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(10/27/08 2:48am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU seniors Luke Fields and Sara Stombaugh were named Homecoming king and queen Saturday at the Homecoming football game.The announcement was supposed to be made at the pep rally Friday, but the rally was canceled due to rain. Stombaugh said she was disappointed she didn’t get to go to the pep rally, saying she wished she could have met the other members of the court. The members met at a luncheon before the game, but Stombaugh said she wished they all could have gotten to know each other better.But she said she enjoyed the honor of being named the queen. After the announcement, people were shouting her and Fields’ names.“It was all surreal,” Stombaugh said. Fields said it was quite an honor to be named – he said he never thought he’d be “that guy.” But, he added, that’s what’s great about IU. He said he’s constantly amazed by the opportunities and new experiences at the University.He said the king and queen contest was a way to recognize seniors who gave back to the University. It isn’t exactly based on popularity.To be eligible to win, the king and queen must be seniors with GPAs above a 3.0. According to the contest application, the Homecoming court, consisting of five men and five women, are selected and judged on campus involvement, leadership qualities, scholarship, personality and poise.Fields said with so many strong candidates, the contest is a testament to the current senior class. Stombaugh is the president of the IU Panhellenic Association, member of the Student Activities Ethics Board and a member of Campus Crusade for Christ. Fields is the president of the IU Student Association and former vice president of Residence Hall Association. He also owns his own small business.Both king and queen said their parents came to the game and took them out to eat. Fields’ roommate Dan Sloat, who is vice president of IUSA, was also on the Homecoming court.He said he wondered if there had ever been roommates who were on the court together. Though he wasn’t crowned king, he is still proud of Fields.“It was definitely an honor to be recognized among all those student leaders,” Sloat said.
(10/26/08 7:29pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A decision might come about renaming the Ora L. Wildermuth Intramural Center on Monday, said Terry Clapacs, head of the All University Committee on Names.Clapacs, also Vice President and Chief Administration Officer for IU, said the decision could come if committee members decide they don’t need more time to do research and think.In an April 2007 column, former Indiana Daily Student columnist Andrew Shaffer brought to light separate letters between Ora L. Wildermuth, for whom the building is named, and former IU President Herman B Wells, as well as former IU comptroller Ward G. Biddle. In the letters, Wildermuth expressed strong segregationist views.In an interview Oct. 8 with the IDS, Clapacs said the decision would come within two weeks – or by Oct. 22. On Oct. 22, Clapacs told the IDS the University would need more time.
(10/22/08 4:03am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After a year-and-a-half of discussion, the decision whether to rename the Ora. L. Wildermuth Intramural Center will take a little longer.The Wildermuth name-change decision will not be resolved until at least Monday said Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer Terry Clapacs, who is also head of the All University Committee on Names. That is, unless committee members need more time to do research or think about the issue, he said.In an interview Oct. 8, Clapacs said the decision would come within two weeks – or by today.The committee will decide whether to recommend the Ora L. Wildermuth Intramural Center in the School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation building to be renamed. Wildermuth was a founding citizen of Gary, a judge and the president of the IU Board of Trustees from 1938 to 1949. In an April 2007 column, former Indiana Daily Student columnist Andrew Shaffer brought to light separate letters between Wildermuth and former IU President Herman B Wells, as well as former IU comptroller Ward G. Biddle, where Wildermuth expressed strong segregationist views. The column criticized the University for naming the building after a segregationist.In an interview two weeks ago, Clapacs said it’s not easy to change a name.“It’s a very serious matter,” Clapacs said.There’s concern that once one building name is changed, it will create a dangerous precedent in which other buildings will come into question – politicizing IU’s traditions and history, he said.Therefore, Clapacs said, committee members need to take time to think about the issue and do research before making such a big decision.IU spokesman Larry MacIntyre agreed, saying while what Wildermuth believed and said are not considered acceptable in today’s society, his comments were made during a different era. IU’s traditions must be weighed before any change.Clapacs also said there are a variety of opinions in the committee, and donor money hasn’t factored into the process. It’s difficult to take what was said 50 years ago and judge it against today’s standards, Clapacs said.IU alumnus Tom Graham co-wrote “Getting Open: The Unknown Story of Bill Garrett and the Integration of College Basketball.” The book was about basketball player Bill Garrett breaking the Big Ten’s tacit “gentlemen’s agreement,” which kept out black players. When he was writing the book, he uncovered Wildermuth’s letters.Graham said many people didn’t think in an actively racist way in Indiana at the time – they were segregated out of habit.As president of the Board of Trustees when the University was slowly becoming desegregated, Wildermuth should be held to a higher standard, Graham said. “It is simply not true that what Wildermuth was thinking was what everyone thought,” he said.
