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(10/30/06 5:03am)
The IU women's cross country team had grand expectations of a top-three finish entering the Big Ten Championships on Sunday. By the end of the race, the Hoosiers' expressions told a different story.\nDefending their home course, IU finished seventh in the meet and watched its hopes of capturing the Big Ten title for the first time since 1990 slip away as the Michigan captured its fifth straight championship. The race marked the first time since 2001 that the Hoosiers did not finish in the top five. Last season, IU finished fourth.\n"It was a little on the disappointing side," IU assistant coach Sandy Tecklenburg said. "We were kind of hoping to be in the top five, but to be honest, the top six teams are all nationally ranked in the top 25 in the country. That's a pretty tall order."\nThe Hoosiers were led by a 10th-place finish from senior All-American Jessica Gall, who crossed the line in a time of 21:03. For Gall and senior Lindsay Hattendorf, emotions ran high in their last Big Ten race.\n"I've been running on this course for eight years now -- since I was a freshman in high school," Hattendorf said. "It kind of hasn't hit me yet, but I'm glad that the Big Tens were on this course. It's kind of like a sending off as the last Big Ten race as a senior."\nIU planned to run the first half of the course conservatively to save energy for the hills, but Gall said the team might have gone out too conservative, preventing the runners from gaining ground late in the race.\nAfter Gall, Hattendorf finished 19th overall (21:20) and sophomore Wendi Robinson finished 29th with a time of 21:59. The Hoosiers also scored points with freshman Kellee Lemcke (47th) and sophomore Ashley Sommer (53rd).\nThe meet was the first for Lemcke since mid-September, when she was sidelined with an ankle injury. Tecklenburg said having Lemcke was a major asset and thinks she will only get better as the season goes on. \nSophomore Stephanie Greer was slated to participate in the meet but could not race because of an illness. Gall said she also experienced health issues throughout the race and had trouble breathing toward the end.\n"Anytime you're out there, it's how much pain you can endure," Gall said. "I didn't have as much as I would have liked to, but hopefully that will be motivation for the next time."\nIn two weeks, IU will participate in the Great Lakes Regional meet against several of the teams it raced in the Big Ten, including Michigan, Wisconsin, Michigan State and Purdue. The Hoosiers said they are not discouraged going into regionals Nov. 11. \n"I think we're ready to be there," Robinson said. "We just need to keep our heads up, keep training and know that we're better than how we raced today"
(10/27/06 5:00am)
Running cross country at IU was one of the last things on Kristina Trcka's mind.\nTwo years ago, the redshirt sophomore was running cross country at Earlham College, a Division-III school in Richmond, Ind. After finding her teammates didn't quite have the level of competition or excitement that she did, Trcka opted to transfer to IU after her freshman year.\nHowever, running at IU wasn't why Trcka transferred. Never having reached her state meet in high school, she chose IU for the academic potential it offered. She decided to walk on and eventually landed a spot on the Hoosier roster.\n"When I was transferring to IU and I mentioned that I might walk on, my coach at Earlham said they wouldn't give me the time of day and that I wouldn't be able to do it," Trcka said. "That gave me a little extra incentive."\nLike Trcka, IU coach Judy Wilson walked onto IU's roster when she ran for the Hoosiers in the mid-80s. Trcka said Wilson's story encouraged her to work harder while on the team.\nIn her first year racing competitively throughout the season, Trcka has filled the void left in the team's fourth and fifth spots due to injuries of sophomore Stephanie Greer and freshman Kellee Lemcke. At the NCAA Pre-Nationals race Oct. 14, Trcka posted a career best time of 22:15 on the 6K course in Terre Haute and finished 168th. The race impressed her head coach. Now that Greer and Lemcke are back from injury, Trcka will still compete as part of the team's top seven.\n"I think sometimes people come out of high school, and they have no idea how fast they could have run in high school," Wilson said. "Whether they just didn't have that strong of a team or you just get a little bit older and make this conscious decision to take it more seriously. Kristina could be one of these girls that could make that leap."\nTrcka attributes her success this year to running on a competitive team and putting in more miles. After making the jump to IU, Trcka struggled through last season's workouts because it took awhile to get used to them, she said.\n"When you're training with better people, you're going to get better, whereas if you're somewhere else and you're their best person, you don't have anyone to push you," Trcka said. "It just pushes me to that next level to have people that are as dedicated to the sport as you are."\nLooking toward the Big Ten Championships Sunday, Wilson thinks Trcka can place in the top 40. She said if Trcka had run in the race last year, she would have finished in the top 80.\n"That might not sound like much to some people, but when you've got Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan State in the top 13 in the country, you're talking about running with some really good people," Wilson said.\nWilson said the addition of Trcka has not only added to the team's depth, but her hard word has been an inspiration for the team.\n"It's just been great to see her develop," Wilson said. "I give her a lot of credit for sticking with it and coming back this year because I feel like you've got to earn it to be coached. She had to come in and make it through the year to prove herself. What she's done now should motivate a lot of people"
(10/27/06 4:22am)
This weekend, the IU women's cross country team has something to prove to the rest of the Big Ten.\nOn their home course Sunday, the Hoosiers host this year's Big Ten Championships. With six opponents ranked in the top 30 in the coach's poll, IU will look to surprise some teams now that it has a healthy roster.\n"The competition as a whole is that basically the top seven teams (in the Big Ten) are in the top 30 in the country," IU coach Judy Wilson said. "That's probably the best it's been, and now this is probably one of the better conferences in the country."\nFor the last several meets, IU has competed without its fourth and fifth runners -- sophomore Stephanie Greer and freshman Kellee Lemcke. Lemcke said she will be glad to be running her first race since mid-September, and the race will act as good preparation for Regionals.\nSophomores Ashley Sommer and Kristina Trcka stepped up to fill Greer and Lemcke's absences, posting career-best times, but the team's performance over the past few weeks resulted in the squad dropping out of the top 30.