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(05/04/07 4:00am)
Barnes and Noble College Booksellers will take over for all bookstores on the IU campuses beginning July 1. \nIU President Adam Herbert announced the decision Friday, May 4, at the IU board of trustees meeting. Herbert has accepted the staff recommendation from the task force headed by Terry Clapacs, IU vice president and chief administrative officer. The task force, which also included IU Student Association President Betsy Henke, reviewed and analyzed proposals from several potential bookstore operations.\nBased on proposals from TIS, Barnes and Noble, Follet and the internal IU bookstore operation, the task force chose two finalists — IU’s own bookstore operation and Barnes and Noble.\nIn the end, Barnes and Noble became the choice to enter into an agreement with IU for all campus bookstores beginning July 1.\nOutsourcing the IU campus bookstores to Barnes and Noble comes as the most recent decision concerning this topic since February, when the IU board of trustees outsourced four IU Motor Pool positions. \nThroughout the meeting, trustees made it clear that the decision was made in the best interest of IU students along with the full-time and part-time employees of the IU bookstore operations.\nIU trustee Sue Talbot especially expressed this concern for the IU family.\nAccording to a presentation made by Clapacs, financial analysis compiled indicated that Barnes and Noble operations would generate about $70 million in revenue for IU over a 10-year-period. A $5.5. million signing bonus is offered to IU on behalf of Barnes and Noble as well, with an additional $10.5 million in extra benefits to the University over the 10 years.\nProposals were reviewed by the task force in addition to external CPA and consulting firm Crowe Chizek of Indianapolis. \nBarnes and Noble will begin the process of transitioning to IU bookstores, and Herbert announced he would sign the contract in place. \nWith the contract also comes the investment on behalf of Barnes and Noble to build a facility to include a varsity shop and coffee shop in the south parking lot of Assembly Hall. The location would also serve as a bus stop for students.\nHenke agreed with the decision, saying this option, after discussion, best serves students and employees. \nThere were some dissenters among the crowd present to hear the decision. \nMilton Fisk spoke on behalf of the 6,000 people who signed a petition against outsourcing, expressing opposition to the proposal. Fisk said the decision did not represent input from the staff and those working at the bookstores.\nFor more information regarding the IU board of trustees' decision to outsource the IU campus bookstores and hand over the responsibilities to Barnes and Noble, read Monday’s Indiana Daily Student.
(04/30/07 4:00am)
Freshman Stephanie Austin said she knew Puddles, her retriever-setter mix, would be an excellent candidate to help stressed students.\nSo under sunny skies Sunday afternoon, Austin brought Puddles to Briscoe Quad for a study break to ease stress through “pet therapy.” Students and faculty interested in relieving finals stress came to pet and play with Puddles or one of four other dogs.\nThe event, called Furry Finals Fix, was sponsored by the student group Revitalizing Animal Well-Being.\n“This event was based on the premise that animals are good therapy,” said Courtney Wennerstrom, the group’s co-president and co-founder. “I teach a freshman W131 course. I see the students’ stress, and I thought this would be a good idea to give back to the IU community.”\nThe group has other events, including a pet show and dog wash, planned for this year. \n“All of our projects are positive to interact positive change,” Wennerstrom said. \nThroughout the afternoon, students came to play with not only Puddles, but Maddie, Gatsby and two poodles. Volunteers brought the dogs.\nWith an enthusiastic expression, freshman Amy Ingram walked up to Puddles. She settled on the lawn to soothingly stroke and pet the retriever-setter mix amid studying the Sunday before finals.\n“Dogs always make me feel better,” Ingram said. “I don’t think anybody could pet a dog and feel sad. It’s impossible – there’s no way.”\nAustin has finals and said she is highly stressed, but bringing Puddles to the event helped her as well, she said.\n“I get to pet and play with the other dogs, too,” she said, noting that as a dog owner, she personally finds it easier to study. “When she’s not laying on my books, that is,” Austin said of Puddles. “But she is right there to touch, so soft and soothing.”\nAustin added that what makes animals helpful in relaxing and easing stress is that they are so accepting of anyone. \n“Students are stressed and away from the pets at home,” Wennerstrom said. “We have our dogs here, so we thought, why not bring them and give the students the opportunity to de-stress.”\nStudents weren’t the only ones enjoying the furry company. The dogs affectionately rolled around in the grass and wagged in appreciation of the attention. Puddles especially ate up the attention. As soon as Ingram began rubbing her belly, Puddles went from the inability to sit still to relaxation. \nGraduate student Sonya Satinsky’s allergies prevent her from owning any pets of her own.\n“I planned this as a study break, to come here with the animals,” Satinsky said. “It was great ... and a good way to spend time with the animals.”\nWennerstrom said scientific studies show that animals lower blood pressure. \n“But there is a magic quality in them,” she said. “Animals are generally good for people.”\nFor sophomore Madeline Cole, Sunday’s “furry fix” allowed her to spend time with animals that aren’t allowed in her University apartment.\n“It’s nice to focus on something unrelated (to school),” she said. “And to just sit and pet the animals is very helpful in unstressing.”\nFreshman Josh Garver visited the event with junior Matt Heston. Both said they “honestly just came out to play with the animals and de-stress for finals.”\n“Puddles is adorable,” Garver said. “If this event is continuous, more attention will be attracted to it.”\nHeston agreed. “Animals have a natural way of calming you down and relaxing you.”
(04/27/07 4:00am)
Man reports being robbed, beaten by 3 men Wednesday\nA man walking on North Madison St., Wednesday, was grabbed by three males and taken to a gravel lot where he was beaten up and his money was taken.\nNo one witnessed the event, Bloomington Police Detective Sergeant Jeff Canada said, reading from a police report. Canada said the victim had injuries to his face, but no injuries indicating a punch to the face. The man, who is 20 years-old, came to the police about two hours after the incident occurred.
