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(03/20/06 5:33am)
When graduate student Nicholas Remmes wanted to provide health insurance for his wife and newborn daughter this year, he added them as dependents to his insurance plan. \nWhile IU subsidized his portion of the coverage because he is a student academic appointee in the physics department, Remmes paid for the cost of his spouse and child entirely on his own, totaling $4,228. (Student academic appointees include graduate students who are associate instructors and research assistants.)\nBut a proposed 58 percent increase in the cost of insurance has Remmes, and other graduate students with dependents, worried. \n"We're dealing with really substantial increases," he said. "It really kills a graduate student budget -- these numbers are extraordinary." \nUnder the plan, the cost of insuring a spouse would increase from $2,404 to $3,798.32, and the cost of insurance for a child plan would jump from $1,824 to $2,881.92. For a family that includes a spouse and child, the cost of insurance would be more than $6,000.\nCurrently, IU only subsidizes the insurance for the student academic appointees and has said it will cover the majority of their insurance rate increases for next year. It does not pay for the insurance of their dependents.\n"We have a typical plan that insures the student," said Neil Theobald, vice provost of budget and administration. "The minute the student chooses to insure others, that's on a separate plan that we arrange."\nBut some said the increase in costs without a subsidy could price dependents out of the plans. Graduate student appointee stipends can range from $9,000 to $12,000, or more, based on department or specific appointment. \n"As it appears, the students with dependents on these plans are going to be forced to find some kind of alternative health care because of the extreme cost of unsubsidized dependents," said John Scott, chairman of the Graduate and Professional Student Organization's benefits committee. \nA few people suggested the state's Hoosier Healthwise program, which provides health care for free or with low premiums to low-income children, pregnant women and working families, as a possible option. Yet, at least one person said enrollment in such a program is less than ideal.\n"We're a professional student body -- I'm a scientist -- and the idea of putting my family on a Medicaid program when I could be out in the field making three times what I'm making now rubs me the wrong way," Remmes said. "Even though technically our gross income allows me to be on the plan, I think it's barely ethical for me to do it." \nDan Rives, IU's associate vice president of human resources services, cautioned, however, that the prices were only preliminary.\nInsurance premiums could also be reduced if the Student Academic Appointees Health Benefits Committee, made up of administrators and graduate student representatives, decides to decrease the coverage of the plans or increase other related costs, said Julie Swando, a graduate student who sits on the committee. Some options include raising deductibles or increasing co-pays, among others. \n"People with spouses and children aren't going to be paying the same premium this year. They're going to wind up paying more regardless," she said. \nThere are 252 spousal and 216 child plans, Rives said.\nThat relatively small number of claimed dependents among the students has created another problem, known as adverse selection. This is where only students who are likely to use services covered by insurance purchase the University plan, he said. Adverse selection is typically seen as a cause for increased rates. \n"This is student insurance, so we're insuring the student," Theobald said. "The reason why the cost (of dependent insurance) is so high is it's voluntary instead of mandatory."\nRives said an added benefit of the IU plan is that it does not include underwriting, or prescreening applicants. He said all dependents who enroll on time are approved. Insurance providers that screen participants could choose to deny coverage to applicants they consider unhealthy and therefore could cost a company more money to insure. \nPaul Rohwer, moderator of the GPSO, said subsidies were needed to help cover the cost of dependent insurance, and also to ensure the University remained competitive with other schools.\n"Every other university in the Big Ten offers some subsidy to their (graduate students') dependent," he said. \nProviding for dependents could lower the coverage for students, Swando said. \n"I think IU should subsidize part of dependent premiums and coverage but there usually is some kind of tradeoff with that sort of thing," she said.
(03/09/06 6:15pm)
A significant number of Americans believe in the power of psychiatric medications but far fewer would take them to help deal with their problems, according to a recent report released by IU's Consortium for Mental Health Services Research.\nThe report, titled "Public Views of Medications in Light of Health and Health Care," shows that two-thirds of Americans see psychiatric medications as effective and useful, but only 37.1 percent would take them for any mental illness or condition.\nJack Martin, an IU sociology professor and lead author of the report, said much of the concern stems from a public stigma to mental illness, not fears of the medications themselves.\n"They do overwhelmingly believe that psychiatric medications work, but at the same time (they are) very reluctant to use them themselves," he said. "We have these medications that can help (people) deal with these problems but they're not taking them ... because of the stigmas we associate with the use of them." \nSpecifically, he said society relates mental illness to a lack of control, a character flaw or a general failure on the part of those affected. \n"People often feel they're perceived as being failures in life and basically are blamed for having these problems," he said.\nThe reluctance to take medicine to address illnesses, though, could prolong mental health issues such as depression or anxiety and affect other aspects like economic productivity and workplace absenteeism, \nMartin said. \n"If they're not receiving the treatment, then they're not dealing with the causes," he said. "They're not dealing with the symptoms that are causing them difficulty," he said. \nThe consortium's report is based on face-to-face surveys conducted with nearly 1,400 people. The surveys were administered in 1998 by the University of Chicago's National Opinion Research Center.\nAmong its other key findings is a belief among 47 percent of respondents that medication should be discontinued after symptoms improve. In addition, six out of 10 people reported a skepticism of doctors in general, although seven out of 10 said they trusted their own doctor. \nMartin said those findings are significant and may help determine if people take medications and follow the mental health advice of their physicians. \n"For those people that do have a relationship with a physician who they feel good about, they're going to be more willing to take that physician's recommendations and take those medications even if there is that stigma associated with it," he said. \nThe recent IU study is the second in a series on mental health and its perception among Americans. Current research focuses on the perception of children with mental illnesses, and the first study, released in 1996, found that two-thirds of Americans said they would not want to work with someone with a mental illness.