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(08/23/06 3:44am)
FORT WAYNE -- Don't try telling IU junior goalkeeper Chris Munroe the men's soccer team's victory against the University of Maryland was just another exhibition. He knows better.\n"This felt like a real regular season, postseason-type game," Munroe said after the No. 12 Hoosiers' 1-0 victory against the No. 1 Terrapins. "We tied these guys last year. They're a great, great team with a lot of tradition."\nThe Hoosiers took down the Terps Friday in their second exhibition game of the 2006 season in front of 6,118 fans at the IU-Purdue University Fort Wayne Soccer Showcase. The Hoosiers also won their first exhibition game, defeating the University of Illinois-Chicago 1-0. \nIU coach Mike Freitag said it's "very important" to play a team of Maryland's caliber early on. \n"You want to play a quality team because we're going to be hitting quality teams right off the bat," Freitag said. "Some teams, sometimes, you can play a couple easy teams. So far we've played two really good teams."\nThe competitive opponents and the large crowd were also good for his younger players, Freitag said. IU lost six of last year's players to graduation or professional leagues. \n"Everyone counts us as underdogs, but to beat the No. 1 team, it sends a message to the nation," sophomore forward Brian Ackley said. "It says we can do it. We're new young guys, but we can hang with the rest of them."\nMaryland coach Sasho Cirovski said the preseason meeting was a "perfect barometer."\n"At the end of the day, it's just a measuring-stick game," he said. "It has no significance beyond that. ... I thought it was a great event, a great environment and a great opportunity to see where we stand. We certainly will dissect this game, learn from it, and we'll be better for it."\nLast week's preseason meeting was a rematch of a 3-3 regular season tie at Maryland last year and IU's defeat of the Terps at the NCAA Tournament quarterfinal en route to its seventh national championship in 2004.
(05/01/06 5:03am)
IU students will receive a seventh game with their football season ticket package in 2006, but will pay about 34 percent more than they did in 2005.\nStudent season football tickets will cost $19 more than last year's $55 because of the addition of a seventh home football game, an increase in the service fee and a $10 T-shirt.\nPete Rhoda, director of athletic media relations, attributed the increase in service fee to the cost of processing delivery. The fee increased $1 from last year. \nThough the athletics department is unable to calculate the number of student season tickets purchased because of the Bursar option during class registration, Rhoda said the athletics department has already sold 66 percent of the 2005 season ticket total. \nT-Shirts\nLike last year, student season ticket holders will receive a voucher for an official "Crimson Crew" T-Shirt. This year, though, they will pay for it. \nLast year, IU Student Association, IU Athletics and T.I.S. footed a portion of the bill for the shirts. Though Rhoda declined to say who is supporting the T-shirt financially, IUSA President Betsy Henke said Adidas and IU Sports Properties -- an arm of IU Athletics -- contributed to the T-shirts.\nThe $10 T-Shirts, designed by Adidas and the athletics department, can be redeemed at the IU Bookstore once students receive their tickets.\n"The Crimson Crew shirts help unify the student section," Rhoda said in a statement.\nStudents will also receive a $10 voucher for a purchase of $20 or more of Adidas apparel.\nThe public can vote on their favorite T-shirt design on www.votehoosier.com, a Web site that used to host the Hoosier IUSA Campaign. Voting ends May 12.\nThe athletics department collaborated with Adidas on the four T-shirt designs and the athletics department decided to allow the public to vote for their favorite design early in April, "in an effort to provide students with opportunity for more input on their gameday experience at Memorial Stadium," Rhoda said.\nAll four designs feature red shirts with the phrase "Coach Hep Got Me" on the back. Three of the four designs display the Adidas, IU, IUSA and SAB logos on the shirt's front. The other reads "Defend the Rock" on top of an overhead photo of Memorial Stadium. \nIU Athletics contacted IUSA and the Student Athletic Board about coordinating the online survey.\n"There seems to be a mutual vision for what the athletics department wants to see and IUSA wants to see in student involvement in athletics this year," Henke said.\nRecently, IUSA has purchased advertisements in the Indiana Daily Student to promote student voting online. In the advertisements, IUSA encourages students to vote for a design for their "FREE" T-shirt. But the $10 cost is included in the season ticket application, available at www.iuhoosiers.com.\n"It's under my impression that they are free," Henke said. "From what I understand, there are other sources that are investing in the T-shirt."
(04/24/06 6:57am)
Kappa Kappa Gamma can now take "Little 5" literally.\nThe team won its record-setting fifth championship in familiar fashion Friday as senior Jess Sapp edged out Kappa Delta's Lauren Ziemba by inches to seal the win. Friday's win broke a tie held with Kappa Alpha Theta for most Little 500 championships held by a single women's team. \nThe finish mirrored Kappa's fourth championship in 2004 when Sapp out-sprinted Teter rider Bri Kovac in the final moments of the race.\n"My team is so strong this year that I knew they could go in and hold off everybody else," Sapp said. "And then at the end I would come in and finish the sprint. It worked out exactly how we planned."\nOnce Sapp got on the bike at the beginning of the 97th lap with Kappa in the lead pack, her teammates were confident they would be champions. \n"We just couldn't believe that this happened," said teammate Colleen Groth. "We knew that Jess would have that 'umph' in her legs and go out there and give all she got." \nSapp dominated the series events, winning both the Individual Time Trials and Miss-n-Out. \n"When she got on, we knew she could do it," said Kappa rider Anna Gartner. "She could ITT it. She won ITTs. We knew that she had it once she got on the bike." \nEven the eventual runner-up thought Sapp would win. Kappa Delta finished second, the best finish in team history.\n"I knew that last lap that Jess Sapp would cross the finish line first, but I was so close, and it was my goal to beat her," Ziemba said. "I'm so glad how it ended up anyway." \nBefore Sapp received Kappa's final exchange, teammate Caroline Andrew gave her some words of encouragement. \n"Before Jess went in, I kind of hit her on the arm and said, 'Be confident in yourself, because if I had to put money on one person in this it would be you,'" Andrew said. "She gave me a smile. Her head was obviously just in the race, but she was pretty calm and pretty relaxed all things considered." \nAt the start of the final lap, Sapp, Ziemba and two other riders rode in a small pack, waiting for someone to make the first move to try to take the lead. Sapp said she learned from other races that maintaining the inside of the track was key.\n"I worked about 80 percent, I would say, right until the end," she said. "As soon as I start to see them picking up is when I think, 'OK, I don't want them to pass me. I'm gonna sprint all the way in.' And that's when my sprint started, about right after turn two." \nCoach Bill Naas said his team ran the "perfect race." \n"We put Jess Sapp in a position to win," he said. \nTwo years later after her last championship, Sapp said this year's race was different than the race her sophomore year.\n"I felt a lot more confident about myself," she said. "You have one win under your belt. I have won ITT (and) Miss-n-Out this year. In my sophomore year, it was Bri Kovac everybody was watching out for. So I was more thinking how I was going to beat Bri. But this year I was thinking, 'How can I just hold off everybody else?'"\nShe also had memories of a friend. Before the race, officials released green and pink balloons in honor of deceased Delta Zeta sister Nichole Birky, who died in her sleep at the sorority earlier this month. For Sapp, it was a reminder of Kappa Kappa Gamma's Ashley Crouse, who was killed in a car accident during race week last year.\n"When they released the balloons this year, it brought back so many emotions," Sapp said. "They had released the balloons for (Crouse) last year. I just thought a lot about her right before the beginning -- thought about her smile and how excited she would be to be here. I was really sad she couldn't be here, but at the same time I just wanted to ride hard and know that if she was on the bike, she would have ridden just as hard." \nWith their dynasty secured, Groth thinks this championship will lure more women to the race. \n"Hopefully we'll encourage a lot of women's riders out here," she said. "We won't become an opening for the men's race. This is a competition. It's exciting to be a part of it. We hope to attract a lot of other women and understand being part of a team is such a unique experience." \n-- Staff writers Chris Engel and Brian Janosch contributed to this story.
