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(09/05/06 3:46am)
To be honest, my first tennis love was Pete Sampras. I grew up on tennis, and I loved watching him pummel opponents with his powerful serves and precise volleys. As a tennis player, he could do everything that I couldn't -- I rarely strayed from the baseline (or hit 130 mph first serves). But as they always say, opposites attract.\nAnd first loves die hard. During the 2002 U.S. Open, I cheered Sampras to victory against Andre Agassi in the last match of his pro career. A year later -- when Sampras walked onto the court in Arthur Ashe Stadium one last time to officially announce his retirement -- I, along with many "Pistol Pete" fans, thought that tennis as I knew it was over.\nAgassi had always been one of my heroes, but he became my new favorite player after Sampras retired. Since then, I think I've watched every match he has played, and now, to me, Agassi is more of a hero than Sampras ever was. \nDon't get me wrong, I still love Pete. But Agassi has inspired me and my generation more than anyone I've ever seen play. Agassi, who retired with eight Grand Slam titles and almost 900 singles wins, went from being the game's wild child to being its spokesman. He peaked at No. 1 in 1995 and then slipped to No. 141 in 1997. Then he fought his way all the way back to No. 1 and has been at the top since 1999. He has taught us that it's OK to yell, get mad and screw up as long as we bounce back, train hard and have passion and perseverance.\nAs Agassi made his final speech, nearly 24,000 people stood completely silent, eyes glued to the crying champion. He said that in his 21 years of playing professional tennis, fans' loyalty, inspiration and support helped him reach his dreams. But really, he has given that to fans. For 21 years, they've had a loyal hero to count on, someone who has inspired them and taught them to love tennis. \nHe has shown the world that some professional athletes really do have a pure love for the sport they play. He never gave into pressure to retire once he hit 30. He was out on a court until his body physically couldn't take any more. He has donated millions to ensure kids can continue to learn tennis. He gave the game all of himself. \nNot every athlete would do that. Sampras certainly didn't.\nAnd which one of today's Americans will be playing until age 36? Certainly not Andy Roddick, who has yet to convince me that he's out of diapers or that he can play tennis. Probably not Robby Ginepri, Taylor Dent or Mardy Fish, who've barely had careers worth mentioning. Maybe James Blake because he certainly has the charisma and the maturity, but he has yet to win a major title.\nThe point is, there will never be another like Andre Agassi. One fan at all three of his U.S. Open matches last week held up a sign that said "Legends live forever," and in his case, the tennis world knows it's true. Arthur Ashe Stadium was packed every time Agassi played last week -- as it has been throughout his career -- and every fan was cheering for him. \nAnd just before Agassi played his last point, tears welled in his eyes, mirroring the tears in the eyes of thousands in the stands. Even John McEnroe choked up as he interviewed Agassi after his five-set win against 21-year-old Marcos Baghdatis last week. \nAnd personally, he'll always be my tennis hero. He might have replaced Sampras, but no one will replace him. \nIn fact, I think second loves last forever, at least in tennis.
(08/23/06 4:08am)
When two girls wandered into sophomore Greg Gier's new room in Briscoe Monday night, he was taken aback rather than flattered. \nInstead of looking for a guy, the girls were looking for a comfy couch and a TV. That's because Gier's new home happens to be a lounge, not a dorm room.\n"We'll just be chilling in the room and people keep coming in thinking it's a regular lounge," he said. "Every time I say I live in a lounge, people are like 'What?'"\nBut Gier is not alone. This year about 100 students will temporarily live in lounges in Briscoe, Forest and Teter quads, Residential Programs and Services Executive Director Pat Connor said.\nThis year is the first time since 2000 that RPS has been forced to place students in dorm lounges, but Connor said RPS officials hope to put the students in rooms as quickly as possible. \nConnor predicted that after "no-shows" have been counted, RPS will be able to assign displaced students to permanent rooms. Still, most displaced students will wait two weeks, if not more, for new assignments.\nThough Connor said RPS notified displaced students of their housing situation prior to moving in, Gier said he never received an assignment and had to call RPS several times before he was told that he would be put in "temporary housing." He then asked what that meant and was startled when he RPS told him he would be living in a lounge.\n"At first I was freaking out," he said. "I was like, 'How can they do that? Is my stuff going to be safe?' ... I was shocked and kind of upset. It deterred me from wanting to come down here a little."\nThe large incoming freshman class, coupled with the regular influx of graduate and transfer students and a new program that requires some Ivy Tech Community College students to live on campus, caused an excessive number of students to apply for housing, Connor said. Though in recent years residence halls and on-campus apartments have had occupation rates higher than 90 percent, this year everything will be filled to capacity, he said.\nStudents will live four to a lounge and take up about half the lounges in each of the three dorms, Connor said. The lounges will contain bunk beds, hanging racks, dressers and desks, though not necessarily one per person.\n"(Students) will be in lounges for a discounted rate. ... It'll actually be pretty comfortable," said Residence Halls Association President and junior Matt Jarson. "I wouldn't say all the \namenities of home, but you can't get that in a residence hall."\nWhen he moved in Sunday, Gier, a native of Munster, Ind., who transferred from IU-Northwest, enjoyed living in the lounge. He realized he had more space than he would if he lived in a dorm room. He said he also likes his new roommates, but with the four of them, the seemingly spacious quarters have grown smaller. Gier said they have their own beds, but they have to share two desks, two dressers and two coat racks.\nAnd he feels like he has to live out of a suitcase.\n"I'm still packed up because I'm waiting for them to tell me when I'm going to move out," he said. "Most of my stuff is ready to go."\nMost of the students who will live in the lounges are those who applied late for housing, like Gier, or are upperclassmen. IU policy makes housing for first-year students a priority, but some freshmen might still be affected if they applied late. \nConnor said RPS contacted students who are 21 and older who applied for housing and encouraged them seek off-campus housing. RPS officials warned those students in advance that officials would not be able to tell them whether they would be able to get a permanent assignment until after Labor Day.\nRPS also offered to buy out the contracts of students using double rooms as single rooms and move those students to a different location, Jarson said.\nJeanne Lady, assistant residence manager at Teter Quad, said Tuesday morning the students already living in lounges had not complained, and neither had the resident assistants.\n"I don't think it puts a particular strain on the RAs or students," she said. "The students seem to like having the extra space and are happy once they're used to it, even though it might not be what they expected.\nLady said she couldn't predict how students yet to move in who will be living in the lounges will react, but said the RAs are excited about the upcoming arrivals. \n"They have moved in just fine and seem to be getting used to it," she said.
(08/22/06 7:19pm)
By the end of tomorrow, all on-campus apartments and residence halls will be filled to capacity -- and so will several residence hall lounges. This year approximately 100 students will be housed in lounges in Briscoe, Forest and Teter Quads for at least the first two weeks of school, Residential Programs and Services Executive Director Pat Connor said.\nThis is the first time since 2000 that students have had to temporarily occupy residence hall lounges, but RPS hopes to place the students in rooms as quickly as possible. Still, most students will wait two weeks, if not more, for a permanent assignment.\n"Based on past history, we are fairly confident that after confirming the no-shows from the check-in process, we should be have enough space to then provide these students with a permanent room assignment," Connor said in an e-mail. "Our assignments office has already been in communication with these students so they are aware of what the situation is prior to their arrival to campus."\nConnor said students will live four to a lounge and take up about half the lounges in each of the three buildings. He said the lounges will contain bunked beds, hanging racks, dressers and desks, though not necessarily one per person.