(10/21/08 5:57pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Wildermuth name change decision will not be resolved until at least Oct. 27, said Terry Clapacs, head of the All University Committee on Names and IU’s vice president and chief administrative officer. That is, unless committee members need more time to do research or think about the issue, he said.In an interview Oct. 8, Clapacs said the decision would come within two weeks – or by this Wednesday.The committee will decide whether to recommend that the Ora L. Wildermuth Intramural Center be renamed. The building is named for Wildermuth, a founding citizen of Gary, judge and president of the IU Board of Trustees from 1938 to 1949, who also was a segregationist.The building’s name came under fire in April 2007 after an Indiana Daily Student columnist criticized the University for naming the building after the segregationist.Former IDS columnist Andrew Shaffer brought to light separate letters between Wildermuth and former IU President Herman B Wells as well as former IU comptroller Ward G. Biddle.In an interview two weeks ago Clapacs said it’s not easy to change a name.There’s concern that once one building name is changed, it will create a dangerous precedent in which other buildings will come into question – politicizing and covering IU’s traditions and history, he said.Therefore, Clapacs said, committee members need to take time to think about the issue and do research before making such a big decision.
(10/21/08 4:18am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Ambitious plans and a sputtering economy might put pressure on IU trustees to find other ways to balance their budget, such as increasing tuition and cutting back on employee pay, IU officials said.IU President Michael McRobbie presented the 2009–2011 budget to the Indiana Commission for Higher Education on Oct. 10. But, with the current credit crisis, there’s concern about where the money will come from and how it will affect students, faculty and staff.As McRobbie continues his ambitious plans for IU’s 2010-11 school year, the University asked for $513 million for the operating budget, $58 million for repairs to the outside of buildings and $206.9 million for other capital projects, such as new buildings.The commission will then make its report to the governor, and then the plan will go to the legislature. In April, the trustees will meet to decide tuition for students matriculating into IU the next two years, said IU spokesman Larry MacIntyre.Tuition and state funding are the big sources of revenue, said Neil Theobald, vice president and chief financial officer for the University.If, because of the economy, state funding and endowment returns are less than usual, IU will be forced to find other ways to come up with the money, Theobald said. He added that there are a lot of options.One way, Theobald said, is to spend less. He said the University can reduce the amount spent on pay increases and hire fewer people. “Anything you do on operating side involves paying people or hiring fewer people,” Theobald said.Another way, he said, is to raise tuition. While the operating budget is funded by tuition, capital projects are not, MacIntyre said. For the 2008-09 school year, the state didn’t provide $13.5 million of the $504.7 million IU asked for in its operating budget request. It provided about half of the money for capital projects, and for building repairs, it held back $3.3 million.Even so, when state funding didn’t come through for the Cyber Infrastructure building, IU took money from salary increases, among other sources, Theobald said. Theobald said an option is to take from IU’s general fund, which is funded partly by tuition, though MacIntyre said they don’t take from IU’s general fund. Funding for buildings is not allowed to be used for salaries.McRobbie said it’s hard to predict where the economy will be in a few months, and when asked last week if tuition would increase more than usual, he said, “It’s far too early to tell.”
(10/15/08 4:57am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>INDIANAPOLIS – Uttering the words of Herman B Wells, IU President Michael McRobbie said he will “make no small plans for Indiana University” during his first-ever State of the University address Tuesday.McRobbie delivered the address at IU-Purdue University Indianapolis about his goals and initiatives, commending progress made and adding to his already ambitious plans – even in the face of a credit crisis.“It has been a record-breaking year,” McRobbie said.In the speech aimed at faculty and staff, he said the past year was the best ever for external research funding, with $525 million. But half of the money came from government sources, he said, and with the current international financial crisis, funding might be harder to come by in the future.Because of the economic crisis, returns on endowments – a major source of income for the University – might fall flat or even decrease. He also said studies have shown philanthropic giving decreases in the face of an economic crisis, though only slightly.“A significant decline in interest income may require us to postpone or slow down planned spending,” he said. “This will impair our efforts to address crucial programmatic and facility needs across the university.”He applauded those in charge of IU’s financial security, such as the University Treasurer MaryFrances McCourt and Vice President for Finance Neil Theobald, and said they were able to look ahead – making sure many of IU’s investments are free of stifling conditions imposed on many other universities because of the crisis.Still, he asked all University units – especially administrative ones – to slow hiring in non-faculty positions.But he plans to push on with his goals, stressing the need to prioritize, to have “relentless but responsible optimism.” He spoke about the need for more space for research and teaching. He also covered the construction plans of buildings on every campus for business, information technology, life sciences and the arts.He discussed the increase in minorities, international students, students studying abroad and in-state students enrolled at IU this year, as well as stressing the need for students to have international experience.“International experience is quite practically a necessity,” he said.McRobbie announced that the New Frontiers in the Arts and Humanities Program, which gives money to scholarship and creativity in humanities projects, will be expanded for an additional five years. The program is funded with $1 million each year.He mentioned the University’s need to be more sustainable but said there was only so much that could be done. He suggested the University could do more through research – breakthroughs could lead to more and better ways to keep IU and the world sustainable. John Minor Ross, professor of informatics at IU-Kokomo, said McRobbie is doing a nice job of looking back as well as forward.He did a good job of giving credit to faculty, staff and donors, he said.But what Ross said he liked best was McRobbie’s attempt to find what’s best for the University.“He’s looking,” Ross said.
