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(02/25/13 4:28pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU’s African American Arts Institute strives to offer students an opportunitynot only to earn school credit but also to obtain a cultural education.The AAAI promotes African-American culture and offers three distinct ensembles for students to participate in — IU Soul Revue, African American Dance Company and the African American Choral Ensemble. Charles Sykes, executive director of the AAAI, said it is the first program to specialize in African American music and also offers course credit for performance.“You can’t find another one like it, as far as I know,” Sykes said. “It’s the only of its kind.”Sykes said this is appealing to students because they can take part in something they are interested in, like music or dance, while earning credit toward graduation.He added that the arts institute employs a number of graduate and undergraduate students to work with the ensembles.“Each one of the ensembles has one or more associate instructors that help with musical arrangements,” he said.Participating students major in various areas, including music, arts administration, telecommunications and journalism. Whatever their studies, many participants see musical success and fame after leaving the institute’s ensembles.Late alumnus Gabriel Paige, who performed with the African American Dance Ensemble, had a part in movies such as “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me,” and Soul Revue alumnus Isaiah Sanders was a keyboardist for Stevie Wonder. Nathanael Fareed Mahluli, former Soul Revue director, said the group performs a wide range of black popular music. He said this includes a lot of Motown, as well as music from artists such as Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Natalie Cole and Ella Fitzgerald.Mahluli said it is important for people to realize that being in this type of ensemble takes a lot of time and dedication.“It takes an amazing amount of discipline to keep up your ability to perform,” Mahluli said. “It’s challenging to try social interaction and keep up the teamwork and entertain a goal.” Mahluli also said this kind of work ethic is vital when performing before big names like The Temptations, for whom the Soul Revue opened in 2009. It also opened for James Brown when he came to the IU Auditorium in 2006, and the African American Choral Ensemble opened for Ray Charles the same year.Sykes said the AAAI is a way for a student to delve deeper into something he or she is interested in, even just for the joy of performing.“We’re living in a world with the opportunity to interact across racial boundaries,” Sykes said. “For students not planning to become performing artists but want to continue performing in school, they can have this opportunity but don’t have to be concerned with their degree.”
(10/14/11 12:36am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>He’s a Grammy award-winning reggae musician, the oldest son of Bob Marley and his name, he claims, means “a small joint.” Ziggy Marley, leader of the band Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers, will perform at 8 p.m. Oct. 16 at the Bluebird Nightclub. Bob Marley’s son has dreads and is politically active, like his legendary father, but he holds his own. In 1979, Ziggy created a musical group with his siblings. They earned their first Grammy Award for their third album, “Conscious Party,” in 1988. The band continued to produce several award-winning albums until 2002, when Ziggy started his first solo tour.Dave Kubiak, owner of The Bluebird, said he expects Ziggy to perform old hits and songs from his most recent album, “Wild and Free,” which was released in June 2011, with singles such as “Forward to Love” and “Personal Revolution.” He added that while reggae music has always appealed to Bloomington’s audience, Ziggy’s performance at The Bluebird would be an exceptional experience for IU students and community residents alike.“It’s so rare that you can see a musical icon like this in a small setting and venue,” Kubiak said. “The experience is just one that’s hard to come by. Usually, you see a person like this in a large city or club setting, not like this in Bloomington. It’s a rare opportunity.”Ziggy steadily put out a number of albums after he became a solo artist, including one in 2006 titled “Love is My Religion,” which won his fourth Grammy for BestReggae Album. But Ziggy didn’t stick to reggae. He branched out into children’s music and has produced music for children’s television series, such as “Arthur,” “Sesame Street” and “Dora The Explorer.” In 2009 he released “Family Time,” which won a Grammy for Best Album for Children. Much of Ziggy’s music promotes the same ideals as his father’s: marijuana, peace and activism, which deeply contrast the themes of his children’s music. IU Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology Daniel Reed said world music with these types of messages is appealing to college students for several reasons.“Most students are living away from home for the first time, establishing their own identity from families they’ve grown up with. ... It involves rebellion almost always,” Reed said. “There is a resistant nature in reggae. Even if you just talk about pot in itself it’s obviously illegal. Here, it’s a way young people like to relax, and it can be associated with rebellion in an anti-authoritarian kind of nature.”Reed said the key to popular music is great songwriting, catchy phrases and wonderful melodies. He noted that Bob Marley’s music represented something exotic from a far-away land and had a kind of Rastafarian, religious, spiritual element that drew people in.Reed said Ziggy’s music does something similar.“It’s important we can learn a lot about other people around the world, how they make music and what they believe in terms of how music should be used,” Reed said. “It’s beneficial that people are exposed to music out of mainstream.”
