A final farewell

Seven-thousand one-hundred-twenty-one students said goodbye to IU at Saturday's commencement ceremonies.\nThe ceremonies took place at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. at Assembly Hall. \nGraduates from the Kelley School of Business and the Schools of Education, Health, Physical Education and Recreation, Law, Music, Public, Environmental Affairs and Social Work participated in the 10 a.m. ceremony. Graduates from the College of Arts and Sciences and Schools of Continuing Studies, Informatics, Journalism, Library and Information Science and Optometry took part in the 3 p.m. ceremony.\nFormer first lady Judy O'Bannon gave the commencement speech at both ceremonies.\nIn his first commencement address since his inauguration, IU President Adam Herbert encouraged the new alumni to transform the world.\n"We face a national health care crisis, a rise in terrorism, an AIDS pandemic and astonishing rates of world hunger and environmental degradation," Herbert said. "The environment in which you will live, work and lead will require you to adapt to these changing times while holding firm to unchanging values. Success in this quest will require the remarkably creative powers of the mind, a strong work ethic and a never-ending search for answers to challenging questions." \nHerbert also urged the Class of 2004 to take responsibility for their own destinies.\n"Go forth with a spirit of boldness," Herbert said. "Do not let uncertainty shake your confidence."\nIn addition to the degrees presented to departing IU students, O'Bannon received an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters and IU Professor Emeritus of Geological Studies Haydn Murray also received an honorary doctorate.\nStudents reacted to graduation with mixed emotions. While most students were excited, many felt more like spectators than participants.\n"I didn't feel like I had a big part in the ceremony. I felt like I was just sitting there watching it," said David Lizzo, a graduate in Jewish Studies.\nCarter Ploszek, a Telecommunications graduate, agrees.\n"I think it's more for the parents. With all the money they've put into it, (they like) seeing their kids succeed," Ploszek said.\nThe student reaction to the speeches was one of apathy.\n"The speeches were really long. Judy O'Bannon is a great woman -- no disrespect -- but her speech was a little on the long side," said Jermaine Miles, a graduate in Telecommunications.\nPloszek said the ceremony didn't seem to hold student interest.\n"I thought it was pretty boring," Ploszek said. "A lot of kids sitting by me weren't paying attention. They were talking on cell phones and reading magazines."\nPloszek said the best parts of the ceremony were the unorganized elements.\n"The cool part was there were about 10 beach balls flying around between the students during the ceremony," Ploszek said.\nGraduates seem to agree however, while the ceremony was tedious at times, it was an exciting occasion.\n"I thought that even though they didn't call our names like they would in high school, it was a great honor," Miles said. "It was really exciting because you pass people on campus, you see them in bars and then you're sitting next to them at graduation. It's the last official time for people to come together."\n-- Contact campus editor Karen Green at kamgreen@indiana.edu.

