165 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(04/13/12 6:21pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After protests erupted Thursday, the IU Board of Trustees convened Friday morning for the second day of meetings with few interruptions.“If we identified (people) as being part of the disturbance from yesterday, we didn’t permit them to go in today,” IU Police Department Captain Thomas Lee said.Students from Coal Free IU staged a quiet demonstration in the Indiana Memorial Union Frangipani Room, in which members sat in the front row of the visitor seating area holding signs with images of coal-related issues.Representatives from the Hudson and Holland Scholars Program also attended after an unsuccessful attempt to speak with trustees Thursday.In the academic affairs and university polices committee report, trustees discussed the New Directions in Teaching and Learning initiative with Interim Provost and Executive Vice President Lauren Robel, Executive Vice President for University Regional Affairs, Planning and Policy John Applegate and IU-Purdue University Indianapolis Chancellor Charles Bantz.Trustees said it was important to cut costs for students, especially when higher education institutions such as University of Phoenix can offer degree completion for students at a lower cost. The group discussed how to balance cutting the costs education with maintaining a high-quality research program within the University.“We need to understand what happens to the research mission of campuses when you have a model that is squeezing away all the places in which you generate the resources to support research,” Robel said.Robel also spoke about the possibility of applying the model of the eText initiative to general education requirements as an instrument for cost reduction.During a brief recess, Trustee Patrick Shoulders addressed the representatives from Coal Free IU.“I want to salute the Beyond Coal (Coal Free IU) people for bringing their message forward,” he said. “To get that message across depends upon mutual respect.”Shoulders invited the students to the front of the room to speak with the trustees.The representatives from Hudson and Holland also met with Trustees Mary Ellen Bishop and Cora Griffin.President of Coal Free IU Megan Anderson said the storyboard demonstration told the story of coal use and included an image of the coal mine from which IU gets its coal and an image of a pregnant woman to signify the threat of mercury, found in coal, to healthy pregnancies. The final image in the presentation showed the solar panels at the IMU, which Anderson said was the way they wanted to end their story.“We have some serious issues that we need to confront . . . but we have a beautiful opportunity to move to a clean energy future,” she said.Anderson said the group was pleased with the trustees’ response, and they left a letter and an information packet for them.“We think they do have our best interest in mind,” she said. “They were positive about letting us speak and the experience was great on both sides.”During the second half of the meeting, the introduction of IU Student Association’s new president, Kyle Straub, was briefly interrupted when IU police officers escorted a man out of the Frangipani room. A few moments later, another man was escorted from the room.Lee said the men were identified as participants in Thursday’s protest, and officers escorted them out of the room when they began disrobing.At the conclusion of the meeting, the trustees agreed to engage in an ongoing discussion about student debt and will study methods of debt management and minimization.
(04/13/12 4:05am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Student activists began protesting during the Board of Trustees meeting Thursday afternoon. The group, which representatives said was not officially affiliated with the Occupy movement, openly discussed grievances against the University as the trustees simultaneously carried on with their scheduled business in the Frangipani Room in the Indiana Memorial Union.Prior to the meeting, University employees distributed half-sheets of paper to student protesters. “Anyone may attend,” it read, adding that all sessions except for executive sessions are open to the public. The flyer also included notes about permissible conduct in the meeting and information about students’ right to protest.The afternoon meetings of the finance and audit, finance and academic affairs and University policy committees began at 1 p.m. Students lined the hallway leading to the Frangipani Room prior to the meeting, and University employees checked backpacks and purses prior to entry.Student protesters circulated their own flyers, expressing grievances with the way the University is run and the lack of student input when major decisions about student life are made.“The meeting is public — anyone can attend — but there is not period for public comment,” the flyer read. “Therefore, we will be attending the meeting at 1PM on Thursday, April 12, and we intend to participate on equal terms with the trustees.”Dan Rives, associate vice president for University human resources, began by discussing the tentative health care plan for 2013. About 20 minutes later, students’ cellphones began to ring repeatedly, and student protesters gathered on the left side ofthe room.The students began having a meeting as IU police officers stood nearby. The trustees continued with their meeting. Voices of protesters competed with those of the trustees as both meetings occurred simultaneously.“I don’t think these people should be making decisions for us,” one protester said.“If you would like to speak and make public comment, we’re making public comment over here,” junior Samantha Harrell said, inviting other visitors to join the meeting.“Our next session, we’re going to look at student affordability,” Neil Theobold, senior vice president and chief financial officer, said.In an ongoing discussion about student debt, the board discussed ways the University could provide students with information about loan repayment and debt management.John Applegate, executive vice president for University regional affairs, planning and policy, said all regional campuses have been examining the issue of student debt.“For your information, they’re discussing student affordability right now,” one protester said in response.The trustees discussed ways to educate students about loan repayment. Protesters discussed how it is in students’ best interests to avoid taking out loans for education in the first place.“Is the loan thing driven because of the attractiveness of the loan?” one trustee asked his colleagues.Harrell turned around to address the board.“We can answer a lot of the questions you’re asking right now,” she said. “It would make sense to ask us.”The board continued the discussion amongst themselves, not addressing the protesters.At about 2 p.m., the protesters moved to the center of the room, near the trustees’ sitting area.