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(03/22/11 3:52am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Thomas Rosenbaum walked into court March 10 carrying the charred remains of a log holder in a garbage bag. Rosenbaum said the log holder in his fireplace melted or broke, causing a burning log to roll out and scorch a hole in the carpet. It could have burned down the apartment, he said, so he put it out. “I should be seen as a hero,” he said.His landlord said he had a history of building fires that were too large, as evidenced by the black marks on the wall.Rosenbaum’s was one of hundreds of small claims court cases or evictions filed by Deer Park Management against its residents since 2000. He’s one of several students, who have been sued, sent to collections or made to pay for damages to their apartment, who say Deer Park’s tactics are unfair and too aggressive.And Rosenbaum, a junior who transferred to IU-Purdue University Indianapolis, said he thinks Deer Park sees a lot of its residents as easy targets. “Here’s a dumb college student, and we can sue them,” Rosenbaum said.A representative from Deer Park said it’s a for-profit business. She said students should take care of their apartments and that the company has to keep the apartments well-maintained for future residents. She also said the company doesn’t sue people any more than other companies and most residents get their deposits back.Most of the suits, said the representative, were for evictions when people didn’t pay their rent. Deer Park Management, which manages The Boulders, College Mall Apartments, Bart Villa, The Uptown Apartments and Villa Genoa Penthouse, wanted Rosenbaum to pay for a new carpet. Other charges that ate up his $500 deposit included $175 for drywall damage, $30 for cleaning, $45 for a garage door opener and $20 for toilet seats, among other things. The new carpet for his Boulders apartment cost almost $1,500, but Deer Park took into account depreciation and took down what it wanted him to pay, after his deposit, to $679.13. The other damage, Rosenbaum said, was Deer Park’s fault or normal wear and tear. Deer Park disagreed. Rosenbaum wouldn’t pay. The case went to court. It’s a familiar story for some current and former residents. It’s the subject of Facebook group “Tenants against Deer Park Management Co.” Residents of some apartments last year found mysterious flyers floating around about how to protect themselves moving in and moving out, pointing to Deer Park’s legal cases online.While Rosenbaum managed to win his deposit back in a counter-claim with a little help from his uncle, a lawyer, and a booklet on small claims he found in the Monroe County Justice Building lobby, many who are sued settle or lose in court. Some are sent to collections instead. One resident of College Mall Apartments and former IU graduate student Dmitriy Melkumov said Deer Park asked him for about $1,500, on top of his deposit, before they sold his debt to a collections company. He was charged for a new carpet, new blinds and several other little things, according to his tenant ledger. His girlfriend, who also lived in College Mall Apartments, had a similar experience. Melkumov said Deer Park didn’t even change the carpet. The company changed its story and said the $1,500 was just an estimate, he said. His roommate went to the old apartment and took a video of it, claiming the carpet and blinds hadn’t changed since they moved out. He put it on YouTube.Melkumov and his girlfriend both said it upset them that Deer Park charged them more than a month after they re-signed their leases. The two moved in together in another apartment at College Mall Apartments. He said Deer Park’s leasing agent Bess Courtney said they had “traffic stains” on the carpet. There were a few spots on the carpet, he said, and it didn’t seem like Deer Park had tried to clean them before replacing the carpet. Right now, he said, the two have everything covered by blankets and are going to film when they move out, just to be sure.Deer Park Operations Manager Michael Latham said things have changed from when he was a college student in Utah. Then, the landlord would not make any attempt to clean the apartment, and students would almost always get their deposit back.Now, in the competitive Bloomington market, residents expect a basically new apartment when they move in, he said.It costs about $2,000 to install new carpet and make other changes, Latham said. He said the lease is very clear about charging residents for damages outside of normal wear and tear, and the carpet should last 10 to 12 years. And, he said, most people aren’t charged.“The vast majority of the residents get their deposit back,” Latham said.When the company finds the carpet has to be replaced, they don’t make any money on the apartment unless they charge the resident, he said. He said it’s a business, and they expect to be paid. “There’s a perception that landlords are making money hand over fist,” Latham said. “It’s not true.”Courtney, who often goes to court as a Deer Park representative, said she disagreed that the company sues anyone any more than most other landlord companies, especially in the past year or two. She said most of the suits are for evictions when people don’t pay their rent.She also said recently the quality of the residents has gone up. They’re more price conscious and take better care of their apartments, she said. Courtney, who has worked for Deer Park since 2004, said she has worked with people repeatedly to get settlements. Especially, she said, when the conversation is civilized.Randall Frykberg, who has been director of IU Student Legal Services for a year, said Deer Park has been on the radar as a landlord that will aggressively assert its position when dealing with students.He said he had his share of Deer Park residents in his office, but it’s largely a case-by-case call on whether it’s a case worth fighting.“I don’t think every student who comes in here is in the right,” he said.He said the big thing is deciding whether the damage to the carpet or the rest of the apartment is wear and tear or not. The law isn’t clear, he said.“I would see damage as cutting the carpet, spilling Four Loko on the carpet,” he said.
