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(01/14/10 3:01am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The threat of bankruptcy forced the members of the Girl Scouts of Tulip Trace Council to sell Camp Belmont, a 282-acre plot of land on which girls had been hiking, camping and earning Try-It Badges since the 1960s.A purchase by The Nature Conservancy provides a glimmer of hope that the land might be maintained for people to use in the future.The Nature Conservancy ranked the Tulip Trace land among one of the top five pieces of land on their priority list for acquisition and protection, said Chad Bladow, the fire manager at The Nature Conservancy.Camp Belmont connects several other patches of forest, including Yellowwood State Forest and the T.C. Steele State Historic Site, Bladow said.“Lots of birds need that solid inner forest to nest in,” he said.When birds try to nest in or near open spaces, reproduction decreases, Bladow said. He also said the conservancy uses Geographic Information Systems that analyze land based on aerial photos.According to the GIS information, the Tulip Trace land is now part of one of the largest continuous blocks of woods in the Midwest – the perfect place for Cerulean Warblers, Ovenbirds and Yellow-Billed Cuckoos to nest, Bladow said.Deborah Hern Smith, chief executive officer of the Girl Scouts of Central Indiana, said financial need forced the sale. In 2009, faced with almost one million dollars in debt, the Girl Scouts of Tulip Trace were faced with a decision – either declare bankruptcy or sell assets. The shock hit at a time of reorganization for the Girl Scouts.Girl Scouts downsized from about 300 councils nationwide to only about 100, Hern Smith said. Although not all councils were in a financial crisis equal to that of Tulip Trace, the realignment of troops came because it made more financial sense, Hern Smith said.“It brings down the administration costs so we can use our resources to focus on our girls,” she said.Bladow said the Girl Scouts sold the Tulip Trace land to the conservancy for the approximate fair market value. John Seifert, director of the DNR Division of Forestry, said the DNR hopes to purchase the land from the conservancy as soon as possible.As more state budget cuts loom, Seifert said that purchase may be on a parcel-by-parcel basis over a number of years. He said he’s got his eyes set on a 25-acre area for the division’s first purchase.“As soon as we get the revenue, we’ll buy it,” Seifert said, referring to an area of the Tulip Trace property containing several cabins, a ropes course and an education center.Seifert said the department is already in discussions to create a business model that would help them staff and maintain those areas.“We knew the public wanted it to be in public hands,” Seifert said, “so we’re working to acquire it.”The DNR will allot some profits from timber sales toward the land’s purchase.
(09/03/09 1:44am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The significance of Woodstock reaches far beyond sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, according to IU graduate Don Aters, a photojournalist and self-proclaimed music historian who couldn’t miss the chance to be at Woodstock in 1969.“Its not just a drug culture. If you read about it in the papers from about 40 years ago it sounds like it’s all about drugs, sex and rock ‘n’ roll. That’s rubbish,” Aters said. “The most important thing that happened was probably 500,000 kids in a wet field hanging out together for three or four days getting along. That being said, the music is really what united that masses.”Aters caught a ride with some old high school friends, calling his mom on the way to let her know what he’d done.“I just wanted to go,” he said. “We started heading down the Pennsylvania highway and it was raining, so we had the option of turning back or soldiering on in rain.”He said he learned about the Woodstock concert through word of mouth at other concerts and of course, he’d seen one or two of the iconic Woodstock posters.“This started taking off in San Fransisco, the Summer of Love,” Aters said, referring to 1967, two years before Woodstock. “There was an event every weekend revolving around the Big Five.”The “Big Five” were San Francisco-based bands Big Brother & The Holding Company, Quicksilver Messenger Service, The Charlatans, the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane.Of course, Aters said the rain and mud made things a little unpleasant, but when the music started, Aters said he forgot to notice. “You get a blanket and you put it over your head and you just deal with it,” Aters said. “Quite honestly when you get involved in something of that magnitude you don’t worry abut being wet and cold till you’re ready to leave. When the music stops, you’re cold, but it’s not a very long interlude.”What was the band that kept him the warmest?“In terms of shear live performance on stage the best band was Ten Years After, by far, the three-and-a-half days that we sat there they were the best band ... they were animated on stage,” Aters said. “They have charisma.”Eventually, Aters said, the crowd got so big officials wanted to call in some kind of crowd control. He said he could see nothing but a sea of heads for miles – “not even a blade of grass.” Aters remembered that all the stores within walking distance were completely out of food and supplies, but Aters said everyone just helped out one another.“Artie (Kornfeld)’s favorite story is he saw this guy who had a jelly sandwich and he split it up into like four pieces and shared it with everybody else,” Aters said. “I mean they had this guy that had a huge stack – it must have been like 15 feet high – it was a huge stack of Coke, so you bought a six pack, but in 10 minutes they were all given away anyway because if you saw someone with no money you just gave ‘em one. Everyone was trying to do something for everyone else.”He said the crowds never got violent, despite the fact these young people were living in what he calls a violent era, although he does remember at least one death that weekend.“There was one guy that got run over, he got stoned, fell asleep in some tall grass and got run over.”Overall, Aters said, the event was all about being together and listening to music.“I thought we were all on this earth to be happy and to make each other happy,” Aters said.
