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(04/02/04 6:06am)
Police have connected suspect Carl St. Jacques to six minor thefts at the School of Music, including two newly-discovered incidents, IU Police Department Lt. Jerry Minger said earlier this week.\nThose who knew St. Jacques offered gasps, long pauses, stutters and sentiments of shock after finding out he was arrested and charged with counts of larceny for thefts from the School of Music March 25. \nKenneth Jarvis, who has known St. Jacques for five years, said he was stunned and surprised to learn of St. Jacques' arrest. Jarvis played with St. Jacques at The Young Eight, an ensemble and music group that tries to reach the community by using classical music.\n"This came as a huge shock to me," Jarvis said. "I know him on both a professional and personal level, and he's always been very relaxed, very laid back, very professional and has lots of good ideas with music."\nGraduate student Arthur Sato has also known St. Jacques for five years and said he was equally upset by the news.\n"Personality wise, he's a very laid back, cool guy -- not aggressive at all," Sato said. "He's also a very loyal guy, never mean, and he would do whatever he could for his friends. I'm just extremely disappointed and in shock."\nSt. Jacques' friends said they would have never expected him to steal.\n"I did not picture this as Carl's personality," said Jarvis. "Like me, he enjoyed working hard but also having a good time. So after we would finish our rehearsals, if we had an opportunity to go out dancing, to go have a drink or listen to jazz music, we took it."\nJarvis said he always found St. Jacques to be a wonderful person.\n"It was just enjoyable being around him because of his joy for life, and I always enjoyed his company," he said. "I really don't understand why he would do something like that, especially with all of the opportunities and privileges he's been given. I just don't understand why, and it's still a huge shock to me."\nSteve Russell, an associate professor of criminal justice who served as a trial judge for 17 years in Texas, said it is not completely uncommon for a well-off individual to engage in such activity. \n"I know that many of them didn't do it to destroy their lives," Russell said. "When I was a judge, I heard a case of a law student in Texas who was arrested for shoplifting. This was a very bright person with a very good future in front of her. You can't take the BAR exam if you are convicted of theft, and she knew that. Sometimes there is just some other issue you don't know about."\n-- Contact staff writer Mallory Simon at
(04/01/04 6:17am)
With the support of IU-Bloomington Interim Chancellor Kenneth Gros Louis, the Residence Halls Association Presidents' Council voted unanimously in favor of a bill stating the RHA's opposition to the proposed $30 student athletic fee Wednesday night.\nThe IU board of trustees is set to discuss this fee along with tuition, housing and other campus issues tomorrow in New Albany, Ind., where IU Student Association President Casey Cox will represent the student body's discontent with the fee. The board will vote on the proposed fee Friday.\nThe bill, submitted by RHA President Eric Hafner, took a mere 30 seconds to pass and supported the IUSA letter sent to IU President Adam Herbert Tuesday. It will also ask the board of trustees to vote against the fee in its current form.\nHafner's bill cited several reasons why RHA disapproves the fee, including that "no student input was received while discussing this fee."\n"Mainly the presidents felt nothing directly is benefitting the students in their resident life, or academically," said Andrew Walker, Director of Media Relations for RHA. "The residents spoke out against it, and that's why they voted the way they did."\nGros Louis stated similar sentiments about the fee.\n"I think there's a long tradition on the campus of the students being involved within the mandatory fees," Gros Louis said. "I think that's the point that Casey and others have to make on Friday, not the money. The point is that there was no process, and there's a long history of the students being involved."\nGros Louis said he applauds RHA's discontent with the fee and believes such a fee should go through a student review board. \n"The last major fee was the technology fee, and in the beginning, students weren't sure how it would benefit them," Gros Louis said. "In that case, it was only approved after students found out how it benefited them, and I think the same needs to be done in this case."\nThe chancellor also said passing this fee without student review and input could have negative consequences in the future.\n"It's a bad precedent not to go through the process," he said. "There is also no accountability for the fee because we don't really know why there is a deficit."\nIn addition, the bill states this mandatory fee "serves no academic purpose, nor does it benefit the students, and only serves the purpose of getting the athletic department out of debt, which is not the proper use of a mandatory fee."\nGros Louis said for students who would like to give their input, there are several ways to voice their opinions.\n"I think to send an e-mail to President Herbert and just say what they feel, is great," he said. "Or if they prefer to send it to Casey (Cox) to have him convey it, that's another way."\nThe chancellor said he doesn't think the fee is the last resort and there are other ways to solve the deficit problem. \n"It seems to me there are ways for the athletic department to function next year," he said. "Whether it is to borrow from the University reserve, or other ways -- without the fees, without hurting sports, without doing anything bad."\nGros Louis told the RHA presidents he believes the student voice can be heard loud and clear.\n"I told Casey Cox that if the student voice is heard, in the face of student opposition, I do not think the board of trustees will vote yes in favor of the fee"
(03/31/04 5:55am)
More than 60 IU students received legal summons and will face eviction from their dorms for falling behind in their housing payments if they do not make arrangements to pay their bills, according to the Office of the Bursar.\nIf students pay their bills or make arrangements with the Bursar at any time after their court case is filed, their case will be dismissed or postponed, as long as the student follows through based on the terms that have been agreed upon, Assistant Bursar Kimberly Kercheval said. \n"Like any other lease that a student would sign with a landlord out in a community, one requirement to remain in the housing is to keep current on the housing payments," Kercheval said.\nJunior Raj Patel, one of the students who received an eviction warning, is upset by the legal summons he believes he wrongly received.\n"I paid my tuition off a while ago, and they said once I pay it, the lawsuit will be dropped," Patel said. "I've paid everything off, so I guess it's just matter of days."\nPatel said he believes the Bursar should wait a little longer before taking such action. \n"I know someone else who only received an e-mail from the school saying he didn't pay his tuition, and I received a letter saying the University would take further action against me if I didn't pay," Patel said. "I find it ridiculous that they're just going after college kids like this. They're going to get the money, they just have to wait."\nA review is done at the beginning of each semester to see if any students are no longer enrolled in the University, making them ineligible for housing. At mid-semester, students' payments are again evaluated to see if anyone has fallen behind.\n"We don't do it any earlier than that because we know that many students are waiting for financial aid or loans to come through," Kercheval said. "We really do want our student residents to stay with us, and we know the timing issues that they face. So, rather than jump on people the moment they are one payment behind, we wait to see if pending applications for aid or loans (and sometimes both) are approved."\nKercheval said if students fall behind in their bills more than $1,000, a notification letter is sent to students advising them they have either 10 days to pay their bill or make arrangements to do so. If the student does not take any of these steps, the case will be sent to the Office of Legal Counsel, where formal action is taken. \n"This is a step we take that we believe very few, if any, landlords in the community take," Kercheval said. "It is not required. It is a courtesy that we are happy to extend to give students another chance to come in and talk to us before instituting legal action."\nResidential Programs and Services Director Bob Weith said RPS, as well as the Bursar, make many attempts to try and solve these issues before legal action is taken.\n"We do evict people from time to time," Weith said. "Sometimes it's for tuition, sometimes it's from room and board, but usually there are many attempts made to bring (students) up-to-speed with payments."\nMany students who receive the original letter respond to the warning letter, and those cases are resolved before legal action is taken, Kercheval said.\n"Unfortunately, others either read it and ignore it or do not pick it up or open it in the first place," she said.\nKercheval said if a student does not respond, the case goes to University Counsel, where a summons and complaint is prepared, filed and administered by the Monroe County Circuit Court. The complaint is formally written and states that the University is owed payment based on the signed contract promising payment for housing. The statement shows how much is owed, for what and a court request that the payment be made. \nKercheval said what most students do, which is also the best thing, is to make an appointment with the Bursar's office to address the issue.\n"If, at any time after the court case is filed, the student pays or makes arrangements, the case is dismissed or postponed for as long as the person is following through based on the terms that have been agreed to," Kercheval said. "Otherwise, they will have to appear for the hearing as the court directs, and ultimately, if they don't make the payment, they will be ordered by the court to move out of the University housing. Nobody wants that."\n-- Contact staff writer Mallory Simon at mgsimon@indiana.edu.
