drag in melted ice puddles. They have all come to enjoy the same show; however, once inside, they scatter like oil beads on a hotplate. Some head straight to the orchestra seats, while others trudge upstairs to the balcony to view the show from a further distance.\nIt may seem obvious who has the better seats, but after a closer look -- and some scouting around shows -- perhaps it's not so obvious. In many places, the best seats in the house depend greatly on the type of show being performed, as well as the inclinations of the audience. \nFor example, the IU Auditorium is significantly larger than many theaters in Bloomington. Its high arched ceiling, gracefully draped red stage curtain and red velvet seats nearly have their own stage presence. The theater can hold up to 3,200 people at once, and its size allows any show to be viewed from various angles and distances. Doug Booher, director of the IU Auditorium, said there may not be any best seats, but there are definitely favorites among Auditorium patrons. \nOne of those favorites is "row one of course," Booher said. "Mainly because of the thrill of seeing every facial expression and being able to make eye contact with the artists." \nBooher said row 21 is another favorite because the seats are elevated above the heads of those in front of them, yet the audience is still at eye level with artists on stage. Row 17 seems to have slightly more leg room than most seats, and Row 36, also known as the wheel-chair accessible decks, are raised above the audience like a "mini balcony." Row 1 of the balcony is also popular, Booher said, because of the sweeping view of the entire stage and the set.\n"All of these go very quickly, and we get specific requests for them for each show," Booher said. "But there are always a few of them that go to unsuspecting patrons who are lucky enough to get them. They end up being really happy when they arrive at the show and realize how great the seats are."\nJunior Nicole Bruce, an IU theater major, has been to many of the area theaters and notes there are seats that are definitely better than others.\n"The last row on the floor has some of the best seats," Bruce said about the IU Auditorium. \nShe said it's because here, the audience is close enough to see everything, but far enough away to catch the entire scope of the set. Anything farther, she said, is too far because detail becomes swallowed by the space. \n"I'd rather not see a show than to see it in the balcony," Bruce said.\nBruce sat in the pit to see "Rent," but said it was too close because she could not pan back and check out the whole stage at once. \nAnother popular theater in Bloomington is the Buskirk-Chumley Theater at 114 E. Kirkwood Ave. Its rustic setting with small, welcoming tables and chairs create an old-fashioned atmosphere. Gold and maroon aisle carpet grace the floors while lamps cast a soft cascading glow across the theater walls. \nThe Buskirk is smaller than the Auditorium and seats 615 at once. Danielle McClelland, director of the theater, suggests that because of its size, there are no bad seats.\n"It's hard to get bad seats," McClelland said. "The top of the balcony is not much farther away than the back of the floor. It's a very intimate house."\nMcClelland said if she had to choose, the best seats could be five to 10 rows back on the main floor in the center because there, the audience is eye level with the actors.\n"These seats are better for seeing actors because acting is about the face and expressions," McClelland said. "But balcony seats are better for dances because then you can get a sense of the whole stage and the dancers moving through space."\nThe Buskirk plays host to plays, concerts, film, variety shows and community events. \nSeats are, on average, $12, but they can range anywhere from free to $30, depending on the particular event. Seats are also first come, first serve. Only once in awhile does the theater take reservations.\nAnother smaller venue for aspiring actors is the Bloomington Playwright's Project, or BPP, on 312 S. Washington St. This theater is quite unique because the best seats are constantly changing.\nThe stage is basically just in one room, which is 33 by 34.7 feet. There are only 48 permanent upholstered seats in the small black box theater; however, these seats are arranged on four separate platforms and can be rearranged around the room to create different sizes and shapes of sets. \n"The stage itself can change from the size of a small bathroom to the size of the entire room," said Bruce, who is also involved with BPP.\nCandy Decker, BPP marketing director, said all the seats were taken out for one production last year, 'Kate Crackernuts', and the audience sat in folding chairs with pillows so more room could be created for the audience and more creativity could be used with the set.\nDecker also said main stage shows are $15 for the public and $12 for students and seniors. Unbeknownst to some, if there are tickets still available 10 minutes before the show, students can purchase them for only $5. But, these are not guaranteed.\nThe Dark Alley series are the BPP's late night shows. These are the last two weeks of the three-week long mainstage shows, and are performed on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at 10:30 for $6. \nBecause of the raked seats on the platforms and the small size of the theater, Sonja Johnson, the BPP development director, said most seats are good seats.\n"I guess there could be bad seats," Johnson said. "You could get stuck behind a pole."\nShe said she feels the uniqueness of the place makes for an experience most audience members don't get to feel in a larger theater.\n"Here, you can see the actor's eyeballs," she said. "You can see them sweat and spit, and the audience does not get the same sense of that in the back row of a large theater."\nOverall, the best seats to one may not be the best to someone else. \n"All in all, we have found that if people like the show that they are seeing, they don't worry too much about the seat location," Booher said. "But there is no denying the special feeling of sitting in one of those 'best seats'."\n-- Contact staff writer Jamie Lusk at jalusk@indiana.edu.
