Students transform the love of power through performance art
Students enrolled in a comparative literature course present "Two and One Thousand Voiced Fragments" at 8 p.m. Saturday in the SOFA Gallery.
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Students enrolled in a comparative literature course present "Two and One Thousand Voiced Fragments" at 8 p.m. Saturday in the SOFA Gallery.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Dorothy was brought home to Indiana as performers honored the legacy of Judy Garland. For one night, the star was celebrated through a variety of songs."Our musical taste attracted us to the event," alumnus Ken Bardonner said. Along with his wife, Veronika, he ran across a flyer for the event and were eager to hear selections from Garland’s career.With pictures and varied musical selections, the concert showcased the vocal and theatrical work of students participating in the Hoosier Musical Production organization.The organization was founded last fall and grants additional opportunities for student performers. Its debut performance was with "The Fantasticks" this February. The performers sang some of Garland’s famous songs such as "Stormy Weather" and "Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home.""Garland is both timeless and relevant for today’s music and theater performers," said the group’s Executive Director Jonathan Lerner.Lerner outlined the goal of the production, saying that it wanted to encourage the appreciation of musical theater and provide opportunities for students.Bardonner said he enjoyed the concert and praised the production’s coordination for such an event."I was pleased to see the enthusiasm from the students for such a legendary talent," he said.Proceeds from the event will help with the upcoming show season that will include "Company," "Children of Eden" and "A Chorus Line."Auditions for their upcoming show "Tick, Tick, Boom!" will take place Sept. 14 and 15 in the Union. Students interested can visit the Hoosier Musical Production’s Web site, www.hoosiermusicals.com.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>She wore ruby-red slippers and traveled to Oz, but instead of going back to Kansas, she’s arrived in Indiana. IU’s Hoosier Musical Production aims to pay tribute to Judy Garland 8 p.m. on Sunday in the Frangipani Room at the Indiana Memorial Union. Tickets are $10 with valid student ID and doors open at 7:30 p.m.The concert, “Remembering Judy Garland,” distinguishes her life and career through special musical selections performed by students in the production group.The Hollywood actress is most remembered for her role as Dorothy in the 1939 classic “The Wizard of Oz” and garnered national acclaim for her vocals in the film’s leading song, “Over the Rainbow.” Audiences can expect to enjoy musical stylings that chronicle Garland’s prestigious career, beginning with “Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart,” her first audition song with MGM Studios. This will be followed by other favorites including “Get Happy,” “The Man That Got Away” and more. “Proceeds from the concert will benefit the Hoosier Musical Production in its upcoming season,” said Executive Director Jon Lerner, who established the organization for student performers.“We are an additional outlet for acting students not majoring in the theater and drama department here on campus,” Lerner said, adding that the organization is open to all students.Lerner said he grew up watching Garland as Dorothy and knew she would appeal to a wide range of audiences. He said it was her contributions to both music and film that influenced him to have the concert in her honor.
The former Attorney General of Virginia, Jerry W. Kilgore, wants Virginia’s General Assembly to pass a law barring illegal aliens or undocumented students from attending public colleges in the state and from receiving state financial aid. \nCurrently, Virginia’s public universities do not decline an application based on illegal status, neither do they consider illegal status in the decision of acceptance. IU’s policies are similar, but the University will not consider barring illegal aliens, said IU Spokesman Larry MacIntyre. \n“At IU the immigration status is not asked if you are applying to the University,” said IU Spokesman Larry MacIntyre. \nHowever, if a student is accepted, the University takes into account if the student is an Indiana resident to determine in- or out-of-state tuition. \nKilgore argued that if Virginia residents are applying for college, they should not lose a spot to someone living in the United States illegally. Kilgore and other Virginia republicans want to ban the acceptance of illegal aliens in public universities. If the law is passed, students applying to Virginia colleges would be required to prove they are legal residents or hold valid student visas during the college admittance process. \nIU junior Danielle Cave supports the IU’s acceptance policy. If illegal immigrants can afford to pay for an education, they should be able to attend a university, Cave said.\n“They should allow them an education, no matter how they get here,” Cave said. \nReports from the Federation for American Immigration Reform estimated that the illegal alien population in Indiana in 2005 was 94,000, compared with Virginia’s 192, 000 in 2005. That impacts public opinion on the issue, Kilgore said. \nKilgore, his campaign and Virginia state Senator James K. O’Brien, sponsor of the bill, all argue that it is unfair to legal residents to fear rejection from public institutions while illegal residents are admitted.\nSenior James Bigsbee agreed. He said illegal residents should not be able to attend colleges until minority admissions increase.\n“Legal resident minorities struggle to get accepted to college and allowing illegal immigrants the rights to attend college will take spots from not only minorities but other legal residents as well,” Bigsbee said. \nCurrently, IU will keep the status quo, MacIntyre said.\n“Unless the Indiana legislature passes such a bill,” MacIntyre said, “IU will continue to follow its policies.”
