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(03/07/14 3:10am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Caitlyn Finton spends a minimum of 10 hours a week working in a lab researching a particular aspect of mouse communication that, as far as she knows, no one has looked at before.When she’s running an experiment, she spends up to three hours daily running and monitoring interactions between male and female mice. When she has all of her data in place, she spends this time in front of a computer screen, analyzing what she’s found.She is hoping to find context-based variations in mouse squeaks that could indicate that mice squeak to convey information.“There really is no typical day in science, in my experience,” she said.Finton, a sophomore majoring in biology, is part of the Science Technology and Research Scholars program at IU, which pairs students with a professor to begin researching in a lab during the fall of their freshman year.“It sounds really cliché, but for me, research is all about solving a mystery and figuring out how to look at the world in a new way,” she said.Finton works in Jordan Hall in the Hurley Lab, operated by Laura Hurley, associate professor of biology.Hurley said at any given time, there are usually two to three undergraduates working in her lab. She said while undergraduates typically begin working on easier tasks, they have the opportunity to create their own projects, which is what Finton has done.“If they show aptitude and they’re really excited about something, then they can go on to do their own project,” Hurley said.Finton is currently working on her own research project after three semesters in the lab.Graduate student and mentor Sarah Keesom, a Ph.D. candidate in biology, trained Finton when she began at the lab.“Initially I just had her start off by helping me with some of my dissertation work,” Keesom said.It was through this work that Finton first learned how to use software to analyze mouse vocalizations, which she’s using for her personal research today.Keesom knew her mentee was ready for her own project when Finton’s confidence and independence began to grow, Keesom said. Keesom said she has enjoyed watching Finton mature as a person and as a scientist.“She’s a very enthusiastic, very intelligent and very driven student,” Keesom said.Keesom said she wants to be a professor upon receiving her Ph.D. and has always loved to teach, which is why she takes advantage of opportunities to mentor students like Finton. She said undergraduate research helps show students how much they can do in the sciences, and that research is not an unattainable goal.“Getting that experience shows you that scientists are real people, too,” she said.Hurley said working with undergraduates helps her to look at her work afresh, from the eyes of someone who has significantly less experience.“What I really like is the chance to be able to put yourself in the mindset of a student just starting out again,” she said.Sarita Soni, vice provost for research at IU, said undergraduate research creates a kind of pipeline for the University by getting students excited about research.“If you don’t get undergraduates excited, then you won’t have graduate students,” she said.Soni said research can help undergraduate students develop critical thinking skills they can take with them into the world regardless of whether they pursue a career in research.“I think all students are asking questions and there are always ways of asking questions to get answers and I think research helps you to define those questions a little better,” she said.Finton said she was excited about her current project.“As far as we know, no one has looked at nonlinearity in mouse squeaks,” she said. “It’s exciting to be potentially the first person looking at something.”Once she graduates from IU, Finton said she plans on going to graduate school for biology.“After that, I’m not quite sure,” she said. “I’m still trying to decide if I want to go into academia or the private sector. Either way, I know that I want to do research.”
(03/04/14 4:51am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The arts and humanities don’t get enough attention on the IU campus, according to the provost’s draft of the strategic plan.Objective four of the “Undergraduate Life” section outlines the provost’s ideas on how to go about undertaking such a project. The outline includes the creation of an arts and humanities center, expanded course offerings aimed at international students and the integration of arts and humanities resources such as the IU Cinema, IU Art Museum and other performance venues and galleries into courses across campus.“Anything that works to integrate the arts and humanities for all students would, in my mind, be exactly what is needed for a complete university education,” said John Lucaites, associate dean for arts and humanities and undergraduate education in the College of Arts and Sciences.Lucaites said he thinks the best way to understand the value of the arts and humanities is to imagine college without them.“We would not be at a university at all but rather some sort of technical school,” he said. He said even though they are sometimes addressed in other studies, values and skills like understanding, imagination, empathy and judgment are most at home in the arts and humanities.Provost Lauren Robel said no one has yet taken charge of the objective to make students passionate advocates of the arts and humanities.“There will be a window into this for any student,” she said.She said there are plans in the works involving the 100th anniversary of World War I next year.Another important part of creating an increased emphasis on the arts and humanities is the creation of an arts and humanities center on campus, Robel said, and she pointed out that many universities already have these facilities in place.Lucaites said the creation of such a center was key to pursuing this objective in the strategic plan.“We need a space — both conceptual and physical — where students and faculty can find the opportunities and resources for interaction and engagement, for experimentation and innovation,” he said.Provost Robel likened the initiative as a whole to the Themester program organized by the College of Arts and Sciences.“It’s almost like Themester on steroids,” she said.The College describes Themester as “an initiative to engage the collective knowledge and creativity of the faculty and to involve undergraduate students in the exploration of ideas across the disciplines,” on its website.The plan also asks that the arts and humanities at IU become “robustly public-facing,” or, in other words, that the arts and humanities become programs associated with IU.“The arts and humanities provide a key component to the education of the complete citizen,” Lucaites said. “Or, if you want to think in terms of the history of the liberal arts, the complete ‘human.’”