(04/26/07 4:00am)
It's time to get to know the two most promising young, creative stars in Hollywood. Collectively, their credits include pop culture phenomena like "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," "Anchorman" and "Da Ali G. Show" as well as cult successes like "Freaks and Geeks," "Donnie Darko" and "Heavyweights." This film ranks right up there with any of these past great works and will finally put these two geniuses firmly on the map.\nSeth Rogen and Judd Apatow have been quietly writing, directing and, in Rogen's case, starring in these instant classics for years but are shockingly not household names. Rogen is the guy whose first line in "Donnie Darko" is "I like your boobs," and he starred in the cult hit shows "Undeclared" and "Freaks and Geeks." In "Knocked Up," he is finally given his first leading role, and he absolutely nails it.\nRogen plays Ben Stone, a twentysomething stoner who has no job and spends his days lying around getting high and joking around with his guy friends. On a night out with the boys, he meets the attractive Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl) who is gaining success at the E! Entertainment Network. After a one-night stand, with some miscommunication on condom usage, she gets knocked up. Stone doesn't even remember they had sex.\nApatow's direction and script make every moment feel authentic and spot-on accurate even though the plot points are predictable. This movie is, on the surface, your typical romantic comedy, but Apatow has a way of telling a run-of-the-mill relationship story and making it seem fresh and exciting because of his storytelling and wonderfully developed characters.\nThe story progresses as they both freak out about the pregnancy and come to terms with it thanks to their friends and family members, who are all played by a extraordinary cast. \nApatow has assembled a solid group of actors to pull from through his various shows and projects and finds perfect roles for many of them here. Jason Segel and Martin Starr are perfect as Rogen's best friends because they starred in "Freaks and Geeks" together. \nPaul Rudd is his typical, sadistic, "I do what I want" self, and Apatow's actual wife Leslie Mann play's Rudd's wife and Heigl's older sister to perfection. A quick cameo from Harold Ramis as Rogen's dad rounds out the cast nicely.\nThe movie makes pregnancy seem easier than it is, and there are certainly more challenges that come with it than I can imagine, but Apatow keeps the right tone for the film at every step. There is a scene of overwhelming shock value at the end of the movie that could be seen as excessive, but it's played up in a way that makes it seem necessary and hilarious. This film is consistently laugh-out-loud funny, the rapport between the guys, especially Rudd and Rogen, is dynamic and I can't wait to see it again.
(04/26/07 4:00am)
As the school year draws to a close, freshmen Jordan Conley and Danielle Thompson sit in Wright Place Food Court dining on food purchased with meal points.\nConley has less than 200 points left, but Thompson still has almost 700 remaining. \nBecause of the 75 percent meal-point rollover plan that Residential Programs and Services recently enacted, students this year aren’t scrambling \nas much to use up all their leftover points. \nBefore the rollover option, students had to worry about spending all their points before the semester finished. In the past, the leftover money from unused points would be applied to the RPS budget.\nSandra Fowler, director of dining services for RPS, said that the current meal point system, which is based on students budgeting on their own based on a dollar-amount plan they order in the beginning of the year, changed nine years ago to what it is now.\nBefore, IU had the traditional 20-meals-per-week plan with limited hours for breakfast, lunch and dinner. No evening meals were offered on Sundays, and students paid the same whether they ate eight meals a week or 18, Fowler said. With this system, uneaten meals were essentially lost.\nUnless there is a demand from students to change, Fowler said she cannot imagine going back to the traditional way of meal point service.\nThe Meal Plan Committee is a division of RPS with an equal amount of students and administration. Sophomore Sarah Clark is the student chair of the committee.\nShe said they are aiming for 100 percent meal point rollover.\nBecause meal points are factored into the budget for expenses such as maintenance costs, the budget is still based around meal points even if students haven’t spent them, Fowler said. \nFowler said she now feels the meal situation on campus is suitable. Each residential neighborhood offers a traditional or homestyle menu, a convenience store and facilities open until midnight. \nStudents seem to agree with Fowler. Most, such as Thompson and Conley, aren’t worried about spending the last of their points.\n“With the 75 percent rollover, I am trying to get rid of points but I’m not trying to save either,” Thompson said. \nBoth Conley and Thompson said they would be angry if there was no rollover. \nThe option of having meal points roll over has somewhat encouraged both freshmen to purchase next year. Conley and Thompson said that they would still purchase a small plan if they lived off-campus because of the ease and convenience that eating on campus offers.\nClark noted that sometimes students in a mad rush to spend points buy cases of water or cleaning supplies for laundry. But, she said, that doesn’t always have to be necessary.\n“If students pay attention, they shouldn’t have to lose $500 of meal points at the end of the year,” she said.
