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(05/02/05 4:44am)
When I made my final speech to the Indiana Daily Student staff on Friday, after four and a half years of working for this newspaper, I said I would have never survived being editor in chief without them -- my editors, designers and writers.\nI wanted to write this to say the same thing to you, the readers.\nFor the past 15 weeks, I've had the privilege to head one of the largest and most honored organizations on campus, and my goal this semester has been not only to continue the IDS' long-standing tradition as being one of the nation's best college newspapers, but to report the news in ways that made it matter and understandable to you.\nI have a stack of IDS issues piled high in my room. As I go back through the semester's first few papers, the first thing that comes to mind is the tsunami that hit Southeast Asia in December. The question rolling around my head during winter break was, "How would we make this matter to IU students?"\nThen came a string of national and local news stories -- from Gov. Mitch Daniels and President Bush's inauguration to elections in Iraq that became a topic of our News Analysis column, which focused on explaining difficult international and national stories.\nA series of sexual assault incidents hit campus throughout the semester, and we investigated them to see if this was becoming a growing trend on campus.\n'The Game' canceled a concert planned near Little 500, the actual race came and went and Team Major Taylor came under fire after we investigated the team and organization for weeks. \nTwo IU students passed away and one went missing; two of them, thousands of miles away, the other in our front yard. One was a soldier in Afghanistan, and it prompted us to take a deeper look into the deaths of Indiana's troops overseas.\nAll semester I've been on edge, anxious, restless, concerned and, largely, not myself. I guess that all comes from being responsible for the daily news on this campus, regularly criticized by the entire student body and my closest friends. There have been times when I didn't want to come in the newsroom, or check my e-mail or answer phone calls. But then I would realize that this kind of opportunity would never arise again. So I would kick myself and then ask, "How would we make the next issue matter to IU students?"\nThroughout the semester I've realized that this was my goal. The intention of any editor in chief should be to get into the minds of readers to understand what concerns them. From hiring a public editor who monitored our coverage to a daytime Web editor to update stories online, we tried to make the IDS as student-reader friendly as possible. When I was in the newsroom, late at night editing the final draft of page one, I tried to look at the page as a reader. And I woke up the next day with what you were thinking about on my mind. When I wake up Sunday, I will no longer be a cog in IU's student machine, but a graduate, an alumnus and someone without a job.\nI'll wake up without the enormous responsibility I felt all semester, the responsibility that made me endlessly anxious, restless and worried. In ways it will be a huge relief. But it really will be the most depressing morning because I won't have to ask myself, "How will we make this matter to IU students?"\nI tried my best getting in your heads for a semester. And when I failed, you let me know. For that, and for reading, thank you.
(09/06/04 6:35am)
NEW YORK -- After more than a week of press, protests and politics, many New Yorkers will return to the city today since the Republican National Convention has left town.\nWhile some in New York weathered the Republican storm, many took a week or more off work to escape the more than 50,000 people who visited the city for the convention.\n"Life will go back to normal and it will probably be a crowded, crowded week with everybody back from vacation," said IU alumnus Julian Treves, who lives in New Jersey but works in Manhattan.\nWeeks before the convention came, Treves said his co-workers began planning to get away from the city.\n"What happened is that we started hearing about it in early July, and a lot of people at work were already worrying about it," he said. "We worked around it."\nTreves, who graduated from IU in 1988 and now works in the treasury department for a media organization in Manhattan, said rather than taking a vacation, he worked from home for a couple days last week.\n"(The convention) had a big impact on my work life," he said.\nChandra Czape took a different approach to the Republicans coming to New York. She left the country altogether.\nThough her vacation to London wasn't completely due to the convention, she said it was nice timing.\n"I would have preferred to leave earlier," Czape said. \nCzape, who graduated from IU in 1996 and now is a deputy editor at CosmoGirl!, was in Manhattan for a few days last week. She said her boyfriend asked her to stop by a camera store, only blocks from Madison Square Garden, the site of this year's convention, and thousands of protesters.\n"I was like, I don't want to go down there. I'll go to a different camera store," she said. "I don't want to be in there."\nLike Treves, Czape said her co-workers were complaining about the convention coming before anyone even arrived in the city.\n"We've been groaning about it (since) two weeks before they got here," she said.\nCzape said that if New Yorkers weren't protesting the convention, then they were staying away.\nPresident George W. Bush chose to enter the lion's den of the Democratic Party by choosing New York as the site of the RNC. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 5 to 1 here, according to The Associated Press, making the case for many New Yorkers that President Bush and the Republican Party used political reasons in choosing the city because of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.\nIn a poll taken by New York magazine of New Yorkers and their thoughts on the convention coming to town, most of the results were overwhelmingly pro-Democrat and anti-Bush. More than 40 percent of New Yorkers said it was not a good choice for the convention to be held in New York, while 58 percent of Republicans thought it was a good idea.\n"I think it's kind of stupid to come here, personally," Czape said. \nIn this Democratic stronghold, many believe the city was used as a political tool.\n"Clearly there was political symbolism in choosing the site," Treves said, who hasn't been in Manhattan since the Friday before the convention. "I think it would have been better if it would have been in another state."\nIndeed, many of the speeches centered around the Sept. 11 attacks. Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's speech Monday night invoked images of President Bush as a hero after his visit to the World Trade Center site days after the attacks. The terrorist attacks were continually referenced in videos and photos of the president as the only choice to lead the United States against global terrorism, as well as in speeches by Vice President Dick Cheney, Sen. John McCain and the president himself.\nAlthough he said the convention impacted his work life, Treves said taking a week and a half off of work was nice.\n"It wasn't the worst thing in the world," he said. "But sure, life will go back to normal."\n-- Contact staff writer Josh Sanburn at jsanburn@indiana.edu.