\nHowever, the Hoosiers believe they can use their course to their advantage, Sommer said. IU has one of the hillier courses in the country and Sommer said the hills can act as "secret weapons" against some of the schools that have not run in Bloomington before.\n"Even though some of these girls are freshmen and they haven't raced (on the course), we've been practicing on it for the whole season now, so they're at least more comfortable than some of the other teams that haven't been here," Sommer said. "A team like Illinois isn't going to be prepared for the hills."\nLemcke agreed and said it is important IU is able to get a closer look at the course than all other teams in the race.\nWilson said it will also be important for the team's runners to step up and have their best races this weekend in order to finish in the top three.\n"We can run hard and hopefully place up to third, but we'll have to earn it," Sommer said.\nEven though the competition is the toughest it has been all year for the Hoosiers, Wilson said she is not concerned with it as much as one would think.\n"It's a bunch of other 18- to 22-year-olds that are going to class and studying at night and doing all of the other things that you're doing," Wilson said. "You're running against people like you, so why not think you have a chance to win"
(10/16/06 4:00am)
With a wide smile and a few dance shimmies, Felisha Legette-Jack introduced her first IU team to a crowd of more than 14,000 at Hoosier Hysteria Friday night.\nThe women's basketball team took Branch McCracken Court at Assembly Hall to a standing ovation. After the Hoosiers were announced, an animated Legette-Jack addressed the crowd.\n"Tonight, women's basketball is on a journey to pursue championships," Legette-Jack said. "We won't get tired, we won't quit, but we need our sixth player to come out, and that's you. Will you join us?"\nThe team kicked off Hoosier Hysteria with an autograph session before warming up for the crowd.\n"I think it's a great time for us players to interact with our fans on a more personal level," junior guard Nikki Smith said. "Seeing the little kids all excited and even their parents super excited to see everyone, it's a great time."\nSophomore forward Whitney Thomas shared the same view.\n"It's not every day that we get to see that many people in the stands, and hopefully soon that will be at our games," Thomas said.\nSmith said Hoosier Hysteria is a great time for everyone who loves IU basketball to come together and kick off the season. She said it's really important to get the team's name out there and have as many fans as possible come out since the women's team doesn't normally play in front of a big crowd.\n"It's exciting, and we're ready to get started," Legette-Jack said. "What's that song, 'I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it?' Well I really am ready to lose control."\nThe passion and excitement Legette-Jack has brought to IU will help the team in the long run, senior guard Leah Enterline said.\n"They bring so much energy to the floor every single second, and that's just an awesome feeling that they come in every day with fire," Enterline said. "She's not scared to come up to us, give us a high five and tell us we're awesome. On the flip side, if we're not getting it done, she's right on us and pushing us to be our best every single second."\nAfter Legette-Jack addressed the crowd, the Hoosiers took part in several lay-up and jump-shot drills followed by the ever-popular three-point contest. After the graduation of three-time reigning champion Cyndi Valentin, Smith took the crown with a total of 29 three-point shots made through both rounds.\nWith the loss of their two leading scorers from last year, the Hoosiers will be looking to their players to step up and have Smith's shooting -- which she displayed Friday night -- to carry over into the season.\n"I feel like we're not the only team that lost some great players," Thomas said. "So like every other team, the preseason is going to be about working on your weaknesses and getting stronger"
(10/13/06 4:57am)
This team could use a little bit of luck.\nHeading into the NCAA Pre-Nationals meet without two of its top five runners is the newest incident in what IU coach Judy Wilson calls a "trying" season. Sophomore Stephanie Greer and freshman Kellee Lemcke will both sit out of this weekend's meet with ankle injuries as the team runs against some of the top teams in the nation.\nThe IU women's cross country team will run in Terre Haute Saturday against most teams ranked on the coaches' poll, Wilson said. Throughout the season, the Hoosiers have battled several minor injuries but have not had a meet in which two of their top five runners were out at the same time. Though the loss of Greer and Lemcke may be detrimental to the race, Wilson said other runners will be able to gain some experience.\n"We've had some things that are bothersome enough where we can't push it really hard," Wilson said. "Not having Kelly (Lemcke) and Steph (Greer) at 100 percent doesn't help us going into this meet, but in the past, it's helped the people behind them develop, so in a way that's a good thing." \nIn their meet two weeks ago, the Hoosiers finished seventh at the Bill Dellinger Invitational in Oregon against three top-10 teams. Since then, the Hoosiers have been dropped from the coaches' poll, though that doesn't discourage the team, senior Lindsay Hattendorf said.\n"You learn after being here for awhile that the polls mean nothing," Hattendorf said. "You can never be ranked, and all of a sudden, you make Nationals, and you finish top-10 in the country."\nWilson agreed with Hattendorf, though she believes the Hoosiers are good enough to be a top-20 team.\n"Every year, we've had a situation where our motto is 'we need this - we need this race,'" Wilson said. "Somehow, it does materialize for us. I don't know if we get a little bit better or some teams stay where they are."\nThough the team did not fare well against the rest of the field at the Bill Dellinger Invitational, Wilson said the problem was not with how the Hoosiers started or finished the race.\n"We need to be more focused in the middle of the race," Wilson said. "We need to go out, get in position and then we need to get focused in the race."\nThis weekend, the team will compete in a field of more than 90 teams, Wilson said. Due to the large number of teams, there will be two races. Wilson said IU needs a strong effort from its top three runners and needs to have the fourth and fifth runners finish in the top 100.\n"We're just going to have to step it up," sophomore Ashley Sommer said. "We're not really going to be concerned with time; it will be mostly concerned with how we place against other teams."\nSept. 15, the Hoosiers ran at the Indiana Intercollegiates -- which the team won -- and this weekend's meet will be partially on the same course. However, while the Indiana Intercollegiates course was somewhat flat, the Pre-Nationals race will be a little hillier and can surprise some teams, Hattendorf said.\nSaturday's competition will begin with the 6K Blue race at 11 a.m., followed by the 6K White race at 11:35 a.m.
