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(01/16/14 5:08am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU’s Committee for Fee Review has voted to cut IU Outdoor Adventure’s funding from more than $25,000 to $0 per semester for two fiscal years beginning July 1, 2013 and ending June 30, 2015. The committee cut the program’s funding due to a lack of transparency about the amount of sponsorship the group receives from the Indiana Memorial Union, IUOA Leisure Programs Coordinator Dustin Smucker said. “When they told us that, we provided our previous two years’ financial statements and budgets,” Smucker said. “We weren’t able to understand what additional transparency they needed.” The committee never responded to the IDS to comment.IUOA is financially supported by the IMU, which serves students and the campus community. The IMU allocated $100,000 to help IUOA, but Smucker said it’s not enough to provide deals to students like IUOA has in the past. Students would normally pay a discounted price for things like tent rental and memberships to state parks, but they now have to front the full bill.The $100,000 provided by the IMU will be used just to keep the program running, Smucker said.“Primary expenses from this are travel expenses for participants, salary compensation, space rental in Eigenmann and equipment,” he said. Last year, IUOA served more than 5,800 students, or one in every six students on campus, Smucker said. He said he thought this showed the importance of their group.“It shows there is some kind of demand we are meeting,” Smucker said. “We give students the chance to participate in challenging activities that stretch students to do more than they believed they could.”Leader-in-training and sophomore Adri Valtierra helped plan and lead a trip to backpack the Florida Trail during winter break — a duty usually reserved for full trip leaders. “I wanted to go somewhere warm for winter break,” Valtierra said. “I was told to look for a trip and start planning, so I did.” She said she finds the trips encourage teamwork. For her, being in the outdoors with new friends is a way to learn to lead people and accomplish group tasks. Both Smucker and Kivland said they see a trend in the opportunities IUOA provides being valued less and less, but can’t conclude if their financial cuts are a result of this fact. They are more focused on helping students, Kivland said. “We’ve been figuring out how to make these trips more affordable for students,” Kivland said.IUOA plans to request funding from the committee again, but in the meantime they continue to plan trips. This spring break, they will travel to the Grand Canyon and Zion National Park to backpack, to Colorado for a climbing trip and to the Rio Grande to go paddling.Valtierra’s parents help her finance the adventures, but not everyone is as lucky, Kivland said.Kivland said he thinks parents today have hesitations about letting their children spend too much time outdoors. He said he thinks society is more immersed in technology than nature.But it doesn’t scare him or the IUOA into thinking they will no longer be needed, he said. “It’s not a fear, it’s a motivation for us,” Kivland said. “I like knowing that if the power were to go out and I couldn’t recharge my phone or turn on the fridge, I would still be OK. We provide ways for people to get a little bit more comfortable with the real world.”
(01/15/14 4:01am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>With the start of the new year comes the next round of resolutions, and this year IU campus organizations are joining in the tradition.Forbes magazine, however, reports that of the 40 percent of Americans who make resolutions, only 8 percent go on to achieve them.Perhaps these failures are why campus organizations like Campus Recreational Sports, the Academic Support Centers and the IU Panhellenic Association are focusing on continuous goals instead of year-long resolutions. As students try to meet their health and wellness goals, the Student Recreational Sports Center and the Wildermuth Intramural Center are piled full of people.“Both the Wildermuth and the SRSC were really hopping tonight,” said director of the Division of Campus Recreational Sports Kathy Bayless of the turnout on Jan. 16.IURS encompasses IURS, the SRSC and the WIC. In years past, the spring semester has brought in an average of 4,000 visits a day to IURS, Bayless said. This is approximately 800 more visits per day than in the fall semester. The busiest month is February before spring break. Last year’s average was 4,935 visits per day that month.IURS expects nothing less this spring, Bayless said. To help beginners, RS is providing kickoff promotions during peak hours to inform students what their student fee covers. “We recognize that we will have a lot of new and possibly inexperienced members in the facilities at the start of the year,” Bayless said.The promotion also gives students the chance to try out programs that usually have fees. Director of Academic Support Centers Leslie Robinson said that in regards to academics, support centers are open to feedback from students about what they would like to see this year.For any students who made goals to do better academically, Robinson said she highly encourages they come to the ASCs as soon as they open next Tuesday for best results.