169 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(03/11/09 4:26am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Students on sophomore Elizabeth Solik’s dorm floor divide themselves by race, she said, because that is what they’re used to doing.Students hang out with those they are most like. Contact with other people is often a passing, “Hey, I recognize you,” Solik said.“It’s not because we didn’t want to associate,” she said.Situations like this happen all over campus.“We all look for our own comfort zones,” said Edwin Marshall, vice president for Diversity, Equity and Multicultural Affairs.IU administrators said they hope this is a pattern that will not continue much longer.Large increases in diversity, at least statistically, are expected to come to IU.The number of underrepresented minorities – which includes IU’s black, Hispanic and Native American populations – on Bloomington’s campus is supposed to double by the 2013-14 school year, IU officials said. In May 2006, IU’s board of trustees voted in favor of a measure making the increase official.The number of minorities from the 2007-08 school year to 2008-09 increased from 7 to 7.4 percent of the total student population, according to the IU Factbook.Marshall said the number of underrepresented minorities at IU is increasing, but not as much as he would hope.With an increase in IU’s admissions standards, there might be a small “hiccup” in minority recruitment, Marshall said.But interaction with diverse people on campus needs to increase because students live in a global society, Marshall said.“We need to create it where it does not exist and increase it where it does exist,” Marshall said.The best way to increase diversity is to create a welcoming campus environment, he said.Too often, people don’t appreciate what diversity is about, Marshall said, adding that diversity helps create a forum for understanding.If IU students would step out of their comfort zones and talk to different people, he said, there would be greater engagement throughout campus.“We all have the responsibility to realize this goal,” Marshall said.The classroom is a good place to start reaching out. Marshall said places such as fraternities, sororities and other social clubs are also good places to commence discussion.A good catalyst is a conversation about common points of interest, Marshall said.But, Marshall said, minorities should not be looked at as different from other students. He said there needs to be a better job as a society of looking at the “education pipeline.”Dean of Students Dick McKaig said an increase in minority students would help people from different backgrounds interact.“It would come more naturally,” McKaig said. Some are not convinced a greater number of diverse students by itself will foster this kind of understanding.“There’s always still ways for people to segregate,” said senior Michael Wolfe.To help recruit and mentor minority students, IU announced in January it would give $1 million to fund different programs across the University system.IU has programs for elementary through high school minority students through the Office of Community and School Partnerships.McKaig said there are financial and aspiration challenges for students to get to college and that the University needs to devote resources to programs to get young students interested in college. Those who aren’t prepared won’t be able to go to IU, he said.About a third of the students who participate in the programs go on to attend IU, said Kim Morris-Newson, director of the Office of Community and School Partnerships. The idea is to get children interested in college early, Morris-Newson said.“We get them interacting,” Morris-Newson said.But officials say making IU-Bloomington more welcoming to minority students requires more than work from the administration. Marshall said students and faculty have to make a conscious effort to interact.“Everyone has to reach out,” he said.
(02/25/09 5:05am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The name of a man who broke down racial barriers will not be juxtaposed with a segregationist’s, IU officials said Tuesday.IU’s board of trustees voted Friday to rename the Ora L. Wildermuth Intramural Center the William L. Garrett-Ora L. Wildermuth Intramural Center. But officials will no longer attempt to put the motion in place after complaints from Garrett’s family.“That will not happen in any circumstance, to share a name with a strict segregationist,” said Betty Garrett, the widow of IU’s first black basketball player.The All University Committee on Names is waiting to hear from IU President Michael McRobbie as to the University’s next move on the matter, said IU Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer Terry Clapacs. In 1948, Garrett broke the Big Ten’s tacit “gentlemen’s agreement,” which barred black players from the school’s basketball program.Wildermuth was a founding citizen of Gary, a judge and a school teacher, as well as an IU trustee from 1925 to 1952, serving as head of the trustees from 1938 to 1949.Wildermuth was also a segregationist, as shown in multiple letters between Wildermuth and former IU President Herman B Wells, as well as former IU comptroller Ward G. Biddle.Betty Garrett told Clapacs that she did not want to see her husband’s name next to Wildermuth’s.Garrett said she learned about the board’s decision in a news article and before that had no knowledge of the proposed name change.Garrett said she was upset because the University never contacted her. The only contact the family had, she said, was when Clapacs talked with James Garrett, Bill Garrett’s nephew, about three months ago.“The Garrett family will not support it,” Betty Garrett said.James Garrett told Clapacs he would speak for the family, Clapacs said.“We felt we had the blessing of the family,” Clapacs said.In a Nov. 11 Indiana Daily Student article, James Garrett said he was “truly proud and honored” by the proposed name change. He agreed with University officials’ argument that the two names next to each other would be a teaching opportunity.He said in the article that while it wouldn’t change history, it would explain it.When contacted Tuesday night, James Garrett said the family was waiting to hear other options from the University. Those options never came.He also said that the ultimate decision rests with Betty Garrett.James Garrett said that after reviewing Wildermuth’s writings, the family was not comfortable sharing the name with Wildermuth.Before the trustee vote, the decision to change the building’s name had been dragged out over two years.Friday was the second time the proposed change went before the board of trustees, having been tabled the first time and sent back to the naming committee, which Clapacs chaired.The intent of the name change was to honor Garrett, Clapacs said. He said he would respect the wishes of the family.“Things change,” Clapacs said. “Opinions change.”
