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(01/31/08 6:00am)
The Kelley School of Business has teamed with key life science organizations to host a series of four conferences. For the second year in a row, business executives and students alike will have the chance to learn about the impact life sciences have on the business world today. \nThe third conference in the four-part series, titled “Biotech Discovery and Development Services – Follow the $$$,” will be held at 8 a.m. Friday in Indianapolis at the Embassy Suites Hotel at 110 W. Washington St. \nLarry Davidson, an IU professor of business economics, said the Kelley School of Business chose to get involved in this conference series for a number of reasons.\n“The idea is to support state efforts to improve Indiana as a place for life science companies,” said Davidson, who is also a liaison for health care and life science in the Kelley School. \nAlthough few students generally attend – about five to 10 each conference – Davidson said he thinks the event is still beneficial to students. \n“It is important to network and work well with the companies that hire our students,” he said.\nThe conference is sponsored by BioCrossroads and Baker & Daniels LLP. Comments from David Johnson, the president and chief executive officer of BioCrossroads, and Dan Smith, the dean of the Kelley School of Business, will open the conference. The keynote address, presented by Dr. Steven M. Paul, executive vice president for science and technology and president of Lilly Research Laboratories at Eli Lilly and Co., will follow the opening remarks. \nTwo panel discussions will conclude the conference. The first, titled “How Are Companies Fitting into the Model?”, will include four panelists: Jerry Arthur, president of Cook Pharmica; Dr. F. John Mills, chief executive officer of BioStorage Technologies; Dr. Alfonso J. Alanis, chairman and CEO of Anaclim LLC; and Alisa Wright, founder and CEO of BioConvergence LLC. The panel will be moderated by Dan Boeglin, a partner at Baker & Daniels LLP.\nThe second panel discussion, titled “What are the Gaps and Challenges?”, will highlight Dr. Michael Hanbury, CEO of DCL Laboratories; Fritz French, CEO of Marcadia Biotech; Claire DeSelle, CEO of CS-Keys; and Johnson, the president and chief executive officer of BioCrossroads. This panel will be moderated by Pat Cross, leader of the Health and Life Sciences Practice at Baker & Daniels LLP.\nThe fourth and final conference in this year’s series will be held on May 16, and is titled “Life Sciences is a Capital Idea.”
(12/07/07 4:17am)
The thought of finals week puts an uneasy feeling in most students’ stomachs. \nThat’s why the College of Arts and Sciences will host its annual “Feed the Students” event Monday evening in the lobby of the Herman B Wells Library. \nCOAS faculty will serve up an array of free food and refreshments, including sandwiches, chips, vegetables, cheeses, pitas, cookies, soda and water. \nJocelyn Bowie, COAS director of communications and recruiting, said the event has become something that students look forward to each semester. \n“The students love it. It’s a lot of fun, and the faculty love it as well,” she said. “We try to have healthy food because students go for that first. We also try to accommodate a lot of students’ needs.” \nThe event, also known as “Food for Thought” or “The Finals Feeding Frenzy,” started in June 2001. \nFormer College of Arts and Sciences Dean Kumble R. Subbaswamy originally came up with the idea.\nBowie said Subbaswamy experienced a similar event at the University of Miami, where he worked before coming to Indiana and wanted to bring the tradition to IU. \nJunior Nick Molin has attended the event for three years now. \nHe said it’s an easy way to grab a snack in the midst of the fury of finals week studying. \n“It’s right there for you while you’re studying,” he said. “Sandwiches are my favorite, but they really have everything there that you need to fill you up. I’m definitely going again this year.” \nThe event begins at 10 p.m. and ends when the food is gone.\n“Everyone in the library usually comes, and now that more students know about it, more students plan to come,” Bowie said.
(11/28/07 2:35am)
IU named 13 new Advocates for Community Engagement this fall, adding to the nine already in the program. \nThe program, which began in 2000, started out with just three students and is quickly growing. \nThe advocates work as a link between IU service-learning courses and local nonprofit organizations. All of the agencies affiliated with the program involve social issues. \nColleen Rose, the coordinator of the program, said it gives students the chance to interact with a variety of people, all in support of one cause. \n“Diverse groups of student come together to serve and share a common interest with people that are different,” she said. \nStudents work with organizations that focus on such topics as the environment, prison systems, poverty and education, Rose said. \nThe idea behind service-learning courses is that students will work and volunteer for an organization as part of an academic course. \nRose said students also gain real-life experience while participating in the program. It helps students connect with people in the community, she said. \nAfter being in the program, students feel “a part of the Bloomington Community, not just of Indiana University,” Rose said. \nThe organizations also benefit, she said, by working with skilled and educated students. \nDonnie Morgan, an advocate with the local Boys & Girls Club, said the experience provided real-world training outside the classroom. \nHe works as the club’s volunteer coordinator, where he has to recruit, train, schedule and manage more than 100 volunteers each semester. \n“Essentially, it is a job where I have gained the experience of managing over 100 different people a semester, while also interacting with my bosses (and) partners on various initiatives,” he said. “That experience is invaluable.” \nSo far, there are 20 local service organizations participating in the program, including Big Brothers Big Sisters, the City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department, The Rise of Middle Way House, the Monroe County Public Library and Volunteers in Medicine.\nJoe Dodson, who is an Advocate for Community Engagement to IU’s Recreational Sports division, is in his first semester as an advocate. He said he decided to become an advocate after he volunteered regularly at the Shalom Center last year. His friend suggested that he apply because of the experience it provides. \n“This experience made me aware, in a very real way, of poverty issues in Bloomington,” he said. “It just provides me great work experience in a professional environment and at the same time, I am becoming more socially minded.” \nThere are no set requirements to become an advocate, Dodson said, but there is an application and an interview process. \nAshley Flora, an advocate with Girls Inc. of Monroe County, said the program allows her to give back to the community. \n“Being an ACE is equipping me with the skills to actively participate with a community,” she said in an e-mail interview, “in order to develop solutions that combat social issues in our society.
