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(10/12/07 2:08am)
It may not be the holiday season yet, but one of the most important times of year is coming up for the Hindu religion. \nNavrati begins Friday, and will last for 10 nights until Oct. 20, Indian Student Association President Veral Patel said. \nTo celebrate this holiday, the Indian Student Association is hosting its first event of the year – the IU Garba Raas. The event will begin at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Bloomington Convention Center in the Marriott Hotel.\n“ISA has this event because it is a large part of the Indian culture,” Patel said. “Many different kinds of Indians celebrate this festival, and it is one of the biggest celebrations of the year.” \n“Garba is a dance of India originating from the Gujurat region,” ISA Cultural Chair Lajja Shah said. “Traditionally, it is performed during the nine days of Navrati. Stylistically, Garba is preformed by clapping and other graceful movements in concentric circles.”\nRaas will also be demonstrated during the event, which involves dancing rhythmically with a partner and two sticks called dandiya, Shah said. “This festive brings people to celebrate, dance and enjoy a traditional part of Gujarati culture,” she said. \nMen, women and children alike participate in the festival, coming out in great numbers and in colorful traditional clothing, ISA Publicity Chair Anand Dave said. “Both Garba and Raas allow one to maintain creativity and high energy in a festival with religious origins and intentions.” \nWomen wear colorful embroidered variations of traditional attire, such as cholis (blouses), ghagras (skirts) and dupattas (scarves), he said. “In addition, women often incorporate mirror work and heavy jewelry into their outfits. Men also sport colorful traditional clothing such as kedia and turbans while maintaining excellent coordination throughout this high-energy affair.”\nReligion still remains tied to Garba Raas, Dave said. “Garba Raas is followed by Aarti, a worshipping ritual, during which prayers and praises are offered to the Goddess with lit diyas, or candles or lights, in hand.”\nPatel said that Garba isn’t limited solely to the Indian community. \n“We encourage everyone to come out, not only Indians but anyone who would like to experience the Indian culture,” he said. \nDave offered advice to newcomers to Garba and Indian culture in general: “Get on the floor and establish yourself as soon as you can. It will get crowded and everyone will see how great you are, and be prepared for a vibrant and intense night of dancing, and make sure you keep an eye on your shoes. They’re bound to get lost.”
(10/10/07 9:21pm)
About 80 students and Bloomington residents joined together Tuesday night to “Take Back the Night” in the struggle against domestic violence and sexual assault. \nA candlelight vigil in honor of six Bloomington women murdered in domestic disputes and also for women raped in Bloomington opened the rally in Dunn Meadow.\nSophomore Caroline Klein attended the event and stressed the lack of awareness for rape and sexual assault. \n“Women in college, especially, make poor decisions and are often not aware of their own safety,” Klein said. “A lot of girls just don’t care.” \nKim Mathews, a volunteer at Middle Way House, agreed and said that “change needs to start within a woman. Nothing can happen until those changes start.” \nSeveral student organizations were also at the event, including Raising Awareness of Interactions in Sexual Encounters. Representative Mathew Leal passed out information about the group, and emphasized the importance of men becoming involved with domestic abuse awareness. \n“This is a very difficult subject,” Leal said. “Sometimes, people just need to hear about these sort of touchy things from peers, and they really listen more to someone like me than they would from a teacher.” \nR.A.I.S.E. coordinator Kristen Jozkowski, who was on the committee for Take Back the Night, explained the purpose of the program. \n“In the 70s, especially for women, it was really hard to go out at night because they felt very unsafe,” Jozkowski said. “This movement began to raise awareness about sexual assault and domestic violence and to maintain the safe feeling of being outside at night. We believe that you can go out at night and that going out should feel safe.” \nJozkowski said Take Back the Night has evolved into a large- scale international movement. \nAttendees became vocal as they marched throughout campus and downtown Bloomington, filling the streets and chanting “Women unite! Take back the night!” and “Yes means yes, no means no! Whatever we wear, wherever we go!” \nThe rally ended at the Monroe County Courthouse, giving victims and advocates time to speak out against rape and domestic violence. \nR.A.I.S.E. representative Nick Branch said the goal of Take Back the Night is straightforward.\n“By making students aware of sexual assault,” he said, “you reduce the chances of them assaulting or being assaulted.”
(10/10/07 3:21am)
Senior Kimberly Roberts, president of Gamma Phi Omega International Sorority, said she first became interested in the legend surrounding Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara after seeing the film “The Lost City.”\n“I would see people wearing his T-shirt, or having his poster on their walls, and I would just wonder, ‘Do people really know what he did?’” she said. \nHer curiosity inspired her enough to create an event, with the support of her sorority sisters, that would discuss in depth the facts and myths of Che Guevara. \nGamma Phi Omega will host a discussion at 7 p.m. tonight at La Casa titled “Che Who?” Beginning with the film “The True Story of Che Guevara.” Leo R. Dowling International Center Program Assistant Daniel Soto will lead a neutral discussion about the life and legacy of Guevara, Roberts said. \n“Many people have a different view about Che,” Roberts said. “Some see him as a revolutionary, leading in the struggles in Cuba, Bolivia and the Congo. But then there are other people who see him only in the way that he carried out his idea, in a very harsh way. I’ve met a lot of Cubans who can’t stand him and who blame him for the way Cuba is today.” \nRoberts said that during the discussion, a resource list of books and movies about Guevara will be handed out.\n“I hope that whoever does show up will leave here with a deeper, neutral knowledge of Che based on the information that we give them,” Roberts said. “From that, they can form their own opinions of him.” \nRoberts said that the main goal of the discussion is to educate people about Guevara. \n“I don’t think enough people really know why they like him and support him,” she said. “Unless you’ve done research (on) him, I don’t think you should support or defend him the way that people do.”
