'Fun Frolic' frustrates campus police

While the annual "Fun Frolic" brightens the days of residents and college students, that exuberance comes at the expense of the IU Police Department's work because of the carnival's potential to draw criminal activity.\n"During the Frolic, we sometimes get a lot of juveniles and juvenile delinquents that are many times totally unsupervised," said IUPD spokesman Lt. Jerry Minger. "Their parents just drop them off there."\nEvery year, the Fun Frolic benefits Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Monroe County with a financial gift of a little more than $25,000. But while the event is designed to help many children, some of the problems presented to police are the cause of juvenile delinquency.\n"They're at a time of their life where they're having all these emotional problems and trying to fit in," Minger said. "In school, they have counselors to deal with these kinds of things. When they're at home, they have their parents. But when they come to the Fun Frolic, it's the police who wind up dealing with them."\nFriday night at about 8:30 p.m., IUPD Officer Ian Lovan took two juveniles into custody who were engaged in a scuffle at the carnival. During the altercation, an off-duty Monroe County Sheriff's deputy was assaulted while trying to separate the two youths but showed no visible signs of injury. One of the youths had .08 grams of a substance in his possession, which was identified as marijuana following a chemical reagent test. The juveniles were transported via squad car to IUPD headquarters at 801 N. Jordan Ave., where Juvenile Probation Services was contacted and authorized the release of the two youths to their parents' custody.\nOn Saturday night, IUPD officers Ryan Corbet and Douglas McElroy were patrolling the west side of the Memorial Stadium Parking Lot where the carnival is taking place and saw four individuals congregating near a Mercury Cougar. McElroy and Corbet approached the group, which began to walk away. McElroy said after approaching the car, he saw narcotics and paraphernalia in plain view, followed the four individuals back into the Fun Frolic and detained them. After a brief investigation, Bloomington resident Ian Kvale was cited for possession of marijuana and paraphernalia, and Dewayne Kauffman, also of Bloomington, was cited for possession of paraphernalia. Neither individual made themselves available for comment.\nMinger said the increasing prevalence of drugs in Bloomington could be attributed to people not taking the criminal consequences seriously.\n"It's common knowledge that in Monroe County, if you get caught with less than 30 grams you could wind up getting less than public intoxication," Minger said. "We're seeing more marijuana on campus. But it's always hard to say whether it's an escalation in actual use or just an enforcement issue."\nDespite the increased watch IUPD has to put over the patrons of the Fun Frolic, IUPD Sgt. Don Schmuhl said the event was not stretching its resources.\n"Because there (were) four extra part-time officers assigned to the Fun Frolic just for that, it was pretty well covered," Schmuhl said. "I'd say this Frolic we've had fewer runs out there than we've had in the past, so far"

Picasso meets Einstein

Actor/comedian turned playwright Steve Martin's work "Picasso at the Lapin Agile" opened at Nashville's noted Brown County Playhouse to a crowd of more than 125 people Thursday evening.\nDirected by Murray McGibbon, assistant professor of directing and acting at IU, the show depicts a chance meeting by patent office worker and soon-to-be noted scientist Albert Einstein and the then amateur artist Pablo Picasso in a Parisian bar in 1904.\nMy two favorite characters throughout the entire show were Gaston, an elderly and high-class dirty old man who has a bit of trouble with his bladder and the scientific eccentric Albert Einstein.\nGaston is played by Richard Burke, who is a professor emeritus of IU's telecommunications department, playing the character and conveying a charming sense of trust and kindness. He seems a neat old coot who really likes a good-lookin' dame and an even better looking glass of wine. Burke's delivery comes across as being very natural -- like he's really in the scene and living the life of the character he's portraying, rather than just saying a bunch of lines a playwright penned and going through the motions. \nBurke made something as simple as having to alleviate the pressure of his bladder humorous by the way he continually got up and went to the bathroom. The danger in this sort of humor I call "humorous repetition" is the repetition will make the bit boring if it's overused. Every time Gaston got up to use the water closet, if was fresh as fresh can be. The simplicity of his portrayal made it wonderful. \nAlbert Einstein is a really interesting character in real life, and it would be silly not to make use of his complex and often times humorous personality. Toward the latter part of his life, rumor has it he only had four or five outfits that were all identical. He said he served to simplify his life because he didn't have to agonize over what to wear. While living in New Jersey after he came to the United States, the other noted scientist Edward Teller had to drive him the grocery store and probably balance his checkbook for him. The man who came up with the Theory of Relativity and spurred President Roosevelt's interest in the atomic bomb needed someone to do his coupon clipping for him. That's worth a play alone. \nThe very difficult role was played by Bill Simmons, who has a few credentials under his belt including the Phoenix Theatre in Indianapolis. Simmons played a very intelligent character the audience could also enjoy and even, I believe, relate to in the way he was so lighthearted and humorous. \nSimmons plays Einstein as a person who is very smart and very close to making a major scientific breakthrough with a book called the "Special Theory of Relativity," but he does so with some humility that makes the audience enjoy the character. Einstein was just very pleasant to watch, and again he was always in the scene. He was very believable and his use of the heavy Jewish accent was also believable. \nI don't know what Einstein sounded like, but I can just see the mouth in a real picture of Einstein moving up and down and sounding like Bill Simmons. He actually reminded me of a character played by Laurence Olivier in "The Boys From Brazil" with Gregory Peck, made about 25 years ago. His movements were slow and pensive. His expressions fit the dialogue well, and he played well off of Jose Antonio Garcia, who played Pablo Picasso. Einstein compared to Picasso was a very down-to-earth, unassuming man who carried his mass intellect with a nice grace.\nThe portrayal of Picasso, on the other hand, I thought was problematic.\nGarcia played the role of Picasso as a brash and arrogant artist whose alacrity filled me with a disgust of the character. Picasso had talent. Obviously, I never knew Picasso. But if he was anything like Garcia's version, I wouldn't want to.\nThe show itself is very lighthearted and entertaining. It has highs and lows that keep the show going and interesting, but it is invariably without sensitive or thought-provoking moments. Steve Martin's zaniness prevails throughout the show and every time some goofy bit of shtick or dialogue takes place, you can imagine Martin sitting at a typewriter conjuring up the words blurted across the stage. \nMartin never lets the play get too weighted down with serious thoughts, because every time there seems a good way to tie in a little self-reflection or examination of anything social, something silly happens and ruins the moment. The humor, however, is not stupid. It's all very clever and requires a little thought. It is, by no means, slapstick.\nThis is an excellent show to see for sake of entertainment and unwinding after a hard day trapped inside your cubicle and almost blinded by the glare of the computer screen.