(10/05/06 4:26am)
Move over ABC, CBS and NBC. Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show," featured nightly on Comedy Central, contains as much substantial news as evening network news shows, according to findings by a study conducted at IU. \nJulia Fox, an assistant professor of telecommunications at IU and graduate students Glory Koloen and Volkan Sahin conducted research that found Comedy Central's "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" to be as substantive as the major news networks, defining substantive news as coverage that referred to political issues and candidate qualifications in the 2004 election, according to the study released Wednesday.\nThe study, which is the first of its kind, was created to show the amount of substance found during news coverage of the 2004 presidential election. The researchers were also looking for find the sources from which people younger than 30 got their news during the election. Statistically, the study found as much substantive news on "The Daily Show" as on "ABC Evening News," "CBS Evening News" and "NBC Nightly News."\n"We coded all of the video and audio that was about the presidential election, and we used the coding scheme that has indicators of what we consider being substance," Fox said. "There were just as many issues and references in 'The Daily Show' as there were in the networks."\nIn order to compare the amount of news among the shows, Fox analyzed how much real news per second each show broadcast during the election. \nFox said she worked on studies of the network coverage of the presidential elections from 1988 through 2004. She said that in the last election, "The Daily Show" became an important source of news and she was interested in how many people got their news from the comedy show.\n"My past research had suggested to me that the news hadn't done a great job of informing viewers, so I wondered how much worse 'The Daily Show' could be," she said.\nThe information from the study has also led Fox to conduct a second study, in which she will look to find a correlation between laughter and what viewers get out of news.\n"When people are in a positive mood, they're taking in more information and will be more approachable," Fox said. "You also hear the audience laughing on 'The Daily Show,' and hearing other people laughing can also put you in that approach mode. People may actually be having an automatic intentional response when they hear the onset of the laughter."\nComedy Central spokesman Steve Albani said in a phone interview that the goal of "The Daily Show" is not to educate its viewers about the news. The goal, he said, is to make people laugh.\n"The producers assume a level of pre-existing knowledge going into the show," Albani said in a phone interview. "If people don't know about what's going on, they're going to miss out on the humor. Take the Mark Foley scandal, for instance. (The show is) going to make a reference about it but will assume that people know about it beforehand."\nThe study has also caused some IU students to question the value and importance of network news. Senior Steve Skowronski said he is now skeptical of the news he receives.\n"I was pretty shocked because I can watch Comedy Central and ABC or NBC and basically get the same amount of information," Skowronski said. "You'd think that you'd get more through the main news stations."\nIU student Carla Chickedantz said she wonders whether some of the statements Stewart makes are true because of his humorous portrayal.\n"I think people are more drawn to something that's going to be entertaining," Chickedantz said. "I think the main news stations like CBS and ABC repeat their stories a little bit more, which is probably going to make them a little less substantive."\nBecause of its intention of being comedic, Albani said it can be harmful for viewers to get all of their news from "The Daily Show." He said what people need to do is watch the major networks to get a good idea of the news and then come to "The Daily Show" for a fun spin on current events. He said if viewers base their knowledge of current events solely on "The Daily Show," their knowledge will be "woefully incomplete."\n"(The show) certainly provides a source of news," Albani said. "But if it's the best news source, I think the producers would question that. I think they would encourage anyone who is finding anything interesting on the show to go to a more legitimate news source to find more about the subject."\nFox's study will be published next summer by the Journal of Broadcast and Electronic Media.
(09/29/06 4:08am)
It had to come some time or another.\nThis weekend's meet will be the first real test for the No. 26 IU women's cross country team this year. The Hoosiers will compete at the Bill Dellinger Invitational at the University of Oregon Friday against some of the top teams in the nation. \n"I think we're as good as a lot of the teams that are coming," IU coach Judy Wilson said. "If we can go out and run well, we might be one of the top teams in the race."\nWith five ranked teams participating in the meet including top ten teams No. 5 Duke University, No. 6 Brigham Young University and No. 8 Arkansas University, the IU women's cross country team is excited to see how they will perform, senior Jessica Gall said.\n"It will help us judge how we're doing right now at this point in the season though it's still early," Gall said.\nAfter a week off from three straight weekend meets, the Hoosiers travel out of state for the first time this season. Wilson said the week off will benefit the team because it's hard for some runners to race in meets four weeks in a row.\n"With the week off, we were able to focus and recharge," Gall said.\nThis will also be the first meet of the year in which the team will run 6K instead of 5K, though most runners shouldn't have trouble adjusting to the distance, Wilson said. Because the course does not have as many hills as past meets, she said the team is looking for some fast times this weekend.\nThe Hoosiers are coming off their first scored meet of the season. Sept. 15, the team finished first in the Indiana Intercollegiates with a score of 38 points and won the invitational for the fourth time in a row. The following week, the coaches' poll named IU the No. 26 team in the country after having been previously ranked No. 29.\nWhile the Hoosiers intend to compete to the best of their abilities, the team will be running without freshman Kelly Lemcke, who is sidelined with a sprained ankle. Lemcke finished 15th with a time of 18:38.3 at the Indiana Intercollegiates.\n"We're just going to be looking for a good competitive effort Friday," Wilson said. "I don't know who the other teams are going to run, but I think we're definitely capable of placing in the top three teams"
(09/27/06 3:42am)
