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(02/23/09 5:33am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Btown ticket will officially announce its candidacy later today, and its members say they are working to distinguish themselves by developing a student-focused platform.Members of the Btown ticket said they hope to connect with the student body, have an active role on the IU campus and work on issues that affect students’ daily lives.“We want to attract all types of students, even those that are not typically involved in student government,” said sophomore Peter SerVaas, presidential candidate.Straight No Chaser will perform at the Btown ticket call-out meeting at 8 p.m. today in room 015 of the School of Fine Arts building.Playing an active role in the student body means attending events for various organizations, said junior Shobha Pai, candidate for vice president of Congress.People who believe IUSA goes hand in hand with their daily lives will be more interested in student government, said junior Trevor Shirley, chief of public relations.Members are working on the ticket’s platform and have met with IU administrators to ensure all of the issues they are addressing are feasible.Ticket executives looked into 30 initiatives and found five plausible ones after meeting with administrators, SerVaas said.The Btown ticket is not campaign-focused but more concerned about its platform, members said.“We started the election not with a campaign, but with a platform, and that has given us our strength,” Pai said.The Btown ticket has a point person on each of the initiatives, so these platform issues will make headway during the campaign, SerVaas said.The executives of the Btown ticket have also participated in various leadership roles on campus, including SerVaas’ role as director of student services for the current IUSA administration.“The biggest thing you learn about leadership is how to work with people and what is or isn’t effective,” Pai said. “It’s such a transferable skill. I think we have proven that we can effectively lead because of all the work we have done for our platform.”Ticket officials said they are confident they can take strides to create a better campus.“Our biggest hope is that we bring the most accomplished leaders into the administration to create a positive change,” SerVaas said.The ticket wants students to be aware of their platform and everything they hope to accomplish.“All of us understand how to strike a balance in getting people to believe in what you are doing and parting them in knowledge to succeed without alienating them,” Shirley said.The Btown ticket plans to expand on what the current IUSA administration has done, Pai said.Btown leaders said they hope the student body will focus on what their administration can do to improve their college experience.“This election should be based on platforms, not people,” said sophomore Dan Dunten, Btown ticket volunteer. “We want to make good ideas a reality.”
(02/18/09 4:56am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Hoosier ticket announced Tuesday it is dropping out of the race for IU Student Association elections and endorsed the ONE University ticket, which announced its candidacy Monday.But there’s a catch.Though the Hoosier ticket gave its endorsement, most of its executive candidates, including presidential candidate Abby Kaericher, resigned from the campaign about one week ago and are endorsing other tickets – not ONE University.The lone member of Hoosier’s executive ticket to endorse ONE University, former vice presidential candidate Jeff Fraser, is now chief of staff for the ONE University ticket.The remaining 40 to 50 Congress and staff members also decided to support ONE University, Fraser said.“We knew we were behind in the race by looking at the diversity and strength of the other tickets,” Fraser said.Executive members have called ONE University a diverse ticket that represents the student body in its entirety.“None of the four executives have been executives in the IUSA executive board,” said junior Saad Saghir, vice presidential candidate. “No other ticket can make such a legitimate change in government. Many members are involved with working with executives, but they don’t have a steadfast routine. They have a new, fresh outlook.”The executives leading the ticket are composed of greek members, a business fraternity member and a graduate student.“Other tickets just provide lip service, but we embody diversity,” said presidential candidate Ben Blair, a second year law student. “We have a graduate student at the top of our ticket.”In the past, graduate students have been underrepresented in IUSA, Blair said.“Graduate students represent 24 percent of the student body,” Blair said. “We are truly talking with the entirety of the student body’s voice, not just three-fourths of it.”With a graduate student at the head of the ticket, the members of the ONE University ticket say this will strengthen its administration.“Blair has experienced undergraduate life, and since he is a graduate student now, you know he is going in the right direction,” said junior Samantha Israel, candidate for vice president for Congress. “He knows the kind of work it entails to represent 41,000 students.”There are about 4,000 international students, a strong population with few representatives in IUSA, Blair said. When Saghir began attending IU, he was considered an international student.The ticket’s platform issues are technology and facilities, student rights, community service, sustainability and transparency and accountability. ONE University’s Web site is www.vote1u.com.“From day one we will appoint somebody whose job is solely to update the Web site,” Blair said about the platform’s plans to increase transparency and accountability. “It took 10 months to update the current IUSA administration’s Web site. Students need to know what the executives and members of Congress are doing.”
