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(03/21/13 4:27am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Three tickets will debate tonight as IU prepares for the IUSA elections April 2 and 3. Hoosiers 4 Solutions, SPARC for IU and YOUniversity candidates will discuss their platforms and answer questions from the student audience.At the debate, each ticket will have five minutes for opening statements and five for closing statements. The debate will be moderated by University Chancellor Emeritus Ken Gros Louis, who created the question list based on the Election Commission’s recommendations of relevant topics. None of the candidates will see the questions before the debate, and they each will have three minutes to respond to each question.The debate is open to the public, but the floor will not be open for questions.Hoosiers 4 SolutionsHoosiers 4 Solutions is the only ticket with executives who do not have prior experience in IUSA, although chief of staff candidate Grant Weil is a member of the Judicial Board for the Residential Hall Association. Presidential candidate Casey Shelburne worked as a media intern in the Indiana House of Representatives and as a communications intern for the Indiana secretary of state, and other candidates have served as officers in other student organizations. This state government experience is reflected in the ticket’s platforms, many of which are focused on changing policies at the state level. Its “Cost of College” platform includes a plan to lobby for a tax-free textbook holiday. The candidates have also visited the Indiana State House to discuss student voting rights for out-of-state students.Kelsey Gorman, candidate for vice president of administration, said Hoosiers 4 Solutions plan to lobby for an expansion of the Lifeline Law. They want the law to state explicitly that victims of sexual assault will not be charged with underage drinking when they report the crime.Members are also addressing the drinking culture on campus with a policy to reduce student alcohol abuse at collegiate sporting events. Hoosiers 4 Solutions said on its official website that a policy of making limited amounts of beer and wine available at sporting events may decrease binge drinking prior to games. Although Hoosiers 4 Solutions is not directly incorporating the Culture of Care initiative into its platforms, Gorman said the ticket is not planning to discontinue it. Instead, they will take ideas from the initiative and expand them to the state level. “We’re translating the idea of Culture of Care to larger scales,” she said.SPARC for IUSPARC for IU’s presidential candidate Sidney Fletcher and chief of staff candidate Ty Nocita are both representatives in the IUSA Congress, and Noelle Gipson, candidate for vice president of administration, has been involved in residential student government.SPARC for IU plans to advocate for a two-year tuition freeze campus-wide, similar to a freeze recently announced at Purdue University. The ticket also wants the Board of Trustees to sign a pledge promising to keep long-term tuition costs in line with economic inflation. According to their official website, SPARC is also planning to implement a program called “Learn! Initiative.” This would include an extended class shopping period each semester to allow students to drop and add classes without penalty for two weeks.SPARC is building a Culture of Care platform based on the Culture of Care initiative begun by the Movement administration. SPARC has taken this on as part of its campus safety platform, according to its official campaign website. Ticket members want to focus on training workshops to teach students and faculty about bystander intervention. Nocita said he hopes the candidates discuss the issue of executive salaries. SPARC’s cost-cutting platform plans to invest the money from executive salaries into solar panels to be used on campus.“It’s the first time it’s been a campaign issue, really,” he said. “I think the other campaigns would prefer that they (salaries) didn’t come up.”YOUniversityFive of YOUniversity’s six ticket members are involved in the current IUSA administration. One is a member of IUSA Congress, and four are members of the executive senior staff. Treasurer candidate Casey Baker is currently serving as treasurer in the Movement administration. YOUniversity has included two candidates, Kathryn Flanigan and Dia Sharma, on the ticket as co-chiefs of staff.Flanigan and Sharma are co-chairs on the Culture of Care committee for the current administration. According to a press release, YOUniversity wants to expand the current Culture of Care initiative with programs such as expanding the Night Owl bus routes and times for students traveling late at night. The initiative would also address alcohol use on campus. According to the ticket’s official campaign website, YOUniversity wants to lobby to re-allow handles at the tailgating fields, while setting up stations for food vendors and water to discourage dangerous drinking. They have indirectly addressed the cost of college with their “Emergency Tuition Fund” platform, which would provide short-term financial assistance to students on a case-by-case basis.“I want to really be able to discuss these platforms, the things that students actually want to see: Are they feasible, have they been done before?” presidential candidate Mitjavila said. “We’ve done our homework.”
(03/18/13 1:03pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>As part of their campus safety platform, the Hoosiers 4 Solutions IU Student Association ticket wants to expand the Indiana Lifeline Law so that victims of sexual assault can report the crime without being charged with underage drinking, according to a press release.The Lifeline Law grants immunity from underage drinking charges to students who need emergency medical attention, and to bystanders or organizations who call for emergency help for these students. Currently, the law makes provisions for medical emergencies related to alcohol abuse but not substance abuse and does not explicitly grant immunity to students who need medical attention due to sexual assault.“Underreporting of sexual assaults is a huge problem for college campuses, and IU is no exception, so we need to take every step we can to remove doubts or fears about reporting these attacks,” Kelsey Gorman, Hoosiers 4 Solutions’ candidate for vice president of administration, said in the press release.Sidney Fletcher, the presidential candidate for SPARC for IU ticket, said he agrees underreporting of assaults is a problem on IU’s campus and he thinks expanding the Lifeline Law is a good idea in general. However, he said he has not found any evidence of past cases where a victim of a sexual crime has been prosecuted for underage drinking after reporting the crime to the IU Police Department.“It’s a legal impediment, and it ought to be fixed,” he said but qualified his statement by adding, “We think it’s less about the legal impediment and more about the culture ... the shame, the social anxiety, the social ostracism. We think building a culture of care is more important.”Gorman said Hoosiers 4 Solutions does not question the IU Police Department’s professionalism and compassion toward victims of sexual assault. Hoosiers 4 Solutions’ representatives said in the release that they, too, believe underreporting is related to social stigma associated with sexual assault, but they want to ensure no one can be legally punished while reporting an assault. According to the release, a survey by the U.S. Department of Justice showed 54 percent of sexual assaults go unreported.Kathryn Flanigan, the YOUniversity ticket’s candidate for chief of staff, said she agreed with Hoosiers 4 Solutions that encouraging victims to report crime is important, and it is necessary for people to know they are not going to be prosecuted. YOUniversity is working to continue the current IUSA administration’s Culture of Care program to promote campus safety, she said, but they plan to focus on campus culture instead of working on state policy.“I do think it’s encouraging to see that all of the tickets are recognizing this as an issue,” Flanigan said.She said she thinks it is important for student leaders to work on decreasing the rate of sexual assault on campus and increasing the rate of reporting assaults by raising awareness of the right to report and be protected. They also want to promote bystander intervention.Fletcher said SPARC for IU wants to encourage bystander intervention as well, and they are currently developing an optional course that would teach individuals and student communities to intervene in emergency situations and notice warning signs so they can take initiative and possibly prevent those situations. He said they want to set goals to train a specific number of students in bystander intervention, and increase the capacity of training groups. He said he feels this would be helpful not only in preventing sexual assault and medical emergencies, but also bullying and harassment cases. “We hope that in the short term a culture of care would increase reporting,” he said. “In the long term, the idea is to make the rates of sexual assault go down.”Flanigan said she thinks public discussion by student leaders is powerful.“I think we as student leaders should be focusing on the sexual assault issue because the numbers have shown that it’s not going away, it’s not decreasing,” she said. “Any efforts to reduce the sexual assault rate are good in my book.”