(10/26/07 3:25am)
EUGENE, Ore. – Sexy female costumes have become synonymous with Halloween, providing a day for women to unleash their inner vixens while clad in costumes. Naughty nurses, provocative pirates and seductive sailors permeate the contemporary costume market. \nThe degree of sexuality echoed by thousands of erotically-dressed women this Halloween makes some experts question its mirroring of society and the meaning of the holiday. Some deem the holiday a cultural vehicle for people to explore their alter-egos and fantasies, while others maintain dressing up is just in the Halloween spirit.\n“When you look at people’s sexual fantasies, they are very taboo,” said MiraCosta College Provost Sally Foster, who claims that women act out their otherwise culturally unacceptable fantasies in costume.\nCostumes express a person’s alter-ego coupled with a “bad girl” element, she said. \n“Our day personas don’t allow full expression of all our creative urges,” Foster said, noting how on Halloween people have the “license to be whatever (they) want to be.”\nHolly Putnam, Associated Students of the University of Oregon Women’s Center’s public relations coordinator, said society’s obsession with sexuality makes risky costumes popular. \nGabriela Martinez, a University of Oregon assistant professor who explores topics like women and media, blamed advertising for establishing the idea that women should look sexy.\nMany cultures have a holiday to celebrate the art of masquerade, such as Italy’s Carnevale, but America has found a way to capitalize on women’s fantasies, reinforcing sexism, Martinez said. \nFoster further suggested that the holiday reflects the advancement of societal double standards. \n“Because there is more an injunction on women to not be that bad, naughty girl, that’s what comes out,” she said. “We think we are this really liberated gender, but these costumes and these behaviors tell us something different.” \nIt’s important to address who women dress up for on the holiday, Putnam said. \n“If they’re dressing for themselves then it could be a really good declaration of sexual power and comfort with their body,” she said. “But it’s almost just as possible that some women don naughty outfits because they are feeding into the image of female sexuality.” \nSome students believe the costumes are in good fun. Sophomore Christine Regnier attended a Halloween party a few nights ago as a 1980s rocker chic.\n“It looked sexy, but it wasn’t revealing,” she said. \nThough Regnier agreed that sometimes women’s costumes can look trashy, she doesn’t dress up to impress men – it’s a girl thing, she said. \n“I do it for my girlfriends ... I’m not necessarily trying to attract a guy’s attention.”
(01/27/06 5:26am)
In her thin fingers, Susan Eley holds up a snapshot of herself in college, taken just before she filled an auditorium with her dramatic soprano voice. Her large body was draped in a crimson gown and a powdered beehive wig sat atop her head. She points the image toward her husband, Ben, and asks if he would have noticed her then. \n"Maybe not," he replies, with a hint of hesitation in his voice.\nIt's been a slow process, she says. But in the last five years, the 26-year-old has dropped 100 pounds, going from a size 26-28 to a size four, earning her a chance to share her success story on a special edition of NBC's "The Biggest Loser" airing Feb. 8. Eley, an IU library sciences graduate student, amazed her friends Jan. 18 when she appeared on "The Tyra Banks Show." The crowd roared as a slim Eley burst through a life-sized photograph of herself at her heaviest weight. She strutted down the catwalk in stiletto heels and a form-fitting outfit. Even Banks couldn't conceal her surprise as she scrunched up her face and exclaimed, "Oh my goodness!"\n"When I see myself back then I say, 'Wow, how could I have allowed myself to go that far,'" Eley says, seated on a sofa in her sun-soaked living room. An exercise bike is pushed up against the wall and underneath her couch are two eight-pound dumbbells, a yoga mat and a home step platform. "I was always a happy person, but it's kind of sad to me now that I let myself and my fitness go."\nEley's mother, Julie Landis, says her daughter's genetics and lifestyle are what contributed to her weight gain. \n"I come from a big family, my husband comes from a big family and we made a lot of big dinners and deserts, full of carbohydrates," Landis says. "Susan just fit the mold and that's how it happened. When you're prone to it, it comes along pretty easy."\nEley was overweight for much of her adolescence. In sixth grade, she weighed nearly 175 pounds. Although her weight didn't hold her back from graduating as valedictorian of her high school, it made shopping for prom dresses a nightmare. Nothing off the rack fit, so she had to be measured at a bridal store. On one such occasion, a shopkeeper remarked, "Well, you're awful big." \nThat comment's stuck with her for years. \nBy college, Eley reached her heaviest weight of 245 pounds. As a music education major at the College of New Jersey, she spent all her spare hours in the practice rooms perfecting her scales. Exercise was the last thing she had time for. \n"College was the worst time," Eley says. "I remember eating lots of tuna salad sandwiches, heavy on the mayo, cheese pizza and pints of cookie dough ice cream from the local dairy farm." \nBut in her senior year, Eley decided it was time to change. As an aspiring opera singer, she knew it would take much more than her soprano voice to achieve her dream. And the story of Deborah Voigt troubled her. Voigt, one of the world's premier sopranos, was rejected from a role because of her weight. Eley recalls she was fired because a director envisioned his lead wearing a little black dress, one that certainly wouldn't fit around Voigt's 300-pound frame. \n"A lot of directors out there have that Hollywood mentality," Eley says. "It's amazing that you can get to the top of your field and they can say, 'No, I want a little black dress instead of you.'"\nIn 2000, Eley joined Weight Watchers because she wanted to look good on stage and feel confident during auditions. She also knew that not too far in the future, she wanted to get married. When she was heavy, it was hard enough to find a boyfriend, let alone a husband. So she committed herself to completely changing her lifestyle. \nShe says it wasn't easy, but it worked. She changed what she ate, often opting for spinach salads with orange slices for dinner instead of red meat. Even though Weight Watchers doesn't tell people what to eat -- instead recommending a maximum caloric intake -- she still avoided her weakness: chocolate chip cookies. Within a year, she lost her first 50 pounds. Soon after, she met and married Ben Eley.