(02/25/14 4:16am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Kelley School of Business has partnered with the Office of International Services to help its international graduates and recruiting companies interested in hiring them through the immigration process. The new initiative will be called the IU Immigration Bridge program. Ash Soni, executive associate dean for academic programs in the business school, said becoming employed in the U.S. can be very difficult for international students, and said he feels the bridge program will ease that.“I know the grad students are very pleased that we’re doing something like this,” he said.International students make up approximately 20 percent of the undergraduate population at the business school and nearly one third of Kelley graduate students.“It’s a service that was long overdue,” Soni said.The program functions by creating a close partnership with a law firm that specializes in immigration law.Paul Binder, associate director of graduate career services in Kelley, said he hopes the program helps smooth the process of immigration and give Kelley graduates a better chance of receiving a visa. “We’re excited because we think it really will help some of our fine students,” Binder said.According to Binder, once students have employment plans relatively in place, they will complete a form on iStart through the Office of International Services. They will then be put in contact with the law firm.At this point, IU will be out of the process because of lawyer-client confidentiality laws, Binder said.Soni said he has received positive feedback from companies that recruit at the business school and the program should be announced to undergraduate students soon.If the program is successful, similar programs might be put in place across the University, Soni said.“We’re part of the University community, and we want to see everybody take part in it if they have a need,” Binder said.Soni said the level of company interest would be how he measures effectiveness.“I think the bottom line will be how many companies come here and take advantage of the program,” he said.He said the companies most likely to be interested are small and mid-sized companies, since many larger firms already have a legal team.With recruiting season largely finished for the year, Soni said he plans on beginning to see effects of the program next year, but would not be surprised to see a few students take advantage of the program in the coming months.“Overall, I think that, hopefully, it helps our students and employers, and god knows we have the best students, I think, in the world,” said Binder. “So whenever we can help them out, that’s what we’re here for.”
(02/24/14 5:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The group agreements were scrawled on the chalkboard of the classroom in the Woodburn Hall basement — be honest and respectful, listen to understand, refrain from interrupting.Students had the opportunity to gain one credit hour in just one day by participating in civil discourse on the topic of national security at the Political and Civic Engagement issues forum Saturday. Students were also required to turn in pre-forum and post-forum papers.PACE is a five-year-old certificate program at IU, and the issues forum — PACE-C 400 — has been offered every year since the program’s creation.“I think it’s critical to find ways to discuss and resolve critical and important questions, and it’s not enough to simply care about them,”said Michael Grossberg, professor of history and law and director of the PACE certificate program.The forum combines small-group deliberation and forum discussion with expert panelists.Grossberg said the program tends to attract two particular types of students. The first is students studying things or looking for careers that engage directly with public issues, Grossberg said. The other is a student who will simply lead a life as a very active citizen after graduating.One of the primary objectives of the forum is to help students explore more thoroughly their ideas about the public issue the forum addresses, Grossberg said.“It’s so easy to get stuck in our own perspectives,” said Lisa-Marie Napoli, lead instructor for this year’s forum. Napoli and a student committee began planning for this year’s forum in October, meeting three times last semester and a few more times since this semester began, Napoli said.According to Napoli, students are very involved in running the forum, with a student planning and a student moderating team.Catherine Krege, a junior in the PACE program majoring in Spanish and international studies, served as a student moderator. Her job was to remain neutral and guide the two small-group deliberation sessions.She has moderated for the past two years.“I’ve definitely enjoyed it,” Krege said. “I think it’s been a great opportunity to see students interact in the process.”The PACE program focuses heavily on the development of democratic deliberation, Grossberg said. Krege described the concept as the process of getting to know other people’s opinions and getting to know one’s own opinions.Napoli said she saw the skill as key to developing an effective democracy.“If more citizens have that type of skill, it really leads to a healthier democracy and society,” Napoli said.Students were randomly divided into small groups and assigned a color which corredponded to a classroom in Woodburn. Krege moderated the orange group’s discussion on Saturday. After reviewing the agenda and group agreements, the group delved into discussion.Disagreements arose and voices were raised, but tones remained calm and discussion on-topic. Moderators are trained to keep tensions low and conversation productive, said Napoli, After their first deliberation, a panel comprised of four IU professors discussed national security in relation to economic, law and relations with Russia. Followed by brief presentations by each panelist, students were invited to ask questions and engage in a more active discussion. The forum was open to all undergraduate students, regardless of whether they are enrolled in PACE. Napoli said she has heard students say the forum increases their faith in democracy and increases their civic capacity.“We have a lot of very bright, passionate students here,” Grossberg said. “And we want to give them the opportunity to make the world a better place.”Follow reporter Anna Hyzy on Twitter @annakhyzy.
(02/21/14 5:24am)
When IU freshman Ben downloaded “The Wolf of Wall Street” to his computer, he didn’t realize there would be consequences.
