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(06/28/07 12:48am)
A group of about 15 kids surrounded recent 2007 IU graduate Pearl Kim on Tuesday afternoon during a Culture Camp workshop at the Asian Culture Center. Hands shot up when Kim, a student coordinator, asked how many main languages China has. Excited kids shouted, “One! Two!” An eager girl in pigtails and a pink dress had the correct answer: two. \nThe camp, now in its eighth year, is an eight-week-long program that hosts children every Tuesday and Thursday. The morning session runs from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., and the afternoon session runs from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.\nGames, food and languages from 14 South Asian countries, including China and Malaysia, are taught in the workshop sections. At each session, the children are divided into three groups. Each group goes to a different room to do an activity, and the groups switch every 25 minutes. \nSo far, 70 children have participated in the program this year since it began June 5, the center’s director Melanie Castillo-Cullather said. The Culture Camp is open to children of all ethnicities. Kim said many school groups attend. She added that adopted Asian children are usually signed up by their parents. To accommodate vacationing families, the program has been extended through late July this year. \nAnother change in the program Castillo-Cullather mentioned is focusing each session on \none country. In previous years, each activity\nwithin the two-hour period represented a different country. \n“That was a little bit too much for the kids to comprehend, I think,” Castillo-Cullather said. \nFor the session on China, volunteers and student coordinators taught the groups how to make paper lanterns, cook sesame balls, do calligraphy and play a game with chopsticks. Student coordinator and senior Jeff Capati said he thinks the workshops have an effect on \nthe campers. \n“We work to educate and promote Asian cultures for kids at an early age so that they have a better understanding (of those cultures),” he said. \nIn May, center coordinators and volunteers met to brainstorm ideas for the summer workshops. Kim said everyone was designated with a day and a country to coordinate.\nAfter completing the activities, the children were asked which part of their experience they enjoyed the most. Hands shot up again. One little girl shouted that she liked making the lanterns. Capati, who coordinated the day’s workshop, breathed a sigh of relief and laughed. Lauren Williams, a precocious 4-year-old with bangs and a ponytail, offered her opinion after the older children had yelled theirs. \n“My favorite part is when I was painting,” she said. \nKim said she enjoys educating the children about different cultures. \n“It’s so much fun – when I was little and went to American schools, everyone assumed I was Chinese. I’m Korean,” she said. “After learning about Asian cultures, kids may not automatically assume (someone’s background).”
(06/25/07 12:40am)
Google: It’s useful for more than looking up your name when you’re bored at work.\nGoogle’s Book Search Web site is working in collaboration with several universities to scan millions of books into its system, though some book publishers are wary of the project.\nIU will now work with the Google Book Search project, a service that has already scanned books from various universities and libraries, including those at Oxford and Harvard. The new partnership will be between Google and the Committee on Institutional Cooperation – an association comprised of 12 universities, including the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois.\nThe Committee on Institutional Cooperation promotes higher education by working on various joint projects and “sharing resources,” according to its Web site. \nPatricia Steele, IU Ruth Lilly Interim Dean of University Libraries, said the committee is “one of the largest” associations of its kind; therefore, the partnership is significant. \nAccording to the Web site, the idea for what is now known as the Google Book Search began in 1996. More than a million books have already been scanned to the database. The project should add about 10 million more from the Committee on Institutional Cooperation libraries, with about 10,000 coming from IU.\nSteele said the books IU will contribute haven’t been chosen yet, but they will be chosen based on the qualities they can contribute to Google’s selection. \n“Google is looking for strengths of each library,” she said. \nThe project could add books from IU’s folklore, Slavic, African music and foreign language collections.\nAlthough it is unclear when Google will have all of the books scanned, university libraries won’t have to do much in the process. Steele said that all IU has to do is package the books and send them to the Google corporation. From there, Google will scan the books and send them back. \nThe project has been met with some backlash. The Association of American Publishers brought a lawsuit against Google in 2005. \nBut the Google Book Search Web site has added features designed to put wary publishers at ease. There is a link to a Web page specifically for publishers as well as other pages describing the project.\nThe “facts and fiction” page puts to rest some rumors about the service. Google Book Search scans both public domain and copyrighted books, but searches for the copyrighted books show a card-catalogue listing of the book with a page or so of the book’s content. Although this is in line with copyright laws, some people are still skeptical. \nSteele mentioned that it has been found that after searching for a book on the Web site, many people then go to bookstore sites or library sites in order to look up and purchase the actual book. In this way, Steele said, libraries and bookstores are benefiting from the service instead of losing business. \nJohn Walsh, assistant professor of library and information science, agreed with Steele, saying that even after Google scanned books online, library circulation rates continued to climb. He added that he believes no matter how digital the world becomes, people still enjoy tangible items. \n“Even though more books are online, many people still want or need to hold a book in their hands,” he said. \nPaula Kaufman, university librarian and professor of library administration at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, mentioned the scanned images being in black and white as one possible disadvantage of the service. If someone wants to see something in color, they will have to look at the actual book. \nHowever, “many of these books that haven’t gotten much circulation are now getting a lot of hits online,” she said.\nSteele agreed that no matter what misgivings publishers and others might have about the project, it has a more important aspect. \n“My experience in the library ... has shown me that the more open a product is (to the public) the better it is for everyone,” she said.