(02/12/09 4:49am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The names Kernan and Shepard could soon change the entire landscape of local government.Joe Kernan, former Indiana governor, and Randall T. Shepard, Indiana Supreme Court chief justice, were in charge of an IU-funded commission that formed 27 recommendations for developing a more effective local government. If implemented, the recommendations would eliminate more than half of the state’s elected officials.The League of Women Voters of Bloomington-Monroe County held a panel discussion with Perry Township Trustee Dan Combs, Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce President Christy Gillenwater, County Commissioner Iris Kiesling and County Council member Jill Lesh to discuss the impact these changes could have locally.Gillenwater represented the Chamber of Commerce’s opinion in support of the report’s suggestions for streamlining local government.“The quality of local government, not the quantity, is critical,” Gillenwater said.She also pointed out that while Monroe County might be ahead of the curve, the Kernan-Shepard report aims to help the state as a whole. Gillenwater cited a Ball State University report stating that smaller counties will experience savings up to three times greater than larger counties.Kiesling said she was “disappointed” that current bills don’t allow for citizens to vote for how they’d like to be governed. She fears that while the Kernan-Shepard report made suggestions in the hopes of improving local government by cutting costs, costs might actually go up.“I figure career people who are in these positions would request a salary much higher than is being paid today,” Kiesling said.Kiesling currently makes a $30,000 salary, but she estimates that in order to be competitive, a county executive will have to be offered a salary as much as five times larger if the reports recommendations are adopted.Lesh, who is currently serving in her third year on the County Council, said she would support a single county executive but not the total abolition of township government.“County Council would have to expand with new responsibility,” Lesh said. “Efficiency would be there with the new head and people who would be able to spend more time – not like myself, who has a full-time job.”The largest objection for the Kernan-Shepard recommendations came from Combs.“What we have is code words – efficient, effective. What those mean is lack of democratic input,” Combs said. “Quite frankly, Kernan-Shepard frightens the small democrat inside of me deeply.”He warns that efficiency will quickly turn into bureaucracy.“Any of you people who have tried to get an answer from the Internal Revenue Service ... if you think that’s efficiency, then let’s go to it,” Combs said.Proposals for legislation have already been introduced in the Indiana State House.