(03/07/13 1:38am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Women’s History Month is being celebrated all across the country — except at IU.There are nods to Women’s History Month scattered across campus, but these are primarily confined to film recommendations in the audiovisual libraries. There are not many on-campus events to celebrate this month, and there are few reminders posted even in high-traffic areas of student activity such as the Herman B Wells Library and the Indiana Memorial Union.Annalinda Harbottle, a sophomore in the School of Journalism, said she had not heard of any events related to Women’s History Month and was not aware the month even existed.“Then again, you’d think we’d have a Men’s History Month as well, but considering that men have always been ... above women and things like that, I can understand the desire for a Women’s History Month,” Harbottle said.Sophomore anthropology student Betsy Inlow said she was aware that Women’s History Month was created to highlight women’s contributions to history but said she has not heard of any events happening on campus to recognize the national celebration.“I haven’t heard of any,” she said. “Events that celebrate women would be good.”Employees at the Willkie Quad Movies, Music, & More, a library for Residential, Programs and Services residents, assembled a list of film recommendations based around the theme of Women’s History Month. Andrew Lewis, an employee at the library, said they tried to find films with female characters who were powerful or historically significant. Included on that list were “Jane Eyre,” an adaptation of the classic novel, and “Frida,” a biography of artist Frida Kahlo.“Unfortunately, we don’t have enough movies about historically significant women to fill a recommendations shelf,” he said.The Media Reserves had a similar recommendations shelf which included not only dramas and biopics but documentaries such as “The Women’s Kingdom,” a film about one of the last matriarchal societies in the world.Harbottle said she might be interested in attending lectures or films related to women’s history, but she is equally intrigued by gender relations in general.“Not generally women’s history but a speaker or a video show about gender equality,” she said. “I’m taking a gender studies course right now, and a lot of the stuff we learn about is pretty interesting, like women in advertising.”Inlow said she believes recognizing women’s history is important.“I’m a feminist myself, and, you know, there’s still a lot of misogyny and sexism going on,” she said. “Celebrating women, strong women and what women do is very important, I think.”
(03/06/13 6:11am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A student-survey report was published late last week with recommendations for improving campus life. Recommendations in the report included improving campus facilities, increasing communication between students and academic advisers and improving the use of technology in classrooms, among other issues.The second Vision of the Ideal College Environment Report was published by the IU Student Association after nearly 19 months. It is a compilation of recommendations to administrators and student leaders based on data collected from a campus-wide survey of undergraduate students.Recommendations in the report range from ideas such as increasing communication about co-curricular activities to “empower(ing) academic advisers to be knowledgeable about all student organizations on campus.” Practical solutions are included in the report for recommendations, such as “increase frequency of buses at the busiest stops and expand late-evening bus schedules on critical routes.” It builds on the bus proposal by suggesting the Bloomington Transit and Campus Bus systems combine resources to secure funding for additional resources.Many survey respondents said they felt more academic adviser-student interaction was necessary to improve both their academic career and their collaboration with student groups on campus. The report contains suggestions such as assigning each student one adviser who is well-versed in academic offerings their university-wide, instead of multiple advisers who specialize in one discipline. It also suggests that advisers be familiar with student organizations on campus so they can recommend extracurricular activities.Students are not unanimous on this point, however. Freshman Weng Ngli said her adviser emailed her about student organizations on campus, but she was not interested in joining any clubs.On the other hand, freshmen Matt Victoria and Stephanie Hnat both said their advising experience would be greatly improved if their advisers could recommend clubs for them to join. Victoria said it is difficult to find organizations that interest him.“You have to know someone in the group who can give you the spiel, to give you actual information,” he said.Hnat said her adviser was unable to suggest clubs for her to join when she asked. She said even if she found one on her own, it is difficult to know after one visit whether the group will be a good fit.“Just going to one meeting isn’t enough,” she said.Increased use of OnCourse was a major concern for students, who said they felt their professors needed to make better use of the academic portal, especially the “gradebook” feature. The majority of students said they are satisfied with OnCourse as an academic portal, but the report suggests that mobile availability of OnCourse needs to improve, because 92 percent of smartphone users said they accessed the portal on their phones in the last month.“I think it’s nice having everything in one location,” Victoria said. “Everything is more accessible.”IUSA Senior Adviser Jarad Winget predicted the recommendations will be implemented during the next three to five years. However, Winget and IUSA Chief of Staff Augustin Ruta agreed IUSA would not be in charge of execution. Rather, they have taken charge of distributing the report to those who might execute the changes they have recommended. IUSA is presenting the entire report to everyone, instead of selecting specific sections they feel are relevant to each group or individual. Winget said they are not selecting individuals to lead the implementation of each recommendation.“It would be a little presumptuous of us to think that we could form a committee who would be the ones responsible for it,” Winget said.However, with 75 pages of recommendations to sift through, it may take more time on the part of campus leaders to find information that applies to their work. For example, the technology section of the report appears second in the five sections represented, but the suggestion to improve the connectivity of IU Secure does not appear until page 30. Since there is only a select group of people who can work on this issue, it is necessary for that select group to be made aware of the paragraph that says 57 percent of respondents rated Wi-Fi connectivity on campus as “average” or below.“IUSA is not running an implementation committee,” Ruta said. “We’ve taken our best time to make sure that we’ve conveyed the things that students want from their college experience. With that in mind, we understand that these recommendations should be implemented because they’re market-driven, they’re student-driven.”
(03/05/13 4:33am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>As of Monday, three tickets are campaigning to be elected as the next IU Student Association executive administration.The Students for Progress, Action, and Reform Campaign (SPARC) ticket, which was announced in a press release Monday night, will be led by presidential candidate junior Sidney Fletcher, an IUSA Congress representative for the off-campus constituency. Other members of the ticket are Noelle Gipson, Tom Dauer, Jonathan Hawkins and Ty Nocita.According to the press release from Fletcher, if SPARC is elected, their first action will be advocating for a two-year tuition freeze. The release states that SPARC also wants to remove executive salaries from the IUSA budget.The other two tickets that have declared their intention to campaign are YOUniversity, led by junior Jose Mitjavila, and Hoosiers 4 Solutions, led by junior Casey Shelburne.YOUniversity is running on a platform concerning the creation of greater accessibility and accountability between students and student government through programs such as the creation of A.C.E. Online Portal, which would allow students to send proposals directly to IUSA, and training activity advisers to teach students about joining student organizations.Hoosiers 4 Solutions, like SPARC, lists the cost of higher education as a main priority, as well as campus safety.Shelburne said he and Fletcher had discussed forming a ticket together in January but had different priorities. They disagreed about the role of student government in lowering tuition.“I tend to think that student government does not have a whole lot of power when it comes to addressing tuition directly,” Shelburne said.The SPARC ticket disagreed, according to the press release about their platforms which states “a student body raising its voice about the issue of college affordability is well-positioned to win a tuition freeze and a promise to keep long-term tuition in line with inflation.”In an email exchange with Fletcher, Shelburne said tuition is an issue that would be solved by working with the Commission on Higher Education and the legislature, not by demands from the student government. He went on to state that he thinks Fletcher’s ticket has little chance of winning, citing large student groups that he said he thinks will pledge their support to Hoosiers 4 Solutions. However, he said he would be willing to work with Fletcher on solving the tuition issue, adding “these offers are contingent upon you backing out and volunteering for us.”“He’s a very talented individual, and we were hoping to incorporate his talent into Hoosiers 4 Solutions,” Shelburne said in an interview.In the email exchange, Fletcher refused to back out of the election but offered Shelburne a volunteer position in the SPARC administration should they win.“We both have similar interests,” Fletcher said. “We’re unhappy with how IUSA is running ... and we want to see real solutions put in place.”
