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(03/01/12 4:57am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>An IU professor and his wife, who are ex-CIA operatives, discussed their adventures Wednesday at the Student Alliance for National Security call-out meeting.The CIA hired Professor Gene Coyle in 1976. After following her husband around the world, Jan Coyle decided to join the CIA, too, and they worked together in tandem. “We are complete opposites, but we compliment each other really well,” she said.The Coyles served in various locations throughout the world, including New Zealand, Russia, Brazil, Portugal and Greece. The duo spoke about creating cover stories, the adrenaline of the job and fitting in with locals.“There is a lot of fine details that go into disappearing into a local society,” Gene Coyle said. “We couldn’t take a shower for three to four days in Russia. The Russians are not known for bathing, so you didn’t want to go on a bus smelling like Irish Spring soap.”Gene Coyle is the SANS faculty advisor. The club was started at IU in 2006 and was brought back this semester by senior Connor Caudill.“Given the backdrop of what is going on in the world, I think it’s important to give students an opportunity to learn about national security and provide an open forum for discussion,” Caudill said.One of SANA’s big goals is to serve as a non-partisan club that welcomes all backgrounds. “We want to foster a dialogue between everybody, not just one side or the other,” Caudill said. The Coyles said there were many details of their time spent as CIA operatives that could not be discussed. “Even after you retire, your secrecy oath continues until the day you die,” Gene Coyle said. “Anybody who is perfectly happy in life is not going to become a spy because if you get caught, you get shot.”
(02/23/12 4:56am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Students had the chance to put their knowledge to the test “Jeopardy!”-style at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center’s annual Black Knowledge Bowl yesterday evening. The competition, which has taken place for more than 30 years, was planned as part of a series of Black History Month events.The five competing teams, made up of undergraduate students, consisted of Higher Purpose, Four Colored Girls, The Frederick Dougies, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity and the defending champions, the Black Student Union. The competition had multiple rounds. There was some confusion about buzzers and answer format with the first few questions. However, these issues were addressed, and the teams quickly found their grooves. The contestants answered questions from a variety of categories pertaining to black history, culture, politics and sports. Sophomore Latesha Parker attended the Bowl as an audience member. “I came to learn more about my background and show support,” Parker said. She also said her friends who competed spent a lot of time preparing for the competition. “They’ve been working day in and day out for the last two weeks,” she said. “They had meetings every day.”Graduate students acted as team coaches to help the students study and prepare for the Bowl. In addition, they helped coordinate and plan many aspects of the event.The final round contained several questions that stumped both remaining teams. The competition came down to the Final Jeopardy question, as finalist teams Higher Purpose and Black Student Union each wagered all of their points. Remaining contestants were asked to provide the name of the first African-American radical Republic organization. In the end, Higher Purpose prevailed as the winning team and received a cash prize of $200. The audience members in attendance clapped and cheered in support of all the teams. In addition, the teams congratulated each other at the conclusion of the game.Melody Barham, a graduate assistant at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center, helped plan the Bowl and acted as scorekeeper for the event. She said the Bowl had a greater purpose than being just a competition.“I think the Black Knowledge Bowl wants to provide an opportunity for students to learn about people and events that have had an impact on African American history,” she said.
