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(02/06/09 4:04am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU’s period of being the only Big Ten school lacking a debate team ended this year with the creation of the new club ABE at IU.Junior Aasiya Mirza developed the club to commemorate the life of Abraham Lincoln and to explore the issues that took place during his presidential reign.As a celebration of the president’s 200th birthday, the club has planned three events, including a Lincoln-Douglas debate scheduled to take place this weekend.Debates will occur Feb. 7 and 8. All of the debates will take place in the Hutton Honors College.Lincoln-Douglas debating is a particular style in which everyone debates a certain policy resolution each round, Mirza said. The style involves one-on-one debating in which the debaters give a case to support either the affirmative or the negative.Members of the team began practicing for the debate in November. Many participating students do not have experience debating.Junior Jacob Turner, a newcomer to debate, previously participated in mock trials.“We talk in front of people, that’s about the only similarity,” he said. “I really do enjoy debate. It’s something new.”With the help of a few graduate students and the addition of a new debater, the team feels like they have jumped ahead months in preparation, Mirza said. “This is our first debate as a team,” she said. “We want to get our feet wet. Next year is when we’re really going to start in.”Of the 15 schools invited to the debate, only three will be attending. The University of Illinois, Ball State University and DePauw University will participate in the debates. Some schools are not participating because the students do not use the Lincoln-Douglas form of debate, Mirza said. The style was chosen in order to allow students to participate in the same public speaking style as Lincoln, Mirza said.The topic of discussion chosen for this event is whether or not the U.S. government should significantly curtail the powers of the president, Mirza said. While this discussion mirrors the issues brought up in Lincoln’s lifetime, it also relates to George W. Bush’s time in office. Lincoln and Bush were both called tyrants during their presidencies, she said.Professors and graduate students will judge the preliminary round. Dean of Students Dick McKaig and Bloomington’s city council and will judge the semi-final and final rounds.“For the semi-finals and final rounds we wanted judges who were more knowledgeable about this type of debate,” Mirza said.Because some of the judges are less acquainted with the style of debate, the debaters are focusing more on their performance, Mirza said.After this year, the debate team will become its own organization apart from ABE at IU, said freshman Ronak Shah.The team hopes to hold the celebration annually and to make a solid base with this first event, Mirza said. “We wanted to see what the interest would be like,” Shah said. “And if it doesn’t work, Abe would still love it just like our mothers would.”
(02/05/09 3:09am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A free bi-monthly community event that draws attention to eight local art galleries will start at 5 p.m. Friday. Every year, Bloomington art galleries plan Gallery Walks, during which students and people of the community can view special exhibits including paintings and photography. In 2003, a handful of galleries worked together for the first time to put on four Gallery Walks. Since then, the event has grown to include eight galleries, including Pictura Gallery and Gallery North, which participate in a walk on the first Friday of every other month. Ruth Conway, a member of the By Hand Co-op, said exhibits for each gallery are often chosen a year before the date of the Gallery Walk in order to give artists time to create new works for the show. The process for choosing artists to display varies with each gallery. The By Hand Gallery accepts artist applications and invites artists whose work the co-op admires, Conway said. “It’s a combination of people we want and people who want us,” she said. Martha Moore, co-owner of Pictura Gallery, said she helps choose artists whose bodies of work look nice hanging together. This month the gallery is showing work by artists Richard Koenig and Justin Chase Lane entitled “Reality Check.”The number of artists exhibited at each gallery also differs. Some galleries, such as the By Hand Gallery and The Venue Fine Arts & Gifts, only feature one or two artists’ works, while others, such as the Wandering Turtle Art Gallery and Gallery North, show work from four or more artists. For this month’s walk, the Wandering Turtle is showing works celebrating the Bloomington Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender community. Four artists from the Bloomington community submitted photographs that express cultural diversity.“I’ve always wanted to do this kind of exhibit,” said Jaime Sweany, owner of Wandering Turtle. With the Midwest Bisexual Lesbian Gay Transgender Ally College Conference coming up on Feb. 13 at IU, Sweany said the timing could not have been more perfect for her to show the exhibit. Gallery North will show the winners of the National Society of Arts and Letters Emerging Artist competition. Anyone living in or attending school in Indiana between the ages of 18 and 24 could enter the competition, said Cathy Korinek, vice president for shows of Gallery North. Twenty-three young artists’ works will be exhibited. Moore said all of the galleries agreed to stay open later, show new work and provide food for each Gallery Walk. She said this year the galleries have decided on a few additions to the Gallery Walk, such as having buses circle between the galleries continuously and throwing an after-party with live music at Tutto Bene Gallery. Moore said she feels that it is very important for the survival of any gallery to take part in the community through events like Gallery Walks. “They’re a community service, really,” Korinek said, “Gallery Walks are a great way of getting people into the galleries. People learn about art that way.”
