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(09/09/04 6:17am)
In the MTV generation, it is a common misconception that America's youth is apathetic to all things politics. This year, a high percentage of young people, including IU students and graduates, are oaring the Indiana gubernatorial candidates' ships.\nAbout 75 percent of the campaign staff is under the age of 30, said Tina Noel, communications director for the Joe Kernan campaign.\n"We have a very capable staff that happens to have some youth," she said.\nThis summer, the Mitch Daniels campaign employed a bevy of young students, including several from IU, to organize tour stops and visit each region of the state to spread Daniels' message.\nMike Trevino was one of the IU students involved in the summer campaign. \n"I traveled to the north and east side of the state, and one of the goals was to try to hit all the nursing homes in the state," he said. "Those people at the nursing homes feel left out, like people don't look at them when election time comes."\nAmong other duties, Trevino was also responsible for organizing "a slew of volunteers" and arranging for vehicles to display in parades.\nGraduate student Katie McCauley worked Her Man Mitch's campaign in the southeast portion of the state while living in Bloomington. \n"The best part about it was getting out in the community," she said. "I visited nursing homes in the southeast, playing bingo with them and answered questions about Mitch."\nOn the other side of the campaign trail, recent IU graduate Michelle Stevens has been performing similar works for the Kernan campaign since June, recruiting volunteers and pulling in crowds.\n"We're coming in to these places to start a grass roots organization," she said.\nThese positions, while generally low-paying, are vital to the success of their respective candidates. They represent pillars on which the campaigns are positioned. Without such field organizers, there would be no volunteers, there would be no audiences, perhaps even no candidates.\nBut why do students get so involved in a job with no security? For most, it's less a love of politics and more a love of their candidate.\n"When I think of Mitch, I say to myself 'I think that's who I am,'" McCauley said. \nTrevino echoed those comments, saying, "I only get involved when I feel strongly about a candidate."\nStevens expressed equal and opposite sentiments of his involvement in Kernan's campaign.\n"I thought the things Joe Kernan said were the coolest things," said Stevens. "His issues struck a chord with me."\nThe 2000 election also influenced the young staffers.\n"The close race sent a message that every vote counts," McCauley said. "I think maybe that message resonated and spurred people to support a candidate that has the same beliefs or values or hopes that they do."\nThere are advantages, Noel said, to having staffers so young -- namely enthusiasm and the willingness to work long hours.\nLong hours are common among staffers -- McCauley was accustomed to 15-hour days and Trevino said he sometimes worked until 4 a.m.\nWith youth also comes the ability to interact with other youths.\n"I can go on campus and start campaigning in a way an 84-year-old woman can't," Stevens said. "Politics is about finding your niche. There's a whole sector in politics that hasn't been touched and young people can put their finger on it and understand it."\n-- Contact senior writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu .
(09/08/04 6:25am)
The IU board of trustees will meet this week for the first time in the school year to discuss new construction and appointments and to revisit old business.\nVice President of Trustees Stephen Ferguson said he plans for a smooth first gathering.\n"I don't anticipate this being a very controversial meeting," Ferguson said.\nThe meeting will begin Wednesday in Nashville, Ind., with two "retreat sessions," when trustees will be updated on the status of the athletics budget and enrollment. \nThe athletics department has been building debt for the last few years due to poor football attendance and budgetary mismanagement, while University officials have claimed a decrease in new enrollment this semester.\nTrustees will settle into the Indiana Memorial Union Thursday and advance to new business. \nThe board is expected to appoint four new members to the Riley Children's Foundation Board of Governors, including former IU Interim President Gerald Bepko. The new members will serve three-year terms beginning Nov. 17 of this year.\nThe facilities committee will submit two construction projects for the approval of the board.\nFirst is renovation of the Main Library, where the committee proposes to build an "information commons loft" on the second floor of the west tower. That project carries an estimated cost of $690,000.\nThe committee will also submit a replacement proposal for Residential Programs and Services' 35-year-old refrigeration system in the Halls Food Stores building. According to the trustee agenda, the old refrigeration system is outdated because it was previously used for meat processing and ice cream making but is now the central food storage unit. The renovation, funded by RPS, is estimated to cost $820,000.\nIU Architect Bob Meadows and Vice Chancellor for Auxiliary Services and Programs Bruce Jacobs will give a presentation about a new development with student housing. Jacobs would not comment on the presentation, except to say "it's regarding the future of housing on campus."\nThe meeting will be the first for two new trustees. Dr. Clarence Boone, of Gary, was appointed to the board by the governor this June. According to the board of trustees' Web site, Boone, an IU alumnus, is the cofounder of the Neal-Marshall Alumni Club. Also jumping on board is IU alumnus Jeffrey Cohen, of Indianapolis.\nFerguson said the additions are familiar pieces of the trustee puzzle that should fit snugly.\n"We've all worked with Clarence a long time, and I've known Jeff through other associations through the years," he said. "Both are very good people who will make a major contribution to the board."\n-- Contact senior writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.