Living Rent-Free

While most students are searching for housing next year or scrounging funds for security deposits, junior Kari Salyer is resting easy. Salyer will be living rent-free next year at Smallwood Plaza after winning a raffle Friday.\nSalyer's name was drawn from a pool of almost 2,000 entries. Her prize, the rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Smallwood Plaza, is valued at more than $12,000.\nFor Salyer, the outcome of the drawing was more exciting than it was surprising. She and her sister, recent graduate Jenifer Salyer, have been entering the contest almost daily since January.\n"I entered every day for a couple months, so the odds of winning were pretty good," said Salyer.\nSalyer's name was entered into the drawing 40 times, while her sister's was entered 46 times, said John Jacobs, Smallwood Plaza developer.\nJenifer will be living with her sister, also rent-free.\n"We decided that we were going to do this together, so we agreed that if one of us won then we'd share the apartment," said Jenifer.\nThe Salyers had already signed a lease with Smallwood for a four bedroom apartment.\n"We were going to live here regardless of if we won or not," said Kari Salyer.\nBecause the sisters have already signed a lease, the $12,000 will be applied toward a four-bedroom apartment lease, said Kara Cornwell, general manager of Nextwave Management, developers of Smallwood.\nThe rent for the additional two bedrooms in the apartment will be paid by their roommates, said Kari Salyer.\nSmallwood Plaza, which will open in the fall, will house 239 apartments and more than 17,000 square feet of retail space to be utilized by residents and Bloomington community members.\nSmallwood's management also announced the signing of its first major retail contract at the ceremony Friday. Cardinal Fitness will be occupying 8,500 feet of space in Smallwood, and residents will receive free memberships to the fitness center, according to a press release.\nThe contest was the brainchild of Smallwood Plaza's owners and operators as a way of introducing Smallwood to the community.\n"We wanted to generate some excitement. We thought this was a fun way to show that Smallwood Plaza is a fun place to live," said Michelle Sinning, who is in charge of media relations for Nextwave Management.\nThe Leasing Spot, Smallwood Plaza's leasing store, located at 425 E. Kirkwood Ave., was buzzing Friday as people congregated in front of the small management office and collected free pizza, T-shirts and other prizes. Bloomington's B97 radio station broadcast live from The Leasing Spot as they awaited Kari Salyer's arrival. \nShe was brought to the presentation ceremony in a limousine.\n"I was speechless when I found out that I'd won," Kari Salyer said. "I'm excited, nervous, anxious."\nHer sister shared her sentiment.\n"I'm just as excited as she is," Jenifer Salyer said. "As soon as we found out, we were calling people up and telling them we'd won."\n-- Contact business editor Karen Green at kamgreen@indiana.edu.

ABOVE -- Kari Salyer holds flowers presented to her at a ceremony outside The Leasing Spot on Kirkwood Avenue Friday as sister, Jenifer, and mother look on. Salyer was escorted to the ceremony in a limousine after winning a free one-year lease on a two-bedroom apartment in Smallwood Plaza.

Mother Bear's pizza to compete for national title

Bloomington's own Mother Bear's Pizza, located at 1428 E. Third St., will compete nationally to win Pizza of the Year at the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas next week.\nRay McConn, owner and president of Mother Bear's Pizza, entered his own recipe, which is called Divine Swine, into the contest. The recipe was selected as one of four finalists from 112 entries from all over the country.\n"It's really gratifying to have someone on a national level recognize the quality of our pizza," McConn said.\nDivine Swine, which has been served to Bloomington residents and IU students at Mother Bear's for five years, features pepperoni, sausage, ham, bacon and Mother Bear's pizza cheese, said Karen Wisniewski, a manager at Mother Bear's.\nIU students have been ordering Mother Bear's pizza for more than 30 years.\nJunior Jen Walker said she isn't surprised Mother Bear's is in the running for Pizza of the Year.\n"They really are Bloomington's best pizza. I think it's more homestyle, as opposed to fast food pizza," Walker said.\nWhile Walker has never tried the Divine Swine, she said she's seen it on the menu.\n"It looks really good. I've wanted to try it," she said.\nIf Divine Swine wins the Pizza of the Year award, it could mean many more students will be trying it -- and eating at Mother Bear's.\nThe publicity from competing at the International Pizza Expo could mean bigger business for the restaurant in months to come, McConn said.\n"I think it'd be a real boom to be recognized for the quality that we have. A national competition would be outstanding," McConn said. "It would give us a marketing tool that nobody else would have."\nWisniewski attributes the success of Divine Swine to the way it is prepared.\n"It's a meat lover's pizza," said Wisniewski. "Some places that serve meat lover's pizzas put too much meat on it, and you can't taste the individual meats that are on there."\nIn order to enter the contest, McConn submitted an application along with a copy of the recipe and a photograph of Divine Swine. Judges for the Pizza of the Year contest prepared the recipients' recipes and chose finalists based on recipe alone.\nMcConn, along with the head cook and several other employees, will attend the International Pizza Expo.\n"We'll be in Las Vegas for the show, and we're bringing several of our own ingredients and making the pizza ourselves," McConn said.\nMcConn believes part of Mother Bear's success is due to the quality of the ingredients used in its pizzas.\n"I don't think the recipe is unique, but the quality of ingredients that we put on it are unique," McConn said. "Most pizza places offer sausage, ham and bacon, but we go to some effort to buy a very high quality of all of those ingredients."\nBecause he feels the ingredients are such an important part of the Mother Bear's experience, McConn believes he and the crew he brings to the Expo will prepare the recipe better than the preliminary cooks could have.\n"I think it's fairly understated to say that we'll make better than anyone else will," McConn said.\nCompeting and possibly winning a national contest should mean bigger business for Mother Bear's in the months to come, said McConn.\nMcConn is unsure of what the results of the contest will be, but the recognition alone is rewarding, he said.\n"There were over a hundred entries and we were one of the pizzas selected as a finalist. I thought that was a great reward right there," McConn said. "I don't know what our competition will be like, but I think our pizza's excellent, and it can stack up against any competition. I just hope the judges think so."\n--Contact business editor Karen Green at kamgreen@indiana.edu.