Alumni receive award for service

IU will recognize five former students this weekend with the Distinguished Alumni Service Award at a luncheon in the Indiana Memorial Union's Alumni Hall. The criteria for receiving the award include achievements in their fields and important contributions to their communities.\nThis year's recipients include Clarence W. Boone Sr., of Gary; Gayle Karch Cook, of Bloomington; Alecia A. DeCoudreaux, of Indianapolis; Larry R. Ellis, of Atlanta; and Patricia R. Miller, of Fort Wayne, according to a statement released by the IU Alumni Association.\nAs part of IU's Cream and Crimson Weekend, IU has conferred 268 DASA's on alumni since the creation of the award in 1953.\nWith an estimated 450,000 living graduates on the rolls, the IU Alumni Association is the third largest in the United States, and the Cream and Crimson Weekend is one of the largest functions the Association sponsors next to Homecoming. The weekend event serves many purposes for the IU Alumni Association. \n"It is an opportunity for the 50-year class to return for their reunion each year," said Ken Beckley, President and CEO of the IU Alumni Association. "It is the weekend for the IU Foundation board of directors to meet. It is the weekend for the policy setting group for the Alumni Association called the Executive Council to meet."\nThe weekend is also the forum for the ceremony honoring those who will receive the DASA.\nToward the end of every calendar year, the Alumni Association puts out a call for nominations for the award and puts together a selection committee consisting of seven members who work anonymously, in an effort to make sure voting is not influenced by outsiders. The committee meets and goes over the nominations for the DASA based on any number of facets of achievement benefiting their field or the community. \nThe selection committee chooses five recipients and one alternate. One stipulation of the award is the recipient must be present to receive the award. If one of the recipients cannot RSVP to the ceremony, then the alternate takes the absentee's place and receives the award.\nWith the support of a public institution coming from supporters such as alumni, in both financial- and service-oriented ways, the recognition of those supporters is important to the health of a university.\n"Every day, our alumni are active participants in the successes of Indiana University," said Amanda Burnham, IU School of Journalism director of development and alumni relations. "The DASA is important because a university should recognize the achievements of its alumni and should publicly thank these individuals for their dedication to so many worthy causes. And to thank these individuals among their family and friends is a wonderful honor."\nBoone earned his bachelor's degree in anatomy and physiology in 1953 and earned an M.D. in 1956 from the IU Medical School. He worked as a physician in northwest Indiana until his retirement in 1999. Boone has served IU's Northwest campus in several capacities, including two chancellor search committees and on the IU Northwest Chancellor's Advisory Committee. Boone also served his community by working on a number of projects, including the Gary Community School Corporation's Drop-out Prevention program.\nCook graduated from IU in 1956 with a Fine Arts degree and with her husband, Bill, founded a company called Cook, Inc., which specializes in the manufacturing of medical equipment. Cook and her husband have endowed chairs in the School of Education and the School of Medicine and supported the endowment of the Wells Scholars Program. She is a member of the IU Foundation board of directors.\nDeCoudreaux is a 1978 graduate of the IU School of Law, and is secretary and general counsel for Eli Lilly and Co. DeCoudreaux has served as chairwoman of the IU School of Law board of visitors and as a member of the school's search committee for a dean. She is also a member of the IU Foundation board of directors. In the Indianapolis community, she has been a director of United Way. \nEllis earned his masters degree from the IU School of HPER in 1975, but he began his 32-year military career in 1969. Now a four-star general, he is one of the highest-ranking officers in the United States Army and is Commanding Officer of U.S. Army Forces Command. He is responsible for the well-being of 750,000 troopers, civilians, retirees and their families.\nMiller received a bachelor's degree in education in 1960 and began a career in teaching in Fort Wayne. But her initiative and drive led her in another direction. In 1982, she and a partner founded Vera Bradley Designs, which manufactures luggage, handbags and travel accessories. \nAs a result of the company's success, she has been able to lead efforts to provide resources for cancer research. The Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer Research has been a major supporter of cancer research at the IU School of Medicine. The Foundation provided for the establishment of the Vera Bradley Chair in oncology.\n"These individuals are an essential part of the University family, and we rely on their commitment to service," said Jane Jankowski, IU director of public communication. "Those individuals who have shown such a commitment certainly deserve this award"

Playhouse presents 'Picasso at the Lapin Agile'

A depiction of the human incarnations of perhaps the highest form of scientific and artistic genius can be seen in the Brown County Playhouse's season opener, "Picasso at the Lapin Agile," opening at 8 p.m. tonight in the Nashville, Ind. theatre.\nThe few lines of text in Steve Martin's script sets the scene: "A bar in Paris, circa 1904. A Bartender, Freddy, rubs a rag across the bar. On the wall is a three-by-four-foot painting of a sheep in a landscape. Upstage left is a door from the street. Upstage right is a door to a hall and toilet. We hear prerecorded accordion music of 'Ta Rah Rah Boom Dee Re.' Freddy is taking chairs off the tables." \nAnd so begins a show depicting a fictional meeting of two of the so-called titans of their respective fields. The man who redefined art with Cubism -- Picasso -- and the man who reinvented science with his theory of relativity -- Einstein.\nDirected by Murray McGibbon, assistant professor of directing and acting at IU, the show earned the 1996 New York Outer Critics' Circle Awards for Best Play and Best Playwright.\nThe "Lapin Agile" means Nimble Rabbit and Picasso made a painting of the actual bar he frequented quite a bit and served as the forum for blow-outs with mistresses, talking shop with other artists and drinking a few. The bar might well have been the place where cubism was created.\nPassionate Pablo Picasso (Jose Antonio Garcia) and a fiery Albert Einstein (Bill Simmons) are on the threshold of fame and vie for the attentions of a young lady. Respect also comes into play through a battle of ideas about painting, probability, lust and the future of the world. One year later, Albert Einstein published the Special Theory of Relativity. Three years later, Pablo Picasso painted Les Demoiselles D'Avignon\nSo we see two people, Picasso, 23, and Einstein, 25, before they would eventually become household names and admired highly within their fields. If the Three Stooges had a love for custard pies, the main characters share that love as they hurl at each other drafts of equations of the forces holding the galaxy together and sketches of art work that would one day be stolen, forged and sold for millions of dollars. \nThe climax of the play comes when an unnamed musician travels back in time from Memphis, Tenn. so he can share in the funhouse of interesting characters and the comedic chaos set within the walls of the fleabag resort for those who enjoy the occasional libation.\nWhat an interesting anachronism. But why pair Einstein and Picasso?\n"I didn't know Einstein was going to be in it. He just came," said actor/writer/comedian Steve Martin to Newsweek Magazine in 1994. "So I downloaded his biography on CompuServe. You have to forget all the rules and start shaking things around." \nMartin also said part of the idea for bringing the two historically important figures together at the Lapin Agile is a reflection of Martin's early days in the business when he hung around a Los Angeles bar called "The Troubadour," which boasted the starts of singer Linda Ronstadt and The Eagles.\nThe Brown County Playhouse honored Harvey Cocks several years ago at a production of "Life With Father," one of Broadway's longest running non-musical shows. Cocks, who starred as Clarence Day in the original production, now manages one of the oldest children's theater companies in the United States in Fort Wayne. \n"I remember reading the script. It's a good theater piece," Cocks said. "The characters have been well researched and they're colorful and interesting. Martin is a very excellent writer who writes for both the intellectual and the average theater-goer."\nDale McFadden, producer of the Brown County Playhouse also had high praise for "Picasso."\n"Steve Martin has written a humorous fantasy that allows him to explore the nature of fame, love and the beauty and horror of the 20th century," he said. "It will allow our audiences to see another side of him that many may not know."\n"Picasso at the Lapin Agile" opens tonight and continues every Wednesday through Sunday until July 6. Curtain time for performances is 8 pm. Sundays and 2 p.m. on July 4. Ticket prices for Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays are $15 for adults and $8 for children 12 and under. Fridays and Saturdays are $17. Tickets are available in person at the Brown County Playhouse, 812-988-2123 or IU Auditorium Box Office, 855-1103 or at all Ticketmaster locations.

Playhouse presents 'Picasso at the Lapin Agile'

A depiction of the human incarnations of perhaps the highest form of scientific and artistic genius can be seen in the Brown County Playhouse's season opener, "Picasso at the Lapin Agile," opening at 8 p.m. tonight in the Nashville, Ind. theatre.\nThe few lines of text in Steve Martin's script sets the scene: "A bar in Paris, circa 1904. A Bartender, Freddy, rubs a rag across the bar. On the wall is a three-by-four-foot painting of a sheep in a landscape. Upstage left is a door from the street. Upstage right is a door to a hall and toilet. We hear prerecorded accordion music of 'Ta Rah Rah Boom Dee Re.' Freddy is taking chairs off the tables." \nAnd so begins a show depicting a fictional meeting of two of the so-called titans of their respective fields. The man who redefined art with Cubism -- Picasso -- and the man who reinvented science with his theory of relativity -- Einstein.\nDirected by Murray McGibbon, assistant professor of directing and acting at IU, the show earned the 1996 New York Outer Critics' Circle Awards for Best Play and Best Playwright.\nThe "Lapin Agile" means Nimble Rabbit and Picasso made a painting of the actual bar he frequented quite a bit and served as the forum for blow-outs with mistresses, talking shop with other artists and drinking a few. The bar might well have been the place where cubism was created.\nPassionate Pablo Picasso (Jose Antonio Garcia) and a fiery Albert Einstein (Bill Simmons) are on the threshold of fame and vie for the attentions of a young lady. Respect also comes into play through a battle of ideas about painting, probability, lust and the future of the world. One year later, Albert Einstein published the Special Theory of Relativity. Three years later, Pablo Picasso painted Les Demoiselles D'Avignon\nSo we see two people, Picasso, 23, and Einstein, 25, before they would eventually become household names and admired highly within their fields. If the Three Stooges had a love for custard pies, the main characters share that love as they hurl at each other drafts of equations of the forces holding the galaxy together and sketches of art work that would one day be stolen, forged and sold for millions of dollars. \nThe climax of the play comes when an unnamed musician travels back in time from Memphis, Tenn. so he can share in the funhouse of interesting characters and the comedic chaos set within the walls of the fleabag resort for those who enjoy the occasional libation.\nWhat an interesting anachronism. But why pair Einstein and Picasso?\n"I didn't know Einstein was going to be in it. He just came," said actor/writer/comedian Steve Martin to Newsweek Magazine in 1994. "So I downloaded his biography on CompuServe. You have to forget all the rules and start shaking things around." \nMartin also said part of the idea for bringing the two historically important figures together at the Lapin Agile is a reflection of Martin's early days in the business when he hung around a Los Angeles bar called "The Troubadour," which boasted the starts of singer Linda Ronstadt and The Eagles.\nThe Brown County Playhouse honored Harvey Cocks several years ago at a production of "Life With Father," one of Broadway's longest running non-musical shows. Cocks, who starred as Clarence Day in the original production, now manages one of the oldest children's theater companies in the United States in Fort Wayne. \n"I remember reading the script. It's a good theater piece," Cocks said. "The characters have been well researched and they're colorful and interesting. Martin is a very excellent writer who writes for both the intellectual and the average theater-goer."\nDale McFadden, producer of the Brown County Playhouse also had high praise for "Picasso."\n"Steve Martin has written a humorous fantasy that allows him to explore the nature of fame, love and the beauty and horror of the 20th century," he said. "It will allow our audiences to see another side of him that many may not know."\n"Picasso at the Lapin Agile" opens tonight and continues every Wednesday through Sunday until July 6. Curtain time for performances is 8 pm. Sundays and 2 p.m. on July 4. Ticket prices for Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays are $15 for adults and $8 for children 12 and under. Fridays and Saturdays are $17. Tickets are available in person at the Brown County Playhouse, 812-988-2123 or IU Auditorium Box Office, 855-1103 or at all Ticketmaster locations.