(09/07/04 4:34am)
Beginning this semester, students can charge books to their University accounts year-round. \nIf a student needs a Psychology book in September, bursar billing is the way to go. Neurology in November? Bursar billing. French in February? Bursar billing. Accounting academia in April? Bursar billing.\nStudents will now have the option to use bursar billing at the IU bookstore year-round. Previously, students could only use the option during the first week of classes.\nIU Bookstore director Paul Hazel said the change is not because of a new policy.\n"It's more an issue with the new system," Hazel said. "There is no policy dealing with bursar billing. That's just a service the University provides, just like any other service."\nBefore PeopleSoft, students had the first week of classes to put their book bills on their bursar account, a method many students use to pass the payments along to their parents. \nSophomore Shane Grove, who used bursar billing at the IU Bookstore, said the new system will be beneficial for those students not footing their own bills.\n"For me, it's much more convenient," he said. "But I don't have to pay for my books."\nGrove said returning books is easier with the bursar billing system.\n"I already bought my books initially and had to take one back," he said. "This way is more convenient than using a debit or credit card."\nThough the University allows student patrons of the IU Bookstore to use bursar billing all year, patrons of T.I.S. Bookstore and other alternate bookstores are not allowed to use bursar billing at any time of the year. This option is also available at auxiliary IU Bookstore locations at Eigenmann Hall and Foster Quad.\nJunior Ben Collins said the year-round bursar billing option can be a saving grace for those students with languid professors.\n"I think it's a good idea because some professors don't assign certain books until later in the semester," he said. "It gives you the option of not buying books right when the semester starts."\nMany literature classes at IU include a reading list of several books to be read throughout the semester, some of which are not ordered the first week of classes.\n-- Contact senior writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.
(09/07/04 4:00am)
Alumnus -- IU alum Rich
Hardesty performs at the IU Student
Association tailgate party before the IU football game Saturday afternoon. The student government organized the event to entice students into celebrating IU sports in light of the recent $30 athletic fee.
(09/07/04 4:00am)
Graduate student Misha Mikhaylov (middle) speaks with Doug Bauder and Carol Fischer in the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Student Support Services office. The GLBT center will celebrate its 10th anniversary in November.
(09/03/04 6:25am)
Lieutenant governor candidate and State Senator Becky Skillman headed a bevy of republican candidates and supporters at a rally in support of the Republican National Convention. Thursday night, 150 Grand Old gatherers met at the AmVets Post 2000 to dine and watch President Bush speak at the convention on television.\nRepublican gubernatorial candidate Mitch Daniels was in New York and could not attend the rally.\nThe Monroe County Republicans Party Convention Watch was coordinated through the Bush-Cheney Web site, according to party organizer Lori Aiken. Plates -- chicken or steak -- were $10 a piece, and a free salad bar and drinks were included. \nRed-white-and-blue hats adorned with similar balloons framed the tables.\n"Our state is at a crucial turning point in our history," Skillman said. "Mitch Daniels is the right man at the right time to lead this state forward."\nSkillman, of Bedford, has been the state senator of the 44th district since 1992. She also serves as the senate majority caucus chair.\nParty organizer Dan Aiken sang the praises of Skillman and Daniels.\n"We need Mitch Daniels and Becky Skillman to lead this state into a realm of prosperity we've never seen before," he said.\nRepublican candidates, ranging from city council members to a county surveyor, spoke briefly at the event. county commissioner candidate Jeff Ellington promised Daniels and Skillman his help. \n"You're going to win," he said, "and we're going to help you win."\nSkillman stressed that the Daniels campaign focuses on the brain-drain situation in Indiana. A Daniels-Skillman ticket would create programs to keep "home-grown talent" in Indiana, she said.\nThe state senator shared the story of how she met Daniels and later became his running-mate.\nSoon after "My Man Mitch" declared his candidacy in 2003, he began his year-long tour, stopping first in Skillman's district. \n"When we were in Hendricksville, (Ind.), we shared a breakfast of biscuits and gravy," she said. "And I told him I'd do anything for him. One year later, he called my bluff."\nWith economic turmoil setting a shadow over the citizens of Indiana, Skillman set her sights on the workers.\n"Job creation is job one throughout our administration," she said.\nWhen asked what excited her about the future of the Republican Party in Indiana, Skillman was quick to dismiss her party allegiance.\n"Mitch Daniels and I have not had discussions on the Party," she said, adding that they have been garnering support from independents and democrats alike.\n-- Contact senior writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.
(09/01/04 7:07am)
University students may be unaware they are operating under a new code of rights and responsibilities.\nThe Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities and Conduct, known more casually as the code of ethics, underwent its first revision since December 1996. The changes went into effect at the beginning of the fall semester. \nThe major changes are as follows:\n-- E-mail is now considered an official medium for University-to-student communication. Students are required to check their University e-mail accounts with regularity.\n-- Some new off-campus offenses can be dealt with by University officials. Serious alcohol and drug offenses, domestic violence and stalking are the three additions.\n-- An additional guideline for dealing with disruptive students is included.\n-- A new statement gives students the right to receive "clearly stated course goals" and grading systems.\nDean of Students Richard McKaig said the sheer size of the code, which previously was 49 single-spaced pages, can be blamed for the almost eight-year hiatus in revisions.\n"It's not a document that's easily altered," he said. "It's a cumbersome process, and people are generally reluctant to start down that road."\nThe section involving off-campus alcohol and drug offenses is open to interpretation, McKaig said. The exact wording of the document gives the University the authority to discipline students for "alcohol and drug offenses that pose a serious threat to self or others" that occur places other than University property.\nMcKaig said minor alcohol offenses would not apply to the code.\n"We agreed that if the University is involved, it should only be for serious offenses," he said.\nHe also said the policy applies to marijuana charges, saying only sales and possession of large amounts of the drug would be considered in violation of the policy.\nStudents who commit alcohol and drug offenses on campus are, as before, subject to discipline by the University.\nMcKaig said the additions of stalking and domestic violence reflect incidents that have occurred with increasing frequency.\n"Whether it's on or off campus, (victims) feel just as threatened" by the offenses," the code now reads.\nStudents have reacted with mixed feelings.\n"It's your own personal life," said senior Joe Davis, regarding the off-campus offenses revisions. "If it's something on your own time, I don't think they should have the right to do that."\nBut senior Ashish Thaker was happy with the revision regarding clearly stated course goals.\n"I am pleased they are holding the professors accountable for their course schedules," he said. "Maybe it will force them not to deviate from the course as, with my experience with professors, they've been apt to do in the past."\nBut Thaker was not so pleased with the off-campus activities changes.\n"I don't know why they're trying to regulate our off-campus activities," he said. "This is America, not communist China."\nThe new code, which has not been printed but can be found online, was approved by the IU board of trustees in pieces during their last several meetings.\nThe code, however, is in constant need of revision. To remedy the lag in amendment time, McKaig said, two new separate groups exist to streamline the document and to address necessary changes annually. \nThe new policy can be found at dsa.indiana.edu/Code/index.html.\n-- Contact senior writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.