(10/10/07 3:21am)
Twenty years later, Doug Bauder remembers the 1987 Gay and Lesbian March on Washington, D.C. \n“This day was a pivotal moment in the GLBT movement, and over the years, Oct. 11 has become the one day of the year set aside to emphasize the importance of being open,” said Bauder, coordinator of IU’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Student Support Services.\nNational Coming Out Day is held every year on Oct. 11. This year, GLBTSSS is dedicating the entire day to raising awareness not only within the GLBT community, but in the non-GLBT community as well.\nFrom 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, GLBTSSS will be hosting an open house at its office on Seventh Street, said GLBTSSS Program Coordinator Kyle DeWitt. There will be drinks and refreshments and a video camera set up so that people coming in can tell their coming out or ally stories for a video project, DeWitt said.\nNational Coming Out Day is a day for members of the GLBT community to honor themselves.\n“National Day of Silence, our spring semester program, is to raise awareness in the non-GLBT community,” DeWitt said. “National Coming Out Day is the day for us to celebrate our community.” \nComing out is still a difficult and private decision to make, said Bauder, who has been the GLBT coordinator for 12 years.\n“But this day is about taking the courage to step up and say ‘This is who I am,’ and we are highlighting that decision on this particular day of the year,” Bauder said.\nBeginning at 6 p.m. Thursday in the Willkie Auditorium, the student organization OUT will be holding its annual resource fair, which will include student and community GLBT and ally groups, DeWitt said. \nThe entertainment will begin at 7 p.m. and will feature Bloomington area drag king Xavier Brooks and Miss \nGay IU 2007.\nDeWitt stressed the personal importance of National Coming Out Day. \n“I came out in high school, and when I did, it felt like it wasn’t something to be celebrated, but to be afraid of,” DeWitt said. “There are still many, many people here on campus who are closeted, and I don’t want them to feel like I felt. Being gay is not something to not celebrate.” \nThis year’s slogan is “Homophobia – that’s so gay!” Bauder said. \n“When I told it to my partner this morning, he was confused and said that (the phrase) didn’t make sense,” Bauder said. “And I told him, exactly. Homophobia doesn’t make sense.”
(10/09/07 3:37am)
The United States and India would not enjoy the relationship they share if not for two very important men – Strobe Talbott and Jaswant Singh, said Sumit Ganguly, director of the India Studies program.\nGanguly said that he and several other professors from the India studies, political science, Russian studies and history departments, nominated Talbott, former deputy secretary of state under the Clinton administration, to speak at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Rawles Hall, Room 100. \nTalbott will be delivering his speech titled “Repairs Ahead: American Foreign Policy in the Post-Bush Era.” The lecture, which is exclusively part of the Patten Lecture Series, will address the necessary changes in American foreign policy after the end of the current administration, Ganguly said. \n“There has been a particular kind of unilateralism that was pursued by this administration that has cost us our standing leadership in the world,” Ganguly said. “(Talbott) will talk about how we need to engage with other countries and build a multilateral foreign policy.” \nGanguly said nuclear proliferation and global climate change would be key components of Talbott’s lecture.\nFollowing Talbott’s speech Wednesday will be a book release by Singh, the former Indian minister of finance and foreign affairs, at 5:30 p.m. in the President’s Room in the Indiana Memorial Union.\nSingh’s book, “In Service of Emergent India: A Call to Honor,” was published by the IU Press, with some help from Ganguly and the India Studies Department.\n“(Singh’s) book is a memoir, an autobiography,” Ganguly said. “But it is also a political biography of his public service to India.”\nSingh and Talbott’s Thursday lecture will be, “India, America and the World.” \n“(The lecture) will deal with the negotiations conducted after the Indian nuclear test in May 1998,” Ganguly said. “Even though they did not agree, at the time, what should be done in terms of how India should handle its nuclear programs, it established a rapport which enabled both countries to move forward and made dramatic breakthroughs between India and the United States.” \nThe relationship between India and the U.S. today should be partially credited to Singh and Talbott, Ganguly said, for laying the foundation and “paving the way for the most successful visit by any U.S. president (Bill Clinton) to India.”