In the Big Ten, coming out on top doesn't always come easy.\nFor the past four years, No. 3 Michigan has won the women's cross country Big Ten title. While the Wolverines are heavily favored to win their fifth straight title, the No. 29 IU women's cross country team is looking to make a dent in the rest of the field.\n"It's a good conference this year, and it's gotten a lot better in the past few years," IU coach Judy Wilson said. "You could possibly get six Big Ten teams at the national meet, which is pretty good."\nThe competition in the Big Ten this year is rounded out with No. 6 Illinois, No. 10 Wisconsin, No. 15 Iowa, No. 16 Minnesota, No. 23 Michigan State and the Hoosiers.\n"Behind Michigan, there's really a lot of parity in the conference," senior Jessica Gall said. "Last year, Minnesota was pretty good. Illinois has some good runners. Iowa is emerging. Michigan is really at the top, and behind them, there's this whole pack."\nThe Big Ten Championships will be held this year at the Hoosiers' home course Oct. 29.. It will be the fourth time the team has run on the course this year. Senior Lindsay Hattendorf said this year's meet will be fun because the Hoosiers know the course so well.\n"It's going to be interesting to see how teams that haven't been to our course will do, which we hope to use to our advantage," Hattendorf said. "It's going to be great competition, and if we can all stay healthy, it will definitely be a good year."\nSo far this year, the Hoosiers have already run against Michigan and Purdue at last week's Indiana Open. Though the meet was not scored, Hoosier runners placed second, fifth and seventh in a field that included last year's Big Ten champions.\nIn order to stay healthy for the Big Ten Championships, the Hoosiers are trying not to overwork themselves.\n"I know what some teams are doing, and they're really beating people up," Wilson said. "What we need to do is come on at the end of October and in November."\nGall also agreed and said while the Hoosiers are underdogs for the Big Ten title, the team has a good shot running on its home course.\n"We have some really talented and hardworking runners," Gall said. "Our main goal is to keep improving as the season goes and hopefully something special comes together that day"
(09/27/06 3:07am)
Procrastination will be a little more detrimental to Medical College Admission Test-takers in 2007.\nStarting Jan. 27, students applying to medical colleges across the country will have to take their MCAT exams via the computer. The change will create 20 additional test dates throughout the year, making the annual number of tests 22.\nStudents are recommended to register early because test centers can only seat 18 people, said Matt Fidler, a program manager for test preparation company Kaplan, Inc.. \n"(Test-takers) need to understand what its like to test on computer and understand the logistics work (before they take the real test)," Fidler said. "That's why we want people to register way in advance, and don't worry about it."\nThe tests will be administered at Thomson Prometric centers.\n"Delivering the test on a computer provides a consistency which provides a security," Fidler said. "It makes sure no one can cheat and ensures that everyone can demonstrate their share of knowledge in a better way."\nKaplan helps students prepare for the MCATs and will help future test takers adjust to the new system. The company also offers a free practice MCAT that is similar to the new computer-based MCAT on its Web site.\nAs the MCATs move to the computer, the amount of time allotted to take the test will be reduced because test-takers are asked to answer fewer questions, though there will still be the same number of sections. In previous years, the test lasted eight and a half hours but will now be five hours. \nIn a survey conducted by Kaplan, students across the country do not feel completely at ease with the new format. The survey found that 82 percent of students feel they might perform worse on a \ncomputerized exam because of the limited ability to go over answers. Respondents also said they are concerned because they have never taken a computerized exam of this magnitude before.\n"I think it would be a problem to stare at a computer, but at the same time I don't think people are used to staring at a piece of paper for eight hours," said senior Rohit Devnani. "Yes it's a problem, but it's one of those things that you have to deal with in life."\nDevnani took the MCATs last year, when it was on paper, but he will be assisting students as a teacher at Kaplan. He said that while the strategies for taking the test will change from previous exams, Kaplan will teach students new techniques for the computer exam.\nFidler said one of the ways Kaplan will try to help students is by building their stamina on computers.\n"It's not to say that people aren't familiar with the computer; everyone's familiar with the computer," Fidler said. "It can be very taxing and draining to stare at a computer for five hours while having to think about science"
(09/25/06 9:29pm)
Jessica Gall doesn't understand the meaning of the word "quit."\nOver the past five years, the senior has endured injury after injury only to recover and succeed on each occasion. Groin problems, stress reactions and a freak bicycle accident have all prevented Gall from staying completely healthy over the past few years.\n"Injuries are never easy, but it makes you appreciate those times you can run," Gall said.\nStill, Gall finished 18th in the NCAA Championships in 2004. In 2005, after missing half of the season, she finished fifth in the Regional Championships and 32nd in nationals. This past week she finished second in the Indiana Open after posting a time of 17:40, tying her career best, on the 5K course.\n"There's a tenacity there that I don't think a lot of people I've run into have," IU coach Judy Wilson said. "If you look up driven in the dictionary, there's going to be a picture of Jessica Gall."\nOften times in sports, athletes opt to transfer or quit after having the same type of bad luck as Gall. However, after five years, she still runs in an IU uniform.\n"In the end, I'm glad they happened because I've learned lessons from everything," Gall said.\nOne of the reasons that Gall said she stuck with the Hoosier cross country program was because of its head coach, Wilson.\n"She's helped me a lot and has kicked me in the butt when I needed someone to get me going," Gall said. "I came here because of coach Wilson, and because of her I've been able to persevere here."\nSo far this season, Gall has remained healthy because of a new training program and through working with a physical therapist. Gall said she works with the therapist on flexibility and running form, which can limit injuries and help record faster run times.\nBeing one of the two seniors on the team, Gall assumes the leadership role with the team's other fifth-year senior, Lindsay Hattendorf. Last year, Hattendorf also had to deal with injuries and suffered through back problems most of the season.\n"I know what injuries are like because I went through a year of it too, just like she did," Hattendorf said. "It's very hard at times, but you have to be very mentally strong to overcome it and hope that in the end everything will work out."\nWith the Big Ten Championships at the IU course this year, Gall said that she and Hattendorf would both like to surprise some teams as an added bonus to their final season.\n"We want to defend our home turf, and we want to give our best shot," Gall said. "It's our last year here, so we have some extra motivation to do well."\nWhile it has seemed as if each injury has acted as a possible threat to her collegiate career, Gall has battled back each time only to succeed and has garnered praise from her coaches and teammates in the process.\n"Sometimes, to be really focused on something, you have to be selfish in a good way," Wilson said. "She has stayed the course through it all. It's kind of what you want with everybody"