(08/31/04 6:22am)
First lesson, number crunching. According to the Monroe County Clerk's Office, out of a total 97,000 registered voters in Monroe County, only about 30,000 are active. Analysis, professor? More than two-thirds of all registered voters in IU's county are non-voters.\nThere are several contributing factors to the run-on roll. One is that students come and go, said Monroe County Clerk Jim Fielder. \n"College kids finish with school and move back home," Fielder said. "Or they decide to drop out and go back home. Every one of those students represents someone who stays on the voter roll."\nThe backup escalated in 1993, when the National Voter Registration Act, also known as the "Motor Voter Act," prohibited counties from purging inactive voters from their voter rolls.\nAccording to the U.S. Department of Justice Web site, the Motor Voter Act was passed "to remove the vestiges of discrimination which have historically resulted in lower voter registration rates of minorities and persons with disabilities."\nSo the voter rolls have been growing cancerously. Until recently, county officials could do nothing to quell the climbing voter numbers. When a student registered to vote in Monroe County, the roll grew by one. When that same student returned home for good, the number stayed the same.\nThe situation has not been without repercussions. Fielder said Monroe County spends $6,000 per election cycle to run the seven student-exclusive precincts located on campus. \n"It's not uncommon during the primaries to get zero votes in four of the seven precincts," Fielder said, attributing the poor turnout to finals and student apathy. He also said a total of fewer than 100 votes combined from all seven precincts during general elections is a common occurrence.\nBut earlier this year, Indiana legislators sought a remedy with the Voter Maintenance Project, Fielder said. Each county was given less than five months to contact all of their registered voters with mailers to let them know their names would be deleted from voter registration records if they did not vote in the next three elections, from 2004 to 2006. The time frame involved was so small, Monroe County was one of only a handful of Indiana counties to complete the process. \nThe voter list cleanup cost the county $50,000.\nPoor information gathering has augmented the dilemma. Though some students believe they can register in Monroe County and at home, Fiedler said state law clearly allows only one county of voter registration.\nIU College Republicans political director junior Chase Downham said Monroe County should be a more popular place to vote.\n"If you're going to vote in a place that affects you the most and will have the most impact on your life, Bloomington is the place to do it," he said.\nTo erase one's own voting registration, Fiedler said, one needs only to drop a note to the voter registration office with an old address, a request to be removed and a signature.\n"It's unfortunate students don't expunge their records themselves," Downham said. "In a perfect world that would happen."\nThe problem is not limited to transient students. During the recent voter roll clean-up, officials found 700 elderly registered voters who had died in other states, Fielder said.\n"A lot of our elderly have winter homes in Florida, and they pass away," he said.\n-- Contact senior writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.
(08/31/04 6:22am)
When graduate student Adam Miller checked his bursar bill, he found an unusual number on one row.\nPrevious balance: $233,161.\n"My parents asked me how many parking tickets I got last year," he said.\nMiller also reported problems accessing his schedule online.\nProblems with OneStart, the new University software powered by PeopleSoft, have been the topic of discussion for students across the campus.\n"I hate it," junior Kyle Dietz said. "I think it's a lot harder and everything's so confusing."\nJosh Jenkins, another junior, agreed, saying the new software "just seems more confusing than Insite."\n"I really don't like the switch," he said. "I had to change times for my X204 class, but it made me drop and re-add, and when I dropped it wouldn't let me enroll. So now I'm waitlisted for a class I was enrolled in."\nIU officials were scrutinized last spring when students got a taste of the new software, which integrated other separate designs such as RegWeb and Insite into one compound system.\nAlthough IU registrar Roland Coté rallied behind the University's new software, he echoed Jenkins' waitlist sentiments.\n"It would be hard to ignore the difficulties students have faced in using the waitlist function in registration," he said. "Current students who had registered in the past certainly noticed that the process delivered by PeopleSoft is not as sophisticated as the system we had been using."\nAside from registration glitches, some students are disappointed with OneStart's technical performance.\n"Look at their user interface," computer science graduate student Corey Bowers said. "It's obvious they don't know how to create one. If our professors would have seen these things, they would have said, 'Whoa, red flag. Why would you ever do it that way?'"\nBowers and Miller also took exception to the software's dependence on Microsoft Internet Explorer, saying many system functions, such as printing, are unusable on other web browsers.\n"US-CERT has issued a warning that says Internet Explorer is unstable," Bowers said. "Why would they have all this money going into Internet Explorer support when it has proven buggy?"\nMiller said the money used to buy rights to the PeopleSoft software would have been better spent if it was given to the computer science department, where students could turn out a product in a year.\n"We could have done a better job," Bowers said. "At least computer science should have had an active role in development."\nCoté said "patience is the key," and that the University would implement necessary changes "when we are able to free up some resources." \nLast spring, the board of trustees approved a modest budget which reflected the economic status of Indiana.\nStudents are not in unanimous dissent of the new system. Sophomore James Pichon and senior Sarah Stamatkin had no problems, and said OneStart is more convenient.\n"I like it because everything's all in one place," Stamatkin said.\nSome students, like Miller, wonder why the University ever made the switch in the first place.\n"I think they're trying to fix something that's not broken," he said.\n-- Contact senior writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.