(06/25/07 12:02am)
Walking the grounds of IU’s Hilltop Garden and Nature Center on a sunny summer Thursday, recent graduate Samantha Ezzo stopped in front of a large tree with what looked like puffy pink flowers. \n“My favorite thing here changes every day,” said Ezzo, who is in charge of running the facilities and coordinating Hilltop’s Summer Youth Garden Program. “Today it’s the mimosa tree. Each bloom reminds me of a pink pompom.” \nIndeed, when one approaches the tree, the “petals” of the pink flowers separate and begin to resemble the pompoms cheerleaders wave. \nHilltop, located behind the Tulip Tree Apartments on 10th Street, has been around since 1948 and is open to the public from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The center offers various classes and workshops in conjunction with IU and the Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department. Classes range from adaptive gardening, which offers techniques that make gardening more comfortable for the disabled to rain gardens that grow from the use of effectively routed rainwater. \n“Hilltop is an educational facility that serves the community with gardening, horticulture and health-enhancing activities,” Ezzo said. \nAlong the gravel road leading to Hilltop is another of Ezzo’s favorite features, “Libby’s Border,” which is full of day lilies. A tunnel covered in grapevines leads to the garden area. \nDifferent sections of the garden each have their own theme: medicinal plants from the pioneer days grow in the pioneer garden, herbs grow in the culinary garden and plants with large leaves can be found in the dinosaur garden. \nFor those wanting to get their hands dirty, 10-by-10-foot plots can be rented in the community garden section. All plots are currently taken, but renters change every so often. The cost is $45 per plot, and those living in IU housing can apply for a subsidized cost. Ezzo said the community garden “makes for a more family-like environment” because people who have plots are at Hilltop all the time. \nMuch of Hilltop’s summer activity comes through the Youth Garden Program, a 10-week-long summer day camp for kids that runs from June until the beginning of August. The program is in its 59th year and is the oldest of its kind, Ezzo said. This year’s 46 campers, called “Hilltoppers,” learn about gardening through crafts, guest speakers and even maintaining their own plots. \nThe children also maintain a garden in the community section called the “Garden for the Hungry.” Each year, the children plant vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, and onions to be harvested and donated to the hungry. \n“It provides an opportunity for the Youth Garden Program to give back to the community,” Ezzo said. “Our Hilltoppers are very excited about it.” \nA field behind the gardens provides a place for Hilltop campers to play games in the afternoon or for visitors to have picnics. The council ring, located in the center of a group of trees, is where Ezzo rings a cowbell each morning to corral the campers and begin activities. The area also provides a cool spot under the canopy of leaves for campers to sit and enjoy a popsicle. \nWandering around Hilltop, the site’s history is evident. A tusk is missing from the mud structure campers use to make pizzas, called the “elephant oven,” and the smell of the tool shed and crafts building evokes images of a classic summer camp in the country, an ambience Ezzo enjoys. \n“This place has character,” Ezzo said. “I love it.”
(06/20/07 10:32pm)
After two years serving as vice president for government relations, Tom Healy is retiring. Healy was appointed to the position in April 2004 by outgoing IU President Adam Herbert. Now that Herbert is leaving, Healy has decided the time has come for him to leave as well. “With a transition to a new president, I just thought it was time to leave,” said Healy, who will leave his appointment July 31. \nAfter working with Herbert at the University of North Florida, Healy made a three-year commitment to come to IU to work under Herbert in the IU Office of Government Relations. IU Media Relations Director Larry MacIntyre said when Healy took the position, the government relations office wasn’t as active as it could be. \n“He came in with experience ... and reorganized the government relations structure,” MacIntyre said. \nIU Government Relations has three functions, Healy explained. State relations involves working to maintain ties between IU and the Indiana state government. A second section, federal relations, works with the federal government to encourage discussion about issues that affect IU. Lastly, through Hoosiers for Higher Education, members are encouraged to request funding and implementation of policies that keep IU a top-notch university. \nHealy said he is most proud of the structuring of the new government relations office. He was able to create the office by hiring new people, who he said have done “an outstanding job.” One of the most vital people Healy brought in, MacIntyre said, was Executive Director of State Relations J.T. Forbes. \n“Forbes has really been effective,” MacIntyre said. “Healy kicked us up a notch or two.” \nAlthough Healy and Charlie Nelms, vice president for institutional development and student affairs, will be leaving empty seats this fall, MacIntyre said incoming IU President Michael McRobbie will have to replace relatively few people. \n“McRobbie is coming into office with people he chose or helped choose,” MacIntyre said. “If we had someone from outside IU coming in, he would have had more positions to fill.” \nAfter retiring, Healy plans to move with his wife to Jacksonville, Fla., where they lived previously for 27 years. Healy said he wants to spend time with his wife as well as his grandchildren. While he noted that he has enjoyed his time at IU and will visit in the future, he is ready to go. \n“We’re ready to do some things we haven’t had time to do,” he said.
(06/14/07 1:17am)
Although summer has begun, IU is anything but inactive. As students relax, work or even attend summer classes, campus has been buzzing with construction. \nConstruction at IU-Bloomington comprises just a portion of the more than $900 million in construction taking place across all eight IU campuses, said University Architect Bob Meadows.\nSimon Hall, which will house research space for biology, chemistry and some medicine, is nearly finished after three years of construction. Meadows said the building will open in about a month for faculty. Depending on the faculty members placed in Simon Hall, research in the building may include topics like cancer, said Suzanne Schwartz, program manager for interdisciplinary biochemistry graduate studies. \nAnother building that hasn’t taken as much time to construct as Simon Hall is the classroom and office building that will be located on Third Street, across from Swain Hall East. Construction began in February, and project superintendent Oliver Haste said the first floor should be open to professors by August 2. The first floor will house classrooms, and the second floor will contain offices. \nThis is the first time the construction company Haste works for, Shiel Sexton, has built a building on campus. Haste said construction is progressing relatively well. \n“Things are going smoothly,” Haste said. “But if it was an easy thing, everyone would do it.” \nThe building next to the new classroom and office building, Margrave Apartments, will be torn down to build a new optometry clinic. Some at IU and in the Bloomington community oppose the decision to tear it down, citing the apartment complex’s historical value. Lynn Coyne, assistant vice president for IU real estate and economic development, said the building is not historic, just old. He added that leveling it is more advantageous than preserving it. \n“They’re building a new clinic and making room for new research space in the School of Optometry,” he said, noting the new clinic will be more accessible to patrons, and facilities will be newer. \nThe Atwater parking garage, located between Third Street and Atwater Avenue, appears to be the only project that has suffered setbacks. Meadows said it will be finished a month later than promised, around October or early November, because of excavation problems. \n“They ran into rock and two or three (water) springs,” Meadows said. “But it appears to be on track now.” \nMeadows also mentioned Kirkwood Hall as another major renovation project on campus. The building, constructed in 1894, is home to the administrative offices of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Scaffolding currently protects much of the exterior that is being worked on, and the roof is also being redone. Meadows said construction on the building should be done around December. \nDespite all of the construction going on around campus, Meadows said is glad that everything is going well. \n“Amazingly, it is going smoothly,” he said.