(01/27/09 4:29am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Junior Kelly Moeller realized the importance of networking after working as an intern for Disney ABC Media Networks last summer and Major League Baseball-Advanced Media the summer before.“By meeting one person and making a good and lasting impression, they will always keep you in mind when they hear about other job opportunities in the industry,” she said. “With an economy that does not look very promising to find a job, it is important to make contacts and follow up on them because over 80 percent of jobs are filled without even being advertised and solely through word of mouth.”The Career Development Center and Arts and Sciences Career Services understands the importance of networking in students’ future careers. This semester the center, in collaboration with the Student Alumni Association, will hold five networking nights students can attend to learn more about their career fields and speak to professionals in the business.Each event will take place from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the DeVault Alumni Center on 17th Street. While the first networking night, which covered sales, marketing, public relations and advertising, has already passed, students can still attend the other four upcoming events.Tonight’s networking night on tourism, hospitality and event planning has been postponed because of the weather, said Crystal Smith, assistant director of the Career Development Center. It will be rescheduled for Feb. 24.Other networking nights will include global careers, life sciences and writing, editing and publishing. The dates of each event can be found on the Career Development Center’s Web site, iu careers.com.Topics for each night are chosen based on wide career fields students are interested in, said Smith. The planning committee looks at numbers from previous events and tries to choose topics that will generate the most positive turnouts and student responses, she said.Each event is made up of a panel discussion and a networking session. The panels are generally made up of five or six professionals including IU alumni, employers who come to campus to recruit and employers from the Bloomington community, Smith said.“Some employers like these events better than career fairs because students who attend are looking for jobs in that specific field,” she said.After the panel discussion is a short five-minute networking session, followed by a reception where students can mingle and network with the professionals fromthe panel.“It is important for students to make a good impression and talk to employers on a one-on-one basis,” Smith said. “These events give students the chance to be proactive.”
(01/26/09 4:50am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Saturday’s Mock Inaugural Ball gave students outside of the greek system a chance to don their formal wear and join their friends at a dance. The ball, hosted by the Honors Student Association, was held in Alumni Hall in the Indiana Memorial Union.“We thought it was nice for people not in the greek system to have a formal dance,” said sophomore Allison Gray, secretary of the Honors Student Association.The Honors Student Association created the event to raise awareness about both the association and politics, said sophomore Evan Mielke. While invitations were sent to students in the honors college, guests of those students were also permitted to attend.Because the ball was held so close to the recent presidential inauguration, the planning committee for the ball chose the historical event as its theme, Gray said.Besides having an inauguration theme, the ball also reflected the excitement of the new year, with many students reuniting for the first time since winter break.Freshman Lauren Sweeney, a student in the honors college, attended the ball with her friends because she had never been to a dance.“It was a lot of fun, and it raised political awareness,” she said.
(01/23/09 4:28am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Although IU provides students with two similar workout facilities, senior Natalie Rutigliano has her favorite.“HPER has a laid-back feel to it,” Rutigliano said. “The SRSC looks like a workout video.” Both recreational facilities offer similar exercise equipment, but students rarely rotate their time between the two. Many students who work out at the School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation instead of the Student Recreational Sports Center say the atmosphere and the programs influence their decision.Completed in 1961 as an addition to the Men’s Gymnasium, the HPER is home to the Wildermuth Intramural Center and Royer Pool. The SRSC, completed in 1995, grants registered students automatic membership. The SRSC also includes the Counsilman/Billingsley Aquatic Center, which consists of an eight-lane Olympic-size pool and diving well. The complex is located near Wright and Teter quads on Law Lane.For some students who go to the SRSC, it is factors like space for parking, classes offered and equipment available that affect their decisions. Freshman Julie Bollinger lives in Wright Quad, less than a five-minute walk from the SRSC. “I like coming to the group classes they have here and all the equipment they have for us to use,” Bollinger said. The SRSC offers group exercise sessions ranging from strength-focused kickboxing and cardio classes to relaxing yoga and pilates samplers, according to the SRSC’s Web site. Different sessions are held seven days a week and last between 30 and 75 minutes. Some students who live off-campus prefer the SRSC because it has sufficient parking. “HPER doesn’t really have any parking,” sophomore Joe O’Donnell said. “It’s just too small for how many kids use it.”Others choose the SRSC because of its equipment.“It’s probably a 25-minute walk for me,” said sophomore Jenny Smoak. “There are more machines, so in that sense it’s easier.”Senior Matt Miller prefers the HPER because it is less crowded. “It’s busy later at night, but it’s usually not that big of a deal,” Miller said.Senior Jennifer Mitchell dislikes the SRSC because she said many people are more interested in looking good than working out. Some girls who exercise there put on makeup and dress up to work out, she said.“I want to get sweaty and work out,” she said. “I don’t want to put on a show.” The busiest times for both the HPER and the SRSC are between 5 and 7 p.m. The HPER is seldom filled to capacity, but the limit is more likely to be reached during the first two weeks of the semester and around spring break, said Kyle Swinford, a Recreational Sports employee. Swinford said students aren’t busy with classes during the first two weeks of the semester and have more time to exercise.