Sitting on the corner of Washington and Third streets is Boxcar Books, a small bookstore that has a momentary touch of individuality. This month, it is running an exhibit of artist Justin Clifford Rhody’s photography.\nAs people from outside entered the gallery opening, Rhody greeted everyone with a kind “thank you for coming.” The atmosphere was welcoming, as onlookers were offered hors d’ oeuvres and friendly handshakes.\nRhody, who began his photography career only 2 1/2 years ago, was eager to show off his work. He is multitalented and also works as a musician in his spare time.\n“I’ve worked with several bands and music groups,” Rhody said. “But photography is something I’m passionate about.” \nHaving traveled to many places in and outside the country, Rhody uses what he sees as his inspiration. \n“Going places, you see a lot of things, and I take pictures of it,” Rhody said.\nThe photos range in content from bathroom sinks and trashed office spaces to Easter bunnies and ghosts.\nOn each of the open walls, in the spaces above the cluttered bookshelves, are six to eight small photos in wooden or black frames with white background covers. The definite images all stand alone and tell a story about Rhody’s adventures. They are pieces of the photographer’s past.\nRhody’s friend Adam Sweet browsed the walls of the store and said his favorite photo was one of a ghost. \nSweet said he enjoys the environment Rhody builds at his openings.\n“It’s a relaxed setting for an art opening, and I like it,” Sweet said. “He plays cool music and buys all the food himself.” \nRhody is a self-taught photographer, having only high school experience when he began.\nFirst-time Boxcar Books visitor Will Burgett decided to come after he found out about the opening in the paper. He too enjoyed the art he had seen in the bookstore. Burgett described Rhody’s art as “urban-ness.” \nHaving friends who work at Boxcar, it wasn’t hard for Rhody to be featured as an artist. \n“I just called and requested it,” Rhody said. “And usually you have to call at least a year in advance.”\nRhody will be featured at Boxcar Books during the store’s regular business hours until August 1.
Sitting in her car at a stop light, painter and illustrator Emma Overman notices the purple and smoky grey sky and immediately jots down the color combination to remember it later, she said.\n“Retreat” is the theme of the July Textillery Gallery exhibit featured at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater by Overman, an Indianapolis artist.\nOverman, a painter and illustrator, is constantly checking her purse for receipts and scrap paper for any color combination she might have written down days or weeks ago.\n“People think art inspires art,” Overman said. “But I find inspiration in my everyday life.” \nOverman is the illustrator of four children’s books and has shown her paintings in many exhibits and fairs. She classifies her work as “nostalgia for adults.” She said she thinks her work makes adults reflect upon their childhood. \nBut, she said, she gets reactions to her work from both adults and children. \nHer exhibit this month has a nature-related theme with paintings of animals, trees and little girls.\n“The little girls escape from society while they’re in the forests,” she said. \nOverman said she enjoys being alone and admitted she is something of a hermit, which is another reason she feels nature can be an escape. \nThroughout high school, her works were mainly portraits of friends, and it wasn’t until she attended Maryland Institute, College of Arts in Baltimore that she took illustration classes and found her individual style, she said. \nOverman moved into a one-bedroom Indianapolis condominium in May 1999. She said she used her bedroom for art space and turned her living room into a bedroom. She said she needed the biggest space for working, but soon she began to spread her art space all throughout the condo, working on her living room floor.\n“I needed a way to get the art out of my way at home,” Overman said. She soon found a studio at Harrison Center for the Arts. \n“I don’t feel I choose to be an artist; it chose me,” Overman said. “Some of my best decisions have chosen me.” \nOverman’s long list of accomplishments includes being an illustrator for the Indy Fringe Festival, winning Indianapolis’s Art versus Art competition and many other awards and recognitions.\nShe will be at the opening reception at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater from 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday. She will be one of the many artists featured this month in the Textillery Gallery. For more information about Overman, visit her Web site at www.emmaoverman.com.