(03/29/04 5:54am)
Former School of Music student Carl Iriel St. Jacques, 24, was arrested by an IU Police Department officer in the act of stealing a hand-held computer Thursday at Merrill Hall, and police have linked him to approximately four other thefts at the School of Music\nIUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said St. Jacques was extremely cooperative and was arrested for larceny on the spot. During interviews, St. Jacques confessed committing other larcenies at the School of Music to police.\nThe IUPD is in the process of recovering the stolen items. St. Jacques told the police he had some more property in Indianapolis he was going to bring them.\nThe School of Music has been the site of at least seven major thefts since the beginning of the school year. Minger said no connection has been established between St. Jacques and the theft of a $20,000 violin, cash profits from a performance of the "Nutcracker" and the master keys for the School of Music.\nIn response to the thefts, Minger said IUPD increased the patrol of officers at the music school and in surrounding areas. Thursday, their efforts paid off.\n"I think that it is great that there has finally been an arrest made after all of the thefts," said sophomore music performance major Arielle Hyatt. "It makes me feel a little more at ease knowing there has been an increase in police patrol and that it has finally showed results." \nHyatt said she and her classmates will breathe a little easier this week.\n"I think this arrest will definitely have other students and faculty more relaxed knowing IUPD has made a successful arrest after what seemed to be an endless ring of unsolved thefts," she said.\nSchool of Music Dean Gwyn Richards said St. Jacques was pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree in performance but was not enrolled as a student in the School of Music this academic year. Richards declined to comment on further details of the case.\nAccording to a short biography of St. Jacques on www.sphinxmusic.org, he has played the viola since the age of seven and is a member of the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra and the Owensboro Symphony. He was also the principal viola of the Florida All-State Orchestra and began playing at the age of 16 with the Miami Symphony Orchestra. \nSt. Jacques was also the associate dean of The Young Eight, an African American student group that helps communities, especially youths, gain exposure and education to the arts through classical music. The Young Eight performs, provides workshops and aims to promote interest in classical music in younger children.\n-- Contact staff writer Mallory Simon at mgsimon@indiana.edu.
(03/22/04 6:11am)
With the controversy put to rest and Crimson named winner of the 2004 IU Student Association election, the party executive members are preparing for their year ahead in office.\nCrimson was named the winner of the election March 18 after the student body Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of the IUSA Election Commission's decision to disqualify Big Red. Although it won the popular vote, the commission ruled campaign expenditures were not properly reported by Big Red and they intentionally falsified financial statements.\nThe Crimson executives will take office April 15. President-elect Tyson Chastain said the group is set to have an informational meeting with Dean of Students Richard McKaig within the next week to discuss current events in IUSA, as well as what lies ahead for the group and IUSA in the future. \n"This is the same kind of meeting we have every time a new student government comes into office," McKaig said. "We generally meet to get acquainted and to talk about what issues they plan to get accomplished for the following year." \nCrimson executives acknowledge there is a long road ahead.\n"With 38,000 students on campus, there's all kinds of issues," Chastain said. "The main goal is just to better student life. We first want to look at the structure of congress, talk to staff members, and get a hold of as many people as we can to talk to about what things they want to express."\nVice President-elect Jesse Laffen said Crimson is looking to get the administration into a new kind of flow.\n"It won't be anything radically different," he said. "Just a different and better way to organize things."\nChastain said Crimson is ready to try and better student life, but understands problems will lie ahead.\n"One of the biggest obstacles is always money," Chastain said. "That's something the University has to work with, and that's something IUSA always has to deal with. I think most importantly what everyone looks for in IUSA, or any student government, is our chance to make a change for the betterment of the students."\nWhile the Crimson executives are in charge because Big Red executives were disqualified from the election, Big Red members will still hold the majority in the IUSA Congress. While this split may pose potential problems for Crimson to pass their agenda, the party is confident it can be a positive thing for IUSA.\n"Hopefully, it will be for the betterment of IUSA as a whole," Chastain said. "Groups from each party now are in IUSA and there's a good diversification with the different parties."\nLaffen said that although it could be difficult, he feels the diversification will be helpful for IUSA.\n"We're going to have a very diverse group of people in IUSA," Laffen said. "I think it's beneficial for student government and I'm really excited for that. The quality of people in office and in the senate is what I can't wait for."\nLaffen said he is happy to put all the controversy behind him by taking office.\n"I think this whole election process has been something that both sides are glad to have over," he said." It's very, very exciting to get started and I think IUSA has a great year ahead."\nWhile the start has been slow for IUSA due to all of the issues surrounding the election, Chastain said Crimson is ready and prepared to have a great year.\n"I think it's definitely a reality-kicker," Chastain said. "Now it's time to put our feet in the door and get some work done. Other than that, I'm sure everyone had a fun spring break, but now it's time to get to work on the things we promised."\n-- Contact staff writer Mallory Simon at mgsimon@indiana.edu.
(03/12/04 5:44am)
Although there were a few detours along the way, Crimson finally has what it campaigned for -- the official title of IU Student Association election winners. \n"It's been a long run, but I think it's really most important that the rules were upheld," said Scott Norman, Crimson congressional secretary. "Obviously we were hoping to go about winning in another way, but we did the best job winning the election that we could, and I am confident we are going to do a good job."\nCrimson lost the general election to Big Red by a margin of 355 votes. But the Elections Commission stripped Big Red of the victory charging that the party overspent its campaign limits and failed to report all its expenditures. The Supreme Court upheld the decision, handing Crimson the victory in the election.\nCrimson will take office April 15 and is ready to get to work for the students and make whatever changes they see needed, said Crimson president Tyson Chastain.\n"Once we get there, we are going to be there to listen, and we are going to do the best we can to better student life on campus," Chastain said. "IUSA is here to listen to students and act for students. We're here for them. We welcome students to come in and talk and tell us what other things they want us to provide."\nWhile Crimson is happy that the Elections Commission and the Court ruled in its favor, the party members realize they have a lot of things awaiting them in the future including student skepticism about the legitimacy of its power.\n"We have a lot of people who are hungry and have great ideas that are ready to be a part of IUSA," Norman said. "We will prove to people that we will represent them the way they are hoping. As far as the people who are upset we aren't who they voted for, I think it'd be hard-pressed to find students on campus who couldn't find a way to relate to Crimson."\nDean of Students Richard McKaig said he believes Crimson must make it a top priority to try and improve the election process and make sure to include those voters who might not have chosen them originally.\n"They should take it as a mission to go in and change the elections process so we don't have winners being decided by contestment but instead by the voters," McKaig said. "I think they have a challenge to reach out to the other groups and get on with the party platform they ran on and cover the issues."\nMcKaig said this election is just another example of a year where post-election issues dominate. He said student frustration mounts after each year's extended process.\n"It seems we've had disputes for the past several years, and I think students are beginning to lose faith in IUSA and the process when these contestments continue to happen," McKaig said. "This is happening on other campuses, too, not just here, but it is still an issue our local student government has to address."\nNorman said, despite the controversy, he feels Crimson will be able to achieve success in office.\n"I have an open-door policy, and anyone who wants to share their opinions is welcome to," Norman said. "I'm confident once we get into office, the things we can do to benefit students can apply to everyone on this campus. The bottom line is we have to prove ourselves, and we will."\nCrimson Vice President Jesse Laffen said he is ready to put all the controversy surrounding the election behind him.\n"I have nothing but confidence that students and the administration will look back on our administration and deem it successful," he said.\n-- Contact staff writer Mallory Simon at mgsimon@indiana.edu.