(04/24/06 5:19am)
After Lauren Ziemba crossed the finish line inches behind Kappa Kappa Gamma's Jess Sapp, Lauren couldn't help but smile. Even in defeat, she had never experienced a moment like the second-place finish she captured for Kappa Delta in the 2006 women's Little 500.\n"It's the happiest time I've ever had here at Indiana University," she said after the race Friday. "It was the perfect way to end my senior year."\nOne day later, her smile widened. Saturday she watched her brother, freshman Steve Ziemba, help Alpha Tau Omega win its third men's Little 500 title.\nFor the Ziembas, the Little 500 was a family affair.\n"My weekend was probably the best weekend of my life," said Lauren and Steve's father Joe Ziemba. "It couldn't have been any better than this, to watch my son and my daughter come one and two."\nHe quickly corrected himself.\n"It only could be better by this much," he said, using his hands to show the distance between his daughter's and Sapp's front tires. "Two No. 1s, what else could you ask for?"\nThe two helped put their teams in position to win the Little 500 championship. \n"It's in the genes," Steve said.\nThough this is the first and only year the pair were Little 500 riders together, Lauren and Steve have been riding together around Munster, Ind. -- their hometown -- for a few years.\nAfter her sophomore year -- the first year Lauren rode in the race -- she encouraged her brother to start riding. In the summers between school years, Lauren brought Steve on training rides and later helped him on the transition to competitive racing.\n"She helped me out with track riding," Steve said. "I didn't know anything about positioning and she helped me out, gave me tips."\nJoe has observed how Steve has grown as a rider since those summers in Munster. \n"Obviously, he's a man," Joe said. "He's much stronger and more powerful. And he's coming into his own. Steve's going to be a force to be reckoned with in the next four years."\nDuring the men's race, Lauren stood behind ATO's pit in support of her brother.\n"She was there every step of the way with me on my biking career," Steve said. "I just want to thank her for that."\nSteve said Lauren taught him everything he knows about cycling. Lauren disagreed.\n"I thought I taught my brother everything he knows, but apparently he needs to teach me something," she said. "He's crossed the line first, and I haven't done that."\nJoe doesn't expect Steve to remind his sister of that, either. There is no sibling rivalry among cyclists in the Ziemba family.\n"They love each other," Joe said. "They're brother and sister. It's one for all and all for one."\nSteve doesn't think he will rub it in to Lauren, either.\n"But I don't know," he said. "We'll see."\n-- Staff writer Chris Engel contributed to this story.
(04/22/06 4:54pm)
Thursday, sitting on a couch in the Delta Zeta sorority, sophomore Amanda Marquet placed her right hand on her left forearm, just two inches above a green wristband with stitched pink letters that read "BIRKY."\n"It was surreal," she said. "We just kept questioning, not believing it. Twenty-one-year-olds don't just die for no reason."\nThe same wristband that adorned Marquet's arm will be her motivation today as she pedals around Bill Armstrong Stadium. Marquet is a member of Delta Zeta's Little 500 team, and in the wake of the death of sorority sister Nichole Birky, Marquet and her teammates have more to ride for than house pride this year.\nIn remembrance of Birky, team members will wear the green and pink wristbands during the race today.\n"It's incentive to keep going hard," said senior rider Gretchen Freytag. "When you're tired, look down at the wristband and remember that you're doing it for more than yourself."\nThey are riding in her honor.\nIn the stands, other house members will wear the wristbands and yellow shirts with Birky's initials -- NMB -- on the back.\nA joke about Chuck Norris is printed above Birky's initials, something Delta Zeta team members said Birky wanted on the shirts. The yellow shirts match the yellow and gray jerseys the team members will wear in the race.\n"It's a way to keep her alive," said Marquette, who is a member of Birky's pledge class. "That's one of the worst fears of the house is that she's going to be forgotten."\nBirky's family will attend the race and Delta Zeta plans to release green and pink balloons. Green and pink are the official colors of Delta Zeta and are the colors of the wristbands.\nLittle 500 Race Coordinator Lucas Calhoun said the race brings greek houses together, and situations like Delta Zeta's make houses more united.\n"It really makes all the people in a house realize how lucky they are and how fortunate enough they are to have each other around," Calhoun said. "Cycling in general, it's such a metaphor for life's uncertainty. You never know what's going to happen in life."\nTeam members said Little 500 was one of Birky's favorite times of the school year.\n"She just loved Little 5 week," said junior rider Jess Mattox, who is also in Birky's pledge class.\nMarquet said the week was Birky's "time to shine, socially."\n"I feel that she's up there, partying for us," she said.\nHer death, they said, put things in perspective.\n"Little 500 is not the most important thing," said sophomore rider Morgan McNeely. "There are more important things in the world."\nSuddenly, competing well in the race was not as important as they had thought a few months earlier.\n"It's just a race," Freytag said. "It doesn't mean anything in the long run"
(04/22/06 4:54pm)
The sisters of Kappa Kappa Gamma can now take "Little 5" literally.\nThe team won its record-setting fifth championship in familiar fashion Friday. Kappa rider Jess Sapp edged Kappa Delta's Lauren Ziemba by inches to seal the Kappas' fifth championship, a women's Little 500 record.\nThe finish mirrored Kappa's fourth championship in 2004 when Sapp out-sprinted Teter rider Bri Kovac in the final moments of the race.\n"My team is so strong this year that I knew they could go in and hold off everybody else," Sapp said. "And then at the end I would come in and finish the sprint. It worked out exactly how we planned."\nTheir fifth championship breaks a tie held with Kappa Alpha Theta.\nOnce Sapp got on the bike at the beginning of the 97th lap with Kappa on the lead lap, her teammates were confident they would be champions.\n"We just couldn't believe that this happened," said teammate Colleen Groth. "We knew that Jess would have that umph in her legs and go out there and give all she got."\nSapp dominated the series events, winning both the Individual Time Trials and Miss-n-Out.\n"When she got on, we knew she could do it," said Kappa rider Anna Gartner. "She could ITT-it. She won ITTs. We knew that she had it once she got on the bike."\nThe win was extra sweet for Gartner because her mother is a Theta alum from IU.\nEven the eventual runner-up thought Sapp would win.\n"I knew that last lap that Jess Sapp would cross the finish line first, but I was so close and it was my goal to beat her," Ziemba said. "I'm so glad how it ended up anyways. It was the perfect way to end my senior year."\nBefore Sapp received Kappa's final exchange, teammate Caroline Andrew gave her some words of encouragement.\n"Before Jess went in, I kind of hit her on the arm and said be confident in yourself, because if I had to put money on one person in this it would be you," Andrew said. "She gave me a smile. Her head was obviously just in the race, but she was pretty calm and pretty relaxed all things considered."\nAt the start of the final lap, Sapp, Ziemba and three other riders rode in a small pack, waiting for someone to make the first move to try to take the lead. Sapp said she learned from other races that maintaining the inside of the track was key.\n"I worked about 80 percent, I would say, right until the end," she said. "As soon as I start to see them picking up is when I think, 'OK, I don't want them to pass me. I'm gonna sprint all the way in.' And that's when my sprint started, about right after turn two."\nCoach Bill Naas said his team ran the "perfect race."\n"We put Jess Sapp in a position to win," he said. \nNow a senior, Sapp said this race was different than her sophomore year.\n"I felt a lot more confident about myself," she said. "You have one win under your belt. I have one ITT, Miss-n-Out this year. In my sophomore year, it was Bri Kovac everybody was watching out for. So I was more thinking how I was going to beat Bri. But this year I was thinking 'How can I just hold off everybody else?'"\nShe also had memories of a friend. Before the race, officials released green and pink balloons in honor of deceased Delta Zeta sister Nichole Birky. For Sapp, it was a reminder of Kappa Kappa Gamma's Ashley Crouse, who was killed in a car accident during race week last year. \n"When they released the balloons this year, it brought back so many emotions," Sapp said. "They had released the balloons for her last year. I just thought a lot about her right before the beginning -- thought about her smile and how excited she would be to be here. I was really sad she couldn't be here, but at the same time I just wanted to ride hard and know that if she was on the bike, she would have ridden just as hard."\nWith their dynasty secured, Groth thinks this championship will lure more women to the race. \n"Hopefully we'll encourage a lot of women's riders out here," she said. "We won't become an opening for the men's race. This is a competition. It's exciting to be a part of it. We hope to attract a lot of other women and understand being part of a team is such a unique experience."\n- Staff writers Chris Engel and Brian Janosch contributed to this story.