(10/04/07 5:01am)
Lisa Ling wanted to immediately get one thing straight: she likes Whoopi Goldberg as a new member on “The View.” \nLing spoke to the packed audience of the Buskirk-Chumley Theater Wednesday about her time spent on “The View,” “Channel One News,” “National Geographic Explorer” and “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”\nLing began her career as a junior in high school on the Sacramento teen syndicate show, “Scratch.” \n“I used my time on ‘Scratch’ as a springboard into the field,” Ling said. “I would go into the newsroom at 4:30, 5:00 in the morning, run the teleprompters for the morning news, go to my classes then go back to the newsroom for the \nevening news.”\nAfter spending about two years at “Scratch,” Ling said she heard of auditions for a new broadcasting project in New York City called Channel One News, a news program seen in middle and high schools all over the nation.\n“Channel One gave me a desire to travel and introduced me to a world I had never imagined,” Ling said. “I was given this unique opportunity at age 18 to travel around the world, and at age 21, I was asked if I wanted to cover the civil war in Afghanistan.”\nDuring this time, Ling said she got her first taste of the world, seeing young Afghani boys carrying around weapons that were literally larger than they were.\n“They had this lifelessness in their eyes,” she said. “They could have shot me right then and there and thought nothing of it.”\nAfter covering the civil war in Afghanistan for Channel One, Ling said she realized that Americans in general knew little about international events and decided that international investigative journalism was what she wanted to do for her career.\nSoon after her trip to Afghanistan war zones, Ling was invited to take part on the television show, “The View.” Spending most of her time in an office, Ling stayed on “The View” until shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, after she was accused of anti-American comments.\n“After the terrorist attacks, I had said that what happened in America was one of the most egregious acts of terrorism,” she said. “I said that maybe we should be asking why this happened to us, which unleashed a fury of e-mails from a few supporters and an exorbitant amount of e-mails saying ‘you don’t know what you’re talking about, go back to China.’”\nLing took that advice to heart by joining the National Geographic flagship series “Explorer” and began covering stories such as “China’s Lost Girls”, which chronicled the beginnings of China’s one child policy that led to the murder, abortion and abandonment of thousands of baby girls, Ling said. \nLing went into China to investigate the effects of this policy, and found that, as with every story she had covered, there was another side of the story.\n“These women did not want to give away their baby girls,” she said. “But when she grows up, she’ll get married and go away to her husband’s family, and no one would be there to take care of them when they got old. There really wasn’t much of a choice for them.”\nLing continued working for National Geographic on investigative stories ranging from maximum-security prisons in California to the illusiveness of North Korea and the drug war in Columbia, until she was offered a job on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” as a special correspondent.\nDuring her time for Oprah, Ling investigated incarcerated mothers in international prisons, the mass gang rape of women in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the horrors of “bride burning” in India.\n“The reason I continue doing this kind of work, these heart-wrenching stories, is for every tragic story I’ve reported on, you see humanity,” Ling said.\nIn her closing comments, she left the audience with her favorite quote from Oprah Winfrey, in regard to international crises and issues:\n“Now that you know, you can’t pretend you don’t.”
(10/04/07 4:00am)
Salami can be used as rocket fuel. This is the most memorable thing I took away from my Saturday morning, afternoon and evening of what could only be described as a small-screen stupor.\nThe average American watches about four hours of television per day, according to Nielson Media Research. That's 28 hours per week, or 2 months of television-watching each year. To examine the effects of this pseudo-obsession, I was challenged to watch television for 24 straight hours. No sleeping and no leaving except for bathroom breaks and meals. I descended into the windowless cave of my childhood bedroom in Terre Haute and set out to watch television for an entire day, 9:30 a.m. Saturday to 9:30 a.m. Sunday. \nIn the interest of full disclosure, let me admit that I didn't make it. Twelve hours was plenty for me, and I fell asleep for about 2 of those 12 hours, embarrassingly similar to a turkey-filled uncle on Thanksgiving dozing in front of the Cowboys-Jets game. But it wasn't exhaustion that drove me to snooze. It wasn't even boredom. It was an escape, a way of doing something different from staring at the assault of flickering images, listening to "witty" banter and drolling laugh tracks. Under different circumstances, I could have just switched off the tube, walked outside and found something different to do -- displaced the medium with a different activity.\nMedia displacement is something assistant professor Julia Fox sees when she asks the students in her telecommunications classes to keep a diary of their media consumption, then challenges them to give up for 24 hours one of their top three most-used media -- whether that be television, a cell phone or an iPod.\n"It's amazing what students will go through to avoid being alone with their own thoughts," Fox said. \nShe added that sometimes students will displace one form of media with another. For example, a person who gives up use of their iPod during the challenge might spend more time on the Internet.\nIn her own research, Fox studies how people process and remember media messages, particularly television news messages. Through IU's Institute for Communication Research, she studies this by monitoring subjects' physiological responses to media messages.\n"There are a number of structural and content features that put people in approach or avoid mode (to what they're watching)," Fox said. \nIn my unprofessional ascertainment, I would say that I responded to most of what I watched with an avoidant feeling. I watched hundreds of commercials and promos, which advertised everything from other television shows to clothing, from window blinds to knife sharpeners. I watched makeover shows, detective dramas, tween comedies, movies and documentary programs. And I hated all of it. What I had previously considered a mindless leisure activity became a brain-draining chore.\nDuring the 12 hours I spent in front of the television, I was thinking of all the other things I could be doing -- spending time with friends, reading a book, being outside, listening to music. Anything but watching television.\nPerhaps part of this aversion I felt toward television resulted from the fact that my age group watches less television than any other age group. This is simply because college students are busy, Fox said. When they're not in class or studying, college students have such a large social network that watching the "boob tube" is not the top activity on their agendas.\nCollege students also differ from other age groups in how they process information from media messages. One example of this comes from a study conducted by Annie Lang, associate dean for research in the Department of Telecommunications, who has been conducting research for 20 years about how people process and learn from television.\nOne study Lang did looked at how college students versus people over 45 remembered things from messages that were fast-paced (think MTV's visual assault) and slower-paced (think documentary-type programs). Surprisingly, the study found that people over 45 and college students had the same ability to remember information from the fast-paced production, but college students were awful at remembering the slow-paced material.\nLang said this could point to college students' inability to focus attention -- a factor that I can attest to from my limited, 12-hour experience of nonstop television intake. No matter what I was watching, I was thinking about something else. Without concern or interest in what I was watching, I felt like an empty vessel -- a drooling, passive bump-on-a-log of a person. The pictures and noises washed over my brain and dripped out the ends of my hair, leaving me feeling nothing but boredom and anger at the wasted day.\nWhat made me fold after only 12 hours -- half the time I was supposed to dedicate to the slothification of my self -- was the sinking feeling of what I'd missed during my day of television. If the 12 hours of wasted time made me feel so out of the loop and brain-drained, think about the purported two months of television time the average American watches each year.