(06/14/07 1:00am)
WIUX fans need not fear any longer – the radio station will stay on the FM dial. \nThe station jumped from 100.3 FM to 99.1 FM on June 4, after WYGB, a Columbus, Ind., country station, moved to 100.3 FM, ending months of negotiations with the Federal Communications Commission. \nWhen the FCC first announced the takeover, WIUX was slated to be removed from the FM frequency entirely. WIUX asked listeners to write to their senators and congressmen, and with the help of faculty and alumni, sent a petition to the FCC. Senators Evan Bayh, D-Ind., Richard Lugar, R-Ind., and Rep. Baron Hill, D-9th, then sent letters to the FCC asking for a reversal of the decision. \nWYGB was able to take over 100.3 FM because its Class A broadcast license has priority over WIUX’s Class D license. The license makes it possible for WIUX to operate on a Low Power FM frequency, a status given to stations that have little to no protection from stations holding superior broadcasting licenses. During negotiations, WIUX received word that 99.1 FM had opened up. Station Manager and junior Craig Shank said it was the best option for the low power station. “We felt it would be in our best interest if we made the switch,” he said. \nShank said the station’s concern had not been that WYGB was taking over its frequency but that the decision would have left WIUX with few options. He mentioned that if WIUX had not found its new frequency, which has a range of 15 miles, the station would possibly have been moved to AM 1570, which has about a one-mile range. WIUX would have been able to keep its 24-hour online broadcast, but its reach would still have been limited, Shank said. \nLow power stations such as WIUX can’t do much to make sure that a frequency takeover won’t happen again in the future, Shank said. \n“The only way we can guarantee something like this won’t happen again would be to acquire a full-power license,” he said, noting the licenses are in short supply and take years to get.\nAlthough all radio stations strive to increase their number of listeners, Shank said that would be difficult to do with WIUX’s frequency change. Instead of starting to advertise the change in the summer, WIUX will begin getting the word out in the fall when students return to campus. \nBall State’s radio station, WCRD, has not had the problems WIUX has faced. General Manager Joseph Lacay said although Indianapolis stations are “knocking on our door,” the station has not had to fight to stay on the air. \nThe station has also changed its format from College Music Journal, what Lacay described as “music from local bands or up-and-coming bands,” to a more mainstream one in order to increase its number of listeners. \n“A lot of people didn’t know the bands we played,” he said. \nShank said WIUX’s broadcasting format hasn’t changed since the station switched dials. He described WIUX’s unique format as a blend of different ones, including College Music Journal. \n“We made up a name (for our format): ‘underrepresented,’” he said, referring to the music, news and events the station promotes and covers. \nWith about 1,000 listeners, Shank said the station has a loyal following of people who enjoy hearing music by lesser-known artists. Most importantly, Shank pointed out, stations like WIUX provide something unique. \n“WIUX ... provides opportunities for students and people in the community to program their own radio station,” he said. “We’re all learning, but we make use of alumni, the University and the community to help us out.”
(06/11/07 4:00am)
If the old cliche of a picture being worth a thousand words holds true, IU Student Media Director Dave Adams could have filled a novel. Ten poster boards with pictures lined a hallway that more than 100 people passed through on their way to pay their respects to the man many simply knew as “Dadams.” \nFor three hours, friends and family remembered Adams during a visitation held at Allen Funeral Home on Thursday. \nAdams, 59, was found unresponsive June 2 in his backyard koi pond. His death was ruled an accidental drowning. \nThe mood was solemn as the visitation began, but as more people arrived, the atmosphere lifted into one more fitting of Adams’ dynamic personality. Friends and colleagues began to joke and laugh as they shared memories. \n“Dave had a twinkle always in his eye,” Bloomington North guidance counselor Greg Chaffin said. Chaffin had known Adams for about 15 years, first as a student and then as a friend. “He loved fun, travel, gossip. He was a storyteller par excellence.” \nThe pictures showed Adams with students, colleagues, family, his partner Chunming “Jimmy” Chou, his son John and even his pugs, Dorothy and Toto. A projector and screen were set up in one corner of the room showing a montage of the photos. \nNext to the screen, a poster board featured various name cards from conferences and positions Adams held. Other indications of Adams’ personality were placed throughout the room: a bowl from his office labeled “Dave’s Candy Dish” sat on one table, and Beanie Baby pugs rested on another. On the altar, Adams’ passion for his work was conveyed by a bumper sticker proclaiming, “I heart the First Amendment.” \nJeanne Vrabel, an IDS staffer from 1999 to 2004, remembered Adams’ generosity.\nVrabel recounted numerous letters of recommendations Adams wrote, as well as a framed picture he sent to her after attending her wedding in Florida. \n“He was helpful; he’d bend over backwards for you,” she said. \nAdams showed concern for others in a personal capacity, but his colleagues made sure to point out his enthusiasm for journalism. \nRetired IU High School Journalism Institute professor Dan Niles met Adams more than 20 years ago through the institute. He said one particular memory came to mind that exemplified Adams’ unwavering passion for journalism. After watching a movie at the Von Lee, Adams and Niles walked out and saw a large crowd on Indiana Avenue. People were screaming, and police cars were parked nearby. \n“We both looked at each other and said, ‘Let’s go,’” Niles said. \nNiles said he and Adams went to a place nearby and yelled to the person at the desk, “Pencil and paper! Pencil and paper!” Pencil and paper in hand, both men began taking notes on what was happening – undoubtedly a drunken brawl, Niles said. When they were done, Niles and Adams gave their notes to the IDS. Looking back on their adventure, Niles said he and Adams probably looked ridiculous. \n“Here are these middle-aged men, shouting,” he said. \nChaffin also recalled Adams’ passion for journalism, especially in the classroom. \n“We would get into discussions in class on freedom and freedom of speech,” Chaffin said. “He was a passionate man on those issues.” \nBloomington North teacher Ryan Gunterman worked at the IDS from 1999 to 2002. He took Adams’ class on press law, and recently pulled out a handout from the class. While it brought tears to his eyes, Gunterman said he had to laugh. The handout was an opinion piece on the Hosty v. Carter Supreme Court case, which dealt with censorship of college newspapers. Adams had covered it with his own opinionated notes and reactions. \n“At one point he wrote down ‘ugh’ with a couple of exclamation points after it,” Gunterman said, laughing. \nAll expressed the sentiment that Adams made everyone he came in contact with feel like they were important to him. Chaffin said Adams was sincere in this. \n“He made everybody feel like they had a special relationship with him – and they did,” Chaffin said. \nGunterman wondered how Adams managed to develop a close relationship with everyone he knew. \n“He got invested in every person’s life he met,” Gunterman said. “How did he do it? ... Dave did it as if it was just what you did.”