(03/10/11 2:02am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Bloomington police arrested a man after finding drugs and guns inside his house Tuesday.Michael J. Miles, 28, was arrested after his parole officer sought assistance from the police to search Miles’ residence at 101 E. Wilson St., Bloomington Police Department Sgt. Jeff Canada said.Several detectives assisted the parole agent. After entering the house at about 8 p.m., they came into contact with Miles. He told them there was nothing in his residence.Police found a Jennings .380 handgun in plain view. They found a black Hi-Point 9mm handgun in the kitchen. Ammunition for the guns was also found in the house. They found in the kitchen a cigarette box full of what the detectives believed to be nine personal baggies of crack cocaine and a bag of a green, leafy substance, which they said they believe is marijuana. The detectives also found two large scales in the kitchen. He was arrested without incident and said he had the guns for protection after his house had been broken into.Miles was on parole for a 2008 theft conviction in Bartholomew County and has a lengthy criminal history in Indiana and in Minnesota. It includes several drug offenses and possession of a short-barreled shotgun in Minnesota. He is facing preliminary charges of possession of cocaine over more than 3 ounces, with intent to deal, a Class A felony; felon in possession of a firearm, a Class C felony; and violation of parole.
(03/08/11 2:09am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Bloomington Police arrested a man last weekend in an investigation of recent robberies, according to Bloomington Police Department Capt. Joe Qualters in a press release.Police arrested Lance J. “Rico” Charleston, 28, on March 5. He is a suspect in several robberies and assaults.Of those events, he is suspect in one incident on Feb. 28 where a female resident’s jaw was broken.According to the release, BPD has been investigating robberies where the victims reported being struck or pushed to the ground and their purses taken from them. All of the victims identified two black males as the suspects.The suspects appeared to target female IU students who were walking home from the downtown area late at night, or from other areas students might frequent, such as restaurants or apartment complexes, according to the release.Police conducted “saturation patrols” in the affected areas, with uniform and plain clothes officers. Police made several arrests during the patrols that were unrelated to the robberies. But, information gathered from some of those arrested pointed to Charleston.At that time, Charleston was only known as “Rico.” Charleston was identified through Facebook and known associates.The woman who reported being assaulted on Feb. 28, whose jaw was broken, identified Charleston. A warrant was then issued for his arrest.At about 12:30 a.m. March 5, officers received information that Charleston was at Crestmont Housing at Summit and Monroe streets. When officers arrived, they noticed a vehicle was speeding away from the area. Officers determined Charleston fled from the vehicle just prior to officers stopping it. Officers set up a perimeter and noticed Charleston going into an unlocked garage in the 1200 block of West 15th Street. Officers entered the garage and took Charleston into custody without incident. During questioning, Charleston admitted to his involvement in the robberies and the burglary. The investigation continues. Additional charges against Charleston and against other suspects involved in the crimes are possible.“Putting a stop to these robberies was extremely important to us. This operation is one where several officers and detectives worked together and did an excellent job of surveillance, intensive patrol techniques, information gathering and, finally, arrest. I am very proud of their efforts and the outcome of this investigation,” BPD Chief Michael Diekhoff said.