(08/02/06 10:39pm)
After returning to their lake house near Rochester, Ind., for the Fourth of July holiday, Indianapolis resident Kate Hinman and her husband, Martin, checked the mailbox for their copy of the Peru (Ind.) Tribune. While riding in the car, Kate Hinman thumbed through the sections of the newspaper until a name caught her eye and made her do a double take. They pulled the car over in shock and a minute later they were both staring at the name of Hinman's uncle who had died more than a decade ago.\n"I glance over and see 'Emerson Keller Elkins'," she said. "And I said, 'That's Uncle Emerson!'"\nThe Hinmans never would've guessed that their relative was posthumously making headlines all over the state for something he did almost seven decades ago.\nOn the morning of Jan. 15, 1939, Emerson Keller Elkins was working as a page in the Indiana Memorial Union hotel. Probably bored, he decided to leave a letter and various items in the wall of the IMU. There it remained untouched until the morning of June 22 this year, when workers discovered his time capsule in a wall they were tearing down for renovations.\nA few minutes after reading the article, Hinman was on her cell phone making calls to Bloomington to find out more information. The next day, she heard from Loren Rullman, executive director of the IMU, and soon had a copy of her uncle's letter and a list of items they found in the wall.\n"It was just startling, very startling," she said. "(My first reaction to the letter was) 'That sounds exactly like Emerson!' ... Especially the part about 'Gone with the Wind' (and how he didn't think it'd do very well) ... He was a cynical man. He was an attorney; he got his law degree from IU and worked for the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C."\nHinman said that even though Elkins lived a few states away, he maintained a relationship with his family. She has childhood memories of him visiting, specifically of riding towards the Kokomo, Ind., Howard Johnson in a convertible with the top rolled down. She also remembers a time when she was about 12 or 13 years old that Elkins, who had served in the Air Force, took her and her mother for a ride in a Cessna 172 airplane.\n"She white-knuckled it, and I loved it. My husband's a pilot so I love to fly," she said. "Those are really some of my earliest memories."\nThough Elkins loved his job and received awards from the Nixon administration, he was ready to retire when he moved back to the family home in Peru, Hinman said. After that, he bought a mobile home he named "Castle" and traveled between Indiana, Florida and California visiting family. He died August 27, 1993 at his nephew's home in Covina, Calif.\nElkins was married only briefly when he was younger and had no children, so his cremated remains were sent to Hinman's mother and she buried them at a cemetery north of Peru, Hinman said.\nSince learning of her uncle's time capsule, Hinman said she has begun the "journey" of looking into family history. She said she feels like Elkins' letter has given her a new connection to him.\n"It's neat because ... it brings out a little bit of his humanity," she said. "I mean, he was just a guy who was bored before going to work writing a letter like, 'Oh it'd be cool if I stashed some stuff in the wall.' And having been a bored student I could see him doing that."\nIn turn, Rullman said having Hinman visit IU and tell stories about her uncle has helped personalize the time capsule and letter.\n"We learned a little bit from what Mr. Elkins put in the wall but then she called and was able to round out some of the story and provide a personal, real-life connection to the story," he said. "It's just history in some ways but if you have somebody who can augment that history and bring a real-life perspective to it, it's so great because she makes it more real."\nBut Hinman brought more than just stories. She donated family photos of Elkins and some of his belongings to IU, including some of his awards from the Nixon administration. She said she wanted IU to have them because she doesn't have many close relatives and she said Elkins "felt a great affinity for IU." Right now it's undecided where the items will be housed.\nRullman said that the IMU staff and Union Board have decided to make their own time capsule. He said a Union Board member and a student who works as a hotel page will write letters to include in their capsule. They're still trying to decide what to put with the letters, but right now they're thinking they'll include a copy of the Indiana Daily Student, a list of current wages, some statistics about IMU employees, a list of Union Board programs and perhaps a hotel key and other IU memorabilia. They plan to put their time capsule into the wall sometime in August since construction on the area will resume at the end of the month. The project will be completed by late October or early November, Rullman said.\nHinman is excited students and staff are creating a new time capsule and wants to be present when they put it into the wall.\n"Time capsules are neat," she said. "That's what makes us human is documenting what is going on, whether it's painting on a cave wall, making a time capsule or writing a letter. We as human beings like to document our history, so I think that (would) be really cool."\nHinman is also enjoying the impact her uncle's piece of history is having on everyone. While the University is obviously excited about the capsule, she has found her friends and coworkers have shared in the enthusiasm of this unique occurrence. Hinman, who works as a medical social worker at St. Vincent's Hospital in Indianapolis, said her boss and coworkers are fascinated by what's happening.\n"It's touching more and more people, it's really neat," she said. "I think he'd be pleased"
(07/26/06 11:24pm)
When I heard the rumor that Andy Roddick was pursuing Jimmy Connors as his coach, my first thought was, "Oh my." And when Roddick confirmed Monday that Connors is his coach, I didn't even know what to think, other than, "Have they both lost their minds??"\nTo me, it seems that Roddick should choose someone calmer and someone who has been around the game more recently than the 53-year-old Connors, who retired back in 1992 and hasn't really done anything professional tennis-related since, aside from playing senior tennis and trying to create an all-star exhibition doubles match in 2004. Still, I guess the key word in the previous sentence is calmer.\nCall me crazy, but I can't picture Connors patiently analyzing Roddick's strengths and weaknesses and intently working with him to hone his streaky backhand and net game. And I certainly can't see Connors helping Roddick work out his mental issues. In fact, Connors was about twice as volatile during his prime as Roddick is now. He was known as the "brash basher of Belleville" because he frequently threw insane temper tantrums on court, yelling at line judges, chair umpires and anyone who would listen. He refused to play for the Association of Tennis Professionals (the men's side of the pro tour) when it was formed and brought lawsuits against the ATP and its president, Arthur Ashe, though he eventually dropped them. He also refused to admit he had been beaten after losses.\nRoddick also throws these tantrums, which often bring him down during matches and usually anger the chair umpire and the crowd. I've always thought that if he could get someone to help him become more mentally stable, he would win more matches, and I don't think Connors is the one to help. If anything, I think he could make Roddick more unstable than he already is. And if that's the case, spectators should look out for a barrage of flying racquets at upcoming tournaments. \nAlso, there's the fact that Jimmy Connors has never actually coached a pro tennis player, so he doesn't have the experience of a seasoned coach like, for example, Andy's former coach, Brad Gilbert. This doesn't bode too well considering Connors has said in a press conference that he wants to help Andy regain his No. 1 ranking, which hasn't looked possible in the past few years regardless of Roddick's coaching staff. More than 2,000 ranking points separate Roger Federer, the current world No. 1, and Rafael Nadal, the current world No. 2, and almost 6,000 points separate Federer and Roddick, currently ranked No. 10 in the world. (In fact, Roddick just re-entered the top 10 after his runner-up finish at the RCA Championships in Indianapolis last week, and he's no longer the top American player -- James Blake took that honor after Wimbledon.) Translation: Unless Roddick wins every tournament for the next few years and Roger Federer either dies or loses in the first few rounds of every tournament he plays, Roddick will never take his place. To me, the odds are stacked against Roddick, no matter who his coach is.\nSure, Connors may be able to teach Roddick a little bit about longevity and love of the game (he played his last tournament at 39 years of age and finished his career with eight Grand Slam singles titles), but I don't think it'll be enough to get Roddick permanently out of his so-called slump. \nWhat Roddick really needs, in my opinion, is someone who's an experienced coach, patient and willing to work. To me, Gilbert was the perfect choice for Andy. Gilbert has coached many young tennis stars, including Andre Agassi, and Roddick hit the height of his career (a U.S. Open title and a No. 1 ranking) during the year-and-a-half he was with Gilbert. So my advice to Roddick is this: Go back to Gilbert before another young Andy (19-year-old Andy Murray, to be exact) snatches him up, or before he continues his bleak broadcasting career as a commentator for ESPN.\nIn fact, Roddick would do us all a favor if he took Gilbert away from ESPN, since he just glances awkwardly at the camera, talking in a foreign language of odd sports metaphors, and probably frustrates the wardrobe people who constantly have to dress him because he doesn't own anything that isn't black. And I bet ESPN could easily hire someone else to take Gilbert's place, someone more exciting and perhaps a bit crazier. Hey, how about Jimmy Connors?
