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(08/04/08 12:57am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A 17-year-old Bloomington High School North student was killed in a motorcycle accident early Sunday morning on East Anderson Road.Katie O. Sorrells of Bloomington died at the scene after a 2007 Yamaha F6S motorcycle – driven by Dennis A. Knowles, 19, of Bloomington – struck a large dumpster in the driveway at 3980 E. Anderson Road.Sorrells and Knowles were on the motorcycle, heading eastbound on Anderson Road when they approached a curve near Lydy Road, according to a Monroe County Sheriff’s Department e-mail. The motorcycle went off the right side of the road and continued through the yard of a residence on Anderson Road. The motorcycle hit a large dumpster and came to a rest in the driveway. Sorrells was pinned under the motorcycle when it came to a complete stop. Monroe County Coroner David Toumey pronounced her dead at about 1:30 a.m. at the scene. Knowles was transported to the hospital and suffered internal injuries and fractures to the neck.Neither Sorrells nor Knowles were wearing a helmet.Accident reconstructionist Nathan Peach took measurements and is going to attempt to get a speed on the motorcycle as it left the roadway, according to the e-mail. Peach stated speed was a factor in the crash, according to the e-mail.A toxicology report is pending.
(08/03/08 5:48pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A 17-year-old Bloomington High School North student was killed in a motorcycle accident early Sunday morning on Anderson Road.Katie O. Sorrells of Bloomington died at the scene after a motorcycle – being driven by Dennis A. Knowles, 19, of Bloomington – struck a large dumpster in the 3900 block of East Anderson Road. Knowles is currently at the Bloomington hospital.This story will be updated.
(06/05/08 8:34pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Fearing the first day of college is normal – new friends, settings and a new environment. So whether students should walk behind a dorm instead of on a main road is probably the last question on their minds.But students need to be attentive at all times in order to avoid assaults on campus, said IU Police Department Capt. Jerry Minger.Safety on campusAt IU, being safe involves more than just calling the police department.In order to make campus a safer place at night, IU transportation created a service, IU Safety Escort, 15 years ago to ensure students were safe on campus at night.The student-run organization operates at night during the school year from 7 p.m. until 2 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 7 p.m. until midnight Friday and Saturday, said Ben Blohm, director of the program. There’s usually about a 15-minute wait time.Blohm said students should utilize the service to protect themselves on campus.“A lot of people consider IU a safe place,” he said. “However, there are incidents of violence on campus. Using the service, these situations can be avoided.”But to make sure the program isn’t being abused, there are rules. Blohm said only IU students and staff members are allowed to use the service and students can only go to and from campus or around campus. They cannot go from apartment to apartment, for example. There can only be two students using the service at one time and the students cannot be drunk.Despite the restrictions, Blohm said about 11,000 students a year use the service.But, Minger said, students may not always be able to wait after calling the safety escort service if they are in trouble.Minger said there are a variety of ways to contact IUPD in case of an emergency.One of the most visible ways on campus is to use an emergency blue light. With about 23 of the lights on campus, students can hit the emergency button, which will directly contact IUPD, Minger said.Minger also said there are telephones in the entrances to every dorm that are capable of dialing 911. Minger said the best way to get attention is to call in. In addition to these ways to contact IUPD, Minger said there are always officers patrolling campus.“The biggest thing we have is our officers,” he said.Minger explained that there are as many as 40 part-time police officers who are students that work or live in the dorms and address issues. Minger said those part-time officers are a very big part of getting the message out. Safety tipsBloomington Police Department Sgt. Jeff Canada said students need to be aware of their surroundings at all times. Talking about parties, Canada said students need to make themselves safe by not putting themselves in a predicament that could lead to harm.Canada said when reports are taken at the police station, a lot of situations deal with alcohol consumption.Another suggestion, Canada said, was to take the Rape Aggression Defense class through BPD or IUPD. The RAD classes are a way for women to learn how to protect themselves if a predator were to attack.Canada also suggested to always lock your doors as night, as a lot of times items are stolen from places where doors and windows are left unlocked.To ensure safety, Minger said students need to make informed decisions and to make sure they don’t put themselves into a situation that will draw attention to themselves.“They need to be aware of their surroundings and realize that crime can occur in an academic environment,” he said.
(06/05/08 8:16pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>At IU, it’s all about celebrating who you are. To encourage students to celebrate the similarities and differences of others, the University will be holding its ninth annual CultureFest during Welcome Week.“CultureFest is a little bit of who we are at IU and celebrating the people that come here,” said Melanie Payne, associate director of orientation programs and Welcome Week. “(It is) the flavor of diversity, of multiculturalism, of sharing our differences, of celebrating our similarities and exploring who comes to Indiana University.”But CultureFest is not just about celebrating different cultures; it’s also about sharing different religious, sexual and ethnic experiences, and the different cities students come from.Starting in the IU Auditorium, incoming freshmen will have the opportunity to learn about the history of IU through a video and learn about other students – from students in Bloomington to students from other countries.The history will be followed by an outdoor multicultural festival, which will feature music and food from different cultures, Payne said. “It’s challenging the freshman class to look beyond their normal boundaries,” she said.Payne said CultureFest is special because it’s anchored by IU’s culture and support centers and not by every student organization on campus. And even after almost 35 years on campus, the Latino Cultural Center, commonly known as La Casa, is still looking for ways to get students acclimated to the University. Lillian Casillas, director of La Casa, said the goal of La Casa is to be involved with the University and make sure the Latino community is being heard. “IU is a wonderful school, but it’s also a big school,” she said. “We provide an opportunity to personalize the college experience.”And La Casa is not just for the Latino community, Casillas said. The organization is on campus for the entire IU community, to help teach them more about Latino culture.Taking advantage of CultureFest, representatives from La Casa will be present during the Welcome Week events and provide students with activities, information and food. The Asian Culture Center, an organization that has been on campus for almost 10 years, will also be at CultureFest. During the event, the Asian Culture Center will have a booth with informational materials, food and games for students, said Melanie Castillo-Cullather, director of the Asian Culture Center, in an e-mail.For students who are interested in being a part of the Asian Culture Center, Castillo-Cullather said there will be a reception in September to welcome new and returning students. Encouragement is exactly what the students need, Payne said. She added that CultureFest and the rest of Welcome Week is just part of the bigger picture of becoming a Hoosier.CultureFest will kick off at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 28.“The message of CultureFest is pretty simple,” Payne said. “Share who you are – learn about other people.”