(09/26/11 2:54am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In an all-black outfit, drop earrings and a black bob with a golden sheen, she walked on stage to an eruptive cheer of applause. The Buskirk-Chumley Theater’s sold-out crowd of mostly baby boomers stood in their seats, clapping and hooting. Mavis Staples, Grammy award-winning gospel singer and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, looked straight at the audience. “Thank you. Thank you very much,” she said.Staples, with her husky, soulful voice, warm disposition and heartfelt songs set the stage Thursday night with four backup singers and her band as an opening act for the Lotus World Music and Arts Festival. Lee Williams, director of the Lotus Festival, said he chooses specific artists for the festival, and Staples made the cut.“The goal of the Lotus Festival is to fill people with joy and excitement and to expose people to diverse cultures around the world,” Williams said. Turning 18 years old this year, the festival strives to bring a collaborative mix of undiscovered artists and artists who have appreciation for “the music of their homeland.”Staples and her family’s group, The Staples, took advantage of the musical opportunity their home offered. Staples grew up in Chicago, and under her father’s, Roebuck “Pops” Staples, lead, the family took its music around the country, beginning in the 1950s. During the next decade, they piggy-backed off Pops’ close friendship with Martin Luther King, Jr., singing chart-topping hits such as “I’ll Take You There” and “Respect Yourself.” Her family was actively involved in the Civil Rights Movement with messages about freedom included in their performances, singing songs such as “Long Walk to D.C.” and “When Will We Be Paid?”Staples’ concert at the Buskirk-Chumley featured a number of new songs from her Grammy-award-winning Best Americana Album, including “You Are Not Alone,” “Wrote a Song for Everyone,” “The Weight” and “Freedom Highway” from the album of the same name. Between songs, Mavis conversed with both the audience and her band. At one point, she drank from a water bottle between songs and tried clearing her throat. As she walked toward the microphone, she said, “I’ve got a frog in my throat.” Her guitar player bent toward her neck and said, “Get it out of there!” Staples laughed.She expressed her gratitude that everyone in Bloomington treated her well.“Everybody feeling all right?” she asked. The crowd cheered. “You know, we’ve been hearing about this festival for some time now, and we were wondering what took you so long,” she said.She threw her hands up in the air, shook her head and set her raspy, deep, rich vocals free to fill the room. She shook hands of audience members reaching toward her. Another audience member was shimmying back and forth in her seat, bobbing her head to the beat.Many of the audience members weren’t hearing Staples for the first time. Bloomington resident Beverly Calender-Anderson said she wanted to see somebody to whom she had been listening since childhood. She said she saw Staples perform in Chicago when she was growing up.“It’s Mavis,” Calender-Anderson said. “She has been able to stay relevant for so many years.” She added that as she has grown older, the lyrics take on even more meaning, especially during the current times.Another audience member and senior editor at IU’s Geological Survey, Deb DeChurch, described Staples’ music as authentic. “She knows a place we want to go,” fellow audience member Bill Corcoran said. Yet the audience wasn’t completely filled with those who grew up with Mavis. IU Senior Eric Gonzaba said he came because Staples is the epitome of soul music and is a testament to how important the Motown and soul era was.“It’s classic,” he said. “Without the fundamentals, we wouldn’t have the music that we do today.”Gonzaba said it’s important for students to get a taste of different artists and genres of American music.“I love Lady GaGa, but I also love my soul music,” he said.
(05/03/10 12:16am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>During the evening gown portion of the competition, contestant Ginger Ale slithered down the catwalk in an orange and pink sparkly dress that resembled a tequila sunrise cocktail.For her talent portion, she glittered in gold, convulsing as she lip-synched dialogue from the television series “Wife Swap” and the gospel song “Long As I’ve Got King Jesus.” Later, when she was announced Miss Gay IU 2010 on Friday at the IU Auditorium, she pressed her fingers to her lips emotionally as the diamond crown was set onto her massive hair.Ginger Ale competed in the 20th annual competition, presented by OUT! Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Student Union against two other contestants, Samantha Lynn and Gothika. Audience member Teri Lindsey, who drove from New Castle, Ind., to watch the show, said she was impressed with Ginger Ale’s performances.“She was fabulous,” Lindsey said.Ale said Chanel Cartier, who was the 2009 Miss Gay IU, was a part of her success, and she was excited to become involved in the community.“I will hopefully bring more of a focus on raising money for OUT!,” Ale said. “It’s going to bring self-fulfillment, an opportunity for philanthropy.”As a former Miss Gay Indiana, she said throughout the next year she hopes to raise money for HIV/AIDS awareness in the Bloomington community and beyond.The competition, with the theme “Music Of The Night” stemming from “Phantom of the Opera,” was elaborately filled with mist, masks, diamonds, big eye lashes and a stage full of black and white costumes.The entire night featured different entertainers, including Keagan Holiday, Hoosier Daddy 2010; Marissa Nichole, Miss Gay IU 1995; and Della Licious, Miss Gay IU 2003. The entertainers wore extravagant costumes and worked the crowd, receiving cash tips from audience members throughout their performances. As emcee and entertainer, Licious shocked the crowd when she came on stage with golden stickers covering her nipples, a leotard and a curly red wig hanging from between her legs. After her performance, she approached the podium on the stage.“I’m here to represent the big girl,” Licious said. “Is that OK?”Licious and fellow emcee Vicki St. James charmed the crowd between performances and portions of the competition. At the beginning of the show, St. James warned the audience that the competition would be PG-17 rated.Dispersed throughout the performances, the three contestants challenged one another in an evening gown, question-and-answer and talent competition.For the question-and-answer portion, competitors were individually asked questions about current GLBT issues, reaching the younger GLBT community and the purpose of drag. Each contestant infused her own style into her talent performance.Lynn, who won the “Most Beautiful” award, performed a duet with another performer to the song “Anything You Can Do,” and fellow contestant Gothika, who won the “Miss Congeniality” award, and performed a seductive ballad while using a chair as a prop.Cartier took her final walk as Miss Gay IU as Ginger Ale was crowned. Cartier said she was extremely happy with the judges’ decision, and she thought passing on the crown to Ale was the right choice.“I couldn’t be happier,” Cartier said. “She’s the one I would pick if I had to select her. This is her time now. I feel blessed and honored.”
(04/30/10 4:36am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In order to be successful, these entertainers must flaunt extravagant hair, put on makeup and simulate feminine behavior — a journey that reigning Miss Gay IU Chanel Cartier would call a "bumpy ride."The Miss Gay IU 2010 pageant will kick off at 7 p.m. Friday at the IU Auditorium. Senior Joshua Sutton, president of OUT! GLBT Student Union, said the pageant is in its 20th year and will feature 12 entertainers. Sutton said attendees should expect a wild and fun show. This year’s theme, chosen by the reigning Miss Gay IU queen and Bloomington resident Chanel Cartier, is “Music of the Night” — inspired by “Phantom of the Opera.”“A lot of people don’t realize it’s an art form,” Sutton said. “It has such a grandeur nature to it, so it’s kind of more serious than you would think.”He said it is customary for audience members to tip the performers with money during the competition, and the entertainers will often feed off the positive energy.Adviser for OUT! Helen Harrell said the contest will consist of several portions: evening gown, talent and question-and-answer. Eight judges, comprised of Miss Gay IU alumni and other entertainers, will look for contestants who are versatile. The winner is chosen based on a point system. “You want somebody who can communicate with people in public and with the University and faculty,” Harrell said. “The talent portion is the most fun and watching people perform and how they represent the song, of course.”The pageant was not always so successful and professional. Miss Gay IU Emeritus Vicki St. James, who has been involved with the show since 1989 and will be the host Friday’s performance, said in the early years the pageant received threats against people’s safety.“We don’t get as many of those now, just people in our community who aren’t as supportive,” St. James said. “Now this is a place for these kids to go and perform in a safe environment, and they won’t be criticized.”The art of drag is harder than one might think, St. James said, and the performers will be looking to entertain the crowd.“In the evening gown, we look at how somebody models, what their pose is, if their gestures are feminine and if they have appropriate evening wear,” he said.Cartier said during her reign as queen at IU, she was able to help with Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual and Transgender education and rights and that she wants the next queen to continue to be active in the community.“Just to really continue to go above and beyond and really reach to promote education through art forms and get involved,” Cartier said. “It’s important to make their face known as an entertainer and philanthropist about the students and community. It’s a way to give back and educate.”St. James said her favorite part of the show is watching all the small details create a cohesive number.“I am always open to helping any of the new girls who win and accepting them into the Miss Gay IU family,” St. James said. “I hope some little drag queen has her dreams come true.”