(01/22/09 4:33am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Cheng Fan, a first-year graduate student, waited patiently to talk to a company representative regarding an internship position at the 2009 Internship Fair on Wednesday, in hopes of gaining experience in the informatics field.The event, held in Alumni Hall in the Indiana Memorial Union, included 30 companies looking to hire IU students for summer internships. “I’m looking for solid material to put on my future resume and experience in the field. And also to earn some money,” Fan said. “But I didn’t find a lot of relevant positions here.”The annual fair, held at the beginning of the spring semester, is hosted by the Career Development Center and Arts and Sciences Career Services. The event is sponsored by platinum sponsor Macy’s and gold sponsor Dilt’s Financial Group-Northwestern Mutual Financing Network. More than 1,000 students attended last year’s event and the number has only risen in recent years, said Wes Erwin, senior assistant director of employer relations at the Career Development Center. “We put on a number of fairs, but this one is usually our best attendance,” he said.The mixture of employers at the event included non-profit organizations, retail, restaurants and leisure-activity companies. And while the number of companies in attendance has declined, the participating companies are specifically looking to hire IU students. “IU has great students for interns,” said Lisa Robinson, director and talent manager for Finish Line. “We’ve always come to this event. It’s a great partnership.” INPIRG, a non-profit advocacy group, has 15 to 25 internship positions for IU students. “We usually have a large program each year,” said Peter Schanz, campus organizer at INPIRG.With America’s economy slumping, students say it’s more important to start internships early in their college careers in order to build relationships with possible future employers. “Internships are a more expected thing for students to do,” Erwin said. “Students are understanding that internships are more necessary.”Carissa Atkins, manager of college relations for Macy’s, said internships are less of an investment than full-time positions. “IU students have a great success rate as interns,” she said. “We try to convert them to full-time employees.”In addition to making personal contacts for careers following graduation, students also gain experience through internships in the field of their choice. “I want to gain real-world experience and find out what I want to do with a business degree,” said sophomore Curt Ogborn.And despite the challenges, students expressed hope in finding a job, even while hiring freezes currently grip many companies around the nation. “A good company will always be getting people into their company,” said sophomore Christina Byrne. “Companies that build up their staff during the decline are the ones that are going to last when the economy is doing better.”Finish Line has five internships available, which is about the same number as previous years. “We’re sure to continue operating a strong company,” Robinson said. “By having internships, there is potential for employment down the road. We have to position ourselves for the future.”