(09/03/04 6:25am)
NEW YORK -- The rioting in Chicago during the 1968 Democratic National Convention is considered by many as the benchmark of political speech leading to violence. By Wednesday night in New York, the number of arrests exceeded those in Chicago by 1,200, but without the violence. \nAlthough generally peaceful, the protests this week have been large and numerous, and by Thursday evening, 1,769 arrests had been made.\nIU alumna Jenni Cushman was in the middle of two of the largest marches this week -- she and her dance troupe.\nCushman, now a resident of Manhattan, marched for reproductive choice across the Brooklyn Bridge Saturday \n"It was really kind of empowering to see all the people who came out to voice their opinions," Cushman said.\nBut rather than protesting in an old-fashioned way, she is in a group she calls a "social justice dance troupe." Using dance to engage people on the street, Cushman said the group takes pop songs and puts a political spin on them.\n"We do public performances of a political nature," she said. "It's kind of a creative, eye-catching way to get your message out there."\nCushman said she began her political activism in high school but was given a stronger outlet when she came to IU. She joined the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance and served as its executive board member for two years. She graduated in December of 2002.\nWhile the Republican Party has repeatedly said it is the protesters' First Amendment right to dissent, some have called the protesting "hate speech." Not Cushman.\n"I think it's really important to show to the whole country and other people in the city and the whole world that there are Americans that don't agree with Bush," she said.\nTuesday night, the New York Police Department arrested 1,187 protesters. Police spokesman Paul Brown denied accusations of mistreatment.\n"There was very disciplined restraint throughout the ranks," he said.\nArrests were predicted to inch near 2,000 by the time the Republican Party leaves today.\nThe protesters continued Wednesday and Thursday, some with symbolic pink slips to represent lost jobs, others infiltrating Madison Square Garden during a gathering of young Republicans and while the Bush twins, Jenna and Barbara, were at the podium.\nDonna Lieberman, the executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said the police had not been violent, as was the case in Chicago in 1968, but she questioned some of their tactics.\n"A lot of the arrests were bad, but they weren't brutal," she said. "I think police were psyched up (Wednesday) to make a lot of arrests, and it became a self-fulfilling prophecy."\nLike many protesters in New York and many residents around New York where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans five to one, Cushman said she believed the president should not have brought the convention to her city. She said New York had been through enough on Sept. 11.\n"I think it's really disgusting that they would use that as a political ploy," Cushman said. "I think it's a slap in the face almost."\nThe Associated Press contributed to this story.\n-- Contact staff writer Josh Sanburn at jsanburn@indiana.edu.
(09/02/04 5:43am)
To a crowd chanting "four more years," and following a raucous keynote speech by Democrat Zell Miller, Dick Cheney accepted the nomination for vice president of the United States Wednesday night.\nIn his speech that ultimately turned to national security and terrorism, and finally a stinging criticism of Democratic Presidential Nominee John Kerry, the vice president said the biggest threat the country faces today is "having nuclear weapons fall into the hands of terrorists" and made the case that President Bush is the only choice to keep America safe.\nCheney, in the third night of the Republican National Convention that focused on "A Nation of Opportunity," said the United States is in "one of those defining moments," like the years following World War II.\n"The election of 2004 is one of the most important, not just in our lives but in our history," he said. "And so it is time to set the alternatives squarely before the American people."\nWhile speaking briefly on domestic issues early on, including education, taxes and jobs, Cheney's speech focused largely on keeping America, and the world, safe.\n"Four years ago, some said the world had grown calm, and many assumed that the United States was invulnerable to danger," the vice president said. "That thought might have been comforting; it was also false. Like other generations of Americans, we soon discovered that history had great and unexpected duties in store for us."\nComparing al Qaeda to the Nazis during World War II and the Soviet communists during the cold war, Vice President Cheney said "Sept. 11, 2001, made clear the challenges we face."\n"But if the killers of Sept. 11 thought we had lost the will to defend our freedom, they did not know America and they did not know George W. Bush," he said.\nThe vice president credited President Bush and his administration with fighting terrorism around the world by killing and capturing hundreds of al Qaeda operatives, disbanding the Taliban in Afghanistan and "liberating" Iraq.\n"We dealt with a gathering threat, and removed the regime of Saddam Hussein," he said. "Seventeen months ago, he controlled the lives and fortunes of 25 million people. Tonight he sits in jail." Cheney also said it was through the administration's actions that Libya agreed to abandon its nuclear weapons.\nTo a crowd who chanted "flip-flop" several times during his speech, the vice president continually criticized Kerry for being wrong on defense and almost making a career out of changing his mind on issues. He said the differences between the two presidential candidates are sharp.\n"Even in this post-9/11 period, Sen. Kerry doesn't appear to understand how the world has changed," Cheney said. "He talks about leading a 'more sensitive war on terror,' as though al Qaeda will be impressed with our softer side. He declared at the Democratic Convention that he will forcefully defend America after the country has been attacked. \n"My fellow Americans, we have already been attacked, and faced with an enemy who seeks the deadliest of weapons to use against us," Cheney said, "we cannot wait for the next attack."
