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(04/01/11 3:48am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Informatics graduate student Rui Wang and associate instructor XiaoFeng Wang did it again.The pair’s research group found errors in Amazon’s payment system that would allow malicious users to receive free merchandise. This is their second Internet security discovery this year. In January, the group found issues within Facebook’s programing that, if exploited, would leak users’ personal information. With the group’s latest work, some of the researchers were able to convince merchants that they had paid for items when the researchers just paid their own merchant accounts, according to a press release. This was possible because of some “serious logic flaws” in the consistencies of payment statuses.Even with the inconsistencies, most of the flaws in the system were due to merchant software.“We believe that it is difficult to ensure the security of a CaaS-based (cashier as a service) checkout system in the presence of a malicious shopper who intends to exploit these knowledge gaps between the merchant and the CaaS,” XiaoFeng said in the press release.Even though the group found errors in the current systems, they have only tested the most simple version of the transactions. According to the press release, the research group believes the more complicated interactions will be substantially more error-prone.“This calls for further security studies about such complicated multiparty web applications,” Rui said in the release.
(02/23/11 5:16am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Kunga Norbu, brother of the late Jigme Norbu, announced Tuesday in a press conference that he and two of Jigme’s sons, Denzin, 13, and Jensen, 9, will be finishing Jigme’s walk.Jigme, a nephew of the Dalai Lama, was walking across Florida to raise awareness of the Chinese occupation of Tibet. He was finishing the first leg of the trip Feb. 14 when he was struck and killed by a vehicle. Jigme’s remains were transported to Bloomington and a family service has already been conducted.A public memorial will take place at 6 p.m. March 1 in the Bloomington City Hall. Even after their loss, the Norbu family members remain dedicated to the walks for a free Tibet.“It is our legacy in our family to continue (these walks), even if that means only one walk a year,” Kunga said.Kunga said he plans not only to finish Jigme’s walk in Florida, but also to communicate with organizations in Australia and Japan that invited Jigme to walk there.Even though the loss is still new to the family, it is clear to Kunga that Jigme died fighting for a good cause.“He died for the cause of Tibet,” Kunga said. “He died for what he believed in and what he was doing.” Kunga said Jigme’s death not only took a family member, but it also took the family representative. Kunga is now the family’s spokesperson.Kunga said he never wanted to be the center of attention. Now he finds himself in a position where he is a leader in his cause.“I was always in the background. I never wanted to be out in front,” Kunga said. “This has taken me to another level where I have to take on responsibility and the role to carry on my late father and Jigme’s dreams.”
(02/15/11 3:01pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>”De gay dak gi tu pa tu ...” rang from the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center as the Bloomington Buddhist community chanted the Heart Sutra in Jigme Norbu’s memorial service Tuesday.Norbu, a Bloomingtion resident, activist for the liberation of Tibet, son of the founder of the TMBCC and the Dalai Lama’s nephew was hit and killed Monday by a vehicle in Florida. He was walking for Floridians’ awareness of the Chinese occupation of Tibet. “Like his father, he worked to preserve the Tibetan culture,” said Arjia Rinpoche, the director of the TMBCC, as he lead the memorial service. “He was a very good person.”After sacred chanting and prayers by the monks, attendees gathered in the foyer and shared their memories of Norbu.“He dedicated his last years to his father’s work,” Nordu’s assistant Mary Pattison said. “He was so alive and animated ... I remember when he would drive me to work when it would snow. He was just so very energetic.”Some of the mourners had helped Norbu with his walks in the Bloomington area and events at the TMBCC. Sandy Belth, the Environmental Programs and Gardens staff member, said she helped Norbu with many of the events at the TMBCC and even participated in Norbu’s walk from the TMBCC in Bloomington to Monument Circle in Indianapolis. Belth said whenever she was decorating Norbu insisted on bright colors.“It was the first party that I decorated for here and Jigme insisted that I get balloons, bright ones,” she said. “He told me ‘bright colors, no purple.’”Lisa Morrison, the director of Marketing and Media at the TMBCC, said she is thankful for having met Norbu and for what he did for her.“I actually owe a lot of gratitude to Jigme for introducing me to the center,” Morrison said. “He was the one who asked me to help with the center, and I love it so much.”Morrison also expressed her gratitude for Norbu’s work.“He was tireless in promoting the Tibetan cause,” she said.