(04/21/06 2:38pm)
Some names might have graduated, but the story is still the same. More and more women's teams have catapulted themselves into the "favorites" category this year, and many riders believe that will only improve the quality of the Little 500 race at 4 p.m. today.\n"I know a lot of teams have stepped up while others have dropped a little bit," said Alpha Omicron Pi rider Stephanie Donlan. "I think there are a lot of competitive teams that stick together, so hopefully a lot of pack riding and a fast pack. It definitely will be a more exciting race."\nFourteen teams qualified within 10 seconds of pole-sitter Kappa Delta's two minute, 45.774 qualifying time. With 33 teams comprising a full women's field, other riders agree with Donlan's race prediction.\n"Look for a lot faster field and hopefully a safe field," said Alpha Kappa Psi rider Elizabeth Emerson. \nThough she said she anticipates a strong pack, she said the field broke up in a couple of the practice races held during the weeks leading up to the race.\nAt a practice start Tuesday, 14 teams fell behind the lead pack after two laps of racing.\nKappa Kappa Gamma rider Jess Sapp predicted a fast field and more wrecks with the increased number of teams. She said with more parity among the better teams, the finish today will be "a little different" than the past.\nPre-race strategies have also changed as the race nears. Practices this week were light for many teams because they wanted to conserve energy for the race today.\n"We're trying to eat well and get our legs pumped, but not overwork them," said Alpha Kappa Psi rider and Emerson's teammate Katherine Porter.\nEven among teams that have dominated the series events, riders believe there is still a lot left to prove race day.\n"Honestly, wearing the white jersey means nothing with how you do," said Alpha Phi's Katie Thompson, whose team will wear white jerseys for its series championship. "I would take winning the Little 5 over the white jersey any day."\nKappa Delta rider Lauren Ziemba agreed. Her team will wear green jerseys to signify its pole position, but she said the color of her jersey is not important at the end of the race.\n"I would qualify 33rd every singe race if I could win every single race," she said. "It was amazing that we got the green jersey. It definitely put a little cherry on top of my senior year, but I don't expect to win Little 5 because I won the green jersey."\nGreen is also the official color of the Kappa Delta sorority.\nFormer race champion, ITT winner and Miss-n-Out winner Sapp said pre-race success can add nervousness and confidence.\n"It brings a lot of expectations, you know," Sapp said. "You're also a little more confident. I think it almost cancels each other out."\nSapp said she has a different perspective than most other riders in the race because she rode for Kappa Kappa Gamma's 2004 championship team. At a banquet last night, she told fellow women riders to enjoy the moment because memories are more important than championships.\n"When you walk away race day, you don't think 'my trophy was this size' or 'I finished in this place,'" Sapp said. "It definitely wasn't all about winning. If we don't come away with a win, I will be happy just that I participated in the event"
(04/21/06 2:34am)
For the first time in Little 500 history, one women's team did not qualify for April's race.\nAfter having faulted in their previous three attempts, Pi Beta Phi and Gamma Phi Beta took the track for a fourth time at the end of qualifications Saturday. Pi Beta Phi edged Gamma Phi Beta for the last spot in the women's field, posting a time of 3 minutes and 11.383 seconds, compared to Gamma's 3 minutes and 12.989 seconds.\nHad Gamma not faulted in its previous attempts, its time would have been good enough to secure it the 28th position of 33 eligible teams.\nGamma's anchor rider, Robin Glancy, was not allowed to compete in qualifications Saturday because she did not have an IU student ID, forcing one of its riders to complete two laps.\n"It was really hard because we trained for so long," Glancy said. "It's hard to see everyone out there and know we're good enough to do it."\nShe said the team feels like it let down its house and its coach.\nPi Beta Phi rider Jennifer Naye said the nail-biter with Gamma was "probably the most stressful situation ever."\n"I know girls in that house and they practice all year," Naye said. "All their effort put into one day and then it's just taken away from you."\nBoth riders agreed having a full women's field is better for the sport, even if one team has to be cut.\n"It's good to see so many people out there and so many people competing," Glancy said.\nBut that didn't ease her disappointment.\n"It's just sad," she said.
(04/20/06 4:15am)
As a 3-year-old, Katie Thompson was allowed to ride her bike only so far down her block. Her parents set up a barrier a few houses down so she would not escape their sight.\nEight houses away from Katie's, Lauren Ziemba frequently pedaled her training-wheel-supported bike to the barrier her parents established.\nThe girls' boundaries were neighboring houses where the two often met on their bikes. Before long, they began talking to each other and became best friends. \nNot much has changed since their childhood days in Munster, Ind. Katie and Lauren still live in different houses. They still ride bikes. And they are still best friends. \nBut there are some differences. Now they can ride their bikes wherever they want. And they surely don't need training wheels. \nNow IU seniors, Katie and Lauren are star cyclists for sororities Alpha Phi and Kappa Delta. When the women's Little 500 race begins at 4 p.m. Friday, Kappa Delta and Alpha Phi will start the race first and second, and the two best friends find themselves in a familiar position -- together. \nThough they attended different elementary and middle schools, the seniors often played with one another outside of school, whether it was riding bikes or getting yelled at in a neighbor's yard. They even played softball on the same team. \n"Even though they went to separate schools, the sports brought them back together," said Katie's mother Patti. \nAfter middle school, the pair attended Munster High School and their friendship grew. They were members of the volleyball team, the track team, the student \ngovernment and, "pretty much everything together," Katie said. "If you ask anybody from Munster about Lauren Ziemba, they'll think about Katie Thompson. We go hand in hand. We did everything together."\nThe two haven't always been interested in cycling, though. In high school, they gave up their bikes for flashier modes of transportation, like in-line skates and cars. \n"I couldn't get Lauren to ride a bike in high school," said Dorothy Ziemba, Lauren's mother. "They couldn't wait to drive a car."\nThat's why both families found it odd when the two decided to ride in the Little 500 as sophomores. \n"It really is surprising that they became that good at something like this," said Steve Ziemba, Lauren's brother and Alpha Tau Omega rider. "Where we live, no one rides bikes competitively."\nAfter witnessing the race first-hand as freshmen, the then-roommates were steadfast in their desire to be on the track as sophomores.\n"We came back in the fall, bought bikes and started riding," Lauren said.\n"It was another one of those, 'Oh here go Lauren and Katie again,'" said Katie's brother Matthew Thompson. \nAnd now they are in position to go all the way to the winner's podium.\n"It never started out that way," said Lauren's father Joe. "It just ended up that way."\nHe remembers the pair's humbling introduction to the Little 500.\nSophomore year, Kappa Delta and Alpha Phi attempted their qualifications back-to-back. Lauren rode first for Kappa Delta, and Katie rode first for Alpha Phi. \nAfter successfully completing her first lap, Lauren approached the bike exchange too fast and flipped head first over her handlebars. True to form, Katie did the exact same thing. \nThey managed to successfully qualify on their second attempts. \nKatie's mother is glad the two found their niche at IU. \n"Through this cycling, I am so impressed that they have made that huge school such a small college," she said. \nEach year, Katie's and Lauren's teams improved. In the 2004 Little 500 race, Kappa Delta finished 13th and Alpha Phi finished 14th. Last year, Kappa Delta finished fourth and Alpha Phi sixth. \nPerhaps their improvement comes from extra motivation fueling them each time they ride on the track. \n"The term 'friendly competition,' we definitely put good use to it," Lauren said. "Best-friendly competition. Put best friends first, of course, and then it's competition second."\nThrough bike rides back home with the pair, Matthew Thompson senses the rivalry. The three usually start their bike rides at a modest pace. \n"Next thing you know, we're getting faster and faster," he said. "Katie and Lauren subconsciously, it seems like they always try to be better than the other person. I think that helps define their friendship."\nIt was only fitting that during Qualifications, Lauren's Kappa Delta team took the pole away from Katie's Alpha Phi team late in the day.\nEven with the competition, the two are still each other's biggest fans. \n"We went out that night and took a toast to one-two," Katie said about their Qualification-day celebration.\nIf either Alpha Phi or Kappa Delta wins, expect both Katie and Lauren to be celebrating.\n"I won't feel the exact same feeling as she's feeling (if Alpha Phi wins), but I'll definitely party with her as if I won," Lauren said.\nSo will their parents. The Thompsons and the Ziembas are staying at the same hotel during Little 500 weekend. Before the race Friday, the Ziembas will join the Thompsons for Alpha Phi's pre-race tailgate.\n"It doesn't really matter who wins because we know they will both do well," Dorothy Ziemba said.\nFriday, the two will add one more memory to a friendship that almost two decades and become competitors for an elusive Little 500 title.\n"Neither of our sororities have ever won," Katie said. "We've always said, 'Alpha Phi and Kappa Delta have to get one-two.' We'll just decide April 21 who gets it"
(04/20/06 4:00am)