(06/07/07 12:36am)
IUPD Lt. Greg Butler biked roughly 70 miles from Indianapolis to Terre Haute on Saturday. He was not alone. \nButler and IUPD Sgt. Dave Rhodes participated in the Law Enforcement Torch Run along with about 185 other police officers. The participants started at Victory Field in Indianapolis at 7:30 a.m. and traveled along U.S. 40 to finish at the Indiana State University Memorial Stadium in Terre Haute. \nThe event kicked off the 2007 Special Olympics Indiana Summer Games at ISU. Rhodes ran about two legs – which totaled about 5 miles – of the twenty-leg trek. Butler biked the entire trip. Rhodes said four torches were passed off to different people throughout the run. \nRhodes and Butler train cadets at the police academy in the summer and work out often, both of which enable them to keep in shape for the Torch Run. \nBoth police officers have participated in the Torch Run for about 10 years. IUPD Capt. Jerry Minger said he appreciates their involvement. \n“They’ve been such great supporters,” he said. “Because of them, the police department has gotten involved.” \nButler and Minger mentioned that Ernie Ham, who is a Special Olympian, works with the IUPD doing odd jobs around the office. Ham adds a personal reason for Butler’s involvement with Special Olympics. \n“Special Olympics is a good cause,” Butler said. “The young adults who participate, as well as Ernie, are an inspiration. It’s a good chance to give back to them.” \nRhodes said that although temperatures were higher than they had been in previous days, the weather was still nice. Butler had a different story: About six miles outside of Terre Haute, he was stuck in a downpour. He wound up missing the final leg of the trip – a lap around the ISU Memorial Stadium with the Special Olympians. \n“We had to stop for a little while,” Butler said. “When we finally got (to Terre Haute), they had already gone into the stadium. That was the first time I missed that.” \nRhodes said his favorite part of the Torch Run was not the run itself but being able to give to the Special Olympians the money they raised. \n“If I can donate a bit of time to a good cause, it’s well worth the time,” he said.
(06/07/07 12:35am)
IU Writers’ Conference faculty member Nicholas Dawidoff said much of his writing inspiration does not come from literary greats but rather from the 1979 movie “Breaking Away.”\nDawidoff, who went to New York City to write afater college, teaches non-fiction writing at Sarah Lawrence College and also at The Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown. \n“It’s hard to tell good stories. (The movie) is so true to the people I knew,” Dawidoff said. “... As a kid from New Haven, to see a movie like that, I thought, ‘It’s almost me.’”\nNext week, Dawidoff will be traveling to Bloomington to teach writing in the weeklong IU Writer’s Conference . \nThe conference, which is in its 67th year, will begin June 10. Eight writers from all over the country who comprise the faculty will teach classes and workshops. Classes bear names like “Reading Like a Writer,” and workshops range in subject matter from fiction to poetry. \nEvery evening, the public is welcome to attend faculty readings for free at the John Waldron Arts Center, starting at 8 p.m. \nNeil Perry, assistant director of the IUWC, said attendance varies but is usually between 45 and 75 people. He believes the conference is a way to bring all attendees together – not just those coming from opposite ends of the country. \n“(The conference) is a way to create an event ... that is in the Bloomington community as well as at IU,” Perry said. “It’s a fun arts week for literature.” \nLee Martin, director of Creative Writing and professor of English in the MFA program at Ohio State University, will also be part of the conference faculty. He mentioned workshops as providing a good setting for people who want to focus solely on their writing. He said the workshops are also a way to get to know other writers. \nThose wanting to participate in the conference must pay a $50 fee. In addition, a manuscript submission is required for involvement in the workshops.\nLike Dawidoff, who is interested to see the setting of “Breaking Away,” Martin has a personal connection with the Bloomington as well. \n“I was a student in a workshop there in ’85 or ’86, and it’s close to where I grew up,” said Martin, who is originally from Vincennes. “It’s sort of like coming back home.” \nMartin said all of his writing teachers have had an impact on him, but he pointed out that it takes some reading for a writer to hone his craft. Martin draws his inspiration from authors such as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Anton Chekhov. \nDawidoff believes that any writer, no matter his or her skill level, can improve. When he teaches, he said he makes sure that he’s always “there for the students.” \n“I try to get them to think about how writers make artistic choices, but any artistic choice can be rethought,” he said. \nBut, for Dawidoff at least, the week won’t be just about writing.\n“I will be bringing my bike,” he said.
(06/04/07 9:17pm)
The impact of IU Student Media Director Dave Adams’ passion for free student press extended far beyond IU. \nHe acted as executive director of the Journalism Education Association, faculty adviser on the Indiana Collegiate Press Association board, leader of College Media Advisers and held various other positions, making him well-known as an advocate for students’ First Amendment rights. Dave was a regular speaker at conferences and continued working for his cause up until his unexpected death Saturday.\n“I knew him to be ever-vigilant in trying to help out where student rights were infringed upon,” said friend Karen Bosley. Bosley and Dave were on the CMA board together for more than 30 years.\nBosley remembers one time when Dave and a colleague traveled to Ocean County College in New Jersey to investigate a student press rights issue.\n“They came to campus and spent the day interviewing people, looking at records. They found that the administration was infringing on students’ – and my – rights,” Bosley said. “He was willing to fight in court, if necessary.”\nIn 1988, the Supreme Court passed a ruling in the case of Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier that enabled high-school administrators to review student articles before they went to press. Dave spoke before the House of Representatives education \ncommittee and sent letters to schools in an effort to override the ruling. Adams’ campaign wasn’t successful, but his perseverance sticks in the mind of Executive Director of the Student Press Law Center Mark Goodman.\n“Dave is one of the three or four people in this country who supported student press freedom (more) than anyone else,” Goodman said.\nGoodman remembered running into an embattled northern Indiana high school journalism adviser at a conference that he and Dave attended a few months ago. The adviser, Amy Sorrell, had been suspended from Woodlan Junior-Senior High School in Fort Wayne for a student’s controversial editorial advocating tolerance of homosexuals that had been printed under her guidance. \n“Dave sat right next to her,” Goodman said. “He made her feel she was someone of great value, which is so important.”\nDave was known for his contagious excitement about journalism. Whenever he talked about it, friends and colleagues could see that it lit a fire underneath him. “Seeing the passion he brought was inspiring,” Goodman said.\nLinda Putney, a close friend of Dave’s for 30 years, said she “never knew Dave to know a student he didn’t love.”\n“His passion has always been students and their rights,” Putney said. “It wasn’t enough to give students freedom for him to do that, but the responsibility to protect their freedom and rights.”\nCraig Klugman, editor-in-chief of the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, said that when the Sorrell case came out, coverage of it became widespread because of Dave’ unwavering tenacity. \nEven at the age of 59, “he still had the fire of a young activist. He was really upset that a teacher had to go through this,” Klugman said. \nVince Filak, faculty adviser of the Ball State University Daily News and executive director of the ICPA, said he and Dave attempted to get legislation passed so that the 2003 Hosty v. Carter ruling would be reversed. The case looked at whether college newspapers should be reviewed by university officials before being printed. \nFilak said Dave was valued for being the main free press advocate on the ICPA board. \n“He knew so much, and in him passing we will lose so much,” he said. \nDave was one to talk enthusiastically about First Amendment rights any chance he had, Goodman said, but he was also quick with a hug. \n“His enthusiasm was infectious,” Goodman said. “We’ve lost a legend.”