(02/11/11 1:51am)
The host of SportsCenter, Sage Steele, will speak at 4:15 p.m. Friday in the Neal-Marshall Black Cultural Center’s Bridgwaters Lounge. Steele’s visit will include an informal Q&A session with light refreshments.
(01/12/11 5:32am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Economics Professor Roy J. Gardner died unexpectedly Monday in his Bloomington home, according to a Department of Economics newsletter. Gardner, 63, recently retired from IU. He specialized in game theory, and its application to class struggle, draft resistance and many other topics, according to the Alliance of Distinguished and Titled Professors website.Prior to becoming an IU faculty member in 1983, he graduated summa cum laude from Bradley University, was awarded the Bronze Star for his service as a U.S. Army officer in Vietnam and earned his Ph.D. in economics from Cornell University, according to the newsletter. Gardner was also involved in many international grants including the German Science Foundation and TransAtlantic Cooperation grants. Gardner is survived by his wife Carla Gardner, son James Gardner and daughter Sara Gardner.“Roy was dynamic and full of life,” said Gerhard Glomm, chair of the Department of Economics, in the newsletter. “(He) will be deeply missed by each person who knew him.”
(01/07/11 5:20am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Due to an electrical short, the sprinkler system in the Indiana Memorial Union was tripped, sending water pouring into Starbucks, down through the Commons and into Dunn Meadow Cafe. Once the Bloomington Fire Department turned the sprinklers off, there was approximately two inches of water on each of the three levels and damage to the floors and ceiling tiles in all affected areas said Roy Robertson, the custodial manager of the IMU. The BFD were not able to turn off the sprinkler system because of a lack of markings and maps to key features to the sprinkler system, according to the BFD’s incident report. The fire department had to wait for maintenance personnel to locate the shut-off valve in the Starbucks’ storage closet. Robertson said he was called in after the BFD and immediately got to work cleaning up the water along with his staff and other managers.“We got called in at one in the morning,” Robertson said. “We just picked up some mops and started moving the water out.”Although Robertson had dealt with water damage on campus before, he was surprised at the extent of the damage.“There must have been quite the cascade running down the (Dunn Meadow Cafe) stairs,” Robertson said.The most severe damage occurred at Starbucks, where the sprinklers were hitting surfaces directly.“Water sprayed up and ruined the tile and bulkhead above the (Starbucks’) counter,” said Bob Payton, the contractor brought in to repair the damage.Payton also said the cost of the new tile alone was more than $2,000. As he was helping to put up the last ceiling tiles in the Indiana Memorial Union Gallery, he said there was quite a bit of work done in a very short amount of time — several hundred man hours to return things to normal.Bloomington Fire Department’s incident report also stated that there will be contact between the BFD and the IMU to follow up on marking and sprinkler system issues to ensure that problems have been resolved.
(01/07/11 5:15am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Registration for the sixth-annual IU Mini Marathon is now open. The half-marathon race will take place April 2.Registration for the first 500 participants is $40. Beyond the promotional rate, registration is $50 per person for the mini marathon and $30 for the 5K walk/run. IU alumni, faculty, staff and students will be able to register for $5 less for each event. Proceeds from the IU Mini Marathon will benefit the Bill Z. Littlefield Scholarship for Survivors fund. The charity provides scholarships for IU students who have survived cancer. More than 10,000 people have participated in the half-marathon and 5K event since 2006, and more than $100,000 has been raised for the scholarship fund, according to the race’s website.The scholarship fund was created after Littlefield, a professor in the Kelly School of Business, died of mesothelioma in 2005. After his death, IU alumni Kevin MacCauley, Myles Grote and Samantha Roper created the race to honor Littlefield and his battle with mesothelioma.For the first time the IU Alumni Association will be organizing the event because of the growing size of the event.“We knew a time would come when larger IU involvement would be necessary for this event to prosper,” MacCauley said in a press release. “The IUAA is the perfect home for the IU Mini Marathon and we expect great things to come for the university.”— Nathan Miller
(12/14/10 10:50pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Three days after a warrant was issued for his arrest in the case of the Nov. 30 vandalism of a glass display case at the Robert A. and Sandra B. Borns Jewish Studies Program office in Goodbody Hall, IU employee Mark Zacharias has turned himself into the Monroe County Jail. Dec. 14, the IU Police Department issued an arrest warrant for Zacharias, 54, for institutional criminal mischief, a D felony, according to an IUPD press release. The warrant was filed after the police conducted multiple interviews with Zacharias regarding the Nov. 30 vandalism, IUPD Chief of Police Keith Cash said. The vandalism occurred amidst a series of anti-Semitic incidents on IU campus.After the warrant was issued, Cash said that Zacharias, scholarship coordinator for Hutton Honors College, was believed to have hired a lawyer and was going to turn himself into the authorities.Mathew Auer, dean of the Honors College, said even if convicted, there is no concern that any of the data Zacharias handled would be faulty.“We have a lot of redundancy built into our system here,” Auer said. “From where (Zacharias) sits he is not really capable of making a lot of mischief … there are a number of internal checks that would catch anything out of the ordinary.”Still, people in the Honors College are upset about the situation, Auer said. "Needless to say, these are allegations at this point so we don't know what will transpire," Auer said. "But the values that have been ascribed to him are not our values. We have a zero tolerance for hate and that is not what the Honors College is about."Zacharias is currently suspended with pay, IU spokesman Larry MacIntyre said. However, that status will change if Zacharias is convicted.“The crime is serious enough that if it is determined that he is guilty, that would most likely merit immediate termination,” MacIntyre said.His bond is $4,000; surety $500 cash. If convicted, Zacharias could face up to three years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines.