(01/27/04 5:40am)
Even over the phone, Arian Moayed's voice was friendly, resonating and clear as a bell. A 2002 IU graduate, Moayed has covered a lot of ground in two years and is still moving ahead. The miles between Bloomington and Moayed's home of New York City could not stifle his excitement as he spoke about a project he has been working on since he came to the IU campus.\nWaterwell Productions, a nonprofit theater production company started by Moayed in Bloomington, is booming in the competitive theater industry of the Big Apple.\nWaterwell, which began at IU in 2000, has grown from three IU students to a group of 17 creators, performers, designers, educators, administrators and producers -- 11 of whom are IU alumni. Many of Waterwell's shows have been sold out. The company's goal is to present new and original forms of theater. Its productions often address tough issues, such as AIDS or the situation in the Middle East in an effort to engage the audience. \n"This is our way of having a voice about these issues," Moayed said. \nIU Assistant Professor of Acting and Directing Murray McGibbon taught Moayed, Nicole Parker and Tom Ridgely, who helped get the company off the ground. McGibbon strongly believes his students can make a difference with their talents in theater and he is extremely proud of what these three students have done with Waterwell, he said.\n"Theater works when the needs of society need to be addressed," McGibbon said. "For example, economics, war, international relations ... things that touch people in the streets, that are close to people's hearts."\nTo its founders, the company's name means a new beginning -- water is the rejuvenating life force, and a well is its source, Moayed said.\nMoayed said the company's mission also aims to educate and give to the community. Waterwell's Educational Outreach Program is designed to provide underprivileged junior high and high school students with acting classes that they normally would not be able to afford. The classes are given at the People's Improv Theatre in New York City. The object of the program is to give students a chance to discover their natural gifts and do things they cannot normally do.\n"A lot of people love to say no," Moayed said. "Parents may say, 'No, my child can't do that.' But we're telling the child they can, that they're gifted, and that they have something to offer. It's hard to have people understand that. Those are the challenges we face, and I'm willing to face these dead on."\nMcGibbon told Moayed, Ridgely and Parker as students they could make a difference by starting their own company.\n"I think it sowed a seed," McGibbon said. "Their outreach is a very necessary thing to do. I strongly believe in the power of the spoken word. Theater is a means of social change." \nNicole Parker, another IU grad who helped in the company's creation process, graduated two years ahead of Moayed and Ridgley. Her involvement, though less extensive, has allowed her to use theater to express herself and to address what is going on in the world. \nShe performed in Full Frontal Comedy as an IU student, then left for Amsterdam after graduation to be a part of Boom Chicago, an improv group performing in Amsterdam, Europe and the United States. After two years, she returned to New York City to help with directing and performing shows at Waterwell.\n"It's a smart and funny group that is able to let loose," Parker said. "They can improvise on an idea and go with it."\nParker is a firm believer in the power of funny. A featured cast member on MAD TV, her current venue is comedy. She said she feels it is one of the strong suits of Waterwell.\n"There is a demand for laughter," Parker said. "It's one of the best ways to grab an audience and it adds an extra edge to the group."\nParker also explained how Waterwell takes old works, some from the 16th and 17th centuries, which have resonating similarities with issues happening today. The company performs the plays in a new and provocative way. \n"I love the sound of it," she said, laughing over the phone. "I love laughing myself ... and it burns calories."\nBesides its success in the Big Apple and its contributions to the community, Waterwell Productions has also been accepted to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland this August. \nThe Fringe Festival, which includes 20,000 performances, is the world's largest art festival. Its Web site boasts it is a "massive explosion of cultural and artistic expression." \n"It's hard to believe just a few years ago we were all in class together," Moayed said. \nBesides Waterwell Productions, all three students have successfully grasped careers of their own. Moayed is a full time teacher at the Professional Performing Arts High School, a renowned school which has graduated such celebrities as Britney Spears and Alicia Keys. \nMoayed has also made appearances on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and Sex & the City. \nRidgely is general manager of the People's Improv Theatre, one of the most respected improv theaters in New York City. Parker is currently a featured cast member of MAD TV.\n"I'm still naïve enough to believe all my students can make a difference," McGibbon said. "I tell them to believe in themselves. It sounds trite, but if you don't, you can't do these things. Trust your instincts. Assume confidence, though you may render none. And never take no for an answer."\n-- Contact staff writer Jamie Lusk at jalusk@indiana.edu.
(12/12/02 5:13am)
It's that time of the year. Christmas lights sprinkle the town. Rosy-cheeked shoppers buy gifts for friends and families. Children walk starry-eyed through overflowing toy stores. \nBut not all of those children will get what they want for Christmas. Some of them don't even get what they need.\nIn fact, over 300 children in the local area are in need.\nHowever there is hope, thanks to the Volunteer Students Bureau, IUSA, Sigma Chi and Phi Beta Sigma. These groups have collaborated to organize a program to help these needy children called "Children's Holiday Wish Program."\nSonya Lucki, director of Community Relations for the Volunteer Students Bureau, said through this program, organizations or individuals can "adopt" a child for the holidays to buy them gifts and other things they might need.\n"The kids are always amazed," Lucki said. \nThe VSB has done this type of program in the past and has always found it to be a good way for people to help out. \nThe list of needy children comes from the Child Protection Services and the Boys and Girls Club. The gifts will be presented at a Christmas party held at 4 p.m. Dec. 18 at the Boys and Girls Club.\nThe last day the VSB will be taking calls to sponsor children this Friday, Dec. 13. Gifts are due in the VSB office (Room 378 in the Union) by noon Dec. 18. Sponsors are asked to spend at least $15 to $30 per child. \nNatalia Galvan with the VSB said gifts for children are usually a mix of needs and wants.\n"It's good to have something fun but also something essential because many of the kids we have this year are very poor," Galvan said.\nYves Niyikiza, the social chair for the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, actually stumbled upon this opportunity by accident and immediately thought it was a great idea. He offered to help the VSB with the structure of the program to make it more successful.\n"I really wanted to help with the setup, and I wanted to get the Greeks involved," Niyikiza said. "A lot of people want to help around the holidays, and we're all trying to achieve the same thing."