5 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(04/13/07 4:00am)
Although it’s not commonly used as a bathtub, the Jordan River might look like one on Sunday during Alpha Phi Omega’s 17th annual Rubber Duck Regatta. The event will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Dunn Meadow. Proceeds from the philanthropy will be donated to the March of Dimes campaign. \n“It’ll be fun for community members, families and students alike,” said sophomore Erica Honeywell, who helped organize the event. “They can come out and watch the duck races, play games and give back to the community by supporting the March of Dimes.”\nThroughout the semester, members of the service fraternity have been raising money by selling tickets, equivalent to one duck. For each ticket sold, a duck is “sponsored” to race down the river during one of the day’s many races. \nThose who purchased the winning ducks in the smaller series of races will receive prizes donated by local businesses, and the first place winner of the final race will be given a $100 grand prize. In addition to the duck regatta, there will be games and food. Radio host Rick Evans from Hoosier Country 105.1 FM will also be at the event.\n“All of the money we raise from the ticket sales, canning and donations will be given to the March of Dimes,” Honeywell said. “We’ve worked all semester to prepare for this event and it’s a great way for everyone in the fraternity to come together with a common goal of raising money for March of Dimes.”\nMarch of Dimes is a national organization that works to “improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality,” according to the organization’s March of Dimes. Alpha Phi Omega will donate the money generated from this event to the South Central Indiana chapter.
(01/24/07 5:36am)
Girls excitedly scream as they crowd Kirkwood Avenue, searching for friends and a suitable ID. Down the street, a fight erupts between eager basketball fans as they wait impatiently outside their favorite sports bar to be let in for the big game. Left and right, people dressed in their weekend-best flood out of cabs, ready for a night out on the town. For some, this is simply a night out, but for others, it's home.\nWhile living above the bars might conjure nightmares of loud and sleepless nights for some, it's a dream for those who live in the neighborhood. In fact, the only problem is there isn't enough real estate to go around. \n"Obviously it's great living here because we're so close to all the bars," said Andrew Diaz, a fifth-year senior who lives above Uncle Fester's. "We can come home at 3:30 (in the morning) or whenever and not have to worry about a sober ride, and it's walking distance from all the places we go out to, not just those on Kirkwood." \nBut being a hop, skip and a jump from Bloomington night life isn't the only perk to living above the bars. \n"We decided to live close to the bars because we knew we'd be going there a lot, but that's not the only reason," said senior Vinny Maknoor, Diaz's roommate. "We're so close to campus, I can walk to all my classes or if I want to take the bus, it's only a minute walk to the stop at the Sample Gates. The apartment itself is nice, too."\nDespite its prime location, residents report the cost is within reason and doesn't deviate from standard rental rates that students around town pay. Though prices vary with different landlords and apartments, most range between $400 and $500 per month per person, residents said. Although the cost is surprisingly average, the opportunity to sign a lease proves to be the greatest challenge. \n"You pretty much have to lease these apartments two years in advance," said Greg Harmon, a property manager of RealCo II, which owns apartments near Nick's English Hut. "They are pretty big and clearly a lot of people like the area."\nFor the lucky ones who do get a room in the coveted apartments, loud noise is a reality they've come to expect. Surprisingly, however, it doesn't seem to bother them. \n"The ceiling over the main stage at Fester's is my bedroom floor," said junior Tara Kluth, who's one of Diaz and Maknoor's neighbors. "It gets loud, especially on hip-hop night, but we love it. I mean you can't really expect to get a paper done on a Thursday night, so we work around that."