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Many students who can’t pay pricey tuition payments without help turn to the 21st Century Scholarship Covenant program. The program, now in its second year, is part of the state’s 21st Century Scholars Program. The state-run program provides funding for the cost of tuition, said Roger Thompson, vice provost for enrollment management.
IU is joining forces with in-state rival Purdue to launch a Web site to increase awareness of a joint initiative called the Indiana Innovation Alliance.
The School of Informatics was able to see its dream come to life Friday evening with the grand opening of Informatics East.
After a 17-year career at Ball State, it would take a unique opportunity for Tom Morrison to leave his alma mater. He found that opportunity at IU as chief liaison and Indiana General Assembly representative this month.
With his new position as director of the IU Bloomington 21st Century Scholars Program, Enstrom has the opportunity to try to make sure that doesn’t happen anymore. As the director, Enstrom will follow students’ careers from the time they sign up for the program in either junior high or high school to college graduation.
The IU School of Law welcomed one of the smartest classes in its 166-year legacy to campus last week. Deeming IU’s class the most qualified class in history involves looking at it from a quantitative perspective, said Dani Weatherford, director of recruitment for the IU School of Law. It takes into account two factors: LSAT scores and GPA. The LSAT is scored between 120 and 180, meaning the 2011 class’ median score of 164 puts it in the top 9 percent of the country.
IU is looking to enhance support for first-year students by launching the Office of First Year Experience Programs. The office is an extension of the Office of Orientation Programs, an office that had previously assisted students only until their first day of classes, said Jack Rhodes, associate vice provost and director of orientation programs. With the new office, Orientation Programs can offer support to students throughout their first year.
IU’s School of Informatics was the first of its kind in 2000. In the eight years since its inception on campus, it is now being recognized as one of the finest the country has to offer.
here are some films that, after you see the trailer, you get giddy about its release and tell all your friends it's going to be excellent. Then when the film finally comes out, it completely blows. All the hopes and dreams you had for it are destroyed, and you're pissed. "We Own The Night" is one of those films.\nBobby Green (Joaquin Phoenix) is running a New York nightclub when he learns that an NYPD unit led by his brother Joseph (Mark Wahlberg) and father Burt (Robert Duvall) is looking into a drug ring in his club. After a tragic accident, Bobby decides to help out the department in its search for the dealer.\n"We Own The Night" is the slowest-moving film I've seen in a long time. Its running time is just more than two hours, but it feels like it lasts four. Numerous scenes seem to be thrown in for no apparent reason, including the excruciating scene at a church where we have to watch an entire police force's complete prayer. \nThe story line is legitimate, but it's pissed away in the final act because of ignorant plot leaps. Bobby has no police experience and is coked out of his mind for the first half of the film, but when it's time to get drug dealer Nezhinski (Alex Veadov), he's allowed to become a cop because "he has information" and as long as he promises he will go to the academy later. Oh, Bobby then gets to lead the SWAT team in its capture of Nezhinski.\nPhoenix is good as Bobby, but Duvall and Wahlberg are phoning in and don't have much to do. Eva Mendes' character, as usual, exists only as eye candy. \n"We Own The Night" is much like a bad episode of "NYPD Blue" or any other crime drama. The story moves entirely too slow, and whatever goodwill is built up through the first half is negated with an unbelievable final 30 minutes.