(09/01/04 7:07am)
NEW YORK -- If Monday night was all about national security and Sept. 11, the Republican National Convention certainly took a shift toward domestic issues Tuesday, featuring first lady Laura Bush, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and U.S. Secretary of Education and IU alumnus Rod Paige.\nSpeaking in the final spot Tuesday night, the first lady reflected on the first time she met President Bush and what she would say to someone unsure about re-electing him.\n"I am so proud of the way George has led our country with strength and conviction," the first lady said in front of a soft, pink background. "Tonight, I want to try and answer the question that I believe many people would ask me if we sat down for a cup of coffee or ran into each other at the store: You know him better than anyone. You've seen things no one else has seen. Why do you think we should re-elect your husband as president? As you might image, I have a lot to say about that."\nIntroduced by President Bush, who was in turn introduced by his two daughters Jenna and Barbara from a live feed on the campaign trail in Pennsylvania, the first lady talked of President Bush's first campaign 25 years ago for Congress, saying she learned a lot about him then.\nLaura Bush spoke about funding and commitment to higher standards as part of the No Child Left Behind Act in the nation's schools.\nThe first lady also talked about President Bush's tax relief and how he has provided federal funding for stem-cell research, even though the Republican Party platform is against continuing research on additional human embryos.\nBut ultimately, her speech returned to the focus of Monday night: terrorism and national security.\n"All of these issues are important," she said. "But we are living in the midst of the most historic struggle my generation has ever known. The stakes are so high. So I want to talk about the issue that I believe is most important for my own daughters, for all our families and for our future: George's work to protect our country and defeat terror so that all children can grow up in a more peaceful world."\nShe spoke of a Colorado mother's sons enlisting in the armed forces after Sept. 11, 2001, to be "on the front lines of freedom."\n"The president and I want all of our men and women in uniform and their wives and husbands, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters to know that we appreciate their sacrifice," the first lady said.\nReminding the convention delegates that neither Abraham Lincoln nor Franklin Roosevelt wanted to go to war, her husband did not want war either.\n"But he knew the safety of America and the world depended on it," she said. "Our parents' generation confronted tyranny and liberated millions. As we do the hard work of confronting today's threat, we can also be proud that 50 million more men, women and children live in freedom today thanks to the United States of America and our allies."\nBefore the first lady spoke, Gov. Schwarzenegger addressed the convention delegates, invoking his immigrant background and saying he owes his career, family and success to the United States.\n"In this country, it doesn't make any difference where you were born," the governor said. "It doesn't make any difference who your parents were. It doesn't make any difference if, like me, you couldn't even speak English until you were in your 20s. America gave me opportunities, and my immigrant dreams came true. I want other people to get the same chances I did, the same opportunities. And I believe they can. That's why I believe in this country, that's why I believe in this party and that's why I believe in this president."\nGov. Schwarzenegger spoke of when he realized he was a Republican when he heard President Richard Nixon speak.\n"I'm proud to belong to the party of Abraham Lincoln, the party of Teddy Roosevelt, the party of Ronald Reagan and the party of George W. Bush," Gov. Schwarzenegger said. "To my fellow immigrants listening tonight, I want you to know how welcome you are in this party. We Republicans admire your ambition. We encourage your dreams. We believe in your future."\nThe governor then asked a rhetorical question if some Americans are unsure if they're Republican.\n"If you believe this country, not the United Nations, is the best hope for democracy, then you are Republican," he said.\nSchwarzenegger went on to emphasize holding the country's education system accountable, keeping taxes low and to "terminate" terrorism as tenets of the Republican Party.\nThe governor even briefly implied Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards' political philosophy of "Two Americas."\n"We have one America, and President Bush is defending it with all his heart and soul," he said.\nThe California governor, known for his blockbuster action movies before he ran for governor after Gray Davis was recalled last year, used his famous phrases of "girly men" and "I'll be back" throughout his speech.\n"Ladies and gentlemen, America is back," Gov. Schwarzenegger said. "Back from the attack on our homeland, back from the attack on our economy, back from the attack on our way of life. We're back because of perseverance, character and leadership of the 43rd president of the United States -- George W. Bush."\nAt the beginning of his speech, Schwarzenegger reminded the delegates of one of his past films.\n"One of my movies was called 'True Lies,'" he said. "That's what the Democrats should have called their convention."\nSchwarzenegger ended his speech chanting along with the crowd "four more years."\nBefore Gov. Schwarzenegger spoke, U.S. Secretary of Education Paige spoke for a few minutes about how the No Child Left Behind Act is working before introducing a video focused on a Missouri school the campaign said was proof the act is moving America's schools forward.
(09/01/04 7:07am)
NEW YORK -- On the side of the New York Public Library, in a place thousands of New Yorkers pass each day, there is a monument dedicated to out-of-nowhere 1940 Republican nominee Wendell Willkie. \n"I believe in America because in it we are free -- free to choose our government, to speak our minds, to serve our different religions," it says, quoting Willkie.\nSixty-four years later, the Republican Party is in New York for the first time, blocks from the obscure plaque about the Indiana native who attended IU and went on to win the Republican nomination to face the Democratic nominee Franklin Roosevelt.\nWillkie's youngest grandson, David, lives here, too, working for Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar. \n"When I think of my grandfather, one, I think of a very progressive, visionary for his time," David said. "I'm very proud of his record."\nThat record certainly struck many in the 1930s and '40s as unconventional -- a shift from the United States' policy of isolationism, desegregation throughout the country, an end to stereotyping blacks in entertainment.\nWendell Willkie was born in 1892 in Elwood, Ind., and attended IU, receiving both his undergraduate and law degree and finishing at the top of his class.\nIn the 1930s, Willkie became a very wealthy businessman. He had since moved to New York and had been dubbed a "barefoot boy from Wall Street," said IU history Professor James Madison, who has written a book on Willkie.\nBut even though Willkie was doing very well in business, "he chose to enter politics, and he chose more importantly to enter public life," Madison said.\nWillkie began thinking about a run for the White House, even though he had never before held public office. In an out-of-nowhere bid, Willkie won the delegates needed to become the Republican nominee.\n"He's one of the quintessential dark horses," Madison said.\nDavid said there are still questions as to why Wendell Willkie ran on the Republican ticket even though he was registered as a Democrat. But at the time, Willkie was upset with part of FDR's New Deal.\nBut Willkie's campaign was poorly managed. Its national headquarters was based out of tiny Rushville, Ind. Willkie lost to the incumbent Roosevelt by about 5 million votes.\nHowever, his most lasting contributions came after his loss, which include his book "One World," which focuses on just that. Willkie advocated equality for all.\nIn 1943, Willkie went around the world to foreign leaders advocating a philosophy of desegregation and his dislike of the United States' foreign policy of isolationism.\nIn 1944, Willkie began thinking about another run for the presidency. But a series of massive heart attacks brought an end not only to Willkie's run for the White House, but also to his remarkable life.\n"I think he's one of the greatest Hoosiers of all time," Professor Madison said.\nWillkie's grandson said presidential candidates are inevitably compared to his grandfather. Some believe Willkie's campaign is similar to Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry because many liberals are furious at some of President Bush's policies, just like many hard-core Republicans hated parts of FDR's New Deal. Willkie has been compared to Bush as well, but David said his grandfather would have some questions about sending the country into a war without many of its allies, as Bush has been accused of doing.\n"He would definitely have some questions about that," David said. He also said his grandfather believed in the creed: "By protecting the rights of people you hate, you protect the rights of those you love."\nAlthough Wendell Willkie's name emerges each election year, David said he doesn't spend a lot of time thinking what his grandfather stood for.\n"I think about his ideals and some of the things he thought about," David said. "They've definitely shaped me."\nOne of Willkie's major achievements was becoming one of the first white men to address a national convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Following his death, the NAACP was housed in the Willkie Freedom House in New York. It was later torn down, but the memorial to the small-town Indiana native still stands near the old NAACP headquarters on the side of the New York Public Library.\n"I feel very proud of that legacy and that heritage," David said. "I want more than anything to keep his ideals alive."\n-- Contact staff writer Josh Sanburn at jsanburn@indiana.edu.