(12/10/10 3:51am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU will award honorary degrees to Her Royal Highness Princess Sirindhorn of Thailand and the Surgeon General of the Navy Adam Robinson during the winter commencement ceremony Dec. 18.“We are especially honored to confer degrees on Her Royal Highness Princess Sirindhorn and Vice Admiral Robinson in recognition of their lifetimes of service,” IU President Michael McRobbie said in a press release. “The positive impacts they’ve had on the lives of so many people have been immeasurable.”Both of the honorees will be receiving Doctor of Humane Letters degrees for their work promoting the welfare of people throughout the world.Princess Sirindhorn has worked for education, health care and the promotion of Thai culture. Her efforts have earned international recognition. In 2005, she was named a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Goodwill Ambassador.“Her leadership and long-standing devotion to the cause of extending quality education opportunities to all Thai citizens have brought about dramatic improvements in the lives of so many in her country,” McRobbie said in the release. “Here at IU, we take pride in the fact that since the days of Herman B Wells’ presidency, several members of our faculty have lent their expertise and support to educational development in Thailand.”Surgeon General Robinson will be honored for his work in disaster relief in Haiti, among other humanitarian efforts. He will also be giving the commencement speech at the ceremony, which begins at 10 a.m. in Assembly Hall with the procession of students beginning at 9:15 a.m.“He has taken the medical training he received at IU and used it to assist others during a long and distinguished career as a Naval officer and physician and through his contributions to disaster relief efforts worldwide,” McRobbie said in the release. “The Admiral’s remarkable career should provide inspiration to us all.”In 2008, the School of Medicine presented Robinson with its Distinguished Alumni Award.
(12/09/10 8:03pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU will be awarding honorary degrees to Her Royal Highness Princess Sirindhorn of Thailand and the Surgeon General of the Navy Adam M. Robinson Jr. during IU Bloomington’s 2010 winter commencement ceremony Dec. 18.“We are especially honored to confer degrees on Her Royal Highness Princess Sirindhorn and Vice Admiral Robinson in recognition of their lifetimes of service,” IU President Michael McRobbie said in a press release. “The positive impacts they’ve had on the lives of so many people have been immeasurable.”Both of the honorees will be receiving Doctor of Humane Letters degrees for their work promoting the welfare of people throughout the world.The Crown Princess has worked for education, health care and the promotion of the Thai culture. Her efforts have earned international recognition.Surgeon General Robinson will be honored for his work in disaster relief in Haiti among other humanitarian efforts. He will also be giving the commencement speech at the ceremony.