“Just because they didn’t arrange for us to sit in a circle doesn’t mean we shouldn’t,” Harrell said.The protesters sat on the floor as IU police officers moved toward the area.The board meeting continued as protesters began to address student trustee Cora Griffin, a graduate student at the School of Environmental and Public Affairs at IU-Purdue University Indianapolis. One protester invited Griffin to join the assembly. Others expressed disappointment in her.“I want to ask why the student representative didn’t represent us during the discussion about student debt,” a student said loudly.The student group grew louder until a board member asked his fellow trustees if they would like to take a break.The meeting finally paused as trustee members deliberated their next course of action.Griffin later addressed students. She said she appreciated the student participation and said there were “many channels” for students to address the trustees withgrievances.At about 2:45 p.m., the board took a break, during which Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Student Life and Learning Steve Veldkamp addressed the protesters.He said Interim Provost Lauren Robel offered to meet with them to discuss their grievances. Veldkamp described Robel as a “key player for the Bloomington campus.”One student thanked Veldkamp for speaking with the group but said he supported the protesters’ actions.“I personally would like to throw out that there is more than one way to skin a cat,” the student said.Shortly afterward, protestors reacted to rumors of police possibly making arrests. IU Police Department Chief Keith Cash said as long as activists were not overly disruptive, they would not make any arrests. He also said that because most of the protesters were students, any consequences would be handled through University judicial review.The Board of Trustees meeting reconvened at about 3:20 p.m., and students began chanting and listing demands, which included affordable tuition, reduced funding for police force on campus and public comment.The chanting caused the trustees to pause the meeting again.The protesters stood up and, without police prompting, began exiting the room, shouting, “Whose school? Our school!”When the last protester left, the trustees resumed their meeting. They discussed several proposed design plans needing approval, including renovation of the IU Kokomo Wellness and Fitness Center and the recent acquisition of more land on the IUPUIcampus.Discussion began about a 30-year vision for work on the IUPUI campus, which included talk of heated people-movers to alleviate the lack of parking on campus.Men’s basketball Coach Tom Crean also talked about the season, after which the Board of Trustees gave him a standing ovation.A group of students from the Hudson and Holland Scholars Program also attended the meeting, hoping to speak with a trustee about the budget cut the mentorship and scholarship program has experienced.Titilayo Rasaki, a junior who has been a Hudson and Holland Scholar since her freshman year, said the group had met with Edwin Marshall, vice president of Diversity, Equity and Multicultural Affairs, to express their concerns.When the situation did not improve, they sent a letter to IU President Michael McRobbie, requesting to meet. McRobbie declined, and the group decided to attend the Board of Trustees meeting Thursday with hopes of speaking with a trustee during the break, Rasaki said.Rasaki said the Hudson and Holland students focused on being respectful during the meeting, and for them, attending the meeting was a way to show administration they care about the University.“At the end of the day, Hudson and Holland wants to show appreciation for the University and give back,” she said.The Hudson and Holland representatives did not get to speak with anyone at the Board of Trustees meeting, and Rasaki said she found the protest frustrating.“It was very disrespectful because at the end of the day, trustees are trying to run the University, and if you’re being disruptive, that’s not helping anyone,” Rasaki said.Harrell said she felt the protest was extremely productive, adding it attracted a diverse group of students. She said she believed the method of protest was warranted, despite University officials’ urging activists to voice concerns in a different manner. “Other ways aren’t as effective,” she said. “When it gets to a certain point, we have to utilize other forms of communication.”After the meeting, Associate Vice President of University Communications Mark Land said that while the University respects the right of students to speak their minds and protest, there is a process to going about it.“Interrupting the trustees’ meeting isn’t exactly that process,” he said, adding that Coal Free IU had organized an “orderly, quiet protest” earlier in the day.Land said University officials weren’t surprised by the crowd after seeing flyers circulating earlier in the week. He said he hopes student protesters will take advantage of the opportunities to speak with Griffin and Robel.“At the end of the day, we were able to accomplish what we set out to do,” Land said of the trustee meeting. “We tried very hard to be very respectful of their right to do what they felt like they needed to do.”
(04/12/12 4:53am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Additional locker space on the upper level of the Student Recreational Sports Center is unrelated to increased instances of theft, Associate Director of Recreational Sports Jackie Puterbaugh said.The SRSC installed the additional storage space for safety and increased theft prevention, she said.“We had been lax with enforcing where people put their stuff,” she said. Students leaving their belongings on the side of basketball courts where players could trip posed a safety hazard, she said.Puterbaugh said at different times of the year, the SRSC experiences more thefts than at other times, but the lockers are “not a response to more thefts than normal.”Some students come from neighborhoods where theft is not prevalent and would leave items such as billfolds and coats by the basketball courts and not watch them, she said.“We don’t want students to have to deal with the consequences of theft,” she said.Recreational Sports staff members spoke with students and found they didn’t use the previously existing lockers on the lower level because the lockers weren’t big enough to hold backpacks and gym bags.Students said the lockers were not located close enough to facilities they wanted, such as the weight or conditioning rooms.Larger lockers were taken from the Wildermuth Intramural Center and placed in the SRSC outside the weight room.The decision to place an SRSC employee outside the weight room is also unrelated to added surveillance, Puterbaugh said. It was a customer service decision, allowing patrons to be greeted and assisted in signing up for cardio equipment, although she said it has an added benefit of having someone watching students’ belongings.The WIC locker rooms underwent renovation two years ago, so no plans exist to provide additional locker space, Puterbaugh said.