(08/30/04 6:24am)
Friday night was Midnight Madness.\nNot the night when thousands of fans pack into Assembly Hall to watch the men's basketball team make its first appearance on the court, but the night when thousands of students pack into Wal-Mart for their first journey of the year through the corporation's hallowed halls. \nBeginning at 10 p.m. Friday night, students dressed to the (aisle) nines perused Wal-Mart's marked-down merchandise in search of the perfect sale. Linen prices were slashed, toilet cleanser marks plunged and even tires were rolled back.\nBut more than the prices and revenue, the shenanigans and tomfoolery of the college shopper made the night. \nA young woman hoola-hooped her way into a dizzy stupor. Another shopper zipped through the store on a bike. A young man serenaded random shoppers, singing into a pancake turner. Two more shoppers zipped through the store on a tandem bike.\n"I came here to make Midnight Madness better," said Ben Becker, the sophomore spatula Sinatra. "Sometimes it's not a spatula. It's fine as long as we bust it out."\nBecker's pal and musical partner senior Scott Mobley was a willing yet discriminating participant in the event.\n"It's a matter of what you need versus what you want," Mobley said. "This place plays off of what you want." \nTo entice shoppers, Wal-Mart officials not only lowered prices, they also held raffles and handed out goody bags to the first 500 visitors. By the end of the night, hundreds of CDs, posters and T-shirts had been given away. The owner of lucky ticket number 004285 won a new 20-inch television. \nStudents flooded into the store near 10 p.m., pushing cashier lines "way back." From freshmen to grad students, they came for all their needs -- light bulbs and trash cans; insoles and T-shirts; teacups and B-cups. Wal-Mart was the IU student's one-stop random stuff shop.\nFor some, Midnight Madness was a matter of finding things not to buy.\nGraduate student and knife shopper Reuben Wilson was looking for the "cheapest big one." But his roommate, senior Mike Molohon, disapproved.\n"We have four food groups in our house," Molohon said. "Cereal, Easy Mac, cereal and Easy Mac. There's nothing in our house that requires a big knife."\n-- Contact senior writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.
(08/30/04 4:30am)
Working at a Jewish newspaper this summer got me thinking about different religions. And I think when my co-workers called me a small-nosed money-spending bastard, I realized we all take our religious differences too seriously.\nI understand this is a sensitive issue.\nTrue religious discrimination is despicable behavior of the worst kind. Last spring a Jewish student's Jeep was spray-painted with a red swastika (forget that the perp was too moronic to even draw the swastika correctly). That was a truly disgusting act that should not be tolerated here or anywhere else.\nBut let's dissect some of the trivialities of different popular religions.\nFirst off, let me express my fondness for Islam. The perks of this religion are immediately evident, namely, you are greeted by 72 virgins when you die. You could make the argument that this is a sexist policy, since there are no male virgins in heaven, but that's another battle for another columnist. 'Article 72V,' as I like to call it, is one of the greatest advertising ploys in the history of human theology.\nCatholics of course are more prudent in this area. Certain acts that are considered necessary by 12- and 13-year-old boys are stricken down as sins by the Catholic hierarchy. If the Catholic church was the last word, certain products in the medicine cabinet would not exist, namely those crusty yellow tubs of Vaseline. But the Pope's clan has its own advantages: an unadulterated love of gambling and alcohol. \nLet's knock out gambling in one fell swoop: bingo fundraisers. OK. Now alcohol.\nThe pinnacle of Catholic education lies in South Bend, at the University of Notre Dame. What's the mascot of that most prestigious of all Catholic colleges? It's a drunken Irishman who wants to kick your ass. Allah forbids drinking, but the pope is doing keg stands at the Vatican as we speak.\nOther sects of Christianity have their own built-in perks. Southern Baptists learn how to dance, members of the Pentecostal church speak in tongues and Jehovah's Witnesses have extremely strong knuckles. Christian Scientists don't need health insurance and "Jews for Jesus" have all the bases covered. These people are their title. They're Jews who believe Jesus is the Savior.\nBut without a doubt, the most advantageous of all circular theological logic is the Calvinists' predestination. This is what I refer to as the "You're screwed, but in a good way" rule, or GoodScrew for short. \nBelievers of this religious doctrine think God has already decided who's going to heaven and who is not. If you're on the list and you rape, say, 72 virgins, it's cool. Heaven's bouncer is your buddy. If you're not on the list and you save a sinking ship filled with children, sucks for you. You're going to hell. The wonder of GoodScrew is that you never have to worry about apologizing for the awful things you've done in your life, and no amount of prayer will help. That frees up plenty of time to get screwed, but in a good way.\nWe're all people, and we have different beliefs, but usually because that's what our parents told us to believe, because that's what their parents told them to believe. So cool the fervor. It's not that we don't know who's right, it's that none of us are right. That's why we have beliefs.\nP.S. -- My co-workers did not call me a small-nosed money-spending bastard. But if they did, that would have been hilarious.