(03/04/13 4:04am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU Student Association Supreme Court is accepting applications for justice positions until March 22.Like many other roles in IUSA, a political or legal background is not a prerequisite for obtaining a justice position. For example, the current Chief Justice Matthew Bower is a senior majoring in biochemistry. Bower was appointed Chief Justice this year, after one year on the court.He started his judicial career on the Teter Quad Judicial Board. A friend who was a justice recommended he apply to the Supreme Court.“Part of that is why I want to get the word out,” said Bower. “I don’t think I would have known about it, had I not had a friend on it.”In a prepared statement from the court, Associate Justice Grant Manon said the court aims to recruit students campus-wide to apply and build a diverse court. The current justices recruit and interview potential justices during the spring semester.Candidates send an application to the current justices, who choose the best applicants and forward the nominees to the student body president. After the president approves them, the IUSA Congress votes to confirm the nominees.Manon said having a student-led court means students are directly involved in the processes which affect other students’ lives. For example, the court reviews IUSA election results and resolves disputes.“Students alone decide the fate of elections for positions to lead the entire student body,” he said.However, being entirely student-run, the court is not infallible.“An entirely student-led Court is problematic for the same reasons the national Supreme Court is ... humans make mistakes,” said Manon. “We are appointed for the duration of our time at IU under good behavior, which like the U.S. Supreme Court, means justices are less accountable to their peers than the other branches of government. But, then again, some argue this makes us more productive since we don’t spend any time campaigning for elections.”In addition to overseeing IUSA elections, members of the court are appointed to campus committees by the student body president. They serve as student consultants on committees such as the Education Committee and the Committee on Multi-Cultural Understanding.Bower said their third and possibly most important role is working with the Office of Student Ethics to hear cases of student misconduct, a task not directly related to IUSA.“Considering we are part of IUSA, it is kind of strange,” said Bower. “The role we spend the most time doing is outside of IUSA.”The Court provides one justice per hearing, balancing two faculty representatives with a student representative. Each of these cases has been appealed from a Judicial Board hearing, and can only be appealed once more. This final appeal is judged by a committee made up of one student, one faculty member and a staff member. At that level, the decision is final.“This organization has a lot of say in serious things. Maybe we’ll just give a warning, sometimes it’s an expulsion,” said Bower. “That’s important, that we have students making those decisions... It’s not just three adults sitting there deciding if you’re going to be expelled or not. If you plagiarize, there’s a student that understands plagiarism is serious but understands the student perspective on it.”
(03/01/13 4:44am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>University of Colorado professor Gerard Hauser visited IU Thursday
evening to speak about the controversial photographs released in 2004
which depicted tortured prisoners in Abu Ghraib prison. In
response to the photographs, he argued, citizens of the United States
allowed their attention to be directed to irrelevant aspects of the
issue. Americans then treated it as an isolated incident, he said. His
visit came only eight days after Seymour Hersh, an investigative
journalist who broke the story in 2004, gave a lecture at the
Buskirk-Chumley Theater.A smiling and soft-spoken man, Hauser
thanked the graduate student who introduced him as he took the podium.
As the lecture went on, he lost his smile, raising his voice as he
discussed the shape of national rhetoric surrounding the photographs.Early in the lecture, Hauser quoted from Hersh’s article: “The photographs say it all”. He
challenged Hersh’s statement, saying the way the photographs were
circulated created meaning beyond their surface values. Hauser said he
thinks American politicians, media and private citizens missed the point
of the photographs.“I was concerned with the ways in which ...
Americans did not respond to the call to conscience raised by the
images,” he said. “Why did we choose to blame the soldiers?”The
Department of Communication and Culture invited Hauser to speak as part
of the annual J. Jeffery Auer speaker series, named after a former IU
professor who was a pioneer in the field of communication and rhetorical
analysis.Jennifer Heusel, a graduate student in the Department
of Communication and Culture, said she has been attending the Auer
speaker series since 2007. She is particularly interested in the study
of rhetoric.“This is a great opportunity to meet established scholars in the field,” she said.Like
Heusel, graduate student Philip Perdue is studying rhetoric in the
Department of Communication and Culture. He said the opportunities to
attend lectures like Hauser’s are the reason that he came to IU.“One
of the questions he’s asking is a central question of rhetoric,” Perdue
said. “What are these photos doing ... or in this case, what are these
photos not doing for people?”
(02/24/13 9:51pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>When Huong Nguyen approached Kaylee Dolen after an Amnesty International call-out meeting and told her story, Dolen said she wanted to drop everything else they were working on and help.Nguyen’s fiancée, Nguyen Tien Trung, was arrested in July 2009 and given a seven-year prison sentence for spreading pro-democratic sentiment. Nguyen, a graduate student in the Maurer School of Law, has become an advocate for spreading awareness about the repression of free speech in Vietnam and is working to secure Trung’s release.“I always say it’ll be the happiest day of my life when those two finally get to get married,” said Dolen. “All will be right with the world when that happens.”As vice president of the Bloomington chapter of Amnesty International, Dolen has worked on several initiatives that were assigned to the chapter, such as garnering support for the Violence Against Women Act. However, the group is also given the freedom to choose its own projects. Nguyen and Dolen worked together to raise awareness of the oppression of political dissidents, setting up tables and posters around campus to attract people’s attention and asking people to sign petitions.“I find that most people really do care about this stuff, but don’t know that it’s going on or don’t know the extent to which it’s going on,” said Dolen.They have expanded their efforts beyond IU’s campus with The 88 Project, an advocacy group that seeks to support peaceful political dissidence and freedom of expression in Vietnam.The name “The 88 Project” refers to article 88 of Vietnam’s Penal Code, “conducting propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.” It states that citizens may be sentenced to three to 12 years of imprisonment for speaking out against the government or spreading anti-government sentiment.“Basically, if you are seen in public inciting what they think is subversion against the state, they feel like it gives them grounds to do whatever they need to do to eradicate that subversion,” said Dolen.Nguyen and Dolen are regular contributors to The 88 Project’s website, sharing news articles and writing blog posts about human rights activism. These range from stories about prisoners of conscience, such as the story of three bloggers who went on trial for spreading anti-government sentiment, to personal calls to action asking readers to stand up for freedom of expression.“If everyone who has freedom and who is enjoying decent lives chooses to close their eyes before injustice, those who suffer will be forgotten,” said Nguyen in a post on The 88 Project’s website.Ela Gancarz, founder of the production company DELIGHT film, is another key contributor. She produced a short film, released on YouTube last week, to raise awareness of the project. The film, titled “The Repression of Cyber Dissidents,” is a compilation of interviews with activists and people who have been affected by this issue.“My desire is that the film will create a little bit of political awareness amongst people who live in free countries,” Gancarz said in a post on The 88 Project’s website.Dolen said that she, Nguyen and Gancarz keep in touch through email and Skype to brainstorm ideas and share news. They are spearheading a letter campaign to members of Congress, pressuring them to have a hearing on the situation in Vietnam, and are in the process of creating other short films on campus to garner local support.“I think when we hear stories of others overcoming obstacles, it simply inspires us,” said Gancarz. “During hard times, we really need to be motivated and have hope, but the world will change only if we find courage to stand up and speak up.”