(02/12/09 5:02am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Working to revamp the IU Student Association’s Elections Code on Tuesday, Congress decided against a proposed amendment to limit campaign spending but approved plans to add designated polling stations on election day. The move to add polling stations follows weeks of discussion and a proposal that originally aimed to safeguard elections against voter fraud. While the original proposal sought to largely eliminate online personal voting, IUSA representatives decided to retain it. Representatives said during the meeting that eliminating online voting could damage voter turnout. In addition, a spirited debate surrounded IUSA President Luke Fields’ proposed amendment to limit campaign spending. “We want to preserve the spirit of the elections,” Fields said during the meeting. “The old elections code was filled with misery and deceit.”Representatives criticized the proposal during the meeting, eventually choosing not to approve the amendment. The proposed IU Student Association Elections Code was passed by IUSA’s Congress, but not without some disagreements.Fields proposed amendments to the then-pending Elections Code. Fields tried passing a spending limit on campaign expenditures of $2,500. However, Congress remained loyal to the Elections Code’s current policy. The Elections Code states that there is no expenditure limit to how much a ticket may spend on their campaign. However, any organization or individual who is not on the ballot may contribute no more than $250, while any person who is on the ballot may not exceed $1,000 in their contributions. “The spending cap was suggested to even the playing field so that anyone can participate no matter what one’s financial standing is,” senior Dan Sloat, IUSA vice president, said.The executive and legislative branches are supposed to have checks and balances on one another, Fields and Sloat said. “The idea was well-founded and was in the best interest of the students, but I respect Congress’s decision to disagree with me,” Fields said. Some IU students said they wish there had been a spending limit put on election campaigning.“To make campaigning fairer, there should be a spending cap put in place, because then it’s more about who has money than those who have the best ideas,” said sophomore Ruchi Fruitwala.The originally proposed Elections Code also said students would no longer vote online through their personal computers, but would have to vote at designated polling stations through registered computers.Fields and Congress amended this proposal by making it so students can vote from any computer, and the amendment was passed by Congress. Funding for the new polling stations will come from the IUSA budget, but there was no indication Tuesday evening how much that could cost. The polling stations will be at the Indiana Memorial Union Literature Desk, Wright Residence Center, Foster Residence Center, the lobby of the Kelley School of Business, the corner in front of Ballantine Hall, the Student Recreational Sports Center and near the Arboretum at 10th Street and Fee Lane. Though these polling sites are available, students may also vote on their own computers.There can be no campaigning within 50 feet of the polling sites and computer labs. This proposal was implemented so the voter turnout can remain high while still ensuring a fair election process. “IU has one of the highest election turnouts in the Big Ten,” Sloat said. “We want to find a balance between high voter turnout and ensure what we hope to be the most fair and equitable elections.”Some students also agree that the polling stations will be beneficial to the election process.“I would personally not use polling stations because it is convenient to use a computer,” said freshman Mel Russ. “Polling places are still beneficial because computers are not always easy to get to.”
(02/11/09 10:14pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Students will now be able to vote online and in person for the IU Student Association elections. This was just one of the many changes approved by the IUSA Congress Tuesday night.IUSA president Luke Fields failed to pass campaign spending limits of $2,500 on the elections. Currently, the elections code states that there is no expenditure limit to how much a ticket may spend on their campaign; however, any organization or individual who is not on the ballot may contribute no more than $250 while any person who is on the ballot may not exceed $1,000 in their contributions. The originally proposed elections code stated that students would no longer vote online through their personal computers, but would have to vote at designated polling stations through registered computers. Fields amended this proposal by making it so that students can vote from any computer including personal computers, and the amendment was passed by Congress. However, there will be designated Elections Polling Stations where students can vote as well. There will be no campaigning allowed within 50 feet of the polling sites.
(02/10/09 4:27am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Indiana Memorial Union is taking steps to transform some single-sex bathrooms into gender-neutral bathrooms. The Union Board and the IU Student Association passed a plan last week to create gender-neutral bathrooms on the first, second and eighth floor of the student activities tower.On the first floor of the IMU, the bathroom that is turning into a gender-neutral bathroom has two stalls, but a lock will be installed so that only one person can use it. By May 18 the main entrance to the bathroom will be open, and the two stalls will be fully enclosed from floor to ceiling so that two people can use them at the same time.The second- and eighth-floor bathrooms are already single units, so they will now have a sign stating that they are gender-neutral bathrooms.The restrooms that were chosen to be converted were the most equipped to become gender neutral bathrooms, said senior RJ Campbell, director for Diversity for IU Student Association.The gender-neutral bathrooms are being implemented “as quickly as possible,” said Bruce Jacobs, executive director of the IMU.“Gender-neutral bathrooms provide for the entire campus community no matter what one’s sexual preference is,” Jacobs said. “It is the best way to go to become more welcoming to the entire community. The Union’s basic purpose is to be a place that serves the entire community.”The first floor only had a women’s restroom, so men would have to go to the Mezzanine or third floor to use a bathroom. The restroom modification means anyone can use the one by Starbucks, Campbell said.This undertaking was a collaborative effort of IUSA and Union Board.“It benefits IUSA and Union Board when we work together,” said junior Andrew Dahlen, Union Board President. “It was completely student-driven. Students passed the proposal and students took ownership of the building.”IUSA President Luke Fields said this plan underscores the efforts both organizations are making to increase campus diversity. “This initiative shows forward thinking on the part of both organizations,” Fields said. “We are bringing about a positive change on campus.”More gender-neutral bathrooms will soon be added to the IU campus, Campbell said.IUSA is trying to get in contact with other academic buildings, such as Ballantine Hall, to make gender-neutral bathrooms accessible there, too.