\nLast February, Eley and her husband moved to Bloomington to pursue their graduate studies. Still not satisfied with her image, Eley not only dieted, but adopted a rigorous fitness routine. She dedicates at least a half-hour each day to exercise, without exception. Even on Christmas, she surprised her family by bundling up and going for a run. Whether it's a 30-minute jog, power-yoga or a step class at the Student Recreational Sports Center, Eley says she is always working to keep fit. \nAfter five years, she's finally dropped 50 more pounds and reached her goal of being a size four. \n"When I went to visit Susan, I was totally surprised," says Eley's college roommate, Anne Vitale. "She was about half the size she used to be. Her face looked different. Instead of just a cheek, you could actually see the bones in her face. It was wonderful."\nEley carted all her "fat clothes" to Goodwill, to reinforce that she's never going to need them again. She no longer has her sights set on being a professional singer, but still plans to audition for small performances when she has time. Her next goal is to move back to New Jersey to become an elementary school librarian.\nShe feels proud of herself, especially for never resorting to any dangerous "quick fixes." Eley also hopes her story will be an inspiration to others battling obesity.\n"I'm a living example that you can lose over 100 pounds the old-fashioned way, with diet and exercise," Eley says. "There always will be that small fear in the back of my head that says, 'What if you gain it back,' but this time, I think I've accomplished it"
(10/13/05 3:24am)
Friday's Indiana Daily Student article covering Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita's visit for the IU Republican Women's speaker series "Something to Talk About" did not accurately represent the ideas expressed at the event. Rokita's comments about Hurricane Katrina were in response to a question asked by an audience member who actually paid attention.\nRokita stated that the federal government should only be one part of the entire relief process, not the only source. The government's chain of command begins with city government and Homeland Security, progresses to state government and culminates with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The federal government cannot legally swoop in without the permission of the state. In his speech, Rokita suggested a different tactic: unity. Citizens should lend a helping hand when disaster strikes so others do not have to wait for the government. \nMs. Garrison and her editors chose to focus on a "controversial" quotation out of context, rather than report the actual topics of Mr. Rokita's speech. Contrary to what the IDS headline would have its readers believe, Mr. Rokita did not spend 90 minutes discussing Katrina. He spent that time talking about election reform, voter IDs, his duties as secretary of state and his recent trip to Vietnam. \nCovering a speech is not about highlighting controversy in order to fit the preconceived notions of a reporter; it is about accurately reporting what the speaker said. This lack in coherence -- a headline that did not match the story and a story that did not match the event -- reduced the article to journalistic fluff. The IDS sold out and misrepresented the IU Republican Women and Todd Rokita in the process. \nTuesday's staff editorial, "This is not the USSR.," only further emphasizes the poor judgment of the IDS staff. For those unfamiliar with the process, this is how a staff editorial works: A group of IDS writers circle up while an opinion editor paraphrases a recent news article. They then discuss the article, make judgments and write an editorial based on a group consensus. Not one person serving on the editorial board attended Rokita's speech. How then does the IDS justify the editorial representing the "paper's view"?\nSeveral IDS staff members justified the mismatched headline and account of the speech by commenting on how "boring" an accurate article would have been. Tell me, which comes first in the hierarchy of ethical journalism: an accurate yet unexciting account of what actually happened or a self-serving sensational story? Another staff member stated that Todd Rokita was a public figure and therefore had to be held responsible for his comments. Taking quotations out of context changes their meaning, regardless of the speaker's place in the public eye. If a writer misconstrues, misleads or deceives, the writer is wrong. They have recklessly dismissed their duty as objective journalists. It is a question of integrity, and the IDS has failed.\nWriting a column on a subject the board knows nothing about illustrates the standards and values of the IDS, and as a former columnist, I am disappointed.
(09/14/05 5:06am)
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- The patient is stretched out on the operating table. But before Dr. Don Penny performs a rare brain surgery, he cranks up the volume on his stereo until the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil" fills the operating room. \nThe louder the music, the better. Penny says it allows him to concentrate.\nThe music has aided Penny through other successful procedures. \nAfter 38-year-old Munaf Ramjohn suffered a massive stroke six months ago, he was rushed to the Gwinnett Medical Center where Penny removed a piece of Ramjohn's skull to create more room for his swelling brain to expand. Penny performed the routine procedure with Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" playing in the background.
(09/07/05 5:32am)
Both Betty Crocker and Mother Goose might be shocked if they took a stroll through The Market at the Indiana Memorial Union in search of one of their favorite cookies: the Gingerbread Man. \nThey'd find one all right, wrapped neatly in plastic with two red candy eyes peering back at them. But when they flipped the cookie over to find its price, they'd discover their man stripped of his gender, with a label reading "ginger person."\nAbout eight years ago, all the gingery treats supplied at the IMU were renamed to make the cookies more politically correct, said Mary Frohliger, an IMU employee of 23 years who works at both Sugar & Spice and Kiva.\n"I've had a lady come in and say she's glad it's called a 'person,'" said Steve Richards, retail operations director of food service in the IMU, the Wendell Wright Education building and the Herman B Wells Library. \nSome think the change is too much. \n"I thought they were kind of going overboard," said Frohliger. "And Mother Goose would not be happy. You can't go, 'Run, run, run as fast as you can, you can't catch me, I'm a gingerbread person.' That doesn't work; you can't do the rhyme without 'man."