“The earlier they get in, the sooner they can build relationships with a tutor,” Robinson said. The IU Panhellenic Association also has a few goals.The council hopes to continue its commitment to excellence in sisterhood, scholarship and service, PHA Vice President of Communications Leila Palizi said.In response to last semester’s alcohol-related death and recent regulations on hard liquor at fraternities, PHA hopes to shift the culture of IU greek life. The PHA is considering more rules and working closely with the Interfraternity Council, Palizi said. “I do believe IU’s greek community has strayed from the values-based aspect of greek life,” she said. “We’re trying to shift the culture, and if that takes rules to shift, then that’s what we’re going to have to do.”Another new strategy the council hopes to use this year is to serve with hands and feet instead of just money, she said.“The incoming executive board wants to help implement service projects where we go out and actually help and be with those in need,” Palizi said. “We want to be active participants instead of just sending money.” Follow reporter Suzanne Grossman on Twitter @suzannepaige6.
(01/09/14 9:07pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU’s campus closed for two consecutive days for the first time in more than two decades due to cold temperatures on Monday and Tuesday.With negative 30 degree wind chills it was the coldest weather IU’s campus has experienced since January 1994. While businesses and schools across Monroe County closed for several days, some campus employees were still required to report to work.“These record blasts have happened before, but it’s rare,” said IU professor of weather and climate Cody Fitzpatrick. “It’s once in a generation we see temps at this level for two to three days.” Sub-zero temperatures often cause hypothermia and frostbite as well as frozen and bursting pipes. IU’s Residential Programs and Services added more staff to ensure residence halls and dining halls were well-protected. “We added more night staff to patrol the halls constantly and also added personnel not usually assigned to custodial staff to walk the halls and listen for weird sounds and look for water,” RPS Director for Facilities Larry Isom said. Isom said they did find a few freeze-ups and broken pipes, but they handled them promptly to make sure nothing was permanently damaged.“If it’s a student room we took up the area carpets and then dried up the water and put new carpets in,” he said. “We were covered really well over this really bad time.”Water damage due to the storm included a main water line break on North Jordan Avenue, which affected only the RPS offices. The Herman B Wells Library closed Wednesday because of broken pipes, and there was also a water main break in the Arboretum. All were repaired. There were minor leaks in Briscoe and Willkie, Isom said, which were also repaired quickly. “The students living in Union Street, Willkie and Briscoe were not disturbed at all,” he said. “With the type of weather we had we were very fortunate to escape through that hell,” Isom said.Precautions against freezing in the dorms include advising students to keep their heat on, unplug appliances and make sure windows are shut tightly before they leave. “We were thankful students weren’t here for the storm, but now our halls are open and ready for them to come back,” Isom said. All staff except for necessary staff were told to stay home for their safety Monday and Tuesday.Necessary staff included Mike Gervin, Campus Division’s head manager, and his crew, who are in charge of clearing campus roads, sidewalks and parking lots. They are required to be at work no matter the weather conditions, Gervin said. When his crew got to work Monday morning, it was minus 10 degrees with a minus 30 degree wind chill. To prevent frostbite, the crew worked for about 15 minutes and then took refuge indoors to warm up before another 15 minutes of work. They did this all day Monday for 12 hours, Gervin said, adding the crew’s attendance was a testament to the workers’ morale.“Ninety-five percent of our employees showed up and the other five percent had really good excuses,” he said.Gervin said the biggest challenge he and his crews faced was getting the equipment to start because the motors were so cold.