(04/19/10 1:49am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Bollywood-style dancing, singing with guitar accompaniment, break-dancing and spoken word characterized the 17th Annual Taste of Asia performance Friday at the IU Auditorium. The Asian American Association sponsored the show and featured acts with culture stemming from different countries such as India and China.Co-Culture chair for the AAA, freshman Gloria Chan, said the idea behind the performance was to show Asian culture and to provide a satisfying meal afterward. “They’ll get a dash of Asian culture, a step outside the box,” Chan said. She said before the show that she wanted a big audience turnout because of all the work that was put into the event.Backstage, girls from the Bindi-ana South Asian Girls’ Club sashayed playfully with their sequin-clad and brightly colored saris. Veera Shah, 9, said she felt good about her upcoming performance but she had stage fright. She said she had one hope for the evening: “That we become famous,” Shah said. The performance was part of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, and emcees Scottie Alora and Sherry Lu helped entertain the audience between acts. The Bindi-Ana Girls Club began the show with a Bollywood-style dance, which featured synchronized movements. A spoken-word performance followed the dance. Sophomore Clay Spencer read a poem called “Searching for Diversity,” which expressed the idea that culture is blended through more than just race.Several singing acts followed. Freshman Justin Zheng played the guitar and sang “I Will Follow You Into The Dark” by Death Cab For Cutie, and sophomore Lindsay Smith, who was selling her own CDs after the show, played the guitar and sang. The emcees entertained the audience with jokes after every act. Alora showed the audience his version of “jerk” dance, told them he didn’t want to marry performer Smith “just yet,” and offered performer Sung Won Chung, who sang “She Was Mine” by AJ Rafael, to the singles ladies in the audience. Alora had trouble pronouncing some of the performers’ names, and this displeased audience member and freshman Lauren Bridges.“The emcees were a little offensive to the culture,” she said. Taste of Asia ended with a performance by a break-dancing organization. The group provoked laughs from the audience when they performed tricks that included leaping into each other’s arms and doing a lift, similar to what would happen in a ballet performance. Subsequent to the show, audience members were invited to the Auditorium lobby to taste foods such as satay chicken, crab rangoon and dumplings fromdifferent local Asian restaurants. Freshman Mae Ling Strang, an audience member, said she was looking forward to the food but really enjoyed the show. “I loved it,” she said. “I’m in the break-dancing club, and they were awesome as usual.” Strang said because she knew people participating, it made her experience even better. “The performer who sang ‘She Was Mine,’ the guy had an incredible voice — there are all these people I knew who were performing,” she said.
(04/19/10 1:46am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The DREAM IU student organization stressed one question Friday: Did you choose your birthplace? The group, which advocates for the passing of the DREAM act and undocumented student immigrants, led a discussion in the Hutton Honors College Great Room targeted toward the challenges that Asian-American students face.Under the DREAM act, youth who are undocumented could receive citizenship by completing a six-year path which includes a college degree or two years of military service. The presentation was part of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, and the group partnered with the Asian Cultural Center.Director of the ACC, Melanie Castillo-Cullather, opened the event with an introduction about the celebration of APA month as well as problems Asian-American students encounter.“There has been a history of injustice in the immigration in the system of this country,” Castillo-Cullather said.Attendees watched a music video set in Philadelphia, which portrays the way different community members showed love for their immigrant mothers. The take-away realization was that many people — not just Hispanics — have parents that immigrated to the U.S.One audience member said she liked the video because it demonstrated the idea that people always want the best for their children.“Nobody should be punished for wanting a better way of life,” she said.Sophomore Ivonne Romo, a founder of the group, explained that children of immigrants are often left in a sticky situation because they are accountable for their parents’ actions.“The laws of the U.S. want to make children responsible,” Romo said.The next part of the discussion took place outside when audience members were put on an imaginary map. First they were told to stand in the country where they were born, then they were told to move where their parents were born and then their grandparents.One out of five Koreans living in the U.S. is undocumented, and Asians and Pacific Islanders make up 40 to 44 percent of undocumented students in the University of California system.“At one point or another, this issue is closer to hearts than we think,” said Melissa Quintela, graduate student adviser for the group. “We didn’t have a choice to be born where we were born.”After returning inside, audience members watched another video featuring a Korean undocumented student, Ju Hong. In the video, Hong expressed his fear of deportation and shed light on the idea of shame in the Asian community because of the issue.Castillo-Cullather drew from the video as she discussed Asian culture. She said the idea of undocumented immigration can be “hush-hush.”“There are group dynamics, pressure to go with what is traditional,” Castillo-Cullather said. “Shame isn’t necessarily a cultural thing, but if you grew up with it, you need to respect it, but you need to break out of the mold.”Romo said there are a number of reasons why some people are against passing the DREAM act, but many times the people don’t look at the issue from the other side.“They’ll say, ‘They’re not paying taxes, they broke the law,’” Romo said.