Little 500 has been dubbed the "World's Greatest College Weekend," but what does that mean? Surely IU students would be able to shed some light on why this weekend is better than any event that takes place on any other campus throughout this big blue marble. \nLet's start with junior Ashley Timberlake, a student walking past the Indiana Memorial Union. She probably has some crazy story from past Little 500 weekends. \n"The last couple years I've had tests all week; so, I haven't been able to go out," she says. \nOh. No, that's OK. Someone will have a crazy story -- like streaking in Showalter Fountain or shimmying up the goalpost at Memorial Stadium. This is the "World's Greatest College Weekend," right?\nWell, how about this high school senior taking a tour of the lovely Bloomington campus? Surely he has heard stories from the boisterous bike race. \n"I just heard it's a big bike race," says Jared Knapp, a high school senior from Cicero, Ind. "Everybody trains all year for it."\nSo, Knapp, have you heard of the other things that take place during the weekend?\n"No, I haven't," he says. \nBut it's the "World's Greatest College Weekend..."\n"All the frats get together and have the big parties?" he says. \nYeah. You know what, he was probably just playing it cool because his parents were standing right behind him.\nSo, the search continues. \nAnd the search ends. Here comes our man wearing a shirt that reads: "College is one big party with a $50,000 cover charge." Get ready for a crazy story. One that will probably involve a goat, a Frisbee and a lot of cottage cheese.\n"This shirt's actually kind of a joke," says junior Dan Tritch. "I don't party at all."\nFor the past two years, Tritch has been out of town for the Little 500 weekend.\n"My parents went here," he says. "They loved the weekend. They screamed at me for being gone the past two years."\nWell, what do students do during Little 500 weekend? \n"I have four tests next week," says freshman Ashley Oreck.\n"I've got a lot going on as far as school goes," says freshman Maggie Dimatteo. \nEureka! Perhaps it's the "World's Greatest College Weekend" because they will be, gulp, studying?\nDiane Dallis, department head for the Information Commons Undergraduate Library Services says she doesn't notice much of a change at the Herman B Wells Library for Little 500 compared to other weekends. \n"Last year we were busy that whole weekend and we didn't have anything out of the ordinary happen," she says. "People don't tend to bring it anywhere near us."\nIf "it" exists. \n"I think what you'll find is a lot of students find enjoyment working with their colleagues and attaining their goals," she says. "They probably have time to include some of the fun stuff, but it is that time of year where it's make it or break it."\nDallis sent an e-mail trying to prove her point. During Little 500 weekend last year, undergraduate students checked out 1,036 items from the Herman B Wells Library, only slightly less than the three-day average for the entire month of April. \nShe even included log-in statistics from the Information Commons. In 2004, 80 less students logged into an IC computer during Little 500 weekend than the week before the race. In 2005 that number was 1,321. \n"I hope this helps make the point that more than drinking goes on during Little 500 weekend," she says.\nThe IC is a place where students can come and work together, she says, allowing them to be social and get their schoolwork done at the same time. She suggests it as a place students could spend time at during Little 500 weekend, but she didn't "want to say what they should or shouldn't do." \nNow that makes sense. But perhaps the weekend won its name because of the race itself. \nLittle 500 race coordinator Lucas Calhoun says whatever students do throughout the weekend it should include a trip to the track. \n"The reason there are so many social events that weekend is because of the bike race," he says. "It is a campus tradition. The weather is good, school's almost out, there's no other sport going on. It's a great way to cap off the school year."\nPlus, "the race is fun to watch," he says.\nThe race will have speed and crashes; so, it's everything that comes with drinking except for the hangover and the possible arrests.\nMaybe those college kids from earlier have some crazy plans this year. And, seriously, it had better involve at least three blow-up dolls and some peanut butter.\n"I don't have any tests this year, but I have a bunch of friends that are coming down," Timberlake says. "We're just going to hang out. The weather's so nice we're probably just like sit out on a porch and chill and drink."\nBut what about the race?\n"It's one of those things I feel like I have to go to, and I don't know anybody," Timberlake says. "I know girls in the women's race, but I don't know anybody in the men's."\nShe says she went to the race her freshman year and "it was just a bunch of bikes riding in circles."\nTritch says he plans to go to the race and cheer for team Marshall. Unfortunately, team Marshall is not riding in the race. \nSenior Meredith Suma is planning a maritime adventure.\n"On Friday we're gonna get a bunch of people on pontoon boats and put some kegs on it," she says.\nNow there's some semi-craziness. \nWith four tests, Oreck says she plans on going out this weekend.\nDiMatteo, who lives in a sorority, says there are lots of events at her house, including bowling and themed parties. \nFrom the bars to the Greek houses to the library to the race, there are plenty of events going on this weekend for people of all ages, even a high school senior. \n"Sounds good," Knapp says.
(04/20/06 3:07am)
Little 500 has been dubbed the "World's Greatest College Weekend," but what does that mean? Surely IU students would be able to shed some light on why this weekend is better than any event that takes place on any other campus throughout this big blue marble. \nLet's start with junior Ashley Timberlake, a student walking past the Indiana Memorial Union. She probably has some crazy story from past Little 500 weekends. \n"The last couple years I've had tests all week; so, I haven't been able to go out," she says. \nOh. No, that's OK. Someone will have a crazy story -- like streaking in Showalter Fountain or shimmying up the goalpost at Memorial Stadium. This is the "World's Greatest College Weekend," right?\nWell, how about this high school senior taking a tour of the lovely Bloomington campus? Surely he has heard stories from the boisterous bike race. \n"I just heard it's a big bike race," says Jared Knapp, a high school senior from Cicero, Ind. "Everybody trains all year for it."\nSo, Knapp, have you heard of the other things that take place during the weekend?\n"No, I haven't," he says. \nBut it's the "World's Greatest College Weekend..."\n"All the frats get together and have the big parties?" he says. \nYeah. You know what, he was probably just playing it cool because his parents were standing right behind him.\nSo, the search continues. \nAnd the search ends. Here comes our man wearing a shirt that reads: "College is one big party with a $50,000 cover charge." Get ready for a crazy story. One that will probably involve a goat, a Frisbee and a lot of cottage cheese.\n"This shirt's actually kind of a joke," says junior Dan Tritch. "I don't party at all."\nFor the past two years, Tritch has been out of town for the Little 500 weekend.\n"My parents went here," he says. "They loved the weekend. They screamed at me for being gone the past two years."\nWell, what do students do during Little 500 weekend? \n"I have four tests next week," says freshman Ashley Oreck.\n"I've got a lot going on as far as school goes," says freshman Maggie Dimatteo. \nEureka! Perhaps it's the "World's Greatest College Weekend" because they will be, gulp, studying?\nDiane Dallis, department head for the Information Commons Undergraduate Library Services says she doesn't notice much of a change at the Herman B Wells Library for Little 500 compared to other weekends. \n"Last year we were busy that whole weekend and we didn't have anything out of the ordinary happen," she says. "People don't tend to bring it anywhere near us."\nIf "it" exists. \n"I think what you'll find is a lot of students find enjoyment working with their colleagues and attaining their goals," she says. "They probably have time to include some of the fun stuff, but it is that time of year where it's make it or break it."\nDallis sent an e-mail trying to prove her point. During Little 500 weekend last year, undergraduate students checked out 1,036 items from the Herman B Wells Library, only slightly less than the three-day average for the entire month of April. \nShe even included log-in statistics from the Information Commons. In 2004, 80 less students logged into an IC computer during Little 500 weekend than the week before the race. In 2005 that number was 1,321. \n"I hope this helps make the point that more than drinking goes on during Little 500 weekend," she says.\nThe IC is a place where students can come and work together, she says, allowing them to be social and get their schoolwork done at the same time. She suggests it as a place students could spend time at during Little 500 weekend, but she didn't "want to say what they should or shouldn't do." \nNow that makes sense. But perhaps the weekend won its name because of the race itself. \nLittle 500 race coordinator Lucas Calhoun says whatever students do throughout the weekend it should include a trip to the track. \n"The reason there are so many social events that weekend is because of the bike race," he says. "It is a campus tradition. The weather is good, school's almost out, there's no other sport going on. It's a great way to cap off the school year."\nPlus, "the race is fun to watch," he says.\nThe race will have speed and crashes; so, it's everything that comes with drinking except for the hangover and the possible arrests.\nMaybe those college kids from earlier have some crazy plans this year. And, seriously, it had better involve at least three blow-up dolls and some peanut butter.\n"I don't have any tests this year, but I have a bunch of friends that are coming down," Timberlake says. "We're just going to hang out. The weather's so nice we're probably just like sit out on a porch and chill and drink."\nBut what about the race?\n"It's one of those things I feel like I have to go to, and I don't know anybody," Timberlake says. "I know girls in the women's race, but I don't know anybody in the men's."\nShe says she went to the race her freshman year and "it was just a bunch of bikes riding in circles."\nTritch says he plans to go to the race and cheer for team Marshall. Unfortunately, team Marshall is not riding in the race. \nSenior Meredith Suma is planning a maritime adventure.\n"On Friday we're gonna get a bunch of people on pontoon boats and put some kegs on it," she says.\nNow there's some semi-craziness. \nWith four tests, Oreck says she plans on going out this weekend.\nDiMatteo, who lives in a sorority, says there are lots of events at her house, including bowling and themed parties. \nFrom the bars to the Greek houses to the library to the race, there are plenty of events going on this weekend for people of all ages, even a high school senior. \n"Sounds good," Knapp says.
