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(09/10/04 6:49am)
Ursula McTaggert's employer does not provide her with dental insurance. When she developed an abscessed tooth three years ago, she had to pay for the $1,000 surgery out of her own pocket. With a salary of $12,000 a year, she said there was little money for the operation.\n"I had to go out and take a loan," she said. "It was pretty dire."\nMcTaggert is an associate instructor in IU's English department, and she, like the rest of IU's graduate student employees, goes without dental insurance because IU does not offer it. \nMcTaggert and other AIs and graders gathered at a rally at noon Thursday in Dunn Meadow to support the creation of a dental insurance program for graduate students. Amos Batto, a grader in the history department, told participants at the rally that to obtain dental insurance, they would have to form a graduate student union, the first of its kind in the history of IU. \nBatto said a union of graduate students would have one voice to bargain with and would be the best way to be heard.\n"We've got to get people involved," Batto said. "It's not going to happen unless we form a union."\nThe current representation for grad student employees, the Graduate Employee Organization, has been working on unionization for nearly a year. Batto said the group is considering joining the Communications Workers of America, a union of clerical workers already existing on campus. \n"We want to affiliate with them," he said. "It's a natural union, and we would be very happy to be with them."\nMcTaggert said creating a union in the past has been a challenge because grad students get paid differently based on their department. \n"Some of us are happier with our salaries than others, so it's hard to mobilize when we have such disparate conditions," she said. "Dental care unites us. We feel this is a basic health concern that needs to be addressed."\nIU is one of only two schools in the Big Ten that does not offer dental insurance to its grad student employees. Penn State is the other. \nIU media relations was not immediately available for comment Thursday.\nLabor Studies Professor Jeff Vincent, who attended the rally, gave encouragement to the unionization process but warned that it's going to be met with resistance.\n"There are a lot of people who (will object), faculty and administration who love the status quo and don't want to share much," Vincent said. "Gaining a voice over your working conditions isn't going to be easy, but what choice do you have?"\nHe said grad students at IU who teach introductory courses and grade papers are essential to the success of research universities. \nStudies by the Chronicle of Higher Education show that the number of full-time faculty is dropping while universities look more and more to grad students. \nRandy Pardue, president of AFSCME, the union that represents IU's staff, said dental insurance is the right of working employees. He said the union is glad to offer its knowledge of the campus and University to the graduate students in their campaign to unionize. He said he expects it might be a long process.\n"Nobody ever got anything on this campus without asking for it, so we're going to have to ask, and we're going to have to ask in a very positive voice," Pardue said.\nIU grad students have received health insurance since the 1980s. The GEO is holding a mass call out meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday Sept. 15 in Ballantine Hall 005. \n-- Contact staff writer Adam VanOsdol at avanosdo@indiana.edu .
(08/31/04 4:55am)
IU is a leader among colleges and universities in combating illegal downloading, according to a new report being presented to the U.S. House of Representatives. An online file-sharing tutorial and quiz IU added last year to educate students about copyright laws are receiving praise from entertainment industry insiders who helped compile the study. \nMary Beth Lavagnino, deputy Information Technology policy officer at IU, credits the programs for the drop in copyright violation notices the music industry sent to IU last year. \nFrom 2002 to 2003, IU received 1,080 notices of illegal file-sharing on its servers. Last year, the number dropped more than 50 percent to 483. The record and movie industries regularly monitor the Internet for illegal downloading and send notices of violations to universities across the country. \nAt IU, students named in a notice for the first time must pass an online quiz and agree to delete the questionable files or face having their network access shut off. For the second and third offenses, Internet access is automatically denied and the student's name is submitted to the dean of students. \nIU was notified of 41 repeat offenders last year.\nLavagnino said second offenses fell after the tutorial was implemented, meaning more students are getting the message. \nOther schools have taken more dramatic steps to curb campus piracy. The University of Florida banned all file sharing on its network last year, using a program called ICARUS. Others have signed deals with paid downloading services like the new Napster and RealNetworks to offer their students streaming audio and music downloads. \nIn the Big Ten, Purdue has a deal in place with the subscription service Ctrax to offer legal music downloads to all students. \nLast year, different IU groups considered bringing an agreement here, said Lavagnino. IT Policy Office Chair Mark Bruhn presented the plan as an option at a Bloomington Faculty Council meeting last fall, and student affairs also discussed the possibility. But the plan has been shelved for now.\n"It was clear because of the athletic fee that this was not a good time," Lavagnino said. \nLavagnino added students should choose for themselves the service they want to use. Each downloading program is unique. Different programs offer different catalogues, and the ways to access music range from streaming audio to CD burns to MP3 player downloads. \n"Instead of picking one service for IU as a whole, we want to give them the choice," she said.\nLater this fall, IU will announce it has invited subscription downloading services, such as Rhapsody, Napster and iTunes, to campus for a legal downloading fair. The date and location of the fair have not been determined, but it will be called "Digital Karma."\n"We really felt we would like to try giving the option to students where you can participate or not, and choose which one," Lavagnino said.\nShe said IU hasn't ruled out providing a single service to all students.\n"It's not to say we won't in the future, but at this point, this seemed like the most logical way," Lavagnino said. "(The fair) might help us understand what students want."\nShe said the legal downloading industry is young, and new options are being created all the time. Lavagnino said she hopes the fair will clarify the choices available.\nThe report naming IU was issued to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property. The subcommittee is planning a national hearing on file sharing. \n-- Contact staff writer Adam VanOsdol at avanasdo@indiana.edu.