(09/18/06 4:04am)
While it might be daunting for many freshmen to come to a university they have never known before, the same can be said for many professors who have just arrived at IU. They too have to learn the campus and services the University has to offer and meet new people.\nIn order to help ease in the more than 100 new faculty members to IU, an orientation was held Sunday to introduce the new arrivals to the campus at an event at the DeVault Alumni Center.\nThe orientation, sponsored by the Office of the Provost and the dean of the faculties, was catered to the new faculty members who represent each school on campus, said Dean of Faculties Jeanne Sept.\n"It's an opportunity for us to welcome new faculty and their families to the Bloomington community because we're an academic community but we're also much more than that," Sept said. "This helps them make friends and settle into the community."\nThe orientation lasted for about three hours and featured speeches from Sept and Interim Provost Michael McRobbie as they welcomed the new faculty to the school. The professors also had time to introduce themselves to one another, meet returning faculty and attend a picnic.\n"I'm delighted to be able to work with so many new faculty," McRobbie said. "They come from all around so clearly we're attracting a lot of intellectual talent, which says how attractive we are as an institution."\nSandra Kübler, who is a new linguistics professor at the College of Arts and Sciences, said that she enjoyed the event because she is from Germany and is not very familiar with the campus.\n"For me, it's very good because I can orient myself and meet a lot of new people," Kubler said.\nNew political science professor Brian Rathbun said he also enjoyed the orientation.\n"It's really nice because I taught at a university before here and they didn't really do an orientation like this, so you didn't really know what the services were," he said.\nSunday's event was only one part of a series of events that new faculty can go through to help ease their transition to IU.\n"They're opportunities for the new faculty to socialize, to visit the Kinsey Institute and learn about the history of IU," Sept said. "It's a series of events to help get to know each other a little bit."\nSept said what makes the University so great is the sense of camaraderie and also said she feels lucky to have more than 100 new faculty join the campus this semester.\n"Herman Wells always used to say that the faculty is the heart and soul of the University," Sept said. "So the happier we can make them and the more quickly they can get settled, the better off we all are."\nFor information on other events planned for new faculty, visit the dean of the faculties Web site at www.indiana.edu/~deanfac/newfac.html.
(09/18/06 3:36am)
For the past four years, the No. 29 IU women's cross country team has entered the Indiana Intercollegiates to run against the rest of the state of Indiana. After Friday's race, they've come out on top each time.\nLed by a first-place finish from senior All-American Jessica Gall, the Hoosiers finished with 38 points, 51 points better than second-place Valparaiso. Purdue finished third with 135 points, Indiana State finished fourth with 138 points and Ball State scored 148 points to round out the top five teams. The race featured 211 runners from more than 25 NCAA Divison-I, Division-II and Division-III schools in Indiana.\n"I thought the meet went pretty well," IU coach Judy Wilson said. "I wanted Jess to go all out, and she was able to do that."\nBehind Gall, who set a career-best 5K time of 17:36.30, the Hoosiers collected scores from senior Lindsay Hattendorf (fourth place), sophomore Wendi Robinson (fifth place), sophomore Stephanie Greer (13th place) and freshman Kellee Lemcke (15th place).\nSophomore Ashley Sommer (24th place), freshman Kristina Trcka (31st place), freshman Hailee Elmore (35th place) and freshman Rachel Ehret (65th place) also competed in the race for IU.\nAfter running their first two meets on their home course and then enduring a week of hard practice, the Hoosiers traveled to Terre Haute for Friday's meet.\n"We were tired," Wilson said. "We had a meet on our course last week against Michigan, and then we ran long runs in the six days in between the meets, which was kind of tough on some of the girls."\nThe Hoosiers will have a week off before their next meet at the Bill Dellinger Invitational at the University of Oregon. The meet will include No. 5 Brigham Young University, No. 7 Duke University, No. 8 University of Arkansas, No. 21 University of Washington, No. 28 Wake Forest University and No. 30 Oregon.\n"We're going to push through this week, and then we're probably going to back off next week for Oregon," Wilson said.\nOne of the issues that the Hoosiers are looking to improve upon is the time difference between their top two runners, Wilson said.\n"The split between our first two runners is really important," Wilson said. "Last week it was 1:02, but I would like to get it down to 40 seconds."\nWith only three more meets before the Big Ten Championship Oct. 29, the Hoosiers are looking to come on strong toward the end of the season.\n"We're just going out each week, and we're going to try and get better each time," Wilson said.
(09/15/06 3:39am)
The IU women's cross country team has won the Indiana Intercollegiates meet for the last three years. This year, the Hoosiers want to make it four.\nThe Hoosiers will compete at Indiana State's 5K course this Friday in Terre Haute against most of the Division I, II and III schools in Indiana. The race will feature more than 200 runners. \nLast season, sophomore Wendi Robinson led the Hoosiers with a fourth-place finish.\n"It kind of looks like a big meet when we get on the starting line, but in actuality our top seven probably run against the top 30 people," IU coach Judy Wilson said. "I think this year we have the type of team where we should have our top five in the top 15 to 20."\nA portion of the 5K course is part of this year's NCAA National Championships course. This will be the first scoring meet for the Hoosiers this year.\n"Obviously we want to win as a team," Robinson said. "It's not the most important meet, so we just want to get out there and have a good run since we run nationals and pre-nationals on the course."\nBecause the team has run the Terre Haute 5K course several times over the last few years, senior Lindsay Hattendorf believes the team will have an extra advantage.\n"I've run on that course since my freshman year here, so I pretty much know it," Hattendorf said. "That definitely helps you because you know what to expect,"\nSenior Jessica Gall said the Indiana Intercollegiates is a fun meet to run because of all the Indiana schools that participate. Gall also said the course differs from the IU course, which has more hills. Because of this, she said she believes the team should run faster times.\n"It's just a chance to get another racing opportunity in," Gall said, "and another chance to learn before we get to the bigger meets this season."\nTuesday, the United Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Poll named the Hoosiers the No. 29-ranked team in the country. The poll put Stanford University in the top spot and ranked Big Ten rival Michigan No. 3. The Hoosiers were the seventh team from the Big Ten to be ranked in the top 30.