(10/14/08 9:22pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Restating the words of Herman B Wells, IU President Michael McRobbie said “Make no small plans for Indiana University,” in his State of the University address Tuesday.McRobbie delivered the speech at IU-Purdue University Indianapolis on his goals and initiatives, commending progress made and adding to his previous ambitious plans – even in the face of a credit crisis.In the speech aimed at faculty and staff, McRobbie spoke about the need for more space for research and teaching. He spoke about the construction or planned construction of buildings throughout the University for business, information technology, life sciences and the arts.Last year was the best year ever for external research funding, with $525 million, McRobbie said.However, half the money came from government sources. With the current international financial crisis, funding might be harder to come by, McRobbie said.Read Wednesday's IDS for more details of McRobbie's address.
(10/14/08 4:08am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Presidential candidates often talk about how the crisis on Wall Street might affect Main Street. But IU President Michael McRobbie plans to talk about how the crisis on Wall Street might affect Jordan Avenue during his State of the University address today in Indianapolis.During McRobbie’s first State of the University address, he is expected to discuss how the financial crisis will affect IU, as well as his existing initiatives such as increasing research and international presence, according to a press release. The 1:30 p.m. speech will be at IU-Purdue University Indianapolis in the University Place Conference Center Auditorium. IU spokesman Larry MacIntyre said the speech is a long-standing tradition aimed largely at faculty and staff.“It’s not only tradition,” MacIntyre said. “It’s a pretty important way of letting faculty know what’s happening next year.”With eight campuses, the speech is really the only way for the president to reach everyone, MacIntyre said.Herbert Terry, president of Bloomington Faculty Council and associate telecommunications professor, said he expects to get some insight from the speech. He said he hopes to hear an update about how the initiatives from the inaugural address are doing and about how IU is responding to the financial crisis. Many faculty are anxious to hear about new projects, he said.“He had such an ambitious first year,” Terry said. Erika Dowell, a public services librarian at the Lilly Library and secretary of the Bloomington Faculty Council, said she expects to hear about the budget outlook. Dowell said she wants to hear about the University’s master plan in light of a planning company being hired to map growth. She said the speech is important for the entire University.“I’m just going into it with a open mind,” she said.The speech will be broadcast live in Poplars room 185, Radio and TV room 175, the School of Education room 2140 and on the Internet at http://broadcast.iu.edu.
(10/13/08 5:13am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU Board of Trustees is looking for a leader to fill the ranks of student trustee. Applications are available starting today, and the position provides a unique opportunity to think about issues facing the University great leadership experience, said Robin Roy Gress, secretary of the Board of Trustees. But, she said, it’s a very serious, time-consuming job.The student has the same responsibilities as the other eight trustees. The Board of Trustees is the governing body of the University, as well as its legal owner.Gress said all IU students who currently study full-time students and plan to for the next two years are eligible to apply – even undergraduates and international students. The term lasts two years.Current trustee, senior A.D. King, said a good candidate can listen and ask penetrating questions. He said it’s different than listening in class – the trustees have to deal with issues ranging from adopting the budget to reviewing tenure for professors.“You can’t fall asleep in the back row at a trustee meeting,” he said.The student position is required because of a state law, Gress said. King said student trustees add the element of a student voice because the other board members are more removed from the student body.King said much of the day-to-day duties consist of e-mailing and talking to students. A search-and-screen committee reviews the applications and sends 10 of them to the governor, who then chooses the trustee, Gress said.The student body presidents from all eight campuses are invited to be on the committee, or they can send representatives, Gress said. The two graduate student body presidents from Bloomington and IU-Purdue University Indianapolis are also invited. A representative from the governor’s office usually comes later in the process. IU Student Association president and senior Luke Fields said he plans to be on the committee. He said he’s looking for someone who can see the big picture of all eight campuses of the University.He’s also looking for someone with passion – someone who is really involved with the University.“There’s a difference between passion and interest,” he said.About 30 to 40 students usually apply each time, Gress said. Applications can be found at www.indiana.edu/~trustees and in rooms 387 and M005 in the Indiana Memorial Union. The deadline is Jan. 23.“I really urge students to apply even if they’re remotely interested,” Gress said.
