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(07/02/09 12:09am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Public or private? Soon Facebook users will have the option of sharing certain parts of their profiles with non-members.On June 24, Facebook announced its highly anticipated, hotly debated and, to some, inevitable shift from private to public profile content.The shift means users will have the option of making status messages, photos and videos visible to all Internet users – Facebook members and non-members – adding to the availability of personal information that keeps social media sites such as Twitter and MySpace up and running.This new development will affect the Publisher privacy feature on Facebook. The beta version is currently available only to members who had set their profile privacy setting to “Everyone.” According to The Facebook Blog, the site hopes to expand the new privacy option to all members eventually.As the new privacy feature becomes available, Facebook users will choose between three options. The first is members can make their entire profile open to everyone, including non-members.The second is choosing to make only certain information available to the public, like a particular photo, wall post or status update. The third option is for those uninterested in making information viewable to everyone. Users will still have the option to make their entire profile private and viewable only by their Facebook friends.Facebook’s executive decision has IU students and faculty divided about issues of privacy and protection of user information. IU telecommunications professor Mark Deuze said the new change will force users to reconsider what information they choose to share.“Everyone knows that just about anything you put online is public in some fashion,” he said. “Knowing this, people will redact their (digital) personas. It’s like going on a date – you’ll want to put on your best face at all times.”IU law professor Fred Cate argued another side.Cate said he believed the majority of youth online are increasingly comfortable with what they share and didn’t expect much of a backlash.IU journalism professor Anthony Fargo shared an opinion in agreement with Cate’s.Fargo said from a legal standpoint, Facebook is going to do exactly what it wants to do, as long as people receive advance notification of drastic changes.“People make the mistake of having a reasonable expectation of privacy,” he said. “They fail to realize just by accepting a friend request, you’re already knocking down a wall.”Cate proposed that the general misunderstanding of expecting privacy in contrast with the reality that everything is public should be apologized for.“It’s too bad,” he said. “I feel like social media should specify, you know. If you’re not President Obama with 25 encryption passwords on a Blackberry, then you’re not safe.”Cate said it is important to recognize whenever college students post their drunken spring break pictures, Facebook owns them immediately.Perhaps the more extreme case is when a user is involved in a crime, the government doesn’t have to go to court. It can go directly to Facebook and demand information.“With the innovation of Twitter, you have people who are less concerned with privacy and have their privacy rights sort of fluffed away,” Cate said. “Someone can be standing in hot water and it be gradually turned up to boiling until they realize what is happening to them.”For students such as junior Adam Dicken, Facebook’s new changes affect him less, though he admits that Facebook’s changes for the sake of profit and risking people’s false sense of trust in privacy is “annoying.”Luckily for him, he said he “isn’t a big Facebook user anyway” and he “rarely posts anything.”Graduate student Emily Pratt said she feels uncomfortable about the developments.“I like to make my posts and pictures private,” she said. “I don’t think that it is fair that employers or anyone random should have access to what I think is private.”Senior Adam Davis said he felt a sense of self-control would come over Facebook users and they’d be forced to differentiate between what is “appropriate” and “inappropriate.”Deuze weighed the pros and cons of forced self-control.He said he found it scary that people have to resort to half-truths because of fear their privacy isn’t being protected.“You don’t get a sense of who people really are,” he said. “Of course, when you open your house to everyone, there may be a burglary now and then. But what about people who want to be radical and political? They can’t because it seems inappropriate.”
(06/10/09 9:53pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>At its Kirkwood Avenue location, Uncle D’s New York Pizza has brought its authentic brand of New York-style pizza by the slice to Bloomington and IU students for a little more than two years.Now, the small franchise, which also has restaurants at the University of Michigan campus and 3 other Michigan locations, is reaping the benefits for its hard work. Bloomington location co-owner and manager Andre D’Angelo said Uncle D’s New York Pizza is revered as “The Best Take Out Pizza” by Bloom magazine food critics and, as a byproduct of its success in town, is now being inducted into the “Would I Buy It Again? Hall of Fame.”The award came as a letter from the producers of a blog of the same name, which claims to “answer one simple question for Indy food consumers.” D’Angelo said Uncle D’s began in 1997 in New York when he and his cousin, Uncle D’s CEO and company namesake, Dominico Tellemaco, collaborated on a way to provide an answer to the popularity of growing New York pizza shops. “New York doesn’t need another pizza shop, so we decided to take that flavor elsewhere,” he said. At the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor, D’Angelo and Tellemaco cemented their commitment to high-quality pizza by the slice by utilizing family recipes from Italy. D’Angelo said Uncle D’s even has its own way to stretch the dough. Tellemaco’s mother put the menu together, which has original specialty pizzas such as Philly cheesesteak and baked ziti. “We knew what he had was good enough to share,” he said. “There were all these New Yorkers in town, but there was nothing really representing New York-style pizza until we came along.”The decision to bring the business to Bloomington came from a suggestion of longtime friend and business partner Brian Evans, an IU alumnus and former NBA player for the Orlando Magic.D’Angelo said he realized this move would make sense because of IU’s connection as one of the Big Ten schools and the large customer base that connection attracts.IU employee and Uncle D’s patron Melody Amato has been eating at Uncle D’s since it opened. She is from Florida, where she said there were “lots of Little Caesar’s chains.”“It’s refreshing to have pizza that is more authentic-tasting,” she said. “I could expect to find the same things on a New York street corner.”Recent graduate Jessica Pirucci has worked at Uncle D’s since January. She is from Michigan and said she never tried New York-style pizza until she began working there. Pirucci said she most enjoys the variety of options. Her favorite pizza is also Uncle D’s most popular, the mild buffalo chicken pizza. “It has bleu cheese on it,” she said. “I hate bleu cheese, but I love the pizza.”Graduate student Kevin Foster came to the store Tuesday and purchased a slice of spinach pizza. He ordered it to go and said he would eat and walk. For students on the go like himself, Foster said Uncle D’s is quite convenient. “And it’s a nice portion of food for only three bucks,” he said. “For Bloomington, that’s pretty good.”