Clothes, shoes, a football scholarship and $5. \nThat is all the baggage that accompanied George Taliaferro when he set foot on IU’s campus in 1945. The $5 represented half of all the money his father had. It was a reminder of where he came from and where he wanted to go. \nTaliaferro was a standout quarterback on the 1945 IU football team, which was undefeated en route to its first Big Ten championship. He earned first-team All-American honors as the Hoosiers’ top defender and led them in passing, rushing and punting. \nFour years later, he became the first black man drafted into the NFL. Taken by the Chicago Bears as the 129th pick in the 13th round in 1949, Taliaferro broke the color barrier in the NFL just two years after Jackie Robinson did the same in baseball. \nThanks to Dawn Knight, a teacher from Westfield High School and a former student of Taliaferro’s, his story will now be told. \nKnight has written a book about his life titled, “Taliaferro: Breaking Barriers from the NFL Draft to the Ivory Tower.” Today marks the beginning of a statewide series of book signings that will give people a chance to meet the man who paved the way for black professional football players and the author who told his story. \nKnight, a 1993 IU graduate, met Taliaferro as a student in his Introduction to Social Work class at IU. \nAt the time, Knight had no idea about Taliaferro’s football career, but was inspired by his teaching style. Word spread about Taliaferro’s popularity and the rest is history.\n“We all ended up taking his class and got close to him, and I found out his story and realized it needed to be told,” Knight said. \nKnight said it took her 10 years to write the book; she worked on it during summer and Christmas breaks. She asked Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy, the first black head coach to win a Super Bowl, to write the foreword. \nKnight said the book is not a typical biography. Taliaferro faced such hardships, such as being drafted to fight in World War II, the sudden death of his father and the racism and segregation he fought in Bloomington and the NFL. He confronted every challenge the same way.\n“It’s not just the fact that he was a trailblazer in football,” Knight said. “It was his attitude in overcoming other obstacles. Every obstacle he’s overcome with positive attitude, wit and humor.”\nFor Taliaferro, it meant a great deal to be the first black man drafted into the NFL, but not in the traditional sense. \n“I knew of any number of African American football players older than I who could’ve played in the NFL,” Taliaferro said. “The opportunity never presented itself. To be the first was a distinct honor, but it wasn’t a big deal because there were so many other guys who could have.”\nInstead of joining the Bears for his professional career, Taliaferro honored a contract he previously signed with the Los Angeles Dons of the All-America Football Conference. He would later go on to play in the NFL for teams such as the New York Yanks, Dallas Texans, Baltimore Colts and the Philadelphia Eagles. \nHowever, Taliaferro accomplished something that cannot be measured on the football field. He overcame obstacles in his own life to ensure an easier path for future black football players and coaches. \nKnight said Taliaferro’s crusade for equality in the NFL was just a start. She said it still took a long time for black players to be mainstream. However, it’s a start that makes IU alumni proud.\n“Its one more shining example of how the influence of IU alumni is felt worldwide,” said IU Alumni Association Director of Diversity Programs Clarence Boon.\nThrough all the book signings, greetings and autographs, there is a lesson to be learned from Taliaferro’s historical breakthrough. It’s a lesson Taliaferro tells children everywhere he goes.\n“Pursue your dreams,” he said. “Never abandon your dreams. Be respective of the obstacles put in your way. If that’s what you want to do, do it.”
Canadian indie rockers Hot Hot Heat let out some angst and even display some synth-heavy, new-wave ballads on their latest album Happiness Ltd.\nThe songs that stick out, though, are their upbeat, pop songs. Full of driving beats and catchy hooks, the tunes stick in your head easily. Singer-keyboardist Steve Bays uses the interplay of his odd vocal intonations and his keyboard harmonies to create those perfect hooks. A bit gimmicky at times, Bays' voice can irk and linger -- still sort of catchy, but in the same way colds are.