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(09/04/09 12:58am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Lights atop fire trucks will flash and horns will blare this weekend, but not because firefighters will be called into action. Bloomington firefighters will show off their fire trucks to visitors at their annual Be Safe Fire Department Open House, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Bloomington Fire Department on Fourth and Lincoln Street during the 4th Street Festival. It will start with a pancake breakfast cooked by the firefighters themselves.“We wanted to take advantage of the fair right in front of the building,” said Robert Stumpf, battalion chief of training for the city of Bloomington Fire Department. “It made sense to open our doors so when kids come by we could talk to them about safety and show them the station. Then it became a big, all-day cookout.”At 11 a.m. the firefighters switch to lunch items such as burgers, hot dogs, veggie burgers and chicken, all made to order.All of the food will be sold for a small price and the money will be donated to the Local Firefighters Union, Stumpf said. The union sponsors victims of fire in the community by helping to replace some of the things lost in the fire, he said.Besides raising money, the open house also gives members of the community an opportunity to see the station, said Daniel Lewis, communications director for the City of Bloomington. “They show people all around,” he said. “Where the guys go when they’re off duty, the garage. You really get to see everything that goes on in the station.”The fire department has never received a call during the event, Lewis said. However, there are still firefighters on duty. The firefighters in charge of the cookout and tours are off-duty, he said.“It’s officially a volunteer effort,” Lewis said. “It won’t hurt any service.”A new edition to the open house this year is the pipe and drum band, Stumpf said. The band, which consists of all firefighters, will perform in front of the firehouse both days until 12 or 12:30 p.m. The first year the fire department had the open house, they did not do a lot of marketing, Stumpf said. As the station began to market the event more, he said they have seen an increase in visitors from one year to the next.“The fundraisers are very important,” Lewis said. “And it’s important to get a chance to see the facilities and put a face with the fire fighters who sacrifice a great deal for the community. It’s a good way to spend some time with them.”
(09/01/09 3:05am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Digital music download sales increased by 30 percent in 2008, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. However, avid music listeners continue to purchase physical copies of their favorite songs in the form of CDs and vinyl records.“I want more from my music,” senior Mike Lang said. “It’s easy to download hundreds of songs at a time and never listen to them.”Lang, who buys CDs in mass quantities, works at Tracks Music & Videos, a small record store on Kirkwood Avenue. Tracks owner Andy Walter said he began the business 37 years ago at Purdue University. The Bloomington store opened 21 years ago and is now the only one he owns.“The music business has changed dramatically,” Walter said. “It changed when big-box stores like Best Buy came in and people didn’t have to go to record stores anymore. People can be exposed to a variety of music online far greater than by walking in a record store.”Tracks, which began solely as a CD store, eventually became a CD and DVD store and is now a CD, DVD and IU apparel store, he said.While sales are decreasing at Tracks and record stores similar to it, listeners like freshman Jonathan Pabey continue to support the traditional music industry. Pabey said he owns an iPod but has never downloaded from iTunes or other downloading Web sites. He prefers the aesthetic sound of vinyl records and CDs.“Vinyl sounds better, crisper,” he said. “Vinyl almost sounds like the band is playing in your room.”Digital music cuts out the finer details of songs, Lang said. Vinyl records include all the sounds involved in recording, so listeners get more out of the music experience.“Vinyl records on the right system sound immensely better,” Lang said. “But you have to invest in a solid turntable.”Artwork on packaging is another reason Pabey and Lang said they continue to buy CDs. Bands spend a lot of time finding artwork that fits their sound and style, Lang said.“It’s a nice bonus to have, especially for concept albums,” he said. “It puts you in the mood for what you’re about to listen to.”Senior Haleigh Howe, another Tracks employee, said artists decorate their MySpace pages in basically the same way by posting CD images and other photos. It gives off the same feel as album artwork, he said.Pabey said he thinks art and music go hand in hand and disagrees with downloading artwork online.“What are you going to do with it, just save it in a file?” he said.When records first came out, Howe said they were used to support the artist’s tour and schedule gigs. Then artists began to make more money from the records than the shows, he said. “The record got people to come to the show,” Howe said.He added with the introduction of digital downloads, the income for the music industry turned around again. However, artists are not selling the massive amounts of CDs they sold 10 years ago, Pabey said.“Back in the day, people like Mariah Carey and Alanis Morissette sold 22 million copies,” he said. “Now you’re really successful if you hit a million or two.”
(08/27/09 3:57am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The return of an ice cream shop to downtown Bloomington will not be as sweet as Hartzell Martel and his wife had hoped.The Martels are opening a new ice cream shop on Dunn Street within a few weeks, but they did not receive the rights to the name Jiffy Treet, Hilary Martel said.The Martels previously owned the ice cream shop on Kirkwood Avenue, then called Hartzell's Jiffy Treet, for 14 years. The store was forced to close in 2006 because the building was bought out, not because of poor business, Hartzell Martel said. The couple still maintains the Jiffy Treet located on Pete Ellis Drive.“We hoped to come back sooner, but we wanted to find the right space,” Hilary Martel said. “We miss being downtown.”Hartzell Martel said the original owners of Jiffy Treet told him he was under discretion for usage of the title.“In another article I read the owners said they intend to make it a corporation,” he said. “But we just don’t know why we weren’t allowed the name.”The Martels owned the Kirkwood Jiffy Treet for 14 years, Hartzell Martel said. The downtown area is different from the location of the Jiffy Treet on Pete Ellis Drive, he said. With the shop downtown, there will be more room to try different things.The exact opening date of the shop is currently undecided.“We really don’t know. It could be a little over three weeks, it could be less,” Hartzell Martel said. “It all depends on how much we get done in the store.”After being denied rights to the name, Hilary Martel said they might call the shop Hartzell’s to keep it similar to the previous Kirkwood location.By not naming the shop Jiffy Treet, the Martel’s will be able to sell different products and flavors not available at other Jiffy Treet shops, Hilary Martel said. “At first we were upset we couldn’t use the Jiffy Treet name,” she said. “It will be hard to promote both stores with different names. But now we will get a fresh start, a fresh spin.”