(05/30/07 11:43pm)
Indiana universities are encouraging students to fill the gap many secondary math and science teachers will leave behind when they retire, said Charles Barman, professor of education and adjunct professor of public health at IU Purdue University-Indianapolis. He cited U.S. Department of Education statistics that point to retirement as a main cause of the lack of math and science teachers. Thirty percent of science teachers and 31 percent of math teachers will be up for retirement within the next five years. \nBarman is the director of two programs at IUPUI that are working against the possible shortage. \nMany of the retiring baby boomers were recruited into math and science teaching jobs during a shortage in the 1960s, Barman said. Funding from the National Science Foundations stopped in the 1970s after a sufficient number of teachers came on board.\nOne of the programs that Barman heads at IUPUI is Transition to Teaching. The program, which many Indiana colleges, including IU-Bloomington, have implemented, provides an incentive for professionals who have already earned a college degree to go back to school for a teaching license. Transition to Teaching is open to all fields and professions but plays a key role in attracting more math and science teachers to secondary schools. About four math majors and eight science majors each year are recruited by IU’s Transition to Teaching, according to a press release.\nBarman said reasons other than retirement might be responsible for the possible shortage. \n“There are shifts in demographics, and teachers make less money,” Barman said. “There are many factors.”\nNot many math and science majors would pick teaching as their first choice, Barman said, but schools are becoming desperate enough to consider other options.\n“If we can’t get teachers, there will be a shortage,” Barman said. “There’s even been talk of lowering standards for getting teaching licenses, but we know that’s unsuccessful.”\nBarman noted that people who are pushed through the licensing process with lower standards don’t stay in the teaching profession for very long.\n“You have to have people who are committed and who want to be teachers,” he said.\nDiana Lambdin, associate dean for teacher education, agreed with Barman, saying that lowering licensing standards is “not a solution” but is sometimes done on a temporary basis when teachers are badly needed. The licenses are called “emergency permits.” \n“Sometimes hiring teachers who are not highly qualified needs to be done,” she said. “But it takes more than knowing content to be an effective teacher.”\nLambdin, who is also co-director of the Elementary Transition to Teaching Program, said there has not been a decrease in interest in the areas of math and science, but rather an increased demand in today’s economy for professionals in those fields.\n“Our whole world has become more math- and science-oriented,” she said, noting the change in business and industry from labor-based to science-based.\nThe National Science Foundation’s Robert Noyce Scholarship provides a monetary incentive for professionals and undergraduates in mathematics to go into teaching, according to a press release. The scholarship goes hand-in-hand with Transition to Teaching. It awards graduate students at IU up to $10,000 and undergraduates around $9,150 to learn math instruction in the year-long Transition to Teaching program. For each year students are granted the scholarship, they must teach math for two years. \nLambdin prefers the programs already in place in universities over lowering standards for licensing. She also mentioned that higher “incentive” pay for teachers in high-need areas of study as well as high-need geographical locations might work.\nUltimately, though, Lambdin believes that the situation boils down to the treatment of teachers in general. \n“We need more respect for teachers overall – better pay, better working conditions – in many schools,” Lambdin said. “Conditions are less than ideal.”\nThough there are many ways to attack the problem, Barman has high hopes for the government-funded programs.\n“We need to think of creative ways (to get teachers),” he said. “Hopefully that can happen through government funding.”
(05/24/07 12:01am)
The National Security Education Program has given the IU Reserve Officer Training Corps a two-year grant for an initiative that will teach cadets the languages and cultures of countries where they could be stationed in the future. \nThe grant translates into $481,630 in scholarships that 25 ROTC cadets have received to study nine languages ranging from Pashto, a language spoken in Pakistan and Afghanistan, to Tajik, the language of Tajikistan. \nThe languages will be taught in “intensive summer workshops” that will last eight to nine weeks, according to a press release. \nGene Coyle is the director of the program and a member of the program’s Strategic Languages and Cultures Task Force, Coyle said that scholarship recipients will begin arriving from all over the country June 10. \nEight cadets in the program are from IU, and the rest will be coming from as far away as Oregon and Arizona. Coyle said that the program may push cadets outside of their comfort zones.\n“It’s easier for cadets to take languages like German or Spanish, which are fine languages,” he said. “But (the program) encourages students to take a language they may have never heard of.”\nDespite being offered languages such as Uzbek and Kazakh, the respective languages of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, 11 cadets will be studying Russian, 11 will be studying Arabic and three will be studying Pashto.\nSophomore Jim Hodges chose Pashto from the list of languages. Hodges anticipates being in the area in the future, and believes that Pashto will give him the most versatility in speaking and understanding related languages.\n“(Pashto is) the closest language to Farsi, which is what they speak in Pakistan and Afghanistan,” he said.\nCoyle, an adjunct professor for both SPEA and the Arts and Sciences Global Village, said that Americans tend to adopt the mindset of “mirror-imaging”: they think others in the world view things as they do. He believes cadets who complete the program may have an easier time overcoming “mirror-imaging” tendencies.\n“Officers come away with an appreciation of cultures” after they learn about the languages and cultures of places they may be sent to, Coyle said. He added that officers will also have less of a chance of accidentally insulting someone or being involved in other misunderstandings overseas.\nKirk White, an Indiana National Guardsman and a member of the Strategic Languages and Cultures Task Force, was in Afghanistan in 2004 and 2005 for active duty. He said that he would have had more of an advantage if he had learned the country’s language and culture.\n“Our education was limited – we had to depend on interpreters, which isn’t such a good thing,” White said. “That’s why the defense department is interested in encouraging ROTC cadets to learn these languages.”\nWhite said that the grant allows for seminars and added supports for ROTC cadets.\n“We have people scheduled to speak who have actual experience, and will not just be speaking about hypothetical circumstances,” he said.\nCoyle said that the schedule for each day will include grammar from 8 to 12 p.m., while conversation classes and lectures will be in the afternoons.\n“We’re trying to make it an enjoyable experience,” he said. \nWhen the grant’s two-year lease is nearly up, Coyle said that the defense department will receive a report on how the program is doing and will decide whether the program should continue. Coyle has high hopes. White is glad for the opportunity to introduce the initiative. \n“It’s something Indiana University can be proud of,” White said. “It gives IU a chance to contribute to the nation’s defense.”