\nHot Hot Heat has a wide-ranging sound in this album. The instrumentation is far-reaching (orchestra and choir at times), and the band is on the right path. Of course, they couldn't be new-new-wave pioneers without the consistent use of keyboards and minimal use of guitar. \nThe ballads "Happiness Ltd." and "Waiting for Nothing" drone on and seem to stop trying to keep the listener's interest. \nThe heavier "5 Times out of 100" is an example where Bays' cadence, along with the keyboard harmonizing in perfect beat with the vocals in the hook, creates a unique and catchy song. "Conversation" has a fuzzy guitar that stands out more than most songs and has an upbeat, even funky, appeal to it. There's also a hot keyboard solo that sounds like a distorted organ. \nThe galloping, driving percussion of "Give Up?" brings the listener through the song while layers build to Bays belting out the loud and honest chorus with more straightforward singing than in most of the songs. His crooning becomes more of a weep in songs like "So So Cold," which starts to sound whiny.\nHot Hot Heat's first album in more than two years reaffirms that the band is not dormant and still trying new things. Though the album has quite a few hot hot tracks, it's cooled down by the tepid ballads and songs in which the vocals become theatrical and gimmicky
The IU softball team’s hopes of making the postseason took a huge hit this weekend when they dropped a pair of doubleheaders to Big Ten foes Penn State and Ohio State. \nThe matches were opportunities for IU to knock a team like Penn State out of position and propel the Hoosiers into one of the final eight spots needed to qualify for the Big Ten tournament.\nIU softball coach Stacey Phillips was said that even though IU has struggled, the season is still not over.\n“We still have a week left in our season,” Phillips said. “There has been a lot of ups and downs this season. Lots of ups early.”\nPenn State pitcher Ashley Esparza allowed only four hits and struck out 11 as she led the Nittany Lions (23-18, 4-5 in Big Ten) to a victory in Game 1 of the doubleheader. \nIn the second game of the series, walks and home runs were the theme as Penn State defeated IU 14-1. \nThe Hoosiers ran into Big Ten leader Ohio State in the second doubleheader and discovered why the Buckeyes are one of the elite teams in the conference. \nOhio State used strong pitching to sweep the Hoosiers 5-2 in the first game and 9-0 in the second. In Game 1, Ohio State’s Kim Reeder allowed two runs, one earned, on four hits in 5 2/3 innings of work to get the victory. In Game 2, Buckeye pitcher Jamee Juarez showed no letdown after earning Big Ten Pitcher of the Week accolades. Juarez allowed only one IU hit and walked one batter in shutting out the Hoosiers. It was a day when the Buckeyes’ pitchers were hitting their spots and the Hoosiers were caught fishing.\n“Good pitchers get ahead so they can throw their pitches, not the batters’ pitches,” Phillips said.\nThe Hoosiers hopes of making the Big Ten tournament were all but dashed with the doubleheader sweep. All the Hoosiers can do now is look forward to a pair of games with arch-rival Purdue to end the season. \n“We’ve got nothing to lose right now,” Phillips said. “We’ve got a competitive group of players. You can throw the records out the window when it’s IU and Purdue.”\nThe lone bright spot during the weekend was sophomore Monica Wright’s etching her name into the IU softball record books. Wright entered the top 10 in single-season rankings in both games started (30) and innings pitched (231). She also moved into a tie for fifth with 45 appearances on the season. \n“We were fortunate Monica wanted to be a Hoosier,” Phillips said. “She filled a large void; we really needed her. Her work ethic is one of a true competitor. She has meant a great deal to us.”\nThe Hoosiers travel to West Lafayette to face Purdue on Saturday before wrapping up the season Sunday at home against the Boilermakers.
Time is ticking…fast.\nAs the IU softball team gets set for a road trip to visit Ohio State and Penn State, they find themselves in desperate need of a win if they are to qualify for the Big Ten tournament. The top eight teams in the conference advance to postseason play and with six games remaining in the regular season, the Hoosiers are currently in last place with a conference record of 1-13 and a 21-28 overall record. \n“Absolutely, there’s a sense of urgency at this point in the season that we’ve backed ourselves in the corner a little bit and we have to put our nose to the grindstone to make something happen and to make it to postseason play,” said IU softball coach Stacey Phillips.