(06/05/08 7:28pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>For the new IU Student Association executives, the time to start is now, not September.Despite an extra month of elections, the executives are ready to sink their teeth into the upcoming year.“We’re just going to do it,” said Luke Fields, IUSA president. “We’re going to move forward. We finally get to go.”IUSA is the government that represents the student body. The current executives were decided April 22, following about a month of appeals because the Kirkwood ticket, which originally won the student election in March, violated the election code. But for Fields, the process was never about winning the elections; it was about defending the rights of students.“The bottom line that I want everybody to recognize from our commitment is that it isn’t that we’re whiny or sore losers because I don’t think either of those things are true,” Fields said. “What I think is true is that everyone on campus has recognized or should recognize that this is a group of executives specifically and a ticket-wide group of individuals that is committed to doing what’s right no matter the cost.”The executives have already started accomplishing their platform goals of 100 percent meal-point rollover, health care on weekends, tax-free textbooks and a student section in Assembly Hall – all while trying to restore the organization’s legitimacy.“The best way for IUSA to become legitimate is to be legitimate,” Fields said. “By going out and fighting for the things we told students we wanted to fight for.”GoalsAfter being inaugurated, the executives immediately began getting on the calendars of as many administrators as they could. So far the group has met with everyone from IU President Michael McRobbie to Provost Karen Hansen.Fields said they wanted the administrators to hear some of their goals and thoughts and see how, as a ticket, they can work on them and see these goals come to fruition.“We can do our part,” he said. “We’ve got to get them to do theirs.”Fields said the ticket’s most ambitious goal is a student section in Assembly Hall. Fields said he hopes that because new head basketball coach Tom Crean is also committed and charged with a similar situation as IUSA, that Crean will be a big advocate to the student section. In regard to 100 percent meal point rollover, Fields said they have already put their first foot forward.Dan Sloat, vice president, said that in the past, only a certain percentage of meal points rolled over from the summer into the fall semester. The ticket wants students who are coming back in the fall and have meal points to retain 100 percent of their meal points, with a grace period of the fall semester to use them.Although that’s not exactly 100 percent meal point rollover, Sloat said the ticket is definitely making strong improvements.Even though providing weekend health care to students is still in the research phase, Treasurer Robin Featherston said that in order to make it feasible, the executives need to sit down with administrators and weigh issues, such as whether increased service would impact the student health fee and whether students would be willing to pay a higher fee.“We’re committed to finding some way that students on campus who don’t have cars can have access to medical facilities when they get injured on the weekends,” she said.Fields said in order to get the ball rolling with tax-free textbooks, they need to get big Indiana universities behind the legislation as well as the rest of the IU campuses. Fields said he has already been in touch with a state representative, and the executives will be meeting with other universities’ student governments to help push the legislation.“Tax-free textbooks is not going to come out of Bloomington,” he said, adding that there must be a statewide push for the legislation.Student apathyWith about 40,000 students on campus and only 7,834 voting in the IUSA elections this year, the executives are fighting to combat student apathy. “Student apathy stems from just this overwhelming sense of how can I even communicate myself to those people if I wanted to,” Fields said.Fields said he hopes to reach out to students through different venues and has been intrigued with some of the new ways Facebook and OnCourse can be put to work – sites he hopes will help reach students. Featherston said she believes a big contributing factor to student apathy is empty promises. She said tickets are elected based on platforms that sound like they’re going to change the University, but the tickets rarely deliver.“Best way to combat that is to prove them wrong,” she said. “We tried to keep a critical eye to our platform to make sure we really felt like we had some achievable things to really get done or to get the ball rolling so that the next administration can finish it up for us.”
(06/03/08 9:26pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>For the new IU Student Association executives, the time to start is now, not September.Despite an extra month of elections, the executives are ready to sink their teeth into the upcoming year.“We’re just going to do it,” said Luke Fields, IUSA president. “We’re going to move forward. We finally get to go.”IUSA is the government that represents the student body. The current executives were decided April 22, following about a month of appeals because the Kirkwood ticket, which originally won the student election in March, violated the election code. But for Fields, the process was never about winning the elections; it was about defending the rights of students.“The bottom line that I want everybody to recognize from our commitment is that it isn’t that we’re whiny or sore losers because I don’t think either of those things are true,” Fields said. “What I think is true is that everyone on campus has recognized or should recognize that this is a group of executives specifically and a ticket-wide group of individuals that is committed to doing what’s right no matter the cost.”The executives have already started accomplishing their platform goals of 100 percent meal-point rollover, health care on weekends, tax-free textbooks and a student section in Assembly Hall – all while trying to restore the organization’s legitimacy.“The best way for IUSA to become legitimate is to be legitimate,” Fields said. “By going out and fighting for the things we told students we wanted to fight for.”GoalsAfter being inaugurated, the executives immediately began getting on the calendars of as many administrators as they could. So far the group has met with everyone from IU President Michael McRobbie to Provost Karen Hansen.Fields said they wanted the administrators to hear some of their goals and thoughts and see how, as a ticket, they can work on them and see these goals come to fruition.“We can do our part,” he said. “We’ve got to get them to do theirs.”Fields said the ticket’s most ambitious goal is a student section in Assembly Hall. Fields said he hopes that because new head basketball coach Tom Crean is also committed and charged with a similar situation as IUSA, that Crean will be a big advocate to the student section. In regard to 100 percent meal point rollover, Fields said they have already put their first foot forward.Dan Sloat, vice president, said that in the past, only a certain percentage of meal points rolled over from the summer into the fall semester. The ticket wants students who are coming back in the fall and have meal points to retain 100 percent of their meal points, with a grace period of the fall semester to use them.Although that’s not exactly 100 percent meal point rollover, Sloat said the ticket is definitely making strong improvements.Even though providing weekend health care to students is still in the research phase, Treasurer Robin Featherston said that in order to make it feasible, the executives need to sit down with administrators and weigh issues, such as whether increased service would impact the student health fee and whether students would be willing to pay a higher fee.“We’re committed to finding some way that students on campus who don’t have cars can have access to medical facilities when they get injured on the weekends,” she said.Fields said in order to get the ball rolling with tax-free textbooks, they need to get big Indiana universities behind the legislation as well as the rest of the IU campuses. Fields said he has already been in touch with a state representative, and the executives will be meeting with other universities’ student governments to help push the legislation.“Tax-free textbooks is not going to come out of Bloomington,” he said, adding that there must be a statewide push for the legislation.Student apathyWith about 40,000 students on campus and only 7,834 voting in the IUSA elections this year, the executives are fighting to combat student apathy. “Student apathy stems from just this overwhelming sense of how can I even communicate myself to those people if I wanted to,” Fields said.Fields said he hopes to reach out to students through different venues and has been intrigued with some of the new ways Facebook and OnCourse can be put to work – sites he hopes will help reach students. Featherston said she believes a big contributing factor to student apathy is empty promises. She said tickets are elected based on platforms that sound like they’re going to change the University, but the tickets rarely deliver.“Best way to combat that is to prove them wrong,” she said. “We tried to keep a critical eye to our platform to make sure we really felt like we had some achievable things to really get done or to get the ball rolling so that the next administration can finish it up for us.”