\nBut experts say such fears of mental illness, combined with the stigma attached to medications, are unhealthy and \nunrealistic.\n"When people think in terms of psychological problems there remains the residual notion that is equivalent to some kind of flaw in their character, it's a defect, and they feel a little leery about it in other people," said Charles Goodstein, a psychoanalyst and clinical professor of psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine, who reviewed the IU report. "All people, if they were really honest with themselves, would recognize they have experienced these findings at some level, at some point in their life." \nThe goal, Dr. Goodstein said, is for people to recognize problems and seek appropriate treatment. \n"Large numbers of people in this country do seek out some form of mental health professional care," he said. "In 2006 America, in contrast to say 1906 America, we don't just want to survive economically ... we want to get the most out of life that we can"
(03/06/06 6:30am)
A substantial increase in health insurance costs could mean changes for many graduate student health plans, even as the University offers to cover a majority of the rate hike. \nHealth insurance premiums could increase $584 -- 58 percent -- from the current $1,007 per year, which is wholly covered by IU. Under the new plan, University administrators plan to cover $1,409.80, leaving $181.20 to be paid by students, said Neil Theobald, IU's vice chancellor of budget and administration. \n"There's nothing that's good about it," said Adrianne Wadewitz, a graduate student studying English. "Right now we're only talking about a decrease in benefits and an increase in costs to graduate students."\nStudents and administrators are working through the Student Academic Appointee Health Benefits Committee to lower the potential costs graduate students pay. Some are suggesting students move to a modified plan with lower premiums. Options include raising co-pay prices or decreasing benefits, among others.\nDeciding how to pay for the nearly $200 the University doesn't cover is the subject of confusion and debate from the graduate community. Most affected by the plan are student academic appointees, or SAAs, a group of student-workers -- including graduate students who are associate instructors and student fellows -- who are not considered employees by the University. \nMembers of the Graduate and Professional Student Organization, which represents graduate students, spouted off questions and potential options to help deal with costs at an assembly meeting held Friday afternoon.\nSome suggested the University recognize graduate appointees as official employees -- which administrators said is impossible -- while others recommended the University look for an entirely new health insurance provider.\n"Has the University looked at shopping this bid around?" said Paul Threatt, a law school Doctor of Jurisprudence student, during Friday's meeting.\nDan Rives, associate vice president of human resources, said Friday that any potential insurer would be looking at the same data as IU's current health insurance administrator -- Chickering, a subsidiary of the Aetna network -- meaning major differences in bid prices would be unlikely, and added that the University always negotiates such contracts.\nStill other options include implementing a one-time price fee for graduate students, raising the co-pay amount students pay during medical visits or for prescriptions, cutting the number of services provided or decreasing the maximum amount paid for catastrophic illness or injury, said Julie Swando, who represents graduate students on the SAA Health Benefits Committee. That group, chaired by Theobald, will decide in late April what options to recommend to Interim Provost Michael McRobbie. The plan will then be forwarded to IU President Adam Herbert and, ultimately, the board of trustees. \n"Our goal is to cut things so the most amount of people see the least amount of cuts," Swando said.\nCurrently, the administration subsidizes the entire plan for its 3,505 student academic appointees in Bloomington and 637 appointees at IUPUI. But Theobald said budget constraints, including a $4.5 million cut in state appropriations for the 2005 to 2006 school year, and an additional $2 million cut for the 2006 to 2007 year, make it difficult for the University to cover all of the increases. \n"We have a relatively small pot of money this year," he said. "The whole idea is we do not want to balance the budget on the backs of graduate students -- graduate students are critical to this place." \nTheobald said the money the University is providing to pay for its share of the increases, which amounts to $1.3 million in total, comes out of each campus school or department's budget for filling future faculty positions.\n"The whole emphasis (on planning the budget) was how do we do that without hurting the students?" he said. "To come up with $1.3 million in this budget environment -- that was a major statement on how important graduate students are to this University." \nIncreasing the cost of the insurance while maintaining the amount of coverage comes as graduate students have recently lobbied for dental coverage and increased benefits. IU is the only Big Ten school without dental insurance for its SAAs, according to GPSO documents.\nJohn Scott, chairman of the GPSO's benefits committee, said the importance of dental insurance has not decreased.\n"We want to make sure that if we're here for five to seven years that we have teeth when we leave," he said. \nOthers in the GPSO meeting noted the challenges faced by graduate students who already have small incomes -- ranging from $9,000 to $12,000 or more, depending on department or fellowship money. \n"We're losing instead of gaining anything," said Wadewitz, who is a co-coordinator of the Graduate Employee Organization. The group is separate from the GPSO, which is fighting for unionization of graduates as a way to address many of these issues.\nShe said she is particularly concerned with insurance for dependents -- spouses and children -- because those premiums are paid entirely by the graduate students, with no subsidy from the University.\n"These numbers are already very high," she said. "For it to go up is already disastrous."\nThreatt said dependent insurance is a major issue for graduate students, especially those with a spouse or child.\n"Graduate students have more family concerns than typical undergraduates, and first among those is health insurance," he said. "The University views graduate students as individuals even when they have a family."\nThe increase in price, he said, could force some students to take their spouses or children off the current insurance plan. About 200 dependents are currently on the SAA plan, according to data provided by the GPSO. \nMore than 2,000 international students also share the SAA plan, but pay 100 percent of the insurance premiums. Federal law mandates that international students have insurance while in the United States. \nThey would absorb the entire 58 percent increase, Theobald said. \nIU administrators must balance the international students' desire to keep costs low with graduate students' desire to maintain adequate coverage.
