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(02/13/04 5:29am)
The large yellow tents, trucks and machinery that have lined 10th street for the last few weeks have caught the eye of passers-by and increased their curiosity as to what work is being done. \nSouthern Bell Company workers are splicing nearly 5,000 underground cable lines and replacing them with new ones. During the repairs, phone service will only be affected for about three seconds.\n"The work is being done as part of an ongoing maintenance project all over the state," said Mike Marker, an Indiana SBC Communications, Inc. spokesman. "The idea that the damage has to do with deterioration caused by steam damage is speculation but is a possible reason."\nBelow the tents are manholes with thousands of phone cables waiting to be repaired and changed. The manholes are huge pits of colored cables, tools and devices the workers need, and the trucks and machines provide the means and conditions necessary to get the work done. \n"Setting up this project is probably the hardest," cable splicer David Myers said. "It takes about three full days to set up each manhole for work to be done and to create ideal working conditions. We need to maintain the right amount of pressure and clean oxygen inside the manholes for things to work."\nThe work, which began in January, will take a few more weeks to be completed.\n"The lines affected run from Unionville to eastern Bloomington," cable splicer Kent Lawson said. "Each cable, if digital, can hold up to 300 lines, although most typically hold about 96."\nSBC repairmen are working around the clock as efficiently and fast as possible. \n"There are people working on this project 24 hours a day," Lawson said. "There are about 12 people working on this specific project in teams, but there is always someone here."\nThe workers said the process for splicing old cables and replacing them with new ones is complicated.\n"First, we have to identify each line, which is two wires which happen to not be color-coded," Lawson said. "Then we have to send a tone out to validate that all of us are working on the right line and that we are okayed to switch the lines over."\nAlthough most of the work is done beneath the surface, the tents on 10th Street still affect students. \n"Getting around 10th Street can be a little difficult with those tents," sophomore Jennifer Hurtubise said. "I have class in the geology building, so I have to go over there all the time. When it's really crowded during those peak times, it's hard for the buses to get around."\nLawson said the repairs are not supposed to cause any significant phone disruption to the area. \n"If we do our job correctly, the students won't have anything to worry about."\n-- Contact staff writer Mallory Simon at mgsimon@indiana.edu.
(02/10/04 5:18am)
Some spoke of the moment they knew they were deaf, of their speech training issues and the schooling problems they encountered along the way. They expressed their feelings about cochlear implants as a solution to hearing problems and voiced their concerns for understanding deaf culture. \nThe stories and experiences might not have been directly spoken, but the speakers said plenty at an interactive deaf culture seminar Monday night.\nWith the help of American Sign Language, teachers from the department of speech and hearing services and student coordinators, Holleh Husseinzadeh and Jenny Hoponick, the program discussed personal experiences, challenges and issues facing the deaf community today.\nThe program, titled, "Deaf Culture: Living in a World Without Sound," and sponsored by the Honors College, opened with a short introduction where all participants introduced themselves and signed -- or at least attempted to sign, their first names. \nThe discussion, aimed at educating and interacting with and about sign language and the deaf culture, featured a circle discussion full of finger-spelling, signing and interpreting. For some it was difficult to follow the sign language part of the discussion while giving them a look into the communication of the deaf community.\n"A deaf world is not quiet," said Amy Cornwell, clinical assistant professor of ASL. "Deaf people live in a world that is visually noisy."\nClinical Lecturer Wayne Mnich, as well as other speakers, expressed their frustration with the association of hearing and intelligence. \n"We might be deaf, but it's not a measure of intelligence," Mnich said. \nThe discontent with this association is something the deaf community continues to struggle with, according to the speakers, but is something they learn to accept.\n"For whatever reason, people always associate being able to hear and talk, and being smart," Cornwell said. "I am sure many of you know people who can speak perfectly clearly, but might still be really stupid. There is no connection between speech and intelligence -- that's just something the deaf community wants recognition about."\nThe discussion included those who were born deaf, those who have lost their hearing and those whose family members are deaf. "We hope to plant seeds in helping to educate about the deaf community and its culture," said Joseph Murray, clinical lecturer of ASL. "It's important to have respect for those who are deaf and learn to understand them."\nSign language and its acceptance, as well as IU's program, has grown over the years. There are 19 classes per semester and over 400 students with one of the biggest waitlists on campus. \nCornwell said interaction with those who are actually deaf gives the best understanding of the language, as well as the deaf culture. The use of lecturers whose native language is ASL, or have used ASL most of their life, adds an extra dimension to the program.\nAlthough their words might be limited to signs and motions, there is certainly no lack of connection or emotion between those who use ASL. The discussion featured the speakers picking on each other while making jokes and plenty of laughter and fun. The limitation of signing becomes less and less apparent and more natural, fast-paced and commonplace among others who sign to the point where the conversation seems completely natural.\n"Why worry about fixing our hearing? What's to fix?" Murray said. "God meant for us to be deaf for a reason. Who's right is it to say there's something wrong with us? That's like us deciding to take away the hearing of people who can. We're okay, we just don't have our hearing."\n-- Contact staff writer Mallory Simon at mgsimon@indiana.edu.