(03/27/08 4:00am)
Despite controversy, the Kirkwood ticket won the IU Student Association elections Wednesday night. \nAt a hearing the same night, fines were levied against the ticket for violating IUSA election codes.\n“I think (the victory) just goes to show how well the Kirkwood ticket and the entire staff did,” said Joe Weis, Kirkwood president-elect.\nDuring the hearing, the elections commission heard the complaints against Kirkwood congressional candidate Adam Pozza, who was accused of forwarding Big Red e-mails to Kirkwood candidate Eric Gibson and an e-mail address Big Red presumed to belong to the IU Undergraduate Finance Club.\nAfter a two-hour deliberation, the commissioners decided to fine the Kirkwood ticket a total of 20 percent of its expenditures for violating IUSA election codes, specifically sections 502 and 505, which deal with improper use of e-mail and interference with another campaign’s materials.\nINdiana presidential candidate David White said he will not file any complaints against Kirkwood, but he said he does think Kirkwood made additional campaign violations. \nBig Red presidential candidate Luke Fields said he would wait until the Supreme Court certifies the election results to make a decision whether to file another complaint. Parties have until 5 p.m. April 3 to file a petition.\nThe hearing opened with Fields reading the 10-page complaint that his ticket submitted earlier against the Kirkwood ticket, and most specifically against Pozza, a congressional candidate running on the Kirkwood ticket. \n“Mr. Pozza’s actions are in contradiction with the IUSA elections code,” Fields said, citing specifically sections ones, 502 and 505 of the elections code. \nThe Big Red ticket alleges that on March 21, Pozza used Fields’ computer to access Fields’ e-mail account and forwarded several e-mails that detailed Big Red campaign plans such as banners that a Big Red executive member had painted. \nBig Red asked that the IUSA election commission investigate the Kirkwood ticket’s involvement in Pozza’s misconduct and that the Kirkwood ticket be punished for its member’s actions.\n“We were wondering if they had any knowledge that this had been going on and had failed to bring it to our attention as someone who had nothing to hide would,” said Andrew Hahn, who was running on the Big Red ticket for vice president for congress.\n“The IUSA elections commission has a duty to ensure a fair election,” Fields said.\nExecutive representatives of the Kirkwood ticket were not present at the hearing. However, they did send a statement read by Rhett Tanselle, a member of the elections committee. Elections commissioner Sarah McDonough explained the Kirkwood ticket’s absence, saying that Weis, told her that he felt his time was better spent campaigning than attending the hearing.\n“There are absolutely no excuses for (Pozza’s) act,” the statement read. “Any attempt to associate the Kirkwood ticket is misleading. The Big Red ticket has done nothing but promote personal attacks.”\nPozza admits that he did forward the e-mails and had been removed from the ballot earlier in the week. \n“I’m sorry, regret and apologize for my actions,” Pozza said. “The Kirkwood ticket was not involved and neither was the Undergraduate Finance Club.”
(03/26/08 4:00am)
About 10,000 student voices were missing from the first day of voting in this year’s IU Student Association elections. \nMany graduate students who tried to vote Tuesday were denied access to the computer voting system, receiving a message that said “you are not a registered voter.” No student is required to register before voting.\n“After some research, it was determined that there had been an incomplete data load of some 7697 student records,” said Barry Walsh, IU associate vice president for enterprise software, in an e-mail. “Most of the students who were affected were graduate students.”\nSarah McDonough, IUSA elections commissioner, said she is optimistic that every one will be able to vote tomorrow.\n“Hopefully now that UITS has seen that we’ve had a problem, they’ll pay special attention to our voting site,” she said. \nStudents were given the option of voting by e-mailing their votes to a Gmail account. However, David White, the presidential candidate for the INdiana ticket, said he was worried students might give up on the complicated processes and not try again. He said he was pleased with McDonough’s speed in addressing the issue.\nMcDonough hopes all affected students will be able to vote today, but is not closed to the possibility of extending the designated election time if an extension is deemed necessary.\n“We’re running as fair of an election as we can,” said Rhett Tanselle, an IUSA elections committee member. \nWhite hopes students will not be discouraged by the glitch and will try to vote again.\n“I hope that graduate students who got that message today get tomorrow’s message,” White said, “and please vote.”\nAfter hearing from about 50 students in the Law School, White took it upon himself to stop focusing on his campaign and to start trying to fix \nthe problem.\n“We want IUSA to be a legitimate student body,” he said. \nWhite said he is now confident that all students will be able to vote.\n“If they cannot (vote), contact the INdiana ticket (and) we will get the right people on it,” he said. “If you cannot vote, tell someone – I will personally look into every case. I was very concerned about this. I spent my entire day on this. I’ll fight for everybody.”\nStudents can vote on the IUSA Web site at www.indiana.edu/~iusa. Polls close at 10 p.m. today.