(04/19/06 4:30am)
The very first Little 500 race champions were almost predictable. Independent teams without greek affiliation dominated the early years of the event, winning four of the first five races held. \nIn 1951, it was the South Hall Buccaneers from Collins.\nIn 1952 and 1953, it was the North Hall Friars, also from Collins. South Cottage Grove won in 1955. \nBut then, suddenly, independent teams were nowhere to be found. \nInstead teams like Sigma Nu, Phi Gamma Delta, Alpha Tau Omega and Phi Kappa Psi could call the Little 500 their race.\n"It became a greek-dominated event," said Race Coordinator Lucas Calhoun.\nFor 28 years, the only people celebrating Little 500 championships lived in fraternities, and independents, who once defined the Little 500, were just a part of IU folklore.\nThen came 1984. Cutters, an independent team in its first Little 500 race, shocked the field and stole the race from the fraternities. \nAnd then again in 1986. And again in 1988.\nFrom that point on, Calhoun said the success of the independents encouraged other independent teams to compete. And win.\nSince Cutters' three championships in the 1980s, independents have won 10 of the last 17 men's races. \nThe women's race is no different. Independents captured the first six women's races, starting with Willkie Sprint in 1988. \nIn the women's race's 17-year history, independents have won more races than greek teams -- 10 to seven. \nBut those kinds of numbers don't stop independent riders from feeling like the underdog. \n"I love being the underdog," said Teter rider Sarah Reicke, whose team won the race in 2005. "It does mean a lot now there are these independent teams and dorm teams and that we can succeed without the base of rookies sorority teams usually have. It's really hard to get that base of riders. To be able to compete with somebody who has history, it really is \nsomething."\nNot only do sororities have a base of riders, men's and women's greek teams have a fan base, too -- which can be a blessing or a curse.\n"When you have a group of your peers cheering for you, you don't want to mess up," Calhoun said. "And it's hard for students to block that out. Some teams do have that advantage that they don't have to sweat that.\n"It also can motivate the teams that have the crowds there," he said.\nGreek houses also have to deal with the pressures of history, Calhoun said. \n"Some of the independent teams have going for them that there's not this built up pressure," he said. "I would say that the majority of teams, they're just doing their thing. There's not this huge 'we must win every year.'"\nThough they don't have to battle the pressures of a fan base or history, independent teams struggle to find equipment. Whereas greek houses can store training equipment from year to year, independent teams come and go -- and with them goes their equipment. \n"There's not this residual build up," Calhoun said of training equipment. \nHe said business sponsors allow independents to compete with the financial advantage greek houses have. \n"When you find a sponsor that backs you, it does help because it allows you to get equipment and hopefully build a foundation," Calhoun said.\nWithout a strong contingent, a Little 500 history and a lot of financial resources, independent teams can be dubbed that U-word, Calhoun said.\n"It allows them to be the underdog," he said.\nErik Styacich of Phi Kappa Psi disagrees. \n"The past five winners of the race have been independents," Styacich said. "I don't consider them underdogs anymore."\nDodds House rider Chris Chartier said he doesn't know if the independents can claim underdog status anymore. \nAfter two championships in the past 10 years, Chartier said he thinks Dodds House is more like a fraternity than people think, especially given its ties to Wright Quad.\n"Even though it seems greek-dominated from the outside, the riders on Greek teams are just like us," he said. "They have a house behind them, but so do we. Cutters has just as many fans. I think cyclists are more similar than people may think, whether they're in a greek house or not."\nWithin the greek system exists a rivalry between the different houses.\nAlpha Phi rider Katie Thompson said race day is still "an issue of pride." \n"What's unique about riding for our sorority is we're all proud to ride for our chapter," Thompson said. "We live with 100 girls, and each day we have 100 girls ask us, 'how was practice?'" \nEven if a greek team can't win the race, Styacich said there is still competition among the fraternities. \n"It's about greek pride still," he said. "You ride for your house. Our house has had a tradition since 1951. It's part of something that's bigger than you."\nAnd, like the rivalry that exists between the greek houses, a rivalry has developed between the greeks and the independents.\n"There's obviously the competition," Styacich said. "The greek guys want to do better than the independent guys, want to prove they're better."\nReicke too acknowledged the competition. \n"I like having a general competition of sorority versus independent," she said. "There's nothing against them; I am so glad we can all compete fairly against each other."\nBut she doesn't think the rivalry is that big. \n"For me, it shouldn't really be this huge," she said. "I love being friends with the sorority girls. To me, it's just a whole bunch of teams racing together"
(04/19/06 4:20am)
Jamie Chen crouched near the fence at Bill Armstrong Stadium, her feet firmly planted in the cinder that covers the bicycle track as she surveyed the women riding around it. Her hair was covered with a black bandana as she looked around the track, breathing heavily as she soaked everything in.\n"I'm tired," she said.\nShe should be.\nNot only does Chen pedal as hard as every other woman on the Little 500 track, sometimes she thinks she is carrying an entire culture on her back.\nChen is captain of the Alpha Zeta Nu cycling team, the first all-Asian women's team to ever compete in the race. She and her AZN teammates said they are proud to represent their culture.\n"Since we know Little 5 is the huge event at IU, we just want to be the first one," she said, standing next to teammate Diana Zhao. "It's tough, but we have to be the first one."\nChen and Zhao said they are fighting an uphill battle trying to compete with the mostly white women's field.\nChen said Americans are more known for their athleticism, whereas Asians are known for their study habits.\n"Look around you," Zhao said. "Everyone here is pretty much white. The events around campus are pretty much white. I don't know many Asian girls who are active."\nFor a group of women who had little cycling experience before this year, the team unified with the motto "We've got guts."\n"At first, we were frustrated," she said. "But we just keep saying 'We've got guts.' We just try to show our Asian spirits."\nBut on qualifications day, their first day to gauge the rest of the competition, Zhao said she thought it might take more than guts to carry AZN. She said the team had to "step out of our box."\n"It was intimidating to come out on the field and see how fast they were," Zhao said of the other teams. "I hadn't realized this was such a big time commitment."\nThey posted a 3-minute, 20.410 seconds qualification time, good enough for the 30th spot in the field.\nRace Coordinator Lucas Calhoun said he is excited to have an all-Asian team for the first time in race history.\n"We're really trying to, as an organization, not only put on the events we do, but really be involved on campus," he said.\nCalhoun said he was disappointed when the men's all-Asian team, ACC, was cut from competition. ACC qualified 34th, one spot out of race eligibility.\n"When riders have a cause like that, they stay really motivated," Calhoun said. "You're really riding for a purpose. If you're riding for a group that has never raced before, that's really an accomplishment."\nBut not all Asians are supportive, Chen and Zhao said.\n"A lot of my friends who are Asian are like, 'You aren't gonna make it,'" Chen said.\n"Some of my friends are like, 'Well, maybe you should just give up,'" Zhao said.\nNot all other riders have been supportive, either. Chen said she has seen some of the best and some of the worst in other riders in how they react to AZN. She said Teter rider Sarah Reicke and the all-Latina team Mezcla have been very helpful in AZN's quest to compete in Little 500.\nWith their help, Chen said AZN is focused to finish the race, but Zhao said she thinks the team can do better than just finishing.\n"Just don't try to be the last one," she said.