(04/25/07 4:00am)
When she first came to IU four years ago, senior Katie Laughner wasn’t ready to lace up her skates and put an end to her competitive skating career that began when she was 2.\nAt the time, IU didn’t have a team. So after attending a seminar on how to start a team, Laughner decided to start her own figure skating team.\n“I wanted to start the team because I had graduated from high school and my real competitive skating career had come to an end,” Laughner said. “But I wasn’t ready to give that up yet. It’s not like other sports where you can go outside and pick up a basketball and shoot hoops. Every time you go skating it takes organization and planning, and ice time isn’t cheap and isn’t available often.”\nNow, four years later, the team has competed for three years at the National Collegiate Competition earning sixth and fourth, and recently matching another fourth place finish.\nThey have also been Midwest Division Champions for the past two years.\nNow Laughner will be graduating and leaving behind a team she started and helped lead to new beginnings.\n“I really hope that this team continues to grow and expand as much as possible,” Laughner said. “I feel as though it has helped a lot of people make the transition from high school to such a large university like Indiana.” \nWhen she arrived at IU, Laughner didn’t start the team immediately. After meeting more girls who seemed to share her interest, Laughner started up the team with only seven members.\nDespite that, the team placed sixth at the first competition and finished fourth in the Midwest. From there, the team has gone from seven members to 24 competitive members, and placing above the top five in the National Competition.\n“We used to beg people to compete in more events just so we could have a chance of getting more points to keep up with the dominant teams,” Laughner said. “Since then we have become the dominant team – everyone looks up to our team and how it is run.”\nLaughner said she loves how the IU team practices every day together, travels together and forms friendships outside of just the rink. She said most teams don’t have that aspect, but the IU team does.\n“I also really hope the team remains as close as it has become over the past four years,” Laughner said. “We have formed friendships inside and out of the rink, something I never had before I came to IU.”\nLaughner said that despite the team being the youngest on the national circuit, other teams already look up to them. The IU team skates on the ice to earn points and uses strategy to get ahead, Laughner said, but the team skates and does well because of the fun it has.\nWhile the team practices and works hard during the season, Laughner said the team is “all just typical college students.” \nThe team typically practices Sunday through Thursday during the late hours, and weekends are filled with competitions. \nThe team receives a small amount of money from the University, but other than that, it is privately funded, Laughner said. \n“We are able to work and succeed as a team because we share the common love of skating,” Laughner said. “This team wouldn’t be as successful as it is today without the commitment that every team member has made to this team and the sport as a whole.”
(04/23/07 4:00am)
For 10 years, the McDonald’s located in Read Center has provided fast-food service to students at late hours and at meal-point convenience.\nBut when the semester ends, McDonald’s will officially close, packing up its menus and remedies for late-night cravings. \nAccording to a Feb. 9, 2007 Indiana Daily Student article, a majority of students were glad McDonald’s is leaving, as it will allow a new Residential Programs and Services-sponsored dining center to come in and offer healthier dining options.\nFollowing the announcement that McDonald’s is leaving, construction will begin on a new dining center, “El Bistro.”\nEl Bistro won’t just serve one type of food, said Sandra Fowler, director of dining services for RPS.\nThe new dining option will serve breakfast items such as waffles and omelets made-to-order all day, with a station to build burritos and other Mexican food options and a deli station to serve healthy choices. A bagel and pastry section will be available as well.\nWhile the options sound similar to other RPS food courts on campus, Fowler said the new food restaurant will not be like Wright Food Court or the others.\n“It will look different and be menued different,” she said.\nFowler said hours will be similar, with a possible 7:30 a.m. opening time to a midnight close. \nAn RPS survey was conducted earlier this year to gain student feedback on what type of restaurant students would like to see when McDonald’s leaves. Options students could choose from on the survey included a breakfast option, a pasta option and a Mexican option. \nThe new food restaurant will try to encompass several of the options, with breakfast and Mexican choices available.\nThe target date for completion is August or shortly thereafter. Fowler said estimated costs are unknown at this point. \nRachel Long, owner of all the McDonald’s locations in Bloomington, said IU has expressed interest in buying equipment for its new dining facility.\nMcDonald’s contract expires at the end of this semester, and RPS, along with the Meal Plan Committee, discussed renewing the contract or finding another option. \nLong said she estimates that 60 or more students are employed at McDonald’s. She said a lot of students worked an hour or two when their school schedules allowed for it. \n“It was a good store,” Long said, as she recalled it was the only place a “triple-quarter hamburger” could be sold. \n“We are absolutely devastated,” she said. “We like being there. We like the students, and we thought the students liked us. But IU thought it was time for a change to be made.”
(04/20/07 4:00am)
If the walls in the Jacobs School of Music could sing this weekend, they would reverberate with remembrance.\nFriday marks the one-year anniversary of a plane crash just south of the Monroe County Airport that killed five music school students. In memory of those students, the IU and Bloomington communities will come together with a set of public and private remembrances this weekend to honor the victims of the crash. \n“We have been trying to think of how to best remember them,” said Jan Harrington, chair of the Choral Department at the School of Music. “People are understandably sad. It’s hard to believe it’s only already been one year. The grief is still very real.” \nHarrington said thoughts have been circulating for ways to remember these students for some time. \n“We miss them very much,” Harrington said.\nOn Friday at 7 p.m., there will be a communal reading in Recital Hall for the school of music community.\nGabriel Fauré composed the piece “Requiem” for the event taking place at the music school for students, families and friends of the plane-crash victims. \n“Those of us who are in the school can be together and sing together a piece that will honor their memory,” Harrington said.\nOther public memorials that will be taking place Friday and Saturday include a remembrance service at the First United Methodist Church, 219 E. Fourth St. The Friday service begins at noon and the Saturday service begins at 5 p.m.\nThis is an opportunity for people to come together and share in remembrance, music and prayer, said Mary Beth Morgan, the church’s director of adult and family ministries. \nZachary Novak, one of the five music students who died in the crash, was once on staff at the First United Methodist Church. \n“There are so many ways we were touched by that tragedy, and one of the things to do is provide space and ways for people to come together,” Morgan said. “It is for members of the family to come together to remember and be together on this day.”\nMorgan said she hopes this weekend once again provides an opportunity for the church community and IU to come together in memory of the victims, just like a year ago.\nIn addition, the Monroe County Airport will dedicate a bench to the victims at 4 p.m. Friday at the airport.\n“It’s so hard to believe this happened,” Morgan said. “But as you go through the year and you come to certain events and certain things throughout the year, it just touches you in a special way, and realizing how many lives these young folks have touched because I help put on the services together.”
