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(04/20/04 5:38am)
The Helene G. Simon Hillel Center remembered the six million victims of the Holocaust Monday, 61 years to the day after the Warsaw ghetto uprising, with a Holocaust names remembrance.\nApril 19 is the traditional day of Yom Hashoah, which means "day of the destruction." Twenty students stood at a podium facing Third Street and read thousands of Holocaust victims' names, one by one. The ceremony lasted five hours.\n"Shmuel Gruber, Dovid Gutman, Mincham Guz…"\nSpeaker Seth Schrank, incoming Hillel president, said the observance is an important part of his Jewish heritage.\n"It's something that I like to do to just commemorate the holiday and remember those who passed away," Schrank said. "It reminds us of our history. A big part of our religion is our history, and this is one way to remember that."\n"Nichom Handlor, Yosef Kagan, Asher Kamin…"\nHillel Assistant Director Jessie Mallor said the day is a period of reflection for all people.\n"It's a special day that we use in our life cycles to remember the six million who were murdered in Europe," she said.\n"Ari Fishbein, Michael Freidman, Brocha Groski…" \nMallor said the names, by themselves, speak volumes. \n"It's the first time you're faced with the enormity," Mallor said. "As the same name gets repeated over and over, you realize you're dealing with the death of an entire family."\n"Israel Kushner, Rozel Kushner, Yaakov Kushner, Yalta Kushner…"\nAfter the reading, a small group of students moved upstairs into the Hillel Center for a yizkor, a memorial for the dead.\nThe service was conducted in a small circle as students prayed, meditated and recited selected Holocaust prose. The readings included a passage from "The Auschwitz Album," a collection of Holocaust memorabilia.\n"On behalf of the camp administration, I bid you welcome," the passage read. "Just as soldiers risk their lives at the front to gain victory for the Third Reich, you will have to work here for the welfare of a new Europe. Now would you please all get undressed."\nThese words were originally spoken by the Obersturmfuhrer Hossler just before a group of Greek Jews were ushered into a gas chamber.\nAndy Gitelson, Hillel program director, said the event was a time for people of all religions and backgrounds to join in remembrance of Holocaust victims.\n"The idea of this was to offer an open door," Gitelson said. "You don't have to be Jewish to attend. It's nice when non-Jewish students come and ask questions."\nGitelson said the name-reading helps students understand the magnitude of the Holocaust.\n"It gets your emotions going," he said. "When you read a number like six million, it doesn't really jump out at you. But when you read the names, you realize those were real people with real lives and real families."\n"Moshe Lionitz, Sara Lizrov, Zolta Lopota…"\n-- Contact staff writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.
(04/19/04 6:15am)
The U.S. Department of Education recently awarded the IU-Bloomington chemistry department with a $207,555 grant for low-income and minority graduate students. The endowment was announced Thursday by U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh.\nBayh said the grant will be essential to students with limited options, according to a statement. \n"This money means more opportunities for students in Indiana who otherwise might not have been able to afford a graduate degree," Bayh said. "This funding will help bridge the gap between the educational haves and have-nots and help train students in high-tech fields where additional workers are needed."\nThe grant was appropriated via the Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need Program. According to a government Web site, the program was established to assist low-income students majoring in "areas of national need," including biology, chemistry, computer and information science, engineering, geological science, mathematics and physics.\nIU Director of Graduate Studies Jeff Zaleski said those departments are designated as areas of national need because of the importance and scarcity of the professions pursued by those students.\n"There are fewer students choosing to go into those areas of science," Zaleski said. "Obviously, our country needs hard scientists, and this grant helps us keep those students."\nZaleski said graduate students in the chemistry department receive a stipend each year of roughly $20,000, which must be accounted for by the University. \nThe GAANN grant will be used toward the stipends of five graduate students during a period of three years, Zaleski said, which means more than two-thirds of those students' stipends will be covered by the new funding. \nZaleski said he was optimistic the money would serve the GAANN Program's goals of enhanced diversity and talent within the IU chemistry department.\n"Naturally, it's going to increase our graduate enrollment, and it will increase our diversity," Zaleski said. "I also believe it will help us in the future recruit students from under-represented backgrounds and generate Ph.D's in an area of national need."\nJunior Ashish Thaker, a chemistry major, said the additional funding will be beneficial to diversity among chemistry students.\n"There's definitely a need for more qualified and intelligent students going into chemistry," Thaker said. "I think these grants will increase diversity within the chemistry department because the grants will offer minorities and students from financially-dependent families another option."\nZaleski said a small portion of the IU grant will be sent to faculty members from other undergraduate institutions in order to recruit graduate students for IU.\nThe U.S. Department of Education also allocated more than $166,000 in GAANN grants to Purdue University for engineering graduate students, according to a press release.\nThaker said he believes the grants will help IU's chemistry department compete with others around the U.S.\n"I think other universities have better funded, better developed chemistry programs," he said. "But I think this funding will allow IU to compete with the bigger departments."\n-- Contact staff writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.
(04/16/04 5:57am)
In the lobby of the IU Auditorium Thursday, IU President Adam W. Herbert reflected on his first eight months as president only minutes after his inauguration. Mounds of his favorite oatmeal raisin cookies beckoned, but he only had time for one.\nThursday was a day to celebrate, as Herbert became the 17th president to be inaugurated at IU.\nThe ceremony filled the auditorium to near-capacity. The audience was a broad list of Indiana brass, as inauguration attendees included Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan, U.S. Congressional Representative Baron Hill and IU President Emeritus Myles Brand.\nKruzan said the event gave him a chance to win a wager with his wife.\n"Amy bet me when I was inaugurated myself to be mayor of Bloomington that I would never appear in public wearing a gown," he said.\nBut he did, along with hundreds of others. IU alumni were flush in full academic regalia. Purple, green, red and yellow sashes were abundant, representing different disciplines. IU Grand Marshal Edwin Marshall held the symbolic golden mace a forearm's length from his chest. The mace has been an authoritative symbol used in academic ceremonies for hundreds of years.\nA team of proud trumpeters stood erect and cast their fanfare to ring in the ceremony. Then a team of state, city and University officials heaped praise on Herbert from behind the podium. \nThe inauguration came more than eight months after Herbert officially took the helm as IU's president. Ceremony planners have historically needed the lag to match the event to the personality of the new president.\nThe inauguration of an IU president is an unusually rare event: since the first inauguration in 1829, IU has had only 17 presidents, and in the same time span, the United States has had 36. Herbert also became the first black president to be inaugurated in IU's history. Brand, IU's last permanent president, served an eight-year term before leaving to take a position with the NCAA. \nBrand did not speak but sat on stage with three other past presidents to support Herbert.\nAfter many congratulatory words, the time came for the "moment of installation," the ceremonial bestowal of office. Marshall and IU Trustee Fred Eichhorn placed a gold chain bearing the "Jewel of Office," a medallion infixed with emeralds and diamonds, around the president's neck.\nDuring Herbert's inauguration speech, he made several references to IU as a "cathedral of learning," saying it is time for all those associated with IU to "commit to a shared vision and dedicate our talents and energies to its fruition."\nHe also focused on enhancing the quality of the University, even in the face of financial difficulties.\n"I will work closely with faculty in an effort to become increasingly more strategic in our major academic investments for the future," Herbert said, "with a priority focus on areas that offer the greatest potential for true distinction over time."\nAlong with promising to work to increase staff and faculty salaries, Herbert touched on the University's diversity policies and the reversal of the "brain-drain." He also stressed the importance of global understanding and a "mission-focused, multi-campus University."\n"I urge my faculty and staff colleagues to recall at all times that we are one institution," he said. "Every degree we award is from Indiana University. Thus, cooperation and collaboration must be our primary focus."\nTrustee Cora Breckenridge said she has faith in the president's leadership.\n"His vision is for this to become an even greater institution than it already is," she said. "And I think that's where we're headed."\nIU Student Association President Casey Cox said Herbert has helped make University administration a much warmer place than before.\n"I've watched the students' view of the administration as an ivory tower, virtually untouchable, give way to a far more approachable perception thanks to President Herbert's arrival," Cox said.\nAfter the ceremony, guests were invited to participate in the president's reception, which lingered in the lobby of the auditorium. At the wishes of the president, the crew served cranberry spumante punch and "Dr. Herbert's favorite old fashioned oatmeal raisin cookies." But Herbert was so busy being congratulated, he only had time for one cookie.\n-- Contact staff writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.