(08/26/09 3:59am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Summer grades are in. While Purdue hangs its B on the fridge, IU shuffles home with a D. A recent report studying the general education requirements at leading universities questioned IU’s overall education.The study, titled “What will they learn?” looked at the curriculums of 100 colleges and universities across the nation, said David Azerrad, program officer for the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, which conducted the report.“The report is meant to be a study on higher education,” Azerrad said. “Our argument is there are seven key areas every student should know.”According to the report, universities should include composition, literature, foreign language, U.S. government or history, economics, mathematics and science as required general education courses for each student.Of the 100 universities, 42 received D’s and F’s, Azerrad said. In the report, IU received a D for only requiring two of the seven subjects, composition and foreign language. Because the mathematics and science courses are combined in a single distribution category, IU was not credited for either subject.“Combination does not ensure knowing both,” Azerrad said. “We want to make sure students are both scientifically literate and mathematically educated. They are equally important.”Sonya Stephens, vice provost for undergraduate education at IU, said there are limitations to the report. Two main weaknesses, she said, are that the report takes a particular view about education where students all take the same courses and that it does not take all schools on the Bloomington campus into account.The council focused on the college of arts and sciences in each university, Azerrad said.“They are measuring something that’s constantly changing,” Stephens said. “They took one educational view of a narrow curriculum taken by all and used it to rate schools that each have their own models of general education.”A new curriculum for entering IU freshmen will be set in 2011, she said. The curriculum will require students of each school to take a total of 31 to 32 credits in general education courses, Stephens said, as well as credits in intensive writing, information fluency, diversity and enriching educational experiences.“The report implies that IU students do what they want and take easy courses to get good grades,” she said. “But that’s not what IUB does at all. The report underestimates students’ commitment to learning.”The report is not an argument against choice, Azerrad said, but rather that there are seven key areas that need to be covered. “What Will They Learn?” was meant to be a wake-up call to parents, faculty members and others involved in the universities, he said.“It’s a rule of thumb that people pay more attention to reputation than education,” Azerrad said. “However, some universities tout virtues of a strong curriculum but allow students to graduate with a thin education.”While IU received a D in the report, Stephens said she thinks students at IU are getting a broad education.“Students would be hard-pressed to find as many opportunities in specialization,” she said.
(08/25/09 1:49am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In an effort to provide high-quality pork to Indiana food banks, Indiana Pork, in collaboration with Feeding Indiana’s Hungry, launched its Million Meals program at the annual Indiana Pork Ham Breakfast on Aug. 7. “We wanted to create a program statewide for pork producers who want to contribute to feeding the hungry,” said Michael Platt, executive director of Indiana Pork.The goal of the Million Meals program is to donate one million pork meals to Indiana food banks over the course of a year, Platt said. Approximately 160 pork producers donating one pig a month will accomplish the goal.While the pork industry is coming up on the end of a second year of losses, producers still want to get involved in helping the hungry, Platt said. Indiana Pork is working with industry partners to sustain funds for the start of the program.“Though the pork industry has seen a recent downturn due to the economy,” Platt said, “pork producers recognize that there are people out there worse off than they are and want to help them.”The number of food bank participants has increased 30 percent nationally during the last several months, said Emily Bryant, executive director of Feeding Indiana’s Hungry. Currently about 600,000 Hoosiers go hungry – about 10 percent of the Indiana population – 190,000 of whom are children, she said.“The campaign will provide quality meat to Hoosiers who really need it,” she said. “We want to make sure they are receiving food that is nutritious.”Protein is one food type missing in many food banks, Platt said. The program will help deliver high-quality protein to food banks across Indiana.Julio Alonso, executive director of Hoosier Hills Food Bank, said fresh meat is not donated on a regular basis.“We rely heavily on donations,” he said. “We take whatever we can get. Unfortunately it doesn’t always have nutritional value. With the Million Meals program we will be able to access pork and put it to good use.”In addition to providing protein, the program works to establish a relationship with Feeding Indiana’s Hungry, Platt said. The relationship will allow pork producers more opportunities to donate their time and products to helping the hungry.“Pork producers are an integral part of the community,” he said. “The program will recognize the generosity of the producers in adding to the community.”Bryant said the program will help in the goal of Feeding Indiana’s Hungry to make Indiana the first hunger-free state.“Ultimately that is always our goal,” she said.
(05/04/09 3:30am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Students and faculty members can now bring research in the environmental sciences directly from the outdoors to the indoors with IU’s new Field Laboratory, located a mile from campus at the Griffy Preserve.The laboratory, which uses new techniques in minimizing human impact on the environment, opened April 22, said Jenna Morrison, a graduate research assistant for the IU Research and Teaching Preserve.IU’s board of trustees approved plans for the lab in 2003, said Keith Clay, director of the IU Research and Teaching Preserve.“It’s been six years in the making,” he said. “We thought it could become a centerpiece and catalyst for more and better environmental science research and teaching at IU.”The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program declared the lab “silver” LEED-certified, meaning it uses enough eco-friendly approaches to receive certification, said David Bricker, a University communications representative. A few of the eco-friendly components include a roof based on recycled steel material, new insulation technology based on shredded newspaper, indirect lighting and air circulation and composting toilets, Clay said.“There is very little resource use,” he said. “Using cutting-edge technology in the Field Laboratory gives the opportunity for the University to explore the methods before, say, changing all of the dorms to composting toilets.”Morrison said the building conforms to IU’s mission to preserve land not used for development.“We’re using the building to learn how to be stewards of the natural environment,” she said. “It makes sense to have the building also economically friendly.”The building has four lab rooms ranging from wet to dry, Morrison said. Wet labs are used for processing samples, while dry rooms contain computers available for researchers. Besides the labs, the building also contains classrooms, a presentation room and some office space.Students and faculty members can use the labs or classrooms by reserving them ahead of time, Morrison said. The building is not open to the public, but if people express an interest in conducting research there, they can reserve a time.Students can receive grants for their research at the Field Laboratory by submitting a proposal, which is then evaluated by Clay and other people familiar with the area, Clay said.“Doing field research requires extra money that students do not have,” said James Farmer, manager of the IU Research and Teaching Preserve. “The grants help promote research at the preserve.”With IU sitting right on the edge of extensive natural areas, students and faculty are provided with a focal point for researching and teaching, Clay said.“The building is located directly adjacent to the forest,” he said. “There’s a vast array of habitats literally within reach of the building. You can go back and forth from outside to inside. That’s where the facility will be most useful.”