(04/16/10 2:50am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The DREAM IU student group wants everyone on campus to know Hispanics aren’t the only ones dealing with issues related to undocumented citizenship. The group will partner with several organizations, to facilitate a discussion called “The Neglected Dreamers” on the struggles Asians face.The event will take place from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. today at the Hutton Honors College, and it is also sponsored by the college and the Asian Culture Center. Sophomore Tari Morales, who is on the executive board for DREAM IU, said the event aims to bring awareness about how undocumented citizenship can affect everyone. “We will present a PowerPoint or show video clips on issues relating to immigrant youth, then we will go on to discussion after the visuals and have different activities. Our main goal is to get conversation going,” Morales said. Morales said today’s topics will inspire “controversial conversation” that is worth talking about. She added that people should attend if they want to learn about immigration, get involved or speak up for students who don’t have a voice. Freshman Alicia Nieves, who helps the group conduct research for the presentations, said a diverse population is being affected by undocumented citizenship and it’s not an exclusively Hispanic concern. “We want for people to understand that it’s not apparent as skin color,” Nieves said. “It’s more of a challenge. There are more people that are undocumented and have a harder life than most of us.” Sophomore Ivonne Romo, who helped found the group, said another purpose of the discussion is to find out what students know and think about the issues and whether they are in favor of passing the DREAM act.Romo has a response to people who are against the passing of the DREAM Act, which allows undocumented students to gain citizenship through enrollment in college or the military. “One of the questions that should be asked is, ‘Did you choose your birthplace?’” Romo said. “The answer is ‘no,’ and this issue of undocumented students has to do with people being brought here by their parents.” Romo said she wants today’s panel to have an effect on people. She said she is optimistic that attendees will leave with an educated opinion on the matter.“We’ll show them statistics about how this affects people personally, maybe sometimes because they didn’t have the resources, because it was hard,” she said. “We want them to see how it comes about that students are undocumented. I hope it helps them form a more informed opinion.”
(04/09/10 3:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>For 40 years, the department of African American and African Diaspora Studies has tried to educate the IU community about the experiences of black people in different parts of the world. This weekend, in conjunction with a year-long 40th anniversary celebration, the department will sponsor the seventh annual Herman C. Hudson Symposium at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center.Graduate students in the department organized the celebration that will feature several events, including an art exhibit, anniversary panel, a dance concert and a lecture given by keynote speaker Cynthia Shepard Perry. Chairperson of the department Valerie Grim, who gave graduate students insight on how to organize the celebration, said the theme for the event, “Bodies, Borders and Resistance,” deals with a wide variety of issues. “I think the idea behind the theme is to look at sort of ways in which to look at people’s experiences,” Grim said. “The whole notion is to think about ways which you can draw from different communities into conversation, a diverse group of organizers, students and specific engagements.” Grim said this year’s celebration is unique because it will touch on the history and evolution of the department. She said the students chose Perry as a keynote speaker because she has worked with social injustice issues. Perry served as U.S. ambassador to Sierra Leon during the Ronald Reagan administration and also worked in other areas in Africa. Graduate student Caralee Jones, the 2010 Herman C. Hudson symposium president, said Perry’s experience will fascinate students.“I do think Dr. Perry has a lot of unique things she will be addressing through implications of human trafficking in the human Diaspora, and I think this would be of interest to a lot of students,” Jones said. Fellow graduate student Rafi Hasan said the focus of the event isn’t just about bringing faculty and students together. “It’s about representing some of the best intellectual discourse related to the African Diaspora but also some of the most ground-breaking research in the area,” Hasan said. He said Perry melds more with this year’s theme than anybody else. “Her work in nations continues to be on the national radar, specifically in Africa, in terms of her approach toward internationalism, understanding different cultures to begin with, but also what we know and understand,” Hasan said. Grim said the symposium is also a good opportunity for the department to get exposure and to educate different people about its studies. “It’s a department committed to understanding the experiences of black people in the world, both African-Americans and citizens of the United States in the American community,” she said. “I think it’s important for people to have an understanding that there has been tremendous achievement and contributions by the department.”
(04/02/10 3:43am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Food in the Caribbean is viewed as more than a source of nutrition, and has underlying cultural uses, including in rituals. But that use throughout history is still being debated. Julie Kim, professor of English at Fordham University, spoke Thursday at the Indiana Memorial Union in a lecture called “Tactics of Taste: Food, Alliance, and Resistance in the Early Caribbean.”Kim expressed the conflicts among Amerindians, Europeans and Africans in the Caribbean colonial period. Her lecture partially stemmed from Richard Ligon’s work, “A True & Exact History of the Island of Barbados,” which explains the regimes of the slaves, planters and other aspects of historic colonial life.Kim said different groups of people had varied ideas and descriptions of foods. She said she used a rubric to connect food to colonialism and that food often provided information about the relationships between slaves and slave owners.“Food has an effect on other people and other objects,” Kim said.She elaborated on the planters’ dietary regimen in the Caribbean, which also served as a form of disciplinary strategies for slaves. Kim told a story about a slave who was forced to roast his ear and eat it as a form of physical punishment.“This pinpoints the true violation is with consumption,” Kim said.Kim said in the Caribbean there were also close connections between technology, taste and psychological aspects of life.“There was a symbiotic relationship between cooked meat and natural history,” she said.There were also various foods, Kim said, which served as symbols for different things. The pineapple’s popularity, for example, spread quickly and was a symbol of wealth. Other foods, such as chocolate, were used in different rituals.There were different plants that the slaves frequently ate. The Cassava plant, a starch, contained potentially fatal acid but was a plant that everybody could eat because it was readily available. Slaves had no other choice but to squeeze out the acid and eat it.Kim also spoke about the transportation of foods from country to country. She added that slaves at the time were responsible for plantation regimes, and often plants served as a place for solace.Professor of Anthropology Richard Wilk attended the lecture and said he considers himself a Caribbean food historian and finds cuisine interesting to discuss.“I’m interested in differences in Barbados and other parts of the Caribbean,” Wilk said.
