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(12/04/11 11:15pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>I’ve never biked through Bloomington, but I’ve walked, driven and ridden the bus, and I can tell you, getting around Bloomington can sometimes be a transportation nightmare.My preferred method of navigating campus is walking — even in the rain, though I drive to my off-campus job. Several years of living in Bloomington and using multiple types of transportation have taught me a lot, including the fact that a lot of people don’t seem to know what they’re doing.Walkers: We’re all taught, as new drivers, that pedestrians always have the right of way. This is no longer true, at least in the state of Indiana. As of July 1, pedestrians only have the right of way at crosswalks when they have the “Walk” sign. Otherwise, the car has the right of way, and you’re jaywalking.I’m not saying pedestrians should only cross at the crosswalk — I’ve argued for years that it’s impractical on campus — but you endanger yourself and drivers when you cross in the middle of the road whenever you feel like it. Look both ways and only cross when there aren’t cars coming. And absolutely do not glare at the driver who stops too close to you when you’re jaywalking. You don’t have the right of way.Bikers: You don’t belong on the sidewalks (and yes, that includes that walkway next to the theater between Jordan Avenue and the Fine Arts building). You’re going a lot faster than everyone else, and you almost run people over a lot. If you feel you have to cut through on a sidewalk, be polite and walk your bike.You get the short end of the stick — pedestrians don’t want you on the sidewalks, and drivers don’t want you on the road. However, the road is where you’re supposed to be. If there’s a bike path (and there are a lot in Bloomington), stick to that. Otherwise, stay on the side of the road and let cars pass you when it’s not dangerous.Also, since you’re on the road, you have to obey traffic laws like the rest of us. That means when a sign says, “No Turn on Red,” don’t turn on red. You also can’t rush through four-way stops like you own the place; wait for your turn.Bus drivers: I’m not sure whether you’re inexperienced or you think it’s funny, but it’s not cool to stop a hand’s width away from the car in front of you. If you really can’t stop before that, you need to go back for more lessons. If you’re just showing off, cut it out. It’s not funny, and you could really hurt someone — and that someone is the person in front of you, since you can pretty much run over all cars. Drivers: Pedestrians do have the right of way at crosswalks (unless they have the “Don’t Walk” sign), and that includes the one between SPEA and the library on 10th Street. Stop and let them cross. You have a car; you’ll get where you’re going a lot faster than they will. If you’re in such a hurry and running late, you should have walked out the door five minutes earlier.Driving can suck on campus, especially during peak hours, but cars are still moving faster than everyone else, so it’s the easiest way to get to my off-campus job. Cutting through campus is usually the quickest route. I never felt sympathy for drivers — who really do go faster than everyone else — until now.And, if you haven’t figured it out by now, four-way stops mean you have to take your turn. If the car in front of you just went, you have to wait until the cars going the other directions move until you can take your turn. Don’t just rush on through and ignore everyone else. It’s not your turn.Bloomington is a generally safe place where all sorts of traffic maneuvers are tolerated, but in any other city, we’d be run over (or at least issued a ticket) for the way we travel. Smarten up and obey right of way, and we’ll make Bloomington a little safer and easier to traverse.— hanns@indiana.edu
(11/29/11 1:18am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It’s Friday, Friday, gotta get to classes on Friday?If the IU administration has its way, yes.Provost Karen Hanson asked the Bloomington Faculty Council to look at the number of students who take Friday classes because of a supposed drinking problem. Dean of Students Harold “Pete” Goldsmith said from 2010 to 2011, the number of alcohol-related arrests on Thursdays increased and is now comparable to those on Fridays and Saturdays. He said it could be related to the fact that many people don’t take Friday classes.So the solution is to get rid of free Fridays? Apparently.Vice Provost for Faculty and Student Affairs Thomas Gieryn said he thinks IU should have five-day weeks, just like the workforce. “Just about every other sector of the economy has a five-day work week, Monday through Friday,” he said. “The weekend is Saturday and Sunday. Why should IU be different?”IU should be different because we, like other universities, are not part of the regular workforce.In the regular workforce, people do eight-hour days. Then, hopefully, they get to leave work and go home to their families. They don’t pull all-nighters trying to memorize the periodic table or the dates of the Peloponnesian War. They don’t have midterms. Real life doesn’t have scantrons.IU is not real life.According to the study, most freshmen do have Friday classes. It’s the upperclassmen who manage to avoid them — more than half of juniors and seniors don’t take Friday classes. It’s the upperclassmen who are legally allowed to drink. It’s also the upperclassmen who choose classes first, which means they’ll be able to avoid Friday classes and leave the five-day weeks to the freshmen.IUSA President Justin Kingsolver said he knows adding Friday classes won’t solve the problem. “They can choose to add as many Friday classes as they would like, but ultimately, unless they mandate it, students will not choose to have Friday classes,” he said. Kingsolver said classes won’t change drinking practices. “If they want to solve the alcohol problem, they need to have an alcohol-directed program,” he said. “They shouldn’t mess with the academic calendar, our curriculum and our schedules to solve some kind of drinking problem. I think it’s a terrible idea.”There are plenty of non-alcohol-related reasons to avoid a five-day week. Some undergraduates, such as those in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs and the School of Education, work in their fields; some students travel home; some students have jobs or internships and need blocks of time to be able to work; some students pile on classes early in the week and need the extra day to study.The administration said it recognizes this and is considering changing the schedule so classes meet Monday and Friday, so students would have Wednesday off instead. Apparently the administration doesn’t realize how well this would work for those who are old enough to drink. Hello Two-dollar Tuesdays!Students drink. It’s a fact. Adding Friday classes wont change the number of student arrests after a trip to the bars. This is especially true due to their upperclassman status.The administration needs to leave the class schedule alone. Students will face the five-day workweek soon enough. — hanns@indiana.edu
(11/24/11 5:21pm)
If you’re not into sparkly vampires
and mushy love stories, you might want to skip this one.