(08/31/04 6:22am)
NEW YORK -- U.S. Secretary of Education and IU alumnus Rod Paige will address the Republican National Convention tonight, making the case for four more years of President Bush to the convention delegates as well as discussing the president's No Child Left Behind Act.\nEarly Monday morning, Secretary Paige addressed about 200 people in the New York Marriott East Side Hotel, including Minnesota's 41 delegates and their alternates. Following his speech, Paige discussed rising tuition costs across the nation, which include IU. Last year marked the first time in IU's history that freshmen were required to pay a $1,000 academic fee. This year, all students must pay a new $30 athletic fee. \n"We're a great nation," Paige said. "We're falling back to the middle of the pack (on higher education costs). That's a bad place for us to be."\nBut Paige said the president must be re-elected to continue work on the controversial act.\n"The No Child Left Behind Act is gaining roots," he said.\nAccording to the www.georgewbush.com, the act creates strong standards in each state for children in grades 3 through 8, especially in reading and math.\nThe Kerry-Edwards campaign has criticized the act for not doing enough for elementary and middle school students.\nBefore he became the seventh U.S. Secretary of Education, Paige attended IU, where he earned his master's and doctoral degree in education. \nBorn in 1933 in segregated Monticello, Miss., Paige earned his bachelor's degree from Jackson State University in Mississippi, according to the Bush-Cheney campaign.\nAfter attending IU, Paige began working with students as a teacher and coach, eventually serving for 10 years as a dean of the College of Education at Texas Southern University. Paige left TSU in 1994 to become the superintendent of the Houston Independent School District, the nation's seventh largest school district, according to the campaign.\nPaige became the secretary of education on Jan. 21, 2001. According to the Bush-Cheney campaign, Paige supports the president on affirmative action across the nation's universities and colleges.\nIn Monday morning's address to the Minnesota delegates, Paige spoke for about five minutes about why Minnesota and the rest of the country should support the president. Steve Schmidt, a Bush-Cheney campaign spokesman, also spoke for a few minutes following Secretary Paige.\n"With your hope, we're going to put Minnesota back in the red column," he said.\nMichael Krueger, executive director of the College Republican National Committee, also attended the event, saying the president is leading the country in the right direction.\nKrueger said he believes the two critical issues this election year will be security and jobs, and Bush is more steadfast on fighting terrorism.\n"You're never going to hear the president say we need a more sensitive war on terror," Krueger said, referring to Democratic Presidential Candidate John Kerry's recent comment about fighting al Qaeda. He also said Bush is concerned about creating more jobs, something every college student searches for following graduation.\nSecretary Paige is scheduled as a featured speaker tonight in a convention that has focused on the theme "A Nation of Courage." He will address the Republican delegation during the evening session. The secretary will precede first lady Laura Bush and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.\nAlthough tuition has been rising in the country's colleges and universities, Paige said Monday that with the president asking so much through the No Child Left Behind Act, there will inevitably be roadblocks. He said an act like this one has been attempted eight times before.\n"The nation is calling on (professors and teachers) to meet that challenge," Paige said. "It's not easy.\n"But in general, we're doing great."\n-- Contact staff writer Josh Sanburn at jsanburn@indiana.edu
(08/30/04 6:24am)
NEW YORK -- As the Republican National Convention begins today, Indiana's delegates will wake up two blocks from the World Trade Center site, as well as from a convention that will focus on President Bush's leadership and strength following the Sept. 11 attacks.\nWith only a short walk to the site of the worst terror attack on American soil, the 55 Republican delegates and their alternates from Indiana will make their way to Madison Square Garden for the beginning of the morning session at 10 a.m. today, which will feature New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Sen. John McCain of Arizona.\nFrom excerpts released by the Bush campaign Sunday night, both McCain and Giuliani will focus on President Bush's security experience and leadership following the Sept. 11 terror attacks in their speeches Monday night.\n"I think it's accurate," said Indiana alternate and Monroe County Republican Party Chairman John Shean, referring to the released portions of McCain's and Giuliani's speeches. "These Islamic fundamentalist terrorists really want to see the United States destroyed, removed from the planet. We're in a life or death struggle with these guys. The president is the kind of leader we would want to have."\nShean said he didn't think there would be a terrorist attack before the election because the country would then rally around the president, and he believes terrorists would rather see Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry in office.\nBoth security and terrorism have become the backdrop of the Republican convention, held for the first time in New York City. It is also the first Republican convention since the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the same city.\nWhile the delegates sleep, eat and relax in their hotel rooms, New York Police Department and U.S. Coast Guard boats circle Manhattan in what has become overwhelming security from NYPD, the Coast Guard and the Port Authority.\n"We have dogs walking through the building sniffing for bombs," said John Shean's wife and delegate, Cheryl, referring to the hotel where the Indiana delegates are staying. "There are cops everywhere."\nThe Sheans said they feel safe.\n"It's somewhat disconcerting because I'm not used to it," John said. "But I feel safe. The streets of New York are very safe now."\n-- Contact staff writer Josh Sanburn at jsanburn@indiana.edu.