(04/11/12 3:58am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Social work students organized a panel, “Defending Cultural Competency in Our School Systems,” Tuesday evening to discuss the importance of educator awareness of different cultures.Junior Samantha Harrell said the idea for a panel came from a class assignment to follow a bill and actively do something about it. Harrell and several classmates decided to follow Indiana House Bill 1308, which she said would have required, among other things, increased cultural competency in teacher evaluations and the curriculum of courses in higher education.“When the bill died, we were really upset about that, and we wanted to bring people out to learn why it was so important through those who understand the various competencies,” Harrell said.Rabbi Sue Silberberg, executive director of the Helene G. Simon Hillel CenterSilberberg, representing the Jewish community on campus, spoke about the general assumption in American society that everyone is Christian, whether in practice or by mere association.She said this is a struggle for not just Jewish individuals but anyone who does not associate with Christianity.“For Jewish holidays, the most holy days of the year fall in September, and in Judaism, on that type of a holiday, those holiest days, you’re not allowed to do any form of work,” Silberberg said. “Many students do, but you’re not supposed to go to classes.”Days are set aside to attend services and be with family, Silberberg said, and this poses difficulties for Jewish students for whom the holidays coincide with the first few weeks of school. Students in these situations, she said, have to deal with revealing their cultural background and identity to a new teacher without knowing how the instructor will respond.Charmayne Champion-Shaw, associate director of American Indian Programs at IU-Purdue University Indianapolis Champion-Shaw, also a faculty member in the Department of Communication Studies at IUPUI, has researched the portrayal of American Indians in social studies textbooks. What she found was that Native Americans in every instance were described in the past tense.“If you have Indian students in your class, and they’re already struggling with their identity ... and they’re referring to Native Americans in the past tense, they’re going to continue to struggle with their identity,” she said.Lillian Casillas-Origel, director of La Casa Latino Cultural CenterCasillas-Origel discussed the way in which public schools handle instances of undocumented students. She addressed a culture of hiding that exists with undocumented families and the ways public schooling has fueled a fear of authority.She said some schools have acted as immigration offices after immigration bills passed, contributing to this culture.Casillas-Origel, who has taught a course to high-school students about college called “College 101,” also spoke about English as a Second Language classes and the isolating effect they can have on students.She also spoke about the importance of seeing Latino students as more than just Hispanic, noting that Latino and Latina individuals span various religions and sexualities.Sabrina Sullenberger, social workerSullenberger, who worked as an inclusion coordinator for public schools in Tennessee, spoke about the effects of cultural incompetency in schools.In one case she witnessed, she observed a teacher who, although she was a “self-professed lover of all children,” referred to her students by their disabilities.Sullenberger emphasized the importance of focusing on students abilities rather than their disabilities.“Inclusion is saying, ‘You are a part of our community,’” she said.Dustin Nisley, social work intern at Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Student Support ServicesNisley spoke of his own experiences with coming out to his family after being brought up in an Evangelical Christian background.He witnessed anti-GLBT language growing up and faced hostility after he came out to his parents during his sophomore year of college.Now a senior, Nisley said his relationship with his parents is improving. However, he said educators should be weary of intolerant language in public schools.
(04/10/12 2:14am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Bedford, Ind., resident Missy Wilson had just learned the man who killed her son would face eight years in prison instead of the 16 he previously faced.Brent Knapp, 24, had been charged with murder after he allegedly shot Braden Wilson, 20, in July 2010. Last week, the Lawrence County prosecutor told Missy Wilson the judge would hear a plea agreement in which Knapp could plead guilty to reckless homicide in exchange for having the murder charges dropped.At about 9:30 a.m. Monday, the judge accepted the agreement, and Knapp now faces charges for reckless homicide, a Class C felony, and criminal recklessness while armed with a deadly weapon, a Class C felony. The murder charge had been dropped.Missy Wilson grabbed a cigarette and paced as friends, family and supporters gathered around.While the judge heard Knapp’s plea, the group had waited across the street from Courthouse Plaza in downtown Bedford protesting the pending agreement.Signs on neon poster board expressed outrage with the Lawrence County prosecutor and referenced Knapp’s previous criminal record, which protesters said included a stabbing, a beating and marijuana possession.“No plea agreement for Braden Wilson’s killer,” one sign read.“What is justice?” read another.Knapp’s attorney, Lorinda Youngcourt, could not be reached for comment.A display outside the courthouse recreated the crime scene, protest organizer Eddie McLain said. McLain and Missy Wilson have been friends for more than 20 years, McLain said. The display consisted of mannequins and demonstrated the path of the bullet.Lisa Fish, who helped organize the protest, said the shooting occurred when Knapp entered Braden Wilson’s bedroom in the apartment they shared. The two had been friends and coworkers at a local restaurant, Pappa’s.Braden Wilson was in bed with his girlfriend, Raichal Miller. According to court documents, Miller woke to the sound of Braden Wilson warning Knapp to “not mess with the guns and that the guns were loaded.”Miller saw Knapp holding a long gun at the side of the bed. The report said that seconds later, Miller heard a loud noise and felt numbness in her arm followed by extreme pain.The display showed what an autopsy revealed: Braden Wilson had been shot in the head, and the bullet had then entered Miller’s arm.“His girlfriend was seven months pregnant at the time,” Fish said. “It’s done a lot of damage to her arm. She’s still having reconstructive surgeries to her arm.”Knapp later admitted that, prior to the shooting, he had been drinking and snorting Adderall pills.Alicia Bunch and Amber Jenkins worked with both Knapp and Braden Wilson at Pappa’s.The two wore T-shirts with Braden Wilson’s picture printed on them.Bunch said Knapp and Braden Wilson had been best friends, nearly inseparable, even though she said Knapp was violent. “They’re bringing this up again, and they’ve been holding it off for so long, it’s just opening new wounds,” Bunch said.Braden Wilson was three weeks away from celebrating his 21st birthday when he was killed, Missy Wilson said. She said Knapp had been charged with stabbing another man in June 2010. He was jailed, she said, and bond was posted at $300.“Had they kept him in jail, he would not have even been in court until July 21, which is the day after my son was shot,” Missy Wilson said. “So he wouldn’t have even shot Braden if they had kept him in jail.”Disappointed with the judge’s decision to rule in favor of Knapp’s plea agreement, Missy Wilson plans to seek an appeal.“I’m taking it all the way to the top,” she said. “I’m not going to stop until at least another mother doesn’t have to stand where I’m at.”
(04/09/12 11:24pm)
Bedford resident Missy Wilson gathers with protesters in front of the Lawrence County Superior courthouse. Her son, Braden Wilson, was killed on July 20, 2010 when shot by Brent Knapp, whose plea agreement to revoke murder charges was approved Monday morning.