(05/07/04 4:56am)
Indiana's former first lady Judy O'Bannon has long been known as an advocate of volunteerism and community values. \nBut her poise in handling the stroke of then-Gov. Frank O'Bannon last September earned her new respect. She was the bedrock of a state thrown into crisis. \n"People were touched by how concerned she was for the continuation of state government at the same time she was experiencing severe personal tragedy," said Perry Metz, director of IU's radio and television services. \nO'Bannon will give the annual commencement address twice -- at ceremonies starting at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.\nMore than 7,000 degrees will be awarded at Assembly Hall, with Judy O'Bannon receiving an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters.\nAn IU alumna, she met Frank O'Bannon here on campus and married him in 1957.\nFrank served as a state senator from Corydon in the 1970s, and the two were among the most admired couples in state government. \n"A lot of politics can be confrontational and divisive," Metz said. "They were known for bringing people together."\nMetz served on the 11-member committee that recommended the former first lady for this year's commencement.\nChair Ken Beckley said the committee suggested O'Bannon in December 2003. IU President Adam Herbert made the final selection.\n"It was a timing matter," Beckley said. "Gov. O'Bannon died in the fall, and we felt this would be the year for her."\nRichard Lugar spoke at last year's graduation, and in 2000 John Mellencamp gave the address.\nJudy O'Bannon's list of community involvement is long. She has served as a trustee of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Secretary of the Executive Board of the Board of Directors of the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana and on the Indiana Main Street Council. She has been a member of the Indiana Arts Commission, the Board of Directors of the Indiana State Museum and a founding member of the Advisory Board of Silvercrest Children's Development Center. \nShe also co-founded Partners in Politics, a support and information group for family members of public officeholders, according to the governor's Web site.\nWhile first lady, she led a "Reading Day at the Residence," inviting close to 1,000 children to the Governor's mansion to read together.\nShe has three children and five grandchildren.\n-- Contact staff writer Adam VanOsdol at avanosdo@indiana.edu.
(04/24/04 12:38am)
Dilated Peoples still work the angles sharp and precise.\nWith the no-nonsense lyrics of Rakaa Iriscience and Evidence, and with DJ Babu on the cut, the Expansion Team has crafted an album which is hip-hop in its truest form.\nThe obvious surprise of the album at first glance is that Kanye West appears. I was skeptical at first on whether his mainstream mode would mesh or even if it signaled a new direction for the group. In hindsight, I shouldn't have been worried, and neither should you.\nThe messages on this album are too powerful to not be heard, and Kanye gives it that immediate attraction for newcomers to the group. \nOn "Marathon" and the Kanye-produced "This Way," Dilated Peoples raps about self-examination and making changes in life for long-term survival. "Pace yourself so you can face yourself. Run hard, you really on race yourself," Rakaa rhymes. \nFor that, Kanye and Dilated are on the same page, even if it's a different book. Kanye's own album, The College Dropout, is about facing up to our insecurities.\nDilated Peoples have always been the kind of group you can count on to provide party music. \nThe Alchemist lays down the best tracks again, and Dilated junkies Planet Asia, Defari and Joey Chavez all appear. \nWhen Ev and Rak are in your headphones making your ear drums pop, they still give you plenty of word play and street lessons to make you think twice.
(04/22/04 4:00am)
Dilated Peoples still work the angles sharp and precise.\nWith the no-nonsense lyrics of Rakaa Iriscience and Evidence, and with DJ Babu on the cut, the Expansion Team has crafted an album which is hip-hop in its truest form.\nThe obvious surprise of the album at first glance is that Kanye West appears. I was skeptical at first on whether his mainstream mode would mesh or even if it signaled a new direction for the group. In hindsight, I shouldn't have been worried, and neither should you.\nThe messages on this album are too powerful to not be heard, and Kanye gives it that immediate attraction for newcomers to the group. \nOn "Marathon" and the Kanye-produced "This Way," Dilated Peoples raps about self-examination and making changes in life for long-term survival. "Pace yourself so you can face yourself. Run hard, you really on race yourself," Rakaa rhymes. \nFor that, Kanye and Dilated are on the same page, even if it's a different book. Kanye's own album, The College Dropout, is about facing up to our insecurities.\nDilated Peoples have always been the kind of group you can count on to provide party music. \nThe Alchemist lays down the best tracks again, and Dilated junkies Planet Asia, Defari and Joey Chavez all appear. \nWhen Ev and Rak are in your headphones making your ear drums pop, they still give you plenty of word play and street lessons to make you think twice.
(04/12/04 1:20pm)
Herbie Hancock played a crowd-pleasing set at the IU Auditorium Wednesday night that included many of his legendary hits. \nFor two-and-a-half hours, Hancock led his acoustic quintet through an odyssey of jazz history. \nThe group was at its best when it explored the funky elements that introduced Hancock to a wider audience in the '70s. "Canteloupe Island" grooved hard, anchored by the flambouyent drumming of Terri Lyne Carrington.\nIt was the first time I've witnessed Carrington in concert, and I definitely want more. The musical relationship between her and Hancock was right on point.\nThe group opened the show with Cole Porter's "I Love You," the one standard of the evening and the only song not written by Hancock. The group took it in musical directions previously unexplored for the Peru, Ind., native's show tune standard.\nHancock played the ballad with a soft jazz sensibility. But after solos by Herbie and tenor saxophonist Gary Thomas, Carrington fastfowarded the song toward something out of "The United Funk of Funkadelika." \nHancock amusingly brought everyone back to straight jazz to end the song. \nThroughout the night, Hancock's group played versions of his hits that were at times unrecognizable. \n"Dolphin Dance," which lasted over 30 minutes, was a curious live jam session that allowed both Hancock and Thomas two separate solos. Thomas was decisively unmelodic in his first, until he blew the final few notes, reminding us of the melody and puncturing the suspense he had masterfully built.\nWhen introducing the song, Hancock said the version of "Dolphin Dance" was going to be like "making a soup without stirring it."\nEach ladle-full was certainly different, but the song wandered around too long.\nThe band really got on its good foot, though, when it explored sounds that reminded of neo-soul. It makes you hope for a future collaboration of Hancock with D'Angelo or ?uestlove. \nHancock and Roy Hargrove toured together two years ago and stopped at Clowes Hall at Butler University in Indianapolis. In addition to Hargrove's "The RH factor," which features many neo-soul artists, he wrote all the horn licks on "Voodoo," the best album to date from the neo-soul clique.\nMaybe Hargrove's tastes are rubbing off on his friend. \nIt wouldn't be much of a shock, considering the footsteps Hancock has left, in genres from funk to space music. \nThe piano legend told the crowd at the start it wasn't the first time he'd come through Bloomington, contrary to what most think.\n"It was a long time ago, and I don't even remember anything about it ... nothing," he said. \n"Chameleon," for all the changing the name implies, was the most straight-forward tune of the concert. Bassist Scott Colley was powerful and crisp with the melody. \nHancock showed the audience why his style is truly inimitable. For a composer who made the proud blues of "Watermelon Man" and the jive-talkin' of "God Made Me Funky," Hancock's solos were remarkably classical. \nBy ending the concert on "Maiden Voyage," Hancock satisfied fans by showcasing most of his popular tunes. The IU Auditorium put on an absolutely superb night of jazz. When its Herbie Hancock, who could ask for anything more?