(04/20/07 4:00am)
Battling cold winds that flickered candles held in remembrance, between 50 and 80 students attended a late-night vigil Wednesday evening outside Eigenmann Hall in memory of the victims of Monday’s shootings at Virginia Tech.\nStudents clutched the cups holding their candles close to their chests, hands covering the flickering flame trying to do all they could to keep the light – the memory – burning.\nThe vigil, organized by the Eigenmann Student Government, was open to any students who wished to honor the Blacksburg, Va., community.\nFreshman Kelley Mellinger, Eigenmann Student Government’s president, said there was no question the student government wanted to do something in remembrance, they just did not know what.\nStudents watched from the windows as the crowd gathered outside Eigenmann. The luminaries placed around the circle drive flickered and burned out due to the wind.\n“If the candles burn out, it’s OK – that’s not what we are here for,” Mellinger said. “It’s not about the candle flame and the luminaries, but it’s about so much more – praying in awesome sight in support for the peers at Virginia Tech.”\nEigenmann wasn’t the only residence hall on campus to host a vigil for the Virginia Tech students, as Collins Living Learning Center held a vigil Tuesday. Collins Residence Manager Wil McCall and Student Services Assistant Lauren Weinberg planned the vigil. Weinberg estimated about 70 people attended and 55 candles were used.\n“I was overwhelmed,” she said. “Looking up and seeing all the people in the candelight I felt so comfortable to know a community can come together. Even if they don’t know anyone that was affected, we still feel part of the community being on a university campus.”\nWeinberg said McCall talked about the Virginia Tech students and all those affected. \n“I felt confident that our community did what we could to support one another knowing what was going on miles away,” Weinberg said. “It made me realize you really have to be aware, it’s something to think about never knowing what could possibly happen.” \nAt Eigenmann, four freshman stood huddled together with their candles still burning by the edge of the dorm’s circle drive.\n“It’s something positive,” freshman Bart Geise said. “I’d want other schools to do the same if this happened here.”\nMellinger recalled the moment she found out about the tragedy.\n“Stunned,” she said. “I was stunned. My sister called and I was numb at first. These kids are our peers and our age.” \nA white banner was available at Eigenmann for students to sign with messages of support and condolences. Some read “God bless.” Another said, “On that day, the whole nation of college students were Hokies.” \nThe banner will be sent to Virginia Tech.\n“I felt angry,” freshman Kristie Rzepka said. “Really angry. I felt safe but felt anger that someone could do that to someone else, that it was even possible to do something like that.”\nGeise said he had similar thoughts.\n“They’ve said Virginia Tech and IU have the same makeup of students, so it makes you think,” he said.\nFifth-year senior Marcia Jones led three of her friends in singing “Amazing Grace” as they stood by the flagpole in the circle drive.\n“‘Amazing Grace’ seems just so fitting,” Jones said. “It’s just amazing grace that we are here able to live.”\nJones said that as long as “we come together to breathe,” people can work to build a better future so such tragedies can be prevented. \n“If I died or was even injured or something ever happened to me, I would want someone and other people and families that may not know (those affected) care, because it affects us all in a ripple effect,” Jones said. “It may not hit us quite as hard, but we still feel the crash.”
(04/20/07 4:00am)
When senior Dylan Wickersham took his first diving class, he didn’t know it would lead him to major in underwater archaeology.\nHe also didn’t know that his major, with a little business twist, would make him stick out from all the other hundreds of Little 500 riders in this year’s race. \nWith most Little 500 riders majoring in business or the sciences, one might wonder: Is the choice of major influenced by riding in Little 5?\nFor Wickersham, choosing to major in underwater archaeology stemmed from a childhood love of searching for things. “When you’re a little kid you go out and look for rocks, so the idea of exploring the underwater is really interesting to me,” he said.\nWickersham rides for the IU men’s rugby team, which qualified for the first time this year. Though he’s not a member of the rugby team, Wickersham decided to be part of a Little 5 team because his roommate plays for them. Though this is his first Little 500, Wickersham said he has been cycling since he was 13.\nWickersham, an environmental major searching for a job, hopes to work with agencies in Florida for shipwrecks or to work on ocean conservation\n“As far as I know, (Little 5) has not influenced my major, as I am a senior and already chose it,” Wickersham said.\nLittle 500 race director Matthew Ewing said business and science majors make up a large number of the riders. Of the 347 registered riders, 108 are business majors and 67 are science majors. Only 280 will ride in the race, though. \n“There are a lot of science majors, whether that’s bio, chemistry or they are into the nutrition sciences,” Ewing said. “Something that I’ve really noticed this year are the number of music-school students, just because a lot of them are rookies and when turning in their schedules it is hard for them to know when they can or can’t be at the track. It’s really neat to incorporate students from the music school.” \nEwing said he doesn’t believe riders choose their major based on the race, but they might change their major as they start to enjoy cycling and exercising. \nEwing received his degree in political science, but after being interested in Little 500 as an undergraduate, earned his masters in kinesiology.\nThere are about 11 majors related to kinesiology, outdoor recreation, therapeutic recreation, fitness specialists and health administration.\nSophomore Scott Mueller, who rides for Black Key Bulls, said his major had nothing to do with Little 500, but rather his intention to go pre-med.\nMueller, a neuroscience major, said his major requirements and Little 500 schedule don’t coincide.\n“It’s a tough balance with classes and riders,” Mueller said. “I study every moment I’m not at the track.”\nHe said he notices a lot of education and business majors on the track. \nOn the other hand, Wing It rider Darcie Kozlowski plays a different tune for her major.\n“I’ve been playing my instrument, the French horn, for about 10 years,” Kozlowski said. “I want to be a performer in a symphony, and my business major is something to fall back on so I can get a job.” \nA music performance and business major, Kozlowski just began riding and will be an alternate rider in her first Little 500 race, but she intends to continue racing.\nWhile her major combines music with business, Kozlowski said she thinks the riders on the track have majors that are equally balanced.\n“It’s a little bit of everything,” she said. “I don’t think there are a lot of music majors, but the majors are diverse across the board.” \n–Sports Editor Michael Sanserino contributed to this story.