(05/24/08 12:47am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>To go greek or not to go greek, that is the question. But it’s a question I can’t really answer.I did not go greek, and I’m sure for some going greek is one of the most important aspects of college life. And although I’m not sure why students devote so much of their time worrying about rush and other aspects of greek life, I do know that thinking about going greek is not an option that should be taken lightly.When I first came to IU, I was scared. I was scared of not knowing what I wanted to do with my life, scared of what I should do with my spare time and scared of how my life would pan out.I remember sitting down with my adviser and going over minor schedule technicalities, when she asked me if I had thought about joining any organizations. I shook my head no. She told me to consider going greek.I wasn’t too sure that going greek was for me, and it turned out it wasn’t, but I didn’t blow the option off immediately. I had a friend who was a sister in Sigma Delta Tau, and in order to get me more adjusted to the college life, she had invited me to her sorority house.It was one of those nights where all of the sisters bring a potential recruit to the house. Much to my surprise, I had a good time.We got the grand tour of the house and then gathered around in the kitchen and made s’mores.I just remember thinking, “Wow, this really could be for me.”Unfortunately, I did not rush my freshman year. I don’t even think there was a definitive reason for not rushing; I just didn’t.When sophomore year rolled around, I considered rushing once again. I had a few friends in the School of Journalism who were in Gamma Phi Beta. One afternoon, I was invited back to the house for lunch and for me, a free lunch was better than no lunch, so I accepted the invitation.It felt more like a family than anything else. I would be invited back several more times that semester, as I could never pass up free food. Once again, I considered joining a sorority, for the sake of having friends, a social life and some steady normalcy in my life.During that first semester of my sophomore year, I got more heavily involved in my academics and completely snoozed on the deadline to rush.I wasn’t quite upset that I missed the deadline, because the more I thought about it, the more I realized I don’t know whether I would have enjoyed that normalcy in my life.I’m eccentric and I hate planning my days out. Half the time, I don’t know what I’m doing for my next meal. The life I had been leading seemed to fit perfectly into the mold I had created at IU.And trust me, it was scary making that decision. But there has never been a point in my three years at IU that I have regretted not rushing.Picking up and starting a new life in college can be overwhelming. With all these options in front of you, it might be hard to decide what to do. But in the grand scheme of things, the decision you make is yours, and whether you decide to go greek or not, the decision will ultimately become the factor in defining who you’re going to be.
(05/07/08 4:00am)
For the newly inaugurated IU Student Association executives, the time to start is now, not September.\nDespite an extra month of elections, President Luke Fields and the rest of the IUSA executives are ready to sink their teeth into the upcoming year.\n“We’re just going to do it,” Fields said. “We’re going to move forward; we finally get to go.”\nFollowing more than a month of appeals and hearings over IUSA elections code violations, the Big Red ticket was inaugurated April 28. Despite the controversy, for Fields it was never about winning the elections; it was about defending the rights of students.\n“All of us were very committed – we’re making certain we exhausted our resources to make certain that we gave justice the best chance to happen,” Fields said. “The bottom line that I want everybody to recognize from our commitment is that it isn’t that we’re whiny or sore losers ... What I think is true is that everyone on campus has recognized, or should recognize, that this is a group of executives specifically and a ticket-wide group of individuals that is committed to doing what’s right no matter the cost.”\nThe executives have already hit the ground running by starting to accomplish their platform goals of 100 percent meal-point rollover, health care on weekends, tax-free textbooks and a student section in Assembly Hall – all while trying to restore the organization’s legitimacy. Although restoring legitimacy will be no easy task, Fields said he believes the best way is just to get to work.\n“The best way for IUSA to become legitimate is to be legitimate – by going out and fighting for the things we told students we wanted to fight for,” he said.
(05/07/08 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After a turbulent IU Student Association election, the IUSA Supreme Court ruled three sections of the IUSA elections code unconstitutional - something the new executives look forward to rewriting.
“We determined that they were in violation of the IUSA constitution,” said Kate FitzGerald, former IUSA Supreme Court chief justice. “Because the constitution is the highest authority, these sections of the elections code have to be modified or stricken.”
The sections in question, 802, 907 and 1104, grant Congress the authority to overrule the Supreme Court and to approve and uphold the Election Commission’s decisions. FitzGerald told the Indiana Daily Student that no decision made by the Supreme Court can be subject to congressional approval or dismissal.
The question of constitutionality came after the IUSA Supreme Court disqualified the Kirkwood ticket from the elections after finding the ticket had committed six violations of the elections code.Former IUSA President W.T. Wright called an emergency congressional meeting for a review of the disqualification decision.
