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(12/05/06 5:25am)
An IU student confessed to peeping over the shower stalls last weekend in Wright Harding restrooms after the IU Police Department identified him based on victims' descriptions, IUPD Sgt. Chad Bennett said, reading from the police report.\nThe man, a resident of Tulip Tree Apartments, admitted to two of the three peeping incidents, Bennett said, and IUPD filed an arrest warrant after taking a statement from the man Sunday night. He faces charges of voyeurism and was advised of trespass, meaning he will go to jail if found at Wright Quad within the next year, Bennett said.\nThree women reported to the police Saturday that a male, whom police later identified as an IU student, was peeking over the shower stalls in the bathroom at about 9 a.m. Saturday morning, Bennett said.\nThe first woman said she was taking a shower Saturday morning when she noticed a man looking over the shower stall at her, Bennett said.\nA second woman in a different Wright Harding bathroom said she was taking a shower when she saw "some sort of device above the shower stall," Bennett said. She did not know what the device was, but she said she thought it could be a camera and got out of the shower. She then saw a person running out of the bathroom and reported it to the police, he said.\nThe second woman's roommate reported minutes later that a man of similar description was near the bathroom after the second incident, Bennett said. The roommate said the man was acting suspiciously, quickly turning and going in the opposite direction. Her description of the man was also similar to the others.\nFinally, a third woman reported a man of the same description peeping through the gap between the stall door and partition while showering in Wright Harding.\nAfter police created a composite from the descriptions, IUPD received a call from Wright Quad on Sunday night when a victim reported that she saw the man by the food court. Officers found a man matching the description and the composite. At first he denied having anything to do with the incident but confessed after police interviewed him, Bennett said.\nPolice then released him and are now waiting for the prosecutor's office to indicate if charges will be filed, he said. \n"We released him ... because we didn't actually witness him do that," Bennett said. "We know who he is, and he knows that. He'd have to be pretty stupid to try to go back there."\nBut Wright residents remain concerned with security measures within the residence hall.\n"I took a shower today knowing that he had been caught, but you feel like you don't know if someone is there," said freshman Bonnie Seacott. "I've been to Ball State, and they are way more secured than us."\nFreshman Maggie Rupel said a man fitting a different description spied on her in the shower at Wright Lowe in October.\n"I was just taking a shower, and it was late at night," she said. "There was this guy standing there. I was just in shock."\nThe only way to increase security would be to lock all bathroom doors, requiring all residents to take a key with them to use the restroom, said Pat Connor, Residential Programs and Services' executive director. \n"I know some schools have done that, and they've gone to that level of security, and it's been met with some pretty strong resistance from the students," Connor said. \nAlthough that could be an option, Connor said he thinks the best way to protect residents is to have them be more proactive in keeping dorms safe. Connor said he suspects the man got in Wright Harding by following other students in the doors and reached the bathroom area because students often leave doors propped open within the residence hall.\n"I think it's much better to have students be engaged in how to focus their role on keeping their environment safe," he said.\nWright Quad held a meeting to address the issue with residents Monday night.\n-IDS staff reporters Brian Spegele and Joanna Barnett contributed to this report.
(12/01/06 3:43am)
A minor grease fire Thursday at the Read Center McDonald's caused more than $20,000 in damages and the evacuation of most of the dorm.\nNo one was injured in the fire.\nBy the time Bloomington Fire Department arrived a little after 11 a.m. Thursday, Bloomington Fire Department Battalion Chief Mark Webb said the fire was out. However, he said smoke was still seen coming from the fryer, and they observed hot spots in the fryer and the exhaust ductwork. A built-in system, which can detect overheating, activated and put out the fire when a certain temperature was reached, he said. \nThe exact cause of the incident was not announced, Fire Prevention Officer Todd Easton said, but he did say mechanical failure and improper maintenance are possible causes.\nDamage was limited to the fryer, said Roland Long, owner of all Bloomington McDonald's franchises, but he suspects it will cost at least $20,000 to replace it, in addition to the cost of replacing the ductwork which was also damaged in the fire.\n"Because of the fact that the fire was down below inside, it looks like the fire started inside the fryer on the back left side," he said.\nMelanie Scott, an assistant manager at the McDondald's, said she was working at the fryer when the fire started.\n"Smoke started billowing out, and we opened the doors and saw flames and got everybody out," she said. \nScott, who said she has worked at the Read Center McDonald's for 18 years and never seen such a grease fire, wasn't too concerned about the damage, saying no one was worried or scared from the situation.\nPools of grease caused officials from the Bloomington Fire Department and IU Police Department to slide around on the wet floor as they cleaned up the store Thursday afternoon.\nGrease fires are not uncommon in restaurants, Long said, adding that an electrical shortage could have caused the fire. He added he was recently notified that Frymaster, the company that produces the model of fryer the Read Center McDonald's used, has recently had problems with the internal wiring of the product.\nA Frymaster representative said Thursday he had never heard of any problems.\nLong said the restaurant had previously looked into any potential wiring problem but found nothing.\n"We thought we had checked them out ... without knowing exactly what to look for," he said as he trailed off.\nSophomore Christine Derek, a resident in Read Center, said her room has smelled like burnt plastic since the incident late Thursday morning.\n"When I got back in after they let everybody in from the fire, I came up, and it just stunk," she said. "It still does. And I've had my windows open." \nLong said he hopes the McDonald's could reopen as soon as Saturday.