(08/26/04 5:41am)
In the backward world of post-secondary academics, commencement comes at the end. \nIn the beginning, there is induction. For the class of 2008, that beginning arrived Wednesday night.\nWith an audience of thousands filling the seats in half of Assembly Hall, IU President Adam W. Herbert emceed the annual Freshman Induction Ceremony. With all the décor and pomp of an old academic ritual, Herbert and other University officials delivered their bombasts with the necessary air.\nAs he stood on stage, framed by the University seal, Herbert's vibrato spread through the arena to soothe parents preparing to leave their babies in a strange place.\n"I know how you feel," Herbert said. "I was a freshman president last year."\nHerbert also shared a story about an incoming freshman of years past who fought back tears the first day and almost left the University but decided to stay at IU out of perseverance.\n"It made us feel like part of the University," said Carol Kostrzewsky, mother of a freshman. "It really let us know it starts now."\nTyson Chastain, president of the IU Student Association, spoke after Herbert and warned students about being caught in a trap of "beer and pizza."\n"Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life," Chastain said, channeling the zenith of the college movie "Animal House."\nAnna Kostrzewsky, the baby Carol is leaving behind, found affirmation in Chastain's presence.\n"I liked how they included the student leaders and not just the administrators," she said.\nAfter Chastain, it was IU-Bloomington Interim Chancellor Ken Gros Louis' turn at the pulpit. He took a more sentimental tone, quoting T.S. Eliot.\n"What we call the beginning is often the end, and to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from."\nSuch was the case Wednesday. Induction usually comes after something -- a baseball player is inducted into the Hall of Fame after an illustrious career, a young dynamo is inducted into the police academy after a lengthy training process -- and after a long college search for some, induction marked the end of the transition into a more independent, if not a more responsible, stage of life.\nWhen Gros Louis was finished with the sentimental section of his speech, he asked each freshman to stand as he affirmed their place at the University. At that point, thousands of high school graduates officially became college freshmen.\nTo finish the ceremony, Ann Sauder, a student in the School of Music, matched the sentiment of the night, singing Indiana's Alma Mater, "Hail to Old IU."\nThe newly minted collegians and their parents walked up the hill to a celebratory picnic. Families sat on blankets and listened to music to mark their bittersweet parting. \n"We feel like we're leaving her in good hands," Carol Kostrzewsky said.\nGoodbyes were plentiful and easy to come by -- fortunately for parents, the college years come at a time in a child's life when it is acceptable again to be seen in public with folks. Kisses and hugs went all around.\nAfter parents were all but gone, a new crop of young people stood around, most thinking the same thing: "Well, we're here."\nAs for Anna Kostrzewsky's father, Greg, he had but one complaint for the induction ceremony.\n"Next time," he said, "they should explain what 'Frangipana' means."\n-- Contact senior writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.
(08/26/04 4:25am)
As a result of the recent downturn in the freshmen student population, residence halls will be packed this year -- with empty space and unanswered questions.\nResidential Programs and Services is estimating between 9,350 and 9,400 students in IU's 11 dorms this semester, down from 9,785 last fall, said RPS Planning Director Buck Walters. He said exact figures won't be available until Sept. 10, as no-shows and transfers will need to be taken into account.\nSophomore Justin Smith said he didn't notice the shortage at Wright Wednesday.\n"It seemed crowded today," he said, "but today is moving day."\nTo compensate for lost revenue, RPS has sold double rooms to students who wish to pay extra, an unusual tactic that would have been unheard of in years past.\n"This year, we were able to grant (the wishes of) any returning student wanting a double-single," Walters said.\nSelling more double rooms to single occupants should help quell the loss of money from the occupancy crisis. For an average bill of $6,000 per student, a loss of 400 students would mean a $2.4 million dip in revenue at a time when IU's funding has already been stretched thin by budget cuts.\nThe crunch is partially due to a shortage in first-year students on the Bloomington campus. Officials are expecting a net loss of hundreds of newcomers, who are required, with some exceptions, to stay in University residence halls. \nJunior Steve Wathen said the forced-residence rule may be a turn-off for prospective students, but a necessary one.\n"I think it's good for freshmen to live on campus, but for them, it sucks," he said.\nAside from the restriction, some point the finger at new apartment developments in downtown Bloomington that have driven off-campus housing prices down and developed a buyer's market. But more evidence suggests the problem is simply the falling number of freshmen.\nWhen asked why there was shortage of new blood to fill the rooms, Watkins was uncertain.\n"I don't know," he said. "The economy?"\n-- Contact senior writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.