(04/07/04 4:10am)
Herbie Hancock, one of the greatest composers in jazz history, brings an acoustic band tonight to the IU Auditorium for his first-ever concert in Bloomington. \nHancock, a pianist, has recorded some of the most memorable songs in jazz history, including "Canteloupe Island," "Watermelon Man" and "Chameleon."\nTonight, he will play with drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, bassist Scott Colley and saxophonist Gary Thomas. His IU performance is part of a tour of more than 20 cities that includes the Playboy Jazz Festival and dates in Russia and Poland. \nThe show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25 for students with a valid student ID and $30 for non-students.\nFrom his first album with Blue Note records in 1962 to last year's Grammy-award winning release titled "Directions in Music," Hancock has consistently recorded amazing music, according to his Web site, www.herbiehancock.com.\nIn the 1960s, Hancock played piano in arguably the best jazz group of all time. In what was Miles Davis' second great group, Hancock was joined by Wayne Shorter on tenor saxophone, Ron Carter on bass and Tony Williams on drums.\nHe has not limited himself to just traditional jazz, either. The song "Rockit" landed on MTV in 1983 and showed Hancock melding jazz with electronica. In the 1970s, he explored funk with the album "Headhunters," where he exclaims, "God made me funky."\nHe has also recorded tracks with Guru from Gangstarr and Bootsy Collins.\nAnd the nine-time Grammy winner is still going strong. \nIU associate professor for jazz trumpet performance Pat Harbison said Hancock was "fabulous" when he heard the piano-great play with Shorter a few years ago at the Indianapolis Jazz Festival. \n"He's really a treasure," Harbison said. "He's been at it for so long at such a high level."\nHarbison said Hancock's repertoire stands out because of its diversity. He named "Headhunters" and "Crossings" as two of his favorite Hancock recordings.\n"He was one of the first people to do space music back in the '70s," Harbison said. "He's so diverse that it's just amazing."\nThe first time associate professor for jazz saxophone performance Tom Walsh heard Hancock was in the winter of 1986-87 at the Bluenote club in New York City. Hancock was playing with Branford Marsailis and Ron Carter at the time.\n"It was in a small club environment," Walsh said. "I was close enough to touch him. It was a really amazing experience."\nWalsh said Hancock's "Maiden Voyage" makes most jazz listeners' top ten list. \n"It is one of the most important recordings in the history of jazz," he said. "He is at the top of the jazz world, somebody whose artistry is just incredible."\n-- Contact editor in chief Adam VanOsdol at avanosdo@indiana.edu.
(04/01/04 6:17am)
A report conducted under former Athletics Director Michael McNeely shows the athletics department operated under deficits from 1998 to 2001 and lacked the adequate financial controls that might have prevented those losses. \nSeparate reports filed by the athletics department with the NCAA, and required under federal law, claim the department's budgets were in the positive during those years.\nFor the fiscal year ending June 30, 1999, the department reported to the NCAA on its Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act it had a $40,000 surplus. For fiscal year 2000, the department claimed it was $1.6 million in the positive, and in fiscal year 2001, it reported revenues of $.7 million. \nThese reports are available online, and every college and university in the nation is required to file them annually.\nIn 2002, IU officials announced an athletics deficit for that fiscal year of $3.2 million. Officials claimed then it was the first year in the history of IU that athletics was in the negative. \nHowever, an internal audit, presented to former IU President Myles Brand and Vice President for Administration J. Terry Clapacs April 25, 2002, paints a completely different picture of the department's finances.\nThe departmental review -- conducted during the transition between Clarence Doninger and McNeely -- shows athletics actually ran deficits of $1 million in 1998, $3.1 million in 1999, $.6 million in 2000 and $1.9 million in 2001. \nThe audit cites many examples of where the department's own business structures and policies went wrong and criticizes handling of the Varsity Club, catering to football games, personnel, season ticket holders and the ticket priority policy. \nThe business failures identified in the report include:\n• A conflict of interest existing between a female senior Varsity Club employee and a company owned in part by her spouse that over six years handled the Football Marketing Campaign worth more than $1 million. The report said the conflict was not disclosed as required.\n• Catering at football games worth $750,000 that was paid to one caterer over 6 years without a written contract.\n• Day-to-day expenses of the Varsity Club that were inappropriately paid through an IU Foundation account when they should have been paid through a University account. \n• A lack of proper controls in place at the Varsity Club to monitor donations and annual memberships that could have controlled for lost, misdirected or undetected money.\n• Performance feedback for employees, as required by IU personnel policy 2.2, that was not conducted and background checks on employees that were not carried out. The report said the $2,300 in basketball ticket money stolen by an employee in October 2001 could have been prevented by such checks. \nThe audit made a total of 40 recommendations on how the financial structure of the athletics department could have been improved.\nClapacs could not be reached for comment at press time.\nThe department is currently seeking approval from the IU board of trustees to charge IU students a $30 fee next year. It would be one of the first student fees for athletics among NCAA division 1-A public schools. \nClapacs has said the department's declining revenues are caused by poor performance of the IU football team, and it needs the $30 fee to bail out the budget.\nThe Equity in Athletics Disclosure report filed for fiscal year 2003 shows a current deficit of $1.8 million. \nMcNeely resigned Nov. 8, 2002, six months after the internal audit's completion. Clapacs then took over as interim director.\nThe fee will be voted upon at Friday's board of trustees meeting in New Albany, Ind, along with a 4 percent tuition increase.