\nFreshman Kate Ebert and a group of friends from her floor have decided to adopt a child through this program. The friends became really close this year and decided this would be a fun way to spend the holidays.\n"Since money is tight and it's our first Christmas together, we thought it'd be good to spend time together helping someone else," Ebert said.\nThe girls are excited because they get to shop for toys and clothes for the little boy they are adopting.\n"We thought it'd be a lot better than getting each other gifts," Ebert said. "That way we can use our money to help a kid who needs a lot more than we do."\nGeoff Sabin, a member of the IUSA, said it has helped the program by providing funding for advertisements in the newspapers as well as helping to fund the party.\n"Our main objective is to help needy kids," Sabin said. "We want to help in any way possible."\nNiyikiza said this year's program is a small step in the process. Eventually it will be a large, yearly program. \nSeveral of his ideas include letting sponsors meet and interact with kids as well as a Christmas party where there would be a tree with all of the children's presents underneath, a Santa Claus and a Christmas dinner provided for them. \nHe also wants to challenge everyone to get involved by creating a competition between fraternity/sorority pairs, creating social pressure on companies, challenging different departments on campus and even encouraging competitions on different floors of the dorms.\n"We're going step by step now, but gradually, we'll get there," Niyikiza said. "If we all work together, we can set a great example."\nThe IUSA, Phi Beta Sigma and Sigma Chi have all helped fund the program through advertising, promotion and newspaper ads.\nRight now, a little over 50 children have been adopted through this program.\n"They're so appreciative of these gifts because they have never had this before," Lucki said. "They love it"
(12/06/02 8:31pm)
Starting next semester, the rooms of Delta Chi will stand vacant, with echoes of a tumultuous and unhappy end.\nAssistant Dean of Students Jim Gibson is sad to see the fraternity close but stands behind the justification for it. Before the chapter was suspended, Gibson says that the national leadership had lowered their status to a Level 4 Probationary Status. This is one step away from being suspended.\n"There was just a series of problems after that," Gibson said. "National and University guidelines were being violated. We tried to work with them, but sometimes it's better to just stop and start over."\nSeveral steps could have been taken by the chapter to possibly avoid the Status Five Corrective Action, resulting in suspension. The chapter could have made efforts to follow policies and taken corrective actions, Gibson said.\n"They needed to do what they were supposed to be doing to make fraternity life a good thing," Gibson said.\nCharles Mancuso, president of the executive committee of the Delta Chi International Headquarters, is still in Columbus, Ohio, meeting with other Nationals.\n"I still don't know much about it yet, but from what I understand there were multiple events that led up to their suspension," Mancuso said. \nHe said the chapter violated Risk Management standards as well as National Commission standards. Mancuso and his committee will work mutually with the University in deciding to invite the chapter back on campus after a minimum of one year has passed. \n"It's not really up to us," Mancuso said.\nMany are wondering what will happen to the house while it stands empty the next couple semesters. The Housing Corporation Board, consisted of Delta Chi Alumni, will meet and decide how the house will be used. \nPresident of the Housing Corporation Craig Wiley, an Indianapolis attorney, has been with Delta Chi since 1990 and has been hard at work finding out circumstances and deciding what will be done with the house. He said they are busy making interim plans, and nothing is set in stone yet. A graduate advisor may move into the house to maintain it.\n"Nothing is for sure yet," Wiley said. "There may even be another fraternity moving in next fall."\nWiley also described how damage done to the house will also determine how it will be used. A number of things have been stolen from the house, including a Persian rug that has been with the house since it's been a part of IU. Wiley said even the infrastructure, including the plumbing, will need to be fixed.\n"There's just hundreds of thousands of dollars to be put into that house," Wiley said. \nWiley and the corporation have contacted IU Police Department and together have decided to ask students to turn themselves in, no questions asked. If they do not, an investigation will take place.\n"We will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law," Wiley said.\nIn the meantime, the corporation hopes to get help from Nationals and Alumni to help pay the mortgage and fix the house up.\n"We have two main issues," Wiley said. "We want to keep the house, and we want to fix the damage so that the house can be used to its fullest extent. Delta Chi will be back at IU, hopefully sooner rather than later. I think Nationals support that and the University does too."\nMancuso said there are a substantial amount of people interested in the house; however, that is not his primary concern now.\n"Right now, our primary concern is to take care of the guys in the house," Mancuso said. "A chapter can lose recognition because of one person, so the rest of them have to be treated fairly."\nKing said the 46 guys are just scrambling to find a place to live next semester. They are looking into whatever is available but mostly apartments.\n"It's just too bad," chapter president senior Dave King said. "It's sad to see all of our years of hard work just gone"
(12/05/02 5:15am)
IU's chapter of the Delta Chi fraternity will soon disappear from campus. The fraternity's international headquarters revoked the chapter's charter Wednesday as a result of an incident that occurred early this fall.\nFreshman Wes Kocher left a rush function at Delta Chi on Sept. 15, 2002 at about 1:45 a.m. and was found bleeding in his dorm room by his roommate minutes later. After remaining in the hospital for four days with head injuries acquired from blunt force trauma to the head, Kocher was released. \nThe incident has since caused ongoing problems within the house.\n"The beating was caused by someone other than a Delta Chi member," Delta Chi president Dave King said. "It is very unfortunate that if happened, and unfortunate that it has led to problems within the house."\nThe Risk Management Commission of the Delta Chi International Headquarters moved the status of the house to "level five" corrective action. This means the house will be vacated next semester and officially suspended for a minimum of one year.\n"It has been two-and-a-half months since the incident occurred and it is disheartening to see that our International Headquarters is now taking actions against our house," King said.\nKing said the lack of support from the University and Associate Dean of Students Jim Gibson helped the chapter decide not to appeal the National's decision. \nNationals are gathering in Columbus, Oh. this week. Charles Mancuso, president of the executive committee of the Delta Chi International Headquarters, said he knew nothing of the fraternity's expulsion from IU's campus as of Wednesday night.\n"We'll all be meeting soon and should know what is going on by tomorrow afternoon," Mancuso said.