(02/23/09 5:34am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Ora L. Wildermuth Gymnasium has been renamed to add the name of IU’s first black basketball player, following Friday’s vote at the board of trustees meeting in New Albany, Ind.The gym is now the William L. Garrett-Ora. L. Wildermuth Intramural Center, juxtaposing the name of a segregationist and that of a former IU basketball player who helped break down racial barriers.The two names together could provide a teaching moment, said Terry Clapacs, head of the All University Committee on Names and vice president and chief administrative officer of IU.Garrett helped end the Big Ten’s tacit “gentlemen’s agreement,” which prohibited black players from playing for a school in the conference. He played home games in the gym from 1948 to 1951.The trustees’ decision to change the name followed almost two years of deliberation within the University.The approved motion also included placing a plaque near the gym and creating an annual lecture series to help explain the name change.Wildermuth was a founding citizen of Gary, a judge and a school teacher, as well as an IU trustee from 1925 to 1952 – and head of the trustees from 1938 to 1949.Wildermuth was also a segregationist, as shown in multiple letters between Wildermuth and former IU President Herman B Wells, as well as former IU comptroller Ward G. Biddle.The controversy started in April 2007 after Indiana Daily Student columnist Andrew Shaffer wrote about the letters, questioning the wisdom of naming the building after a segregationist.All trustees voted in favor of the name change, except Patrick Shoulders.Shoulders said the board shouldn’t second-guess Herman B Wells, who supported naming the building after Wildermuth.Wildermuth held views many others held, he added.“We are about to make him the poster child for pervasive racism in the state of Indiana,” Shoulders said during the trustees meeting Friday at IU-Southeast New Albany.The All University Committee on Names started talking about recommending a name change about two years ago.Last year, the All University Committee on Names met to discuss the decision. In late October, the Committee decided to recommend the name change.The recommendation was tabled at a November trustees meeting by Shoulders, who said he was troubled by linking Garrett’s and Wildermuth’s names. He suggested naming the Student Recreational Sports Center after Garrett and keeping Wildermuth’s name on the intramural center.This sent discussion back to the All University Committee on Names.After hearing views for and against renaming the Student Recreational Sports Center after Garrett from faculty and student recreational sports groups on whether to take Shoulders’ suggestion, the committee decided to reissue its original recommendation.Author Tom Graham, who co-wrote a book about Garrett, said it was the best decision under the circumstances. If it played out further, he said, there was a risk of a decision never happening.While researching for “Getting Open: The Unknown Story of Bill Garrett and the Integration of College Basketball,” the other author, Graham’s daughter Rachel Graham Cody, came across the letters Wildermuth wrote in University Archives.“Yes, there was pervasive racism in the state of Indiana,” Tom Graham said, but it wasn’t a view leaders expressed back then. Many went along with racism simply out of habit, he said. As a trustee, Wildermuth must be held to a higher standard, he said.Graham said the lecture series and plaque helped see through the decision as a whole and give credibility to the teaching moment.“Bill Garrett was a pioneer,” Clapacs said.
(02/20/09 5:48am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU board of trustees will vote Friday on a measure to rename the Ora L. Wildermuth Intramural Center.Thursday, the trustees’ Facilities Committee voted within a matter of minutes to accept the recommendation of the All University Committee on Names. The All University Committee had suggested the building be renamed the William L. Garrett-Ora L. Wildermuth Fieldhouse.The trustees will also vote for a plaque and an annual conference to explain the name change.IU Vice President and Chief Administration Officer Terry Clapacs said he never likes to second-guess the board or predict what the board will do.“We’ll just see what happens,” Clapacs said. Wildermuth was a segregationist who served on IU’s board of trustees for several years, and Garrett was the first black player on IU’s basketball team.Garrett helped end the Big Ten’s tacit “gentlemen’s agreement,” which prohibited black players from playing for a school in the conference.The same recommendation went before the facilities committee in November, but trustee Patrick Shoulders sent it back to the All University Committee on Names.Shoulders suggested the gymnasium keep its moniker and that the Student Recreational Sports Center be named after Garrett.The controversy over the name of the gymnasium came after former Indiana Daily Student columnist Andrew Shaffer denounced Wildermuth in Spring 2007 for letters he wrote advocating segregation.- Staff writer Alex Benson contributed to this report.