(03/12/04 5:44am)
In a unanimous decision, the Student Body Supreme Court has upheld the IU Student Association Elections Commission's ruling to disqualify the Big Red ticket executives from this year's election.\nAs a result, the decision names the Crimson executives the official winners of the election.\nBig Red Vice-Presidential Candidate Angel Rivera, who was held responsible for buying the 600 extra T-shirts that caused his party to be disqualified, has mixed emotions now the decision is official.\n"I'm sad because of the way it ended, a little mad at the way it's been handled," Rivera said. "But I'm happy that it's over and that we still won the election."\nIn their written decision, the justices stated that in order for the Court to overturn an Elections Commission decision, the "petitioner must show 'clear error, blatant abuse of discretion, or personal bias' in the resolution of their complaint or defense." The Court agreed that Big Red failed to meet any of those standards.\nIn its appeal, the Big Red ticket had stated there was no clear definition for a campaign expenditure and, therefore, it had no reason to believe it had to report 600 unused T-shirts as campaign expenditures. \nA Supreme Court press release stated the Commission "reasonably and correctly interpreted the Elections Code in determining that items purchased by an elections ticket for the purpose of campaigning, but that were not ultimately used during the campaign fell under the definition of 'campaign expenditures.'"\nThe Election Code defines expenditures as "any purchase or donation made for the purpose of, or which is ultimately used for, promoting any candidate or referendum issue."\nThe Court found this definition to be clear and in the decision stated: "These shirts could have had no other purpose other than campaign materials." \nThe decision also stated it is within the Commission's jurisdiction to decide what is and what is not considered a campaign expenditure. \nIn addition, Big Red knowingly did not report the 600 T-shirts, making its final statement false, the Court said. \n"Members of the Big Red Elections Ticket responsible for the activities of the ticket, including the creation, reviewing, and submission of the final financial statement, were aware that only 600 of the 1,200 shirts purchased were going to be reported to the Elections Commission," the decision stated.\nThe decision stated if Big Red executives were not sure what would qualify as an expenditure, they should have taken advantage of asking for an advisory opinion.\nThree of the justices, in a concurring opinion, added although they believe the Big Red ticket did in fact violate the code, they do not believe its violations deserved disqualification from the election.\nThe opinion, written by Associate Justice Meghan Dwyer, stated, "As unfortunate as the situation is, the Supreme Court does not have the authority to alter sanction points awarded for code violations ... I will suggest that the student body rally together in order to change the IUSA Election Code, to alter the manner in which the Election Commissioners are appointed to avoid any possible perceived conflict of interest and ensure that code semantics do not mute student votes."\nDespite the decision, Big Red Presidential Candidate Katie Diggins still stands by her ticket.\n"I know that we were within the rules, and I'm proud of our ticket," Diggins said. "My only regret is that the student's voice in this election was ignored." \nRivera said he is unsure about the role IUSA will have next year because the Big Red party will hold the majority in Congress. He said if the ticket members decide to stay true to their ticket, it might be difficult for Congress to be successful.\n-- Contact staff writer Mallory Simon at mgsimon@indiana.edu.
(03/10/04 6:05am)
The Student Body Supreme Court heard arguments from the Big Red and Crimson tickets Tuesday night as to whether the ruling of the IU Student Association Elections Commission should be upheld, giving Crimson the election victory, or overturned, re-instating Big Red as the official winner.\nThe Court will not hand down its official decision until 24 to 48 hours after the hearing.\nBig Red appealed the commission's March 3 decision, which stated Big Red executives overspent and intentionally falsified financial statements, resulting in their disqualification.\nBig Red members, represented by Presidential Candidate Katie Diggins and staff members, argued the commission neglected to prove they intentionally falsified their financial statements and should not be disqualified.\nThe Crimson ticket, represented by counsel, staff member Shane Merriweather and executive members, claimed Big Red executives were not honest in their campaign or in filing their final financial statements and the ruling of the commission should be upheld.\nCrimson Vice-Presidential Candidate Jesse Laffen told the court he believed Big Red's dishonesty warranted a disqualification and believed its actions contributed to Crimson's defeat.\n"I think a fair election is most important," Laffen said, "especially if other tickets follow the rules."\nMembers of the Supreme Court spent most of the time questioning Big Red representatives, reserving only two to three questions for Crimson.\nThe court asked Big Red to chronologically outline the process they followed when they purchased and stored an extra 600 T-shirts and explain why such a high number of T-shirts were originally bought.\nThe reasoning behind Big Red Vice-Presidential Candidate Angel Rivera's purchase was that he thought an ambiguity in the code permitted this, Big Red argued.\nBig Red stated once the party members realized the extra amount of money had been spent, they immediately decided to store away the extra T-shirts, regardless of the ambiguity in the code, "just to be safe." \n"Katie was very adamant to not even open the box," Rivera said.\nBig Red also stated Rivera thought he could buy 1,200 T-shirts because he bought them when he was not officially on the ticket as a Big Red candidate. \nDietrich Willke, a former IUSA member who filed an amicus curiae brief in support of Big Red, said the issue of "intent" when buying the shirts is irrelevant because the election had not yet begun.\n"The code has no power until you are running," Willke said, "and for me, it is serious that this issue was not acknowledged."\nChief Justice Brian Clifford asked the Big Red ticket if its members realized there was a problem enough to store them away, or if they did not understand the code, why did they not seek advisement or report the issue to the elections commission immediately, rather than waiting for a complaint to be filed against it.\nIn return, Big Red members stated they were confident in their interpretation and believed they were doing the right thing, which was why they did not ask for advisement. They believed they took "honest and correct measures" in regard to the 600 extra T-shirts.\nWhile Big Red members felt they took the right measures, the representatives also defended their ticket, claiming the purchase was simply a mistake made by one individual, referring to Rivera.\nBut the justices commented the election code allows the Elections Commission to use discretion in whether to find the whole ticket or the individual responsible, depending on the severity of the action.\nBig Red representatives continued to defend the executives, saying because the entire group never made the decision to buy that amount of T-shirts, not all the executives should be disqualified.\nIn their closing statement, Big Red members also argued they felt there was an unfair bias in the commission as well as in the rulings they made.\nIn his closing statements, Big Red staff member Doug LaFave asked the court, "Should 3,172 votes be thrown out by a biased commission?"\nHe said Big Red believes the commission is biased because the commission was appointed by the current Crimson administration. He also cited Casey Cox, the current IUSA president, is the cousin of Tyson Chastain, the Crimson candidate for president, creating a direct bias in the ruling.\nIn response to the hearing, Crimson felt it focused more on one sole issue as opposed to their main claim.\n"I think a large part of the process and Big Red's defense rested on the single issue of 600 T-shirts, when in fact the nature of this case was Big Red's dishonest attempt to defend its falsification of financial statements," Merriweather said.\nBig Red representatives felt the justices made a good effort to examine all issues of the case but said they cannot neglect the democratic process and outcome of the election.\n"I have a lot of respect for what the court had to say," said Andrew Lauk, a staff member who represented Big Red. "They took a very cautious effort to touch on everything. We believe that the Supreme Court should (find) that the commission shouldn't silence the voice of the 3,172 student votes in regards to materials that had no effect on the voters will to cast a vote."\nBig Red and Crimson must wait until the court issues a written decision to find out who will be in office for IUSA next year.\nDiggins said she believes Big Red did its best to present its side.\n"I hope the court sees we didn't do anything ultimately wrong," she said. "We didn't do anything that altered the votes and our actions do not merit disqualification.\nChastain said he has good faith the court will make the right decision, and Merriweather and Laffen agreed.\n"I really appreciate the court and commission's timeliness in hearing the case," Laffen said. "Hopefully, they will agree with our side, of course, we will accept whatever decision they do make."\n-- Contact staff writer Mallory Simon at mgsimon@indiana.edu.