(01/20/04 4:21am)
When I decided to travel across two states to campaign for someone I had never met and a candidate almost no one had heard of a year ago, I still wasn't exactly sure what drove me to volunteer for former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean.\nFor months, I had been hearing about how Dean had formed the "greatest grassroots campaign of the modern era." I was skeptical. I knew college students from around the country were descending upon Iowa in what Dean's campaign dubbed "The Perfect Storm."\nThe campaign said it would provide accommodations for us at the Abe Lincoln campgrounds in Davenport, but we couldn't even find the camp. The next morning, we went back to the Dean office to find ourselves playing supermarket bagboy -- picking up boxes of granola bars and bottled water for hard-working Dean volunteers. Hi, democracy.\nWhen we got back, I was told that Dean would be stopping in Davenport the next day in one of his last speeches before the caucuses. My friend and I had joked about seeing Dean while we were in Iowa and what we would say to him if we did. But we didn't think he'd show up in Davenport.\nWe went through a 20-minute training session on how to canvass, which is essentially walking in blistering cold asking registered Democrats and Independents if they would attend the caucuses.\nSome said they were strongly for Dean and they would attend the Monday caucus.A handful said they were for another Democrat. A few said they weren't attending the caucuses. A couple said, "What are caucuses?"\nThat night, as my friend and I drove by the Dean campaign headquarters, my friend thought he saw Dean inside. We parked and ran up the street. \nDean wasn't there, but Jesse Jackson, Jr. was. I'm not sure how my friend confused the two.\nWe woke up the next day knowing we would see Dean speak right before we headed home.\nThe day before, after going to 74 houses, we got 13 saying they would be attending the caucuses for Dean. Sunday, we got zero.\nWe went back to the offices with our results and decided to head to West High School an hour and a half early to get a good spot to see Dean. We were first row, ready to see someone we had never spoken to, but had been trekking around Davenport Precinct 81 for in the cold without gloves.\nWe waited and, after an hour, former Gov. Dean, his wife and Sen. Harkin took the stage.\nDean didn't lay out specific policies. It was too late for that. It was simply motivation for voters to "give President Bush a one-way bus ticket to Crawford, Texas"\nAfter he finished, we tried to push through the crowd to at least shake Dean's hand. I was thinking about what I would do when he came by. Should I let him know what I think about his health care policy? Should I say good luck? What if I have him sign my poster?\nHe finally walked to where I was standing.\n"Thank you for coming, Gov. Dean," I said.\nHe said, "Thank you."\nThat was it. He didn't know I came from Indiana just for him, or how I missed my long weekend from school, or how I didn't own a good pair of gloves. But I guess he had bigger things to worry about.\nWe got in the car and headed home, hoping we somehow contributed by getting granola bars, visiting houses and handing out pamphlets, but never really knowing if we made a difference.
(06/06/03 5:06am)
The search committee began the daunting task for the new president in November, when they were announced by the IU board of trustees at their monthly meeting. The board was composed of 17 members, including faculty, administrators and a Bloomington student.\nTrustee Stephen Ferguson chaired the presidential search committee, which included Robert Eno, co-chair of the Bloomington Faculty Council, Blair Greenberg, former IU Student Association treasurer, and Ken Beckley, president and CEO of the IU Alumni Association.\nTrustee Jamie Belanger said it was important students were represented on the committee.\n"They're definitely a vital part of the University," Belanger said.\nTrustees President Frederick Eichhorn, who was primarily in charge of forming the committee, called the task of searching for a new president one of the most important jobs the board will ever experience.\nThe trustees tried to keep the committee to a manageable size, while at the same time attempted to touch a variety of constituencies, Ferguson said. \nThey said they're looked for someone that had strong leadership and would be able to effectively work with the Indiana state legislature.\nThe committee first met on Dec. 11, declaring that the search would not just be in the field of academia.\nIn late January, Ferguson said the consulting firm, Baker, Parker and Associates, had contacted 152 nominees thus far, looking at qualified candidates from academia and the private sector.\nBy February, close to 300 nominees had been contacted by the Atlanta-based consulting firm. The nominations were compiled from people the firm had sought, nominations sent to the firm and from forums held by the search committee.\nBy March, all of the candidates had been contacted by the search committee and were in the process of being graded to evaluate the nominees.\nIn April, the search committee interviewed between seven and 15 final candidates at the Westin O'Hare Hotel outside Chicago.\nThe search, which had a deadline of July 1, had been reported to be off schedule, but actually finished with Herbert being announced almost a month early.
(06/06/03 5:04am)
In December, the search firm of Baker, Parker and Associates, based in Atlanta, which helped the University locate its next president, presented a report to the IU board of trustees suggesting the University should offer the new president $600,000 to $800,000 a year to keep pace with most universities around the country.\nThe University did not exactly take their suggestion.\nDr. Adam W. Herbert, named Thursday as IU's 17th president, will receive $335,000 in an annual base salary, which includes $280,000 from University funds and $55,000 from IU Foundation funds. In addition, $70,000 will be placed into a deferred compensation account. Herbert will also have use of the Bryan House, located in the middle of campus, and use of a company car.\nTrustee Stephen Ferguson said the board wanted the president's salary to be in the middle of the road in the Big Ten.\n"We will neither be at the bottom or at the top of the Big Ten (concerning presidential salaries)" Ferguson said.\nHe said the base salary was comparable to Purdue University's president, Martin Jischke, who makes a salary of $335,425. Included in Jischke's salary is $54,988 from the Purdue Research Foundation and a house, Purdue News Service Director Jeanne Norberg said.\nAt a December trustees meeting, Jerry Baker, head of Baker, Parker and Associates, suggested IU offer the new president up to $800,000 a year, more than twice what former President Myles Brand made in his last year, which was $307,660.\nIn August, the University of Michigan gave its president a base salary of $475,000, with a deferred compensation of $75,000.\nOhio State University offered its new president $325,000, which was a raise from the previous president's salary of $275,000.\nSue Downs, Herbert's executive assistant of the Florida Center for Public Policy and Leadership, said Herbert made approximately $250,000 while serving as the center's executive director before he took the position at IU.
(06/06/03 5:02am)
The IU board of trustees unanimously selected Adam W. Herbert as the 17th president of IU Thursday. Herbert will begin his term Aug. 1.\n"I accept this assignment with a great deal of enthusiasm for the Indiana University mission," Herbert said in the Musical Arts Center soon after his appointment. "I also accept in the belief that the next decade will offer unparalleled opportunities for the University to play an expanding role in shaping the future of Indiana and the nation."\nHerbert spent two decades with the State University System of Florida, the second-largest university system in the country, and acted as its sixth chancellor from Jan. 20, 1998, to March 2, 2001. In addition, Herbert is the founding director of The Florida Center for Public Policy and Leadership.\n"He brings an unqualified depth of experience and knowledge to this presidency," said trustees President Frederick Eichhorn. "He understands the importance of our complex research University, previously serving as the chancellor of a major system, and he knows how critical it is for Indiana University to help lead the state through a period of economic transformation."\nClick here for the IDS' online Presidential Edition feature.