(02/16/12 4:44am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>llumenate Bloomington, a social group for young gay and bisexual men, is presenting a condom fashion show as part of a larger Condom Fashion Week to coincide with National Condom Week. The free show will take place at 8 p.m. Thursday in the Coffeehouse at Collins Center. Other activities this week included a Grammy viewing party and a conversation about sexual consent.Seven design groups, working either individually or as part of a team, are making outfits for the show. They were given 500 condoms in seven colors to bring their designs to life.Junior Shaily Hakimian is using black condoms to create a skirt and weaved top for the show, which she described as “Miami clubwear.”“I’ve been braiding condoms for the last two weeks,” she said. Hakimian said she is participating in the fashion show for multiple reasons. She is affiliated with several lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender organizations on campus and said she hopes to make a statement about the importance of reproductive health rights. She said she also wanted to challenge herself and see if she could pull off a design using only condoms. “Condoms are indestructible,” she said. “You can’t melt them, and you can’t hot-glue them. It’s impossible.”While Hakimian is designing by herself, other designers are working as part of a team. Sophomores Miranda Merkley, Lindsey McDermott and Molly Blyth-Olson are collaborating on a single dress design. They are using a few other materials in addition to black and blue condoms. “We started sewing the condoms on an oversize T-shirt base, but that was not going so well, so we decided to start stapling them,” Merkley said. The girls are designing a dress because they thought it would be fun to participate in the show.“I wanted a socially acceptable outlet to wear a condom dress,” said Merkley, who will be modeling the dress in the show. “I wanted to see what it would be like to be the one inside the condom for once.”However, they said they also hope to bring attention to the benefits of using a condom during sexual practices. “Condoms are an important thing to know about,” McDermott said. “College kids don’t usually participate in safe sex because it’s inconvenient or not sexy.”Illumenate Coordinator Patrick Battani said the larger goal of the fashion show is to raise awareness about condom use and give a sex-positive message, which he describes as “safe and sane” sex among consenting individuals.“We want people to start that conversation about condom use because that conversation is often forgotten about,” Battani said.
(02/03/12 4:17am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Students and community members gathered at BuffaLouie’s Thursday night to celebrate the first fundraising event of the IU-Bloomington chapter of Autism Speaks U.Autism Speaks U is the university chapter of Autism Speaks, a national autism science and advocacy organization that focuses on funding research and spreading awareness about autism. Autistic individuals frequently engage in repetitive behaviors and have difficulties with communication and social interaction.Sophomore Travis Moore started the IU branch of Autism Speaks U late last semester and currently serves as the organization’s president. “I noticed that IU didn’t have any type of organization for autism,” Moore said. As fundraiser attendees ate at BuffaLouie’s, they were treated to the musical sounds of Straight No Chaser and other local Bloomington artists. “We are going to do other fundraisers, such as bake sales, and we are going to participate in an autism walk in Indianapolis at the end of April,” Fundraising Chair Cortney Elliott said. At the end of the semester, Autism Speaks U will donate all of the money raised to the national Autism Speaks organization. The money will then be put toward autism research and awareness.A future project that members said they are most excited about is their partnership with the Monroe County School District, which will allow them to go to local schools and work with autistic children.“It’s really about being a friend to the kids in class and helping the instructors with everyday tasks,” Moore said.Members of Autism Speaks U joined the organization for different reasons. Some have a personal tie to autism or have previous experience working with those who have disabilities. Sophomore Emily Turpin worked with Best Buddies, an organization that serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, in high school. She said she decided to become a secondary special education major when she came to IU. “I saw the passion of special education teachers in high school and decided that I wanted to do what they do,” Turpin said.Turpin is now the recruitment chair of Autism Speaks U. She and fellow members said they hope to change autism perceptions on campus.“People don’t realize that autistic kids are very bright,” Turpin said.Elliott said she agrees.“So many people don’t understand it,” she said. “They are sweet kids, and they don’t look at the negative things in life.”