(02/19/09 5:10am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In an effort to increase IU’s sustainability, the University has named Indianapolis architect William M. Brown as its first director of sustainability. Starting March 2, Brown will head IU’s Office of Sustainability, coordinating projects and making the office’s written goals a reality.“It’s a dream job as far as I’m concerned,” Brown said.Brown will be the only full-time staff member in the office, said Michael Hamburger, geology professor and co-chair of the Task Force on Campus Sustainability.The office is currently made of 14 undergraduate student volunteers working on projects, he said.Brown is an architect who specializes in “green” buildings. Previously, he helped make the White House “green,” and later he brought the idea of sustainable design to Indiana. He also has public policy experience, Hamburger said. Brown said he has volunteered at different sustainability-focused community groups, such as the Indianapolis-Marion County Green Commission.He won’t focus on campus buildings, but will spend much of his time mentoring and teaching students and coordinating projects. Before he was an architect, he was a teacher, Brown said.However, architecture skills would be useful, he said. An architect can take a vision and a loose idea and make something out of it, he said.“Sustainability is not a simple problem to solve,” Brown said. Brown’s salary will be paid evenly from the budget of the provost’s office and the budget of the vice president’s office, said Vice President and Chief Adminstrative Officer Terry Clapacs.The provost is in charge of the academic side of the University, and the vice president is in charge of the physical side of the University.The primary aim of Brown’s new role is to create sustainability strategies for both sides. IU has several academic programs involving sustainability around campus and there’s a need to link them, Hamburger said.Brown said his main goal is to make the recommendations in a report released by the Task Force on Sustainability a reality.There’s already a lot of momentum at IU concerning sustainability, Brown said, adding he hopes to keep it going.“The real power we have here on campus is brain power,” Brown said.
(02/16/09 4:18am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>An IU student told Kentucky police Saturday she was raped in the White Lot at IU’s Memorial Stadium.Kentucky State Police contacted IU Police Department at 3:30 a.m. Feb. 14 about a woman who reported she was raped in the parking lot at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 12, according to a press release.The Kentucky State Police interviewed the woman and will send a police report to IUPD this week.The student said she lives near the Elizabethtown, Ky. and commutes to the Bloomington campus several times a week, said IUPD Capt. Jerry Minger. She said she knew who raped her and didn’t want to press charges.Minger said he doesn’t know if the suspect was a student.She said she parks in the White Lot and takes a bus to class, Minger said.There aren’t any known witnesses, but the police are hoping someone saw something.“Many times people will have information and not know they have it,” Minger said.Even something that seems small could be valuable to the investigation, Minger said.Minger said the next time the woman comes to campus IUPD can speak to her and tell her about her options.IUPD is sending extra patrols around the White Lot, but since the woman knew her rapist, police don’t suspect any more attacks from the suspect.Anyone with information should call the IUPD at 855-4111.
(02/13/09 5:27am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Love hurts, and Valentine’s Day doesn’t help matters.Valentine’s Day is Saturday, but for many students, there’s no reason to celebrate.Sophomore Chelsea Rigdon said she once would see couples receiving attention and flowers on Valentine’s Day and would wonder when it’d be her turn.“I used to buy myself flowers to feel better,” she said.All year round she wondered whether she was even “playing the same game.”She said it got pretty discouraging, but after a while she got used to it.“Life is not a Kate Hudson movie. It’s not just going to come along and fall into your lap,” Rigdon said.She isn’t alone in her loneliness.Valentine’s Day or not, relationship issues are common reasons students come to Counseling and Psychological Services, said Nancy Stockton, CAPS director.But easy solutions to heartbreak don’t exist. Breakups and unattainable crushes can be painful.“We encourage students to keep up with their regular routine,” Stockton said. She said students should also leave some time to deal with the pain.A person might blame themselves excessively, wonder what mistakes they made and refuse to let go when dealing with their heartbreak.Trying to be logical by thinking “we were so perfect for each other” when a relationship is clearly over will just add to the misery, Stockton said.The worst thing to do, Stockton said, is turn to drugs and alcohol, and the best is to accept what’s happened rather than fight the pain.When Rigdon has a crush that doesn’t work out, she said she’ll cry a little, watch either a funny or sad movie and eat ice cream.“It just feels better when you eat it right out of the carton with a spoon,” Rigdon said.Other people take different approaches to relationships.Senior Matt Boeglin said failed crushes and ended relationships don’t really affect him.“If it wasn’t meant to be, it wasn’t meant to be,” he said.He said he remains detached from the girls he dates by keeping his dating life and the rest of his life separate. A serious relationship just isn’t for him.“I’m not really ready for anything like that at this point in my life,” Boeglin said.He said the most heartbreak he’s felt was when his dog died.“It pretty much sucked,” he said.Both Rigdon and Boeglin said Valentine’s Day is too commercialized.Valentine’s Day started off as a good idea, Rigdon said, but commercialism ruined it.Rigdon said she doesn’t know exactly what she wants from a relationship or Valentine’s Day – only what society wants her to.“You start thinking, ‘What can I do differently? What can I do differently?’” she said. But she said she realized it isn’t her – there wasn’t anything she could do.“I’ll just buy myself flowers again,” she said. “It’ll be fun.”