Officers face uncertainty during stops Traffic Stops

According to a recent report released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation --called the Uniform Crime Report -- roughly 55 percent of police officer in-the-line-of-duty deaths stem from traffic stops going bad. This statistic makes traffic stops one of the most dangerous facets of police work.\n"The initial encounter with the subjects is the most dangerous part of the traffic stop. You don't know who you're stopping," said IU Police Department Officer Rebecca Lucas, an officer with eight years full-time experience on the department. \nShe said the time between the officer leaving a squad car and approaching the stopped car is the most critical.\n"The person you're stopping has a choice to resist or not," Lucas said. "If the person has a criminal background, they may use the time to catch you off guard when you can't react."\nBut while the initial encounter may be the most dangerous part of the traffic stop, all parts of the traffic stop have the potential to be as dangerous, if not more.\n"First, you have to get the vehicle (the car being pulled over) to stop, because it could result in a pursuit," IUPD Officer Brice Boembeke said. "Getting info from the driver is dangerous because drivers have access to what is in their car, and you don't know what's in their car."\nBoembeke also said at the point where a police officer is getting license and registration information from the driver, another danger also becomes the intense focus. He said there is a fear of becoming so focused on the driver the officer loses sight of what is going on around him.\n"That's why we use our cars as shields in case we don't see an oncoming car," Boembeke said. Officers strategically position squad cars at a traffic stop in a manner that forces oncoming traffic to veer to the left giving officers more room to work, he added.\nEven something as seemingly safe as the officer walking back from the stopped car to the squad car can have the potential to be very dangerous.\n"That's a vulnerable point, so you have to keep looking over your shoulder so something isn't happening," Boembeke said.\nBoembeke said there is a correlation between danger and having to divide your attention between tasks. For instance, when an officer is sitting in the squad car and writing out a traffic ticket, he or she has to pay attention to writing the ticket, transferring information from the operator's permit, listening to the radio, watching to make certain traffic isn't backing up or cars imposing an increasing risk to the safety of either the officer or the stopped driver. \nWhile these other variables often come into play, sometimes the unexpected can further complicate things.\nIn its most basic forms, a traffic stop consists of four main factors, said Boembeke. \n"Your car, their car, me and the driver," said Boembeke, referring to the police car, the stopped car, the officer, and the stopped driver.\nIn May, 2003, IUPD made over 200 traffic stops. Boembeke said each one of those traffic stops can be different and has a level of uncertainty in the outcome.\nBecause that uncertainty has the potential to be so dangerous, an IUPD officer's most valuable protection in this case isn't a 9mm Glock. It's the training instilled in the officers through the IUPD Academy. \nThere they are taught several different methods for doing what appear to be simple tasks, such as pulling their squad car up behind a non-moving vehicle and approaching a stopped car.\nBoembeke said he has been taught four different ways to position his squad car in relationship to the offender's vehicle, as well as at least 20 different ways to approach the car he pulled over. \nHis said his favorite method is to pull his squad car within three feet of the subject vehicle and then angle his squad car to the left. By doing so, Boembeke limits danger to himself by turning the squad car into a shield against oncoming traffic. The position of the squad car forces drivers to allow extra room to pass the traffic stop, significantly lowering the chances of Boembeke being hit by an oncoming car.\nIt seems possible traffic stops are so common that police officers may be lured into a false sense of security, but Boembeke said it's important to remember that if an officer makes 200 traffic stops in one month chances are not one of those stops will be the same as another.\n"That's why we train all year. We try to train them [officers] that every time they stop a car, it could be a worst case scenario," IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said. \nFor things you can do to make a traffic stop go smoother see the IUPD Web site at www.indiana.edu/~iupd.

IUPD Officer Brice Boembeke conducts a traffic stop Wednesday at the corner of 17th Street and Fee Lane. The driver of the gray Ford F150 was clocked going 52 mph in a 30-mph zone on 17th Street.

The methodology of traffic stops

Of the roads surrounding the IU campus, 17th Street, Third Street and Atwater Avenue offer the greatest chance to nab speeders for officers of the IU Police Department. That's why the officers set up "speed traps" more often in these high-traffic areas than any other, IUPD Officer Brice Boembeke said.\nBoembeke said 17th Street has a lot of speeders because it's a long, straight road with virtually no stops. Third Street measures up about the same. In addition, Atwater's speed limit is 25 mph, and Boembeke said most people don't like traveling that slow.\n"Who wants to drive 25 miles an hour," Boembeke said. "We have so many violations on Atwater because people are used to driving 35 mph or above, and they don't make the jump down to 25 when they hit Atwater."\nBoembeke said traffic stops are a necessary thing to keep drivers following the "rules of the road."\nWhen a driver is pulled over by a police officer, the officer has a great deal of "officer's discretion" in whether or not to issue a ticket. If you are pulled over, however, it's very likely that the officer has decided whether or not to give you a ticket before you hand over your license and registration, he said. \nBut many drivers think they can talk their way out of the ticket they're going to get, he said.\n"Most people actually wind up talking themselves into a ticket," Boembeke said. "People say to me, 'I have to get to work.' \n"So leave earlier," he said.\nFor typical speed traps, Boembeke said he looks for places to set-up and watch traffic in areas that give him a high-level of visibility, which equates to a greater amount of time for him to clock traffic and make a decision on whether or not to pull a car over. He said he also looks for areas that give him varying levels of concealment and easy access to traffic. Boembeke said his favorite spot on campus is the Memorial Stadium parking lot adjacent to 17th Street and Fess Avenue; he said this position leaves him totally exposed to serve as a sort of a visual deterrent. This method, Boembeke said, is an effort to get drivers to police themselves instead of him or another officer doing it. \nBut he said he sometimes likes to keep a low profile -- virtually concealed so drivers can't slow down until he flips on the lights and is calling in their license plate to the dispatcher. Boembeke said he has a "favorite spot" for this on Third Street.\nWhile Boembeke was running a speed trap Friday from the Memorial Stadium parking lot, a gray Ford F-150 pickup blew down 17th Street and was clocked going 52 mph in a 30-mph zone. \nBoembeke dropped the radar gun. All in one fluid motion, he used his left hand to throw his Ford Crown Victoria model Police Interceptor into drive and flip on his red and blue warning lights. With a blow or two of his airhorn, he gunned his engine and swung the patrol car into traffic heading west on 17th. \nBoembeke had to speed up to over 65 mph in order to catch up to Richard E. Pearson of Bloomington.\n"'What did I do? I was just following traffic,'" Boembeke said Pearson asked during the initial encounter once he approached the car.\nBoembeke said he decided to pull over Pearson because he was going well over the 15 mph grace he sometimes allows drivers. He said he felt he had no choice but to pull over Pearson and issue him a traffic ticket.\n"He was going faster than everyone else," Boembeke said. "I was looking at the crowd of cars, and you get a feel for everybody's driving. You have to make a judgement call of not pulling over the ones keeping up with traffic, and pulling over those who stick out."\nSome of the dangers with traffic stops for police officers don't always lie in an armed encounter; many are associated with sharp tongues.\nIUPD Lt. Jerry Minger recalls a traffic stop he conducted several years ago at the corner of Third and High Streets.\nMinger said he was working the graveyard shift from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. when he saw a man speeding down Third Street at around 1 a.m. Minger said he pulled the driver over because he felt the driver may have been driving under the influence. \n"The most rude person in the world," Minger said of the man he pulled over.\nHe said the driver became belligerent, which Minger said he felt provoked into being angry in return. Minger said he behaved calm and cool through the entire encounter until the driver got out of Minger's squad car, where he was being detained for questioning, and slammed the car door so hard it made the car shake. Minger said he made the driver close the door quietly. The driver then returned to his own car and slammed that door so hard, Minger said, the window glass shattered all over the street.\nMinger said in situations like that it's very hard for officers to convey an attitude of professionalism and courtesy.\n"It is a challenge because sometimes it seems like they want to aggravate us," Minger said. "But that's why we teach cadets and officers to retain their composure and not get angry."\nJunior Hillary Morrow said she's no stranger to being pulled over by the police. She said one time she was driving late at night around Bloomington when she was pulled over by a Bloomington Police Department officer. The officer said she committed a rolling stop, failed to yield and was going 50 mph in a 25-mph zone.\n"He was not nice," said Morrow of the officer who pulled her over. But she wasn't given a ticket or a written warning, she said. Instead, the officer simply cautioned her not to drive when she was fatigued.\n"I realize they're doing their job, but they could explain a little more clearly why you're pulled over," Morrow said.