(07/20/06 1:30am)
Friday, June 30, 2006 5:45 PM\nSunday is usually thought of as a day of rest, a tradition that stems from earlier times when almost everyone woke up, attended church, sat down for a family meal and relaxed for the remainder of the day. But January 15, 1939, wasn't a restful Sunday for Indiana Memorial Union hotel page Emerson Keller Elkins. Elkins had to be at work early in the morning. Probably a little disgruntled and maybe a little bit bored, he began his shift by writing a letter to the future IMU director, though he had no idea who it would be. He discussed some of the political events of the world at that time, including the reign of Adolf Hitler, presidency of Franklin Roosevelt and his doubts that the upcoming movie "Gone With the Wind" would have much success. After writing the letter he placed it, along with some other items from the hotel, into a patch of the wall in the men's lounge where he thought the plastering didn't "look too solid." And there it laid untouched and unknown for almost 70 years. \nAs workers began demolishing a wall near the IMU Outdoor Adventures Office June 22, they came across something very unexpected -- Elkins' time capsule. \n"A guy was knocking down the glazed red tile and he saw some papers in there and started to pull them out," said an IMU facilities service worker who wished to remain anonymous. "He said, 'Hey, look at this!' He started reading the letter and we looked at the other papers. It was wild."\nAfter uncovering the letter, the workers brought it to IMU Director Loren Rullman's office. Later, other items, including a 1930s glass Coca-Cola bottle, packaging from a Lucky Strike cigarettes container, a lock and key, a coat tag and various hotel paraphernalia, were found in the wall.\nThe letter, which was in an envelope addressed to the IMU director, excited the entire staff because it shows a piece of student history in a building that has always been strongly associated with students, Rullman said.\n"The story of the union is really the story of students at IU," he said. "It was founded by students in 1909, the student section of the building opened in 1932 and it has been staffed by students for almost 100 years. We've always been a place for students. What's great is that (Elkins) wrote the letter as a student ... Here it is 70 years later and we are still communicating."\nThe letter gives reference to several historic events, including the selection of actress Vivien Leigh to play Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind," a movie Elkins predicted wouldn't "merit the fuss." This particular paragraph was a favorite of both Rullman and Brad Cook, a photograph curator at the IU Archives who helped examine the letter.\n"It's just something really fun and interesting to read," Cook said.\nRullman said it's especially exciting that they found the letter while working on this particular project because it will expand the gallery area and make an exclusive gathering place for students, as well as enable students to drift between the indoor rooms and the outdoor patio. Construction will begin in July and should be finished in September. Rullman said they'll definitely try to put a copy of the letter and possibly some of the items on display so everyone can learn the story of Elkins' time capsule, but he's unsure exactly what they will be able to showcase.\nThe IMU facilities service staff, however, has already decided what its contribution will be. The staff plans to place a copy of Elkins' letter along with a letter of its own, an IMU hotel brochure, a list of current pay rates and perhaps other IU items in a wall before the end of construction, said Leslie Prince, office assistant for the facilities service.\nNo matter what the display will be, Rullman thinks the letter in itself is a tribute to student involvement.\n"We realize the history here is incredible and (the letter) is part of the history," he said. "Student involvement and commitment at the union is timeless"
(07/20/06 12:32am)
The IU board of trustees will interview search firms at its meeting Friday at IU-Purdue University Indianapolis, when they hope to be able to select the firm they will use to find IU's next president. \nThe board will be meeting with the principles of AT Kearney, Academic Search Consultation Services and Witt/Kieffer, the final three firms the trustees chose from a pool of seven proposals, said IU trustee and presidential search committee chairwoman Sue Talbot. The trustees will then determine which firm will be the best fit for IU.\n"We're looking for strength in commitment," Tabolt said. "For them to be with us for the length of time we need them to be, to put us as a priority because a presidential search is very important. We're also looking at other successful searches that they have performed -- some history on their performance rate. We will determine by talking to them whether or not they have in-depth experience working with a multitude of institutions the size of ours, and that's pretty important."\nTalbot said the board "certainly plans" to stay within the $100,000 budgeted to hire a search firm and, despite the cost, she said there are still significant advantages to hiring a firm to help out. For example, she said, search firms know more about potential candidates, even if they do not submit dossiers for the position.\n"One case of that is (Purdue University President) Martin Jischke," she said. "He didn't apply to be president at Purdue, but ... it turned out be an excellent fit. You have to know the players and we're not necessarily in that field, the people who have come together in this committee."\nAnother concern is IU's shaky history using search firms in the past. The University used Baker Parker, an Atlanta-based search firm, in its failed attempt to find a chancellor. But Talbot said the committees and trustees will not leave the responsibility of finding IU's next president solely to the firm they choose. She said that a key to success is working hard -- and cooperatively -- with the firm.\n"We don't just hand it to them and say, 'go find somebody,'" she said. "We're working with them very hard the entire time."\nTalbot said the board is looking forward to interviewing the three firms because she thinks there will be lots of good conversation and interest.\n"IU is an incredible institution," she said. "We'll hire the top search firm that wants to be involved with us"
(07/13/06 4:00am)
One of the state's best-kept secrets borders a tiny gravel road off of Highway 46 in Center Point, Ind., about an hour west of Bloomington. The entrance, almost hidden, leads to a stretch of land with some unexpected inhabitants -- almost 200 exotic cats.\nExotic Feline Rescue Center owner Joe Taft walked slowly up a grass path between an enclosure with two servals and another with three lions. Even with his baseball cap on he squinted into the sun as he approached the chain link fence, the only thing that separates the cats from the humans at the center. To Taft and his staff, they're all humans.\nEven Taft's clothes showed how much he loves his 192 friends, all of different colors, sizes and breeds. The sleeves of his blue button down shirt were rolled up and the fabric was torn in various places. His shirt and blue jeans were stained with splotches of red drying into a crusty, deep burgundy because he had to help cut up the body of a dead horse donated by a farmer in order to serve his feline guests, who eagerly awaited their lunch in each enclosure. \n"Sometimes that's what you have to do when you're the boss," he said. "You have to help out where it's needed."\nThe grisly reminder of the food chain that sometimes greets the center's guests adds to the natural atmosphere, but it's still in stark contrast with the picturesque property. The 108 acres Taft bought in order to pursue his passion has been sectioned off into "15 years' worth" of massive enclosures for the cats he rescues. The property has areas of field and woods, which provides the cats with shade in the summer and space to roam. Once cats inhabit an enclosure, the area is not mowed, so cats feel more at home in the natural vegetation.\nEnclosures vary in size depending on how many cats are in the enclosure and how big the cats are, but each cage gives cats more than adequate room to play, eat and hide if they get tired of visitors. Some of the biggest enclosures, which are generally for lions and tigers, are about 20,000 square feet. Right now, they're about to start building new enclosures for cats that will be arriving later in the summer.\n"We average taking in two cats a month," he said. "That's a huge number. We've taken 11 cats so far this year."\nThat is a huge number, especially considering the center started rather unintentionally. Though Taft loved big cats, it was never his plan to run such a large facility.\nTaft's first big cat was an ocelot he bought in the mid-1960s. He also had a leopard for 20 years who had its own room in his house, which opened up to an outdoor enclosure.\n"My house was modified," he said. "It had chain link over the windows and double-locking doors. ... It was not your typical house pet. This was a leopard. It was more like there was a cot in the cat house for the zoo keeper."\nNow Taft gets several of his animals from people who think they can handle big cats as pets, but it often ends with abuse and neglect. He even admitted his own pet purchases were not exactly good ideas, but at least his experience ended happily.\n"I had no idea what I was doing. I was going to get a Lotus and a cheetah and I was going to drive very fast in my Lotus and my cheetah was going to sit perfectly well behaved and happy next to me. Well that really corresponds well with reality," he laughed. "I looked at Lotuses and got an MG and looked at cheetahs and got an ocelot. The ocelot had me hooked right from the very first minute. The cars came and went, but that cat, she grabbed my heart and I've had big cats ever since." \nSeveral years after Taft got his first pets, the idea for a rescue center was born. In 1990 Taft learned of two tigers that "were in a lot of trouble" because they had been locked in the back of a Volkswagon van for an extended period of time, he said.\n"One was blind and crippled and most of his baby teeth were rotted out," he said. "I took those two cats in and that's what started the rescue center. I came here in 1991 and bought the original property, and since then we've bought two adjoining pieces of property. Now we have 108 acres all together."\nAs Taft strolled by the enclosures, many of the cats came up to the fence to greet their guardian. Autumn, a full-grown female cougar, rubbed up against the fence, but when she saw Taft wasn't alone she briefly withdrew.\n"If you don't want pets don't lean like you want pets, OK?" he told her.\nBut within seconds she was back at the fence, letting him pet her as a loud, rumbling purr shook through her body.\nNext to Autumn, another cougar named Charlie laid peacefully in his enclosure a few feet from the fence.\n"Charlie is one of two cats here that are blind," Taft explained. "He has a condition that deteriorates retina."\nAt the sound of Taft's voice, Charlie got up and walked to the fence and Taft reached out his hand for Charlie to smell. Immediately, Charlie lay down again up against the fence right in front of Taft.\n"Most of them know me and quite a number will come if I call them. Two of the lions in there I can go in with," Taft said, pointing to the next enclosure.\nHe went to the fence surrounding the home of three lions and called for Tucker, one of the cats he's closest with. All three lions were lying on the other side of the enclosure but perked up when they heard his voice. They raised themselves briefly to locate Taft, but then curled back up to nap in the sun. They apparently didn't want to perform for an audience.