(11/30/06 10:25pm)
Dainty tutus wrapped around tiny waists, faded pink pointe shoes nearly black on the toes and bodies lithe from years of practice will all be a part of an IU tradition this weekend, now in its 48th year.\nIt might be performed all over the world, but this weekend's performances of the "The Nutcracker" presented by the IU Ballet Theater aim to be fresh and entertaining for an audience that attends the classic each year.\n"It's like a holiday tradition," senior dancer Lauren Fadeley said of the production that will begin at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Musical Arts Center. "A lot of times this is the first ballet people ever see." \nJacques Cesbron, a Jacobs School of Music professor, has choreographed IU's version of "The Nutcracker" since 1998. The ballet tells the story of a young girl who receives a nutcracker as a gift from her grandfather on Christmas Eve. When she falls asleep embracing the wooden figurine, she has a magical dream of dancing snowflakes and a sugar plum fairy.\nA rehearsal Wednesday afternoon found Cesbron, a full gallon jug of water in hand, instructing the strong but tiny men and women of IU's ballet program. After 8 years, Cesbron still shows youthful enthusiasm for the ballet he's created, which contains original choreography. The story and the music are the only parts of "The Nutcracker" that are carried from ballet to ballet.\n"It's all my creation, my invention," he said. "We have different choreography everywhere. It's made for them."\n"Them" includes more than 40 ballet majors, all of whom are used in the production by double casting roles in case someone is sick or injured the day of the show.\nAfter rehearsing more than six hours a day for nearly six weeks, the dancers are ready for the four productions they must perform in just one weekend. To accomplish this, dancers are cast for multiple roles in different productions. \nIU senior Catherine Wolfson, who plays the part of Clara and the Sugar Plum Fairy, said her role as the Sugar Plum Fairy is one of the most technically challenging roles. \n"Stamina-wise it's like running a mini-marathon," she said. "It's really special to me because I've always wanted to do Sugar Plum ever since I was a little girl."\nYet Wolfson refused to brag about her role for too long, noting that all "The Nutcracker" roles are essential to a successful production.\nKeeping fresh a ballet that's been performed internationally for so many years can be difficult, but IU's Ballet Theater has pulled it off flawlessly before and intends to do it again. \n"The university situation is very special because there's a changeover constantly," ballet department chairman Michael Vernon said. "Having this constant influx of dancers means there's a constant change, and that's what keeps it fresh."\nAfter the long weeks of rehearsals, ballet dancers are often tired and injured when performing in the final production.\n"There's not a day I wake up that something doesn't hurt," Wolfson said. \nYet mental strength and the love of the art of ballet keep dancers going, she said.\n"There's mornings I wake up and I think about how many people would love to do what I'm doing," Wolfson said. "I feel blessed and lucky."\nThough many of the dancers said they hope their experience will help them become better when joining professional companies in the future, dancers like Fadeley and freshman Ben Delony said one of the best parts of "The Nutcracker" is being looked up to by the children who also dance in the ballet with them for select scenes.\n"It's that next generation looking up to us," said Delony, who will be performing four different roles in just one production. \nVernon agreed that children often look to "The Nutcracker" for ballet inspiration.\n"I think every little girl wants to be the Sugar Plum Fairy," he said. "I think 'The Nutcracker' has inspired a lot of young girls to become dancers."\nSophomore Thomas Penman plays Fritz, Clara's brother. He said he most likes being able to influence young children seeing "The Nutcracker" for the first time. \n"Every performance is an opportunity for a child to experience dance," he said.\nTickets for "The Nutcracker" can still be purchased at the MAC box office for $18 to $35.
(11/30/06 8:18pm)
A minor grease fire at the Read McDonald's late Thursday morning resulted in minor damage but caused of all Read Center to evacuate, said Bloomington Fire Department Battalion Chief Mark Webb.\nThe fire started in the fryer, but the exact cause is undetermined at this time, said Fire Prevention Officer Todd Easton.\nDamage was limited to the fryer, said McDonnald's owner Roland Long, but he suspects it will cost at least $20,000 to replace it, in addition to the cost of replacing the ductwork which was also damaged in the fire.\nAssistant Manager Melanie Scott said she was working at the fryer when the fire started.\n"Smoke started billowing out and we opened the doors and saw flames and got everybody out," she said. Scott wasn't too concerned about the damage, saying no one was worried or scared from the situation.\nLong said he hopes the McDonnald's could reopen as soon as Saturday.\nFor more on this story, see Thursday's Indiana Daily Student.