(04/06/12 2:40am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Renovation and expansion on the newly renamed Hodge Hall Undergraduate Center, the undergraduate building of the Kelley School of Business, is scheduled to begin in mid-May.In a presentation ceremony March 30, IU President Michael McRobbie announced the dedication of the building to Kelley alumnus James Hodge. Hodge, president of Permal Asset Management in New York, donated $15 million for the expansion project.“Forty years later, after the first time I set foot on this campus in fact, both the building and I are due for a facelift,” Hodge said at the ceremony, according to a press release. “It makes me feel really good to do something with the goodness that’s fallen on me, for the institution that’s done so much for me.”The expansion and renovation are estimated to cost $60 million. In addition to Hodge’s gift, Lilly Endowment provided $33 million. A website devoted to the project is accepting donations, and as of Thursday, donors have provided more than $56 million in funding.The current undergraduate building is almost 50 years old, and while still structurally sound, Kelley Dean Dan Smith said “the current technology and facilities are not where we want them to be for our vision of where we want to go in the future.”Part of the renovation and expansion will increase classroom space as well as small-group study space, Smith said. The additional space will in turn affect the number of students admitted to Kelley. “We will probably increase our enrollment by about 100 to 150 students each year,” Smith said. “So, over the course of four years, we’ll add between 400 and 600 more students to the Kelley School.”The renovation will also create opportunities for distance learning and other technologies, in line with Kelley’s goal of achieving a more global presence, Smith said.“The way business education is being delivered now requires a robust technological backbone,” said Rick Dupree, Kelley assistant dean of development and alumni relations.He said the renovations will allow the school to utilize, among other things, the distance learning technology TelePresence, which he said he hopes will enable the school to digitally bring in CEOs and other executives from around the world.Dupree described the renovated undergraduate facility as “a beautiful building but not opulent.” He said he hopes the new facility will create an inviting atmosphere for students of all concentrations to stay after classes, fueling increased cross-collaboration.The renovation and expansion will occur in two phases, he said.In the first phase, expansion will take place in a wrap-around fashion in relation to the existing undergraduate facility. This will allow students’ schedules to remain the same, Dupree said, because students will still be able to attend classes in the current building. Classrooms in the Godfrey Graduate and Executive Education Center will also be used. Phase one will last about two years.The second phase will consist of renovation of the current undergraduate facility. At that time, students will attend classes in the expanded facility, Dupree said, as well as the graduate facility.Both Smith and Dupree said the construction will not significantly interrupt classes, as noisy construction will be completed largely during evenings and weekends.
(03/30/12 4:03am)
Emergency personnel wheel a suspect to an ambulance after an incident with police Thursday at North Adams Street and West Seventh Street. One shot was fired in the incident but no one was hit.
(03/30/12 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A Monroe County sheriff’s deputy and a suspect were transported to the hospital after the Bloomington Police Department responded to a shot fired at the intersection of West Seventh and North Adams streets at about 2:30 p.m. Thursday.“We received a report of a shot fired here in this general area. Possibly there was a suspect being transported that was under arrest by a sheriff deputy,” BPD Lt. Bill Parker said. “At some point, the shot was fired, and the subject was at large.”Six officers from the IU Police Department responded as well, and the K9 unit’s presence was requested, IUPD Chief Keith Cash said.Cash said as far as he knows, no one was struck by gun fire.Cody Headley, a manager at Bloomington Auto Color near Seventh and Adams, was working at the time of the incident. He said that while the deputy was arresting the suspect, the suspect began choking her. A man mowing a lawn nearby intervened, Headley said, and he heard something that “sounded like a car hit something.” Headley said it could have been a gunshot.The suspect then got away, fleeing on Seventh Street, Headley said.“Officers from several agencies of the force came to the area and eventually did locate the suspect,” Parker said.Cash said he was walking north toward Seventh and Adams when he heard screaming from behind a house. Cash said that when he arrived, the suspect was on the ground and handcuffed, and IUPD, BPD and sheriff’s officers ensured the suspect was secure.The suspect said he had broken his leg, Cash said. This prompted Cash to request an ambulance, he said.Parker said the exact nature of the injuries was unknown.“He was transported to the hospital in custody,” Parker said. “The deputy was also transported.” The conditions of the sheriff’s deputy are also unknown at this point, he said.The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office asked BPD to assume the investigation.Detectives on the scene were investigating the deputy’s sports utility vehicle, in which the suspect was to be transported. They recovered a semi-automatic weapon, although the make and other details were not available, Parker said.At about 3:30 p.m., Parker and other officials began removing the crime scene tape.He said the deputy and suspect were at IU Health-Bloomington Hospital receiving treatment as police interviewed witnesses at the station.
(03/30/12 3:58am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>As 18 campus buses need to be replaced, the University is looking to invest in more environmentally friendly transportation options. The current buses, which run on diesel fuel, must spend a minimum of 12 years on the road before they are eligible to be replaced, IU Campus Bus Service Operations Manager Perry Maull said. Eighteen of the 27 campus buses reached 12 years on the road this year and are now due for replacement. The nine other buses range from 2002 to 2005 and are not in need of replacement for another two to five years.With the replacement, the Campus Bus Service is looking to purchase hybrid electric buses, similar to those used by Bloomington Transit.IU Office of Sustainability Director Bill Brown said the old buses have their share of shortcomings.“They’re aging diesel buses, so they’re not going to be the latest in technology in terms of pollution control,” he said.Brown said the proposed hybrid buses would greatly reduce fuel costs and emissions. “They’re a good idea from both standpoints — financially in the long-term and environmentally,” he said.The University filed a federal grant application earlier this month, Maull said.A single hybrid electric bus costs $565,000, and it would total more than $10 million to replace 18 buses at one time. If the grant is approved in July, the Campus Bus Service will try to start replacing the buses four at a time.Staggering the replacement of the buses will alleviate demands on the Campus Bus Service, Maull said.“We don’t want to have that happen again where we have all the buses from the same year,” he said. “We want to do it a few at a time each year so we’re not trying to replace 18 buses all at once.”If the University receives funding for the replacement, the new buses will be on campus by late 2013 or early 2014, Maull said.If denied funding, either partially or entirely, the University will consider replacing the old buses with new diesel buses.“Any new bus would be better than the buses we currently have, but that’s not the goal here,” Maull said. “We want the hybrids.”
