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(04/14/14 8:17pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Maybe you heard and even passed along the rumor that contents of recycling bins on campus are dumped in with the trash. But it is only that—a rumor. “That’s an urban myth,” says Steve Akers, associate director of RPS environmental operations. “I can assure you that things are being recycled for sure through our vendor. It’s actually against the law to not recycle in the state of Indiana.”The mix-up might be due to one of two reasons, Steve says. First, the same trucks pick up both waste and recycling at different times of the day. Second, dumping trash into the wrong bin turns recycling into waste.“If my staff gets recycling and someone threw a pizza in it or trash in it, we’re not allowed to decontaminate it,” Steve says. “MY APARTMENT DOES NOT RECYCLE!”Larry Barker, executive director of Monroe County Solid Waste Management District, says “The biggest problem has always been apartment complexes don’t have space. They’re unwilling to use one parking space.” Interestingly, they are willing to use a parking space for waste disposal. Larry suggests students take recycling to either the Westside Recycling Center at 341 N. Oard Road, the South Walnut Street Recycling Center at 3400 S. Walnut St., or onto campus. If you would like your apartment complex to start recycling, Steve suggests talking to your landlord. WHAT CAN BE RECYCLED?Plastics 1-7AluminumGlassPaperCardboard (Electronics, batteries, light bulbs, and printer cartridges at designated locations only) WHAT DIFFERENCE CAN BE MADE? Recycling two aluminum cans saves enough energy to power a PC for one workday.Five plastic soda bottles are enough to insulate one ski jacket.Recycling one glass jar saves enough energy to light a 100-watt light bulb for four hours.
(04/14/14 8:17pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Maybe you heard and even passed along the rumor that contents of recycling bins on campus are dumped in with the trash. But it is only that—a rumor. “That’s an urban myth,” says Steve Akers, associate director of RPS environmental operations. “I can assure you that things are being recycled for sure through our vendor. It’s actually against the law to not recycle in the state of Indiana.”The mix-up might be due to one of two reasons, Steve says. First, the same trucks pick up both waste and recycling at different times of the day. Second, dumping trash into the wrong bin turns recycling into waste.“If my staff gets recycling and someone threw a pizza in it or trash in it, we’re not allowed to decontaminate it,” Steve says. “MY APARTMENT DOES NOT RECYCLE!”Larry Barker, executive director of Monroe County Solid Waste Management District, says “The biggest problem has always been apartment complexes don’t have space. They’re unwilling to use one parking space.” Interestingly, they are willing to use a parking space for waste disposal. Larry suggests students take recycling to either the Westside Recycling Center at 341 N. Oard Road, the South Walnut Street Recycling Center at 3400 S. Walnut St., or onto campus. If you would like your apartment complex to start recycling, Steve suggests talking to your landlord. WHAT CAN BE RECYCLED?Plastics 1-7AluminumGlassPaperCardboard (Electronics, batteries, light bulbs, and printer cartridges at designated locations only) WHAT DIFFERENCE CAN BE MADE? Recycling two aluminum cans saves enough energy to power a PC for one workday.Five plastic soda bottles are enough to insulate one ski jacket.Recycling one glass jar saves enough energy to light a 100-watt light bulb for four hours.