(02/19/14 4:12am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Political gridlock has more effect on innovation and investment than economic policies, according to a new study from the Kelley School of Business.The study looked at the number of patents from 43 mature democracies over time and found, while no measurable spike or decline happened as a result of any particular party being in power, the number of patents fell drastically when political decisions were at a standstill.“Whether it is left versus the rest or center versus the rest or right versus the rest, no party matters,” said Utpal Bhattacharya, associate professor of finance in Kelley. “Under both parties there will be innovations, except in different things.”The study also took into account the quality and originality of the patents by measuring both the total number of times the patent was cited and the number of times it was cited by other industries.Bhattacharya used a hypothetical energy company as an example. If there is a close election, and an energy company is aware that the Democrat representatives support clean energy and the Republican representatives support coal or oil, two very different things, the company won’t know what to do, he said. If the business knows Republicans will be in power, investing in innovations in coal and oil makes sense. And if the Democrats will be in power, it is more reasonable to invest in energy sources such as solar and wind, Bhattacharya said. Therefore, he said, in a close election, the smartest move for a business is to wait to file patents.Collecting the data took Bhattacharya and his coauthor Xuan Tian, an assistant professor of finance, approximately one full year. Bhattacharya said the study is interdisciplinary, blending politics and finance.In future studies, he hopes to explore whether more change is brought about in investment or innovation and what fields are affected most.Bhattacharya said he became interested in conducting this study through his personal interest in politics. He also pointed out that while a lot of finance research may focus on the impacts of political uncertainty, theirs looked at whether or not the policies caused a change.Bhattacharya said he had expected to find they would.“We knew that political uncertainty is a bad thing, but we always thought policies would matter,” he said. “Political compromise is good for all of us.” Follow reporter Anna Hyzy on Twitter @annakhyzy.
(02/17/14 9:40pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Student involvement has been minimal during the early phases of planning for the new Media School.Although students in the IU School of Journalism — the only independent school included in what will be the Media School — have an active student advisory board created in October, students in the departments of telecommunications and communications and culture have not been a part of the discussion.“I don’t think there’s ever been any reach out from the department on what students want from the new media school,” senior telecommunications student Bob Salek said. Salek works for the department and said he may consider coming back to IU for graduate school in the future. Since it will be the new Media School by then, he is directly affected by the school’s planning.“Having gone through the program already, I think that any student in my position would have a lot to say on the matter,” he said.Salek also said while he’s heard there is a chair willing to talk to students, that form of outreach isn’t adequately advertised or used.A lack of information has also been a problem for some telecommunications students.Sophomore Erica Miller said she wasn’t aware of the Media School until she heard about it from other students. Senior Lauren Rose said the lack of information bothered her.“I’ve felt pretty ignored, but that’s just ‘cause I haven’t gotten any information about it,” she said.Aside from a lack of information, a lack of understanding has created problems for some.“It’s not that nobody’s asking students’ opinions, it’s just that nobody really understands why changes are being made,” junior Hugh Donkin said.Salek said a lot of the information he received came from Robby Benson, professor of practice in the Department of Telecommunications.Benson said he is blown away by how much administrators at this school care for students.“In my 25 years of teaching, I have never been surrounded by chairs, deans and a provost who want to do the right thing for the students more than those here at IU,” Benson said.Steven Watt, provost professor of English and the associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, pointed out not everything can be done at once.Watt created a committee of graduate students, four from each department, in the Media School. “They all can’t start at the same time with the same degree of attention,” Watt said. Lesa Hatley Major, interim dean of the School of Journalism and associate dean of the Media School, said she is trying to reach out more directly to undergraduate students. She pointed out task forces weren’t set up until the merger proposal was approved in October.“Nothing has happened in terms of decisions on how the school will move forward,” she said.The reason for journalism’s early student involvement, she said, was due to student initiative that came with the concerns of an independent school moving into the college. Hatley Major now has a list of potential student representatives for telecommunications, but she said communications and culture has been harder to figure out. Only some of the department will merge into the Media School, so Hatley Major said she felt she had to be careful moving forward. “We should have a board in place by next week,” she said. She said a Media School website is in the works, where students will be able to more easily access updates.Hatley Major said students interested in offering input should feel free to contact her. “There is plenty of time,” she said.Next steps include assembling a student board with representatives from the journalism school and departments of telecommunications and communications and culture.“It is very important for us to have student input,” she said, “student input from all three units that are involved in this merger.”Follow reporter Anna Hyzy on Twitter @annakhyzy.