(03/29/12 11:57pm)
Emergency personnel wheel a suspect to an ambulance after an incident with police Thursday at North Adams Street and West Seventh Street. One shot was fired in the incident but no one was hit.
(03/29/12 7:41pm)
Emergency personnel transport a suspect to the hospital after a shot was fired Thursday afternoon near Seventh and Adams streets. Both a sheriff's deputy and a suspect were injured.
(03/28/12 4:23am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Students received news about former Provost Karen Hanson’s resignation in September. “In every University decision for decades, students have been among the first consulted,” said IU Student Association President Justin Kingsolver.Six months later, he said, he wonders why students have not been involved in the search and screening process.Kingsolver discussed the issue with other student leaders and wrote a letter March 19 to IU President Michael McRobbie and other administrators “on behalf of the 43,000 graduate and undergraduate students at Indiana University in Bloomington,” it reads.Kingsolver said he emailed the president’s office repeatedly prior to writing the letter, asking for updates about the search process. He said he only received word that the “search and screen process has not yet begun” and “the President’s Office is reassessing what kind of person it would like to see as Provost.”In his letter, Kingsolver acknowledged the validity of those claims but requested that students play a more active role in that dialogue. He also asked for increased inclusion and transparency for students in the entire selection process.Associate Vice President of University Communications Mark Land said the University has not yet formed a search and screening committee. “It’s still early in the process, so the most important thing for us to do is get the best possible candidates,” he said, adding that he was unsure there had even been a timetable created for forming the committee and completing the search.Land said the search for a new provost will follow a set of guidelines used in previous searches for University administrators. The policy calls for students to sit on the selection committee, although the majority of the committee will consist of faculty and administrators.“One of the challenges is sometimes these searches can take quite a while, and students are more transitory than faculty and staff,” Land said.Dr. William Cast, chair of the Board of Trustees, said students have been involved previously in such processes, particularly when the search is external and candidates previously unaffiliated with the University are considered. Cast said it has not yet been determined whether the search will be internal or external. Kingsolver sent the letter to Board of Trustee members, Interim Provost Lauren Robel, Dean of Students Pete Goldsmith and other administrators.In the letter, Kingsolver referred to Robel as an “inspired pick” whose “vigorous approach and commitment to her new responsibilities will steward the office until a permanent replacement is ascertained.” However, he emphasized the need for student involvement in planning for the University’s future.“This is something students should know about because it’s a position that’s highly paid, and it’s the chief academic office,” Kingsolver said.
(03/28/12 3:33am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Former Playboy Playmate Rebekka Armstrong stretched a condom over her right arm.“Guys don’t always want to use condoms, and they make up excuses,” she said. “Girls on occasion have been known to say, ‘Oh, you don’t need to use a condom.’” She then listed common excuses for not wearing one.“I’m too big for a condom, baby,” she joked, holding up her arm. “Brother, are you bigger than this?”Students gathered in the Indiana Memorial Union’s Frangipani Room on Tuesday night to listen to Armstrong, an HIV/AIDS awareness activist, speak about her experience living with HIV/AIDS.Armstrong said she contracted the virus from unprotected sex at 16. Now, she not only speaks about HIV/AIDS but is a safer-sex educator.“Condoms get a bad rap,” she said. “But one of these could’ve saved my life.”Union Board sponsored the lecture. Hillary Anderson, Union Board lectures director, said she had hoped students who wouldn’t normally attend the talk would be drawn to the Playboy label and come away with a valuable lesson.“We wanted to bring her because we felt like the topic of HIV and sexual health awareness was a message a lot of students needed to hear,” Anderson said.Armstrong also talked about how self-esteem and personal boundaries can create healthier relationships.“I wanted you to like me. I wanted you to think I was cool,” Armstrong said. “I wanted to fit in, and that put me in situations where I didn’t create healthy boundaries.”Armstrong also discussed the medication she takes and associated myths, such as that there is a cure for HIV/AIDS. There isn’t a cure, she said, only medications to slow progression and ease side effects.“People ask me, ‘Can’t I just take those meds that Magic Johnson takes?’” she said.Armstrong became a Playboy Playmate soon after turning 18 after a family friend passed her picture along to Hugh Hefner. She tested positive in 1989 at age 22. In the first stages of her illness, she was prescribed azidothymidin, also known as AZT, the only drug available at the time for patients with HIV/AIDS, to fight progression of the virus. She was taking a total of 18 AZT pills a day.Armstrong recalled the violent side effects of the medication, which ranged from open sores covering her body to fiery, nail-like sensations in her hands and feet to hair loss and extreme nausea. “‘Can I just take those meds that Magic Johnson takes?’ Absolutely,” she said. “But I suggest you rethink what you do today so you don’t have to go down that path.”In 1994, Armstrong went public with her HIV diagnosis. She now speaks at schools, as well as women’s HIV-positive support groups and youth groups.She said saving lives, prevention and awareness influenced her choice to travel and speak about her experiences.“Because of the medications, there’s complacency,” she said. “Young people are having unprotected sex more, I think, because they’re not hearing about the death and the really horrific side of HIV.”