(04/19/07 4:00am)
Many students would consider it a dream job.\nWhile others toil away at cash registers or deep fryers to make slightly better than minimum wage, sophomore Zach Yarnoff's job is to play the latest and greatest video games from EA.\nYarnoff is the campus representative for the company, the largest video game publisher in the world, known for such hit titles as "The Sims" and the Madden football franchise.\nAs campus representative, it's his job to promote EA's newest titles through contests and events throughout Bloomington.\n"There's a lot of creativity involved in figuring out what works and what doesn't," Yarnoff said of planning events.\nDespite the large number of college students who play video games, Yarnoff says that the hardest part of his job is often getting a big crowd of students out at an event. \n"You have to go out to get people motivated," he said, "They don't motivate themselves."\nStill, since he started the job in January after answering a Facebook ad, his fame has grown around campus, and he is now regularly recognized by other students.\n"Having a job where people like you for what you do is nice," he said.\nYarnoff takes over as the campus's EA rep at an interesting time for the video game industry, as the three console makers, Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony, have all recently launched new systems.\nHe says that right now people are most excited for Nintendo Wii games and the system's innovative motion-sensing controller, while gamers go wild for the Sony Playstation 3's advanced graphics.\nHe calls Microsoft's Xbox 360 the "classic" system that just about everyone enjoys playing.\nYarnoff began playing video games on the NES, with an early baseball game he now fondly remembers. \n"Video games make time go by when you're bored," he said. "They're a lot better than TV."\nAnd while his job might seem like all fun and games, as a student in the Kelley School of Business, his work with EA might lead him to a job higher up in the billion-dollar-a-year video game industry.\n"It's certainly possible," he said. "I think it's grooming me for bigger things"
(04/18/07 4:00am)
Two men were arrested for possession of marijuana and intent to deal marijuana around 5 p.m. Sunday.\nBloomington Police received information that Jeremy Webb, 27, was dealing marijuana around the Bloomington area, according to a police report read by BPD Detective Sgt. Jeff Canada.\nCanada said police used surveillance to determine that Webb was dealing with a friend, Jeffrey Sanford, 25.\nAt the corner of Fairfax and Smithville roads, police found a vehicle belonging to the men with 1 to 2 pounds of marijuana, which has a street value between $500 to $1,000, Canada said.\nAfter the police obtained a search warrant of Webb’s residence, a small amount of marijuana was located there as well, according to the report.
(04/18/07 4:00am)
At Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., this past weekend, the IU figure skating team entered the National Collegiate Figure Skating competition with one goal in mind: to place better than its fourth-place finish last year.\nWhile the team didn’t improve upon last year’s finish, they matched their placing with another fourth place finish. \nHopes and enthusiasm ran high during the first half of the competition. \nBeth Dorr, sophomore and president of the club, said the team started off in first place for at least half of Saturday, the first day of competition. But “slowly but surely,” she said, the team kept dropping down to second, and then third.\n“It was exciting because it came down to the last event,” Dorr said. “And unfortunately we lost it.”\nWhile the placing is the same in comparison to last year, Dorr said the team increased in point total by about 10-15. \nDartmouth, the host school, won again, as it has for the past three years.\nDorr said the team was very organized and she said it almost felt like the team was “in another league.” There were different events compared to past tournaments and in terms of organization as well.\nAs the team looks to the next season for competition, Dorr said the team is beginning to learn strategies and techniques of what to put into for each event at competitions like Nationals. \n“There was one event that had 20 competitors and some only had five,” Dorr said. “So it makes us wonder if it is the best thing to have three or four competitors for a 20 event.”\nAs for next year, the IU figuring skating hopes to keep going.\n“For the most part, we are looking forward to our team growing and improving overall,” Dorr said.
(04/17/07 4:00am)
Last year as a freshman, John Bade lived in the residence halls and noticed a problem when it came to searching for off-campus housing for the following year. \nThere seemed to be a problem between students and off-campus property owners reaching each other, he said.\nSo in July of 2006, Bade decided to start up his own business, www.iuliving.com. He launched the Web site to provide better services for students looking for off-campus apartments and houses, while simultaneously offering a cheap way for property owners to advertise.\nBade said the logic behind the site was to eliminate the high cost of advertising that companies face and to offer these companies low prices to encourage them to list on the Web site. \nCurrently the site receives about 3,500 hits a month and about 17 companies use the site to advertise.\nThe company will be completing its first year this summer, and Bade said the site so far is doing very well.\nBut the School of Public and Environmental Affairs business marketing major isn’t too concerned with profit.\n“I am more concerned with service than the profit I will receive,” he said. \nLori Abram, owner of Choice Realty & Management, advertises on the site and began using the service when it first started.\n“I did it mainly because it was affordable advertising with the potential to reach IU students,” Abram said, noting that more than half of her clients are IU students.\n“It’s broadened our marketing ability,” Abram said. “It’s just a very inexpensive resource for us so it has just helped us to add to what we do.” \nDave Kerber, manager of Varsity Properties which provides off-campus housing to mostly IU students, said he doesn’t use www.iuliving.com to advertise primarily because advertising through newspapers is “always going to be there.”\nKerber said sites such as Bade’s are frequently started by college students.\n“I understand that they are pretty excited about doing something and to make an impact, but there are so many Web sites out there that many of the management companies are leery to put a bunch of money advertising through them,” Kerber said. \nKerber said some advertisers are questionable about college students’ Web sites because of the accountability of such sites. They don’t know what will happen when the students graduate, he said.\n“Everywhere you go, every year there is a new Web site that comes up for advertising and everyone is trying to make money,” Kerber said. “A lot of times it doesn’t work out. It’ll be there for one year with big promises but it never lasts for more.”\nBade said he plans to have his site around for a long time, even after graduation. He said in the near future he wants to expand www.iuliving.com to other colleges. \n“This is what I want to do,” Bade said. “I want to provide it for universities in the future. Especially in this day and age when students use technology for the key source of information. Online advertising will be the new market, and newspaper (will be) old news.”\nBade said property management pays $200 per year for unlimited advertising and is encouraged to list all the houses they have trouble getting exposure to.\nAs his company continues to expand, Bade hopes more students use his site to find off-campus housing and communication between them and property owners will increase. \n“When students think of off-campus housing they need to think of iuliving.com,” Bade said. “I’m trying to gain a majority of property in Bloomington for the most official unofficial off-campus housing Web site for IU.”