(02/09/09 5:02am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU Student Association elections are starting to heat up with the Red-Hot ticket announcing its candidacy.The Red-Hot ticket will have a call-out meeting at 7:30 p.m. today in the Indiana Memorial Union Oak Room so students can learn more about the ticket, IUSA, the election process and ways to get involved with the ticket. The meeting will also provide students with a forum to voice their concerns and learn some of Red-Hot’s platform ideas, said junior Andrew Hahn, presidential candidate.“Even though the election is seven weeks away, we are trying to reach out to all parts of campus, hearing students’ concerns and what they would like to see done at IU,” Hahn said.Red-Hot’s overarching platform ideals are to connect, develop and sustain the University, Hahn said. Hahn said one of the ways to connect the University is to improve the public transportation system. Hahn said state money is available for public transportation systems, but IU is not receiving the money because the school has not applied for it. Hahn said he hopes a Red-Hot administration can help make this possible.Another idea is to have a “virtual union” where student groups can post events and interact with one another.In addition, the ticket plans to address space issues for the Student Recreational Sports Center and wants to make sure the facility is adequate for IU students.Although Hahn said IU is working to create a more sustainable campus, he said members of the Red-Hot ticket hope to strengthen and build on this foundation.Members of the Red-Hot ticket said they hope to employ a consistent color-coding system throughout campus to make the recycling system clearer and more effective.They said they also want to create a recycling initiative for the greek system because there isn’t one currently in place, said junior Mary Kelley, vice presidential candidate.But with a campus as diverse as Bloomington, Red-Hot candidates said it’s impossible to know all the issues facing students. “We recognize that we don’t know all of the students’ concerns,” said junior Bryan Stuart, candidate for vice president for congress. “All of our personal e-mail addresses are on the Web site, which is pretty unique to have available as of right now. I want to hear from students, even if I need to spend two hours answering e-mails.”The ticket’s Web site, RedHotIU.com, lists the ticket’s platforms as well as candidate biographies. Hahn said leadership experience in many different parts of IU’s campus sets the Red-Hot ticket apart.“We have depth, breadth, and we come with an open mind,” Stuart said. “The unifying theme is that we are willing to take on any challenge from students. Everything we promise students we intend to go through on.”Members of the Red-Hot ticket said the current administration has done many positive things for IU, and they hope to strengthen and continue that legacy.“I hope that we will be privileged enough to inherit the organization that (current IUSA President) Luke Fields has put in place, build upon that organization and make IUSA an even stronger force next year,” Hahn said.
(02/04/09 4:33am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU Student Association begins its election season today.At 8 p.m. in the Indiana Memorial Union’s Georgian Room, there will be an informational call-out meeting for all candidates who intend to participate in this year’s elections.The purpose of the informal meeting is to learn about the timeline and to ask questions, said Luke Fields, IUSA president.The informational meeting is also a time to prepare for the competition.Any student is eligible to run in the elections as long as he or she is in good academic standing.“No experience is required,” Fields said. “However, it is helpful to have experience with other student groups.”Even though the elections code will not be finalized until a Feb. 10 congress meeting, the code as it stands now will be explained at the informational meeting.A good majority of the code will not change. One of the proposed changes is the way the votes will be collected, said Dan Sloat, IUSA vice president. The informational meeting is just the start to a very long election process.“Be ready for a full two months,” Fields said. “Surround yourself with a ticket and staff of people who are committed to the student body.”Members of a ticket should know how to utilize their time and focus on the campaign as well as have cohesion with each other and the student body, Fields and Sloat agreed.Students planning on participating in this year’s election are recommended to go to both informational sessions to ensure their credibility.
(02/02/09 5:01am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Potential resident assistants anxiously awaited the interview process this Thursday, Friday and Saturday.The new batch of potential RAs underwent an interview process with a professional and graduate student staff member.RAs go through a lengthy process to get the position. Students apply online and provide a resume and recommendation letters. Staff members then check each student’s application, bursar and judicial standings and GPA.Professional staff members then go through the applications and decide which students are eligible for interviews and then for the staff class that all potential RAs must take.The students’ performances on the application and in the interview and class help staff members decide which potential RAs to put into “hirable” and “non-hirable” pools, said Ramona Bolden Fether, assistant director for Selection, Retention and Staff Development.There are about 180 RAs, and about 80 return the next academic year while the rest are selected through the interview process, said Bob Weith, director of Residential Operations Administration.Selecting RA positions is a competitive process; students must have a minimum 2.5 cumulative and semester GPA.The average GPA for RAs is a 3.1 to 3.2, a good GPA for a group of students that works so hard, said Cedric Harris, Teter Center residence manager.Not only does being an RA have tangible benefits, but the job has intrinsic advantages as well, officials say.An RA is in a leadership role and becomes a better public speaker, Fether said.
(01/28/09 4:22am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU Student Association is working with the Indiana Senate to pass a bill that would make Indiana the 19th state to enact a “tax-free holiday weekend,” giving all Indiana residents a cheaper way to make purchases for back-to-school necessities. The Tax-Free Weekend and Back-to-School Purchases Proposal, Senate Bill No. 394, was introduced to the Senate in early January and is now in the tax and fiscal policy committee.Senior Jill DeLuna, one of the directors of IUSA’s Legislative and Governmental Relations, and junior Andrew Hahn, vice president for Congress, met with Senator Vi Simpson, who represents Bloomington in the General Assembly and authored the bill in the Senate.The bill will provide a “sales tax holiday” at the beginning each school semester and will take the sales tax off school items such as supplies, textbooks, computers and clothing for three full days.“This bill is not just for Indiana students, but is also a stimulus package for Indiana families,” said senior Mark Reid, assistant director of Legislative and Governmental Relations for IUSA.The legislation is not on the tax and fiscal policy committee’s agenda until after Feb. 4, Hahn said.The idea began as the tax-free textbook initiative, but that only pertained to a small portion of Indiana residents. The current legislation reaches a broader audience, which gives it more of a likelihood of passing, Hahn said.The Legislative and Governmental Relations committee is trying to rally various Indiana schools to lobby for the legislation.Lobby packets were sent to 39 Indiana schools’ student governments asking them to support the bill, DeLuna said.In contacting other Indiana school governments, the hope is that other schools will support the bill and be willing to contact their state senator as well as other state representatives, Hahn said.The bill has gained support from St. Joseph’s College of Indiana, the Indiana Retail Council and Purdue.“We are starting to build a coalition,” Hahn said. “We are optimistic and realistic because a lot has to happen. We are fighting through the bureaucracy of the Senate.” Passing any piece of legislation through government is difficult, especially bills that deal with the economy, DeLuna said.Eighteen states and the District of Columbia have implemented a tax-free holiday, Hahn said. States such as Tennessee and Virginia are the model upon which the legislation is based.“They are very popular, and there is a large turnout of people, a lot of news coverage, and it helps the consumers,” Hahn said. “It also benefits businesses because it attracts people to come to their stores.”