(05/03/04 6:33am)
The stage is set for a tense meeting between University officials Thursday and Friday. The IU board of trustees will meet for the first time since President Adam Herbert asked to delay the athletic fee vote April 2.\nTrustees President Fred Eichhorn said he will be opposed to a mandatory athletic fee, which he said would wrongly place the financial burden on students.\n"I can't speak for all of the trustees because we haven't met, and we haven't talked about it," Eichhorn said. "But I kind of feel the revenue shortfall should be allotted to tickets as opposed to the students at large."\nThe athletic fee has been the topic of debate for more than a month. During the last trustees meeting, Herbert successfully requested the vote for the fee be postponed until Thursday's meeting in Bloomington, in order to "have as much discussion as the time will allow."\nTrustee Patrick Shoulders said discussions during the meeting will play a pivotal role in the final outcome of the athletics finance problem. \n"I had an open mind a month ago, and I will have an open mind this time," Shoulders said. "We were presented two meetings ago with only one alternative, and it was the only thing we were given to think about. Hopefully there will be other alternatives to this topic from student and faculty input and from other interest groups and constituencies that have interest in this topic. My mind is not made up yet."\nOther mandatory fees could be discussed Thursday and Friday, including the bus fee and the collegiate readership fee.\nAlso on the agenda for the meeting is the approval of the University's budget for the next academic year, which includes money from a 4 percent tuition increase passed April 2. \nDuring the appointments section of the conference, Julia Heiman will be officially named the new director of the Kinsey Institute. Heiman was previously a psychology professor at the University of Washington and has authored several sex books including her most recent entitled, "Becoming Orgasmic: A Sexual and Personal Growth Program for Women."\nVice Chancellor for Auxiliary Services and Programs Bruce Jacobs will present before the trustees a report on how the University manages parking. Jacobs said one issue in which the trustees are interested is the outsourcing of auxiliary operations such as parking.\nBut the issue of the week will be how the trustees decide to deal with the University's athletics deficit. Shoulders said the trustees may be forced to make an unpopular decision.\n"I think it's important to continue to make available tickets to those that enjoy the athletic experience," Shoulders said. "I hope we can continue to provide seating, but it may be they'll have to pay more."\n-- Contact senior writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.
(05/03/04 6:33am)
An IU student wrote late February in his Internet diary that he hated his life and wanted to die. \nThat student leapt from a window on the eighth floor of Ballantine Hall April 19 and nearly lost his life.\nNow, he lies in a Bloomington Hospital room with two broken legs surrounded by his family. His mother said she wants the Bloomington community to know her son is out of critical care and is recovering.\n"Let the students know that he's doing fine," she said. "He made it out of surgery, and he's improving every day."\nMario Lopez, a senior at Purdue University Calumet and one of the student's best friends, visited him last Saturday.\n"He looked pretty bad at the time," Lopez said. "He was stuck in bed. He was still having trouble breathing. But how would you expect someone who fell eight stories to be doing?"\nLopez said he met the student at middle school in Merrillville, Ind. He said the student's interests include martial arts and horror movies. He also said the student rarely mentioned Bloomington when they talked. \n"It never really came up when we spoke," Lopez said. "He might mention classes or people he knew down there, but he didn't really talk much about it."\nAccording to the student's online diary, he was facing eviction from his dorm in late April. He was also failing most of his classes, had yet to secure student loans and repeatedly referred to himself as a failure.\nLopez said it was difficult to see the signs in the diary. \n"It's hard to tell," Lopez said. "When you look back, you might notice something, but when it's happening, you don't notice. A lot of those things -- I didn't know what he was talking about. He wasn't too forthcoming about that stuff."\nLopez said he noticed the student had been in a strangely happy mood the last time he spoke to him before the incident.\n"He was very calm, really normal," Lopez said. "He was a little too normal. He just seemed kind of cheery -- kind of happy. It was a little out of character."\nIn several recent entries, including the student's last, he repeatedly declared himself in a good mood. In one entry, he even listed the lyrics from the song "You Are My Sunshine." \nBut the morning of April 19, that all changed. Glass shards were strewn across the road as the student heaved a wooden chair through an eighth-story window before he made his ultimate decision. His mother said she hopes witnesses can forget the horror of that day.\n"He's doing really well," she said. "I know that a lot of students saw it, and I don't want them to be traumatized by it." \nLopez said he could not find Ballantine Hall when he visited, but he did see a picture online. He said he was surprised someone could survive such a fall.\n"He got lucky ," he said. "It's a tall building."\n-- Contact senior writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.
(04/29/04 6:00am)