(02/05/04 6:00am)
Students sewed, stuffed and decorated bears for children with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses Wednesday night at the Helene G. Simon Hillel Center.\n"Build-a-Dov" -- Dov, meaning bear in Hebrew -- was a social-action program, co-sponsored by Hillel, Mitzvah Corps, Rosh Chodesh and Hoosiers for Israel. After putting the bears together, students wrote get-well notes in Hebrew and tied a Hershey's kiss around the bears' necks.\nThe bears will be sent to Camp Simcha, a supervised, medically-staffed camp in New York, to be distributed to the sick children, and eventually make their way to Israel. Many of the children will leave their hospital beds to attend the camp and take part in different activities, such as music, dancing and swimming, in hopes of lifting their spirits.\n"We hope the children will love these bears," Hillel Assistant Director Jessie Mallor said. "We decided to do this program to raise awareness about various children's issues and help out kids who need a boost and who need to know that someone's thinking about them."\nAt Hillel's national conference, successful programs are submitted and distributed for other Hillel centers.\n"When I heard about this program, I decided to pick it up," said Sonya Weisburd, senior and Mitzvah Corps co-chair. "It sounded like a great idea. I hope that people had fun making these bears and learning more about the kids and Camp Simcha. Hopefully they will become more involved in even more of our programs."\nWhile students came to the program for many reasons, the underlying issue was to help out the children.\n"I came here to help these sick kids because I want to give back to those who are less fortunate," sophomore Elizabeth Rosenberg said. \nSocial-action programs aim to raise awareness about the community and issues facing the world. \n"Hopefully our program was able to show that social action is fun," Mallor said. "Students can make a big difference in someone's life. It's as simple as making a teddy bear to show sick children that they are not alone -- that people they may never have even met are wishing that they get better."\nIn addition to the bear-making, the program also held a short informal discussion.\n"We address the issues of other ways students can get involved in the community here, issues in Israel and other things we can do for sick children," said Joanna Blotner, sophomore and Mitzvah Corps co-chair. "We have plenty of community service programs such as the winter clothing drive and repackaging food at Hoosier Hills that students can get involved with. We hope that even more students will come down and get involved."\nWhile on a college campus, getting involved in community service can sometimes be difficult, but it also has some of the best rewards.\n"I came tonight to do something that can really benefit the kids," senior Alana Berland said. "When I was younger, I had the benefit of being healthy and having toys, and by doing this, we can give these sick kids something to be happy about"
(01/30/04 6:06am)
Publishers are inflating the cost of college textbooks, according to a study released Thursday by the national Public Interest Research Group. \nStudents are spending unnecessarily large amounts of money on textbooks and extra study guides that they don't need, says the report entitled "Ripoff 101: How the Current Practices of the Textbook Industry Drive Up the Cost of College Textbooks."