(10/03/07 4:37am)
Lisa Ling is a globetrotter, but not for leisure. She has reported the slaughter of thousands of Indian women who couldn’t provide proper dowries, rape in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and children sold in the black market in Ghana. \nShe has seen the world at its absolute worst. Working on National Geographic’s Emmy-winning series, “Explorer” and “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” Ling has journeyed to Afghanistan, Iraq, China and Columbia to uncover the atrocities of which humanity is capable, and millions of Americans have seen her reporting on television. And Ling will share her experiences at 7 p.m. today at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. \nHer lecture tonight is titled “National Geographic Reports: A Global Perspective,” and will also address her time spent corresponding for “Oprah,” said Beth Moellers, director of communications for the IU School of Journalism. \nFormerly a cast member on “The View,” Ling began her journalism career on “Channel One News,” and has made guest appearances on television shows like “I Love the 80s” and “The O’Reilly Factor.”\nMoellers said many students are anticipating Ling’s lecture. \n“We featured Bob Woodward, who has 30 or more years of experience,” Moellers said. “But Lisa Ling is only 10 years older than most of our students, and she has all this experience already.” \nMoellers said the School of Journalism looks for speakers who will be inspiring to students. \n“She has such a diverse background in journalism, and she is a great international broadcast journalist,” she said.\nWhen she is not traveling around the world, Ling serves as a contributing editor for USA Weekend and co-wrote “Mother, Daughter, Sister, Bride: Rituals of Womanhood.”
(10/03/07 4:35am)
Spicy dips and shaking hips filled Foster Quad’s Harper lounge Tuesday night when Sigma Lambda Upsilon, Foster Global Village and the Latin Dance Club held their first “Salsa y Salsa” CommUNITY Education Program. \nFoster CommUNITY Educator Angela Beaudion said they held the program in order to introduce non-Latinos to two aspects of Latino culture – salsa (the dip) and salsa (the dance). \n“Salsa is a Latin music generic term developed in New York City specifically during the 1970s,” Beaudion said. “It was used to describe mainly Afro-Cuban popular Latin dance music generally utilizing rhythms from Cuba.” \nSalsa music originates from Cuba, but also includes other genres of Latin fused with pop, jazz, rock and R&B. \nIn Spanish, “salsa” as a food usually refers to any type of sauce, from mole to guacamole. But in English, “salsa” is a spicy, often tomato-based hot sauce found in Mexican cuisine and used as a dip, Beaudion said. \n“They are two completely different aspects of Latino culture,” she said. “Salsa does not mean the same thing even within the Hispanic culture.”\nThe program began with a brief discussion on Latino stereotypes. \n“What do you think of when you hear ‘salsa’?” Beaudion asked the crowd of 50 students. “Spicy,” “Mexico” and “Tostitos” were several of the responses and were all addressed as stereotypes of Latino culture. \nMcNutt’s CommUNITY Educator, Radley Alcantara assisted Beaudion with the discussion. His portion of the discussion looked at generalizations of Latinos students mentioned, such as “everyone south of the Mexico border looks the same” and “everyone in a Latino country speaks Spanish.” \n“A lot of people think that in Brazil, everyone speaks Spanish,” one student said. “That’s a huge stereotype because they speak Portuguese, which is a lot different from Spanish.” \nAfter the discussion, everyone in the room circled around Beaudion, who demonstrated some basic salsa steps. Once the majority of the room had mastered those steps, they turned on salsa music and students tried out their new moves.
(10/02/07 2:18am)
Racial, religious and ethnic conflicts occur all over the world, said India Studies Department Director Sumit Ganguly. \n“But it is only when we understand them that we can develop strategies for ameliorating, forestalling and preventing conflict,” he added.\nIn order to bring this equation for peace to IU, Ganguly invited friend and colleague Ashutosh Varshney, a professor of political science at the University of Michigan, to speak about the tensions and conflicts surfacing in India. Varshney will give his presentation at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the India Studies House.\nVarshney’s research interests include the politics of economic development in India, Ganguly said. As a central authority of ethnic conflicts in India between Hindus and Muslims, Varshney looks at what triggers riots in India, Ganguly said.\n“He looks at cities where there have been historical social ties and civic links between various communities, and finds that the likelihood of religious and ethnic conflict is small,” Ganguly said. “In cities without that kind of history, he found that they will have much higher levels of violence.” \nVarshney’s discussion tonight will be centralized around his latest book, “Ethnic Conflict and Civil Life: Hindus and Muslims in India.” He will also be speaking on the applicability of his research to other parts of the world, like Africa and Southeast Asia, Ganguly said. \n“He is a major figure of ethnic conflict, and I greatly respect his work,” Ganguly said. “Ethnic conflict is something that plagues much of this world, and I believe that students and academics have the ability to contribute to preventing conflict.” \nVarshney has been a consultant to the United Nations Development Program, Human Rights Watch, the U.S. Department of State and the United Kingdom Department for International Development. \nFor more information, please contact the India Studies Department at 855-5798.