(12/12/11 2:57am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>For almost 40 years, the Office for Women’s Affairs has worked to improve the lives of female students, faculty and staff at IU. OWA was established in 1972 as part of an effort to fight policies and programs that were discriminating against women.“You really can’t have a university environment where students are discriminated against for another student’s benefit,” OWA Dean Yvette Alex-Assensoh said. OWA works with several campus offices and organizations, including the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Student Support Services, the Office of International Services and various culture centers to promote a diverse educational environment.In addition, OWA is involved in the Bloomington community through their work with Middle Way House, the Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office and My Sister’s Closet. They also work with local childcare facilities to provide childcare to students who are also parents.“We are the coordination body that has served to connect people that may not have been working together before, but do so now,” Alex-Assensoh said.On campus, one of OWA’s most popular programs is the Women in Science Program, which provides resources and professional development opportunities for female scientists at IU to get together and talk about their work on a monthly basis.“This really helps undergraduate female scientists understand what the profession is like,” Alex-Assensoh said.As part of OWA’s efforts to promote female scientists on campus, they are sponsoring the new Thematic Community for Women in Science, Technology and Mathematics, which will debut in the residence halls in the fall of 2012. Another recent project of OWA, in conjunction with the Office of the Dean of Students and the Office of the Provost, was a mandatory online session about sexual assault education that was taken by all freshmen and transfer students this past fall.“I’ve heard that the participants really did learn a lot,” Alex-Assensoh said. “It was a not a burden for them, and they said it was a pleasure to learn how to build healthy relationships and how to keep oneself safe on campus.”Another OWA program is Savant, which is made up of peer educators who raise awareness about empowerment, gender equity, ethical living and social justice. In addition, OWA serves as an entry point for people to express concern about things that are going on in the workplace.Alyce D. Fly, Associate Professor of Dietetics and Nutrition Science, is one of the many faculty members involved with OWA. She said she shares many of the same beliefs as OWA and aims to accomplish many of the same goals in her own work.“My programs in HPER serve predominantly female students, and so I have a special interest in having my students successfully navigate the university and move on to make important contributions to their professional fields,” she said.As OWA gets ready to celebrate its fortieth anniversary in the spring, they remain focused on the organization’s original goals of helping women achieve greatness, lead effectively and make a positive difference on the global stage.“OWA has always been an incubator of ideas on campus and has been the conscience of the university in terms of how it addresses issues of inclusion and equity,” Alex-Assensoh said.
(11/16/11 4:42am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Residential Programs and Services recently gave students the opportunity to share their thoughts and opinions about IU’s dining facilities through the RPS Dining Service Customer Satisfaction Survey.RPS emailed all IU students with meal plans a link to the survey. Students could rate as many dining facilities as they wished in six categories: food, menu, service, cleanliness, dining environment and sustainability.The goals of the survey were to see how satisfied students were with their overall dining experience, as well as to identify areas in which RPS can improve.This is the second time RPS offered the survey to students. After last year’s survey, some changes were made, RPS Dining Services Director Sandra Fowler said.“Speed of service was a concern in last year’s survey,” Fowler said. “It was a bigger problem than we anticipated, so we are working this year to improve in that area.”Errol Huffman, RPS dining services business consultant, said another problem brought to attention in last year’s survey was food presentation.“We got a sense that students felt the quality of food was good but that the presentation was not appealing,” he said. To address this issue, RPS provided several food presentation classes and more customer service training to staff during the summer.The survey was conducted through The National Association of College & University Food Services, a third-party research firm. RPS will receive a report that compares IU data against the results of the other schools that participated.“I am looking to this survey not only to give me a better idea of how we compare to last year, but to see how we match up to other institutions,” Huffman said.When analyzing the survey results, Huffman and Fowler will place a large emphasis on improvement. Huffman said they will look to see if there is an upward trend compared to the responses from last year.“We are anxious to see if we are improving,” Fowler said.Sophomore Kim Gilmour was one of thousands of students who participated in this year’s survey. “I think the idea behind it was good, and I was happy to help try to improve upon the meals and overall experience offered in the dining halls because I think they leave a lot to be desired,” she said. Despite her participation, Gilmour remains skeptical of the effect the survey will have. “I can’t imagine much will happen based on this type of survey, but I believe that the idea of changing and improving the dining halls is admirable,” she said.Even if some students are unsure about the survey’s impact, Huffman remains positive.“We felt really good that our scores from last year were on par with other schools or better and want to make sure that we continue to improve,” he said.