\nThe report shows that the average student will spend $900 on textbooks for the 2003-2004 school year. \nKatie Wilkinson, Indiana Public Interest Research Group vice board chair, said the rising cost of textbooks is frustrating college students across the country. \n"I think it's ridiculous that we have to spend so much money on textbooks, especially when some teachers don't even use them very often," said IU freshman Tim Breckenridge. "I'm already paying nearly $30,000 to go here each year. An extra $400 dollars a semester really adds up, especially when you only get about $100 back at the end of the semester."\nThe new study, researched by the Oregon State PIRG and California PIRG, found the bundling of extra workbooks with textbooks drives up the cost of books dramatically.\n"A bundled textbook package can cost $120, but the actual textbook for the class only costs $60," Wilkinson said. "I don't know how that's justified. Seventy-five percent of the professors surveyed said they barely ever use those extra materials in the bundles."\nIn some instances, the bundles are the only option. The textbooks, on most occasions, cannot be bought solely by themselves, forcing students to pay almost double the price for books they may not even use. \n"My human sexuality professor apologized to the class because she didn't know our books were only offered in bundles," said Jessica Gilbert, INPIRG board chair.\nNew editions of textbooks are published every three years, and according to the study, "more than 40 percent of the faculty surveyed said the new textbooks were 'rarely' or 'never' justified." These textbooks often contain no new content and cost 58 percent more than the used copy of older editions.\nINPIRG is offering several policy recommendations for students, publishers and faculty to help drive down the cost of these textbooks and offer lower cost options to buy textbooks. \n"Paper and online supplements for textbooks would decrease the need for new editions of books," Wilkinson said. "Especially with expensive calculus books -- has much really changed in calculus over the past 100 years that there needs to be a new edition?" \nINPIRG's proposition is when small changes are necessary to textbooks, the changes be made available online or in paper format. This would allow students to buy less expensive and older editions of the books and make the supplements available in the bookstores the same way course packets are. \nAnother suggestion lies within the use of www.BuyIU.com, a textbook exchange Web site with a style similar to www.eBay.com. \n"BuyIU.com is a free Web site,, which is a database of books that students post," said Tyson Chastain, IUSA director of student involvement. "You can post what books you want to get rid of to swap them or sell them -- the terms are up to you. We really think this site can be a success, but it needs the support of students and faculty."\nDirector of the IU Bookstore Paul Hazel said the bookstore has always supported student groups.\n"We have as many used books as we can," Hazel said. "We have been fighting publishers bundling books for awhile, but it is ultimately the consumer that can make the difference."\nThe site is another solution INPIRG hopes will give students a low-cost way to buy textbooks and also allow students to sell books at any time, not just at the end of the semester. \n"When you drop a class in the middle of the term or you want to sell it over the summer, now you have the chance," Chastain said. "The tools are available, but we need students to back it."\nOther recommendations from INPIRG include more forums for used books, talking to faculty to see if new editions are really necessary for class and trying to make books available in unbundled forms.\n"We work for students, speak for students -- we are students," Wilkinson said. "Our biggest goal is to make textbooks as affordable as possible, but we cannot do it without the support of the administration, faculty and students."\n-- Contact staff writer Mallory Simon at mgsimon@indiana.edu.