(02/12/09 4:56am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Some student veterans are upset about a lack of representation in a new veterans committee.IU President Michael McRobbie started a committee to enact an upcoming law that would expand college-bound veterans’ benefits in January. The committee consists of IU officials from each campus who work with veterans.Student veterans, at least for the present, are missing from the committee.Student veterans learned about the committee from a press release, said Megan Lewis, Indiana director of Student Veterans of America.All of the decisions were made behind closed doors, said Russell Silver, president of IU-Purdue University Indianapolis veterans group. He said he wants students to be involved, even if being on the committee would be impossible.“At this point we would take information,” Silver said.The committee has yet to meet, but officials said student representation is coming.The head of the committee, Kirk White, said at first the committee will look at current University administrative procedures, which might not be of interest to student veterans. Later the committee will get advice from students, he said.“I understand the importance of student input,” White said, adding he was IU Student Association president in 1983.He said it was “crazy” to think the committee could solve all the problems without student input.Margaret Baechtold, a member of the committee, said she can’t imagine the committee getting very far without asking about student needs.“That’s why we’re here, to serve students,” Baechtold said.But being excluded from the committee is just part of a larger problem for many veterans.Upon entering the military, recruits are promised a certain amount of money for tuition, Lewis said.Often those promises are not fulfilled, she said, and the money student veterans do get comes with a lot of paperwork in a process Lewis said is too bureaucratic.“You don’t show up to the University as a veteran and everything is taken care of,” Lewis said.Many students have trouble adjusting from military life to student life, Lewis said. She said the University can do a better job of taking care of veterans by supplying scholarships, stipends and counseling.The new law would provide more of that, but not all of it, she said.“We really feel marginalized,” Lewis said, but added that IU does try, and Baechtold does a good job.IU Bloomington’s veterans’ services were “bare-bones” for several years, Baechtold said. They had a small staff and fewer resources. The services were expanded in recent years, she said.In order for people to pay attention to veterans’ issues, student veterans have to put themselves out there, said Nick Bielinski, president of Student Veterans Association.“That’s the problem with student veterans, we’re all too independent,” he said.
(02/05/09 5:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Administrators are preparing for a new law that will increase benefits to student military veterans.Starting Aug. 1, many college-bound veterans will be eligible for expanded services, thanks to the post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act.The benefits will extend far beyond the current benefits, said Kirk White, director of community relations and a lieutenant colonel in the Indiana National Guard.Veterans can receive housing stipends, book stipends and, depending on their financial situations, more money for tuition, among several other changes, said Margaret Baechtold, director of Veteran Support Services at IU.About 320 students per semester receive GI benefits on the Bloomington campus, Baechtold said.But the new benefits are difficult to implement, Baechtold said.“It’s a very generous program. It’s great. It’s just very complicated,” Baechtold said. After the law was signed on June 30, campus veterans’ affairs offices started preparing, she said. But there are still more questions than answers.A new committee headed by White will ensure IU’s campuses are well-informed, have talked through potential problems and are ready to meet requirements, Baechtold said. It’s a chance to share information and coordinate, she said.The committee was formed in January, according to an IU press release.The committee will help make the benefits easy for veterans to use, White said. He said the members will look at current policies and procedures and make sure everyone knows how to proceed.“There are still a lot of unanswered questions at the national level about how exactly this is going to work,” Baechtold said. Potential problems such as delays in funding have to be worked out, she said.“We expect additional students will take advantage of this,” White said.How many more students isn’t clear yet.Baechtold said the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs expects a 20- to 25-percent increase in veterans attending college across the country.She said no one has a good sense of how many will come to the Bloomington campus, but she expects some increase, whether it’s two more students, or 200. White said he wants to “cut the red tape” for programs.Baechtold said the committee members, who work with student veterans at each IU campus, are still concerned there will be more questions than answers when it’s time to pay students.“Getting a bunch of us together will be a good thing,” she said.