(04/16/07 4:00am)
Clad in green volunteer shirts, graduate student Megan Janasiewicz and her two friends spent their Sunday afternoon at Third Street Park.\nThey enjoyed the music and the breezy afternoon, but they were there for another reason: to help raise awareness in the fight to prevent homelessness.\nOn Sunday, Bloomington, in sponsorship with IU, came together for the fifth annual Homeward Bound walk, a statewide event that raised money to fight homelessness.\nMore than 400 people marched down the hill to the corner of Third Street Park, 331 S. Washington St., as part of a 5K walk. Many waved flags and signs proclaiming their dedication to fighting homelessness in Monroe County.\nShalom Community Center was one of the agencies that benefitted from Sunday’s event. Executive Director Joel Rekas said homelessness should be identified as a moral issue.\n“We are in the wrong war,” Rekas said. “We need to declare war on homelessness and poverty.”\nA team from Ivy Tech in Bloomington wore green camouflage shirts, with “Combat Poverty” as the slogan.\nBloomington’s walk was one of 10 that occurred throughout the state in April, said Vickie Provine, city program manager with the Department of Housing and Neighborhood Development. Provine co-sponsored the event with Darrell Ann Stone, assistant director of student activities at IU.\nStone said this year more students than ever participated in and planned the walk. Janasiewicz and her friends were just some of the many student volunteers at the event.\nThe walk aimed to raise $70,000 for 13 Bloomington community agencies that work with the homeless, Provine said. Every dollar raised was divided equally between the 13 agencies. \nAt the end of the walk, about $51,000 was raised by the walk’s participants. Stone and Provine said they expect more donations to come in during the upcoming weeks.\nWhile the money raised may not be final, Sunday’s tentative amount nearly surpassed last year’s $60,000, Stone said. Stone and Provine expect the amount to exceed last year’s total.\nElizabeth Blair and Megan Williams, first-year Masters of Business Administration students in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, walked with team United Way. Both are members of the Service Core fellows in SPEA.\n“I participated to raise money and to show support,” Williams said. Before the walk, she said that she did not realize so many children were homeless. Williams learned this from reading one of many fact sheets that were placed throughout the walk.\nWilliams said she felt activities such as the walk would help to raise student awareness for community events.\n“Certain groups are aware and other are not,” Blair said. “It’s the nature of what people care about.”\nJanasiewicz said the walk was beneficial because she thought not many students venture off campus to see what the rest of Bloomington offers. \n“It’s easy to forget the homeless,” Janasiewicz said. “The stereotype, it seems, is that homeless people are crazy and live in cardboard boxes. But so many people are only one paycheck away from being homeless.”
(04/16/07 4:00am)
Junior Kristen King attended her first Miss Gay IU drag pageant last year.\nShe walked out of the IU Auditorium at the end of the night loving it, and she knew she would be back the next year.\n“Someone asked if I wanted to go with, and I’ve never been before,” King said, “and I said sure. When am I ever going to have an opportunity like this?”\nHer positive experience last year led her to attend this year’s 16th annual Miss Gay IU on Friday at the IU Auditorium. \nHosted by OUT, the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender student union, the annual IU tradition celebrates the GLBT community and their allies in Bloomington. \nMore than 900 people attended to see five contestants vie for the Miss Gay IU title, as well as to be entertained by many performances by previous Miss Gay IU winners.\nAnd next year, King plans to attend again.\n“I think our campus is culturally diverse and students should take advantage and have the opportunity to experience things,” King said. “Some people are closed-minded. But some aren’t, and this is a good opportunity to get involved in a different aspect and culture in the University.” \nThe contestants lip-synched, danced and modeled gowns to become Miss Gay IU. Contestants answered an on-stage question, wore gowns and performed. \nIn the end, it was India Black’s talent that won her the title. \nBlack lip-synched a Tina Turner piece for her talent. \nLast year’s winner, Vanessa Vale, crowned host Vicki St. James as Miss Gay IU Emeritus, for all her hard work and dedication in making Miss Gay IU a success for the past 16 years as host. \nA benefit performance was held to raise money for Positive-Link, to help provide services for people living with HIV/AIDS. Vale said that more than $1,000 has been raised so far, and that’s without counting the change received.\n“I hope some not experienced with the gay community or the art of female impersonation learned something.” Vale said. \nUnder her Miss Gay IU title for 2007, Black hopes to continue to work with promoting OUT and hosting discussion panels at the residence halls.\n“I honestly did not expect to win,” Black said. “I was very happy.” \nSt. James asked for audience members to cheer if they were gay or if they were straight. The noise levels for both groups were nearly equal.\n“I really liked that they made a point to say we appreciate all the straight people that attended the event,” King said. “They made a point to recognize that we are there to support them, and I thought that was really great.”\nVale said she hopes India’s reign will be successful.\n“I want India to be so phenomenal and a great representative that people forget who I was,” Vale said. “Even though I feel I did a lot for the program, I really hope the future Miss Gay IU can build upon that.”