(03/29/10 3:24am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>As Miss Gay Bloomington Sugar Blackmon strutted in her elaborate fake eyelashes, silky black hair, knee-high black leather boots and diamond “bling” to the front of the stage at the Willkie Auditorium on Sunday, the audience erupted into cheers. She touched her body seductively, gyrated her hips, slithering down to the floor as audience members placed bills upon bills in her hands. If the audience members were lucky, Blackmon gave them a kiss on the cheek or a personalized dance. Blackmon was one of many drag entertainers to perform for “A Time For Change,” a drag benefit concert for the Red Ribbon Outreach Alliance, an HIV/AIDS service organization partner. Founder of RROA Vicci Laine, also the emcee for the performance, said she founded the organization to raise money for local HIV and AIDS organizations. She said she had a number of the goals for the performance. “I want the money to stay in the community,” Laine said. “One of the biggest goals is to get people stirred up and thinking about HIV and inspired to get involved in fundraising.” Laine said RROA will donate all the profits from the show to the local organization Positive Link. Senior Daniel Adelman, a Willkie floor president who helped organize the show, said this year’s performance raised $431 without additional proceeds from the silent auction at the show.Different drag entertainers performed for the capacity audience, including Brooklyn Starr, Miss Gay Muncie; Chanel Cartier, the reigning Miss Gay IU; Marissa Nichole, Miss Gay IU 1995; and Courtney Anderson, Miss Gay Indiana. All performers lip-synced to various songs, wore elaborate costumes such as a multi-colored feather dress, a peach-colored tassel clad leotard, leather boots, belts, stilettos and plenty of diamonds. They all collected cash tips during their recitals. The drag queens not only sang, but also danced. Many of them interacted with the crowd, walking through the aisles and dancing with audience members. Performer Tiffany Alexander fell into the splits and the audience erupted into cheers. Anderson did her fare share of high kicks and even cartwheels, later popping her bottom on an audience member. Halfway through the performances, Laine asked everyone in the audience who was planning to have sex at some point in their lives to stand up. She said half of all new HIV cases in the U.S. are in people less than the age of 25. After reading other statistics, Laine began a lip-syncing contest, and several audience members went on stage to battle through dancing and singing. The contest was based on the volume of screaming from the audience and a male winner was chosen. While the night was full of entertainment and outrageousness, audience member Nick Fitzer said the performance more importantly raised awareness about AIDS. “It’s an epidemic,” Fitzer said. “It brings it to the forefront and makes it more acceptable.” Another audience member, senior Chelsey Durnell, said she often tries to attend benefits such as “A Time For Change.” “It’s a good time,” Durnell said. “Especially because it’s for a good cause that benefits the community, the performers have good spirits.”
(03/24/10 2:32am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In some Asian cultures, there are different activities that function as a way to calm a person’s peace of mind. In India, people practice yoga. In China, people practice calligraphy, a type of writing and communication.There are different types of calligraphy practiced all across the world, but at IU’s Asian Culture Center, students in Calligraphy Club practice East Asian Calligraphy, which uses Chinese characters that are three to four thousand years old, instructor Xing Zhou said.“Calligraphy is a very personal tradition based on Chinese character, a visual art,” Zhou said. “We use traditional characters and then we find history and use style to express our own feelings.”Zhou said each Chinese character is used to express a word, and sometimes two characters can be used together to create a word with a different meaning. He said the main difference between calligraphy and English writing is that all the lines are the same in English, while in Chinese calligraphy, the brush strokes can cause the lines to vary.Calligraphy is practiced with a different technique than holding a regular paint brush. The style precision comes from a technique based on posture, wrist tension and finger placement on the brush, which is made out of a type of animal hair, Zhou said. Calligraphy is generally used with ink and rice paper, but in Zhou’s class students use blank newspaper because it is cheaper and easier to find in stores.Calligraphy Club participant and Bloomington resident Erica Kendall said she has experience in Asian brush painting, so beginning calligraphy was not too difficult for her to learn. Kendall said while she always had a fondness of anything Asian, she also liked to explore different styles of calligraphy and the mental effects of practicing it.“It’s really easy to get enveloped in it,” Kendall said. “It’s very relaxing and very calming, easy to do and fun to practice. I’m somewhat of a perfectionist and it works well for me.”Kendall said she not only practices calligraphy in class but at home, taking with her different calligraphy books that Zhou will lend her from his own collection or the library. She said that once she begins to paint, the time flies.New student Hao Guo, a first year master’s student, said when she was in China it took her no effort to use the computer or a pen to write, but now that she has come to the States, she suddenly has a new interest in calligraphy.“It seems a little weird to practice and learn now that I am in the States,” Guo said. The students practice in silence, besides when Zhou is teaching or helping individual students. For the remainder of the class, the students bask in silence.“You must be very quiet or else you cannot think,” Guo said.For Zhou, the club is about more than the technique.“I want the students to share and learn different culture and get ideas for their studies or job or life, just to find another interest,” Zhou said.
(03/22/10 12:14am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Three years after being officially established on campus, the First Nations Educational and Cultural Center has begun its search for a tenured director.According to a statement regarding the search, the candidate who fills the position will serve as both the director of the center and will be a faculty member in a department appropriate to the person’s credentials. So far, three candidates have been interviewed and at least one more will be interviewed.Executive Director of Multicultural Initiatives Dr. Charles Sykes, who also supervises culture center directors, said the director’s job will be split and the center hopes to fill the position by fall 2010. “I hope this director, first of all, will be able to build a community around the center,” Sykes said. “The center does not function on its own, but it grows as part of the larger IU community.”Sykes said he believes filling the position long term will add stability and organization to the center. He said the longevity of the position will also allow the center to build networks. “It takes time so the person would come in and work with his or her community or strategic plan,” he said. “They’d say here’s what it would be like and then would start working to shape it into something that has a positive impact for the native community on campus.” Professor of Anthropology, Dr. Kevin Hunt, who is on the search committee, said the search is unusual because the potential candidates could end up in a variety of faculty positions including anthropology, folklore, history and communication.Hunt said he also hopes the future director will make connections with American Indians outside of Indiana, because many used to live within the state but were forced to live in other places, such as Oklahoma.“To recruit students from that far away you need to establish connections and meet potential students and establish lines of communication to be maintained,” Hunt said. Current FNECC Director Joseph Stahlman, who began his position in Fall 2009, said he felt one year was not sufficient to make many accomplishments.“I spent the first year learning about the bureaucracy at IU,” Stahlman said. “If I had more time, like another year, I could have accomplished more.”Stahlman said he juggles the responsibility of being a graduate student and being the director, and he said he thinks it will be no different for the future director. “Well, they have to teach, and IU is a research-based university so these people will still have to do that as well,” Stahlman said. He said the stability of the director’s position will benefit the FNECC. “They’re going to make IU their home,” Stahlman said. “They’ll be more committed to recruitment and to the retention of Native American students.”