(04/29/09 4:32am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a travel advisory Monday recommending people avoid unnecessary travel to Mexico because of the recent swine influenza outbreak.“IU is following the information very closely,” said Diana Ebling, medical director at the IU Health Center. “So far no restrictions have been put on travel. It is just recommended.”The outbreak has since spread to about seven countries, including the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Israel and the United Kingdom, said David Orentlicher, co-director of the Center for Law and Health at the IU School of Law-Indianapolis. Only a few states have seen signs of the outbreak, including Indiana.The CDC confirmed a University of Notre Dame student as having the first case of the virus in Indiana on Tuesday. The case reported was mild, and health officials said the student has fully recovered. That student had not recently traveled to Mexico, where the new flu strain is suspected of causing more than 150 deaths.So far no other cases have been confirmed in Indiana. Indiana was expected to have sent a total of about 30 viral samples to the CDC by late Tuesday for analysis to determine if they might be swine flu, said Elizabeth Hart, a spokeswoman for the state department of health.Ebling said people began to take notice of the outbreak last week when the first cases were confirmed in California and Texas. The virus received special attention because it is a strain never seen before.“That’s partly what’s causing the concern,” she said. “It does not appear that the flu vaccine that people got this year will provide protection against the illness. People would also not have immunity to this strain because it is a new virus.”Orentlicher said a high percentage of deaths have been reported in Mexico, but only mild cases have been seen in other countries.“One reason people are especially concerned is that young, healthy people have been seen among the people dying,” he said. “But so far that isn’t the case in other countries, which is more reassuring.”Even with the single case reported in Indiana, Steve Chaplin, a University Communications representative, said students do not need to take extreme precautions, such as avoiding classes or crowded events.The IU Health Center is primarily inviting students to participate in common sense precautions, such as covering mouths when they cough, washing hands properly, avoiding touching the nose, eyes and mouth and avoiding shaking hands with other people, Ebling said.The most common symptoms are coughing, body aches and a fever of more than 100 degrees, Ebling said. Other symptoms can include vomiting and diarrhea. Most cases only last up to a week, and medicine can be taken to shorten the number of days.“We want people to be informed,” Ebling said. “And we will continue to update the health center Web site. I know they will be coming out with recommendations for students as it gets closer to the time when they will be going overseas to study abroad.”– The Associated Press Contributed to this report.
(04/24/09 3:30am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Older and forgotten books in IU’s extensive library collection often fall by the wayside in researchers’ attempts to get the most out of what the libraries have to offer.By digitizing the books through the Google Books Project, every book will be available online for researchers’ use.As part of the Google Books Project agreement in 2007, each Big Ten university agreed to join Google in this effort, Eric Bartheld, director of communications for IU Bloomington Libraries, said.IU’s folklore collection will be the first “collection of distinction” digitized through an agreement between the Committee on Institutional Cooperation and Google, Bartheld said. Digitizing the folklore collection will begin in mid-May and will hopefully be completed by the end of the summer.“The basic approach is to grab books from anywhere and put them in one big pot with results from here, there and everywhere,” said Moira Smith, librarian for anthropology, folklore, sociology and social work at the IU Libraries.The project will allow anyone to search volumes on Google using keywords, Bartheld said. Most volumes will only allow researchers to view small portions of the works, due to concerns about copyright issues, he said.“The snippets will give readers a preview of the volume,” Smith said. “Readers will get enough information to decide ‘Yes, this is a book I want to look at.’”Libraries participating in the agreement are interested in making the content of their collections as widely available as possible, said Kim Armstrong, assistant director of the CIC.“Google makes digitizing possible in a way that the libraries could not have achieved on the same timeline,” she said.Of the Big Ten universities, IU was the first to begin digitizing, said Patricia Steele, Ruth Lilly dean of University Libraries. Because the libraries’ collections were already catalogued and readily accessible, they were ready to send the volumes to Google, she said.“We send books to Google by semi-truck loads,” Smith said. “Digitizing the books takes about six to 12 weeks.”As part of the agreement, each institution involved will digitize at least one “collection of distinction,” Armstrong said. Other collections will be brought together across the CIC institutions. The “collections of distinction” are important because they bring intellectual content together the way they would have done in a print environment, she said.“We have the largest single library folklore collection in the world,” Smith said. “The ‘collection of distinction’ shows off the exceptional resource that IU has.”As of now the collection will be put into Google Book Search as single volumes, but Smith said people will hopefully be able to search the collection in its entirety in the future.Collections in print are deteriorating, Armstrong said, and digitizing the volumes will provide long-term access.“I think some people believe we are devaluing the book by digitizing them,” Steele said. “But by digitizing them we are providing a new discovery mechanism that the book never had before. For many people, if something isn’t online, it doesn’t exist.”