(12/02/02 3:51am)
A house once filled with fraternity guys and endless parties now stands as an establishment of faith for some students on campus. This is the first operating year for the Christian Student Fellowship on the North Jordan extension, which used to house the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity. \nEighty-plus students, ranging from freshmen to graduate students, call the CSF house home. CSF house Director Ritchie Hoffman said a larger place was in great demand from students on campus.\n"This was completely demand-driven by the students," Hoffman said. "It was driven by their desire. Now it's moving, and it's happening."\nHoffman said the State Board also agreed with the idea. The Board said the CSF had something valuable to contribute to the community. So CSF sold the four houses they were living in at the time and worked out a deal with the fraternity to buy the house. Eighty five to 90 statewide churches contribute money to the house in addition to numerous individuals.\nCampus Minister Bill Kershner said every day life in the CSF house is not too much unlike the every day life of anyone else on campus. \n"It's the typical college life," Kershner said. "The students go to class, meals, sports, work, just like everyone else."\nThere are also many programs available for students at the CSF house on a daily and weekly basis. There are daily Bible studies, which include topics such as, "What to do until love finds you," "Fruits of the spirit," "Jesus: The Basics" or "Making Life Work."\nFreshman Laura Brassard moved into the CSF house three weeks ago and loves the opportunities that are available so readily at the house. She said there are mission trips and Bible studies among other activities that are easy for students to get involved in. Mission trips take place over breaks and past destinations have included Arizona, Mexico, St. Louis, Washington D.C. and Indianapolis.\nBrassard had to apply and undergo an interview process to be able to get into the house.\n"The ministers were very kind and helpful," Brassard said. "They gave me a tour and made me feel really at ease during my interview." \nBrassard explains that this process is so the staff can know if living in the CSF house is really what the student wants. She was asked about where she was in her walk with God and what she expected to get from living there.\n"I've only been there three weeks, but it is a great place to be around people who encourage you in your faith and relationship with God," Brassard said.\nHoffman said he feels the same way and the environment is an uplifting one.\n"In this place, students can stimulate and spur one another on with common values and a common focal point," Hoffman said.\nSome students might think a house designated specifically for Christians to live in might make them appear elitist or cut them off from the rest of campus. But Kershner disagrees.\n"This house isn't to make us look any different or better than anyone else," Kershner said. "In fact, our main objective is to get out there on campus and share with others our relationship with Christ. We want to build on that and befriend others in this community and the community at large."\nAlthough Christians live in the house, anyone on campus is welcome to activities and events planned in the house. \n"We don't want this to just be a shelter and a house," Hoffman said. "We ultimately want to offer something of value to the community."\nInformation can be found on their Web site at www.iub.edu/~csf/home.php4 or you can e-mail them at csf@indiana.edu or call the house at 332-8972.
(11/26/02 5:24am)
Those who lead the IU Foundation, the Board of Directors, have a big job to do, and now they have two more new directors to help them do it.\nRichard E. Woosnam and Milton R. Stuart, both IU alums, have been elected to the IUF Board of Directors on account of their qualifications and dedication to the University.\n"We're always trying to be better," said Barbara Coffman, executive director of communications at the IU Foundation. "They can help us do that."\nChartered in 1936, the Foundation is devoted to raising money from the private sector to support IU.\nThe IUF has a committee which has the task of identifying good prospects, getting in touch with them, and seeing if they're interested in serving on the board. Board members are not paid; the position is strictly in volunteer format.\n"They even buy their own basketball tickets," one IUF member said.\nBoard members each have their own area of expertise from which to draw from and contribute to the project as a whole.\nStuart and Woosnam both carry hefty and impressive resumes.\nWoosnam is currently president of Innovest Group Inc. of Philadelphia. He is quite busy, serving in leadership positions with New York Achievement LLC; Capital Management Crops.; Bridges Learning Systems, Inc.; and Command Equity Group LLC. The IUF Board of Directors isn't the only board Woosnam serves either. He is involved with boards associated with the Pennsylvania Fairmount Park Conservancy and several other Philadelphia area cultural organizations. He is a member of the American Bar Associations, the Indiana Bar Association and the Union league of Philadelphia.\nThat may sound like a heavy enough load for everyone, but that's not even all. Woosnam has had extensive experience in the past with IU, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in business, an M.A. in business administration, and a doctor of jurisprudence from the IU school of Law-Bloomington. Besides academics, he was also involved with the IU Student Foundation Steering committee, the Union Board and raced in the Little 500 as a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity team. \n"I was very active then, and I want to stay involved with the University," Woosnam said. "This is one of the best ways you can give back."\nCoffman said that Woosnam can provide much insight on legal communications for the University, considering his background in law.\n"He has experience with other boards," Coffman said. "He's not just interested in business. He has lots of experience in different areas."\nStuart is currently a partner with Davis Wright Tremaine LLC in Portland, Oregon. He serves as a board member for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, is a member of the IU School of Law Board of Visitors and of the IUF's Arbutus Society, the President's Circle, and the 21st Century Society.\nStuart also holds an extensive past with IU. He received a Bachelor degree of arts in government and a juris doctor. As a student here, he achieved the honor of a John H. Edwards Fellow and graduated summa cum laude in 1971. He was involved with the IU Student Foundation, Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity and Order of the Coif. \n"He has a rich history with IU," Coffman said. "He knows the University, as do all the board members."\nThe foundation had their its meeting in October over Homecoming weekend.\n"These men have wisdom and expertise in some area," Coffman said. "They have an outside point of view with the ability to look at things lovingly, but critically. They can draw from experiences with their own businesses and other professionals"
(11/15/02 5:20am)