(10/01/07 5:09pm)
Lotus World Music and Arts Festival began Thursday in an explosive manner – literally. \nBooming drums and roaring applause filled the Classic Touch Limousine Service Tent as the members of Balkan Beat Box, wearing Halloween masks and playing various hand instruments, wove through an audience of hundreds. Lead singer Tomer Yosef leapt onto the stage and ushered in an energetic performance by the band, kicking off a promising Lotus Fest 2007. \nFor three days, downtown Bloomington was transformed into a cultural melting pot, represented by dozens of world music genres and local artists. Lotus Fest saw old and new acts this year, from Balkan Beat Box and Golem to this year’s crowd favorites Amazones and Dhoad Gypsies of Rajasthan. \nThousands of students, Bloomington residents and music lovers poured into Bloomington to savor Lotus Fest and expose themselves to new styles of music and art. \nNewcomers Amazones infused the crowd with energetic rhythms straight out of Guinea, Africa. Member and Jamaica-native Afia Walking Tree said the energy she felt from the audience was tremendous, and it helped her and her fellow Amazones keep moving throughout their performance. \nAmazones focuses on breaking the stereotypes faced by female drummers, Walking Tree said. \nAlthough Walking Tree doesn’t speak the native languages of Guinea, the language barrier is not a problem while playing the djembe, a hand drum.\n“I believe that women are able to communicate through everything,” she said. “We learn through hand gestures and movements, and if you don’t get it the first time, (the rhythm) will come back to you as you’re learning, and you just keep trying and repeating until you get it. There’s a language barrier, but that doesn’t keep us from having deep conversations about cultural issues and the problems faced by women.\n“There’s a different way that women handle the drums, and there’s a different way that we master it as well. It’s only that today, we’re being recognized as master of the djembe, sabar and bougarabou.”\nWhile Amazones was determined to break tradition with their music, the Dhoad Gypsies of Rajasthan were upholding thousands of years of tradition of Indian drums and entertainment.\n“I came from a family of tabla musicians, seven generations,” band leader Rahis Bharti said in Hindi. “We wanted to bring all the colors of Rajasthan to Indiana to share our cultures and traditions.”\nBharti, along with his younger brother Amarat Hussain, played the tabla, a traditional Indian drum that takes years to master. Band member Mohammad Bilal played bhapang, another Indian drum, and morchiang, a jaw harp. Gulam Ali played the portable harmonium and Gopal Singh played the dholak, a two-sided drum, while Munshi balanced on beds of nails and sword blades and ate fire. \nFusing traditions with contemporary music was Tunisian-born Mohamed Chaous, better known as MC Rai. Rai’s music is a blend of traditional Arab beats and rock music, Chaous said.\n“It’s very underground in America,” he said. “But in France, rai music is very popular.” \nChaous expressed his excitement at playing at Lotus Fest this year, citing the success of Balkan Beat Box after the group began playing at Lotus Fest in 2005. \n“They’re huge now, and they started right here in Bloomington,” Chaous said. \nChaous was interrupted by a cry of “Move! Move!” as March Fourth Marching Band paraded down Sixth Street, followed by about 200 festivalgoers. Towering over the onlookers and parade participants were two stilt walkers, clearing the path for the following 35-piece band. Clad in black and white marching suits and face paint, March Fourth passed through most of the Lotus Fest area. Although new to Lotus Fest this year, March Fourth seemed to also be a crowd favorite among both the young and old. \nJunior Alex Luboff said Lotus Fest weekend is the best time of year because it gives students an opportunity to experience various cultures.\nThis year’s Lotus Fest brought eons-old cultural traditions to Bloomington but was still able to spotlight artists who are breaking those traditions. Many of the 23 acts this year spoke of coming back next year.\nFor the 14th year, Bloomington became a stage for global music.\n“Even though it’s southern Indiana, it can still be one universal place,” Luboff said. “It’s really cool how you can see the world in Bloomington.”
(09/27/07 6:44am)
“Go hungry so someone doesn’t have to.” This is the motto that students participating in this year’s Muslim Student Union’s Ramadan Fast-a-Thon are abiding by. \nThe annual event raises money for the Bloomington Community Kitchen. It only lasts a day, but it can inspire a lifetime of awareness of poverty and religious tolerance, said Muslim Student Union President Myeda Hussain. \nToday, beginning at 6:26 a.m., more than 600 IU students have pledged to begin a fast that prohibits them from eating and drinking. Although the Muslim Student Union hosts the event, none of the 600 students are Muslim, as the event is intended for non-Muslims in order to raise awareness and solidarity between different religions, Public Relations Chair Omair Ali said. \nParticipants are expected to fast until 7:36 p.m. today, at sundown, when the fast will be broken with “iftar,” or a feast that ends the fast. \nDozens of local restaurants donated food for the feast, in addition to more than $900 for the Bloomington Community Kitchen. Both Muslims and non-Muslims will dine on ethnic food from Shanti, Bombay House, Anatolia, the MAC Grill and Turkuaz, Hussain said, in addition to pizza from Mother Bear’s and dessert from Scholar’s Inn Bakehouse. \nThe fellowship of Fast-a-Thon is only a minor part of the Ramadan experience. \n“During Ramadan, Muslims are required to fast for 30 days from sunup to sundown,” Hussain said. “The sacred month allows Muslims the humbling opportunity to experience the lifestyle of the thousands of hungry people across the globe. Since one of the lessons of fasting is experiencing hunger, members of the Muslim Student Union believe it is a great opportunity to allow others to experience the same sensation while helping those who are hungry within our local community.” \nAli agreed, adding that “getting people to experience such a powerful phenomenon as hunger can be very inspirational in increasing philanthropy and charity.”\nPublicity Chair Karimah Aziz talked of the importance of the community aspect of Ramadan. \n“Ramadan is a time of community, purity and time to humble one’s self,” she said. “If these concepts were applied to IU and the community, it would promote community involvement, doing, thinking proper things and realizing that we are not the center of the universe and have many things to appreciate.” \nBefore breaking the fast, participants are invited to share their experience, discuss the month of Ramadan and talk about the awareness of poverty at 6:30 p.m. at the Forest Greenleaf Cafeteria.\n “Not only is the event one of solidarity,” Hussain said. “It teaches all of us a very valuable lesson – the lesson that we must be grateful.”