(04/15/04 6:22am)
Closets are dark places.\nI thought I understood what the IU Day of Silence was all about before I picked up the yellow cards and shut up. I didn't understand. \nThe yellow cards explain the idea. "The Day of Silence Project draws attention to those who have been silenced by hatred, oppression and prejudice."\nOK, I thought. I'll just remain silent for the day in honor of those who feel oppressed. Then I did it.\nAnd then I understood.\nI spent the day in silence. I literally didn't talk the entire day. For people who know me, that might be a blessing. For me, it was a learning experience.\nThe Day of Silence began in 1996 -- the brainchild of University of Virginia gay, lesbian and transgender rights activists. Since then, the program has exploded and is officially recognized at more than 2,300 schools nationwide.\nIU students, including me, observed silence Wednesday. I was given a yellow pin asking "Have you been silenced?" and dozens of yellow cards explaining our position. \nIf anyone asked me why I was silent, I gave them a yellow card.\nAnd so I spent the entire day with a stupid grin on my face -- dead silent. It was like being in a closet. I wasn't allowed to let anybody know anything. And being a straight, white Anglo-Saxon male Protestant, it was my first foray into a closet.\nLet me tell you, closets are dark places.\nI was a bit nervous about the ordeal beforehand. I knew people would be looking at me. I knew people would be whispering about me. Although the day has come to embody the oppression of all silenced people, it is still associated with gay rights. So the gay looks came. And the gay whispers came.\nI thought I wouldn't care what people thought. I tried not to. But the more people stared, the more nervous I got. What if they think I'm gay? What if I see people I know?\nI thought I got it. I thought I was just standing up for the oppressed, the silenced.\nAnd so the day went. I couldn't wait to get the burden of silence off my back. "Break the Silence" was scheduled for 5 p.m. \nBut then a funny thing happened. At the moment I was supposed to break my silence, I couldn't. I didn't want to. I'd been silent so long, the natural thing for me to do was to remain silent. In fact, when I did finally speak, it physically hurt. \nI can only imagine what it's like for people to be in closets their entire lives. They are living lies. But I'm sure after a while, they can't leave the closet. For some it becomes second nature to live the lie. I'm sure once they finally speak up, it hurts.\nI thought I knew what oppression was. I thought I knew what it was for a group to feel silenced. After only a day in a closet, I realize now that I never will.
(04/14/04 5:35am)
Debra Davis told her story to a group of fascinated audience members Tuesday in the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center Grand Hall. In the past, this person may have been inconceivable to all but her closest friends: Davis lived her first 51 years as David Nielsen.\nAs part of the National Day of Silence events, Davis spoke to more than 40 people about the life of a transgender person.\nFor Davis, it officially began in the spring of 1998 when she left Southwest High School in Minneapolis one Friday as Nielsen, the school's popular librarian, and returned Monday to the school staff as Davis. Tuesday, she reintroduced herself to students as a woman.\n"The students were pretty awesome," Davis said. "They wanted to come to the library and see their new and improved librarian."\nDavis said until that moment, most people never really knew her.\n"I'm not sure 'he' really existed in the first place," Davis said. "The people that only knew the man, that part of me, knew a lie because that wasn't who I really was."\nDavis is one of the most famous transgender people in the U.S. When her story broke in 1998, she said, people from all over the country came out to support her -- and to hate her.\n"The extreme right is very upset with me," Davis said. "They tell me so on 'The 700 Club' and on their radio and television programs. They write four-page letters using me as an example of everything that's wrong with transgender folks in education."\nStill, the issue of the day was not hatred but acceptance. Davis said the National Day of Silence was an appropriate way for transgender people to quietly sound out against oppression.\n"We've been kept quiet, and we're not going to keep quiet anymore," she said. "We're going to say we're proud of who we are and that we know we're OK."\nSophomore Beth Levy said she was taken with Davis' optimistic outlook.\n"A lot of the time, people from the transgender community tend to be negative," Levy said. "It's a minority within a minority. A lot of the people don't get to see a lot of positive role models."\nFormer IU faculty member Randi Pearson said Davis is that role model.\n"She's a great mentor for other transgender people like me," Pearson said. "That's why I traveled from North Vernon (Ind.) to see her."\nGraduate student Daniel Zeno said he came to see Davis out of curiosity and confusion.\n"I have a lot to think about after this," Zeno said. "This is an issue I've never thought about, never had to confront, which is 'what is gender?'"\nDavis defined a transgender person as anyone who has questions about his or her gender. She emphasized that a person's gender is not the same as that person's sexual preference.\n"Sexual orientation is who you love," Davis said. "Gender identity is who you are."\nDavis wrapped up her presentation with a story about her transformation and her granddaughter Victoria.\nVictoria was playing a counting game with her grandmother when she decided to count girls. Victoria successfully identified herself and her mother as female. Then she came to Davis.\nAnd Victoria quipped, "Grandpa, you're a girl."\nFor more information, visit www.debradavis.org.\n-- Contact staff writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.