(01/29/09 5:36am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Torn between creation and war, freshman David Marcus couldn’t decide whether to build a snowman or just keep throwing snowballs at his friends. He got his answer in a text message. There was a snowball fight at Dunn Meadow. So, he and his friends from Collins Living-Learning Center headed over.“I might as well take advantage of the snow while it’s still around,” he said.But, that snow, a miracle for many students, came at the worst possible time for the University, said IU Spokesman Larry MacIntyre. Despite the maintenance staff’s efficiency, the snow came in the morning, so crews didn’t have enough time to clear roads, he said.At about 5:30 a.m.,Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer Terry Clapacs checked the campus and recommended to IU President Michael McRobbie and Provost Karen Hanson to close campus until noon. At about 10 a.m. Clapacs recommended closing the campus all day after Monroe County declared a snow emergency.Snow made it dangerous and illegal for residents to drive unless they had good reason.There weren’t many crashes, but a lot of slide-offs Wednesday morning, said Indiana State Police Sgt. Curt Durnil.About half of the student body lives outside the campus limits, Clapacs said, and MacIntyre added that many staff members live outside of the city limits and have to take county roads to work.“We don’t want to put IU employees on county roads at this point,” MacIntyre said. “It’s primarily a safety thing.”There was a half “snow day” in February 2007, MacIntyre said. “We don’t like to close campus, but in this particular instance, we had to for safety reasons,” MacIntyre said. An ice bed already rested beneath the inches-deep blanket of snow, he said. Campus buses started running at noon Wednesday. Students were walking on campus despite the day off, said Perry Maull, operations manager for the IU Campus Bus Service.“I’d rather have them on a bus than in the middle of Fee Lane,” he said.The D and the X buses didn’t run Wednesday, but starting at noon, the rest of the routes ran a regular weekday schedule.“To tell you the truth,” Maull said, “I don’t think much would have moved this morning.”
(01/28/09 12:01pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The campus will be closed all day today, following heavy snowfall
Tuesday night. The University's Emergency Preparedness Web site
announced the closure at about 10:30 a.m.Last night's snow "has created unsafe travel conditions," according the site. In addition, Monroe County has declared a state emergency. Only emergency and public safety vehicles are allowed to travel. Roads, including Indiana State Road 37, continue to be slick, said Indiana State Police spokesman Sgt. Curt Durnil. Although he said there were no reports of snow-related injuries Wednesday morning, officers are patrolling slick roads to assist stranded drivers.Campus bus routes including the A, B and E lines will operate a normal weekday schedule. However, both the D and X routes have been suspended until Thursday, according to a Campus Bus Service news release. It is reported that more than nine inches of snow, sleet and ice have blanketed the region.Continue to check idsnews.com for updates throughout the day.
(01/27/09 5:16am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A plan that some local experts and University officials say could grow Indiana’s economy is in danger, following threats of state funding cuts to a primary research group. The state says it does not have money to fund the Indiana Innovation Alliance. Members of the Alliance want financial support for research and business collaboration between Purdue and IU.The universities asked for $70 million over two years to fund research, buy equipment and improve health care.It is a high priority for IU President Michael McRobbie, said University spokesman Larry MacIntyre. Among McRobbie’s missions are to advance academics and research and grow Indiana’s economy, he said.“And this project, if it were funded, would do both,” MacIntyre said.IU is already facing at least a 1 percent budget cut. Gov. Mitch Daniels wants to continue to balance the state’s budget, but the state faces about a $1 billion shortfall.Usually, the legislature doesn’t finish the budget until the last day of the deadline, MacIntyre said. The universities won’t know how much money, if any, they will get for the alliance until April 30.Daniels’ budget is focusing more on infrastructure and public safety, said Jeremy Sowders, vice president of business development for the Bloomington Economic Development Corporation, which works with local life sciences companies.That means less money to go around, including for the Indiana Innovation Alliance.The overall goal of the alliance is to create more high-paying jobs in Indiana, create innovative new technologies and to take care of health care, Sowders said.Combining forces would mean an increase in researchers, research assistants and other employees. Those on this larger payroll would buy houses and groceries and have a positive economic impact from Bloomington to Indianapolis to West Lafayette, MacIntyre said.But it’s not a quick fix for the current economy.This is a 10-year project at the earliest, Sowders said. Much of the economic impact of those companies would stay in the universities’ respective towns, he said, though surrounding communities could also stand to benefit.Some of the money would be used to “match funds.” Often government grants require applicants to be able to match the amount the grant gives. This results in “untapped money,” Sowders said.Purdue and IU rank toward the bottom of the Big Ten in receiving federal funding, Sowders said. Increasing federal funding could also increase private funding from the companies on the east and west coasts.An increase in money could also help entice researchers from big-name universities.“The biggest thing is getting Indiana’s slice of the pie, so to speak,” Sowders said.A large part of the money would go toward growing “core centers” – buying specialized equipment and building infrastructure, said Bill Stephan, IU’s vice president for engagement. The equipment could be used by private companies on a fee basis. These companies aren’t able to buy their own, Stephan said.It would also help to create equal access to the equipment for Purdue and IU, MacIntyre said.The rest of the money would go to expanding the medical school, Stephan said. This would mean increasing centers for medical education throughout the state. Students can spend the first two years of medical school at these locations, but they must graduate from the school of medicine in Indianapolis.This will help alleviate an approaching doctor shortage, Stephan said. The goal is to increase the medical school’s attendance 20 percent by 2013.It’s the University’s responsibility, “since IU is the state’s only medical institution,” Stephan said.