Fleming. Ian Fleming.

"Bond. James Bond." \nPerhaps the most famous introduction in the history of western literature will be celebrated by Bloomington's Buskirk-Chumley Theatre in the form of a James Bond Film Festival. The event begins at 4 p.m. Friday and ends Sunday.\nThe festival mixes films based off the books written by the real-life British secret agent Ian Fleming, as well as roundtable discussions hosted by academics who have researched both the literature and the life of Fleming.\nThe initial event is an introduction called "James Bond 101," led by Raymond Benson, an author who has written several Bond continuation books. The introduction will serve as a segue into a screening of "Live and Let Die."\nDirected by Guy Hamilton and running 121 minutes, the 1973 film pairs Roger Moore -- the second-best-known face of James Bond -- and Jane Seymour, with a script that puts Bond and his Q-devised gadgets in the secretive and voodoo filled world of the occult. The film begins at 5:30 p.m. Friday.\nMost of Fleming's books made the transition from ink to celluloid well, except the 1953 book "Casino Royale." The film was made by CBS and its Chrysler Climax Mystery Theatre series in 1954; it was the black and white Bond flick that didn't do well. In 1967, the film was subjected to another small remake starring the late Sir David Niven and Woody Allen. The 1954 version will be shown at 8 p.m. Friday and stars infamous character-villain Peter Lorre as "Le Chiffre." \n"(The director) took several additional liberties with Fleming's plot," said Fleming biographer Andrew Lycett of the film in a news release.\nBut while "Casino Royale" has yet to undergo an adequate adaptation to the screen, it is this title that was Fleming's first work, published 50 years ago. In celebration of this anniversary, the IU Department of English is sponsoring what the department claims to be the first ever academic symposium on the cultural legacy of Ian Fleming and his writing. \n"The Cultural Politics of Ian Fleming and 007" is the name of the event that English chairman Stephen Watt will chair. \nEven though the character of James Bond and perhaps the authorship of Ian Fleming are known the world over, this international facet has a very local side; the original manuscripts of the "007" canon are part of the archives of the IU Lilly Library.\nBeginning after the film, there will be a discussion concerning the film including Benson, Lycett and author James Chapman, who wrote "License to Thrill: A Cultural History of the James Bond Films." \nThe festival then resumes at 1 p.m.Saturday with the original and iconic actor portraying James Bond, Sean Connery. In "From Russia with Love," "007" is lured into a trap by Soviet siren Daniela Bianchi and Robert Shaw. The 188-minute film follows Bond to places like Istanbul, Turkey and the surrounding country via the Orient Express. \nAt 4 p.m. Saturday is another Bond personification by Connery in "Dr. No." Running 111 minutes, "No" is the first Bond film starring Connery, who played Bond with a charming and gentlemanly wit that also defied death. The film takes Bond to the warm and sunny beaches of Jamaica where he must confront another in a string of evil criminal masterminds who -- you guessed it -- are out to rule the world.\nThe chance to have a martini, shaken not stirred, comes at 6 p.m. Saturday with a champagne and caviar reception followed by a leap forward 30 years to see the latest "007," Pierce Brosnan as the newest personification of Britain's agent with a license to kill.\nAt 7 p.m. Saturday, the projectionist will flip the switch on "Goldeneye" starring Dame Judy Dench and Robby Coltraine, where Bond fights international villainy once again in the 17th addition to the Bond canon. \nAnother roundtable discussion begins at 9 p.m., called "The Legacy of James Bond and Ian Fleming." The discussion panel will include Lycett and will be moderated by IU English professor Edward Comentale.\nTimothy Dalton portrays Bond at 1 p.m. Sunday in "The Living Daylights" as the man some call "the most dangerous Bond of all." Combating drug traffickers, the KGB and private armies are the name of the game in this 1987 film.\nAt 4 and 6 p.m. Saturday Sean Connery comes back as the No. 1 Bond in "Goldfinger" and "Thunderball." \nJames Bond films, whether they star Sean Connery, Roger Moore, the ill-fated George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton or Pierce Brosnan, the character of James Bond seems to be one of the most popular literary figures since Sir Arthur Conan Doyle penned the first few lines of Sherlock Holmes. So much that Benson said he seems to the think the subsequent films influence Ian Fleming himself.\n"Even in the later Fleming books you can see the films had an influence on Fleming, and Bond started to get a sense of humor there for the last two or three books," said Benson on www.ianfleming.org, a Web site dedicated to the memory and works of Ian Fleming.\nThe James Bond Film Festival is sponsored by The Cinemat and is open to the public in several ways. Individual show tickets can be purchased for $5. A festival pass is available for $30. Tickets to the reception and "Goldeneye" are $12 and includes admission to the final roundtable discussion, "The Cultural Politics of Ian Fleming and 007."\nFor more information about the academic side of the conference, visit www.indiana.edu/~engweb/jamesbond.