(03/27/12 2:41am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Gov. Mitch Daniels signed House Enrolled Act 1220, a bill aimed at curbing “credit creep” and streamlining students’ college experiences, on March 16.The new legislation, which will take effect July 1, will require public four-year colleges in Indiana to limit bachelor’s degree programs to 120 credit hours. These 120 credit hours are equivalent to a full-time student taking 15 credit hours per semester for a four-year period.A press release from Daniels’ office stated that nearly 90 percent of Indiana college degree programs currently require more than 120 credit hours. Universities will be required to gain approval from the Indiana Commission for Higher Education for any degree program requiring more than 120 hours. Approval will be reserved mostly for programs requiring extra credit hours for licensure and accreditation, as well as other circumstances. “At a time when higher education has never been more important, earning a college degree is taking Hoosiers too long, costing them too much, and leading far too many to pile up debt with no degree,” Daniels said in the press release. Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education Sonya Stephens said the legislation is regulated by good intentions but will require creativity on the University’s part to balance the new limitation and the quality of education the school has traditionally delivered. The new limits will affect most, if not all, the undergraduate programs IU offers. All the majors in the College of Arts and Sciences require a minimum of 122 credit hours. A Bachelor of Science in Business from the Kelley School of Business requires a minimum of 124 hours. “This is happening in other states, too,” Stephens said. “But the real issue for us is not that this is coming now, but that this is coming with another bill, one that imposes statewide general education requirements.” The University remains unsure exactly how this bill will affect curriculum on-campus, but Stephens said it will potentially affect the campus-wide core curriculum implemented in summer 2011. If what are currently considered IU’s core curriculum classes are not included in what the state sets as its general education requirements, IU will have to move those classes elsewhere. This will cut into a program’s 120-hour limits. Collectively, Stephens said, the core curriculum bill and HEA 1220 have the potential to squeeze the University at both ends as it makes new requirements for core classes but limits available credit hours. Stephens said the credit hour cap also limits students’ ability to explore disciplines not offered at the high-school level. “That exploration is really what college is about, and this sends the message that you have to finish as quickly as possibly and get out and get a job,” she said. Jason Bearce, associate commissioner for strategic communications and initiatives with the Commission for Higher Education, said students will still have the opportunity to surpass the 120-credit hour limit. Students can take as many credit hours as they want, he said, since the limit is more about preventing colleges from requiring students to take an exorbitant number of hours prior to degree completion. “The bottom line at the state level is making sure colleges are focused on improving college completion rates,” Bearce said. “The state wants to know the university isn’t just having the hours for the sake of having hours.” At the same time, Bearce said, the state wants students to be focused on graduation, which in turn will keep tuition costs and debt from student loans under control. “If you’re going to school full-time, you should be taking 15 credit hours a semester,” he said. “If students take less, there’s no way they’re going to graduate on time.
(03/26/12 3:57am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Beta Sigma Psi’s qualification run didn’t just start at 8:20 a.m. Saturday.It started with last year’s qualifications when the team placed 34th, missing the opportunity to ride in the 2011 Little 500 race by 0.06 seconds.This year was Andrew Schroyer’s first time riding for Beta Sigma Psi, but he had watched last year’s race from the stands and said “a couple bad exchanges” made the difference for last year’s team.“It was just really terrible because the whole team was mostly seniors,” Schroyer said. “And they didn’t really get that extra opportunity to come back next year like all of us will.”This year’s team consisted mostly of first-year riders: freshmen Jacob Weimer and Seth Raebel, as well as Schroyer, a junior. Junior Vince Ballou had never ridden for Beta Sigma Psi’s team, either, but did not participate in Saturday’s qualification run.The only rider with experience was junior Daniel Fickenscher. Saturday was only the fraternity’s second time in Little 500 qualifications since the National Lutheran Fraternity was brought back to campus in 2008.But this year’s team logged many hours on both the road and the track to prepare for qualifications. During Rookie Week in mid-February, all first-year riders were required to attend every educational session and practice. The whole team, including Fickenscher, never missed a session.They opted out of spring break trips in exchange for training, and with last year in mind, they dedicated much time to exchanges.“That’s what we really worked on this year,” Schroyer said. “Getting our exchanges down so we didn’t make the same mistakes.”***The team had one shot to get it right.Fickenscher, the team’s only experienced rider, had to leave for a three-week trip to Boulder, Colo., and Utah with the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation at 9 a.m., 40 minutes after their scheduled qualification run time.The team had to bargain for an earlier time slot to accommodate Fickenscher’s schedule. Other teams received three chances, Schroyer said. By receiving a time so close to Fickenscher’s departure time, Beta Sigma surrendered their ability to try again if they faulted or opted for a black flag.“For us, it was a lot of pressure because Dan is so crucial to our team that if we ended up faulting this morning, we were pretty much done,” Schroyer said.Schroyer said the team handled the pressure well and had a good run despite complications from the track, which was slippery due to rain the night before.The team even beat its previous year’s time by more than six seconds.“It couldn’t have been better,” Schroyer said. “We honestly felt great after the qualifications run.”***It was 5:50 p.m., and Beta Sigma Psi was No. 33.Only three men’s teams that had faulted twice in previous runs remained. If those teams couldn’t beat 2:34.12, Beta Sigma would qualify.They were hanging on, but just barely.A few of the team members remained in the stands with fraternity brothers and friends, wearing red and gold jerseys with the phrase “Per aspera ad astra” — “To the stars through difficulty” — written across the back. Others had headed back to their fraternity house on Park Avenue, discouraged.Phi Kappa Sigma began its run. One of the Beta Sigma Psi fans joked about starting a “Fault!” chant.Phi Kappa’s Sigma’s second exchange went smoothly, and the third lap began. Beta Sigma Psi fell silent. The fourth rider crossed the finish line for a qualifying time of 2:31.50.Bumped to 34th place, Beta Sigma Psi’s team looked on, quiet, as volunteers removed its name plate from the bottom of the leaderboard. ***Overall, Beta Sigma Psi’s team finished 35th, missing qualifying for the 2012 Little 500 race by two places.“If you’re qualifying, it gets really intense, especially with us having to wait around,” Schroyer said. “We were at the track from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., watching us slide down the board.”Despite the disappointment, Schroyer said he decided after Saturday’s run he would ride again next year, and he is motivated to work harder.“Training for us next year starts tomorrow, you know?” he said. “If we want to be one of the elite, we’re going to have to make it the number one priority.”