Because many students face questions related to interfaith dating, a couple of students set up a panel of leaders of different faiths to discuss the experiences and suggestions with interested students.\nSophomore Liz Hannibal, junior Emily Bean and Newman Club advisor Mark Erdosy said they realized that this is a very prevalent issue in some students' lives and hoped to provide some guidance. They figured that IU, being the diverse campus that it is, is the ideal place to find interfaith dating and students with questions about it.\nThe four panelists included Father Dan Atkins from St. Paul's Catholic Center, Rabbi Sue Shifron, executive director of the Hillel Center, Mother Linda Johnson of the Episcopal Campus Ministry and Trinity Episcopal Church and Ken Larson, the director of Navigators.\n"We chose groups that we felt would be more accepting of interfaith dating," Hannibal said. "Most people think it's wrong so students need encouragement."\nAbout 50 students attended the panel discussion and were welcomed with handshakes and snacks. Students who helped organize the night mingled, met new students and provided a good-natured atmosphere.\nMany topics and questions were addressed during the discussion, and many different perspectives were offered.\nEvery year, Shifron said she sees about 50 to 100 students who want guidance in their interfaith relationships, and she is glad that they do.\n"It's a wonderful thing that they come to me," Shifron said. "They're one step ahead of the game when they realize it's something that needs to be addressed." \n Johnson said there are usually four things people do not like to discuss. Those include politics, sex, money and religion, but these are the important things students need to talk about because they raise questions of identity. \n"Studies show that religious habits and attitudes students have in college often carry on into adulthood," Johnson said. \nSome people believe interfaith dating is wrong, and some think a person can choose who he or she loves. \nFather Atkins begs to differ.\n"You can't choose who you will fall in love with," Father Atkins said. \nHe pointed out that 80 to 85 percent of the weddings he has led have been interfaith. The couple must go through marriage counseling and have special permission to enter a marriage with mixed faiths. He discourages attempting to convert a person or marrying someone who is confused about God.\n"You can compare it to a bird and a fish who might fall in love, but where would they build a home?" Father Atkins said.\nLarson said he feels the same way, and even goes so far as to discourage interfaith dating altogether. He said that relationships are complicated enough without making it worse with different faiths.\n"It's hard to be objective when your heart's involved," Larson said.\nAnother big issue students were curious about was, if two people of different faiths do get married, what religion will the children follow?\nThe panelists agreed it was important to have a primary orientation for the child instead of letting them choose when they get older. \nFather Atkins has first hand experience with students who were raised with interfaith parents but without a specific orientation.\n"They express sadness because our earliest formation of religion is in our imagination," Father Atkins said. "It's what we hope for, what we can believe in, what we trust in."\nShifron also points out that if a child is raised being exposed to both religions and then asked to choose, a battle can begin in the family.\nAfter the panelists discussed their own personal perspectives, the floor was open to questions from students. \n"This turned out to be a great outreach event," Hannibal said. "These things are difficult to discuss, and I am glad we could provide a place for students to go"
(11/12/02 5:12am)
Sophomore Emily Hendrix and several friends crept cautiously through the quiet graveyard. It was late, the night was completely still, and all that could be heard were the students' footsteps.\nTheir eyes strained against the dark to see the smooth faces of the tombstones, looking for the etching of a name so dear to their hearts: Meaghan Buis, an IU student who was killed in a car accident on July 4, 2002. \nAs they approached her grave, the wind chimes hanging above the tombstone began to sprinkle notes like rain, and the flowers in the planter in front of her tombstone fluttered as if there was a calm night breeze. The friends all looked at each other, all thinking the same thing: there was no wind.\n"We knew she was looking out for us," Hendrix said. "She's our guardian angel." \nHendrix is among several IU students who, within the past year, have had to deal with the slow and painful process of grief through the loss of a close friend. This process can often be made even more difficult since students are far from home. \n"Often this is even a student's first experience with death and the grieving process," said Nancy Buckles, director of counseling and psychological services at the IU Health Center. "Usually students are not looking for therapy in these kinds of situations. They turn to the people closest in their own environment, they turn to family, and they turn to their faith."\nIU seniors Shanna Davis and Sally Armstrong experienced the death of their roommate in September. Their best friend, Georgia Marriott, was riding her bike and got in an accident with a dumptruck. \n"My church was very supportive and my faith was what was and is pulling me through," Davis said. Her roommate agreed.\n"It has been the guiding force of the whole grieving process," Armstrong said.\nMarriott's friends still think of her everyday.\n"When I see someone who walks like her, has her haircut, plays the violin, or even if I hear an ambulance siren, I think of her," Davis said, her lips trembling and tears slipping down her cheeks from under her glasses. "She was a mutual friend to everyone."\nHendrix, Davis and Armstrong all have pictures up in their apartments of the friend that they have lost. All three made memory books and mementos that they look at every day. \nBuis' father, a sheet metal worker, had taken broken pieces of the rearview mirror from the car Buis was driving, welded the edges with metal, and given each of the girls a piece to hang from their own rearview mirror.\n"We all keep in touch with Meaghan's family," Hendrix said. "We love to visit them and talk to them."\nBuckles points out that many students are often afraid to call the parents of a lost friend for fear of making the process harder. However, she said students should realize that in living away from home, the students' day to day life is unknown to the parents. \n"They would love for their child's friends to share a funny story, a sad story, see photos of what the every day life of this student was," Buckles said. "It's connecting their home life to their student life."\nThere are many phases and expectations that come from the grieving process, Buckles said. She said normal behavior includes loss of appetite, trouble with sleeping and concentration, feeling down and moody, and then thinking you're okay and then having the whole realization hit like a ton of bricks.\n"It takes about a year to recover from an uncomplicated grief of a very close loved one," Buckles said. The reason for this is because of anniversaries. Often, birthdays, holidays, the day friends met or went to a big event, are triggers of a wave of grief, even when someone thinks they are going to be okay.\n"It's a normal kind of thing," Buckles said. "Don't be surprised or scared. It's hard to get close again, and you will be wary for awhile. Everyone deals with it differently."\nShe said often grieving people are afraid that if they stop thinking about the person they will betray their friend.\n"It gets easier to deal with somewhat," Davis said. "We love to talk about her though."\nAll three girls still vividly remember the friend they lostand recall their memories with smiles.\n"It helps me to talk about and to get all my feelings out there," Hendrix said. "Meaghan was one of the sweetest, nicest girls. She was just so trustworthy and an awesome friend. I think about her a million times a day. It's taught me not to take anything for granted and to cherish all my friendships." Hendrix and her other close friends have been trying to get a memorial put on campus for their friend, such as a tree in Teter's courtyard with a plaque bearing her name.\nDavis and Armstrong both laugh when asked what they remember most about Marriott.\n"She had the greatest chicken impression!" Armstrong said, laughing. "She did impersonations and just always made you laugh."\nDavis recalled Marriott's qualities with a loving smile on her face. "She would build you up and always offered good advice," Davis said. "She made you feel important and unique. Every night before she went to sleep she would peek in our room and whisper, 'Love you, girls.' And we'd answer 'Love you, George." Davis wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled. "I want to be like Georgia when I grow up"