(01/27/09 4:01am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Even in a recession, space on Kirkwood is highly sought-after.The Indiana Shop – a play on T.I.S. – will open in March or April, T.I.S. president Tim Tichenor said.The new T.I.S. store will replace Steve & Barry’s on Kirkwood Ave. The Steve & Barry’s chain went bankrupt and, earlier this month, closed all their stores across the country.The new store will sell IU clothing and merchandise, like Steve & Barry’s did, but with more selection, Tichenor said. The “super store” will not sell books like the T.I.S. on Third Street, he said.The Third Street store will continue to sell clothing, but the new store will have more IU gifts besides clothing, Tichenor said. There will be the “buy some get so many free” deals at The Indiana Shop, like on Third Street, he said.Despite a bad economy, a space opening on Kirkwood was an opportunity T.I.S. couldn’t pass up, Tichenor said. The timing isn’t always the best, he said.But spaces with a built-in market that attracts alumni, students and game day traffic are rare and sought-after, he said. In addition, more students go back to school in bad economies, Tichenor said.“Do we expect it to be as strong as it would be? No,” Tichenor said.Businesses sometimes try to line themselves up for when the economy improves, said Jeremy Sowders, vice president of business development for the Bloomington Economic Development Corporation.Though T.I.S. is not “recession-proof,” T.I.S. and Kirkwood are always going to have alumni and student business, Sowders said.While the Bloomington community is struggling, it’s worse in other parts of the state, Sowders said. Bloomington has IU and companies such as Cook Pharmaceutical that give it a steady base.“The economy will come around,” Tichenor said, adding that a location on Kirkwood doesn’t come around often.Tichenor said the lease was competitive and didn’t know why the landlord specifically chose T.I.S. He said the company has been involved in the community for more than 45 years.He said T.I.S. was probably the largest supplier of IU merchandise in the country.They will take a place beside Nick’s and the rest of Kirkwood’s landmarks, he said.“It just seemed like a natural fit to us,” Tichenor said.
(01/23/09 4:23am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Residential Programs and Services and other campus businesses have suspended the sale of peanut butter as a precaution following a national salmonella outbreak and the national recall of more than 100 peanut butter products. Contaminated peanut butter products have contributed to the death of six people nationwide and have sickened at least 486 people nationwide.Items such as Keebler’s peanut butter crackers and Clif Bars have been temporarily taken off the shelves in C Stores and dining halls as a precaution, said Sandra Fowler, director of RPS Dining Services.Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches returned to shelves Thursday, Fowler said. Gordon Food Service, an RPS food supplier, said the peanut butter GFS buys is safe.The move to stop selling peanut butter is cautionary and not because any IU students have gotten sick, Fowler said. The Jif peanut butter containers in C Stores are safe, she said. “When something like this happens, until we know the source, we pull everything,” Fowler said.Two years ago, RPS stopped serving fresh spinach after an outbreak occurred, Fowler said.“What we do at RPS is try to be proactive,” said RPS Executive Chef Ancil Drake.Peanut butter products might return this week or next, when the items are determined to be safe. Fowler said this is normally how long it takes, in her experience, to track down the source of outbreaks.Sugar and Spice in the Indiana Memorial Union also stopped selling peanut butter products.“We wanted to take extra precautions,” said manager Suzette May, though she said the peanut butter the shop uses has not caused outbreaks.Sugar and Spice’s best-selling cookies, like chocolate no-bake and Special K Chewy cookies, have peanut butter in them, she said.The cookies won’t be sold again until the recall is over, May said. She said they follow the FDA guidance, and the cookies will return when the government agency says it’s safe.
(01/14/09 5:23am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A little bit of color can make IU greener, organizers of a recycling bin designing contest say. For the second year, Volunteers in Sustainability is sponsoring the “Outdoor Recycling Bin Design Contest.” Submissions are being accepted until Jan. 31.Junior Nathan Bower-Bir, coordinator of Volunteers for Sustainability, said he wants the contest to increase visibility and awareness of recycling.The idea is to make the cans noticeable and fun, sophomore Jordan Jacobs said. Jacobs came up with the idea in fall 2007 and presented it to Volunteers in Sustainability.“I think many people would say these are eye-catching,” Jacobs said. “It would be hard to confuse them with regular trash cans.”Placing the colorful containers next to garbage cans encourages recycling instead of simply throwing bottles and cans away, said Steve Akers, an advisor for Volunteers in Sustainability and associate director for Enviromental Operations for Residential Programs and Services. The five buckets kept on campus for the last eight months kept a total 275 gallons of glass, plastic and aluminum from entering the “waste stream” each week, Akers said.There are detailed instructions posted on the canister about what can be recycled, he said. With this arrangement, almost no garbage ends up in the recycling bin.There’s even talk of putting the recyclers at tailgates and Little 500, Bower-Bir said. “We really want to work on recycling at sporting events because that’s where so much that could be recycled is not being recycled,” Bower-Bir said. Five of the canisters from last year were still standing at high-volume locations around campus until a few days ago, Akers said. The paint will be scraped off, and the canisters will be reused.“So we’re recycling the recycling containers,” Akers said.Artists will use regular latex-based paint to reproduce their winning designs on the recycling bins, Akers said. The designs are then covered with a layer of polyurethane, which keeps the paint from chipping for months. The judges will simply be looking for “something interesting,” Bower-Bir said, adding that the designs don’t have to be related to recycling. Though Bower-Bir said he isn’t sure who the judges will be, they will come from different departments and groups across campus. Still, Jacobs believes there’s more that needs to be done.“I think there’s a lot more to be done to convince the majority of Indiana University students to pursue an environmentally friendly and sustainable lifestyle,” Jacobs said.