(12/08/10 3:49am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A group of IU students and Bloomington residents are preparing for a trip to help renovate a school in Tanzania this summer.The group, led by senior Lauren Wright, will be traveling in collaboration with Childreach International, an organization that works to increase children’s access to health care and education worldwide. The organization sends groups of volunteers from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom to Africa to help renovate or build schools, said Amanda Leibovitz, the fundraising director at Childreach International. It also raises money by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest freestanding mountain in the world.The Bloomington team will be traveling to one of six different communities in Tanzania and assisting with the community’s specific needs.“Each site is individual,” Leibovitz said. “One community and school may really need toilets, and at another place the buildings may be crumbling.”While the group works on the construction, they will stay at a campsite near the school. On the weekends the group will stay in a hotel in Moshi.“During the week we don’t really have access to showers and toilets and things like that as much as we are used to here,” Wright said. “But then on the weekends, we will have a hotel with outlets and showers.”The team will collect money individually for the trip from now until the deadline in April. The volunteers must raise $3,750 each in order to participate. Half the money will go toward the volunteers’ flights, food and other essentials, and the other half will be donated to help the children of the community they go to.Raising the money to go on the trip is something that makes freshman volunteer Lara Head nervous. She went to one of the early information sessions and has not tried to raise any money so far. However, Head said she has the support and aid of her friends.“I have a friend who is in the music scene in St. Louis, and he is going to help do a benefit concert for it,” Head said.Even though members have to do their own fundraising, their team leader is there to help with ideas and following through with plans.Wright said the options to collect donations are endless, and there are strategies from writing letters to receive sponsorships to wearing goofy clothes to classes.Besides the initial fundraising, Wright and Head are looking forward to the trip. Both of the students said they were hoping this trip would expand their view of the world as well as help the children of Tanzania.“This is a great opportunity not only for the volunteers to benefit themselves, but to help other people,” Wright said. “This is such a great experience because you get to help people, and you don’t have to pay for anything. It’s all fundraising.”
(11/18/10 5:56am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Jenelle Dorner has spent years fighting fatigue, malnutrition and pain.Dorner, a doctoral candidate in neuroscience and psychology at IU, was diagnosed with mitochondrial disease, dystonia and gastroparesis, which combined have left her wheelchair-bound with a surgically inserted tube that helps send nutrition directly to her heart.Mitochondrial disease is degenerative genetic mutation, which, Dorner said, means she has half the energy as someone without the disease. She also suffers from dystonia symptoms — muscle spasms, pain and weakness, and gastroparesis symptoms, or the inability of her body to process food normally. Even after her first diagnosis in 1996 with dystonia — the third most common movement disorder in the U.S. — which came with many hospital visits and surgeries, Dorner said she has not let that end her work in neuroscience.“It’s possible to live in spite of chronic illness and deal with what I have to deal with every day,” she said. “I think a lot of people just give up when this happens. They just say ‘throw in the towel, I’m disabled now’ and give up, but it doesn’t have to be that way.”Dorner, who began her education at the University of Illinois in 1994, has researched various diseases and is currently writing her dissertation on the role of estrogen in the development on Huntington’s disease.Mother of a 5-year-old son, Leif, Dorner said she finally plans to finish her research and achieve her degree this spring.
(11/04/10 3:34am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Asian Cultural Center sponsored a meeting Wednesday for student leaders, staff and faculty to discuss the recent assault and robbery of several Asian students on campus.The meeting took place in the Collins Living-Learning Center formal lounge. Dean of Students Pete Goldsmith, Co-Chair of the Racial Incident Team Pam Freeman, Chief of Police Keith Cash and other students and faculty attended the meeting. After being endorsed by Provost and Executive Vice President Karen Hanson and other administration members in an e-mail to the student body earlier that evening, the meeting was packed with people. Many students were forced to stand in the back or sit on the floor during the talks.“This is a lot bigger than I expected,” said Stefan Khensouri, sophomore and co-coordinator of the event. “I didn’t picture this place to be so packed. The floor is just flooded with people.”Even with the room full, individual students were able to speak their minds. Juan Berumen, a graduate assistant at La Casa Latino Cultural Center, sat on a panel of students from different ethnic groups around campus. Berumen spoke about making sure the assault incident doesn’t turn into a widespread issue.“How do we keep this from turning into a racial situation?” he asked the students on the floor. “We need to stop this from becoming one community against another.”However, not all in attendance thought this was an issue of race, but rather an isolated event that involved aggressive people.“I don’t really know if this is racially motivated or not,” senior Alex Wu said.Cash said one of the suspects in custody indicated the group of assailants, all of whom were African American, were considering robbing a group of fellow African Americans before they decided to attack the group of Asian students. Racially charged comments attributed to the severity of the situation, Cash said.Cash continued to explain that the FBI and the Department of Justice were both informed about the situation and are involved in the investigation because of the racial slurs directed at the victims. Cash said there is a search warrant that is going to be executed in Jeffersonville Ind, that is affiliated with this attack. Many of the other speakers at the meeting were concerned with the self-segregation that many of the students on the IUB campus participate in. Eric Love, director of the Office of Diversity Education, spoke about the importance of stepping out of one’s “comfort zone and becoming more comfortable with others.”One sentiment the speakers shared to preface their speeches was the sorrow that this happened, especially on the IU campus. “IU is a really safe place,” Goldsmith said. “This event does not reflect on any one group, it’s just a sad incident.”