(10/09/08 4:23am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A committee will recommend within two weeks whether the Ora L. Wildermuth Intramural Center – named after a segregationist – should be renamed, University officials said Wednesday.“It’s a very serious matter,” said Terry Clapacs, head of the All University Committee on Names and IU’s vice president and chief administrative officer.The building’s name – after Ora Wildermuth, a founding citizen of Gary, judge and president of the IU Board of Trustees from 1938 to 1949 – came under fire after an Indiana Daily Student columnist criticized the University in April 2007 for naming the building after a segregationist. Former IDS columnist Andrew Shaffer brought to light separate letters between Wildermuth and former IU President Herman B Wells as well as former IU comptroller Ward G. Biddle.In a letter to Biddle, Wildermuth wrote he was and will always “remain absolutely and utterly opposed to social intermingling of the colored race with the white.”In a letter to Wells, Wildermuth wrote even more disparagingly about black students. “So few of them succeed and the average of the race as to intelligence, economic status and industry is so far below the white average,” Wildermuth wrote, “that it seems to me futile to build up hope for a great future.”Originally named the IU Fieldhouse, Wildermuth Intramural Center was home to the IU men’s basketball team from 1928 to 1960 and is now attached to the School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation. It was renamed in Wildermuth’s honor in 1971. Shaffer’s column urged University officials to discuss the possibility of a name change for the building. The day the column was published, Adam Herbert, who was IU president at the time, issued a statement saying IU leaders needed to “start a dialogue” about whether to change the name.“I am disappointed, but not surprised, that such views were promulgated by a leading Indiana citizen at that point in history,” Herbert said in the statement.But Clapacs said it’s not easy to change a name. Clapacs said when a building is named, it’s supposed to be for forever. Clapacs said University officials did not want to rush into a name change because they think it’s a big decision. There’s concern that once one building name is changed, it will create a dangerous precedent in which other buildings will come into question – politicizing and covering IU’s traditions and history, he said.“Who knows what else will come out,” he said about other building’s names.IU spokesman Larry MacIntyre said while what Wildermuth believed and said are not acceptable in today’s society, IU’s traditions must be weighed before any change. Clapacs also said there are a variety of opinions in the committee. He said donor money hasn’t factored into the process. It’s difficult to take what was said 50 years ago and judge it against today’s standards, Clapacs said.Wildermuth was on the board of trustees when IU was slowly becoming desegregated. IU alumnus Tom Graham wrote “Getting Open: The Unknown Story of Bill Garrett and the Integration of College Basketball” about basketball player Bill Garrett breaking the Big Ten’s tacit “gentlemen’s agreement,” which kept out black players. When he was writing the book, he uncovered Wildermuth’s letters.Graham said many people didn’t think in an actively racist way in Indiana at the time – they were segregated out of habit.He also said as president of the Board of Trustees, Wildermuth should be held to a higher standard.“It is simply not true that what Wildermuth was thinking was what everyone thought,” he said.
(10/08/08 5:13am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After serious delays in approving human research this summer, problems with getting projects approved are getting better, Steve Martin, associate vice president of research administration, said Tuesday.But it’s a struggle to find a balance between the needs of the researcher and the bureaucracy, said Stephen Burns, chair of the research affairs committee at IU. The Bloomington Faculty Council met Tuesday, and one of the topics on the agenda was an update on the delays in approval for human research subjects.During the summer and the early part of this semester, the Bloomington campus implemented the same procedures used by accredited Institutional Review Boards, or IRBs, which caused the delays. This slowed down work for researchers who were waiting on approval as they – and the reviewers – grappled with the new, more complicated procedures.Researchers have to submit proposals for any research that involves humans, even when just observing or talking with them. It isn’t limited to the hard sciences – education, folklore and many other departments are affected.Research approval over the summer was “pretty dismal,” Martin said. In parts of July and August, Martin said only four projects were approved a week, compared to about 50 projects approved last week. He said he hopes to get to the point where the number of projects being approved exceeds the number coming in, to take care of the backlog.No humans were ever in danger, but, Burns said, procedures need to be followed to ensure continued government grant funding. The complicated forms ensure the committee has enough information to know that the subjects have enough information to consent. Researchers are confused and frustrated by new forms, procedures and complex language, Burns said, though the administration has made efforts to educate researchers about the forms and procedures. The tug of war isn’t unique to IU, Burns said. He said all the procedures are designed to make sure subjects know what they’re getting into. “It’s all about making sure people can make informed decisions,” Burns said.To fix IU’s specific research issues, Martin said, there are 20 people working at Bloomington’s IRB who are trying to push through research approvals, project amendments and yearly reviews. Martin said he doesn’t know if the number of workers will decrease. Four of them are from IU-Purdue University Indianapolis, working on a part-time basis. An IRB from the Indianapolis campus provided support for Bloomington’s campus during the summer and earlier in the semester.Peter Finn, chair of IU-Bloomington’s IRB, said the Bloomington campus is more self-sufficient than it had been during the transition. He also said 95 percent of proposals going through are approved with minimal problems, which he contributed partly to University-provided education about the new forms and procedures. The change in procedures resulted from problems with the way the IRB office was processing research proposals, Burns said.He said because of the delays, some researchers have waited to submit proposals until things get better, which might cause more backlogging.Martin said not all the problems are fixed. Finn said he is taking suggestions to alleviate those problems that are leftover.“We fully expect that there are additional changes we need to make,” Martin said.