(08/31/05 5:53am)
Guzzling a few beers is a surefire way to socialize, but it makes people more likely to blurt out an unplanned "I love you" or reveal their feelings to a crush. \nPeter Finn, an IU psychology professor who studies alcoholism in young adults, explained why. \n"Alcohol removes normal inhibitions and is associated with euphoric feelings," Finn said. "So in other words, people feel really good. When we feel positive emotions, we like to talk and engage with other individuals."\nThe frontal lobes of the human brain are involved in regulating our behavior and our emotions. They inhibit emotional experience and expression. Finn said these inhibitions begin to dissolve when people consume alcohol. Alcohol also gives people courage to approach and engage with others because it unleashes dopamine in the brain, a neurotransmitter responsible for feeling pleasure and euphoria.\n"My rough guess is that 35 percent of those who are intoxicated are disinhibited," Finn said. \nWithin one hour, he estimated it would take four to five beers for a 150-pound male to become intoxicated and just three to four beers for a female of the same weight. With more alcohol, these people become less inhibited, and that's when they reach for their phones and start making calls. \n"People are much more likely to do things they wouldn't when sober," Finn said, "like unloading emotional baggage and telling people they love them. These are the reasons most likely to account for this phenomena of ... 'drunk dialing."
(08/08/05 4:48am)
Receiving notice that his brother had been killed in a military training exercise, Charlie R. Smith ran away from home, lied about his age and enlisted in the United States Navy. During his seven months of service, the military discovered Smith's true age and he was honorably discharged. Smith re-enlisted in the military, this time in the U.S. Air Force, days after his 18th birthday. He went on to fly 57 successful air missions during the Korean Conflict. These are our soldiers.\nPrivate Tara Virgil and Private Andi-gayle Coomes, two of IU's finest, both serve in the Army National Guard. Private Virgil has spent the summer at Fort Lee in Advanced Individualized Training. She is studying and preparing for her specific job assignment in the military. Three years ago, Private Coomes was uprooted mid-semester and abandoned her classes in order to roll out with her battle buddies. These girls know hot days in the field, strenuous exercise regimes and the psychology of mind games. These girls are our soldiers.\nTheir wedding is on as scheduled, but Kevin Rounds and his fiancée Katie will not be moving into their first house together, nor will they be spending their first Christmas, New Years or Valentine's Day together. Rounds is a G.I. in the reserve who will return from his honeymoon only to depart for a tour in the Middle East. These are our soldiers.\nPhillip Simpson, the oldest of nine siblings, was appointed to West Point Military Academy before the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Graduation requires a minimum of eight years of service. Despite a likely assignment in the Middle East, Phillip decided to stay. His brothers Patrick and William have since joined him at West Point. Their entire family is committed to the values of our country. These are our soldiers.\nOur soldiers leave children, husbands, wives and parents. They leave homes, jobs and opportunities. They forfeit what they know and what they believe. Their lives are lives of selfless service and sacrifice, made by both them and their families. "Property of the United States Military" does not refer simply to boots and body bags. It refers to the soldiers. Their spouses and parents must provide support to the solider and comfort to the soldiers' children and siblings. I can't help but wonder, who is their rock and stronghold? They, too, are our soldiers. \nNo doubt our soldiers know the cost before they hit the line. All will fight, and some will fall. They do not stop at what is easy -- only at what is right. \nSummer is drawing to a close, and soon we will be moving into yet another segment in our lives. Yet our soldiers' duties have not ended, and neither have our own. As John Philip Sousa solemnly states in "Stars and Stripes Forever," we must "Sing out for liberty and light, sing out for freedom and the right, sing out for Union and its might." Support our troops. God bless America.
(08/01/05 1:07am)
In the old familiar game of boys versus girls, the girls are still losing. Yet things are looking up. Interest groups around the world have identified this stagnant trend and have finally decided to do something about it. From the creation of the New Generation of Republican Women right here in Indiana -- a professional women's group dedicated to involving women in all aspects of the political process -- to Norway's legislative ruling requiring all businesses to have at least two women on their board of directors, women are gaining ground. \nNonetheless, the progress is slow. The "huge gains" women are supposedly making in the world of business -- gains being defined as holding a top CEO position -- are still surprisingly small. The July 23 edition of The Economist considers IBM's efforts impressive, yet women on the executive slate number a meager 14 percent. Yet the business world is catching on to the relationship between women and their companies' financial successes. Multitasking, communication and team building, strengths often attributed to women, are becoming more and more dear in the rigid world of "business formal." Companies are slating women as a minority group and have enacted diversity training to recruit them, though the difficulties awaiting women in the workplace are far different from the difficulties faced by the men in charge of these training sessions.\nDespite popular opinion, maternity leave is not the only thing keeping women away. Study after study finds women less ambitious than men. No doubt there are numerous issues influencing the reasons why girls aren't like those go-getter guys, yet the fact still exists -- except, that is, in women who have been influenced early in life by good role models and supportive fathers. \nIt is not hypocritical to say that good male leadership and support leads to strong, capable females. It is a male-dominated world. A girl needs all the practice she can get working with men, receiving their criticism without emotionally over-reacting and accepting their sometimes round-about ways of affirmation. \nSociety defines our values when we are young. Think of a teacher's response to a five-year-old showing off his or her new shoes. To a girl, the teacher would most likely exclaim, "How pretty you look in your new shoes!" But to a boy, "How high you can jump?" Appearance versus achievement. It is a battle women will always fight. \nSo much must change if women are to make an equal contribution to the working world. While flexible hours are a definite start, it is one that comes too late. As the world's marketplace is slowly learning, everyone benefits with a leading lady.