(09/27/07 3:45am)
If Lotus Festival isn’t enough world culture for one weekend, take a stroll Friday to the Asian Culture Center for a free cooking lesson in Indonesian cuisine. \nParticipants will be able to learn how to make popular Indonesian dishes beginning at 5 p.m. at the ACC, with the instruction of Evita Luminto, president of the Indonesian Student Association.\nIndonesian cuisine is not well-known in the U.S., according to IndoChef.com, but is similar to Thai and Vietnamese dishes. Specialties of Indonesia include “nasi goring,” Indonesian fried rice, and “sambal goring telor,” a traditional egg dish with shrimp and coconut. \nACC Program and Administrative Assistant Babita Upadhyay encouraged “all who are interested, both from the Bloomington and IU communities” to attend the demonstration. \n“Food is a very important part of all Asian cultures,” Upadhyay said. “In most of the Asian countries, food is considered sacred, and the entire family sits together to eat and enjoy their meals. Although drive-through fast food is making inroads into Asia, food still retains its strong symbolic and religious meaning in people’s daily lives. The ACC’s cooking demo is one way for everyone in Bloomington to experience the importance of food to the Asian people.” \nSince space is limited at the ACC, prospective attendees are asked to register for the event by calling the center at 856-5361 or sending an e-mail to acc@indiana.edu. Other ethnic cooking demonstrations will be given as the semester progresses.
(09/27/07 3:01am)
This weekend Bloomington will play host to the fall’s cultural equivalent of Little 500. Years of hard work, dozens of musicians and artists and more than 10,000 energetic attendees will combine for the 14th annual Lotus World Music and Arts Festival beginning tonight. The musical acts will travel from as far as halfway around the world and from as close as the local community to entertain anticipated thousands.\nThe performers are the most important element of Lotus Fest. Many of them are new to Bloomington, but others are Lotus veterans. Genres for Lotus Fest fit into the category of “world music” – a term too broad to define, Lotus Fest Director Lee Williams said. Global styles of music include Slovenian folk, Middle Eastern world fusion, blues, jazz, Tunisian rai – a blend of traditional Middle Eastern music with contemporary electronic beats – and Dominican Republic acoustic. \nThe history of Lotus Fest is as interesting as the artists who participate in it.\nInspired by Bloomington musician Lotus Dickey, who died in 1989, the festival was created by Williams, IU professor Shahyar Daneshgar and Bloomington musician James Combs. They wanted to capture both Dickey’s giving and curious spirit, according to the Lotus Fest Web site, as well as representing the “universality” of the lotus flower, which grows in Lake Monroe and millions of other lakes all over the world.\nWith each passing year, the festival is tweaked and new components are added, said Lotus Fest Assistant Director LuAnne Holladay. \nWilliams and Holladay have been with Lotus since its inception in 1994. The two have been planning this year’s Lotus Fest since January, and are responsible for inviting artists to perform and coordinating their fall tour \nschedules with this weekend’s.\nPerformances will be held at various venues around downtown Bloomington, including several sponsored tents, the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, the Bloomingfoods stage at Third Street Park and The Bluebird. Concerts held at The Bluebird are for the 21-and-older crowd, but the other events will be held in all-ages tents throughout the weekend as well.\nLotus Fest will kick off at 7 p.m. tonight at the Buskirk with former “Full House” star, singer-songwriter Jeff Daniels. Crowd favorite Balkan Beat Box will head the other kick-off concert at 9 p.m. in the Classic Touch Limousine Service Tent at Fourth and Grant streets.\nThis will be the third year that Balkan Beat Box has performed at Lotus Fest, but Williams assures that it was not difficult getting them to perform again. \n“They think that Lotus Fest is the best place to play in the U.S.,” Williams said. “The atmosphere (at Lotus) has a super high energy, a feeling of joy and there are very powerful emotions when people come \nto Lotus. \nWilliams said people who attend will be able to appreciate many types of music they are unfamiliar with. \n“The audience is fantastic, and the absolute energy is palpable, and the artists feel that,” he said. “(The artists) all want to come back so desperately, for the energy that they don’t get from other cities.” \nRepresenting the classic reggae genre is Taj Weekes and Adowa, touring the U.S. from St. Lucia in the Caribbean. Weekes expressed his excitement to play at Lotus Fest, by saying they are ready to “bring reggae back to the people.” \n“When I was growing up, reggae music was news, it was like the town crier,” Weekes said. “It’s gone away from what it’s supposed to be, and so we’re bringing it back to the people. We are the Rasta \ntown criers.”\nIn comparison to “Bob Marley’s reggae,” Weekes said that he doesn’t compare himself to famous singer. \n“Reggae was there before Bob, he just played reggae,” he said. “That’s what I do, I just play reggae.”\nWith so many returning acts, Lotus Fest planners managed to add one new element to the Lotus itinerary: a 35-piece marching band called March Fourth Marching Band, to lead several parades that will be held throughout the weekend. \n“Not everything at Lotus is ticketed,” Holladay said. “On Saturday afternoon, we have Lotus in the Park at Third Street Park that has performances by several artists, and workshops on singing and dancing and arts projects. It’s a time when people are just hanging out, having a good time.” \nThere will also be a tent set up on Sixth Street with a community project: A sand mandala. Mandalas, traditionally created by Buddhist monks, are crafted from colored sand into intricate, circular designs.\n “People can come in and get involved and hands-on experience at Lotus,” Holladay said. \nStudents in the IU School of Fine Arts Textile Department supplied inflatable sculptures that will be placed outside of the community involvement tent, as well as hand-dyed silk banners made by Lotus planners, she said.\nFor the next three days, a “cultural stew” will be brewing in downtown Bloomington, Holladay said.\n“There are people out in the streets of all ages, eating at the restaurants and just hanging out. Everyone comes out and has a good time downtown,” she said. \n“This is when the town comes to life, and there are such positive, good vibes.”