(02/10/03 5:41am)
IU's enrollment is at an all-time high again this semester, with a total of 93,664 students enrolled for spring semester classes on all eight campuses.\nIU Bloomington's enrollment is 36,281, up 2.3 percent from spring semester last year.\n"The continued growth of enrollments on our campuses is excellent news for both our University and our state," said IU Interim President Gerald Bepko in a press release. "The students we are educating today will play vital roles in building Indiana's economic future."\nThe increase in enrollment has caused some IU administrators to think about possible enrollment caps within the next few years.\n"I think that enrollment caps have been debated in years past," said IU Spokesman Bill Stephan. "I don't think it's imminent, but I think it's a topic for discussion in the foreseeable future."\nStephan said IU's academic record for excellence and competitive costs have attributed to the increase. He also said he believes the state's economic problems have brought people back into the classroom.\nIU Dean of Students Richard McKaig said Bloomington was at or near enrollment capacity a few years ago, but the number of students has continued to rise.\n"If you don't have more resources, or more facilities ... you reach a point where you can't continue to take more (students)," McKaig said.\nMcKaig said he believes Bloomington's campus is at or near capacity now, but he thinks enrollment will level off, even after record enrollment numbers last fall and this spring.\n"I'm not so sure it's going to continue to rise," he said.\nStephan said any longer-term changes, such as more residence halls, would be considered after possible enrollment caps.\nOverall, IU witnessed an increase of 3.3 percent, almost 3,000 students, from spring semester 2002 at all eight campuses. IU Bloomington, IU-Purdue University at Indianapolis, IU-Purdue University at Fort Wayne and IU Southeast all had record enrollment numbers.\nBut even though IU may have to consider enrollment caps in the near future, Stephan said it isn't a problem the University is too angry about.\n"In some respects, it's a good problem to have"
(01/29/03 5:18am)
To coincide with the elections held in Israel Tuesday, the IU Hillel Center held mock Israeli elections on campus to help educate students about America's closest ally in the Middle East.\nThe voting stations were held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Indiana Memorial Union, Collins Living-Learning Center and Foster Quad.\n"We've had a pretty good turnout," said senior Debra Powers, who was running the station at the Union. By 2 p.m., the Union had almost 80 ballots filled by students passing through.\n"The purpose is more to get the information out there," she said.\nIn its first year of holding the elections, Josh Stein, assistant director at Hillel, said he thought the students that did vote were taking the mock elections seriously.\n"I think students are concerned about a million things, so it's hard to attract their attention," Stein said. "But I think it's been mostly positive."\nThe ballot listed 28 Israeli parties to choose from. The center's pamphlet described 16 of the parties to help educate students about what each party stands for.\n"There have been people that have came over and not known anything at all," Powers said.\nOutside Collins food court, Michal Levy and Jessie Mallor saw about the same number of voters come through their station as the Union.\n"People were really interested and asked questions and took it very seriously," Levy said.\nMallor said it was important to educate IU's students of what is happening in Israel, citing that many students thought they had to be Jewish to vote. \nLevy, who is Hillel's Israeli programs coordinator, said she wishes she could have been in Israel on election day.\n"I wish I could vote in Israel today, but I can't, so I'll vote here," she said.\nBy 5 p.m., the Hillel Center tabulated the votes from around campus, with Ariel Sharon's Likud party winning 77 votes, 33 percent of the vote. Sharon's party was the favorite going into the election. The Shinui and Labor parties came in second and third.\nStein said he was pleased with the turnout for the center's first year of mock elections.\n"It was a good opportunity to have some dialogue with students across campus about Israel's politics," he said.
(01/14/03 10:24pm)
An IU law professor is waiting for the Illinois House to decide whether they will take a look at an amendment he authored after the state's governor reduced 167 death sentences to life in prison.\nProfessor Joseph Hoffmann authored the "Fundamental Justice Amendment," an amendment that would be the first in the country to grant the state's Supreme Court the authority to reverse any death sentence by determining if the jury made the right decision, rather than searching for a flaw in the case itself, as is currently the case in Illinois.\nOn Saturday, Gov. George Ryan commuted every death penalty sentence in Illinois, changing each one to life in prison. The decision has shocked many professors around the country, including Hoffmann.\nHoffmann said he thinks the governor's decision could have caused some harm in reforming the state's death penalty procedures.\n"There may be less motive to do serious reform then there was before," he said. "The system needs to be fixed. That doesn't mean that all160 cases are tainted."\nHoffmann said he believes Ryan's decision to reduce every sentence to life in prison will only cover up the procedural defects within the system.\n"That's the part of this that's problematic," Hoffmann said. "The system goes on unchanged. Nothing has changed." He said some of the death row defendants didn't even ask for the commutation.\nHoffmann said a selective commutation, which would have looked at death row inmates on a case-by-case basis, would have been a better solution. Instead, a blanket commutation was granted, meaning every sentence was reduced.\nHoffmann is now unsure whether his amendment will be looked at by the state again after Ryan's sweeping decision. \n"I certainly hope that within a couple of weeks they will get over the shock, and we'll get back to work and do what needs to be done," he said. \nVisiting IU law professor Steve Heyman said he believed if the state continued to look at the procedural defects of the state's system, then Hoffmann's amendment would be seriously considered.\n"I think it will be one of the main things people will talk about," he said.\nAlthough some professors are shocked and unhappy by the governor's decision, some in the community are pleased. \n"I thought it was very courageous," said George Ewing of the Bloomington Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. "It was clear that particularly in Illinois, it was a basket case."\nEwing said he was glad to see the governor reduce the state's death row inmates' sentences to life in prison and also disagrees with Hoffmann's amendment.\n"Professor Hoffmann's ideas are just fiddling with the death machine," he said.\nCurrently, Indiana has 38 people under the death sentence. The state is also one of 38 states in the country that allows the death penalty. Ewing said he was unsure what would happen in Indiana.\nIU law professor Craig Bradley said Ryan's statement concerning the death penalty was that he lacked confidence in the state's death penalty system, which Bradley said he believes is one of the reasons Gov. Ryan made the decision he did.\nAlthough Hoffmann said he is unsure whether his amendment will be looked at again, he hopes Illinois can move on after the state's controversial decision.\n"It looks as though Ryan wasn't really interested in reform," he said. "He was interested in getting rid of the death penalty"