(01/21/09 12:56am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>On Tuesday, Wandering Turtle Art Gallery and Gifts moved to a new location in the heart of Bloomington’s downtown art district. The gallery, formerly located on North College Avenue, opened up shop in the Historic Wicks Building on Gallery Row.Jamie Sweany, IU alumna and owner of the Wandering Turtle, opened the gallery in 2003. The gallery features paintings, ceramics, photography, sculptures, jewelry, handmade paper, note cards and artist’s prints, Sweany said. Exhibitors of the gallery include artists and craftspeople from around the world, as well as 100 local and regional artists, Sweany said. The decision to move was based on the space that opened up, said retail manager Rachel DiGregorio.“It’s a positive move,” DiGregorio said. “The space is so cool.” Moving onto Gallery Row will not hurt the Wandering Turtle’s business because the art district in Bloomington is a community, DiGregrio said. “The move is a benefit to everyone,” he said. “The other galleries have been very welcoming and inviting.”Before the move, the Wandering Turtle held a moving sale from Jan. 2 to 7. “We had a pretty good turnout for the sale,” DiGregorio said. The gallery tried to keep cards and other items that customers bought weekly in the gallery before the move, DiGregorio said. “We tried to keep merchandise available and still be able to pack things,” she said. “We had a lot of support, understanding and patience from our customers.” Not only did the employees of the Wandering Turtle help with the move, but 15 artists also showed up to lend a hand, DiGregorio said.“We moved on the coldest day of the year,” she said. While in the moving process, the Wandering Turtle was closed from Jan. 8 until Monday. The gallery places a big emphasis on community. “Our mission is to support local, regional and international artists and musicians and to help create a thriving downtown Bloomington Arts Community,” Sweany said. On Feb. 6, the gallery will hold a Grand Re-Opening and Sixth Anniversary Celebration in time for the first Gallery Walk of the year. The Wandering Turtle holds six Gallery Walks a year, where galleries open their doors to the community and provide art exhibits and music for all visitors to enjoy, said DiGregorio. “People can get out and walk around downtown,” DiGregorio said. “It gives people a chance to really explore.” DiGregorio said she believes the gallery is about making art accessible and showing that it’s not a luxury. “Bloomington is an art-based community,” she said. “The gallery gives people a way to get involved and feel like they’re a part of something. Community goes hand-in-hand with Bloomington spirit and the Wandering Turtle spirit.”
(01/20/09 5:09am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Students gathered on Monday in the Willkie Auditorium to discuss what to do when someone makes a derogatory comment, such as when a family member calls Arab-Americans “terrorists.”The Unity Summit focused on the topics of unity and diversity.The Office of Diversity Education hosts the annual program with lots of help, said Eric Love, director of the Office of Diversity Education.“It’s a way of people coming together and working on Unity. It was a natural fit for the office,” Love said.The summit began by giving students a few minutes to look at Write My Mind posters while eating lunch.Write My Mind, a “written dialogue project about issues related to understanding oneself and others,” was created by Sarah Wilcox. She was inspired by hate speech she saw written on boards in residence halls and the book “Speak Up!: Responding to Everyday Bigotry,” published by Teaching Tolerance.Write My Mind posters were placed around campus the first day of the spring semester and asked students to write on the blank sheets of paper what they would do in certain situations. Examples include “When my neighbor talks about Judaism as the religion of ‘Christian killers,’ I can...” and “When my friend hosts a ‘white trash’ or ‘ghetto’ themed party, I can...”“The intention was good. Some respondents make a good point,” junior Julie Singer said. “But I do not feel like it is reflective of IU students, especially with the patronizing comments.”Some students wrote why the topics were offensive. One student responded on the “When my friend says ‘That’s so retarded...’” poster that he took it personally.“After my TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) I strived so hard for ‘normalcy.’ Some survivors will never take off the helmet, get out of wheelchair or even get out of bed. I feel they simply need to be educated as they probably didn’t mean it as such,” wrote an anonymous student.Students then broke off into small groups for discussion, placing them at separate tables from their friends.“We break people out of their comfort zone,” senior Ruchi Shah said. Shah is a member of the Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority, which has co-sponsored the summit for the past three years.Hosts Love and senior Kim Shrack presented students with eight discussion questions, beginning with easier topics and progressing to more difficult ones.A few of the questions asked students to share a time when they were discriminated against, to discuss a time when they experienced privilege and to share a story when they discriminated against someone.Students were able to discuss why unity is important in society and discuss difficult topics that many people shy away from.“The Unity Summit is a good chance to see what we do here at IU. It embraces our differences,” senior Chester Williams said. “Unity is the basis of all things. When you take all fingers together and put it in unity it makes a fist, which is powerful.”Students signed a pledge supporting 40 Days of Peace beginning Jan. 19 and ending Feb. 27. The pledge asked students to be a model of ethical behavior, integrity and good citizenship, to treat others with the respect with which they wish to be treated and to go out of their way to be kind to others the way Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. envisioned.“Let’s go out and change the world,” Love said.
(12/08/08 2:48am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Paintings, photos and drawings with subjects ranging from nude women to
an original take on the famous painting “American Gothic” spanned the
walls at the Bachelor of Fine Arts Painting and Overseas Study
Exhibition.
The exhibition was held from Tuesday through Saturday at the School of Fine Arts Gallery.