(01/27/09 5:22am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU Student Association elections are months away, but candidates from one ticket – Hoosier – have already begun campaigning, even though they haven’t officially filed their candidacy.Already the party has announced its platform and launched a new Web site in hopes of rallying support and increasing awareness of student government.On Monday, party representatives handed out free coffee and flyers, and today they will do the same from their stands near the Kelley School of Business and Ballantine Hall. “We are starting early to spread the word and get out the vote, of course,” said junior Abby Kaericher, Hoosier presidential candidate. “The earlier we start, the more people we can get involved, the more diversity on our campaign. The more people we can talk to, the more people can spread our ideals.” IUSA Vice President Dan Sloat said the Candidate Call-Out Meeting, where parties officially declare their candidacy, has not been announced. “We think it is important that this year’s election will be clean and competitive,” said Jacob Turner, vice presidential candidate of Congress. “We have already talked to people on the other tickets, and it is going to be a hard but clean fight.”The Hoosier ticket plans to keep the lines of communication open with the students through its newly launched Web site, VoteHoosier.com. The site will be one way the public can monitor campaign spending. The Hoosier ticket believes its Web site is a defining element of its campaign. The candidates say it distinguishes them from the current IUSA administration, led by IUSA President Luke Fields.“I think the current administration has done a good job, but there is definitely room for improvement,” said junior campaign manager Ben Schulte.Candidates from Hoosier ticket said they want students to know what IUSA does and to feel more involved, Turner said.“About a week or so ago, the IUSA Web site was blank,” Turner said. “It was hard to figure out what IUSA is, how to get involved and what they are doing.”With a pending elections code change, which aims to eliminate personal online voting, the Hoosier ticket said this year’s election could be significantly different and believes those changes could have an impact on the voter turnout.If the proposed elections code is approved, students will no longer vote online through their personal computers but will have to vote at designated polling stations.The polling stations would be located throughout campus and in most of the residence halls, but members of the Hoosier ticket said that move could dissuade potential voters. “It will definitely lower voter turnout. It will always be easier to vote online,” Turner said. “It is easier to control violations of the elections code, (but) it will disenfranchise voters because they will have to go to polling stations.”Previous Hoosier administrations spent $15,000 to bolster online voting security, Turner said, adding that those efforts should not be thrown out. The Hoosier ticket thinks the elections code holds students to unrealistic expectations.“It is hard enough to get people to vote for presidential elections,” said junior Jeff Fraser, candidate for vice president of administration. “To go between classes and even stand in line for this will be very unlikely.”And although Fields said it seems premature to begin campaigning, he is excited by the upcoming election. “I’m glad to see students are energized about the election,” Fields said. “My concern is that candidates have all the information they need so they can run informed.”
(01/23/09 4:37am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Different ways to hold elections and take tests are among the issues IU Student Association President Luke Fields and Vice President Dan Sloat explored at the Association of Big 10 Students conference last weekend, hosted at the University of Illinois. “It was a great opportunity to collaborate with all Big 10 schools,” Fields said.The conference was a brainstorming system in which student leaders discussed similar issues each school faced and how they should deal with these issues, Fields and Sloat said.Student leaders shared various project ideas their schools are currently tackling, and other schools may implement these ideas at their own schools, Sloat said. Fields and Sloat shared IU’s long history of student affairs and student legal services with the fellow student representatives at the conference.They also had the opportunity to listen and learn about other schools’ undertakings. The University of Illinois uses “clickers” – similar to those used in large lecture classes to take attendance – for voting. IUSA needs to find room in their budget to implement such a voting system, Sloat said. “It adds to the legitimacy of the votes, and it will prevent getting grief from other congress members,” he said.IUSA received another project idea from the University of Iowa during the conference. Iowa has a program with Kaplan to host the LSAT and GRE testing on campus. This system works to both the students’ and Kaplan’s advantage, they said. “Students save money because Kaplan saves money by utilizing free university classrooms,” Sloat said.