(04/13/04 6:17am)
IU students and faculty are growing increasingly concerned with a House of Representatives Bill that might constrict academic freedom in higher education. \nHR 3077, also known as the International Studies in Higher Education Act, is an amendment to Title VI of the Higher Education Act of 1965, and was initially created to increase foreign studies funding in universities. \nThe majority of the bill is favored by most interested parties, but Section 6 of the bill has come under intense scrutiny. Section 6 would form an International Higher Education Advisory Board, which some claim could infringe upon a university's academic freedom.\nThe advisory board, if approved, would oversee activities by area studies programs receiving Title VI funding. Additionally, the board would work in conjunction with the Secretary of Homeland Security for some activities. \nBoth the IU Graduate and Professional Student Organization and the Bloomington Faculty Council have expressed written disapproval of Section 6.\nDirector of the Russian and East European Institute David Ransel said the advisory board has the potential to take a role more active than "advisory."\n"The idea that you politicize the teaching of these subjects is obnoxious and opposed to all our traditions and is very dangerous," Ransel said. "We condemned the fraud of Russia against their students all these years, telling them what to teach, and this is what this is."\nThe bill was passed in the House Oct. 21, 2003, and currently awaits action in the Senate. One of the enumerated goals of the proposed advisory board is to "meet the goals of an enhanced national security objective." But its opponents say the advisory board could do more to harm national security than to help it. \nHistory Professor Jeff Wasserstrom said political freedom in universities is completely beneficial.\n"We need to have an atmosphere where we can debate freely different positions on international issues," Wasserstrom said. "In fact, I think being able to have those types of debates benefits national security."\nWasserstrom was among a three-professor panel presenting a statement to the Faculty Council April 6 asserting an unfavorable view of Section 6. The council voted and passed the statement, with only one dissenting vote -- Business Professor Eric Rasmusen.\n"I think HR 3077 is a good bill," Rasmusen said. "When the government gives out grant money for purposes such as increasing our national security by increasing our understanding of foreign countries, it has a duty to make sure the money is indeed spent for that purpose."\nBut Ransel said Rasmusen, who is well-known for his conservative viewpoints, should be the first person opposed to the advisory board.\n"He's pretty short-sided in favoring this," Ransel said. "If a liberal, left-of-center administration got into power, then their extremist hang-arounds could get into his courses and decide they're inappropriate and remove him."\nRasmusen said he has yet to hear an effective argument against the debated section.\n"The critics I've seen avoid mentioning any specific dangers they fear from the oversight boards," Rasmusen said. "Critics talk vaguely about McCarthyism and the destruction of academic freedom, which is ridiculous once you look at the mild procedural changes that the bill makes."\nThe GPSO also passed a statement opposed to the advisory board. GPSO Campus Affairs Committee Chairperson Elizabeth Rytting said the proposed board could be the first step to controlled thought.\n"We're afraid it can be used in order to suppress certain ways of viewing things," Rytting said. "Creating an advisory board which directly looks at a sample of activities in a program could be used in a more investigate manner to control or interfere with the actual content of classes."\nRytting said the Senate has already altered the rhetoric creating the advisory board but said the changes were not enough.\n"To me (the new language) sounds like you can still look at somebody's syllabus and say you can't teach this or you need to add this to your syllabus," she said.\nThe statement passed by the GPSO Assembly proposes the Senate pass HR 3077 but rephrase or eliminate Section 6. \nRansel said the advisory board would be an affront to free political discourse. \n"The leaders that established this country argued very strongly that it's the duty of citizens to question the government when it tries to quash free expression," Ransel said. "That behavior is very dangerous and goes against all that we stand for."\n-- Contact staff writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.
(04/12/04 1:41pm)
The Commission On Multicultural Understanding presented six COMU awards in the Mathers Museum Thursday to individuals and groups contributing to multicultural awareness. \nRecipients were chosen for their proven dedication to diversity. Maura Halpern and Jonathan Rossing won the undergraduate and graduate student awards, respectively. Lillian Casillas took home the staff award, while Carolyn Calloway-Thomas received the faculty award. The community award was presented to Judge Viola J. Taliaferro, and the National Day of Silence was honored with the program award.\nCasillas, who also serves as COMU's ceremony organizer and was surprised by her nomination, said the awards symbolize the COMU's gratitude for diversity drivers.\n"It's a good way to remember that there are a lot of really good people doing really good things," Casillas said. "A lot of times no one really publicizes those things."\nRossing, who, along with winning the graduate student award, also was co-acceptor for the program award that went to the National Day of Silence, said the behaviors necessary for winning should be a forgone conclusion for anyone.\n"It seems kind of awkward to get awards for things you should just do," Rossing said. "It seems like it's just life, you should just do it."\nIn addition to participating in the National Day of Silence, Rossing has been serving as a diversity education specialist with the CommUNITY Education Program.\nHalpern, the arts editor for the Indiana Daily Student, received her award for diversity reporting, among other things. She said diversity can be a difficult issue to tackle.\n"You have to have a thick skin to write that kind of stuff," Halpern said. "People are going to think that you're offensive either way. Either you're being too biased or you're not being biased enough. But as a journalist, you have to be objective."\nCalloway-Thomas said the awards were an inspiring relief from a world not interested in diversity.\n"People lack respect for diversity," Calloway-Thomas said. "These awards affirm my belief that virtues such as good will, kindness, caring and consideration for others really do matter."\nTaliaferro, a heavily-awarded Hoosier judge, humbly said she doesn't deserve the recognition.\n"The people who don't know me might give me awards because they don't know any better," Taliaferro said.\nThe National Day of Silence was created for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students, but Rossing said it has taken on a broader significance. \n"Now it's a student-led day of action in which people use their silence to protest the discrimination, harassment and silencing many other people feel regularly," Rossing said. "At IU, we really recognize that lots of those groups are silenced."\nPrevious COMU awards have gone to Helene G. Simon Hillel Center Director Rabbi Sue Shifron, the Muslim Student Union and Herman B Wells. \n-- Contact staff writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.