(06/08/09 12:03am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>With a constant “what’s next?” attitude and a genuine zest for life, Aimee Stanton is not afraid to try new things. Although the 25-year-old admits that her generalized anxiety disorder and depression have been deeply rooted in her fear of her identity and ambitions, the fear has not held her back.Though nervous about her admission status, Stanton aspires to attend IU in the fall to study journalism as a freshman. She wants to be in front of the camera, eventually as a late-night talk show host like her favorite, Conan O’Brien. But for now, she has “The Aimee Stanton Show,” which covers everything from robots to politics, on Bloomington’s public access TV station, to keep her occupied.Stanton, a Bloomington native, said her first love was television. She grew up watching “Ren and Stimpy” and “Blossom.” These shows served as her escape during what she called her parents’ “toxic marriage.”Stanton was 13 years old when she watched her first late-night talk show. “I was watching a skit on Conan on New Year’s Eve with a friend,” she said. “He was trying to make it to the central time zone to see the big ball drop in Times Square. It was so wacky, and then I realized, ‘Hey! That’s how I am!’”She became a fan of the show thereafter, identifying with the “Walker Texas Ranger lover” character, thus carving out a space in her brain to remember her first love.“There’s a place for that kind of wackiness,” she said. “People really seem to love his show, and I thought, ‘Why can’t I?’”Stanton took several detours before finding her niche, however. Upon graduating from Bloomington High School South, she wanted to become a chef because she was a “foodie,” interested in learning everything about strange and “normal” foods.“I wanted to make Emeril Lagasse look like a short-order cook,” she said. “I was good at what I did.”Stanton said she was fine with starting small and building an expansive culinary career, but the realization of its high-stress environment didn’t mesh well with her anxiety and depression.“I felt like chefs had more stress than brain surgeons,” she said. “Or at least they have the erratic hours and pressures. Being yelled at for the mistakes you made was typical of the job.”She said what she feared even more than outright failure was exiting her bubble of comfort in Bloomington and “pushing the envelope to experience new heights.”This made wanting to be on television seem impossible.“Flying to the moon with Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny seemed more possible,” she said. “It was like I had to put my dreams of television on the back shelf in my brain to collect dust.”Food was all Stanton knew. She admits feeling incredibly lost, which led her to pursue many different interests. Working with developmentally handicapped children helped her realize she didn’t have “a personality that easily fits in a box.” For her, there was a definite clash of will and what was needed to maintain the job.She tried studying nursing for a few months, taking introductory courses at Ivy Tech Community College. She was enrolled in “Anatomy and Physiology 2,” studied all night for an exam and got a 4 percent on it. Next up was day care.“I didn’t exactly know how to interact professionally with children,” she said, laughing. “And I was afraid of their parents.”Upon driving back to her apartment after quitting the day care job, she had what she calls her “aha!” moment and started thinking about television, her first love. The next day, she went to the Bloomington public access station and worked for an hour and a half figuring out how to produce her own television show, “The Aimee Stanton Show,” which she said will act as a platform for another stage in her life to aspirations of late-night debauchery.They’ve yet to air, but she’s produced two shows thus far that she’s given to the station: one about gender and sexual discrimination and another about diet and exercise. Stanton’s pending plans are to propose the show to IU Student Television upon acceptance to IU and the journalism program.Though Stanton said she wants to cover issues of importance, she wants people to know she is fun. Ironically, this has come from learning not to take herself so seriously and to have the desire to press on in spite of her fears. “People are funny,” she said. “I’m just learning by doing. Obviously, that’s what my whole life has been about.”Stanton's show can be watched at www.myspace.com/theaimeestantonshow
(06/04/09 12:07am)
While in college, Pam Freeman remembered having a French teacher who “couldn’t stand Germans and was very vocal about it.”