(01/28/04 5:54am)
University social norms campaigns do not have much success in influencing students' drinking behaviors, as was previously believed, according to a University of Iowa study.\nThe study, published in the latest issue of Health Communication, reports college students are influenced more by the perceptions of their friends' drinking behaviors than by university promotions.\nThe campaigns, in the form of ads, posters and education programs, correct misconceptions about how much students really drink, informing students that most of their peers do so only moderately. \n"These campaigns are based on the assumption that students don't really know what the correct norm is, that they are likely to underestimate how many people are really drinking responsibly and that a 'correct' message will change their behavior," said Dr. Shelly Campo, assistant professor of community and behavioral health at the University of Iowa.\nThe study was done to test the accuracy of social norms campaigns and whether they should be credited with complete success. Campo said there have been problems in previous studies of the issue. \n"Testing before this point was not done in controlled settings," Campo said. "Universities have touted lots of success with these campaigns, but what they don't say is that they also have extra alcohol education, peer to peer programs and more negative consequences, such as parental notification. So while social norms campaigns weren't the entire reason, they credited the new campaigns with the entire success."\nAfter the expression of success in social norms campaigns, many universities began to add similar campaigns on their own campuses, giving researchers reason to wonder if students felt these campaigns really worked. \n"I think this is another study that says you need to be careful about jumping on the bandwagon for this campaign that has a lot of popularity," Campo said. "Just because a lot of universities are showing success doesn't mean it's effective. You must examine the research evidence, make informed decisions about your own university and see if it's likely to work where you are and then continuously evaluate its success."\nThe study also found that students are not affected by what they believe the "typical" student drinks, which is the basis of social norms campaigns.\n"While the study found that social norm campaigns don't greatly affect students, that doesn't mean I don't think they should be a part of every university," Campo said. "I think that they can work, but I think the educational sources have to be... interpersonal (and) preferably peer-to-peer. The information seems more credible coming from another student and would probably have a greater impact."\nWhile universities may continue to use the campaigns, some IU students agreed with the study's conclusions.\n"If you are told not that many people are really drinking as much as we think, yet you see all of your friends drinking, it casts some doubt on the truth of these campaigns," freshman Amanda Gerson said. "You go by what you see, and if you see a lot of people at parties or on campus drunk, that's what you are going to believe, not what a campaign wants you to think."\nIU Applied Health Science Professor Ruth Engs said lowering the drinking age in controlled settings is the answer to dangerous drinking levels. \n"When they have the opportunity to drink, they do so in an irresponsible manner because drinking by these youth is seen as an enticing 'forbidden fruit,' a 'badge of rebellion against authority' and a symbol of 'adulthood'," Engs wrote in an article that appeared in the Vermont Quarterly in 1999. "Our data suggests after the 21-year-old drinking law was passed in 1987, that there was an increase in problems related to drinking on college campuses."\nEngs believes the proper education in conjunction with lowering of the drinking age would provide the best solution.\n"As a nation we are a very unsophisticated in terms of drinking," Engs said. "Other countries teach what foods go well with drinks and help them be more alcohol educated. If the drinking age were lowered, perhaps students could apply for alcohol licenses like they do for driving, and they have to become educated just like in drivers ed before they can use it." \nJunior Steve Cohen agrees with Engs about lowering the drinking age, but believes it should be an overall change, not just in controlled settings. \n"The only true solution to this social dilemma is to lower the drinking age for everyone, to take the risk/reward part of the equation away and just make it a social norm," Cohen said. "Alcohol has its own draw, especially for people under 21, purely for its rebellious nature. Take away that rebellion by making it legal, and it would then go from being abused by many to being a thing to do with some friends."\nGerson said when it comes from staff or faculty, the message isn't as strong as what students actually see when they are around their friends.\n"When the University tells you not to drink, students are going to want to," Gerson said. "It's the same as when you see a sign that says 'wet paint'. It's a warning, but you're still going to want to touch it."\n-- Contact staff writer Mallory Simon at mgsimon@indiana.edu.
(10/07/03 5:47am)