(04/12/04 1:40pm)
Four challengers have emerged to contest Sue Talbot's position on the IU board of trustees. Talbot gained her post in 2001, but her three-year term will end June 30. \nThe challengers include Robert Cummins of Naperville, Ill., David Northern of Round Lake, Ill., Faye Tippy of Gary and David Dan Welker of Roanoke, Ind. All four challengers are IU alumni.\nTalbot, the founding director of Hoosiers for Higher Education and former president of the Alumni Association, said she has been a vital element of the board for the last three years.\n"When they elected me in 2001, I committed myself to being responsive to the alumni," Talbot said. "I think I'm a good trustee."\nHer challengers did not disagree with that assessment. \n"I think she's very dedicated to the University," Cummins said.\nTippy, a member of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center Alumni Club Executive Council, agreed Talbot is a fine trustee.\n"I have nothing but good things to say about Sue," Tippy said.\nRather than depend on smearing incumbent trustee Talbot, Tippy and Cummins said they hope the alumni will consider the value they will bring as new members to the board.\n"I think instead of looking at Talbot, they need to look at what I would bring to the board," Cummins said. "I would bring something that doesn't exist on the board and more balance."\nCummins has run for the position each of the last two years. He was defeated in 2003 by the incumbent Cora Breckenridge.\nHe said he sees the election as his chance to give back to the IU community.\n"I am a graduate of IU three times over," Cummins said. "I have a love for the University, and I'm at a point in my life where I can give something back."\nTippy, a first-time challenger, also said her advantage is her fresh blood.\n"I think I bring a different perspective to the board," Tippy said, "because of the combination of experiences I have and the networks I have."\nWelker was among seven challengers, including Talbot, to run against the incumbent Ray Richardson in 2001. Welker received 6 percent of the vote.\nThe election will be decided by IU alumni via mail-in ballots. The victorious contender will take office June 30. \nSix trustees, including a student trustee, are appointed by the governor. The remaining three slots are elected by the alumni on an overlapping basis. Jamie Belanger will be up for re-election in 2005 and Breckenridge will vie in 2006.\nTrustee President Fred Eichhorn, who is familiar with Tippy, said he will not use his position to endorse any candidate.\n"Sue has generally shown intense interest in what's going on," Eichhorn said. "And Faye is a fine person. But I am not supporting anyone specifically."\n-- Contact staff writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.
(04/07/04 5:36am)
College Democrats, Republicans and Libertarians gathered Tuesday to debate the issue of gay marriage. \nWhile Libertarians and Democrats said the issue at hand was one of rights, the Republican panelists said homosexual couples have no right to marry.\n"There is no right," IU College Republicans Events Director Andrew Lauck said. "There is no outlined right. There is no constitutionally-given right. There is no legislatively-given right that has been challenged."\nBut Matt Briddell, a gay Libertarian, said the issue runs deeper than rights.\n"It's more than just an issue of rights," Briddell said. "It's an issue of human dignity and respect."\nThen the most heated moment in the debate commenced when IU College Republicans Political Director Chase Downham questioned Briddell's lack of rights as a gay man.\n"Hey, man," Downham said, "you have the freedom to choose whatever lifestyle you want."\nBriddell responded, "It's not a lifestyle, it's who I am, thank you very much."\nThe panel, which was assembled by Libertarian Nick Blesch, debated for nearly two hours about the legitimacy of gay marriage, including discussions about states' rights, a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and decisions handed down by what the Republicans called "rogue judges."\n"President Bush did not begin this debate on the issue of same-sex marriage," Downham said. "This issue was brought to the public forefront by activist judges."\nBut IU College Democrats Political Vice President Matt Brunner said the judges have been fulfilling their constitutionally-appointed role.\n"That's why we have checks and balances," Brunner said. "So if legislatures pass laws that are unconstitutional, the court is there to declare them so."\nRegarding the issue of a constitutional amendment, the Republicans said the country may have no other choice than to pass such an amendment.\n"To protect the people," Downham said, "we may need (an) amendment to the U.S. Constitution."\nBut in response, IU College Democrat President Mandy Carmichael said though most Americans disapprove of gay marriage, the majority of young Americans do not. She said a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage would go the way of the 18th Amendment, the article establishing prohibition, which was repealed with the 21st Amendment.\n"Why create an amendment we're going to have to repeal, like prohibition, when our generation takes control?" Carmichael said. \nCarmichael went further to say Republicans were in the business of enforcing morality. She said that process is impossible given the different cultures and religions in the United States.\n"If we're going to start instituting morality," Carmichael said, "then whose morality?"\nThe panel discussed the issue of the "slippery slope" of gay marriage. The Republicans said acceptance of gay marriage would lead to the acceptance of such practices as polygamy and polyamory, or group marriage.\n"The truth is, there is a slippery slope when we talk about gay marriage," Downham said. "If we're going to give gay couples the right to marry, then inevitably, there are going to be other couples from alternative lifestyles who want also to marry."\nBut Blesch said that argument was just a scare-tactic used by Republicans to seduce Americans into relating homosexuality with behaviors like pedophilia and bestiality.\n"The difference is marriage is a contract between consenting adults," Blesch said. "You can't make a contract with a minor, and you certainly can't make a contract with a dog."\n-- Contact staff writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.
(04/06/04 6:12am)
The IU board of trustees approved the University's budget for 2004-2005 Friday, which includes a 2.4 percent net increase in projected revenues. But in economic reality, the University has almost zero dollars to expand and invest for the next academic year.\nThe approved budget includes a general fund base revenue of $591 million for IU-Bloomington, up $24 million from last year, or 4.2 percent. But $10 million of that revenue has already been allocated for various funding decreases, leaving IU-Bloomington with a net revenue increase of $14 million, or 2.4 percent.\nThe budget is considered modest by most, and reflects the economic situation of the state. Fred Eichhorn, the president of the board of trustees said although the new budget will be tight, it allows IU enough room to sustain operations.\n"We think we can make it work," Eichhorn said. "It's a maintenance budget -- it's not a budget that will enhance quality. We'll have to find quality dollars someplace else."\nThe 2.4 percent net increase is only slightly higher than the 1.9 percent inflation rate for 2003. Economics Professor Peter Olson said universities' cost increases may run higher than other sectors because they don't enjoy the privilege of technological advances some other sectors do.\n"Changes in technology can help cut costs in many industries," Olson said. "But those opportunities are much more limited in higher education."\nFor example, Olson said computer chip manufacturers can make production cheaper by using robots. But, he said, "when you add more classes, you've just got to pay more faculty."\nEichhorn said while the budget is sufficient for sustaining the University's activities, it will be detrimental to growth.\n"I wouldn't say I'm disappointed," Eichhorn said, "but it limits our ability to do program improvements which we all strive to accomplish."\nA meager increase in tuition will account for most increases in the budget but will limit IU in any further budgetary expansion, Eichhorn said. Resident students will incur a 4 percent increase in tuition and instructional fees next year, while non-residents will pay between 6 and 6.5 percent more. In comparison, Kentucky universities are levying tuition increases of 10 percent to 12 percent next year, according to The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Ky.\nThe 2003-2004 IU revenues were allocated heavily toward faculty and staff salaries, which accounted for 46 percent of the University's total budget. Supplies and expenses made up another 28 percent, while student financial aid accounted for only 6 percent. \nStephen Ferguson, vice president of the board of trustees said because of the constricted budget, the University must be frugal in University investments, which could range from new buildings and technology to hiring more faculty.\n"We have to be very careful not to be an inch deep and a mile wide," Ferguson said. "We have to make sure we maintain the current areas of quality and make investments with a great deal of care."\nAlthough Indiana is currently experiencing economic hardship, Ferguson said the state is not to blame for the tight budget.\n"The state did the best they could, given the structural deficit problems Indiana is facing," Ferguson said. "Having said that, the University is attempting to maintain that same approach and trying to also keep the University afloat for students, which is our primary mission in serving them."\n-- Contact staff writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.