(11/01/02 5:32am)
IU senior Deema Dabis' dark eyes flickered with intensity as she expressed her feelings about the group she has helped put together on the IU campus to protest the war in Iraq.\n"It's terrible," Dabis said. "Bombs are being dropped on innocent people, a ridiculous number of children are dying …We want to make people see that what is happening is not right, it's not just, and it's not fair."\nDabis is one of the leading forces behind a new group forming on campus called the Coalition to Oppose the War in Iraq. The group is committed to bringing together other groups and individuals on campus to express their views and participate in opposing the war in Iraq. The group was born as a collaboration of members of the groups Students for Justice in Palestine, and Students for Non-Violent Solutions, as well as other individuals. Dabis said the purpose of the group is to organize and coordinate with other peace-seeking groups on campus so they can be stronger together.\nCOWI has already had several planning meetings involving some of the leaders of each group as well as other individuals. At these meetings, members discussed future mass meetings and what the group can do to present themselves to the campus as a welcoming group. The group encourages as much feedback as they can get from IU students.\nCOWI member junior Alison Bacich said she feels this is an important way students can get involved.\n"It's really fun to be politically involved," Bacich said. "You get political power with every small thing you do."\nCOWI's first mass meeting is at 8:30 p.m. Monday in Ballantine Hall, Room 208. Any IU student or group with any kind of opinion is welcome to attend. They will take feedback and break off into small groups for discussion. The small groups will then have the opportunity to present their ideas to the group as a whole.\n"We want to make it a strong, diverse group," said senior Lauren Taylor, member of COWI. "We already have some ideas, but we really want other groups to bring their ideas to the table too." \nTaylor said Students for Justice in Palestine began as a nonviolent response to the terror attacks in 2001. The group was opposed to the following war in Afghanistan; however, they found there was an even stronger opposition on campus to the war in Iraq, so they decided to start fresh and begin another group.\nThe main focus of COWI has three points of unity that the group promotes to students on campus -- stop the war in Iraq, stop racist attacks on Arabs, Muslims, and all other groups and defend civil liberties.\n"I know we are not going to stop the war in Iraq," Dabis said. "But I want people to openly oppose war. If people knew what was really going on, they would not support it."\nSome ideas that have already been brought up include panel discussions, debates, lectures, Congressional calling campaigns, Letters to the Editor campaigns and protests. The group would also like to get involved on a national level by participating in national conferences and protests. \n"If you have a problem with what is going on, no one else is going to do it," Bacich said. "Most people don't have the time, energy, or consciousness to organize against what is going on. If anyone is going to be a voice, it is the college students."\nMore information can be found on COWI's Web site www.cs.indiana.edu/~shockema/ccew.html. If you would like to get involved, contact Lauren Taylor at lctaylor@indiana.edu.
(10/30/02 4:40am)
It's Spring Break: you probably find yourself basking in the sun on a beach somewhere, road tripping with your friends, or even just lounging around your house, relishing in your laziness.\nMore and more students at campuses across the U.S. are finding themselves trading these typical activities for a week of life-changing work providing medical services to those in third world countries.\nDuring spring break of their senior year in high school, IU students Dionissi Aliprantis and Aaron Remenschneider went to Haiti to help set up medical clinics in poverty-stricken areas through the Timmy Foundation.\n"It was completely eye-opening and can't be described," Aliprantis said. "It has to be experienced."\nNearly four years later, these IU seniors have established a chapter of the Timmy Foundation on the IU campus. Based in Indianapolis, this program was founded in 1997 by Dr. Chuck Dietzen, whose passion it is to reach out and help mankind. Aliprantis and Remenschneider so admired this man and were so changed by their trip to Haiti that they decided to start a chapter on the IU campus.\n"There was a lot more interest than we had expected," Aliprantis said.\nScott Keller, the Executive Director of the Timmy Foundation in Indianapolis and colleague of Dr. Dietzen, says that they are fully supportive of the campus chapters.\n"This is their baby," Keller said. "Whichever direction they want to go and whatever they want to do with it, we are here to guide them and support them."\nKeller said that this year, there are five total trips of college students traveling to other countries to deliver medical supplies and treatment. Over spring break, IU students will be on their way to Honduras and the Dominican Republic. A Marquette University student, who went on the trip last year with IU students, has now started a chapter on her campus and those students will be assisting the needy in Honduras as well. Students at Purdue University will be traveling to Ecuador. Another student who went on the trip last year met a woman in Philadelphia who attended the University of Pennsylvania. Upon hearing about the organization, she called Scott Keller to see how she could get her own campus involved.\n"This could definitely turn out to be just a full time job," Keller said with a laugh. "It's huge."\nStudents come face to face with some grim concerns on these trips, including poor health care services, economic development, and sociopolitical issues in third world countries.\n"If you want to help long term, you have to ask questions," Aliprantis said. "You have to ask, why are these people in these situations in the first place? And you have to ask those questions, even if you know there are ugly answers."\nThis foundation is also an opportunity for premed students also who are interested in seeing doctors at work firsthand and get a feel for what their work might be. Some students will be involved first hand in situations they would not even get exposed to until junior or senior year of medical school.\n"It's a great opportunity for premed students," said IU senior Natalie Best, who attended the trip to Honduras last year. "But I think people are attracted to this program also because it's helping mankind. It's service-oriented, and a great way to see exactly why people go into medicine."\nThe main purpose of the group is to use knowledge and interest to change the lives of others. Aliprantis also stresses that although the IU chapter is still young, he would like for its main objective to start focusing more on more substantive work in the countries they visit. The medical clinics they conduct only last about a week. One model he would like the group to take after is Operation Kenya Development Volunteering, which is a group that basically does the same thing, only when they leave, the people they help can continue helping themselves.\nTrips this year are already full, but Aliprantis said that there is still so much people can do even in the Bloomington area. \n"We just want to get people out and volunteering," Aliprantis said. "Every kid could use a Big Brother or a Big Sister, there's all kinds of agencies around here … the list goes on and on."\nBest also suggests that there are other ways students can help within the Timmy Foundation, even if they are not going on the trips. She said that they always need help collecting medicine and toiletries for the trip. Students who know anyone who might be able to help out the students on their trip this year by donating financially or donating medicine supplies and equipment or are interested in volunteer opportunities, visit the Web site at .indiana.edu/~timmyfc/.