(02/17/14 9:17pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>You rolled out of bed this morning and could just feel it. Gray skies, sleeping 20 minutes past your alarm and nothing to eat for breakfast: the day is going to be bad. According to Nancy Stockton, director of Counseling and Psychological Services, around 20 to 25 percent of students experiencing anxiety report waking up feeling their day will be awful. One might call this feeling intuition, but a rational explanation usually exists. Cathlene Hardy Hansen, director of Health and Wellness Education at the IU Health Center, and her staff said sleep deprivation, hormonal cycles, stress, and a poor diet can contribute to waking up with negative predictions about the day. Though feeling a day is going to be bad does not mean anything, it can affect our attitude, performance, and productivity. The good news is this cycle of negativity can be broken. After all, if our mind has enough power to convince us the day is going to be bad, it also has enough power to convince us the day will be good, or at least more bearable and productive. Here are some ways to turn a bad day around:Make your bed. Your mom has been telling you to do it since you were four, but now leaving the sheets rumpled seems logical. As soon as class gets out you climb back in anyway. But Cathlene says, “Organizing externally helps you organize internally.” Feeling like the day is going to be bad might prevent you from being productive, but starting with something small like making your bed will give you a jump-start.Center yourself. Practices such as prayer, mediation and deep breathing are gaining ground as viable psychological treatment options. CAPS offers Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction as a clinical service, which aims to increase attention and awareness. Cognitive Control Lab postdoctoral research assistant Anand Ramamoorthy says an example of a centering exercise is to close your eyes and pick five sounds out of your environment to focus on one at a time.Share a laugh. “Try to be around happy people,” Health Educator for Smoking Cessation Azar Nikravesh says. “Avoid places, situations or people that make you sad.” Popular science has been telling us for years that laughter is contagious, but test it yourself. Grab a group of friends and a silly BuzzFeed video to see how long you can last without at least cracking a smile.Face your fears. Anand and Azar agree: acknowledge your problem and face it head-on. “What is the worst thing that can happen?” Azar says. “Face that, and then say OK.” An ignored problem will not disappear by itself. “A longer term solution to an intense negative perception is to process going through it and not going around it,” Anand says. Acknowledge you feel bad —then move on.Find the fun. Registered dietitian Katie Shepherd says, “Make sure to plan something that you enjoy or that is fun, even if it is for 15 minutes.” Katie says she sets aside time to read for pleasure. Having something to look forward to later in your day will give you a welcome break from dealing with problems that arise and help refresh your mood.
(02/17/14 9:17pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>You rolled out of bed this morning and could just feel it. Gray skies, sleeping 20 minutes past your alarm and nothing to eat for breakfast: the day is going to be bad. According to Nancy Stockton, director of Counseling and Psychological Services, around 20 to 25 percent of students experiencing anxiety report waking up feeling their day will be awful. One might call this feeling intuition, but a rational explanation usually exists. Cathlene Hardy Hansen, director of Health and Wellness Education at the IU Health Center, and her staff said sleep deprivation, hormonal cycles, stress, and a poor diet can contribute to waking up with negative predictions about the day. Though feeling a day is going to be bad does not mean anything, it can affect our attitude, performance, and productivity. The good news is this cycle of negativity can be broken. After all, if our mind has enough power to convince us the day is going to be bad, it also has enough power to convince us the day will be good, or at least more bearable and productive. Here are some ways to turn a bad day around:Make your bed. Your mom has been telling you to do it since you were four, but now leaving the sheets rumpled seems logical. As soon as class gets out you climb back in anyway. But Cathlene says, “Organizing externally helps you organize internally.” Feeling like the day is going to be bad might prevent you from being productive, but starting with something small like making your bed will give you a jump-start.Center yourself. Practices such as prayer, mediation and deep breathing are gaining ground as viable psychological treatment options. CAPS offers Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction as a clinical service, which aims to increase attention and awareness. Cognitive Control Lab postdoctoral research assistant Anand Ramamoorthy says an example of a centering exercise is to close your eyes and pick five sounds out of your environment to focus on one at a time.Share a laugh. “Try to be around happy people,” Health Educator for Smoking Cessation Azar Nikravesh says. “Avoid places, situations or people that make you sad.” Popular science has been telling us for years that laughter is contagious, but test it yourself. Grab a group of friends and a silly BuzzFeed video to see how long you can last without at least cracking a smile.Face your fears. Anand and Azar agree: acknowledge your problem and face it head-on. “What is the worst thing that can happen?” Azar says. “Face that, and then say OK.” An ignored problem will not disappear by itself. “A longer term solution to an intense negative perception is to process going through it and not going around it,” Anand says. Acknowledge you feel bad —then move on.Find the fun. Registered dietitian Katie Shepherd says, “Make sure to plan something that you enjoy or that is fun, even if it is for 15 minutes.” Katie says she sets aside time to read for pleasure. Having something to look forward to later in your day will give you a welcome break from dealing with problems that arise and help refresh your mood.