FitzGerald responded, e-mailing Wright as well as IU President Michael McRobbie, Chancellor Ken Gros Louis, other IU administrators and IUSA members, among others. The e-mail said the Supreme Court had received two petitions questioning the constitutionality of three sections in the IUSA Elections Code. She indicated that a congressional vote to uphold or overturn a Supreme Court decision would be unconstitutional. The meeting was eventually canceled.
“It was a weird thing because as soon as it came to light, it was pretty obvious,” FitzGerald said. “It wasn’t like a normal constitutionality case where it takes a lot of deliberation and consideration. It was pretty black and white.”
Senior Megan Robb and former IUSA president Alex Shortle filed petitions with the IUSA Supreme Court arguing the validity of the three sections of the elections code.
According to Robb’s petition, section 802 contradicts section 1001, which states the Supreme Court has the final authority over all properly appealed IUSA election disputes. Robb told the Indiana Daily Student that it seemed like the IUSA Congress was using section 802 to justify holding a meeting to vote on the Supreme Court decision.
Shortle called into question sections 907 and 1104, which state that the Supreme Court’s decisions “aren’t up for the confirmation of Congress.”IUSA Vice President Dan Sloat said rewriting the elections code will add legitimacy and depth to IUSA.
Treasurer Robin Featherston, who will be in Bloomington throughout the summer, said rewriting the elections code is her first priority. She said the executives want a code that doesn’t have loopholes and will be easier to interpret. She said the current elections code is vague and not as inclusive as it needs to be.
“I think that’s what we want to redo, to pass (it) onto future administrations to make sure they have a fully functioning code that really ensures student rights,” she said.
(05/02/08 2:26am)
All eyes are on Big Red.\nDuring its inauguration Monday evening, Luke Fields, IU Student Association president-elect, said high expectations have been set for the Big Red ticket in the upcoming year – expectations he said have been set by the Indiana Daily Student, former association executives, the IUSA Supreme Court and the entire student body.\n“It will not be by our words that we are remembered, nor that we find ourselves effective agents of change here on campus,” he said. “Indeed, it will be through what we do.”\nThe incoming executives include vice president Dan Sloat, vice president of congress Andrew Hahn, treasurer Robin Featherston and chief of staff Billy Bennett.\nFollowing more than a month of turbulent times for IUSA, Fields hopes to restore legitimacy to the organization.\n“I find it summarily necessary that we not dwell on the past, successes and difficulties,” Fields said, “but instead shift our focus forward and find what it is exactly we desire this association become.”\nThe inauguration came a little more than a week after the IUSA Supreme Court disqualified the election-winning Kirkwood ticket.\nThe IUSA Supreme Court found Kirkwood in violation of six different election codes. Only three violations were needed for disqualification, said Kate FitzGerald, IUSA Supreme Court chief justice.\nDuring the inauguration, FitzGerald swore in each member of the Big Red ticket, reminding them that there is a “great charge upon them to do an excellent job next year.”\n“Don’t forget all those people that you represent,” she said.\nFields reiterated to the audience that, as a ticket, Big Red has not lost sight of its original goals.\n“A transparent dedicated executive must first be committed to his fellow students,” he said, “then perhaps to himself.”\nFields said as a ticket, Big Red still believes 100 percent of students’ meal points should rollover from year to year, health care should be available on campus during the weekends, there should be a fall break forstudents, tax-free textbooks should be fought for and there should be a student section at Assembly Hall.\n“A commitment to seeing these goals to completion will go a long, long way towards restoring legitimacy to this Association and regaining the trust of the student body,” he said.\nDean of Students Dick McKaig said throughout his time at IU he has developed an appreciation for students who do their best with the opportunities they’re given to improve the University. Although students and organizations are quick to accuse student government of not doing anything, McKaig said he can only ask the incoming executives to lead the student body, not follow them.\n“I ask you to help the student body,” he said. “I ask you to resolve some complexities that existed during this election so we don’t go through that opportunity again. I would ask you to do your best to stay enthusiastic.”\nJoe DeJean, former vice president of IUSA, reminded Fields and the rest of the Big Red ticket to never forget that the student body is who they really represent.\n“No matter how deep you get into the administration and the faculty decisions and all the things you’re going to be involved in next year,” he said, “make sure to never lose sight of who you are and who you really represent.”
(04/30/08 8:21pm)
The Bloomington Police Department is currently investigating two shootings that occurred Friday and Saturday, leaving four people wounded from gunshots.\nAt about 3:30 p.m. Friday, officers were dispatched to the 3000 block of East Longview Avenue, where they found a man with two gunshot wounds to his abdominal area, according to a BPD press release. The man was transported to Bloomington Hospital, where he underwent surgery. The victim was unable to provide any information detailing the shooting.\nA second victim arrived at Bloomington Hospital with gunshot wounds to his right knee, according to the press release. He underwent surgery and will be interviewed at a later time.\nThrough witness accounts, BPD learned there were about four to five shots fired during the incident. Shell casings and other evidence were recovered from the apartment, according to the press release. Witnesses told officers they saw two men in their late teens or early 20s running from the apartment and fleeing in a maroon vehicle, according to the press release.\nThe case is still under investigation and anyone with information is asked to contact the Bloomington Police Department at 339-4477.\nThe second shooting occurred Saturday morning at Roosters, a bar located at 3000 S. Walnut St., and left two women wounded after an altercation between two men went awry.\nDuring the fight, one man produced a .40-caliber Glock handgun and a struggle ensued for control of the weapon, according to a BPD press release. During the struggle, the men discharged two to three rounds and the women were struck in the legs by debris or fragments from the bullets.\nOne of the men gained control of the gun, but Rooster’s security personnel pursued him. The man surrendered the weapon but fled on foot. He later arrived at Bloomington Hospital, where he was treated for broken teeth, a head injury and abrasions to his arms, legs and back.\nBPD is still looking for the second man involved in the altercation. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Rob Shrake at 349-3352.