(11/29/06 4:33am)
Lung cancer patients who receive chemotherapy undergo treatment in hopes it will make them better. But in reality, some die from the very treatment they hope will cure them. \nJake Chen, an IU School of Informatics researcher and co-founder of Predictive Physiology and Medicine, will join other IU faculty in hopes of determining which patients are sensitive to chemotherapy treatment in order to directly save their lives.\nAfter receiving a $174,000 grant from the IU Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center-based Lung Cancer Working Group early this month, Chen, a bioinformatics researcher and professor at IU-Purdue University Indianapolis, will join IU scientists and professors of medicine Dr. Larry Einhorn and Nasser Hanna on a project expected to last two years, Chen said.\nChen and Steve Valentine, both co-founders of Predictive Physiology and Medicine, located in Bloomington, are principal investigators for the project, which will use Informatics techniques to analyze the protein profiles in the cells of lung cancer patients, Chen said. \n"These profiles are presumed to be different from patient to patient, and they embed signals that we can use to differentiate patients who are sensitive from chemo from those who are not," Chen said.\nLung cancer patients in the late stage of the disease have a high death rate as about half of the cases are fatal, he said, many from complications involving the chemotherapy.\nCancer clinicians and researchers at the IU Cancer Center who will serve as directors of the project include Einhorn and Hanna, according to an IU School of Medicine press release. \nEinhorn is noted in the release for developing a chemotherapy regimen for testicular cancer patients that now shows a 95 percent cure rate. \nValentine said he hopes the project will begin in December. Chen added that it will begin after the hiring of post-doctoral researchers after a nationwide search to fill the positions.\nTheir goal is to be able to tell which patients will reject the chemotherapy, so they can be given an alternative treatment plan, Chen said.\n"It is quite innovative in the sense that we haven't seen any other groups in the nation actually propose something like it," he said. \nValentine said the technology they'll be using is faster and more efficient, which he believes puts their project ahead of other researchers.\n"The overall goal is to find markers that would indicate people who would reject the therapy or who would be doing well on the therapy," Valentine said.\nChen also hopes the techniques will be applicable to other types of disease and cancer. \n"The lung cancer group is the group we're working with right now, and we're hoping this will generate some exciting preliminary results," he said. "And once we have the preliminary results we can go even deeper to find out a cure for other (kinds of) cancer"
(11/29/06 3:46am)
The Monroe County Republican Party is filing for a recount contest in three county races from the Nov. 7 midterm election, saying they found problems with voter registration and absentee ballots.\nAn $11,000 bond paid for the recount was filed before noon Monday, just minutes before the recount deadline, said Monroe County Republican Party Chairman Franklin Andrew.\nCalling for a recount for county recorder, county council District 2 and Van Buren township assessor, the party chose those three races as a "random sampling" of all different levels of government, Andrew said. The three races weren't chosen because they were the closest in the number of votes but because voter fraud could be found in any of the races, Andrew said.\n"It we change the outcome of an election, that's a bonus because what we're really trying to do is determine that if everyone that cast a ballot in this last election is actually eligible to vote in Monroe County," Andrew said.\nThe evidence, he said, lies in absentee-ballot requests and voter registration forms.\nVoters who registered prior to a new verification process did not have to verify their location, he said.\nMonroe County Democratic Party Chairwoman Lee Jones called the recount "absurd" and said she doesn't think a recount of those races would make any difference in the election outcome. Andrew said one of his party's main concerns is people were registered to vote in locations in which they didn't live.\nThe issue lies in overseas voters who are allowed to vote using U.S. addresses, Lee said. But because some of them lived in trailers and the homes had since been removed, the address given was an empty lot, so it looks like they didn't have validity to vote. \nBut Andrew said at the time those individuals registered to vote, their homes were already destroyed.\n"If (the Democratic Party) feels it's proper for people to vote from addresses they don't reside (at), that in and of itself speaks volumes," Andrew said. \nThe recount process and investigation are simultaneous but are two different processes, Andrew said. The recount, he said, is a technical term of the process.\n"What I want to do is determine if individuals were eligible to vote, and if we determine (that, we will) provide those results to the special prosecutor who will determine if it warrants a criminal prosecution," Andrew said. "The question for the special prosecutor to decide is who cast those ballots and who cast those ballots in a legal fashion," Andrew said.\nAndrew said a further concern of the Republican Party is an ongoing investigation about a member of the Democratic Party who made a duplicate key, giving her access to the computerized database of all Monroe County voters. The party member, a temporary county employee, even had ballots in her possession.\n"We know what she had access, to and we know it was unauthorized access, and we know it was unsupervised access," Andrew said. \nJones said the FBI has already investigated and found no criminal intent.\n"Basically, the FBI has investigated, state police has investigated it, the election board has investigated it, and absolutely none of them have found any problem with it at all," Jones said. "They don't see any criminal intent there whatsoever. I don't really see that as being an issue."\nThe issue, Andrew said, is that the investigation is not complete. He said the FBI did not investigate it, and state police are pursuing an investigation. Their goal is to make sure no one working in absentee voting broke the law.\n"I've got more questions than I have answers," Andrew said. "And you should never end an election with more questions than you have answers"
(11/28/06 4:03am)