\nDiaz said that although their apartment's floor also shares ceiling space with the bars, the commotion hasn't posed a real problem yet, aside from drunken people ringing his doorbell every night.\n"Sometimes on Wednesdays you can hear the bass, but it's not all week long, and Thursday through Saturday we're out doing stuff," he said. "If you have a fan in your room you can't really hear anything."\nHowever, there might be more to the residents' tolerance than they let on.\n"You have to have a sort of party personality if you want to live here, and I think everyone that does has that," Maknoor said. "If you weren't 21, it wouldn't make much sense to live here."\nAlthough one might think students who live a rusty staircase away from Bloomington's nightlife would be regulars, Diaz maintains that living near the bars doesn't connote living at them. \n"First semester we went out a lot, but we've sort of slowed down a bit because we went out so much," he aid. "My roommate and I got a job as a bouncer at Jake's, so that's where we spend some of our weekends now. It's kind of weird to be the people watching the drunk people at the bars instead of being one of them." \nKluth and her roommate have lived in the apartment for two years, but says they don't frequent the bars often.\n"If there's a good band playing downstairs we'll go, but other than that we don't go out a lot," she said. "We did the whole bar thing when we were younger but we're not that into it anymore, we mostly go out of town on the weekends to visit friends or see shows. But we still love living here because it's close to campus."\nBeyond the general rowdiness and fights that Maknoor and his roommates said they have witnessed countless times from the comfort of their living room, they said there haven't been as many strange occurrences as one might expect. \n"One weird thing we ran into living here was last year here a homeless guy lived in the hallway to our apartment for a while," he said. "He wasn't here when we moved in, but there were these boxes around and you could definitely tell someone had been living in here. Being downtown you run into your fair share of odd characters and such, but it's not a big deal."\nNot surprisingly, having a window overlooking the back of the bars ensures them to see some pretty interesting things. On nights when Kluth and her roommate don't want to go out to find good times, looking out the window will suffice. \n"In the back alley you always see people peeing -- we've seen numerous penises -- and people crying, people getting arrested, just typical stuff you'd expect from drunk people," Kluth said. "We love to people-watch here … no one knows you're back here but we've seen some good stuff. Living here's made for some good entertainment"
(11/29/06 4:31am)
More than 150 people are expected for the annual pre-Kwanzaa celebration Wednesday in the Grand Hall of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center. The event, organized annually by the Black Culture Center, is open to everyone.\n"It's something put on basically to raise awareness in the IU student body about Kwanzaa because it's something for everyone and not just people of a particular race or religion," said senior Chanel Esters.\nKwanzaa is an African-American and Pan-African holiday celebrated throughout the world, according to the official Kwanzaa Web site. The site adds that it is a cultural celebration that focuses on what it means to be African. \nIU's pre-Kwanzaa celebration will feature student presentations on the seven principles of Kwanzaa and a keynote speaker. \n"This is my first Kwanzaa," said sophomore Brannon Smith. "I was asked to present and thought it would be interesting because I am an African American, but I've never participated in it before. All of the different principles promote unity and bring communities and people together." \nIn the past, the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center has brought dancers and musicians from around the world, as well as Maulana Karenga, who created the Kwanzaa holiday, to Bloomington for its pre-Kwanzaa celebration. This year, the ceremony will feature local musical talent, Esters said. \nFollowing the speaker and presentations, there will be a reception where guests can feast on food catered by Smokin' Jack's Rib Shack. \nThe event will be held in the Grand Hall of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center from 7 to 9 p.m. today.