(11/15/11 12:27am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU Board of Trustees approved a summer session tuition decrease two weeks ago to help students take year-round classes and graduate earlier. Trustee Pat Shoulders said the tuition discount and summer semester restructuring might help turn IU into a year-round University. I’m in favor of anything that saves students money, but there are several things wrong with this plan.First, many students are tired by the end of spring semester. We’ve taken heavy course loads — some people take 18 credits a semester — and we desperately need a break so we’re ready and eager to get back to work the next fall.Grade schools that have migrated to the year-round system get three- to five-week breaks after 10 weeks of class. IU isn’t offering that break time, just more class time.Second, if IU is worried about students taking so long to graduate, maybe it should cut some of the ridiculous requirements. For instance, why do journalism students need three natural and mathematical courses, a statistics course and an economics course? We already have a required second concentration to give us a more well-rounded background. Cutting those five classes would mean students could graduate a whole semester earlier.Besides, people already took math and science and history in high school; they already have backgrounds in every subject. Students won’t miss them. It’s not like we retain a lot of that, anyway.Want a quicker path to graduation? Kill the extra, unnecessary classes.Third, and most importantly, students need their summers. Most people work during the summer, earning money to pay for college or save up for that nice, after-graduation time during which the bills stack up and there aren’t many career opportunities.Some of us do internships. One of the first things I learned when I got to campus during Welcome Week is that journalism students will not get jobs if they don’t have experience, and that means more than just working for campus media. We need internships with professional publications. I speak from experience when I say trying to take a full course load with an extra 30 hours a week committed to homework leads to little sleep, poor eating habits and bad grades. We can’t do it all at the same time.Maybe some people can go to school year-round with few breaks and get the money and/or internship experience they need while still maintaining their sanity. But most of us can’t. There’s too much to do and not enough time to do it. We’ll all be burned-out shells by our third year.Cutting summer tuition costs is a lovely thought, and I do believe it will help some people, but it won’t help the majority of students.If IU President Michael McRobbie and the Board of Trustees really want to make a difference for students, they should cut tuition costs during spring and fall semesters, when we can all actually attend class.— hanns@indiana.edu
(11/01/11 12:34am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>We say it’s about time Great Britain considered gender equality.The 16 British Commonwealth nations are changing the rules for royal succession. A first-born girl will be able to take the throne upon her parent’s death and will not be displaced by any younger brothers.The decision comes in the wake of Prince William’s marriage to Kate Middleton. William’s father, Prince Charles, is the heir to his mother’s throne. “Attitudes have changed fundamentally over the centuries and some of the outdated rules — like some of the rules of succession — just don’t make sense to us any more,” British Prime Minister David Cameron said. “The idea that a younger son should become monarch instead of an elder daughter simply because he is a man — this way of thinking is at odds with the modern countries that we have become.” Will the new rules change much? Not for the moment. How new laws will affect the succession depends on whether William and Kate’s first child is a girl or a boy. Nevertheless, this change is significant in the face of women’s rights.The change might seem silly in the United States, where we thrive under a democracy, not a monarchy. But, in fact, the monarchy has a true historical significance to the British people. The first embattled English queen after the Norman Conquest was Matilda, granddaughter of the Conqueror. After her brother’s death, her father Henry I named her his heir, but her cousin, Stephen of Blois, stole the throne, and he and Matilda spent decades fighting. She never got the crown. Four hundred years later, Mary I was denied her right to rule by her younger brother, Edward VI, who named his cousin as his heir. These days, English monarchs don’t rule England the way they once did, but the new laws are a good step toward gender equality. For this reason, it’s surprising that Queen Elizabeth II — who inherited the throne because her father had no sons — didn’t push for it when her own daughter Princess Anne was born. While Queen Elizabeth’s first-born child, Prince Charles, will undoubtedly be the next heir to the throne, Princess Anne is still behind her younger brothers, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, in the line to the throne. Since the law affects Charles’ descendants, not Elizabeth’s, Anne’s position doesn’t change. Despite the fact that the new law doesn’t affect much for the time being, and the British monarch’s role is largely ceremonial, every small step toward equality counts. Today, women have equal rights: They can vote, work and hold office. They are no longer virtually slaves to their husbands’ wills as they once were. Finally, British law reflects this age-old concept.