(03/04/04 6:24am)
The Residence Hall Association declared Connect the winner of the RHA elections Wednesday afternoon, but the results were thrown into turmoil hours later after the discovery that a ballot box in Eigenmann Hall was opened late on election day, disenfranchising more than 100 voters, said Elections Commissioner senior Eric Hafner.\nPolls in Eigenmann will be open an additional three hours from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday to allow all residents a chance to cast their votes. \nHafner said the Eigenmann elections coordinator mistakenly believed the ballot box would be delivered to him on election day. In fact, it had already been delivered the night before.\n"We missed student votes, and we are going to open up elections and let them have a chance to have their voice be heard," Hafner said.\nNo campaigning will be allowed during the three-hour period.\nThe Eigenmann error has single-handidly resurrected the Amplify ticket and turned Eigenmann Hall into a delirious center of last-ditch campaigning by both parties.\nWednesday afternoon, Amplify's campaign was all but finished as RHA declared Connect the winner of the 2004 election. The party swept the race, RHA announced, with all four Connect candidates beating their respective Amplify opponents by more than 50 votes. \nNow, Amplify presidential candidate Jon Greene said he feels good about his party's chances to pull ahead of Connect. \n"All of us have a glimmer of hope that this could turn it around," Greene said. "We still have a chance."\nConnect candidates said they hope their victory celebrations have simply been postponed. \n"I understand it was just a mistake," said Jon Palmer, presidential candidate for Connect. "I want to give every student the opportunity to voice their opinion. If it wasn't fair, then they should get that chance."\nPalmer said his party will focus on rallying residents at Eigenmann Thursday and Friday morning.\n"Once 11 o'clock rolls around, we will be out of the building," he said.
(11/07/03 2:14pm)
Joe Kernan is set to announce today that he will run for governor in 2004.\nSources close to the governor said Kernan made the decision this week, after intimate discussions with his family.\nHe will make his candidacy official at noon today at the Madame Walker Theatre Center in Indianapolis. \nThursday, Kernan called key political leaders across the state, informing them of his intent to run. \nAmong the first calls Kernan made were to State Senator Vi Simpson (D-Ellettsville) and former Democratic Party Chairman Joe Andrew -- the leading Democratic candidates for governor.\nSimpson's press secretary Jeff Harris said she will withdraw from the campaign and endorse Kernan. Simpson had previously said she would support Kernan if he chose to seek a full term in 2004. \nHer position hasn't changed, Harris said. A formal withdrawal is expected Monday.\nAndrew could not be reached for comment. \nLt. Gov. Kathy Davis is likely to stay on as his running mate. \nNews of Kernan's announcement rallied Democrats across the state, many of whom had hoped his sudden entry into the governor's office would inspire him to toss his hat into the race.\n"People have been holding their breath hoping that Joe would decide to run," said Rep. Peggy Welch (D-Bloomington). "I've said from the beginning I hope he likes his new suit of clothes. I guess he does."\nAs little as three months ago, Kernan maintained he would not seek the state's highest office. But after Gov. Frank O'Bannon died of a stroke Sept. 13, Kernan's plans took a dramatic change. \nWith the support of his wife Maggie, he decided to rethink his decision. \n"Back in December 2002 (when Kernan said he would not run) there was great disappointment," Welch said. "I'm very appreciative of Vi Simpson and Joe Andrew who stepped up to say 'we're going to fill that void and provide leadership.'"\nSources close to the governor said Kernan reconsidered because he felt he was in the right position to "move Indiana forward."\n"I have a much better understanding of the kind of challenges and the opportunities that face the state of Indiana and have determined ... that I want to play a role in helping us achieve those goals that we all share for our state and don't want to watch this from the sidelines," Kernan told The Associated Press.\nIn the two months since Kernan was sworn in as Indiana's 48th governor, he has carved his own reputation as a high-energy and inspirational leader.\nRep. Matt Pierce (D-Bloomington) said Kernan's economic experience will serve him well as he prepares to square off next year against Republican frontrunner Mitch Daniels.\n"Joe is putting together a good vision for Indiana's future, particularly in economic development, which he has been working on for many years now," Pierce said. "His record will compare well to Mitch Daniels when it comes to managing budgets."\nKernan, a native of South Bend, served in the U.S. Navy from 1969 to 1974. He was elected to three terms as mayor of South Bend and served as lieutenant governor under O'Bannon for seven years.\n-- Contact senior writer Adam VanOsdol at avanosdo@indiana.edu.
(11/05/03 7:01am)
At Democratic Headquarters, one block from City Hall, jubilant Democrats celebrated victories in seven of the nine Bloomington elections, including the mayor's race. \nVice president of the College Democrats Dan O'Neill called Tuesday's candidate slate the strongest he's seen in 10 years. \nMoore said she is thrilled to begin working with Mayor-elect Mark Kruzan and the new Democrats on the City Council. \n"It's going to be a very dynamic group of folks," she said. "Hopefully we can do good things for the city."\nStevenson, 20, said his first election was, in some respects, a win. Student turnout at the polls in Read Center and Willkie Quad was up from years past, he said. \n"Even if I didn't win, there was a better student turnout," he said. "That was the goal of my whole campaign, so in that way, I was at least marginally successful." \nMoore said she is glad the election is finished. She relieved her nerves throughout the day by taking her husband for a haircut and having a long lunch at Grazie's.\n"It was a nervous day," she said. "There's really nothing you could do. It's a relief that we can get on with our regular jobs."\nStevenson said he had a positive experience in politics and hopes to do it again.\nAfter he and Moore appeared on a local television talk show taped at the Monroe County Library, Stevenson said he congratulated Moore on her win.\n"I told Regina there will always be a special place in my heart for her as my first political opponent," he said. "Kind of like my first crush."\nAt Republican Headquarters, the two GOP victors, Jason Banach and David Sabbagh, vowed to fight the uphill battle for their party in the Democratic-controlled Council.\n"We ran a hell of a race, and we'll do better next time," Sabbagh said. "We have to continue to present an alternative."\nFor many Republicans who gathered at the headquarters to watch election results come in, Tuesday's showing was another reminder that Bloomington is a city of die-hard Democrats. \n"As a Republican, you're an endangered species," said Republican Jim Dawson, former Bloomington township trustee. "I've been through this before. We knew it was going to be close."\nBrad Whistler, local Republican activist, said the biggest disappointment of the night was the race for the 6th District seat on the City Council. \nAs the election returns came in, Democrat Steve Volan and Republican Chris Smith were tied with only a handful of the 63 precincts left to be counted. Volan went on to win by fewer than 30 votes. \n"Chris fought a good fight," Whistler said. "That's as close as it has ever been."\nFormer Democratic Councilman Patrick Murphy said he was surprised how little trouble Democrat Dave Rollo, a newcomer, had in defeating Republican Rod Young in the 4th District.
