862 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(10/13/05 3:23am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>I applaud Alex Shortle for striving to be open to the concerns of his constituents and to advocate on their behalf, as expressed in his guest column, "IU Student Association speaks out to students," Oct. 6. However, I would like to point out that IUSA is not, as Shortle claims, "the representative body of the students of IU." Rather, it should be considered the representative body of the undergraduate students of IU-Bloomington. The Graduate and Professional Student Organization is the representative body of the graduate and professional students on this campus has been since 2002, when the graduate and professional student body ratified a constitution endorsing that claim and the chancellor of the Bloomington campus recognized the organization as such. It is high time that other campus entities, including IUSA, realized that we have two student governments on this campus.
Elizabeth RyttingGraduate student
(09/27/05 5:20am)
Members of the IU worker's union are questioning the Office of Environmental Health and Safety Management's ability to respond quickly and effectively to hazards at IU, such as a recent incident which exposed workers to mercury vapors. \nOn July 19, two plumbers were exposed to vaporized mercury after cutting a drainpipe with a rotary grinder in Kirkwood Hall 212. The mercury had likely been sitting in the pipe since the 1950s, when the building was used as a science lab, according to the OEHSM, which spearheaded the cleanup. Members of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees were upset after the plumbers showed elevated levels of mercury. They said OEHSM should have been more proactive in locating such hidden dangers and informing workers about them ahead of time. \n"It think it was a fairly bumbling response to a fairly serious problem," said Randy Pardue, a member of the executive board for the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, Local 832.\nMercury can affect the central nervous system when dangerous amounts are inhaled, ingested or contact the skin, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.\nAccording to the ATSDR's Web site, "Exposure to high levels of metallic, inorganic or organic mercury can permanently damage the brain, kidneys and developing fetus."\nAfter two months and medical treatment, one of the workers is still affected by the poisoning, said Dallas Murphy, local president of AFSME. \n"One's doing alright, the other's not doing really well," Murphy said. "He's having trouble with memory and still gets the shakes a lot." \nMurphy said the worker has also been missing some work. \nThe day of the incident, the plumbers were sent home wearing the clothes they had worn when exposed to mercury vapors. \nMike Jenson, associate director of OEHSM, said his office was not aware of the severity of exposure until after the workers had been sent home. \n"Our response team sent the workers in for medical surveillance as a precaution, but there was no visible contamination on them," he said. "It was not until their test results came in several days later that it became apparent that they had a significant exposure."\nOn Aug. 16, a month later, members of the Office of Development and Alumni Programs in Kirkwood Hall were advised not to come to work that day. The office, which is directly across the hall from the initial spill, was undergoing a cleanup by the OEHSM after more mercury had been discovered. \nJenson said his office responded to reports that plumbing work had been performed above the ceiling of the Office of Development and Alumni Programs. \n"We investigated and found a small amount of mercury on the carpet and a few beads on some furniture," he said.\nJenson said the decision to send home office staff was just a precaution, and no dangerous level of mercury was detected in the air. He said his team did not generate any reports documenting the Aug. 15 to 16 cleanup. \nFurniture was moved out of the office, and the carpet was removed, according to witnesses in the office. Before the cleanup, the custodial staff had vacuumed the carpet, unaware it contained mercury. \n"I was told by members of the custodial staff that they vacuumed the carpet of the office where mercury was found," Jenson said. "A short time after the carpet removal, we checked the bags on a number of vacuum cleaners and found one with some mercury vapor in it. OEHSM has the vacuum itself and we are still in the process of testing it, so we have not made a decision on whether it is necessary to dispose of it or not -- if it does need to be disposed of our office will make the necessary arrangements."\nJody Smith, one of the building managers for Kirkwood Hall, said she didn't recall OEHSM offering an official announcement that the building was safe, and no one in her workspace, located below the initial spill, had been offered to be tested. \nSince no one had told her otherwise, Smith said she assumed everything was OK.\nJenson met with members of the Kirkwood Hall staff from the College of Arts and Sciences Office and the Office of Development and Alumni Programs, at which point they were offered the option of testing. The people who worked with Smith in the Graduate Studies Office were somehow out of the loop, Smith said.\n"I feel that oftentimes, all the departments don't communicate to each other, like who's doing what," Smith said.\nJenson said OEHSM did not find the mercury levels to be a threat, so he found no reason to offer mercury testing to each individual in the building. \n"The results of our testing indicate that the office did not contain dangerous levels of mercury vapor at any time. When it became apparent in September that some members of the staff were uncomfortable with the situation, we offered testing to them in order to set their minds at ease."\nA lack of communication is one of the issues which contributed to the initial spill, Murphy said. He suggested OEHSM build a database that lists all the potential hazards of each building, going back into its entire history so workers could be more prepared.\nMurphy said since the incident, communication has improved between OEHSM and the workers. But he's concerned OEHSM faces some barriers when it tries to actively inform people about hazards on campus. \n"I feel that they are being held back from being proactive. A lot of times they're told to turn their head the other way. I strongly feel that that's what's going on out there," Murphy said.
(09/26/05 4:29am)
IU alumna Maria Luz Corona never considered failure to be an option. Holding positions as a secretary in a steel mill, a civil rights intern, a social worker and now a judge for the domestic relations court in Gary, Corona serves as a source of inspiration for Latinos throughout the country. \nSaturday afternoon at the Distinguished Latino Alumni Award luncheon, Corona was honored for excellence in her community, northwest Indiana. The Latino Alumni Association also awarded junior Isabel Estevez a scholarship for her achievements. Estevez is currently studying in Paris, and her mother Magdalena Herdoiza-Estevez accepted the award on her behalf.\nCorona graduated from IU in 1969, and went on to earn a master's degree in social work from the University of Denver in 1973. She returned to IU to earn her doctorate of jurisprudence in 1981. Corona describes herself as a "late bloomer" for her schoolwork, and said if someone wants to further their education, they should do it regardless of their age. \n"I don't know how to inspire people to give back," Corona said. "I only know when I was struggling through school, there weren't any Hispanics to give me anything." She said if students identify with their community, they will give back to it when they get the chance. \nShe emphasized leadership can be effective even if it appears in the background. People behind the scenes working in small ways are leaders, she said.\nAlumnus Danny Simonsohn, a resident of Miami Beach, Fla., served as chairperson of the award's selection committee. \n"We have to recognize the success of our alumni," he said. "We have things in the community that might be overlooked that need to be celebrated."\nSimonsohn said his criteria were based on merit and commitment to the community, especially relative to the Latino community. He wants future and current Latino students to know their efforts will not go unappreciated. \nCorona said she's now in a position to give back to her school and community.\nAlumna Iris Rosa said Corona has been giving back to her community for a long time. Rosa thanked Corona for personally impacting her life. Corona visited Rosa's family in East Chicago, Ind., and showed her the opportunities a college education could provide. When Corona took Rosa for a visit to IU, Rosa liked what she saw and decided to attend. Rosa graduated from IU in 1973.\nShe quoted a song in Spanish that means "give me your hand because I'm falling." Now she is an associate professor in the department of African American and African Diaspora studies. "Thank you, Lucy, for extending your hand," Rosa said.\nHerdoiza-Estevez knows her daughter's award will mean a lot to her family and community. \n"Isabel has received many awards, but this one is so special because it's honoring her heritage and culture," she said. "Through Isabel, this is honoring the community." \nEstevez lived in Ecuador until she was 9 years old, when her family moved to Louisville, Ky. \nHer mother said she has always been intellectually curious, and won spelling bees shortly after learning English. She also speaks Spanish and French, and carries a 3.87 GPA. \n"Not only are we proud, but we are very grateful," Estevez said. "These recognitions help our community to realize its own value and potential, and we appreciate this so much. This award is honoring her culture, a culture that has enriched us and the world"