(02/17/14 3:49am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Heydi Correa-Encarnacion sat in the upstairs library of the La Casa Latino Cultural Center just like she does every Monday. She was waiting for someone to come through for an HIV test.The School of Public Health graduate student conducts weekly free HIV testing at La Casa through an IU Health Bloomington program called Postive Link. She is also a health educator.“HIV is seen as something that people don’t speak of in the community,” she said. “It’s kind of voodoo to talk about.”Correa-Encarnacion seeks to provide resources to the Latino community and the IU community as a whole. It was she who developed the partnership with La Casa two years ago.“Basically, one of the things that the center tries to do is to look at students in a holistic way, and health is one of them,” La Casa Director Lillian Casillas said.When students come for testing at La Casa, Correa-Encarnacion helps them to fill out forms, including consent forms and questionnaires about their sexual history for the last 12 months.“If for some reason we find that they’re engaging in high-risk sexual behavior, we have a conversation with them about how to lower that risk,” Correa-Encarnacion said.The entire session lasts about 20 minutes, and subjects receive their results during the session. Correa-Encarnacion has never herself handed out a positive result, but all Positive Link staff members go through training on how to handle that situation.“Most of it is letting the individual kind of have their moment,” she said.She added that they are also legally required to obtain the individual’s information and get them into treatment.“We’re not just gonna leave you alone and say ‘you do this by yourself,’” she said.Correa-Encarnacion hopes to help people understand HIV and feel more comfortable talking about it.She said she feels there’s very limited understanding in most communities of how the disease manifests itself.“It’s no longer a death sentence,” she said. “It’s no longer something that’s gonna kill you right away.” In the future, Correa-Encarnacion hopes to implement, create and oversee programs with a national Latino health organizationShe said this isn’t far away from what she’s doing now, which includes community education. “Anybody could become HIV positive if they’re not careful,” she said.She is responsible for the partnership that La Casa and Postive Link have developed.Aside from her interest in helping the Latino community, Correa-Encarnacion said she thought that bringing programs such as this one to IU’s campus was necessary.“It’s been growing, slowly but surely,” she said. “But I think we’re making pretty good strides, and I’m pretty proud of the work that’s been done.”Follow reporter Anna Hyzy on Twitter @annakhyzy.
(02/13/14 4:50am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The search committee for the new dean of the Hutton Honors College made its formal recommendation to the provost early this week.After a long search process, there were three final candidates — Maria Bucur, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; Andrea Ciccarelli, chair for the department of French and Italian; and Fritz Breithaupt, who has served as interim dean since July.“We look forward with eagerness to one of our great colleagues that will make a wonderful new dean,” said Dennis Groth, interim vice provost for undergraduate education and chair of the search committee.Groth added, though the committee has made a recommendation, how long it takes the provost to respond is out of their hands.The committee of 12 was composed of two students and 10 IU faculty members.“Having students on the committee and seeking their input has been a very important principle for us,” Groth said.The two students on the committee were Michael Jancovich, a senior majoring in biology, neuroscience and Spanish and Kristin Froehle, a senior in the Kelley School of Business majoring in business, economics and public policy.Both were asked to join based on their significant involvement in Hutton student organizations such as the Hutton Honors College Association.“I feel like they’ve really made an effort to include the student voice, and I’m appreciative of that,” Jancovich said.Aside from having two student committee members, Hutton staged town hall meetings open to the public and sent surveys to all honors students to gather a more widespread student response.Froehle said student perception of candidates was something she often considered while on the committee. She highlighted the importance of the town hall meetings. The meetings have been beneficial during previous dean searches on IU’s campus.“It’s really good to have a more holistic response from students,” she said.Groth said the committee received what he would consider an excellent response from the student surveys, adding that the committee takes all comments seriously.Jancovich said since the dean is an advocate for students, the student voice is necessary, as is the dean’s focus on students.“My primary metric has been engagement with students, someone who’s really going to reach out to students, listen to their needs, advocate for them,” Jancovich said.Now, the conclusion of the search lies in the hands of the provost. “For these types of searches, after we’ve submitted our recommendation, we wait to see if there’s anything else we can do,” Groth said.Follow reporter Anna Hyzy on Twitter @annakhyzy.
(02/12/14 9:28pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Heydi Correa-Encarnacion sits in the upstairs library of the Latino Cultural center just like she does every Monday. She is waiting for someone to come through for an HIV test.The School of Public Health graduate student conducts weekly free HIV testing at La Casa through an IU Health Bloomington program called Postive Link. She is also a health educator.“HIV is seen as something that people don’t speak of in the community,” she said. “It’s kind of voodoo to talk about.”Correa-Encarnacion seeks to provide resources to the Latino community and the IU community as a whole. It was she who developed the partnership with La Casa two years ago.“Basically, one of the things that the center tries to do is to look at students in a holistic way, and health is one of them,” said Lillian Casillas, director of the Latino Cultural Center.When students come for testing at La Casa, Correa-Encarnacion helps them to fill out forms, including consent forms and questionnaires about their sexual history for the last 12 months.“If for some reason we find that they’re engaging in high-risk sexual behavior, we have a conversation with them about how to lower that risk,” Correa-Encarnacion said.The entire session lasts about 20 minutes, and subjects receive their results during the session. Correa-Encarnacion has never herself handed out a positive result, but all Positive Link staff members go through training on how to handle that situation.“Most of it is letting the individual kind of have their moment,” she said.She added that they are also legally required to obtain the individual’s information and get them into treatment.“We’re not just gonna leave you alone and say ‘you do this by yourself,’” she said.Correa-Encarnacion hopes to help people understand HIV and feel more comfortable talking about it.She said she feels there’s very limited understanding in most communities of how the disease manifests itself.“It’s no longer a death sentence. It’s no longer something that’s gonna kill you right away,” she said.In her future, Correa-Encarnacion hopes to reach a national level with a Latino health organization and work to implement, create and see programs through, which she said isn’t far away from what she’s doing now.She also does community education. “Anybody could become HIV positive if they’re not careful,” she said.She is responsible for the partnership that La Casa and Postive Link have developed, and aside from her interest in helping the Lation community, said she thought that bringing programs such as this one to IU’s campus was necessary.“It’s been growing, slowly but surely,” she said. “But I think we’re making pretty good strides, and I’m pretty proud of the work that’s been done.”Follow reporter Anna Hyzy on Twitter @annakhyzy.