(09/26/07 1:40am)
While the United States is often regarded as having the best policing system in the world, India’s police force isn’t far behind. Police were able to contain the millions of rioters in the street this week when India won the world cup in cricket, said Arvind Verma, associate director of India studies program and professor of criminal justice.\n“The crowds become destructive and how the police maintain order is very efficient,” Verma said. “They are used to handling large amounts of crowds in both small and large towns.”\nTo highlight the crowd control and maintenance techniques that India has to offer to the rest of the world, Verma invited David Bayley, distinguished professor of criminal justice at the University at Albany SUNY, to speak at 5 p.m. Friday in Woodburn Hall 002. \n“He is the foremost authority on policing in the world,” Verma said. “He has also written several books and articles on India and its police system, and will be releasing his latest book later this year.”\nBayley authored “Intergroup Relations: An Integrative Developmental and Social Psychological Perspective (Studies in Crime and Public Policy),” which discusses the psychological effects of democratic policing on war-torn nations. The book is set to release in November of this year.\nBayley has studied policing systems in India, Japan, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Singapore and the United States. His primary focuses are “strategies of policing, the evolution of police organizations, organizational reform, accountability, and the tactics of patrol officers in discretionary law-enforcement situations,” according to a press release. \n“He will be speaking about his experience in democratic policing in India, and how such techniques can be applied to the situation in Iraq,” Verma said.\nBayley will also discuss what India has to offer regarding the rights of its citizens and maintaining order, Verma said.\nVerma noted that out of India’s 600 million eligible voters, 400 million show up to the polls on voting day.\n“Trying to maintain social order and make sure people vote properly is a very large task,” Verma said. “India’s policing system can control that many people effectively.”\nBayley will also be available at 11 a.m. Friday for a coffee hour at the India Studies House at 825 E. 8th St.
(09/24/07 5:02am)
Smells of ethnic food filled the air Sunday as hundreds of students and Bloomington residents packed into Showers Plaza and an explosive performance by Estrela de Norte Capoeira Angola group opened the festivities of the fourth annual Bloomington Multicultural Festival. \nOrganizers created the festival in 2002 to promote diversity, said Sue Owens, program specialist for the City of Bloomington Community and Family Resources Department.\n“Each culture brings its own unique beauty to our community,” Owens said. “The Bloomington Multicultural Festival is particularly exciting because it offers festival-goers an opportunity to experience many different cultures in one afternoon.”\nThe opening performance by Estrela de Norte Capoeira Angola captured the audience’s attention, using indigenous Brazilian instruments and singing while two “capoeiristas” sparred as if they were dancing. The capoeiristas looked as if they were break dancing, but capoeira itself is considered a martial art and fight-dancing game.\nBoth campus and city organizations, including the Asian Culture Center, La Casa Latino Culture Center, Tibetan Culture Center and CUBAmistad, set up booths and displays for the attendees.\nThe Tibetan Culture Center promoted the upcoming October visit and lecture of the Dalai Lama. CUBAmistad is an organization that promotes the lifting of the trade and travel embargoes on Cuba.\nFair Trade Bloomington, an organization dedicated to global economic development, also attended the festival, selling fair-trade goods like jewelry, hand-carved statues and books.\nRepresentatives from the Portuguese, Central Asian, Slavic and East European and African Languages departments were also on hand, promoting their languages and cultures.\nPerformances by the IU International Folkdancers, Cry of the Children gospel performers, the Bloomington High School North Mariachi Band and traditional India dancers carried over the other sounds of the festival. \nFor the children who attended, the Mathers Museum of World Cultures hosted a hands-on craft booth featuring art from around the world. Volunteers from the museum helped kids create African necklaces, woven baskets and “milagros,” charms made from aluminum foil in the shape of a wish. \nVarious local restaurants offered food to the attendees as well. Smokin’ Jack’s Rib Shack prepared various ethnic dishes from Asia, Mexico, Italy, Africa, Germany and the U.S.