(02/23/06 4:35am)
Students looking for a joint degree in business and law can now do it in a shorter amount of time, thanks to a new program between IU's School of Law and the Kelley School of Business. \nDesigned to minimize opportunities lost during education, the accelerated program lets students earn a Juris Doctor (JD) and Masters of Business Administration degree in three years, instead of four, as is currently required.\n"The goal is to reach out to people who are already in the business world or in substantial careers, for whom the JD/MBA would be a valuable thing, but for whom the opportunity costs of all four years is very difficult," said John Applegate, the associate dean of academic affairs for the law school. \nThe three year program, set to begin in the fall, includes two summers of coursework, and maintains the same number of credit hours as the standard four year plan.\n"It's a matter of changes in scheduling of courses and sequencing of programs rather than changing the curriculum," Applegate said. \nThe four year program will continue to be offered, he said. \nTo students, joint degree programs represent the chance for them to better use their skills in the workplace, which often require employees to use business and legal knowledge, Applegate said.\n"You get skills and credentials in two related areas," he said. "Lawyers often find it very helpful to understand the business world and business people find it very helpful to understand the legal issues in more than a limited way."\nAs part of the three year degree, students will also be able to participate in a new legal clinic housed in the business school, which provides legal support and counseling to small businesses and emerging companies. \nSince it opened in the fall of 2005, the clinic has worked with about a dozen companies, providing everything from support on import and export laws for a Bloomington-based bio-pharmaceutical firm, to patent mapping for IU's medical school and the Cook Group, a medical device maker.\n"We're looking to contribute to the economic development of the state and also to expose Indiana students to entrepreneurial opportunities as well as entrepreneurs in Indiana, in the hope that we will persuade some of those students to stay in Indiana," said Tim Boeglin, director of the clinic and a visiting clinical professor of law.\nBoeglin said the legal clinic serves as a natural compliment to the JD/MBA program.\n"It takes some of the theory they've learned in law school and business school and translates that to real world learning (that) provides them skills that they need as they enter the working world," he said. \nMark Horvick, 26, a fourth year student in the JD/MBA program and legal intern in the clinic, said the work provides opportunities where textbooks and lectures simply can't. \n"It just gives some practical experience," he said. "Law school's kind of theoretical and boring; this sort of gives you the opportunity to do what you'd do as a lawyer"
(02/21/06 5:02am)
It's a process that takes months, even years, to complete.\nBefore the first patrons take their seats for a lecture, concert or Broadway musical in IU's Auditorium, a team of people work behind the scenes, choosing shows, booking talent and setting schedules -- all in an effort to find the right mix of entertainment for the community.\n"It's part science, part magic," said Doug Booher, director of the auditorium. "We try to create a nice melange of shows. Some are highly sought after, some are new down the pike that people haven't heard about, and that's the magic part."\nThe science begins in September, when Booher and a student intern begin researching shows, skimming trade journals and concocting a list of possible events to feature for the upcoming season. That list then turns into the subject of a market research study, sent to a committee made up of past ticket buyers and people interested in offering their viewpoints. \n"We take pride in the fact that we bring things that are new and different, events people wouldn't be able to see otherwise," Booher said.\nBut the results of the market research studies are sometimes up for interpretation. Some shows that initially don't test well, like October's "Ballet Flamenco" performance, turn into surprise hits once they debut. \n"People generally like what they already know about," Booher said, noting patrons' relative unfamiliarity with the "Flamenco" program. "(But) we know people love going to support cultural dance."\nThe key, he says, is picking quality performers and entertainment that can serve a wide audience but can also inspire, educate and uplift at the same time. \n"It's a wide-open system because people have a lot of different interests ... we want to try to have something for everyone," Booher said. \nBut some shows are \noff-limits.\nThe size of the auditorium's performance space, at more than 3,000 seats, for instance, makes it difficult to present straight plays, which require a more intimate connection with the audience. Other shows, like Disney's musical "The Lion King," can be too complex to travel to the Bloomington market for a short time, Booher said. Internal issues with performing groups can also affect when a show can be booked in Bloomington, as a result of complex routing schedules, which dictate the show's travel schedule. \n"If we had our choice, we'd have everything on a Friday or Saturday night," Booher said, although he added that quality shows draw people any night of the week. \nBooher said external factors, like the Broadway Across America series, a presenting network of Broadway shows in 59 markets, such as Indianapolis and Louisville, Ky., can create challenges in planning a program here in Bloomington. \n"I've actually had Broadway Across America people tell me, 'We just don't want your season to look as good as ours,'" Booher said. "I think it's worked to our advantage because we're not locked into a formula."\nNotably, Booher said when Broadway Across America initially didn't present the musical "Rent" in its 1999 tour as a result of the controversial nature of the show, IU's Auditorium staged it, to great fanfare from audiences. \n"There's something with Broadway Across America's size ... (their) reach has hampered them (from) being nimble, and we're able to be much more nimble," Booher said. \nBut creating the right mix of entertainment must not only satisfy audiences, but also the budget line. \nBob Myers, director of the John R. Emens College-Community Auditorium, a 3,400-seat venue at Ball State University in Muncie, said there is sometimes a disconnect between what consumers want and what arts centers can offer to satisfy their financial needs.\n"We have to balance the programming (with) what events we think are going to do well versus what we think adds cultural significance to educational opportunities on our campus," Myers said. "You don't do an event to do an event; you do an event because it makes sense for your situation."\nPrices vary for each performance offered, Booher said, with most productions or artists requiring a guarantee fee -- a price paid in advance to bring the artists to the venue, while others take a percentage of ticket sales if the show becomes profitable. \nTop names like Alicia Keys and Kanye West can require a $100,000 guarantee fee, Myers said, while prices for Broadway productions average $50,000. At IU, the auditorium is not set up as a way to build profits, but as a tool for the community, said Loren Rullman, executive director for the auditorium and the Indiana Memorial Union. \n"It's not set up to make a profit; it's set up to cover its expenses," he said. "It's meant to be a community building that offers quality cultural arts and presentations as well as gathering space for the campus. And we try to break even when doing that"