(01/22/09 4:34am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Around 11 p.m. Jan. 15, the pajama-clad residents of Eigenmann Residence Center had to evacuate the building in negative-degree temperatures.The fire alarm went off after a sprinkler head was completely removed from the 11th-floor men’s restroom, causing areas of the building to flood. The sprinkler cap was found in the garbage can, which lead police to investigate the incident as an act of vandalism, said Kelly Thacker, Eigenmann residence manager.“I was trying to figure out how it could have gotten into the trash can,” said freshman and 11th-floor resident Nate Darr. “I was upset and livid when I found out it wasn’t an accident. I just don’t want to think that someone on our floor did it.”If the situation was a case of vandalism, the guilty party would have to go through the campus judicial system, Thacker said.The student could also potentially go through the criminal justice system, since tampering with a fire system is a federal offense, Thacker said.Students are required to leave a building once a fire alarm goes off. If students don’t leave the premise it is considered a federal offense, and it is against the Student Code of Conduct.Students who remained in the building five to 10 minutes after the fire alarm rang had their student IDs taken away.The men’s side of the 11th floor suffered from two to three inches of flooding. The water leaked through to the 10th-, ninth- and eighth-floor elevator lobbies.Eleventh-floor residents had the option of staying in the first-floor east wing rooms or in the fifth- and seventh-floor lounges. Students were provided with pillows, bed linens and blankets.On Jan. 16, students were officially allowed to return to their rooms around 2 p.m. Prior to this time, students had to be escorted to their rooms by staff if they needed to get clothing, medicine or books for their classes.From 3 a.m. to 9 a.m., the Eigenmann staff took shifts watching the 11th floor while the rooms were left open to be dried and cleaned. They also bagged students’ clothing to reduce damage.“The staff worked well together to take care of the residents’ needs,” Thacker said. “The staff was receptive to whatever we needed to do.”Although the staff worked cohesively, the resident assistants did not know exactly what was going on.“I wish they would have said that the floor was flooded,” said sophomore Iann Matlock, resident assistant of the 11th floor. “In the end the situation was handled well, but I just wish I knew what happened because it’s my floor and my room is close to the bathroom.” The resident assistants did various jobs, such as keeping the residents informed, making sure everyone was safe on the stairwells, mopping wet areas, roping off and putting signs on closed-off elevators and putting displaced residents into rooms.Students, including freshman Justin Loughran, experienced some damage to their material items. Loughran had $600 worth of textbooks damaged by the flooding.Matlock said he lost a speaker and a receiver of his surround-sound system, which was worth an estimated $450.Some residents were more fortunate than others.“I’m happy that all my stuff is OK,” said freshman and 11th-floor resident Dennis Webb. “I’d be pretty mad if all my stuff was damaged.” Residential Programs and Services does not cover damages from such events. Thacker encourages all students to get renter’s insurance through the Department of Risk Management, because their damaged possessions would be covered up to a certain amount.Students who know any extra information about the Eigenmann flooding are encouraged to speak to Thacker and Assistant Residence Manager Jon Riveire.
(01/16/09 4:11am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Ashton residents said they feel misinformed and ignored by the administration in regard to the construction near Ashton Center. Students voiced their complaints Wednesday night to Residential Programs and Services concerning the construction near their building.The new living areas will serve 831 students. The project will take 12 to 15 months to complete, and the construction will start at the north end and go south. These building plans, however good for IU, will cause inconveniences for students, specifically the residents of Ashton, said sophomore Lorne Russell, president of Ashton. “It is 50 percent good and 50 percent bad,” Russell said.The major concern for the residents of Ashton is a lack of parking spaces and the amount of noise due to construction. Once the construction is under way, there will be an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. work schedule on weekdays. Most construction work will cease on the weekends.In two or three weeks a fence will go up, taking up most of the parking lot, which will eliminate many D-spots in the Ashton lot.The project is estimated at $79 million.Some of the buildings will offer classrooms, an outdoor seating area, a convenience store, a computer lab, a cardiovascular fitness center and closed and open lounges.The additions are being made because older students feel they do not have enough options when it comes to living on campus, said Patrick Connor, executive director of RPS. “We are building for the future,” Connor said. At the meeting, students voiced major concerns and assisted in making resolutions. As for the noise, they proposed reducing the construction during exam periods. Students who feel extremely inconvenienced by this project may also have the opportunity to move into open spaces in other residence halls. Students in Ashton who have D5 parking spaces will either be reimbursed or will be allowed to have universal parking in other D spaces.“We hear the students’ concerns and are trying to address them,” Connor said. Some students feel as if this project is doing more harm than good.“We are being shortchanged. They want us to follow regular protocol,” said junior Tia Moore, an Ashton resident. “We are the ones who are paying for everything. They should take us into consideration.”But some Ashton residents do not understand the benefit of these additions and do not see how this undertaking will help them.“To me the plan is not realistic,” said junior Lakecia Walton, an Ashton resident. “I’m glad I won’t be here to see it.”
(01/15/09 4:54am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Following last year’s IU Student Association election controversy, leaders are proposing a new elections code that could replace online voting with polling stations to be set up around campus, in an effort to provide more accurate election results. In last year’s election, the winning Kirkwood ticket was disqualified for violating six election codes. In the lead-up to that disqualification, there were disagreements between various factions as to who had the right to disqualify candidates.As it stands, IUSA’s Congress has the ability to overturn the IUSA Supreme Court’s decision to disqualify candidates, said Torrey Kittle, IU senior and IUSA chief policy advisor. It gives Congress ultimate power, he said, even though the IUSA constitution states the final decision is given to the Supreme Court in order to resolve the situation.“Last year, the Supreme Court disqualified the Kirkwood ticket, and some people were upset because the elections code says that Congress needs to confirm the decision of the Supreme Court,” Kittle said. In the proposed elections code, students will no longer vote online through their personal computers, but will have to vote at designated polling stations through registered computers, Kittle said. The polling stations would be located throughout campus and in most of the residence halls.“With the polling stations, we are hoping to increase awareness of the organization and those seeking offices,” Kittle said. “It will hopefully result in a more accurate reflection of what students want and provide them a greater stake in the election.”Unmonitored online voting created chaos, and students were holding spaces in the business school and Student Recreational Sports Center to solicit votes, Kittle said.Some students had no idea what they were voting for and were voting just to cease the harassment they were receiving. Last year’s election resembled more of a popularity contest than an election, Kittle said.The polling stations will be run by non-partisan workers who have no stake in the election, Kittle said. Another provision to the election code is that no campaigning can take place within 50 feet of the polling stations.Dan Sloat, student body vice president, said the only cost that will be added to the IUSA with this proposal is the pay for the workers. If a student will not be on campus for the election, then they can participate in provisional voting, Kittle said. Two weeks prior to the election, students may send an e-mail to University Information Technology Services and will get to vote online from their own computer.If a student registers for provisional voting but also votes at one of the designated polling stations, then the electronic ballot at the polling place will be deemed invalid, Kittle said. “I think that the situation that occurred last year was difficult for everyone, because there are no guidelines for a situation like that if it arises,” said Elizabeth Retana, IUSA elections coordinator. “The new elections code will make it easier to monitor the election process. It would make my job run more smoothly as well, if they were to pass this.”IUSA officials said they want the proposed code to make students more informed of the elections.“In years past, with unmonitored voting, students were mislead as to the nature of their votes,” Sloat said. “When voters are mislead, it warps the spirit of elections, and the participating voice of the people is skewed.”