(11/01/11 12:33am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Midterms are barely finished, but it seems my work has just begun. Last week, the following were low on my priority list: eating, working and completing homework for the classes I didn’t have midterms in. Now that the tests are finished, I desperately need a break — a few days off from class, reading — a chance to stay in bed. Unfortunately, IU students don’t have such a luxury.This next week, I still have the same 400 or so pages of reading to do, not to mention catching up on the reading I’d neglected in favor of studying. I still have assignments to turn in and classes to attend. There is no time off to relax and rejuvenate before the work begins again. When I took just one Saturday off to enjoy a “How I Met Your Mother” marathon, I regretted it the next day when I was up until 2 a.m. doing my homework.Many grade schools across the country are switching to year-round systems in which students spend eight to 10 weeks in class and then get three to five weeks off. The more frequent breaks give students “some kind of relief and (allow them to) come back more invigorated,” said Eugene White, Indianapolis Public School superintendent. I’m certainly not advocating that IU adopt a year-round system, but we definitely need a mid-semester break to rest. For the last three years, I’ve said as much every time spring break rolls around. Many professors schedule midterms the week before, so students have the ability to rest afterward and not worry. After a week off, we can come back in a better frame of mind.While IU is adopting a two-day fall break next year, it’s not enough. I get we don’t have time to take a full-week break and still have a 16-week semeSter. That’s easy enough to fix: Just add a week to the school year. Our year is short to begin with; Purdue starts and ends classes a full week later than we do. Some might argue we have Thanksgiving break, but that’s really not the same thing. Thanksgiving is near the end of the semester when we actually need to be at school, finishing final projects and term papers. For many of us, it’s filled with family and holiday traditions; there’s no time to actually have any rest. We’re starting next fall a full week earlier anyway. Give us an entire week off for fall break so we can get a good rest and come back refreshed for the remainder of the semester. We’ll be better students if we have a break.— hanns@indiana.edu
(10/27/11 12:01am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>I don’t particularly like seeing images of dead, bloody people, and I really don’t like seeing them on the front page of a newspaper.The media are publishing photos of Moammar Gadhafi’s bloody body everywhere, and I think it’s wrong.I haven’t seen the images because I don’t care to look at the gore. I’d hate to pick up a morning newspaper or click on the front page of a news site and be smacked in the face with a violent image. The images aren’t exactly rated G. They don’t need to be easily accessible by children or by people who like to eat while they read.But my reasons for not wanting those photos published are more than the fact that they’re disturbing. Gadhafi did horrible things in life, but we shouldn’t mock him when he’s dead by displaying his current shape. It doesn’t matter that he was hated by almost everyone. Even if the whole world wished to see him dead and not a single friend or family member mourned his passing, we should respect the dead man enough to not show a photo of his mangled corpse.While Gadhafi might not have respected another living soul, we shouldn’t follow his example. He’s dead, and the world is a better place for it. We don’t need to be bombarded with the physical evidence. Let it be.Less than six months ago, another terrorist was killed, and the United States cried out in support and relief. The man who ordered the 9/11 tragedy would kill no more. One can easily argue Americans wanted Osama bin Laden dead much more than they wanted Gadhafi gone.And yet, we don’t see photos of bin Laden’s corpse. In fact, the U.S. Department of Justice classified the images and won’t release them, claiming that doing so would give away secret CIA and military techniques. The world hated bin Laden, but we haven’t seen his body. We didn’t demand photos as proof of his death. Why do we need them as proof of Gadhafi’s? Isn’t the military’s word enough?I think we all would have believed Gadhafi was dead without seeing photographic evidence, just as we believed it with bin Laden. It’s not necessary to provide proof, and it disrespects the dead. Gadhafi doesn’t deserve respect, but we should be the bigger people and not publish the images — especially where anyone can accidentally stumble across them.— hanns@indiana.edu
(10/26/11 12:43am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>I don’t like war; I never have, but sometimes, there is no better alternative.Nevertheless, the United States shouldn’t be interfering with another country. For the most part, what other countries do is none of our business.Yet, I can’t deny that Saddam Hussein deserved to be removed from power, and his brutal sons with him. U.S. forces captured Hussein nearly nine years ago, and we’re still in Iraq.This is too long a time to be stuck in the quagmire, and I want nothing more than to see the troops stationed in Iraq to be home and safe.However, I don’t think a quick pull-out is the way to go.Iraq is a mess. It’s unstable and subject to daily terrorist bombings. On Monday, an attack in Baghdad killed at least five people and wounded 30. The situation in Iraq was horrible before we went in, but it’s not great now. I’m afraid that abruptly pulling troops out of Iraq will leave the prime minister’s forces with more than they can handle.“We have serious security problems in this country and serious political problems,” former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki apparently thinks his own forces are up to the task of keeping peace in the country.I’m not sure that’s the case. American commanders in Iraq recommend that between 10,000 and 15,000 troops remain stationed in the country. I want the troops home, and I want Iraq to stand on its own, but I’m worried that once the American troops leave, the Iraqi forces will be overrun by terrorists and insurgents. People in Iraq are still threatening violence to get their way.Since we helped create the current mess in Iraq, we should stay to help clean it up. The democratic government does not want us to stay, so we really don’t have much of a choice, but I think the non-violent segment of the Iraqi population is making a mistake. Without well-trained forces, how will the government stop a violent radical takeover?I guess it’s their problem now.— hanns@indiana.edu