(06/03/09 11:34pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU women’s basketball team members are still a bit jet-lagged from their 10-day excursion in Italy, where they managed to win four games while touring the country’s landmarks. Senior guard Jamie Braun, who averaged about 13 points per game during the trip, and junior guard Andrea McGuirt, said they enjoyed their experiences.“It’s really weird being here now because of what we experienced in Italy,” McGuirt said. “We all really bonded like you would on vacation with your family.”Braun said part of that bonding came from understanding when it was time to show up and represent women’s basketball.Coach Felisha Legette-Jack expressed full confidence in the women’s ability to perform.“They are fantastic, mature young women, and I and the other coaches recognized that,” she said in an phone interview. “They always rise to the occasion when it’s game time, so we really wanted them to experience Italy through their own eyes and leave a respectable impression on the country.”Legette-Jack said the inspiration to travel to Italy came from the how she and the coaches all felt changed by the players.“They deserve to do something this significant in their careers,” she said. “Some of the girls will never have the chance to do this again.”The opportunity came about because of IU President Michael McRobbie and an NCAA ruling that allows traveling college teams one international trip every four years. The team spent time in Rome, Treviso, Florence, Venice and Milan, along with several other stops. McGuirt and Braun said they competed with girls of all ages who “definitely brought their A-game and represented their country.” They said it was a wonderful end to a hard-fought season and served as a proper goodbye to graduates Amber Jackson, Kim Roberson, Lydia Serfling and Whitney Thomas.McGuirt and Braun said they also experienced several interesting cultural differences from America, dining being one of them. The women didn’t have to leave tips but paid a service charge at the door, and there were smaller portions of food. Chicken and pasta was not a proper mix, apparently.“It was a bit hard for (Braun) to handle that none of the pasta we ate had chicken in it, because all she eats is chicken in butter with no pepper or anything,” she said.“Girl, I like seasoning, too,” Braun said defending herself.McGuirt brushed that off, citing Italian food as being better because of its lack of being “drenched in grease,” something that plagues American food.Both women might not have agreed on food, but they did see eye to eye on Italy’s beautiful landmarks.Braun bragged about holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa in the Tuscany region. McGuirt recalled being speechless at the Vatican, where the team saw the pope and the Sistine Chapel.Braun and McGuirt said they have their “fabulous” and knowledgeable tour guide, Fabio, to thank for all their unforgettable memories.“If he weren’t there to guide us through, we wouldn’t have half the amount of history we experienced,” McGuirt said. “The whole experience was breathtaking, and we will never forget it.”For more information about the women and their adventures in Italy, visit their blog “IU In Italy” on the team’s Web page.
(06/01/09 12:31am)
Rachael Jones, owner of Rachael’s Cafe on Third Street, has come a long
way from not having a four-way stop in rural Beanblossom, Ind.
Part of that transition has come from being more comfortable in her own
skin as a transgendered individual, as well as ridding herself of her
own prejudices.
(05/28/09 1:30am)
Graduate student Huey Newton experienced a rude awakening when he came
to Bloomington, and it wasn’t because of something in the water.
(05/28/09 1:23am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>For Lillian Casillas, director of La Casa Latino Cultural Center, Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the highest court in the land marks another historical high note in Obama’s tenure.“For me, it’s a double-sided perspective,” she said. “It’s like, I’m a Latina who says, ‘Yes! Another Latina.’ But then I feel that as a liberal, she also stands for rights I and other women care about.”Sotomayor, a federal district and appellate court judge for the past 17 years, has been nominated by President Obama to become the nation’s first Hispanic Supreme Court justice.Sotomayor grew up in a Bronx, N.Y., housing project after her parents moved from Puerto Rico, according to an Associated Press article. Her father died when she was 9 years old.Casillas said she would advise those looking for an “extremely liberal” perspective from a minority female to think again.“It’s great to finally have a Latina female as part of the face of government,” she said, “but that’s really not what it’s about.” Casillas said a judge’s ethnicity does not necessarily determine his or her political leanings.Joseph Hoffman, a professor at the Maurer School of Law, said he believes Sotomayor is not a particularly staunch conservative, but rests more in the middle.Law professor Christiana Ochoa said despite Sotomayor’s political views, it is important to recognize her “real intent in interpreting the law” during the confirmation process.Ochoa said this is important to understand because Sotomayor has a real perspective on what it means to have relationships with different life experiences.“She’s very straightforward about those differences, and it is a breath of fresh air,” she said. “Being straightforward is especially valuable for conversations.”These conversations that need to occur are typically under the surface, Ochoa said. “And of course, definitely with President Obama, you see a whole conversation opening up about race, class, where he’s been and where he is now, and how that is all relative to executing the law,” she said. “You will see the same thing with Sotomayor. The judicial branch will be highly influenced from her experience.”Hoffman said though it is important to acknowledge Sotomayor’s ethnic background as a factor for inspiration, he believes it is no reason to think she defines herself or her role as a justice by the fact that she is Hispanic.“One thing I can say about judges is they do not appreciate being categorized by views, race or religion,” he said. “The whole point is to have a role that transcends aspects of her identity.”Hoffman said Sotomayor’s nomination is a wonderful moment in history and generates a lot of Hispanic pride.“People are who they are,” he said. “And we aren’t much without the fullness of our own personal experiences. But well-respected judges like Sotomayor are trained and acculturated to rise above labels and categories and strongly represent the body of law.”