(09/14/06 4:01am)
Look out, Facebook. Ryan Alovis plans to take over the Internet networking market.\nWith the relaunch of his Web site, www.dirtymascot.com, a week and a half to two weeks away, the IU alumnus hopes to give college students a different way to network online.\n"Dirtymascot.com is a very edgy, innovative Web site that basically bridges the gap between photos, gossip, humor and music," Alovis said. "Facebook is just a boring Web site, and I think that it's ready to be rocked and taken over."\nThe purpose of DirtyMascot is not like that of Facebook. Alovis plans to send photographers to universities across the country to take pictures of students while they're at clubs and bars. After their picture is taken, the photographer gives them a card that tells the people how to look up their picture the next day.\nThe Web site will also feature numerous gossip and humor articles, and users can listen to music that Alovis' DJs create. Alovis also hired gossip writer Greg Littley to write the articles to what Littley calls "the frat boy view of the gossip landscape."\n"There's a substantial amount of humor articles," Alovis said. "It could be funny articles about college kids going out and throwing up everywhere. All that fun stuff."\nTo view the photographs, users must submit information, including their e-mail, school, age and gender. However, the articles and music are accessible without registering.\nAfter graduating from IU's School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Alovis conceived the idea of creating DirtyMascot when he visited the bar and club scene in New York City.\n"In every bar and every club, there's always a photographer taking pictures and handing out cards," Alovis said. "This does not exist in the college world. It's totally untapped and totally a resource that should be utilized."\nAs Alovis was in the final stages of creating DirtyMascot, he hired Littley to write the gossip and humor articles. Littley, a former freelance reporter, said Alovis' enthusiasm for the project won him over.\nOne of Alovis' mentors was SPEA professor Orville Powell. Alovis said Powell played an important role in making him a better student and speaker and ultimately led him to create DirtyMascot.\n"I enjoyed Ryan both as a friend and as a student," Powell said. "He was always full of energy with a new idea every time he came into my office. I know Ryan will make it big as a businessman."\nThough the Internet market is dominated by Facebook and MySpace, Alovis said he believes that the average college student will buy into DirtyMascot because it's an entirely new concept.\n"The reason why it's so cool is because we make fun of ourselves," Alovis said. "We use self-deprecating humor. We don't have to be the biggest boys in the game, and we don't want to be Facebook. We don't want to be anything close to Facebook."\nBoth Alovis and Littley said the purpose of the Web site is to give college students the humor that Facebook stays away from. While he said he is enthusiastic and excited for the Web site, he is somewhat concerned with the reaction it will draw.\n"Hopefully with vanity being the only thing stale in this world, DirtyMascot should surely take off," Alovis said. "Everything just ties together, and it's a big party. Hopefully everyone comes out, gets drunk and enjoys my party"
(09/11/06 3:40am)
Most IU students will never forget the events that took place Sept. 11, 2001, but for sophomore Lauren Marinelli and several others, the actions of that day literally hit a lot closer to home than the typical IU undergraduate.\nMarinelli, a Long Island resident in 2001, was at school when she found out a plane had hit the tower where her father was having a business meeting. \n"You don't really realize that something could happen to your family, and that was really hard for me," Marinelli said. "Trying to figure out where my dad was and what happened to him was something that tore me apart all day. Finding out he was OK was very relieving."\nUnfortunately, many other students weren't so lucky. Throughout the day, students were pulled from classes by their parents to go home, while others held on to desperate hopes that their parents had survived the attacks.\nAs confusion spread, classes were canceled and business stopped. The country began to get a better idea of what had happened, and rumors students had heard in school were put to rest.\n"I was in Italian, and I remember hearing that somebody said that a plane went into the Empire State Building, which was the first rumor that went around," said sophomore Adam Green. "Then someone said that the World Trade Center had been bombed, and then we found out that an actual plane hit it."\nGreen said that his mother was caught in the city and had to stay overnight in an apartment.\n"She said it was the most chaotic thing. She told me that she saw the actual plane hit when she was working at NBC and said that it was something out of a movie -- like something that you could never imagine seeing with your own two eyes."\nFor many New Yorkers, the wounds of Sept. 11 haven't healed completely as it's only been five years since the loss of thousands of family members and friends.\n"Everything is still fresh and all of the emotions, the devastation are still kind of lingering," Marinelli said. "(For) a lot of my family friends and people that I went to school with who have lost parents and have lost relatives, it's still an open wound. No one's really completely healed."\nThe recent recreations of Sept. 11 in movies such as "World Trade Center" and "United 93" have caused mixed emotions in the New York community.\n"I'd like to say that it's not too soon, but as a New Yorker, it is way too soon," Marinelli said. "I think with time, the hurt will subside, but it will definitely take some time to heal from."\nGreen also said he felt it might be too soon.\n"It's just too fresh in our minds," Green said. "I can still remember seeing every single detail on the news, seeing the buildings fall."\nThe images of that day are likely to never leave the thoughts and memories of those who were so closely impacted and changed by the attacks. \n"The way I look at that day, it's like older people know when JFK was shot. I think our generation's going to know where we were when we found out about 9/11," said sophomore Benjie Perlson.\nFive years later, the images of two falling buildings have been forever engraved in the minds of Americans. \n"I just hope that no one ever forgets what actually happened," Green said.