(03/25/08 4:00am)
Tax-free textbooks, presidential stipends, better building maintenance and a recent grievance are big issues for students as IU Student Association elections approach. Voter apathy, however, still appears to be a problem. \nIUSA elections are scheduled for today and Wednesday. Some students are getting geared up to vote. Others aren’t sure what IUSA is. \n“I have a green T-shirt for the Kirkwood thing and I was like, ‘man, now I can’t wear it,’” said freshman Hilary Stinson, in regard to the recent allegations the Big Red ticket has made against the Kirkwood ticket. A Kirkwood congressional candidate has admitted to reading and forwarding campaign e-mails from Big Red presidential candidate Luke Fields, but an official decision regarding Kirkwood’s eligibility will be decided Wednesday. \nWhatever the election outcome, Stinson hopes for a government that will work to update the University’s facilities, particularly the bathrooms, and likes the idea of tax-free textbooks. Right now, Stinson thinks she will probably vote for INdiana when she goes to the polls today because of the ticket’s promise to donate the presidential stipend for student scholarships. \n“That could be one of their drives to win it. That money,” she said. \nRebecca Burns, a junior, said she hopes the next administration will be more available to student organizations. \n“It’s been a big deal to us that student government has been disengaged,” she said. Right now, she said she will probably vote for Big Red. But, she admits, she needs to do a little more research before voting. \nSenior Hugh Seller also plans to vote, but his vote is reserved for whatever ticket his buddy is on. \n“I have a friend who is running,” Seller said. “He told me to vote for him.” \nSeller said he wonders about the effectiveness of IUSA and the student government’s ability to communicate with University officials.\n“I care,” he said. “I just wonder how much influence they have.” \nSchool of Public and Environmental Affairs graduate student Anne Tick said she doesn’t plan to vote. And even as IU graduate student David White runs for president on the INdiana ticket, the lure of a promised fall break isn’t enough to bring her to the polls. \n“I just don’t really care,” Tick said. “I probably should.”\nTick isn’t alone. Lauren Godfrey, a sophomore, also thought that maybe she should vote. \n“I wish I was more involved,” she said. But she said she knows she won’t vote. \nSophomore Chris Hays said he is not going to vote.\n“I don’t think it affects me that much really,” he said. “I’m kind of here to get out in four years.” \nJunior James Taylor agreed. \n“I don’t really think it’s that important to be honest,” Taylor said, calling the elections a “popularity contest and resume padding.”
(03/25/08 4:00am)
This year, the INdiana ticket for the IU Student Association elections is planning to give back to students.\nDavid White, presidential candidate for the INdiana ticket, plans to give his $4,000 presidential stipend to the IU Foundation if he’s elected, and has challenged his opponents to do the same. The stipend would be used for \nstudent scholarships.\nSo far, Luke Fields, presidential candidate for the Big Red ticket, has agreed to donate his stipend; not because he is trying to keep up with the other ticket, he said, but because he hopes to show that he is not in it for the money and because the Big Red ticket is committed to public service. \n“These are people who have really committed themselves to the betterment of the student body,” Fields said of his ticket. \nJoe Weis, who is running for president on the Kirkwood ticket, said he is not ready make a decision.\n“I don’t foresee me making a decision on this in the immediate future,” he said. \nWhile Weis agreed that giving money back to the students is a good idea, he said he isn’t sure that the presidential stipend is the way to do it. Weis said the stipend is meant to help presidents focus their efforts on IUSA by relieving financial pressure. \n“I don’t foresee myself being able to keep the time commitment as well as having a job,” Weis said. \nCurrent IUSA president W.T. Wright said that this year, each of the executive members was given a $4,000 stipend. He said the stipend is intended to “ensure that they’re making IUSA their No. 1 priority.” \nWhite, however, disagreed. \n“Originally, the stipend was set in place because executives complained they were staying over the summer and working hard and weren’t able to get internships,” White said. “I don’t feel comfortable getting a scholarship when I know it’s students taking out loans who pay for that scholarship.” \nWhite first found out about the stipend as an undergraduate while helping another IUSA ticket to campaign. \n“I think I had the reaction most students would have,” he said. “Which was, ‘Huh? They get paid for that?’” \nWhite said students pay for IUSA each semester and he believes students should be seeing those dollars as tangible benefits.