(10/24/11 10:57pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>On Saturday, I saw “Abraham Lincoln’s Big Gay Dance Party” at the Ivy Tech John Waldron Arts Center in Bloomington, and I was blown away. Writer Aaron Loeb sets the scene in a rural town in Illinois where the “trial of the century” is begun for a schoolteacher arrested for teaching her fourth graders President Abraham Lincoln was gay.What struck me most were the Lincoln quotes interspersed throughout the play. “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”As I said in a recent column, I think it’s ironic so many people reference iconic presidents but don’t take the time to actually consider their message. People so thoroughly divided and unable to reach any sort of agreement will tear this country apart. Again.This is not 150 years ago; there is no chance states will secede from the Union, especially since the current divisions in the United States are not so cleanly cut as north v. south. Yet, there are parallels. Brother stands against brother and father stands against son in the epic battle of whatever the trendy topic is in any given month. Congresspeople no longer come to physical blows as they once did, but it seems they will not agree on any issue. Politicians will divide across the party line without compromise just to appeal to their constituents.No one can agree about anything — the economy, the wars, the marriage issue.Do any politicians see imaginary Lincolns as District Attorney Tom Hauser does in the play? Are the Lincoln ghosts clapping their hands or shaking their heads? I think the real Lincoln would be ashamed. Then, the president’s primary goal was not to push his party’s agenda but to unite the country. “My paramount objective in this struggle is to save the Union.”It seems politics today emphasize antagonizing each other rather than encouraging the country to come together. Lincoln worked with his enemies to bring peace. Why can’t we?“Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God, can not long retain it.”One of the most divisive issues in this country is gay marriage. Should we allow equality or follow the precepts of religion?Honest Abe had it right once again. People who would deny equal rights to all don’t deserve those rights for themselves. If people deny others the right to marry, they don’t deserve the right, either.Lincoln was not faultless, but he was a very smart man. In a fight to prevent his country from separating, he succeeded.Where is the Abraham Lincoln of the 21st century? He or she better show up soon, or else this country is doomed for division.Unity. Equality. These aren’t difficult concepts to understand.— hanns@indiana.edu
(10/17/11 8:09pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain said he will compete with Texas Gov. Rick Perry for the Evangelical Christian vote, since he’s a conservative Christian, too. The Evangelicals make up a decent-sized chunk of the Republican base — a vocal chunk, at that. Several of the Republican frontrunners, including Michele Bachmann, are vying for those votes based on their personal beliefs.But while putting the Evangelicals behind a candidate could win them the Republican nomination, it won’t win the White House. During the last few years, increasing polarization between the right and the left has made it harder for moderates to come to the forefront and compromise on issues. Staunch candidates of either side appeal to their own bases, but not to the other party.With about an equal number of Republicans and Democrats in the country, the Republican candidate is going to have to sway moderates and people who are fed up with President Barack Obama.A hard-line Democrat won’t jump ship to the other side, but someone who sides with the moderate will. But it takes a certain kind of candidate to pull people away from a sitting president.Many Democrats are concerned about social issues, such as abortion and gay marriage, and they won’t vote for a candidate who’s vowing to reinstate the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. They might, however, be willing to abandon the disappointing Obama for a fiscal conservative who is still liberal about social issues.There aren’t any serious Republican candidates who fit that bill. Bachmann, Perry and their fellow competitors can vie for support among the socially conservative base all they want, but once it comes time for the general election, the winner won’t sway the necessary moderates to his or her side.Many of Obama’s former supporters are dissatisfied with the president’s time in office, but they’ll vote for him again to ensure the next four years aren’t dominated by someone who’s going to take away what they see as rights. It’ll be a vote against the Republican, not a vote for Obama, but it will accomplish the same thing: another four years of a Democrat in the White House.What would the super-conservatives do if the Republican nominee were a moderate? Trying to run a third candidate would be political suicide, because it would split the Republican votes and hand the election to the Democrats. They would have no choice but to back the moderate candidate. A moderate Republican wouldn’t hurt for Republican votes.The Republican National Committee needs to wake up and understand that most of America won’t put a crazy into the White House. It’s probably too late for the RNC to find a serious Republican candidate who’s fiscally conservative and socially liberal, which is going to be its downfall.Maybe in 2016, the Republican party leaders will realize that pandering to the extreme conservative doesn’t win a national election.— hanns@indiana.edu