\n"With the exception of a few cats I have a close relationship with, I won't go in the cages with a cat unless there's a reason," he said. "It's not standard procedure to be in the cage with the cats."\nMedical concerns often provide a reason for Taft to enter cages, but the cats often receive their vaccinations and basic care through the fence. For more serious problems, cats are professionally anesthetized and brought to the new, on-site and elaborate clinic Taft built in his basement. A veterinarian who lives about 10 miles from the center regularly cares for the cats if they become sick or need to be spayed or neutered.\nThe new clinic has helped both the staff and the cats, since simple medical procedures used to prove difficult to complete. Before the inception of the clinic, Taft had to cart new cats all the way to the University of Illinois in order to get them spayed, a requirement for all cats that live at the center. The entire process was expensive, complicated and would engage almost the entire staff for two days, he said. Now cats can be spayed on-site and Taft can ensure they're getting the best care.\nAs Taft continued to walk along the path, lions and tigers happily lunched on the animal parts he had cut up only a half-hour before. Female lions dragged a horse head around their enclosure while tigers shared their meat and frolicked in water bins next door. Taft said the center goes through about 3,000 pounds of meat each day and that they depend on farmers and hunters to donate food. Farmers bring in horses and cows that have died of natural causes and hunters occasionally bring in extra meat that they don't have room for or don't want to eat. If they're running low on food, they'll get money from donors to buy chicken, said five-year staff member Suzanne Taylor.\n"The cats are fed six days a week, once a day," Taft said. "One day they fast, and that's weather dependent. When it's cold, they have meat in front of them all the time. That horse head weighs about 200 pounds and it will feed those seven cats; they'll still be eating on it tomorrow when we take it out. During the summer they're usually given what they'll eat. Lions sometimes fast up to three days in the summer because it gets so hot that they don't want to eat. Tigers are quite often fasted two days a week. Not consecutive days a week, though."\nFor most of the cats, an abundance of food and enclosures with toys, vegetation, climbing towers and water bins is more like a luxury hotel than a rescue center. Most cats came from breeders who shoved them into small cages, from circuses where they were mistreated or from private owners who didn't properly care for them and ended up in jail for various reasons. Some were in such poor medical condition that they were near death by the time they reached the center. Others were so sparingly fed that they were severely underweight and every bone in their bodies was visible through their thick coats of fur. But now, they're happy, healthy, well fed and have a good home for the rest of their lives.\nAnd the cats offer something quite unique for visitors -- a chance to see wild animals up close. The center is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Though it's a nonprofit organization, the staff asks for donations of $10 for adults and $5 for children who wish to tour the facility. For $120, guests can stay overnight in a small apartment for two attached to Taft's house. Overnight guests get a private entrance, access to the facility when it's closed and get to pet one of the animals. Several of the cats also live right outside the door of the apartment and guests can see them from the window.\nFrance Knable and John Smith, two Bloomington residents, opted to stay the night last week as a birthday present for Smith, Knable said. It was the second visit for Knable, a French teacher at Bloomington High School North, who had brought two visiting teachers from France who were in Bloomington for an exchange a few years ago. The overnight visit was Smith's first trip.\n"It's definitely interesting," he said as he looked around the apartment. "It feels kind of like Jurassic Park."\nKnable was looking forward to touring the facility again and possibly going on a nighttime walk.\n"I love cats so when I found out about this place I've been wanting to come out for a long time," she said. "I wanted to spend the night because cats howl at night and I want to hear them."\nTaylor and Taft both said people don't know what they're missing until they visit the center.\n"If you like big cats, you'll never see big cats like this anywhere else—this close to them and this rich of a habitat and this many of them," Taft said. "People come here and say it's the greatest zoological experience they've ever had … and all these animals are rescue animals and deserve your support"
(07/12/06 3:58pm)
One of the state's best-kept secrets borders a tiny gravel road off of Highway 46 in Center Point, Ind., about an hour west of Bloomington. The entrance, almost hidden, leads to a stretch of land with some unexpected inhabitants -- almost 200 exotic cats.\nExotic Feline Rescue Center owner Joe Taft walked slowly up a grass path between an enclosure with two servals and another with three lions. Even with his baseball cap on he squinted into the sun as he approached the chain link fence, the only thing that separates the cats from the humans at the center. To Taft and his staff, they're all humans.\nEven Taft's clothes showed how much he loves his 192 friends, all of different colors, sizes and breeds. The sleeves of his blue button down shirt were rolled up and the fabric was torn in various places. His shirt and blue jeans were stained with splotches of red drying into a crusty, deep burgundy because he had to help cut up the body of a dead horse donated by a farmer in order to serve his feline guests, who eagerly awaited their lunch in each enclosure. \n"Sometimes that's what you have to do when you're the boss," he said. "You have to help out where it's needed."\nThe grisly reminder of the food chain that sometimes greets the center's guests adds to the natural atmosphere, but it's still in stark contrast with the picturesque property. The 108 acres Taft bought in order to pursue his passion has been sectioned off into "15 years' worth" of massive enclosures for the cats he rescues. The property has areas of field and woods, which provides the cats with shade in the summer and space to roam. Once cats inhabit an enclosure, the area is not mowed, so cats feel more at home in the natural vegetation.\nEnclosures vary in size depending on how many cats are in the enclosure and how big the cats are, but each cage gives cats more than adequate room to play, eat and hide if they get tired of visitors. Some of the biggest enclosures, which are generally for lions and tigers, are about 20,000 square feet. Right now, they're about to start building new enclosures for cats that will be arriving later in the summer.\n"We average taking in two cats a month," he said. "That's a huge number. We've taken 11 cats so far this year."\nThat is a huge number, especially considering the center started rather unintentionally. Though Taft loved big cats, it was never his plan to run such a large facility.\nTaft's first big cat was an ocelot he bought in the mid-1960s. He also had a leopard for 20 years who had its own room in his house, which opened up to an outdoor enclosure.\n"My house was modified," he said. "It had chain link over the windows and double-locking doors. ... It was not your typical house pet. This was a leopard. It was more like there was a cot in the cat house for the zoo keeper."\nNow Taft gets several of his animals from people who think they can handle big cats as pets, but it often ends with abuse and neglect. He even admitted his own pet purchases were not exactly good ideas, but at least his experience ended happily.\n"I had no idea what I was doing. I was going to get a Lotus and a cheetah and I was going to drive very fast in my Lotus and my cheetah was going to sit perfectly well behaved and happy next to me. Well that really corresponds well with reality," he laughed. "I looked at Lotuses and got an MG and looked at cheetahs and got an ocelot. The ocelot had me hooked right from the very first minute. The cars came and went, but that cat, she grabbed my heart and I've had big cats ever since." \nSeveral years after Taft got his first pets, the idea for a rescue center was born. In 1990 Taft learned of two tigers that "were in a lot of trouble" because they had been locked in the back of a Volkswagon van for an extended period of time, he said.\n"One was blind and crippled and most of his baby teeth were rotted out," he said. "I took those two cats in and that's what started the rescue center. I came here in 1991 and bought the original property, and since then we've bought two adjoining pieces of property. Now we have 108 acres all together."\nAs Taft strolled by the enclosures, many of the cats came up to the fence to greet their guardian. Autumn, a full-grown female cougar, rubbed up against the fence, but when she saw Taft wasn't alone she briefly withdrew.\n"If you don't want pets don't lean like you want pets, OK?" he told her.\nBut within seconds she was back at the fence, letting him pet her as a loud, rumbling purr shook through her body.\nNext to Autumn, another cougar named Charlie laid peacefully in his enclosure a few feet from the fence.\n"Charlie is one of two cats here that are blind," Taft explained. "He has a condition that deteriorates retina."\nAt the sound of Taft's voice, Charlie got up and walked to the fence and Taft reached out his hand for Charlie to smell. Immediately, Charlie lay down again up against the fence right in front of Taft.\n"Most of them know me and quite a number will come if I call them. Two of the lions in there I can go in with," Taft said, pointing to the next enclosure.\nHe went to the fence surrounding the home of three lions and called for Tucker, one of the cats he's closest with. All three lions were lying on the other side of the enclosure but perked up when they heard his voice. They raised themselves briefly to locate Taft, but then curled back up to nap in the sun. They apparently didn't want to perform for an audience.\n"With the exception of a few cats I have a close relationship with, I won't go in the cages with a cat unless there's a reason," he said. "It's not standard procedure to be in the cage with the cats."\nMedical concerns often provide a reason for Taft to enter cages, but the cats often receive their vaccinations and basic care through the fence. For more serious problems, cats are professionally anesthetized and brought to the new, on-site and elaborate clinic Taft built in his basement. A veterinarian who lives about 10 miles from the center regularly cares for the cats if they become sick or need to be spayed or neutered.\nThe new clinic has helped both the staff and the cats, since simple medical procedures used to prove difficult to complete. Before the inception of the clinic, Taft had to cart new cats all the way to the University of Illinois in order to get them spayed, a requirement for all cats that live at the center. The entire process was expensive, complicated and would engage almost the entire staff for two days, he said. Now cats can be spayed on-site and Taft can ensure they're getting the best care.