(10/27/10 4:55am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU Health Engagement Program will no longer require 17,000 of IU’s full-time employees to fill out an online health survey.The program is an optional initiative that will begin in 2011 to allow employees covered by an IU medical plan to reduce or eliminate part of their medical plan premiums if they complete health-related activities. As an effort to assess health risk before the program beings, the online Health Risk Assessment asked employees to answer questions that varied in topic from stress level and alcohol consumption to involvement in religious activities. But a drive against the online survey drove University officials to nullify it and award the corresponding premium reduction to all the eligible employees.“Although the assessment was intended to help employees better manage their personal health, it was felt that the University should not implement it without the acceptance and understanding of its employees,” said Dan Rives, associate vice president for human resources, in a press release Monday.Two other components of the program have not changed, however. The Tobacco-free Affidavit is for employees and spouses/domestic partners who certify that he or she does not use tobacco product. The Biometric Screening tests, which help employees and spouses access the risk of diabetes, heart attack, stroke, hypertension, kidney disease and hardening of arteries.A review will be conducted early next year to discuss an alternative method to the risk assessment that will help employees achieve their health goals, Rives also said in the release.Before the survey was nullified, however, many employees had already filled out the information online.“It’s always good to have an occasion to reflect on personal health and wellness issues,” said Jillian Kinzie associate director of the National Survey of Student Engagement Institute, part of the IU Center for Postsecondary Research.Kinzie said she was not entirely comfortable answering the survey, even though she participated. The section involving religious participation, she said, made her uneasy.“I wanted not to answer it,” she said. “In fact I think that I did not respond to a couple of the questions. I really objected to some of them because I didn’t consider them to be relevant health questions.”Other IU employees might have found some of the questions to be unfair in how they assessed an individual.“My husband’s plant just closed and he transferred jobs so he is not happy in how that figures in,” said IU employee Marilyn Gregory, finance manager for the National Survey of Student Engagement. “To me, that seems like an unfair way to view things. His score was less than ideal, and I don’t know how much that part factored in.”There were also concerns about the availability of the personal information to IU, but IU Spokesman Larry MacIntyre was quick to dismiss this notion.“IU would never have had access to any of the answers to any to those questions,” MacIntyre said. “They would have only been looked at by health professionals at Clarian Health; so only people qualified to make health recommendations would see any of that.
(10/21/10 3:39am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Keshet, a Jewish Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender group, has been a part of IU for seven years and is looking for new members.“It’s the group’s intention to have a club where people can come together and talk about what is going on in their lives ... and have a good group of friends to support them,” Sally Kaplan, co-president of Keshet, said.But the co-president said the group is finding it difficult to attract new members. “It’s hard to flyer when your fliers say ‘Gay Jew’ because people are more inclined to tear them down,” Kaplan said. “The night we were putting flyers up for the call out meeting, 20 minutes after we put the flyers up, 12 of them were ripped down.”Another difficulty, she said, has been getting members because of the specificity.“It is really hard to find gay Jews. That’s really specific,” sophomore and co-president Jon Menachem said. “One time this guy walked up to me and said ‘Gay Jew? That is oddly specific.’ I just had to say that it is a really tight-knit group,” he said. But Kaplan said having similar backgrounds, both as homosexuals and Jewish people, often helps the group bond at its meetings.“It’s a very different dynamic between gay Jews and a group of gay students,” Kaplan said. “It’s because as Jews, we have been through such similar situations.”Keshet group outings include visiting the Helene G. Simon Hillel Center for Shabbat services and dinner or impromptu get-togethers and barbecues. Many of the events utilize the Hillel Center’s facilities.“Hillel is open to all Jewish students, and it is here to support them and to help them in any way that we can,” said Rabbi Sue Laikin Silberberg, executive director of Hillel. “So it is very important to us that the GLBT students feel that they have a community here at Hillel and that they have a place in the Jewish community.”