(05/27/09 11:11pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The hardwood floorboards of Boxcar Books were adorned May 22 with acoustic guitars, iambic pentameters and cups of sangria at the premiere event for fiore magazine and The Robin: “Lit and Wit.”A blank white tapestry facing the front door read “What Inspires Your Creativity?” and rested against the backdrop of Boxcar’s walls, painted pastel blue and trimmed with rose red.For Dawn Shanks, founder and editor of the bi-monthly fiore magazine, her creativity is inspired by literature and Oscar Wilde.“‘Fiore’ is Italian for flower,” she said. “But me and some friends came up with the idea to start a magazine that focused more on the community. How many community lit mags do you really see? Not many.”Shanks said the idea to start an event in support of fiore blossomed from her collaboration with IDS staff member Georgia Perry, founder and editor of The Robin, a satirical newspaper.“We thought it would be cool to combine the ideas of local artists and promote the work featured in both publications,” Shanks said. “And to host an event at Boxcar is really cool because it’s a lot more intimate than other public spaces.”Shanks smiled as more people walked through the door. It appeared as though she and Perry were expecting a much smaller crowd, as the five wooden chairs available were quickly filled. The floor became the next best option, on which people stood and sat for mingling.Next to the appetizers was a glass jar, rapidly filling up with cash donations.The attention turned to the emcee as he introduced a series of local artists and jokingly said, “Now let’s get to the talented people.” Bloomington writer Lee Chapman shared two poems, one called “Force” about his “conflict with a hardware guy as a software guy at a computer company.” Chapman lovingly referred to his poem “Butter Pecan,” which was about coupons and ice cream, as his “indictment of corporate America.”After one poem about “Updating the Profile” on Facebook and a short story about an undiagnosed sociopath named “Daiquiri Hateful,” audience member and senior Elizabeth Cockrell decided to contribute.“I wasn’t sure if I could just jump in or not,” she said, before reading her poem about the personification of regret.Cockrell said she got an e-mail an hour prior to the start of the event and decided to go on a whim.A performance by members of Awkward Silence and Full Frontal Comedy troupes followed. During one game, they asked the audience the favorite tragic qualities of their favorite dead poets.“Alcoholism!” someone shouted.Recent graduate Jonah Malarsky played original acoustic tunes such as “Sole” and “Let’s Get Happy” throughout the poetry readings, and he hung out after the show. He’s been playing for about six years. “I’ve never been to the new Boxcar location,” he said. “It’s just great to be involved in community and local art.”Junior Samantha Smith stood staring at the “What Inspires Your Creativity?” wall as it filled up with things like “A.D.D.,” “My sister in a wheelchair” and “10,000 BC is good enough for me” scrawled hastily by departing patrons.She drew a window on the wall, with the words “This View” enclosed in the lower window pane. “This was so much better than the high school angst poetry we all used to write,” Smith said. “And even that is less gross to me now, because now I can appreciate the possibility of anyone being an artist.”
(05/21/09 12:19am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Bloomington SportsPlex will shift from private ownership to Bloomington city ownership.The city’s communications director, Danny Lopez, said the private owner was looking to sell and approached the city of Bloomington about a year and a half ago.A $6.5 million revenue bond was drafted to help fund the sale of the SportsPlex in addition to a number of renovations within the building itself, Lopez said. The building was purchased for $5.5 million. Bloomington Parks Department Director Mick Renneisen, who is in charge of negotiating the entire operation, said renovations will include restroom remodeling and air conditioning updates, repainting and technological improvements, like a new computer lab where office space has been previously. The synthetic soccer surface will be replaced.The renovations are expected to cost about $300,000, Renneisen said, but there are no planned changes to the architectural structure of SportsPlex.“Funding through revenue bonds, which relies on the income of SportsPlex, is possible, thanks to approval from the mayor and the public, as seen through conducted surveys,” Renneisen said. “The revenue bond helps support managing and operations.”He said SportsPlex, in addition to being branded under the Parks Department umbrella, will undergo a name change, though one has yet to be determined. For those concerned with user fees, Lopez said there is no need to worry.“As of now, user monthly and day pass fees are not expected to go up as a result of all the changes,” he said. “In fact, we’re looking for ways to effectively reduce fees existing as is for people.”Renneisen said the improved SportsPlex building – complete with a name change, new logos and branding – is scheduled to be unveiled in August with a ceremony. “The SportsPlex has been a valuable athletic center for 10 years in the community, as well as an anchor in youth sports,” he said. “We just want to enhance what is already there and improve customer needs the building has already been fulfilling for so long.”
(05/18/09 12:37am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU football coach Bill Lynch and hundreds of other students, faculty, athletes and community members honored the legacy of the late coach Terry Hoeppner on Saturday at the second annual Coach Hep Indiana Cancer Challenge at Memorial Stadium.The event featured a 2K family walk, a 5K run, a 25K family bike ride, a 50K cycle and a 100K cycle.Tables of student volunteers with the IU Foundation and the American Cancer Society were sprawled across the football practice fields. Athlete teams and individuals of all ages were signing in, tagging themselves with numbers and warming up on the turf.Lynch stood by, taking it all in as he took a bite from his Snickers bar and exhaled.“This is a great event that properly honors the legacy of Coach Hep,” he said. “Cancer has touched so many of us in different ways.”For Tammy Smith, administrative assistant for the American Cancer Society, it means being a cancer survivor and sharing her knowledge with the community.“Being affected by cancer is how I got here to where I am today,” she said. “I’m thankful for what I’ve been through and I’m stronger because of it.”Sharing in this motivation to spread awareness is what got local physician Rick Schilling and Terry Hoeppner’s wife Jane Hoeppner to start the Coach Hep Cancer Challenge to raise money for cancer awareness.Schilling approached Jane Hoeppner after his father-in-law died of cancer, keeping in the spirit of coach Hoeppner’s “Don’t Quit” attitude.“My father-in-law never quit and that’s what inspired me,” he said. “This affects all of us, regardless of race, gender and age.”Jane Hoeppner will never quit either.“We’ve been there and done that, you know,” Jane Hoeppner said. “We feel motivated more through things like this event to help find a cure.”She said part of the appeal for the event was the combination of having a good time for a good cause and getting exercise. She gushed at how well the community has taken to the event.“The online regular cash donations are already up from last year,” she said. “The Big Ten Network is going to be here as well. It’s all quite overwhelming.”Nearby, IU volleyball team members were giggling and placing volunteer name tags on their crimson-colored T-shirts.Sophomore Caitlin Cox said this was the team’s first time at the challenge.“We thought it would be good for our team to get out into the community and do something worthwhile,” she said.Senior Kelsey Hall said she wants the community to get to know the women’s volleyball team in a setting outside of practices and games. Hall and her teammates handed out water to the runners at a station along North Jordan Avenue during the 5K, the day’s final event.At the water station adjacent to Alpha Omega Pi sorority house, the women shared stories about how cancer has affected them, while feverishly running to hand out fresh water in Coca-Cola cups to children and their parents, and even to a fireman who was running in full gear despite the humidity and cloudy skies.Steve Coover of the Bloomington Fire Department doused himself with water.“Thank you, girls, for being here,” he shouted as he took off after the pack ahead of him.“Nice pace,” yelled sophomore Mary Chaudoin. The Georgia native said she participated in Relay for Life every year at her high school. Relay for Life is the American Cancer Society’s largest fundraising event that takes place in cities and towns across the country annually.Junior Taylor Wittmer watched as junior Ashley Benson chased her 4-month-old puppy, Santino, in the street. Wittmer stood away from the crowd for a moment to reflect on how cancer has affected her life.“My aunt is a leukemia survivor,” Wittmer said. “To live through that despite the family struggles just makes me want to help out more, as much as I possibly can.”