(11/04/03 6:13am)
For IU junior Matt Stevenson, today could be the beginning of his political career. This year's election marks the first political endeavor for the history and secondary education major. But for his competitor, Democrat Regina Moore, campaigning for re-election hasn't been her top priority for the past three weeks.\nIt's not because Moore doesn't take today seriously, but rather she's been at the hospital with her friend Frank McCloskey.\nMcCloskey, a former U.S. congressman and Bloomington mayor, died Sunday.\nMoore said she had been at McCloskey's bedside almost daily since he was hospitalized.\n"The life and death of a friend has overshadowed the election for me," she said. \nMoore will be at the Democratic Party headquarters tonight to await election results. \nMoore was elected city clerk in 1999 and is currently the vice president of the Monroe County Democrats. She served as an IU professor for 15 years. \nFor Stevenson, today will be a normal Tuesday, he will attend his band class, but later monitor the election results with the College Republicans. \nThe linchpin of his campaign platform is the infusion of student opinion into city government. \n"It's easy to get caught up in national elections," he said. "I've learned local politics are really important."\nAt age 20, Stevenson is thankful for the political baptism he has received in this year's campaign. He said he wants to continue to participate in electoral politics after he graduates.\n"I've been very lucky to be able to do this, and I'd do it again," Stevenson said.\nThe city clerk is the official record keeper for the city of Bloomington. The clerk also hears parking ticket disputes. \n-- Contact senior writer Adam VanOsdol at avanosdo@indiana.edu.
(10/23/03 5:36am)
Matt Stevenson, an IU junior running for city clerk, said Wednesday that the Monroe County Republican Party has embarrassed and taken advantage of him.\nStevenson, a Republican making his first bid for public office, accused his own party of deceiving students. He said the 200 fraternity and sorority members who applied for absentee ballots were lied to.\n"I'm mad that somebody from my party went out and told these students to lie on these requests," Stevenson said. "Even though it wasn't illegal, we still have to maintain honesty in everything we do in regards to voting."\nStevenson said Republicans at a press conference last Friday manipulated him to accuse Democrats of harassing student voters. He said he did not know in advance the only evidence his party would cite was a phone call to a fraternity officer from an IDS reporter. \n"If I had known that, I wouldn't have done the press conference," Stevenson said. "I think it was awful to go after a student reporter."\nStevenson said his party's maneuverings are the sort of hijinks that drive people away from the electoral process. \nStevenson is a rookie in politics, and he already feels used, he said. \n"I'm not going to let politics as usual discourage me," he said. "I want to know that I've done everything in my power to be honest."\nMarty Stevens, chairman of the Monroe County Republican Party, was out of town Wednesday.\nPresident of the College Republicans Angel Rivera said he has never had problems with the local Republican leadership. Rivera said he was surprised by Stevenson's comments.\n"Those are big statements," Rivera said. "I have no opinion until I find out more."\nTwo weeks ago, the county clerk's office received 216 applications for absentee ballots from students. The applications arched eyebrows at the clerk's office when staff noticed that all 200 students claimed they work from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Election Day.\nBoth County Clerk Jim Fielder and Interfraternity Council President Evan Waldman have said it's suspicious that students from the same greek houses have 12-hour-a-day jobs. \nMonday, the three-member County Election Board convened to discuss the controversial ballots. The board voted unanimously to go ahead and send them to students. The ruling did not touch upon the issue of whether the ballot applications were filled out truthfully.\nStevenson said he does not know who all is involved in the Republican's alleged absentee ballot plot.\nMonroe County Prosecutor Carl Salzmann issued a letter Wednesday to student voters to clear up the "confusion and misunderstandings" the ballot controversy has generated.\nSalzmann said no student committed perjury by requesting an absentee voter ballot. \nHe also said many students have received intimidating phone calls about their votes. \nThe deadline for the clerk's office to send out absentee ballots is Oct. 30. Once they have been mailed, the only way to contest them is through a recount. Chair of the Monroe County Democrats Dan Combs has said he will fight the absentee ballots, not to prevent students from voting, but to ensure the process is done fairly. \nStevenson said it would be outrageous if Democrats forced a recount. \nHe said he wants a big student voter turnout, to show that students matter. \n"I do not want to see students' votes get thrown out," Stevenson said. "It's disappointing that litigation is (the Democrats') answer to this election."\n-- Contact senior writer Adam VanOsdol at avanosdo@indiana.edu.