(02/10/14 3:30am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU’s celebration of acclaimed beat writer William S. Burroughs’ 100th birthday wrapped up during the weekend with the conclusion of the Burroughs film series and symposium.The five-day-long festival was held in honor of the novelist, beginning on his would-be birthday last Wednesday and ending on Sunday. The festival, titled the Burroughs Century, involved events on and off campus and included panels, exhibits, speakers and off-campus performances. “There are moments that are even greater than you would have imagined,” said Charles Cannon, one of the event’s coordinators.Cannon worked with a team of five other Burroughs fans to organize the event. Planning began last April.While often remembered as a writer, Burroughs also worked with film, experimented with audio recording and worked as a painter. Cannon said the festival drew what he would consider a cross-section of the Bloomington population. At the events, he saw students and non-students alike. He said the primary demographic was likely graduate students.“We wanted to create an event that wasn’t just an academic conference,” he said.IU Cinema featured a number of films Burroughs was involved in, as well as distinguished guest speakers like Lydia Lunch. Director of the IU Cinema Jon Vickers was among Cannon’s team of five. Vickers pointed out that the IU Cinema is technically an art-house cinema. He said student attendance at a typical art-house theater would be about 15 percent, but at the IU Cinema it’s about 35 percent.The IU Cinema conducts about five academic symposia per year and has two more coming in April on Latina and Italian film. The Burroughs Symposium gave attendees the opportunity to screen rare films. “Burroughs: The Movie,” a 1983 documentary on Burroughs restored this year, screened in a theater for the first time in 30 years.It also brought some of the most important Burroughs scholars in the world to Indiana, which Vickers said helps the Cinema establish itself as world-class.“The symposium also had a mission to bridge campus and community,” said Vickers.Cannon said he felt that Bloomington is the only place in Indiana where an event like this could have been so successful, adding that this is his third time living in Bloomington.“I was here and left,” he said, “and came back and left and came back again because it has that kind of pull.”Oliver Harris, professor of American literature at Keele University in England, is the world’s leading Burroughs scholar. He has edited and republished 10 of Burroughs’ books.He gave the festival’s keynote address.Harris said even though he has attended century events in both New York and London, the festival in Bloomington was the largest. The pervasive nature of Burroughs’ work is what makes the writer relevant around the world today, Harris said. “A lot of people without even realizing it can sing lines from his books,” he said, referring to the Iggy Pop song “Lust for Life.”Burroughs has also influenced artists such as the Velvet Underground, Patti Smith and Sonic Youth.“You could also say that Burroughs’ work is difficult,” he said. “And we tend to like things that are easy.”Burroughs scholars are consistently reinterpreting and rediscovering Burroughs’ work, he said.Jack Sargeant, a prominent Burroughs scholar from Australia who specializes in the study of Burroughs’ work with film, gave the final guest address at the Cinema.He said he became interested in Burroughs when he learned many of the recording techniques of industrial music were influenced by Burroughs’ experiments. Sargeant was contacted by Cannon on Facebook over the summer and accepted the invitation to speak.He spoke at length on the roles of magic and shifting perception in Burroughs’ work, saying again and again that “everything is connected.”“I don’t think these things are dead. I think they’re still alive, and people need to learn about them,” Sargeant said.Follow reporter Anna Hyzy on Twitter @annakhyzy.
(02/10/14 3:30am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU’s celebration of acclaimed beat writer William S. Burroughs’ 100th birthday wrapped up during the weekend with the conclusion of the Burroughs film series and symposium.The five-day-long festival was held in honor of the novelist, beginning on his would-be birthday last Wednesday and ending on Sunday. The festival, titled the Burroughs Century, involved events on and off campus and included panels, exhibits, speakers and off-campus performances. “There are moments that are even greater than you would have imagined,” said Charles Cannon, one of the event’s coordinators.Cannon worked with a team of five other Burroughs fans to organize the event. Planning began last April.While often remembered as a writer, Burroughs also worked with film, experimented with audio recording and worked as a painter. Cannon said the festival drew what he would consider a cross-section of the Bloomington population. At the events, he saw students and non-students alike. He said the primary demographic was likely graduate students.“We wanted to create an event that wasn’t just an academic conference,” he said.IU Cinema featured a number of films Burroughs was involved in, as well as distinguished guest speakers like Lydia Lunch. Director of the IU Cinema Jon Vickers was among Cannon’s team of five. Vickers pointed out that the IU Cinema is technically an art-house cinema. He said student attendance at a typical art-house theater would be about 15 percent, but at the IU Cinema it’s about 35 percent.The IU Cinema conducts about five academic symposia per year and has two more coming in April on Latina and Italian film. The Burroughs Symposium gave attendees the opportunity to screen rare films. “Burroughs: The Movie,” a 1983 documentary on Burroughs restored this year, screened in a theater for the first time in 30 years.It also brought some of the most important Burroughs scholars in the world to Indiana, which Vickers said helps the Cinema establish itself as world-class.“The symposium also had a mission to bridge campus and community,” said Vickers.Cannon said he felt that Bloomington is the only place in Indiana where an event like this could have been so successful, adding that this is his third time living in Bloomington.