(03/07/11 3:47am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Bloomington police arrested a man who was accused of pointing a gun at a bartender at Kilroy’s Sports Bar on Saturday morning.Police arrested 32-year-old Michael Dane Murphy of Bloomington after Sports’ staff called police at 1:49 a.m. about an intoxicated man who had displayed a weapon, Bloomington Police Department Sgt. Joe Crider said.Murphy was sitting at the bar drinking when he allegedly slowly started pulling out a Walther .380 semi-automatic handgun. When the gun was partially out, he chambered the weapon twice by pulling back the slide. He asked the witness, a bartender, if it made her nervous.He pulled out the gun again and placed it on the counter so it was pointed at her. The bartender told staff members, and management asked him to leave the bar. Staff members kept an eye on him until police arrived.Police found the man — and the gun — near the intersection of Seventh and Walnut streets. It was loaded and had seven rounds.Police arrested him on preliminary charges of public intoxication, a class B misdemeanor; possessing a firearm without ever having received a license, an class A misdemeanor; criminal recklessness with a firearm, a class D felony and pointing a loaded firearm, also a class D felony, Crider said.In February 2010, police arrested 21-year-old Alexander Brill, accusing him of pointing a firearm at a Sports bartender and hitting a man with the gun. Brill’s case is still pending in Monroe County, according to online court records.
(03/07/11 1:24am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A woman reported to Bloomington police being grabbed inappropriately and bitten on the neck Friday morning.The 18-year-old woman reported that as she walked south on Washington Street near a bus station, she was approached by an unknown male, said Sgt. Jeff Canada of the Bloomington Police Department.The male walked in front of her, she reported, and wouldn’t let her pass. He put his hand on her bottom and bit the right side of her neck. He grabbed her again and bit the left side of her neck. He then grabbed her arm and asked if she wanted to have sex.She was able to run away and called the police at about 12:46 a.m. She said she was walking alone and didn’t know what to do. She was taken to Bloomington Hospital and had visible abrasions on her neck. She described the man as wearing a green jacket, jeans and tennis shoes.
(03/03/11 5:53am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>An IU student filed a protective order against IU football running back Darius Willis a month after she reported domestic battery to the police.No charges were filed against Willis or have been filed since. The woman refused to press charges against Willis when the incident occurred.An injunction was originally issued Jan. 18 for an incident Dec. 14 when the woman reported Willis throwing her against a wall and grabbing her throat. The order was issued ex parte, meaning Willis wasn’t there to give a defense.Willis requested a hearing Feb. 25. The court found he represented a credible threat, and there was evidence, through medical records and statements, that violence occurred.He is ordered to stay away from the woman and to keep from contacting her. The protective order will expire Aug. 25. The IU Athletics Department Associate Director of media relations, Jeff Keag, said Willis and Coach Kevin Wilson weren’t available for comment.“We are aware of the situation and have no further comment at this time,” Keag said.
(03/02/11 4:56pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>An IU student filed a protective order against IU football running back Darius Willis a month after she reported domestic assault to the police, according to court documents.No charges were filed against Willis or have been filed since. The woman refused to press charges against Willis when the incident occurred.An injunction was originally issued Jan. 18 for an incident on Dec. 14 where the woman reported Willis throwing her against a wall and grabbing her throat. The order was issued ex parte, meaning Willis wasn’t there to give a defense.Willis requested a hearing and on Feb. 25 the court found he represents a credible threat and there was evidence, through medical records and statements, that violence occurred.Currently he is ordered to stay away from the woman and to keep from contacting her. The protective order will expire Aug. 25. The IU Athletics Department media contact for football, Jeff Keag, said Willis and coach Kevin Wilson weren’t available for comment.“We are aware of the situation and have no further comment at this time,” Keag said.