(10/15/03 6:09am)
The Monroe County Clerk's office said it will contact 200 IU fraternity and sorority members this week to question them about mail-in ballot applications they submitted for the upcoming election.\nMembers of Acacia, Phi Gamma Delta, Alpha Chi Omega, Chi Phi and Delta Gamma claimed on their applications that they are working from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on election day and will be unable to go to the polls. Mail-in ballots would allow them to send in their vote rather than traveling to the election site.\nCounty Clerk Jim Fielder said he will ask students if they really plan to work for the entire 12 hours the polls are open.\n"I can't say 'these kids aren't going to be working 12 hours,' but with 216 coming from the same houses, I can understand where people might be suspicious," Fielder said.\nFielder's phone calls to those some of those students will be the last effort the county makes to determine if the applications are legitimate. All mail-in ballots will be sent out at the end of the week.\n"We have done almost all we can," Fielder said. "We are obligated to go ahead and mail the ballots."\nMonroe County Democratic Chairman Dan Combs said his party will formally challenge the 216 ballots. A challenge would lead to a recount of the votes, delaying the election results. A judge would appoint a three-member recount commission that would investigate whether the students who voted by mail worked during the day or not. \nIf the commission finds that students in fact did not work like they said they would, then the students could be prosecuted for perjury. \n"No one believes the 216 members are going to be working for 12 hours or more," Combs said. "If that's true, then there are a lot of misconceptions about college life."\nThe Monroe County election laws state that anyone who wants to vote absentee can come to the Justice Building and do so without a reason. But the law puts limits on who can vote by mail.\nMail-in ballots are granted to disabled and military voters, to voters over the age of 65, to election officials who work outside their precinct, to voters who expect to be absent from the county on election day, and to voters who are scheduled to work at their regular place of employment during the entire 12 hours the polls are open. \nFielder said he worries students were misled and didn't know they were breaking the law.\n"I'm afraid the students didn't know what they signed," Fielder said. "Someone may have said, 'Hey if you sign this form, you don't even have to show up.'" \nMarty Stevens, president of the Monroe County Republicans, said he has asked the county election board to investigate the applications. \nAt Chi Phi, members of the Republican Party distributed mail-in applications and encouraged members of the house to sign them, said Chi Phi President Jeremiah White. \nWhite said members of the house were eager to sign the applications so they could vote without going to the polls. He said not all the fraternity members who filled out the forms were Republican. \n"My day is a full day, so I appreciate that I can send something in," White said. \nWhite said none of the brothers knowingly broke the law. He said he thinks the Republicans misled the fraternity.\n"I have a hard time believing if they are promoting this, that they don't know it's illegal," White said. "You would assume they would know what they are doing."\nInterfraternity Council President Evan Waldman said he is encouraging fraternity and sorority presidents to find out who orchestrated the application drive.\n"There is something less than legitimate going on here being that there are 216 fraternity and sorority members who have signed their name to the fact that they work from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.," Waldman said. "If this is true, I applaud them for being 216 of the earliest risers on campus."\nCollege Republicans President Angel Rivera said the student group conducted voter registration drives in the county's third district. The fraternities and sororities under investigation are located in the sixth district.\nHe said student coordinators in the individual fraternities and sororities registered members, and local Republican politicians also visited.\n"The Democrats have a problem because Republicans reached out to students and now they are trying to solve their lack of support by raising invalid questions," Rivera said. \nThe Democrats aren't out to stop students from voting, Combs said.\n"When someone tampers with the process, we're not going to let it go," Combs said.\nCombs said it's possible that the students unintentionally violated the election laws. \n"It really looks like the students were taken advantage of," Combs said. "It looks like one person thought he found an easy way to pick up votes."\nHe said voting is a responsibility to be taken seriously.\n"It's not a game; it's not something you do for pizza," Combs said. \nFielder said two of the 216 students came into the clerk's office last week and said they didn't intend to create any problems. The two voted absentee in person.\nFielder said he hopes other students will respond to his phone calls in the same way.\n-- Contact senior writer Adam VanOsdol at avanosdo@indiana.edu.
(10/10/03 6:35am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana Gov. Joe Kernan has selected a woman who once built diesel engines in Columbus, Ind., and later served as the state's budget director to be his lieutenant governor. \nKatherine Davis will be the first female lieutenant governor in Indiana history if she is confirmed by the Indiana General Assembly.\nLegislators of both houses will convene a special session Oct. 20 to vote on the ratification. \nHouse speaker Patrick Bauer said he predicts she will be confirmed by a nearly unanimous vote. \nDavis has a degree in engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. from Harvard University. She moved to Indiana in 1982 to improve diesel engines for the Cummins Engine Co. \nDavis has served as the deputy commissioner of the Indiana Department of Transportation and as the Secretary of the Family and Social Services Agency, the largest state agency. She presently serves as the controller for the city of Indianapolis, a job she has held for four years.\nDavis pledged herself Thursday to boosting the state's economy and improving the quality of life in Indiana.\n"I bring my whole heart to this job," she said.\nKernan and Davis first worked together in 1999 on the 21st Century Fund, which encourages collaboration between universities and businesses to create high-tech jobs.\n"I recognized how talented she was at bringing people together and building consensus," Kernan said. "She is as good as they come."\nKernan said his search for a lieutenant governor began with finding someone with whom he could work and who could step into his shoes in case of an emergency. \nHe first approached Davis about the possibility of becoming the lieutenant governor Sept. 30.\n"As I worked my way through, it became more and more comfortable that (she) was the right decision," Kernan said. \nHe officially asked her Wednesday in a hand-delivered letter.\nRepublicans and Democrats alike praised Davis as a competent administrator with a strong grasp of the economy.\n"I think she is a brilliant choice," state Representative Sheila Klinker said. "She has worked in government for over 20 years and has done a super job at whatever task she was given."\nThursday's crowd at the Indiana Statehouse was at times almost boisterous. \nAmong Davis' loudest supporters were the city employees she works with in Mayor Bart Peterson's office. \n"Kathy is about as smart as they come," said Beth White, who along with the other city employees wore a "Go Kathy" sticker on her chest. "She is absolutely committed to government and to doing what's right for the people of Indiana."\nPeterson gave his blessings to his now-former city controller, who he called "irreplaceable."\n"She was an inspiring decision," Peterson said. "I'm very happy for the state."\nThe lieutenant governor of Indiana presides over the Indiana State Senate. Under the state constitution, Davis will also serve as the head of the Indiana Department of Commerce, the commissioner of agriculture and the chair of the Indiana Counter-Terrorism and Security Council.\nKernan declared last year that he would not run for governor in the 2004 election. After taking over for the late Gov. Frank O'Bannon in September, Kernan and his wife, Maggie, have indicated that he is rethinking that decision.\nLegislative leaders said Thursday they did not see Davis as a potential running mate. \nKernan said the two have not discussed a 2004 run. \nSaid Davis, "We'll be talking I'm sure"