(04/21/09 3:04am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Environmental Management Association of IU will take part in two tree giveaway events this week in celebration of Earth Week.The first event, organized by the city of Bloomington, will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at People’s Park on Kirkwood Avenue. The other event will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. At the tree giveaway events, any attendee from IU and the Bloomington community can pick up a tree seedling with instructions on where to plant it and how to take care of it, said Julie Ramey, community relations manager for the Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department.“The seedlings are about 12 to 14 inches tall and come in a plastic baggie so you can take them home and plant them,” she said. “I’m thinking there will be plenty to go around.”Ramey said trees are the only renewable resource.“The important thing is to have the right tree in the right place,” she said. “You have to be careful not to plant tall trees under power lines. Usually in a power line war, the power lines win.”Three native species of trees will be offered at the events: white oak, black gum and flowering dogwood, said Frances Gary, chair of the Environmental Management Association.The city of Bloomington, Michael Herbert, an alumnus member of the association and his father donated the trees, said Jenna Morrison, head of the special initiatives committee for the association.The group decided to participate in two tree giveaway events in order to reach out to multiple groups in the Bloomington community, Morrison said.“EMA is involved with numerous community outreach projects,” she said. “So it was important to the organization that we could give out trees to the Bloomington community at the People’s Park event on Tuesday as well as to the IU community at SPEA on Wednesday.”At the Earth Day Celebration on Tuesday, companies such as General Motors, Sycamore Land Trust and Pizza X will set up booths to share information about eco-conscious ways of doing business, Ramey said. Information about carbon footprint reduction will also be available, she said. “The focus of the celebration is to demonstrate the viability of green businesses and how easy and important it is for people to reduce their carbon footprint,” Ramey said.A carbon footprint is a gauge of how much carbon one person, company or city uses in a given amount of time, said Michael Hamburger, associate dean of facilities and co-chair of the IU sustainability task force.“There is very strong scientific evidence that the release of carbon dioxide may be a drastic cause of global warming,” he said. “Information at the event will provide new approaches to lower a person’s environmental impact.”
(04/17/09 4:27am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>President Michael McRobbie made a key change this year as to how commencement speakers are chosen, designating the duty to honorary degree recipients and eliminating student input from the selection process, a University spokesman said Thursday.IU announced Tuesday that former Australian Justice Michael Kirby will speak at the University’s commencement ceremony, leaving some students to wonder how that speaker is chosen.“I don’t know who chooses the speaker,” senior Lakyra Pharms said. “Most people don’t know.”With the new process, students do not have input in the decision, said Larry MacIntyre, IU vice president for University communications.“They don’t get to decide who gets the degree,” MacIntyre said, “just like they have no input in who graduates, either. There are some things that are probably not appropriate for student input.”Under former President Adam Herbert, a committee was in charge of recommending speakers for the ceremony, he said. When McRobbie took office in 2007, he changed the process of choosing the speaker. It is his concern that people who receive honorary degrees at the ceremony deserve to speak to the graduating class, MacIntyre said.“McRobbie wants to assure when we award the honorary degrees that students get a chance to hear from the recipients,” he said.McRobbie decided to change the process after last year’s commencement ceremony, MacIntyre said. Many people were disappointed when Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the recipient of the honorary degree, did not get a chance to speak to the departing seniors, he said.“She has an incredible story, an incredible history,” MacIntyre said.In the new process, someone on the faculty nominates a speaker, MacIntyre said. The nominated speaker then goes through a series of checks and reviews ending in a review by the board of trustees, he said.Lauren Robel, dean of the Maurer School of Law, nominated Kirby, a human rights advocate who recently retired from the Australian High Court, the equivalent of the U.S. Supreme Court.Senior Kyle Cowser said he is nonchalant about who will be speaking at the commencement. Because IU is not a private or Ivy League university, Cowser said he knows IU will not get a big name as the commencement speaker.“Besides, I want people to be there because I’m graduating,” he said, “not because they came to see Will Smith give a speech.”Other students do not share Cowser’s indifferent attitude.The commencement ceremony usually lasts a long time, Pharms said, and if students knew a well-known speaker would be there, they would be more willing to attend. Pharms was impressed upon hearing President Barack Obama will be speaking at the University of Notre Dame’s commencement ceremony.“If we had Obama, I’m pretty sure everyone would go,” she said. “I wonder how they pulled that. It almost doesn’t get any bigger than that.”Senior Karen Gillespie said she thinks if students cared more and put effort into the process, big name speakers would come to the ceremony.“There’s no reason we couldn’t get a big-name speaker,” she said. “We have multiple top-10 programs and are one of the biggest schools in the state.”Gillespie said she thinks the reason people don’t care is because of the impersonal graduation process. Smaller graduation ceremonies would change people’s perspectives, she said.“I think every school should have their own graduation ceremony so students can actually walk across the stage and feel recognition,” she said.People nominated to receive honorary degrees are required to have made extraordinary achievements in their careers, MacIntyre said.“I anticipate some very accomplished people to receive a degree and speak in future years,” he said.While students do not have input in the process, some students are excited to hear Kirby’s speech.“Maybe he’s an interesting guy,” Cowser said.Sophomore Peter SerVaas, the newly elected president of the IU Student Association, said he thinks it is exciting to have leaders from the international community.“He may not have a household name, but he will bring a different perspective,” he said.