(04/29/08 3:31pm)
Following more than a month of turbulent times for the IU Student Association, president-elect Luke Fields hopes to restore legitimacy to the organization.\n“I find it summarily necessary that we not dwell on the past successes and difficulties,” Fields said, “but instead shift our focus forward and find what it is exactly we desire this Association become.”\nThe Big Red ticket was inaugurated as the new IUSA executives Monday evening at the Indiana Memorial Union Solarium.\nThe inauguration came a little more than a week after the IUSA Supreme Court disqualified the election-winning Kirkwood ticket from the elections. The IUSA Supreme Court found Kirkwood in violation of six different election codes. Only three violations were needed for disqualification.\nJoe DeJean, former IUSA vice president, reminded Fields and the rest of the Big Red ticket to never forget who they truly represent.\n“No matter how deep you get into the administration and the faculty decisions and all the things you’re going to be involved in next year,” he said, “make sure to never lose sight of who you are and who you really represent.”\nFields reiterated to the audience that as a ticket they have not lost sight of their goals and dedication to and for the student body.\n“A transparent dedicated executive must first be committed to his fellow students,” he said, “then perhaps to himself.”
(04/23/08 4:38am)
Bloomington’s own Rogers Street may be home to a prehistoric campsite. \nWading through the fickle weather this weekend, a group of about 20 students from an IU anthropology class searched for archeological artifacts in Bloomington, finding evidence of a prehistoric campsite, said Cheryl Munson, an assistant scientist in the IU Anthropology Department.\nMunson said there was an archeological survey which unearthed archeological artifacts in the area of Rogers Street and the B-Line Trail. She said there is construction going on in the area for a water retention facility for storm water. \nAlthough there was a lot of disturbance from the construction of the railroad, they were still able to complete the survey promptly, she said.\n“We thought the area may well contain archaeological sites, and that was confirmed by our work,” Munson said.\nThe students, who are part of a graduate course in the department, were at the site Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Munson said they dug a hole 57 meters deep at the least-disturbed part of the construction site.\nAfter sifting through soil, the group found several artifacts, linking the construction area to a prehistoric camp site, Munson said. The students will clean and identify the different artifacts they found.\nThe class, ANTH-P 401 Cultural Resource Management, is for students to understand how archeology is practiced in the real world, said Susan Alt, assistant professor of the class.\n“The idea of the class is for students to get hands-on experience,” she said. “Instead of just sitting in class and going out, they got to actually do it.”\nOverall, she believes archeology is not something students can learn out of a book.\n“I think archeology is something you can think about and think you understand, but it’s doing the archeology that teaches it,” she said.\nMunson said the project this weekend was something the city needed to get done and was not mocked for the sake of a school project. The project’s necessity, Alt said, added value for the students.\n“I think this type of service we’re learning is a good example of helping the city of Bloomington ... and benefiting the students as well,” Munson said.
(04/11/08 9:26pm)
Amidst the current IU Student Association election controversy, the Kirkwood ticket has now filed five formal complaints against the Big Red ticket.\n“Our main goal is to really ensure the elections were carried out and finalized in a fair manner,” said president-elect Joe Weis. “We just want to make sure everything is done the right way.”\nThe complaints filed by the Kirkwood ticket allege that Big Red committed five violations during their campaign for the IUSA elections. There are now more than 7 complaints under consideration between the two tickets – each side alleging the other is guilty \nof misconduct.\nThe Kirkwood ticket alleges that during the elections on March 26, both tickets had reserved an area in the Wright Quad. The Big Red ticket had the area until 8 p.m. and the Kirkwood ticket had the area until 10 p.m. The Kirkwood ticket alleges that after the Big Red ticket found out that Kirkwood was staying later, Big Red stayed. The complaint states that the Big Red ticket refused to show documentation stating that they were allowed to be there. The Kirkwood ticket stated they felt that the Big Red ticket was attempting to keep Kirkwood from receiving votes.\nThe Kirkwood ticket also alleges that a University Division Constituency for the Big Red ticket sent out a mass e-mail, breaking IUSA election codes by not placing the multiple recipients on the “blind carbon copy” line of the e-mail. The Kirkwood ticket states in the complaint that “it is also a possibility that this e-mail was the fault of the Big Red ticket’s executive directors.”\nThe last three complaints include Big Red’s using “goods” to persuade students to vote for them, directly linking the IUSA Web site from their own campaign Web site and campaigning within 50 feet of a University computer lab.\nKirkwood alleges that Big Red sent out a mass text message, offering free bread sticks from Pizza Express if students voted for Big Red.\nIn response to these allegations, Luke Fields, the presidential candidate for the Big Red ticket, said in a written statement that Big Red has responded to the claims made against them.\n“We are confident that the Elections Commission will ensure a fair and judicious process to all parties involved,” he said in the statement.\nTwo days before the IUSA election polls were to open, a complaint filed against the Kirkwood ticket by the Big Red ticket became public. The complaint alleged that a member of the Kirkwood ticket, Adam Pozza, had illegally accessed Fields’ computer and sent e-mails from Fields’ e-mail account to an IU Finance Club e-mail account and the Gmail account of Eric J. Gibson, chief of external for the Kirkwood ticket.\nIn response to the original allegations, the Kirkwood ticket asked the IUSA Elections Commission to remove Pozza’s name from the ballot. Weis said Pozza’s actions were of his own doing and not of entire ticket.\nAfter Kirkwood was elected, the Big Red ticket filed a complaint against the Kirkwood ticket to ensure a fair trial process. After an examination by University Information Technology Services, the Student Body Supreme Court of IU released a document Sunday stating Pozza forwarded the e-mails from Fields’ account to Weis. He declined to comment on that situation. \nThe Student Body Supreme Court document also states that Kirkwood will have to pay a 20 percent fine of its financial expenses.\nThe hearing for the original complaint is scheduled for April 16.\nSteve Veldkamp, director of student activities and assistant dean of students, said after scanning through some of the complaints filed by the tickets, he believes most of them stem from the original complaint filed. Veldkamp said because of the timing of the situation - after spring break but before Little 500 - the elections commission will have to move faster and work through everything.\nVeldkamp said with being a part of IUSA, there are challenges each ticket has to face.\n“I’ve watched them work hard year in and year out,” he said. “Not only with their campaign goals, but the issues that are thrust upon them by the University.”\nVeldkamp said the elected ticket will face challenges after the recent election.\n“I think once the election commissions decides or confirms who the next IUSA executives are,” he said, “they will have a challenge to regain that (student) momentum that might’ve been lost.”