In September 2007, the Graduate Record Exam -- the entrance exam for graduate school -- will increase in length, price and, for the half-million students who take the test each year, work, said Susan Kaplan, director of graduate programs for the Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions. \nThe Educational Testing Service determines all changes to the test, Kaplan said, and it wants the GRE to be "a more accurate predictor of success."\nSecurity and cheating issues have prompted the change from a test that often shares questions from test to test, to one that will not repeat questions and will only be offered on 30 dates, Kaplan said. Because no questions will be repeated from test to test, students who have already taken the test will not be able to post questions on the Internet, she said.\n"The reason they're not going to reuse questions is to address that security issue," she said.\nThe test, currently 2 1/2 hours long, will extend to more than four hours, Kaplan said, requiring much more stamina from test-takers.\nCurrently, the test is computer-adaptive, which means the computer changes the question difficulty based on how a student does on previous questions, but the new test will not have the adaptive format, she said. Instead, it will ask questions at a variety of levels, hence the reason for the longer time of the exam.\n"The content is, of course, focusing on high cognitive and reasoning skills," Kaplan said. "Many people are going to find that to be more difficult."\nGraduate and Professional Student Organization moderator Paul Rohwer said the test could make students look more appealing when trying to get in to grad school.\n"If you're taking a more difficult test and you do well on it, it makes you stand out that much more," Rohwer said.\nThe new test will also focus less on vocabulary and geometry and more on critical reading, sentence completion and data interpretation, Kaplan said. The scoring scale will also be adjusted to 130-170, instead of the current range of 200-800, she said, but a scoring table will help schools compare the two scales.\nThe writing portion of the exam will experience a change as well, she said. The essays a test-taker writes will be available for graduate schools to read, whereas now they can only see the student's score.\n"It gives schools another area they can evaluate students on, so students will need to make sure they're prepared for that section as well," she said.\nAlthough Kaplan said ETS hasn't determined the new price, the current price of taking the exam is $130 and will increase, she said.\nRohwer said he thought the test would be harder with the changes but said students could benefit by taking both the old and new tests.\n"Right now, I would tell people they should take both tests," Rohwer said. "Then you can submit whichever one you do better at."\nKaplan's best advice is to take the test early and take practice tests at any of the Kaplan centers around the country.\n"It's really extensive, and it really does impact every aspect of the exam," Kaplan said.\nBecause of the changes, Kaplan suggests students try to take the exam before the upcoming changes, even if they aren't expecting to go to graduate school in the near future.\n"Scores are good for five years," Kaplan said. "If someone is thinking of going in a few years, take it before it changes"
(11/14/06 5:22am)
The IU Police Department arrested an intoxicated female student Saturday morning after she attempted to escape through a bathroom ceiling in Bloomington Hospital, according to an IUPD report. The student was transported there after police responded to a call that she was unconscious in a Briscoe Quad dorm room from overconsumption of alcohol, said IUPD Capt. Jerry Minger, reading from the report.\nThe freshman, a 19-year-old resident of McNutt-Delgado, began vomiting before the ambulance arrived to take her to the hospital, Minger said.\nHer blood alcohol content was above 0.30, he said. Her BAC was taken at the hospital, said IUPD Sgt. Don Schmuhl.\nThe woman "became belligerent by being loud and cursing at the EMTs," when they arrived at the emergency room of the hospital, Minger said, reading from the report.\nThe emergency room personnel allowed the woman to use the restroom, and an ER technician waited outside the door for her, Minger said. When she did not come out or respond to knocking, the technician entered the room to find the woman making an attempt to climb into the ceiling, he said. \nThe ceiling hangers, which hold the ceiling tiles in place, then collapsed, causing half of the bathroom ceiling to fall in on the technician and the woman, Minger said. The student then began cursing and made vulgar statements to the hospital staff and stuck out her middle finger at them, Minger said. The estimated damage to the room was several hundred dollars but no one was injured in the fall, he said. \nAfter the woman was treated and released, police told her she was under arrest for illegal consumption and criminal mischief, Minger said. She was transported to Monroe County jail where she was released Saturday afternoon upon her own recognizance, said officer Jeremy Sender of the Monroe County jail.
(11/09/06 4:34am)
The IU Police Department is investigating a fire in front of and on the stone sign outside of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, 1210 E. Third St., early Wednesday morning. IUPD Capt. Jerry Minger said police, while driving by the house, saw flames coming from a beer bottle. A cloth wick was found next to the bottle, he said. \nMinger said it is possible the arsonist could have put the wick into the bottle and thrown it, lighting the sign on fire.\n"The implication is that there was some sort of combustible liquid in the beer bottle which was used in connection with the flames on the stone," Minger said. \nHowever, he said police are not making an assumption at this point about how the fire started. \n"If somebody would have actually lit something like that and thrown it to create a fire, then the bottle would normally break," Minger said. "And the bottle wasn't broken."\nPolice used fire extinguishers to put out the flames, Minger said. No major damage was reported.\n"Whenever we see flames in a place that wouldn't have been started by a spontaneous combustion, electrical or something like that, it could be classified as an arson case," he said. \nPolice were unable to locate anyone at the house after knocking on the doors and are continuing to investigate possible suspects, maybe using fingerprints from the beer bottle, Minger said.\nAs of Wednesday, police had talked to several members of the fraternity, all of whom said they had neither seen nor heard anything, he said.\n"(The case) will be inactive at this time until we get more information or (receive a lead) we can follow up on," Minger said. "Hopefully someone that may have been in the vicinity may have seen something."\nHe said anyone with information about the case should contact the IUPD at 855-4111.
(11/09/06 4:33am)
Students will hand out white T-shirts today to promote terrorism awareness thanks to a $5,000 grant from the IU Student Association.\nWith the idea of "turning it around," the Students Against Terrorism group will distribute about 1,500 shirts to "white out" the campus, as today's date is Nov. 9 (11/9), the opposite of Sept. 11 (9/11), said the organization's president, junior Danny Schwarz. The IU Student Association is the main sponsor, he said, helping to pay for the shirts and advertising with the grant.\nThe shirts will say "SAT" and "11/9/06" on the front, and "turning things around" on the back, Schwarz said.\nA day such as 9/11 constantly reminds students of a fear, he said, but on 11/9 the group wants people to be united in the white out to stand against terrorism. \n"We need to be mindful about it and not just on a day like 9/11," Schwarz said. "It's something beyond bringing in a speaker. It's an engagement tool. It's something that ideologically needs to be fought, and we need to be mindful of and we can't just ignore if it's not at our doorstep."\nAfter getting free shirts, which will be handed out starting at 10 a.m. outside Ballantine Hall, vice president and junior Dana Hopfer said, students will be given the opportunity to sign a resolution in support of the group's efforts. The resolution will be forwarded to IUSA, Schwarz said. \n"One of the main purposes of this is to really show campus unity, and students as an IU campus can come together and show support," Hopfer said.\nSchwarz said he hopes the shirts are the start of a process educating students to be aware of terrorist attacks around the world.\n"There's terrorism all over and in many different forms," he said. "(The project) is not something that's limited to tomorrow. It's something we hope starts tomorrow and basically is an everlasting process from here on out."\nIUSA Vice President Andrew Lauck voiced his support for the awareness campaign.\n"We think the message that they're sending across is an important and a strong message," he said. "For obvious reasons, everybody in IUSA supports their efforts and encourages students to do the same"