\nAs Taft continued to walk along the path, lions and tigers happily lunched on the animal parts he had cut up only a half-hour before. Female lions dragged a horse head around their enclosure while tigers shared their meat and frolicked in water bins next door. Taft said the center goes through about 3,000 pounds of meat each day and that they depend on farmers and hunters to donate food. Farmers bring in horses and cows that have died of natural causes and hunters occasionally bring in extra meat that they don't have room for or don't want to eat. If they're running low on food, they'll get money from donors to buy chicken, said five-year staff member Suzanne Taylor.\n"The cats are fed six days a week, once a day," Taft said. "One day they fast, and that's weather dependent. When it's cold, they have meat in front of them all the time. That horse head weighs about 200 pounds and it will feed those seven cats; they'll still be eating on it tomorrow when we take it out. During the summer they're usually given what they'll eat. Lions sometimes fast up to three days in the summer because it gets so hot that they don't want to eat. Tigers are quite often fasted two days a week. Not consecutive days a week, though."\nFor most of the cats, an abundance of food and enclosures with toys, vegetation, climbing towers and water bins is more like a luxury hotel than a rescue center. Most cats came from breeders who shoved them into small cages, from circuses where they were mistreated or from private owners who didn't properly care for them and ended up in jail for various reasons. Some were in such poor medical condition that they were near death by the time they reached the center. Others were so sparingly fed that they were severely underweight and every bone in their bodies was visible through their thick coats of fur. But now, they're happy, healthy, well fed and have a good home for the rest of their lives.\nAnd the cats offer something quite unique for visitors -- a chance to see wild animals up close. The center is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Though it's a nonprofit organization, the staff asks for donations of $10 for adults and $5 for children who wish to tour the facility. For $120, guests can stay overnight in a small apartment for two attached to Taft's house. Overnight guests get a private entrance, access to the facility when it's closed and get to pet one of the animals. Several of the cats also live right outside the door of the apartment and guests can see them from the window.\nFrance Knable and John Smith, two Bloomington residents, opted to stay the night last week as a birthday present for Smith, Knable said. It was the second visit for Knable, a French teacher at Bloomington High School North, who had brought two visiting teachers from France who were in Bloomington for an exchange a few years ago. The overnight visit was Smith's first trip.\n"It's definitely interesting," he said as he looked around the apartment. "It feels kind of like Jurassic Park."\nKnable was looking forward to touring the facility again and possibly going on a nighttime walk.\n"I love cats so when I found out about this place I've been wanting to come out for a long time," she said. "I wanted to spend the night because cats howl at night and I want to hear them."\nTaylor and Taft both said people don't know what they're missing until they visit the center.\n"If you like big cats, you'll never see big cats like this anywhere else—this close to them and this rich of a habitat and this many of them," Taft said. "People come here and say it's the greatest zoological experience they've ever had … and all these animals are rescue animals and deserve your support"
(07/10/06 5:02am)
The Wimbledon men's and women's singles finals were both sequels to already well-publicized rivalries, making the weekend a must-see for tennis fans and a must-win for the players involved. Though neither of my favorites won (actually, they pretty much choked under the pressure), the finals raised (and answered) one nagging question that has plagued each side of the tour: Who deserves to be No. 1?\nIn the women's final Saturday, former No. 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne faced current No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo in a rematch of their controversial Australian Open final earlier this year. At the Aussie, Henin-Hardenne retired because of a mysterious illness after losing the first set, thus taking the glory away from her opponent's first Slam title. At Wimbledon, Henin-Hardenne was trying to complete her own Career Slam after tearing through to the final round of the only Grand Slam she has not won. (She also knocked out current No. 2 Kim Clijsters in the process.) Mauresmo felt she had to beat Henin-Hardenne to prove she could beat the former best in the world and validate her No. 1 ranking. Mauresmo struggled from being down a set to mentally and physically wear down her opponent 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. \nRanking validated -- for now. The usually tough-as-nails Henin-Hardenne looked like she went on a mental vacation for the last part of the match, so maybe it just wasn't her day. (Translation: She choked, which I, along with other fans and the annoying NBC commentators, found quite odd.) In any case, this rivalry -- and potential battle for the No. 1 spot -- will no doubt be something to watch again at the U.S. Open.\nUnfortunately, Rafael Nadal, current No. 1 Roger Federer's archrival, met with the same fate, though he choked at the beginning of the match. But Federer's path to the trophy was not pleasant, to say the least, as Nadal stretched the match to four sets and fought Federer's forehand till the end. \nThe fact that Nadal, an expert clay-courter, adjusted so well (and so quickly) to the grass and got to the Wimbledon final on only his third appearance at the tournament surprised fans (and a haughty Federer, who admitted his shock after the final). In fact, his run to the final only solidified his dominance in the men's game even though he eventually lost, which was probably the opposite of what Federer wanted to happen. \nFor almost three years, Federer unquestionably dominated the men's tennis world, making seemingly capable opponents look like amateurs with each swing of his racket. Now that Nadal has come along and put a stop to his domination (even after the Wimbledon final, Nadal leads their meetings 6-2 and Federer's four losses this year have all been to Nadal), Federer seems to say "I hate this kid" with every swing of his racket. And for once, in Sue Barker's on-court interview with the champ after the final, her questions weren't swirling around Federer's performance, but mainly focused on Nadal's skills and the future of their rivalry. This obviously irritated Federer, who's used to hearing nothing but compliments and awe about his own game.\nIn fact, a lot of the hype surrounding this match wasn't due to the records that could be broken (Federer won his fourth consecutive Wimbledon, thus landing him amongst tennis greats, like Pete Sampras, who accomplished the same feat), but instead it was fueled by the undeniable fact that perhaps Federer no longer deserves his No. 1 ranking because of Nadal's frequent dominance over him and many other players. \nAnd this got me thinking. Could Nadal be better on grass than Federer is on clay, thus making him the more complete player? Inspired by this thought, I decided to do some digging on the ATP Web site and uncovered some interesting statistics. \nThough Federer has played almost three times as many Wimbledon tournaments as Nadal, he has had three first-round exits in contrast to Nadal's zero. That's right, a guy who grew up on clay has never lost in the first round of Wimbledon. In fact, he made it to the third round on his first try and beat some notable opponents, including Mario Ancic, in the process. And this year, he made it to the quarterfinals at the Queen's Club warm-up tournament (also on grass) before making it to the Wimbledon final.\nIn his eight tries at the French Open, Federer's play has been slightly streaky. His varied success includes three first-round losses (not consecutively), a third round loss, a quarterfinal loss and semi-final and final losses to Nadal. Nadal won the French on his first try and this year defended his title in his second appearance. \nSo, I would like to posit that after all the skeptics poo-pooed Nadal's dream of winning Wimbledon, he has proven that he can do it, and that he might be more likely to win a Wimbledon title than Federer is to win a French. \nAs for the upcoming U.S. Open, I say Nadal has the better chance, even if he does encounter Federer again. After all, he does hold a 2-1 hard court record against Federer, so that means -- to my personal delight -- he might be derailing the "Federer Express" once again.
(07/05/06 10:40pm)
Several students seeking scholarships, fellowships and grants for summer activities like research and internships abroad have had to wait for the money they were told would be given to them.\nThe delay was caused mainly by the set-up of the Student Information System, which, along with the Financial Information System, keeps records of student enrollment and allows officials to deposit aid into students' accounts, said Rozzie Gerstman, campus budget consultant and BL chart manager. The problem was the SIS stipulation that students are only enrolled if they are taking a certain number of credit hours, which causes many students to not show up in that particular system during the summer because students typically don't take as many classes, Gerstman said. Thus, summer aid for some students had to be distributed through the FIS system and staff had to double-check the names in the FIS system to ensure that they were in fact not enrolled or in the SIS system.\n"There are two ways to pay a person -- through the student system, SIS, and the financial system, FIS. ... When people are enrolled and we need to pay them, it should always go through SIS," she said. "If they're not (enrolled for the summer), they need to go through FIS. If students are using the FIS system, we're looking to make sure they're not enrolled. That's what has taken so long. It's all based on enrollment."\nAmong the various types of delayed summer aid, research-related aid seemed to represent the majority, Gerstman said. She said that, overall, fewer than 30 or 40 students were impacted by the delay and as of a couple of weeks ago, all summer funding had been paid out with the exception of a few "brand new" cases. She also said that not much money was involved, and that she had personally not received complaints from students, though she said individual departments were the offices in direct contact with students seeking their summer aid.\nBut some students were angry that their funding was not given to them at the time it was promised. Sam Scarpino, a senior who traveled to Kenya for an internship this summer, was outraged at the delay.\n"The University did not uphold its end of the financial bargain with students and used the federal government as a scape-goat," he wrote in an e-mail. "First, after several inquiries where I was told blatantly incorrect information, I was informed my funds would not be credited for 10 business days. This was after the bursar took my spring scholarship money to pay my summer bills. Under no other financial situation would an institution like Indiana University not be held responsible for this shortcoming. It was a serious misuse of trust on the part of the University and an even more serious difficulty for many students who rely on these funds to sustain themselves."\nAnother student who had received summer aid was annoyed at the delay and doubted that it only affected 30 or 40 students. The student said it would even be a "negative reflection" on how much summer funding IU offered students if it affected so few.