(10/09/03 5:39am)
Gov. Joe Kernan plans to announce his choice for lieutenant governor at 2 p.m. today at the Indiana Statehouse.\nKernan's selection might be the clearest indication yet of whether he intends to toss his hat into the ring for the 2004 governor's race.\nBefore he took over for the late Gov. Frank O'Bannon in September, Kernan had declared he would not seek the governor's office. However, Kernan's wife, Maggie, recently said she advised her husband to reconsider that decision.\nKernan later confirmed that he and his wife are pondering a run.\nIf he does, today's choice for lieutenant governor could also be a choice for running mate.\n"Having taken over the position (of governor), it wouldn't be entirely surprising if he had changed his mind," said Margaret Ferguson, a professor of political science at IU-Purdue University Indianapolis. "It sounds like he's pretty serious about running."\nAndrew Stoner, the governor's deputy press secretary, said Kernan looked for someone with whom he could work well and who could lead the state if anything were to happen to him. \nA third criterion might be whether the lieutenant governor could balance a ticket come election season.\n"He needs to think about someone who can work well with the General Assembly and who can work with the Democrats as well as the Republicans," Ferguson said. "Then again, if he's thinking about running for governor, then he needs to think about the lieutenant governor as his running mate."\nKernan's nominee must be ratified by a majority vote in both chambers of the General Assembly. \nKernan has asked the legislature to convene a special session at the Statehouse Oct. 20 to make a vote. \nLeaders of both houses have indicated they will be supportive of whoever Kernan nominates, said Stoner.\nThe lieutenant governor's office has been vacant since Kernan was sworn in as governor. \nThe names of possible nominees have swirled around in the media. The Associated Press has reported that list might include Bloomington mayor John Fernandez, Indiana State Police Superintendent Melvin Carroway, state budget director Marilyn Schultz and state democratic chairman Joe Hogsett.\nFernandez was not available for comment Wednesday.\nStoner declined to speculate on the decision. \n"It's been a very closely guarded discussion, and that's the way (Kernan) prefers it," Stoner said.\nSince he assumed the governor's office, Kernan has been busy assembling his staff. He selected Mary Downes as his new chief of staff and Richard Rowley as the new legislative director. Others, like the budget director, Kernan retained.\n"People are very eager to see that he is successful," Stoner said. "There are changes in putting some of his own people in positions, and everyone understands that."\nKernan honors O'Bannon every chance he gets, Stoner said. The governor launched a new marketing campaign for the state Wednesday, and he was quick to note that O'Bannon spent the whole summer working on its promotion.\nStoner said Kernan's leadership style has been refreshing. The governor arrives at the office before many of the staff members and pauses to greet office workers throughout the day.\n"He's got a lot of energy, and he engages the staff quite a bit," Stoner said.\n-- Contact staff writer Adam VanOsdol at avanosdo@indiana.edu.
(10/08/03 5:51am)
Looking for a hotel room this Homecoming Weekend?\nGood luck. Bloomington's hotels are booked solid.\nThe 117 rooms at the Courtyard by Marriott are all reserved. The Indiana Memorial Union's 186 rooms have been taken since July. At the Econo Lodge on North Walnut Avenue, however, two rooms miraculously opened up Tuesday afternoon because of cancelations.\nThe Bloomington Visitor's Bureau is receiving hundreds of phone calls from people hunting for hotel rooms. Laura Newton, director of sales, said the bureau is still trying to help as many people as it can. By Friday, she expects the few hotel rooms left in the city to be gone. \n"People are still calling trying to find rooms," Newton said. "Every phone call, they seem desperate, like it's the end of the world."\nAt the Courtyard by Marriott, General Manager Frank Rowe has been turning customers away for months. On Tuesday, a pleading visitor tried to bribe his way into a room with a $100 bill. He was turned away.\n"I wish I had a wait list," Rowe said. "If I had 50 more rooms, I could fill them all."\nWith so many people visiting for Homecoming, hotels are pushing their rates way up. \nNewton said the No. 1 complaint the visitor's bureau hears concerns the high prices for lodging.\nLuke Musselman, general manager of the University Plaza Hotels, said the hotel increases its rates by about $50 during Homecoming weekend. They also increase during graduation.\nThe Courtyard by Marriott raises its rates by $60 every home football weekend. \n"There is a strong demand for these football weekends," Rowe said. "Higher demand creates higher rates."\nMia Galloway at the Econo Lodge declined to specify how much rates increase there, but she did say they are "definitely pricier."\n"These are the biggest weekends, and rooms are sure to get rented because we are so close to the stadium," she said. "It's one of our money-making weekends."\nThe IMU does not raise its prices. IU policy forbids it. Rooms at the Union run from $96 to $259 a night.\nNewton said hotels in every city raise their rates when there are big events.\n"It really is supply and demand, and people get caught off guard," Newton said. "These are some of the things we have to teach the public." \nThe IU Memorial Stadium seats 53,000 fans. Bloomington only has 2,000 hotel rooms, Newton said.\nFor a last-minute place to stay, procrastinators might want to try the Quality Inn off Indiana 45/46. General Manager Michael Cahill said the hotel is only 38 percent full. \n"We usually look for 100 percent occupancy, and we are at 38 percent, which is terrible," Cahill said.\n-- Contact senior writer Adam VanOsdol at avanosdo@indiana.edu.
(09/25/03 5:45am)
The Indiana Supreme Court upheld a Bloomington city ordinance Tuesday that limits the number of people living in the same house.\nThe ordinance prohibits more than three unrelated residents from living together in parts of the city designated as single-family areas. \nThe Bloomington Planning Department classifies neighborhoods in Bloomington as single-family or multi-family. In multi-family areas, up to five unrelated residents can live together.\nThe ordinance has the biggest effect on students living in the area south of Second Street and east of Walnut Street. The zoning for that area is nearly 90 percent single-family. \nThe district encompassed by Indiana Ave., College Ave., 10th Street and Second Street is zoned mainly as multi-family. \nJunior Brian Gessler lives in a house with three others near Swain Avenue. Gessler said the law is unfair because it takes away students' rights. He and his roommates save money by living together, he said.\n"It splits up utilities and keeps rent down quite a bit," Gessler said.\nTuesday's unanimous ruling ends a seven year legal battle between the City of Bloomington and a local landlord, Peter Dvorak, who was sued by the city in 1996 for over-occupancy on his property. Dvorak claimed the ordinance, enacted in 1986, violated the privileges and immunities clause of the Indiana constitution.\nIn siding with the city, the Supreme Court justices said Dvorak and his attorneys did not convincingly prove that the ordinance was unconstitutional. \nDvorak could not be reached for comment.\nAccording to the Bloomington Department of Housing and Neighborhood Development, over 30 complaints of over-occupancy have been reported in each of the last two years. \nPhil Worthington, a resident of the Garden Hills Neighborhood, said he is relieved the case has been resolved.\nWorthington said he supports the ordinance because it helps reduce noise, trash, traffic and keeps density levels down. \nWorthington said the ordinance is not anti-student. Students dominate the single-family areas anyway, he said.\n"This is a garden variety zoning ordinance," Worthington said. "It exists in thousands of communities across the country that aren't college towns." \nThe Indiana Court of Appeals had ruled in favor of Dvorak in February of 2000.\n-- Contact senior writer Adam VanOsdol at avanosdo@indiana.edu.