(02/26/10 6:32am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The auditorium was pitch black and silent. A young woman began to sing softly in the center aisle. She held a flashlight in her hand. A bright beam of light on stage illuminated a hanging circle of veils, and the woman joined her fellow dancers within the circle. With her presence, the performance of the Bill T. Jones Arnie Zane Dance Company began.The performance of “Fondly Do We Hope... Fervently Do We Pray” on Thursday was a celebration of the bicentennial of President Lincoln’s birth. It portrayed the life of Lincoln, as well as other important Americans, through live music and song, modern dance, audio and video clips.Four performers sat at the left edge of the stage, playing instruments and providing vocals for the program.After doing their first dance in a sea of white, grey and black, one of the dancers began to speak. As dancers participated in solos, duets and ensembles, dancers either on- or off-stage were reciting monologues, the first of which brought light to the biography of Lincoln’s life.“He has seven brothers and four sisters,” the dancer said. “He never marries, but sex and cohabitation he knows very well.”The history element of the program was what brought some audience members to the show. Bloomington resident Steve Rolfe said he was a “history freak” and thought dance was an interesting way to observe Lincoln’s birth.“I’m fascinated by what dance can do for Lincoln,” Rolfe said.The summary of Lincoln’s life was followed by other monologues about a variety of different people — a soldier who fought in Iraq, a woman who fights with her husband about politics, the daughter of a slave-owner and a dancer who is in love with the idea of freedom. During each monologue, a dancer did his or her own solo.As the show progressed, tension rose as the music switched from orchestral to bass and electric guitar and even banjo. The sound of a whip snapping repeatedly filled the auditorium. A dancer portrayed the role of a slave getting sold. He thrashed around on the ground as his shirt became twisted on his body; he looked in pain.“Did you hear me? Ankles, instep, foot-ball, toes, toes-joints, the heel, going, going, going, sold,” one of the dancers shouted.During the piece called “Debates/The Boil That Bursts,” the dancers held a verbal debate about state rights and popular sovereignty, raising the question of equality between the races, yelling at each other in rage. The music grew louder with each progressing minute, and finally, all action stopped.A whirlwind of words and images floated across the circle of veils, giving the effect of a time warp. The dancers performed one last dance as an ensemble, and their shadows faded in and out of the veils.Graduate student and audience member Juan Belmonte said he liked the different combination of all the performing elements, and the message “was a good one,” yet he wasn’t sold on some of the dialogue.“Even when they were trying to be progressive, I thought they were still a little conservative,” Belmonte said.Audience member and IU faculty Adrienne Sewell said she studied dance as an undergraduate and that Jones was important in her development as both a thinker and dancer.“His work is very educational in a very emotional way,” Sewell said. “It combines emotion and politics through movement and sound.”
(02/25/10 5:24am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU alumna Shannon Cameron had an immense fear of being on stage.But under her drag name, Cameron Taylor, she went on stage and was crowned Hoosier Daddy 2009. She was the only contestant.“I was nervous,” Cameron said. “I did not get over it. It makes me nervous every time. At the same time, it was for a good cause, and I was willing to do it.”Cameron said her participation in Hoosier Daddy was her first crossover to the drag realm, and it was a unique experience. During her reign, she participated in the gay pride parade and did a fundraiser for an HIV organization. Although she didn’t do as many projects and service as she would have liked to, she is ready to pass on the crown.“It was different looking back at the pictures and seeing me as male,” Cameron said. “They’re looking mainly for somebody who is involved in the community and looked the part of a male, having good performance abilities and then, with the question-and-answer, somebody who is articulate and well-spoken.”Senior Joshua Sutton, President of OUT GLBT Student Union said this year’s Hoosier Daddy 2010 competition, which kicks off tonight at the Willkie Auditorium, might be more intense than last year’s. There were at least four applicants as of Tuesday.He said the contest will allow the female and transsexual community to perform drag and the art of drag male impersonations.“The objective of it is to harbor one night where these entertainers come and perform something you wouldn’t see on a traditional stage,” Sutton said. “Drag form is a very important label to the GLBT community, and its imagery plays a big role in the grand scheme of things.”Although the performance is free, donations will be accepted and half of the proceeds will benefit Positive Link, a local AIDS/HIV service organization.Sutton said while drag queens are more popular, the concept of the drag king is still suffering in terms of popularity exposure. He said females have yet to grasp the concept that they can embrace and empower the opposite sex.He said the point system within the competition is very basic; it consists of a talent portion and a question-and-answer portion. Both categories will be evaluated by six different judges this year; including Richard Cranium, Mister USofA M.I. (Male Illustionist); Vanessa Vale, Miss Gay IU 2006, who created the idea of Hoosier Daddy; and Vicki St. James, Miss Gay IU Emeritus.Sutton added that additional entertainment for the evening will include Ginger Ale, Miss Gay Indiana All American Goddess and Hoosier Daddy 2008 and 2010 judge Duke McAllister.The drag competition has more than a performance aspect to it, Cameron said.“It’s a lot more work than it looks,” she said. “I thought I was going to get up there and dress up like a boy. Just trying to take on a whole new persona, you can look like the opposite gender, but you must put together the complete package to entertain the crowd and hold interest for a period of time without being sloppy.”