(10/07/08 3:14am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The economic upheaval has left banks and lenders short of money. Here’s a look at how the credit crunch could affect you:Student LoansThere have been problems with students trying to get loans, said Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of FinAid.org. He said there are two types of student loans – private and federal. Private loans are harder to get because the minimum credit score has gone up and many require a credit-worthy cosigner.The Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008 makes sure that federal loans are available. The Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) loan program requires that the parent borrower has a fairly clean credit history – with no foreclosures. The Stafford loan doesn’t.Kantrowitz said students will have to hunt for a lender because 137 lenders stopped issuing federal loans, and 36 stopped issuing private loans. Some of the lenders stopped selling loans and survive by nursing outstanding loans, while some have simply gone out of business.He said students should look for federal loans first.“Federal loans are better than private loans,” Kantrowitz said. He said they’re cheaper, more available and have better repayment terms.Credit CardsBecause there’s less money for banks to lend, people might have a harder time getting bank-issued credit cards, said American Bankers Association Spokeswoman Carol Kaplan.Rates for the credit cards aren’t affected, but banks are cutting down on risk, she said. She said credit lines – the amount of money allowed to be charged to credit cards – are being reduced. Banks are becoming more selective, she said, turning down more applications and only giving cards to people they’re sure will pay.Kaplan also said that people are having a harder time paying off bills. Loan delinquencies have also risen this quarter, she said.Kaplan said people looking to get a credit card need to take care of their credit.“That’s where people’s credit reports come into play,” she said.She said people should examine their credit report and pay bills on time. If someone runs into trouble, she advised that consumers contact their lender as soon as they can – there are several options if they call early.“Procrastination is not a good idea,” she said.MortgagesMortgages face the same situation credit cards do, Kaplan said. She said it’s harder to get a mortgage to pay for a house for the same reasons. Those looking for a mortgage need a good credit record. Consumers might also have to pay higher down payments – 3.5 percent on average.Lisa Sherfield, on the board of directors of the South Central Indiana Mortgage Bankers Association, said that banks are much more careful when giving out loans. Credit scores need to be higher – from 660 to 740 out of 850 – to qualify than they were before. Banks and brokers used to be much more relaxed about what it took, sometimes not requiring proof of income or proof of job stability. As a result, people started defaulting on their loans.“Not everyone can be a homeowner,” Sherfield said. “People found that out.”Small Business OwnersBusinesses are facing new challenges for several reasons, said Martin K. Donnelly, regional director of the South Central Indiana Small Business Development Center. Markets have slowed, if not frozen, meaning that access to financial capital is limited, he said.Since small businesses have higher risk associated with them, new small businesses are being affected the most.He said banks are reducing the credit lines of businesses associated with credit cards. One business with a $400,000 line of credit and $90,000 outstanding debt had its credit line reduced to $200,000. This leaves little wiggle room, he said.He said the credit crunch also forces consumers to change their habits and lower discretionary spending at places such as restaurants.“They more and more opt to buy things that are necessary, not things they deem a luxury,” he said.Car Looking to buy a car? Lenders are still financing car loans, local auto dealers said, although some now require higher interest rates or more information about potential borrowers before granting loans.Craig Richards, owner and general manager of Curry Auto Center, said most consumers think they can’t get approved for a loan, even though that’s not the case.“We haven’t seen any crunch there at all,” he said. “If you qualified a month ago, you still qualify today.”Financial lenders are more careful with documentation, he said, to ensure borrowers “are who they say they are.”Some also require slightly higher interest rates today, said Brian Fiegle, a sales manager at Royal Toyota on South Walnut Street.One used car dealer, however, said that people with poor credit are having trouble getting loans.Howard Kimmel of Kimmel Auto Sales, which sells cars for $8,000 or less, said credit markets are getting restrictive.“It’s as tight as bark on a tree,” he said.Lenders previously approved people with credit scores of 440 or 460 out of 850. Now, they want to see credit scores of 625 and up, he said.Business editor Chip Cutter contributed reporting to this story.
(10/01/08 3:52am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The media often take political polls out of context, Charles Franklin, professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said during a speech Tuesday night in Woodburn Hall. Franklin, the co-developer of Pollster.com, spoke on “The Shape of the Campaign: Composition and Dynamics in the 2008 Election,” as part of a three-part series sponsored by the Institute for Advanced Study, where scholars talk about the election.The media often uses a single poll that fits its purpose to predict and explain political phenomena, he said.One problem with that, he said, is random-sample polls often conflict each other. One might show one candidate ahead while the other shows the opposite candidate winning.This is partly due, he said, to a naturally occurring margin of error of usually 3 to 4 percentage points. A hidden error is added when randomly chosen people choose not to respond to the poll. More error occurs in the way questions on the polls are worded, he said. These hidden “non-sampling errors” can increase the already present error by up to 50 percent.So, looking at just one poll isn’t enough, he said. But, if you take about a dozen polls, you can average them to track trends. The graphs show which candidate is ahead at what point in time.During the speech, Franklin displayed several graphs showing trends he created from many different polls. They showed dramatic shifts over time presenting the support for John McCain and Barack Obama. “I’d like to remind you that races are dynamic,” Franklin said.It also showed dramatic shifts in support for the two candidates in states where Republicans or Democrats usually win by a big margin, while states that could go for either candidate have much smaller margins.Franklin said he guessed this was because in less competitive states, when something bad such as the financial crisis occurs, the candidates leave questions largely unanswered because they don’t spend money on advertisement for those states.People in those states have to rely on news media that might be hard on the candidate.Franklin explained the graphs and trends weren’t designed to predict who would win. The polls aren’t weighted by the number of Electoral College representatives.IU alumnus Phil Hanley, who still audits classes at IU, said he supposes media using polls for their own purposes is to be expected because of what he perceived as bias. He said it was interesting to learn the inside story on how polls work. Freshman Neil Kelty said he is surprised there is so little statistical variation in the more competitive states.Kelty said when people look at single polls the media publishes, they should look at who conducted the poll and why.“You have to take it with a grain of salt,” he said.