“I was here and left,” he said, “and came back and left and came back again because it has that kind of pull.”Oliver Harris, professor of American literature at Keele University in England, is the world’s leading Burroughs scholar. He has edited and republished 10 of Burroughs’ books.He gave the festival’s keynote address.Harris said even though he has attended century events in both New York and London, the festival in Bloomington was the largest. The pervasive nature of Burroughs’ work is what makes the writer relevant around the world today, Harris said. “A lot of people without even realizing it can sing lines from his books,” he said, referring to the Iggy Pop song “Lust for Life.”Burroughs has also influenced artists such as the Velvet Underground, Patti Smith and Sonic Youth.“You could also say that Burroughs’ work is difficult,” he said. “And we tend to like things that are easy.”Burroughs scholars are consistently reinterpreting and rediscovering Burroughs’ work, he said.Jack Sargeant, a prominent Burroughs scholar from Australia who specializes in the study of Burroughs’ work with film, gave the final guest address at the Cinema.He said he became interested in Burroughs when he learned many of the recording techniques of industrial music were influenced by Burroughs’ experiments. Sargeant was contacted by Cannon on Facebook over the summer and accepted the invitation to speak.He spoke at length on the roles of magic and shifting perception in Burroughs’ work, saying again and again that “everything is connected.”“I don’t think these things are dead. I think they’re still alive, and people need to learn about them,” Sargeant said.Follow reporter Anna Hyzy on Twitter @annakhyzy.
(02/06/14 4:23am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Hutton Honors College is in the process of adding another career service to campus.
Nick Miller, an academic and career adviser at Hutton, leads the effort
to begin career programming and services through the honors college.“With
Hutton, we’re always trying to have more one-on-one interaction,” he
said. “Rather than working as one of 40,000 students, you work as one of
4,000.”
A team of six members will work with Miller to start the career
programming. Five will be part of a student group, and the sixth will be
a Hutton faculty member.Student member applications are due next Tuesday. Miller said he plans to form the group by the end of February. Hutton plans to work with existing career services offices
to supplement honors students with exclusive opportunities, Miller
said. Miller, who began work in his newly-created position in
December 2013, described his job as “55 percent academic, 40 percent
career and five percent other.”
Plans for honors career programming began sometime last year. Miller
said he’s noticed a heightened focus on campus about careers.Once
programming begins at Hutton, the honors college will work with other
career services on campus through monthly counsel meetings.
“It would be crazy of me to imagine that I wouldn’t want to take advantage of these things,” he said. Miller said he hopes he can also contact alumni to meet with honors students.“To me, alumni and recruitment go hand in hand,” he said.
Seven honors students gathered Tuesday in the Great Room at Hutton for what Miller described as an informal interview process and discussion.The
students discussed ideas for future programming, including the
prospects of monthly emails, honors-only career fairs and alumni
networking events.
They also showed an interest in activities geared toward younger students.“Being a young kid, it’s hard to nail down stuff like that,” freshman Kyle McGuire said.All
seven students attending the meeting were business students. Miller,
who studied English and worked in publishing before coming to IU, said
he thinks it’s important to give some attention to broader majors such
as English and history.
Programming is expected to start by the end of this semester.Although
Miller will work closely with the five students on his committee, he
said he hopes all honors students feel they can contribute and that his
door is always open to them.
“I’m just one of a thousand people shouting and waving, looking for feedback,” he said.
(02/06/14 4:19am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Students without a major had some help weighing their options at IU’s first Majors and More Fair Wednesday.From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., all of IU’s schools had representatives stuffed inside Alumni Hall in the Indiana Memorial Union. “Our goal was to put all the programs together in one place to help students find their way,” said Alice Dobie-Galuska, a University Division academic advisor who helped coordinate the event.The College of Arts and Sciences, containing a vast majority of IU’s majors, was divided into departments at the fair. Professors, faculty members and students, in some cases, represented each department.“This is an event that I think could be really awesome,” said Alexa Yarnelle, senior assistant director of student services at the CDC.She stressed the importance of the section of the fair which offered students service and internship information.“We’re trying to help students consider all the possibilities that are available to them at IU to make the most informed decision possible about their major,” Yarnelle said. Freshman Emily Farrel braved the weather looking to gather information about a journalism degree. But she said she was also interested in the School of Public and Environmental Affair’s law and public policy program. She said she isn’t sure where she’ll be headed.“I wanna be able to get a job and go to law school if I choose,” Farrel said. Establishing connections between students’ majors and the careers they want in the future was Andrea White’s strategy for helping attendees. A career advisor and assistant director at the CDC, White said the decision-making process can be harder without the right information.Both University Division and the CDC said they plan on making the Majors and More Fair an annual event. Dobie-Galuska said students who aren’t sure of the career path they want to take should ask for help choosing a major they can stay interested in.“One that they’re gonna love, one that they’re gonna be motivated to study,” she said.Follow reporter Anna Hyzy on Twitter @annakhyzy.