(03/20/08 4:00am)
In order to get students to make their marks heavy and dark during elections March 25 and 26, INdiana, Big Red and Kirkwood candidates fielded questions from Chancellor Ken Gros Louis at a debate Wednesday night.\n“If you were traveling in a train going 90 miles per hour and a bus leaves...” joked Gros Louis, the IUSA debate moderator.\nThe real questions covered topics from the biggest issues facing students today to candidates’ feelings about the IDS. \nWhat is the biggest issue facing IU students today?\nNancy Kazarinova, running for treasure on the Kirkwood ticket, answered the first question of the evening. Kazarinova said that one of the biggest issues facing IU students today is their apathetic attitude toward issues such as campus sustainability. While she said she is happy that students have been vocal about the recent basketball “incidences,” she thinks some of their energy should be better focused.\nDavid White, the presidential candidate on the INdiana ticket, talked about the lack of communication between the University and students, while Big Red’s presidential candidate, Luke Fields, echoed that sentiment. Students are in between being legally recognized as adults and being young people not yet ready to tackle grown-up issues, he said. Fields proposed that the congress would help by serving as a liaison.\nWould candidates support an increase in student fees to cover improvements to recreational facilities?\nWhite said he would support increasing student fees to improve the SRSC and HPER only if all other options had already been explored.\n“It’s really the students’ decision,” said Robin Featherston, Big Red’s treasurer. Featherston suggested that if students supported improvements to these facilities, then funds should be reduced in areas that students feel are less important.\nWeis said that to compete with other colleges, IU will need to improve its facilities.\n“Sixty percent of IU students use (the HPER and SRSC) on a weekly basis,” Weis said. “I think that shows students will be in favor of this.” \nWhat major accomplishment does each ticket hope to make?\nThe three things that Kirkwood most hopes to accomplish are a greener campus, a safer campus – including a 24-hour campus bus service – and a healthier campus. \nBig Red candidates are focusing on the possibility of a fall break for students. They pointed out that in the past the seat reserved for a voting student voice on the committee that creates the academic schedule has been vacant. Big Red would fill that seat.\nINdiana candidates want to make changes that will affect students’ everyday lives, such as making bridges safer. They hope to make IUSA an approachable advocate for students.\nWhat grade would the tickets give the IDS?\nKirkwood and INdiana both gave the IDS grades in the A range, although INdiana vice president candidate T.J. Wallace did say that he felt “coverage of the student government could be improved and maybe more fair.”\nBig Red president Fields disagreed. \n“I was appalled with the IDS’ opinion columns,” Fields said. “I think often the IDS tramples on student rights and students’ values to move more copies on Monday mornings.”
(03/06/08 5:00am)
Students will have the opportunity to ask next year’s potential student leaders about important issues by submitting questions for the March 19 IU Student Association election debate. \nIUSA elections, scheduled for March 25 and 26, are just around the corner. All IU students may suggest questions for the debate that are either general or aimed at a specific ticket by e-mailing Mike Feldman at mafeldma@indiana.edu. The IUSA debate will take place from 7 to 8 p.m. March 19 in the Indiana Memorial Union State Room East. Debate questions will be e-mailed to members of all the tickets before the event so candidates will have time to prepare. \nAll IUSA candidates gathered Monday in the IMU Oak Room for a mandatory meeting. Some of the tickets present included Big Red, INdiana and Kirkwood. Last year, IUSA officials struggled to find enough candidates because a presidential candidate may not run unopposed. However, the number of people filling the room Monday suggested that this year’s elections will be competitive. \nAttendees were briefed on the rules candidates must follow during their campaigns as well as next year’s residency rules and an overview of what to expect on the election days. \nCandidates must adhere to the IUSA elections code as well as the student activities handbook. \n“For example, you can paint the bridge, but if you paint the trash cans next to the bridge, you’re in violation,” said Sarah McDonough, 2008 elections commissioner. \nMass e-mails should only be sent in the event that those receiving the e-mails have been previously contacted. Students may not use large groups’ e-mail listservs without first seeking permission, said W.T. Wright, current IUSA president.\n“They should be expecting your e-mail,” he said. \nStudents running for congressional positions that represent specific dorms must live in those dorms next year. Greek live-outs may hold these positions as long as they remain active in their chapter. \nOther rules include putting everyone in mass e-mails in the BCC so their addresses can’t be seen, limiting the number of flyers on each campus kiosk, maintaining academic eligibility and refraining from tampering with other tickets’ campaign materials.\n“You shouldn’t be running if that’s the kind of character you have,” said Taylor Hougland, co-policy clarifications and complaints official. \nStudents will be able to vote on election day through computers set up by the University Information Technology Services staff. The ballot will not be organized in alphabetical order. Instead, a candidate’s placement on the ballot will change in order to make the ballot more fair for all candidates. \nIf students have general questions concerning the election, they should contact McDonough at semcdono@indiana.edu. For a timetable of the election events or to see the election code, visit www.indiana.edu/~iusa/.