(03/01/11 1:54am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Two Bloomington men were arrested Sunday after police found a handgun in their car.James M. Stacy, 26, and Christopher M. Brown, 30, were arrested after residents of 3100 S. Walnut St. Pike called police at about noon Sunday.They complained of two men in a small, blue car being intimidating and flashing a gun, Bloomington Police Lt. Bill Parker said.Police found the men and blocked them as they attempted to drive out of the apartment complex. After stopping them, police noticed the passenger making a motion, like he was trying to hide something under his seat, Parker said.After detaining the men at gunpoint, police found a .25 semi-automatic handgun under the seat and an airsoft-type, spring-powered pellet gun in the glove compartment. This fake gun looked like a real, large handgun, Parker said.Neither man admitted to owning the real handgun, so they were both arrested on preliminary charges of carrying a handgun without a permit. Stacy was also arrested for driving on a suspended license and because he was wanted on a warrant.The men said they were looking for a drug dealer who had sold them fake cocaine, Parker said.
(02/22/11 2:11am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Many who marched through downtown Bloomington on a dreary, wet Monday said Indiana Senate Bill 590 is racist and marginalizes the country’s poorest.The bill, in part, would require Indiana police to check a person’s immigration status if they suspect the person is in the U.S. illegally.“The bill isn’t going to stop illegal immigration,” Bloomington resident Bryce Martin said. “It’ll just further marginalize the poor.”So Martin and at least 100 others marched to try to get their point across.The rally, a term marchers made a point of using instead of “protest,” wasn’t organized by any one group, said Rachel Dotson, an IU graduate student who helped coordinate the march.She said it was a “decentralized community thing,” meaning people from all walks of life — IU students and staff and community members — came together, and for different reasons.The march started at IU’s Sample Gates. As ralliers got organized and brought out signs and banners, cars passing by honked their approval.“It’s not fair,” said one IU freshman marcher, Karaline Cartagena. She said the bill would essentially target people because of their skin color. She said the march was a way for people to come out and voice their opinion.The group moved down Kirkwood Avenue. They shouted, “Stop SB 590,” among other things. They turned on Walnut Street and marched around the courthouse. Before the rally, someone had written things like “SB 590, set it on fire” and “Kill SB 590” on signs along their path.While marching down Walnut Street, cars started honking again, but this time they weren’t for support; they were from angry drivers. Police also started following the protesters.The marchers, after their second loop around downtown, stopped at the courthouse.Tim Gonzalez of Bloomington, a marcher, stood on the sidewalk while the marchers stopped at Walnut and Kirkwood just before finishing the march.He said he had more sense than to stand in the road at that point, with the marchers blocking traffic and the police surrounding them.But, he said, it’s hard to get people’s attention, and the march had some benefit. Whether or not the people who saw the marchers agreed with them, it engaged them on some level, he said.“The effect of the march goes beyond however long it went on,” he said.Originally, Dotson planned for the group to meet with IU President Michael McRobbie’s office to get his support. Dotson learned he wasn’t in town Monday, so she said she’d reschedule that.Dotson said McRobbie was supportive of the Dream Act.The act would have provided a way for some illegal immigrants to become legal if they earned a high school diploma or something equivalent.“We have every reason to believe he’ll stand with us,” she said.