(05/17/09 11:07pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>New Orleans native Jay Dowl has been playing recorder for 12 years and calls himself “the Flute Man.”As a cool breeze blew through the trees lining Kirkwood Avenue on Saturday evening, Dowl stood in the wooden doorway of the former location of Greek’s Pizzeria, playing pieces ranging from Bach to spiritual hymns on his recorder.“I’ve been living here in Bloomington for three years,” he said. “I’ve just come on in here, and soon I’ll be at the next destination.”Dowl taught himself to play recorder. He said that through his research, he found it is a much more serious instrument than some perceive.He said his studies in London on classical music have influenced him to relocate to Bloomington, intending to eventually be at the Jacobs School of Music.Dowl’s love of the classics and sharing his gift of music also attracts people from various backgrounds.Zak and Hagino Hargis had never been to Bloomington until Saturday. They were impressed by the beauty of the town and the simplicity of being able to walk down Kirkwood and hear someone like Dowl perform.The couple is from Kentucky. Hagino Hargis studies music and plays piano at the University of Louisville.Their 18-month-old son, Kanase, looked up at Dowl in a fixed gaze as he played “Greensleeves.” The child’s name means “to play music in the world.”“It’s so nice to walk by and hear things we’re familiar with,” said Hagino Hargis. “It’s such a gift.”
(05/14/09 12:18am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>An international house could be coming to IU, but it would not specialize in pancakes.IU President Michael McRobbie and the IU board of trustees hammered out a proposal for a new International Studies Building in recent meetings. The proposed building would unite the University’s many international programs and serve as campus headquarters for foreign students as well as students pusuing an international studies major or a study abroad program. Trustee Sue Talbot said the location and design for the new building are still pending.“It’s definitely still in an early planning stage,” Talbot said. “But it is an important building to have on campus because we have a large international student population here. It’s good to have a facility where all types of students can interact with one another.“Talbot said an important goal for the board of trustees is to establish learning communities. For example, she said there are science and technology precincts throughout campus facilitating shared student educational interests.Bob Meadows, assistant vice president for the University Architect Services Building, is on the committee of architects responsible for the construction of the building.Meadows said the building, which is an important prospect for McRobbie, would be beneficial for connecting all students needing the international resources that will be available within it.He said McRobbie outlined a goal of the new building during a planning meeting, saying a new building encompassing international studies would serve a need for the alignment of humanities in the academic community.“Everyone would readily admit there is a hole in that part of the campus,” he said. “The new building would connect the (Wells) library to the rest of campus, since it’s kind of out there by itself. Besides, there aren’t many spaces available to put it.”But the proposed locations for where the International Studies Building – between the Radio and Television Building and the Herman B Wells Library – would alter parking space availability.IU Parking Operations manager Doug Porter said to help amend this situation, the proposal will also include the construction of a parking garage in the 10th Street lot across from Teter Quad. The garage, and the remainder of the lot, he said, will likely have mixed parking for residence hall students, other students and faculty, with certain floors specified for certain parking permits. Porter said payment options for parking permits have yet to be configured.“The drawings for the international building show that a large chunk of the west parking lot for the library will be taken up, so we may have to also allocate mixed parking there as well,” Porter said. “Parking spaces are going to get shuffled around.”Porter said the most disruptive part of the whole proposed process likely will be the construction period.“We don’t know what goes up first, the building or the parking garage,” he said. “Either way, there’s definitely going to be some shifting around when spaces aren’t available, especially when there is traffic, noise and confusion. You have to break the eggs before you make the omelet, I guess.”