(02/17/06 4:49am)
Race issues have improved, but there's still room to go. \nThat was the message given as part of a lecture by Beverly Moran, a Vanderbilt University law and sociology professor who spoke on the topic Thursday night in the Indiana Memorial Union's Alumni Hall. \nTitled "Changes in the View of Race in America in the last 60 Years," the lecture was organized into two "stories," one of triumph and another of despair, in which Moran detailed ways that America has dealt with race relations in its recent history. \nShe specifically pointed to the elimination of segregation, changes in exclusionary immigration laws, and women's liberation and feminist movements as evidence of America's growth, and she praised the country for being more accepting of homosexuality. \n"In the days of my youth, a man could be killed and if the person who killed that man could just assert that the victim had suggested sexual relations ... that was enough to justify the murder," she said. \nShe also attempted to debunk recent reports that whites will become a minority group by 2050, stating current immigrants could be considered white in the future.\n"It's hard to realize this now, but when they first arrived here, Swedes were not white, nor were Jews, nor were the Irish," she said. "All these groups became white; they became socially white as they assimilated into the American culture." \nBut she said improvements still need to be made in other areas, particularly in America's desire to learn and speak new languages, which she said is a racially motived viewpoint, and the country's ability to recognize problems of racism and poverty.\n"Denial is a large part of American culture and it comes in all forms," she said.\nBut her intensity increased near the end of the speech, when she urged students to address issues sooner, rather than later. \n"Don't you dare let my generation put the task of solving racism on you," she said to the audience of about 50 people. "I will judge you and the world will judge you on what you do to end racism, now, today and forever." \nVanessa Prickel, a graduate student in the education certification program, said Moran's speech provided an insight needed in today's society.\n"I think it's a topic that should definitely be discussed, but is often so personal for people, such a personal experience, that they ignore it to avoid conflict," she said.\nOyibo Afoaku, director of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center, which helped sponsor the event, said the program highlighted important issues faced by minorities, including some she faces in her own life. \n"As a black woman, I do know every day that I'm a black woman in America," she said. "It's about interest, it's about human relations and how far we have gone today ... We have done well, we have made some progress in the last 60 years, as (Moran) said, but we still have room for improvement"
(02/13/06 5:53am)
From basketball to Twister, to pogo-sticking and jump roping, everyone had something for them Friday evening, as members of the campus and surrounding communities came together to participate in the annual Spirit of Sport event, which benefits Special Olympics Indiana athletes. \nHosted by the Division of Recreational Sports, and celebrating its 30th year of existence, Friday's event was one of broken records and new achievements. \nRecSports surpassed its goal of $7,500, bringing in at least $12,000, said sophomore Jenny Logar, vice president of finance for Spirit of Sport. Logar said that number could rise as final donations are calculated. Similarly, attendance figures were the highest they've been in the past three years, said Andrea Hill, president of the event, although official numbers were not available by press time. \nWhile numerous explanations were offered for the increases, Hill said the activity itself was the cause of excitement.\n"It's an alternative to normal Friday night fun that student usually have," said Hill, a senior majoring in education. "You can come up and play games and have a blast." \nThe evening kicked off at 5:30, with basketball games between eight different Special Olympics Indiana teams, made up of athletes from across the state. \n Many student organizations, clubs and athletic teams that paid $75 to participate as a Hoosier Partner, which includes sponsoring a team and supporting it throughout the evening. \n"They obviously enjoy it, they're loving it, so if we can come out and support them, (that's) awesome," said junior Ray Rodriguez, a member of Phi Kappa Sigma, and a political science major. \nAs the evening progressed, HPER's Wildermuth gym was turned into a playground of sorts, with a climbing wall, an inflatable maze, volleyball games, basketball shootouts, even a karaoke contest available for students. \nBut the excitement quickly shifted outside at 8 p.m. for the Polar Bear Plunge, an activity where participants raise at least $60 to jump into an outdoor pool, surrounded by cheering crowds. \nWaiting to dive in, Deanna Macy, a senior education major who raised $560, stood shivering in the February cold, thinking about what was to come. \n"I'm very nervous and I've lost lots of sleep all week," she said, surrounded by her parents, grandma, boyfriend and his parents, who traveled from Indianapolis to watch her take the plunge. "It's going to be so cold ... freezing, capital freezing."\nThe games continued inside until 1 a.m., with some requiring more athleticism than others. \nSome students tested the limits of height and balance in the Oreo stacking contest, or relaxed and watched the Hip Hop dance competition, while others tried their luck at the three-point shootout. \nSophomore and football standout James Bailey made 10 three-pointers, and said he came to support Special Olympics while having fun at the same time. \n"I'm jumping on balls, climbing walls, dancing; I'm coming here (every year) 'til I graduate," he said.\nLater in the evening, a small crowd surrounded Katie Newton, who spent an hour and 22 minutes jumping on a pogo stick. While doing it, she smiled, laughed and made jokes, while the students who watched her attempted to give explanations for her performance. \nOnce she finally ended, she said her legs felt "like Jell-O," although she was happy. \n"I didn't work out today, I was looking for the work out," she said. "I may call and wake up my parents ... I'm going to tell them that I'm the pogo stick champion at IU"