(04/13/07 4:00am)
Joel Rekas has his walking shoes out for Sunday.\nThe fifth annual Homeward Bound Walk will take place in the Bloomington, and will benefit the Shalom Center, along with 12 other agencies, from the money and awareness raised. \nIU will be partnering and co-sponsoring with the community for Sunday’s walk, beginning at noon at Third Street Park. All students, faculty, staff and community members are welcome. The goal is to raise $70,000.\nRekas, executive director for the Shalom Center, said he thinks the goal is achievable, because last year more than $60,000 was raised.\n“Every dollar is crucial and we look forward to this event every year,” Rekas said. “I can expect that other agencies involved have similar anticipation to fight for homelessness in Monroe County.” \nThe opportunity of the walk allows the community to come together to rededicate and recommit to the fundamental premise for safe and decent affordable housing, Rekas said. \n“The entire community can understand the important issues and rededicate to finding solutions,” Rekas said.\nSome of the money raised will provide hot meals for 250 people who come to the Shalom Center daily. The money will also help prevent utilities from being disconnected for families who might become homeless, along with purchasing medicine for the others who need it, Rekas said.\nRekas said with the about $4,000 the center received from the annual Homeward Bound walk last year, more can be done to benefit the homeless population that Shalom serves.\nThe 5-kilometer walk in Bloomington is just one of 10 walks that will occur throughout the state. \nThe walk is in collaboration with the City of Bloomington and IU. Darrell Ann Stone, associate director of student activities at IU, and Vicki Provine, City of Bloomington program manager with the department of Housing and Neighborhood Development, co-sponsor the walk.\nProvine said last year between 500 and 600 people came out to walk.\n“We appreciate donations, but if you don’t have the money just come and walk and support the cause,” Provine said. \nProvine said that the walk will help educate the community on stereotypes and other factors impacting the public’s perception of the homeless and to become more aware of other issues involved, such as those who are sick and disabled.\nEducation of the homeless extends to IU as well, and Stone said she decided to become involved with the walk because not only is she passionate about homeless and affordable housing, but because she feels responsibility to students to be aware of the social issues in the community in which they live. \nProvine said that the walk isn’t just about the money.\n“Not only does the walk also raise the funds to help, but it is important for us to educate the community; to put homelessness in the hearts and minds of the community,” Provine said.
(04/13/07 4:00am)
As she stood in the chilly April weather, senior Kelly Hannon wore number 82.\n“Wearing a number hits you more,” she said. “Your number represents someone on campus that experienced a \npersonal issue.”\nHannon’s number went beyond mathematics to represent the estimated 50 to 88 students who have been sexually assaulted since the start of the school year. \nWearing black T-shirts with numbers pinned to them, about 80 students stood by the red clock between Woodburn Hall and Ballantine Hall on Thursday shortly before noon to raise awareness for sexual assault and demand a world without rape and violence, Hannon said.\nFriends of the Middle Way House organized the event, “Stand Up and Be Counted.” The group offers a tie between students and Middle Way House, allowing the students the opportunity to become more involved in ending sexual assault on campus.\nMiddle Way House is a center seeking to end domestic violence and sexual assault in the lives of women and children by sponsoring activities and programs to achieve individual and social change.\n“Not enough people take the effort to make the issue aware to the population,” Hannon said. “Because such issues happen on personal levels, no one sees sexual assault. As a result, people don’t know how much \nit happens.”\nFriends of the Middle Way House president and senior Holly Spitz said the group took the IU-affiliated reports from Middle House statistic reports in order to calculate the number of sexual assaults on campus.\nThe reports stated there were14 sexual assaults involving IU students. However, some cases of sexual assault aren’t reported. Spitz said her calculations determined that the numbers 50 to 88 represent the estimated number of victims at IU who have been sexually assaulted in the past year. \nDespite the cold weather, Spitz said she thought the event was successful.\n“I really do think people walked away knowing something different than before,” she said. \nWith the recent media attention being brought to sexual assault victims retracting statements, Spitz said she felt the event was especially important.\n“With people lying, it makes it that much harder for the real victims,” Spitz said. “What we have to do as a community is when someone does come to say they believe they have been sexually assaulted, the best thing to do is believe them without jumping to conclusions of, ‘Are you sure about this?’”\nOne of the main points of the event was to address how friends can help other friends and survivors of sexual assault.\n“We as a community should react to such violence by not victim-blaming,” Spitz said. “It is the attackers’ choice for the violence and not the victims.”\nJunior Isabelle Gerard, a participant, said she believes one of the biggest problems is that so many victims don’t feel comfortable coming forward.\n“So many remain silent for various reasons,” she said. “Some are scared of what peers think and what will happen to them after they go and speak with someone. … A lot of times I don’t think the victims think there is anyone for them to talk to, so one of our main goals is to let students know what Middle Way offers.” \nHannon said that the importance of “standing up” Thursday was to look at the numbers and realize the significance.\n“Standing alone to see that one person is a representative of assault is one thing,” Hannon said. “But seeing all the numbers together really makes a big effect.”\nAs participants walked away from the red clock Thursday, Spitz felt the power amongst the group who stood.\n“It was really amazing to see people out there to learn, especially since sexual assault is not a fun topic to get people to talk about,” Spitz said. “It was nice to have support out there for the survivors everywhere.”