(04/05/04 6:03am)
The IU board of trustees voted Friday to create the office of vice president for governmental relations, which will oversee the existing offices of director of state relations and director of federal relations. Thomas C. Healy, assistant to the president for government relations at Florida Gulf Coast University, was appointed to the post.\nThe restructuring will take effect June 1. IU President Adam Herbert proposed the organizational restructuring and said the new office will help the University work closely with state and federal funding committees.\n"It is clear that partnerships between the University and government are absolutely essential," Herbert said. "And what I'm trying to develop is a more comprehensive and sophisticated approach to governmental relations."\nThe position was created in the face of budgetary frugality on behalf of the state. Because Indiana's state budget is stretched so tightly, Herbert said there is increased pressure to receive federal appropriations.\n"We cannot ignore the reality that the Congress does continue to appropriate money to support initiatives and projects on our campuses," Herbert said. "On the federal level, one of the things that stand out is that we simply must have collaboration throughout the University."\nHerbert said the new position is vital for the University in the face of the current economic situation.\n"We recognize that these are very difficult times financially," he said. "… As we operate in a context that is becoming increasingly more complex, more demanding of communication, we simply must move to a new strategy that is built upon teamwork and collaboration."\nBefore the new post was approved, separate offices handled government relations, which mainly consists of the University's relationships with government grants. Directors dealing with federal and state relations each reported independently to the IU president. \nBut Herbert said the University needed to adopt the new structure to organize and focus the University's government relations.\n"It is the case that we must become more aggressive in terms of partnerships with other universities," Herbert said before the board. "In order to accomplish that, I think it is essential that we have a senior-level person that has overriding responsibilities for these activities." \nTrustee Patrick Shoulders said the president's plan is a positive amendment to the University's current structure. He said the new position allows the University continued success without laying a heavier burden on students. \n"The state is strapped for cash," Shoulders said. "We can't continue to lay big increases on our student body. We have to find other sources of revenue like government grants."\nHerbert emphasized the central idea on which his plan is based is the concept of teamwork.\n"We simply must shift from an approach that is based on individuals to team approaches to the lobbying and fostering greater understanding of our institutional needs," he said.\nHerbert said Healy is the ideal candidate for the new position because of his experience with universities and the government.\n"He knows universities, he understands their dynamics and he understands the concerns of students," Herbert said. "In addition to that, he has been engaged in the lobbying arena for over 20 years. He understands those processes better than anyone I've had the opportunity to work with."\nHealy has worked in higher education for more than 35 years and is a former colleague of Herbert's, having served at the University of North Florida while Herbert was president there. Healy said in a statement he is anxious to contribute to IU.\n"I am eager to serve Indiana University in a position in which I can significantly contribute to the growth and vitality of this remarkable institution," Healy said. "I look forward to once again joining Dr. Herbert and my new colleagues later this spring."\n-- Contact staff writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.
(04/05/04 4:32am)
Add two eggs, one-half cup of sugar and some caramel and you've got flan. Add tapioca pearls, coconut milk and palm sugar and you've got Malaysian tapioca. Add phyllo dough, walnuts and cinnamon and you've got baklava. Add flan, Malaysian tapioca and baklava and you've got "Desserts from Around the World," an international dessert festival uniting different people with the common interest of desserts.\nThe confectionary clambake was held Saturday in the Leo R. Dowling International Center by several IU international groups, including the International Studies Student Association and the English Conversation Club. ISSA and ECC president Jen Green said the event was a good way to celebrate diversity.\n"We just wanted to get people to come and appreciate all of the groups on campus," Green said. "There aren't very many times that all of the international groups on campus can get together, so that was our idea."\nThe program has been held at IU before but has been on hiatus, Green said.\n"I guess they ran out of people to organize it or something," she said, "but we thought it was really important to get it started again."\nVisitors were greeted at the door with a bowl, fork and spoon to gather and consume their favorite international treats. In one room, the international student groups set up shop and dished out their nation's best. In another, several seats were arranged for guests to comfortably partake in the sugary fare. Some debate ensued as to which dessert was the tastiest. Senior Deepam Rusia said the Turkish treat was the best.\n"I like the baklava," Rusia said. "I think it's delicious, has good texture and a strong flavor."\nBut sophomore Rahul Sharma said the Latin flavor better suited his tastes. \n"I liked the flan the best," Sharma said. "I liked it because I've never had it before, and it was interesting because I had no idea what went into making it."\nGraduate student Servet Celik of the Turkish Student Association, bringers of baklava, said the group's dessert was tops for the night.\n"Some desserts are heavy and they make you full, but baklava is not like that," Celik said. "When you're eating it, you can have as many as you want."\nFrom another end of the world, the Malaysian Student Association served tapioca with coconut milk and palm sugar. The mix of sauces and tapioca pearls made a dessert with a gelatinous texture. MSA Public Relations Officer Nurakmal Yunos said the tapioca had the baklava and the flan trumped.\n"I think we have the best desserts," Yunos said, "just because it's chewy, so it's not like this soupy-type thing, and you can chew on it. And we eat it with the coconut milk and the palm sugar, so there's a distinctive Asian taste to it."\nThough sugar was the order of the night, Rusia said the desserts were a clever device to get people from different cultures together.\n"You see a lot of people of different cultures here getting together and talking," Rusia said. "I think that's another critical part of the program -- not just introducing people to different cultures, but also to different people."\nSharma offered a more personal solution.\n"Well, I just had dinner, and instead of having ice cream, I came down here and tried desserts of different cultures," Sharma said. "I think that makes me a better person."\n-- Contact staff writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.