(02/10/06 5:50am)
There will be basketball games, sports contests, an outdoor water plunge and more Friday night as part of the annual Spirit of Sport event, which benefits Special Olympics Indiana athletes. \nThe event, now in its 30th year of existence, is designed to give students the chance to interact with each other in a fun environment while also supporting a philanthropic cause, said Joanne Orrange, the assistant director of special events for the Division of Recreational Sports, which is playing host to the event. \n"We really like to say that we have something for everyone," she said. "You don't have to be athletically inclined to have a great time at this event. We're trying to get a good mix of individuals to come out." \nThe evening is expected to raise $7,500 for Special \nOlympics Indiana, an Indianapolis-based nonprofit organization that provides sports training and athletic competitions to children and adults with mental disabilities. Since 1976, Spirit of Sport has raised $320,000 for the organization, Orrange said.\nThe largest generator of funds comes from the evening's popular Polar Bear Plunge activity, where participants raise a minimum of $60 in donations before jumping into an icy pool outside the HPER building. \n"It's freezing cold, but it's exhilarating, and I think it just proves people's passion for Special Olympics," said Debbie Hesse, president of Special Olympics Indiana. "To be crazy enough to jump into freezing cold water really proves someone's passion." \nSpirit of Sport begins at 5:30 p.m. with the Special Olympics basketball games, where mentally-disabled athletes, from kids to adults on eight different teams, will compete on the court. It will be followed by "spirit games," like karaoke and Oreo stacking contests, and more traditional games like volleyball and dodgeball.\nAll the spirit games are free and open on a first-come, first-serve basis to students, although tournament games, like dodgeball, require a small fee. Orrange estimates 3,000 to 4,000 students will attend.\n"I like to think they come out to have fun, to play, while raising money for a good cause," she said. "I really hope that they leave there realizing that they're a part of something bigger, and they're giving back to their community."\nFor the Special Olympics athletes themselves, Hesse said Spirit of Sport provides an opportunity few others can match. \n"They get to show their skills and have a great time while they're doing it, and that's why they enjoy coming year after year," she said. "We don't do many events like this ... for the athletes that participate, it's just a special time."\nSpirit of Sport is organized and planned by a committee of 50 students. For more information, visit http://www.recsports.indiana.edu/sos.
(02/07/06 5:35am)
It was 2001 and Rachel Price was thousands of miles away from home. \nShe was living in a new place -- a rural village on the Pacific coast of Panama -- helping teach environmental science to grade-school children while working to conserve sea turtles. She was with new people and engaging in new experiences. \nAnd she says it was all worth it. \nA graduate student in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Price was working with the Peace Corps, an organization that sends American volunteers around the world to work in developing countries. \n"I think it was amazing to live and be a part of a different culture and to be able to share my culture with them. That was probably the best part about it -- just the cultural exchange," she said. \nA report recently released by the organization shows IUB ranks 14th of large schools in terms of Peace Corps volunteers, with more than 56 alumni currently serving abroad. Since the Peace Corps was founded in 1960, 1,341 IU alumni have served in the organization. \nScot Roskelley, a spokesman for the Peace Corps' regional office in Chicago, said there are a number of explanations for the recent ranking, including a search for adventure on the part of participants and a larger desire to engage in altruism. \n"Once the family members have gone to serve in the Peace Corps, they talk it up the rest of their lives," Roskelley said. "It's a pretty substantial experience in a person's life. You're going to grow personally ... It's going to alter your perceptions of yourself and what you're capable of doing."\nThe University of Wisconsin-Madison leads the list with 104 alumni currently serving. Among Big Ten schools, IU is also behind the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, University of Minnesota and Penn State University in the number of volunteers. \nBut Jeremy Rothgerber, a SPEA graduate student and IU's campus representative for the Peace Corps, said the number of students nominated for service has steadily increased since 2003, when a recruitment office was first started on campus. Participation went from 23 in the first year to 46 in the 2004-2005 school year. Some nominated candidates do not go into service, however, because of medical or other reasons. \nRothgerber said some of the increases can be attributed to the office itself, while others might be a result of a heightened awareness of the organization and its mission. \n"I think just general knowledge of students about the Peace Corps has increased," he said. \nPeace Corps service is a two-year commitment and volunteers can serve in a variety of fields such as education, business consulting, environmental science, agriculture or health education. One out of three applicants is chosen for service, and the organization pays the living and health care costs, as well as travel expenses, of volunteers, Roskelley said. \nFormer volunteer and graduate student Jamie Ward, who also works for the Indiana Daily Student, referred to joining the Peace Corps as "the great American experience." \n"They're sending you off to the parts of the world where Americans normally don't go," he said. \nAs part of his service, Ward worked in Belize in Central America, where he started a computer lab for disadvantaged high school youth and helped locals understand the new technology.\nRothgerber, who worked with farmers in the West African country of Gambia in 1995 as a volunteer and later as an associate Peace Corps director for agro-forestry, said service gives volunteers the chance to earn a global perspective, one that also helps other countries gain a better understanding of American life.\n"I'm very passionate about the Peace Corps because I think they do development the right away, providing knowledge and resources to people at a grassroots level," he said. "It's not about money or large projects; it's about teaching people skills and giving them access to knowledge so once you're gone, they can continue to improve their quality of life"