(02/05/14 5:23am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Sustainability Course Development Fellowship offers financial support of up to $8,000 to faculty interested in developing sustainability-based courses at IU. The Office of Sustainability is now accepting applications for this year’s awards.“With growing student interest in sustainability... there’s a real demand,” said Emilie Rex, assistant director of sustainability at the IU Office of Sustainability.There has been a growth in recent years in the availability of sustainability-related academic pursuits, including the addition of a minor. The Office of Sustainability has awarded 16 fellowships since the 2008-09 school year and has seen a number of those courses continue to be taught.Rex said the office is hoping to follow up with the fellowship winners better in the future so even more may continue after its pilot year. “I think we’re entering an era where having knowledge and background and skills related to sustainability are really going to be important in the workforce,” Rex said. The number of fellowships granted and the amounts granted are all dependent on the number and quality of applications they receive. Last spring, the office gave out four $5,000 fellowship grants.Professor James Farmer’s course “Planting the Seed: An Introduction to Sustainable Agriculture” was one of the recipients last year. The course will be taught during the second four-week term of the 2014 summer session.“I think more people, students, faculty and the general public are understanding the complicated nature of sustainability,” Farmer said.Farmer’s course will teach the applied side of sustainable agriculture, which he said he feels isn’t really addressed at IU. He said he applied to see if the University would support such an idea.“The support from the University really underscores the seriousness,” he said. Applications for the fellowship can be found through the IU Office of Sustainability’s website. Lists of former winners and lists of current sustainability-related courses at IU are available there as well. The deadline for this year’s awards is March 1. Both Farmer and Rex stressed the importance of sustainability education for students.“I think it’s absolutely fundamental when they leave Indiana University that they understand the implications of human behavior on human existence,” Farmer said. “What we do today will greatly impact what happens five years, 10 years, 50 years from now.”Follow reporter Anna Hyzy on Twitter @annakhyzy.
(01/30/14 5:09am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Jessaca Brandt dashed from class to beat the crowd to the Indiana Memorial Union in hopes of landing a job.Eighty-four employers were on the hunt for recruits Wednesday at Alumni Hall for the Winter Career and Internship Fair, organized by the Career Development Center. “I got here at 3:45,” Brandt said. She was able to arrive 15 minutes earlier than most students because of her Hutton Honors College membership. The first hour of the career fair was reserved for students in exclusive scholarship or academic programs.“I did a lap at first and then worked up the courage to talk to several companies,” she said. Brandt is a junior in the School of Journalism and specializes in public relations and advertising. The California native has already had two internships and is looking for a third, hopefully located in Chicago. She spent the previous summers interning in New York and California. The fair was crowded. Confident, career-bound students — many of which had done their fair share of research — weaved between booths, stopping at carefully selected spots to discuss their futures. Brandt said she spent a few hours compiling a list of companies she’s interested in and familiarized herself with those companies during the course of a few days. One of those companies was Cook Medical. With her résumé in hand, she approached the Cook booth. She shook the representative’s hand and they had a brief conversation. The two exchanged her résumé for a business card. Brandt answered questions and got information about their internship opportunities. “I think it went well,” she said afterward.Brandt also spoke with Finishline, ASC communications, Dish and some insurance companies.With each company she spoke to, she discussed opportunities in public relations, marketing and advertising.“I already have one interview set up for tomorrow,” she said. “I have friends who are seniors who got their job through coming to a career fair.”The CDC also stages a fall career fair as well as a part-time job fair and a summer job fair. According to Wes Erwin, associate director for employee relations at the CDC, the fall career fair, which is usually larger than the fair in the winter, saw three to four thousand students and 134 employers.Erwin said the goal for Wednesday’s fair was to reel in 2,000 to 2,500 students.He said more students show up as more companies open their doors to younger students. “A lot of internships are beginning to be open for sophomores,” Erwin said, “but it’s mostly juniors and seniors. A lot of full-time positions are happening today as well.”The fair includes a wide array of companies, something Erwin says the CDC does with many various majors in mind.Free professional headshots for a Linkedin profile are also offered at the fair.“We kinda noticed that a lot of students were having trouble using Linkedin,” said Anne Rowland, a graduate advisor in the CDC.To combat that problem, the CDC now offers free information on how to use Linkedin, as well as social media strategies and professionalism in general.Matthew Davis, a sophomore majoring in math and economics in the College of Arts and Sciences, said he came largely to get a feel for what a career fair is like.“I just wanted to get my foot in the door,” he said. Davis isn’t looking for an internship this summer, but spent his time at the fair talking to insurance companies regardless.“It’s been great so far,” he said. “I was told it was going to be awkward. I haven’t really experienced that.”