(04/19/06 4:11am)
Prior to this year, senior Jaimie Hewitt had only been an observer of the Little 500 race. This fall, she decided to get out of the stands and onto the track.\nNow Hewitt, a Wing It rider, will be part of the first full women's field in the 18-year history of the women's Little 500 race.\n"I personally am really excited that it's a full women's field," Hewitt said. "That was motivation to get out there and fill out the race. It's awesome."\nThis fall, Hewitt met with Race Coordinator Lucas Calhoun to inform him of her intention to be part of the race. In the past, Calhoun would have contacted existing teams independent from a sorority and find a spot for women like Hewitt. This year, Calhoun tried a different \napproach.\n"They could have been just as successful on another team, but I really wanted to see them start a team," Calhoun said.\nTeams like Wing It and the all-rookie squad Vitalita were formed to push the size of the field to 33 teams, the same size as the men's field. In 2005 and 2004, the women's field sported 32 teams. The year before, only 29 teams raced.\nCalhoun credits both the interest of IU students and the work of the IU Student Foundation for fostering interest in the women's race.\n"It's great on our end," he said. "It really shows that my students, myself -- we're getting out there and doing the outreach to get teams."\nBut the 33-team women's field is not fully indicative of the interest women had to compete in the race. One team, Gamma Phi Beta, was cut after qualifications because only 33 teams are allowed to compete.\nGamma Phi rider Robin Glancy said she was disappointed her team did not qualify for the race, but she was happy for the interest in the race.\n"It's really good to see so many people out there," she said. "It was really hard because we trained for so long."\nHewitt said it was hard to see Gamma Phi cut after qualifications.\n"It was just more pressure," she said. "You put in a lot of work, and it comes down to how you perform on quals day. You value it more seeing how hard it is -- them not making it."\nAlpha Phi rider Kate Laudermilk said she feels lucky to be in the race given the fact Gamma Phi was cut.\n"Everyone's lucky to be in the race at this point," she said.\nBut Laudermilk said she loved the competition during qualifications.\n"To actually think about qualling into the race, it's great," she said. "It's good to have that many people riding."\nEven with the increased field, the women's race is not completely equal in size as the men's race. The women race 100 laps and the men race 200 laps.\nCalhoun said he has been approached about increasing the length of the women's race, but said it's "not on the horizon now."\nStill, Laudermilk said she would love to see the women as competitive as the men, especially in qualifying.\n"Every year, that would be great," she said. "Even more next year, like the men's. How many were there? Forty-some odd teams? Great"
(04/06/06 5:05am)
For sophomore Kate Laudermilk and the rest of her Alpha Phi teammates, today's Team Pursuit will give them a chance to prove their second-place finish at qualifications was not an aberration. \nMen's and women's Little 500 teams will take the track today for Team Pursuit, the final series event before the races. Team Pursuit is a 12-lap race pinning two teams at opposite sides of the track.\nThe event begins at 3 p.m. today in Bill Armstrong Stadium. The finals are scheduled to begin at 9:24 p.m. for the women and at 9:36 p.m. for the men. \nAfter holding the pole position for most of the qualifications day before being nudged by Kappa Delta by less than two-tenths of a second, Laudermilk said today's event will help ease the nervousness that might accompany some riders during the women's Little 500 race April 21. \n"Series events just give you more confidence," she said. "If you do well in series events, you gain more and more confidence. It just makes you feel less jittery about race day, really."\nWith a strong showing, Alpha Phi could win the series and claim the coveted white jersey on race day. Two riders, senior Katie Thompson and junior Trevy Ramos, finished in the top five for individual time trials and Thompson placed fourth Saturday at Miss-n-Out.\nThey will have to dethrone Kappa Kappa Gamma, who won the series events last year. Already, Kappa rider Jess Sapp has swept the Individual Time Trials and Miss-n-Out. \nAlpha Phi races at 5:48 p.m. and Kappa Kappa Gamma races at 4:12 p.m., the same time as defending race champion Teter. Pole sitters Kappa Delta race at 6:36 p.m. against perennial powerhouse Kappa Alpha Theta.\nFor her two first place \nfinishes, Sapp earned her team one point in each event. The second-place winner received two points, and the rest of the competitors received the number of points corresponding to their place. \nThe team with the fewest number of points after Team Pursuit wins the series event and will wear the white jersey during the race. \nSenior Alpha Tau Omega rider and men's ITT champion Hans Arnesen said Team Pursuit is the last chance to scout out other teams.\n"These series events are great preparation for the race," Arnesen said. "It's good to see who's riding fast and who's riding strategically well."\nOne team riding strategically\n well in the series events is Cutters. Since winning the pole at qualifications, Cutters had three riders, juniors Sasha Land and David Cauglin and sophomore Alex Bishop finish in the top 10 at ITTs. Bishop also won Miss-n-Out, and Caughlin made it to the semifinals.\nCutters will race at 6 p.m., and ATO will race at 6:24 p.m.\nArnesen, who like Cutters has had an exceptional series event showing, hopes ATO can earn the white jersey after narrowly losing it to FIJI last year.\n"If we were able to get the white jersey, it'd be a fun thing to wear," he said. "But it's a lot of work, and we'll do our best at team pursuit"
(03/31/06 5:16am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Recent trends suggest new basketball coach Kelvin Sampson and IU could be more likely to receive NCAA sanctions than his former school, the University of Oklahoma, NCAA President Myles Brand said Thursday.\nAt his annual Final Four press conference, the former IU president said when a violation of the organization's bylaws occurs, the recent NCAA Committee on Infractions has been more inclined to penalize the coach instead of the university if the coach is no longer employed at that university.\n"The coaches are being held to a higher level of accountability in terms of where the sanctions are made than in the past," Brand said. "That's a trend I've noticed."\nAt a press conference at Assembly Hall Wednesday, Sampson said his staff made too many phone calls to recruits while at Oklahoma.\nAccording to NCAA bylaws, institutions cannot call a high school recruit more than once a month between June 15 of the prospect's sophomore year through July 31 of his junior year. Beginning Aug. 1 of the player's senior year, the institution can make two calls per month. For junior college prospects, the institution is permitted one phone call per week.\nAny violation of those rules does not affect the eligibility of the prospect. Rather, sanctions could be imposed on the school or the coach.\nThe sanctions handed out by the Committee on Infractions vary, Brand said.\n"Sometimes it's appropriate, sometimes it's not," he said. "It really depends on what the issues are."\nThough Brand declined comment on Sampson's hiring or his infractions case, he said he could speak "generally" about the situation at one of his "favorite universities," IU.\n"That institution and that board and president had to think through whether ... the infractions, which are pending or already in effect, indicate a serious history or pattern of behavior or whether it's a one-time issue," said Brand, who was IU's president when longtime coach Bob Knight was fired in 2000. "There are risks involved when you do that, and not all risks are bad."\nCBS college basketball analyst and former Big Ten basketball player Clark Kellogg echoed Brand's response.\n"Until you get through that process you don't know \nexactly how it's going to come about and what the end result is going to be," Kellogg said. "Everything is somewhat of a risk. Sometimes there's more risk than other times. I'm sure (IU Director of Athletics) Rick Greenspan has taken a look and talked about it."\nThere should be concern "any time you have that hanging over your head," he said.\nDuring the press conference Wednesday, both Greenspan and IU President Adam Herbert said they personally investigated Sampson's potential violations at Oklahoma.\nThough Kellogg said he does not follow the college coaching hot stove, he said he was pleased by Greenspan's decision to hire Sampson.\n"I think he's a terrific coach and a really good guy based on my dealings with him," he said. "If you're talking about getting an experienced coach that has a proven track record -- that values the things that should be valued -- I think they got a good guy."\nKellogg said he thought the hiring of Sampson, a Lumbee Native American, could help ease some racial overtones he believed existed when former coach Mike Davis was at IU.\n"I think a big part of what was uncomfortable for Mike was that he was the guy following Bob Knight, and that's always difficult no matter what color you are," he said. "That being said, I think if Kelvin Sampson is able to handle it the way I think he can, then most folks will be fine with him"