(03/09/04 5:52am)
A safe located in the ticket office of the Musical Arts Center was broken into over the weekend. After several break-ins last semester and one over winter break, this is the first theft at the music school this semester.\nThe safe, which contained an undisclosed amount of money, is located inside the ticket office. \nSteve Mobley, IU supervisor of custodial staff for buildings, said a staff member reported the break-in early Monday morning.\n"One of my employees noticed (the glass) at about 2:45 a.m. and informed me about the incident," he said. "I called IUPD and told them the ticket office had been broken into."\nThe glass window in the ticket office was broken, and the door was propped open when a custodian noticed the broken glass, Mobley said.\nIU Police Department Lt. Jerry Minger said the theft occurred between 12:15 Sunday and 2:45 a.m. Monday. \n"First there was forced entry to the room itself, then there was forced entry into the safe," Minger said.\nAlthough the value of the stolen property was not disclosed, Royce Deckard, director of budget and finance at the physical plant office, confirmed there was money stored in the safe at the time of the theft.\n"The safe is where our money goes before it gets transported for deposit," he said. \nDeckard would not comment on the specific contents of the safe because of the ongoing investigation.\nWithin the last year, thefts at the Musical Arts Center and the IU School of Music include $1,000 in checks and cash from a lockbox, a $20,000 violin, a $5,000 violin bow, $5,400 of video equipment and cash stolen from the dean's desk of the music school.\nMinger said patrol has increased since the past thefts and will continue to be assessed following this event.\n"Since the variety of incidents, we've instituted more patrols," he said. "This specific incident hasn't caused us to increase patrol, but we will adjust patrols -- both foot and motor."\nDeckard said given recent events, students should be weary more then ever.\n"Students must safeguard their items more so than normal," he said. "No matter how safe the campus is, there are going to be things that happen every year. It just seems we've been hit harder this year."\nAnyone with information about the theft is asked to contact the IUPD at 855-4111.\n-- Contact staff writer Mallory Simon at mgsimon@indiana.edu.
(03/08/04 5:54am)
The Student Body Supreme Court has agreed 8-2-1 to hear an appeal filed by members of the Big Red ticket at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Moot Court Room at the School of Law.\nThe 10 justices who will hear The Crimson Elections Ticket and the Fusion Elections Ticket v. The Big Red Elections Ticket will ultimately decide whether to uphold the election commission's decision to disqualify Big Red from the IU Student Association elections or overturn it. \nIf the Supreme Court upholds the commission's decision, the Big Red executives would be disqualified and Crimson would become the winning ticket. \nThe hearing will last an hour, with each side having 10 minutes for opening statements and five minutes for closing statements. Although the court will likely make a decision Tuesday night, it will not release a written decision until 24 to 48 hours later, said Kate Buckley, external affairs committee chairwoman.\nThe Supreme Court usually consists of 11 justices, but one student is studying abroad. Therefore, the decision could result in a tie.\nBrian Clifford, chief justice of the Supreme Court, said an even split among the court means the decision of the lower board -- in this case, the elections commission -- would be upheld. \n"In other words, if the Supreme Court vote was five to five, the decision of the elections commission would be affirmed by default," Clifford told the Indiana Daily Student in an e-mail.\nThe court's decision will be final, and the only course of legal action Big Red can take past the Supreme Court will be outside of IUSA. \nMembers of the Big Red party filed their appeal Thursday on grounds they did not intentionally falsify their financial statements, which resulted in the executives' disqualification. The members argue the 600 extra T-shirts, which were not reported in their statements, cannot be counted as campaign expenditures because the election code defines a campaign expenditure in two separate places, which, they said, makes the code ambiguous. \nVice President-Elect Angel Rivera said the "law of lenity," which states if there is any ambiguity in a law or code the ruling goes in favor of the defendant, protects Big Red from being disqualified.\nThe Fusion party had not yet decided whether it was going to file a reply brief by press time.\n"If we do, it will be to hold Big Red accountable for their actions," said Dan Shapiro, Fusion presidential candidate. "I find it hard to believe that people running for office the second time around can make these kind of (election code) mistakes."\nRivera believes they made no mistakes in their campaign.\n"We acted how we thought was correct according to the code," said Rivera. "In the case against Fusion, the commission ruled in their favor due to ambiguity. In our case, they ruled against us even though it is the same ambiguity issue."\nShapiro believes there is no ambiguity in the matter.\n"They're trying to say there was ambiguity to argue semantics because they broke the rule. They know they broke the rules, and they got caught," said Shapiro. "They're way out is to find some type of small loophole -- in this case, the so-called ambiguity. What they're talking about is a spot where there are two words between two commas, and they found that to be an ambiguity. In our case, it wasn't dismissed because of ambiguity, it was dismissed because we didn't violate the code -- Big Red did and, therefore, should be sanctioned."\nDietrich Willke, former member of IUSA, said he believes the election code, like the law, has its large ambiguities.\n"Just because you are speeding doesn't mean you always get a ticket," he said. "There are some situations where human error should play a big role in whether the action is excused or not."\nWillke said despite the controversy, he believes the Supreme Court will make the right decision.\n"I do not think they will even allow or consider what the commission did," Willke said. "I think they are going to look at this situation with the law's eyes. If they go that route, they will realize this whole fiasco was a wrong thing and should be forgotten."\nThe Big Red executives remain confident in their claim and believe the commission's decision will be overturned.\n"Not only do I think the facts are in our favor," said Rivera, "but the truth is in our favor, too."\nWillke said he believes the Supreme Court will make their decision based on the facts.\n"I would not be able to live as a judge or even part of the Supreme Court to have something literal in the code, yet to decide a case just because you feel like it," said Willke. "Feeling like it is not law -- that's for psychologists and counselors."\nMembers of the Crimson ticket did not return phone messages by press time.\n-- Contact staff writer Mallory Simon at mgsimon@indiana.edu.