(09/08/06 4:03am)
Though it's only September, Saturday's Indiana Open has all the makings of a preview to the Big Ten Championships for the IU women's cross country team.\nWith a field including Purdue, Butler and the University of Michigan, the Hoosiers will try to understand their weaknesses compared to the other Big Ten schools.\n"We wanted to see where the other Big Ten schools are in relation to where we are so that we can make some notes on how we can run better in the (Big Ten Championships)," said IU coach Judy Wilson. "Last week's race was more of a workout, where we tried to run an even tempo, where this week, we're going to go out and race."\nFor the second week in a row, the meet will take place at the Hoosiers' home course. However, the team will run 12 to 14 runners instead of the five that ran at last week's IU Community 5K. Like last week's race, the meet will not be scored. \n"We're not scoring the meet so that the teams can let some of their possible redshirt runners participate unattached," Wilson said. "It's too early for us to know who we want to redshirt and who we don't want to redshirt."\nThe Hoosiers plan to run some of their more experienced runners, including juniors Jessica Gall and Lindsay Hattendorf. Freshman Stephanie Greer will be the only top-seven runner for the team who participated in last week's meet.\nThis week should be the Hoosiers' first test of the season as they face the reigning Big Ten Champion Michigan, who returns four of its top five runners from last season. \n"I'm hoping that we can go out and be fairly close to their top five," Wilson said.\nThe Hoosiers will race their top runners, Wilson said. While the team recognizes the quality of competition at the meet, there is not as much of an emphasis on the impact the meet will have on the season.\n"We tend to get better toward the end of the season," Wilson said. "So where we're going to be in regards to Michigan doesn't matter too much to me how the numbers fall. I want to be able to look and see what we can do to get better"
(09/07/06 3:52am)
For 67 years, Emerson Keller Elkins' letter, hotel key and Coke bottle lay waiting inside a wall of the Indiana Memorial Union. Thursday, his time capsule was replaced with a new one.\nSenior Emma Cullen, public relations director of Union Board, enclosed a letter she wrote, an IDS and brochures of the Union inside the crevice where Elkins' time capsule rested for more than half a century.\n"This is one of the most exciting things that I've done while I've been here," Cullen said.\nThe Union Board decided Cullen would be the best person to write the letter because she worked as a page at the IMU hotel this summer, and Elkins had been a page when he wrote his letter, IMU Director Loren Rullman said.\n"One of the things that every student wants is to have a part of IU with them and to leave something of them here," Cullen said. "This is my chance to do that, and it's really exciting."\nInitially, the Union Board members decided they wanted to gain student interest in the story as soon as the fall semester started but didn't decide on a new time capsule until a few weeks ago. \nAfter hearing about the new time capsule, freshman Sarah Kon thought it was an interesting idea for the Union Board to follow up on.\n"I think it's really cool because it's interesting to see how much stuff has changed," Kon said. "I'd probably put in pictures or a campus map because things can change so much. I'm sure that in 50 years, the campus would be really different than it is today."\nJan. 15, 1939, Elkins was working as a page at the hotel of the IMU, which has since become the Student Activities Tower. That morning, he placed inside a wall a letter that was just discovered this past June during renovation for the new Starbucks, which will be opening in the next six to eight weeks.\n"Our staff was removing a section of wall, and in the process of removing it, they found some paper on the floor," said Gary Chrzastowski, assistant director of facilities at the IMU.\nAccompanied by several Union Board members and a crew from WTIU, Cullen placed her capsule inside the wall where Elkins' once hid. Shortly after, she helped cover the hole with a piece of wood and hammered it down to seal it for what might be another 67 years.\n"It's a commitment to make sure that the story that we discovered is kept in perpetuity in the wall and that today's students' stories are captured," Rullman said.\nCullen incorporated her story as she wrote about the directors of the Union Board and the war in Iraq and discussed several current pop culture topics such as film, just as her predecessor did.\nIn his original letter, Elkins discussed current topics like the rise of Adolf Hitler in Europe and how he thought that the new film, "Gone With the Wind," wouldn't amount to much. Staying true to Elkins' letter, Cullen decided to offer her thoughts on film and considered including "Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby" and "Beerfest" before deciding on "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest."\nAfter graduating from IU in 1940, Elkins served in World War II before working for the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C. Elkins passed away August 27, 1993 without publicly telling anyone about the secret he left in Bloomington.\n"Memories are made in this Union, relationships are formed in this Union and students form connections to Indiana University in this Union," Rullman said. "What's great to me is that, unlike other buildings on campus, this one has all those stories and we discovered a new one"
(09/01/06 4:04am)
Sometimes sports can be all about luck. Last year the women's cross country team had what some would call a lack thereof. \nIn 2005, injury after injury and bad luck took their toll on a talented team competing for a Big Ten Championship.\n"We need a little more luck than we had last year," IU coach Judy Wilson said. "I could go down the roster from last year and tell you where every single girl had something that we had to deal with. Whether it was low iron, a pulled muscle, a bad back, a stress fracture, I've just never had a season like that."\nThroughout last season, the Hoosiers suffered a number of injuries to key runners including seniors Jessica Gall and Lindsay Hattendorf and sophomores Wendi Robinson and Stephanie Greer. Despite the injuries, the Hoosiers performed strongly throughout the year.\nLed by a ninth-place finish from Gall, the Hoosiers finished fourth at the Big Ten Championships last season. Returning for her senior year, Gall became the second Hoosier in team history to earn All-American honors after finishing fifth in the NCAA Regional meet and 32nd at the NCAA National Championship.\nWilson said she is looking for a solid performance by Gall in the nationals this year. \n"She's our most fit runner, but I don't like to have team captains," she said. "I think that people take charge on certain days."\nAs the team looks toward this season, it will need to stay healthy and create chemistry on a squad that includes 22 runners, eight of whom are freshmen.\n"Having a lot of freshmen on the team helps us," Gall said. "It brings enthusiasm and a sense of pride that allows the older girls to teach them what it means to be a Hoosier."