“We don’t have enough warm storage space for our small tractors and things,” he said. “I hope we can find space so in the morning next time we can get them started right away instead of waiting.”Another problem during extreme cold is that at about 15 degrees, salt will no longer melt ice, Gervin said. The Campus Division still uses it to pretreat roads and sidewalks, but it does not work as effectively. “It breaks the bonds between the roads and the ice and snow so it’s easier to clear, but it won’t melt the ice,” Gervin said.Full-time Campus Division employees who worked to clear the snow and ice were paid their normal wage, and because they belong to a union, they receive overtime pay when campus is closed.Part-time hourly workers and contracted workers were not similarly compensated. The University is still deciding how to pay these employees overtime, Gervin said. “I think if you’re standing scraping the steps of Assembly Hall you should be compensated at the same rate as the guy next to you,” Gervin said. “The University doesn’t close often so this is a new situation to work out.” By working 15-hour days on Sunday, 12-hour days on Monday, and 10-hour days on Tuesday, Campus Division was able to clear 21 miles of University streets, 52 miles of sidewalks and more than 20 miles of steps all around campus, Gervin said. Fitzpatrick said it’s hard to tell what the storm means about the remainder of the season, but he thinks the weather will be wet.“Since it’s mid-January we can expect one or two more snowfalls before winter is over, putting us above normal for snowfall this year, “ he said.And as for anyone arguing this storm proves or disproves global warming, Fitzpatrick said no one event in one part of the world can tell us much about what is happening globally.“While we’re recovering from the cold, Australia is having record heat waves and Europe is having a warmer winter, much warmer than normal,” Fitzpatrick said. “We would need to look at two to three decades worth of trends to really know anything.”
(11/21/13 5:10am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed a bill into law legalizing same-sex marriage in his state at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, a move that could alter the debate in Indiana.Illinois became the 15th state to pass a pro-marriage equality bill Nov. 5. Indiana’s House Joint Resolution 6, which is awaiting a vote in the General Assembly, could have an opposite effect on marriage equality.If Hoosiers vote in favor of the legislation, HJR 6 would amend the Indiana Constitution, defining marriage as between one man and one woman. Any other legal partnerships similar to marriage, such as civil unions or domestic partnerships, would be illegal.The vote to legalize same-sex marriage in Illinois could affect how HJR 6 is debated, said Susan Sandberg, Bloomington City Council member. Illinois is the first state bordering Indiana to legalize same-sex marriage.“With each and every state that stands up, I would think it would make it easier for other states like Indiana to reconsider or to consider doing the same,” Sandberg said. “Only time will tell.” Illinois has a legacy of advancing basic human rights, CEO of Equality Illinois Bernard Cherkasov said. Equality Illinois claims to be the state’s largest organization advocating for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights.“We were the first in the Midwest to grant women the right to vote and to repeal sodomy laws,” Cherkasov said. He said he thinks Illinois’ passage of the bill will help other states to do the same.“They will see their neighbors getting married and society growing stronger when everyone is free and equal, and people in Indiana will want that as well,” Cherkasov said. “When Massachusetts became the first state, their neighbors saw the divorce rates going down and families getting stronger, and then nearby states followed. Iowa started it in the Midwest, and it will continue to grow.”Others believe Illinois’ decision to pass marriage equality will have little effect on Indiana. “We have not taken our cues from Illinois since the Civil War,” said Curt Smith of the Indiana Family Institute. “It’s been well over 100 years since we’ve looked to Illinois. We have a different tax system, business culture and political system. Our governors visit prisons. Theirs go to prison.” He also does not believe HJR 6 would make Indiana less welcoming.“We are a tolerant state,” Smith said. “Hoosiers are just friendly and welcoming, and that’s not going to change if the wording is changed. It will still be a good place for jobs and for parents to raise children, straight or gay.” Indiana Equality Action, a nonprofit that claims to advance equal rights and fight discrimination regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, believes if HJR 6 is passed, Indiana will send a message of intolerance.“We estimate 1.4 to 1.7 million Hoosiers live within 45 minutes of the Illinois border,” said Chris Paulson, president of the board of directors for Indiana Equality Action. “A lot of those Hoosiers could choose to move to Illinois to have the responsibilities and benefits of marriage.”New business could also be effected in Indiana, Paulson said.“A company looking to move to the Midwest would look to Illinois before Indiana because they would rather have the headquarters in a state that is welcoming to everybody,” Paulson said. The Illinois attorney general is still looking into whether or not Hoosiers can get married in Illinois without moving there, Paulson said. “Right now, if a couple is not recognized in their home state, they can’t be married in Illinois,” Paulson said. “They are currently discussing changing that. It sounds like the legislature should change.”Other Indiana groups are also fighting to defeat HJR 6.