(01/09/09 3:53am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>More space, better tools, more convenience, better care.Convenience and care are the themes of the new Atwater Eye Care Center, which opened Jan.5 in a new spot. The teaching clinic moved to East Third Street, a block closer to campus than before.The new 22,000 square foot, $3 million location is able to devote more space to patient care and convenience than previously, said Kevin Collins, clinic services administrator. It has state-of-the-art facilities and improved patient flow, he said.“It’s really going to enhance our patient care and student experience,” Collins said.At its old location in the Atwater Optometry Building, the clinic had to share space with School of Optometry researchers.Continuing as a teaching clinic, each semester about 16 third and fourth-year optometry students gain practical experience by working with a practicing optometrist, Collins said. They will be able to train on the newest equipment, purchased for the new location, according to an IU press release.The clinic is open to the entire Bloomington community. It provides primary, contact lens and pediatric care.The move will also make it possible to expand the clinic’s services in the future, said Khashayar Tonekaboni, the clinic’s director.The center hopes to add a pathological and disease clinic, Tonekaboni said. Many patients who would need to be treated there are referred to the west side clinic.“We can hopefully maintain some of those patients here for patient convenience,” he said.The School of Optometry funds the clinic, with patient money going to the school and then back to the center, Tonekaboni said. Collins said the clinic tries to be self-sustaining, but because it’s used in the curriculum, the school ultimately has to fund the project.The center also sells eyeglass frames. Selling frames at a clinic is not uncommon, Collins said, but the location sells exclusive designs. He said students are savvy about fashionable frames.“We’re proud of our design choices,” Collins said.
(01/06/09 7:18pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>University officials are sticking with their original recommendation to rename the Wildermuth Intramural Center to the William L. Garrett-Ora L. Wildermuth Fieldhouse.They also kept the suggestion to create annual conference and set up a plaque explaining why the names are combined. Officials said they hoped this would emphasize a "teaching moment," with the name of a segregationist and someone who broke down racial barriers side-by-side.Wildermuth served a member of IU's board of trustees from 1925 until 1952. He led the trustees from 1938 to 1949.About a year and a half ago, an Indiana Daily Student columnist wrote an article saying the gym's name should be changed. He cited letters written by Wildermuth which advocated segregation.Garrett was IU's first black basketball player when black players were barred from the Big Ten by a tacit "gentlemen's agreement." He opened the doors for other black players.The recommendation was originally presented to the board of trustees facilities committee in November.At the meeting, IU trustee Patrick Shoulders suggested keeping Wildermuth's name on the gym and naming the Student Recreational Sports Center after Garrett.This sent the debate back to the All University Committee on Names.The committee reaffirmed the decision after considering Shoulders' and others' ideas, said Terry Clapacs, Head of the All University Committee on Names nad also the Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer for IU.The committee also took into consideration different petitions from faculty and student recreational sports committees on whether to take Shoulders' suggestion.It's up to the president to take it to the trustees, who meet next in February, Clapacs said.