Hundreds of people gathered outside the Helene G. Simon Hillel Center Wednesday to demonstrate against hate crimes after a Jewish student's Jeep was defaced with red swastikas and the word "Jew" Monday night.\nBloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan, Dean of Students Richard McKaig and leaders from five religious institutions all spoke to the concerned crowd.\n"Bloomington is a community that comes together in times of need," Kruzan said. "Sadly this incident proves it's not a perfect community."\nThe victim, who wished to remain anonymous, said he was touched by the enormous support offered at the demonstration.\n"It's inspiring to see that so many people care," he said. "It's nice to see that so many people in high positions are trying to understand what it's like to be a victim of a hate crime."\nHillel Director Rabbi Sue Shifron said Monday's vandalism of the Jeep was an act of fear and hatred.\n"I hope he or she comes forward to talk to somebody and get help," Shifron said. "It's such an act of cowardice and hate, and that kind of hate destroys not only everyone else but will eventually destroy him or her as well."\nMcKaig presented a statement prepared by IU-Bloomington Interim Chancellor Ken Gros Louis, who is out of town, calling on the Bloomington community's support.\n"Each of us must first stand alone against bigotry and anger in our individual lives before we can collectively stand against them in our communal lives," McKaig read. "One by one, we must rid ourselves of the small misunderstandings and senseless mistrust that too often seed hate, encourage its presence or allow it space to grow."\nMcKaig said the penalty for the vandalism will be steep. Though he could not speculate on the exact University reaction at stake, he said because the vandalism is a hate crime there are potentially harsher criminal penalties.\n"We want anyone who knows anything to help us find the people responsible," McKaig said. "If it is somebody's idea of a bad joke I would like to get that matter resolved."\nShifron said this singular incident of vandalism represents a more deeply seeded sentiment of hatred and intolerance.\n"The targeted hate crime was not an attack on only one student, it was an attack on every one of us," Shifron said. "It was a challenge to us to demonstrate where we stand and what we believe. It was a call to action."\nLeaders from the Christian, Muslim and Bahá'i traditions all showed their support and joined Shifron at the podium.\nOne leader, Father Dan Atkins of St. Paul's Catholic Center, offered to pay the student's costs for repainting his car on behalf of his congregation.\nJunior Elan Neiger said the incident was a "black eye" for Bloomington.\n"It's a disappointment for the whole city," Neiger said. "Bloomington is supposed to be such a welcoming liberal town, and then something like this happens."\nOther audience members shared similar sentiments. Junior Maya Eshel said the crime has made her more frightened.\n"I have a Hebrew bumper sticker that I haven't been able to put on my car and I hate that," Eshel said. "I think somebody might slash my tires if I did."\nBut the victim said he is not afraid.\n"These people are cowards," he said. "They think this is funny, they think this is a prank. This isn't a joke. I am not afraid of these scoundrels."\nAnother student, senior Daniel Farahan, said he would like to speak to the vandal in person.\n"I'd like it if he'd come over to my house and we can talk this out like men," Farahan said. "I'd really like to talk to him."\nMcKaig said he was disgusted with the sheer cruelty of the act.\n"This was clearly a very blatant targeted act against an individual student," McKaig said. "It causes us concern for the type of individual who would do that."\nCoordinator of the Office of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Student Support Services Doug Bauder said he would like to reach out to the perpetrator of the crime.\n"If he did this out of ignorance, he ought to read 'The Diary of Anne Frank,'" Bauder said. "If he did it as a joke, he should watch 'Schindler's List.' If he did it out of anger or hatred, he needs to talk with someone about that, because it will ultimately lead to his self-destruction."\nEach speaker addressed his or her commitment to unity in trying times. Kruzan said he is confident the community will respond in an appropriate manner.\n"It is important to be aware that there is hatred in our community," Kruzan said. "Small minds will be overcome by large hearts."\n-- Contact staff writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.
(04/27/04 5:38am)
Four cases of assault were reported during the IU Police Department's busiest weekend of the year.\nA woman reported a battery Friday she said occurred Wednesday night at 11:10 p.m. at Alpha Tau Omega. IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said the woman charged another female hit her while she was drinking a beverage.\n"She said she was with a friend and another female threatened her," Minger said. "She hit the cup she was drinking from and the cup, in turn, hit her mouth."\nMinger said the woman was advised of her options. \nA woman also reported being unnecessarily fondled outside the IU Health Center Saturday. Minger said the woman was walking home when she was approached by five or six men near the center. The woman said some of them grabbed her legs, some of them grabbed her arms, and one of the males "kissed her all over." \nThe woman, who said she did not know the men, reported no injuries. Minger said the woman was informed of services available to her at the Health Center. The case is classified as a "forcible fondling."\nSaturday, an officer reported investigating a shuttle bus stopping just north of Fee Lane, Minger said. The officer observed the driver of the shuttle, known as the "drunk bus," escorting out three males. The men -- freshmen David Kennedy, Brian Vogel and Connor Hay -- reportedly exhibited a "strong odor of alcohol."\nMinger said Kennedy was charged with battery, public intoxication and illegal consumption. Vogel was charged with public intoxication and illegal consumption, and Hay received only the public intoxication charge. All three men were taken to Monroe County Jail.\nWitnesses reported a baseball argument was the root of the altercation, Minger said. \n"The incident started when two groups got into a debate over the Cubs and the Yankees," Minger said. "It was advised that Kennedy became combative and started the fight."\nKennedy and Vogel had no comment and Hay did not return phone calls by press time.\nSunday, Minger said, officers responded to a call to the track fieldhouse. Upon arrival, officers observed many people running to the middle of the dance floor, apparently in reaction to a fight. Minger said 19-year-old Swen Drane, one of the male subjects involved in the fight, was arrested and apparently tried to resist. \n"The male had blood coming from his nose and lip area, but needed no medical treatment," Minger said. Drane was charged with disorderly conduct.\nAlso arrested for disorderly conduct were Ramon Barnett, 21, Laron Edwards, 18 and Brandon Stum, 21.\n-- Contact staff writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.