(10/11/11 12:02am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Cryos, the world’s biggest sperm bank located in Denmark, is turning away redhead sperm donors. “There are too many redheads in relation to demand,” said Cryos’ director Ole Schou. Apparently, single mothers and impotent fathers aren’t interested in having redheaded children. As a redhead myself, I think there are many advantages to the color.First, everyone thinks you have gorgeous hair. You can barely go anywhere without getting compliments. And it’s not just from the old folks — teachers, your parents’ friends and drunk guys at the bars are all really into the color.You also have pale skin and have a hard time getting a tan. While some might see this as a disadvantage, I like to point out that back in the day, pale skin was so in. People used to get lead poisoning from trying to get their skins this color.And the whole easily sunburned problem? It’s great around Halloween. You can be a really authentic-looking lobster and stand out from the crowd with your sweet costume. Having red hair also gives you a great way to show off your smarts and educate people in the process. Whenever people call you a carrot top, you can inform them that carrot tops are green.You’re also very easy to spot in a crowd. This comes in handy when your friends are trying to find you. It also works great when you’re meeting blind dates or interviews. All you have to do is tell them you’ll be the redhead, and they won’t have any trouble finding you.Harry Potter is really into redheads. So is Will Schuester.Redheads get lots of freckles. Freckles are cute, and the brunettes are really jealous of us and our cuteness. Plus, having a lot of freckles hides some less-than-desirable spots you get as a teenager.School pride is really important at IU. With our red hair and pale skin, we’re always supporting our school, and we don’t even have to buy a T-shirt. The sunscreen companies should be thanking us, too. We keep them in business.For all the protests about people not wanting redheaded children: everyone wants our color. How many people try to get it from a bottle? I always get asked where I got my hair from. They’re always jealous when I say, “My mom.”People think redheads have fiery tempers, but that’s not true. However, the reputation gives us an advantage. People are wary about starting an argument with us, so they tread carefully. Redheads are a force to be reckoned with, but we’re totally worth it. As my redhead sister says, “Every man should have a redhead once in his life. Twice, if he survives.” There are plenty of good reasons to be a redhead. You should ally yourselves with us. When the revolution comes, we’ll be taking over. Ginger supremacy!— hanns@indiana.edu
(10/04/11 11:59pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The point is made: firearms are legal. That doesn’t mean we need to be obnoxious about it.On Sept. 9, Benjamin A. Magenheimer was escorted out of the Masker Park Zoo in Evansville for reportedly causing a disturbance with zoo employees and law ?enforcement. Magenheimer’s attorney claims he was removed because he was openly carrying his gun. If the attorney’s claims are true, legally, ?Magenheimer was in ?the right. According to a new Indiana law, gun owners can take their weapons into most public spaces (the exceptions are courthouses, schools, and ?hospitals with convicts). I don’t agree with this law. Yay for the Second Amendment and all, but a city or municipality might have a legitimate reason for banning guns from certain public ?spaces.But this law, handed down from the Statehouse, gives them no recourse but to allow guns anywhere their owners want to take them. This law needs to be overturned. Cities should be able to put necessary restrictions on guns that the Statehouse might not consider because the legislators aren’t ?familiar with a certain area. Let the cities each enforce the Second Amendment. Stop legislating from on high for areas you know little or nothing about. Maybe it’ll have the same result, and cities will stick to limiting guns in a select few places and allow them ?everywhere else. But if, for whatever reason, a city thinks it would be dangerous for a citizen to carry a gun into a certain public area, the city should be allowed to make that ?judgment call. After all, city government officials were elected to lead just as the state congressmen and women were. They are equally as qualified and smart. They can take care of their areas themselves.For right now, Magenheimer is allowed to carry firearms into the Masker Park Zoo. Okay, carry it on your hip, but don’t make a big deal about it. That’s the best way to make people more comfortable with gun owners.— hanns@indiana.edu
(10/03/11 11:50pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>President Barack Obama recently criticized his Republican opponents for not supporting a gay service member of the U.S. Armed Forces at the Sept. 22 GOP presidential debate. When Stephen Hill, a gay soldier currently serving in Iraq, asked a question via video about the future of serving openly, spectators in the crowd booed him. And worse, not one GOP presidential contender uttered a word of disapproval.“You want to be commander-in-chief?” Obama said. “You can start by standing up for the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States, even when it’s not politically convenient.” And yet, Obama has been criticized for his own stance on gay marriage. The President said his views on gay marriage are “evolving,” but currently he supports civil unions, not gay marriage.Does he even have a leg to stand on?Yes.Many, myself included, wish he would go further and publicly support gay marriage. That’s what this country needs — a leader who is committed to true equality.But Obama’s gay rights résumé is impressive. He successfully repealed the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy; he’s the reason the soldier could openly ask the question at the debate.And his belief in civil unions is a good step. It’s not the end result I’d like to see, but most states haven’t even achieved such progress. A civil union would allow gay couples to have the same legal benefits heterosexual couples enjoy.Obama also ordered the Justice Department to stop enforcing a law that defined marriage as between a man and a woman. Even though the president’s biggest group of supporters — young Democrats — is largely in favor of gay marriage, Obama’s unwillingness to commit to it probably won’t hurt him in the election. In fact, it could win him votes from moderates who support equal legal rights but aren’t willing to toss the term “marriage” into it.Even if Obama’s stance receives lukewarm support among his fan base, it’s not like people are going to choose another candidate because of the issue. Obama’s Republican opponents don’t support gay marriage at all; voting for them would be taking a step in the wrong direction.Some political analysts think Obama will decide to support gay marriage, but only after the 2012 election, when it can’t hurt his chance of re-election. If the president’s current stance is a way to win votes, he’s making a politically smart, if morally ambiguous, move. The political candidate of my dreams supports gay marriage. He or she isn’t afraid to stand up for freedom and equality for all citizens. I’m not sure that candidate exists on a national level. There certainly isn’t anyone in the current race who fits the bill.My hope is that Congress will legalize gay marriage within the next few years, or at the very least, that more states do it individually. If not, I say give it a couple decades. When my generation is the one in power, gay marriage will be legalized. There are too many people my age who support it. I believe gay marriage will be legalized in my lifetime.If nothing else, all we have to do is wait.— hanns@indiana.edu