(09/19/05 3:34am)
A new document awaiting approval could give graduate students more money, better working conditions and a union to fight for them one day.\nThe Graduate Employees Organization began casting ballots to ratify its constitution at its first mass meeting Thursday night.\nThe proposed constitution lists among its objectives the advocacy for "better stipends, benefits and working conditions for Indiana University's graduate employees." All graduate students who pay dues would be eligible to join the GEO, according to the proposed document.\nThe organization welcomes opinions about the constitution and can amend it if members vote against it, Department of English graduate student Ursula McTaggart said .\nThe two-year-old GEO based its framework on other graduate student union constitutions because they've had more experience, McTaggart said.\nThe GEO steering committee created the constitution because it wanted to formalize the organization, increase efficiency and create positions so members can take active roles, Department of English member Morgan Fritz said.\nProposed positions include two coordinators who will act as a president and vice president, a treasurer, two communications officers and a technical support officer, McTaggart said. The organization hopes to hold elections later this semester.\nLast year, the GEO doubled its membership to 405 and aims for another 200 percent increase so the group can have a greater presence before asking IU for formal recognition as a union, Fritz said.\nCurrently, the GEO identifies itself as a democratic union that advocates for graduate employees and works informally with the Communication Workers of America, according to the proposed constitution.\nThe CWA is a union that represents IU's support staff.\nAlthough unionizing will help graduate employees advocate more effectively for better benefits, the GEO acts for these issues now.\nThursday's meeting occurred three days after the organization presented IU President Adam Herbert with a petition to grant dental care insurance to graduate employees. The GEO has yet to hear a reply from Herbert and plans to inquire about his response if the petition remains unheard after a couple of weeks, GEO member Adrianne Wadewitz said.\nIU spokesman Larry MacIntyre did not return phone calls by press time.\nIf Herbert denies their request, Wadewitz said the GEO will try again using different methods.\nAbsent members can vote from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday at the Herman B Wells Library. The GEO Steering Committee meets at 4 p.m. Mondays in the Commons of the Indiana Memorial Union.
(09/07/05 4:59am)
A study performed on smokers by IU researchers has been temporarily suspended after it was discovered some subjects' names and addresses had been compromised.\nLed by the IU Psychology Department, it is thought to be the longest-running U.S. study of smoking behaviors in the same subject. The study tracked teens through adulthood and followed up on their smoking habits. It began in 1980 and surveyed 8,500 students in Monroe County middle and high schools. The IU researchers continually kept in contact with the students through adult-hood with many follow-up surveys.\nIU professor Peter Finn, head of the Institutional Review Board that halted the study, said the breach "started quite a while ago," as early as 1994, but came to light within the last two weeks. Finn said study workers gave the names and addresses of some subjects involved in the study to class reunion organizers.\nFinn said the Board's review, which is not completed, aims to determine how the breach happened and then figure out what the researchers are going to do about it.\n"We need to make sure that they're clear," he said.\nFinn said that sensitive information beyond the subjects' names and addresses were not compromised.\n"We are waiting for the \nreview board to begin re-examining the situation at this months meeting," said Ann Gellis, associate dean in the Office of Research.\nTo prevent the releasing of any further information by researchers, Gellis said that various educational programs will be given to make sure a situation such as this does not happen again.\n"Some of the people who were disclosed are ones in which we have been in contact with for over 20 years," Gellis said. "The people who wanted the information had the various class numbers of their former classmates, and the researcher had the current contact information."\nThe study, which was initiated by Jim Sherman, IU professor of psychology, had follow-ups with students in 1987, 1994, 1995, 1999 and a new survey was introduced in 2004.\nAs the students became older and graduated from high school, the study became more complicated and now has both a survey for adolescents and adults who have continued to volunteer for the survey as they have grown older.\nFinn said in a best-case scenario, the study will resume in a week and a half. In a worst-case scenario, the study could be fully revoked. But he added he doesn't think the breach will be a "huge problem" and that the issue will be resolved soon.\n"The study is an extremely important study," Finn said. "Some errors have been made that need to be rectified."\n-- Campus Editor Rick Newkirk contributed to this \nreport.
(07/21/05 2:49am)
IU is constantly trying to find new ways to attract students from outside the University. Now a new program through the IU-Bloomington continuing studies office is aimed at potential students already involved in the IU community.\nProject Advance is designed to serve IU staff, where they will earn an Associate of Arts in General Studies in seven semesters. Participants take two back-to-back evening classes a semester for a total of six credit hours. \nAccording to the IUB Continuing Studies Web site, a General Studies degree helps to advance students in their job or train for a new career, builds confidence and provides a sense of accomplishment and prepares for continuing studies in graduate or professional schools\n"IU has thousands of employees, many of whom don't have a degree," said Ron White, director of IUB Continuing Studies. "As a university we need to be in the position of encouraging our own people to advance their education. That's what we do for a living."\nThe program is specifically tailored for employees who will also be working full-time positions with IU. Classes start at 5:45 p.m. for the convenience of those whose workdays end at 5 p.m. The professors of the two classes offered this fall, Elementary Composition and American History I, will work together when feasible to link assignments. \nProfessors are also hand selected for the program.\n"We try to identify faculty who work well with older students," White said. "These students have more experience than 18-year-olds right out of high school, and we try to encourage incorporating that experience and building assignments around it."\nWhite said if enough IU staff enroll in the program, the classes will consist only of adult students. \nBernadette Robinson-Kinzer, staff representative for local 4730 of Communications Workers of America, said that the thought of classes with younger students can be daunting for some adults wanting to continue their education, and classes consisting of only adult students might be attractive.\n"There is a great deal of self-consciousness," she said. "They are very leery of going back to class. They feel they will look stupid, are afraid to ask questions and afraid they won't fit in."\nRobinson-Kinzer said that funding can also be an issue. Though staff members receive half off their tuition, the money they are discounted comes out of their department's budget. She said some department supervisors may be hesitant to part with precious funding if they feel they are simply paying for an employee to receive a promotion in another department.\n"We have to remember IU is a single employer," she said. "It's not an employee's fault they may not want to pay for fee courtesy."\nSome scholarships will be available to help get employees started in the program, White said.\nThough White said the program does not guarantee any sort of promotion or raise within the University for graduates of the program, he believes any sort of continuing education can only be beneficial.\n"In the most general way, any time someone increases their education, they also increase their potential for advancement," he said.