(05/13/09 9:43pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Each year, the Exchange Club of Northside Bloomington and members of the Bloomington Police Department gather to honor a new police officer of the year.This year, BPD officer Jeff Rodgers won the award.His peers said he has shown exemplary work ethic and on one occasion put his life at risk to save others. Rodgers has been with BPD since 2006 and was nominated by BPD Police Chief Michael Diekhoff for his outstanding performance of duty since 2008, according to a press release for the award ceremony in the Crowne Plaza Hotel on May 7. He is an IU graduate and worked with the IU Police Department before becoming a training officer for BPD.Some of Rodgers’ 2008 accomplishments include assisting victims in a trailer fire, successfully conducting and managing a stabbing homicide case and preventing several in-progress burglaries in the area, said BPD Capt. Joe Qualters.What made Rodgers a standout candidate for Officer of the Year was a nighttime situation on North Walnut Street in January 2008 involving an intoxicated man who was armed with brass knuckles.BPD Lt. Faron Lake, who recommended Rodgers for the award, is his supervisor for the night shift. He said he saw Rodgers after the incident. He was missing several teeth and suffered wounds to the face.“Rodgers tried to remove (the man) from harm’s way, and (the man) pulled out brass knuckles and attacked Rodgers,” Lake said. “They were lying in the road and were at risk of being run over.”After a struggle, Rodgers successfully moved himself and the other man to safety. For this, Rodgers received a Bravery Award and a Purple Heart Award for his injuries. However, Lake said this is not the only reason he felt compelled to recommend Rodgers for the award. “He’s just a well-rounded individual with a good head on his shoulders and good common sense about him,” he said. “He’s the way a cop should be.”Monroe Circuit Judge Kenneth Todd, a member of the Exchange Club of Northside Bloomington, said he had not met Rodgers before the award ceremony but felt upon meeting him that he was “a very nice young man who was dedicated and a very good police officer.”Todd said he hopes people can learn from the example set by Rodgers’ accomplishments. “He placed public welfare above his own, and put himself in harm’s way,” he said. “We don’t think of the risks police officers run day to day.”
(05/10/09 11:41pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The day after the “chickens came to roost” at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, social activists, peace lovers and folk musicians from the community and from afar reunited in Third Street Park to participate in an all-day hippie hometown reunion Sunday. “When the Chickens Come Home to Roost,” a concert Saturday featuring local singer-songwriters from the ’60s and the ’70s, returned feelings of nostalgia to longtime residents. Students may come and go, but the artistic tradition of Bloomington, rich in social events and music, is here to stay. The summer once again ushers in a reclaiming of the land by the people who have watched Bloomington evolve. “There was a time when young activists of the ’70s represented the majority, instead of a small minority,” Bloomington resident Joe Loop said. “The music and culture was reflective of the times and there was a lot of peace and love going on. There still is.”Activist and musician Marc Haggerty said the concert Saturday, which brought back local music legends like Dillon Bustin, Bob Lucas, Mark Bingham and Caroline Peyton, among others, brought the idea of Bloomington’s lasting cultural history back home as well. “It’s like we as a community with fond memories sent these talented people out into the world to create art for 40 years and they came right back to where they all began,” Haggerty said. Bloomington resident Dave Cole said many songs performed at the concert from the ’60s and ’70s were “guideposts for how to live.” He said the music was reflective of the times, which promoted self-sufficiency and doing for oneself with the bare essentials of survival. “Politics of those times came and went,” Cole said. “We took a vow of voluntary poverty, doing whatever it took to create music that was important to us.”At Sunday’s reunion, Cole stood by as Bob Lucas, one of Saturday night’s performers, sang and played acoustic guitar. People crowded around to listen to the impromptu jam session. “This is what we did 30 years ago today, back when I grew up on a small farm in rural Indiana,” he said. “The clocks didn’t rule our days and people would just play music for as long as they felt necessary.”Linda Ball has been living in Bloomington since 1971. She came from Cloverdale, Ind., where she said she had a graduating class of 35. She chose Bloomington as a place to settle and raise her five children because of the promise of cultural diversity in a progressive college town.“I really wanted to enjoy all the beauty the town had to offer,” Ball said. “Back in Cloverdale, we didn’t even have a theater.”Her favorite memory of the ’70s involved her occupation as head cook, a job earning her $2.25 an hour at an organic vegetarian restaurant called Earth Kitchen on Kirkwood Avenue. At the reunion Sunday, she looked to the makeshift stage overlooking the lawn, where blankets were sprawled about and people enjoyed conversation about the good and bad times in Bloomington’s history.“At the restaurant, we listened to people like Joni Mitchell,” Ball recalled, “because it was all about taking in the good things of life, being happy and wanting peace for then and for the future.”
(05/08/09 3:09am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Thirty eight-year-old TDs CDs and LPs owner Michael Anderson experienced the ’80s by virtue of his own musical exploration. Anderson said he grew up in “a very non-musical house” in working-class Boston and thought none of his parents cared about music, even though he always “heard things.” He said he played piano and Dungeons and Dragons. For Anderson, the ’80s saw a series of phases in music, and he recalls being on the cutting-edge when it came to rocking the latest jams. “Around 1980, I started hearing early New York hip-hop,” he said, reminiscing on a particular time he was in a Washington, D.C., airport. He was listening to tapes by LL Cool J and Run-DMC.“The black kids back then were listening to funk and soul and so this music had yet to really make a mark,” Anderson said. “These black kids came up to me in the airport and were like ‘What are you listening to?’ because they’d never heard anything like it.”Anderson credits his current love of new wave and electronic dance music to weekends he spent at New York break dancing competitions with his brother from 1982 to 1983. He said he had no idea how important music would be until around this time. His mother signified a change in the times as a “divorcee hitting up discos” and bringing home Grandmaster Flash. “I was the weirdo who listened to Frankie Goes to Hollywood and The Cure,” he said. “It was nice to not really have a frame of reference.”This lack of a frame of reference led Anderson to enjoy many facets of the music scene, including the meteoric rise of Madonna, who he said was “this weirdly sexy, kinda ugly chick with great pop tunes.”Bands such as The Cure, he said brought him “straight to goth” in 1986 and ushered in a shift to alternative radio where it was acceptable for “nerdy white guys” to create avant-garde dance music. It wasn’t until the ’90s during the DIY period, where artists were seeking to authenticate themselves that Anderson said he realized he liked to actually play music. “When the ’90s came around, I was old enough to travel,” he said. “So I went around and took with me a sense of history from how I grew up musically in the ’80s.”As owner of TDs, Anderson gets to share that sense of history with customers who lived through the ’80s and those who didn’t.“Music is such a huge part of my life now, and it really guided me through different phases of life to how I live these days,” he said. “The ’80s wasn’t just crack and AIDS, it was musical as well, and a variety of music, too.”