(09/28/11 3:06am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Even though I love reality television, I’ll admit that most of it is crap. We don’t need to see orange-skinned drunkards running around without enough clothes on or watch bored wives with millionaire husbands throw money around.But some reality shows can actually teach us something. “Sister Wives” is one of those shows.“Sister Wives” is a TLC program about polygamist Kody Brown and his four wives, Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn. The show follows the Browns as they go through life-changing moments — a new wife, a new home, a new baby — trying to navigate a world that is against their way of life. Polygamy, which is illegal in the United States, has a bad reputation, worsened by people such as polygamist Warren Jeffs, who made the news after he was convicted for raping underage girls.The Browns want to show us that not all polygamists are crazy sexual abusers.For the first two seasons, the Browns lived in a large house where each wife had her own living space and kitchen; Kody migrated between the sections of the house.The women were not subjugated. In fact, they had a close bond and often relied upon each other, especially for help in taking care of the children. The kids often moved from one kitchen to another and had relationships with their father’s other wives.Though they have an unusual living situation, the Browns are normal people. They work, go to school, and visit the grandparents. They fight, of course, but their love and respect for each other is evident.Rather than being complete trash, “Sister Wives” shows us a culture many of us are not familiar with. The Brown family is teaching us that polygamists aren’t always bad. Hopefully, “Sister Wives” is a great step in fighting prejudice.— hanns@indiana.edu
(09/26/11 9:02pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In his farewell address, George Washington warned our fledgling country against developing a party system. “It ... agitates the Community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms; kindles the animosity of one ... against another.” Washington lived hundreds of years ago, but his warning rings true to this day.The political parties are killing our country.The Democrats and Republicans are dividing our political system, each trying to win power. Emergency decisions are made at the 11th hour either because one side is making a power play or because they can’t actually sit down and make a decision together until it’s almost too late — such as what happened with the debt ceiling crisis.It’s very hard for a moderate to get elected. The moderate candidates, who straddle the “line” between the left and the right and would be an excellent compromise between two belief systems, are rarely chosen because voters believe that compromise means giving in. Instead, the right-wing and left-wing crazies who promise not to bow to the other side are elected, and thus the country becomes even more divided.All the crap politicians sling while they’re campaigning — or while they’re in office and thinking about campaigning — about the “other side” not being willing to compromise is dividing us when we most need to stand united.After Congress resolved the debt ceiling issues, ABC News-Washington Post survey found that 80 percent of people are dissatisfied with the federal government. Think about it — we barely avoided having to shut down the government because the kindergartners in Washington couldn’t work together.Actually, I take it back. That’s an insult to kindergartners. They know how to get along and share their toys.People are unlikely to become more satisfied until the mud-slinging stops and the compromising — true compromising, not just last-minute attempts to save a government shutdown followed by snipes at the other side — commences.Maybe if we got rid of the party system, a lot of this could be avoided. Then we wouldn’t have the government divided by a Democratic president and a Republican Congress; they would all just be people. We would stop hearing accusations about what “the right” or “the left” are doing.Maybe we could actually get something positive done for this country.George Washington, who aligned himself with neither party, is rolling over in his grave right now.If people think that what the Founding Fathers had to say was so important that they keep waving around the Constitution, maybe they should actually listen to what the Founding Fathers said and disband the party system that is crippling America.— hanns@indiana.edu
(09/19/11 7:41pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion . . .”Freedom of religion is one of the central tenants of American beliefs. Our country does not have an official religion (though that may surprise some), and the population is such a mixed bag it would be impossible to unite under one system of beliefs.That is not the case in Ireland, where 87 percent of the population is Catholic. One can see the Church’s influence on Irish laws. Divorce wasn’t legalized until 1995, and abortion is still banned. The Church also runs 90 percent of primary schools. Because of the intense ties between religion and government, the Church “effectively dictated the social policy of the state,” said Eamon Gilmore, Ireland’s deputy prime minister.But no more.This summer, Ireland’s prime minister, Enda Kenny, took to the floor of Parliament to express his disgust with the Church in light of the recent exposure of sexual abuse by clergy. “The rape and torture of children were downplayed, or ‘managed,’ to uphold the primacy of the institution — its power, its standing and its reputation,” Kenny said.Needless to say, Church authorities aren’t pleased with this rebellion. The Vatican has withdrawn its ambassador to Ireland, and the Irish do not have an ambassador in the Vatican. Though Kenny’s words have angered some on the religious right, his background as a Catholic from a conservative area has given his words more weight. The whole country is outraged about