(06/16/05 12:27am)
When checking the mail a few months ago, IU alum, stage designer and Professor Robert O'Hearn got the surprise of his life. The Theatre Development Fund had invited him to New York City to receive the Robert L. B. Tobin award for Lifetime Achievement in Theatrical Design.\n"It was a great recognition, and neat to stand up and speak before 400 people," O'Hearn, 83, said. \nIn his acceptance speech, he thanked people for being a wonderful influence in his life, he said.\nBefore doing a show, O'Hearn said he listens to the opera on records and meets with the \ndirector.\n"It's best if there's equal collaboration," he said. "(We) try to figure out an exciting way to do it."\nO'Hearn creates color sketches of sets and costumes, and tries to picture how the entire end product will look as he makes his designs.\n"It's thrilling to design things and see them onstage," he said.\nO'Hearn said he believes the costumes show the character of the people.\n"He takes a personal interest in every costume," said Michelle Boyle, supervisor of costume construction with the IU theatre. "He's a very accommodating designer. He takes every element into consideration, (such as) cost and body type." \nDana Tzvetkov graduated from IU in 2000 with a major in costume construction and has been the First Hand in the costume department for the past year.\n"You learn so much by talking to him," she said. "Sometimes he'll bring in the New York Times to show us fashions."\n"We are very fortunate to have someone of his caliber," Boyle added. "He knows what he wants with the designs, but is flexible. He makes our job easier."\nAssistant to the Director of Costumes Elèonore Maudry agrees with the other workers that O'Hearn is a great asset.\n"He makes you a part of what he's done," she said.\nSince O'Hearn first began theatre design, he says many aspects of technology have changed.\n"Switchboards are much better. Everything is digital...it goes much faster, we can do a better job."\nStill, O'Hearn said the designers of the past were brilliant.\n"It's not so much the technology that makes things good, it's the designer," he said.\nHe has been involved with theatre since his days at South Bend Central High School. He went on to graduate from IU with a degree in theatre in 1943. From there, O'Hearn went to Cambridge, Mass., for set design at the Brattle Theatre.\nIn 1951, he designed Falstaff, his first opera. He has also created designs for the New York Metropolitan Opera.\nAccording to the Internet Broadway Database Web page, O'Hearn applied his artistic skill to 18 Broadway shows in the 1950s and 1960s. Titles include "The Pajama Game," "My Fair Lady" and "West Side Story." \nO'Hearn said he got involved with opera and found it more exciting than Broadway. His experiences in opera design allowed him to travel the globe, doing performances in Vienna, Hamburg, Bregenz, and Strasbourg. Domestically, O'Hearn has worked in Houston, Santa Fe and San Francisco, among other cities. \nIn 1989, O'Hearn came back to his Hoosier roots and became a professor and chair of the design department for the school of music. \n"I think working with students is what keeps him coming back, hearing the new ideas," Boyle said.\nO'Hearn is working on designing the fall and spring ballets for the upcoming school year. He said there are different challenges with ballets as opposed to opera.\n"We have to create an open space for dancers, which make for a different type of design," O'Hearn said.\nWhile he has lived in many locations while doing theatre work, O'Hearn is happy with his decision to move back to Bloomington. He said he enjoys working at the MAC and compares the backstage to the Met's in New York City.\n"I like it out here. Campus is beautiful and people don't honk (like in the city)," O'Hearn said.\nHe said there are other benefits of productions in the MAC.\n"The audience is much more intimate, which is good," O'Hearn said. "Singers don't have to strain their voices."\nO'Hearn said he listens to classical music all the time, and enjoys mainly 19th century composers. In his apartment, he has a stereo system with speakers in several rooms so he can enjoy the music throughout his home.\nHe said he feels sorry for people who don't appreciate classical music.\n"I hate rap, that's the worst thing that ever happened," he said\nO'Hearn emphasized the importance of establishing the bet point of view to express the theme and meaning of a piece when designing the set and creating costumes.\n"Otherwise you're just doing decoration," he said. "Don't do something just pretty, help give meaning of the piece."\nO'Hearn plans on spending his days using his talent and designing for theatre. "I'll continue as long as they'll have me"
(05/16/05 12:00am)
The Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center in Bloomfield, Ind. is cutting back jobs, which means Bloomington residents might be losing them. Based on the recommendation of the Defense Department in Washington D.C., the Bloomfield base could face 700 job cuts. It has yet to be set in stone whether or not there will actually be a cutback, and it won't be finalized until President Bush decides in November.\nThis decision does in fact affect IU. Last January, Crane, IU, Purdue and the state of Indiana signed an agreement to share in developing research.\nAfter the proposed cuts were announced, IU President Adam Herbert stepped up and offered to reaffirm IU's relation with the base.\nWe are impressed to see Herbert take initiative and offer this to the naval base. Although this can be seen as a publicity stunt, it gives us the chance to use our departments while helping a cause and assisting a neighboring community. \nWe are, however, concerned with what this might mean economically for Bloomington and its neighbors. The Base Realignment and Closure Commission is developing ways for these workers to find jobs if the naval base is to see such a large employee cut. Jobs are supposed to be created to minimize the loss. However, nothing can ever guarantee smooth sailing when an exorbitant amount of jobs disappear. \nDownsizing is a better option than closing down the facility completely, but either way, this greatly impacts Bloomington. IU will feel the ripple as well. \nGov. Mitch Daniels supports the base closings and layoffs, even with the seemingly negative effects. Isn't Daniels trying to keep graduates in Indiana? Supporting these closings does just the opposite.\nWe are glad to see Herbert taking this stance, as it allows IU to contribute to an important cause. But, it still could spell economic trouble for Bloomington and IU.
(04/06/05 4:43am)
The player's movement is fierce and passionate. A rapid amount of scoring ensues. A ball zings past with the intent to score. This is a sport similar to many others, yet most many people know little about it.\nThe IU Badminton Club started in 1972 under the leadership of faculty member Steve Race. The club has had some slow periods in the past, but under the leadership of club president doctoral student Feng-Ru Sheu, vice president graduate student Qin "Arthur" Zhu and faculty adviser Jim Heersma, the club has improved dramatically from its past and looks forward to its future. \nThe rules for badminton are simple. Similar to tennis, points are scored when a team successfully hits a ball, properly known as a shuttlecock or a bird, into the opponent's court area. Unlike a bouncy tennis ball, a bird has feathers that make it more aerodynamic. The team starting out with the bird is the only one allowed to score on a single possession. \nThose who play badminton are taught not only to have a good time, but to improve their coordination in other sports.\n"I learned that Badminton helps me play well in all other sports. It's funny that all of the important skills are transferred," said Zhu, a graduate student in the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation. \nCompared to previous years, the club has increased both in membership and popularity. Since last year, membership doubled from 35 active members to 70 and has reserved more courts at the Student Recreational Sports Complex and at HPER than ever before. \nWith members from 18 different countries on five continents, communication with club members is diverse and educational. With new social events available at the club this year, ranging from dinners to apple-picking trips, members learn new skills and customs from each other. \n"We've picked up different languages and speak different languages to each other on and off the court. It has been a good experience," said Meng Ai, a member of the club and clinical social worker. \nThe club prides itself on its national tournament every year, the IU Badminton Open, which is held every October at the SRSC. The planning of the open takes a lot time and energy. As president, Sheu claims that in addition to the five hours a week of practice, she also spends a lot of time e-mailing members about current club news and working on the club Web site.\n"Time for the club has expanded a lot this year. There was a lot of programming and organization needed this year for the open. (The open) brought positive growth," said Sheu, a graduate student of instructional technology at the School of Education.\nHeersma, who came to IU in 1968 and was there at the club's founding, has been around the sport for a while. He feels that this year that the organization is going to places that before it has not seen. \n"It has been much more cohesive," he said. "The group, partly because of Feng-Ru, is organizing more, having more members participate as officers, taking responsibility, and has gotten everyone more involved."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Drew Smith at asmithii@indiana.edu.