\nThe Buckeyes (27-15) are currently tied with Michigan for the best record in the Big Ten (8-2). The Buckeyes will be playing their first Big Ten home games since they swept Minnesota and Wisconsin. \nOhio State enters the contest with IU possessing the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week, Jamee Juarez. In three games last week against Illinois, Iowa and IUPUI, Juarez went 4-0 with a 0.97 ERA and 46 strikeouts. She even threw a perfect game against IUPUI on April 18. The Hoosiers lead the all-time series with the Buckeyes, 52-23-1, but in recent years, the Buckeyes have had the Hoosiers’ number, going 11-3 since 2000. \nThe Hoosiers face a Penn State team that currently stands in the eighth spot in the conference with a 3-5 with most of its games being cancelled due to poor weather conditions. IU owns a 28-12 all-time record against the Nittany Lions. The Hoosiers understand that a stellar performance against Penn State could allow the teams to switch places in the standings and put them in a good position to make postseason play.\n“They’re always going to be tough games for us,” said sophomore Sarah Padove, commenting on playing Ohio State and Penn State. “They (Penn State) are 8th and I think we have every confidence in the world. Taking that mentality as well as knowing we can knock them out is going to be a big motivating factor for us.”\nPrior to the Hoosiers split Wednesday with Kentucky, they had struggled to produce the big hit with runners in scoring position. However, junior Tory Yamaguchi, known for hitting home runs, helped the Hoosiers defeat the Wildcats by hitting a two-run single in the top of the 7th with two outs. Along with Yamaguchi, the Hoosiers put forth a collective effort offensively as four other Hoosiers combined for a nine-hit, five-run victory. Even in the loss to Kentucky in the second game of the doubleheader, six Hoosiers pounded out eight hits on four runs, including a 3-4 outing from Padove. Padove said the Kentucky doubleheader was a good sign for the Hoosiers.\n“That’s going to be a big confident boost for us because a bunch of people stepped up and our offense started to come alive (Wednesday),” she said.\nEven though the Hoosiers are backed into a corner with just a few games left, they still control their destiny, an opportunity Phillips gladly will take.\n“We’re still in control; I’d rather have it in our hands than someone else’s at this point,” said Phillips.
The IU softball team ran into an offensive juggernaut this weekend, getting swept in a pair of doubleheaders with Michigan State and Michigan. The teams from the Wolverine state combined for 11 home runs as they shut out the Hoosiers in three of the four games. The Hoosiers dropped the series to Michigan State, 10-0 in five innings in the first game and 7-3 in the second. The No. 8 Wolverines refused to allow a run in their 9-0, 11-0 sweep of the Hoosiers.\n“We knew going in that both teams were going to hit the ball and put it in play,” said IU coach Stacey Phillips. “One of our goals is to keep the ball in the park, and I don’t think we reached the goal. They hit the ball out of the park way too many times and it’s hard to defend against that.”\nAlthough the Hoosiers (20-27, 1-13 in Big Ten) failed to win a game, they showed some fight. After allowing four runs in the first inning, Rachel Terry hit her career-tying sixth home run of the season as she led the Hoosiers back into the game. The Hoosiers made a final attempt in the top of the sixth getting two runners on base. But a stellar defensive play by Michigan State, a groundout and a strikeout ended the Hoosiers’ rally.\n“We showed a lot of toughness in order to be able to get back,” Phillips said. “I was feeling good and I could tell the players were really fired up and they knew they had an opportunity to put it away to get back and win a game.”\nThe doubleheader sweep to the Spartans and Wolverines means the Hoosiers have dropped 11 of their last 13 games. The only wins in that span were against non-conference, in-state opponents Indiana State and Evansville. The Hoosiers have lost 10 conference games in a row, with their last conference victory coming against Illinois on April 1. IU knows it needs to forget the past if it is to salvage the rest of the season.\n“It’s going to be how we rebound from this weekend, how we are able to turn around and make something of it,” said junior Julia Hamilton. “You can’t dwell too much on it. Whatever happens, happens, it’s the past. But at least we can move forward and hope to just not forget this but just move forward.”\nThe Hoosiers will go out of conference for a doubleheader tilt against rival Kentucky on Wednesday.\n“Every day is a new day,” said junior infielder Jennilee Huddleston. “Anybody can beat anybody on any given day. We just have to move past these and forget about them. Learn from them but move on and try to remember that it’s a new day.”