\nIU looks to continue its enthusiasm throughout the season as the team will compete in half of its meets at home, including the Big Ten Championships Oct. 29. The team will also compete at IU on three more occasions this year, including the IU Community 5K, which starts Friday.\nWith the Big Ten Championships at IU this year, the Hoosiers hope to utilize their own course to their advantage as they will look to overcome defending champion Michigan.\n"We definitely know this course better going into the meet," Robinson said. "And it's always great when you're at home and people can turn out and cheer for you."\nThe home course also prepares the Hoosiers before the Big Ten Championships due to the amount of hills on the course and in the Bloomington area, said sophomore Ashley Sommer.\nWhile the Hoosiers enjoy the benefit of being able to run at home throughout the year, they aren't at the level to capture a Big Ten title, Wilson said. However, she believes that if the team can stay healthy and fit, winning the Big Ten is certainly a possibility.\nGall, who has experienced firsthand the frustration of injury, also believes that this year's team has much potential.\n"We've learned a lot from last year," Gall said. "Not doing so well makes us a lot hungrier to achieve the goals that we missed out on last year"
(08/31/06 4:08am)
For some IU students, long distance phone rates no longer apply if they want to talk to anyone around the country or the world. Members of the K9IU Amateur Radio Club can do that for free -- and talk to people in outer space for fun as well.\nWhile radio stations such as WIUX provide music and the news, K9IU takes a different approach to radio. Club members said they're club's more interested in making contact with other people from around the world, as well as teaching others how to operate radios.\n"Amateur radio is about communicating with other people via the radio," club member John Johnson said. "Most of the time, it's amateurs talking to amateurs for fun, but for events like the Science Olympiad (Nationals) or the upcoming IU Mini Marathon, we're passing messages for other people as a way of helping out the community."\nIn their hideaway at the top of the IMU, members of the amateur radio club spend their time conversing with other amateur radio operators from all over the world, as well as some from out of this world from time to time. The club uses high-tech and high-cost equipment that many beginning radio operators would not be able to afford.\nThrough the use of their technology, K9IU operators have been known to contact astronauts and cosmonauts on the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station, as well as the late King Hussein of Jordan.\n"Every so often, the astronauts and cosmonauts onboard will talk to people down here," president Andrew Ragusa said. "We can download live pictures of them and ask them a question like what it's like to be weightless, which is pretty cool."\nWhile one of the main features of the club is to make contact with other radio operators from around the world, K9IU also assists in many other activities, such as weather spotting, assisting the police or fire department and practicing emergency communication.\n"When the airplane carrying the five music students crashed (April 20) the amateur radio community was contacted by the emergency management people to come out and provide radio support to help find the airplane," Johnson said. "In the case of severe weather, amateur radio operators will communicate to the National Weather Service so that they can get a much more detailed picture of weather than they could with just radar or their own assets."\nRecently, however, K9IU has added another facet to its already diverse club. For the second year in a row, the amateur radio club will be assisting other prospective radio operators in obtaining a license, issued by the Federal Communications Commission. Classes will be held 7-9 p.m. Sept. 12 and 19 in Ballantine Hall room 015 and 4-6 p.m. Sept. 17 and 24. To take the class, students must pay $14, which covers the cost of the license, and bring two forms of identification.\n"We decided that we would offer a class that would be taught by some of the faculty that are in the club," Ragusa said. "Last year, we had seven people take the test, and every one of them passed it."\nThe club will hold four classes prior to taking the test. To take the test, all prospective radio operators must attend each class. After the fourth class is finished, a half-hour review session will be held, and then the test will be administered.
(05/01/06 5:22am)
Sometimes, storybook endings aren't always meant to happen.\nFor the No. 18 IU water polo team, that was the case as it dropped its first game of the Collegiate Water Polo Association Eastern Championship on Saturday to Bucknell University in the second overtime, 6-5, as the Hoosiers finished fifth in the tournament.\nThe loss to Bucknell eliminated the Hoosiers' chance to compete in the championship game and their quest for an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Instead, IU will have to rely on one of three at-large bids available.\nThe Hoosiers took a 4-1 lead over Bucknell heading into the third period, including two goals from junior Melissa Soria. IU could not hold onto the lead, though, as the Bison scored its second goal with 4:49 remaining to make the score 4-2. Four minutes later, Bucknell tied the game on two goals scored within 15 seconds of each other.\nIU capitalized early in the first overtime period as junior Brooke Zimmerman gave the Hoosiers a 5-4 lead. Bucknell came from behind once again to tie the score at five on the next possession of the game.\nWith less than 10 seconds remaining in the first overtime, the Hoosiers committed a foul, putting them down two players as they entered the second overtime period. It only took 15 seconds for Bucknell to score the eventual game-winning point.\nBecause of their loss in the first round, the Hoosiers were paired to play Harvard University in the second match of the day and advanced to the fifth-place game with a 7-6 win.\nAfter falling behind 3-0 against Harvard, the Hoosiers scored three straight goals of their own to tie the game, with the game-tying goal coming early into the second period. Harvard added another goal to take a one-goal lead going into the half.\nSoria tied the game at four with 6:40 remaining in the third period. Harvard once again took a one-goal lead on a power play, but the Hoosiers scored two straight goals to take a 6-5 lead with four minutes remaining in the third period. As the third period came to a close, Harvard tied the game at six just before the buzzer.\nWith four minutes remaining in regulation, Zimmerman added her second goal of the game, which proved to be the game-winner, sending the Hoosiers to the fifth-place game against Brown University.\nIn the match against Brown, the Hoosiers trailed only once and won in overtime 10-8 as they outscored Brown 3-1 in the extra period to take fifth place in the Eastern Championship.\nSoria recorded her 10th hat trick of the year as she scored four times against Brown, including once in overtime.\nWith the CWPA Eastern Championship finished, the Hoosiers will hope to earn a bid to the 2006 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship. Should IU earn an at-large bid to the tournament, the Hoosiers will play for the championship at the University of California-Davis May 12-14.