(11/08/06 5:44am)
Voters might have felt a duty to vote Tuesday, but not all of them felt confident their votes were counted accurately in the electronic machines used on Election Day in Monroe County.\nThe Monroe County Courthouse, one of 19 Election Day poll locations in Bloomington, had drawn about 250 voters by 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. Many voters leaving the polls at the courthouse said they felt it was their civic duty to vote but admitted they didn't feel 100 percent confident in the electronic system.\n"I am a little hesitant because there has been controversy," 25-year Bloomington resident Donna Aldrich said. "All I can do is have faith that my vote counts."\n"B" Watt Jorck, a resident of Columbus, Ind., and an IU student who voted in Bartholomew County on Tuesday, said she feels she can't complain about the results if she doesn't try to make things better, but conceded she has little confidence in the voting machines.\n"They're too easily hacked, and this is a very important race to the Republican Party," she said. "I think it's very easy to get into a computer. They've shown that over and over and over and over."\nTuesday was the first time Bloomington resident Kerry Bridges used the electronic voting system in Monroe County, having previously lived in California.\nMachine accuracy and the method used to tally votes in Monroe County is no worse than those of other locations, he said.\n"No matter what method you use, you probably have a similar chance of error," he said. \nBloomington resident Roger Reading said despite the fact that there were voting machine problems in the 2000 election, he felt they had been resolved for this year's election and wanted his voice to be represented by voting.\n"We've had a lot of time since (the 2000 election) to work on them and to debunk the system," he said.\nIU doctoral student Mark Wilson said he has to "assume" his vote counted but presented a solution for helping voters feel their votes were secured at the polls on Election Day.\n"I guess I don't see why the voter can't get some sort of validation of their vote or record of their vote," he said. "It would seem to raise confidence levels if you could walk out with some kind of paper verifying your vote."\nCounty Clerk Jim Fielder could not be reached by press time, but a report released on behalf of the Monroe County Election Board, including Fielder, said the board was confident in the voting machines' reliability, saying they performed "flawlessly" during a public testing in October.\nDespite doubts, voters said they feel a duty to their country to show up at the polls on Election Day.\n"I feel like I don't have a right to bitch if I don't vote," Aldrich said. "I need to express my opinions or just live with whatever the consequences are."\nAldrich said she had her eyes on the Sodrel-Hill race this year.\n"I kind of feel like we got robbed last time," she said of Sodrel's victory in 2004. "I do believe he's very big business-oriented and not very interested in us lowly folks. We aren't really involved in big business."\nJorck agreed that the Sodrel-Hill race was important because of its potential to help swing control of the House of Representatives to Democrats for the first time in more than 10 years.
(11/07/06 5:27am)
Republicans and Democrats have their eyes on the prize in today's election: a win in the 9th Congressional District race, a battle that has heated up over the last several weeks. The race is one of many that local groups expect to be close today. \nIncumbent Republican Mike Sodrel is hoping to defend his seat, facing off against Democratic candidate and former Rep. Baron Hill, whom Sodrel defeated in 2004 by less than 1,500 votes.\nMonroe County Democratic Party Chairwoman Lee Jones said although she expects it to be close again, she has no doubt Hill will win.\n"We're seeing indications of extremely high voter turnout for a midterm election, and there's at least the explanation that that's being driven by a whole lot of people that want to see a change," Jones said. "And because of that, I believe that Baron is in a better position to win it."\nBut Monroe County Republican Party Chairman Franklin Andrew defended Sodrel's campaign and strength as the incumbent.\n"We're confident Congressman Sodrel is going to win that race," Andrew said. "I can't see where Baron Hill has gathered any traction."\nIU College Republicans President Shane Kennedy said the group's main focus is on the 9th District race, although he said that by supporting Sodrel, he thinks they are supporting all local \nRepublican candidates.\nThe College Republicans have put in three times more work this year than they put in the Hill-Sodrel face off in 2004, he said, so the group expects nothing but positive results.\n"What's important is the only thing we can affect is the 9th District because we live here," he said. "The 9th District is just a small portion of what's important to Indiana and the nation."\nEmma Cullen, president of IU College Democrats, said Hill is a strong student supporter.\n"I think listening to the voice of the students, especially in the 9th District, is extremely important, and he does that for us," Cullen said.\nBut Jones wants students to care about the local races, too, which also have a big impact on their lives, she said. Local races showcase politicians who are getting their start and could be major future leaders, she said.\n"This is where they're living and where local elected officials are having a very strong effect on the community as a whole and how welcoming it is to students," she said.\nAndrew said every office in a local election is important and life-impacting, even for students.\n"Local elections are so important because they make the decisions that we have to live with every single day," he said.\nAndrew said he expects the race for county prosecutor to be close and was worried about organizations that have attacked Republican incumbent Carl Salzmann.\n"When you've got enough lies being told about you, that can create a difficult environment for them to overcome," Andrew said. "People eventually start believing a lie if it's told often enough. So, obviously, we're watching that race very closely." \nJones said she is confident the Democratic candidates will win both the sheriff and prosecutor races in Monroe County.\n"It's my belief that we're going to easily win both of those," Jones said, "because we have extremely good candidates in each case. It's really experience in both cases."\nKennedy refused to comment on IU student Adrianne Dunlap, who is running for state representative in District 61 as a Republican. \nCullen said she has not seen much of Dunlap's campaigning efforts on campus and does not expect her to win because she has not reached out to Bloomington like Democratic incumbent Matt Pierce.\n"I take any person who runs seriously, and I would never say that's it's just kind of pointless," Cullen said. "I think it's great that there's a student that's interested in running, but we never heard (about campaign efforts) on campus."\nAbout 7,450 people have already voted early this year, up from 2,300 in 2002 -- the last nonpresidential election, Jenn Marcum, a member of the Monroe County Election Board said Monday night.