(06/15/06 12:34am)
This weekend IU alumni will flock to Bloomington to celebrate their 50-year reunion at the IU Alumni Association's annual Cream and Crimson Weekend. Attendees to the event will participate in various social functions throughout the weekend as new emeritus alumni are honored. \nApproximately 125 people from the class of 1956 are expected at the event, which is the main alumni function for the year. There are also many events scattered throughout the weekend that cover different aspects of the Alumni Association. The main social gathering will be Saturday morning, when alumni from all classes meet together for a barbecue luncheon at the DeVault Alumni Center. \n"The only reunion we do now is this one," said Al White of the Devault Alumni Center. "We used to do a 10th, 20th, but numbers were down. Now, we hold a 50th reunion every year during this weekend. The only other alumni event close to as big as this is homecoming in the fall." \nFollowing the barbecue are various meetings, such as the bi-annual Executive Council meeting where the policy making sector of the Alumni Association convenes.\n"The Executive Council consists of 85 people who decide the future of the Alumni Association, as well as new policies, programs and speakers," said Rebecca Keith, assistant to IU Alumni Association President Kenneth A. Beckley. "We decide what sort of programs go on during the year for alumni and discuss the entrance of new affiliate groups or societies that want to have representations in the association."\nMost of the constituent societies are school-based. For example, there is a School of Law and a Jacobs School of Music constituent society in which graduates of those organizations can be part of a niche group of alumni. \nThe emeritus dinner will be held Friday for those celebrating their 50th graduation anniversary. \n"Alumni become part of the emeritus club once they pass their 50th anniversary," said Karen Conrad, who is organizing the dinner.\nProfessor Emeritus Rudy Pozzatti from IU's Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts and a graduate of the class of 1976 will be a keynote speaker during the emeritus dinner and will recall his World War II experiences. After the dinner, alumni will make their way to the Class of 1956 Banquet. These events will both be held in the Indiana Memorial Union. \n"This is just one part of the Cream and Crimson Weekend," Conrad said. "Throughout the weekend alumni will be able take a tour of the campus and do other things that bring them back to IU." \nSaturday morning, participants will have the opportunity to eat breakfast with other alumni from the school which they graduated from. The College of Arts and Sciences, Kelley School of Business, School of Education and the School of Journalism will all be holding separate breakfasts. \nAnother aspect of the Cream and Crimson is The Distinguished Alumni Service Award dinner that will be held Saturday night to present awards to distinguished alumni for their continuing support of IU. \n"There are five alumni to be awarded this year," White said. "They are lifelong IU supporters, they are all graduates from Indiana University (and) they have served the University in various ways." \nThe honorees, as well as University dignitaries, friends of the University and friends of DASA recipients, will attend the dinner. It is also open to the general public. \nDuring the dinner, the names of attending alumni will be read. Both IU President Adam Herbert and IU Chancellor Ken Gros Louis are scheduled to make speeches introducing the alumni class and reminiscing on their past memories and thoughts about IU's last 50 years. \nBuckley will swear in the 1956 class as new members of the emeritus class. The DASA awards are presented last with speeches about each individual recipient's work. The dinner ends with the singing of "Hail Old IU." \n"The DASA is important because it's the highest honor that Indiana University can give to graduates who support them with their time and talent," White said.
(04/03/01 4:56am)
Someone please explain to me how it is that "Gladiator" walked away proudly with the most highly recognized if not most publicized award in the film industry? Unlike the Academy (it appears), I watched some of the other films that were nominated for Best Picture -- and I promise "Gladiator"'s win was a mistake. \nThe film (if it can really be called that) was completely lacking in substance, however unimportant substance might be to Hollywood these days. Aside from the deliciously juvenile performance of the volatile and often overlooked Joaquin Phoenix, the film had no real heart or appeal other than the ridiculous computerized Coliseum, and the broody Russell Crowe, whose broodiness apparently wasn't conjured but very real and irritating.\nIt turned out simply to be an agonizingly long-winded bloodbath with a terribly cliched storyline. I could go on to say that this sham of a movie stole the Oscar from Ang Lee's breathtaking "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," but how could I forget Cameron Crowe's "Almost Famous?" Giving a modest acceptance speech for Best Writing (Original), Crowe summed his film up by declaring it a love letter to the music industry. He couldn't have put it more beautifully. \n"Almost Famous" is a real film, touching and amusing, soulful, sensitive and honest. The experience of this film leaves the viewer with the intangible feeling of being kissed for the first time. Even the opening credit sequence -- a close-up of a pencil scratching down the names of the cast members on a legal pad -- has more creativity than the entirety of "Gladiator." \nThrough his sensitivity, kindness and innocence, William, the protagonist, shows more heroism than any gladiator could begin to personify. It leaves one to wonder if society will ever find out what is really important. I think it's time that the film industry is placed into the hands of the real filmmakers instead of computer wizards and pyrotechnicians. I say shame on the academy for losing sight of what filmmaking is about.