(04/29/13 3:04am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU President Michael McRobbie called dedicating IU’s new supercomputer a “truly historic occasion.”The supercomputer, Big Red II, operates at a speed of one petaFLOPS or five thousand times faster than a standard PC. This means that the computer can compute one thousand trillion mathematical operations per second, a task that would take one person more than 31 million years to complete.The computer was dedicated 2 p.m. Friday in the Cyberinfrastructure Building. Big Red II will change the way IU does computational research, said Craig Stewart, executive director of IU Pervasive Technology Institute and associate dean of research technologies. He said Big Red II will not only expand the capabilities of researchers who are already using supercomputers, but it will also provide opportunities to researchers who before could not easily access supercomputers.“We are already leaders within the United States,” Stewart said. “More than 10 percent of the research community at IU Bloomington and IUPUI uses the supercomputers. Our goal is to increase that usage.”Senior manager of high performance systems at IU, David Hancock, said Big Red II will be “an immense competitive advantage for the University.” “In terms of comparable systems at other universities, it’s the fastest university-owned computer that’s dedicated to one institution,” Hancock said.Big Red II will be accessible to all researchers, faculty and graduate students at IU if they ask for an account, but it will also be available to undergraduates with support of a faculty member. Freshman Will Doub is studying informatics and said he is looking forward to the potential opportunity to see the supercomputer firsthand.“I haven’t heard a whole lot about Big Red II, but I’m still really excited about it,” Doub said. “I’m excited to see what programs people are going to design for it and its software capabilities.”The supercomputer is housed in IU’s secure Data Center and is, according to Hancock, “roughly the size of 12 industrial refrigerators, side by side.” Big Red II cost IU $7.5 million, but is expected to generate more money than it’s cost due to the research it will facilitate, based on the amount generated by IU’s original supercomputer.“Big Red brought more than $250 million to the University through the collective accounts from 2006 to present,” Stewart said.Big Red II is expected to accommodate advancements in the sciences and computation, but also the arts and humanities. According to Stewart, the supercomputer will be useful in life sciences, environmental studies, text analysis in the humanities, film, animation and lighting design, to name a few.“We will, with Big Red II, be able to provide tangible benefits to students and researchers in at least 150 disciplines at IU,” Stewart said.To this end, current computation staff at IU will be working hard to make sure Big Red II is used responsibly and productively.“In a very real sense we dedicated Big Red II,” Stewart said. “But the staff of the computation center also dedicated themselves to supporting Big Red II to ensure that it changes the research and artistic capabilities of the university, the state, the nation and the world’s global community.”
(04/04/13 2:17am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Sounds of drums, shakers and guitars will fill The Pourhouse Café from 7-9 p.m. today to benefit children in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.“Teach Me, Congo” is open to the community and will raise funds and awareness for Giving Back to Africa, an organization co-founded by adjunct professor for the School of Public and Environmental Affairs Ann Marie Thomson, who grew up in the Congo. “She had a deep desire to give back to the country she felt so strongly about and had learned so much from,” said Michael Valliant, executive director of GBA.GBA aims to empower Congolese children within their communities by teaching them the skill of leadership through service. According to givingbacktoafrica.org, approximately 50 percent of the Congolese population is under the age of 15, so there is tremendous potential for GBA to make a difference. Valliant has visited Kinshasa twice.“The one thing that struck me is that what we hear in statistics about this very poverty-stricken place, you’d assume going into it that you will find people unable to function or so down that they can’t survive,” Valliant said. “But there is this incredible entrepreneurial spirit and drive.”However, funds are needed in order to turn the entrepreneurial spirit of the Congolese into a physical reality, Valliant said. He said that is why two student organizations got together to put on “Teach Me, Congo” tonight. “SPEA USA was looking for a way to get more members involved and give back to the community,” said Sarah Baulac, director of special events for SPEA Undergraduate Student Association. SPEA USA joined Giving Back to Africa Student Association in planning the event. There will be musical performances by Afro-Cuban Ensemble, Square Peg Round Hole and the Sam Hoffman Trio, as well as food provided by Pourhouse and a silent auction.“We’re really supported by the community,” President of GBASA Sarah McMahon said. “We got a lot of donations for the silent auction, and we were really floored by that. “Valliant said he hopes both students and residents will turn out for the event.“We want to raise funds to support our work, but it’s also an opportunity for IU students to show leadership and get involved with an international awareness organization,” Valliant said. “I’m excited to see how the two student associations pulled it off. I’m incredibly impressed with the work they’ve done.”