(04/14/09 4:14am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>An increase in human bodies donated to science in recent years has caused the Indiana Anatomical Education Board to ask that an amendment be added to Senate Bill 218. The amendment would allow Indiana to share the surplus of cadavers with other states.“The simple fact is apparently we don’t need as many as we have,” said Gordon Coppoc, assistant dean and director of the IU School of Medicine–Lafayette.The Indiana Anatomical Education Board, run by the IU School of Medicine, distributes cadavers to all institutions of higher learning in Indiana, said David Burr, chairman of the Anatomical Education Board. Right now, he said, the board is restricted to only distributing the cadavers to institutions in Indiana.“There are other states, like New York, who routinely have shortages,” Burr said. “We want to be able to help them out.”The increase in donations might have occurred for two reasons, Burr said. The primary reason is the change in the board’s program allowing people to donate directly instead of going through a local funeral director. Funeral directors could previously charge families of the deceased, he said.“Now people can donate with no expenses to them or their families,” he said.When the economy goes bad, donations go up, Burr said. People who do not have money to pay for a funeral choose to donate their bodies to science instead.Cadavers are used in medical education courses statewide, said Jim Walker, a professor of anatomy in Purdue’s Basic Medical Sciences program. At Purdue, cadavers are used in undergraduate programs and summer programs for high school students as well, he said.After the cadavers have been used in the classroom, they are returned to Indianapolis, where they are cremated individually, Burr said. They are placed in an urn and returned to their families or buried in a communal plot at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, he said.Schools that have a shortage of cadavers are forced to seek them from other states or turn to other teaching methods, Burr said. One method is prosection, where a cadaver is dissected prior to instructional use and shown to a class.“We have the feeling here in Indiana that it is really important for students to have experience with actual human bodies,” Burr said. “None of the other methods can replace the experience students have with a cadaver.”Students learn skills by working on a cadaver that they cannot learn through computer demonstrations, Burr said. Students have to work together in groups over the cadaver. They also tend to treat the cadaver as their first patient, he said.“It instills values we’d like them to have when they become doctors,” Burr said.Walker said there is no comparison between dissecting a cadaver and learning from a computer. The amount of time it takes to dissect is time spent better understanding the cadaver and all of its parts, he said.“The last thing I’d want to do is go to a doctor who learned from a computer screen,” Walker said.
(04/09/09 4:10am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>There is not a single moment when senior Lindsay Swisher, president of Alpha Kappa Psi, walks through the Kelley School of Business and doesn’t know anyone.Alpha Kappa Psi is an academic fraternity on campus for students interested in business, Swisher said. The organization, like other academic fraternities at IU, focuses on professional development, community service and “brotherhood” activities.“I walk into the lobby of the business school at any hour of the day and see a huge group of our members,” she said.Some academic fraternities – such as Beta Alpha Psi, the accounting fraternity – focus more on the professional aspects of their organization.Senior Scott Raichilson, president of Beta Alpha Psi, said he thinks the fraternity bridges the gap between academics and the real world.Raichilson said he is also a member of a social fraternity, and the two are completely different.“The accounting fraternity is focused on the professional aspect,” he said. “Basically, you won’t see us going out to bars and partying. The social aspects aren’t nearly as strong.”Alpha Chi Sigma, the chemistry fraternity, arranges a research symposium every semester with professors from the chemistry department who talk about research opportunities, said junior Krestina Johnson, vice master alchemist for the fraternity.Swisher said Alpha Kappa Psi plans resume workshops and speaker events for members of the fraternity to attend.“The professional aspect is an enormous bonus,” she said. “Along with it comes a community or built-in network. Members have a constant support system at IU.”Alpha Chi Sigma tries to get younger students involved in chemistry by volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club and at elementary schools around Bloomington, Johnson said.“One week was bubbles, and we used a solution to make bubbles bounce on your hand,” Johnson said. “We always make sure there’s something edible.”Members of Alpha Phi Omega, a service fraternity, are required to volunteer 30 hours each semester, said Laura Sargent, vice president of communications for the fraternity.One project the fraternity participated in was volunteering at an exotic feline rescue center, Sargent said. The center is home to 200 big cats for which people could no longer care or that became too dangerous for their owners.Sargent said the experience was interesting because members were only an arm’s length away from the animals.Johnson said the social aspects of the organization help in volunteering.“You make friends while promoting the cause,” she said.Similar to social fraternities, some academic fraternities hold a two-week-long rush process at the beginning of each semester. Both Alpha Kappa Psi and Alpha Chi Sigma plan events for pledges to attend to get information about the fraternities. At the end of the process, pledges are interviewed before being accepted.Alpha Chi Sigma accepts a quarter of the students rushing, Johnson said. Last semester, 70 or 80 students rushed, and 25 were accepted.Alpha Kappa Psi does not have a quota, Swisher said. Fraternity members are chosen based on their quality as applicants.Members of academic fraternities join the organizations for a number of reasons.Johnson said she thinks most people in the academic fraternity have a common goal in the end, and the organization aims to help with that goal.“A lot of students get involved because of the professional aspect,” Swisher said. “From the extended standpoint, it seems like profession is our main focus, but the community that we build helps us become professional.”
(04/07/09 4:38am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>For the fourth annual IU Circle of Life Mini Marathon, organizers of the event wanted to make the race more of an all-day experience, said Nate Rollings, co-president of Circle of Life.The mini marathon on Saturday offered new events for runners to participate in this year, such as a pasta dinner and a rock-climbing wall.“We tried to make it a better experience for the runners instead of them just coming to run and go home,” Rollings said. “Any perks we can give the runners will mean more runners next year.”Organizers made changes to the 13.1-mile course as well, Rollings said. The new course incorporates more of the campus and fewer hills.“We wanted to show off what IU’s all about,” said Sean MacCauley, co-president of Circle of Life. “We tried to include more of the scenery the campus has to offer.”Matthew Berman, co-president of Circle of Life, said he spoke to a participant who uses the mini marathon to train for the Boston Marathon. She told Berman she found the new course more challenging, but it will help her in other races.Rollings said more than 2,000 runners participated in this year’s marathon. The numbers have not yet been finalized for exactly how many people participated or how much money was raised.“A lot of people register last minute,” he said. “It’s hard to forecast. Around 40 percent register on race day.”Berman said based on registration, the total amount raised will be near $34,000.Money raised at the marathon goes directly into an endowment at the IU Foundation, MacCauley said. Board members at the Foundation review applications of cancer survivors and choose the recipient, he said. The scholarship allows the recipient to attend any of the eight IU campuses.This year’s recipient was freshman Lucas Connor, who gave a speech before the race, Rollings said.MacCauley said he has yet to receive any complaints about the event.“I usually have a complaint or two from runners,” he said.The organization has become better at putting on the race and running the marathon more smoothly, MacCauley said.In the future, MacCauley said, Circle of Life hopes to spread to other colleges.“We, as university students, understand what a wonderful gift a college education can be,” Berman said. “We would like to help bring this opportunity to young cancer survivors, regardless of where they wish to attend school.”