(03/30/05 6:07am)
Junior Andrew Grover and sophomores Ilan Weismark and Scott Lipsky enjoy an opportunity many college students dream about. Every Saturday the sport communications majors host a WIUS radio show called "Three Guys who Love Talking Sports." And now that WIUS is switching from AM to FM, more people in the community will have the opportunity to listen to them.\n"(FM will) help increase interest in the station," Grover said. "Not enough people know it exists. There are too many shows that people work hard on. AM can't even be compared."\nStation manager and senior marketing major Jason Gucwa said switching to WIUS FM 100.3 will give the station a huge capability to reach more people. \n"Hopefully it will build our population with students and workers," he said. "It'll bring people in to dedicate more time (to the station). The people we'll be able to reach is far and above the people we reach right now."\nWeismark said currently the station only broadcasts half a mile from the Main Library and is often difficult to pick up. Under the new permit, he said, the air waves will reach three and a half miles from the library. He added that it's possible to listen from the Web site, www.wius.org, but only 32 people can listen at a time. The new permit will maximize listeners. Lipsky, the third member of the radio show, is also an Indiana Daily Student employee.\nNow that the station has received the permit, it is up to the workers to make the station fit Federal Communications Commission specifications. Gucwa said the station will have to raise about $30,000 to cover the expenses of buying new equipment and testing it. Once the FCC approves the station, it will receive its official permit. Gucwa said the workers are hoping to have the station up and running by the beginning of the fall term. \nGucwa said WIUS, which, according to its Web site, is entirely student-run and airs 24 hours, 7 days a week, has been hoping to receive a low-power FM construction permit from the FCC for 40 years, and the station is just now receiving it. He said there's a lengthy application process, and because so many stations like WIUS want these permits, it's a waiting game to see who receives one.\nGucwa said the FCC ruled two years ago that WIUS and a woman in Bloomington -- who Gucwa said didn't have radio background but would start a radio station if she received a permit -- would share an FM permit, alternating its usage every four years.\nHe said the station then went into FCC courts to have the ruling changed. WIUS won its case and received a permit after the FCC changed its licensing criteria.\n"It didn't make sense," he said. "The FCC is the FCC; they do what they want and we're just grateful to have (a permit) now."\nHowever, with the FCC permit comes FCC regulations. According to www.fcc.gov, it is illegal to broadcast obscene programming at any time and to broadcast indecent programming during certain hours. The commission enforces these laws and can revoke licenses, impose fines or issue warnings if they are broken.\nCurrently, the station has a list of seven words that DJs cannot say on air. With the switch, the station will have to enforce rules more strictly.\nGucwa said FM is "the big time" and a listener filing a complaint about an on-air slipup could lead to a $10,000 fine.\n"Cuss words are a huge deal, especially with indecency laws," he said. "We're stepping into the real ballgame, there are a lot more chances something you say could get on someone's bad side."\nGucwa said the station might not be able to bounce back from a fine of that magnitude without alumni support or donations from listeners.\nGucwa added that individual DJs are going to responsible for their own shows, and any fine will be that DJ's problem.\n"We're trying to provide students with a learning experience," he said. "They'll have to take responsibility because that's what we have to do."\nWhile the regulations are something the DJs have to worry about when on-air, right now they are just eager to switch.\n"The transition has been in the works for 40 years," added Gucwa, who is graduating in May and said he wishes he had another year here to experience FM radio. "A lot of people are excited; it's a huge milestone. Hopefully everyone else will be into it."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Stephanie Susman at ssusman@indiana.edu.
(03/22/05 4:16am)
Grad students deserve more\nAs members of the Graduate Employees' Organization, we appreciate the editorial board's comments about the skill and energy level of IU's associate instructors. However, we think it a mistake to celebrate the low wages of AIs or to assume that AIs have more time than professors.\nWe are students and researchers as well as teachers. An average W131 teacher, for instance, has an approximate reading load of two books a week and 40 pages of researched writing each semester as a student. As a teacher, she is contracted to work 20 hours a week but often works more, and she is responsible for 2,500 pages of essay grading each school year.\nWe cannot minimize this problem by claiming that AIs are apprentices who will be compensated when they become professors. In fact, less than half of Ph.D.s will find work as tenured professors. Consequently, AIs deserve to be paid fairly for their work here and now, and at IU this is not the case. Because AI stipends constitute a very small portion of IU's budget, a significant raise in pay and benefits for graduate employees would force IU to rearrange its funding priorities; it should not raise tuition.\nUndergraduates might be surprised to learn what AIs earn. A first-year AI in history makes $10,600. All AIs receive limited health care that does not include vision or dental coverage. As adults who often have children or partners to support, such stipends leave AIs hovering around the poverty line. \nAlthough the Indiana Daily Student suggests that IU can attract graduate students with its AI-ships, we actually lose candidates to universities that offer better stipends and health care than IU. In the Big Ten, IU is one of only two universities that offers no form of dental coverage. Graduate employees around the country have won benefits such as dental care, increased stipends and child care by forming unions. \nWe urge graduate and undergraduate students to support GEO's attempt to unionize graduate employees so we can bargain for better stipends and benefits. Overworked and underpaid AIs cannot give students the attention they deserve.\nEd Burmila, Ursula McTaggart, Jeff Motter, Elizabeth Rytting, Jennifer Stinson, Adrianne Wadewitz\nGraduate students\nGraduate Employees' Organization
(03/21/05 5:11am)
Customers of Kiva Café and Sugar and Spice in the Union know Mary Frohliger. The recognition, though, is most likely not by name. Frohliger is known by the students who pass through her cashier line for her array of unique headbands that she has been wearing daily for the past seven years.\nFrohliger is a native of Bloomington, and she was a part of Bloomington High School North's third graduating class. She grew up as one of eight children, including a twin brother compared to whom she is "much more hyper." Frohliger was drawn to work at IU in the 1980s for the job security and high pay, but it is the University's atmosphere that has kept her on staff for almost 23 years. \n"I think the IU community is very positive, and really good," she said. "I enjoy using my energy, and I really like doing it here."\nFrohlinger began her headband tradition about six years ago around Easter time. She discovered her current favorite, one in the shape of a yellow sunflower, at the local Target store. From there, the collecting began. Her collection has grown over the years to include more than fifty headbands, including two dozen Christmas-themed bands alone. \n"I buy most of my headbands from the Dollar Store, but some customers will come in and bring me one that they think I would like," she said with a smile. \nThis tradition that Frohlinger began just for fun has officially become her trademark on the campus. \n"I really can't go one day without wearing one, or I will get yelled at," she said.\nAs an employee of the food services at the Union, Frohliger splits her time between working at the Kiva Café and Sugar and Spice. Her co-workers and managers know that many people appreciate her friendliness and familiarity. \n"Mary is definitely a morning person," said Suzette May, manager of Sugar and Spice. "She's great, and a pleasure to work with in the morning." \nSteve Richards, retail operations director, notes Frohlinger's notoriety with her customers. Richards views her as a sort of institution at the restaurant. \n"Lots of people come to get their coffee and morning wake-up from Mary," he said. "She stands out because she is unique, and she provides a known face when people think of Sugar and Spice." \nAnd it is that face, topped off with a brightly colored headband and a smile, that her customers return to see. \n"Some people will come back after 20 years," Richards said. "She will sometimes remember them by their drinks, but they always seem to remember her."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Kimberly Laughlin at kmlaughl@indiana.edu.