(04/01/13 2:49am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A large donation was given to the IU Asian Culture Center as IU kicked off its celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month. The celebration generally occurs in May, but IU students celebrate a month early before the semester ends.The $10,000 donation made by alumnus Joon Park was announced at a luncheon last Tuesday. “We’re beginning to see more and more alumni, especially former student leaders, reconnect with the ACC in the past few years by way of giving back,” director of the ACC Melanie Castillo-Cullather said in an email. “Joon’s gift is the first donation of its size.”Park is currently working as the chief operation officer of the investment management division of the Alyeska Investment Group in Chicago, Ill. His donation will be used by the ACC to fund the Joon Park Student Leadership Experience Award. Each award will provide the accepted student with $1,000 towards going to a conference or workshop focused on community engagement, community advocacy or professional development.Senior Justin Zheng, student webmaster for the ACC, said Park’s donation will be helpful in establishing the ACC’s presence in the Midwest when more student leaders are able to attend conferences. He also said other recent donations will assist student-run Asian culture clubs on campus, like a donation made by Paul Park to create the Community Engagement Fund.“Many of (the clubs) represent a smaller ethnicity of Asian students than most of IU’s student body thinks of when they think of ‘Asian,’” Zheng said in an email. “These are clubs that can benefit the most with just a bit more support to achieve their goals and gain a bigger presence on campus.”Freshman historian for IU’s chapter of the Asian American Association Jessie Chen would like to apply for the JPSLE award in order to travel to conferences and workshops and learn more about Asian American culture.“I think that kind of grant can be really useful,” Chen said. “For example, next week there’s the Midwest Asian American Students Union convention at the University of Michigan. Such conferences can cost a lot with the travel.”Senior Stefan Khensouri, a student staff member at the ACC, would like to see future students use the JPSLE award to connect with other Asian Americans at national conferences.“I grew up in Indiana so I didn’t know many other people like me,” Khensouri said. “(Students) might be able to see that there are more people like them out there in the country.”Since he is about to graduate, Khensouri is already looking for ways he could repay the ACC for all it has done for him like Joon Park did with his donation. “If I have a lot of money, I would donate to the ACC,” Khensouri said. “They gave me a job and I started going to events as a freshman. I didn’t know much about my own culture, but I learned about it and other cultures.”