(01/13/09 5:10am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>As fall midterms approached, junior Ronnie Baldwin was just one among more than 40 IU students still living in a residence hall lounge. Along with other loungemates, Baldwin came to resent a lack of privacy. “Freshmen would just walk into the lounge, and people would beat on our door,” he said. “There was no privacy at all.”He discovered that he would be able to get a single room in Ashton Center on the final day of school last semester. He moved into his new room on Saturday.Like Baldwin, all IU students living in the residence hall lounges have been moved out since winter break. Residential Programs and Services had many challenges in finding the right space for students.“Older students wanted to live in an apartment or Willkie,” said Sara Ivey-Lucas, assistant director for housing assignments. “It is awkward for a 23-year-old to share a room with an 18-year-old.”Despite the hurdles, most of the students were moved out of the lounges by the week of fall semester midterms.But when more than 20 foreign exchange students arrived for a second-eight-weeks intensive English program, Ivey-Lucas said RPS was “held in a balance.”While most freshman students were moved into their regular housing space during the third week of classes, graduate and transfer students were the ones who remained roomless.When the expansion of Ashton Residence Center is complete in 2010, RPS will have an additional 750 beds to assign, Ivey-Lucas said. “We have to check with the admission office every year to make sure there is enough space,” she said. “Freshman residency halls are regularly a balancing act. This is the second time this has happened.”Typically, more than 300 students leave by the end of first semester each year, opening beds for those still living in lounges. Compared to Big Ten counterparts who also face housing issues, IU students fare well, Ivey-Lucas said.Schools such as Michigan, Penn State, Michigan State and Minnesota often keep their students in the lounges until the next semester if they are unable to move out within the first four weeks of school, Ivey-Lucas said.“Having students stay in the lounges was a challenge for the rest of the community and puts extra stress on the community,” she said. “The goal was to empty them as fast as we could.”RPS officials had to balance accommodating students still stuck in lounges and those who, for a variety of reasons, applied to change rooms. Freshman Sai Lella moved from Briscoe Quad to Wright Quad. Following a semester of roommate trouble, she applied for a roommate change first semester, requested Wright Quad and moved into her current room before winter break began.Lella and her friend, who could also not resolve roommate issues, currently live together.“We requested Wright because Briscoe was too far away from everything,” Lella said. “I love my life now.”Lella, like many other students, had her room change requests met. Five hundred students requested room changes and 234 of them were accommodated, Ivey-Lucas said.The highest number of accommodated room request changes at the semester’s beginning were for Foster Quad and McNutt Quad, with 15 new residents moving into each of the halls. Despite the room change requests there, John Summerlot, McNutt’s residence manager, said the residence hall is traditionally the highest in demand. “For every one room, five people want to live there,” he said.
(12/05/08 4:58am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Unity. Self-determination. Collective work and responsibility. Cooperative economics. Purpose. Creativity. Faith.Through music, food and art, organizers at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center taught the seven principles of the African-American holiday of Kwanzaa to participants Thursday night at a pre-Kwanzaa celebration.One of the main goals of Kwanzaa is to inspire individuals to reflect on their past and better themselves.“Go back to the values; reaffirm them and find ones that speak to them,” said Audrey McCluskey, director of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center and professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies. “Different people have different responses to certain values. If you correlate the values to your own lives, that is successful.” On Thursday, the Neal-Marshall Center’s pre-Kwanzaa event, “A Celebration of the Arts of the African Diaspora,” explained the seven principles of the holiday.Kwanzaa, which is traditionally observed from Dec. 26 through Jan. 1, celebrates one principle each day, but the Neal-Marshall event incorporated all of the seven principles so that the participants could get a taste of Kwanzaa. During the event, representatives from each of the seven student organizations explained one of the values with a quote. “The quotes represented what the principles truly mean,” said Evelyn Hamilton, graduate assistant at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center. “It brought aspects of our ancestors’ thoughts and ideas as a part of the program.”The spirit of the holiday was encompassed in the variety of musical performances selected: spiritual, jazz and Brazilian jazz. The jazz music included Afro Blue by John Coltrane and songs by Stevie Wonder. The purpose of the music performances was to get audience members enthusiastic about the message of Kwanzaa. The songs were intended to connect to the seven principles.“I hope the musical performances gave people the joy of being alive. When music is gone from the earth, we are in trouble,” said Fareed Mahluli, director of the Soul Revue. “Music expresses the principle of kuumba (creativity).”The music varied in its sound and style.“We wanted to show the diversity of personal style of the African people,” McCluskey said. “African people are all over the world. We are a diverse people, but we have common values. We want our art form to display this.” The principles of Kwanzaa are common to people of African-American heritage, “but they transcend to all humanity,” said Keith McCutchen, director of the African American Choral Ensemble. The purpose of the event was to help people gain knowledge of African-American culture and inspire everyone to celebrate Kwanzaa in some form. Sachiko Higgins-Kante, administrative assistant at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center, said the principles of Kwanzaa are soul-builders, and everyone should have these instilled in their character.“My hope is that from this event, people will not only celebrate Kwanzaa in December,” she said, “but celebrate it throughout the year.”