the attacks on children that were exposed a couple years ago — as it should be. The Irish are deeply religious and mostly Catholic; the betrayal has struck a heavy blow.In light of the findings — and the Church’s limited response — the government is right to try to wrest control away from the clergy. It’s important to impose more control on an institution that sometimes considers itself outside government laws. Kenny’s attitude toward the Church has been met with approval by many, especially since the Irish have seen many of the abusers get away without secular justice. The clergy might answer to a Higher Power than local government, but they live in Ireland and have to follow Irish laws. The pope shouldn’t have the authority to yank the criminals back to Rome to do with them as he wants. Ireland needs more stringent laws when it comes to religious leaders.The pope’s response — or lack thereof — was shameful when the abuse came to light, and his continued response isn’t doing him any favors. His condemnation of Kenny and withdrawal of his ambassador aren’t going to win him followers in Ireland, and neither is his response to Kenny’s remarks: a 24-page letter that claims a lot of what Kenny said was “unsubstantiated.”The Holy See obviously doesn’t care about Ireland, which used to be one of its most stubborn supporters.Ireland should stop caring about what the Church thinks and start taking back control.—hanns@indiana.edu
(09/12/11 11:55pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>We pay a lot of money every year for college, and the prices keep going up. But one necessity is actually costing less: textbooks.Students can easily spend hundreds of dollars on their books, even used ones, and expect to get almost nothing for selling them back. With the rise of e-books, many are starting to switch over to cheaper electronic copies, but lots of students still prefer paper copies they can highlight. Bookstores are catching on. This semester, the IU Bookstore and T.I.S. are offering books for rent at half off the retail price. Not only are students paying less for their textbooks, they’ve also got a guaranteed way to get rid of them at the end of the semester.The bookstores allow students to highlight and make notes in the books, and as long as there’s no water damage, the books can be returned.This is a great option for all of us. How many people have spent hours searching through Amazon, Chegg and other online stores to find the lowest price possible so they don’t spend $500 a semester on books?I’m a big believer in e-books, but I don’t need the results of Amazon’s Kindle’s test at several schools to tell me that e-readers aren’t great for studying (yet). Whenever professors assign readings on Oncourse or JSTOR, I make use of my printing allotment so I can have them in my hands to shuffle around and highlight. Studying text on a computer is hard for the eyes.After we pay ridiculous prices for hard copies of books, it’s almost impossible to sell them back. Either there’s a new version out or the bookstores aren’t willing to pay very much for books professors haven’t ordered for the next semester. This is particularly hard for those of us in departments where classes are offered solely in the fall or the spring, so professors don’t need the books the next semester and by the next year, there’s a new version.Renting textbooks takes care of both problems. Sure, I still dropped almost $200 for textbooks this semester, but that’s about half what I usually spend. And now I don’t have to worry about lugging them all in at the end of the semester to get $14 back. I just have to keep them in decent condition — but I’m still allowed to highlight to my heart’s content. The rental system isn’t new this semester, but it’s being advertised more. (This year, IU Bookstore employees actually told me about it when I was paying for books.) It’s also being expanded to include more books. I couldn’t rent everything this semester, but about 80 percent of my books were covered. And the price difference is easy to see — I paid the same amount for the four books that weren’t rented as I did for the dozen books that were.I’m glad to see bookstores paying attention to students’ need for cheaper textbooks. — hanns@indiana.edu
(09/01/11 10:16pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>There are plenty of products aimed at children that shouldn’t be, such as violent video games for the under-10 set. But perhaps one of the most disgusting products for kids is a new 9/11 coloring book. Wayne Bell, publisher of Really Big Coloring Books Inc., called the 36-page “We Shall Never Forget 9/11: The Kids’ Book of Freedom” a “graphic novel.”The “graphic novel” begins with Osama bin Laden plotting the terrorist attacks and ends with Navy SEALs pointing guns at him while he hides behind a woman in a burka. The text-heavy book attempts to explain (with horrible grammar) the events of the attack and the aftermath. Bell said the book meets a demand for parents and teachers to help them explain what happened on 9/11. However, the book, which the publishers gave a PG rating, isn’t actually appropriate for children. I’ve taken a lot of history classes, and I didn’t need a coloring book to understand the Civil War, the Holocaust or the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Images of people pointing guns at someone aren’t appropriate for kids. But Bell responded to critics, saying the book isn’t as graphic as video games or the footage from the World Trade Center. If you think the guns and violence in video games are wrong, then how are guns in a coloring book — excuse me, “graphic novel” — OK? Two wrongs don’t make a right; even the kids know that one.Bell says children younger than 10 should use the coloring book with a parent or teacher. Um, duh. No responsible adult would hand a young child this book and let them have at it on their own. Of course, no responsible adult would let kids have the book at all.The book has also been criticized for its anti-Muslim message. Amina Sharif, communications director for the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic relations, called the book “hateful” and “inflammatory.” She said the book doesn’t differentiate between regular Muslims and the terrorists. Without having seen more than a couple screencaps, I can’t comment on this except to say that it definitely wouldn’t surprise me. Someone who can’t string a proper sentence together or get historical facts correct (bin Laden wasn’t hiding behind one of his wives when the SEALs killed him) probably isn’t going to bother to elucidate the distinction.The concept of this book seems to be a mess. There are better ways of explaining a tragic event than through a wordy coloring book. Even if the book is completely unbiased and accurate, I still wouldn’t hand it to a child. It’s like giving ‘MAUS’ (a graphic novel by Art Spiegelman depicting his father’s experience in Auschwitz) to a bunch of elementary school children.In an age when people are still trying to ban Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse-Five” from schools for foul language, it’s amazing that something like this could be published for children.Teach kids about 9/11 by talking to them and explaining the events. And afterward, let them color Elmo.— hanns@indiana.edu