(04/02/04 6:15am)
A panel of religious leaders within and outside of the University spoke about the role of faith in the 2004 presidential election during a panel discussion Thursday in Jordan Hall. The topic of religious manipulation by both combating camps was the focus of the discussion.\nIU Law Professor Dan Conkle said faith has always been strongly intertwined with elections.\n"Quite clearly, religion does play a role in politics," Conkle said. "American politics in the contemporary period are unusually religious compared at least to many other, if not most other, if not almost every other, modern western democracy."\nConkle provided evidence of his statement with a story about President George W. Bush. Bush, Conkle said, was asked in a 2000 primary debate who his favorite philosopher was.\n"His response, whether or not accurately, to the question, was, 'Jesus Christ because he changed my heart,'" Conkle said.\nDr. Nazif Shahrani, a professor of Near Eastern languages and cultures, said Muslims have been secluded from the political realm until the last five or six years, when they finally began to organize. But the result, he said, left a sour taste in the mouths of some Muslims.\n"Much to their chagrin, they voted for George W. Bush," Shahrani said. "So that was the first political advocacy on the part of the Muslim community, and the results have not been all that positive."\nOne reason Shahrani is frustrated with President Bush, he said, is that the president engages in "vernacular politics," meaning he gathers opinions he observes from the grass-roots, bundles them and expresses them in "his own Texan way."\nBut Bush was not the only candidate discussed by the panel. Conkle said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., has come under scrutiny recently from the Bush administration for using the pulpit for political advantage.\n"(Kerry) spoke in a Baptist church, relied upon scripture and made basically a political scripture," Conkle said. Conkle then quoted the Bush administration's response, saying Kerry was engaging in discourse "beyond the bounds of acceptable discourse, in a sad exploitation of scripture for political attack."\nRev. Rebecca Jimenéz, campus minister, said one of the reasons religion will play such a vital role during and leading up to the 2004 election is the religious position of the president.\n"There is explicit religious positioning and religious rhetoric on the part of the White House," Jimenéz said. "And Bush will continue to actively cultivate the religious right because that's been his base."\nLindsey Mintz, director of government affairs for the Jewish Community Relations Council, said the Jewish vote will be an important one for the contenders to court. She said the history of the Jewish community's voting record is the strongest among all faiths.\n"Overwhelmingly, the Jewish community is the largest ethnic group as far as voting percentages," Mintz said. "We vote the most."\nMintz went on to say Jews historically have been forced to live together in their own communities and form their own organizations, which may explain their strong and unified voting record. Mintz also said the Jewish community has a proclivity for forming an opinion.\n"Give it time, ask the Jewish community how they feel about something and they'll tell you how to act," she said.\nConkle said democrats will ultimately be responsible for dealing with the issue of religion in one of two ways. The first, secularism, would strictly disallow religious ingredients from entering any official policy or language. The other would be to embrace religion as republicans have.\n"That stance would say, 'Yes, it is OK to talk about religious values," Conkle said. "But those religious values may not be ones that are uniquely the property of the conservative side in the debate,'" \n-- Contact staff writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.
(04/01/04 5:03am)
University Information Technology Services held a panel discussion Wednesday regarding the escalating problem of e-mail privacy. Panel member Fred Cate, distinguished law professor, said postal mail and e-mail are seen differently in the eyes of the law. \n"Opening mail not addressed to you is a crime," Cate said. "Opening e-mail not addressed to you is entertainment."\nThe legislation in question is the Open Records Act, a law intended to disclose all public records to anyone in the state. Since the policy was enacted before e-mail was a prevalent form of communication, there is no provision excluding e-mail from the policy, and because the University servers hold copies of the e-mails, they are considered public record.\nThe consequence is anyone in the state of Indiana can request the e-mails of any state employee -- including IU staff and faculty members. Further, the policy does not exclude personal e-mails, which is the reason some faculty members are upset. \nAssociate University Counsel Beth Cate said although there are no provisions excluding personal e-mails, there are exclusive provisions, such as one excluding student test scores. But Fred Cate, who drew most of the evening's laughs, said that is of little consequence.\n"That's not going to help us a lot," Fred Cate said. "Your e-mail argument with somebody is legal public record, unless you thought to include the test scores."\nThough the faculty members are at risk of leaving their personal e-mails open to the public, students enjoy a safer e-mail experience, Beth Cate said.\nThe Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act states students are exempt from any public record policy, with a few exceptions. And since FERPA is a federal law, it has priority over the ORA, a state policy. Beth Cate said this gives students an advantage faculty members don't enjoy. \n"Students may end up having more protection with respect to just their basic personal e-mail that they send on the University system than I will as a University employee," Beth Cate said.\nChief IT Security and Policy Chief Mark Bruhn explained how e-mail navigates from one computer to another, and reminded faculty members even though they might delete their e-mail copies, the other party might still have a copy, and the e-mail could still be public record. \nFred Cate said this electronic record spelled futility for any faculty member wishing to keep their personal e-mails private.\n"Face it," Fred Cate said. "We're screwed"
(03/31/04 4:30am)
Tux is a penguin. As the mascot of Linux, he is probably the most famous penguin in the world. His likeness was certainly the center of attention in Alumni Hall Tuesday, as the Unix Systems Support Group held the sixth annual LinuxFest, celebrating the open-source operating system.\nTux, in his inflatable plastic form, happily guarded the Hall entrance as computer aficionados filled the room. Linux lovers came en masse to listen to Linux leaders speaking Linux speak. \nFor those not eloquent in technology jargon, Linux is an operating system, like Windows. But unlike Windows, Linux's source code is open -- meaning anyone can legally change and redistribute it. Most fans, like Bloomington resident Matt Martin, point to this aspect as Linux's advantage over other operating systems like Windows.\n"Linux is open-source," Martin said. "It's not standardized, so it gives me something alternative I can use."\nThe exhibit, subtitled "The State of Linux," gave USSG officials a chance to showcase the alternative operating system. Staffers gave out free T-shirts and flashlights as participants were treated to presentations by upstanding members of the Linux community. The slate of presenters included Daniel Robbins, chief architect of Gentoo Linux.\nLinux was created by Linus Torvalds in 1991. Since then, it has developed a cult following unrivaled by any other operating system. No other operating system has this immense a fan base -- no other even has a mascot. Tux, in his neon sign form, was found smiling over some Linux stations open for spectators to use and explore. \nInterested partakers played first-person shooting games, checked e-mail and browsed the Internet using the operating system of the day.\nSince Linux is open-source, many developers have splintered it into many variations. So "Linux," as it is known, is not one operating system but many different operating systems all following the same mantra -- keep it open and keep it free.\nFans of Linux insist it is more than an operating system. For Nathaniel McCallum, developer for Gentoo Linux, Linux is a family. \n"An advantage of Linux is that you're not just by yourself at home feeling lonely," McCallum said. "With Linux, you're part of a community."\nThis aspect of Linux has been its saving grace, but it can also be a vice. Robbins said, in most cases, development time is allocated inappropriately due to the lack of a central committee.\n"A lot of the development is done in people's spare time, and there's a lack of resources," Robbins said. "I think we need a cooperative because software development is a time-intensive, complex process. It doesn't matter if it's free - we need resources to tackle it."\nThe "cooperative" Robbins is proposing would be the equivalent of a governing board, allocating development time and gathering resources so Linux can compete with Windows -- if that's what the Linux community chooses to do.\n"A lot of people have the idea that we're going to overtake Windows," Robbins said. "But it's not true unless we do those things -- get money, do research and development, do quality assurance, do the things big companies are supposed to do."\nWhile Linux is still an "alternative" operating system to Windows without a central nervous system, the potential exists for Linux to be the operating system of the future. It certainly has the fan base, and USSG Manager Matt Link said all it needs is direction.\n"I think the future of Linux is really bright," Link said. "It just needs a focus, and that's what lot of people realize now." \nIf Linux finds that focus, Tux might be smiling down on you in the future.\n-- Contact staff writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.