(12/01/08 2:12am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Spending the holiday season in a hospital is unpleasant, but the charity Child’s Play hopes to make this circumstance more bearable for children with its annual holiday toy drive for children’s hospitals.Child’s Play is a Seattle-based game-industry charity that works with about 60 partner hospitals worldwide, including Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis.The charity hopes to raise $750,000 (in toys and cash) this year, said Kristen Lindsay, Penny Arcade Inc.’s project manager, in an e-mail.The organization was created by Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins of the online comic strip “Penny Arcade.”In 2007 the charity raised $1.3 million in toys and cash, pushing its total since 2003 to more than $3 million, Lindsay said. Riley Children’s Hospital has also received $6,250 in donations, said Teresa Harper, administrative assistant for the Cheer Guild of Riley and IU Hospitals.At Riley, the games are either utilized in unit playrooms or distributed to individual patients. Those video games can help children with their recovery process, said Melissa Sexton, Riley special events coordinator.“We use video games to preserve normalcy for patients,” Sexton said. “Video games help with the recovery process. Patients start to feel better and become more active.”Lindsay agreed, saying video games provide escapism to hospitalized children.“In some cases, especially with Nintendo Wiis, games are also very therapeutic,” Lindsay said.The gamer charity has a partnership with Amazon.com, which provides a series of wish lists complete with toys, books and video games that the hospitals request. The lists also provide video games and game systems suggested by Child’s Play. Donations can be made at www.childsplaycharity.org. Child’s Play collects donations year-round, specifically cash donations outside of the holiday toy drive. The wish lists stay up year-round but are not actively maintained during the off-season, Lindsay said. “The hospitals need and use these donations year-round, but having something extra at Christmas can make a difference to families in difficult times,” Lindsay said. “Also, as a non-profit charity, donors are often thinking more about making a difference in their communities during the holidays.”
(11/21/08 4:59am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>At the end of the semester, students are catching a bus from the library to class and even trying to fit holiday shopping in. But some students are even running to make it to work on time.Even though classes are enough to keep most students busy, many add a part-time job of 10 to 12 hours a week to their schedules, said Lou Ann Hanson, associate director of the Career Development Center.Freshman Jessica Upshaw works 14 to 30 hours a week at Center Catering Services to help pay for college and make some extra spending money.“Sixty percent of my check goes to my savings account for college tuition, and 40 percent of it is mine,” Upshaw said.Similarly, sophomore Lydia Wells, an Eigenmann Eatery employee, is trying to establish her credit score so that she can get loans to help pay for her tuition.“Without this job, I’d have to go to IUPUI,” Wells said. “I want to stay down here for my own sanity. I don’t want to live at home.”Having a job while attending college has many perks. Students make their own money and have extra cash to spend.“I pay for my material items and reward myself every so often,” said sophomore Erin Smith, an employee of McAlister’s Deli.Jobs are more than a source of income. By maintaining a job, students will learn how to manage their time, improve planning and investigative skills, assume responsibility, work better with others and gain customer service skills, Hanson said.“Even if a job is not directly related to your future goal, it can serve as a valuable reference,” Hanson said. “Customer service skills are transferable no matter what you do.”Organizations on campus, such as the Student Recreational Sports Center, Residential Programs and Services, the IU Auditorium, libraries, University Information Technology Services and the Indiana Memorial Union, all require interaction between employees and customers.“My job has made me more patient with others,” said junior Nichole Denham, an employee of Wright Food Court.The balance between work and school can be complicated, but many college students master it.Students with jobs exceed or perform at the same level academically in comparison to their non-working counterparts, Hanson said.Even though working students manage to keep on top of their classes, obstacles exist.“It’s hard to stay in extracurricular groups because I can’t always make it to the meetings,” Upshaw said. “It’s hard to see teachers during their office hours because I’m working. It’s annoying that after I’m done with work, I need to go do my homework. Also, because I have to work, I can’t go home as often as I’d like.”Working students must give up small pleasures such as watching their favorite TV shows.“I have to sacrifice watching ‘The Hills,’ and since I work on Sundays, I can’t watch the Colts,” Denham said.Even though having a job is a time commitment, many end up enjoying what they do.“The more you enjoy your job, the less it seems like work,” Hanson said. “It all depends on your attitude and perception.”