“If HJR 6 makes it into our constitution, we’re not ever going to be able to have the debate Illinois did,” said Jennifer Wagner, director of communications for Freedom Indiana. Freedom Indiana is a group advocating against HJR 6 and has received the support of IU. The bill Illinois passed created discussion on same-sex marriage, but HJR 6 will eliminate that discussion, Wagner said. HJR 6 will appear before the Indiana General Assembly one more time, having already passed once. If it passes again, it will appear on the fall 2014 ballot. Repeals to the Constitution must go through the same process. Almost three-fourths of Hoosiers believe same-sex couples should have some legal recognition or rights, according to a Freedom Indiana press release. “Lots of people in Indiana think there should be some protection for these couples, and this amendment wouldn’t allow any of that,” Wagner said.In her lifetime, Wagner said she has only seen two other Indiana amendments pass, and they were overwhelmingly supported.“On this, public opinion is split, so should we really be putting something in our constitution that might barely pass by 51 percent?” Wagner said.Bloomington City Council has also drafted a resolution to oppose HJR 6 and support marriage equality. “The resolution is not a law or a bill but is a community statement that reflects a vast majority of the people who live, work and make Bloomington their home,” said Sandberg, the primary sponsor of the resolution. “We do plan on sending it to Indiana’s governor and General Assembly.” The resolution will be presented to the rest of the council and be voted on by city council members during the Dec. 4 city council meeting. “We are ever hopeful that our legislature will realize that they should be discussing, not putting into our constitution,” Wagner said. “We shouldn’t permanently prohibit the conversation on same-sex marriage.”Follow reporter Suzanne Grossman on Twitter @suzannepaige6.
(11/04/13 3:02am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU Graduate and Professional Student Organization decided at its general assembly meeting Friday to keep the budget as close to last year’s as possible despite cuts in University funds. In previous years, the University allocated $10,000 for academic support to GPSO, the student government for graduate students on campus. This year funding was cut to $6,000 for reasons unknown to GPSO, treasurer Ron Arruejo said. However, due to surplus funds from previous years, GPSO has been able to give out an equal amount of academic support through scholarships and grants, totaling $28,050 this year. The largest sum of money in this year’s budget was allocated to salaries for the GPSO executive committee at $58,750 total. The top three earners are the president, the operations coordinators and the communications coordinator, all making $12,500 during the school year. These top three salaries have not increased in recent years, Arruejo said.The amount is higher for these three positions because they are student academic appointment jobs, meaning the students cannot hold other paid jobs. Other funds from the budget go to GPSO community building, which provides social nights as well as co-sponsored events with graduate programs. In the past, these events have included academic conferences with graduate programs within the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, the Jacobs School of Music and the Department of Religious Studies, Arruejo said. Arruejo said starting this year the group has budgeted $250 for diversity efforts as part of the group’s $750 advocacy budget.He said it is still unclear how this $250 will be used. The general assembly passed the budget with 38 votes in support of the budget, one vote against and one vote abstained. Telecommunications doctoral student Nic Matthews voted to pass the budget.“We definitely do get to debate it, but it is presented as the best possible system,” Matthews said. “But I do trust it. GPSO tends to help a lot each year. It’s a good program.” President of GPSO Brady Harman said the budget was received well, but he thought there would be more questions. “We’re not like IUSA because we’re not based on platforms,” Harman said. “Every year the most money goes to compensation, then awards and, finally, programming.” The assembly also voted and passed three resolutions. The first concerned salary payments for SAA. Currently they are paid during a 10-month schedule that excludes summer months. The resolution aimed to fix the challenge of summer budgeting by changing the first payment of the academic year to Sept. 5 and all other payments to the end of each month. The next resolution aimed to show GPSO support for the use of preferred names for students.They proposed restricting access to legal names to protect identities of students who use preferred names. They plan to present their proposal to administrators. Finally, the group voted on a resolution to show support for IU’s decision to join Freedom Indiana, a coalition fighting against House Joint Resolution 6, a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. “I’m really happy we got things passed,” Harman said. “We are much more active this year. ” Follow reporter Suzanne Grossman on Twitter @SuzannePaige6.