(02/24/13 6:53pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU students will soon be able to air their concerns at a revamped version of last semester’s IU Student Association Town Hall meeting, this time sponsored by Union Board. Last semester’s meeting was run by IUSA and Union Board and focused on the work of those organizations. This semester’s meeting will be in the form of a panel discussion and will consist of representatives from IUSA, the IU Student Foundation, Interfraternity Council, Union Board, PanHellenic Association, Board of Aeons and Residence Halls Association.The meeting will be in the Indiana Memorial Union Georgian Room on March 29.Student body president Kyle Straub said the format of the forum was changed to encompass the interests of more students and student organizations, and the focus will not be only on IUSA and Union Board.“It’s more of a student leader Town Hall, more focused on broader issues across different groups,” Straub said.IUSA Chief of Staff Augustin Ruta said the last town hall forum was beneficial to IUSA, which is why they felt it was important to repeat the event.“Our big take-away was that there were maybe some issues that we needed to be focusing on that we didn’t pay as much attention to as we should have,” Ruta said.Racial diversity at IU was one of the issues raised at the first meeting, Ruta said. After hearing the discussion at the meeting, he said, members of IUSA began meeting with the Diversity Student Advisory Board almost weekly to discuss diversity issues and plans for improving diversity at IU.Karissa McKelvey, a member of the IU on Strike movement, said members of IUSA have already reached out to tell IU on Strike about the meeting. She said she is excited to attend.“It would be good to hear what IUSA is doing, and what we can say in response,” McKelvey said.The IUSA election is scheduled to take place the Tuesday after the town hall meeting, and the next administration will take office less than a month later. Ruta said the purpose of the March meeting is not necessarily to shape the initiatives of the current administration, but rather to gauge what students want.“One of the challenges is always keeping up with the new interests that will be coming up in the student body,” he said.About 60 people attended the last town hall meeting, he said. He said they are hoping for a stronger turnout this time.To facilitate this, IUSA is planning to advertise the meeting on social media. This semester’s meeting has not yet been announced on IUSA’s Twitter or Facebook pages. Ruta said they also plan to reach out to major student organizations on campus.Josie Tanner, director of marketing at IU Dance Marathon, said she had not heard about the meeting yet, but that IUDM would probably send representatives.“We love hearing about other organizations, we love building relationships with them,” she said. “It would be to learn more about other organizations, and if we can help them out in any way we would love to do that.”Ruta said the meeting is meant to be a place for open discussion.“We don’t want to steer the conversation in any certain way, we just want to have an ongoing conversation,” he said.
(02/21/13 3:45am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Indiana Daily Student asked the two presidential candidates who have already officially entered the race about the rising cost of higher education and how they plan to address this issue if they are elected for IU Student Association. Casey Shelburne of the Hoosiers 4 Solutions ticket and Jose Mitjavila of the YOUniversity ticket answered questions via email.IDS: What have you heard from students on this topic? What are their specific concerns (not understanding the budget or who is in charge of it, etc.)?Jose Mitjavila (YOUniversity): I have heard many concerns directly from students and from the results of the Voice Report, which pertain to cost of education. One student specifically brought it to my attention that she did not believe it made sense that she was charged to use the SRSC and HPER, but neither provide sufficient parking for her to come from off campus to campus to use those services. Textbook prices are another concern I have heard over and over, because not only are they expensive in the first place, but many textbooks that are said to be “required” are barely used in class. The Voice Report also indicates that departments such as Career Planning and Services are used by less than 60 percent of students surveyed. It is apparent that the opportunities to lower the cost of education are everywhere, and we need to find the best ways to keep the cost of getting an education in check.Casey Shelburne (Hoosiers 4 Solutions): When I talk to students about the issues that concern them, one of the top answers is always the increasing cost of college. The students I’m worried about are the ones working two part-time jobs and full-time in the summers to pay their tuition, room and board, groceries, textbooks and so on. Most students I talk to understand that college is going to be expensive, but they need it to be just a little easier or they risk being priced out of an education. There are a lot of common-sense steps we can take to reduce that financial burden.IDS: If you had a list of top three priorities to be addressed during the next IUSA administration, would this be on that list at this point in your campaign? If so, where does it rank, and why?Mitjavila: The cost of obtaining a higher education is No. 1 because education is the backbone of a successful society in today’s world, and it needs to remain attainable.Shelburne: There are plenty of issues IUSA needs to address, but the cost of college has to be the top priority for the next administration. IU is one of the top public research universities in the world, but a rising price tag is about to drive IU out of reach when people need education the most. Right now in Indiana, employers are trying to fill about 300,000 positions, but the 300,000 unemployed Hoosiers aren’t qualified to fill them. We need to think about the future, but we also need to make sure current IU students aren’t pushed out of college in an era when higher education is a necessity.IDS: Based on their academic and professional experience, how is your team equipped to understand this issue?Mitjavila: Academically, we have a range of backgrounds in science, business and finance. This diversity will help because we need new innovative ways to approach this problem, and solutions will not be coming from any lone academic focus. Professionally, we have all been hard at work in various groups on campus since we got here and have learned what it takes to make things happen and drive changes.Shelburne: While it’s important to foster a strong working relationship with the University administration, they are doing all they can to preserve the quality of the University while trying to maintain affordability. The real solutions to the cost of college will be found at the state level. We’ve worked with and for the Indiana General Assembly, the lieutenant governor and the Indiana Secretary of State. We understand the legislative process and know what it takes to convince legislators to address student concerns.IDS: How do you plan to approach this issue? Are there specific points that stick out to you, or do you plan to work on the issue as a whole?Mitjavila: We plan to take a very holistic approach to the cost of higher education. What I mean by that is we don’t have a silver bullet solution to the cost of obtaining a higher education. This issue needs to be attacked from as many angles as possible.Shelburne: We’re approaching the cost of college by being ambitious, yet realistic. Tuition is not going to be cut in half. What we can do, though, is advocate measures that immediately reduce some costs, while introducing proposals to make college more affordable in the long term.IDS: Do you have any specific initiatives in mind to help decrease the cost of higher education?Mitjavila: Specifically, I want to increase student participation on committees that contain faculty, students and administrators. We as students are responsible for voicing our concerns and should utilize channels of communication already in place to do so. Housing is another place where we can see improvements being made. There are a wide range of prices for living options here on and off campus, and it is time-consuming and difficult to get a good picture of the whole real estate scene at IU. We will be officially announcing the rest of our platforms in the near future, so stay tuned in.Shelburne: An immediate relief would be a tax-free textbook holiday, saving students hundreds of dollars in state sales tax. We’re also interested in promoting a three-year bachelor’s degree, which would save students a year of expenses and allow them to earn a salary a year earlier. There are several ways to go about a three-year degree, so we’ll just have to find the one that best fits IU students. Additionally, we’re excited to look into a variety of h issues that could cut costs.