(03/08/05 4:23am)
Editorial harshly portrayed fans\nA recent staff editorial titled "Courtside is for fans in red" printed a misleading portrayal of four dedicated IU students. The article portrayed four young women as "bouncing stereotypes" willing to trade their image to Varsity Properties in return for courtside seats to the IU-Purdue men's basketball game Feb. 22. \nIf the editorial staff chooses to unfairly depict these women as "bouncing stereotypes" or "spokesmodels," they should in all fairness, include that each is an IU honor student achieving great success in her time at IU. \nTo make the statement that courtside should only be for fans in red disregards the fact that at the game Feb. 22, the "fans" sitting directly next to these women were also not wearing red, and were in fact rooting for Purdue.\nWhat the readers of the column need to realize is that each fan who enters Assembly Hall is a walking advertisement. Any fans wearing Abercrombie or Nike are also "making a sales pitch." A full investigation of the events preceding the game would reveal that these women are long-time tenants of Varsity Properties and were offered this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for their loyalty and love of the Varsity Villas. \nThe decision to wear the "fluorescent money green" T-shirts was that of the four women and not of Varsity Properties. These women chose this color to stand out in the crowd and promote VarsityVillas.com. \nTo say IU is "losing out on big money" is unfounded as each IU student pays thousands of dollars to attend this great university. To humiliate these women is unfair. They were not shooed by any officials and did not impair the experience for those around them. If you watched the game that night you would have seen that they were the only ones on their feet cheering. These young women should be commended for their achievements and not smeared for their love of IU and the Varsity Villas.\nPerhaps a good hard look would be in order at allowing students, not alumni, to have the courtside seats. Most of the Big Ten schools do this -- why not IU? \nDavid Kerber\nVarsity Properties Manager
(02/09/05 6:32am)
In Thai, "Thailand" means "land of the free." This is the story of four IU administrators -- four Americans -- who observed Bangkok in the wake of the world's greatest recent tragedy.\n***\nPatrick O'Meara shuffled through his mail one unusually warm afternoon in late November. He flipped past the heavy assortment of advertisements and bills to one subtle envelope with a Thai postmark. "Dear Dean Patrick O'Meara," the letter began. "It is my honor to inform you that the Board of Trustees of the National Institute of Development Administration is awarding you with an Honorary Doctoral Degree in Development Administration. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you and invite you to participate in the graduation ceremony. The degree will be conferred on January 6, 2005 at 2 p.m. at the Main Auditorium of NIDA in Bangkapi, Bangkok." For then, Patrick forgot about the day's assortment of advertisements and bills.\nSoon after O'Meara, IU's dean of international programs, read about his honorary degree, he assembled a small posse of three other IU administrators to come to Thailand and watch as the princess of Thailand presented his degree. Christopher Viers, IU's associate dean for international programs, would make the trip, as well as David Jones and Susan Sutton from IU-Purdue University at Indianapolis. The four would meet with IU alumni to support NIDA and the Thai people. It would be the coronation of an IU leader. It would be a vacation. It would be a celebration.\n***\nThe day after Christmas, a 9.0 earthquake struck in the Indian Ocean, causing one of the most massive and devastating tsunamis in recorded history. The disaster's enormity surpassed all those of recent memory. The four Americans' celebration was in jeopardy. While Dave and Chris awaited Patrick's decision, Susan made a phone call to officials at NIDA. "I guess we should cancel our visit," she said. But the voice from the Kingdom was resilient. "No. The rest of the world is going to come to Thailand in our time of trouble. You should too."\n***\nGiven the news of the recent tragedy, the fate of the trip teetered on O'Meara's decision. Bangkok is several miles from any areas directly devastated, but relief efforts and indirect tragedy consumed the entire country. Would the four be a burden to a nation entrenched in grief a little more than a week after the tsunami ended the lives of about 9,000 people in Thailand? While Sutton had her doubts, O'Meara said only one decision could be made -- they would go.\n"I had hesitated in going, but it was a very important act of solidarity and support," O'Meara said.\nBefore the crew would embark on a mission of good will, they went to gather goods for the Thai relief efforts. They asked their colleagues for money and came up with $2,000 -- a pittance in the grand scheme of Southeast Asia's economy and a fortune for a few homeless Southeast Asians. \n***\nThe four Americans -- Patrick, Dave, Chris and Susan -- boarded an airplane Jan. 2. They flew to Bangkok with heavy hearts, hesitant tongues and $2,000 -- a paltry sum for four Americans and a fortune for a few Thai.\n*** \nThe Kingdom of Thailand lies on the southern tip of mainland Asia and looks as though it might be the next in a string of island countries to slip off of the continent. It is roughly the size of Indiana, Michigan, Illinois and Ohio combined. \nAnd though 8,759 miles separate Bangkok from Bloomington, IU and Thailand are more closely linked than one might think. Five hundred sixty-seven alumni hail from the former Siam, meaning only Malaysia (1,524) and Canada (919) are more heavily populated with IU graduates, according to the IU alumni online fact book. \nNIDA, located in the heart of Thailand's capital city, was formed in 1955 by IU. Originally named the Institute of Public Administration, the graduate institute exists to teach Thailand's government personnel the art of public administration. O'Meara knows NIDA well. Chindalak Vadhanasindhu, the school's vice president for administration, was one of O'Meara's students at IU. \nSo in a distant way, Hoosiers and Thai are familiar with each other.\n"These are our real friends," O'Meara said. "They love Indiana, and we need to do more to keep this very special connection alive and well."\nBeing only three years separated from their own national disaster on Sept. 11, 2001, the four IU administrators were familiar with aftermath. The faces of missing people on tattered fliers filled the chain-link fences. When the wind blew, their sheets sang out like a wheezy choir of ghosts. \nAbove the streets, banners directed citizens to DNA banks. When nearly 10,000 people are dead, scientists must create clever ways to identify the bodies.\n"When they get an unrecognizable body washing up, they can go to this bank," Sutton said. \nThe banners, aware of their grave messages, bent in downward arches. \nWhen the Americans spoke to the Thai, they sensed a weariness that was all too familiar. Reflective pauses preceded all responses. Conversations turned quickly from the devastating present to the hopeful future. \n"It was clear it was difficult to know what to say when they were processing what had occurred," Viers said.\nSutton also immediately thought of her nation's darkest Tuesday. \n"As soon as we got off the airplane, it really struck me the city was going on as it usually did," she said. "It's a big city, and it was hustling and bustling. But the character was not the same."\n***\nIt was Chris' first trip through Thailand. Susan, Dave and Patrick had been through before. The four Americans had all been through Sept. 11 once. And they all agreed this felt like the second trip.\n***\nThe road to the Red Cross was packed for blocks with people waiting to give donations. A bevy of cars and trucks arrived and departed by the minute like a band of relief supply cabs never reaching their final destination. A steady bloodstream of people flowed in and out of the artery's doors. Workers answered the infinite phone calls. Four Americans sat at one end with a check for $2,000, a paltry sum in the grand scheme of Thailand's economy and a fortune to a few homeless Thai citizens.\nAs the volunteers scurried to organize the delivery of relief to affected regions of Southeast Asia, they found it necessary to be hospitable to the Americans. They sat the four down in plush chairs, smiled and served them a tray of china cups filled with green tea.\n"If it was me, I don't think I would have taken the time to offer a cup of tea," Viers said.\nBut in Thailand, a country driven by the tourism industry, hospitality runs deeper than dirt. When the IU administrators returned to their rooms after long days of meetings, they watched news reports of the sickening casualty tolls. But amidst the death, Thai officials exuded a morbidly generous attitude toward foreign bodies, Viers recalled.\n"The remnants of the guests were kept in cool containers," he said. "Their own Thai citizens were often sitting out in the intense heat. At the expense of their own citizens, they were making sure those of other countries were being cared for. Thai people put others first."\nThe Americans heard the stories, but that day they left the Red Cross full of green tea and without $2,000, a fortune for a few devastated people.\n***\nThe four Americans met various leaders and IU alumni in Bangkok. Patrick was presented with an honorary doctorate from Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand, who lost her nephew in the tsunami a few days before. After the ceremony, they met with 150 IU alumni for a dinner reception.\n***\nIt was a new year for the Thai people, which was usually met with much celebration. Sutton, who had spent the holiday in Thailand a year before, noticed a different kind of gathering. The year before, people played in the streets with balloons and streamers, Sutton remembered. Families were outside partying and having a good time. Balls were thrown, kites were flown and vendors sold decorations and party favors. \nThis year, Sutton saw no kites, no balls, no streamers, no balloons, no parties, no vendors and no good times. This year she saw some 7-year-old children meet at pulpits and read aloud the essays they had written about tsunami victims.\n***\nIn Thai, "Thailand" means "land of the free." But the four Americans visited a country all too familiar, filled with grieving souls burdened by a recent tragedy too painful for words. On one occasion, Dave and Susan met a small community of subsistent villagers who shared one television and a plan to contribute to the tsunami relief effort.