(03/30/04 5:28am)
A panel of experts held a "roundtable discussion" in the law school's Moot Court Room Monday, discussing issues from the Bush administration to the American consciousness of foreign news.\nThe keynote speaker was Rebecca MacKinnon, former Tokyo bureau chief for CNN. Other panelists included political science professor Greg Kasza and law professor Joe Hoffman. George Wilson, professor emeritus of East Asian Languages and Cultures, moderated the dialogue.\nJapan recently deployed 550 non-combat soldiers to Iraq. The deployment marks the first time Japan has sent soldiers into a combat zone since World War II, MacKinnon said.\nThe discussion focused on Japanese interests in changing their constitution, which was written by American officials after World War II. In particular, Article IX of Japan's constitution, which states the country is not allowed to have an active military, has been the center of debate in Japan's approach to foreign policy.\n"The constitution of Japan is what the government wants it to be," Kasza said. "The court is not allowed to rule on it. So the issue of Article IX is a political one, not a legal one."\nMacKinnon told stories about meetings with government officials. She said when she spoke with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage in 2002, he gave the usual cookie-cutter official line that the U.S. encourages Japan to engage in democratic activity, such as amending or writing a new constitution. But off-camera, MacKinnon said, Armitage told a different story.\n"I thought it would be a good idea for Japan to have a foreign relations committee talking to their neighbors, letting them know why they're making the changes they're making," MacKinnon said. "But he said 'I don't think we would want that because a certain country would have too much power,' referring, of course, to China."\nThe official topic for the discussion was "The role of Japan in the War on Terrorism." Panel members spoke candidly of their feelings about the War on Terrorism, most notably Kasza, who got the attention of audience members with scathing critique of the Bush administration.\n"The so-called 'War on Terrorism' is a great example of the Bush administration's Orwellian debasement of political discourse in the U.S.," Kasza said. "I have no clue what these people mean by terrorism. We have killed roughly 10,000 Iraqi soldiers and about 7,000 Iraqi civilians. I suppose this ten-to-seven ratio is still compatible with freedom fighting."\nHoffman also expressed concern regarding American foreign policy, saying the U.S. may be meddling in Japanese affairs too often.\n"Maybe the message is we ought to stay out of there completely," Hoffman said. "Perhaps Japan could feel it is a respectable, autonomous, equal partner in the world if the U.S. would just leave them alone for a while."\nWhile these issues are continually debated by panel members, MacKinnon addressed concerns that the average American citizen has little or no knowledge of foreign affairs, especially in Asia. \n"What alarms me is that since 9-11, the gap between the way Americans view the world and the way the rest of the world views the world has widened," MacKinnon said. \nSpecifically, MacKinnon said when she was bureau chief in Tokyo her stories ran constantly on CNN International, but rarely saw the light of day in the U.S. \n"The stories they did show in the U.S. were usually 'fluffy' stories that portrayed the people as 'those kooky Japanese,'" she said.\n-- Conctact staff writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.
(03/26/04 5:54am)
With impending litigation threatening to send a stern message to IU file-sharers, the legitimacy of the Recording Industry Association of America's lawsuits has come under question.\nStudents, professors and Mark Cuban, Dallas Mavericks owner and IU alumnus, all voiced their opinion regarding the issue, which arose when IU was among 21 universities targeted Tuesday in the latest wave of RIAA lawsuits.\nIU counsel Dorothy Frapwell said Thursday the University had still not yet received the subpoenas and didn't know when they would arrive. \nSome feel the RIAA's penalties are excessive or even unnecessary. \nSophomore David Crone said the music industry should be endorsing file sharing, not litigating it.\n"It's pretty ridiculous," Crone said. "I totally disagree with it. If I download something and I like it, I'm going to buy it. If I download something and I don't like it, I was never going to buy it. That simple."\nCuban shared similar sentiments Wednesday, saying IU's alliance with the recording industry is a reason the school has fallen out of his favor.\n"IU supports the RIAA," Cuban said, "and any organization that supports that organization is uncool with me."\nBut IU states it is doing everything it is required to do under the law, including stopping illegal file sharing, when first notified by the RIAA. IU law Professor Marshall Leaffer said the students are the ones to blame.\n"If students really want to avoid problems," Leaffer said, "they shouldn't do it. That's about as simple as you can make it."\nLeaffer pointed to the lax policy in the past concerning file sharing as the reason the activity took off, but he said not getting caught is not an excuse to break the law.\n"If they're doing an illegal act," he said, "they can get lucky and just not get caught. But if they are caught, the penalties can be serious."\nAnd the penalties have been serious in the past. The RIAA can sue file-sharers for as much as $150,000 per song and out-of-court settlements have averaged $3,000, said RIAA President Cary Sherman.\nWhile some find these penalties extreme, junior Sean Kellihan said the lawbreakers are getting what they deserve.\n"I would do the exact same thing if I were the RIAA," Kellihan said. "They've got the right to do that. Artists have the right to copyright music, and people who don't respect the copyright should have to pay."\nWhile the University Information Technology Services' file-sharing policy lists disabling the sharing option on file-sharing programs as the first step to avoiding copyright infringement, Leaffer said even that would not necessarily keep a student safe.\n"Just because they don't pursue someone who is downloading but not sharing doesn't make that action legal," Leaffer said. "Copyright law says stealing copyrighted material is illegal unless permission is granted by the owner."\nAlthough Cuban has taken his money away from the University, in part because of its coalescence with the RIAA, Crone places the blame away from IU and solely on the litigious artists.\n"IU has to take certain legal precautions, and I understand that," he said. "I just blame the recording industry."\nSports editor John Rodgers contributed to this story.\n-- Contact staff writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.