\nGraduate student Paul Rohwer, a moderator for the Graduate and Professional Student Organization, was upset by the computer system issues and by the discrepancy in how many credit hours graduate students needed to take in order to receive their summer funding.\n"There was a back-and-forth at the end of the spring and a meeting was called in May to resolve the full-time status of student academic appointees. It used to be six hours but during the spring semester it was changed to eight," he said. "They had to go around the PeopleSoft system to get things paid. Even now with some of the fellowships, the students are being called 'independent contractors' in order to get money paid to them if they're not enrolled in summer classes. To me, when they designed the SIS system, a student should be a student until they graduate. ... Students are always entities until they graduate. The system itself is jargon."\nIn regards to the graduate student funding issues, Mitchell Byler, assistant dean for graduate education in the College of Arts and Sciences, said that the confusion about necessary credit hours was resolved quickly. He knew of four students who had to wait an extra two weeks but still received their funding by the end of May, he said.\n"Different offices were interpreting the enrollment requirement differently," he said. "In order to receive aid, Gerstman's office was using a policy on the registrar's Web site that says there are eight credit hours required. The problem I had was that these were advanced students who were only enrolled in six. Gerstman's office did bring all the relevant offices together and worked it out fairly quickly."\nGerstman said the main goal of the May 16 meeting was to address problems and make sure the proper guidelines were being followed. \n"The big concern is that we track how we pay students," she said. "We need to comply with federal financial aid regulations and IRS guidelines. ... We had to come up with a way to meet these"
(07/03/06 2:45am)
Sunday is usually thought of as a day of rest. \nIt's a tradition that stems from earlier times, when almost everyone woke up, attended church, sat down for a family meal and relaxed for the remainder of the day. \nBut January 15, 1939 wasn't a restful Sunday for Indiana Memorial Union hotel page Emerson Keller Elkins. Elkins had to be at work early in the morning. Probably a little disgruntled and maybe a little bit bored, he began his shift by writing a letter to the future IMU director, though he had no idea who it would be. He discussed some of the political issues of the world at that time, including the reign of Adolf Hitler and presidency of Franklin Roosevelt, and his doubts that the upcoming movie "Gone With the Wind" would have much success. After writing the letter he placed it, along with some other items from the hotel, into a patch of the wall in the men's lounge where he thought the plastering didn't "look too solid." \nOnce there, it laid untouched and unknown for almost 70 years. \nAs workers began demolishing a wall near the IMU Outdoor Adventures Office June 22, they came across something very unexpected -- Elkins' time capsule. \n"A guy was knocking down the glazed red tile and he saw some papers in there and started to pull them out," said an IMU facilities service worker who wished to remain anonymous. "He said, 'Hey, look at this!' He started reading the letter and we looked at the other papers. It was wild."\nAfter uncovering the letter, the workers brought it to IMU Director Loren Rullman's office. Later, other items, including a 1930s glass Coca-Cola bottle, packaging from a Lucky Strike cigarettes container, a lock and key, a coat tag and various hotel paraphernalia, were found in the wall.\nThe letter, which was in an envelope addressed to the IMU director, excited the entire staff because it shows a piece of student history in a building that has always been strongly associated with students, Rullman said.\n"The story of the union is really the story of students at IU," he said. "It was founded by students in 1909, the student section of the building opened in 1932 and it has been staffed by students for almost 100 years. We've always been a place for students. What's great is that (Elkins) wrote the letter as a student ... Here it is 70 years later and we are still communicating."\nThe letter gives reference to several historic events, including the selection of actress Vivien Leigh to play Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind," a movie Elkins predicted wouldn't "merit the fuss." This particular paragraph was a favorite of both Rullman and Brad Cook, a photograph curator at the IU Archives who helped examine the letter.\n"It's just something really fun and interesting to read," Cook said.\nRullman said it's especially exciting that they found the letter while working on this particular project because it will expand the gallery area and make an exclusive gathering place for students, as well as enable students to drift between the indoor rooms and the outdoor patio. Construction will begin in July and should be finished in September. Rullman said they'll definitely try to put a copy of the letter and possibly some of the items on display so everyone can learn the story of Elkins' time capsule, but he's unsure exactly what they will be able to showcase.\nThe IMU facilities service staff, however, has already decided what its contribution will be. The staff plans to place a copy of Elkins' letter along with a letter of its own, an IMU hotel brochure, a list of current pay rates and perhaps other IU items in a wall before the end of construction, said Leslie Prince, office assistant for the facilities service.\nNo matter what the display will be, Rullman thinks the letter in itself is a tribute to student involvement.\n"We realize the history here is incredible and (the letter) is part of the history," he said. "Student involvement and commitment at the union is timeless"
(07/03/06 1:35am)
Three months. \nThat was my age when Andre Agassi played his first pro tennis event in February 1986. I'm now four months from my 21st birthday and I've watched Agassi play tennis for my entire life. He has become a hero to me and so many in my tennis generation, as well as a favorite of older and younger tennis enthusiasts alike.\nSo you can imagine that after our beloved Andre announced his retirement last Saturday on the lawns of Wimbledon, a rough week followed for tennis fans like me.\nI don't think I'll ever forget the moment I found out about Agassi's retirement. \nLate last Sunday evening I returned home to Bloomington after spending several days in California with my boyfriend. I was tired, jet-lagged and crashed immediately. Monday morning I awakened at noon to my mom standing in the doorway of my room holding a printout of an article about Agassi's retirement. While frolicking in the Golden State I somehow missed the sorrowful announcement he had made just two days earlier. I was heartbroken.\nMy mom placed the article on my desk, but I kept hoping that it was only a dream. I decided that if I closed my eyes again I'd wake up and be on the plane home, looking out the window as the rather large lady next to me snacked on my share of the whale-shaped cheese crackers the airline passed out to passengers. But when I re-opened my eyes I was still in my room clinging to my pillow. There was no plane, no fat lady and no whale crackers. And though I had to face the reality that Andre had retired, I refused to read the article, hoping that it would make the announcement seem less official.\nThe next day Agassi played his first match at Wimbledon. I sat on the couch eating a Pop-Tart and watched as Agassi made his entrance on Centre Court. The standing ovation the crowd gave him was astounding. In all my years of watching tennis, I've never seen any player so warmly greeted. Agassi was clearly moved, too, as he graciously bowed to his loving audience. \nThen I did something kind of pathetic. I'm not an overly emotional person and I rarely cry, but as I watched Agassi make his first Wimbledon entrance for the last time, I started to cry, right into my Pop-Tart.\nAgassi looked a little shaky during his first match but had visibly improved by his second. Then on Saturday, a week after he had announced his retirement, he had to face Rafael Nadal in his third round match, and my nerves took a turn for the worst.\nAndre is my hero, so of course I rooted for him all the way, but I'm also a huge Nadal fan. Both players came out ready to go, Andre sporting a necklace his son made for him with lettered beads spelling "Daddy Rocks" (perhaps the most concise and accurate way anyone has ever come up with to summarize Agassi's greatness), and Nadal sprinting and jumping around the court.\nEventually, Nadal got the better of Agassi, winning 7-6 (5), 6-2, 6-4. At the end of the match, Nadal and Agassi both consented to a joint on-court interview. Nadal was very respectful and talked about what an honor it was to play Agassi at his last Wimbledon while Andre quietly wiped away tears with his wristband. And then I started to cry, AGAIN (but at least there was no Pop-Tart to catch my tears this time). Andre thanked the crowd for its support over the years, even though after his first-round loss in his 1987 Wimbledon debut he remarked that he couldn't play on grass and didn't want to come back. But then I guess the crowd -- and the world -- eventually fell in love with him after his 1992 Wimbledon victory; his first of eight Grand Slam titles.\nThough he lost to Nadal, I can't help feeling a little inspired by what I saw from him during the match. He was still pounding groundstrokes and serves at Nadal. He was aggressive and he talked to himself for motivation. It was also the first time in a long time that he didn't go limping off the court after a match (he has hip and back problems, one of the main reasons he's retiring). So if he can hang with the world's No. 2, who frequently beats the world's No. 1 (Roger Federer), that must mean he still has some good tennis left in his 36-year-old body, and that gives me hope that he'll do some damage in the tournaments leading up to the U.S. Open, which will be his last hurrah.\nMaybe I'm being too optimistic, but I desperately want Agassi to have a fitting sendoff, like that of Pete Sampras. (Sampras beat Agassi in the 2002 U.S. Open final, the last match he ever played. Oddly enough, I cried at the end of that match, too.) Even though he was a rebel in his younger days, Agassi has given so much to the game. He's one of only five men to possess all four Grand Slam titles. He has given millions to tennis and education through his charities. And now people refer to him as the spokesperson for the game. I don't know if it will happen, but if there's any way in the tennis world that it's possible, I would love for Agassi to win one last U.S. Open under the New York City lights, and I can guarantee I'm not alone in my tennis fantasy. \nAndre, we'll all be cheering (and maybe crying) for you.
(06/30/06 10:14pm)
Emerson Keller Elkins was an IU junior who worked as a hotel page at the Indiana Memorial Union when he created his time capsule in January 1939. He graduated with a B.A. in 1940, a J.D. in 1947 and a law degree in 1967, according to records from the IU Alumni Association. \nElkins was born July 13, 1918 to parents Lamont and Ruth Green Gilbert in Fulton County, Ind. He later moved to Miami County, Ind., to live with James and Etta Elkins, his uncle and aunt. He graduated from Peru High School in 1936. After attending IU, he served in the Army Air Force during World War II and later retired from the Air Force with the rank of major. He then worked for the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C., and died August 27, 1993 at the age of 75 in his nephew's home in Covina, Calif.