(07/25/05 1:54am)
My dog is a liberal. Cut her some slack. We come from a broken home -- my mother is a Democrat and my father is a Republican. It's really been very hard on us all. Audrey -- a Jack Russell Terrier named for my hero, Audrey Hepburn, is one of those dogs who thinks she's human (kind of like those liberals who think they are gods). \nA few days ago, we dropped in on my neighbor. A cardboard cut-out of President Bush proudly governs his living room. While I stopped to salute him (house rules), Audrey went berserk. She barked, growled and assaulted him, lunged at his leg and ferociously bit his foot. I grabbed her and tried to calm her down. As we eased towards the cut-out, the brat turned her head away. She wouldn't even look at poor George! That's when I started thinking. Audrey had never even seen George before, and here she was passing blind judgment and being downright rude. She was completely ignorant to the fact that George was made of cardboard and that he wasn't even the real thing. \nLiberals do that. They make a big stink over things they think are really important and then everything turns out to be completely irrelevant (or false!). \nLike liberals, Audrey is a fan of allowing other people to control her life. Instead of hunting for food, building shelter and taking on the other responsibilities of her existence, Audrey relies on me. Audrey has the same basic genetic make-up as a wolf, yet she chooses to deny her instincts in favor of a carefree, easy life based on the handouts that I am willing to provide. She sacrifices her freedom because she realizes freedom is hard work. If Audrey relied on herself for food, shelter and other basic responsibilities, she wouldn't be able to blame her successes or failures on anyone else. Instead, she is subjected to my whims. I feed her when I want to feed her; I take her out when I want to take her out. I get away with everything and Audrey loves me no matter what. She loves me because she relies on me. I say "come," and Audrey comes. I say "sit," and Audrey sits. She doesn't question me. She is blind to all thoughts. Liberals have an unabashed loyalty to more government because the government feeds them, shelters them and removes them from all responsibility -- literally. Big government only makes the dog's life easier. \nDon't get me wrong, Audrey truly is man's best friend. I mean, she cares about people -- just don't ask her to do anything about it. She is uninterested unless there is something in it for her. The war in Iraq? She is deeply concerned with the Iraqis' safety and their quality of life -- which is why she would have preferred to stand by and watch them be destroyed by blood-thirsty dictators. Our own country? Sure, she wants to be safe. She just feels that Saddam and Osama should be given the benefit of the doubt and that American soldiers are always in the wrong. \nIt's easy to understand why I keep her on a tight leash. Liberals that think and act like dogs belong in the doghouse. Too bad we can't teach Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy and Howard Dean to play dead.
(07/18/05 3:28am)
While settling in to watch Joan of Arcadia -- a television series about a girl who meets God in everyone from a punk rocker to an elderly lady -- a disclaimer from the network appeared on the screen. The message rejected any relationship between the show's theme and the views of the network. Clearly, CBS didn't want to offend anyone.\nI am not going to lie. IU's diversity immersion is new to me. Before arriving at IU, I attended an all-girls catholic high school down south. We found diversity in the different colored ribbons we wore in our hair. The ideas behind the push for diversity are completely valid. Discrimination is awful and anything that leads to its demise is worth pursuing. Yet an overstatement of diversity often does two things: accentuates our differences and discriminates against the established norm.\nSomewhere along the line, the Supreme Court decided that prayer in public schools was illegal. Separation of church and state apparently trumps First Amendment rights of free speech. Let's be honest here. Separation of church and state does not and will never exist. We are a country founded on the basis of freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. The government is prohibited from endorsing a religion. Yet how does a display of the Ten Commandments endorse a religion anymore than a copy of Bill Clinton's My Life endorse his adulterous lifestyle? Agnostic? So what! Those who do not believe in God do not believe in the authority of the document and do not take it as truth. Therefore, it cannot be offensive. Worship a deity of another name? Seriously, does the name really matter? Let's agree on fundamental truths and concentrate on the actual content of the document. Ousting the "Our Father" does not teach tolerance. It teaches that differences can be mended by throwing out the opposition. Requiring a classroom of kids to be silent out of respect for their peers and their decisions to pray (or not) is tolerance in action.\nDiversity training often begins with acknowledging differences. Too often, this agenda promotes pointing out discrepancies and "recognizing and respecting" them by not questioning or seeking to understand them. This is counter-productive. Respectful dialogue not only helps to inform dissenters, but also strengthens their own convictions by encouraging them to explain the origins of their personal faith. By shutting down dialogue between social groups, we lose the ability to establish common ground and build a relationship of understanding. Differences segregate; similarities solidify.\nTolerance involves tolerating the majority. Skirting around a belief in God to avoid "offending" others is not only counter-intuitive, but downright ridiculous. Our country is characterized by its diversity and promise of freedom. Hiding behind our opinions and beliefs in order to be politically correct is not the spirit of America. Neither is hate. We may only stand united if we kneel in respect.
(07/11/05 12:55am)
An earlier than usual phone call prompted me to check the news last Thursday morning. I immediately felt sick. The terror attacks became all too real to me as the names of a handful of friends studying in London popped into my head. Thankfully, anxious e-mails asking for reassurance and desperate prayers for their safety were answered. \nDespite a deep affiliation with the Republican Party, I could not help but question my own opinions on the Bush Administration's foreign policy. No one likes war and senseless acts of violence hit harder when they hit close to home. Yet after wrestling with the events of July 7, I am more and more convinced that someone has to fight the fight for freedom.\nNo amount of diversity training and thinking outside of the box can even begin to help clarify the terrorists' mindsets. Their ideals lack logic and their morals are foreign. Their heartless, unfazed disregard of differences and the terrorists' cruel ways of clamoring for attention are dumbfounding. I feel no empathy for their plight because I simply cannot comprehend it. As London mayor Ken Livingston poignantly pointed out, "This was not an attack on the mighty and power. It was aimed at ordinary, working-class Londoners, black and white, Muslim and Christian, young and old. That isn't an ideology; it isn't even a perverted fate. It is an indiscriminate attempt at mass murder."\nThe contrast of principles is striking. As world leaders gathered in Scotland at the G8 Summit to discuss ways to sling Africa out of its slump, terrorists are slaughtering civilians in the subways. As London celebrated its winning bid for the 2012 Olympics, an event where warring countries march in side by side and fight fairly on the field, terrorists are inciting fear. These attacks are cheap, disgusting and weak. The threat is real and it is not subsiding. Accusations that the attacks occurred because of England's involvement in the war on terrorism have not lessened the country's commitment. The steps of soldiers sent to liberate Iraq and Afghanistan have not faltered. If anything, the attacks have increased the importance of trumping terrorism throughout the world. Some have lost limbs; others have lost their lives. The cost is consistently high. Is it worth it?\nYes. England, Spain and the United States have been targeted because they have taken action against injustice in the world. Yet democracy stems deeper than the opportunity to elect officials. Democracy is peace of mind, freedom from fear and respect of life. Prime Minister Tony Blair addressed England flanked by President Bush, President Jacques Chirac and the other leaders of the G8 Summit. For once, there was no need for explanation. Despite their differences in the execution of foreign policy, these leaders stood humble, united and filled with patriotic pride. The War On Terrorism is far from over. The bombs have burst. Now it's time for freedom to ring.