Change of season

The summer brings many changes to the IU campus: the blades of grass begin to turn greener, the humidity rises, the sun's rays burn intensely and the IU Police Department is forced to make a change in their day-to-day operations.\nIUPD operates as a law enforcement agency committed to serving the public safety needs of both the IU and Bloomington communities.\nDuring the academic year, many IU students inhabit the campus and innocently provide many opportunities for books to be stolen, cars to be vandalized, bikes to be taken and binge drinking to occur. All things with which 28 full-time officer must deal. \nThese possibilities change during the summer when the students leave and incoming freshmen come to visit campus, along with many professional conferences that take place on the campus.\n"The variation of the population is a strong factor because of the way they dictate the activity we have," IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said. \nHe said during the summer many conferences use IU's facilities, which causes an increased effort to ensure pedestrian safety as well as property protection of those visiting the Bloomington campus.\nBut one thing that doesn't change is the IUPD's need to maintain an around-the-clock presence on the campus. IUPD divides the University into four quadrants, and they are responsible for decreasing the threat of criminal mischief.\n"Having enough people to handle what you're called upon to do is one of the challenges IUPD faces throughout the year," IUPD Shift Commander Sgt. Don Schmuhl said. "We lose a lot of on-campus living (in the summer), so we take a few less runs to the dorms, and traffic isn't as congested. But the University doesn't go away. We're still here." \n By paying less attention to the dorms, IUPD uses the saved resources and focuses more on patrolling the academic buildings -- securing the doors and windows and making sure the University's computer labs and equipment remain unharmed.\nWhile the transition focuses more on property protection during the summer, Schmuhl said the protection of human life comes first. During the summer, IUPD makes a conscious effort to help maintain a level of public safety on the roads surrounding campus. \nThroughout the summer, the sight of the red and blue lights vibrantly flickering and bouncing their staccato beams off of street signs is common to drivers. While traffic tickets can be expensive, it's the very deterrent IUPD uses to help keep the driver-training video "Red Asphalt" from becoming a reality on Seventeenth Street.\nOne of the officers responsible for maintaining this vigilance over the members of the IU community is IUPD Officer Brice Boembeke, who has been with the department a year and a half. Boembeke graduated from IU with an English degree as well as from the IUPD Academy. \nHe said he looks at serving on the force as a privilege.\n"I know it sounds cheesy, but we're really out here to serve and protect ... I don't want anybody to be scared of me," he said.\nBoembeke said he likes the toys that come with job -- the lights, the sirens, the fast car -- and the adrenaline rushes that come with wondering whether someone he has pulled over has a gun. \nBut he said being a police officer wasn't a life-long calling.\n"I didn't grow up saying 'I'd like to be a police officer,'" Boembeke said. "I never thought it was something I'd do. I always wanted to be a writer, but I wanted a steady paycheck."\nThe attraction to the job comes in having no routine, not being chained to a desk and meeting all the different people, he said. \nBoembeke said it's something he never thought he would do, but he loves every minute of it, and he wouldn't give it up for the world.\nHumor is an added perk of the job. Whether it be a woman trying to get out of a speeding ticket by saying she is suffering from female problems or accidentally towing IUB Chancellor Sharon Brehm's car, Boembeke has faced both comical situations. \nAt roughly 10:30 p.m. Friday, Boembeke -- known as 26 to the dispatcher -- received a call to respond to an unsecure door at the IU Speech and Hearing Clinic. While taxing the motor of his Ford Crown Victoria model Police Interceptor, he sped surely but cautiously through traffic to the clinic near the lawns of Bryan House. \nWhile racing to this call, watching for traffic and handling the radio, he was also engaged in a conversation comparing the cultural implications of removing either Walt Whitman or Alfred Lord Tennyson from the history of literature.\nBoembeke, like his family of fellow officers, said he is committed to the idea that police are a societal force committed to protecting those who can't protect themselves. And just because it's summer does not mean there is a lack, or lessening, of protection.

'Bach' displays wit, clever dialogue

The Bloomington Playwrights Project currently is taking the audience back in time to a German church in 1722. The story takes place at Leipzig, where the organ master played his own funeral dirge as he dropped dead and his head hit the keys, which now is in sore need of a new organist. \nTo find a replacement, the clergy announces auditions and several viciously competitive artists show up with wanting eyes, ogling the chance to be the most prestigious organist in all of Germany.\n"Bach at Leipzig," written by Itamar Moses, follows this story line as seven of Germany's most well-known organists gradually wander through the city gates and assemble at the church. Those assembled are such musicians as Telemann, Graupner, Steindorff, Kauffman, Lenck, Schott and Fasch. Each one of the characters is played with very clever nuances in the production that make them memorable long after the play is over.\nMost notably are Georg Kauffman (Hal Kibbey) and Georg Telemann (Ernest Bernhardt). Kibbey plays Kauffman, who mixes an air of aloofness with innocent bumbling. He's the quintessential absent-minded artist. Kauffman spends most of his life trying to research the life of a ficticious famed composer, though he has no idea the composer doesn't exist. This may be why he can't ever come up with enough documentation about his imaginary mentor to write the biography he wants. \nKauffman is very well-played by Kibbey as the character who embodies the pitiful scheming between the vulture-like artists vying for the coveted position -- simply because he's too good-hearted to realize it's going on. An excellent example of this is the supposed "play-within-a-play" put on by the other six characters for Kauffman's benefit. Kauffman also has a few great laugh-lines that the right touch of monotone brings out very well.\nConversely, Bernhardt's character Georg Telemann has no lines at all. Telemann is one of those characters whose reputation and aura of awe is built up by the characters on stage while Telemann isn't. Telemann's character is supposedly the new top organist in Germany, whose reputation travels well in advance of his own persona -- to the point he is feared by others in his profession; the other vying organists refer to Telemann as "Him." \nKibbey excellently carries on this image by making entrances adorned in all black costuming, complete with the tri-corner hat. He struts about on stage and uses his cape as a prop to his advantage. Playwright Moses is very clever not to write in dialogue for Telemann -- it would have diminished the character's ability to live up to the reputation established for him by the other characters.\nWhile I think these two are the best characters in the whole show, that isn't to say the other characters do not show their own eccentricities, making them able to stand out well on stage. \nOne is an addicted gambler, the other is a bit neurotic with insomnia, a third continually mentions the fact he is only the No. 2 organist in Germany, and another seems to sleep with anything that moves.\nLate in the second act, a series of stage combats occur, and each of the sequences are well done. They may even be the best I've seen anywhere this season. I didn't see the misses, the reactions came at the right time, nothing seemed forced, and where precision was needed, it existed.\nOverall, director Mike Price did a really good job to make sure the play didn't drag and to keep the highs balanced out by the lows. \nHowever, throughout the entire run of the show, the basic rules of blocking were continually broken, and this was to Price's disadvantage.\nDuring much of the dialogue involving all of the characters sitting around a table drinking, as many artists seem to do, one actor always had his back to the audience. \nA better approach would have been to either make room at the table or to set him off a little further to the side, allowing the actor's profile to be seen. In other words, the audience needs to see the face, unless there is a specific reason why not seeing the faces advances the plot in some way. I didn't see that need in this show.\nDespite some downfalls, "Bach at Leipzig" is indeed a well-written, well-performed show, and I think it's a clever thing for the BPP to stage. Period humor can be difficult to execute properly, and the BPP has done an admirable job doing so.\n"Bach at Leipzig" is performed at the Bloomington Playwrights Project, 312 S. Washington St. Additional performances will take place May 15-17 at 8 p.m., May 18 at 2 p.m., May 22-24 at 8 p.m. and May 25 at 2 p.m.

Bepko speaks to professors

IU Interim President Gerald Bepko spoke to 20 members of the IU Chapter of the American Association of University Professors Friday at the Indiana Memorial Union's University Club addressing academic freedom and the role of university administrators.\nThe AAUP is a national organization serving to ensure protection of academic freedom for faculty members at universities across the United States as well as endorsing that protection through tenure.\nPhysics Professor Bennet Brabson is the IU Chapter president of AAUP.\n"In our roles as teachers and learners, all ideas are subject to our investigation, debate, understanding, research and publication," Brabson said in a statement. "This marvelous stuff called academic freedom is closely related to our fundamental freedom of speech as citizens."\nThe luncheon began at noon and was followed by remarks by Brabson and outgoing Bloomington Faculty Council President Bob Eno.\nBrabson joined the IU faculty in 1968 and has served two consecutive terms as Chapter President. In his opening remarks Brabson welcomed those who were attending, and congratulated incoming Chapter President Theodore Miller of the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Brabson also outlined the current activities the Bloomington Chapter is undertaking by outlining a new direction the AAUP is taking. \nPresident Bepko took the podium situated beneath a portrait of IU legend Herman B Wells after he was introduced by Eno.\n"General administration must always be the servant ...," Bepko said. He equated the importance of the work done by faculty members to "the work of corporate executives without the stock options."\nBepko's remarks lasted about 20 minutes and discussed issues including the role of faculty governance, the role of the administration in universities as well as the current challenges faced by academic freedom following the United States Patriot Act.\n"I was glad the topic of freedom of expression got the airing it did, however limited. The growing political, economic, and bureaucratic constraints on the academy -- and their implications for freedom of thought and expression -- ought to be a source of concern for all of us," said Professor of Journalism Holly Stocking. "I just hope that our new president will be someone who can lead us to make choices that ensure our economic stability without compromising the traditional role of the university as an independent critic of dominant cultural institutions"