(11/18/08 2:04am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Three years ago Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast, but its damage disappeared from America’s focus.The problems of New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast seemingly disappeared from the public forum, which leaves many unaware that severe problems still exist, particularly for the African-American community, said Beverly Wright, director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice in New Orleans and professor of sociology at Dillard University in a speech Monday. Wright’s speech was part of the Critical Issues Lecture Series held by the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center about “Race, Place and the Environment After Hurricane Katrina.”“The reason we brought Dr. Beverly Wright here is because Hurricane Katrina was a critical issue for America,” said Audrey McCluskey, director of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center. “It exposed class and race divide like no other event in the last 50 years. Dr. Wright has the history, culture and policy knowledge to help bring us up-to-date with the progress and failures of New Orleans.” Wright is a New Orleans East native who lived through Hurricane Katrina. Since 1978, she has been a big part of the Environmental Justice Movement. Wright also discussed the government’s efforts for rebuilding New Orleans. “The building plan is obviously racist,” she said. “Hurricane Katrina displaced black people and did exactly what the government wanted. ... The government tore down housing projects. If you destroy housing projects, then poor people have no place to stay. They used Hurricane Katrina as an excuse, but no wind damage was even done to these facilities.” The government rebuilt areas that were not severely affected by the hurricane, including the area around the University of New Orleans, a predominantly white area, which was rebuilt even though little damage was done. Wright said the government showed blatant favoritism to the white community of New Orleans. New Orleans East, a population that is 85 percent middle class African-Americans, received zero inches of flood-level improvement while Lakeview, a predominantly white area, received 5.5 feet of flood-level improvement. The black community suffered immensely from Hurricane Katrina, Wright said. They lost the majority of their political structure, businesses, inherited wealth and black strength in votes. “If you destroy the middle class, you destroy the fabric of the city,” Wright said.To help rebuild New Orleans and its victims, Wright initiated projects to help the city get back on track. The Katrina Survivors Project responded to people’s needs and helped people who were displaced.Safe Way Back Home, awarded by the Environmental Protection Agency, was a project that made efforts to get people to move back to New Orleans and feel comfort in knowing their home would be safe from pollution.The Healthy Rebuilding project trained volunteers and residents to build safe houses or how to build safe rooms because many people in New Orleans lived in mold-infested homes.Demonstration Project was a clean-up effort in which Wright encouraged her neighborhood block to participate. About 180 student volunteers from Dillard University, Motiva Company, FEMA, EPA and the American Red Cross worked together to help rid the area of pollution. Wright said she believes in the power of one and believes in young volunteers.“A lot of the progress of Hurricane Katrina has been from the bottom up,” Wright said. “Young people can make a difference. We need more young people involved.” Wright’s presentation inspired many audience members and made them frustrated with the government’s doings. “I already went to New Orleans to help rebuild,” said freshman Stacsha Manning. “The presentation showed me that New Orleans was still in a bad state. Hearing this from a native was a rude awakening. Does the government really not care? How can we function as a nation if we don’t care about everyone.”
(11/13/08 4:46am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Senior Lizzie Millis has been skating since she was four years old and has been skating competitively since she was seven years old. Even though Millis had a lot of skating experience, the vice president of IU’s intercollegiate skating team had never competed in synchronized skating prior to coming to IU. “In synchronized skating, you need to have a different mind-set,” Millis said. “It was difficult for me to rely on people. I am not a huge team sports person. If someone is doing something wrong, you can’t control it ... you have to get along with people. You don’t want to nag.”Millis exemplifies the idea that one must overcome personal obstacles to become successful in skating.Not only has Millis overcome challenges in her skating career, but the IU figure skating club as a whole has gone through many hardships to reach its status of ranking second nationally in intercollegiate skating and sixth in synchronized skating.The IU figure skating club is composed of the intercollegiate skating team, synchronized skating team and recreational division. There are 30 members in the club, but 18 compete in synchronized skating while 14 compete in freestyle.The Frank Southern Ice Arena, the rink the club uses, is not a standard rink and is not owned by the University. It costs $140 per hour of ice time, which limits the amount of time the club can practice. The team practices for an hour twice a week. The synchronized skating team practices four hours a week on the ice and two hours a week off the ice.The synchronized skating team practices more often than the intercollegiate team and is stricter about missing practices. “Synchronized skating is extremely team-oriented. Everyone has to be a big team player,” said junior Rachel Mark, vice president of the synchronized skating team.It is hard for the club to find IU students with experience in synchronized skating because there are virtually no synchronized skating teams in the state of Indiana, and due to IU’s tuition, it is difficult to recruit out-of-state students, members of the club said. Members said it is also a challenge to recruit students who can hold up to the skill level of what a club member needs to exhibit.The figuring skating club lacks the facilities, equipment and privileges varsity figure skating teams receive. The only varsity skating teams are at the University of Michigan and University of Miami at Ohio. The IU club competes against both teams even though they lack the same resources.“Varsity programs have a lot of things paid for,” Mark said. “They get to skate for free and get to train way more.”Another handicap for the figure skating club is that the Frank Southern Ice Arena closes a month and half before the intercollegiate nationals in April. In order to get ice time, the team must travel to Columbus or Indianapolis.“Before nationals last year, I only practiced about two times prior to the competition,” said junior Meg Farrell, secretary of the figure skating club.Even through all of these obstacles, the figure skating club has given IU the reputation as a “skating school.”“I came here because the school had a good skating program, and I wanted to help the IU skating program become even better,” Millis said.IU alumna Katie Laughner formed the club six years ago during her freshman year and recruited people she knew. The club has grown not only in size, but also in its competitive level.The IU figure skating club hosted the Hoosier Challenge, an intercollegiate skating competition, Nov. 8. at the Hamilton Ice Arena in Columbus, Ind. IU finished in first place with 116 points, while Miami of Ohio placed second with 76 points. Sixteen members of the club competed in the Hoosier Challenge.