(09/29/08 3:19am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Bands, free food, local politicians, prizes and a warm, sunny day attracted students and Bloomington residents to Dunn Meadow on Saturday for a “Get Out the Vote” concert.Sponsored by INPIRG, the event featured free food from Qdoba Mexican Grill as well as raffle prizes from several stores. Four local bands with a wide range of styles played.Mike Vinopal, guitarist for the classic rock band Dopplelganger, said his band’s music was fitting for the concert, because it plays powerful music from the “heavy” times of the 1960s and 1970s. He drew parallels about what was happening then with Vietnam and now with Iraq.He said there’s a lot of apathy in today’s culture because people think they’re voiceless, but they’ve got to care and keep trying.“That’s where revolution comes from,” he said. “That’s where change comes from.”The purpose of the event was to register more voters, INPIRG public relations director and senior Lindsey Lucenta said. They hoped to register 300 students, though turnout was low because it was during the football game, and the goal fell well short, Lucenta said.The event was part of a larger effort to get students registered before the Oct. 6 deadline. But the message about registering and voting extended further.“Don’t vote irresponsibly,” said Susan Sandberg, president of the Bloomington city council, in a speech between bands. She urged students to know what the candidates stand for, to vote intelligently and to vote in their own best interest up and down the ballot. Speaking in Dunn Meadow reminded her of IU in 1972, Sandberg said. The 26th Amendment had recently been ratified, changing the minimum voting age to 18. It was ratified in the midst of the Vietnam War when many people not old enough to vote were being drafted and killed. Sandberg said she voted for peace in that election. INPIRG invited Sandberg and Mayor Mark Kruzan, who didn’t come, to speak in hopes that students will become more involved in local politics, Lucenta said. For the time they’re here, students are part of the community, she said.Sandberg said there was no reason for students not to know the local politicians because many have Web sites stating their positions, and local media broadcast profiles of them.Junior Ed Gibson agreed with Sandberg, saying before voting, people need to know what the candidates stand for to make sure they vote for someone who has views consistent with their own.But he wasn’t sure about voting in the local elections.“I honestly probably won’t vote for local politicians,” he said.He said he didn’t think many students would vote in the local election and some would maybe vote a straight ticket.
(09/24/08 4:15am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>At least 40 percent of white Americans hold some negative views toward blacks, enough to sway the presidential election in favor of Republican nominee John McCain, according to an AP-Yahoo News poll released last week.For some at IU, it’s expected.“Acknowledgement is the only surprise,” said Audrey McCluskey, a professor of African American and diaspora studies, as well as the director of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center. BLOG: The PolitikerShe said race and bias have always been a part of the election, in language and innuendo. McCluskey cited references to Democratic nominee Barack Obama as “uppity” as an example of that sort of language.The poll, conducted with Stanford University, found that one-third of white Democrats have negative views toward blacks.It suggests that the percentage of voters who might turn away from Obama because of his race could easily be larger than the final difference between the candidates in 2004 – about 2.5 percentage points.McCluskey argued that there is a double standard in which black candidates have their intelligence and accomplishments used against them while white candidates with similar qualifications are praised for them.Junior Chelsea Kane, chairwoman of the IU College Republicans, and senior Anna Strand, president of IU College Democrats, aren’t as sure. They said race has played some role in the election, but they both said they hoped Americans would choose the president based on merit and qualifications.Race has always been part of the election, Strand said, but in this – the most intense part of the election – more hot topic issues pop up.“I want to believe we’re a nation that’s moved past that,” Strand said. She also said while some Americans might vote based on race, most wouldn’t.Kane said race shouldn’t matter.“It’s interesting it’s being brought up now, honestly,” she said.She added that people look for candidates they can relate to and might not want to step out of their comfort zones. McCluskey said some people are comfortable around people different from themselves, and others aren’t. Race, she said, is so apparent that it’s difficult for some to ignore. Some haven’t had the opportunity to interact with people of different races, she said.She said she’s fearful that too many Americans are unwilling to let go of racial animosity.“I’m very hopeful, but I’m a little nervous,” McCluskey said.-The Associated Press contributed to this report.