(03/31/13 7:35pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A large donation appeared in IU Asian Culture Center’s funds as IU kicked off its celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month. The celebration generally occurs in May, but IU students celebrate a month early before the semester ends.The $10,000 donation made by alumnus Joon Park was announced at a luncheon last Tuesday. “We’re beginning to see more and more alumni, especially former student leaders, reconnect with the ACC in the past few years by way of giving back,” director of the ACC Melanie Castillo-Cullather said in an email. “Joon’s gift is the first donation of its size.”Park is currently working as the chief operation officer of the investment management division of the Alyeska Investment Group in Chicago, Ill. His donation will be used by the ACC to fund the Joon Park Student Leadership Experience Award. Each award will provide the accepted student with $1,000 towards going to a conference or workshop focused on community engagement, community advocacy or professional development.Senior Justin Zheng, student webmaster for the ACC, said that Park’s donation will be helpful in establishing the ACC’s presence in the Midwest when more student leaders are able to attend conferences. He also said that other recent donations will assist student-run Asian culture clubs on campus, like a donation made by Paul Park to create the Community Engagement Fund.“Many of (the clubs) represent a smaller ethnicity of Asian students than most of IU’s student body thinks of when they think of ‘Asian,’” Zheng said in an email. “These are clubs that can benefit the most with just a bit more support to achieve their goals and gain a bigger presence on campus.”Freshman historian for IU’s chapter of the Asian American Association Jessie Chen would like to apply for the JPSLE award in order to travel to conferences and workshops and learn more about Asian American culture.“I think that kind of grant can be really useful,” Chen said. “For example, next week there’s the Midwest Asian American Students Union convention at the University of Michigan. Such conferences can cost a lot with the travel.”Senior Stefan Khensouri, a student staff member at the ACC, would like to see future students use the JPSLE award to connect with other Asian Americans at national conferences.“I grew up in Indiana so I didn’t know many other people like me,” Khensouri said. “(Students) might be able to see that there are more people like them out there in the country.”Since he is about to graduate, Khensouri is already looking for ways he could repay the ACC for all it has done for him like Joon Park did with his donation. “If I have a lot of money, I would donate to the ACC,” Khensouri said. “They gave me a job and I started going to events as a freshman. I didn’t know much about my own culture, but I learned about it and other cultures.”
(02/21/13 3:56am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Fundraisers will plunge into chilly waters this Saturday for charity.After registering for IU Student Foundation’s first Bloomington Polar Plunge, signing a waiver and raising funds through the Special Olympics of Indiana website, fundraisers can take the plunge into the freezing above-ground pool to demonstrate their support of Special Olympics athletes in Indiana.“They are doing them all over the state for Special Olympics of Indiana,” said Melissa Wolter, assistant director of the IUSF.Registration will be from 9:30-10:45 a.m. in the Assembly Hall South Lobby. The plunge will begin at 11 a.m. in the south parking lot. To participate, fundraisers must have collected at least $75 in pledges. Incentives will be given for different levels of funds raised.Currently, there are about 170 people registered.Some of the athletes being supported will make an appearance Saturday to cheer on the plungers.“I’m excited for seeing the kids from Special Olympics,” said senior Lydia Schroeder, a member of IUSF. “It’ll be cool for the fundraisers to see who they’re impacting and where the money goes.”Junior Chloe Cahill has raised $835 of the $13,346 raised so far for the Bloomington Polar Plunge. Cahill said she decided to participate with members of her sorority, Theta Phi Alpha, because her best friend Sophie’s little sister has autism.“I’m actually kind of nervous because it’s going to be freezing,” Cahill said.However, Cahill and the other plungers will be able to warm up at an After Splash Bash in the Assembly Hall South Lobby following the plunge. A meal will be served while special awards are announced for best costume, most money raised by an individual, most money raised by a team and largest campus team. A $5 admittance fee will be charged for fans and spectators at the bash.After all of the plunges taking place across Indiana have been completed, the Campus Challenge Award will go to the campus that raised the most funds. While this is IU’s first year participating, Wolter said she hopes that in the future IU will be able to compete with schools like its longtime rival, Purdue University, whose plunge raised $50,652 this year.Cahill said she is excited to be “Freezin’ For A Reason” Saturday. “You’re actually doing something for a cause instead of just donating online,” Cahill said.Registration is still open on the Special Olympics of Indiana website at soindiana.org/special-events/polar-plunge/2013-bloomington-polar-plunge/ for anyone who has not yet registered.