(11/06/06 5:55am)
A heart attack killed IU graduate student Gordon E. Kato, 45, last week, according to an obituary sent from his family. He was found dead in his bedroom at his off-campus home Tuesday, said Monroe County Coroner David W. Toumey.\nGordon Kato, who was studying social psychology at IU, will be cremated and taken back to his hometown of Wailuku, Maui, in Hawaii, said Jim Sherman, professor of psychological and brain sciences and Gordon Kato's faculty adviser.\nTears dripped from the cheeks of several of Kato's family and friends at a memorial service Sunday. About 100 people attended the service at Mathers Museum in remembrance of his bright personality and life.\nThe service was mixed with laughter as thoughts of Kato triggered memories of his ability to "find pleasure in absurdities," said Kato's friend Karl Jacoby, of New York City.\n"I remember Gordon growing up, and everything he did was, well, unconventional," said Sandra Collins, Kato's cousin. "Gordon always marched to a different drummer -- and bravo for that."\nKato's sister, Pam Klebanov, recalled earlier days of Kato's love for music, especially for The Beatles and The Monkees, and how he would strap a cardboard guitar to himself while singing the songs.\n"Life was never boring with Gordon around," she said.\nKato's mother, Barbara Kato, said her son had an unique personality.\n"I wish he could have lived longer. He really loved life," she said. "He would never bore you. He would always think of things to excite you."\nGordon Kato's brother-in-law, Igor Klebanov, read letters from Kato's other friends that described everything from his "black lampshade of hair" to his affinity for wearing shorts in November.\nAfter numerous speakers, fellow graduate student Elise Percy Hall performed a song they wrote for Kato and friends and family presented a slideshow of pictures of him.\nAudience members smiled and laughed as pictures displaying Gordon Kato's animated, carefree and childlike character flashed on the screen.\n"You could trust Gordon with just about anything," said graduate student John Petrocelli. "That's just the kind of guy he was. And he never expected a thing in return."\nKato received his undergraduate degree in experimental psychology from the University of Michigan in 1986 and his master's degree in education from Harvard in 1987. He then spent more than 10 years in New York City in the publishing industry, according to the obituary. He created his own talent and literary agency in 1994 and was honored in a special tribute to the 500 Most Influential Asian Americans published by Avenue Asia magazine for his work from 1996-98 as a literary agent.
(11/06/06 4:03am)
IU police are investigating the assault of an Aver's Gourmet Pizza delivery driver that occurred Thursday night at the Herman B Wells library, said IU Police Department Capt. Jerry Minger, reading from the police report. No arrests have been made at this time, Minger said.\nA passer-by called the police and officers arrived to find the driver lying in the parking lot behind the library, complaining of pain in his right leg, Minger said. The driver told police that after he delivered a pizza, he returned to his car to find a man sitting in the passenger seat whom he did not know, Minger said. After the driver told the man to get out of the car, the man in the car began to "intimidate the victim with profane language," according to an IUPD press release.\nA second and third man also approached separately, both shouting profanities at the driver and challenging him, Minger said. After the "verbal altercation" had passed, the three began to walk away, but the driver said something to the three suspects, who all appeared to know one another, Minger said.\nAt that time the first suspect turned around, thrust an ID at the driver and said that he had just returned from Iraq, Minger said. The second suspect then hit the driver in the face near his jaw, causing him to fall backward on his right ankle, Minger said.\nThe driver was transported to Bloomington Hospital, where doctors said he broke two bones in his leg and had to undergo surgery to correct the injury, Minger said.\nPolice are still putting together composite images of the three suspects, who were seen running toward Jordan Avenue from the library, Minger said.
(11/03/06 6:01pm)
When senior Brittany Crosby first came to IU three years ago, being a dance major wasn't an option. So she created an individualized major in holistic health and awareness to look at how dancers perform. \nThe contemporary dance program evolved and a dance major was offered for the first time last year. It was too late for Crosby to change her major, however, so she chose to pursue her unique curriculum with the hope that she could dance and use her knowledge to help others down the road.\n"My ultimate goal was to have this major as something that would improve me as a dancer but also allow me to work with dancers when I'm done performing," Crosby said.\nHer final project for the major is a workshop that will begin at 10:30 a.m. Sunday in room 161 of the Health, Physical Education and Recreation building. "Dancing for Life" will feature six speakers who all find their expertise in a different aspect of dancing -- everything from conditioning of dancers to injury prevention.\nCrosby will be looking not only at dance and performance, but also the dancer's well-being, IU contemporary dance coordinator Liz Shea said.\n"(You'll) really be able to see how all these little pieces fit together to affect the health of the dancer," Shea said.\nAlthough limited to 20 participants -- mostly contemporary dance majors who will be interacting with the speakers of the event -- anyone is welcome to come watch and listen to the speakers, Crosby said.\nBy having experts present the information interactively, she thinks her audience will be able to learn more about what she has been studying.\n"I have tastes of all of them," she said of the different topics from the workshop. "I wanted people to experience what I had experienced, not necessarily have me tell them what is right and wrong."\nWhat motivates Crosby the most is knowing what muscles are working while she is dancing, she said.\n"It gave me a very clear visual of what my body is doing," she said. "If I can see what my body is doing or I can picture it, then I have more control over it."\nClasses other students dread, Crosby said she finds interesting.\n"I'm kind of a nerd, so when I took Anatomy and Physiology, I was just really excited about it," she said. "I'm mildly obsessed with how the body works."\nThough hoping to dance professionally, Crosby said she eventually wants to pursue a master's degree and work with dancers.\nOf all six speakers, Crosby and Shea both said they were most excited about Jill Bolte Taylor, a neuroanatomist who had to learn to function all over again after having a stroke, Shea said.\n"She has an amazing personal story, so I feel like she has a really awesome grip on the external and the internal," Crosby said of Taylor's knowledge of the connection between mind and body.\nCrosby said other presenters at the workshop will include: Alice Lindeman, nutrition professor; Rachel Britton, a doctoral student studying human performance with a specialization in motor learning and control; Rose Hartzell, massage therapist; Heather Walter, athletic trainer in the ballet department; and Ann Georgescu, Recreational Sports yoga and pilates instructor.\nAfter exploring this major, Crosby hopes other students will be interested in dancer wellness.\n"Who knows? Maybe the department could do this again," she said.