The exhibition displayed artwork created by students involved in either
the School of Fine Arts Abroad: International Program or the painting
department through the Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts.
The BFA program is an intense painting study, graduate Amber Zaragoza said.
Troy Mottard, currently enrolled in the program, said that as a
declared art major he was recommended to participate in the program.
“It’s the most intense degree for an art student,” Mottard said.
One of the three rooms included in the exhibition was dedicated to works produced by students who attended the
summer overseas program in Europe. The School of Fine Arts, in
partnership with the Office of Overseas Study, puts on the program each
year.
The three study abroad programs included printing and bookmaking in
Venice, taught by professor Althea Murphy-Price; drawing in Florence,
taught by professor Martha MacLeish; and photography in Paris, taught
by professor Jeffrey Wolin.
The other two rooms in the exhibit were dedicated to paintings created
by students in the School of Fine Arts painting department.
Mottard entered five pieces in place of his thesis for the program.
Each of Mottard’s five paintings was untitled and used the same mediums
of oil, acrylic and marker. Mottard entered those specific pieces
because they were what he was working on at the time.
“They felt fresh, not overworked,” Mottard said of the paintings he displayed. “They were based off drawings I did this summer.”
Many viewers at the exhibit were friends with the artists who had work on display.
Sophomore Abby Purcell said Colleen Egan’s book of photos titled “L’oiseau Mort” was her favorite work.
“The photos are all of the same model,” Purcell said. “You can’t see
her face, but you can see what she’s doing. It’s interesting because
you can imagine what you would be doing in the same situations.”
(11/24/08 3:35am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Joking briefly about his well-known role as Screech on “Saved By the Bell,” Dustin Diamond’s stand-up comedy act this weekend at The Funny Bone Comedy Club made fun of everyone from his past cast mates to members of the audience.Diamond performed six shows during the course of four days, selling out for the Thursday show and the Friday and Saturday late shows.Brad Wilhelm, a comedian who has been performing stand-up in Bloomington for 15 years, was host to the shows. Wilhelm’s segment included the “Bad Joke of the Week,” a “bad joke” which he told “poorly” to make the following comedians seem funnier.After Wilhelm’s introduction came the opening act. Different young comedians from the Bloomington area were given the opportunity to perform a short sketch.“We have a good crop of young comedians,” Funny Bone owner Jared Thompson said.Ashley Bullington, a senior and friend of the club, opened for the 8 p.m. show Saturday. The majority of her act revolved around her relationships with ex-boyfriends. Diamond’s act began, as promised, with a few jokes about his years on “Saved by the Bell.” “There’s something about making fun of Slater’s perm mullet that gets me to laugh every time,” Thompson said. Diamond did not concentrate on the sitcom during the rest of his act except for the off-hand comment here and there.From there, his show focused on anything from Wal-Mart workers to feminine products that can be used as air fresheners. Diamond also brought the audience into the act by pointing out certain people in the crowd who went along with his routine.“I like how he made fun of everyone,” freshman Rosie Cramer said. “He related to the audience a lot.”Diamond said all of the crowds were really good. But, some audiences are better than others. Most comedians prepare themselves for the late-night shows knowing the audiences will not be as good, Diamond said. The 10:30 p.m. Friday show was an exception and really great, he said. “I think that audiences don’t know what to expect sometimes,” Diamond said. The audience at the 8 p.m. Saturday show seemed to fit into this category.“I wasn’t sure how funny he would be, but I liked him,” Cramer said.Overall, Thompson said Diamond’s shows were a success.“We had a lot of people come up to us and say how funny his set was,” Thompson said.Diamond was on-par with the comedians the club has previously had, Thompson said. “The thing that you want more than anything else is someone to make people laugh,” Thompson said. “(Diamond) was a class act, a really nice guy. We definitely are going to want him back.”