(02/20/13 10:08pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Fundraisers will plunge into chilly waters this Saturday for charity.After registering for IU Student Foundation’s first Bloomington Polar Plunge, signing a waiver and raising funds through the Special Olympics of Indiana website, fundraisers can take the plunge into the freezing above-ground pool to demonstrate their support of Special Olympics athletes in Indiana.“They are doing them all over the state for Special Olympics of Indiana,” said Melissa Wolter, assistant director of the IUSF.Registration will be from 9:30-10:45 a.m. in the Assembly Hall South Lobby. The plunge will begin at 11 a.m. in the south parking lot. To participate, fundraisers must have collected at least $75 in pledges. Incentives will be given for different levels of funds raised.Currently, there are about 170 people registered.Some of the athletes being supported will make an appearance Saturday to cheer on the plungers.“I’m excited for seeing the kids from Special Olympics,” said senior Lydia Schroeder, a member of IUSF. “It’ll be cool for the fundraisers to see who they’re impacting and where the money goes.”Junior Chloe Cahill has raised $835 of the $13,346 raised so far for the Bloomington Polar Plunge. Cahill said she decided to participate with members of her sorority, Theta Phi Alpha, because her best friend Sophie’s little sister has autism.“I’m actually kind of nervous because it’s going to be freezing,” Cahill said.However, Cahill and the other plungers will be able to warm up at an After Splash Bash in the Assembly Hall South Lobby following the plunge. A meal will be served while special awards are announced for best costume, most money raised by an individual, most money raised by a team and largest campus team. A $5 admittance fee will be charged for fans and spectators at the bash.After all of the plunges taking place across Indiana have been completed, the Campus Challenge Award will go to the campus that raised the most funds. While this is IU’s first year participating, Wolter said she hopes that in the future IU will be able to compete with schools like its longtime rival, Purdue University, whose plunge raised $50,652 this year.Cahill said she is excited to be “Freezin’ For A Reason” Saturday. “You’re actually doing something for a cause instead of just donating online,” Cahill said.Registration is still open on the Special Olympics of Indiana website at soindiana.org/special-events/polar-plunge/2013-bloomington-polar-plunge/.
(02/12/13 4:04am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A well-kept secret, the Cheshire Café is nestled in a quiet corner of the Edmondson building of Collins Living-Learning Center. At 8 p.m. each night, student baristas open the doors of the café, fondly referred to as “the Chesh” by regular patrons. Once a week, inside the low-lit “Alice in Wonderland”-themed room crammed with purple chairs and decoupage tables, junior Sabra Tolliver works behind the counter. Though Tolliver said she is happy to make coffee for the customers, she doesn’t drink it herself.“I’m LDS,” Tolliver said, referencing her Latter-day Saints affiliation. “So I don’t drink coffee or really most teas. That was kind of interesting, being hired and not being able to drink most of the menu. So people will come in and be like, ‘Oh, is this mocha good?’ I’m like, ‘Well the rest of the customers really like it.’”Tolliver has been a barista at the Chesh since the beginning of the school year.“The first couple of weeks, we were freakishly busy,” Tolliver said. “It was really trial-by-fire. We had so many people. Despite not being able to walk when I left because I was on my feet and I hadn’t worn proper shoes, it was a lot of fun.”Tolliver said she enjoys interacting with the people she serves at the Chesh.“I love meeting people,” Tolliver said. “I’m a huge people person. Some of my favorite people to meet are the parents of the kids that come in.”When parents of Collins residents enter the shop, they are most impressed by the reasonable, cash-only prices of the drinks and the variety of syrup flavors offered, Tolliver said.“We have a lot of syrups,” Tolliver said. “I think we’re one of the few coffee shops in Indiana, possibly even the country, that has this many flavor options.”As a barista, Tolliver is responsible for planning a couple of programs each month and creating some of the specialty boards changed each week.“They say try to have about six drinks on them,” Tolliver said. “Those are really are only guidelines. Six drinks, don’t have too much of one thing. I’ve done three boards. I’ve done an ‘Avengers’ board at the beginning of the year, a ‘villains’ board and a ‘Star Trek: Voyager’ board.”The Chesh began in the ’90s as a Collins resident’s Q-project, the culminating project of the Q199: Residential Learning Workshop class all Collins incoming freshmen are required to take. It began in a closet in the coffeehouse outside of the Chesh’s current location. Now, there is room for games and coloring book pages to keep customers busy as well.“It’s a great space,” Lindsay Bugher, assistant director of Collins LLC, said. “Aside from just having a place for students to go, it provides the students who work there a good opportunity to develop skills in management and leadership.”Former Collins resident and senior Cassandra Cody frequents the Chesh three to four times a week, even though she now lives off campus.“It gives everyone a better place to hang out than just in lounges,” Cody said. “It’s active. There are games and always people. It’s more of a community than just ‘oh, let’s go sit in the lounge’ or ‘let’s sit on our floor with our door open.’”For Cody, baristas such as Tolliver make visiting the Chesh a pleasant experience. “They always seem to pick people that are already really active in Collins (to be the baristas),” Cody said. “This is their home, this is their community. So they make sure that everyone’s enjoying themselves, everyone’s having a good time.”