It began as a student production about an inventor of sea monkeys. But filmmakers Matthew Zatkoff, Teresa Becvar, Alex Kercheval and Daniel DeSloover never imagined that their production would soon evolve into their own independent film.\nSeven years in the making, “Something Missie in the Life of Jordan Bank” was created when Zatkoff, graduate of the Arts Institute of Chicago, Kercheval, graduate of IUPUI and recent IU graduates Becvar and DeSloover came together to conceptualize the film. \nDeSloover has been a part of the project for four years. DeSloover worked on the film full time and was a full-time student during the making of the film.\n“Living a double life was well worth it,” DeSloover said.\nWithout giving away the plot of “Something Missie in the Life of Jordan Bank,” DeSloover said, “It is the story of a young boy who’s the typical underdog. Jordan has no friends and spends a lot of time taking care of his mother. He has an attachment to his pets, especially his pet monkey, Missie.”\nThe film faced scrutiny by peers because of its low budget and big goals. Skeptics doubted the film would ever leave the ground. \n“The film budget wasn’t close in range to any independent film project,” Kercheval said. “The typical independent film can cost any where from $700,000 to $1 million, and our budget did not reach the heights of a typical independent film.”\nThe movie was shot on 35 mm film, the same film used in any major production shown in theaters and is very expensive, DeSloover said.\n“The quality of 35 mm film distinguishes it from a student video or documentary on top of its cost,” Kercheval said. \nMonetary problems were one of the toughest challenges the team had to face. \n“Most of the funding and profiting came from our own pockets,” Zatkoff said. ”We all got together and found items which we in turn sold on eBay to also help fund a lot of \nthe project.”\nThe premiere of “Something Missie: In the Life of Jordan Bank” will be showing at the Indiana State Museum’s IMAX Theater at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., July 20.\nTickets will be $15 for the first showing and $10 for the second and will be used as a fundraiser for the film, DeSloover said.\n“We worked around all the obstacles to come up with the finished product, and I believe it succeeded what we initially thought,” said Zatkoff.\nFor more information about tickets and show times, visit www.somethingmissie.com
Fifth-year senior Dan Yarzebinski has been working with the IU Telefund for more than a year since finding out about the opportunity through a friend.\n“The job seems really easy, but it challenges me and I like that,” Yarzebinski said. “Once you get an IU alumni and parent to donate, it gives you a feeling of accomplishment.”\nThe Telefund is a service where IU students call alumni and parents to ask them for donations to the University. The Telefund callers are current IU students. \n“Rasing money isn’t easy, but the callers at the Telefund make it all possible,” said Leland Unruh, assistant manager at the Telefund. \nLast September, the Telefund broke an IU record when the group raised $1 million for the entire month, Unruh said. Unruh said this year, the Telefund has raised more than $4 million in donations. \nUnruh has been a member of the Telefund since August 2005 and has noticed how alumni and parents are getting involved and donating more to ensure other children receive the same education. \n“The funds raised go to benefit IU academic schools such as the College of Arts and Sciences, SPEA or the HPER and other IU organizations such as the Varsity Club, IU Alumni Association and the IU Foundation,” junior Ellen Baird said. \n“Having current students make the phone calls help keeps the conversations personal to alumni or parents,” Baird said. \nSenior Jessica Ripperger has been working for the Telefund for two years and said she enjoys talking to the callers. \n“It’s interesting to find out the lives of alum and parents when (conversing) with them as you ask for donations,” Ripperger said. \nFifth-year senior Derek Bult is one of the Telefund’s four supervisors. Bult teaches the callers at the Telefund how to properly contact alumni and parents. \n“One of the challenges I face when training callers are their comfort levels on the phone and mostly their nerves,” Bult said. “We want our staff to feel comfortable because it helps the callers relax and feel confident when placing calls.” \nIn his third year with the Telefund, Bult has seen many changes throughout his time with the service. \n“Every year, the staff better learns how to communicate or explain the need of IU to the alumni and parents,” he said. \nStudent callers try to keep strong ties with the potential donors, Baird said. \n“The Telefund service keeps providing support to the University, and the student staff helps to make that possible,” Baird said. \nThe donations impact IU’s academic schools as well as the Telefund’s student workers. \n“The working environment is a learning environment,” Yarzebinski said. “I have learned through the Telefund what it means to donate, and I know in the future I will continue to donate to such services as ours.”