Kernan announces grants for 2 local companies

Two Bloomington companies will receive state-funded grants to aid in the training of new and existing employees from the Indiana Department of Commerce's Skills Enhancement Fund, Gov. Joe Kernan announced last week.\nSEF is one of the many programs utilized by the state of Indiana to aid the Hoosier workforce. Companies are eligible for grants only after they have made a capital investment, such as purchasing new equipment or upgrading facilities, and money is reimbursed by the state on a 50 percent basis, said Angie Dye, director of public affairs for the Indiana Department of Commerce.\n"Investing in our workers is pivotal to our state's future success," Kernan said in a statement. "And these companies are not only making a commitment to the men and women they employ, they are keeping their companies and the state competitive by updating their facilities with new equipment."\nWhitestone Acquisition Corp., a Bloomington-based company which manufactures and develops adult incontinence products, will be given $27,000 to support its recent investment in $320,000 of new equipment. The grant will go to the training of 83 Whitestone employees.\nJoyce Wick, vice president of administration for Whitestone Acquisition Corp., said the reimbursement will be dispersed over the next two years and the company will have to spend $54,000 in order to be reimbursed with the $27,000 grant.\n"This is all tied into a capital investment that you have to make," said Wick. "You have to put money back into your business to even apply for this grant."\nWhitestone will be using the funds to train employees in "analytic troubleshooting and process controls," said Wick.\nWick said the training money will be beneficial for the company as well as its employees.\n"Besides the fact that it's going to enhance our associate's skills in that area, the training will also aid our employees in receiving pay increases. As our employees gain more knowledge in that area, we'll become more efficient in producing our products," said Wick.\nHeitink Veneers, Inc., another Bloomington-based company, which manufactures veneer faces for kitchen cabinets as well as plywood, will receive $3,490 to support a recent $1.2 million capital investment providing new equipment and facility upgrades for the 20-year-old company.\nDye says new equipment and facility upgrades are the main reasons Indiana companies are receiving grants like these.\n"A lot of times companies need training because they are investing in new equipment," said Dye. "(SEF) is a better way for us to meet their needs as far as the skills employees have."\nJan Berend Heitink, vice president and owner of Heitink Veneers, Inc., said the grant will help the company expand through training.\n"We're trying to reinvest in not just machines but also our human resources. This grant will help us finance and be able to provide additional and extensive training for these employees," Heitink said. "We take our human resources very seriously. We can strengthen through training and better education to make us more resilient to our competition and market volatility."\nThe main objectives of programs like SEF and the recently introduced Indiana@Work initiative are to keep Hoosiers well trained and keep the state's workforce competitive, said Dye.\n"The state is continuing to make an investment in updating the skills of our workforce. We are making a commitment to have workers have the most up-to-date skills," said Dye. \nDye also said programs like these will help Indiana's overall economy and might provide jobs for more Hoosiers.\n"We want to make sure Indiana continues to be competitive by having a skilled workforce. Having a skilled workforce makes the state more attractive to companies that are considering expanding or relocating."\n-- Contact business editor Karen Green at kamgreen@indiana.edu.