(10/11/10 2:44am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Twenty-one students and Bloomington community members marched Saturday as part of the Free Palestine Walk 2010 in a nationwide effort to bring awareness to the Palestinian situation in Israel.The Free Palestine walks are a part of the American Association for Palestinian Equal Rights Foundation, an activist organization that pushes for a U.S. policy to advance freedom and equal rights for Palestinians. Similar demonstrations will be going on throughout October in more than 40 cities in 28 states. In 2009, the organization launched its first walk campaign, which raised more than $25,000.The local Bloomington walk began at 11 a.m. outside the IU Auditorium and ended at the Monroe County Courthouse on Kirkwood Avenue.“We are using this campaign and other activities to educate America about the situation in Palestine and help promote freedom and equality for Palestinians,” said Nada Akhras, this year’s Bloomington walk organizer.Akhras, who was born in Palestine, said the issue really hits home for her.“Since I came here to America, I have become more active about the conflict,” she said. “I am trying to help Palestinians to get freedom and equality.”Senior Bridget Trent, coordinator of last year’s local walk, also marched Saturday.“I decided to do a walk for the movement because unfortunately, I know that in the U.S., the political climate makes it really hard to have open discussions about the conflict overall,” Trent said. “I have had issues where I talk about Palestine, and people always assume that it is just terrorists, but there are very good people there and very bad people just like everywhere else.”During the walk, drivers and pedestrians gave both waves and thumbs up to the walkers who carried a sign and wore shirts for the protest. Steve Gulyas, an IU graduate, greeted the walkers in Arbaic to show support.“I was saying what I have been told means ‘Hello, how are you? Have a nice day.’”
(09/30/10 4:39am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Trish Vosekas, a petite woman who knows her way around a construction site, wears a pink tool belt as she helps build her future home alongside more than 400 IU students and other volunteers.Building a house in the parking lot of Memorial Stadium is not how Habitat for Humanity usually constructs a home, however, this is the scene taking place near Dunn Street and the Bypass.The 900-square-foot, two bedroom, one bathroom house is being built by volunteers from the Civic Leadership Development program in the Kelley School of Business, Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County and Whirlpool Corporation.“Whirlpool especially wanted the build to be accessible to the students and sort of on their home turf,” said Kerry Thomson, executive director of Habitat for Humanity. “When we talked to IU about it, they were just so cooperative with us, and they allowed us to have this space. We never thought that we would get such a great location to build on campus.”The build began Sept. 23 and will continue until the IU vs. Michigan football game Saturday. On Sunday, the house will be moved near the corner of 14th Street and Woodburn Avenue.So far, volunteers at the site have been ready to work.“The student volunteers that come out are excited, and they are enthusiastic, and they listen. They really just jump right in there,” said Meagan Niese, marketing and communications director for Habitat for Humanity.Jessica Schuhler, a CLD volunteer, said being able to give someone a home is rewarding.“My parents have had to rent house after house just because of their financial situation,” she said. “So being able to give back to other people in that same situation who don’t have the greatest living situation, that’s rewarding.”Many of the other volunteers shared Schuhler’s sentiment. There were messages written to Vosekas on the house insulation. Many of the messages were wishing Vosekas well. Other messages thanked Vosekas for the opportunity to help her with her home.The house has come a long way in a short amount of time, said Dan Meyers, a crew leader and long time volunteer for Habitat for Humanity. The 10-day project is much faster than the normal time allotted for a home to be built.“A typical build for a Habitat house would be about 12 weeks long, and that would be working two to three days a week with volunteer crews. So doing this in 10 days means that. ...we have to build all day,” Niese said.As Vosekas’ home is coming along, the site is filled with a mix of tension from wanting to build the house well and on time along with a sense of excitement radiating from Vosekas.“It’s overwhelming. Really, excitement is not the right word to use,” Vosekas said. “I am past excitement, whatever the next level is. Euphoria.”