(02/08/05 4:28am)
Trust in science and creator require same faith, despite beliefs\nIn his article "Fact, faith and fiction" (Feb. 7), Evan Ross reveals quite clearly his animosity toward "fundamentalist Christians" who have the audacity to choose not to believe in the evolutionary theory. He writes that these people base the ideas on human origin -- creationism -- on "faith," whereas those who believe the evolutionary theory on "scientific evidence." What Ross may be overlooking is the presence of faith in all people whether they believe in God or not, whether they are religious or not. \nAs much as we hate to admit it, as much as we may fear it -- there is an element of mystery in this world. We cannot understand everything, cannot explain everything: Faith in something is a necessary element to human existence. Some people believe, by faith, in a supreme creator and others believe, by faith, that scientists have authority in explaining our world by means of tests and experiments. Many creationists also have this kind of evidence to support their claims. Either way, one believes in something he himself has not seen.\nHeather Miller\nSenior
(02/01/05 5:33am)
It's almost match time, and junior Joe Dubuque is pacing around like a caged tiger awaiting a meal.\nBack and forth he strides, rolling his head from side to side. Suddenly the horn sounds, and like a factory worker punching the clock, Dubuque squats and slaps the mat. He becomes a nervous blur of energy, constantly in motion as he shakes hands with the referee and his opponent.\nLess than three minutes later, Dubuque rises triumphantly from the mat, pumping his fists as the crowd roars its approval. He jogs off the mat to change his clothes and cheers the rest of the team on, his night's work complete.\n"I feel that we want to start at 125," redshirt freshman Max Dean said after the match, referring to Dubuque's 125-pound weight class. "It definitely got our morale up because we started winning right off the bat and set the tone." \nDubuque doesn't look like a wrestler, particularly if your only exposure to wrestling involves cage matches and storylines. He has competed his whole career at 125 pounds, the lightest weight class in college wrestling. Yet if it weren't for that lack of size he would probably be playing a different sport right now. "Football has always been my love," he said. "I just wrestled to fill in the time between football and baseball season."\nDubuque started wrestling as a sixth-grader in New Jersey after his older brother took up the sport. By the time he was a freshman, he was good enough to place at the state high school championships. \n"It dawned on me that I could be a multiple state champ," he said. "I started doing the extra stuff."\nBy the time he had graduated high school, Dubuque was the two-time defending state champion, the senior national champion and was sporting a glittering 134-7 career record. He was recruited by several schools and almost committed to North Carolina. When that fell through, he made a last-second venture to Bloomington. By the end of the trip, he was a Hoosier. \nIU fans couldn't be happier. As a junior this year Dubuque is 16-1 and ranked fifth in the country at 125 pounds. For his career, he is an outstanding 73-15. He is also the only All-American on the team, thanks to his eighth-place finish at the NCAA tournament last year.\n"Being an All-American is just awesome," he said. "There's a lot more fan recognition, a lot of guys know my name now. People are starting to follow the team."\nAt a basketball-crazy school like Indiana, that recognition is no small feat. On the rare weekend that the wrestlers have a home match, they often find themselves competing against their basketball brethren for fans. The team has accepted this, but that doesn't mean that their work ethic changes. \n"Wrestling is a five-month total commitment," Dubuque said. "If you half-ass it, you're not going to win anything."\n"An average day for me starts at 5:30 (a.m.). We work out at 6 for an hour and a half, then eat, go to class, then we have a 20-minute drill session, then more class, practice for a couple hours until 5 or 5:30, eat and then another workout, five to six times a week.\n"It's like the sign says," as he pointed to a slogan painted on the wall of the practice room in large letters. "'Unless you have prepared yourself and deserve to emerge victorious, do not expect to win or be disappointed when you lose,'" Dubuque said.\nAs IU enters the Big Ten schedule and tries to navigate through the toughest conference in the country, Dubuque will become a larger factor, not only as the team's spark plug but also as a leader to a squad that starts several freshmen.\n"It's not so much the fact that he's an All-American," coach Duane said. "He's an important part of our team because he's a winner and a competitor. He puts forth a great effort in preparation to win." \n-- Contact Staff Writer Andrew Petersen at andpeter@indiana.edu.