(02/01/08 5:00am)
Elections are on the minds of many Americans, and the Indiana University Student Association doesn’t want to miss out on the action.\nIUSA held a call-out meeting Thursday in Whittenberger Auditorium in the Indiana Memorial Union and will hold another Wednesday, Feb. 20 in the IMU Dogwood Room in preparation for the new student body government elections, which are scheduled for March 25 and 26. Applications for a ticket, which must consist of candidates for president, vice president, vice president of congress, treasurer and a congressional candidate, are due Feb. 29.\nStudent Body President W.T. Wright warned candidates to pay attention to the rules listed in the elections code. \n“There are certain things you can do and things you can’t do, and that could cost your ticket a lot of money,” he said. \nBut the most important thing, Wright said, is to involve every part of the IU community and to represent them each fairly. He added that the biggest responsibility is to involve the student body in the elections.\n“And it’s certainly a hard thing,” he said.\nWright said he hopes the projects he worked on as president will be continued by his successor. \nT.J. Wallace, who is running for vice president on the “Indiana” ticket, plans to pick up many of the projects IUSA has already started, such as advocating legislation for tax-free text books. But he also hopes to start a few projects of his own, like making bridges and walkways safer in wet weather. \n“IUSA is doing big things,” Wallace said. “Why don’t we just do small things that are actually going to affect people?”\nSarah McDonough, 2008 Student Association elections coordinator and 2007 Union Board president encouraged students to use this time to makes changes on campus. She suggested paying attention to flyers about different tickets, talking to candidates and of course, going to the IUSA debate, which will be held at 7 p.m. March 19 in the IMU State Room East.\n“It’s really important to get the student issues out on campus and I think IUSA elections are a great way to do it,” she said.\nIn the past, IUSA has had trouble finding enough candidates to run for office and has extended deadlines to ensure that candidates do not run unopposed. Last year IUSA was not able to hold a debate before the elections. This year, however, Steve Veldkamp, assistant dean of students and director of student activities, said things are looking up. \n“I think just from this call-out meeting it appears that there are several tickets forming,” he said. \nStudents can contact McDonough for more information on the elections at smcdono@indiana.edu.
(02/01/08 5:00am)
After former presidential adviser Meghan O’Sullivan canceled her speech last Tuesday, the IU Student Association, which partially funded the event, has changed its policies in order to protect against future confusion.\nO’Sullivan, a former deputy national security adviser under President Bush, canceled the speech after the Indiana Daily Student declined to comply with her request to deliver a public speech that would be off the record for the press. Kellen Hubert, director of IUSA’s Student Organization Funding (AID), said the incident was nobody’s fault and that he thinks the groups involved simply had a different understanding of the policies. \n“Nobody broke any rules,” he said. “We can chalk this up in the learning experience column.”\nHubert wrote a revised policy, which the Student Association passed unanimously yesterday, in an effort to better define the word “public.” The addition to the policy reads: “The ‘public’ includes student journalists and the press. The press cannot be denied entry into any event that is open to the public.”\nThe current IUSA Assisted Inter-organizational Development policy stipulates that any proposed event granted funding by IUSA must be open to all students, faculty and staff.\n“(A misunderstanding) of the definition of what exactly public is may be part of the problem,” Hubert said. \nThe policy change won’t affect the speakers Student Alliance for National Security chooses, but will affect the way the group is funded, said Adam Newman, assistant director of the Student Alliance for National Security. He added that he was worried the new policy would limit the information that students can access.\nHubert said he understands the importance of the media’s access to events. \n“The IUSA AID board wants to be an advocate for student groups,” he said, but he conceded that there may be some hypothetical circumstances in which special accommodations may be necessary.\nGene Coyle, faculty adviser for SANS, declined an interview with the Indiana Daily Student because he is a new member of a group organized by Provost Karen Hanson. Coyle said the group is going to consider the legal and policy issues of “off-the-record” talks on campus.\nHubert said O’Sullivan would like to come back, and that if she does IUSA would still be willing to offer support for the event. However, Newman said they have no plans for O’Sullivan to return at this point. \n“Its unfortunate,” Hubert said about the canceled event. But he plans to use the resulting attention that IUSA has received to promote the events that “make Indiana so great.”