(05/08/09 3:08am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>If asked what his generation would be remembered for, 33-year-old Jason Nickey, co-owner of Landlocked Music, draws a blank when coming up with descriptive terms. He’s lived through the ’80s, graduated high school in 1994 and remembers when the shift between the glam of the ’80s and the grunge of the ’90s occurred. For him it happened when the music his classmates listened to suddenly changed. Nickey grew up near Ball State University in downtown Muncie, Ind. He said while in middle school he remembered everyone once listening to “glitzy, cheesy ’80s pop radio” and then shifting to Nirvana and Jane’s Addiction, bands he recalls as the first nods to alternative art rock. For Nickey, this ushered in a new era of hipster ’tude.“I definitely grew up in the Generation X period, where no one identified as any one thing and it was suddenly cool to be ironic,” he said. Nickey said he felt like over the course of a summer, music and popular culture changed from something on-the-surface and image-based to a shift in the 90s to grunge. “There was this conscious attempt to create something real,” he said. “That’s when you saw a lot of the ironic T-shirts that had nothing to do with anything become popular.”Growing up in Generation X, Nickey said it was hard to figure out what the youth in society actually stood for. For him, this sense of uncertainty about the future of his generation began in the ’80s, which foreshadowed what was to come in the ’90s. Nickey refers to the ’80s as a period that was bleak and black-and-white.It all ties back to history – there was the Reagan era, the birth of MTV, the so-called death of disco and the insurgence of the AIDS epidemic.Looking back on his upbringing in downtown Muncie, Nickey said there were crackheads on every corner, petty crimes and “just a lot of people being really dirt poor.”Like many people seeking refuge from the poor economy and the reality of America’s drug problem, Nickey turned to his cable television set, where he said he was allowed by his parents to escape to an “unhealthy amount of bad ’80s TV and hair metal bands.”“People wanted what was glamorous and over-the-top back then,” he said. “There wasn’t much irony in pop culture then as there is now. Tight Speedos and leotards were just what happened then.”Despite the surface pleasures of ’80s pop culture, Nickey said he believes cultural artifacts of that time still hold up well today. He said he recently watched a season of “Miami Vice” and was surprised it was still relevant, in spite of the cheesy fashions in the show. Nickey saw the ’90s as a sudden need to acknowledge all things considered “authentic.”This included strides in art and fashion.“It was listening to Nirvana, wearing oversized flannel and becoming as unglamorous as possible,” he said. “Ripped and faded jeans were suddenly being sold in stores. It seemed refreshing at the time.”What’s changed?And at the end of the day, Nickey said he feels he doesn’t identify with his generation, which is likely a common feeling among Generation X members, because there were no set expectations of them from society. He said though Nirvana is an exception to the rule, most cultural shifts from the ’80s to the ’90s didn’t age well and have no lasting identity or value beyond what is vague. “Looking back, I feel like I belong in a different time,” he said. “It was all this sort of blur of neon and black and I don’t know where I stood in all of that.”
(05/01/09 4:34am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Graduating senior Peter Wallace said he realized at this year’s Senior Salute that his favorite memories at IU come from waiting in lines. “If it’s waiting to get tickets at the games or to get into the bars, you’ll always meet new people,” he said. “Some of the most interesting people I’ve ever met have come from talking to people while waiting in line.”Wallace was one of the 1,000 to 1,500 students who attended the 14th annual Senior Salute on Thursday in the DeVault Alumni Center. The event was organized by the Student Alumni Association.Despite the unstable weather, complete with powerful wind gusts and alternations between sunshine and cloudy skies, hoards of students gathered to enjoy what SAA adviser Trish Surfus called the “the last hurrah before commencement.”Inside the DeVault Alumni Center, students could listen to Indianapolis-based band Dave and Rae perform various cover songs and receive free giveaways from the different schools within IU.IU coach Tom Crean congratulated the class of 2009 and introduced a cappella men’s chorus group, Straight No Chaser, who gave a rendition of the Indiana Fight Song. Provost Karen Hanson appeared with Student Alumni Association president and senior Lindsey Livingston to dedicate a symbolic tree in honor of 2009’s graduates.Behind the Alumni Center, students played on kid-sized basketball courts, ate free pizza, chatted with friends and recalled their favorite IU memories.Sophomore Kaity Wachtel, co-director of the event for the Student Alumni Association, sat by a stone fountain with no running water.She said she and co-director sophomore Christine Bass tried to plan the event as though it were their own senior farewell.“I just know when I’m a senior, I’m gonna cry through the whole thing,” Wachtel said.Tourism management major Erin Smith sat by the fountain eating an ice cream cone. She said she will miss spending time with all her friends, but she is excited for the future.“Of course, just like everyone, I’m trying to find a job,” Smith said. “If anyone would like to hire me, contact me.”Telecommunications major Terra Kash said she will miss the college experience itself.“Freshman year was the most fun,” she said. “I met so many great people, and I got to live in a box with another person for a year.”Sport marketing and management major Ryan Elliott said she will always remember junior year of Little 500 because it was her first big event as a 21-year-old.She said she is nervous for what’s to come because IU has provided a bubble for her.“It was like a world inside a world,” Elliott said. “But at least here, you have all you needed.”Wallace said IU gave him the big campus experience he wanted coming from Winchester, a small Indiana town.Most of all, he said he would miss walking around Bloomington and taking in the scenery.Human Development and Family Studies major Liz LeMay sat comfortably in a group of friends, eating a piece of pink cotton candy.LeMay said she enjoyed the beauty of Bloomington and all the people she came across.“I used to sleep by the rocks around the Jordan River between classes,” she said. “I’ll miss that, but I’ll miss being with friends even more. There is always something to do.”