(03/30/06 5:13am)
An Elkhart County high school senior, who had participated in the 21st Century Scholars Program since she was in seventh grade, won't receive a scholarship from the state of Indiana, not because she lacked the necessary grades but because her parents lacked U.S. citizenship. In turn, the senior has summoned the help of the Indiana branch of the American Civil Liberties Union and is now suing.\nThe girl, called "E.C." in the ACLU's brief, was born in the United States and is a citizen, as outlined by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The ACLU contends E.C. is as deserving of the scholarship as other citizens whose parents have U.S. citizenship. \n"What we're dealing with here is discrimination of an American citizen," said Ken Falk, director of legal services for the Indiana branch of the ACLU. The state lacks any legal grounds to deny a scholarship, he said. \nThe lawsuit states that E.C. should receive the scholarship based on the Equal Protection Clause outlined in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. \n"This is not in the law; the law itself is solid," Falk said. "This is a policy of the state student commission."\nACLU filed the lawsuit March 2 in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana. \nThe brief named Dennis Obergfell, acting executive director for the State Student Assistance Commission of Indiana, as defendant in the suit. The commission oversees the 21st Century Scholars Program.\nObergfell declined comment on the litigation "till it's \nresolved." \nFalk said he was surprised that the 21st Century Scholars Program would turn down a student like E.C.\n"The ironic thing about this is that this is the type of student who the 21st Century scholarship is for," Falk said. "She is someone who's really making it as an American citizen."\nThe brief notes E.C. was not asked her parents' citizenship status when she applied for the program in the seventh grade. It also notes it will "be extremely difficult for her to attend post-secondary school" without funds from the program. Falk said he is going to ask for a preliminary injunction for E.C. so she can begin college with a scholarship. \nIn addition to helping E.C., Falk is trying to get class-action status for the lawsuit, though he has been currently unsuccessful in drawing more plaintiffs. \nAccording to the brief, which is also posted on the Web site www.iclu.org, the ACLU is seeking "all past, present and future Indiana high school students, either citizens or lawful aliens, who were, are, or will be eligible for a Twenty-first Century Scholar award but (cannot) for the fact that their parents were not, are not, or will not be American citizens or lawful aliens."\nThe brief estimated more that 75,000 to 100,000 noncitizens without "lawful status" live in Indiana. \nLillian Casillas, director of IU's Latino Cultural Center, La Casa, said she does not understand why the 21st Century Program does not allow students like E.C. to receive scholarships. \n"They're really violating what I think is a citizen's right," Casillas said. "If you're a citizen, you're a citizen. It seems to me they are trying to create a hierarchy among citizens."\nCasillas said she believes they are punishing a U.S. Citizen. \n"It's mind-boggling," she said. \nNo hearing date has been set for the case, and Falk was unsure if the two sides could reach a settlement out of court. \nThe 21st Century Scholars Program states students must attend an eligible Indiana college to receive the scholarship. More than 90 Indiana schools, including IU, are eligible. \nAccording to its Web site, more than 19,000 students received scholarships from the 21st Century Scholars Program between 1990 and 2001.
(03/24/06 7:19am)
For years, Steve Sanders worked for then-IU-Bloomington Chancellor Ken Gros Louis. Come June, Sanders hopes Gros Louis will work for him. \nSanders recently submitted his name as a candidate for trustee elections as voted for by IU alumni. Sanders will oppose incumbent trustee Cora Smith Breckenridge, who has served on the board for three consecutive terms. \nOf the nine-member board, the governor appoints six trustees and IU alumni elect three to three-year terms.\nAn alumnus of IU and former faculty member, Sanders said he believes his personal ties to the University make him the ideal trustee candidate. \n"I've been going to board of trustee meetings since 1981," said Sanders, who covered the trustees as a student beat writer for the Indiana Daily Student. He said his connection to current professors and administrators would allow the faculty to be more candid with him in conversation.\nAfter graduating in 1984 with a degree in political science and journalism, Sanders took a job with the University in 1986, where he worked as an administrative staff member, adviser and teacher until 2002. Sanders recently received a law degree from the University of Michigan and will begin work at the Chicago offices of international law firm Mayer, Brown, Rowe and Maw. \nSanders said the most important issue for the trustees in the near future is the selection of a new University president. \n"Many people recognize that President Herbert is a very warm man and a very gracious man," he said. "I think many people recognize President Herbert is not as strong and an effective leader they had hoped he was."\nOne of his opponents, Breckenridge, disagrees with Sanders' assessment of the most important issue facing trustees, saying "affordability and accessibility" are most important. \n"The state government is not giving us the funding they have been in the past," Breckenridge said. "We have to realize goals for our institution. We need to be able to keep our tuition rates reasonable so that we don't make our school inaccessible, especially by those persons who have the kinds of ability that they need but not the type of financial acumen."\nA first-generation college graduate himself, Sanders agreed it is important the University be affordable. \n"I am the only person in my immediate family to attend college," Sanders said. "I always want Indiana University to be the kind of place that will open the world the way it did for me."\nLike Sanders, Breckenridge boasts a resume with years of service to IU. A 1959 graduate and 1963 master's recipient, she has been a trustee since 1997, when she was the first black trustee to sit on the board. \nBreckenridge said her experience allows her to work on committees and have positions of leadership newly appointed trustees are not offered.\n"I consider it a great privilege to serve back to my alma mater," Breckenridge said. "I felt that my service has been needed and my perspective is one that was not available to the trustees before."\nSanders recognized the past few months have been difficult for IU with the pressures on Herbert, the University's first black president, to leave at the end of his contract and Mike Davis, the University's first black men's basketball coach, to resign. He stressed his candidacy against Breckenridge is merely a coincidence.\n"This was the right time for me to do it," he said. "I am running because of what I believe I can offer to Indiana University"
(03/21/06 4:41am)
A native of Detroit, home to rock legends KISS and more recent rock star Kid Rock, Matthew Douglas Smith wanted to play guitar his whole life. Detroit had established itself as a city infatuated with rock 'n roll, and it was the perfect laboratory for up-and-coming rock stars. \nBut Smith wasn't really interested in any of it. \nEver since he began to play guitar seriously as a freshman in high school, Smith has known his talents were better suited for the Metropolitan Opera than they were for the Mets' Tigers' stadium, which hosts occasional rock concerts.\n"Our mom played classical music for us when we were babies," Smith said, explaining his preference for classical music. "I just never listened to popular music."\nNow a 19-year-old freshman at IU, Smith studies classical guitar at the Jacobs School of Music, shunning the lights and celebrity that come with rock and popular music. \nIn many ways, Smith is rebelling from the rebellion, choosing to remain "unplugged" in an era where amped electric guitars dominate.\nSometimes though, Smith said he envies those famous guitarists. \n"Sometimes I do get jealous, just how better known guitarists can play anything," he said. \nBut like all music majors, he sticks to his instrument and style of music because he "loves it."\n"During my first lesson, I learned the guitar is shaped like a woman," he said. "You go in there caressing it; you play it with passion.