(02/20/13 6:56pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Indiana Daily Student asked the two presidential candidates who have already officially entered the race about the rising cost of higher education and how they plan to address this issue if they are elected for IU Student Association. Casey Shelburne of the Hoosiers 4 Solutions ticket and Jose Mitjavila of the YOUniversity ticket answered these questions via email.IDS: What have you heard from students on this topic? What are their specific concerns (not understanding the budget or who is in charge of it, etc.)?Jose Mitjavila (YOUniversity): I have heard many concerns directly from students and from the results of the Voice Report, which pertain to cost of education. One student specifically brought it to my attention that she did not believe it made sense that she was charged to use the SRSC and HPER, but neither provide sufficient parking for her to come from off campus to campus to use those services. Textbook prices are another concern I have heard over and over, because not only are they expensive in the first place, but many textbooks that are said to be “required” are barely used in class. The Voice report also indicates that departments such as Career Planning and Services are used by less than 60 percent of students surveyed. It is apparent that the opportunities to lower the cost of education are everywhere, and we need to find the best ways to keep the cost of getting an education in check.Casey Shelburne (Hoosiers 4 Solutions): When I talk to students about the issues that concern them, one of the top answers is always the increasing cost of college. The students I’m worried about are the ones working two part-time jobs and full-time in the summers to pay their tuition, room and board, groceries, textbooks and so on. Most students I talk to understand that college is going to be expensive, but they need it to be just a little easier or they risk being priced out of an education. There are a lot of common-sense steps we can take to reduce that financial burden.IDS: If you had a list of top three priorities to be addressed during the next IUSA administration, would this be on that list at this point in your campaign? If so, where does it rank, and why?Mitjavila: The cost of obtaining a higher education is No. 1 because education is the backbone of a successful society in today’s world, and it needs to remain attainable.Shelburne: There are plenty of issues IUSA needs to address, but the cost of college has to be the top priority for the next administration. IU is one of the top public research universities in the world, but a rising price tag is about to drive IU out of reach when people need education the most. Right now in Indiana, employers are trying to fill about 300,000 positions, but the 300,000 unemployed Hoosiers aren’t qualified to fill them. We need to think about the future, but we also need to make sure current IU students aren’t pushed out of college in an era when higher education is a necessity.IDS: Based on their academic and professional experience, how is your team equipped to understand this issue?Mitjavila: Academically, we have a range of backgrounds in science, business and finance. This diversity will help because we need new innovative ways to approach this problem, and solutions will not be coming from any lone academic focus. Professionally, we have all been hard at work in various groups on campus since we got here and have learned what it takes to make things happen and drive changes.Shelburne: While it’s important to foster a strong working relationship with the university administration, they are doing all they can to preserve the quality of the University while trying to maintain affordability. The real solutions to the cost of college will be found at the state level. We’ve worked with and for the Indiana General Assembly, the lieutenant governor and the Indiana Secretary of State. We understand the legislative process and know what it takes to convince legislators to address student concerns.IDS: How do you plan to approach this issue? Are there specific points that stick out to you, or do you plan to work on the issue as a whole?Mitjavila: We plan to take a very holistic approach to the cost of higher education. What I mean by that is we don’t have a silver bullet solution to the cost of obtaining a higher education. This issue needs to be attacked from as many angles as possible.Shelburne: We’re approaching the cost of college by being ambitious, yet realistic. Tuition is not going to be cut in half. What we can do, though, is advocate measures that immediately reduce some costs, while introducing proposals to make college more affordable in the long term.IDS: Do you have any specific initiatives in mind to help decrease the cost of higher education?Mitjavila: Specifically, I want to increase student participation on committees that contain faculty, students and administrators. We as students are responsible for voicing our concerns and should utilize channels of communication already in place to do so. Housing is another place where we can see improvements being made. There are a wide range of prices for living options here on and off campus, and it is time-consuming and difficult to get a good picture of the whole real estate scene at IU. We will be officially announcing the rest of our platforms in the near future, so stay tuned in.Shelburne: An immediate relief would be a tax-free textbook holiday, saving students hundreds of dollars in state sales tax. We’re also interested in promoting a three-year bachelor’s degree, which would save students a year of expenses and allow them to earn a salary a year earlier. There are several ways to go about a three-year degree, so we’ll just have to find the one that best fits IU students. Additionally, we’re excited to look into a variety of sustainability issues that could cut costs.
(02/19/13 4:44am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Two tickets have officially entered the running to take over the administration of IU Student Association next year. Unlike last year, when the current administration ran unopposed, this campaign season will be competitive.Currently, the people who will be campaigning for executive positions in the next administration are either on the YOUniversity ticket, led by junior Jose Mitjavila, or the Hoosiers 4 Solutions ticket, led by junior Casey Shelburne.Formal applications to run for office are being accepted by the Election Commission until March 8, the last day before spring break. Student body president Kyle Straub said it is still too early to know whether the two official tickets will be the only groups running.Each ticket consists of candidates for the following five executive positions: student body president, vice president of administration, vice president of Congress, treasurer and chief of staff.Shelburne has not previously been involved in IUSA but has worked as a political intern at the state level.“After thinking it over and doing a lot of research, I made the decision to run over Christmas Break,” Shelburne said in an email. “I reached out to some enthusiastic folks I knew from various circles, and the result is a diverse ticket that reflects the diversity of the student body.”Mitjavila is the chief of communications for the current IUSA administration.“I’ve been doing IUSA since my freshman year, and each year I’ve been doing more, taking on more responsibility,” he said. “This seemed like the logical next step.”Both candidates said they expect to devote a large amount of time and effort to the campaign.Mitjavila said the time he spent working on an IUSA campaign was one of his favorite parts of his freshman year.“I anticipate this campaign to be really competitive,” Mitjavila said. “I want this campaign to be really competitive. Last year I was really disheartened that there wasn’t anybody to compete against.”Although it will mean more work for each ticket than if they were running unopposed, Straub and IUSA chief of staff Augustin Ruta said they are excited there will be more than one ticket this year. Straub and Ruta were both part of the Movement ticket, which ran unopposed last year.“Last year was a huge disappointment,” Straub said. “I think a lot of people last year thought that we were celebrating that we were running unopposed, but it was a very frustrating situation.”Ruta said in an email he feels having a competitive campaign and election process leads to more effective communication between IUSA and students and a more effective administration. The current administration has been working to promote the election through social media, call-out meetings and flyers around campus.“A competitive election forces candidates to fully vet their initiatives, organizational structure and overall approach to student government because opposition will keep them honest,” Ruta said. “Also, because of the intense workload required of a competitive election, all tickets become very close-knit groups, which in my experience provides for an extremely effective organization.”