(10/23/02 5:33am)
Natalia Galvan is devoted to helping others, and it's obvious when she talks about it. She smiles widely. Her eyes sparkle with enthusiasm, and she jumps at the chance to tell other students how to get involved.\nThe devotion Galvan possesses earned her a $2,000 grant from Indiana Campus Contact, a college service organization.\nGalvan, a senior majoring in psychology, has always been highly active in programs on campus that encourage and help students get involved with the community. She is also the president of the Volunteer Students Bureau, an entirely student-run organization that works with students to plug them into philanthropic activities they are interested in.\nSince this program has played a significant role in Galvan's life, she took it upon herself to apply for the $2,000 grant to support it, she said. \n"The opportunity to plan initiatives that benefit others less fortunate than me is a reward in itself; however, I am also given the pleasure of collaborating with other students, faculty members and administrators who are committed to making a change," Galvan said.\nThe Indiana Campus Contact organization is an association of 30 colleges and universities that supports the combination of community service and campus culture. The Student Citizen Fellowship grant is intended to support students involved in finding problems in the community and being a leader for others in developing an answer to address that problem. \n"We found Natalia's efforts with the Volunteer Students Bureau to be so wonderful, because the widespread work she's doing helps get many other students involved in the community," Keri Hunt, assistant director for student development at Indiana Campus Contact said in a statement. "We were attracted by her willingness to reach out to her peers to find ways to help the community."\nGalvan's advisor, assistant director of the Student Activities Office Darrell Stone, praised Galvan for her efforts and involvement on campus. Over the three years she has known Galvan, Stone said she has seen the work Galvan has accomplished.\n"She has the quality of determination and leadership skills that have benefited every organization she has been involved in," Stone said. \nGalvan has been particularly involved in Students Organized Against Poverty, Alpha Phi Omega (a service fraternity), College Mentors for Kids and the Volunteer Students Bureau. Her experiences with these organizations have helped to shape her college experience.\n"It has definitely enriched my life greatly," Galvan said. "I grew up in a privileged home, so to be able to give back is wonderful."\nGalvan is also committed to helping other students on the IU campus get involved.\n"You can meet so many good-hearted people," Galvan said. "Bring a friend and get involved with something you love to do. There's something for everyone."\nGalvan's encouraging nature is obvious to anyone who meets her. \n"She is incredibly friendly," Stone said. "She loves what she's doing. It shows, and her examples of hard work and vision sparks motivation in other students."\nThe Volunteer Students Bureau has some upcoming activities that Galvan said she is very excited about and encourages students to get involved. In November, a Pottery Day and Food Drive are planned. Also, during the first week of December, there will be an Adopt-a-Child kickoff, which is where over 100 needy children in the Bloomington community are matched with college students who basically fulfill that child's wish list, which can normally be as simple as a new pillow or toy truck. This event will also have several co-sponsors. Galvan said it is her favorite project.\nMany other unique events are planned through the Volunteer Students Bureau, and students can find out more about those on its Web site: www.iub.edu/~iuvolbur. Also, students are encouraged to call the Bureau's office at 812-855-8290 or visit their office in the Indiana Memorial Union Room 378. Their e-mail address is vsb@indiana.edu.\n"You just have to jump in," Galvan said.
(10/14/02 5:38am)
From Nazi skinheads to the most famous rabbis of our time, Marc Asnin, an internationally celebrated photojournalist, has witnessed and reported it all. He was even present in New York during the horrific events of Sept. 11, trying to spare his life underneath a firetruck while the second tower collapsed before his eyes. \n"It sucked," Asnin said bluntly. "It was war that day and it was horrible."\nAsnin will be on the IU campus this week to share his projects and experiences with IU students, staff and faculty. Examples of his work will be shown, and students will be able to interact with him about his career.\nTyagan Miller, IU photojournalism teacher and friend of Asnin, is eager about the visit.\n"Considering his credentials, he is a great person for our students to get in touch with," Miller said. \nAsnin, a freelance photojournalist, has a resume packed with lectures and teachings, books and catalogues, films and CD-Roms, exhibitions, honors and awards, interviews, reviews and collections. Among his editorial clients are magazines such as New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, People, Time, Washington Post Sunday Magazine, and Cosmopolitan, to name a few. \n"I particularly enjoy being a magazine photojournalist," Asnin said. "I get to meet so many different types of people."\nAsnin grew up in Brooklyn and has never lived outside New York. Although he can't say he's always wanted to be a photojournalist, he knows he has always been interested in photography and current events.\n"Since I was 18 and got into art school, I've always been interested in the world," Asnin said.\nAsnin also enjoys teaching and being around young people. He taught at the School of Visual Arts for seven years in Manhattan. \n"It's an inspiration to work with young people," Asnin said. "I want to see what they're creating and see their creative energies. I am also excited that it is out of New York because I've never lived anywhere else. It is a great honor to go to a place with such great tradition and to know they want to know about my photography and my life," Asnin said.\nAsnin has recieved numerous awards, including The Mother Jones International Fund for Documentary Photography (2000) and The Eugene Smith Grant for Humanistic Photography (1993). \n"We are delighted to have such a distinguished and professional man come here to our campus," said Bonnie Brownlee, the School of Journalism associate dean for undergraduate studies.\nFor the past 20 years, Asnin has been working on a well-known photojournalism essay entitled "Uncle Charlie." Asnin said that on a personal level, this is his best work yet. The project explores his Uncle Charlie whose issues with poverty, drugs, mental illness, sexuality and family dysfunction have given Asnin an in-depth view of his family. He will have examples of this project to show to students when he visits.\nAsnin has several events planned on campus this week. At 7 p.m. tonight he will present a lecture in Woodburn Hall Room 120. An informal gathering is scheduled at 7 p.m.Thursday in Ernie Pyle Hall Room 157. Asnin will also be visiting photojournalism classes throughout the week.