(02/21/11 1:30am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>FROM IDS REPORTSBloomington Police arrested a man and a woman Feb. 18 after finding meth-making supplies in their hotel room.Staff of the Country Hearth Inn on North Walnut Street called police because two people refused to leave their hotel room or pay for another day, Sgt. Scott Myers of the Bloomington Police Department said.At about 2 p.m. police visited the hotel room of Shelly L. Richardson, 36, of Bloomington, and Kevin S. Ferguson, 40, of Springville, Ind.Police noticed, in plain view inside a garbage can, residue, a water bottle with a hose attached and a can of paint thinner, Myers said. The Indiana State Police’s Meth Suppression Task Force arrived and confirmed the items were used to make meth.Police then learned Ferguson was wanted on a warrant for buying more than 3 grams of either ephedrine or pseudoephedrine or both within a week, a Class C misdemeanor.Ferguson was arrested for the warrant, and both he and Richardson were arrested on preliminary charges of manufacturing meth within 1,000 feet of a park, a Class A felony. —Nick Cusack
(02/16/11 8:11pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Bloomington Police Department officers arrested a man accused of robbing a local apartment Tuesday.Joe B. Little, 25, who has no known address, was arrested after residents of an apartment on Walnut Street Pike accused him of threatening them with a hammer, BPD Lt. Bill Parker said.The residents of the apartment, a 39-year-old woman and her 23-year-old son, along with the son’s 22-year-old friend, were in the apartment when Little knocked on the door, Parker said.The woman let Little in. The woman thought her son knew him, Parker said. They told police that none of them knew Little, but they’d seen him around the apartment.They allege Little walked in, dropped a small bag of marijuana, and as he was reaching to pick it up, he grabbed a hammer and a purse off a table.They claim Little told them to give him all of their money. The son and his friend then tackled Little. An employee of the apartment was walking by and saw the fight through the open door. She called police who arrived at 12:24 a.m.Police arrived and walked by Little, who was standing outside the apartment. After the police were told a description of him, they found him within a few minutes. He was taken to Bloomington Hospital because of bleeding.Little claimed he owed money to the son and was just giving it to him. Detectives are following up on the case.
(02/08/11 3:50am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Two women reported having their purses stolen to the Bloomington Police Department. BPD Lt. Bill Parker said it could be part of a larger string of robberies.The women said the crime occurred at 3:15 a.m. Saturday but they waited until 1:47 p.m. to report it.The women said they were in the Steak ’n Shake parking lot near Crimson Crossing Apartments, Parker said. A man approached them and asked them if everything was OK. Then another man came up and snatched the women’s purses. They fled north.The women described the men as black, about 5-foot-8 and of thin build.Parker said the same type of robberies have been happening late at night in different parts of town. A man approaches one or two women and asks if everything is OK, and then one or two other men approach and quickly rob them.Parker advises people to go out in larger groups.“We’re going to take all possible steps to get to the bottom of this,” he said.Anyone with information can call BPD at 812-339-4477.
(02/07/11 1:40am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A woman was arrested on theft and prostitution charges Saturday morning after the man she said she agreed to have sex with accused her of stealing his phone.The 19-year-old man and the 21-year-old woman, who told police her name was Lacy O’Malley, met up at the man’s west side apartment. He had contacted her after seeing an ad on craigslist, Bloomington Police Sgt. Joe Crider said, summarizing a police report.O’Malley was arrested after her date drove her to an ATM, which she said was to get the agreed-upon amount of cash for sex.The man noticed his cell phone was missing. There was a disturbance and police arrived at about 2:40 a.m. O’Malley said she had taken the phone as collateral until the man paid, Sgt. Crider said.She was arrested on preliminary charges of theft, a Class D felony, and prostitution, a Class A misdemeanor.
(02/01/11 8:58pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>As of about 3:30 p.m. about 80 Monroe County residents don’t have power. The National Weather Service in Indianapolis has warned that winds up to 40 miles per hour are possible tonight. Mixed with freezing rain, it could cause down trees and power lines.Duke Energy, the electricity provider in the area, said crews are on call to deal with outages and downed power lines. Crew members from as far away as the North and South Carolina have been called in, said Betsy Conway, a Duke Energy Spokesperson.“We’ll continue to monitor that and we remain prepared to address outage should they occur as the storm moves through the area,” Conway said.Conway also warned people to stay away from downed power lines. She said if someone sees downed power lines they should contact Duke Energy or the police.Residents who have lost power should report it by calling 1-800-343-3525.They can also follow storm damage on Facebook at www.facebook.com/DukeEnergyStorm or on Twitter at @DukeEnergyStorm.Duke also lists numbers of area power outages at www.duke-energy.com/indiana/outages/current.asp.