(02/13/13 5:35am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Despite the recent increase in student activism, it is unlikely tuition costs will decrease as a direct result of student protests.Student body president Kyle Straub said this is not because the student voice is not being heard, but because there are several factors that go into setting tuition.“It’s not at all the intent of administrators to raise costs and put pressure on students,” he said.He said tuition costs go to pay for infrastructure, technology and employee salaries and cutting tuition would mean fewer services and improvements for IU.In-state freshmen who enrolled at IU in fall 2012 pay $313 more per semester for 12 to 17 credit hours than in-state freshmen who enrolled in fall 2010, according to the student fees summary released by the Office of the Bursar this year. Out-of-state freshmen enrolled in fall 2012 pay $1,707 more than those who enrolled in fall 2010. However, Straub said the cost of tuition for IU is low in comparison to other Big Ten schools.He said although he does not think student protests will have a direct effect on decreasing tuition, protests have a certain value in spreading awareness of an issue.“I think, in general, it helps administrators quantify the need,” Straub said. “They’re constantly assessing cost versus benefits, and if they know that lots of students are really gripped with this unbearable cost, that’s going to likely encourage them to take more meaningful action.”Elizabeth Himeles, the campus organizer for INPIRG, said in an email that she feels student activism does make a difference.“When policies relating to the cost of higher education are proposed, we can tell our elected officials how we think they should vote, through petitions, media coverage, and lobbying,” Himeles said. “As their constituents, our opinion matters to them.”She cited INPIRG’s ongoing Affordable Higher Education campaign as one example. Last summer the campaign focused on preventing a bill that would double the student loans interest rate nationally.“There was a representative in Indiana who wasn’t sure how he would vote on the bill,” she said. “We collected petitions from IU students asking him to vote the right way, and it made a difference.”Straub said protesters are spreading awareness of the problems of high tuition, but protests may not have much value beyond that.“The sheer volume of voices provides value,” he said. “There’s a difference between promoting awareness and proposing solutions, and the solutions I’ve seen are insufficient. They’re unrealistic.”Straub said he also thinks state representatives are feeling the pressure to meet student concerns, but they have to balance those concerns with the concerns of other groups as well, such as the welfare community. “The real policy that’s going to affect a change in student tuition is at a state level,” Straub said.One proposed policy at the state level is the “tax-free textbooks” bill, HB 1435. According to the IU Student Association website, IU’s student government has partnered with Hoosier Youth Advocacy to lobby this initiative to the state government. If passed, this bill will allow students to file a grant claim with the Department of State Revenue and receive a refund for sales tax paid on textbooks.The text of the bill states the average full-time student pays about $76 in textbook sales tax, but this refund would be capped at $35 per student. The bill is currently in committee at the Indiana General Assembly.Himeles said INPIRG is also trying to lower the cost of textbooks this year as part of their Affordable Higher Education campaign.“Generations of students are graduating in deeper and deeper debt, and the cost of textbooks on top of tuition doesn’t help,” she said. “We want to build a faculty-student coalition to discuss the best possible cheaper textbook options — our favorite being Open Textbooks, although we are looking into IU’s eTexts program as well — and get 50 professors to sign on this semester to using cheaper textbooks. Eventually, we would like to see the whole campus dedicated to using cheaper textbooks.”Straub said the focus of IUSA and the IU administration is thinking of alternative ways to help students save money while paying for higher education.“I completely see both sides to this situation. As a student, it can be very frustrating to see the ever-increasing cost of tuition,” Straub said. “I think students forget that the University provides a specific function. It operates like a business.”Himeles said she has heard from both faculty and students who are frustrated with the situation.“Many people want change,” Himeles said. “It’s just a matter of developing a plan to move forward.”
(02/11/13 3:52am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU instructors teaching an estimated 250 class sections this semester are using the two-year-old eTexts program instead of assigning print textbooks.IU’s Chief Information Officer and Vice President for Information Technology Bradley Wheeler said his office estimated that this semester alone, students using the eTexts program saved more than $200,000. This estimate comes from comparing textbook costs through the program to retail prices of those textbooks online and in bookstores. Even accounting for sell-back data, eTexts were at least 10 percent cheaper.Wheeler said as far as content, the paper and digital versions of the textbooks assigned through eTexts are the same. However, he said he feels eTexts offer an advantage over ordinary textbooks.“The ability to do things with them is pretty substantially different,” he said.Wheeler said Courseload, the e-reader platform used for this program, offers many useful features. Not only can students highlight and annotate text, a feature offered by other digital texts such as Kindle eBooks, but they can form study groups and share their notes and highlights with other students. Teachers can embed links in the text to relevant websites or online articles to encourage further reading.IU Student Association Chief of Staff Augustin Ruta said the eTexts program was an effort largely led by the University administration, although IUSA members were invited to several meetings to be a sounding board for ideas.“We were all very supportive because it is something that will reduce costs for students and is significantly cheaper than a printed textbook,” Ruta said.Assigning an eText is not the same as assigning a textbook that happens to be available in digital form, Wheeler said. For one, there is no bookstore involved. Texts are bought wholesale, meaning they come directly from the publisher to the user. This removes additional retail costs.When an instructor opts to use eTexts, the textbooks are automatically downloaded to a course’s OnCourse page. Because the textbooks are automatically downloaded, each student in a course that uses eTexts is also automatically charged for the textbook through their bursar account.According to the eTexts @ IU website, there is no way for students to opt out of this fee, although Wheeler said class sections that use the program will have a note in the course description pointing out the special fee.Ruta said this issue was discussed at development meetings.“It’s a trade-off. There’s obviously a cost-benefit,” Ruta said. “We ended up agreeing that the initial benefit to the vast majority of students, that is, a more powerful tool than a printed textbook, which is largely a lower cost, outweighs that issue.”These textbooks also avoid some of the pitfalls of other digital texts, Wheeler said. They do not expire and users can print as many pages as they want.“What we’d heard from students over the years was that having printing as an option was very important,” Wheeler said. “If you really wanted to you could print the whole book.”This would probably be unnecessary, because another feature of the program is what Wheeler calls the “print-on-demand” feature.“We worked out deals with the publishers,” he said. “Students can ask for a full paper copy of the book in addition to the digital text.”Wheeler said he looks forward to the advancements in technology that will continue to improve this program, which he thinks already benefits students a great deal.“Students keep scrambling to find some cheaper place to buy books online,” he said. “This gets rid of all of that gamesmanship of students trying to get a better deal. We can just get it up front and everybody gets a better deal.”