(10/14/02 5:36am)
Last week, Sprint PCS teamed up with the IU greek system to collect used cell phones and cell phone parts. Students on campus donated about 300 cell phones to raise money for charity.\n"It was a huge success," said senior Abby Massey, vice president of communication relations for the Panhellenic Association. Massey said the greek system collected around 300 cell phones and parts, and as of right now, there may be even more. Some chapters have not turned in a total count.\nDavid DeVries, senior public relations manager for Sprint PCS, also collected phones off campus last week. Altogether, including the numbers for the IU campus, the total number of cell phones collected is around 400.\n"We had mostly students and their families respond," DeVries said.\nAlthough the collection fell short of the original goal of 1,000 phones, DeVries was still pleased with the outcome.\n"There were people who made an enormous effort, and I am proud of everyone that was involved," DeVries said. \nThe cell phones will be recycled or resold by Sprint, who will donate 100 percent of the proceeds to Easter Seals and the National Organization on Disability.\nDeVries also commented that this is a project he would love to do again, although next time more high profile events would be sought out. \n"I would like to investigate holding these collections during events like the Little 500, Parents Weekend, Homecoming or an IU vs. Purdue game," he said.\nMassey also said this is something the greek system would like to do again.\n"We are really happy with the numbers, and as long as Sprint keeps doing it, we will," Massey said. "We are so lucky Sprint approached us with it because it's such an easy way to make a difference," she said.\nSenior Mandy Harlan, who interned with DeVries this summer and helped bring the project to IU, was a little disappointed that the goal of 1,000 was not met but was still excited about the outcome.\n"The response was awesome," Harlan said. "The greek system did such a good job putting this together."\nHarlan helped man the donation stations in some of the dorms and said that many students were curious about the program. At least half approached the station to see what was going on.\n"A lot of students were really excited and interested in what we were doing," Harlan said. "A lot of them had cell phones to donate too, they just left them at home."\nHarlan said it's not too late for those who still want to donate. Anyone with an idle phone can drop it off at the Bloomington Sprint Store, 814 E. Auto Mall Road.
(10/09/02 4:57am)
Melissa Spencer, a second-year graduate student at IU, has interned with the Children's Museum of Indianapolis, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, has been on the Board of Directors for the Buselli Wallarb Jazz Orchestra and plans to intern next semester at the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra in St. Paul, Minn. \nAll this was made possible for her through the Arts Administration program in its new home, the IU School of Public Affairs and Environmental Sciences.\n"SPEA has been great in taking us in," Spencer said. "I think the program will start to grow since we have moved there."\nSpencer has a background in music and strong interest in music business. She said she likes having the program in SPEA because it complements the interdisciplinary aspects of the Arts Administration program. \n"It lets me cater to areas where my strong interest lies, which right now is orchestra management," Spencer said.\nThis summer, IU's dynamic Arts Administration program -- a two-year graduate program -- relocated to the School of Environmental and Public Affairs. Having been housed previously in the Kelley School of Business and School of Music, its multi-disciplinary nature as well as its lack of a director this past year contributed to the move.\nArts Administration Director Charles Bonser said the program has a better chance to thrive in their new environment. \nIt is a small master's degree program that currently takes 10 second-year students, as well as 13 new graduate students. The program's participants sprinkle the campus, involving various people and institutions all over IU and training students in the direction and administration positions of prestigious arts institutions. The nature of these institutions includes theatre, visual art, art history, music managing, development fields, director of arts centers, as well as many others. \n"It's really a jewel of a little program," Bonser said.\nHeidi Gealt, an advisor with the program for the past decade, fully supports this program and its goals, saying the field of arts needs this kind of administration training. \n"IU has a strong representation of the arts considering the Auditorium, the Art Museum, the Mathers Museum, the African American arts program, among others," Gealt said. "IU is ideally suited and one of the best places for a program like this."\nGealt said the program is for students interested in the managing aspect of the arts as opposed to the practice and performance aspect.\nThe program consists of three semesters spent on campus by students. During this time they must complete three, five-week practicums in such places as the IU Art Museum, School of Music, Art Museum and African American Art Museum. The practicums allow students to explore what areas of the arts they are interested in. \nThe students' closing semester is spent off campus in a full-time internship position. These internships can take them to places such as the Abbey Theatre (Dublin, Ireland), Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Children's Museum of Indianapolis, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia Orchestra and the St. Louis Symphony, among several others.
(10/04/02 8:38pm)
Chad Culver was one of the good guys.\nThat's what makes saying good bye so hard, says close friend Brian Adkins.\nCulver died Wednesday night after his motorcycle careened of the 45/46 bypass, hitting a chainlink fence. Culver, a sophomore elementary education major, was 19.\n"In the brief time I had the pleasure of being acquainted with him, I realized Chad was someone who really enjoyed life," Adkins said. "I don't think I ever saw him without a smile on his face."\nIndeed Culver's presence is already missed on campus.\n"It is very clear to me that this was a person who had established some very strong bonds," said Associate Dean of Student Damon Sims. "His friends are deeply wounded."\nSims was called to police headquarters after the accident to be informed of the incident. He had the difficult task of talking with Culver's friends in those first few hours following the crash.\nHe said counselors are available for those on campus who may need assistance in coping with this tragedy.\nSims met with Culver's roommates and friends Wednesday night. There was not much to say, Sims said. The group sat quietly and reflected.\nThe students pulled together to help one another, Sims said.\n"There was a sense of real community," Sims said.\nDean of Students Richard McKaig, has unfortunately had to deal with this type of situation before. \n"There is always a real sense of sadness," McKaig said. "I also feel remorse at having not known the student more personally."\nMcKaig was able to speak with Culver's parents Wednesday and was amazed at the compassion they portrayed for the friends and acquaintances of their son. McKaig said their inquiries for the well-being of Culver's friends touched him.\n"It was amazing the sense and compassion they had in the midst of a parent's worst nightmare," McKaig said.\nCulver's friends have been doing their best to pull together, McKaig said. \nIt is evident that many were affected by this tragic loss.\n"The impact he had on other people's lives was evident to me when my roommates and I showed up at his house at around 1:00 a.m. early Thursday morning," Adkins said. "There were about 10 people outside and others inside just sitting around, trying to think of what to do. When I got home and signed on Instant Messenger, there were countless people with away messages dedicated to Chad. His untimely death clearly had a damaging affect which won't quickly heal."\nMemorial services will be held this weekend in Goshen, Ind., Culver's hometown. Viewing will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. on Saturday at the Pleasantview Mennonite Church. The funeral will be held in the same place on 2 p.m. Sunday. Memorials can be made out to the American Cancer Society. Arrangements are being made by Yoder-Culp Funeral Home in Goshen, Ind.