(05/21/07 1:46pm)
The excuse, “I didn’t think it mattered because the students aren’t on campus anymore,” may not be such a good one for a traffic violation in the summer. \nIU Police Department Capt. Jerry Minger said that the IUPD is still on patrol, despite the decrease in the number of people on campus after the spring semester ended.\n“During the 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. shift, duties are mainly service-oriented,” Minger, said. “Calls come in for traffic violations, accidents, fire alarms.”\nMinger said that, into the evening, more criminal activities such as burglary occur.\nChad Werner, a full-time officer with IUPD, agrees with Minger.\n“Third shift, or ‘late watch,’ as it’s called, sees the most action in the summer,” he said. \nWerner began working for the IUPD in August 2002 after he graduated from police academy. He’s taken the late watch before, but now he usually takes the afternoon shift. Although not as much activity goes on in the afternoon, Werner said that the summer has its exciting moments.\n“Seat belts are fun,” Werner said in regard to traffic violations, which make up a large chunk of the afternoon shift. “People think they can put (the seat belt) on real quick.”\nWerner mentioned being involved in a foot chase on May 5. Police were called after an armed man robbed the Village Pantry on 12th Street and Indiana Avenue. Werner was one of the officers who ran after him. \n“He hit a fence and ran around it. I met him on the other side, and two other officers came and tackled him,” he said.\n A unique phenomenon that Werner often experiences after students leave for the summer is “dumpster diving.” After students leave for the summer, locals look for anything they can sell or use in the large amount of junk students throw in dumpsters. After the first offense, the “dumpster diver” is told to leave. After the second offense, Werner said, the person is arrested.\n“It’s a stupid reason to go to jail,” he said.\nAs for students who are taking summer courses, Werner said that they cause fewer problems than students who are at IU during the normal school year.\n“Students in summer are usually more focused and aren’t concentrating so much on partying,” he said.\nMinger noted a difference between the school year and summer in regard to the calls IUPD receives. \nEven though students have left campus, Minger said, “There’s certainly not a decrease in activity.”\nStudents are no longer living in the residence halls or walking around campus in large groups, but the officers still have a lot to do. \nThey assist people who come in for conferences, instruct cadets in the police academy and patrol popular summer spots among high school students. \n“High school students bring in a certain negative element of juvenile delinquency,” Minger said. \nHe also mentioned that police find it more difficult to patrol the campus in the summer because there aren’t a lot of students around to “police” the area for them. \nNonetheless, Minger said that the change from the school year to summer keeps officers from doing the same thing every day.\n“The variety keeps the officers on their toes,” he said. “It breaks up the monotony.”
(05/17/07 1:42pm)
When a girl stays seated for too long at a meeting of the IU swing dance club, she may be asked to dance. This was the case at the club’s first meeting of the summer, which was held on Monday night in the Indiana Memorial Union.\nA few men in the club mentioned that there didn’t seem to be as many women interested in the swing dance club at IU. \n“We’re always looking for women,” said Bill Holmes, vice president of the swing club and a graduate student.\n“We can all dance, too,” one participant said. “It’s not like we’re beginners.”\nNatalie Rodibaugh, who teaches dancing in the club, said that attendance should pick up when classes start next week.\n“In a small dance community, people come and go,” she said. “It’s a more consistent group in the summer. There are more people from the community.”\nRodibaugh said she has been dancing for seven or eight years. When a friend at IU stepped down from teaching in the club four years ago, Rodibaugh came from Purdue to IU to take the position. The club was founded in 1998.\n“[Swing dancing] is tough to learn, but it’s fun. It’s more playful than a lot of other dances,” she said.\nRecent ‘07 graduate Bjorn DelaCruz and senior Luc Minix began dancing last semester. \n“One afternoon, Luc just said, ‘Hey, we’re going to join the swing dancing club,’” DelaCruz said. “I told him, ‘Okay, I thought we were just going to go work out.’”\nDelaCruz said that although he and Minix were new, they became really involved in the club. They now organize events as officers in the club. DelaCruz said he enjoys the people he meets through the club.\n“You really get to meet a lot of new, interesting people of all ages,” he said.\nMembers in the club learn and dance various swing dances, including the Lindy Hop, East Coast Swing, and the Charleston.\nIU alum Art Oehmich has been dancing for decades. After watching the 1993 movie “Swing Kids,” about a group of kids in Nazi Germany that swing danced, Oehmich began thinking about dancing again. He decided to join the IU Swing Dancing Club after he found that he attended church with a couple of people who were a part of the club.\nWhile the swing dance club is a good way to meet people, Oehmich said that he thinks people who come out to dance aren’t looking to find a date. “We’re all here because we like to dance,” he said. “Not to meet someone.” \nSwing dance lessons begin on Monday, May 21st in the Georgian room at 8 p.m. New membership is $40 for IU students and $50 for non-students.
(04/02/07 4:00am)
Some contestants sang. Some played instruments. One girl even made a very convincing trumpet sound using only her mouth. \nWhile only a handful of people signed up to be in Read Hall’s talent competition Thursday evening, audience members said the event was definitely entertaining.\n“This is why I love Read. It’s got such a mix of talent,” Read student government President Melanie Robbins said after the show, noting the dorm’s high number of students in the Jacobs School of Music.\nRobbins said that plans for the event began before spring break. Graduate resident assistant Israel Laguer and floor programmers, who are students on each floor that comes up with ideas for dorm events, approached the student government with the idea of a talent competition.\nLaguer said he was pleased with the support the idea received.\n“Support from the student government was great. When you have cohesion, you can put on a successful program,” Laguer said.\nNine people entered the competition. Some performed twice during moments when no one else came forward to put his or her talent on the line. A group of four men wearing blazers and sunglasses was one of the entries that performed twice, singing Phish’s last studio recording, “Grind.”\n“We prepared a half hour beforehand, and it showed,” sophomore Brandon Johnson said.\nIn the end, freshman Nikhil Navkal, a student in the Jacobs School of Music, won. Navkal sang a classical piece for the competition. \n“I had no idea other people would appreciate classical music,” Navkal said. \nNavkal had many supporters in the audience. This was an advantage for him, considering that the contestants were narrowed down by applause, and then a show of hands for the remaining three.\n“I think the raise of hands turned (the competition),” Clark Schaufele, a sophomore in the Jacobs School of Music, said. Schaufele accompanied Navkal on the piano.\nNavkal received a DVD player, and the second-and third-place winners, freshmen Alex Pelsor and Carolyn Mehta, received a $20 gift certificate for Kerasotes theaters, and a $10 Target gift card with Twizzlers, respectively. \nSome students who competed in the show have even recorded albums. A.J. Datcher, a freshman, and Calvin Carrington, a senior, have both recorded original songs. Carrington finished a full-length album in December, and Datcher recently recorded an album with a few songs on it.\nSome attended the talent competition just to watch. Elizabeth Schlemmer and Matthew Miller said they live in Forest, but were eating at Read dining hall and thought they’d attend.\n“Our friend A.J. is performing, so we thought we’d come check it out,” Miller said. “This is the first thing that I’ve been to at Read Hall, actually.”\nJana Deal, a floor programmer, said that turnout for each event at Read varies. She noted that the more educational programs have a lower turnout.\n“It depends on how you advertise. If you make (the program) look good, people will come.”\nIn all, Laguer thought the talent competition was received and planned well. \n“The staff did a good job, and the sixth-floor programmers did a good job – they were excited and motivated from the start.”\nRobbins said that the next event at Read will be “Huge Fest” on April 12-15. Huge Fest will include events at Willkie Quad, Forest Quad and Read Hall.\n“It (the event) is something for students to think back on when they move out of Read,” Robbins said. “We remind people to get out and do things. That’s what we’re here for.”