(02/07/13 4:57am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Potential candidates for this year’s IU Student Association elections met in Ballantine Hall Wednesday evening to learn about the organization from current members.IUSA President Kyle Straub explained the structure and branches of IUSA, and Election Commissioner Melody Mostow talked about the election process and timeline.Mostow called the meeting “IUSA 101,” saying the purpose of the meeting was to make sure people know what IUSA is and does.“We want to make sure that as many people as want to get involved in IUSA have information about it,” she said.Straub opened the floor for questions at the end of the meeting. Several times during the meeting, both Straub and Mostow urged potential candidates to get in touch with them in order to ask questions and learn more about the IUSA experience.“We just want to make ourselves as accessible as possible,” Mostow said.One attendee, junior Sidney Fletcher, is currently involved in IUSA and said he already knew most of the information presented at the meeting. Fletcher has been a Congress representative for the off-campus constituency for two years in a row.“I know a good amount about IUSA,” Fletcher said. “I came to network and to talk with people, to build camaraderie.”Sophomore Aparna Srinath was in IUSA’s freshman internship program last year and is currently the co-director of the program. She said she is not planning on forming a ticket but is affiliated with people who are. She said she plans to support them in the upcoming campaigns and came to the meeting to be better informed about the election process.Junior Casey Shelburne said he is interested in running for office in this election. He went to Straub to ask for information and advice and was directed to the call out meeting. He has not previously been involved with IUSA and came to the meeting to find out more about the organization.There will be another informational meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Jordan Hall 124 for anyone who missed Wednesday’s meeting. The application deadline for candidates is March 8.For more information about the election process, contact Straub at jostraub@indiana.edu, or Election Commissioner Melody Mostow at memostow@indiana.edu. The IUSA senior staff is available to answer questions by appointment or during their office hours from 7-9 p.m. Monday in the Indiana Memorial Union Student Activities Tower.
(02/06/13 2:27am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>An IU club is helping students interested in video game design create games and collaborate with other passionate students. Hoosier Games was founded in 2010 and acts as an independent studio for creating video games.Members have a variety of academic backgrounds, from fine arts to informatics. Edward Castronova, staff adviser and associate professor of telecommunications, said this is necessary because games require not just programmers, but designers, producers, visual artists and audio artists.Castronova said he knew several students interested in a career in video game design but did not know how to get involved with a company.“Here in Indiana we don’t have much of a game industry,” Castronova said. “Most of the big companies are on the West Coast.”He spoke to people in the industry who said the degrees students earned and the universities they attended were not as important as their experience creating games.“The real essence of it is that you have to learn to work on a creative team,” Castronova said. “It’s a special kind of production process. With a film, your team kind of gets strung out. There’s a team that does pre-production, and a team that gets the shots and a team that does editing. Maybe one or two people are there for the whole thing, the director or someone. But with a game, the team continues to iterate and change the project as it goes along.”Castronova said there are three basic roles within a game’s creative team. There are the production designers, who create the world of the game and plan the story and characters. There are the artists, who bring characters and settings to life visually. Finally, there are “coders,” who write the computer program that allows the game to work.Freshman Kevin Chen said he joined Hoosier Games just last week. He is a game designer, working on a game called “Pop!” which he said in an email will be released for iPhones and Androids by the end of the semester.“What interests me the most about game design is the level of detail one must go through to design a game,” Chen said. “You can start off with an idea, but you have to know and imagine how it will exactly be programmed and how it will look.”Platformer from Hell is a game designed by a Hoosier Games team, which has already been released. It is a sidescrolling platformer game and is available on Xbox Live. Other teams, such as Chen’s, are currently working on games that will be released on various platforms, from Xbox Live to the iTunes app store.“I think that through this club, and the projects we put out, we’ll create opportunities such as internships at gaming studios or publishers,” Chen said. “Even the opportunities to go to game developer conventions would provide great networking opportunities for club members.”Castronova said members of Hoosier Games teams are not part of this club only as a hobby.“It’s a vocational club,” he said. “They’re trying to learn a craft.”Senior Afshin Peymani is working as an artist on a puzzle game called “Night Terror.” He said having a completed product to present to game companies will be useful, but he joined Hoosier Games to hone his own skills as a game artist.“I enjoy the process of taking blank canvas and making it something that’s interactive and captivating for all the players,” Peymani said. “When you’re playing the game, you don’t actually notice how much work goes into the smallest details.”Peymani said he hopes to work in animation at a production company after graduation. Chen said he is also interested in continuing his passion for game design after school by starting a game studio and designing games for people to enjoy.“I view video games as a unique art form of which the player takes the role of a character and relives the story as them,” Chen said. “I want to be able to create that kind of experience for those who play my games.”
(02/05/13 3:52am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Whether they are interested in cutting down on gas costs or carbon dioxide emissions, IU students have access to several resources for carpooling.Zimride, a website that connects potential passengers with drivers, is one of these resource. The use of Zimride is free for IU students, faculty and staff.“IUSA has been funding it for a few years,” said Patrick Courtney, IU Student Association vice president of administration.Courtney said carpooling is a good way to promote sustainability. IUSA members are administrators on the IU-centered portion of the website and are able to see statistics on ridesharing through Zimride.“One of the cool features is that it can track the sustainability of the ride,” Courtney said. “They have this algorithm that shows how much CO2 and greenhouse gasses we’re reducing by ridesharing. It’s a pretty cool feature.”Users can log into the website using their CAS username and passphrase, then browse postings. Posters may choose from two options, “willing to drive” or “passenger only.” They then offer a starting and ending location as well as a time of departure.“Some of the big usage periods are Thanksgiving break, winter break, when students are trying to get home,” Courtney said.The website also offers ways for passengers and drivers to learn about each other before agreeing to share a car ride.“If you have a bad ride with somebody, you can rate them so other people don’t have to share a bad experience,” Courtney said. “It’s helpful in that sense.”According to the Zimride website, the program is associated with the Zipcar carsharing company. Zipcar members rent cars on an hourly or daily basis, depending on their rental needs. They pay a $25 application fee and $50 annually in membership fees.But not everyone uses Zimride. Some students prefer to carpool with people they know.Freshman Emily Parrish drove to Ball State University this weekend with her roommate Amber Fuhrman. She said when she visits other cities she usually carpools and gets a ride from friends.Parrish said she prefers not to use the OneStart classifieds to find a ride.“I don’t really trust that,” Parrish said. “I don’t really feel comfortable riding with people I haven’t met before.”Graduate student Prasit Bhattacharya said in an email that he did not feel this way.“It’s pretty safe, as you know at the very least they are employed in IU or a student in IU,” he said.Bhattacharya placed an advertisement in the OneStart classifieds last week to offer a ride to Chicago. He said he has placed ads before, as well. He said he thinks the OneStart classifieds are a good way of finding and offering rides.“It is successful 95 percent of the time,” he said. “There is always someone going to Chicago, and I usually go to Chicago.”Bhattacharya said he thinks carpooling is a good idea. As a driver, he said he benefits from taking extra passengers.“First, I recover some expense,” he said. “Second, it’s a lot of fun to know new people and talk with them.”