(08/23/11 10:20pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>If you’re going to do something, do it well.What’s the point of doing a half-assed job? If you put forth the effort to do something — whatever that something may be — then why would you not put forth the effort to make it good?This applies to any task one is attempting to undertake. Cleaning your room? Writing a paper? Finish your task, and do it well. Don’t give up halfway through or do a poor job.And for goodness’ sake, if you’re attempting to promote yourself or your company, don’t slap a website onto the Internet, just remember to update it with breaking news, and then completely fail to make it in any way decent.Yes, Indianapolis Star, I’m talking to you.My go-to news source is USA Today, but since I spent the summer trying to write about regional topics, I started looking at the Star more often. My parents canceled our subscription a while ago, so I, and the rest of the people in Indianapolis who don’t care to pay for it, am left with the website, unfortunately.Much as I usually prefer reading news online (yes, I’m one of those people), I cringe every time I need to access the Star. The loading time is ridiculously slow, and the search function is so useless it might as well not exist.Today I logged on to see that the background had changed from something plain and simple (if boring) to a falling money motif that’s probably making the page even harder to load. It’s probably why I clicked on a story link before I started writing this, and it still hasn’t loaded. The annoying pop-up ad, however, came up almost immediately.After a summer of trying to read the Star online at least once a week, I have to start questioning its editors’ judgments. It’s incredibly bad for business to have a slow-loading, hard-to-search website. With the current journalistic push toward web-based news, if you don’t jump on the boat, you’ll be washed away with the tide. Look at it this way: The Star recently laid off 62 employees. The tech guys must have been among them.Seriously, there’s absolutely no reason a newspaper — especially one owned by Gannett — can’t manage to have a decent website. There can only be two reasons for this. Either the Star really did lay off web people and whoever remains is having a hard time keeping up, or the paper’s editors don’t understand current journalism trends.Either way, Gannett should hire back some of those laid off. Maybe hire some recent college graduates or those who are about to graduate (hey, we’re all looking for jobs) who understand online journalism and can fix the site.But don’t go through the effort of creating and maintaining the website if you’re not going to make it good. That’s really worse than not attempting it at all. Better to be a dinosaur than to make it obvious that you just plain don’t care.— hanns@indiana.edu
(08/07/11 9:16pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>As a longtime bookworm, I’ve spent much more time at Borders than I’d like to admit.But as I get older, birthday money no longer lasts year-round, and what I earn has to be set aside for my impending post-graduation life. So gone are the days when I bought books as I liked. Now, I rely on the library and only buy books by a few select authors and the ones from the library I liked enough to read multiple times.It’s not just my wallet that’s changed. It’s also the book industry. Books I used to pay $5 or $6 for have gone up to $8 or $9 — and that’s just for the fiction. In my favorite genre, historical nonfiction, paperback books cost $15 to $20 each, and the material is weighty enough that I won’t reread them more than once every couple of years.The move to the often cheaper e-books and to Internet-based stores such as Amazon has been dearly felt. Borders, the long-standing bastion of book selling, has officially announced it’s closing its doors. It’s even harder for the independent booksellers out there, which is why many are taking a remarkable step: charging admission for author readings. It’s the one advantage bookstores still have over their e-compatriots. However, even then, the advantage is growing smaller. I just had a conversation with one of my favorite authors on Twitter. But as of yet, nothing can beat meeting an author in the flesh.And yet, even the bookstores are having trouble. According to some, fans are very willing to come to meet-and-greets, but often they’ve already bought the book or are planning to order it somewhere else. Nancy Salmon, the floor manager at independently owned Kepler’s Books in Menlo Park, Calif., said to The New York Times, customers often type titles into their iPhones and go home. I admit to being one of those people who goes into a bookstore with a cell phone prepared. Even the 20 percent off inducement at my last remaining local Borders a couple weeks ago wasn’t enough to break out my wallet — half a dozen $20 books at 20 percent off is still more than I can afford.It’s one more reason I support the rise of e-books: Printing costs are the bulk of that huge price. Cutting out printing costs can cut the price in half. Significantly reduced prices are the one thing that can turn reluctant buyers like me into people who can return to trusting a back cover or recommendation enough to go ahead and buy.But even though I’ve strayed away from supporting booksellers unless they have something I really want, I don’t have it in me to scoff at them for charging for author appearances. It’s not something I particularly approve of; but with more and more readers like me straying to the library and e-bookstores, they have to try to stay afloat somehow.And as much as I’ll miss browsing through Borders, I can’t help but feel that if the company had jumped on board the e-book wagon earlier and amassed a large online store, we wouldn’t be saying goodbye.— hanns@indiana.edu