(01/10/03 6:40pm)
The Sigma Phi Epsilon house sits on North Jordan Avenue with its windows boarded and its headstone defaced.\nThe fraternity members were forced to search for somewhere to live over holiday break after the fraternity's national headquarters closed the Indiana Beta chapter of Sig Ep on Dec. 21, according to a press release. But Sig Ep members were forced to move out during finals week, which prompted some of the members to vandalize the house inside and out.\n"They had a right to be mad, but I'm not going to say they had the right to vandalize things," said chapter president Patrick Foley. "It kind of visually represents what happened inside." \nAt the beginning of the fall semester, Sig Ep, located at 815 N. Jordan Ave., was placed under new rules and restrictions by the fraternity's alumni board because of past problems nationals had with the chapter. The new restrictions forced many of its members to live out of the house last semester, resulting in only 35 members living in a 90-man house.\nWith only 35 members living in, the financial condition of the fraternity had "deteriorated to the point that the chapter could no longer assure suitable housing conditions for the spring term," the fraternity's nationals said. \nFoley said the chapter's nationals chose not to pay some of the fraternity's debts and to close the IU chapter to cut their losses.\nDuring the fall semester, the house's cable television was cut for about two months along with their food budget, which made some members wonder about the future of the house. Foley also said nationals was unavailable to help the fraternity during Rush.\n"We needed help with Rush even though we were doing fine, we could've used some help," he said.\nThe chapter's closure brought about some anger from its members.\n"I think the national organization probably had a good reason to shut down the chapter, but their timing was very poor," said Interfraternity Council President Evan Waldman. "It's just a shame that it had to happen this way."\nSome of the members broke furniture, overturned lamps, threw items out the windows and spraypainted R.I.P. on the chapter's headstone. IU Police Department Lt. Jerry Minger said there was close to $5,000 damage to the house.\nEach member paid a $600 security deposit to live in the house, which Foley said has not been repaid to any of the members.\nIn December, Old National Bank foreclosed on the Sig Ep house and was awarded immediate possession of the North Jordan Avenue building after the chapter failed to pay on the 1999 loan.\nThe closing of Sig Ep comes during the departure of another IU fraternity, Delta Chi, which lost its charter late last semester.\nThe IU chapter of Sig Ep was founded in 1931 and has almost 2,000 alumni. The chapter won Sig Ep's Buchanan Cup from 1975 to 1985, which recognizes excellence in all areas of the fraternity's operations.\n"Unfortunately, I think the driving force behind their organization is finances," Foley said. He said some of the parents are upset with the fraternity's nationals and plan to file lawsuits against them.\n"It's sad what happened and I don't think it's over yet," he said.
(01/10/03 6:24pm)
IU and former men's basketball coach Bob Knight are now in the discovery process of the continuing lawsuit concerning the University and the former coach after IU replied to Knight's complaint in the Monroe Circuit Court Dec. 23.\nThe University's reply to Knight's complaint states that it did not violate his contract when they chose to fire Knight after he violated IU's zero-tolerance policy.\nThe reply argues that Knight accepted his firing by the University when he received his remaining salary from his contract that expired last summer.\nThe discovery process, which is the first step in any litigation, involves requesting documents with regard to the history of the case. It is a standard process in any litigation, and the time it involves varies from case to case. \nKnight and his lawyers, Russell Yates of Denver and Jim Voyles of Indianapolis, filed a lawsuit against IU in November. The lawsuit alleges that the University violated his employment agreement when he was fired. It also argues that Knight was fired without a proper meeting of the IU board of trustees and without a chance to defend himself.\nKnight said he lost in excess of $2 million in media and shoe contracts, camps and endorsements.\nThe University could have chosen to avoid paying the remainder of Knight's salary if it had fired him with cause, but it chose not to do so.\nIndianapolis attorney David Mattingly wrote that Knight's close association with IU was "a source of both pride and, regretfully at times, embarrassment." Knight was fired in September 2000 for violating a zero tolerance policy.\nBoth sides are now making requests for information that will be used in parts of the case.\n"We're going to continue to aggressively defend our position that Mr. Knight is not entitled to any additional compensation," said IU spokeswoman Jane Jankowski.\nKnight was hired as men's basketball coach at Texas Tech six months after being fired from IU. \nThe University's legal counsel was required to follow an answer to Knight's complaint. There will be no hearings concerning the lawsuit until the discovery process is complete.
(12/16/02 5:17pm)
After eight years at IU, Myles Brand has just over two weeks remaining as IU president before he takes over the helm in Indianapolis as the head of the NCAA. \nBrand not only leaves behind a string of accomplishments but also some memorable controversies.\nFrom his Strategic Directions Charter to the firing of former men's basketball coach Bob Knight, from the creation of the School of Informatics to the accusation of IU violating Indiana's open door laws, Brand has witnessed IU's ups and downs first hand.\nOn April 14, 1994, Brand began his eight and a half year tenure when he became IU's 16th president. In November of 1995, Brand's Strategic Directions Charter was developed to help recognize IU's need to invest resources in IU and to move the university forward without compromising its core mission.\nIn one of the largest consolidations the state has ever witnessed, Brand helped oversee the merger of the IU Medical Center Hospital and Riley Hospital for Children with Methodist Hospital to form Clarian Health. \nThe year 2000 witnessed Brand's announcement of a zero tolerance policy for Knight, resulting in the coach's firing just four months later.\nIn a precursor to his role with the NCAA, Brand gave a speech to the National Press Club in January of 2001 entitled "Academics First: Reforming Intercollegiate Athletics."\n"He's able to anticipate things. He's able to spot trends," said IU spokesman Bill Stephan.\nStephan said he thought Brand's most memorable accomplishment was his leadership of the university concerning his life sciences initiatives and in information technologies.\nDuring Brand's final trustees meeting this month, President of the University Faculty Council Bob Eno said he had many productive arguments with Brand, who has a doctorate in philosophy, but said he never won an argument with the philosopher because of his persuasive style.\n"My chief regret with Myles leaving is that we're going to suspend that conversation," Eno said during the meeting.\nNow, the house in the middle of campus and the office in Bryan Hall are witnessing a change as Brand packs up his memories and moves to a new position in Indy. But Brand will probably take the same philosophy to his new job with NCAA as he did at IU.\n"It's not a job, it's a life," he said in an Oct. interview in the IDS.