Rental woes solved with learning

Spring semester has just begun, but it's already time to think about houses, apartments, leasing contracts and where to live next year. First-time renters can look to an abundance of resources at IU as well as in Bloomington.\nFor students who don't know where to begin, Student Legal Services is working to inform them of their rights when it comes to renting.\nStacee Evans, a staff attorney at SLS, said seeking legal advice is important when it comes to renting because Indiana law is not very "tenant friendly."\n"Tenants in Indiana don't have a lot of rights compared to more urban areas," Evans said.\nBecause of the lack of tenant protection laws, Evans has been spending the beginning of spring semester speaking at residence halls about issues students need to keep in mind when signing a lease.\nEvans said the most important thing to keep in mind is once the lease is signed there is no way to back out.\n"When you sign a lease in Indiana, it's a contract," she said. "You're bound as soon as you sign."\nTo prevent any post-signing regret, Evans offers a list of tips potential renters should keep in mind before they sign.\nWith all of the construction happening in Bloomington, Evans said a major problem with renting is making sure the unit will be ready when the tenant is ready to move in.\n"A lot of times students will sign a lease on an apartment that hasn't been built yet. It seems like a great prospect, so they sign the lease. Then, sometimes, when they arrive on move-in day, the unit still isn't completed," Evans said.\nOne way to prevent this is to see the actual unit before signing the lease. If the leasing agent is upfront about the unit's need for completion, Evans said it is essential to outline the completion date in the lease.\nSeeing the unit will also give the tenant an idea of what he or she is actually renting. Evans said most "show units" are just that -- units for show -- and it's important a tenant knows what the unit looks like after the wear and tear of previous tenants.\nSophomore Chelsa Tinkham also said seeing a show unit can cause problems when planning furniture arrangements. \n"We thought that we would have more wall space, but we ended up having more windows than the model, so we had to figure out a different way to arrange the furniture," Tinkham said. "We couldn't really put a big TV in front of a window."\nEvans said it's also essential for renters to check out the leasing companies from which they are planning to rent. Bloomington's Housing and Neighborhood Development Department keeps files on every leasing agent in the city, and any complaints made by former tenants are public record, said Evans. \nMany people are not aware of this service.\nSophomore Tristan Mathews was unaware he could check with HAND before signing a lease. \n"We've had a lot of problems this semester," he said, "and if I would have seen that somebody had as many problems as we've had, I probably would have looked at more houses before signing the lease."\nEvans said students should also take extra care in cleaning when it comes time to move out of rented properties. She suggests tenants "leave it better than they found it."\n"Landlords are very careful when doing move-out inspections, but they don't care so much at move-in inspections because, in their minds, the property is ready to move into," said Evans.\nIn order to avoid losing a big chunk of the security deposit, Evans said it's important to thoroughly check everything and fill out the inspection form in detail, noting each and every problem the landlord may notice during move-out. She also suggests taking pictures or video of the property before moving in.\n"It sounds really picky, but you'll be glad you did it," Evans said.\nLinda Brown, property manager for CS Property Management which leases apartments in Stadium View Apartments as well as 11 other locations, notes the importance of cleaning before moving out and removing all personal belongings.\nThe condition of the carpet and walls is also important during move-out inspections, Brown said.\n"(We check for) burn holes or candle wax on carpets," she said. "We do allow our residents to hang pictures on the wall, as long as they don't leave a hole as big as a quarter they're not charged for that."\nEvans said a good way to avoid high damage costs at move-out time is to keep communication lines open with landlords and to inform them immediately of any maintenance issues.\nFinally, Evans notes the importance of knowing the other tenants on the lease well enough to trust them -- not only because living together is a big step, but also because all tenants are usually responsible for one another in Bloomington.\n"Consider carefully who you're choosing because when you sign a lease in Bloomington 90 percent of the time each of you is responsible for each other," Evans said. "If you sign a lease with people who are responsible, they'll be more likely to find a subletter or continue to pay rent in the event that they need to move out."\nEvans said choosing roommates carefully is essential because a bad roommate match can spoil even the most perfect housing conditions.\n"If you pick the wrong people it can be a disaster," Evans said. "You never really know anyone until you live with them"