(03/27/09 4:04am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Operation Smile Student Association at IU will put on the Miles for Smiles Fun Walk to raise money for Operation Smile, a nationwide charity that funds facial reconstructive surgeries for children.The walk will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Dunn Meadow. The event will include a mile-long walk with interactive games and snacks afterward, said senior and events coordinator Cheryl Steiman.The Miles for Smiles Fun Walk is the first walk the group has planned since its formation three years ago, said junior Whitney Rittmann, vice president of the association. With this walk, the group hopes to establish a base for further years, she said.“We’re excited about the walk because it’s our first big event,” said junior Nichole Shoup, president of the association. “We want it to get the word out on our organization.”Though the event is geared toward children, the group would like to see students come out to help the cause, Steiman said.“Anyone can come,” she said. “It’s not like you have to be this tall to come.”Participants will be charged $10 to take part in the walk, Steiman said. Proceeds from the event will go directly to Operation Smile.“Donations are appreciated,” she said. “We’re hoping some participants ... would like to go above the baseline price.”Each facial surgery through Operation Smile is $240, Steiman said. The group hopes to raise enough money this year to donate 10 operations.Rittmann said the group is trying to raise awareness not only on campus but also in the Bloomington community.“We think the walk will be an opportunity for children of the community to learn about volunteering at an early age,” she said.The group advertised for the event in restaurants, elementary schools and other places around Bloomington, Steiman said. “We were walking around the Union posting things,” she said. “And they were just melting in with other fliers.”Rittmann said she is optimistic for a decent turnout and hopes many of the members of the organization will participate.There are roughly 200 to 300 members in the organization, Shoup said, but only 100 have been active throughout the organization’s existence.The first 100 participants to come to the walk will receive free T-shirts, Steiman said.“We’d like to say 100 people will come,” she said. “But I couldn’t even begin to guess the number. I’m a little nervous about the rain, but I know the Bloomington community really supports organizations like ours.”
(03/26/09 4:16am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Students paused on their way to class as Ed Vasquez, a member of Indiana Students Against War, yelled into a megaphone in protest of the ongoing U.S. occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan.“We must pull out of Iraq and Afghanistan now,” Vazquez said. “What’s going on in Iraq is illegal. The longer we stay, the more instability they will have.”At Wednesday’s demonstration, members of ISAW met beneath the red clock between Ballantine Hall and Woodburn Hall and marched to the Sample Gates. But, to organizers’ dismay, this year’s protest didn’t draw the crowds it has in previous years. About 10 students turned out, a smattering of those who participated last year, said junior Walker Rhea.There were a number of reasons why fewer people showed up for the demonstration, he said. The Bloomington Peace Action Coalition, another anti-war group, had a separate protest last week and is putting on a benefit concert tonight. Members from this group comprised a majority of the protestors participating in the march in past years, Rhea said.Another reason the march gathered less support was the election of President Barack Obama, he said.“When Obama won he said he would change the foreign policy,” he said. “Students think that they have done enough by showing support for Obama to not participate in activism.”Graduate student Sandrine Catris said she was afraid students might not have heard about the event.“We didn’t advertise as much for the protest as we did for the teachings,” she said.Rhea, Catris and other members of ISAW held signs demonstrating their views about the war. The signs said, “End the U.S. occupation of Iraq,” “Out of Iraq now” and “War is Terrorism.”Rhea said he would not normally phrase his views in the statement “War is Terrorism.” He said the distinction between what is considered “terrorism” is based on political perspectives.“People cannot fight terrorism by becoming a terrorist,” Catris said.Though he is not a part of ISAW, junior Robert Neal came to participate in the protest. He said the idea of killing anyone for any reason does not make sense to him.“It’s 2009,” he said. “It’s time to evolve our ideas on peace.”Neal said instead of fighting for freedom, he believes in democratic debate.“Open debate, compromise, that’s what it’s all about,” he said. “People shouldn’t be arrogant. They should just listen. But it’s human tendency to want to fight.”A few students passing the demonstration yelled at the protestors. While Vasquez voiced his opinions through the megaphone, Neal said, he was not yelling about how other people’s opinions are wrong the way some students did.One student approached the group, said he was in the military, and debated with members of ISAW before they began the march. Neal said he did not agree with most of the student’s argument.“He said basketball is basketball and war is war,” Neal said. “That doesn’t make any sense. War isn’t a sport.”Rhea said the underlying issue he is concerned with is not how troops are being treated.“War is illegal,” he said. “Gaining land through war is illegal. Occupation is what I’m protesting.”During the march from the clock to the gates, Vasquez continued to yell through the megaphone.“We must take to the streets now to protest this,” he said. “We cannot lead normal lives as long as Iraqis live in misery.”