(01/31/06 5:18am)
Students will be able to ask questions, see photos and talk to leasing agents from more than 100 different housing complexes Wednesday as part of the annual housing fair to be held in the Indiana Memorial Union's Alumni Hall. \nThe event, sponsored by the Indiana Daily Student, is designed to give students a chance to evaluate a variety of housing options in one place, said Amy Swain, advertising director for the IDS.\n"The housing market in Bloomington has just exploded in the last four to five years," she said. "There's a myriad of choices out there and anything we can do to help make that decision, we're willing to do."\nThroughout the fair, students will be able to compare housing options based on price, location and amenities, and can ask questions or give comments to leasing agents who will be on-site to represent the properties. \n"Housing's a big choice; it can effect so many things in your life, so making a good choice is important," Swain said. "Sometimes you make lifelong friends from your neighbors." \nThe event began 10 years ago to fill a void in the community, and has grown yearly since, said Susan Elkins, business manager of the IDS and a staff member of 29 years. Last year, 1,300 students attended the fair. \n"(Before the fair) there wasn't a center place for everyone to come and look at houses," Elkins said. "(The housing fair) brought you into a place to see what everybody had available ... From (the) advertiser's standpoint to (the) student's standpoint, it's a win-win situation." \nMichelle Fulford, property manager for Fountain Park Apartment Regency Management Service, said her company participates because of the greater name recognition and ability to reach students. \n"It's a lot of fun. You get to meet so many people," she said. "It actually gives us a lot of coverage for undergrads, and it's just basically to be there and to show our support at IU."\nThe housing fair begins at 9 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. Wednesday. For more information, visit www.idsnews.com/housing.
(01/26/06 5:05am)
A new counseling and support program will be coming to IU's Sexual Assault Crisis Center in mid-February and will focus on women who have been sexually assaulted by dates or acquaintances. \nKnown as "Survivors of Sexual Assault," the group is limited to eight members and will meet every Tuesday. It will be an open forum where women can discuss their experiences in a safe environment, said Suzanne Pauwels, a counselor with the group. \n"Many times people feel that something's wrong with them, that they're different and I think that this normalizes that for people," she said. \nNinety-five percent of all campus assaults occur between people who already know each other, Pauwels said. Previous counseling programs have been in place during past semesters and have provided a broader degree of support to women who had been assaulted. \nThe "Survivors of Sexual Assault" group is free to students and is led by Pauwels and another licensed counselor, Debbie Melloan-Ruiz -- both members of Counseling and Psychological Services. All sessions are confidential. \n"It's an embarrassing subject to talk about, sexual assault. And I think people are often reluctant to seek help because they blame themselves," Pauwels said. "I think it's helpful for people to have a safe environment to talk about these issues." \nThe new topic for the counseling program comes as more attention is being given to sexual harassment, both on campus and across the nation. On Tuesday, the American Association of University Women reported that nearly two-thirds of all campus students have been harassed in some form, with one-third of students reporting physical harassment. As part of the its study, "Drawing the Line: Sexual Harassment on Campus," the AAUW awarded IU's Office of Women's Affairs with a $5,000 grant to promote awareness and to educate the campus on sexual \nharassment issues.
(01/25/06 5:22am)
Sexual harassment will soon be getting more attention on campus, following a $5,000 grant to the Office of Women's Studies and the creation of a new student committee designed to address the issue. \nPart of a new national study, "Drawing the Line: Sexual Harassment on Campus," the grant will allow the office to create a new student program, called Shape Up!, and will help it further the study's findings, said Carol McCord, assistant dean for the OWA. \nThe grant was awarded from the American Association of University Women, an advocacy group which conducted the study. IU was one of 11 schools to receive awards. \nWhile plans are still in the works, "Shape Up!" plans to hold educational programming and forums for students, as well as harassment training sessions for residential advisors in the dorms. Advertisements for buses and bulletin board campaigns will also be part of the plan, McCord said. \n"We want to change the culture, and my views as an adult aren't going to change the culture. The goal for all of us is to help individual students say to one another what they are willing to say anonymously in the survey," she said. \nOther student groups are joining Shape Up!'s efforts, including the Raising Awareness of Interactions in Sexual Encounters group and the IU Men's Coalition.\nNigel Pizzini, an advisor for the IUMC, said his group will give workshops and presentations in resident halls and fraternities, and plans to hold other campus events to address the current culture of masculinity, which he says has a direct effect on the lives of women. \n"The only way to change woman's experiences of harassment and objectification is to facilitate a change in the way men conduct themselves," he said. "There are people here who are committed to that cause of raising awareness. Whether we're going to change the culture of masculinity, that's no small task." \nHaley Pollack, a senior and a coordinating member of Shape Up!, said she hopes her group can raise awareness about the sexual harassment problems, and can help students find programs available to help them deal with harassment.\nThe study, conducted through online interviews with 2,036 college undergraduates, found that nearly two-thirds of college-aged students have been sexually harassed in some form. The AAUW found that the most common kind of sexual harassment was nonphysical, including jokes, looks and jests. One-third of students reported being harassed physically, such as being touched, grabbed or forced to do something sexual, according to the study. \n"There is a culture of sex harassment on campus now," said Elena Silva, director of research for the AAUW. "Students have come to tolerate and have come to almost expect it."\nThe study found that men and women are equally likely to be harassed during their college years, although women are more frequently the target of physical contact, while men are commonly called homophobic names like "gay." \nThe AAUS defines harassment as sexual behavior that is unwanted or unwelcome, Silva said. According to the report, men are more likely than women to harass, with 51 percent of college males reporting they had harassed in some form, compared to 31 percent of women who had done the same. \nBut Silva said one of the most notable parts of the study includes the amount of students who report harassment to college officials -- 7 percent -- a number she says is surprising, given the amount of pain sexual harassment can cause students. \n"For some reason, sexual harassment has almost become a part of college life ... despite the fact that it makes you feel bad, it doesn't make you feel bad enough to report," she said. "There's something about that in-between, telling no one and officially reporting it, that students are getting stuck"