(04/08/08 7:22am)
Less than two weeks after the Kirkwood ticket clinched the IU Student Association elections, new information regarding the complaint filed by the Big Red ticket has been released.\nThe Student Body Supreme Court of IU released a decision Sunday evening stating that Adam Pozza, a former congressional candidate on the Kirkwood ticket, will have to pay a fine totaling 20 percent of the Kirkwood ticket’s final campaign expenses. Kirkwood officials had asked the court to fine Pozza 75 percent of their costs.\nThe Student Body Supreme Court document also states that after an examination by University Information Technology Services, Pozza forwarded two of Big Red Presidential Candidate Luke Fields’ campaign e-mails from Pozza’s Gmail account to both the IU Webmail account of president-elect Joe Weis and the Gmail account of Eric J. Gibson, chief external for the Kirkwood ticket.\nPozza said he would not comment on the situation. Weis also declined comment.\nAlison Howard, external affairs chair of the IUSA Supreme Court, said the case is going back to the elections commission because of the new evidence against the Kirkwood ticket.\nHoward said she didn’t know the specific ramifications of Kirkwood’s alleged actions, but she did say both the INdiana ticket and the Big Red ticket have filed additional complaints.\n“If the Kirkwood ticket has at least three violations,” she said, “they could potentially be disqualified.”\nHoward said the hearing is scheduled for April 16.\nIn the original complaint the Big Red ticket filed in early March, Fields alleged that Pozza, a former member of the Kirkwood ticket, accessed Fields’ computer and forwarded e-mails regarding Big Red’s campaign to members of the Kirkwood ticket.\nAccording to the complaint, Fields returned to his Willkie apartment after spending the night in Indianapolis to find six months’ worth of e-mails deleted. After restoring the missing files, he noticed several campaign-related e-mails forwarded to other e-mail addresses.\nThe complaint states the e-mails were forwarded to an address Fields presumed to belong to the IU Undergraduate Finance Club and Gibson, chief of external for the Kirkwood ticket. \nIn response to the original allegations, Weis said Pozza did not act on behalf of the Kirkwood ticket.
(04/01/08 5:59am)
It really is a family affair.\nJust nine days after Chelsea Clinton made an appearance at the IU Auditorium, former President Bill Clinton will be in Bloomington Wednesday to stump for his wife, presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton.\nClinton’s speech is slated to kick off at 2 p.m. Wednesday in Assembly Hall. Clinton will visit Columbus, Seymour and Bedford before arriving in Bloomington. Clinton’s visit is sponsored by the fundraising group Hoosiers for Hillary.\nThe former president previously campaigned through Indiana earlier this month for his wife, making stops in Lawrenceburg, Richmond and Fort Wayne. Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton made an appearance at the IU Auditorium last Monday with actor Sean Astin. \nAnnElyse Gibbons, sophomore and president of IU Students for Hillary Clinton, said the event attendance will be capped at 4,000 people. Gibbons said the student organization expects the line to start early and Hillary Clinton groups from around the state will be traveling to Bloomington to attend the event.\nGibbons said she believes Bill Clinton’s appearance at IU will encourage youth voting in the state.\n“I saw an improvement after the Chelsea event,” she said. “We saw our group membership spike and people get more active.”\nSophomore Jaime Ness said she thinks it’s good that students are getting excited about the election, but believes all of the campaigning is getting out of hand with so many celebrities endorsing candidates.\nShe said she also believes Bill Clinton and Chelsea Clinton are campaigning too much for Hillary Clinton.\n“She needs to do her job herself,” Ness said.\nJunior Chris Hollins said members of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity plan on attending. Hollins said he thinks that because Bill Clinton was in the White House, he can help Hillary Clinton gain support.\n“She wants to show a woman can run the White House,” he said. “I don’t think she’s ready.” \nHollins echoed Ness and said he believes the campaign for the Democratic nomination is getting out of control. Hollins said if candidates really stand for the right cause, they wouldn’t get others to do the job for them.\nIndiana’s May 6 primary, with 84 delegates at stake, could be the last battleground in a long Democratic primary season.\nClinton and her opponent for the nomination, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., are running tight, with 1,498 and 1,617 pledged delegates, respectively, according to The Associated Press. Both are well shy of the 2,024 delegates needed to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination.
(03/25/08 7:34am)
After allegations became public regarding IU Student Association and University code misconduct, the accused Kirkwood ticket congressional candidate has publicly apologized.\nLuke Fields, presidential candidate with the Big Red ticket, accused Adam Pozza, a congressional candidate for the Kirkwood ticket, of accessing Fields’ computer and forwarding e-mails regarding Big Red’s campaign to members of the Kirkwood ticket, according to the complaint. On Monday, Pozza said in a written statement that he was sorry and regretted his personal error in judgment.\n“The error is not the fault of the Kirkwood ticket,” he wrote in the statement. “The Kirkwood ticket and its candidates did not suggest or request in any way that any e-mails be reviewed or forwarded.”\nThe IUSA Elections Committee will meet Wednesday night to decide if Pozza’s actions should disqualify the Kirkwood ticket.\nIn response to the allegations, the Kirkwood ticket asked the IUSA Elections Commission to remove Pozza’s name from the ballot.\n“I just want to reiterate the fact that ... his actions are his own doing,” said Joe Weis, Kirkwood ticket presidential candidate.\nWeis said he is confident the Elections Commission will not hold the Kirkwood ticket responsible for Pozza’s actions.\n“I feel toward the end of this, it’s becoming more of a race on personal attacks than the issues at hand,” Weis said. “All three tickets, it’s our role as candidates to bring up the issues students care about rather than attacking personally to gain an advantage. I think, unfortunately, that’s what it’s resulted in these past couple of weeks.”\nOn Friday, the Big Red ticket filed a formal complaint against the Kirkwood ticket after Fields, the Big Red presidential candidate, discovered campaign e-mails were deleted from his outbox.