(03/24/09 3:28am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Myles Brand, IU president emeritus and current NCAA president, will receive an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters degree during the IU Honors Convocation on Sunday.Brand served as IU’s 16th President from 1994 to 2002. Chancellor Ken Gros Louis, who worked under Brand as vice president, said Brand left his mark on the University with the nation’s first School of Informatics.“I think he did a lot of things in his years as president,” he said. “But his most lasting impact was the creation of a new school.”Louis said another of Brand’s major accomplishments was the creation of Strategic Directions. Faculties from all campuses were invited to submit proposals to the committee, who would then recommend which proposals should be funded.“A couple of the proposals still continue on campuses because of their success,” Louis said. “That was another lasting legacy.”Louis said honorary degrees are given to three or four people a year at Founders Day and Commencement ceremonies. The degrees are awarded to people with ties to the University who are well-known nationally as well as people who are known locally.“It is a significant honor to get honorary degrees from any University,” Louis said.Sunday’s ceremony is part of the Founders Day celebration to honor students in the honors colleges at all IU campuses, Louis said. Students who have earned a cumulative GPA of 3.8 or higher will be recognized at the event.Louis said he worked very closely with Brand during his years as president, speaking with him almost every day. He said Brand told him once at a conference in Washington he never learned to read phonetically. Brand learned words as full words.“Myles always had trouble with multi-syllable words,” Louis said.During a speech in which Brand was to say the word “improvisation,” Louis said he could not say the word and after a few tries continued with his speech. Later that week when Brand gave the same speech, he changed the word.“He improvised the word improvisation,” Louis said.Shortly before Christmas, Louis said he received an e-mail from Brand saying he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Since the diagnosis, Brand has been undergoing treatment for the disease.“It’s a very challenging cancer,” Louis said.Despite the current obstacles Brand is facing, he will attend the ceremony where IU President Michael McRobbie will present him with the award.IU spokesman Larry MacIntyre said the reason McRobbie is presenting the degree to Brand now is because Brand is held in very high esteem and there has been a desire to do something that would reflect both that esteem and his accomplishments at IU.MacIntyre said McRobbie has known Brand since Brand hired him in 1997.“They had a long and close relationship,” he said. “McRobbie is very well aware of the high regard people at IU have for Myles Brand and he felt it was a good time to do something to show IU’s appreciation for all that he has done.”
(03/13/09 4:25am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Coca-Cola’s contract to exclusively sell products on campus expires June 30, and leaders for IU’s No Sweat! group continued efforts March 12 to prevent an agreement renewal.No Sweat!, an IU organization aimed at ending sweatshop practices, is vying to ensure a new contract with Coca-Cola never goes through, said Amit Srivastava, coordinator of India Resource Center and director of Global Resistance.With the debate about the contract ongoing, No Sweat! asked Srivastava to speak to students about the “unethical” practices of Coca-Cola in India.“IU is a university of ethical institutions,” said Cole Wehrle, liaison for No Sweat! “We have to uphold a standard of values.”Six years ago, the India Resource Center decided to take its message national after the center said Coca-Cola would not take them seriously. Since then, Srivastava has spoken at more than 100 universities in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Norway in an attempt to get students to apply pressure on Coca-Cola.The two main issues which with the center is concerned, Srivastava said, are the Coca-Cola plants located in areas already experiencing water shortages and the factories that polluted the scarce water available.Criticisms of the multinational corporation aren’t new and have found particular footing within many university communities. Despite allegations against company officials of union-busting, irresponsible resource management and employee mistreatment at production facilities around the world, executives have maintained that their practices are socially just. But for many students, including members of No Sweat!, these claims seem false. “A year after they began operations, villages began experiencing severe water shortages,” Srivastava said.He said the factories use the same groundwater resources people of the surrounding communities use in everyday life. When the factories first opened, the company used nine liters of water to make one liter of beverage. The other eight liters, Srivastava said, were turned into waste water, which the factories emptied into surrounding fields.Government agencies tested the water after the problems were brought to their attention and found the water had been contaminated with pollutants that could be traced back to the Coca-Cola factories, Srivastava said.“Seventy percent of individuals living in India make their living in agriculture,” he said. “Poisoning the water and soil destroys lives and communities across India.”Srivastava said 30 to 40 percent of crop yields dropped since the opening of the Coca-Cola factories in some villages, and children are taken out of school to walk five or six miles each day to get water.Through the efforts of the India Resource Center, two problematic factories have already been shut down, Srivastava said. The center hopes to further shut down five of the existing 49 factories in India. “Our efforts have worked significantly,” he said. “More than 20 universities have taken action.”Srivastava said when the University of Michigan canceled its contract with Coca-Cola, the company agreed to a third-party assessment of its factories in India. When the assessment came out in 2008, Coca-Cola was more shocked with the finding than the center was, he said.The assessment investigated six of the factories in India and concluded Coca-Cola operated without regard to the communities where the plants are located, Srivastava said. The assessment said Coca-Cola did not abide by all environmental laws and did not meet its own company standards in any of the investigated factories.Wehrle said members of No Sweat! hope to use students as leverage to put Coca-Cola in position to change its behavior by ceasing IU’s business with the company.“We’re using that as our bartering chip,” Wehrle said.After petitioning President Michael McRobbie on the issue, the investigation was turned over to the Anti-Sweatshop Advisory Committee, Wehrle said. Through its investigations, the committee found the practices of the Coca-Cola Company to be beyond unacceptable.The committee, comprised of IU students, faculty and staff, focuses on making sure IU’s licensing code of conduct is imposed, Wehrle said. The code of conduct requires all companies using IU’s label to ensure workers’ basic rights.“Companies using IU’s label have to have ethical business practices,” Wehrle said. “We hope in the long-term for companies to adhere to standard civil rights.”Srivastava said there are now five active campaigns across India that have made it clear that Coca-Cola’s needs for water and the communities’ needs for water cannot coexist.“If anyone knows anything about water, its farmers,” he said. “For many of these farmers, this is a fight for their lives.”