(11/02/06 6:03am)
Social psychology graduate student Gordon E. Kato was found dead Tuesday, said Bloomington Police Department Sgt. Daniel Carnes. Police could not provide a cause of death or other details.\nKato was 41, according to an e-mail from Heather M. Winne of the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences.\nJim Sherman, professor of psychological and brain sciences and Kato's faculty adviser, worked closely with Kato on research projects and said Kato didn't show up to work Monday.\nSherman said Kato's absence was not too unusual because Kato had no professional obligations on Mondays. However, he began to worry when Kato, who is a teaching assistant, didn't show up to teach his Tuesday afternoon class. \n"I know Gordon, and he's very responsible, and he's very reliable," Sherman said. "He wouldn't just miss these things without telling people."\nTwo graduate students drove to his house Tuesday. When no one answered, they called the police, Sherman said. Police found Kato dead in his home, Sherman said. \nKato, who was originally from Hawaii, was a third-year graduate student in social psychology, Sherman said. Kato's mother still lives in Hawaii, he said. \nSherman helped get Kato acquainted with IU and learned they were interested in similar research work. He said Kato previously had his own publishing company in New York City for a few years. When he arrived at IU, he immediately made friends.\n"He was older than most grad students," Sherman said. "He was in a different stage of life, but he fit right in."\nDrew Hendrickson, one of Kato's best friends and another graduate student in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, said Kato was hoping to go back to Hawaii and teach at a university there after getting his degree at IU. But at the same time, Kato was happy with what was going on currently.\n"Gordon was the kind of person who was enjoying what he was doing right now," Hendrickson said. "He wasn't all consumed with that was down the road, which I think too many grad students get (caught) up in."\nFellow grad student Elise Percy Hall recalled one of her favorite memories of how Kato used his unique humor to calm her nerves just before she gave a speech. He sang the song "Muskrat Love," which sent them into minutes of laughter, she said.\n"And he just knew exactly how to make someone else laugh even when they are nervous and calm them down," she said. "I'll just always remember how he was willing to give of himself and not take himself seriously in order to help someone else feel better."\nJohn Petrocelli, co-teaching assistant in a statistics in psychology course, said he had received e-mails from Kato's students throughout the day after they heard the news.\n"Everybody that knew Gordon loved Gordon, I can tell you that," Petrocelli said. "He's just a wonderful guy, a giving guy. He always had a great sense of humor -- he could give anyone a laugh about anything probably."\nStudents respected Kato, Hall said, but most of all, other graduate students recognized his humility.\n"He was one of the most humble people I've ever met," Percy Hall said. "We're all crushed. We loved him very, very much"
(10/31/06 6:40am)
IU legal experts said they were surprised that a Morgan County jury found John R. Myers II guilty of the 2000 murder of IU sophomore Jill Behrman after less than an hour of deliberation Monday.\nThe prosecution based its case entirely on circumstantial evidence.\nLaw professor Craig M. Bradley said it was strange that the jury returned the verdict so quickly.\n"I'm shocked, I have to say," he said. "I can never remember seeing a case where the prosecution's evidence was so thin."\nBradley said he has not formed an opinion about whether Myers is actually guilty, but he said he believes the evidence did not prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.\nThe speed of the verdict also surprised journalism professor Tony Fargo, who teaches communications law. Fargo said he has covered murder cases with obvious verdicts in which the juries deliberated longer than this jury did.\n"My guess is it sounds like the prosecution did a very good job, as far as the jury was concerned, in connecting the dots," he said. \nThe defense will likely file a notice of appeal between now and Myers' sentencing Dec. 1, Fargo said, but the actual appeal is typically filed after the sentencing.\n"The problem he's going to run into on appeal is he's going to have to prove that there was some sort of error made during the trial that would give (Myers) grounds for appeal," Fargo said. "It has to be something that would have changed the outcome of the case."\nBradley said the defense would "undoubtedly" appeal because the circumstantial evidence did not support the guilty verdict beyond a reasonable doubt. When Indiana State Police Detective Rick Lang testified Wednesday as a witness for the prosecution, he said police and prosecutors had no physical evidence against Myers.\nFargo said he believes the prosecution eliminated the possibility of someone other than Myers murdering Behrman.\n"I also think it may be a reflection of the jury being turned off by the defense's attempt to link various other people to the crime who seem to have even less of a connection to Jill Behrman than Myers did," he said.
(10/31/06 5:18am)
Preventing graduate students from purchasing A and C parking permits and raising the price of A permits could be two of several recommendations made by the President's Parking Commission.\nThe task force met Monday morning to discuss possible recommendations and their feasibility. \nThe meeting was organized so those involved could put "ideas on the table," said co-chairman of the committee and Bloomington Faculty Council President Ted Miller. Later, the ideas will eventually be narrowed and submitted to administrators for approval at the conclusion of the fall semester. \n"I think this task force should be history by Christmas," Miller said. \nRaising the price of A permits would lower the demand for A spots, making it easier for those permit holders to park, said Paul Sullivan, Office of the Vice President and chief administrative officer. \nIncreasing A permit prices would pay for another of the commission's propositions: offering faculty and staff the option of buying an E permit for virtually no cost instead of a much more expensive A or C permit, Miller said. This would allow faculty to park at the stadium and take a shuttle to campus, Miller said. He said he is also hoping this option would be available to students. \nProhibiting graduate students from receiving A and C permits was another of the commission's ideas, Miller said. Graduate students argue they are effective staff, he said, while faculty argue they are ultimately students, not staff. \nPaul Rohwer, moderator of the Graduate and Professional Student Organization, challenged the proposal. Rohwer said eliminating graduate students' option to purchase A or C permits would be unfair. \nThe proposal of eliminating freshman parking, which was discussed at a previous meeting of the commission, has evolved into the possibility of creating a special permit for freshmen that would require them to park north of 17th Street, Miller said. \nThe permit would be given to the overflow of freshmen who park at residence halls but cannot receive D passes. \n"There appear to be more freshmen who want a D permit than (there are) D spaces," Miller said. \nThe commission will meet again in a few weeks to narrow its list of recommendations, Miller said, and then once more after Thanksgiving to decide on the final list of proposals. \n"Over the long term, what we are hoping to do ... (is for people) to view parking at the stadium as a viable choice," Miller said.