Mr. Morley goes to Chicago: Part II

The last drop-off point of the morning was at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Chicago next to the Ralph Lauren store. The majority of day-trippers got off here with the reminder that at 8:45 p.m. that evening Bloomington time they should all re-group at the same place to get picked-up. \nAs soon as my 5-foot-7-inch, 120 pound frame used its Nunn-Bush saddle shoes to step off the the bus, I went to the curb and waved my hand around in the air until I saw three or four banged-up cabs all lunge at me. \nI got in the first one that didn't run over the fire hydrant or plow into the bus stop. \nI always enjoy talking with the cab drivers. They aren't afraid of having a conversation with you. But you have to be careful -- they have an opinion on everything and don't mind letting you know what that is. \nIt's always been my theory that cab drivers would be best suited to run the world since they know how to solve all its problems. \nI told the driver to head over to the oldest and most distinguished department store of the Chicago-land area: Marshall Field's. \nMarshall Field's, one of America's oldest department stores and a cornerstone in the rich history of Chicago, has been around since 1851, when it delivered textiles and dry goods to the people of Chicago. In 1881, Marshall Field's diversified into high fashion and home products to appease its lady customers. Marshall Field's flagship store is located between State, Randolph, Washington and Wabash. It was the first department store to start a bridal registry, the first to install an escalator, and the first to put a restaurant inside the store.\nBeing by far the largest of the 64 stores in the Marshall Field's chain, the State Street store is nine floors, covering an entire Chicago city block.\nMarshall Field's produces its own brand of chocolate, Frango mints, which has been awarded internationally for its delicate meltaway texture. The Walnut Room, a seventh floor upscale restaurant, features a forty-some foot Christmas tree around the holidays. These are only a few of the highlights a shopper can find everyday at the fashion capital of the third-largest metropolis in America.\nIf you're looking for classic Chicago eatery that's easy to get to, just hail a cab and tell the driver you want to go to the Berghoff. There's one at 436 W. Ontario St., and the other is at 17 W. Adams St. \nI walked in a little after 5 p.m. and the hostess walked me through the open restaurant decorated with beautiful wood walls with a high gloss and set me at a table for two. I had an excellent seat because I could see all the people walk in and sit around me against the backdrop of walls decorated with murals of old Chicago streets and the waterfront. Well - two were of Chicago. The area I was in was made to look bigger with a giant mirror on one side of the dining room. \nThere weren't any booths in the dining section I was in. There were comfortable wooden chairs with simple but nice looking patterns cut into the backs. And the tables were all of the same gloss and elegance of the walls. The floor was composed of clean looking brown and white square tiles.\nThe waiters were representative of big-city Chicago. There were Hispanic bus boys and German waiters with thick moustaches. Others were definitely Irish with their white hair, pale faces, and red noses. The patrons said a lot about the vast array of people in the city. There were people wearing T-shirts and jeans in their comfortable Nike well-worn gym shoes. There were people going to shows dressed to the nines. There were people eating there alone, or couples and probably a decent proportion of those couples were gay. There were lots of families, too. Some tables had three generations of people sitting at them. A few had just parents and children. In other words -- diverse. \nThe Berghoff is a landmark family-owned place in existence since 1898 and everybody in Chicago has either eaten there, or knows about it. It's famous for German cuisine. It has the basics like ribs, hamburgers, veal and chicken. But it also has sauerbratten, knockwurst and all sorts of other items you'd find at the best places in Germany.\nI started off with escargot (snails), had the veal medallions in some kind of a really tasty sauce that reminded me of an apple-glaze, and I finished with one of the best cups of coffee I'd every had. Not too light, and not too dark. Not too weak, and not too strong. I drank the whole without guzzling, but sipping so I could realize its full body and power.\nDinner for one, including drinks and an appetizer runs about $25 without the tip. Twenty-five dollars for an excellent meal in a metropolitan restaurant. More than Burger King, and maybe too much for some college kids, but for a once-a-week treat, it was reasonable. It's what you'd pay for a New York strip at Colorado Steakhouse or the Texas Roadhouse. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.\nAfter dinner I hopped a cab and zipped over to the drop-off point. I was early so I went into a coffee shop and devoured both a cappuccino and John F. Burns' (of The New York Times) account of Operation Iraqi Freedom from Baghdad.\nWhile I was reading, I saw a marionette show on the street corner through the window. One person was manipulating a caricature of President Bush and a barrell of oil. \nAs 8:45 p.m. drew near I walked to the appointed corner just in time to see the faithful coach draw near and collect us all for the drive home beginning on Lake Shore Drive and finishing up where it began over 12 hours prior at Union Circle Drive.\nWe had come full circle with all sorts of things to tell our friends, family and readers about metropolitan Chicago.

Mr. Morley goes to Chicago

About 50 IU students from many walks of academic life including undergrads, grads and international students gathered at the Indiana Memorial Union Circle Drive in the cold last Saturday morning to board a Star of Indiana coach and sally-forth to the Midwest's favorite "Windy City" of Chicago.\nUnion Board planned the trip, and it was the first sponsored by the Union Board since a "Taste of Chicago" trip four years ago.\n"My committee members and I decided this would be a fun day-trip for students to get away and enjoy the urban Chicago lifestyle," said Roadtrips Committee Director Cory Buckner.\nThirteen other committee members aided Buckner in the planning and execution of the $20-per-person road trip.\nThe cold and rainy weather began in the morning and reminded everyone how spoiling the great, sunny weather of the last week or two had been. I was regretful myself. My Izod jacket and blue sportcoat were warm, but not that warm. I think the other 47 people on the bus felt the same way.\nI whacked my head on the overhead compartments as I bounced to the back of the bus so I could ask and see what a few of my fellow travelers expected to get out of the trip. I found out these expectations were just as individual as the people who had them.\n"I'm going to meet up with some friends and go shopping," said senior Shana Koslow, a gender studies major. \nKoslow lives in the Willkie Residence Center and learned about the trip by seeing one of the flyers on a bulletin board. Koslow, an Atlanta, Ga., native, says she prefers the metropolitan "bigness" of Chicago and plans on moving to the city that dreads the mention of Mrs. O'Leary's cow.\nBut unlike Koslow, some of the travelers didn't have to wait to get to Chicago to spend time with their friends.\n"I'm going shopping with my two sisters," said senior Sarah Glasgow.\nGlasgow, her two sisters and I talked over the sound of the movie playing over the bus' sound system. I didn't pay much attention to it. I typically don't watch movies with talking sponges named Bob.\nAbout three hours into the trip, Buckner came and sat next to me and I asked him what expectations he had for the trip.\n"I personally haven't been to Chicago, so I'm going into this with high hopes," Buckner said. "We try to plan trips that are both entertaining and educating. I think this trip is both."\nBuckner, by the way, comes across as a person with lots of ambition and a true zest for life. I found out through my interview with him that he is the son of Quinn Buckner, who played basketball for IU and was part of the 1976 season, when the team had a 32-0 record. I didn't actually know what a big deal this was until I got back to my office and started talking with some of my colleagues. My sports knowledge is a little lacking. The men in my family can't catch a cold, let alone a fly ball.\nWe got into Chicago and made the first drop-off of people at the museum campus. We pulled right up in front of the Shedd Aquarium. The museum campus, closely located to Grant Park, is a great place to visit because three fantastic museums are within walking distance of each other. \nSome people tell you how to find their house because it's the only one on the block with those tacky little pink flamingos. The same sort of thing holds true to the Field Museum. You can tell it apart from the other two museums because it's the only one with a mammoth dinosaur parked on the front lawn. \nThe Shedd Aquarium is a great place to go to find out everything you wanted to know about the undersea world. And if your fetish is celestial, at the far end of the campus right along the water is the Adler Planetarium. I have been in all three, and I think the Planetarium is by far my favorite. The Planetarium has one of the IMAX-like movie theaters. When I was last there in November 2002, I watched a really neat one about the sun, plasma and light rays. I would recommend this one over the Field Museum or the aquarium.\nAfter the Shedd stop, the bus hopped back onto Lake Shore Drive and buzzed passed the Museum of Science and Industry. \nIn my travels I've seen several museums. During a trip I made to the United Kingdom three years ago this June, I saw several museums in London including Churchill's War Rooms beneath the Ministry of Public Works and the Imperial War Museum housed in what was once the infamous insane asylum known as Bedlam. \nMy friends always did say I'd be in an asylum one day.\nThe IWM is a fantastic museum comprising several floors of exhibits dedicated to conflict. Especially "The Great War" and World War II. I saw real life WWII-era tanks, half-tracks, field artillery, an exhibit dedicated to the Holocaust, and I walked through a replicated WWI trench complete with sounds, mannequins and every other piece of human ugliness you could find. In my mind, nothing tops the Imperial War Museum. But Chi-town's Museum of Science and Industry with its Titanic exhibit and gift shop along with a German U-Boat make it a second on my list of favorites.\nBut if it were up to me, the Titanic would sink or the U-Boat would be depth charged every 15 minutes or so to provide the hands-on learning that educators agree is integral to the learning process.