(03/07/07 5:00am)
Owen Hall, Wylie Hall and Bryan House have one trait that sets them apart from other buildings on campus. All three are made of brick, rather than the more popular limestone, showing a glimpse into IU history that many students passing by might not notice.\nThe buildings represent a change from what IU architect Robert Meadows described as the limestone style of the campus. He added that the buildings in the future of IU will most likely not be made of anything other than limestone.\n“Each of IU’s eight campuses has a unique style of building, with materials that are specific to each area,” he said. “This campus is a limestone campus.”\nMeadows said IU’s buildings are made of limestone because there is a lot of limestone in southern Indiana. A look into IU’s early history provides insight as to why Owen and Wylie halls were made of orange-red brick instead of limestone.\nIf it isn’t obvious at first that Owen Hall is old, it is once someone steps inside. The building’s tall ceilings and doors tell its long history, as does its distinct aged smell. Richard Owen, who was a geologist and professor of natural science at IU, is the building’s namesake. Owen Hall originally housed the department of natural sciences and a museum. \nWylie Hall, was built at the same time as Owen Hall despite its newer looking appearance. The building received updates when the economics department moved there from Ballantine Hall. Wylie Hall was named for Andrew Wylie, IU’s first president. In its early days, Wylie housed the chemistry and physics departments, as well as the library.\n“Wylie seems pretty cool,” said Emily Honeyman, a junior. “I’ve only been in it once. It looks like an old school house.”\nTrustees had the buildings constructed in 1884 after a fire destroyed one of the two buildings that comprised University, which was located nearer to downtown. The buildings made up what was then known as the State Seminary. The trustee president at the time of the fire, David Banta, felt that the University should move closer to Dunn Woods. There, he believed the University would have “more growing room,” according to a pamphlet in the IU Archives.\nMeadows said he believed Owen and Wylie halls were built before the commercial quarries around Bloomington opened. But according to the Monroe County Historical Society, commercial quarrying began around 1827 in Stinesville, Ind., located about 15 miles from Bloomington. This was before Owen and Wylie halls were built. According to the pamphlet in the IU Archives, trustees gave 30,000 bricks from the burned building to be used in the construction of the buildings, and permitted the builders to use “(limestone) quarry upon the grounds.” \nAs for Bryan House, another look into more recent history explains why it was made of brick.\nIn 1924, William Lowe Bryan, IU’s 10th president, had the house built after trustees and faculty expressed the desire to build a house on campus for the president. According to a 1996 pamphlet in the IU Archives, Bryan built the house in colonial revival style. He also wanted the house to model Woodrow Wilson’s brick Georgian-style home in Washington, D.C.\nMeadows said that the architects propose their building plans to the trustees, who can approve them, reject them or revise them. The architects aren’t limited to just limestone, but they are encouraged to utilize the rock that is natural to Bloomington.\nIn fact, after the IU Art Museum was built by architect I.M. Pei in 1941 with poured concrete, Meadows said that the trustees asserted that using any material other than limestone “wouldn’t happen again.”
(01/18/07 5:06am)
Freshman Karimah Aziz has so many hijabs, she can't even count how many she and her family own.\n"I have three younger sisters, so whenever I go home there are hijabs on the floor, on the bed, in bags, all wrinkled," she said.\nAfter the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, the decision whether to wear hijabs, traditional scarves many women wear that cover their heads and shoulders, has become a delicate choice for Muslim women.\nToday, more than five years later, Aziz and some other women at IU insist the attacks have not affected their choice to wear the garment.\nAziz said the hijab shows modesty and confidence in being Muslim, but wearing one also brings on a new set of problems. Aziz and junior Myeda Hussain both expressed feelings of pressure to present themselves as good people when wearing it.\n"I want (non-Muslim) people to know that I'm just like them. I'm not a terrorist," Hussain said. \nLast fall, Hussain decided to start wearing the hijab, the first woman in her family to do so. \nFor Hussain and others, wearing the hijab in general and on college campuses in particular has become more political after Sept. 11, said Heather Akou, an IU assistant professor of apparel merchandising and design. Akou researches Islamic dress and its cultural implications.\n"Women now have to put more thought into wearing the hijab," she said. \nFreshman Farzana Bade, a Muslim, said she chooses not to wear the hijab. But she said her decision is not motivated by any unfavorable reactions she might receive by wearing it. \n"Any reaction (I've gotten) after Sept. 11 has been positive," Bade said.\nShe recalled an instance in a Chinese restaurant where a woman smiled warmly at her and told her she accepted Bade's religious background. Bade said she chose not to wear a hijab because she wants to be absolutely sure of her decision before she commits to it.\nWearing a hijab, she said, is a big step to make.\n"Once you start (wearing a hijab), you don't stop -- but you never know what you're going to get into at college," she said.\nAziz said she knows many Muslim women on campus who don't wear hijabs. \n"Some are scared; they want to fit in," she said. "Wearing a scarf, you're automatically labeled and don't blend in as well."\nPart of her reservations about wearing a hijab stem from the reactions she could get from non-Muslims, she said. But, she added, there are still other ways many label a person as Muslim. \n"People can tell by the color of your skin that you might be Muslim," Aziz said. "Not wearing a hijab isn't entirely about not wanting to be labeled."\nWhile her parents encourage her to wear the hijab, Bade said they don't want to force her into social situations at college where she would be uncomfortable. \n"I have a lot of respect for girls who wear the hijab," she said. "It's a huge step in showing your faith."\nWhile the hijab can be worn fashionably, Akou said wearing it can have many meanings. The garment, which comes in various shapes and patterns, can be worn differently to fit regional customs.\n"Some women wear the hijab as a political statement, showing their religious identity," Akou said. "Other women don't care what others think and aren't wishing to attract attention; the choice for them is more of a personal one."\nAkou said that like many religious texts that set forth guidelines for daily life, the Quran says women should cover themselves. She added that many who wear the hijab do so to convey a sense of modesty. This, Akou said, is the main reason she wears the hijab. \n"(The hijab) is a sign of modesty," she said. "These days, women are showing more and more skin."\nFor Hussain, it is important to be seen as a Muslim. Aziz has a similar view, saying the hijab demonstrates to others that she has confidence in showing she is Muslim.\nMany women wear the hijab, Hussain said, because it is a constant reminder of their faith. \n"I feel that it makes me a better Muslim," she said.