(01/28/14 5:28am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Better understanding blood flow might become key to diagnosing concussions in the future. The IU School of Medicine in Indianapolis has received a $300,000 grant to study how concussions affect blood flow in the brain.The grant was awarded as a part of General Electric and the National Football League’s Head Health Challenge, which aims to ultimately improve diagnosis and treatment of concussions. Brenna McDonald, Psy.D., and Yang Wang, MD, both associate professors of radiology and imaging sciences, will lead the research. A concussion occurs as a result of a blow to the head that causes temporary loss or alteration of consciousness — most commonly meaning some lapses in memory or dazed feelings.“What we’re partly interested in is being able to understand what the mechanism of recovery is,” McDonald said. She said an understanding of this could help treat people who have recurring head injuries or those who have difficulty recovering on their own.McDonald said most people get better quickly after suffering a single concussion.The study will be conducted using student athletes from local high schools who will volunteer to partake in the study. The athletes will be brought in within a month of their injury, at which time McDonald and her team will conduct various MRI scans to look at blood flow in the brain. The volunteers will then be brought in after six weeks to determine if there is a noticeable difference between a brain that has suffered a concussion in the past and a brain that has not.“There is evidence to suggest that after head injury, generally blood flow may be affected and that could explain some of the cognitive difficulties,” said McDonald.In the past, diagnosis and treatment of concussions has been difficult. McDonald said that this is largely because of the fact that there is usually no physical evidence of damage with minor brain injury that can be picked up by a CT scan or MRI. “Mostly what you’re relying on are symptoms, and symptoms are subjective,” McDonald said.Their application for the grant, submitted last summer,was one of 16 selected from 400.“We’re really excited to have this opportunity, so we’d encourage anyone interested in participating to reach out to us,” McDonald said.If the research is successful, McDonald and her team could potentially find something thaat physicians could monitor over time to see the effectiveness of treatments.“Obviously you want people to be doing their best,” McDonald said, “and you want them to be at their healthiest.”Follow reporter Anna Hyzy on Twitter @annakhyzy.
(01/24/14 4:44am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Members of the IU community gathered at the Asian Cultural Center Thursday night for the semester’s first “Over a Cup of Tea” discussion. The discussions are a monthly feature at the Asian Cultural Center, usually focused on issues affecting Asian-Americans. This month’s discussion aimed to extend the celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy while nodding to the recent death of former president of South Africa Nelson Mandela. The talk was titled “Saints or Revolutionaries?: The Parallel Visions of Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela.”Valerie Grim, professor and chair of African American and African Diaspora Studies, and Alex Lichtenstein, associate professor of history, led the discussion. Lichtenstein teaches both U.S. and South African history courses at IU. The two speakers focused on the complicated nature of race as both a historical and ongoing problem through the lenses of both Mandela’s and King’s work.“We have to think about it (race) historically,” said Lichtenstein. “These are deeply rooted historical patterns.”As someone who has spent a lot of time in South Africa, Lichtenstein said that the acknowledgement of race as something that has shaped history is something that happens a lot more openly in South Africa than it does in the U.S.After their talks on King and Mandela, the discussion turned to the struggle with diversity and multiculturalism at IU and in Bloomington, an issue they both said they felt is not addressed enough.“I think its important to have people of various backgrounds in conversation with each other about issues that we all are concerned about in an effort to make the world a better place,” Grim said.Graduate student Ronald Arjuego said that experiencing multiculturalism is why he attends events like this at IU.“Really this is my only chance to learn about something outside of my major and my occupation,” he said.For this reason, as well as the opportunity for professors and students to meet in an informal setting, Lichtenstein said he wished there were more events like this on campus.“I want students to care about other peoples’ suffering,” said Grim, “I think that caring about people’s humanity is one of the ways we can build a beloved community.” Follow reporter Anna Hyzy on Twitter @annakhyzy.
(01/16/14 5:15am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Contrary to what it may seem, IU researchers are finding it might be preferable to be surrounded by imitators than innovators.Robert Goldstone, professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences, co-authored the study alongside Thomas Wisdom, a recent IU graduate and freelance researcher based in Chicago.“We were interested in sort of developing an experimental laboratory for looking at the reasons why people decide to imitate or innovate and what the consequences are,” Goldstone said.To find out, they created a game called Creature League. The object of the game is to form the highest scoring team of made-up creatures. The game is played in multiple rounds. When forming a team, participants had several options.They could leave their team as is, look at how other teams were doing and take players from them or choose to select a random, unknown creature from a gallery.This creature represented “innovative thinking,” Goldstone said.Scores increased when there was more imitation involved in the play. “It’s not surprising it’s good for the individual because they don’t have to go off on their own,”Goldstone said. “The more interesting result is that you do better when surrounded by imitators.”The reason for this benefit is what Goldstone calls reciprocal imitation. Person A imitates person B, making small edits to person B’s original process. Person B can then imitate the improved version of their process and make his or her own small edits, and the process can be infinitely improved.“In many situations people don’t want to be imitated, but that’s probably wrong,” Goldstone said.Goldstone likened his findings from Creature League to the open-source software movement in which coders spend hours creating a program and then allow the whole world to see their code. By sharing the software openly, different functionalities and add-ons can be created and the software can improve, Goldstone said.He also said their findings could be relevant in government and other fields of work and study.“If you’re part of a group trying to solve a problem together, you can do a lot better than on your own,” Goldstone said, “and one of the ways to do that is to allow people to imitate you.”Researchers are still collecting data from the original Creature League. The game can be played at http://bit.ly/L41fLF.
(11/15/13 1:53am)
IU’s Quidditch team, the Midnight Snipes, will host
its first tournament Saturday at the field between Read and Wright.