(04/13/07 4:00am)
What started six months ago as a trip home has developed into an adventure that 2005 IU graduate Christy Mehrlich never expected.\nAll she knew was she wanted to see some historical sites, but more importantly to spread awareness about Angel flight, a volunteer-based group that organizes flights for people who need to go to different emergency locations.\n“So if there is a really nice children’s hospital two states away, Angel Flight contacts pilots and asks them to fly patients to that hospital,” Mehrlich said.\nAs a spokesperson for Angel Flight, Mehrlich hopes to raise more attention for the group and possibly raise some funds.\nStarting in May, Mehrlich will be heading from Bloomington to California, but before she does so, she will make other trips.\nMehrlich, who is a pilot and a native of California, will be flying her own plane to 40 states in a five-month span. \nShe will be spending at least three days in each spot she visits. She will fly and land her plane, and then dedicate the remainder of the day to reaching the place she will stay overnight, whether it is a hostel, bed and breakfast or a cheap motel, she said. \nAfter departing from Bloomington on May 2, the first stop on Mehrlich’s schedule is Kent State University in Ohio, where she will be meeting with a group of students to discuss the memorial of the May 4 shooting which occurred in 1970 when the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd, killing four Kent State students and wounding nine others. \nMehrlich said the students she will meet with will be commemorating the event, and she will be attending the annual vigil as well. \nMehrlich said her father used to be involved in an organization that later merged with Angel Flight, which is how she started working for the organization. Now as a sponsor, Mehrlich said Angel Flight is helping her on the trip with support for her endeavor. In return, she’ll help raise awareness for the organization. \nMehrlich also plans to dig up fossils in North Dakota, see endangered species in the Florida Everglades, go spelunking in Alabama and visit Wounded Knee in South Dakota. \n“I’m pretty excited about going to Washington D.C. for over a week,” Mehrlich added. While there, she hopes to visit the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum along with the Arlington National Cemetery. Merhlich said that when she was younger she previously visited the cemetery, but she is looking forward to seeing it again.\n“There are a lot of things when you are a kid that you don’t understand the gravity of,” she said. “Now that I am older, I have a greater respect.”\nBob Burke, owner of BMG Aviation, said that Angel Flight recently flew in a woman from Michigan who was undergoing cancer treatment at the Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institution in Bloomington. \nBurke said that BMG airport gives fuel donations to Angel Flight pilots.\nMehrlich has been flying since 2003, when she got her pilot’s license. With her majors in business and journalism, Mehrlich said she hopes she can incorporate writing into her upcoming adventure.\n“My plan is to put a book together about the travels at the end of five months, so I’m excited about getting out there to interview and talk to people,” Mehrlich said.\nMehrlich will be alone in her flights, but she admits she is not nervous, just anticipating the trip. She said she is overwhelmed with planning for the trip, but looking forward to the places that await her.\n “It’s not like a regular trip that I am going to digest on my own,” Mehrlich said. “I am really going to be proactive in finding out people’s opinions about activities they are doing and how they perceive what I am doing from \ntheir perspectives.”
(04/12/07 4:00am)
Lounge housing in the fall? The possibility of it still looms for students living in residence halls next year. \nNow that the new Residential Programs and Services online housing system is closed for registration, RPS is looking for feedback from students. Even though registration is complete, students who missed the deadlines aren’t the only ones waitlisted for housing next year. \nWith more than 2,300 current students wanting to live in the halls next year, RPS is now waiting to see if students will drop out, and are waiting to hear the final call on how many students will be in the incoming freshman class. If the demand for dorm housing from the current and incoming student population is too high, some may have to temporarily live in lounges like students did in the fall, said Sara Ivey Lucas, Assistant Director of Housing Assignments.\nThe online program registered 2,361 students who signed up for RPS housing next year, about 300 more than last year, said Ivey Lucas.\nWith the admissions office predicting an incoming freshman class of 6,800, Ivey Lucas said there is a possibility that lounges may have to be occupied again.\nBut right now, shes said that doesn’t seem likely because usually 300 students will decide not to live in the dorms as they had originally planned. In addition, the official 2011 freshman class number won’t be available until May or June.\nRPS does have options to consider if overcrowding happens.\nIvey Lucas said upperclassmen with double singles could be notified that they may be receiving a roommate. \nSomehow, she said, everyone will be “taken care of.”\nFor now, RPS is asking students to complete feedback surveys about the online registration today in Read Dining Hall between 5 and 6:30 p.m. All participants will receive a $5 Campus Access Card and eligibility to be entered to win a $50 Campus Access Card, Ivey Lucas said. \nIvey Lucas said she felt that the process went smoothly overall. RPS frequently sent out e-mails reminding \nstudents of the phases and options available, and Ivey Lucas even admits that “might have been overkill,” but at least students were aware.\nFreshman Alex Lizza said she deleted some of the e-mail reminders, but she was aware of the process.\n“It was really easy to sign up and renew your information,” she said. While she received the room she wanted, some of her friends, she said, did not, which she attributes to confusion during the sign-ups.\nIvey Lucas said some students thought it was more work than in the past, but she said this process gave the students “a lot more freedom.”\n“Some students entered the system over 40 times over the four-month span,” she said. “To request a room, it gave students a lot more control.”\nWhile RPS may have updated her too frequently, freshman Lauren Raichle liked the online process overall.\n“Everything online is a lot quicker, and the system kept me on track,” she said. \nWith student feedback coming in, Ivey Lucas said RPS is looking for ways to improve the system next year. \nPossible future changes include how students request and find out about double-singles, along with shortening the timeline and phases for when students can sign up for housing.\nIvey Lucas hopes to explain the phases better as well, as some students thought phase four meant to choose any room in the same neighborhood where they currently live, instead of what it truly means – to chose any residence hall on campus with an open room.\nLizza said she was confused by some of the phases, noting she was unsure of the general outline. But, overall, she felt the system was effective.