(09/22/03 6:35am)
Thousands of Hoosiers gathered at the steps of the Statehouse Friday to remember Gov. Frank O'Bannon as a statesman who never lost his Hoosier touch.\nThe solemn service began at noon and lasted a little more than an hour, celebrating O'Bannon's spirit in speeches by Gov. Joe Kernan and Sen. Evan Bayh.\nKernan, sworn in one week ago, said he'd never forget the twinkle in O'Bannon's smile.\n"You can't fake the twinkle," he said.\nAnd he proposed an answer to that age old Indiana question: What is a Hoosier?\n"I think we all know it's Frank O'Bannon," he said. "He was the prototype of all the good things we aspire to be: friendly to all, hardworking, authentic, not flashy, just steady."\nO'Bannon's greatest legacy, eulogized Bayh, is the kind of man he was. \n"He was always a source of inspiration, encouragement and sound advice," Bayh said.\nHe listed O'Bannon's major accomplishments as setting higher academic standards, providing better health care for the poor and building the White River State Park and State Museum. \nIn the quieter moments of music and prayer, politicians and citizens grieved together.\nDavid Baker's Trio performed an original composition Baker wrote in honor of the governor, and a group of Indianapolis school children played "Back Home Again in Indiana" on ukulele.\nLater, O'Bannon received a 19-gun salute from the Indiana Honor Guard, and 24 white doves were released into the gray sky.\n"This was the perfect public end to the tragedy," said U.S. Congressman Mike Pence. "It reflected O'Bannon's charm. He was a very good man, and you couldn't help but be fond of him."\nWhen the service ended, the governor's widow, Judy, led her family as they filed into the Statehouse. At the top of the steps, she paused to look back at the crowd, which stretched far back into Government Way. She took out her digital camera, snapped a picture, and gave a thumbs up -- a touching finale from a woman who gave the state so much strength during the past two weeks. \n"Judy has just been the rock of Gibraltar," Baker said. "My prayers are with her."\nIU trustee Steve Ferguson said Hoosiers needed the service to begin moving forward.\n"It's been unreal up until now," Ferguson said. "This helped bring a little closure."\nSpeaker of the Indiana House Pat Bauer said the service was "uplifting."\n"It was the most moving ceremony I've experienced in my 33 years here," he said. "It embodied (O'Bannon's) mortal life and his spirit and how it soared."\n-- Contact senior writer Adam VanOsdol at avanosdo@indiana.edu.
(09/15/03 6:03am)
Indiana Gov. Frank O'Bannon, who died Saturday after suffering a massive stroke one week ago, will be remembered this week at ceremonies in the Statehouse and his hometown of Corydon, Ind.\nO'Bannon's portrait and personal items will be on display in the rotunda of the Statehouse Thursday. The public is invited to file past and write a message in a memorial book.\nOn Friday, an interfaith service will take place on the same Statehouse steps where O'Bannon was inaugurated in 1997. In Corydon, services are being planned for Saturday and Sunday. \nO'Bannon, 73, died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital at 11:33 a.m. Saturday, with his wife by his side. He had shown steady signs of improvement at the Chicago hospital where he was being treated. But late Friday night, his health deteriorated. The swelling in his brain increased, which in turn caused his blood pressure and heart rate to drop.\nEfforts to stabilize the governor, including additional medication and the draining of spinal fluids, were unsuccessful, doctors said Saturday.\nAfter a personal discussion with the attending physicians, the governor's wife, Judy, asked that life support for her husband be discontinued, a wish O'Bannon himself had expressed in his living will. \nThe doctors then withdrew medications that had been used to maintain the governor's blood pressure.\nFifteen minutes later, O'Bannon died.\nNews of the governor's death stunned Hoosiers across the state, many of whom had thought O'Bannon would pull through after surviving the crucial 48 hours following his brain surgery. \n"A lot of people were very hopeful," said Mary Dieter, O'Bannon's press secretary. "The doctors had warned us all along that strokes are totally unpredictable, so although we were shocked, perhaps we should not have been. When you care about someone, you tend to latch onto the best news, and I suspect that's what a lot of Hoosiers did." \nThough he had remained stable for much of the week, in the end, O'Bannon's stroke was just too severe, said Dr. William Peruzzi, chief neuroscientist at NMH. Nearly the entire right side of O'Bannon's brain was damaged by the stroke. \n"There really wasn't anything else we could have done," Peruzzi said at a press conference. \nO'Bannon's body will be cremated and his ashes buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery in Corydon.\nSaturday night, Lt. Gov. Joe Kernan was sworn in as Indiana's 48th governor in the chambers of the Indiana Supreme Court. \nWith his left hand resting on a family Bible, Kernan took the oath of office from Supreme Court Justice Theodore Boehm. Kernan vowed to lead Indiana "to the best of my skill and ability, so help me God." \nStanding solemnly in front of a Statehouse audience, the new governor reflected on his friendship with O'Bannon. He spoke on the trade mission to Europe they took together in 1990, the day in 1996 when O'Bannon asked him to be his running mate and the events that have thrust him into the role of Indiana's executive. \n"(O'Bannon) lived his life to the fullest in the service of the people of the state of Indiana," Kernan said. "I have lost my governor and my friend. So too has every Hoosier lost their governor and their friend."\nKernan will serve out the rest of O'Bannon's term, which lasts until December 2004.\nO'Bannon dedicated the last 35 years of his life to serving Indiana. He spent seven years as governor, eight as lieutenant governor and 18 years as a state senator from Corydon, Ind. \nHe received a bachelor's degree in government in 1952 from IU. After serving two years in the Air Force, he returned to Bloomington to earn his law degree in 1957.\n-- Contact senior writer Adam VanOsdol at avanosdo@indiana.edu.