(11/18/10 5:13am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>As solutions to problems such as disease and hunger become more and more complex, life science companies are competing to find workers with the right set of skills.So, these companies are planning for the future.IU Kelley School of Business and its Center for the Business of Life Sciences will present a conference Friday that will focus on education for workers going into Indiana’s life science companies and will address the change needed as the industry becomes increasingly complicated.The conference, from 8 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. at Cook Medical World Headquarters in Bloomington, will feature speakers from bio-manufacturing and research companies in Indiana, as well as representatives from IU, other Indiana colleges and state government.George Telthorst, director of the Center for the Business of Life Sciences, said the point of the conference is to show what life science companies think they need in the future in terms of employee skill and what education systems in the state can do to meet it. In short, he said, the conference will lay out what Indiana needs to do to match up workers’ skills with the industry’s opportunities so the state can stay competitive.“We need a workforce that’s engaged,” Telthorst said.Indiana is in the top six or seven life science states in country, he said, and the industry is an important economic engine. To remain competitive, Telthorst said, Indiana needs more people who are comfortable and have a technical background, including the ability to use the metric system, do calculations and follow written instructions well.He said providing the training, which would most likely need to be at least an associate’s degree, would give workers more opportunities.Besides the technical training, employees must be able to solve problems and work in teams, said Ron Walker, president of the Bloomington Economic Development Corporation, which works with local life sciences companies.New college graduates will benefit from a background in science, business and a knowledge of regulations, said Vicki Neddenriep, vice president of global human resources of Covance Central Laboratory Services, Inc.Business people and scientists need to have some understanding of each other, Neddenriep said, and the biggest trend now is the continued advancement of complexity, which has resulted in more advanced products and technologies.“We’re able to diagnose and treat diseases we’d never be able to treat 10 or 15 years ago,” she said.The need for a grasp of scientific theory, math, interpersonal skills and business goes for employees with high degrees — doctoral and master — as well as workers in a factory.The days when corporate scientists could simply focus on science and not worry about the business side or team-based problem solving are over, said Kay Kuenker, vice president for new business development at Dow AgroSciences.And, she said, companies are competing for those workers with the right set of technical and interpersonal skills.“There is a talent war,” Kuenker said.More information about the Center for the Business of Life Sciences, as well as the conference, visit www.kelley.iu.edu/cbls/.
(10/25/10 4:28pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Ron Paul spoke on campus Monday about his vision of a small government, greater individual freedoms and an adherence to the Constitution.The Republican representative from Texas was invited to the IU Auditorium by the IU chapter of Young Americans for Liberty, a group that sprung out of Students for Ron Paul after the most recent presidential election.In his speech, “Case for Liberty,” Paul talked about how the U.S. is still riding the wave of liberty the founding fathers set up when they wrote the Constitution. But, the government is continuing to erode it.For instance, he said you should never give up liberties, even in cases of national security.“You never have to give up any freedom to be secure,” Paul said. “You’re less secure if you do.”Paul said the legislative branch is supposed to be the most important and powerful but has become a rubber stamp for the executive branch.Paul also talked about a need for economic reform. He said the Constitution says that money has to use gold as currency.The government gave the Federal Reserve the power to be “the official counterfeiter of the country,” Paul said.He said the country wouldn’t have as many issues if more people in Washington obeyed the Constitution. In his opinion, the country was on the right track about 100 years ago but it lost its way.People need to get control of their lives and their government, he said. No branch of government should regulate how different people should live their lives.He said issues such as the federal government outlawing marijuana and the regulation of other drugs is wrong.“I think the FDA exists for the drug companies,” he said, also stating that he believes the FDA creates a world-wide effort to raise drug prices.He praised Private First Class Bradley Manning, who is suspected of leaking the Iraqi war documents to WikiLeaks, and Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers, for breaking a law to tell the truth, which he said used to be considered noble.“Some people used to call them patriots,” Paul said, “not criminals.”Paul talked more about Iraq and Vietnam, saying wars there didn’t accomplish anything and only made the situation in those areas worse.Iraq, he said, is more aligned to Iran than ever before, and the war brought in Al-Qaeda, who’d never been there before. He said that after the fighting stopped in Vietnam, the U.S. began to talk and trade with the country, and it’s becoming more and more democratic.Paul said he likes speaking to college students. It encourages him, he said, because of students’ enthusiasm. For the country to change, he said, there will have to be ideological changes, and those start on campus.He said if a country really wants to see the direction it’s going, look at college campuses.“Not only is the future in your hands,” Paul said. “All the debt is in your hands, too.”At the end, Paul took questions. The final question was whether he is going to run for president again.It was met with rounds of applause and cheers, and then answered with an anti-climatic “We’ll see.”