A survey by the Indiana Prevention Resource Center at IU found that Indiana adolescents are smoking less and using fewer drugs than in past years. \nThis year's survey of 140,000 Indiana adolescents in grades 6-12 reports a decrease in tobacco usage since last year, continuing the current downward trend of tobacco usage. The exception to this finding was an increase in tobacco usage among sixth grade students. \n"Most experimentation with drugs occurs in younger children during the unsupervised areas of the afternoon when parents are not home and students have nowhere else to go," said Kris Darlage of the South Central Indiana Prevention Services Coalition. "It is during this unsupervised time when students are pressured to try these drugs."\nThe Prevention Resource Center serves the community by creating programs which inform, educate, consult and provide any other necessary resources to promote drug prevention.\nMark Pogue, the IPRC deputy director who conducted the study, said the rise in sixth grade drug use could be caused by many factors.\n"It could just be that this grouping (of sixth graders) has a higher drug usage rate," he said. "It also could be that they are exposed earlier. Before the age of 13 most teens are already exposed to tobacco because of the time alone they have from their school bell to mom and dad's factory bell."\nThe reported number of Indiana students that have tried cigarettes was the lowest it had ever been. Tobacco usage by Indiana students is of major concern because cigarettes are described as the "gateway drug" -- one that opens the door to other drug usage.\n"Seeing tobacco use rates fall below national rate for the first time is probably an indicator of the success of Indiana statewide and local anti-tobacco, as well as after-school prevention programs," Pogue said. "We have to focus on tobacco. Adolescent smokers are 10 to 80 times more likely to use other drugs than those who do not smoke."\nThe survey reported a great decrease in alcohol use this year, although there wasn't a dramatic change among those who drink alcohol daily. Only in its second year of study, the use of club drugs such as Ecstasy and Rohypnol seems to be on a general decline as well. No grade experienced an increase in marijuana usage since last year, and most other drugs such as crack, heroin, cocaine and steroids remained unchanged in overall usage. The use of inhalants decreased among sixth graders but found a slight increase in eighth grade usage since last year.\n"There can be many ways to continue to decrease these numbers," said Dee Owens, director of IU's Alcohol and Drug Information Center. "The policies including keg registration and increasing alcohol tax all help to decrease the number of people engaging in these activities."\nAll 92 counties in Indiana are hosts to drug prevention and after-school programs to help target and educate the state's adolescents. \nAlthough the study only samples part of the state and is not a direct representation of the state as a whole, the conductors of the study said they believe the results reflect the rest of the state comparatively. \n"We are hoping that the decreases in alcohol and other drug usages are attributed to the programs that we are creating and putting into effect," Pogue said. "We are finally starting to see a payoff in the numbers with some substances on the decline and others holding steady. Holding steady is only a precursor for decline."\n-- Contact staff writer Mallory Simon at mgsimon@indiana.edu.
(09/26/03 5:39am)
Indiana Public Interest Research Group, a student-run volunteer organization, has kicked off its year with the startup of many new public interest projects, as well as the continuation of successful ones from years past.\nFor the past 40 years, the amount of recycling waste -- the garbage that could be recycled, but isn't -- has doubled, homelessness and hunger has plagued thousands and environmental issues have skyrocketed in importance, according to INPIRG. \nINPIRG is focusing on four campaigns this year, including Hunger and Homelessness, Environmental Alert, Recycling and protesting the building of Interstate 69 and the damage it could create.\n"It is the students' obligation to care. Without the environment around us, without our habitat we're gone," said Chris Seleski, INPIRG Recycling Campaign Coordinator. "The environment is stronger than humans. We have to treat our Mother Nature with respect." \nThe recycling campaign has developed a few major plans for the year that they plan to discuss, educate and act upon including recycling in the residence halls, off-campus recycling and duplex printing -- printing on both sides of a piece of paper.\nStudents who live in residence halls might not know how to take advantage of the recycling options the University provides.\n"It doesn't matter if there's a recycling bin right next to someone," said Dan Stoner, an INPIRG intern in charge of recycling in the residence halls. "They can see the bin, but if they aren't educated as to what to put there and why it's important, nothing gets accomplished, and that's where we come in." \nINPIRG hopes to put recycling bins on more floors of residence halls so that students are encouraged to recycle. \nAnother big problem is that students who live off-campus might not have recycling services. \n"I live off campus, and there isn't even an option to recycle," Seleski said. "They don't provide the facilities."\nINPIRG hopes to meet with landlords of many of the apartment complexes to talk about providing recycling bins for those who wish to recycle, he said. \nThey also plan to begin a program called "Party Pickup," that would allow anyone in the community to call up the service and have them pick up bottles and cans after parties to be recycled.\nINPIRG is working to advocate duplex printing -- printing on both sides of the paper -- to students and professors and have this service set as a default in technology centers and libraries across campus. \nAt their weekly meetings, held at 7:30 p.m. Mondays in Woodburn Hall, room 109, members of INPIRG plan their weekly strategies, discuss upcoming events and rallies and plan programs in the community. Much of their meeting time is devoted to finding ways to motivate students to care about these environmental issues on campus and in the community. \n"They're not going to listen unless there's something to hear," said INPIRG Campus Organizer Megan Foster. "We're just giving them the tools; it's up to them (the students) to make it happen."\n-- Contact staff writer Mallory Simon at mgsimon@indiana.edu.