(03/05/04 5:48am)
Sports utility vehicles were the targets of unusual vandalism in Bloomington last weekend. Nine vehicles were splashed with a white powder substance suspected to be acid, destroying windshields and causing thousands of dollars in damage, the Bloomington Police Department reported.\nThe unique vandalism shocked both SUV owners and the police who received the reports.\n"It is kind of strange that someone is vandalizing cars with acid," said BPD Sgt. Jeff Canada. "Most car vandalisms are done with keys to the paint or finish of the car, or windows are broken."\nJunior Nikki Taylor's SUV was parked at Third and Grant Streets. She noticed it had a big splatter of a white crystalline powder on her windshield and hood when she returned to it at around 1:45 a.m. Saturday.\n"I originally tried to clean it off with Windex, and when that didn't work, I took it to the car wash," Taylor said. "I tried scratching it off, and it didn't come off either."\nAll the attacks occurred within a 24 hour period.\n"When I placed my report, I told them (BPD) what happened, and the woman said to me 'let me guess, you drive an SUV don't you?'" Taylor said. "When I was driving home from the carwash, I saw another SUV driving towards me that had the exact same thing. There was also another Jeep parked where I had been the night before that also had it."\nTaylor said when she asked BPD about any leads, they told her they suspected the violence was caused by the Earth Liberation Front. \n"The police said they thought at the time that it was members of a group called ELF, an environmentalist group that had come through town," Taylor said.\nBPD, however, would not confirm that the ELF was involved.\nELF has been blamed for SUV vandalisms during the last year when a Land Rover dealership found its cars covered in graffiti in New Mexico and SUVs were defaced with spray paint in Arkansas.\nJunior Valarie Schweitzer's Honda CRV was parked behind Alpha Phi on Third Street when it was damaged.\n"At first I thought it might have been mud," Schweitzer said. "But when I tried to get it off, it wouldn't come off at all. Now my entire windshield has to be replaced."\nSchweitzer said the vandalism to her car was upsetting.\n"I've only had my car for two weeks," said Schweitzer. "I bought it myself. When I called the auto glass place and they told me my windshield had to be replaced, I started to cry."\nSchweitzer and Taylor are only two of the victims whose cars have been defaced, but several other calls were made to BPD reporting similar incidents.\nCity Glass and Paint Inc., in Bloomington repaired one of the windshields of an acid SUV vandalism.\n"The windshield was almost completely covered (with acid), making visibility very hard," said Michelle Parker, City Glass manager. "The damage depends on the particular car, but in this case, the windshield itself is about 200 dollars. Acid can eat through the body, the paint and destroy the body of the vehicle."\nParker said if the vandalism was done by an environmentalist group, its choice of damage made little sense.\n"If it is them, it's kind of ironic," she said. "All of the glass that they are damaging is automotive glass - there is no way to recycle that. It all goes into the landfill, so really, they'd be defeating their own purpose."\n-- Contact staff writer Mallory Simon at mgsimon@indiana.edu.
(03/05/04 5:48am)
The Big Red party filed an appeal Thursday requesting a judicial review of the IU Student Association Election Commission's ruling. Wednesay night, the Commission forced Big Red to give up its IUSA victory, claiming they were guilty of over-spending campaign funds.\nThe appeal contains complaints against the decision that Big Red intentionally falsified their financial statement in not reporting the 600 extra T-shirts and doorhangers they bought. Big Red argues Crimson and Fusion distorted the meaning of expenditures due to "grammatical miscues" in the election code which allowed the commission to disqualify Big Red. \nIn the appeal, Big Red states an expenditure must "ultimately (be) used for promoting the candidates."\nThe appeal argues because the shirts were not used in the campaign, the complaints filed are invalid. \nBig Red Vice Presidential Candidate Angel Rivera said the grammatical miscues within the code make the definition of expenditures ambiguous.\n"We did not know that we had to report what was not campaign expenditures," Rivera said. "Therefore, there is no way that we could have intentionally falsified our financial statement. The rule of lenity states when there is something ambiguous in a code then the decision has to go in favor of the accused."\nRivera added that in a separate complaint against Fusion, there was an ambiguity about the distance Fusion was from the library. In that case, the commission threw out the complaint on the basis of ambiguity, Rivera said.\nCrimson Presidential Candidate Tyson Chastain said he believes the election commission has made the right decision.\n"(They) pretty much know the code by heart," he said. "By far, they know it the best. The concern is that there are three other parties that did abide by the rules."\nThe appeal states the omission of door hangers from Big Red's financial statement was simply a mistake.\nGraduate Student Dietrich Willke, who has been involved in IUSA since 1997, filed an amicus curiae Thursday in support of Big Red.\n"This is the first time in nearly six years where there has been a clean election," Willke said. "When I ran, I videotaped atrocities of people paying for votes, and there was so much evidence, and they dismissed those charges. Now, when the charges are blurry, they decide to make an example of Big Red."\nWillke said it is sad to disqualify Big Red for such a small mistake after they worked so hard.\n"I am amazed that in any commission there can be a unanimous decision on something that is not at all black and white," Willke said. "This decision had nothing to do with what the students wanted. I know that after all the past problems the commission was just trying to do whats right, but they've got to do it the right way."\nCrimson Vice Presidential Candidate Jesse Laffen said he believes Big Red deserves to be disqualified despite their claims.\n"When you look at the nature of the violations, it is something that could have definitely swayed votes," Laffen said.\nWillke said in addition to Big Red being disqualified, it is an upsetting and disappointing decision for IUSA.\n"I'm feeling the shame of IUSA right now," Willke said. "What does this show for the future for IUSA? I do not want IUSA to be dragged down. I want this code to work."\nRivera said he cannot even explain his feelings and maintains they did not break any election rules.\n"The most important thing," he said, "is that six people threw away 3,200 votes just on a technicality."\n-- Contact staff writer Mallory Simon at mgsimon@indiana.edu.
(03/03/04 5:59am)
The Registrar's office mistakenly released student identification numbers, many of them identical to social security numbers, in a computer-glitched e-mail Monday afternoon.\nThe e-mail was sent to 99 students whose summer schedule of classes could not be delivered because of incorrect local addresses.\nRegistrar Roland Coté said that the e-mail itself is a normal response to student address problems.\n"When we learn of a bad address, we contact the student by e-mail and ask them to update through Insite," he said. "However, in this case the ID numbers, some of which are social security numbers and others which are not, of all of the students to who the e-mail was sent were printed within the body of the message."\nIndiana Daily Student staff writer Andy Welfle received the e-mail, which included his social security numbers.\n"At first, I wasn't sure what the numbers were for," Welfle said. "Then I saw mine, and it was kind of surprising. I'm a little angry, but I'm not really sure what I can do about it. I realize it was a mistake, but it was such a big one that I really hope it doesn't happen again. "\nThe glitch occurred because of computer operating system updates at the Registrar's office.\n"We've been in the process of updating our operating systems to Windows 2003 and XP," Coté said. "There is a default setting in the Outlook e-mail program in Windows 2003 that we were not totally aware of. Not only were we not aware of the default setting, but we were also not aware that it would have the effect that it did on our e-mails."\nThe Registrar's office uses a Dynamic Distribution System, which is a massive e-mail distribution system. When a collection of ID numbers is put into the system, the corresponding e-mail addresses are found and the attached message is e-mailed out to those students. \n"Because of the transition to the different operating system, the DDS did not know how to respond to the task," Coté said. "The message was formatted in HTML instead of normally being in plain text. The system did not know what to do with the numbers and, in turn, just added them to the e-mail."\nThe Registrar's office was not aware of the mistake until they received a reply e-mail containing the original text of its e-mail.\n"We discovered the error at about 11 a.m. on Monday when a student responded back," Coté said. "The person who received that e-mail looked at the part of the original one we sent and saw the mistake."\nThe distribution of these numbers alone, without any matching names or information, means it would be difficult to create identity theft problems, said IU Police Department Lt. Jerry Minger. \n"Without a name to associate it with, the chances of using it as a means to get information is small," Minger said. "However, students should always be wary. Everyone should always be conscious of any activity on credit cards or anywhere else that does not look valid."\nStudent IDs are used to login to Insite, and the last four digits are the pin number, unless a student decides to change it. The release of student IDs then could grant access to grades, scheduling information, financial aid and other personal information.\nThe Registrar's office is replying to effected students with an apology letter explaining the problem in some detail.\nCoté said this glitch further reinforces the University's decision to discontinue the use of social security numbers as the primary student identifier and to randomly assign 10-digit numbers as student IDs.\n"The e-mail and that those numbers were there was unfortunate," Coté said. "It just should not have happened."\n-- Contact staff writer Mallory Simon at mgsimon@indiana.edu.