(09/18/08 4:04am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A mortgage crisis, the demise of some historic financial institutions and a recent stock market tumble have forced some in the Kelley School of Business to reevaluate their internship and job prospects. But Kelley leaders say they have not yet experienced any major effects of Wall Street’s troubles. “We’re cautiously optimistic at this point,” said Susie Clarke, director of undergraduate career services.In the past few days, investment bank Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy; financial management firm Merrill Lynch sold itself to Bank of America, and the government spent $85 billion to bail out insurance giant AIG. But Clarke said the school has not seen any ripples from these events, which shook up the stock market.She attributed it to the strong relationship the University has with companies looking for interns and hires.Sophomore Garrett Schmidt said he thinks internships and jobs will be hard to get for finance and accounting majors because the few investment banking internships and jobs are given out at schools such as Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania.“I think I can get one, it’s just a matter of getting a prestigious one,” he said.He said he’s casually looking for an internship in the investment management field. Sophomore Katie Lashley said she’s nervous about finding an internship this summer. Because so many companies are in trouble, they might not have the time and resources to find interns, she said.She said because she’s a marketing major, she’s probably not as affected as a finance or accounting major.Those in charge of helping students find internships and jobs are holding out hope.Clarke said the only time there was a real decrease in hires was during the dot-com bust. Since Enron’s accounting scandal was publicized in 2001, the government increased accounting standards, she said, creating a need for more accountants. When Bear Stearns collapsed earlier this year, she said alumni working there were able to either find jobs at J.P. Morgan, the company who bought Bear Stearns, or find a job elsewhere. “They’ve been successful in landing their feet in other organizations,” she said.Clarke said there might be a need for more risk analysts or other related positions.Undergraduates might have an easier time finding jobs than MBA students because their lack of experience means companies can pay them less, Clarke said.While Clarke always urges students to have a backup plan, it’s more important in the current climate, she said. There’s still a lot of opportunity, and companies will probably still hire interns, she said, but they might send out fewer offers than in past years.So far no companies have canceled appearances at upcoming career fairs and interview sessions, Clarke said.“I keep expecting to hear about a cancel,” she said, “and I haven’t heard any.”
(09/16/08 3:52am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After six years and nearly 100,000 deliveries, IU’s Ruth Lilly Auxiliary Library Facility, or ALF, has never lost a book, damaged a book or delivered one late.The library currently holds about 1.8 million books, and 1,500 arrive daily. The library stores them by size, not subject, so the four full-time staff members and seven part-time student workers shelve and retrieve the books using a series of barcodes.A slip-up in protocol means a book is gone forever.“Talk about a needle in a haystack,” said Vaughn Nuest, ALF’s manager.The books in the library are comprised of rare, valuable, fragile and seldom-used books from campus libraries. A goal of the library is to provide access to the books while libraries try to solve overflow problems and free up space to meet students’ needs better, Nuest said.Before, Nuest said, students or researchers could go into the Herman B Wells Library and pick up a book they needed in just a few minutes. Because ALF is in a more remote location – off Tenth Street and the 45/46 bypass on Range Road – there are accessibility issues Nuest and other ALF workers aim to ease.“There’s a tendency to think books go here and are locked up in cold storage, and that’s not the case,” said Eric Bartheld, director of communications for IU-Bloomington libraries.While the books are kept in a strictly climate-controlled vault-of-sorts to extend their shelf-life, someone who needs a book stored in ALF can request it using IUCAT – IU libraries’ online catalog – and it will be delivered to a campus library or regional campus libraries. Nuest said if the book is requested by 12 p.m. Monday through Saturday, it will be delivered on the Bloomington campus by 5 p.m the same day.ALF also scans and sends articles and book chapters electronically.“Sometimes it can be a challenge,” said full-time staff member Mecco Mai about keeping up with the inflow.The procedures are hard to mess up as long as the worker pays attention and works hard, and all the workers there are focused on efficiency and getting things done, he said.Nuest said all employees are professional staff members who work for extraordinary service.“We want perfection,” Nuest said.ALF has a capacity of about 2.2 million books, about the volume of books the Herman B Wells Library can hold. When it’s filled up, there is space to build four more modules, Nuest said.ALF also wants to preserve books. Before storage, the books are vacuum-sealed and stored in acid-free and lignin-free boxes. The campus libraries don’t throw out books – in years to come, a researcher could be looking for a 1990s-era book on Windows.“What we’re really trying to do is keep these books for future generations,” Nuest said.