(02/11/13 8:26pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A well-kept secret, the Cheshire Café is nestled in a quiet corner of the Edmondson building of the Collins Living-Learning Center. At 8 p.m. each night, student baristas open the doors of the café, fondly referred to as “the Chesh” by regular patrons. Once a week, inside the low-lit “Alice in Wonderland”-themed room crammed with purple chairs and decoupage tables, junior Sabra Tolliver works behind the counter. Though Tolliver said she is happy to make coffee for the customers, she doesn’t drink it herself.“I’m LDS,” Tolliver said, referencing her Latter-day Saints affiliation. “So I don’t drink coffee or really most teas. That was kind of interesting, being hired and not being able to drink most of the menu. So people will come in and be like, ‘Oh, is this mocha good?’ I’m like, ‘Well the rest of the customers really like it.’”Tolliver has been a barista at the Chesh since the beginning of the school year.“The first couple of weeks, we were freakishly busy,” Tolliver said. “It was really trial-by-fire. We had so many people. Despite not being able to walk when I left because I was on my feet and I hadn’t worn proper shoes, it was a lot of fun.”Tolliver said she enjoys interacting with the people she serves at the Chesh.“I love meeting people,” Tolliver said. “I’m a huge people person. Some of my favorite people to meet are the parents of the kids that come in.”When parents of Collins residents enter the shop, they are most impressed by the reasonable, cash-only prices of the drinks and the variety of syrup flavors offered, Tolliver said.“We have a lot of syrups,” Tolliver said. “I think we’re one of the few coffee shops in Indiana, possibly even the country, that has this many flavor options.”As a barista, Tolliver is responsible for planning a couple of programs each month and creating some of the specialty boards changed each week.“They say try to have about six drinks on them. Those are really are only guidelines,” Tolliver said. “Six drinks, don’t have too much of one thing. I’ve done three boards. I’ve done an ‘Avengers’ board at the beginning of the year, a ‘villains’ board and a ‘Star Trek: Voyager’ board.”The Chesh began in the ’90s as a Collins resident’s Q-project, the culminating project of the Q199: Residential Learning Workshop class all Collins incoming freshmen are required to take. It began in a closet in the coffeehouse outside of the Chesh’s current location. Now, there is room for games and coloring book pages to keep customers busy as well.“It’s a great space,” Lindsay Bugher, assistant director for Collins LLC, said. “Aside from just having a place for students to go, it provides the students who work there a good opportunity to develop skills in management and leadership.”Former Collins resident and senior Cassandra Cody frequents the Chesh three to four times a week, even though she now lives off-campus.“It gives everyone a better place to hang out than just in lounges,” Cody said. “It’s active. There are games and always people. It’s more of a community than just ‘oh, let’s go sit in the lounge’ or ‘let’s sit on our floor with our door open.’”For Cody, baristas such as Tolliver make visiting the Chesh a pleasant experience. “They always seem to pick people that are already really active in Collins (to be the baristas),” Cody said. “This is their home, this is their community. So they make sure that everyone’s enjoying themselves, everyone’s having a good time.”