(03/02/04 6:00am)
Foster resident Vanessa Lustig often misses the bus while waiting to cross the street from Foster to the McNutt Quad bus stop. Fee Lane is so busy that the freshman watches cars whiz by for 5 to 10 minutes before she can cross. \nSome students think the problem is so bad that the only answer is a crosswalk.\n"Sometimes you can miss a bus waiting to cross the street, and it can take forever for another one to come," Lustig said. "It's just annoying. I would definitely support a crosswalk."\nMembers of Residential Programs and Services have met to develop a plan for a crosswalk project as a result of students' complaints about traffic and the dangers they face while crossing the busy street. \n"I think for years we have noticed that pedestrian traffic in that area is at risk, and lots of times students are dodging cars to cross the street," said Bob Weith, director of residential operations. \nBecause Fee Lane falls under the city's jurisdiction, and not the University's, the process to implement a crosswalk could take slightly longer.\nRPS plans to complete a proposal to submit to the city by next week. \n"Because it is a city street rather than a University street, there still remains checking to be done," Weith said. "But RPS remains supportive and optimistic about the project." \nHe said he hopes the crosswalk, if approved by the city, will be completed by summer.\nWith the McNutt convenience store, Hoosier Café and A-route bus stop on one side and the Gresham Food Court and Foster Quad on the other, students have many reasons to cross Fee Lane at various times during the day.\n"I live in Foster, and I go to Hoosier Café, the C-Store and I need that bus stop to go everywhere," said Lustig, Foster floor governor. "Especially at night when there is a lot of traffic, it can take anywhere from 5 to 8 minutes to cross the street."\nFreshman Leslie Compton, a resident of Briscoe, believes the traffic on Fee Lane is a valid reason for a crosswalk.\n"I think putting a crosswalk is a good idea," she said. "It's a heavy traffic area for students walking to get food, and it's dangerous crossing Fee Lane because cars drive too fast and many times don't yield to pedestrians."\nThough Fee Lane is not under the IU Police Department's control, IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger feels there are other areas on campus that have higher traffic volumes.\n"If you look purely at volume, areas such as 10th Street or North Jordan (Avenue) have higher traffic rates," he said. \nStudents who oppose the crosswalk believe it might be a waste of time and money.\n"I don't think it's necessary to put a crosswalk because it's not one of the busiest roads on campus," said freshman Jessica Burns, resident of Briscoe. "Students can cross the street on their own without the aid of a crosswalk."\n-- Contact staff writer Mallory Simon at mgsimon@indiana.edu.
(03/01/04 6:16am)
Sunny skies and warm weather set the scene for an excellent day of canoeing Saturday. But a trip down Griffy Lake turned out to be anything but ordinary for freshmen Mike Miller and Derek Hershberger.\nThe two roommates who set out to canoe were forced back to shore when Griffy Lake waters were still partially iced over. As they returned to shore around 3 p.m., they were met by police cars, firetrucks and ambulances responding to a call of two Bloomington residents who fell into the icy water. \nWhile on the north side of the lake, David Hiestand, 23, and Charles Logdson, 32, spotted a deer that had fallen into the water and attempted to rescue it. During their rescue attempt, Hiestand and Logdson soon became trapped in the waters themselves.\n"We were getting out of the lake because we couldn't canoe further ourselves when we noticed some cop cars and ambulances," Miller said. "They told us about the situation, and we lent them our canoe."\nAfter lending police their canoe, Miller and Hershberger helped the police down to the shore and into the water to attend to the stranded men.\n"Then we just ran through the woods a little over a mile or so to try and help out as much as we could," Hershberger said.\nOfficers Chris Scott and Joe Crider of the Bloomington Police Department, who responded to the police call, reached the stranded men after canoeing for around 20 minutes. \nOfficer David Winburn of the IU Police Department was one of the first to arrive on the scene.\n"The officers reached within 200 yards but then had to break through a considerable amount of ice before they could reach (the victims)," Winburn said.\nAfter police broke through the ice and the victims were reached, officers used the canoe to bring the men to the closest shore.\n"For the officers, the hardest part was the time element," said Sgt. Alan Pointer of the BPD. "First, they had to paddle down the lake for about 20 to 25 minutes and break through all of the ice. They also tied ropes around the two men so they could grab hold of the canoe and then paddle about another 10 to 15 minutes to get them to shore."\nMiller and Hershberger stood by waiting to help and give any needed assistance.\n"We knew they just had to get the guys out of the water," Miller said. "It looked like a bad situation."\nMiller and Hershberger helped police officers when the two men were finally taken out of the water.\n"We gave them our shirts when they came out of the water," said Hershberger. "They were in shock, babbling and blue, (and) they looked like they might be in bad shape. We helped the guys out of the water and assisted the cops in getting them through the woods to a truck, which drove us to the ambulance to get them checked out."\nBloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan, who was on the scene, thanked Miller and Hershberger for their assistance in the situation.\nMiller and Hershberger remained humble about the experience, insisting they were just around to help.\nMiller credited the BPD officers for all of their hard work.\n"We're not heroes," he said. "I hate that word. Crider and Scott were the guys who did everything. We were just there to lend them a hand and a canoe."\n-- Contact staff writer Mallory Simon at mgsimon@indiana.edu.