(06/27/05 6:46pm)
Indiana should be proud. This past weekend, several hundred College Republicans convened outside of Washington, D.C., for the 56th National College Republican Convention. College Republican members kicked-off the weekend with an impressive agenda of high-profile conservative speakers, including Tom Delay, Mike Pence and Ed Gillespie. College Republicans have long been a vital crank in the Grand Old Party machine--dominating grass-roots campaigning, fundraising and coaching the nation's best leaders. Along with training sessions, dinners, book signings and meetings, the CRNC held their biannual elections for the national executive board.\nThe incredible passion, talent, intelligence and leadership that marks a College Republican was evident in every member present, but paled to the conduct, courage and convictions of the Indiana delegates. These people are going places. Jess Beeson of DePauw University, one of the "flip-flop twins" who protested John Kerry's lack of political conviction by donning a giant flip-flop costume outside last summer's Democratic National Convention, was elected national co-chairman under the campaign management of IU's own CR chairman Andrew Lauck. \nLauck is more than a big deal. His strategies in the hotly contested election of the CRNC secured Beeson's election and ensured all Indiana CR chapters access to resources at the national level. He sets the bar high. He is a political mastermind, yet always runs a clean campaign. A true advocate is one who knows when -- and when not -- to use political rhetoric. Lauck knows, and he expects others to find out. During the election, Lauck and Beeson gained the support of the six delegates of Nebraska and Louisiana by rejecting the slick and sleazy and instead focused their energy on face to face contact. At the end of the day, these originally apprehensive delegates were stopping Lauck and instructing everyone around to "stop and acknowledge the chief of staff." Those six votes were the margin of victory, a victory that is invaluable to advancing the College Republican movement of Indiana.\nBeeson and Lauck, although comfortable in the spotlight, do not live for it. Take away the politics and they are leaders, organizers, cheerleaders and team players. They can delegate, but they can also roll up their sleeves and battle in the trenches. Although there is no mistaking Beeson and Lauck's political views, neither one will accept parroting back trite rebuttals from liberals or conservatives. Facts are meaningless without knowing the motivation behind them. If nothing else, you leave a debate knowing where the holes are -- and wanting to patch them up. \nIt is not money, slant or spin that enables Beeson and Lauck to easily accomplish what political candidates spend thousands of dollars attempting to achieve. It is that they are personal, polished and real. They are not politicians; they are unrelenting champions of their cause. If Beeson and Lauck's philosophy and accomplishments are any indication of future success, the Republican Party will be unstoppable. Their fight to move political apathy into political action is what makes College Republicans around the country the greatest party on campus.
(06/20/05 12:50am)
Senator Dick Durbin, D-Ill., has uncovered the greatest scam in the history of the U.S. Senate, and it is not the interrogation techniques used at Guantanamo Bay. The story? You can literally know next to nothing and be elected to the U.S. Senate. After reading an account by an anonymous source (gosh, I love those!), Durbin compared the treatment of Guantanamo Bay detainees to that of "Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime--Pol Pot or others that had no concern for human beings." I can't help but ask, does Durbin have ulterior motives or is he just plain stupid?\nStalin, Hitler and Pol Pot executed people by the millions. These leaders persecuted their own people for political reasons — in order to keep a small elite in power. Guantanamo Bay detainees are a threat to the entire free world. Its death toll is zero. Compared to other detention centers for dangerous enemy mass murderers, Guantanamo Bay is Camp Cupcake. Yet Senator Durbin is concerned because people who level buildings and wipe out entire cities are subjected to uncomfortable temperatures and loud music. Who would have guessed that Britney Spears and the Ying Yang twins would be used as a form of torture? \nIn reality, the prison at Guantanamo Bay is rather politically correct. Detainees are given the time and supplies necessary to correctly practice their religions. They are served food that does not abuse their cultural beliefs. While our soldiers are picking at their Meals-Ready-to-Eat, Gitmo prisoners are dining on fruit crepes. According to City Journal's Heather MacDonald, prisoners' meals are not even allowed to be served cold. These guys live better at Gitmo than they ever have or ever will back home!\nIf Durbin truly does not understand the differences between starving, branding and murdering millions and the treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, then he has no place in the U.S. Senate. I recommend a remedial history class. IU offers several. Although I desperately wish I could blame such unintelligent, heartless statements on pure ignorance, I can't. \nDurbin, like many of his liberal constituents, has embarked on a disinformation campaign. He is not trying to empower the people; he is trying to undermine the people in power. I'm confused. Is his job to represent the people who elected him to office or to issue propaganda? There's a term for this ... Ah, yes -- misuse of office. \nThe Senate floor is no place for the pompous display of Durbin's lack of knowledge. His inaccurate remarks are insensitive to the victims of those regimes. More importantly, they endanger the pride of our country -- the men and women in uniform. We do not need fuel for the fires of anti-American sentiment. There are ways to disagree without illogically implying that the U.S. is the new communist Cambodia. Intelligent, well-founded and historically accurate statements would be a start. I've got a better idea. \nLet's take the dumb out of the Party of the Ass and ditch Dick Durbin.