(01/29/13 4:45am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Late afternoon light fell across the Baldwin piano’s white lid in the back corner of the Indiana Memorial Union Gallery Starbucks. As students sit at small tables crammed up against the baby grand, they tap away at their laptops or scribble in notebooks, ignoring the chipped piano keys. Thomas Simmons, associate director of the IMU, said the white Baldwin in Starbucks and several other pianos scattered throughout the IMU were acquired around 1960. “As the school of music was replacing their pianos, some that had been there a long time came to us,” Simmons said. Gerald Carson in “The Piano in the Parlor,” an article in a 1965 issue of American Heritage, said “the piano, the first luxury item to reach the mass market, epitomized family values and social aims.”Though a half-century has passed since the rise of the piano’s popularity as not only an instrument but also as an art piece and a social statement, Simmons said the presence of pianos in nearly all of the large public rooms in the IMU reflects the values of the University.“It reflects the emphasis on the fine arts and entertainment,” Simmons said.When an IMU room containing a piano is rented out for an event, piano students from the Jacobs School of Music are often paid to provide entertainment at the function. The IMU Starbucks, where the white Baldwin is located, can be reserved by student organizations for programs concerning the arts or humanities, Simmons said.At many points during the day, however, the piano remains benchless and silent. Barista Angelina Smith has worked at the IMU Starbucks for 15 months, but said she rarely hears anyone playing it.“While I’m working, it maybe gets played three times a month,” Smith said. “I don’t know how people who are studying feel about it, but I think it’s cool. It shakes stuff up a little bit.” Some students sitting nearby have taken notice of the piano, but have also rarely heard it played. Freshman Melissa Young said she studies at a table beside the piano once a week.“My friends are musicians, so I like this spot,” Young said.Senior Jill Shakoor, an IMU Starbucks regular, studies there whenever she has the chance. She said she has never seen the piano played but thinks it adds to the atmosphere of the room.“It makes it a little more authentic, a little more homey,” Shakoor said. “It gives it more character.”The white Baldwin is in disrepair and in need of restoration, which may discourage students from playing it, Simmons said. However, he said the IMU has plans to invest in its restoration soon. Once the piano is restored, more students might be encouraged to sit down to entertain other students and Starbucks employees.“We value it enough to maintain the pianos,” Simmons said. “We provide an instrument there so that anyone can sit down and play.” Simmons said he has had the opportunity to travel to other universities and visit their student unions. “As I travel around the Big Ten, I can’t think of a real open public lounge with a piano in it that is open for students who come through to play,” Simmons said. “I think that makes us unique.”
(10/25/12 3:49am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Available to both students and staff for the past eight years, IU Classifieds through OneStart offers a free and easy way to advertise for items no longer needed or to post requests online.In the past seven months, more than 12,000 users have posted one or more advertisements. When posting an advertisement, users must agree to adhere to all IU policies and guidelines. “If anyone from our team sees an inappropriate advertisement, whether it’s vulgar, a violation of the law, et cetera, it will be flagged and removed in accordance with the policy,” said Nik Osborne, chief of staff for the Office of the Vice President for Information Technology. “We average 80,000 advertisements a year, and IU Classifieds is consistently ranked as one of the top-five most popular features in OneStart in terms of usage.” Sifting through thousands of advertisements during the past two weeks turned up these items:Nancy Pearl librarian action figure — $25“I acquired the librarian doll from a graduating School of Library and Information Science student a few years ago,” said Lisashay Cameron, a staff member at the IU Maurer School of Law, in an email. “The Nancy Pearl Librarian doll is in the box, and the doll is no longer made.”Willy Wonka Halloween costume accessories — $30“The goggles are fun, authentic and rock out the costume,” Cameron said. “The walking cane is a sweet prop or accessory for this Halloween costume.”Antique walnut buffet with a marble top — $800“The cabinet is unique because it is an antique, is solid wood and has a marble top,” senior Wendy Myers said in an email. “I have never seen another piece like it.”Two pairs of fake, pointy ears — $6 per pair or $10 together“I acquired the items off eBay because my boyfriend and I were planning on characters that are elf-like for Halloween,” junior Meara Thombre said in an email. “I figured it would be worth posting an ad on OneStart because it’s easier to get my money back that way than to actually ship them back to the eBay seller.”