(04/30/09 3:43am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>As the economy declines, students face constant pressure to conform to the times while maintaining hope.Junior Jamila Coleman believes everybody “is equally as important and has a chance for hope.” Coleman is the president of the Undergraduate Black MBA Association, an organization seeking to provide a support system to minority students in the Kelley School of Business.The group organized a corporate networking fair Tuesday featuring representatives from Ernst & Young, General Mills, Primerica, Target and JCPenney. The representatives participated in a Q-and-A panel discussion, which addressed student concerns like competition and traits of an ideal job applicant.The unanimous response to a question about what they look for in an ideal applicant was “leadership.” There was also “confidence” and a “desire to work with people.”“Don’t worry about adversity or the person next to you in line for a job,” said Matt Hilligoss of JCPenney. “Stress what your strengths are today, in the moment.”The panelists also said the key to maintaining hope is perseverance.Laura Barnes Paley, associate director of Undergraduate Career Services in the Kelley School of Business, said the students who “hit the pavement again and again are typically the ones who succeed.”Paley said though things are overall slower and tougher because of the difficult economy, it is important for students to realize they can utilize networking opportunities. She advises students, especially frustrated seniors who are already reaching out, to broaden their network base and ask to be introduced to more people.“It’s a law of numbers,” Paley said. “For every few rejections, there are even more offers. You just have to know where and how to look.”When it feels like all hope is gone, it is imperative to take a big step back to square one, which involves the indentification of one’s skill set and becoming what Paley called “action-oriented.”Junior Lydana Hodges, vice president of promotions and advertising for the Undergraduate Black MBA Association, stressed the need to plan ahead for the future in spite of uncertainty about the economy.“Everything happens so fast,” she said. “So when the time comes for you to act, it has to be real and you have to be ready to learn. I’m excited for what’s to come.”Freshmen and sophomores who attended the fair seemed to believe in the importance of networking in preparation for future opportunities.Freshman Deleon Lott said in reality, though odds are stacked against her in society as a black female student pursuing business, she feels uplifted attending events like this one.“I feel more comfortable in the fact that I can do this,” she said. “You have to do what it takes and know what you want to do to get through tough times.”Sophomore Walter Ballard said he felt inspired by the black representatives from some of the nation’s top companies.“Being an African-American male in a recession is not easy,” he said. “But advice from someone who has made it is great. It’s like a small glass of hope on a home meal table.”
(04/21/09 1:27am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Those who attended the Holocaust memorial concert in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day on Sunday at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center likely experienced a real-life example of how the power of memory and music are interconnected.Bloomington Holocaust survivors and their children illustrated the power of memory through a silent candle ceremony and memorial prayer, in which each survivor and his or her child lit a candle in memory of the tragedies they all overcame.The way the candle ceremony was carried out by the survivors and those to come after them is in the vein of the Polish-based Children of the Holocaust mission, which serves to aid the older Righteous Gentiles who saved them from death years ago.The donations raised during the concert will go to benefit the remaining Righteous Gentiles, who now live under harsh conditions in Europe.The concert itself honored the musical legacy of Polish composer Wladyslaw Szpilman, who survived the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II when the Nazi regime killed millions of Jews and non-Jews.“His music captures the reality of the Warsaw ghetto through infinite shadows of gray,” said associate professor of musicology Halina Goldberg, who also organized and narrated the event. The first set consisted of three songs composed by Szpilman and performed by Junghwa Moon Auer on piano while graduate student Brian Arreola sang tenor.The second set featured the work of composer Fryderyk Chopin, played on piano by piano music professor Edward Auer.Goldberg said Chopin’s work influences a meaningful connection to World War II.In between each set of music, Goldberg’s narration painted a picture of Szpilman’s times in World War II’s war-torn Warsaw Ghetto, where he struggled to survive.“While in hiding, music gave him hope and sanity,” Goldberg said.She discussed how not only Szpilman’s musical legacy, but also his personal memoir, which was once banned in Europe because of its “excruciating candor,” affected her personally.Goldberg said she grew up in Poland and her parents survived the Holocaust. She said though she grew up around Szpilman’s music, which is popular in Poland, she didn’t know the person behind the music.She said the most astonishing thing about Szpilman’s memoir was the presentation of the Holocaust through sounds.“You could practically hear as you read, people dying, the sounds of the Warsaw Ghetto at night, the sounds of suffering,” Goldberg said.The concert ended with a live recording of the song that saved Szpilman’s life. When a Nazi officer told him to play a song, he played “Nocturne in C Sharp Minor Op.,” a posthumous composition by Chopin.Graduate student Kristen Strandberg said she had never been to a Jewish service but appreciated how the themes of memory and sound were connected.“It was really great to see someone like Halina, whom I know, approach this from such a personal level,” she said.Iris Yob, a Bloomington resident, said she thought the concert was beautifully put together. She said she learned a lot even though she is not Jewish and the memories presented may not directly affect her.“It was moving how there was a combination of stories from Halina, candles, rituals and memory,” she said. “I certainly feel like I want to be part of his memory.”