(10/06/10 3:04am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU College Democrats and College Republicans had a pre-election battle for hearts and minds Tuesday.The debate was sponsored by Alpha Phi Alpha and the Black Student Union. Senior Michael Coleman, IU Student Association president and Alpha Phi Alpha member, organized the event.The student Democrats and Republicans answered questions ranging from education to the war in the middle east, as well as local political candidates.The debate kicked off with both sides arguing for education reform. The students then went on to talk about health care reform, the economic stimulus, immigration and the Middle East.The debate became heated when the Democrats and Republicans talked about local political candidates for Congress.The Republicans attacked Democratic 9th District Congressional candidate Baron Hill, and Democrats struck back on rebuttal at the Republican challenger, Todd Young.The same happened when discussing republican Senate candidate Dan Coats and his opponent, democrat Brad Ellsworth.Both groups were in teams of five, led by IU College Democrats President and senior Kelly Smith and IU College Republicans President and IDS columnist Justin Kingsolver.Before the debate, assistant professor in the Department of Political Science Yanna Krupikov said the debate was important because there could be a lot at stake during this election, with some considering it as some sort of judgement of how President Barack Obama is doing.Democrats, she said, want to convince the country that the past two years have not been that bad while Republicans want to convince the country that the past two years have been terrible.Most Americans don’t really know the issues, she said. She said no one knows what Americans are going to bring to the polls, though the president’s party always loses seats in Congress.She applauded the handful of people in Whittenberger Auditorium for being different.“By coming to this debate, you’ve all taken a different path,” Krupikov said.Coleman said the event, is part of a group of election-themed programs put on by Alpha Phi Alpha.
(09/17/10 7:28pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU’s campus is full of beauty, both natural and man-made. The IU Art Museum is hard to miss. Though the entrance to the museum, located on Seventh Street near the IU Auditorium, is swallowed by the museum’s walls, while a 70-foot-tall light tower and a 21-foot-tall circular red statue stand guard out front.The MuseumThe IU Art Museum was founded in 1941, and its current building was dedicated in 1982. The ceiling of the atrium is made out of glass triangles — a signature of famous architect I.M. Pei, whose company was commissioned to design the building in 1973.The museum serves as a place to learn for a wide variety of people — from college to elementary students — through both serious study and casual browsing. The museum has about 40,000 pieces of art from around the world and throughout history, including works from ancient Greece and Egypt, ancient and modern Japan, China, Tibet, Europe, the Americas and Africa.Prominent artists on display at the museum include Claude Monet and Pablo Picasso. The museum also sometimes features works from the professors at the Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts students.The Indiana ArcThe red aluminum statue outside the museum is called the “Indiana Arc.” It was designed by Charles O. Perry and was placed there in 1995. The statue honors Thomas and Ellen Ehrlich. Thomas Ehrlich was IU’s 15th president.On his Web site, Perry says he is interested in complex mathematical curves. Another one of his pieces, “Continuum,” stands in front of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.The Light PoleThe Light Totem was designed by Theatre and Drama Professor Robert Shakespeare and put up in 2007 to mark the 25th anniversary of the museum building’s dedication. The light pole, which normally turns on at dusk, lights up part of the front wall with an array of color — turning the wall itself into a work of art. The pole was designed to be energy-efficient.