(10/30/06 5:20am)
A rainy and cold Friday afternoon forced organizers to cancel IU's annual homecoming parade and pep rally.\n"It was a very tough decision for them because they've worked on this for months and then have nothing to show for it," said Mike Mann, chapter president of the IU Alumni Association.\nSondra Inman, adviser for the IU Student Alumni Association, said she had to make the call early Friday morning to cancel the homecoming traditions after realizing the chance for rain was 100 percent.\n"We had record of what had happened in the past and knew that if it was raining, it was not going to be a good parade (and) it was not going to be a safe parade," she said. \nThe Residence Halls Association and National Residence Hall Honorary combined efforts to build a float and spent more than 25 hours working on it, said senior Daric Wickstrom, vice president of the IU chapter of the residence hall honorary.\nThe two groups re-created the statue of Venus on Showalter Fountain out of chicken wire, then covered it with papier-mache and spray paint, Wickstrom said.\n"I was confident that we could have gotten first place in the float contest if it wouldn't have been canceled," Wickstrom said.\nThe 14-foot reconstruction debuted around Bloomington on Friday evening, without the rest of the parade behind it, Wickstrom said. Though the group was disappointed, he said he wouldn't have expected many people at the parade if it had taken place as scheduled.\nThe IU Student Foundation focused its efforts on receiving first place in Thursday's Yell Like Hell pep rally, IUSF President Elliott Chapman said. The Black Student Union received first place overall in homecoming events competition.\nThough IUSF couldn't use its float in the parade, the group still enjoyed the window and banner painting competitions and garnered a second-place finish in homecoming festivities overall, Chapman said.\n"There was a lot of enthusiasm and spirit, and everyone was really excited and looking forward to the weekend," Chapman said.\nThe weather also put a damper on tailgating at the IU versus Michigan State football game. Cars weren't allowed on the grassy field that's often filled with tailgaters during football games.\nCampus Crusade for Christ had to cancel its tailgating festivities that were expected to draw about 100 people, staff member Dave Fladung said.\n"The fields were closed to vehicles due to rain," Fladung said. "It would have been just a ton of work to try to get stuff in there."\nDespite the cancellation of the parade and pep rally Friday, IU's victory over Michigan State on Saturday afternoon seemed to mitigate the disappointment from the lack of events Friday.\n"We put most of our effort into the float, and that was how we were hoping to win homecoming," Wickstrom said. "But the game was fantastic, so I won't complain"
(10/30/06 5:20am)
MARTINSVILLE -- Twelve jurors will begin deliberation about John R. Myers II's fate today in the trial for the murder of Jill Behrman, an IU student who never returned from a morning bike ride May 31, 2000.\nThe defense rested its case Friday morning after presenting less than a day and a half of evidence.\nFinal arguments and deliberation begin at 8 a.m. today. The prosecution and defense will each be given an hour and a half to address the jury before deliberation, Judge Christopher Burnham said. For a trial that was supposed to last several weeks, the possibility of the jury reaching a verdict early this week, after less than two weeks of testimony, came as a surprise.\nThe defense concluded its presentation of evidence after showing its last piece to the jury Friday: a yellow piece of plastic recovered in a search of Salt Creek Aug. 22, 2002. The piece of plastic was recovered when police drained Salt Creek in search of Behrman's body after Wendy Owings gave a false confession that she and two others hit Behrman with their car, stabbed her, wrapped her in a tarp and threw her into the creek. Owings later retracted her statement after hunters found Behrman's remains in rural Morgan County.\nMorgan County Prosecutor Steve Sonnega said the prosecution will use circumstantial evidence to try to persuade the jury during final arguments.\nProsecutors presented no physical evidence linking Myers to Behrman's death. \nOne piece of evidence the prosecution wasn't allowed to use was an interview with John R. Myers II's parents, John and Jodie Myers, on June 27, 2000, less than a month after Jill disappeared, Sonnega said. The interview was "ruled to be hearsay," Sonnega said.\n"Oh, it's good," Sonnega said of the interview's content. It would have been easier to "connect the dots" if the prosecution could have used that interview, he said. \nDefendant John R. Myers II did not testify in the trial, a fact which Burnham said the jury should not consider in reaching a verdict.\nJill's father, Eric Behrman, answered questions from the media Friday morning, his voice shaking as he recalled the discovery of Jill's remains, now that he might finally see justice in the six-year-old case.\nEric Behrman commented on his previous statements to the media, in which he defended Jill against accusations from defense attorney Patrick Baker that she was pregnant, leading Baker to file for a mistrial.\n"To me as a father, I couldn't let that happen. ... I couldn't wait to get here the next day and confront (Baker)," Eric Behrman said.\n"If it's a not guilty verdict," he said, pausing, "that's gonna be a tough one. Everything's up in the air right now. ... I personally have no doubt that John Myers is the person (who did this)." \nBaker fielded media questions Friday about his confidence after the conclusion of evidence presented.\n"We don't have to prove anything," Baker said. "It's the state's burden to prove the case." \nBaker would not comment on pregnancy tests, condoms, reproductive health books and birth control pills found in Jill Behrman's room when asked about Marilyn Behrman's statement that they were part of a sexuality course at IU.\nIndiana State Police detective Rick Lang said the defense has tried shifting a lot of factors in the trial.\n"We've been focused on one person, and that's the person that did it," Lang said. "I'm happy that we are where we are"