(02/26/04 7:33pm)
A suspect lunges toward you. You have a split second to decide -- shoot or don't shoot. \nIt's a decision many law enforcement officers face daily, and it became a simulated event for the IU police officers who attended the "Shoot or Don't Shoot" firearm simulator at Ivy Tech State College Wednesday.\nThe event, co-sponsored by Ivy Tech and the IU Police Department, will hold sessions through Friday morning at Ivy Tech. \nThe program is comprised of 15-minute individual sessions with a field training officer where students, faculty and the public are confronted with real life police situations. Participants hold the weapons used in the field by officers, the 9mm Glock model-17 and a 12-gauge shotgun. Participants are required to choose whether the situation requires them to fire or not. \nThe Firearms Training Simulator consists of laser discs with video situations which are projected onto a screen. The guns are also attached to the machine, and although they don't fire real bullets, they provide a real feel and action.\n"The simulator is not only an educational tool, but a learning tool, as well," said Gary M. Dunn, FBI agent and program chair of the criminal justice department at Ivy Tech. "It's very tough at times, and you are talking about the most critical decision a police officer has to make. Whether you shoot or don't, it can involve taking the life of another and that carries a heavy burden -- even for the most experienced officers."\nWhile the simulation is only a video, participants said it had a surprisingly real feel, and they felt actively engaged in the situation.\n"Our goal is to give people a better appreciation for the stress an officer experiences during a deadly encounter," said David Winburn, IU field training officer. "People don't realize it's not as easy as saying 'yes or no'. Many people make the wrong decision, whether it be reacting too slow, or shooting when they shouldn't."\nApproximately 50 to 60 people are scheduled to participate in the simulation over the next few days, and so far it has received positive feedback.\n"I used the FATS before when I was in the military," said Don Skeens, assistant director of facilities at Ivy Tech. "I have found it quite effective, and it has been a big help. I think it is a great tool for cops, and anyone who owns a handgun should be required to use it to train."\nAfter each situation, a computer/video screen shows a replay, and participants must justify their actions. The screen also shows either a message of "good judgement" or "bad judgement" that considers both the success of the shot and whether or not it was lethal.\n"It felt pretty real to me," said Ben Dailey, a freshman at Ivy Tech. "I definitely had a little bit of adrenaline going at the time. It definitely makes you realize that you don't have that much time to think in those situations."\nSituations ranged from confronting a deranged woman, someone spray-painting a wall, a drug bust and even a sniper on top of a building. The situations changed as the operator typed in codes for the suspect to either comply with police or resist verbal commands.\n"I think it is a fantastic program," said Joe Kapsa, director of student support and development at Ivy Tech. "It gives me and those involved more empathy for what a law enforcement officer faces."\nThose who participated left with a different attitude after they experienced the situation than when they first walked into the program.\n"Everyone I've seen come through here has left with a new appreciation of how easy it is to make a wrong decision, and how many chances there are to make the wrong one," said Keith Klein, executive director of resource development. \nThis is the first year the program has been done at Ivy Tech, but it has been an implemented program for the IUPD for nearly five years. The machine, which costs around $8,000, was donated to the IUPD a year-and-a-half ago.\nIn other situations, people can use the machine for target practice and the simulation of gun malfunctions. The machine can also simulate return fire by using a paintball gun.\n"In the academy, the cadets use it very frequently," Winburn said. "In addition, officers use it for in-service training approximately twice a year."\nThe program is particularly relevant given the recent controversy surrounding an officer shooting and death of a student at Ball State University.\n"Everyone has their own opinion as to what happened or what should have been done," Winburn said. "This simulator just shows that even if you have an idea of what you are going to do, anything can change in the heat of the moment"
(02/24/04 6:10am)
Students and visitors parking in the Atwater Garage beware. \nRecently, the Atwater Garage, located on Faculty Drive between 3rd Street and Atwater Avenue, has been the target of vandalism and theft, with six incidents reported on Feb. 17-18. \nMany of the targeted cars were located on the upper levels of the garage. \n"The vantage point is that they picked the higher levels to target cars because they have a better view of seeing police cars coming into the area," IU Police Department Lt. Jerry Minger said. "Although we have stepped up patrol around there a little, it kind of hampers our surveillance."\nMinger said the damage ranges from key scratches to occurrences of theft. They are all still under investigation.\n"Some of the damage is just paint scratches," he said. "Other times it seems as though they were trying to pry things out of the dashboard."\nSenior Nicole Carroccio's car was broken in to, and the window of her Jeep Wranger was slashed open on Feb. 17.\n"They broke open the center lock box, and they took the face plate out of it," she said. "Then they took the plastic piece that's on the dashboard, the part that covers the stereo."\nCarroccio said this isn't the first time there has been a problem at Atwater. \n"This happens about every four weeks, there are about 25 girls in the house that have had their cars broken into this year," she said. "I would normally say it's not a big deal, but we pay $300 dollars a year to park in that garage, and one of us could get hurt. I wish they would put in a camera, even a fake one."\nMinger said the police have received one car description, but he is not certain enough to release it as suspect. After receiving a couple of calls about the incidents, several police were dispatched to the garage to check all of the cars for other incidents of vandalism or theft. \n"What we've tried to do is advise people, especially in the surrounding Greek houses, that should they see, hear or suspect anything more they should contact us," Minger said. "We are hoping that no matter how insignificant they think the noise or activity is that they report it."\nCarroccio said she feels as though her incident is not being taken seriously.\n"When I called the police to find out about what happened to my car, they told me they didn't see anything else suspicious around the car," Carroccio said. "I looked at my car, and there was a handprint on the windshield that I know is not mine. So, I called them and told them suggesting they come and dust the car for some type of a print, and nobody ever called me or came to check on it."\nAll of the cases are gone over very thoroughly and according to procedure, Minger said.\n"In our report, the officer clearly stated that he checked for fingerprints inside and outside of the car but was unsuccessful in doing so," Minger said. "It's not quite like TV. A fingerprint isn't always a solid lead. Sometimes a mark on the car doesn't mean we can pull a fingerprint, and a fingerprint doesn't always match up to anyone." \nCarroccio said despite her efforts to try and help police, she doesn't feel they are really trying to find who is breaking into the cars.\n"I spoke to a girl in my house a few days ago, and she said she saw a few guys in the garage at 2 a.m., so I told her to call the police," Carroccio said. "She gave the information to the lady on the phone, and they never called and followed up, they never told me that they had a possible lead, nothing ever came of it that I know of."\nWhile students have expressed concern over the incidents, the claims are being handled as they should be, Minger said.\n"Just like the description of the vehicle we have, one description is not really something we want to steer people toward until we have more information to substantiate a claim," he said. "If we release that the suspect looks a certain way and a student sees a suspicious person who looks differently odds are, they won't report it."\nSophomore Ashley Doepker said that her driver's side window was smashed in, and several things were taken from her car, also on Feb. 17.\n"My CD player faceplate was ripped out, and all of the wires were all over the place," Doepker said. "My portable CD player was taken out of the car as well as some of my CDs, and everything in my glove compartment was moved around."\nDoepker said she contacted the police about the possibility of installing a camera and was informed that Parking Operations would control that.\n"I later called up Parking Operations and was told that I would have to talk to the police since it was an issue of security," Doepker said. "It was one big circle, everyone was pointing fingers at each other."\nParking Operations did not return calls by press time. \n-- Contact staff writer Mallory Simon at mgsimon@indiana.edu.