(01/30/08 3:45am)
A white 2004 Ford Freestar pulls up to the curb as a young man in a dark jacket checks the time on his cell phone and climbs in the back. IU student Rohit Thakwani has just been picked by the IU Safety Escort. \nThe IU Safety Escort is a service, funded primarily by campus parking tickets, that offers IU students and faculty a free and safe alternative to walking home alone at night. Thakwani said he uses the Safety Escort service two to three times a week as a safe way to get home when he finds himself studying late. \n“Usually when you call cabs, they’re never on time,” Thakwani said, “but Safety Escort gives you a time that they’ll be there.” \nDuring the fall and winter months, Safety Escort takes its first call early in the evening, said IU Safety Escort Director Ben Blohm.\n“We usually get the first call a little after 7 o’clock, if not right at 7, because people are waiting for us to open,” he said.\nWhen someone calls for a ride, the dispatcher asks for the person’s student ID number, current location and destination. Because Safety Escort is a campus service, either the drop-off or pick-up location must be on campus and the rider must be an IU student or faculty member.\n“If we’re taking people out to the bars, it’s longer that the people who are alone at night have to wait,” Blohm said. \nWhile employees try to stick to the rules, they understand that there might be a time when students forget their IDs. The drivers are most interested in getting students home safely, said Jessica Richardson, IU Safety Escort associate director. \n“It would be better not to verify that they’re a student than to refuse to take someone who was,” she said.\nPeople don’t just call safety escort because they’re scared to walk home from studying at night, Blohm said. They also call because it’s cold or they want to visit a friend on campus.\nAbout half of Safety Escort’s riders are men and half are women, according to the Web site. About 50 percent of the pick-ups come from academic buildings and 60 percent of the riders go off campus, according to Safety Escort data. On a weekday, the service receives about 65 calls for a safe ride.\n“Most attacks occur right around midnight, which is when we get most of our calls,” Blohm said. He added that he thinks the service makes campus a safer place. \nAfter riders give the dispatcher their ID number, the dispatcher gives an estimated pick-up time. The average wait is about 14 minutes. When the van arrives, will wait for five minutes after the prearranged pick-up time, but if the rider doesn’t show, he or she have to go on to next pick up. \nSafety Escort takes its last call of the night 15 minutes before the service closes, Blohm said. The service is available until 2 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and until midnight Friday and Saturday, according to an IUSA Safety Escort Web site. \n“We run later than all the buses, but you have to remember we’re students too,” he said. “We also have classes and we also need sleep.”
(10/30/07 8:56pm)
Hilltop Garden and Nature Center, a little known corner of campus, is on its way to having a big makeover.\nStarted in 1948 as an innovative “summer camp” for 7- to 11-year-olds to learn about gardening, Hilltop has failed to keep up with the times. \nBut Greg Speichert, Hilltop’s new director, is ready to bring it up to speed, and he’s already working on ways to improve the center.\nSpeichert said in the past, Hilltop has been relevant only to a few kids who needed something to do in the summer. Now he hopes to expand that relevancy to all students at IU, as well members of the Bloomington community. Speichert looks forward to Hilltop being a place for students to develop their own passions and to connect with the community. Potential events include a kite day and a tomato festival.
(10/11/07 4:00am)
Jake Sasseville is being a little different, a little crazy, a little outrageous, and a lot more successful than most 21-year-old college students could hope to be as he keeps a full class schedule at Marymount Manhattan College, tours the country with Guster and tapes his new show, "The Edge," in New York. How does he do it? Sasseville tells us how he got his foot in the door, and how he plans to put the power back in the hands of our generation.