(06/29/06 6:43pm)
Junior Christine Wampler, 21, died of natural causes in April while attending a formal hosted by the Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity, also known as the Skulls, according to a Louisville, Ky., coroner's office report. Her official cause of death was myocarditis, presumed to be of a viral etiology, said Louisville Deputy Coroner Robert Fraction, reading from the report. \nMyocarditis is a condition in which the heart muscle becomes inflamed and weakened, causing symptoms of heart failure that may resemble a heart attack, according to MedlinePlus, an online medical encyclopedia. The condition can be caused by viral, bacterial and parasitic infections, including influenza and rubella. It is defined as uncommon, and can also be caused by exposure to chemicals and allergic reactions to medications, according to MedlinePlus. \nWampler and her date attended the fraternity formal April 8 in Louisville and were staying overnight at the Seelbach Hotel in the city. Wampler's date found her unresponsive in the bathroom early the next morning and called an ambulance. She was pronounced dead at 9:30 a.m. April 9 at the University of Louisville Hospital, according to an April 11 Indiana Daily Student article. Louisville Metro Police Officer Dwight Mitchell, who originally investigated the death, told the IDS he suspected alcohol was involved, according to the article, but the autopsy reports have proved otherwise.\nWampler's friends said knowing her cause of death will help them find peace. Senior Adam Carr, Wampler's close friend and co-worker, said he was relieved that alcohol did not cause her death.\n"When I had talked to (her date), he said, '(her death) wasn't drinking related, you have to trust me,'" Carr said. "I believed him, but a lot of people didn't. It makes me happy for (him) because people didn't believe him ... I'm glad that it wasn't anything that she could have prevented, but she's still gone."\nTrent Weldy, a graduate student who was a friend and co-worker of both Wampler and Carr, said he was relieved to finally have an explanation for her sudden death.\n"I was glad to have an answer and know what happened," he said. "It's just something that couldn't be avoided. It's a little better because it's not like an accident, it's just something that happened."\nThough the coroner suspects Wampler's case of myocarditis was caused by a virus, Carr and Weldy were uncertain that Wampler had felt ill. Carr said he vaguely remembered her complaining of a cold a week or two prior to attending the formal and Weldy said he didn't remember her being sick at all. In the April 11 IDS article, Mitchell made reference to Wampler not feeling well, but no one could confirm an illness by press time. Also, it is common for victims of myocarditis not to experience symptoms at all, according to MedlinePlus. \nWampler's was the second sudden death caused by a heart problem within that April week. Junior Nichole Birky , also 21, was found dead the morning of April 5 at Delta Zeta sorority. Birky's death was caused by cardiac arrhythmia, an irregular heartbeat or rhythm.\nThough the friends of both girls said knowing the cause of their deaths will help them cope and bring them closure, Carr said the pain of losing his friend is far from gone. \n"Nothing that's said is going to bring her back," he said. "Nothing about that is going to make me feel better, other than the fact that she's in a better place and that I got to spend time with her"
(06/21/06 11:18pm)
Congressman Mike Sodrel, R-9th District, earmarked $750,000 for new Bloomington Transit buses and $500,000 for a Monroe County road construction project as part of the House Transportation Appropriations Bill last week.\nIf passed by the Senate and President Bush, the money would pay for four new, 35-foot, low-floor buses to replace buses made in 1989 and 1990 that are still running in Bloomington Transit's fleet, said Lew May, BT general manager. May said he hopes the bill will pass and the money will be available by the end of the year at the latest.\n"(The buses) are definitely in need of replacement, and the federal earmark will help us do that," May said. "We're very appreciative of Congressman Sodrel's support for this project as well as for public transportation in Bloomington."\nBefore this latest earmark, Sodrel had secured $5.89 million for Bloomington's public transportation system since last August, according to a press release.\nThe $500,000 for road construction will go towards widening a three-mile stretch of road from S.R. 37 to Sare Road, which is part of a larger, three-phase Monroe County project to create a multi-lane road connecting S.R. 45 and S.R. 446.\n"Traffic congestion in Monroe County is a concern we all share," Sodrel said in the release. "I'm going to continue to support projects that upgrade local roads because infrastructure is vital to the economic health and traffic safety of any community"
(06/13/06 6:10pm)
I would like to personally thank Rafael Nadal for making my day Sunday. The talented and popular Spanish tennis player beat Roger Federer in the French Open men's final 1-6,6-1,6-4, 7-6 (4), and in doing so he prevented Federer from making history while solidifying himself as the dominant player in their relatively short rivalry (Nadal leads their meetings \n6-1). \nTheir Sunday battle, perhaps the most anticipated match of the year, was Federer's first appearance in a French Open final, and because of Nadal's scrappy play, his first-ever loss in a Grand Slam final. It was also his first attempt to hold all four Grand Slam titles at one time, a feat accomplished by only a few of the game's most elite legends.\nBut Nadal stopped Federer's run for the history books and continued his own. With his victory, he now ranks as one of the few men's players able to defend his French Open title (he won the French last year) and extended his clay court win streak to 60, which is seven wins past the previous record of 53, set by the Argentinian Guillermo Vilas in 1977. He also still holds the honor of being the only man to beat Federer this year. \nThe Federer-Nadal rivalry picked up steam at last year's French Open when Nadal beat the world's No. 1 in the semi-finals on his 19th birthday (a rather nice gift to himself, I might add) and went on to win the Slam. Since then, Nadal has won every meeting, including three this year before the French Open final. And I think this is wonderful.\nFrom 2003 to 2005, the world watched Federer, who has seven Slam titles, dominate men's tennis. No one could beat him. His machine-like perfection delighted fans as he skillfully cranked out winner after winner, but his constant success became boring for die-hard tennis fans like me. \nI got sick of seeing him run opponents ragged and hoist trophy after trophy. Even top 10 players couldn't compete with him. A briefly hyped rivalry between Federer and Andy Roddick, then No. 2 in the world, never panned out because, as Roddick himself admitted, in order for there to be a rivalry, Roddick would have to win some of the matches, which he never really did (and his 1-10 record against Federer proves this).\nMaybe I'm still a little bitter because Federer was rumored to be the next Pete Sampras (to me, Pistol Pete is simply irreplaceable), and my personal dislike for Federer began when he beat Sampras at Wimbledon in 2001, the second-to-last Wimbledon Sampras played before winning his final U.S. Open title the next summer and retiring. But honestly, I don't think my personal feelings cloud my better tennis judgment.\nVariety is good. It's no fun to see the same people win over and over again, which is also why I became defiant of the Williams sisters, who have now turned their focus to fashion. Anyway, Nadal adds spice to the upper echelons of the men's tennis field. He's focused, determined and undeniably skilled. He has a wide variety of shots and is physically fit enough to win long matches on clay, which is arguably the game's toughest surface. Also, his sheer will makes him a joy to watch. I've never seen Nadal get down on himself and tank a match. He's always motivating himself, and from his spirited jumping fist pumps to the "Vamos Rafa" he has emblazoned on his Nike tennis shoes, he is the picture of positive attitude and unrivaled determination. You can tell he simply wants it more than anyone else. And that's endearing (and refreshing) to fans.\nNadal has always said his dream is to win Wimbledon, and I think he has as good a shot as any in the future, despite John McEnroe's comment Sunday that Federer was more likely to win the French than Nadal was to win Wimbledon. (Perhaps Johnny Mac is just a little jealous considering he failed to win one French Open title, let alone two.) I think that because of his talent and attitude, there's no limit to what Nadal can accomplish in his career. And no matter the outcome, Federer-Nadal matches will continue to produce some of the most entertaining competition the game has ever seen. So whether you're a tennis fan or not, I strongly encourage you to watch the next time they play each other. Maybe even pick your own favorite player, but we all know who I'll be rooting for. Vamos Rafa!
(06/08/06 8:50pm)
A Morgan County Superior Court judge ruled Thursday morning that autopsy, anthropology and coroner reports in the Jill Behrman murder case will remain sealed.\nAccording to the written court order, the documents should be off-limits to the public because there's an ongoing legal investigation, and the Morgan County Coroner's Office and the Indiana State Police used "sound" logic and reasoning when they requested that the documents remain sealed. \nThe Bloomington Herald-Times and the Indianapolis Star brought the hearing to court on the premise that keeping these reports sealed violates the Indiana Sunshine Law. But Judge Thomas Gray ruled that the law was not breached in this case. \n"...Until the public trial of this matter, documents such as this should remain sealed such that further investigation if appropriate can be conducted using these sealed documents as a tool of their investigation," the order reads.\nBehrman, then an IU sophomore, disappeared May 31, 2000 during a morning bike ride and hunters found her skeletal remains in a wooded area of Morgan County in 2003. John R. Myers II has been charged with her death and will stand trial Sept. 18 in Morgan County, according to a May 26 IDS article.\nBehrman's death certificate is public record.\nCheck www.idsnews.com for further updates.