(06/13/05 12:00am)
September 11, 2001 crumbled towers. In their places sprouted a patriotism most of us had never experienced. We were emotional and we were scared. Yet we knew that our country was good and we were ready to defend her. Since then, the American flags and yellow ribbons have unfurled and slowly floated away with America's pride bundled up in them. \nThe power of the press reigns supreme even outside America's borders. The riots instigated by Newsweek's Koran-down-the-loo report and the Watergate exposé and ultimate undoing of an American president prove the bite of the beast. Yet those events do not prove that journalists are the voice and protector of the people. Journalists hide behind their duty to inform the public and receive few consequences for their actions. Reporters spend countless hours analyzing what current events mean, guessing and assuming how this will affect the public. Suddenly, the news is flooded with crafty politics and schemes for the advancement and success of a single human being. What happened to the collective goal of the people? The public connects to our nation's government by the mighty pen. Too often the pen attempts to translate instead of transcribe.\nMass media cries of protecting the people and democracy. It's crying wolf. James Fallows's "Why America Hates the Media" recounts a taping of the television series "Ethics in America." This particular segment, "Under Orders, Under Fire," asked military personal and journalists how they would react in certain situations. The commentator posed hypothetical situations to each participant and pushed them to explain not only what they would do, but why. The commentator turned to a solider, his left arm replaced with a prosthetic and a hook. How would the soldier treat enemy prisoners knowing that the enemy had American soldiers and that his prisoners could identify the location of the American captives? The soldier admitted that he would most likely torture the hostages. The moral struggle was apparently familiar as the soldier weighed the consequences, yet he would live with the weight of his actions -- anything for the safety of an American life. The commentator then turned to ABC's Peter Jennings. Jennings was hypothetically permitted by the opposing government to film enemy forces. Jennings agreed that if he became aware, he would attempt to warn American forces of an impending enemy attack. CBS's Mike Wallace quickly criticized Jennings. Jennings was a reporter; it was his duty to remain detached. Ashamed, Jennings quickly retracted and asserted that the highest journalistic duty was the duty to report the story. \nAny American soldier would risk his or her life to bring a wounded journalist to safety, and yet journalists would sacrifice a platoon for a story. Sobering, how reporters will sell out for a scoop. \nMedia drills the rift between the American people. Media represents our country to the rest of the world. Media's influence has the power to create change and Media's loyalty to the United States of America is clearly lacking. The Media's pledge does not represent the pledge of every American. \nAs for me, I pledge allegiance.
(06/06/05 12:30am)
Planned Parenthood is at it again, and this time they are flirting with the law. Attorney General Steve Carter requested the records of 84 of Planned Parenthood's clients under the age of 14 in an investigation of Medicaid fraud. According to Indiana state law, sexual activity with a child age 14 or younger is child molestation. Healthcare providers are legally obligated to report all instances of alleged abuse to the proper authorities for investigation. Planned Parenthood is suspected of skirting this responsibility. \nLife Dynamics Inc. exposed the abortion industry's guffaws in their report, "Child Predators." The study found that the average age of men who impregnate 14-year-old girls is higher than the average age of men who impregnate 18-year-old girls. LDI also did a little role play. A woman called various abortion clinics posing as a 13-year-old girl dating a 22-year-old man. She divulged the ages of both her and her boyfriend, and stated that she wanted an abortion. Planned Parenthood would often acknowledge that the organization was obligated by law to report the illegal incidence, yet the majority still agreed to conceal the information. Others refused to help the her. Instead, they instructed her to lie about her age, find someone to pose as a parent, give a false address, or go to neighboring states where parental permission was not necessary. \nThis is illegal and disgusting. Planned Parenthood is on parade, claiming to protect doctor-patient privacy, when in reality they are protecting child molesters and pedophiles. I can't say that I'm surprised. The founder of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger, was a belligerent alcoholic, drug addict and avid supporter of segregation and the Nazi party. She is hailed by the feminist movement as a forerunner of women's rights, despite proposing the American Baby Code. The code would have required women to have a permit before legally bearing children. She promoted not only birth control and abortion, but also eugenics for the "unfit", segregation of "morons who are increasingly multiplying," and removal of "dead weight human waste...who never should have been born at all." By refusing to hand over the medical records, Planned Parenthood is labeling these girls unworthy of the protection of the law from their former and current abusers. \nNo one wins when Planned Parenthood breaks the law, especially abortion activists. If the Medicaid Fraud Unit uncovers information on child molestation, it will withdraw funding. Planned Parenthood will be required to reimburse all financial support received during the period of illegal activity. This would sabotage the industry.\nPrivacy laws involving minors are vague. Because these girls have not reached the legal age of reason, decisions to seek medical care may extend to their parents. A girl cannot get her ears pierced in Bloomington without having a parent present with ID and a matching last name. To think she could have an abortion—a dangerous medical procedure--without parental consent is absurd.\nThe priorities of Planned Parenthood are completely askew. Protection of their clients and the public trump all laws concerning privacy. Proof that Planned Parenthood has conspired to cover up child molestation and abuse lies in those medical records. I'm waiting to be proved wrong.