(02/04/13 8:10pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Whether they are interested in cutting down on gas costs or carbon dioxide emissions, IU students have access to several resources for carpooling.Zimride, a website which connects potential passengers with drivers, is one of these resource. The use of Zimride is free for IU students, faculty and staff.“IUSA has been funding it for a few years,” IU Student Association Vice President of Administration Patrick Courtney said.Courtney said carpooling is a good way to promote sustainability. IUSA members are administrators on the IU-centered portion of the website and are able to see statistics on ridesharing through Zimride.“One of the cool features is that it can track the sustainability of the ride,” Courtney said. “They have this algorithm that shows how much CO2 and greenhouse gasses we’re reducing by ridesharing. It’s a pretty cool feature.”Users can log into the website using their CAS username and passphrase then browse postings. Posters may choose from two options, “willing to drive” or “passenger only”. They then offer a starting and ending location as well as a time of departure.“Some of the big usage periods are Thanksgiving break, winter break, when students are trying to get home,” Courtney said.The website also offers ways for passengers and drivers to learn about each other before agreeing to share a car ride.“If you have a bad ride with somebody, you can rate them so other people don’t have to share a bad experience,” Courtney said. “It’s helpful in that sense.”According to the Zimride website, the program is associated with the Zipcar carsharing company. Zipcar members rent cars on an hourly or daily basis, depending on their rental needs. They pay a $25 application fee and $50 annually in membership fees.But not everyone uses Zimride. Some students prefer to carpool with people they know.Freshman Emily Parrish drove to Ball State University this weekend with her roommate Amber Fuhrman. She said when she visits other cities she usually carpools and gets a ride from friends.Parrish said she prefers not to use the OneStart classifieds to find a ride.“I don’t really trust that,” Parrish said. “I don’t really feel comfortable riding with people I haven’t met before.”Graduate student Prasit Bhattacharya said in an email that he did not feel this way.“It’s pretty safe as you know at the very least they are employed in IU or a student in IU,” he said.Bhattacharya placed an advertisement in the OneStart classifieds last week to offer a ride to Chicago. He said he has placed ads before, as well. He said he thinks the OneStart classifieds are a good way of finding and offering rides.“It is successful 95 percent of the time,” he said. “There is always someone going to Chicago and I usually go to Chicago.”Bhattacharya said he thinks carpooling is a good idea. As a driver, he said he benefits from taking extra passengers.“First, I recover some expense,” he said. “Second, it’s a lot of fun to know new people and talk with them.”
(01/30/13 4:45am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Student body president Kyle Straub has been involved in the IU Student Association for more than half of his college career.“It truly has become a part of my life,” he said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do next year when I graduate. This has been my college experience.”In January of his sophomore year, Straub got a call from former IUSA President Justin Kingsolver. Kingsolver had heard recommendations from several people in the business school who said that Straub might be a good representative for Kingsolver’s executive ticket.“After meeting the rest of the ticket, learning more about what student government does, I kind of took a leap of faith and said I’m gonna give this a try,” Straub said.In that election, Kingsolver, Straub and the rest of the Big Six ticket ran against two other tickets, including the incumbent iUnity team. Big Six won, and Straub was elected to the position of treasurer.“It was a high-stakes election,” Straub said. “I did not sleep. I was living and breathing IUSA. I was so disappointed last year when we didn’t have opposition, just because it’s a fantastic opportunity to unify your own ticket and have experience working as a team towards a collective goal. It’s fantastic exposure for IUSA to the rest of the students on campus.”However, he warned that student body president is not a job potential candidates should take lightly.“This is not a position you can do just to put it on your resume,” he said. “It is far too demanding.”Vice President of Congress Stephanie Kohls, who has worked with Straub for the past two administrations, agreed. She said the executives sometimes work weekends, and that the job may require 40 hours or more per week.“It’s important to manage your time well,” Kohls said. “You may have to sacrifice some things personally, but in the end it’s worth it.”Straub said candidates should have good speaking and organizational skills, as well as leadership experience. He said that in his experience, teamwork abilities are important as well, as he relies on his senior staff to assist him or to delegate work as they see fit.However, a background in political science is not necessary for the position, Straub said, citing himself as one example. As a finance major, he had no prior experience with student government, except some involvement in high school.“The position has had people from all different majors, all different backgrounds,” Straub said.IUSA executives meet with administrators, faculty and student groups to achieve the goals of IUSA and to understand the needs of the undergraduate constituency.“It’s important to have good interpersonal skills, to make sure that you’re managing your relationships with students, administrators and other schools that you may work with,” Kohls said.On Feb. 6, there will be a call out meeting for any undergraduate students interested in running for office. The meeting will be from 7 to 8 p.m. in Ballantine Hall 013. There will be a make-up meeting Feb. 12 at the same time in Jordan Hall 124.
(01/29/13 3:47am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU Cinema’s showing of “Chasing Ice,” a documentary about a photographer’s trip to Iceland to document climate change, sold out Saturday. About 20 people in the stand-by line waited for tickets in the cinema’s small vestibule.Senior Adam Wolf was one attendee who came to the cinema after tickets sold out. Wolf had attended the Friday screening and came back Saturday to see it again. He said he has attended IU Cinema screenings before “Chasing Ice” as well.“I’m a big fan of intellectual films, art films and independent films,” Wolf said. “They have movies that appeal to me more than the mainstream.”Wolf said he considers himself a promoter of environmental conservation, which is why he returned to see “Chasing Ice” a second time. The film was part of the Cinema’s International Arthouse Series, which features critically acclaimed films such as “Beasts of the Southern Wild” and “Amour,” both of which have been nominated for a 2013 Academy Award for Best Picture.IU Cinema Director Jon Vickers said in an email that some filmmakers approach the cinema about showing their films, while others are invited to IU. Filmmakers do not pay the cinema for screenings, although some filmmakers may be paid for visiting and delivering a lecture. This is considered on a case-by-case basis.“We are not a rental house,” Vickers said. “We take responsibility for whatever we put on screen and are trying to build trust in an audience. We know that everything that we program does not appeal to all, the reality of a diverse program, but hope that we communicate our program well enough to encourage or discourage audiences based on their individual tastes.”The IU Cinema has several series, including the City Lights series, which features classic 20th century films, and the Underground Film series, which features independent films. Both of these series are cosponsored by the Department of Communication and Culture.The program includes new and unreleased films as well as classic films. Upcoming films include “Out of the Past,” a crime drama from 1947, which will show Saturday as part of the City Lights series. Christine Vachon, filmmaker and founder of production company Killer Films, will give a guest lecture on Friday.Vickers said the goal of the IU Cinema is to serve as an art house cinema to showcase the best in new international, documentary and independent film. To that end, faculty looks at film festivals and new releases to find titles that are well received by critics and academically relevant.“We are very proud of our program and what it tries to accomplish,” Vickers said. “We understand that many of our programs may not appeal to the casual movie-goer but hope that there continues to be great opportunities for discovery.”