(12/22/08 1:52pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>University officials gave another recommendation to IU President Michael McRobbie on Sunday regarding the Ora L. Wildermuth Intramural Center, which is named after a segregationist.But the recommendation cannot be made public until it is reviewed by McRobbie, said Terry Clapacs, Head of the All University Committee on Name and Vice President and Chief Administrative officer.Clapacs was unable to say how long the recommendation would take to be reviewed and revealed, in part because people are "scattered" for the holidays.The name of the intramural center came under fire when Indiana Daily Student columnist Andrew Shaffer questioned the suitability naming the gym after Wildermuth about a year and a half ago.In an article, Shaffer cited a letter Wildermuth wrote to former IU President Herman B Wells as well as a letter Wildermuth wrote to former IU comptroller Ward G. Biddle. In those letters Wildermuth voiced his disdain for integration.Wildermuth was a founding citizen of Gary, a judge, a school teacher, and helped raise a substantial amount of money for IU, including money for the gym that bears his name. He served as IU trustee from 1925 to 1952 and as head of the trustees from 1938 to 1949.In late October, the committee recommended changing the gym's name to the William L. Garrett/Ora L. Wildermuth Fieldhouse.Garrett was IU's first black basketball player at a time when black players were barred from the Big Ten by a tacit "gentlemen's agreement." After Garrett broke down barrier the agreement raised, coaches around the country began to recruit black players.Garrett played home games in the gym from 1948 to 1951. The committee also suggested placing a plaque and instituting an annual lecture series and conference on what prompted the name change. University officials said they hoped it would help make the juxtaposition of the two names a teaching opportunity.The recommendation to join the two names was tabled during a November trustee's facilities committee meeting. Trustee Patrick Shoulders suggested naming the Student Recreational Sports Center after Garrett and leaving Wildermuth's name on the center.This sent the deliberations back to the All University Committee on Names.In an October interview, Clapacs said it is difficult to take someone's name off a building. He said it could set a precedent which would politicize the naming process and cover IU's history. At the time, Clapacs warned against rushing into a recommendation.Clapacs also said then that it is hard to take what was said 50 years ago and judge it by today's standards.The trustees meet next in February.
(12/15/08 3:46am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The cost of living at IU is going up.Rates for dorms on the Bloomington campus will rise 5.7 percent, from $7,138 to $7,546, for an air-conditioned double room, according to a press release. The IU board of trustees approved the change for the 2009-10 school year on Dec. 12. “We can’t operate residence halls in the red,” said IU spokesman Larry MacIntyre.MacIntyre said the increases weren’t because of the ailing economy, but based on the expenses of operating the residence halls.The increase is part of the yearly rise in the price of goods and other costs, said Pat Connor, executive director of Residential Programs and Services. He said one-third of the budget of RPS is salaries and benefits. He also said RPS always spends money to improve and update the residence halls.He said another big reason costs are going up is because RPS is now expected to pay its own utilities and was not before. The cost of the utilities was estimated at $7 million, Connor said, so they’ve been trying to make it up over the previous three years.Connor said the increase in room and board was less than last year’s.Still, Connor said living in IU’s residence halls is a good value, less expensive than Purdue, Ball State and six other Big Ten universities.This year’s rate was set months earlier than usual. Connor said he and Neil Theobald, vice president and chief financial officer, decided to modify when they set the rates so they could set all the campuses’ rates at once.He said it was also because there are fewer trustee meetings per semester than in the past. He said it would give students residence hall rates earlier so they can plan and make better decisions about where they should live.The early date also has the potential to cause some problems.He said RPS looked at industry benefit rates to try to predict the costs but is still cautious about how some rates, such as health care benefits, could rise in the near future.Students interviewed had mixed opinions about the value and price of residence hall life.“Is it too expensive?” said sophomore Leah Rosenthal. “Absolutely. But’s it’s worth it, at least for a year.”Rosenthal said even though living at the dorm was expensive, the experience was worth it, though she’s living off campus next year.“It’s just cheaper to live off campus,” said sophomore Andrew Voorhees. Voorhees said he’s going to get an apartment off campus, and he added it was mainly the meal plan prices that elevated the costs.“I can go to the store and get a lot more for a lot cheaper than buying a meal plan,” he said.
(12/15/08 3:44am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In an attempt to fight a revenue shortfall, IU President Michael McRobbie recommended suspending this year’s merit-based pay raises for senior administrators on Dec. 12 during a board of trustees meeting.IU spokesman Larry MacIntyre said McRobbie hasn’t figured out precisely who will be affected, but it will likely be the vast majority of administrators making more than $100,000 a year. MacIntyre stressed it would not affect faculty who aren’t also administrators.The freeze will affect 300 to 400 people across campus, according to a press release. MacIntyre said based on last year’s raises, the freeze would save the University $2 to $2.4 million.Raises are typically awarded at the start of the fiscal year, but now there will be no 2009-10 raises for the people affected, MacIntyre said.This, and an earlier mandate to think carefully before filling non-critical vacant positions, comes as the state finds itself more than $700 million short.MacIntyre said he couldn’t predict if the state will give IU less this year than normal, but they’re using the bad economy as a sign.Neil Theobald, vice president and chief financial officer, said 60 to 70 percent of IU’s $2.6 billion budget is salaries and benefits. He said last year the state gave IU $525 million.“We have a lot of pressure on the revenue side,” Theobald said.Many of the main sources of the University’s revenues, including endowment returns, state funding, contracts and grants are expected to decline.Officials are trying to find ways to save money to keep the burden off of students.“President McRobbie is very sensitive to the tuition issue and how it will keep IU affordable,” MacIntyre said.Theobald said without a doubt there would be other cost-saving measures, saying everything possible would be done to hold down tuition.“Any money we don’t spend we don’t charge in tuition,” he said.