(03/26/04 5:54am)
If hot dogs, apple pie and camouflage-clad soldiers mean vintage Americana, the second annual "Support Our Troops Day" held Thursday on Dunn Meadow was as American as Old Glory.\nSoldiers who just returned from a campaign handed out yellow ribbons and told war stories while they ate.\nSgt. 1st Class James Burge said he appreciated the honor and enjoyed catching up with old buddies throughout the day.\n"I'm honored by it," Burge said. "It's nice to know there are students who support us in this way. But this is also like a reunion for me. I've got lots of friends who were in the old units I've been in who are here."\nThe rally kicked off just before noon and had all the regalia of a USA love-fest. The Stars and Stripes waved proudly, although the blue-and-white field confessed the flag's age -- only 48 stars shone down on gatherers. The only thing missing was a Chevrolet. Toby Keith's "Shock'N Y'all" album blared from a boom-box next to an old Pontiac Trans Am. \n"What better way to celebrate our troops than to have a cookout in Dunn Meadow with some guys who actually served in Iraq," said Chase Downham, president of the Grand Old Cause, which sponsored the event.\nThe GOC, a conservative activism group, spends most days campaigning for conservative values and engaging in divisive repartee with and about liberals. But Downham emphasized the day's nonpartisan agenda.\n"Today is purely just for our troops," Downham said. "It's not about questioning the politics or the military policy of our country. It's about supporting our troops, and we feel that everyone, whether Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal, can come out and join together in support of our troops."\nThe celebrated troops who came and went through the event were intermingled with the celebraters. Some were dapper in their green and brown uniforms, while the rest wore more civilian shorts and T-shirts. Sgt. Nathan Bobay, a senior at IU, said the tribute was a nice aversion from war protests.\n"It's a huge honor," Bobay said. "This is where the war protests took place, so it's nice to see the opposite cause."\nOnce the hot dogs were plump, plates were passed around and everyone had their fill, war stories were told by the returning troops.\n"We kicked in doors and shot things," said Sgt. Benjamin Bass, who is also a senior. "We would conduct raids in different times of the day, and if it was a known Saddam loyalist or Baathist, we would raid the house. We would always knock first, but if they didn't answer the door in a certain amount of time, we'd kick the door down and go in."\nWhile the troops were the guests of honor, GOC's Activism Director Brent Smith said "Support Our Troops Day" was a time to remember soldiers old as well as new.\n"It's about our troops overseas," Smith said. "But it's also about all the men and women who ever served in the armed forces of the United States, from the Revolution to the Greatest Generation to Vietnam veterans to Operation Iraqi Freedom. This is about honoring everyone."\nAs the day wound down, it was time for the most American of all traditions -- apple pie. As gatherers enjoyed the dessert, Sgt. 1st Class Chris Gustafson gave a message about troop support.\n"It's important for everybody to understand that it's not the soldiers' decision to go fight the war," Gustafson said. "You might not support the act of war, but you always have to support the soldiers themselves."\n-- Contact staff writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.
(03/24/04 5:36am)
Ahead of impending lawsuits from the Recording Industry Association of America, IU has updated its existing peer-to-peer file-sharing policy relating to such popular music downloading programs as www.KaZaa.com.\nThe policy update was announced before the Bloomington Faculty Council Tuesday in a report given by Chief Information Technology Officer Mark Bruhn. \n"There are legitimate file-sharing programs out there," Bruhn said. "Penn State currently has a deal with Napster II so that their students can share legally. But we don't have that. So we have this problem of illegal file sharing."\nBruhn was referring to popular peer-to-peer file-sharing networks, such as www.KaZaa.com, whose users have been the targets of more than a thousand lawsuits by the RIAA. Many of those are "John Doe," or anonymous, suits.\nBruhn said when the RIAA goes after people engaging in file sharing -- an activity they claim violates copyright laws -- it creates phantom accounts to probe the network. Then it downloads copyrighted music from other users, a transaction brings the RIAA the sharer's IP address.\n"When students register through UITS, we can connect their IP address to their name," Bruhn said. "So when the RIAA comes to us with several IP addresses of violators, we know who to punish."\nThe policy emphasizes a detailed punishment outline, which separates those involved into "first offenders," "second offenders" and "third offenders." Bruhn said that in five years, the University has dealt with less than 10 "third offenders." If a student commits a third offense, the punishment is indefinite ban from the IU network. \nWhile some opponents of the policy noted it can be difficult for students to discern illegal files from legal, or "public domain" files, Bruhn said this gray area is a complication.\n"If there's a public domain file out there, maybe the student knows, maybe not," Bruhn said. "But if a file is called 'Black Friday' and it sounds like Steely Dan, a student should know that it's copyrighted material."\nThere are exceptions to that rule. Bruhn noted the Dave Matthews Band permits people to share their live music freely but prohibits them from sharing their studio songs.\nBut if students wish to contest a punishment, they must submit their names to the RIAA. Bruhn said that is a significant deterrent.\n"No one has ever done that," he said.\nProfessor Richard Nash said an agreement with a file sharing program would be a viable and beneficial solution.\n"I see KaZaa as the prominent program of the next five or six years," Nash said. "I think it would be beneficial to us to make a deal with them."\nTo avoid possible copyright infringement, the UITS file-sharing Web site, http://filesharing.iu.edu, gives simple advice to students. The updated policy was posted Tuesday and recommends in order to stay in the clear, students should disable the sharing option on peer-to-peer programs. This advice underlines the copyright imperative -- sharing is punished, not downloading.\nPossible solutions to IU's file sharing problem were submitted during the policy update. Chair of Faculties Affairs Committee Professor Ted Miller said certain student groups are likely candidates to treat the issue.\n"I don't see this as a matter with a strong faculty interest," Miller said. "This matter could be given to the incoming IUSA administration."\nBruhn has a simpler plan to combat the problem.\n"We could do nothing," he said. "We already do enough to satisfy our legal requirements. Plus, it's hard to compete with free."\n-- Contact staff writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.
(03/23/04 6:30am)
As IU celebrates Women's History Month and the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board, IU trustee Cora Breckenridge spearheaded a lecture Monday focusing on the challenges facing women and minorities. Breckenridge delivered the biannual Neal-Marshall public policy lecture as part of a series sponsored by the School of Public Affairs and Environmental Sciences and the Neal-Marshall Alumni Association.\nBreckenridge, the first black member of the IU board of trustees, spoke before an audience of SPEA members interested students and University brass including Frederick F. Eichhorn, Jr., president of the trustees. Breckenridge spoke of the challenges facing women and minorities in the workplace and in the education system. \n"In higher education," Breckenridge said, "We have gone from Brown v. Board in 1954 to California v. Bakke in 1978 to Grutter v. Bollinger in 2003, and need I tell you the struggle continues?"\nThe centerpiece of those landmark Supreme Court cases was Brown v. Board -- the 1954 case that famously integrated public schools. \nAfter Breckenridge's lecture, the presentation broke into an informal discussion session moderated by Vice President for Institutional Development and Student Affairs Charlie Nelms. \n"Beyond all, (Breckenridge) is willing to challenge the status quo," Nelms said, "and because of that, Indiana is a better place."\nOther panelists included secretary of the IU Black Student Union Crystal Brown. \nBrown said the University still has work to do in the area of integration.\n"As a student, I find this a very segregated campus," Brown said. "We're here, but there is no intermingling between races. I think we need to be more active to step out of our comfort zone to meet new people."\nBrown said Breckenridge is an important role model for all minorities and women. \n"One of the reasons I'm so delighted to be here is because you're such an idol of mine," Brown said to Breckenridge. "You give people like us hope that we can make it."\n-- Contact staff writer Rick Newkirk at renewkir@indiana.edu.