(05/23/05 6:57pm)
There are two groups of people in the world: those who pull the wagon and those who ride in it. There are those who move the wagon forward and those who weigh the wagon down. The Democratic Party has chosen to be deadweight. They insist on obstructing President Bush's agenda, yet when asked for alternatives of their own, they are dumbfounded. \nPresident Bush and the Republican Party have a problem with a government that is incapable of meeting its commitments. Both parties have made promises concerning Social Security that the government cannot fulfill and quite simply, cannot afford. This was a bipartisan mistake. Social Security will continue to disappoint unless the system is reenergized. Part of President Bush's Social Security plan involves Personal Retirement Accounts. These accounts would allow for the creation of a "nest egg" through a yearly contribution from a workers' paycheck. Money invested in Personal Retirement Accounts would be strategically aligned to form a conservative portfolio, designed to hedge against unexpected market fluctuations. Personal Retirement Accounts would be optional and citizens could still choose the traditional Social Security plan. The Democrats do not approve. Their proposal? Nonexistent.\nPresident Bush's No Child Left Behind Act has strengthened the educational system. According to Bush's 2005 Fiscal Year budget, there has been a 48 percent increase in education funding since he has taken office. In addition, he has more than doubled the budgets for both disadvantaged students and special education programs. Every state has an individualized plan to address the areas in which students fall behind. Through money allocated for tutoring by the No Child Left Behind Act, parents can seek out supplemental programs aimed at their individual child's needs. The Democrats think that more funding will solve the problem. As evidenced by the amount of money flooding into the education budget during Bush's first term, money is not the issue. Their proposal? Nothing. \nThe war against global terrorism brings everyone up in arms, yet the Bush administration has made unprecedented progress. In addition to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, Bush has established the Terrorist Threat Integration Center to investigate threats, the Container Security Initiative to examine cargo entering our ports and the Smart Border Declaration to outline actions to increase security between Canada and Mexico. Democrats refuse to give these initiatives proper credit. Despite the fact that the Taliban has been overthrown, Saddam Hussein imprisoned, an interim government democratically elected in Iraq, most of the al Qaeda leaders captured or killed and schools and hospitals rebuilt in Iraq, the Left still insists that the Right is wrong. Their "ideas," outlined in the 39 page Democratic National Platform, is highfalutin' hodgepodge. It speaks at length about what America needs to do to defeat the war on terrorism — strangely echoing the Bush administration -- but offers no suggestions on how to do so. Their proposal? Nonexistent. \nThe inability of the politicians of the Democratic Party to faithfully and dutifully serve the position for which they were elected is not only disappointing but cowardly and undemocratic. The Senate has become the playpen for the pursuit of party power as democrats refuse to bring Bush's judicial appointment nominees to a yes or no vote. The Democratic Party has spent the last five years refusing to compromise and offering no alternatives. Their power play is at the expense of the American people. They are losing ground and are forfeiting the integrity of our government along the way. They are wide-eyed and weak-kneed as the Republican Party skillfully strives to accomplish its agenda. Obstruction of President Bush's agenda is the obstruction of the people's elected voice. It's time for deadbeat democrats to jump off the bandwagon and start pulling their own weight.
(05/16/05 12:01am)
Feminism is dying. The funeral procession for the movement of the equality of the sexes has long since come and gone. I must admit, I'm misty. My biggest concern is not that the very mention of feminism arouses thoughts of bra-burning, rough-mouthed women, who lack both poise and professionalism in defending their cause -- a stereotype that often overshadows their importance -- but rather that the ideals of the modern feminist contradict the advancement of women in society. Ladies, we are shooting ourselves in the foot!\nA sister of the suffrage movement, feminism originally concentrated on elevating females' social positions to that of males. However, a visit to the Feminists Majority Foundation's Web site identifies the platform of the modern day feminist: reproductive rights. \nThis is where the feminists have flat-lined. The feminist movement rushed to support "The Pill" in the 1960s, the Supreme Court's ruling on Roe vs. Wade in 1972 and the social acceptance of promiscuity and sexual liberation. Have women advanced? The number of abortions, extramarital affairs, pregnancies out of wedlock and failed marriages has continued to rise. A man slips on a condom (a lot like suiting up for battle in this STD-ridden world) and is able to have sexual intercourse, fairly certain that he will not father a child. A visit to a clinic, and women -- duped into believing that children are a curse -- quickly undo the result of a casual sexual encounter. Society has given the sexual revolution a nod of approval. We rush in, relieved to both do what we want, when we want and escape condemnation, yet blind as to why these social standards existed in the first place. A single, monogamous sexual relationship is the only fool-proof way to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infections. And why not wait until marriage? There is something about making that lifelong commitment to another person in front of your friends and family. There's security. There's trust. There's love. A quote inside one of Crisis Pregnancy's offices states, "There is no condom, pill or contraceptive that can protect your heart, the essence of you." Amen. \nTo feminists, equality occurs when females say, act and are judged as males say, act and are judged. Inherent strengths and physical differences are ignored. Men set the bar, and women strive to reach that height, when in fact, it's a whole different ball game altogether. Females outshine men at organization and presentation, are more intuitive and have better listening skills, while the decisive, less emotional, confident and candid nature of males helps them to thrive. Success involves a balance of both. Very few would disagree with the discrepancies in pay between men and women in the workforce. Women tend to be the minority at the top-level of competitive, high-profile jobs. They also tend to be the primary caregivers of their family, making them both unable and often unwilling to work the 60-plus hours a week it takes to reach the top. When discussing pay in a job interview, women tend to lowball their desired salary while men shoot well above their expectations. Sometimes all it takes for a woman to receive a higher salary is the audacity involved in asking for it.\nThe feminist movement cannot be dismissed altogether. Their efforts to preserve Title IX, to encourage young women to enter into traditionally male dominated fields and to work to preserve the dignity of women are to be applauded, but the validity, and ultimately, the vitality of the feminist movement involve embracing women's strengths. If we continue to reject and redefine our true femininity, we will soon be singing our own Requiem.