(02/25/10 2:53am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Imagine being in a country where your identity carries a negative connotation. Imagine the constant fear of getting picked up by customs officers any time and being deported. Imagine wanting to go to college but being denied because of lack of citizenship or insufficient funds.Out of approximately 2.8 million students who graduate from high school in the U.S. each year, about 65,000 won’t be able to continue to higher education because they are considered undocumented immigrants. But they have hope that the DREAM Act, first introduced in 2001 to Congress, will give these potential students an opportunity to gain citizenship by enrolling in either college or the military and maintaining a clean record.DREAM IU, a student group formed in January 2009, will have its call-out meeting at 7:30 p.m.Thursday in the Indiana Memorial Union Sassafrass room. The group branched out from the Latino Youth Collective, based in Indianapolis.Sophomore Minelle Amezquita, webmaster for the group, said the group will do presentations, participate in outreach with high school students and try to gain support for the DREAM Act.“We want to try and form support for undocumented students and basically plan to carry this out by reaching to academic orientation and the Bloomington community,” she said.Amezquita said the group is also trying to organize a Trail of Dreams march in Bloomington on May 1, which will correspond with a march of dreamers. Four undocumented students are currently marching from Florida to Washington, D.C. and hope to reach their final destination by that day.Identities of undocumented students still remain hidden, but the issue is closer than one might think. Sophomore Ivonne Romo, one of the founders of DREAM IU, said the issue affects people “close to her heart.”“There were people I had no idea had friends who are undocumented,” Romo said. “This is an issue we tend to not think of. A student told me any time she goes out with her friend, she can’t drive because she doesn’t have a license.”Romo added that while President Barack Obama has expressed concern for immigration reform, he hasn’t been able to act on his words yet.“Because of the recession, the issue of immigration has been pushed back,” she said.Melissa Quintela, graduate student adviser for the group, said it’s important that IU students and the community get involved with the movement because it speaks to a situation that immigrant youth didn’t choose themselves. Quintela said the DREAM bill was reintroduced in 2009, and she thinks this is the year it should pass because the “conditions are the most optimal.”“The term undocumented it is akin to illegal alien, which carries with it a very negative stigma in society,” she said. “So it is a lot easier to advocate for your rights with a group. Students are apprehensive about putting their identities out there.”
(02/15/10 6:08am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In the atrium of the Monroe County Public Library on Saturday, an array of children and parents bustled about.Asian music played while children painted calligraphy, folded origami paper and made tiger masks with orange colored plates and felt whiskers. Many of the children were dressed in traditional Chinese clothing, wearing red dresses or blouses.In the Chinese culture, red is a symbol for energy and the spirit of the Chinese people — but for the New Year, red is the color used to scare away misfortune and evil spirits, such as the monster Nian.One toddler, though smaller than most of the others, made up for her age with her enthusiasm. She ran around the area, full of energy, clad in a red tutu and a traditional Chinese shirt with a large pink flower in her hair. The children participated in IU’s Asian Culture Center’s event, “It’s the Year of the Tiger! Lunar New Year Celebration,” which began with activities and crafts and was followed by performances and a Chinese cuisine buffet. The Lunar New Year, also known as the Chinese New Year, is celebrated across the globe and marks the occasion of the new moon. Volunteers from the ACC as well as Kappa Gamma Delta sorority helped with running the event. Mai-Lin Poon, graduate assistant for the ACC, said she thought the celebration gave good exposure to the children, many of whom would not be able to celebrate the holiday in school. “I think it’s great, there are lots of happy faces,” Poon said. “I’m glad we can give this to the community. It’s fun, just a little taste of culture.” Emma O’Mahoney, 10, said her family celebrates the Chinese New Year because her sister was adopted from China. She said she wants other people similar to herself to enjoy learning about traditions and customs of other ethnic groups. “They will realize they’re not the only ones who have the cool culture,” O’Mahoney said. Kappa Gamma Delta sisters sophomore Amy Zhang, junior Szu-Chi Chao and senior Adeline Tjia, who assisted the kids with making tiger origami, agreed that their favorite thing about the event was being able to help other people. After the craft activities ended, participants watched a performance that included a Mongolian musical recital, a story about a tiger and a dried persimmon and a traditional wedding and tea ceremony. Children’s Librarian Mary Frasier, who told the story “The rabbit’s tail: A story from Korea,” said reading to children helps them in many ways. “It’s a lot of fun to read to children,” Frasier said. “It’s a really nice way to convey cultural information and promote literacy and narrative skills to help them read.” Subsequent to the performance, event attendees were able to chow down on celebratory Chinese cuisine such as Chinese doughnuts, crab rangoon and sushi.Attendee Jane Li, 11, said she liked the musical performance and crafts at the New Year Celebration.“I really like the string performance,” Li said. “Origami tigers — I like making stuff.”
(02/12/10 4:03am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Americans celebrate the New Year by popping open a bottle of champagne and setting resolutions to lose weight or to do better in school. People from China, on the other hand, prepare for the Lunar New Year or “Spring Festival” by making dumplings, visiting temple and celebrating a new moon. In Bloomington the Lunar New Year celebration will be slightly different but with the same purpose. The Asian Culture Center will sponsor the “It’s the Year of the Tiger! Lunar New Year Celebration” Saturday at the Monroe County Public Library. The event will include stories, performances, tiger-related crafts and snacks, as well as feature a traditional Chinese wedding and tea ceremony, said ACC Graduate Assistant Mai-Lin Poon. “I think my goal is to educate people and bring awareness about the Lunar New Year and how it’s celebrated in various countries across Asia,” Poon said. “It’s good for kids to be a part of and also adults too. It helps people get a small taste of different culture.” Brian Flaherty, academic specialist for the Center for Chinese Language Pedagogy, said the date of the celebration changes each year for the Chinese because it revolves around the lunar calendar, which is based on the different phases of the moon. “On the traditional lunar calendar, the beginning of the month was the new moon, the middle was the full moon, and the new moon marked the next month,” Flaherty said. He said the solar calendar, which the Chinese now use, differs from the lunar calendar because it keeps in sync with the seasons and the movement of the Earth around the sun. However, the Chinese refer back to the lunar calendar for the New Year celebration. Every New Year also represents one of the 12 animals featured on the Chinese Zodiac. Although comparable to the Western world’s astrological signs, Flaherty said the systems are set up in differently. The tiger is the animal associated with this year’s Lunar New Year. “One of the major differences, of course, is the Zodiac signs from the West are associated with the months,” he said. “In China, these animal signs are associated on different levels. What most people know is that every year is a single one of these animals.” Flaherty explained the comprehensiveness of the Chinese Zodiac. He said the different animals, which function as metaphors for personalities and other circumstances, are also applied to months of the year and hours of the day. “You could be born in the year of the tiger but born in the month of the horse,” Flaherty said. “Because there are 24 hours in a day, each two-hour period is a sign which corresponds with animal energies. Some people look at what time of day you were born as a more telling effect of your characteristics.”IU’s East Asian Studies Center outreach coordinator Qiong Jiang said the Lunar New Year is celebrated from Singapore and Korea to New York City’s Chinatown. She said there are many elements and preparations for the celebration, such as Chinese papercuts – firecrackers to scare away the “Nien” monster – and tasting desserts.She said, however, its ideals aren’t too different from other holidays. “It’s just like Christmas in the States,” Jiang said. “It’s a time for family reunions, time for great food.”