(10/31/13 3:25am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Women are still underrepresented in all forms of government, and local female politicians said they hope to make progress toward changing that. College Democrats at IU organized a panel Wednesday night to encourage capable women to participate in politics. “We wanted to highlight women in Bloomington in politics,” College Democrats president Aaron Dy said. “We’re fortunate enough to have several here, and we wanted to expose them because a lot of places don’t have many and it’s a shame.”The discussion was led by IU law professor and former acting Assistant Attorney General Dawn Johnson, Bloomington City Clerk Regina Moore and Bloomington City Councilor Susan Sandberg. The three women shared stories of their experiences in local, regional and national politics.When Sandberg first ran for City Council, no women were currently serving, Moore said. “She had to win,” Moore said. Sandberg was elected in 2007 and currently serves as one of two women on the Bloomington City Council. Moore said she as a woman is underrepresented on the council since women make up 51 percent of the population. State-level women only hold eight out of 50 seats in the state Senate and 23 percent of seats in the state House, Moore said.“Locally we’re a bit better but still only two out of nine,” Moore said. “That’s no where near 51 percent.” These statistics led Moore to start the Democratic Women’s Caucus with a motto to “support, fund, train and inspire women.” The group aims to encourage qualified, strong women to step up, Sandberg said. “We don’t just want any woman, but we see a lack in powerful women getting involved,” Sandberg said. Sandberg said she feels some women do not feel capable or good enough to be politically involved. “Women wait to be asked,” Sandberg said. “They don’t feel qualified or knowledgeable enough, or they have too much as a mom, but they can do it.”This leads to little participation.“Indiana currently has the most women it has ever had in Congress in its history,” Moore said. But she said the state has a long way to go. Indiana has never had a female senator. All three women at the panel said they want to ensure there will be elected officials protecting women’s rights.Johnson worked with former President Bill Clinton to help him prepare policies supporting women’s issues and pro-choice legislation.“The most exciting work I’ve ever done was when Bill Clinton issued five policies to overturn Bush’s anti-choice policies, and I worked on those,” Johnson said. Senior Lindsey Smith, College Democrats marketing director, helped plan and advertise the event.“We had been working on this for a while, so we were really excited to have this happen,” Smith said. Smith said she was satisfied with the event and found it inspiring.“Hearing the statistics regarding how very few women there are in public office was shocking,” Smith said. “It was good hearing women in public office inspiring other women to run.” The panel provided advice for women about stepping out into the political sphere.“Get involved at whatever level you feel comfortable at,” Sandberg said. “Start working on a committee or help someone on a campaign until you gain experience.”Sandberg said she hopes society continues to acknowledge the importance of gender equality in politics.“I believe in equality for women, and I want my 26-year-old daughter to have those rights,” Sandberg said. “We want Roe v. Wade to be upheld. People marched and women died for this, and people forget that.”Follow reporter Suzanne Grossman on Twitter @suzannepaige6.