(01/12/07 4:57am)
Many students are probably planning on relaxing Monday, but there will be plenty to do around campus and in the community on the day off from class. A range of events will celebrate the life and ideas of the man responsible for the holiday, Martin Luther King Jr.\n"The focus this year is 'the power of one' -- the ability of a person or group to bring about change for the better," said Tiffany Combs, program coordinator for the Martin Luther King Jr. celebration. \nThe celebration is made up of events that are sponsored by many different organizations on the IU campus, such as the IU-Bloomington Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration Committee and the Social Justice League. Some events are focused on the IU campus, and others provide an opportunity for those on campus to reach out to the community. \nCombs suggested that students attend a lecture given by Naomi Tutu, the daughter of South African bishop and human-rights activist Desmond Tutu, in the Whittenberger Auditorium at 5 p.m. Sunday.\n"I think it will draw a lot of crowd response, due to her father's work as well as her own involvement in working with poverty," Combs said. \nTutu will be speaking on how King's vision made an impact nationally as well as globally.\nStudent Activities Office adviser Sarah Wilcox also suggested students attend the Unity Summit, which will be Monday from noon to 3 p.m. in the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center Grand Hall. \nThe annual event, sponsored by the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center, provides activities, discussion and group work by students, and presentations from student organizations.\n"It's a unique opportunity for students to talk with each other about what's happening on campus." \nEric Love, coordinator of the event, said attendance has grown in recent years, and the effects have been rewarding. \nResidence halls have been and will be hosting various events throughout next week as well as the rest of the month, said Barry Magee, assistant director of Residential Programs and Services' diversity education. \n"A lot of the events are focused around a current context for the civil-rights movement -- 'What does this mean for me today? What is my role?'" Magee said.\nThe listing of events at dorms is available at www.cue.indiana.edu. For a list of volunteer opportunities, visit www.bloomington.in.gov/cfrd. A full list of events is available at www.indiana.edu/~mlkjr/calendar.html.
(11/28/06 4:17am)
Catching the eye of the casual observer on East Third Street, the greenhouse in Jordan Hall might look like something from an old science-fiction movie. The dome-shaped room with large windows is difficult to place until one sees what's inside.\nThe greenhouse displays a wide variety of plants for students, researchers and the general public to study and observe. Despite the cold of the upcoming winter months, plants ranging from tropical to desert backgrounds continue to thrive in the enclosed space. \n"(The greenhouse) even has fruit -- banana and guava, and the cocoa has pods on it now," said John Leichter, one of the four members of the IU staff that runs the greenhouse. \nThe greenhouse has been in its current location since 1956 and has not been renovated since it was built, Leichter said. However, he said the facility will see an upgrade soon. Along with renovations, Leichter mentioned that work on a new greenhouse on 10th Street will begin in April 2007, a project that will add 10,000 square feet and will be used solely by researchers.\nLeichter said as of now, researchers and beginning biology classes are the main users of the greenhouse. PJ Pulliam, a recent IU graduate, is currently performing research and lab work in the greenhouse, looking at non-native plants of the area to see how they affect the soil. \nThe gardeners can be seen throughout the greenhouse maintaining and adding plants, discussing things that need to be done for general upkeep and taking people on tours. The gardeners' knowledge of the plants is also a great help to the researchers that use the greenhouse.\n"The guys that work here are great," Pulliam said. "They know a lot about the plants and are a great resource."\nDespite the classwork being done, the greenhouse is not just a place for researchers. \nKatrina Panovich, a junior majoring in Informatics, said she enjoys coming to the greenhouse to lift her mood. \n"I like to come to the greenhouse when it's a gray day," she said. "It's warm and smells like living things." \nPanovich added her favorite part of the greenhouse was the desert section because the plants are so different than what can be seen growing in Indiana.\nWhether student, researcher or member of the community, everyone finds something out of the ordinary at the greenhouse.\n"It's a really nice, different place," Panovich said. \nThe greenhouse is open 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
(11/15/06 4:45am)
Sitting with their desks in a circle in a small room in the IU School of Optometry, a group of seven graduate students, one auditor and a professor discuss the musical "Rent." \nAlthough the graduate seminar, provided by the Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology, might appear like a music course, it looks solely at -- as the name suggests -- "Musical Responses to the AIDS Pandemic."\nProfessor Judah Cohen instructs this unusual course, which meets from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Mondays, and guides his students through various ways the United States and Africa have used music to address the AIDS crisis. According to the syllabus, students write assignments about the weekly readings and give 30- to 40-minute final presentations at the end of the semester on topics of the students' choosing. \nDuring the semester, students gain a sense of how musical responses to AIDS came about and how these responses evolved over time and were given roles within different groups. During the class's discussion of "Rent," for example, Cohen noted that not only lyrics, but also sounds of instruments themselves within the musical have a correspondence to the reaction of AIDS. \n"Somehow, there is a connection between sounds of a musical and discourse as well as the specter of AIDS itself," he said.\nEd Chamberlain is an auditor who is working on his Ph.D. in comparative literature and is taking the course to provide a new perspective for his work. \n"Up to now, I haven't had the opportunity to explore my focus through ethnomusicology, and so I'm glad to say that this class is presenting a great opportunity to develop my work in a productive, new direction," Chamberlain said. \nChamberlain, who wrote his master's thesis on representations of AIDS, said the class is important in order to raise awareness on the topic and possibly promote further study of it.\nDuring a trip to Uganda two years ago, one of Cohen's colleagues mentioned an increase of AIDS-related music. Cohen said it was that conversation that first inspired him to create the course. \n"I wanted to explore the connection between music and disease," he said. "It is one that has a real significance but hasn't really been touched upon." \nBecause different communities each have their own unique reactions to AIDS, this presents a problem, Cohen said.\n"You can't localize (AIDS). It's a global situation," Cohen said.\nDave Lewis, who is working on his Ph.D. in ethnomusicology, said he took a medical anthropology course as an undergraduate and enjoyed it.\n"I loved the course but couldn't see any way to connect it to music," he said. "This course provides that." \nLewis also said focusing a dissertation around the connection between music and AIDS would be one way that someone could, as Lewis puts it, "get out of academia and give back to society.