\nAccording to the complaint, Fields’ returned to his Willkie apartment after spending the night in Indianapolis to find six months’ worth of e-mails deleted. After restoring the missing files, he noticed several campaign-related e-mails forwarded to other e-mail addresses.\nThe complaint states the e-mails were forwarded to IU Undergraduate Finance Club and to Eric J. Gibson, chief of external for the Kirkwood ticket. Pozza is currently the vice president of the IU Finance Club.\nAccording to the evidence submitted with the complaint, five e-mails were sent out from Fields’ account between 3:55 a.m. and 4:17 a.m.\nPozza lived with Fields and Big Red ticket vice presidential candidate Dan Sloat, but as of March 21, had moved out of the apartment.\nPozza said in his written statement that he had been at odds with Sloat and Fields since the beginning of the year.\n“Although not an excuse,” he said, “this happened in the context of personal and political conflicts.”\nPozza states in his written statement that “contrary to any suggestion in the allegations and Indiana Daily Student article, the e-mails were not forwarded to the Undergraduate Finance Club.”\nTimothy Williams, president of the finance club, said in a written statement that despite the information in the IUSA complaint, the e-mail address didn’t belong to the club. \nWilliams said the Big Red representatives involved in writing and signing the report made the assumption that the e-mail was of a student organization. There is no official e-mail listed for the finance club, according to it’s Web site.\n“Because of their lack of research,” Williams said, “my entire organization and I have been put in a position that makes it very difficult to try and save our reputation.”\nBut Fields said the complaint was not meant to harm the club’s reputation or insinuate that the club got involved in the election.\n“The complaint filed by the Big Red Ticket was against the Kirkwood ticket and members of the Kirkwood ticket and not against the IU Finance Club,” Fields said in response to Williams’ statement.\nWilliams said he does not condone Pozza’s actions and was not involved in any way. As of Monday, the Undergraduate Finance Club is in discussions on Pozza’s future rule with the club.\nIUSA president W.T. Wright said the Kirkwood ticket had no knowledge of Pozza’s actions and Pozza’s involvement with the Kirkwood ticket was “minimal.”\n“I don’t want to involve (Pozza) with IUSA,” Wright said.\nSpecial projects editor Brian Spegele contributed to this report.
(03/24/08 6:10am)
Days before the IU Student Association elections, the Big Red ticket has filed a formal complaint against a member of the Kirkwood ticket for allegedly violating IUSA election and University codes.\nLuke Fields, presidential candidate with the Big Red ticket, alleges that Adam Pozza, a member of the Kirkwood ticket, accessed Fields’ computer and forwarded e-mails regarding Big Red’s campaign to members of the Kirkwood ticket, according to the complaint. \nSarah McDonough, IUSA elections commissioner, said because of Pozza’s actions, there is a “definite possibility” that the Kirkwood ticket may be disqualified from the election. The commission will hold a hearing Wednesday night in response to the allegations. \nIn response to the allegations, members of the Kirkwood ticket called an emergency meeting Sunday night in the Redbud room of the Indiana Memorial Union.. Kirkwood ticket’s presidential candidate, Joe Weis, said in a question and answer session that Pozza admitted he sent the e-mails from Fields’ account. They asked the IUSA Elections Commission Sunday evening to remove Pozza’s name from the election ballots.\nThe allegations include that e-mails were forwarded from Fields’ account to the IU Finance Club and Eric J. Gibson, chief of external for the Kirkwood ticket. Pozza is currently the vice president of the IU Finance Club.\nFields said the e-mails were sent March 2, while he was spending the night in Indianapolis. Pozza, who is running for Congress on the Kirkwood ticket, lived with Fields and Big Red ticket vice presidential candidate Dan Sloat, but as of March 21, had moved out of the apartment.\nFields said he came home from Indianapolis and was checking on an e-mail he had sent to a potential employer in regard to an internship interview. When he accessed his e-mail, however, he noticed every e-mail he had sent during the last six months had been deleted. Fields was able to recover the deleted e-mails through IU E-mail Exchange, a service that backs up e-mails for a certain period of time. He said during the recovery he realized the e-mails had been sent out and then attempted to be hidden.\n“We weren’t exactly sure what to do about this,” Fields said. “This pretty much goes against everything we stand for as a ticket.”\nFields said he wants the student body to be informed about what’s been going on when they go to the polls on Tuesday and Wednesday. \nFields said there is “no smearing, no mud-slinging” between the tickets. He said Big Red is demanding a fair process and its emphasis has always been on doing what’s right and positive.\nAndrew Hahn, vice presidential candidate for the Big Red ticket, said after Fields noticed the missing e-mails, they contacted the IU Office of Student Ethics and filed a judicial complaint against Pozza “immediately.” \nHahn said because of spring break, the student ethics committee’s judicial hearing would not have been held before March 28. Because of this, there was a possibility a judicial resolution would not have been reached before the deadline for filing an IUSA elections complaint. As a result, Hahn said they filed a complaint with the IUSA elections committee Friday. \n“We filed this complaint because we feel this is not something IUSA stands for,” Hahn said.\nThe complaint alleges that Pozza broke IUSA election codes, University Information Technology Services policy, IU Code of Student Rights and possible “applicable laws.”\nDuring the Kirkwood ticket’s press conference, Weis presented attendees with a written statement about the issue. Weis did not formally address the complaint. He did, however, reiterate the ticket’s platform, and encouraged the Big Red and INdiana tickets to “re-evalute their platforms.”\nIn the written statement, Weis said Pozza did not act on behalf of the Kirkwood ticket.\n“We want to assure you we had no knowledge of Adam Pozza’s action,” said Nancy Kazarinova, treasurer candidate for the Kirkwood ticket, during the press conference.\nShe said she welcomed an investigation by the IUSA Elections Commission and said the ticket plans on going into the election with “full force.”\nMcDonough said the complaint hearing will be 8 p.m. Wednesday in the Distinguished Alumni Room of the IMU. The hearing is open to the public.