(01/19/06 5:30am)
Common notions of the Victorians and sex were redefined Wednesday night, as part of a lecture given by Rice University English professor and author Helena Michie.\nSpeaking to a crowd of about 60 people in the Indiana Memorial Union's Georgian Room, Michie, chair of Rice's English department, argued that the Victorian's were ignorant or secretive towards sex, and said they were likely not the sexually prudish people obsessed with the subject, as is sometimes thought. \nDrawing on research from archives in England and Wales, including novels, medical and conduct manuals and personal diaries from the period, Michie specifically focused on honeymoons to explore the issue, and analyzed 63 couples as part of her study. As evidence of the subtlety of sex in the culture, Michie said she found sex mentioned in only five of the 63 couple's cases, and often had to look to periods of silence in diary passages for evidence of lovemaking. \n"I'm really delighted with how academic her talk was and how accessible (it was) to the general public, as well," said Carol McCord, assistant dean with the Office of Women's Affairs, which sponsored the event. "I'm reminded of the dangers of ignorance of sex in Victorian times and today." \nThe lecture was the first in the Ken Gros Louis Women of Distinction lecture series. The idea for the series began after Gros Louis, IU's next University chancellor, first retired in 2001, and was designed to commemorate his positive support of women's issues, said Linda McCammon, editor and director of administration for the OWA.\nThis year's speaker was selected by Gros Louis himself, who spoke with other faculty members in the English department before making the decision, she said. \n"It's to bring very distinguished women's scholars from all across the country to the university here for speaking engagements," McCammon said. \nFor Moya Andrews, a retired speech and hearing professor, the lecture was an educational and amusing experience; one that she said helped to provide new insight into the Victorian era. \n"The honeymoon was obviously a very interesting time period to choose ... but it's revealing in many ways," she said. \nThe Gros Louis lecture series will likely occur once a year, as funds permit, and is open to lecturers in a variety of fields, McCammon said. No future dates have been scheduled at this time.
(01/13/06 5:47am)
They evacuated homes. Left their colleges. Said goodbye to friends.\nAnd now they're back.\nMore than four months after Hurricane Katrina roared through the Gulf Coast region, tearing apart cities and causing billions of dollars in damages, students from many New Orleans universities will regain some sense of normalcy next week when they return to classes at their home institutions. \nFor the students who relocated to IU following Katrina, the homecoming has been a time of new experiences and memories. \nTulane University senior Sarah Moser, an exercise and sports science major who stayed at Teter Quad, was one of 45 students who enrolled at IU after Katrina. She returned to New Orleans on Saturday to find a city understandably different than the one she left. The stores and restaurants around her neighborhood now close earlier, for instance, and stop lights and streets can be inoperable or closed at times, making her commute to school 10 to 15 minutes longer, she said. \nAt her apartment, located a few blocks from Tulane's campus in the Uptown area of town, she said her roommates arrived to find a refrigerator rotting with perishables, but no other major damage. The refrigerator, covered with maggots and sour meats, eggs and other products, was replaced by a landlord, she said. \nIn all, she said her neighborhood escaped the kind of damage she initially expected. She noted that the campus looks much the same as she remembers, with more internal changes, such as recent cuts in staffing and even whole majors and academic programs, than external. \n"A lot of my peers are just kind of irritated because we were told previously that Tulane was going to stay the same when we got back," she said. "We're supposed to have a big meeting with the president, but I think a lot of people right now are just disgruntled with the situation."\nMoser said her major is going to be cut, but she is still going to be able to graduate in her program and on time after taking exercise and science classes here at IU. \n"I don't think I could have had an easier transition at IU," she said. "I think if I weren't a senior, I would have considered transferring." \nSenior Scott Fetters, a business law and management major at Tulane who studied at IU in the fall and stayed at Teter Quad, said conditions in New Orleans were worse than he had initially expected, with power outages in some areas and ghost town-like conditions a few blocks from his neighborhood. \nFollowing the storm, he lost his job at the Howl at the Moon bar in the French Quarter, and his favorite restaurant, a family-owned Mediterranean spot, closed indefinitely. \n"I expected it to be pretty much (back) to normal," he said. "It was kind of worse than I had hoped and imagined because you go down some of the streets and there's just no businesses open." \nBut he said there are bright spots, especially with low levels of crime in the city and students eager to get together once classes start Jan. 17. \n"Morale is actually really high. Everyone's just so happy to see each other and make up for last semester," he said. "Everyone's pretty excited"
(01/10/06 6:09am)