(09/15/08 3:28am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU students from Houston know the value of being prepared.When Hurricane Ike hit Houston this Saturday, the streets of junior Lori Star’s neighborhood turned into a river, threatening her family’s home. “Everyone in Houston is taught to prepare for a hurricane,” Star said.Rescuers in Houston said Sunday they had saved about 2,000 people from the streets and damaged houses after the storm hit the coast. As of press time, the death toll was 17.Star’s family raised its furniture on cinder blocks and stored away the computers. Star said the situation is scary. She stayed up with her friend, also from Texas, until 5 a.m. watching CNN and talking to their families.The family of senior Emily Levy stored bread, batteries, radios, fans, canned goods and other non-perishable items – things to keep her family comfortable while the power is out.Sophomore Sarah Capps said her family filled the cars up with gas – which she said was more than $5 a gallon.All three of the families stored bottled water. Star said there is no water pressure and little opportunity to get drinking water.Star said the storm, though an extreme example with 110 mile per hour winds and extensive flooding, wasn’t anything new, but the city-wide blackout was, which could continue for weeks.Star’s was a rare house in her neighborhood because the electricity came back on. She said they’re going to use the electricity to help her neighbors. Star’s mom plans on entertaining about 50 guests, each bringing whatever they can from their homes.Levy’s and Capps’ families both lost power, along with most other residences, schools, banks and supermarkets. Star said she knew of one supermarket that’s open, but it doesn’t have meat or dairy.Levy said it was nerve-racking because she was away from IU when the hurricane hit and without internet access. She said that after her extended family’s houses flooded, they moved in with her immediate family. She said there wasn’t much damage to her house, except that her fence blew away.It was hard to be so far away from her family when a natural disaster hits, Levy said.“There’s not much you can do but wait,” she said.-The Associated Press contributed to this report.
(09/11/08 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Enrollment at IU has topped 40,000 for the first time, thanks to the largest ever freshman class.The last few years, applications to IU have grown, IU spokesman Larry MacIntyre said, with larger numbers deciding to attend than expected. This year, 7,564 freshmen enrolled, according to a press release.But the high numbers strain space and other campus resources with a total of 40,354 students on campus.“It does stretch us,” MacIntyre said. He added IU can’t do it next year, and admissions will be forced to increase minimum standards and turn more students away.Even so, this year’s students have higher average SAT and ACT scores than ever before, and average class rankings keep rising, according to a press release. Also, there is record enrollment for several minority groups.Out-of-state students continue to make up much of the University’s incoming class. MacIntyre said IU has always had a share of out-of-state students, and this year the percentage of out-of-state students have dropped. According to a press release, 4,679 students are out-of-state, fewer than in the previous 10 years. Freshman Hena Ahmed said she didn’t mind the increase in students because she likes going to a big school. But she was concerned with the increase in competition, saying everyone deserves to have an affordable college education. Freshman Samantha Champion, said she felt the same way about the size of the school, saying it’s good for making friends. While she isn’t concerned about the increase in application competition because she’s already enrolled at IU, Champion wasn’t sure if she’d be able to get in a few years from now.“Maybe in three years I wouldn’t get accepted,” she said.
(09/10/08 4:13am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Indiana Commission for Higher Education released a plan Monday to increase the number of full-time students who graduate – especially in four years – at Indiana’s public universities.At IU-Bloomington, 50 percent of students graduate within four years, compared to 36 percent at Purdue and 9 percent and IU-Purdue University Indianapolis, according to the U.S. Department of Education National Center for Educational Statistics. The plan comes after two years of looking at economic statistics, said Cheryl Orr, associate commissioner of the Indiana Commission for Higher Education.The strategy should help the state’s economy and help Hoosiers afford college, she said.The commission hopes 10,000 additional students will graduate per year for the state to compete nationally and internationally, Orr said.“We’re not suggesting everybody graduate in four years,” said Stan Jones, commissioner of the Indiana Commission for Higher Education.But, he said, another benefit of improving the current system is that an extra year costs students’ families and the state money. College can be an expensive career exploration exercise with the state investing more in each student than the cost of tuition, Orr said. “It’s a return on our investment,” Orr said.The plan suggests several strategies for making college more affordable, including allowing students to attend two years at a community college for free, giving more financial aid and expanding the 21st Century Scholars program to include families who make up to $57,000 a year.She also said there is a need to make sure college is set up so students take the right course load and can transfer easily among Indiana’s state-funded colleges.The graduation rate has not gone unnoticed at IU.IU Spokesman Larry MacIntyre said the graduate rate has been a concern of President Michael McRobbie, adding that the expectation is for students to graduate.The rate for IU students who graduate in six years or fewer is 72 percent, higher than some of its Big Ten peers, though the University would like to see it well over 80 percent, MacIntyre said.“That’s our job here at the University – to educate people. That means they need to get a degree,” he said.To start increasing graduation rates at IU and across the state, the commission has several ideas of how to best spend Indiana’s tax dollars.The commission is turning to high schools to help solve the graduation problems.The plan encourages career and educational exploration in high school, especially with seniors, Orr said. It also calls for more qualified high school teachers.But it doesn’t stop at the high school level. It recommends that four-year universities yield remedial courses to community colleges, so students and the state will pay less for the equivalent of high school courses, Orr said.But for IU-Bloomington, officials are happy with the progress the University is making.IU’s Bloomington campus is already a competitive university and becoming more so each year, said Roger Thompson, vice provost for enrollment management.He said IU has a stronger graduation rate than other Indiana public universities. “Of all the Universities we’re looking at, we’re already on top,” he said.