(03/22/08 7:23am)
Keith J. Sampson just wanted to read. But last November, reading a book checked out from the IU library system got him in serious trouble with the University.\nSampson, a student and janitor at IU-Purdue University Indianapolis, was taking his break from work last fall when he began reading “Notre Dame vs. the Klan: How the Fighting Irish Defeated the Ku Klux Klan” by Todd Tucker. The book recounts two days in May 1924, when a group of Notre Dame students got into a street fight with members of the KKK. The book cover depicts Klansmen burning two crosses.\nSampson, who was reading the anti-Klan book in front of black co-workers, received a letter on Nov. 25, 2007, from the IUPUI Affirmative Action Office. Lillian Charleston, the affirmative action officer, wrote in her letter that after investigating the situation, Sampson’s “repeatedly reading the book” in front of his co-workers “constitutes racial harassment.”\n“One cannot commit racial harassment by reading an anti-Klan history that is in the IU Library system,” Sampson said in an e-mail interview.\nIn the letter, Charleston said Sampson used “extremely poor judgment by insisting on openly reading the book related to a historically and racially abhorrent subject.”\nSampson said he felt the racial harassment allegations against him portrayed him as an “Indiana Klansman,” a title which he resents.\n“I detest the Klan,” he said in an e-mail. “So the (Affirmative Action Office) made a big mistake in taking me for a Klansman.”\nIn early February, Sampson received another letter from the Affirmative Action Office, stating the Nov. 25, 2007, letter was not meant to put a limit on his ability to read books \nduring break times.\nCharleston wrote in the letter that the previous letter was to only address the concerns raised by Sampson’s co-workers that he was creating a hostile atmosphere of antagonism.\n“I am unable to draw any final conclusion concerning what was intended by the conduct,” Charleston wrote. “... No such adverse disciplinary action has been or will be taken in connection with the circumstances at hand.”\nCharleston and Joseph M. Scodro, IUPUI’s lawyer, could not be reached by press time.\nSampson said before he was able to go public with the issue, he felt isolated because he didn’t want to be judged as someone who committed racial harassment.\n“I am a very open-minded person on the issue of race,” he said in an e-mail.
(02/29/08 5:56am)
Today, sophomore Caitlin Moloney will be turning 5-years-old.\nBecause of leap years, she’s been alive for 20 years but will only be celebrating her fifth birthday Friday.\nMoloney said people tend to pity her because her birthday only falls once every four years. She said her teachers used to ask her to explain why her birthday was only every so often.\n“It was depressing,” she said.\nShe explained that during the last 20 years of her life, she’s had multiple awkward encounters as a leap year baby.\n“The bank won’t accept my birthday,” Moloney said. “I’m born on February 28 to them.”\nMoloney said people are constantly asking her if she is allowed to drive – because she hasn’t had 16 birthdays.\n“People say, ‘No, you’re four,’” she said. \nWhen she was born, her father begged the doctor to change her birthday on her birth certificate to March 1 because she was born less than an hour before midnight. But her father was unable to convince the doctor to change it.\nDespite only having four “real” birthdays in the last 20 years, Moloney said there’s only one way to celebrate today.\n“Whatever, I’m getting a princess birthday,” she said.\nMoloney isn’t the only IU student who has to deal with friendly ridicule on her birthday. Actually, 25 students currently enrolled at IU have leap-year birthdays, according to a representative from the Office of the Registrar.\nSophomore Derek Finley, who is also turning five this year, said he is used to getting made fun of about his birthday.\n“I get teased by my friends,” Finley said. “(They) tell me I’ll be 84 before I can legally drink.”\nEven though his friends have picked on him, they’re not the only ones who have embarrassed him. For his last birthday, Finley’s mother sent out birthday invitations for his party. The invitations said the birthday party was for a 4-year-old, except his mother never clarified that Finley was actually turning 16. \n“I got baby clothes, pacifiers, little Tonka trucks,” he said. “Nothing I could use.”\nIn a strikingly similar situation, graduate student Alicia Keebaugh had a fourth birthday when she turned 16-years-old. She received sidewalk chalk and Barbie dolls as gifts, most of which she gave to charity. Now that she’s turning six, leap years are no longer an embarrassment.\nBut that doesn’t mean she hasn’t had her share of problems with having a birthday that comes every four years.\n“I can’t apply at Borders. I tried to do that, and it told me my birthday wasn’t valid,” she said. “Microsoft Office would not accept (Feb. 29) as a valid day.”\nBut the history of embarrassment goes back much further than fourth and sixth birthdays.\nSophomore Quinn Cosgrove only really remembers his first birthday – turning 4-years-old. His mother sent out birthday invitations that read, “Leaping Lizards!” Despite the humiliation, he said he still likes leap years.\n“I think it’s pretty cool,” Cosgrove said. “I’m 19, going to be five.”\nLike Cosgrove, Keebaugh has learned to embrace and make the most of a birthday that is only every so often. Keebaugh is a part of The Honor Society of Leap Day Babies. The society is dedicated to making Feb. 29 “Leap Day,” a day for all of the people who have leap year birthdays. \nOn the off years, Keebaugh usually celebrates her birthday on Feb. 28, which she said sometimes “sucks.”\n“On my 21st birthday, I went out on Feb. 28, and they wouldn’t let me drink until March 1,” Keebaugh said. “I was pretty angry.”\nEven though some students recall being embarrassed on their birthdays, others treat their leap-year birthday as they would any other normal day.\n“People will always make fun of you,” sophomore Andrew Kim said, quoting comments such as, “Oh, you’re big for your age!” \nBut Kim said having a leap-year birthday is “all right” because he gets to celebrate on both Feb. 28 and March 1 on the off years.\n“It’s not a big deal,” he said. “There were three other high school students who had leap-year birthdays.”\nJust like Kim, sophomore Valerie Painter had no embarrassing leap-year birthday stories. She said she doesn’t receive special presents on leap years and usually her birthday rituals are the same every year.\n“I’ll probably go somewhere and party,” Painter said.\nAlthough Feb. 29 may seem like an annoyance to some and a technicality to others, without it, the calendar would be out of sync, said Haldan Cohn, IU astronomy professor. Because the earth takes 365.25 days to orbit the sun, calendars include the extra day every four years to make up the difference.\n“Without leap year, spring would start earlier,” Cohn said. “You wouldn’t notice it right away, but every 100 years, the seasons would start 25 days earlier.” \nSo to those 25 IU students born today, have four times the fun because Feb. 29 won’t come again for another four trips around the sun.