IU softball coach Stacey Phillips said road trips can be one of two things: They can be long and difficult or they can be important bonding moments for the team.\nAs the Hoosiers prepare for their first road trip of the Big Ten season, they said they hope it’s the latter of the two.\nThe Hoosiers will visit Minnesota and Wisconsin this Sunday and Monday for a pair of doubleheaders. \nDue to severe weather in Madison, Wisc., the Hoosiers will play a doubleheader with the Badgers on Monday while the scheduled pair of games versus Minnesota on Sunday does not change. \nThe Hoosiers hover just above a .500 record on the road this season with a 13-12 record. This opening road trip marks the beginning of nine games the Hoosiers will play on the road in Big Ten play. But, for IU, it is the manner in which they play, not the location, that matters most.\n“We really try to stress that it doesn’t matter where we’re playing or who were playing we just need to play Indiana softball,” said junior Jennilee Huddleston. “So it’s always interesting to play at the places but that doesn’t really matter as long as we play the way we know how to play.”\nThe weekend games versus Minnesota and Wisconsin also mark the halfway point of the Big Ten season for IU. It is a season that has so far been plagued with severe weather and a handful of cancellations for many teams around the league. Those canceled games could be the difference between a spot in the conference tournament or a spot on the couch. As teams battle for the right to play in the Big Ten tournament (only the top eight teams can play in the conference’s postseason tournament), the more games a team plays means the more chances they have to put themselves in good position to play in the postseason. The Hoosiers are 1-5 and in ninth place in conference play. Phillips said the team recognizes its opportunity to take advantage of games being played, a position not all teams have been able to enjoy.\n“As you play less games, you don’t play some teams with different competition, there’s a sense of urgency,” Phillips said. “We need to take every opportunity we can to win games in our conference.”\nThe Hoosiers and Badgers already faced off once this season at the Speedline Invitational with Wisconsin winning, 5-0. In that game, the Hoosiers managed five hits but stranded seven runners. \nPhillips said Minnesota has improved after a tough season last year. The fact that the Gophers are in last place in the Big Ten is misleading because they are only 0-2 with the losses coming at the hands of first-place Ohio State. \nPhillips said attacking early is going to be an important key to the Hoosiers success this weekend.\n“I think if we come out and attack the pitches that are in the zone,” said Phillips, commenting on the keys to the games. “Scoring first is going to be a big deal, especially on their fields. Never giving up is also going to be key against both teams.”\nWith revenge on the table and an opportunity to climb in the Big Ten standings, the Hoosiers see a window of opportunity that they must take advantage of if they are to have any hope of playing in the postseason. It all starts with the Gophers and the Badgers.\n“This is a big weekend for us,” said sophomore Sarah Padove. “We’ve had a couple tough games and if we can carry that momentum from the Indiana State win into the weekend, it’s going to be a big deal the rest of the season.”
A new IU initiative will make an effort to ensure that students from all walks of life can attend college. \nPart of the state budget bill includes a provision for the “Pathways to Success” Initiative, a program designed to prepare students for college and increase their chances of success in postsecondary education, according to an IU press release. \nAs part of the initiative, the IU School of Education would work with public high schools and middle schools in “underserved” areas such as Marion, Lake and St. Joseph counties. One other goal is to provide professional development for teachers in order for them to become better equipped to teach in such environments.\n“The initiative is to sign and demonstrate how a multicampus research university like IU can engage with K-12 schools in high need areas to improve student achievement and preparation for college,” said Gerardo Gonzalez, dean of the IU School of Education.\nOne critical role in the process of preparing students for college is that of the teachers.\n“We know from the research we’ve done that the single most important school-based element in helping students achieve high levels is the quality of the teachers,” Gonzalez said. \nIU plans to recruit teachers from underserved areas such as Marion county in hopes they will return to the school they graduated from to serve as role models for students.\n“The first thing students who come from those communities who go to college will do when they go back to those communities is to set the expectation and communicate the belief that every child can succeed,” Gonzalez said.\nAlthough teachers play an important role, it must take a collective group effort to ensure students get the special opportunity to attend college.\n“Teachers have a role, but it’s not only them,” said George Kuh, director of the Center for Postsecondary Research, which conducts the National Survey of Student Engagement. “It’s everyone at school and everyone in the family. There is some evidence to suggest more people need to not only believe they should do this but they can do this.”\nBesides the financial and logistical challenges students face, often the biggest problem is that they simply do not think of themselves as college material. That is sometimes the first step, said Don Hossler, professor of educational leadership and policy studies\n“People have to see themselves there, and if you don’t come from a family tradition (of attending college) programs like this increases the odds that kids will be able to see themselves there,” Hossler said.\nGonzalez has a different perspective then most. He came to the U.S. as an immigrant from Cuba and could not speak English. He said he wants to ensure that students like him learn about college, because it is an opportunity he never had. “Pathways to Success” is one way to do just that, he said.\n“The important message is that everyone can succeed,” Gonzalez said. “If they prepare themselves well, opportunities will be available to them. Education in a free society is the great equalizer. If they know about the opportunities that are here, they will also be able to succeed and achieve their goals.”