(11/21/08 4:49am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Almost everyone knows him as Zack Morris’ sidekick from the early ’90s sitcom “Saved by the Bell” or as the contestant who bumped heads with Harvey Walden IV in VH1’s “Celebrity Fit Club.” But many people do not know that Dustin Diamond, who played Screech on “Saved by the Bell,” has also launched a successful career in stand-up comedy and will be performing this weekend at The Funny Bone comedy club in Bloomington. Shows will take place at various times Thursday through Sunday.The Funny Bone, located on the corner of Fourth and Walnut streets, opened this year. Crowds at The Funny Bone are growing every week; its largest weekend so far was two weeks ago when comedian John Evans performed, owner Jared Thompson said. “The comedy is very high quality,” Thompson said.Thompson and his wife were big fans of “Saved by the Bell” growing up and have watched Dustin Diamond’s shows since then. “We’re interested in seeing what his stand-up is like,” Thompson said.Diamond sees stand-up as a “different beast than TV or movies.” “I like the excitement and energy of it,” Diamond said. “I love the honesty and intimacy between you and the crowd. You live and die by your jokes.”Diamond draws his material from his surroundings. “Life, I think, is funnier than anything you could make up,” he said. One area Diamond speaks on the most is relationships. “Unless you’re a hermit, anyone can relate to that,” Diamond said. People have expectations of someone from a wholesome kids show, Thompson said. Though the actors might try to get away from the whole-hearted image they portrayed, most people will still remember them as the goofy kids on their favorite show. Thompson said it is nice to see the actors evolve into different things.Diamond said his appearance on “Celebrity Fit Club” isn’t the most accurate representation because people were behind the scenes giving him ideas on any given show.“Yes, it’s reality, but it’s reality TV,” he said. “It made an impact because it kept people on the edge of their seats. They’re thinking, ‘Is Screech going to fight?’”Though he has branched out, it is true many students and fans of “Saved by the Bell” will go to see Diamond make fun of the character he played for more than a decade. “I’d love to see him come in costume,” said freshman Addy Bryan.“I find a balance where I bring up (‘Saved by the Bell’) right off the bat,” Diamond said. Some people are disappointed when Diamond does not talk about his years on the show, while others are disappointed to see him use the show as his entire act. “It’s a small part of the act,” Diamond said. “That way nobody feels cheated.” But don’t expect a PG performance like the one Diamond gave while on “Saved by the Bell,” Thompson said.“I’ve heard that he has an explosive set,” Thompson said. “From what I understand, he’s very dirty.”
(11/06/08 4:30am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After almost two years of campaigning ended this week for the next U.S. president, a ‘can’paign is just getting started here in Bloomington.Officially beginning Nov. 12, the Indiana Memorial Union Dining Services will participate in the Cans Across America Campaign, a canned food drive lasting 24 hours. IU will join college campuses across the country to take part in this event and attempt to beat the Guinness World Record for most non-perishable food collected in a 24-hour period, said Steve Richards, retail operations director at the IMU.Because the dining service locations are not open for 24 hours straight, barrels will be available for can collection beginning at 5 p.m Nov. 11. Barrels will be placed in all IMU Dining Services locations, including the Herman B Wells Library and the Wright Education Building, and cans will be sold two for $1 at each location.All cans collected will go to the Hoosier Hills Food Bank.Cans Across America was first introduced to colleges in 2006 by the Sodexo Foundation in connection with the STOP Hunger initiative. The company also helps fight hunger by volunteering at food banks once a month and by other various events.“We’re not looking for credit,” Richards said. “It’s a good thing to do.”After collecting more than 2,400 pounds of food in 2006 and 3,600 pounds of food at last year’s drive, the goal this year has been raised to 5,000 pounds, with the average can weighing just less than 1 pound.Currently, a group in Canada holds the Guinness record, but Cans Across America is looking to top it, Richards said. Though the drive will accept food items other than cans, Guinness does not count them toward the total weight.When the 24-hour limit is up, the food is collected and weighed, and then Dean of Students Dick McKaig verifies the results by sending pictures and forms to Guinness.There is a high demand for food right now, and Hoosier Hills is encouraging anyone to meet that need, said Julio Alonso, executive director of Hoosier Hills Food Bank.Cans Across America is one of their biggest food drives of the year, and all of the donated items go to the 99 agencies in the community that Hoosier Hills serves, such as soup kitchens and food pantries. The agencies select the food from the food bank that they need, and cans go fast.“Canned food is really needed, It’s hard to keep on the shelf.” said Alonso.Last year IU was ranked one of the top 10 schools with the most cans collected, and dining services is looking to top the list again. The canned food drive is a good way to get students involved in helping out their community Richards said.“Students are socially conscious,” Richards said. “its gets everyone here excited.”In the future, Sodexo hopes to get more on-campus societies involved with Cans Across America, such as the Greek system and residence halls, Richards said.Hoosier Hills and the agencies they serve depend on people in the community to donate and volunteer as much as they can.“We definitely appreciate the support and effort that Sodexo and the Union put into the drive,” Alonso said. “It helps out both of us really.”