(10/22/13 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A recent survey shows law school admissions officers are cutting back their enrollment as the number of applications decline nationwide. Fifty-three percent of law schools in the United States have decreased the number of students they admit, according to a press release from Kaplan Test Prep, a company which sells preparation materials for standardized tests. But administrators say admissions to IU Maurer School of Law have remained steady. “We are the numbers we always planned to be at,” said Frank Motley, Maurer’s dean of admissions. “We had 200 students last year, and we have 200 students this year.” There has been a nationwide decline in law school applicants since 2010, according to the Kaplan press release. In 2010, 602,300 applications were submitted to law schools nationwide, but that number dropped to 385,400 in 2013. “In the bad economy, people are choosing not to go to law school because they are afraid of being in debt and not finding a job after,” Motley said. Stake said rumors about law school debt and unemployment have scared possible applicants. “Maybe the stories have discouraged more people than it should have,” said Jeff Stake, former law school admission chairman. “Right now is a terrific time to go to law school. Easier acceptance rates makes it easier to get support financially.”Other schools are cutting enrollment to raise their average LSAT scores and GPAs of students to gain higher rankings in the U.S. News and World Report annual rankings. Motley said cutting enrollment at Maurer would not pay off. Maurer was ranked 25th in the nation among graduate law schools.“Two hundred is where we need to be to bring in the quality of students we want and to keep the tuition low for students,” Motley said. However, Stake said the law school decided adjusting other admissions criteria would not harm their ranking.“Our LSAT scores went from 164 to 162, but with our formula, we can see pretty accurately the difference in ranking it would make, and it wasn’t very much,” Stake said. Despite IU’s ranking and required LSAT scores remaining stable, total applications for the law school dropped by almost 500 applicants from 2358 last year to 1851. If Maurer does not attain its standard of about 200 first-year students, the school will keep running normally and tuition should not spike abnormally, Motley said.“We have an endowment that will keep us running for students even if no one new shows up,” Motley said. According to the Kaplan survey, 67 percent of admissions officers do not think the decline in admissions will reverse in the near future. Maurer’s future is highly dependent on the values of the law school’s leadership, Motley said.“We’re in a dean search, and the next dean might have other priorities,” Motley said. “We should have one appointed by January, and then we’ll see.”
(10/04/13 1:23am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Kilroy’s on Kirkwood tops the list of Bloomington’s busiest bars, according to Chicago-based SceneTap.The mobile app — available for both Android and iPhone — uses information from facial detection technology currently installed in a handful of bars in town and is looking to expand. With the use of the facial detection technology, the app is able to tell users real-time information about the bar scene before the users go out. Facial detection often gets confused for facial recognition, according to SceneTap’s website. Facial detection simply detects a present face and then estimates sex and age by appearances. “It doesn’t concern me,” senior Lizzy Dawes, a new user of the app, said. “Wherever you go these days, there are cameras around, even in supermarkets. If it helps SceneTap provide a good service and it’s safe, good for them.” The app also relays certain demographics of the bars. It lists the male-to-female ratio, the average age of people at the bar and also how crowded the bar is. “It came from being sick of spending money on cab fare,” Danielle Bemoras, SceneTap’s director of marketing and an IU alumna, said. “The idea was literally drawn on a napkin at Kincade’s in Chicago.”After researching different technologies, the initial developers of SceneTap decided on facial detection technology because it fit their needs and protects privacy. “It’s completely anonymous. When bars agree to be on our network they have no way of collecting the information of who walks in the door,” Bemoras said. Bemoras said SceneTap can also help local bars with their marketing efforts. “Bars can track more accurately foot traffic, maybe discover peak times they didn’t think about,” Bemoras said. “Say if Farm brought in a DJ, they could see how the DJ actually changed the consumers that night and reevaluate for the future.”The app can also help consumers save money.“My favorite feature is probably the specials feature,” Dawes said. “It’s nice for someone who wants to find a cheap drink because it lists the specials for every place.” The app started in the Midwest but has been launched in many cities and college towns from coast to coast. “We’re trying to build out Chicago, as well as other already tapped cities,” Bemoras said. “Incredible updates for the user experience to make the app much more accessible to figure out features and improve aesthetics should be out within a month.” There is also more to come for Bloomington app users. “We have plans to relaunch SceneTap in Bloomington with added venues in the near future,” Bemoras said. “It should be ready by the end of fall.”