The IU softball team dropped a double-header against the eighth-ranked Northwestern Wildcats on a frigid afternoon Sunday at the IU softball field.\nWhile the weather was dreadfully cold, the offense sizzled for both teams in the opening game. \nThe Wildcats pounded out 14 runs on 10 hits in the 14-7 victory. \nEven though the Hoosiers out-hit the Wildcats 11-10, they were unable to overcome the walks and powerful bats of Northwestern. \n“You have an opportunity to make a play and get yourselves out of something,” IU head coach Stacey Phillips said of the excessive walks. “Then you don’t make that play and you don’t minimize that damage, that’s what it looks like.”\nThe Hoosiers fell behind 10-0 by the third inning and looked well on their way to putting the mercy rule into effect early. However, the Hoosiers showed resolve by climbing back into the game with a five-run third inning to make it 10-5. \n“We never give up and we just wanted to give them a run for their money,” junior Jennilee Huddleston said. “We showed them that we’re not going to lay down.”\nWhile the offense exploded in the first game, the opposite played out in the second game. Northwestern and IU each had great pitching performances backed by stellar defensive plays by both teams. \nSophomore Monica Wright went six innings, gave up five runs on seven hits, walked four and struck out six. \n“I think the defense definitely was a spark plug to our team in the second game keeping us in it,” Wright said.\nWhile Wright was good, Northwestern freshman Lauren Delaney was even better. \nShe surrendered only one run on two hits, walked three batters and recorded 10 strikeouts. Huddleston was the only IU batter to get a hit off Delany as she managed an infield single and a solo home run to dead center field. \n“She’s a good pitcher,” Phillips said. “She throws a rise ball and she gets ahead of batters. Good pitchers get ahead of batters, bottom line. She got ahead of us and we weren’t being as aggressive as we should have at that point.”\nAlthough it was not the desired outcome, the Hoosiers emerged from the double-header sweep with a vote of confidence as their season progresses.\n“There’s never really a good loss, but we did good on defense and we did good on hitting and there was some good pitching moments during the game,” Huddleston said. “So take that on and say we played great against the number-eight team in the country, so that gives us a lot more confidence going into the rest of the season.”\nPhillips said the Hoosiers have not competed well against Northwestern in the past couple of years, but that was not the case Sunday. \n“Today was a sign that we’re competing with a team that’s in the top 10 in the country,” Phillips said. “I think that’s a huge thing for our program. If I could take anything good away from today, that’s what it is. I mean, it’s not OK to lose ... but on the upside, this is the first time we competed and had a chance to honestly beat Northwestern.”