(09/19/07 4:54am)
The death of IU freshman Kareem Bacchus shocked his friends and family Tuesday morning, when the 17-year-old apparently suffered a brain hemorrhage caused after being treated for an allergic reaction to something he ate on Saturday evening.\nPolice responded to a medical assistance call from Bacchus’ roommate Sunday morning in McNutt Quad, IU Police Department Captain Jerry Minger said. \n“He had informed his friends that he was having an allergic reaction to something he ate at Malibu Grill,” Minger said. “When the symptoms became worse very quickly, they called for help.”\nBacchus was transported to Bloomington Hospital early Sunday morning, where he remained until he passed away shortly after midnight Tuesday. Monroe County Coroner David Toumey said the official cause of death would not be announced for several weeks. \nBacchus’ friends confirmed that he had a severe allergy to seafood and lactic acid, a compound found in milk products. Officials and his family, however did not disclose what he ate that caused the reaction. \nMalibu Grill declined to comment on the incident. \nBacchus, known to his friends at IU as a talented and socially engaged student, was commended by Dean of Students Dick McKaig. \n“He was elected vice president of McNutt and was a direct admit student to Kelley School of Business,” McKaig said.\nA memorial service was held Tuesday in the Georgian Room of the Indiana Memorial Union by the Muslim Student Union, of which Bacchus was a member. \nThe group’s president, Myeda Hussain, encouraged all of Bacchus’ friends to attend to honor him.\nHussain also said the family \nrequests that friends honor Bacchus by not creating Facebook groups online. Many family members still do not know of Bacchus’ condition, Hussain said. \nBacchus’ friends from his hometown Plano, Texas, also attended the memorial service, praising Bacchus’ personality and talents.\n“He had a beautiful singing voice, a bass, and very low,” IU freshman Molly Langteau said. “He was personable and always trying to help people.”\nFreshman Emily Stern added to Langteau’s sentiments, saying that “he was very, very smart and actually skipped a grade. He was only 17, and was a direct admit into the business school.” \nLangteau also said that Bacchus had played a large role in coordinating the 9/11 memorial service at McNutt last week, by singing the national anthem and gathering more than 200 students.\n“We didn’t get to know him that well,” Stern said. “But that didn’t matter to him. He would have done anything for us. We didn’t know him that well, but he touched our lives.” \nLangteau echoed Stern’s words. \n“He could have been a leader, and he could have done something amazing,” she said. “He could have cured the very allergies that he suffered from.” \nCounseling and Psychological Services representative Dr. Nancy Stockton was available at the memorial service, and reminds students touched by Bacchus that CAPS has walk-in hours from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays, and offers an emergency response team for all tragedies.
(09/18/07 7:49pm)
A 17-year-old IU student passed away early this morning, from what appears to have been a brain hemorrhage caused by a severe allergic reaction to something he ate.\nPolice responded to a medical assistance call at McNutt Delgado early Sunday morning when freshman Kareem Bacchus' roommate called the police, IU Police Department Captain Jerry Minger said.\n"He had informed his friends that he was having an allergic reaction to something he ate at Malibu Grill," Minger said. "When the symptoms became worse very quickly, they called for help." \nBacchus was known to his friends at IU as a very talented and socially engaged student, Dean of Students Dick McKaig said. "He was elected vice president of McNutt, was very involved in coordinating the 9/11 memorial at McNutt and was a direct-admit student to Kelly School of Business." \nA memorial service is planned for today from 4-7 p.m. in the Indiana Memorial Union Gregorian Room, hosted by the Muslim Student Union, of which Bacchus was a member.\nMSU President Myeda Hussain encourages everyone who knew Bacchus to attend to remember him and to honor his memory. \n"We hope that those who knew Kareem will come to celebrate the life and tragic departure of a young, wonderful person," Hussain said.\nHussain also said that the family requests that friends honor Bacchus by not creating Facebook groups online. Many family members still do not know of Bacchus' condition, Hussain said.\nCounselors from Counseling and Psychological Services will also be available at the memorial service to assist students coping with Bacchus' death.
(09/17/07 1:54am)
Celebrating the Latino community should extend year-round, said Lillian Casillas, director of the IU La Casa Latino culture center.\n“(Latinos) don’t stop living after October 15,” Casillas said. \nNational Hispanic Heritage Month kicked off Friday, and the celebration, which ends Oct. 15, is a tribute to the Latino community.\nThe semi-formal celebration included words from Mayor of Bloomington Mark Kruzan and performances by North Star Capoeira and classical guitar student Eduardo Mendoza. \nWelcoming new and old students of all ethnicities to Bloomington, Kruzan stressed their important presence in \nthe city. \n“I look forward to this event every year,” Kruzan said of the opening ceremony. “This is the time of year that Bloomington really comes alive.” \nLa Casa was at the opening celebration, along with various other student and community organizations. After introductions by the Latino culture and support groups, the North Star Capoeira Angola group captivated the attention of all present. Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art that incorporates dance with music played on indigenous instruments. \nSophomore Stephen Strader said he enjoyed the ceremony. \n“I think it’s important for everyone to know the impact Latinos have on the community,” Strader said. “And I wanted to see the Capoeira guys perform.”
(09/17/07 1:51am)
Despite the chilly temperatures Saturday, hundreds of students gathered in Dunn Meadow to celebrate Festival Latino, an annual gathering of student and community Latino organizations, to honor Latino heritage and the contributions of the Latino community. \nUnder a cloudless sky, organizations like Lambda Upsilon Lambda, a multicultural fraternity, raised money by setting up a dunking booth and subjecting one of its brothers to cold water, for a good cause, of course. \nLambda Upsilon Lambda president Glen Batista said Festival Latino is one of the fraternity’s biggest events of the year. \n“It’s a good opportunity to show Latino culture to the campus and community,” Batista said. \nLambda Upsilon Lambda participates in several philanthropic events each year, coordinating with La Casa and several sororities to raise money for organizations, Batista said. \nAlso present were Kidspañol, a community group that offers Spanish classes to children and families, and Sigma Lambda Upsilon, a multicultural sorority promoting its involvement with Take Back the Night, a rally against sexual assault and domestic violence. \nSeveral performances by local Latino bands set the tone for the festival. Salsa and merengue band Orquestra Son, Caribbean-influenced Bembe and Latin rock group Descarga all took the stage to give the audience a taste of Latino musical culture. \nRepresentatives from IU’s Mathers Museum of World Cultures were also at Festival Latino, presenting games from Central and Latin America, as well as folk games from around the world. \nFamilies and students spent time constructing “fiesta flowers.” \nSophomore Kara Findley made a few flowers during the festival. \n“I was afraid that some booths wouldn’t get some participation, then I saw the big yellow flowers and jumped right in,” Findley said. “The whole idea with multicultural festivals is that it’s not just for people of that particular culture. They’re also for people who aren’t of that culture to understand and become involved with learning the traditions and ways.”