(02/09/10 4:28am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Senior Enrique Perez’s parents told him he was too masculine to be gay.
His freshman year at IU, he hadn’t yet come out and said he was afraid
girls would like him because he wasn’t the stereotypical “flamboyant”
gay man. After having “bothersome interactions” with people and being
frustrated with his lonely experience, Perez said he decided it was
time for a change.
Perez is helping create a Latino gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender
group at IU, called LOUTin@s, to create a support community.
The group is the first of its kind at IU. Lillian Casillas, director of
La Casa Latino Cultural Center serves as one of the advisers for the
group and said it is building a strong foundation so it will last for
years to come.
The group has its leaders, but they are still solidifying the logistics of running the organization.
Perez said LOUTin@s will aim to unite students and faculty in addressing issues and facing challenges.
“Just being gay is challenging,” Perez said. “To interact with being Latino and gay, you’re a minority within a minority.”
Perez, president of the group, said the term LOUTin@s is a play on the
Spanish word Latinos and represents all Latino men and women. The @
symbol is both an “a” for Latina, which means woman and an “o” for
Latino, which means man.
Perez also said many gay Latinos struggle with thinking nobody understands.
“What brings on the fear is that there is no support,” he said. “The community needs to be created.”
Graduate student Omar Martinez, a member of the group, said the
organization’s primary goals will focus on establishing trust with each
other and creating a support system.
“Let’s create a group; we have a place; let’s talk,” Martinez said.
“Perhaps afterward we can join other GLBT organizations in
Indianapolis.”
Martinez said the group will possibly do volunteer work, with the
future goal of helping out with issues such as HIV. He said the group
is not only for GLBT students but also heterosexual students because
they can learn from each other.
Martinez said he considers himself lucky because he has never been
targeted or harassed because of his sexual orientation, but he has
dealt with other issues, such as Catholicism and the machismo norms,
which have an exaggerated sense of masculinity in the Hispanic culture.
“I have to say this,” Martinez said. “IU is a very safe campus, but we need to create more awareness about our experiences.”
Casillas said LOUTin@s has unique features from many other groups.
“I think what makes it different is that it will have a longer term,”
Casillas said. “They’re writing a constitution and creating strong ties
with folks here.”
She said with available resources, LOUTin@s will be a very successful group.
“We have a diverse Latino population,” Casillas said. “Part of that
diversity is that we have different gender orientations, identities.
This is just one organization that can provide support to our students
and provide allies as well.”
(02/09/10 1:20am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Hoosiers still can’t buy alcohol on Sundays from the local supermarket, but a sliver of hope remains for beer buffs. A bill introduced by State Sens. Ron Alting, R-Lafayette, and Vi Simpson, D-Ellettsville, would allow microbreweries to sell takeout beer on Sundays. The bill passed 41-9 in the Indiana Senate on Jan. 21 and is awaiting a vote from the House, which could vote sometime this week. The bill would also limit the customer to buying three cases at most for each shopping spree. The idea of the bill is to put microbreweries on par with farm wineries (meaning they grow their own grapes), which received rights to takeout transactions on Sundays in 1986. Simpson stressed the economic boost the bill will give local brewers and said it will help increase tourism within the state. “I felt this bill was important to give those small, local brewers the same opportunity as local wineries to offer sales of their product,” Simpson said. “This is a narrow measure that will only allow microbreweries operating here in Indiana to sell their own product for carryout in limited amounts on Sundays. Microbreweries are part of the tourism economy in Indiana, and they help bring visitors into communities where the microbreweries exist.”There are 32 microbreweries in Indiana, two of which are located in Bloomington. Upland Brewery head brewer Caleb Staton said if the bill passes he thinks the store would definitely see an increase in revenue, but it would be a small part of all the state’s blue laws, which are designed to enforce moral standards, especially on the Sabbath.“I think we would get an uptake in the grand scheme of things. We wouldn’t become bombarded,” Staton said. “It’s less money motivated than it is in the grand scheme of refreshing Indiana law.” Farm wineries, such as Oliver Winery, have been selling takeout alcohol for years, and microbreweries should be able to do the same, he said. “We should have the same privilege ... to allow our customers to purchase what they taste,” Staton said. “They were ahead of it 10 years ago; we’re going to see the same situation today. Indiana breweries deserve the same benefits.” Besides revenue, the new legislation will hopefully be a boost to the state’s economy. Bloomington Brewing Company founder and CEO Jeff Mease said his company is supportive for a number of reasons.“The main one is craft breweries are important to the state’s tourism,” Mease said. “Small breweries, they’re sort of a lightning rod, so it’s a lot of tourism that probably happens on the weekends.” Mease said people come to breweries and want to take products home with them, and the money is especially important because breweries’ revenue goes straight back into the local economy. “It has so many more times the value for the community, just because of the nature where the money goes,” he said. “A lot of the other small costs all going to local businesses keep spinning around the community.”Mease compared his business to a larger company like Walmart, where the money virtually vacates the scene, he said. He also said people should start to recognize the value of trying to keep money local. Indiana is conservative in regards to Sunday alcohol sales, but Mease said small steps are being taken to change legislation regarding this issue.“Alcohol laws and drug laws, all sorts of vice laws are really grounded deeply in religion, that’s where the political will to create a lot of these came from,” he said. “Things of this nature are slow to change.” But Mease remains hopeful the bill will pass. “We think it’s a got a good shot,” Mease said. “Tourism helps cross cultures and just makes the whole world better. It’s a good, good thing.”