IU grad studies abroad, sees US in new light

Many IU students have decided to bolster their educational resume and cultural awareness, and appease their sense of adventure by taking part in overseas study programs administered by the IU Office of Overseas Study. \nDavid Wisnieski graduated in December of 2002 with a B.S. and B.A. after traveling abroad to both Australia and South Africa.\nPaige Weting, an overseas study adviser, said Europe is still one of the most popular regions to study abroad, but other regions, including Africa, are becoming more popular.\nWisnieski studied at the University of Cape Town from February to June of 2002. He said he wanted to be part of the program because it offered support such as homestays and programming directors that allowed him to maximize his experience in a country ravaged by apartheid.\nWisnieski said many of his experiences came from interacting in social and learning environments directly with South African students. As part of his curriculum he took part in discussion sessions where he learned to understand the perspective of the underdeveloped world.\nBut not only did studying abroad give Wisnieski a perspective on the social outlook of a third world nation, it also gave him a glance at ethnic diversity. \n"They had different ethnic backgrounds which exposed me to the diversity of South Africa," Wisnieski said. "I was able to learn about their political opinions and what they wanted for their society."\nThose political opinions include a negative view on several stances taken by the United States in its foreign policy.\n"The South Africans expressed concern over America's position in nuclear proliferation because the U.S. has the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons, and has not reduced the number in spite of treaties," he said.\nWisnieski said he feels this notion is part of the reason why countries outside the United States are hesitant about the current situation with Iraq. In these discussion groups, Wisnieski said he was the only American and was curious about discussions of "Americanization," which is the spread of American culture into other countries.\nThe discussion topics ranged from competing with multi-national corporations, to the concept of a free market economy.\nKathleen Sideli, associate director for the Office of Overseas Study, said many students view the United States in a new light when they travel overseas.\n"It is my experience, after working in this field for the past 24 years, that most students who study abroad for a semester or a year begin to view the U.S. quite differently," Sideli said. "It is inevitable, given the fact that they're viewing the U.S. for the first time from the outside rather than the inside. I believe the experience causes students to reevaluate some things they've always taken for granted." \nAfter the semester closed, Wisnieski left South Africa and toured other African nations including Zimbabwe where he lived with a family and watched its recent election.\n"I better understand the problems underdeveloped nations face, and how they see world issues," he said. "I was able to see how such a diverse nation functions, and how they deal with a troubled past."\nFor more information about study abroad programs, contact the IU Office of Overseas Study in Franklin Hall Room 303.

'I need to play, to perform for myself'

The square window lets in just enough light to negate the need for overhead fixtures in the small room at the School of Music. The room is home to a well-used piano, a small table and three chairs. This room is a study, an office and a classroom belonging to Janet Ross -- one of two winners in 2003 who earned the Vision, Strength, and Artistic Expression Panasonic Young Soloists Award.\nBut it's hard for Ross to see her accolades. She's legally blind.\nWhen she was born, cataracts marred one of the five-senses people take for granted. Later came the glaucoma, which stole more of her precious vision. Though she is challenged with this disability, she moves around the halls of the music school with the precision of Bartolomeo Dias when he rounded the Cape of Good Hope.\nRoss is a graduate student in piano performance and was awarded the VSA, an honor bestowed on musicians under age 25 who have been diagnosed with a disability.\nAs part of the award, Ross will give a 15 to 20 minute recital May 21 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in the nation's capital. \nWhen Ross applied for the award, she sent in recordings of three contrasting works from three different periods. Her choices included work from her junior and senior year recitals, which she said showed off her abilities. Those selections paid off big time with a $5,000 scholarship from the Panasonic Corporation.\nHer daily practice tickling-the-ivory will become an hour longer as she prepares for the upcoming event at the Kennedy Center.\n"A recital isn't something you can cram for," Ross said. "The week before a recital, you should pretty much be ready."\nRoss doesn't know yet what pieces she will perform at the Kennedy Center, though several options have already been submitted to the awards committee.\n"My favorite pieces to play are slow and beautiful," Ross said. "But 15 to 20 minutes of slow and beautiful might put everybody to sleep."\nRoss also said she's trying to find a Chopin and Brahms balance.\nTaking into account her impaired vision, her music learning method is unorthodox. She can read only one line of music at a time. The sheet has to be close to her face -- very close. She must memorize notes one hand at a time before she can play the piece.\nThe method is often frustrating and time consuming. Her attitude, though, remains upbeat and typical of a person used to overcoming adversity.\n"I've learned to rely on my tactile sense of the keyboard," Ross said. "I just have to come up with different ways to figure things out."\nA short stint with the violin led to Ross' piano-playing beginnings at age six. She regularly practices piano for four hours a day, gives piano lessons and accompanies the IU Children's Choir. She also works in the IU School of Music's Office of Admission and Financial Aid, serving as an associate instructor in the Piano Department. Ten hours, she says, is considered a short day at the School of Music.\nRoss, a native of Amherst, Mass., seems to be gifted in not only music, but academics as well. She graduated from IU in May 2002 with a GPA of 3.9 and a triple major including piano performance, flute performance and children's music pedagogy, said a statement from the School of Music.\nBut despite all this success, Ross is still realistic when it comes to considering her future with her sight impairment. She doesn't know where her future in music will take her, but she does know piano will always be a large part of it.\n"The only thing I know is that I don't want one job to define me," Ross said. "I need to play, to perform for myself, even if it is not how I am going to make my living. I know I am always going to do it, because it's what makes me happy"

Overseas office connects students to new cultures

Approximately 1,200 IU students are exploring other cultures while furthering their academic lives abroad at this time. \nJunior Lacey Gillotte has furthered her horizons through studying abroad. Gillotte is majoring in human development/family studies in the Health and Physical Education and Recreation. Gillotte has already participated in a study abroad program, but unlike many of her college-age counterparts, she did it while still attending Lainsburg High School in Lainsburg, Mich.\nA speaker came to her school and spoke to the student body about the experience of studying abroad. The bug bit her and Lacey spent a year studying in Vikersund, Norway, a town near Oslo.\n"It stood out to me, because I didn't know a thing about it," Gillotte said.\nWhile Norway comes across as a cold and forbidding place to some, Gillotte enjoyed her time there. \n"Europe is the most popular region (to study abroad), however, students are studying in other regions of the world and numbers are increasing around the world," said Paige Weting, the overseas study adviser who makes certain students can maintain successful academic courseloads while studying abroad.\nThe seemingly cold of Norway can be contrasted with many programs in other, more exotic and distance places of the world.\n"There are great benefits for Spanish speaking students to study in Latin America, and business majors to study in Asia, where the business world is focused," Weting said.\nGillotte loved studying abroad so much, she wants to do it again. But this time she's traveling to the "Land Down Under" -- Australia.\nGillotte has applied for acceptance to Australia's Wollongong University. Wollongong boasts a full range of university courses in humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and Australian studies. The university is situated within 100 miles of Sydney in Australia's state of Queensland. Also studying at Wollongong is her boyfriend, sophomore Peter Huff.\nHuff said he's burnt out with the traditional education system of the U.S. and is looking for change.\n"I think going to school (in Australia) will help refresh my interest and passion," Gillotte said. \nHuff said he picked Wollongong for a number of reasons, including its proximity to the Great Barrier Reef, and a nearby national park that some rank as one of Australia's best. Huff, an avid outdoorsman, calls Wollongong "very environmentally situated."\nUOW is between the slopes of a rain forest and the Pacific Ocean and was established in 1961 as part of the University of New South Wales until it became a separate institution in 1975. The university now boasts about 13,000 students with 1,200 faculty/administrators, and support staff. The campus was designed to provide a "tranquil environment for getting to know fellow students," said a handbook published on the web by the Office of Overseas Study.\nAt UOW, the seminar classes will enroll from 20 to 25 students, while lecture style courses will enroll up to 100. Lecture classes include discussion and tutorial sessions composed of lesser students. And the Australian faculty, according to the Office of Overseas Study, find Americans are very strong in contributing to the tutorial sessions. Because of the small discussion groups, it seems the environment is less formal than at many U.S. institutions. Essays are a large part of the academic nature of Australian universities.\nMost classes tend to require large numbers of essays and include a final exam with an essay style. But in Australia, essays are scholarly works requiring footnotes and references and are not the "opinion pieces" many U.S. students think of when they write an essay. In the U.S., college students expect multiple choice tests -- this is not the case in Australia. These tests are few and far between. Still, some similarties are found in academic work. The course load required is equivalent to 12 credit hours. According to the Office of Overseas Study, the cost of this Australian program runs roughly $6,500 and all IU administered financial aid, grants, and scholarships can be applied.\nStudents can learn more about studying abroad during an informational meeting held at 7 p.m. tonight at the Fine Arts Building, Room 015. Tonight's meeting will give students information on how to get the most for their money studying abroad, like discounted airline tickets and international ID cards.