(12/16/02 5:08pm)
Plans are under way to bring Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity back to IU after almost a decade of absence. The fraternity will begin rebuilding its Beta Lambda chapter in spring of 2003, according to a news release by the fraternity.\nThe colonization process will attempt to entice students to rebuild the defunct fraternity through a series of awareness and recruitment campaigns.\n"We're confident it is an experience that can be successful at IU," said director of Phi Kappa Tau's chapter services Mike Gabhart. "We have a national fraternity involved that is committed to holding our fraternity accountable. That's the only reason we want to be there -- to do it right."\nBeginning the first week of classes during the spring semester, the fraternity will start an intense five to 10 day awareness program in which they will work with student groups and organizations in trying to find men who reflect the values of their fraternity. From there, they will contact those men in a two to three week recruitment period to see if they would be willing to recolonize the fraternity. \nGabhart said they would look at the size of other fraternities during their recruitment process to see how many men they would need to restructure Phi Tau.\n"We want to start the guys out on an even playing field," Gabhart said. \nPhi Taus' nationals will rent a house near campus where their staff will live for about two months to help recolonize at IU. There will be three staff members on campus the entire time.\nThe fraternity is attempting to return to campus amid the exit of many IU fraternities within the last three years. With the recent removal of fraternities like Pi Kappa Alpha, Beta Theta Pi and the recent one-year suspension of Delta Chi, Gabhart said he wasn't worried about the future of Phi Kappa Tau, but it was definitely something he has thought about.\n"We're aware of the problems around why those chapters were removed from campus, but we look at it as an opportunity," he said. "The change that the fraternities are trying to succeed in, in trying to address a culture here...we want to be a part of that change."\nThe fraternity spoke with the Interfraternity Council in November, where IFC and the fraternity expansion committee unanimously voted to allow Phi Taus to become a colony.\n"Expansion is certainly always a positive thing," said IFC President Evan Waldman. \nHe said the fraternity's presentation was "remarkable" and said they are dedicated to becoming an asset to the community.\n"That's definitely something that other groups have lacked early on," Waldman said. "It's important to start off on the right foot."\nStan Sweeney, the associate director of student activities for Greek affairs, said he believes Phi Taus are committed to high standards and values and are looking for well-rounded men to recolonize the chapter.\nThe fraternity has no less than three months and no more than two years to meet the University's requirements as a colony, which includes membership standards along with the long-term goals of the fraternity.\nFounded at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio in 1906, the fraternity began IU's chapter in 1949. The fraternity was removed from campus in 1993 because of issues concerning membership and risk management.\nAfter close to ten years, Gabhart said Phi Kappa Tau is ready to return to IU.\n"We are very excited to become a productive member of the Greek community," he said.
(12/09/02 4:40am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- The next IU president could receive upwards of $800,000 a year in annual compensation next year in a move to attract better candidates to replace outgoing IU President Myles Brand.\nJerry Baker, of the Atlanta firm Baker, Parker and Associates, presented a report to the IU board of trustees and the search committee Friday in Indianapolis concerning the search for Brand's replacement.\nThe $600,000 to $800,000 per year proposal from Baker would include salary, benefits and bonuses. Baker said this kind of package is what most universities around the country are offering presidents.\nIU Spokesman Bill Stephan said the firm's proposal was only a suggestion to the University and was unsure what the board plans to do.\n"If we're serious about going after the best candidate we can find, I think we should prepare the board for how competitive the market place is right now," he said.\nStephan said it was likely that IU's next president's salary would exceed Brand's, but wasn't sure by how much, partly due to the state's economic troubles.\n"I think that's one of the factors the trustees will have to weigh," he said, referring to the state's poor economy.\nBrand announced on Oct. 10 that he was leaving IU to head the NCAA at the beginning of the year. His last year as IU president, Brand made $307,660, half of what the search committee suggested the University offer the next president.\nThe committee, which worked with the NCAA in hiring Brand, plans to narrow the search to about 25 candidates by March. They will interview the best six to 10 candidates by April and will recommend three to five of those to interview in front of the board.\nIUPUI Chancellor Gerald Bepko will take Brand's place beginning Jan. 1 as interim president. \nIn other business, Dr. William Plater of IUPUI was named to replace Bepko as acting chancellor. Plater has been dean of the faculties at IUPUI since 1987 and executive vice-chancellor since 1988. \n"Bill is one of the finest academic executives I've ever met," Bepko said. "He's also one of the finest persons I've ever met."\nThe board also heard a presentation by IUSA Vice President Judd Arnold concerning equal access for all student groups. Arnold asked the board to look at the current policy of disallowing certain political and religious groups from receiving a Student Organizational Account, which allows groups to receive non-monetary privileges and rights, like access to rooms in the Indiana Memorial Union and a campus phone.\n"It's a really important change that needs to happen," Arnold said. He said his presentation was well-received by the trustees, but was unsure how they would decide on the issue.\n"I think, from what I have heard, certain people in the University are concerned about the additional liabilities this would create," he said, referring to recent court cases concerning equal access to all groups at universities around the country.\nArnold's bill would not give any direct University money to student groups and would create a separate SOA account for those groups.\nAt the end of the meeting, Trustee Cora Breckenridge unexpectedly asked for the trustees to discuss requiring the office of the president to require minorities in the chancellorship at all IU campuses.\n"I find it very disturbing," Breckenridge said, referring to the lack of minorities in top administrative positions. The board decided to wait until the the next board meeting in January to fully discuss and consider the issue.\nThe board then adjourned amid a round of applause for Brand, in what was his last trustees meeting as IU president.\n"It's with some sadness that I say goodbye," Brand said. "I believe in my heart of hearts that Indiana University students are just a wonderful group of young women and men."\nBob Eno, president of the University Faculty Council, remembered many thoughtful arguments with Brand, arguments that he said he never seemed to win.\n"He argues for the purpose of trying to discuss," Eno said. "My chief regret with Myles leaving is that we're going to suspend that conversation"