(09/28/10 4:30am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A new dorm will be joining the southwest neighborhood in the next few years as plans for a new building, set to open in fall 2013, have now been approved.The new facility, which is part of the IU Residential Programs and Services 2009 five-year building plan, will sit somewhere among the Wendell W. Wright Education Building, Willkie Quad and Read Center. A name has not yet been determined.The five-year plan also includes renovations to existing dorms and the construction of three new apartment buildings. The entire plan is expected to cost about $140 million.Phillip Eskew Jr., a member of the Board of Trustees and chairman of the Facilities Committee, said the new dorm construction plan stems from a growing number of incoming students.“We need more dormitory space on the Bloomington campus because we continue to have almost record numbers of incoming freshmen each semester,” Eskew said.Sara Ivey Lucas, assistant director of assignments for RPS, said the dorm will house 400 to 450 people and will have a similar floor layout to the renovations in Teter and McNutt Quads.“It will be more traditional designs to hold first year students” Ivey Lucas said. “It will be what we call ‘double loaded corridors,’ a long hall with rooms on both sides.”Ivey Lucas also said there will likely be bathrooms that are single occupancy but shared by everyone on the floor. That type of bathroom has already been put in place in parts of McNutt and Teter.“We have really been looking at bathrooms and privacy issues in terms of not making a bathroom for an entire floor, one for men and one for women,” Eskew said. “Rather, we would try to provide for more privacy.” But Assistant Vice President and University Architect Bob Meadows said the building is in such an early stage, there is little that is certain.“At this point, we are really just evaluating whether or not this is the proper location for additional housing and the number of units that could fit in there,” Meadows said.The new building will have a Silver Leed Certification, which requires the construction to score high marks in sustainability, water efficiency, indoor environmental quality and other standards as outlined by the U.S. Green Building Council and the LEED green building certification system.“The University has a mandate that at least everything has a Silver Leed Certification, and some of our more recent buildings have been gold,” Meadows said. “It is our intent to do everything that we can to be as green or energy efficient as possible.”
(09/06/10 3:28am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After almost two years of funding from the Bernard Osher Foundation, Bloomington Continuing Studies may be eligible to receive a $1 million endowment.The foundation, based in San Francisco, is an organization that funds adult education scholarships across the country. After receiving $50,000 per semester for adult scholarships, Ron White, executive director of Bloomington Continuing Studies, said he and the foundation hope to continue the partnership in order to receive the endowment. Twenty-one students, who have been away from formal education for at least five years, have received scholarships this semester from the foundation. Bloomington Continuing Studies allows students to transfer credits from former institutions and focus on a liberal arts education foundation with day and evening classes, along with academic advising and adult student resources. Students can also obtain certificates in various areas, including business, informatics and more.Student Lisa Goch said the $1,500 she receives per semester has made a big difference for her education.“The scholarship was a major factor,” Goch said. “Without it I would not have been able to come back to school.”She also said the time away from school has given her a much better perspective on her college education.“I would say that the first time I went to school, it was a continuation from when I was four. So by my 20s I got to be a little jaded,” Goch said. “Now, after being in the workforce, I have a true appreciation for my education.”
(09/01/10 3:33am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>General studies might be a major many have not heard of — perhaps because it’s not open to scores of IU undergraduates.As a liberal arts degree, general studies can be customized and often done along with different certificates. Students must be at least 21 and have prior college credits or have a high school diploma to apply. The program was originally created for adults in the community to continue their education, even after many years away from a formal schooling.General studies is a major offered through Bloomington Continuing Studies for students who are not the traditional college age and who are looking to further their career. The major is also offered through an online program at the IU School of Continuing Studies. General studies majors are typically looking for additional opportunities in their work environment, said Ron White, executive director of Bloomington Continuing Studies. However, there are also undergraduate students who fit the requirements and chose the major.“In addition to adults, the program works well for undergraduates that do not fit with other majors in the University,” White said.Because of the ability to customize parts of the general studies major, he said students — both traditional and adult — often go on to graduate school. Many of the 870 students currently in the general studies program are also working on certificates in their field of interest. White said the certificates allow students to focus their education on their particular job or career goal.“It provides a strong foundation in liberal arts,” White said. “It is a strong degree for law school.”However, White said the students pursue numerous graduate degrees, not just law school.“There are a wide variety of things that students do with the degree,” said Director of Bloomington Continuing Studies Angela Gast. “We always turn it back on them and ask what they want to do.”Many of the general studies students face challenges in going back to school, White said. Some of these obstacles include the amount of time they have to devote to their education and financial issues while supporting their families and going to school. Others, White said, feel uncomfortable in the college setting — some find it difficult to be the oldest student. Often on the first day of classes, he said, some undergraduate students straighten up when older students walk in the room because their classmates might think they are the instructor. However, White said he hopes adult students feel Bloomington Continuing Studies is a place they can come to for support.“We really try to be a welcoming presence for the adult students on the IU-Bloomington campus,” he said. “We want to support and encourage students.”