\n"What do you do with a timpani?" he asked a fellow music student. "You bang it."\nPlaying classical guitar, Smith gently plucks the strings with his fingers instead of heavily strumming the guitar with a pick, like popular musicians do. \nAlso, unlike popular musicians, Smith only plays his guitar sitting down, cradling the instrument in his hands as it rests on his knee. As he sits, his foot rests on a small foot stand so the guitar sits at an appropriate height.\nSince an acoustic guitar doesn't have to be plugged into an amplifier, Smith can play anywhere he pleases.\nAnd he does. \nFor five hours a day, Smith nestles himself in hallways, stairwells and anywhere else he can manage practicing guitar.\n"It takes a lot of work," he said. \nThe drive to play forces Smith to never lose sight of his goals: to earn a master's and a doctorate in classical guitar performance and, one day, play guitar professionally. \nSmith's twin brother and roommate Greg marvels at his discipline. \n"Me, I get tired practicing," said Greg, who auditioned on piano for the Jacobs School of Music in late February. "But he can just sit there. That's just dedication."\nThough Smith has wanted to play guitar his whole life, prior to high school he had different career goals: to study biology and become a doctor.\nThat all changed after two years at University Liggett School in Grosse Point Woods, Mich., where his love of classical guitar was "rekindled." His freshman year Spanish teacher held a Ph.D. in classical guitar from the Conservatory of Madrid, and she inspired Smith to start studying classical guitar more seriously. \nAfter only one lesson with her, Smith was again hooked on the "expressive instrument."\nTwo years later Smith switched his career vision from medicine to Mozart, but he doesn't see much of a difference between the two fields.\n"Both medically and musically, you still find ways to heal people," he said. \nBut he had a lot of work to do to catch up with other guitarists who had been playing since elementary and middle school. Smith said the fact that he did not begin playing at a younger age is "something I regret."\n"I know I would have been so much better at it now," he said. \nIn many ways, he uses that regret to help motivate his brother for auditions. \n"He'll always ask me, 'Have you practiced?' or 'Shouldn't you be practicing now?'" Greg said, admitting that it kind of annoys him. \nBut for two brothers who are only separated by a minute of birth, six feet between their bunk beds and a disagreement on which is the better classical instrument, guitar or piano, Greg can understand where Matthew is coming from in encouraging him to practice for his music school audition. \n"It's probably because he wants me to get in so I can experience all the things he has," Greg said.
(03/09/06 5:00am)
Whether students stay in town, in state, in the country or travel abroad, come March 17, they'll be sure to find green beer wherever they go.\nSince St. Patrick's Day falls during spring break, students will have the ability to go anywhere throughout the Midwest or the world to celebrate the Irish holiday. But no matter what a student's travel plans or economic situation, St. Patrick's Day celebrations will be easy to come by. \nIt's convenient for students that one of the America's most popular St. Patrick's Day destinations sits only a four-hour drive away. Chicago may be the "Second City," but it parties harder than any in the middle of March. \nIn fact, Chicago's St. Patrick's Day celebration is so big, they don't have just one parade; rather they have two parades to commemorate the holiday.\n"Probably the biggest thing [this year] is it's bigger," says James Sullivan, general chairman of the St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee in Chicago. \nThe fact that it is free should be attractive to college students, he says.\n"That kind of sets off the whole week of crazy Irish celebration," he says.\nThe first parade kicks off from the intersection of Balbo and Columbus Drive in Chicago at noon, March 11. The route continues north on Columbus Drive, where there will be a viewing stand set-up in front of Buckingham Fountain.\nBefore the parade begins, the St. Patrick's Parade Committee will dye the Chicago River green, as they do every year. Planners say the best place to view the changing colors of the river is from the upper-level bridges on Michigan Avenue or Columbus Drive \nThe parade will also feature the 2006 St. Patrick's Day Queen, whose name, ironically, is Kelly Green, the same name given to the bright color of a four-leaf clover or a leprechaun's "get-up." \nIf the first parade isn't enough, the Irish are in luck, round two of parade madness starts Sunday for the South Side Irish Parade.\nThe South Side Irish's festivities begin at 8:30 a.m. with traditional Irish music and dance followed by a 9 a.m. Mass at the St. Cajetan Parish. \nAfter Mass, the parade begins from 103rd Street and Western Avenue at noon and will run throughout the South Side of Chicago.\nSo with everything going on in the Windy City, why would someone stay in the Hoosier State for St. Patrick's Day?\n"That's a hard one," says Kimberly Harms, associate director of media relations for the Indianapolis Conventions and Visitors Association.\n"That's a tough one, really," concurres Tosha Dougherty, communications coordinator for the Bloomington/Monroe County Convention and Visitors Bureau. \nBut Harms says "mileage, convenience, affordability and more of a quaint setting" would be good reason to lure people from Chicago to Indianapolis. \n"College budgets don't lend themselves to some of the costs you'll find in Chicago," Harms says in an e-mail.\nIn fact, there are plenty of events throughout St. Patrick's Day to keep people of all ages entertained in Indianapolis. The events begin at 6:50 a.m., March 17 when Indianapolis mayor Bart Peterson is expected to dye the canal green. \nAt 7 a.m., registration begins for the "Shamrock Run and Walk," sponsored by the Indy Sports Federation. Runners will compete on a five-mile course, and walkers will compete on a five-kilometer course. The run begins at 9 a.m. and the walk begins at 9:15 a.m.\nAt 11:30 a.m., Indy's St. Patrick's Day Parade begins at the intersection of North and Pennsylvania Avenue. The parade is also sponsored by the Indy Sports Federation.\nLive music begins at 5 p.m. with the "Shamrock and Roll," sponsored by an Irish restaurant Claddagh. It will feature a tent and serve food, beer and a small amount of Irish beverages. Though bands don't start playing till the evening, the tent doors open at 10 a.m.\nIf a trip to Indianapolis is still out of a spring break budget, there are plenty of things to do in Bloomington, Dougherty says. \n"There are a lot of things going on as far as the party scene," Dougherty says. "They always have great St. Patrick's Day celebrations."\nFrom the bars on Kirkwood to the Irish Lion, Dougherty stresses that Bloomington has a "small town feel" not evident in Chicago or Indianapolis. \nAnd it is convenient for college students. \n"It's obviously cheaper to stay in town than to travel," she says. "If economics are a concern, that might be one reason to stay in town."\nFor some, however, economics are not a major concern, as many will be traveling to some of the warmer climates the United States has to offer.\nIn Daytona Beach, Fla., a popular spring break destination, the green beer "will be cheap," says Frank DeMarchi, director of Black Crow Media events division.\nWKRO "The Kro," a Daytona Beach country station owned by Black Crow Media, is sponsoring Daytona Beach's own "Shamrock and Roll," a pub crawl throughout downtown Daytona Beach.\nThe "Shamrock and Roll," which starts at 6 p.m. and ends at 3 a.m., will feature live bands, bagpipers, traditional Irish dance groups, and Irish food. DeMarchi says the atmosphere is just as great as the party itself. \n"It's a very beautiful historic downtown," he says. "It attracts a real diversity of people," including college students from all over the United States and Canada. \nThough St. Patrick's Day is not as popular in the south as it is in the north, DeMarchi says Daytona Beach attracts people from all over Florida to celebrate. \nWhile U.S. cities work hard to replicate an Irish St. Patrick's Day celebration, there is no place like Dublin, Ireland for celebrating the biggest Irish holiday of the year. \nWhile Chicago needs two days to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, Dublin needs five to celebrate what planners call "Ireland's National Festival."\nThe St. Patrick's festival in Dublin features theater, concerts, carnivals and comedy and will host over 4,000 performers and 1.5 million spectators. St. Patrick's "Festival" planners are so confident about their program their Web site www.stpatricksday.ie claims "St. Patrick would be very proud."\nWhether you're traveling overseas, down south for the ocean and sand, migrating around the midwest or hanging out in B-town, St. Patrick's Day celebrations are not that far or few between.