Kernan addresses education, deficit

Governor Joe Kernan took to the podium for his first State of the State address Tuesday night and addressed a crowd of decidedly optimistic legislators. The night marked the four-month anniversary of the death of former Governor Frank O'Bannon. \nThe first minutes of the speech seemed more like a football game than a formal address to state legislators, as the former lieutenant governor was greeted by cheering, clapping and the chanting of his first name. Kernan took the informal revelry in stride and opened his speech with an ode to Indiana sports. \n"How about those Colts?" Kernan asked the crowd.\nOnce the cheering had died down, the governor did not take long to address his most somber task of the evening: paying tribute to O'Bannon.\n"Four months ago today, we lost our governor. We lost our friend," Kernan said. "We leave a chair empty in the gallery this evening for Frank O'Bannon, but make no mistake. No matter how great the loss we feel, Governor O'Bannon's life -- so full of optimism, vision and his genuine love of Indiana -- will be with us always."\nSomber recollection of past tragedy, however, did not seem to dull the spirits of Kernan or his colleagues as he immediately looked to the future of Indiana.\nKernan announced his commitment to the increased development of the Hoosier workforce. \n"My top priority is to create jobs," he said. "We will aggressively promote Indiana businesses and workers to beat back the effects of this national recession."\nScattered voices responded with "Here, here!" as Kernan announced the start of his "Indiana@Work" initiative, a new program designed to increase Indiana's employment rate without an increase in taxes.\n"'Indiana@Work' will use existing funds to train more workers, better assess their skills and match them with available jobs," Kernan said.\n"Indiana@Work," designed to work with the Energize Indiana initiative started by O'Bannon, will help to "transform ideas and technologies into new products, new services and new jobs," Kernan said.\nKernan's speech also focused on education, specifically the Early Learning Trust. Last week, Kernan announced the creation of the program, which will strive to make full-day kindergarten accessible to every child in Indiana by 2007.\n"Early education is a sound and necessary investment in our future. For every dollar we invest in high-quality, comprehensive early learning initiatives, we will save $7 in welfare, special education and criminal justice costs."\nA member of the state legislature responded to Kernan's statement with a bold, "Yes, sir!" as a rousing round of applause emanated from the audience.\nKernan emphasized that this program will not mean additional funding from taxpayers. \n"I have identified the resources to fund this investment in our future -- without raising taxes," he said. "I will work with you to get this job done for our children."\nThe governor also touched briefly on the introduction of the Line Item Veto to Indiana legislature, a move which he claims will "protect taxpayers from unnecessary and unaffordable spending."\nAlso included in his speech were the creation of a task force designed to protect abused and neglected children and a promise to eliminate the state's deficit within the next two years.\nAmong the many announcements made in his speech, Kernan spoke of the inception of the Peak Performance Project, to be led by Lieutenant Governor Kathy Davis. The project will include a "top to bottom" review of state government, which Kernan hopes will lead to more effective methods of serving Hoosiers.\n"I've asked her (Davis) to do more than just look under the hood and kick the tires. If there's a way to better serve you, then maybe it's time to redesign the whole car," Kernan said.\nState Senator Vi Simpson, D-Ellettsville, in attendance at the speech, said the most important part of Kernan's speech was not the words themselves, but the general tone. \n"(The speech) was a message of optimism," she said. "We've had a tough, tragic year and this was just the message Indiana needed to hear."\nCongesswoman Peggy Welch, D-Bloomington, said the speech is an uplifting look into what Indiana can expect in the next few years. \n"As citizens, it gives us hope that Gov. Kernan is looking to the future."\n-- Contact business editor Karen Green at kamgreen@indiana.edu.