(01/31/05 4:25am)
That thar talkin' picture box done declared Fort Wayne as the plumb dumbest city in these here United States.\nIn the February 2005 issue of Men's Health magazine, the editorial staff, looking for an easy controversy, decided to determine which cities were comprised of geniuses and which of dunces. With the aid of a "scientific analysis" -- so scientific that the necessary criteria could be condensed into one line -- the Men's Health intelligentsia ranked Fort Wayne dead last in "intelligence," forcing the entire city to sit in the corner with dunce caps on their heads. For the record, Indiana's second largest city out-dumbed El Paso, Corpus Christi, and Laredo (all in Texas), Newark, N.J., and Las Vegas, Nev. Indianapolis scored a disheartening C-.\nMen's Health got the media attention that they wanted. Local and national news outlets soon picked up on the story. Instead of wondering how exactly the city had become Dumbsville, reporters hoped someone from Fort Wayne would become confused and start drooling when interviewed. \nThe criteria for Men's Health to label Fort Wayne "dumb" seem to have little correlation with real research. The more scientific criteria include the residents' SAT scores and the number of bachelor's degrees per capital. The more bizarre criteria include the number of nearby universities and the number of Nobel Prize winners born in the area. Then, there's something called "state creativity scores," which is fancy talk for "patents per capita."\nIt's fun to kid about a stupid magazine survey and a supposedly stupid city, but perhaps Men's Health has a point. While the magazine's methods may be shaky, Indiana does have problems keeping the educated in-state. However, the problem is more complex than a one-page blurb in a health magazine.\nThe entire state of Indiana is losing high-paying, high-income and creative jobs. According to a 2003 report done by Carnegie-Mellon University, Indiana is ranked 47th in the so-called "creative class." Only 19.4 percent of Hoosiers over 25 years of age have a bachelor's degree, compared to the national average of 24.4 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Fort Wayne is right on the state average in that respect, but still behind Indianapolis and Bloomington. The state is 14th in turning out students with bachelor's degrees, but only 33rd in retaining them. \nOnce graduated, students from IU, Purdue, IUPUI and Notre Dame can't wait to leave the state. It's no wonder why they're leaving for smarter pastures. In a 2003 economic report done by the Indianapolis Star and the Indiana Business Research Center, a study showed that Indiana's earnings are well below the national level: $4,000 below.\nBut how can the state keep the smart? Lawmakers focus on training high school students, but that may be too late. Instead, Indiana schools should focus their attention on preparing elementary and middle school children. Give them material to help them prepare for the real world. Teach younger students the math and science skills necessary for careers early and make sure they pass these new requirements.\nWhile Indiana schools have "... the nation's easiest diplomas to earn," according to the Star, requiring more high school-level credits to graduate won't be the simple answer. Indiana must foster a culture of learning if it wants to compete with other states. Schools have to train students not for more proficiency exams, but to become solid workers. We must foster an environment of learning instead of slacking.\nIndiana is in tough mental and economic shape. Men's Health didn't need to tell us that. Whether or not Fort Wayne really is a "box of rocks" isn't the point here. Even though we may not want to admit it, Indiana desperately needs to retain smart, creative workers. If we don't, we'll continue to wear the dunce cap.
(01/19/05 6:18am)
Most students would agree the college experience is priceless. But for students in Indiana and around the country, the knowledge and memories collected through four years of being a student seem to come at a cost that is becoming more difficult to pay.\nCollege students are finding it increasingly difficult to finance their educations. A recent study conducted by survey.com stated that while about 80 percent of college students are holding some form of full or part-time employment, about 55 percent of them have just enough money to get by.\nReflecting a growing trend of severe financial burdens that are placed on today's college students, the survey was released less than a month after the Department of Education under the Bush administration announced a tightening of the government-funded Pell Grants, which could result in up to one million students seeing their grants reduced or eliminated. \nThe study was conducted in July 2004 with 500 college students ages between 19 and 25. The results are disturbing to both students and parents as college degrees become more important in the job-market, the cost of attending college continues to rise yearly.\nPerhaps the most bothersome figure of the survey is that of those college students who are employed throughout the school year, more than 70 percent believe that their job is a significant distraction from their study time. Students are faced with a catch-22 because they are working long hours to support an education to which they are not able to commit fully while holding the job.\nThe results of the survey ring true to the thousands of IU students who must find ways to simultaneously balance their educational obligation with a job to support that education. Beyond tuition costs, many students find themselves having to hold jobs throughout the school year to pay for rent, credit card bills and spring break trips.\n"It's really hard to balance (having a job) because you also want to be involved in extra-curricular activities also," said senior Susan Liggett. "To not have your nights free, you go to school during the day and then you turn around and go to work, then you end up staying up really late to get homework done."\nLiggett has held a job during each semester since her sophomore year. Currently a server at Olive Garden, she said she believes that too much of a financial burden is placed on college students while they try to earn a good education.\nAt Olive Garden, the majority of Liggett's co-workers are IU students. One of the biggest problems for student workers is simply scheduling. Employers often want workers to work at least one day shift weekly, which becomes a difficult task for students who attend class throughout the week.\n"In order to get good weekend shifts, where all the money is, they want you to work a day shift," Liggett said. "But most classes are only available during the day."\nLiggett sympathizes with her co-workers, as the frustrations of having to balance a work schedule and a school schedule are almost always a topic of conversation at the work-place. Many students rely on their income to support them throughout the school year, but they are often forced to give up a work shift if they have an upcoming exam or extra-curricular obligation.\nWhile some students hold jobs to pay rent and tuition, others seek employment to have personal spending money after the necessities have already been paid for. Jeff Chelin is a second-semester senior who has never, until recently, held a job during the school year. While Chelin receives scholarships and loans to help fund his education, he describes his money situation as always being tight since he has gotten to college.\n"I really wanted to go on spring break this year and there was no way I could have afforded that without getting a job this semester," Chelin said. "I'm going to be working as a (teaching assistant) for a marketing class in the Kelley School."\nChelin said his main concern with being employed during the school year is time-management. Carrying a full course load of business classes this semester, Chelin faces the daunting task of having to balance school work, his job as a T.A., as well as his search for a job following graduation.\n"It's tough for students in general to have money for personal enjoyment after all the other costs that come up while you're in school," Chelin said. "I got my job so that I can make money and hopefully build my resume."\nThe struggles of funding an education and a life in college will continue to have prolonged effects beyond graduation. Senior Randall Madison is expecting to graduate in May and has spent the majority of his college career making time for homework around his work schedule. Madison is like many students in that he simply does not have a choice in the matter. Even with a constant income throughout the semester, he still expects to graduate with significant outstanding loans.\n"I work to make money to pay for rent, bills, and basically to be able to just stay down here and go to school," Madison said. "The rest is paid for by loans that I'll be paying back for years when I'm done with school."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Ron Neroda at rneroda@indiana.edu.