Groups student and incoming freshman Tanei Livingston was a little nervous when she arrived at Teter Quad. She recalled her move-in day to the Groups program as being “hectic and exciting,” with lots of jam-packed elevators and people coming and going. \nAs an only child, Livingston was happy to take on the responsibilities Groups now offers her. \n“I’m excited and ready to meet new friends, see old ones and learn more about IU,” Livingston said.\nLivingston was one of hundreds of Groups students who unloaded their belongings on the curbside by Teter Quad on Saturday, June 16, when the 2007 Groups program officially began its session. \nThe Groups program was established in 1968 to address three major concerns of college students during the time. The first concern was increasing the attendance rate of first-generation college students, the second was servicing low-income families, and the last was benefiting the physically challenged.\nEach year the Groups program admits more than 200 students, and this year is no different. Upon arrival, students were greeted by the Groups staff as they received their University IDs and summer room assignments. Students will spend six weeks experiencing first-hand college life while taking three courses. \nDirector Janice Wiggins has been with the program for 10 years and has constantly kept her goal for the incoming freshman, which is “to complete all classes with exceptional grades and persist at Indiana University.” \nEach year she also stresses to the Groups student the four Ds: desire, dedication, discipline and determination. \nFreshman Eboni Jones said one of her favorite activities so far as a Groups student has been hanging out during the program’s after-hours in Teter’s lounge area. \n“The lounge area has a pool table, foosball, couches and computers,” Jones said. \nThe first day, the Groups staff gathered all the students to create a chant that would represent the different residence floors in Teter. Each floor performed their personalized chant in front of everyone, Jones said, and she remembers the experience being “really fun.” \nThe chanting is one of many activities Teter Quad Residence Manager Cedric Harris and his Groups staff have in store for the new students. All summer, the students will be entertained with the creative social, academic and fun events planned by the residence assistants. \n“I’m excited to have long-lasting memories with all the new people,” Jones said.\nOne common theme among the new students in Groups is meeting new friends and learning responsibility from the experience.\nWiggins recited a quote to all the students from Dr, Seuss’ “Oh the Places You’ll Go” that she uses as advice for old, new and future Groups students. The quote she recited was: “You have brains in your head, you have feet in your shoes, you can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You’re on your own, and know what you know, you are the person who’ll decide where to go.”\nIt is Wiggins’ hope that the Groups students take with them a great deal of responsibility, as they are now in charge of their fates.
Senior Lolita Burt never thought the day would come when she’d graduate from college.\n“But now it’s a dream come true,” she said.\nThis year IU will hold its annual baccalaureate service at 5 p.m. Friday in the IU Auditorium. The service has come to refer not only to a degree that is awarded at commencement but to a spiritual observance that also celebrates achievement and aspiration.\n“It’s an interfaith service of reflection; all are invited. The five major faiths represented are Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and Judaism,” said Cynthia Schultz of the IU Alumni Association.\nThe service has taken place for more than 167 years at IU, according to an IU news release. The speaker at this year’s service will be Patrick O’Meara, dean for international programs, who will also lead the interfaith ceremony. All 2007 graduates and their families and friends are welcome to attend the baccalaureate celebration. This year, 8,229 seniors will participate in the graduation ceremony, with a total of 19,535 degrees set to be handed out. \n“The service (was) changed into an interfaith service only six years ago,” said Rebecca Keith, administrative assistant of the IU Alumni Association. She said she encourages all people to attend the service, which will include readings from clergy along with IU students who represent each faith. The 50-minute service will also feature musical selections from HooShir, IU’s Jewish a cappella singing group. \nBurt, who is receiving a degree in criminal justice, said she is looking forward to the service.\n“The baccalaureate celebration will give my friends and family a chance to gather before the big day,” Burt said.\nThis event was organized by a 15-member University committee that included students, campus chaplains, faculty, staff and representatives of the five major religions in the IU community. The celebration will incorporate prayers from different faiths, along with times of meditation and music.\n“It is a time to celebrate the diversity here at IU,” said Rabbi Susan Laikin Shifron, executive director of the Helene G. Simon Hillel Center and a member of the baccalaureate committee. \nPay parking for the service will be available at the Indiana Memorial Union and the Jordan Avenue parking garage, where handicapped parking will also be available.
The band for commencement this year features about 50 members of the Jacobs School of Music, but only a handful are graduating tomorrow.\n“Every year the commencement band is one of the best around,” said band director Stephen W. Pratt. \nThe commencement band will accompany this year’s graduation ceremony on Saturday, May 5. There will be a morning ceremony at 10 a.m. and an afternoon ceremony at 3 p.m. Both ceremonies will take place in Assembly Hall, 1001 E. 17th St. \n“The commencement band has accompanied the ceremony for several years,” said Rachel Caswell, administrative assistant at the Jacobs School of Music. \nThe large graduation crowd causes a concern for sound quality, but microphones are in place to ensure the best sound projection, Pratt said.\n“You won’t have any trouble hearing the wonderful music in the very large Assembly Hall because individualized microphones are placed throughout the band,” Pratt said.\nThis year, the band will provide three musical selections: the processional, “The Star Spangled Banner” and “Hail to Old IU,” according to a press release. \nOf the approximately 50 band members, the majority are undergraduate students and will not be participating in the actual ceremony. But a few seniors will be participating in both the performance and commencement, Pratt said.\nEach member of the commencement band is a declared music major, Pratt said. In order to participate in the band, members must be enrolled in the Jacobs School of Music. \nSenior India Wilson said hearing the band will be an important part of her commencement.\n“When the band strikes up the music, that’s the signal that I have just completed four years at IU,” Wilson said.