(09/21/07 3:32am)
Wayward youth, birds and garden gnomes are welcome in Helen Hillenburg’s home at 1007 W. 1st St.\nThe wrinkled, slightly stooped woman raised eight foster children in her tiny home and loved them with her huge heart, she said.\n“I love kids,” Hillenburg said. “When the kids don’t have no place to go, I take them in. I can’t see them on the street. I take them in and give them food and give them clothes. I ain’t gonna see no kids hungry.”\nNow Hillenburg’s foster children are grown, and instead she nurtures the neighborhood birds and an eclectic menagerie of lawn ornaments.\nA brightly painted tiger statue peeks out from beneath a card table on the porch, and smiley-faced pinwheel flowers line the walk in old tires cut to be flowerpots. A cement dog wears a green sweater that once belonged to her recently deceased pooch.\n“Oh honey, (the death of her dog is) about to kill me,” Hillenburg said. “I’ve got her ashes in there, in the house on the TV.” \nHillenburg’s house seems to be decorated for every season, holiday and special occasion. An American flag mobile adorns one of the pillars on her porch and a “Let it Snow” banner hangs below the peak. But Christmas, she says, is inarguably her favorite reason to celebrate. \n“Come through here at Christmas time – (the house) looks just like a little dollhouse,” she said.\nEvery Christmas, Hillenburg said she and her friend David Cooper take the lights down from the past year and start again, from scratch.\nHillenburg said her collection started with a fountain that one of her neighbors gave her as a gift. Next, family friends brought her a family of cement deer that has lived in her yard for nearly 20 years, she said. The deer are beginning to show wear, but Hillenburg said their peeling paint and broken ears are not a result of vandalism.\n“There’s no trouble around here,” Hillenburg said. “We’ve got some good people. There’s good people, there’s good people, there’s good people and over here’s good people,” she said as she pointed to the homes of neighbors. \nHillenburg has come to rely on these neighbors, who have taken on the task of mowing her lawn. Most of the heavy things stay in place, she said, but neighbors help her move the lighter objects out of the way and weed around the others. \n“See how nice I keep my yard?” Hillenburg said. “I can just sit out here all day. I love it out here.”\nPerhaps the most appropriate decoration Hillenburg has chosen is a sign that says, “Welcome Friends.” To her, any stranger is a friend, she said, and all are indiscriminately welcome.
(09/18/07 4:20am)
Quiz. For most the word means headaches and rapid pulse rates. But for Yun Zeng, vice president and co-founder of IU’s new Scrabble Club, it means 50 points and a personal best.\n“I was thinking, chess has a club, why not Scrabble?” Zeng said. \nDuring a computer technology class, Zeng started talking to the guy sitting next to her about the possibility of starting a Scrabble club. Zeng was not alone in her passion for the game. The guy sitting next to her, Joshua Riggins, would later became the president and co-founder of the club. \nFor Zeng and Riggins, the club is not about tough competition, but about learning the game and having fun \nwith friends. \nThis becomes obvious during a conversation with the club’s upbeat and enthusiastic members. Still, they are serious about the game and have plans to enter competitions with the National Scrabble Association, a college club based in Ohio and maybe some \nIndianapolis clubs. \nThe IU club is open to everyone of all skill levels. \n“All of us have a few certain tricks that we know and can pass along,” Zeng said.\nRiggins said his favorite word is “qis,” admitting that he isn’t sure what it means or even how to pronounce it. “But if you’re stuck with a ‘q’ and you don’t have a ‘u’ there are always a bunch of ‘I’s’ and ‘S’s,’ so it saves you from losing 10 points,” he said. \nAnother member said the game is a good way to learn new vocabulary.\n“I just learned a new word (qaid),” Sarah Holmes , the club’s treasurer, said.\nAs it turns out, Scrabble is not about having a huge vocabulary or knowing long words. Riggins said part of the strategy is frustrating your opponent by using two and three letter words like “ox” that earn points and take space on the board so that they’ll run out of room to play. \n“I know a lot of random three letter words,” Zeng said. “But I don’t even know what a lot of these words mean, I just know that they exist.” \nThe IU Scrabble Club is an official IU club and began meeting last spring. \nThey are holding a call-out meeting at 7:00 p.m. today in the Teter Quad Formal Lounge. Cookies and drinks will be provided. Club dues are $5 for a year and $3 for a semester. The dues help to subsidize the cost of snacks, National Scrabble Association dues and Scrabble boards.\nPeople with Scrabble boards are encouraged to bring their own, but all are welcome with or without a board. \n“Just bring your game face,” Riggins said.