The IU softball team has the opportunity to stamp a special imprint on the season Sunday when it hosts the No. 8 Northwestern Wildcats (28-7). \nThe Wildcats visit IU having won four of their last five games, including a victory against No. 9 Michigan.\n“It’s always exciting to step up from behind,” junior Jennilee Huddleston said. “You’ve got nothing to lose, so you lay it all out on the field. So it’s always a big deal to upset those teams and knock them out of where they’re going.”\nNorthwestern enters the contest with a potent lineup. \nThey have two USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year finalists in senior Garland Cooper and sophomore Tammy Williams. \nThe Cats also have a solid pitching staff, anchored by freshman Lauren Delaney and senior Eileen Canney. \nDelaney has yet to be defeated this year and stands at 14-0. The Hoosiers understand what they are up against, but they also know that anything can happen.\n“No team in the country’s untouchable,” IU coach Stacey Phillips said. “It’s one of those things where you play, obviously, the games, because anybody on any given day has an opportunity to win. They’ve got what most would consider the complete package.”\nThe Hoosiers have been shutout in four of their last six games due in large part to not producing with runners in scoring position. \n“Hitting is mental,” Phillips said. “We got enough talent to be able to do it. It’s more of who’s gonna go up there with the confidence that they’re going to get the job done. I think that’s where we’ve lacked in the confidence area, and once we get that, I think we’re going to be able to kinda make some noise.”\nPhillips said a big hit with runners in scoring position can change the entire complexion of a ball game. For the Hoosiers, Phillips said, it’s not a matter of getting on base. It’s simply a question of who’s going to step up and make a play.\nWith the Wildcats possessing two players on an offensive tear, pitching is going to be an important part of the formula if the Hoosiers are to win. The pitching staff’s confidence is on the rise after junior Monica Wright allowed five hits and a walk and struck out five in a difficult 1-0 loss to Louisville.\n“Knowing that they’re such a good offensive hitting team, I have to obviously be very focused,” senior Christy Wahl said. “Make sure my pitches are working, and with them being such a good hitting team, work the pitches off the plate a little bit and make them try to hit too our strengths and not pitch to their strengths.”\nFor the Hoosiers, they’re not thinking upset. For them, it’s just another important game in their chase for a Big Ten title.\n“Northwestern’s another game,” Phillips said. “It’s another Big Ten game. It’s a very important game just like all of them are.”
For most students, college was a given. It was something they never gave a second thought to because they knew it was simply the next step on their journeys toward successful lives. And they might have taken it for granted at times. \nBut for a group of kids from the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, college is a mystery. It is a foreign concept that is unreachable and unattainable. To some of the kids, college is an achievement unbeknownst to them altogether. \nSo on Saturday morning, Big Brothers Big Sisters teamed with the National Society of Collegiate Scholars to present March to College Day, a day for adolescents to experience college life. \nPlanning for College Success a program of the NSCS, educates adolescents who may not attend college about the college atmosphere.\nJunior Katie Kleckner, president of NSCS, said some of the youths have lived in Bloomington all their lives but have never been on the IU campus. \nSenior Stephanie Cave, president of Planning for College Success, said March to College Day is the finale of a series of events the organization puts on for the kids. She said such activities included making sleds and Valentine’s Day cards. Cave said March to College Day is a day for a group of diverse adolescents to gain better insight into what it is like attending college.\n“(The kids) all come from different backgrounds,” Cave said. “Many situations, poverty situations. They think this is unrealistic. They are not in a position for someone to tell them what it takes to get to college.”\nThe kids started out in a mock classroom where Kleckner posed as “professor Kleckner,” a chemistry educator. “Professor Kleckner” dealt with common interruptions professors face in the college classroom, such as cell phones interrupting class, students sleeping, and having to use the bathroom in the middle of a lecture. Members of the NSCS then fielded questions from the Big Brothers Big Sisters group of kids regarding a college classroom environment. \nAfter the mock classroom, the kids were split up into three groups, each of which journeyed on a tour through campus. One such group made stops at the Indiana Memorial Union, the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, and even Teter Quad to get an inside look at college dorm rooms.\nThe day in the life of a college student was preparation for the older students who are a few years away from seriously considering higher education.\n“It was great going to different buildings and seeing what it was like and it helped me out a lot,” said Corey, a 15-year-old sophomore at Bloomington High School North. “It makes me look forward to college more.”\nNot only do the kids have little knowledge of what college is about, but they must fight the perception that college simply isn’t for them. They said March to College Day helps squelch any such preconceived notions.\n“The most important thing for them to know is that it’s here,” Kleckner said. “It’s good for them to be exposed to this environment and feel like they’ll be accepted here and it doesn’t matter where they’re from.”\nAlthough educating the kids about college was the main goal of March to College Day, showing the kids love and attention was also important.\n“They’re amazing kids,” Cave said. “It’s more about spending time with the kids. Even if every detail didn’t work out, it’s about spending time with the kids.”\nAmong all the games, laughter and education about college life emerged perhaps the most important theme of March to College Day: hope.\n“Kids that come from those types of homes don’t know what is out there,” Kleckner said. “It gives them a chance to see that kids are loved and it boosts their self-esteem and gives them hope for things they didn’t think were options.”