(03/12/09 2:48am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In celebration of the Bloomington Area Arts Council’s 35th birthday, Bloomington resident Robert Stumpf played bagpipes outside of the John Waldron Art Center Wednesday at A Leprechaun’s Birthday. The birthday party was one of 35 events the council will put on this year. The goal of the events is to provide exposure for the council and to invite people to enjoy what the art center has to offer, said Ashley Fisher, president of the council’s board of trustees. “The Art Center showcases everything from fine art to performing art,” she said.Another goal of the events is to raise at least $350,000 by the last celebration in September, Fisher said. The money donated to the council will help pay for the operation of the art center, provide grants and endow performance positions, she said.Sophomore Kaylee Spivey, the “Leprechaun” whose pretend birthday was being celebrated, said she thought the party was great.“I was born in 1492 and ever since have been on the run,” she said.Spivey said she does not usually have birthday parties, and when she does, they only consist of a few leprechaun friends and family.“It’s a great turnout,” she said. “There are at least 50 people. I’m very excited.”The council received help from many members of the community in putting on A Leprechaun’s Birthday. Children from Harmony School helped with the rainbow of balloons that lined the main staircase, Fisher said.Stumpf also said he volunteered his services as a member of the Bloomington Fire Department’s bag and pipe band. The band was developed last year with the help of a grant provided by the council for equipment and outfits for the members.Shelly Ritter, a Bloomington resident and member of the council, said she attended the event to support the art community. As a local artist, Ritter said she wants to sponsor all the activities at the art center in promoting the arts.Staff members of the council and the art center also showed their support by attending the event.Karri Basford, the council’s financial manager, said she thought the celebration was beautiful. “The party promotes everything St. Patrick’s Day,” she said. “It’s a great representation.”
(03/11/09 4:29am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Graduate school does not guarantee students a job after graduation, but it does open up more opportunities, said seventh-year graduate student Jorge Aguilar-Sanchez.Aguilar-Sanchez will graduate in July with two Ph.D.s and two masters degrees. Already well into the job hunt, he said the first two stages of the search went well for him.“But about 10 percent of job postings get canceled,” he said. “And interviews don’t guarantee you getting a job.”Erik Medina, director of graduate career services at the Kelley School of Business, said the typical job-recruiting season between October and November this year was less fruitful across the board for MBA programs.“The economy is bad everywhere,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”The Kelley School wants to create the best opportunities for students to find a job, Medina said. The school participates with 30 other universities in sharing information on students’ performance in the job market and the schools’ methods of student outreach.“We’re doing relatively well compared to those schools,” Medina said. “Much of the stuff we’re doing is helping, but there’s no Holy Grail out there.”During periods of economic decline, it is common to find students flocking to MBA programs, Medina said.In the Graduate Enrollment and Degrees: 1997-2007 report by the Council of Graduate Schools, the nation saw a 3 percent increase in total graduate enrollment.Dave Daleke, the assistant dean for academic affairs at the University Graduate School, said he thinks it is too soon to tell why there has been an increase in students choosing to attend graduate school. The school has not asked incoming students whether they are attending school due to the economy, he said.Valerie Cross, a second-year graduate student, said she would like to earn a Ph.D. after finishing her masters degree.“Because of the way the economy is right now, it might be better to do it now than later,” she said.Third-year graduate student Jared Patten said he thinks having a Ph.D. is helpful to teach at the university level.“With a Ph.D., you can get a job with a greater degree of job security,” he said.Paloma Fernandez Sanchez, a fourth-year graduate student, said while attending graduate school does not guarantee a student his or her dream job, it does guarantee a job in a better position than those who did not earn a Ph.D.With a higher number of job-seekers, employers have more control over whom they hire today, Medina said, and can pick whomever they want.Medina said the two key factors on which students should focus in the job search are having a plan and building a network.“It takes a lot for students to feel engaged in the process,” he said. “They have to keep enthusiasm and move themselves forward.”Ryan Hallows, a third-year graduate student, said he has hope that the economy will change for the better before he graduates.“I haven’t heard of anyone who hasn’t found a job,” he said. “It’s just taking longer.”Hallows is studying for a Ph.D. in humanities and hopes to become a professor. The rush of students to graduate school because of the economy is job security, he said, because the influx of students will open up new teaching positions.Patten said he is still optimistic about his future job search after graduation. “I think it will be better by then,” he said. “And I hope it will be better by then.”
(03/11/09 3:54am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In celebration of the Bloomington Area Arts Council’s 35th birthday, the council has planned 35 “unbirthday” parties between January and September, said Steve Pierson, office manager for the council. The next party, “A Leprechaun’s Birthday,” will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the John Waldron Art Center. The idea for the unbirthday parties came from the animated movie “Alice in Wonderland,” said Rob Hanrahan, development director for the Arts Council. The first unbirthday party in January involved the release of 3,500 balloons down the art center’s main staircase, Hanrahan said. The balloons rushed down the staircase to the bottom where people could play in them.Besides parties open to the general public once a month, special luncheons are also considered unbirthday celebrations, Hanrahan said. With St. Patrick’s Day approaching, “A Leprechaun’s Birthday” was the perfect choice, Hanrahan said. “Who would ever think a leprechaun had a birthday?” he said. After working for Disney, Hanrahan said he always looks for the unexpected. Instead of predictably choosing to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, Hanrahan said he wanted to put on a celebration that would catch the community’s attention. A fire truck and a bagpipe musician will greet guests at the entrance of the celebration, Hanrahan said. Inside the art center, refreshments and music will be provided, Pierson said, as well as an appearance by the guest of honor.Whoever catches a leprechaun will receive a pot of gold, Hanrahan said, but attendees of the event are asked not to capture the leprechaun.“Because it’s the leprechaun’s birthday, we promised no one would chase him,” Hanrahan said. Every unbirthday party has a cake, Pierson said, and the leprechaun’s cake will be shaped like a pot of gold. At the official birthday party in September, the goal is to have a 35-tiered cake, Hanrahan said. “I believe 39 feet, four inches is the Guinness World Record,” he said. “We’re shooting to go over that.”The unbirthday parties are a way to unite people and celebrate all the Arts Council has done for the community, Hanrahan said. He also said he thinks the celebrations will grow with each party. More than 50 guests have already confirmed their attendance to the leprechaun’s birthday, he said. The art center does not require party-goers to register or R.S.V.P. to attend.