(02/23/04 6:13am)
Students, families and friends packed the IU Auditorium Friday and Saturday night to watch more than 3,000 students sing, dance and compete in the 72nd annual IU Sing -- themed "Big City Beat." \nSkits ranged from "Gotham City" to "Sesame Street," "The Price is Right" to "Big City Heartbeat." Big City Beat featured more than 26 acts alternating with vocal and dancing performances and special performances by IU a capella groups Ladies First and Straight No Chaser.\nIU Sing choreographer Dustin Stephan said he received extremely positive feedback about the show this year.\n"I was choreographer last year, and I think (this year) was a step above last year's IU Sing," he said. "This is the best way for students to get together to put on a professional show. Everyone here is here for a reason, and everyone has talent in their own way."\nWith excellent vocals, great dancing and booming songs, such as "Walking in Memphis," "Downtown" and "Dancing in the Streets," the IU Sing performers provided an atmosphere rivaling that of Broadway and impressing families, friends and students alike. \n"This show is about months of intense work, but it really pays off," said Erica Lentz, IU Sing choreographer.\nMany of the dancers agree IU Sing is a great opportunity to dance, sing and perform on stage with their friends.\n"This is the only opportunity on campus to come together with people you never would have met otherwise to put on this great performance," said Rhiannon Sharpe, IU Sing featured dancer.\nWith a panel of eight judges of IU alumni and former IU Sing participants, songleaders and steering committee members, the competition grew as each act took the stage.\nWhile many acts made the audience erupt in applause and laughter, top honors would only go to a few. The overall trophy, as well as winners of the Division A Trophy and the Choreography Award, went to the pair of Delta Upsilon and Chi Omega. Their skit titled "City of Cards" featured complicated choreography -- including a domino effect on stage -- costumes and songs. Their winning act featured Alice in her quest for work, as the black cards and red cards fought to have her work for them. In the end, all of the cards and Alice combined to work together.\n"I feel like I'm on cloud nine," said Geoff Hahn, sophomore and Delta Upsilon songleader. "The joy that all of our hard work has paid off really hits home. I have been working since August, it's been so great. I really can't say enough to thank our pledge classes for all of their hard work."\nSongleaders agreed the hard work of the pledge classes of both Delta Upsilon and Chi Omega contributed greatly to the awards won at IU Sing Saturday night.\n"I think winning just shows how much effort we put in and that hard work really pays off," said Gwen Heyse, sophomore and Chi Omega songleader.\nWhile both pledge classes spent more than six weeks working on their skits, they said they couldn't be happier with the success of their act.\n"After working so hard for so many weeks, it was so great to actually go out on the stage and perform," said Jenny Kratzat, an IU Sing participant from Chi Omega. "Even though it was a lot of work, it was definitely worth it."\nThe Army ROTC captured first place in Division B, huge audience applause and the "That's Entertainment" award for the overall most entertaining moment with their performance of "Turning Point." The skit had moments of humor, gun-slinging, masterful marching and a performance of "Proud to Be an American," which enthused the crowd.\nAlthough many of the acts believed their skits were good enough to win them awards, some felt as though they had no chance to win to begin with. Some participants expressed that the loss of pre-performance points because of talking during dress rehearsals, lack of productivity during practices and not adhering to deadlines meant they were doomed from the beginning. \nDespite these claims, many students said they still enjoyed the bonding time that came along with all of their practicing. The hard work of all of the groups, the steering committee, the choreographers, vocalists, dancers and participants contributed to another IU Sing success, IU Sing judge Jeff Arbesman said.\n"I think it's been a fabulous year for IUSF (IU Student Foundation) and Indiana University," said Arbesman, who is a class of 1998 alumni. "IUSF as well as IU should be commended for all of their hard work on this production."\n-- Contact staff writer Mallory Simon at mgsimon@indiana.edu.
(02/20/04 5:34am)
The final countdown for IU Sing has begun. \nThere is less than a day left for song practices, dance rehearsals and skit run-throughs before all of the students' hard work goes on stage in the Big City Beat-themed event, beginning at 7 p.m. tonight at the IU Auditorium.\nFraternities, sororities, dorms and other student groups gather in meetings of hustle and bustle, repetition and re-do's, exhaustion and elation and overall anticipation of the night to come. They gather for their last few practices hoping to top last year's performances and hit every note, every dance step and every line to try and win IU Sing this year.\nThe process has been long, the practices have been lengthy, but the hopes are high for a spectacular show, Pi Beta Phi Song Leader Producer Megan Mercer said. \n"I've been working on my skit since October," she said. "It has been a very lengthy process, but it's definitely a great experience"\nWith show time creeping up, the practices have become even more intense and require a lot of time from students. \n"Once it comes closer to crunch time, people start taking it more seriously and polishing all of the imperfections," said freshman Mikel Newman of Alpha Epsilon Pi. "We all want to look good up there, and everyone wants to win."\nMeetings can drift into the late hours of the night, especially as the show nears, but the hours of hard work seem to be paying off, noted IU Sing participants.\n"The downside to IU Sing is the constant practice when you have got other things to do," Newman said. "After a while, once you have it all down it's just repetition and critiquing. At first, you really can't get a sense of accomplishment, but once the skit comes all together and everything's flowing great the way it is right now, there's actually a great sense of accomplishment. After all of the hard work and all of the practices, it's finally going to pay off."\nDespite the tiring practices -- and the occasional complaining -- "Big City Beat" is ready to take the IU Auditorium by storm. The banners waving along Third Street, North Jordan and all over campus have contributed to the build-up and big expectations for those involved and those who plan to watch. \n"I am really excited to see everyone's different performances," said sophomore Nancy Benovitz of Delta Zeta. "IU Sing has been a huge commitment but we've been working really hard and it's been a great way for our pledge classes to bond."\nIU Sing has offered many students a chance to stage their talents and show off all of the hard work.\n"You get to see a side of people you may never have seen before," Newman said. "It's a lot of fun seeing people express their talents. IU Sing allows some people to really shine"\nFor new students, IU Sing has been opportunity to get involved in IU activities and get to know more faces around campus.\n"The best part about IU Sing is being able to meet so many new people," said freshman Staci Gold of Delta Delta Delta. "Being able to bond with my pledge class has been an amazing experience, and we even were able to become friends with the boys of Sigma Chi. It's been an overall excellent experience."\nFor many students, IU Sing is not just a show, but an experience where friendships are made, bonds are tightened and laughter is shared.\n"I was involved my freshman year, and I had a lot fun bonding and performing with my group," Mercer said. "That's the reason I did it again this year. IU Sing made my enjoy my experience at IU that much more, and I know this year it's going to be another awesome show."\n-- Contact staff writer Mallory Simon at mgsimon@indiana.edu.
(02/13/04 5:48am)
The Campus Judicial Board has officially filed charges against the student accused of hacking into IU's Emergency Web site and posting a false emergency alert last month.\nSophomore Benjamin Brodsky is scheduled to have a judicial conference March 1 and is charged with "disorderly conduct which interferes with teaching, research, administration, or other University or University-authorized activity" and "violation of other published University policies or rules," according to a letter Brodsky received from the Judicial Board.\n"I do not even know what those charges mean," Brodsky said. "Neither does anyone who I have read them to, and there are no published regulations which I have violated."\nBrodsky has denied the charge that he has hacked into the Web site and still claims that he was allowed access to the Web site by using his username and password. \n"Since I am a student, I am allowed to go to a University-funded Web site," Brodsky said. "I didn't do anything that I wasn't allowed access to."\nBrodsky said he is now under the advisement of a student advocate after having problems with Student Legal Services.\n"I went over to Student Legal Services about three or four times," Brodsky said. "The first time I asked for help, they said no, and then the second time, they didn't call me back or kept asking me to schedule other appointments, so I decided to just have a student advocate help me." \nThe student advocate is in charge of helping Brodsky understand his rights, explain University policy to him and make sure he is not breaking any of these policies.\nBrodsky plans to call four witnesses at his judicial conference.\n"I do not plan on speaking," Brodsky said. "It's not definite that I won't speak, but I plan on calling as witnesses my roommate, who was there at the time, a friend from home, a character witness and another witness which I haven't decided yet."\nAlthough the charges against Brodsky are of a serious nature, there will be no difference in the way his case is tried as opposed to any other, Dean of Students Richard McKaig said.\n"It is not at all likely that this case will get any special treatment," McKaig said. "That is the way the system is structured. All cases get the same attention."\nThe consequences of his actions will be determined after the hearing.\n"Any student who goes before the Campus Judicial Board, if found responsible for violating University regulations, can be sanctioned anywhere from a reprimand to expulsion," McKaig said. \nBrodsky and his roommate are currently blocked from visiting the Campus Emergency Web site based on the charges filed. \nBrodsky said the fact they took these actions against him and his roommate upset him. \n"It's embarrassing that they even considered doing this to me."\n-- Contact staff writer Mallory Simon at mgsimon@indiana.edu.