(09/10/10 4:21am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The College of Arts and Sciences is putting the whole world into the hands of its professors and students.The College, with the help of IU’s Office of Sustainability and other departments, will attempt to lay out the issue of sustainability, with this year’s themester, sustainability: Thriving on a Small Planet. The Themester kickoff will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday in Dunn Meadow.The goal for the themester is to take a broad, complex societal issues and explore them in an interdisciplinary way, said Michael Hamburger, professor of Geological Sciences, who is spearheading the theme this year.This semester will be full of classes, speakers, workshops and programs focused on some aspect of sustainability, said Stephen Watt, associate dean for strategic planning in the College of Arts and Sciences.The keynote event, Hamburger said, is a visit from New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, who will be speaking on issues related to humans and global environment. Friedman wrote “The World is Flat” and “Hot, Flat, and Crowded.”Sustainability is something to be addressed on various fronts, such as economics, geology, arts and humanities, Watt said.“This is really an extraordinary opportunity for students to learn about and engage with issues that undoubtedly represent the biggest challenges facing their generation,” Watt said.He said the College isn’t taking a particular view — it’s presenting multiple views, so it can be looked at from different disciplines.“Education, I believe, is to a take a variety of informed perspectives of the problem and let the students and observers decide among competing perspectives, which are the most persuasive or compelling,” Watt said.Like last fall’s evolution theme, and next fall’s war and peace theme, the topic is complicated and even controversial.“We aren’t seeking controversial topics,” Watt said. “We’re seeking urgent and important topics.”This year there are more events, speakers and classes than last year, Hamburger said. And almost all of the events are free.“I hope students get involved,” he said.
(09/10/10 3:27am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Baker Alshaalan said he isn’t sure what to expect from one of his classes — “Living a Sustainable Life.”But the sophomore does have a lot of questions, from how to live a healthy lifestyle to how to stop pollution.“I want to know what ruins society,” he said.He said he’d spent a year in China and wondered why air in America was so clean compared to air there.He said he also wants to know what exactly sustainability is.“I don’t know what it means to live a sustainable life personally,” he said.Some of his concerns, questions and more are addressed in this unique political science class.The class was developed for the College of Arts and Sciences’ themester called sustain•ability: Thriving on a Small Planet. There are hundreds of classes throughout IU this semester that tie in the idea of sustainability.But instead of focusing on a single discipline, the class has guest lecturers each day who talk about a separate topic.And Christine Barbour, class coordinator and senior lecturer in the Department of Political Science, invites community members to sit in on class behind the regularly enrolled students.“Education has room for a lot of different formats,” Barbour said.Lecturers include Noble Prize-winning IU political science professor Elinor Ostrom on Sept. 16 and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman on Nov. 4.On Sept. 9, the class was taught by IU political science professor Russell Hanson. He spoke about “Why We Should Be Stewards.” He’ll teach again on Sept. 14 about “Making Hard Choices.”The format for the class was based off of a different class Barbour created after Sept. 11, 2001. Barbour wanted a class that could allow talk about the complicated situation that led to the attacks, but knew no one person could teach it.So she coordinated 13 different speakers and opened the class to the community.“It was really a huge success,” she said. She thought the format would be appropriate for another complex topic — sustainability.The class has already attracted some members of the community, even on the introduction days when Barbour went over the syllabus.The class has about 100 students who are assigned seats in the front. They’re graded on attendance, projects and a service learning project.Barbour said she’s looking forward to the rest of the semester.“It’s a real exciting thing,” she said. “I, as a professor, get to learn from a lot of really smart people.”