(03/23/12 2:58am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>No fish will be swimming in Showalter Fountain for tonight’s Sweet 16 game against Kentucky.Students watched as IU Physical Plant workers lifted each bronze-cast fish out of the fountain one by one and carried them to a trailer Thursday evening. The fish were removed in light of post-game revelry that has occurred in the past.“It’s the first time IU’s been in the Sweet 16 in 10 years,” worker Jim Day said. “If they win, we want them out of here. If they lose, we want them out of here.”Showalter Fountain is no stranger to vandalism, Curator of Campus Art Sherry Rouse said, adding when something wonderful or something terrible happens, people tend to target the fountain.Rouse said those who steal the bronze fish typically mount them and rock back and fourth until the base supporting the fish breaks.“They’re expensive to take out, but they’re even more expensive to replace,” Rouse said. This is because it often involves bringing in multiple workers after the work day has ended. Thursday’s precautionary measure was about a 50-minute job for five men. The fish removed Thursday weigh about 300 pounds each, one worker estimated. IU men’s basketball has contributed to the disappearance of the fountain’s fish in the past.Following IU’s win in the 1976 NCAA Championship, one of the fish was stolen. The University had another fish in storage and was able to replace the one that had gone missing.When another fish was plucked from the fountain after the Hoosiers took the 1987 NCAA Championship title, there wasn’t a spare bronze fish to replace it. It wasn’t until nearly 20 years later that the fish was replaced.Two fish also went missing the night former basketball coach Bob Knight was fired, Rouse said.A fish was reported missing July 31, 2010, and it was never recovered. About three months later, students damaged another fish while playing in the fountain after the Nearly Naked Mile. The fish was broken at the base. IU Student Alumni Association, one of the student organizations to sponsor the event, funded the repairs.In May 2011, the fountain underwent a major renovation, costing the University about $50,000 in repairs after the damage that occurred the previous year.As part of the renovation, the University installed a security system in the fountain to prevent vandalism. Wires were installed in the fish that could allow campus police to be alerted when theft or vandalism is attempted. Rouse said it hasn’t been tested, but it will be after the NCAA Tournament ends.Day said the fish will remain absent until IU is no longer in the tournament.
(03/22/12 3:52am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Activity Fee, the Student Health Fee and the Transportation Fee appear on students’ bursar bills every semester, but the Temporary Repair and Rehabilitation Fee was new for students as of fall 2011.The fee tacked on $90 each semester in the 2011-12 academic year, and students enrolling in classes this summer session will shell out another $54 toward on-campus renovations and repairs.Vice President for Capital Planning and Facilities Tom Morrison said the need for such a fee began last year, when the state discontinued its provision of renovation money to the University.“In a city like Bloomington that has about $4 billion worth of fiscal assets, things are going to break down and need to be replaced,” he said, adding that in the last few years, U.S. stimulus funds provided the money for those replacements and repairs. When the stimulus funds ran out, he said, the state was not able to replace them, and a need for the Temporary Repair and Rehabilitation Fee arose.Morrison said the fee will stick around until Indiana’s fiscal situation improves. “We’re very much aware that any fee can be challenging for our students, but we’re faced with some difficult choices,” Associate Vice President of University Communications Mark Land said. The student Temporary Repair and Rehabilitation Fee from the fall, spring and summer provided about $6.9 million to fund various projects on campus. Other University budgets contributed an additional $7.1 million toward repairs, bringing the total allotment for University repairs and rehabilitation to $14 million.“To give you an idea of magnitude, the state formula for R and R generated approximately $20 million annually for Bloomington,” Morrison said. “So, we are still far short of fulfilling the need.”Morrison said projects catering to increased safety and improved infrastructure were the priority when using the money obtained via the temporary fee.One of the largest projects funded by this year’s fees is a new chiller facility being installed “any time now,” Morrison said. The facility, known as M-100 (Machine Room-100), will allow for increased air conditioning capacity on campus and address the problem of having to curtail cooling in campus buildings during the warmest months of the year.The facility will be installed in the area just north of the Musical Arts Center and will cost about $4.3 million, Morrison said. Campus-wide installation and repair of chiller facilities accounts for about $5 million of the total $12 million.In addition to the new chiller facility, improvements to fire safety account for about $1 million. This includes the replacement of smoke detectors, fire alarms and exit lights across campus.The roof of the School of Public and Environmental Affairs building is currently undergoing replacement. About $1 million was designated for roof replacements and repairs across campus. About $500,000 was allotted for ramp upgrades and sidewalk repairs. This includes the replacement of brick paths in the Old Crescent and the installation of a new wheelchair ramp outside the Herman B Wells Library. Morrison said he hopes the ramp, currently being designed, will be built this summer.Smaller projects included the replacement of non-insulated manhole covers, which posed a safety hazard when steam caused the covers to become hot. About $175,000 was allotted for the installation of insulated manhole covers, which Morrison said are safer for students and others on campus. Beyond safety and infrastructure improvements, Morrison said funds from the Temporary Repair and Rehabilitation Fee are being used for classroom renovation, improving them technologically and structurally.The Map Room in the Student Building will be renovated into a lecture hall, costing around $850,000. Because projects are still ongoing and situations are constantly changing, there is no finalized breakdown of funds. The Board of Trustees will vote on the budget when it convenes in April.