(04/23/04 5:26am)
Mutants. Since the discovery of their existence, they've been regarded with fear, suspicion, often hatred. Across the planet, debate rages. Are mutants the next link in the evolutionary chain or simply a new species of humanity fighting for their share of the world? Either way, it is an historical fact: sharing the world has never been humanity's defining attribute."\nThese words begin the second installment of the X-Men movie series, "X2: X-Men United." The CommUNITY Education Program held a screening of the film Thursday, along with a discussion afterward. The topic was the parallel between the movie and diversity issues in real life.\n"I wasn't that surprised this issue surfaced," senior Natalie Corey said. "X-Men comics have always been symbols of empowering people who aren't in power."\nSeveral scenes sparked analogies for audience members. Corey said the scene in which a high school student's parents learn he's a mutant is strikingly similar to a scene from a gay man's struggle with coming out. The student's mother is upset and asks him, "Have you ever tried not being a mutant?"\n"I think that scene made the parallel very evident," Corey said.\nSome characters even drew direct parallels to real people. For instance, sophomore Ken Cooper said the character Nightcrawler was based on Malcolm X. As evidence, Nightcrawler attempts to assassinate the president with a knife that bears the inscription "Mutant Freedom Now." In a famous speech in 1964, Malcolm X told a crowd of people, "We want freedom now, but we're not going to get it saying 'We shall overcome.' We've got to fight until we overcome."\nGraduate student Daniel Zeno said in the movie, just as in real life, the minority group is the proactive one.\n"The group that was oppressed had to take action," Zeno said. "The oppressed group is always the one trying to take care of themselves."\nBut senior Nick Blesch said diversity, in both reality and the film realm, is an issue involving the majority as well as the minority.\n"It's kind of pointless to talk about diversity if it doesn't include everyone," Blesch said. "Mutants can't solve their problems alone; they need the help of the humans."\nThe issue of minority silence ran central to the discussion. One scene in particular from the movie exemplifies this topic. When Nightcrawler asks Mystique why she doesn't use her mutant power of disguise all the time to look like "normal" humans, Mystique replies, "Because we shouldn't have to."\n-- Contact staff writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu
(04/22/04 6:56am)
Leadership has found a new home. IU announced Tuesday the establishment of the Randall L. Tobias Center for Leadership Excellence, which officials foresee as a vanguard institution in the study of leadership.\nIU President Emeritus Gerald Bepko will function as the Tobias Center's inaugural director. Bepko, a former CIA agent, said the center will function like other schools in the University -- research, teaching and service will be its primary objectives. \nAn initial program sponsored by the foundation will be a "leadership laboratory" in which faculty members will examine leadership patterns. The researchers will view case studies of effective -- and ineffective -- leadership strategies to establish a core understanding of what successful leadership is.\nThe first public activity sponsored by the Tobias Center will be a "Tobias Lecture," presented by an undetermined influential leader. Bepko said the speaker will deliver "a very personal presentation."\nThe center was established through a $5.25 million gift from the Randall L. Tobias Foundation, whose mission is to promote "opportunities and experiences that inspire excellence in education." According to the organization's Web site, the grant doubles the amount of money it has issued since its 1994 inception.\nThe Tobias Center will be installed under the Kelley School of Business in Indianapolis. Mary Chappell, director of foreign affairs for the Indianapolis Kelley School branch, said the new program will mimic the ideals of its namesake.\n"It's a center that's going to be devoted to leadership excellence," Chappell said. "Randall Tobias, who is behind the gift to the University to set this up, is a well-renowned management leader as well."\nIn a statement, Tobias said the center will be a necessary and progressive approach to the study of leadership.\n"There is a significant need for a place to research, discuss, debate and determine the critical quality of leadership and the means to assess, distinguish and train effective leaders," Tobias said. "Indiana University deserves that place."\nThe Tobias Center will function as a study station of leadership systems throughout society -- be they academic or non-academic, corporate or not-for-profit, public service or governmental. Bepko said this diversity will help keep the center balanced and focused.\nBepko, who served as IU's interim president after the swift departure of Myles Brand, will serve a limited role as inaugural director for the first two years of the center. His tasks will include fundraising, program organization and integrating the participation from the three initial contributors -- the Kelley School of Business, the School of Public and Environmental Affairs and the Center on Philanthropy.\nBepko said although this is a novel program, there are leadership institutions in place at other universities across the United States, most notably at Yale University. But Bepko said he hopes the Tobias Center will be spoken of "in the same sentence as the Yale program."\n"We hope that 25 years from now when people ask 'where is it leaders are getting their training? where is it the complexity of good leaders is being unpacked in the clearest fashion? and where is it the theories of the nature of leadership are being examined?' they will say Indiana University in the Tobias Center," Bepko said.\n-- Contact staff writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.
(04/20/04 6:22am)
Those who want to adjust their course schedule may have to pay a little more. The IU Bursar office announced Friday that changing sections of a class will cost twice as much.\nThe modification was declared via mass e-mail and will go into effect next Fall.\nPreviously, dropping and adding a different section from the same class only cost students one $22 fee. Under the new system, when a student processes a section change within the same course after the second week of classes, the student will be assessed two $22 dollar fees, one for dropping and one for adding.\nSophomore Alex Nguyen said the new policy is unfair.\n"If they're going to do $22 for the drop and $22 for the add, that's outrageous," Nguyen said. "I just want to know why they raised it."\nBut Associate Bursar Kimberly Kercheval said overall, the new policy can make registration cheaper for students.\nAccording to the e-mail, undergraduate students taking between 12 and 17 credit hours who adjust their schedules but remain in the "flat fee range" will not incur any change in tuition assessment if the drop and add occur on the same calendar day. So any undergraduate student who drops and adds classes on the same day and is enrolled in 12 to 17 hours before and after the drop/add will only be assessed the $44 drop and add fee.\nJunior Joe Davis said the protection for students in the flat fee range doesn't make sense.\n"If a kid wants to drop a class they should give them a little more time to do it," Davis said. "They should at least give students time to talk it over with their adviser instead of taking a class they're not sure about."\nOne additional policy change announced Friday related to students not included in the flat-fee range. Such a student who drops hours after the first week, according to the new policy, will receive a partial refund corresponding to the magnitude of their tardiness. Any unprotected student will be refunded 75 percent of the tuition during the second week, 50 percent during the third, 25 percent during the fourth and none thereafter.\nKercheval said the changes were installed due to the schematic of the Student Information System, the University's new PeopleSoft integration software, but remained confident the new system can be effective.\n"It is our hope that, with advanced warning, students will be able to successfully plan their enrollment for the fall semester and minimize the possibility of being assessed late-program change fees or of losing tuition dollars on an even course exchange occurring outside the flat fee," Kercheval said.\nJunior Adam Carroll said policy changes of any sort are a nuisance.\n"I want to know why they're instituting so many new policies," Carroll said. "I'm graduating in a year and I still have to deal with this. It seems like every year they keep adding money to my bills, and I'm a college student, and I can't really afford it."\n-- Contact staff writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.