Discussion depicts academic freedom in good light

In keeping with the spirit of the year-long celebration of IU biologist Alfred Kinsey, the American Association of University Professors held a discussion exploring the moral rights, traditions and other issues of academic freedom at IU.\nThe discussion, which began at 3:30 p.m. Thursday in the IU Law School's Moot Court Room, was discussed by a panel of three academics representing the AAUP and was moderated by IU Physics Professor and President of the University's AAUP chapter Bennet B. Brabson.\n"Academic freedom is the bedrock of University life, just as freedom of speech is the foundation of American democracy," Brabson said, quoting remarks made by IUB Chancellor Sharon Brehm.\nBrabson said the discussion was broken down into three parts -- the history of academic freedom as it relates to IU, the way academic freedom exists now, and where it is going.\nIU professor of philosophy of science Jim Capshew was the first speaker, delivering remarks lasting 25 minutes. In his prepared statement to the audience, Capshew gave a history of the professional, but not cordial level of the relationship between Herman B Wells, who went from dean of the business school to IU president in just five years, as well as Capshew's relationship with Kinsey.\nOf the situation sparked by Kinsey's research that embroiled the University under Wells, Capshew alluded to comments Wells had made to Capshew during a period when Capshew was biographing Wells. He seemed to feel Wells backed Kinsey and his research not only because it was the right thing to do, but also because he feared the repercussions if he lost the trust of the faculty by not backing them when things got tough.\nCapshew also recounted a statement made by Kinsey saying he felt like a "modern-day Galileo" suffering from academic persecution.\n"There probably isn't another University in the country that has done as much to support academic freedom," said David M. Rabban, now chair of the University of Texas School of Law and former legal counsel to the AAUP.\nIn his speech, Rabban cited several legal cases supporting academic freedom, including one similar to the recent controversy regarding the Thomas Hart Benton Mural in Woodburn Hall. \nIn a 1985 case titled Piarowsky v. Illinois Community College District, an art project involving stained glass depicting offensive material in a well-viewed area was forced to be removed. However, the provision was made so the exhibit could still be displayed, but in a less visible area.\nFormer IU English Department Chairman Mary Burgan and general secretary of the AAUP spoke in conclusion highlighting various examples of AAUP involvement in academic freedom cases around the U.S. including an incident at Lawrence Technical Institute near Detroit, Mich. \nIn the 2001 incident, Burgan said a professor, who was the president of AAUP at his respective chapter, was essentially placed under "house arrest" in his office and not allowed to leave the campus without written permission.\nAfter the involvement of the AAUP, the professor found work at another place of learning -- after winning a six figure cash settlement.\nIn her talk, Burgan also discussed the three greatest challenges of academic freedom in the United States. \nThese issues include ensuring a diverse faculty that isn't afraid of breaking norms and performing controversial research. Burgan also cited the rift between tenured, non-tenured, full-time, and part-time faculty members indicating full-time, tenured faculty members may benefit more from the blessings of academic freedom than their non-tenured, part-time colleagues.\nBurgan also cited the managerial culture in universities saying some, like Lawrence Tech, behave too much like corporations and strike out against those who would "rock-the-boat"

Screwball, sophistication meet in 'Godfrey'

Two styles of comedy prevailed in Hollywood during the 1930s: sophistication and screwball. The 1936 film "My Man Godfrey" blends both of these sub-genres together, making fun of the upper-crust socialites who abound in wealthy conservatism, and the pie-in-the-face schtick of acts like the Three Stooges or the Marx Brothers.\nBut with its wit and charm, the film embodies a more screwball quality, containing lots of sexual underpinnings that must have barely made it past the infamous censors of the day. \nThe 1936 screwball comedy "My Man Godfrey" stars Carole Lombard and William Powell and was written by Morrie Ryskind and Eric Hatch. Ryskind's involvement probably has something to do with it being so screwball, especially since he helped write the 1935 Marx Brothers' hit "A Night at the Opera."\n"My Man Godfrey" begins with shots of a New York City back drop and then zooms in on a bunch of "forgotten men" hunting around the city dump for second hand treasures. That's where we first meet Powell's character, Godfrey.\nThen a party game brings dizzy socialite Irene Bullock (Lombard) to the city dump where she meets Godfrey, one of New York's finest "forgotten men." Irene promptly hires him as the family butler. Godfrey soon finds the Bullocks to be the definitively idle rich and nutty as the proverbial fruitcake. The Bullock family reminds me a lot of the family seen in Frank Capra's "You Can't Take It With You," as far as whacky family members are concerned. \nSoon, the theatrical Irene is in love with her "protege," who feels strongly that a romance between servant and employer is out of place, regardless of Godfrey's mysterious past. But while living with the Bullocks, several things occur which indeed drive in the screwball style. \nFor instance, on the morning after the party, Irene apparently rode a horse home. In and of itself that isn't so abnormal. But it is abnormal because only Irene would ride the horse up the front steps and leave it overnight in the living room. \nThe next morning the monotone and perpetually bewildered father, played by character actor Eugene Pallette, discovers the horse. Some of the takes Pallette does with his frog-like voice are hilarious when he talks about his suffering because of marriage. \nBut because the film is a period piece, these were really the only two spots throughout the whole film that made me laugh out loud. There were plenty of moments where I smiled, but stopped short of laughing. I think my contemporaries would like the movie better if it were a fast-paced farce, instead of a slow-paced screwball bit. But overall, it was nice to see the tall and slender Powell star onscreen with Lombard. \nPowell breezes with ease in all his scenes. And Lombard also turns in one of her most clever performances at Irene. Unlike Irene's real life socialite contemporaries, she didn't care about money. She cared about being a human. The relationship the two begin follows an interesting path of humility and freedom. \nSomebody very wise once said, "All you need to start an asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people." I think the Bullocks prove that thought.\n"My Man Godfrey" is an excellent choice for a weekend of clean fun -- what else does one need but a great movie on a quiet evening?

Academic freedom talk honors Kinsey

The rights and privileges of academic freedom will be discussed today in the memory of controversial IU researcher and zoologist Alfred Kinsey. \nIn 1953, after the publication of the controversial Kinsey Report, then IU President Herman B Wells defended Kinsey's right to research sex by citing academic freedom.\n"As academic freedom is central to an open and informed society, the (American Association of University Presidents) has chosen to examine the status of academic freedom in American universities today," AAUP President and IU professor of physics Bennet B. Brabson said. \nThe discussion will be lead by Jim Capshew, IUB professor of history and philosophy of science. A biographer of Herman B Wells, Capshew will open the forum with a historical look at the defense Wells engineered to fight attacks against Kinsey's research. \n"Academic freedom is the bedrock of university life, just as freedom of speech is the foundation of American democracy," IUB Chancellor Sharon Brehm said. "The freedom to speak, to question, to inquire is the best guardian of liberty and a necessary part of intellectual and artistic activities that advance human knowledge and understanding. \n"Indiana University has a long and proud tradition of commitment to academic freedom and its civic counterpart, freedom of speech," she said. "This is a living tradition and that commitment remains as strong today as it was in the years of Herman Wells' presidency."\nSponsored by the local chapter of the AAUP and the Kinsey Institute, the event, which is open to the public, will take place at 3:30 p.m today in the Law School Moot Court Room at the corner of Third and Indiana streets. A reception will follow at 5 p.m.\n"In our roles as teachers and learners, all ideas are subject to our investigation, debate, understanding, research and publication," Brabson said in a statement. "This marvelous stuff called academic freedom is closely related to our fundamental freedom of speech as citizens."\nThe U.S. Supreme Court emphasized the value of academic freedom in the 1967 case Keyishian v. Board of Regents, saying, "Our Nation is deeply committed to safeguarding academic freedom, which is of transcendent value to all of us and not merely to the teachers concerned"