Angelo Pizzo always loved films.\nMost notable for being the producer and writer of “Hoosiers” and “Rudy” ,” Pizzo, a 1971 IU graduate, gathered with students Wednesday evening for a fireside chat about his career and the industry today.\nHosted by the Board of Educational Programming at the Collins Living-Learning Center, aspiring filmmakers and fans of his movies had a unique opportunity to gain insight into Pizzo’s life, acquiring valuable advice as they strive toward a career in filmmaking.\nBut he almost never got the chance to do what he loved. The United States was drafting for the Vietnam War, and Pizzo said he was sure he was going to be drafted. However, the government cut it off three numbers before Pizzo’s was due to come up. \nThough he knew he wanted to go into filmmaking, Pizzo was apprehensive about getting into the business because of the competitive nature of the industry – that is, until he received some fatherly advice.\n“I talked to my dad and my dad’s a doctor, and he said he fell in love (with medicine) when he was 12,” Pizzo said. “He said the greatest joy in life is to be able to work at doing something you love. He asked me what I loved, and I said ‘movies are the only thing I’ve ever loved.’ I was passionate about film from the time I can remember.” \nHis father suggested he take some film courses. The rest is history. \n“It was amazing,” said Ellen Dwyer, director of the Collins Living-Learning Center and adviser for the Board of Educational Programming. “It was a great opportunity for (students). It was kind of him to spend part of his evening with a group of students.”\nStudents asked Pizzo what advice he would give to up-and-coming filmmakers. It was simple: Go to Los Angeles.\n“Do everything you can to get on a set,” Pizzo said. “That is where the vast majority of mainstream media is. Absorb as much as you can.”\nHe said that it is possible to get into filmmaking in Indiana, but the limits that a smaller market poses make it much tougher than a big city like Los Angeles. Pizzo is proof that a filmmaker can survive in the business while living in Indiana, which is a confidence booster for junior Adrienne Thiery, an aspiring film writer herself.\n“It’s nice that he was from Bloomington,” Thiery said. “It gives me some hope. It’s cool that his movies are inspired from living here.”\nWith many people trying to make it and so many movies being produced, it is tough as a filmmaker or writer to produce something that has never seen before. Movies such as the “Batman” sequels were given as examples to show that even the distinguished Hollywood producers are struggling to come up with something new. However, Pizzo said that is what makes the writer stand out.\n“It has to be original,” he said. “You can’t figure out what the marketplace is. If you write authentically, from the inside out, what you care about and are passionate about, then I think you can stand out.”\nFor Thiery, that kind of advice was just what she needed to hear to squelch fears about her ability as a film writer.\n“I took the fact that the thing that will make you stick out is originality, right from the heart,” Theiry said. “That set worries aside because I love writing. It told me just write from the heart.”\nPizzo is working on a couple of projects. One is a movie about the Indianapolis 500, appropriately titled “Indy.” He said he and his colleagues are having cast issues with the film at the moment but hope to nail down an actress with the “magnitude of Reese Witherspoon or Rachel McAdams.”\nAnother project Pizzo has his eye on is a family television drama. The premise of the series is about a family who moves to a “generic college town” in the Midwest where the father takes over as the athletic director. The series will include inside jokes to people who know Indiana and a foul-mouthed basketball coach whom the athletic director must deal with. Sound familiar?\nAs the discussion ended, Pizzo stood up to leave and grabbed a snack on his way out, only to be stopped by a line of students who simply didn’t get enough during the hour-long session. \n“I thought he was brilliant,” said junior Kris Stephens. “I came in with negative connotations and was very speculative. But the more he spoke, the more I listened. He knows what he’s talking about.”