(03/08/12 5:31am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Urban Outfitters, Inc., drew some negative attention recently in the wake of a lawsuit filed by the Navajo Nation on Feb. 28, coupled with its release of a line of St. Patrick’s Day products that caused consumer criticism for its association of the Irish with alcohol.Media outlets across the country such as CNN and ABC picked up the story and linked the two events, although marketing professor Theresa Williams, also the director of the Center for Education and Research in Retailing, said the Navajo Nation’s lawsuit and the case with the St. Patrick’s Day merchandise are two different stories.The lawsuit concerns a violation of infringement on the part of Urban Outfitters, which released a line of products last year that featured a southwestern print and was labeled with the name “Navajo.”While some were offended by the “Navajo” name being attached to products such as flasks and women’s underwear, the lawsuit cites the federal Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990, which prohibits products from falsely suggesting their affiliation with the Native American culture.Davina Two Bears, a doctoral student from the community of Bird Springs on the Navajo reservation in Arizona, said the outlet store is making money unjustly.“They’re making money of our tribe’s name,” she said. “I think that people don’t think about that because Native Americans aren’t high on their priority list. They don’t think before they use it.”The name “Navajo” and about 10 other related terms have been trademarked by the tribe.“The Navajo story is a trademark infringement case, so it goes well beyond, ‘We upset a few people by some things we said or some graphics we used,’” Williams said.The dispute regarding Urban Outfitters’ line of St. Patrick’s Day products, however, had some congressional leaders saying the retailer crossed a line of good taste, and they requested the products be pulled from the market. Urban Outfitters’ St. Patrick’s Day line included graphic t-shirts with phrases such as “Kiss Me. I’m drunk, or Irish or whatever” and “Irish I were drunk.” Also in question was a green trucker hat labeled with the phrases “Irish Yoga” and “Downward Facing Upchuck” with an image of a stick figure on all fours vomiting shamrocks.Upon trying to access the products online, a message pops up to notify the customer the merchandise is sold out.Williams said although she isn’t choosing sides in the issue, what is permissible when producing a line of products is dictated by the brand and the reputation it has built for itself.“Being controversial and being cutting edge aligns with the vision story for Urban. That’s who they are,” Williams said. “It would’ve been a very different story if it would’ve been Talbots who had produced these t-shirts.”Producing controversial and thought-provoking merchandise, she said, has been a strategy used by many companies, not just Urban Outfitters. She cited United Colors of Benetton, which stepped into the spotlight last November after the release of its “Unhate” campaign advertisements featuring photo-edited images of world leaders kissing. The two events had marginal effects on Urban Outfitters’ stock prices. When the markets opened Feb. 28, the day the lawsuit was filed and the St. Patrick’s Day products began garnering attention, the stock price was $29.69 per share. When the NASDAQ markets closed at 4 p.m. Wednesday, stock was $28.24 per share. Stock volume, however, decreased from 2,822,726 shares Feb. 28 to 1,895,675 shares Wednesday.Williams said whether recent events will affect how IU students shop at Urban Outfitters depends on the customer.“The majority of students, they see that kind of stuff at Urban all the time,” she said. “This was an isolated thing that broke in the press, but if you go there consistently, you see it all over the store. If it’s not one idea, it’s something else.” IU student Lauren Deranek said she shops at Urban Outfitters seasonally and believes the shirts are a matter of preference.“If you want to buy it, buy it, and if you don’t want to buy it, don’t,” she said. “It’s a holiday, and everyone knows it’s a drinking holiday, and if you want to celebrate it with a funny shirt on, go for it.” Urban Outfitters on Kirkwood Avenue declined comment.
(03/07/12 5:31am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The history of one of IU’s most recognizable landmarks is displayed inside a glass case on the fourth floor of the Herman B Wells Library.IU Archives’ newest exhibit, “A Coming In, Never a Going Out: The Vision of the Kirkwood Gateway,” features correspondences in typewriter font, receipts and sketches from the planning of the Sample Gates.The gates have become one of the most recognizable places on campus, said Krista Timney, senior associate director of marketing and communications for the IU Office of Admissions. Images of the Sample Gates appear in the main admissions brochure sent to prospective students, Timney said, as well as other pamphlets and emails.“It’s a very popular image, and I think that’s just because it’s one of those images and one of those places on campus people just associate with IU,” Timney said. “You see a picture of the Sample Gates, and you know that’s IU.”Carrie Schwier, an assistant archivist with IU Archives, said she first conceived the idea about two years ago, but the bulk of the work was all done in about a month.“I came to Bloomington to come to graduate school with the image in my head that the Sample Gates had always been there,” Schwier said.The Sample Gates were dedicated in 1987 and will have its 25th birthday this June. “It’s such an iconic symbol of campus, and to realize that something so recent is so iconic, I wanted to learn about it,” Schwier said.Initially, IU’s graduating classes of 1899, 1900, 1901 and 1902 had the idea for an entrance to campus from Kirkwood Avenue. Originally, they wanted the entrance to be an arch, so they began a University “Arch Fund” to collect money for the proposed entrance.The landmark wasn’t always as well-received as it is today.Among the other documents displayed in the IU Archives’ new exhibit is a column from a 1972 issue of the Indiana Daily Student titled “I.U. needs education, not gates.”In it, columnist Ron Sentman urged students to write to attorney Benjamin Long, who was to donate a large sum of money to the fund. Sentman encouraged students to ask Long to use the money to fund scholarships instead of what would become the Sample Gates.The University considered more than five different gate designs.A proposed design from 1967 features a series of six wall-like structures. It was a more modern take on the gates, the New York architecture firm Eggers and Higgins wrote in a report.While Schwier said she liked the idea, she didn’t like it for the Bloomington campus.“The part that really got me excited was the drawing that was much more modern than the other proposals, the one from 1967,” she said. “It sort of floored me that it was so different from what we ended up with. We would have a dramatically different site today if that’s what they used.”The other designs, including the one that became the Sample Gates, adhered to a more gothic design, allowing the structure to blend in with the surrounding campus.“The Sample Gates fit seamlessly with the area, so you think it’s been there forever,” Schwier said.