(06/08/06 4:14am)
Many U.S. tennis fans were disappointed to see Andy Roddick retire from his first-round match at the French Open last week, but they shouldn't have been surprised. After all, it takes more than a power serve and a smile to zip through the draws on the tournament's red clay surface.\nThe courts at Roland Garros have been unforgiving to the big games of many U.S. hopefuls because they slow the pace of the ball and produce odd bounces. And because most Americans train on hard courts, they don't know how to move effectively on the loose clay and slide into shots. Or how to be patient enough to make it through the long points clay often causes.\nYoung European and South American players learn these skills at an early age because many of them still train on the tricky surface. They also learn what it takes to win a match on clay: stamina, strength, mental fortitude and expert shot selection.\nThis is exactly why an American man has not won Roland Garros since Andre Agassi (my personal hero) in 1999. So many in the new generation of U.S. men's tennis strive only to smack the ball as hard as humanly possible rather than focusing on consistency, shot selection and true strategy. Enter Andy Roddick.\nThis overrated, over hyped player was once purported to be the future of U.S. men's tennis, but he now seems to be spiraling quickly downhill. (For the record, I always thought James Blake was the future of U.S. men's tennis, and as of now, I seem to be correct. Take note, U.S. Davis Cup Captain Patrick McEnroe.)\nSorry Andy, but I'm not your No. 1 fan like so many other drooling, dreamy-eyed girls my age. Maybe it's because I actually know enough about tennis to realize all you have is a power serve and a fast forehand. And these days, that just doesn't cut it.\nPlayers like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal (the world's No. 1 and No. 2) have developed complete -- and very solid -- all-court games. They also have a mental toughness that rivals the strength of most nuclear power plants. Both of these are concepts that Roddick doesn't seem to comprehend.\nWhen something doesn't go his way, Roddick pouts and mouths off to the chair umpire or whatever line judge he's closest to. Or he simply switches coaches. (Right now, he's on his third coach since 2003 when he won his first Slam -- the U.S. Open.)\nMy point is that Roddick -- and most of the U.S. media -- is oblivious to his weaknesses. To start winning some Slams and keeping up with the big boys, Roddick will have to improve his streaky backhand and net game and learn that someone with consistency and good shot selection can almost always beat a power player. And if he needs proof of this fact, he can look at his own dismal records against players like Federer (1-10) and the consistently quick Aussie Lleyton Hewitt (2-6). \nHe also needs to lose the attitude. Though insanity worked for legends like Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe (both of whom, ironically, won several Slams but never the French), Roddick's anger seems to get in his way and cause him to lose matches, as well as irritate officials and the crowd.\nWhile Wimbledon and the U.S. Open have returned some of Roddick's best results, fans shouldn't get too eager to see Roddick hoist a trophy this summer because Federer and Nadal are hotter than the 90-degree weather they'll be playing in. I would advise Andy Roddick to covet his single U.S. Open trophy, to snuggle with it and put it under his pillow at night, because if he doesn't change his game and his attitude, he'll be coming up high and dry in future tournaments.
(06/08/06 4:00am)
Birds are singing, warm breezes are blowing and flowers are blooming. Ah, summer love is in the air. Perhaps studying with a summer classmate may spark a new romance and an impressive date is in order. Or maybe a long-time companion is sick of ordering pizza and hitting up the bars. Either way, summer is great for romancing a special someone because it opens up a whole new realm of dating: the great outdoors. Summer also means students generally have more free time to get out and explore the community and its surroundings, and unique date spots are just waiting to be discovered both indoors and outdoors.\nRomantic Rendezvous\nA normal dinner date can turn romantic just by taking advantage of outdoor dining. Scholar's Inn Gourmet Café and Wine Bar, located at 717 N. College Ave., has a large deck with flowers and lanterns that's perfect for impressing a date. After one of the restaurant's famous gourmet entrées, share a dessert for two, like chocolate fondue.\nFourwinds Resort and Marina on Lake Monroe also provides a romantic dining setting. Get a table for two indoors and enjoy a panoramic view of the sunset on Indiana's largest lake, or sit outside Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, said Banquet Manager TJ Lewis. But Lewis recommended those interested in dining during the weekend to make reservations in advance since the resort is popular for dating and recreation.\n"There's a lot to do out here," he said. "It's definitely a good place to go out for a sunset cruise. You could have dinner and go out on a boat, and the beach is just up the way."\nSeveral local restaurants offer outdoor dining, especially those downtown and along Fourth Street. Even Panera has outdoor seating fit for a summer evening meal, so try it.\nFor those who enjoy creativity but don't want to pay restaurant prices, packing a picnic can be just as pleasurable. Head to a local park, or to the shores of one of Bloomington's three lakes -- Lake Monroe, Griffy Lake and Lake Lemon. Lake Monroe, located about 10 miles south of Bloomington, has two main beaches -- Paynetown and Fairfax -- that are open to the public until sunset. Recreation areas at Griffy Lake, located just north of campus, and Lake Lemon, located 10 miles northeast of campus off of State Road 45 (10th Street), also allow evening visitors until sunset. An after-supper stroll under the stars can provide some additional romance.\nTo continue a romantic stargazing session, visit the Kirkwood Observatory, located just off of Indiana Avenue, every Wednesday night from 10 to 11:30 p.m. The campus observatory's 12-inch refracting telescope will help you see stars and planets for free.\nFun in the Sun\nWhether students want a day on the beach for two or a group date with multiple couples and friends, a well-planned trip to one of Bloomington's lakes can satisfy any dating need. \nSeveral places near Lake Monroe offer a variety of boats, jet skis and water skis for rent. For larger groups, pontoons and dual-level boats with slides can make for an inexpensive day of fun -- if the cost is split amongst the group. Lake Monroe Boat Rentals is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and is now offering overnight and daylong rentals, said manager Lydia Hamilton.\nFairfax and Paynetown beaches are also nice for lying out or picnicking. For those who are really adventurous, there are also several campgrounds around the lake where groups can try their hand at outdoor living.\nHamilton said the lake and its surroundings are ideal for a unique date.\n"It's something different from what's in Bloomington, but it's so close by," Hamilton said. "It gives people a chance to go outside and have some fun in the sun."\nFor more information on boat rentals, visit www.lakemonroeboatrental.com. \nGriffy Lake provides a day-on-the-lake experience in a smaller setting. Gas-powered boats and swimming are not allowed at the lake, but a boathouse on the northeast shore equips visitors with canoes, kayaks and row boats. Rowing a canoe or row boat together can provide an opportunity for conversation and teamwork. But renting individual kayaks and racing them might appeal to those who have a competitive spirit or enjoy a fun and lively date. Numerous trails surround the lake if hiking is a shared interest.\nLake Lemon does not offer boat rentals, but it does have a park area complete with a swimming area and trails that's open from sunrise to sunset, and people can stroll the shores after dark.\nGo to www.visitbloomington.com for more details on planning outdoor excursions.\nA Twist on Tradition\nDinner or a day at the beach might be romantic, but if a fun date without the wilderness or high price is in demand, check out some other local places \nsuitable for summer dating.\nPutt-Putt, located on Pete Ellis Drive in between 10th and Third Streets, offers three miniature golf courses with varying degrees of difficulty. Putter's Park, located a short drive away in Ellettsville, is a little more ornate. Each hole has numerous decorations and is designed to represent a part of Indiana's history, said owner Juanita Hood. Putter's Park has a large clubhouse area, but right now, it's undergoing renovation, she said. \nBoth miniature golf places have reasonable rates and are open most of the day. Also, both are located next to Jiffy Treet ice cream stores, so whoever loses at mini golf can buy ice cream. \nSeen all the shows IU performs on campus? If so, then take a date to the Brown County Playhouse. Several IU students and professors spend their summers acting and directing plays at this little historic theater in downtown Nashville, Ind., located about 25 minutes from Bloomington. A total of four plays will run this summer -- three from June through August, and one from Sept. 22 through Oct. 21. Performances are Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons. The first play, "Smoke on the Mountain," starts this week. Ticket prices vary depending on the day of the performance. Visit www.indiana.edu/~thtr/bcplay.html for more information. \nIf the theater environment is too stuffy, try seeing a show outdoors. Monroe County Civic Theater performs plays on select summer evenings in Third Street Park. This coming weekend is the last weekend for Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night," and performances will resume Sept. 15 with "Pericles." Shows start at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday evenings, so bring a blanket and curl up together and enjoy free theater under the stars.\nJust don't like theater? Then watch a movie instead. Starlite Drive-In, located just outside Bloomington off of State Road 37, is a traditional drive-in movie theater playing the same movies on the indoor big screens. Shows usually start shortly after dusk, so cuddle in the car or bring a blanket or lawn chairs to sit outside. Bring your own popcorn or buy a snack from the well-stocked concession stand. Check local listings to see what's playing.\nIf something really out of the ordinary sounds exciting, go to Mike's Music and Dance Barn and show off some dance moves. The traditional country dance hall, located about 12 miles east of Bloomington on State Road 46, has live music on Saturdays and Sundays and beginner line dancing lessons every Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m. There are also billiard tables and concessions. Visit www.craftspirit.com/thedancebarn/index.php for a complete schedule of events.