(01/19/05 5:02am)
As their neighbors crunched salted peanuts and buttered popcorn, Rick Schrimper and Zach Posner looked out from their seats along the first baseline of Yankee Stadium and created a business.\n"I'd never been to New York City before," said Schrimper, an accounting lecturer at IU. "It was as good of a place as any to have a business meeting."\nSchrimper traveled to the Big Apple to meet with Posner, a 2001 IU graduate and former student of Schrimper's, to brainstorm ideas on how to create a talent pool for college artists to present their work to their peers and the industry. The conclusion reached at Yankee Stadium was cultureU.org.\nThe brainchild Web site of Schrimper and Posner is the perfect mesh of art, technology and business. The site lets college artists in a variety of fields like music, fashion and visual arts post their art online so it is easily accessible.\n"We took a beautiful blend of technology and successful business models to the arts and came out a winner," said Schrimper, now the Web site's CEO.\nSchrimper said he was reading about satellite radio in the early '90s and was disgusted with what he read, not believing the public would pay for music they could get over the airwaves for free.\n"I was looking at shit," Schrimper said. "The technology was great, but the content was yuck. I thought, 'There's got to be a way to get more original music.'"\nSchrimper took his fragment of an idea to Posner to help him think through the best way to connect technology with music.\n"We wanted to put Bloomington on the map as a cultural mecca," said Posner, cultureU.org's president.\nIU senior Mitch Greenfield's involvement in cultureU.org began as a class project. Schrimper, who is friends with one of Greenfield's professors, Dwight Worker, had Worker assign the creation of cultureU.org to a group of students in his class.\n"You'll never find the energy and enthusiasm you find in college-aged kids," Schrimper said. "If only you could capture that energy and motivation."\nNow Greenfield is the chief Web developer of the brightly designed yellow, red and blue Web site that was launched in mid-December and is still in its beta, or testing, stage. \n"It's never really complete," Greenfield said, "because we keep adding artists."\nClicking on the "musicians" link takes the user to a list of the artists and bands who are trying to make it big with cultureU.org. In his bio, IU senior Chris Jerles is caught mid-song with head thrown back and mouth open wide, wearing an orange Oasis \nT-shirt. His fingers grip his guitar. \nJerles said the mentality of cultureU.org is ideal for artists like him.\n"It provides what you're going after -- to create something you can share with people. This is a way you can do that," Jerles said.\nWhereas Jerles put a photo of himself on his cultureU.org profile, other artists choose different options. Instead of her portrait, IU graduate student Rachel Greenhoe chose one of her 11 paintings, "Burano Market," to represent herself.\nGreenhoe said she decided to post her work to gain more exposure as she worked on her master's degree in art administration at IU. Recently, an interior-designer friend in Chicago who is working on a freelance project designing a bar recommended Greenhoe to her clients.\n"The site provides me with an easy way to show my work to potential clients," Greenhoe said. "The owners of the bar were looking for art work to hang in their business, and the site was an easy way for them to see my work."\nGreenhoe's experience with cultureU.org is exactly the one Schrimper hopes to continue to cultivate.\n"This gives the opportunity to students at small schools, where no one knows who you are, to compete with the big names," Schrimper said. "It levels the playing ground."\nEventually Posner and Schrimper hope to have every college across the country logged on. But for now, they are focusing on three key schools where the creators have connections: Stanford University, where Posner's sister attends; New York University, "because to be in the arts you have to be in New York City," Schrimper said; and IU.\n"(IU) is a love, and it's where we are all based," Posner said. "So it gets favored the biggest."\nStill, the creators are ready to see the site move beyond its grassroots.\n"By fall we'd like to have it at 10 to 15 campuses," Greenfield said. "We don't want to throw it out there all at once. We want to try and get a few campuses going really well first."\nAlthough the site has just three primary schools at the moment, artists from other schools such as Notre Dame University, Harvard University and Columbia University have added their music and art to the site. Schrimper is banking on news of the free promotion site to travel fast.\n"College kids are so connected," he said. "Once you get college kids to use something, word travels fast."\nAlthough Schrimper has been involved in previous business ventures before, he is sure of the success of cultureU.org.\n"I wouldn't have pursued it if I didn't get strong feedback from artists in the first place," Schrimper said.\nSchrimper and Posner said they believe cultureU.org is well on the way to success. Schrimper wants to expand the Web site to include more categories, including movies and journalism. Talks are underway to pair with a major satellite radio station, and the site has paired with WIUS-AM for a site showcase in which four musicians from cultureU.org, including Jerles, will perform on the air Friday.\nSchrimper said the broadcast will be digitally recorded and aired on the Web site, where users can vote on their favorite performance. Schrimper said he is working to get the winner a gig at a local establishment and eventually a possible contract with the satellite radio station.\n"If you throw competition in there, it helps," Schrimper said.\nAlthough they admit they have big dreams, Schrimper and Posner created the site with one specific idea in mind.\n"We're not out there to make millions," Posner said. "We want to give back to the artists as much as possible. It's a fun ride that's really starting to work."\n-- Contact Features Editor Kathleen Quilligan at kquillig@indiana.edu.
(01/18/05 5:38pm)
Time will be forever frozen in Room 306 of the Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King Jr. spent his final moments of life on April 4, 1968. \nThe room is preserved down to the cheap paintings hanging on the wall, and visitors can look in through a transparent glass casing.\nThe motel became the National Civil Rights Museum after King's death, and its exhibits create a timeline of the African-American struggle for equal rights.\nAs visitors make their way toward King's room, a television set tucked away in the corner relives his final moments through the eyes of a colleague. \nYou almost miss it. \nThe day of his death, King and his followers awaited a federal court decision regarding whether Memphis, Tenn., could block a planned protest march by its sanitation workers. \nAt about 5 p.m., King's aide Andrew Young entered Room 306 with the good news that the march would proceed. \nThe victory thrilled King. He grabbed Young, threw him down on the bed and started beating him with a pillow. \n"He was like a big kid," Young remembered. "It was like, you know, after you make a touchdown. Everyone piles on everybody. People started throwing pillows and piling on and laughing."\nAfterward, King stepped outside on the balcony, and that's when a shot fired from across the street ripped into his jaw. "I frankly thought a car had backfired, and he was still clowning," Young said.\nA group of 50 IU students traveled by bus to visit the Memphis museum Saturday and Sunday. They experienced the history lessons of the Civil Rights Movement, ate ribs and soul food on Beale Street and joined the congregation of Rev. Al Green's Full Gospel Tabernacle for Sunday morning services (Green was away for a meeting about the Grammy Awards). \nIf you're ever in Memphis, go south on Elvis Presley Boulevard past Graceland and turn left on Hale Road. Green's church is on the left. Inside, church elders sit in a row of high-backed brown leather chairs behind the pulpit. Bishop A.E. Reed is their senior at 92 years old. Bishop George Valentine, wearing large sunglasses, shuffles his feet and shakes his fingertips in the air to the hot, boogie-woogie sounds of the organ. Rev. Whiting, barely pausing to breathe, quotes 43 scriptures in just 15 minutes.\nCalls of "hallelujah" and "thank you, Jesus" rise to the ceiling.\nAt nightfall, rhythm and blues music blares out of the doors of the clubs into Beale Street. Dr. Feelgood Potts blows his harmonica. The Masqueraders sing in four-part harmony, and only a full rack of ribs from the Beale Street Blues Cafe warms the cold Memphis air. \nFreshman Bernique Joanes, who said she never really does much on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, was glad she went on the trip.\nOne of the important lessons she learned was the power of one. Instead of complaining about their problems, she said, King taught people to solve them. "You have to be brave enough to stand up and take action and get things done," she said. \nKing stands for different things to different people, and for freshman Tenia Sheppard, he stands for service to others. She said volunteering is important for uniting communities. \n"When you help somebody, it effects both them and you," she said.\nThe IU group spent about four hours at the museum Saturday afternoon. They traveled back to 1955 and sat down next to Rosa Parks in a replica of a Montgomery bus. They heard hopeful speeches by John F. Kennedy Jr., and they entered the Greensboro diner where four black students dared to sit at an all-white lunch counter. \nAlmost everyone seemed to walk away as changed people after seeing Room 306.\n"It helped me to see not the legend but the man," said graduate student Enyonam Hargett. "We're all mortal people. So was he. He was a regular person who had these enormous gifts." \nAs senior Margie Conely stood close to where King fell, she said she was overwhelmed by the closeness of history. \n"I just stood there for probably seven minutes and thought about all the positives and negatives of King's life and what his influence was on America," she said. "Standing in that spot was really emotional." \n-- Contact General Assignments Editor Adam VanOsdol at avanosdo@indiana.edu.