Significant changes could be coming to student loan programs in the future, including $12.7 billion in cuts, as the federal government attempts to reduce spending and lower the deficit. \nThe student loan reductions, which are part of a larger legislation package totaling $39.7 billion in cuts to the federal budget, were previously approved by the House of Representatives and passed in the Senate by a 51-50 margin Dec. 21, with the tie-breaking vote coming from Vice President Dick Cheney. Because of small changes made in the Senate, the bill will go back to the House for a vote, where it is expected to pass and move along to President George W. Bush for final approval. \nIf approved, the bill would eliminate government subsidies to lenders, raise loan interest rates to a fixed amount for students and their parents, and require students to pay a 1 percent fee to government agencies that guarantee loans. \nAt the same time, the bill increases loan limits to $3,500 for freshmen, from the current limit of $2,625, and $4,500 for sophomores, up from $3,500 currently, according to an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education. Loan limits for juniors and seniors will remain the same at $5,500. \nAdvocates also say that the bill creates opportunities for students, through the creation of a new $3.75 billion merit-based Pell grant program, which rewards low income students for high academic performance and who study in math, science and some foreign languages. \nSusan Pugh, associate vice chancellor for enrollment services at IU, said only a small proportion of students would be affected, however, due to the amount of funding. \n"Some students will benefit but the vast majority of students throughout the United States will not receive one of those awards," she said, noting that recipients would be selected nationally, not from specific institutions. \nBill Ehrich, associate director for client services at the Office of Student Financial Assistance at IU, said one of the chief components of the bill -- the elimination of government subsidies to lenders -- would create hardships for students, increasing the cost of borrowing. \n"The banks are going to make less money from the federal government. They are going to pass any losses they take from the federal government onto students," he said. \nRules for interest rates would also change under the bill. The interest rate for loans that parents take out for their children would increase from a variable rate to a fixed 8.5 percent rate, according to the Chronicle. Students would pay a fixed rate of 6.8 percent, a change from the current variable rate of 5.3 percent, but one that was already expected following a congressional decision in 2001.\n"The more money you borrow over your college career, the greater the impact this is going to have," Ehrich said. "It's going to hurt the poor students ... because they really don't have that much margin of error." \nStudents have gathered to fight proposed cuts and to raise awareness on the issue, said Allison Rank, campus organizer for the Indiana Public Interest Research Group. \nLast semester, the group held a call-in day to Congressman Mike Sodrel, R-Ind., when more than 100 students expressed their views on the issue, and now has plans to join other schools across the country in developing what's called a "student debt yearbook" where students will be photographed next to entries describing their debt and situation, she said. \n"We just think it's a poor place to make those cuts. Giving people tax cuts overall that are being paid by students seems wrong," Rank said.
(12/01/05 1:04am)
The IU women's rugby club is in compliance with University alcohol policies, according to results from a recent investigation from the Department of Recreational Sports.\nFollowing a Sept. 14 article published in the Indiana Daily Student, "Team throws down competition, brews," the investigation found that members of the club -- called the Red Storm -- did not drink as a team during club-sponsored activities, although recreational sports officials declined to provide further details.\n"Because of how the article was written and because it did involve alcohol, we had to take the necessary steps that we did," said Josh Downing, assistant director for club sports, and the main investigator in the case. "What they do in their personal time, I have no personal control over that. It's just when it involves the club I have to step in." \nThe story profiled the club, noting members' off-field social activities, including drinking. Team representatives argued the article unfairly portrayed the team in a negative light and created unwarranted problems. \n"These girls have worked so hard and for them to have it nearly taken away through a misquote or a misinterpretation of the reporter would have been a real shame," said Laith Shaaban, a team coach. "If there was any drinking going on, it would have been completely separate from the team. Like any other college student, if they should choose to drink, they do it on their own time and the team does not condone it." \nDuring the investigation, the team suspended one captain from leadership responsibilities, Julie Liszka, and canceled all post-game social activities to avoid any appearance of wrongdoing, Shaaban said. When the investigation was complete, Liszka was reinstated to her captain role and a new policy was implemented, limiting press comments to coaches and the team president.\n"Clubs recognize that media coverage is the best thing for a club," Shaaban said. "But if one slip-up or one misquote happens, then it can nearly ruin a club, like it did us." \nHe did not describe any specific misquotes.\nCurrent University policy from the Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities and Conduct states that no alcoholic substance can be consumed at a club-sponsored event, on or off campus. Stacey Hall-Yannessa, program director for club sports, said club officers are given a one-hour training session on policies at the beginning of the year, such as alcohol usage, and shown examples of serious situations that could cause problems. \n"(We) use a lot of scenarios because you can read the policy as many times as you want but until you use examples it's really hard to apply it," Hall-Yannessa said. "Sometimes it's hard to know where the line is drawn because one of the greatest benefits of being involved with club sports is you meet some of your best friends through that avenue." \nOther clubs have also discussed issues faced by the Red Storm in the fallout of its investigation. The Club Sports Federation, a governing body made up of representatives from all 48 clubs, has discussed issues about speaking to the press, although Hall-Yannessa said the decision to hold such discussion were generated by students, not the recreational sports department itself.
(11/14/05 5:58am)
As the house lights lowered at Jackson Creek Middle School Saturday night, audience members cheered in excitement. Music swelled. Performers slowly drifted on stage. \nDiwali, an ancient Indian holiday, had begun.\nCommemorating the Indian New Year and fall harvest, Diwali is celebrated by about one billion people worldwide. The holiday represents the triumphs of ancient lords over evils. In India, it is celebrated during a period of five days, a time when citizens exchange gifts, hold dinners, shoot firecrackers and light candles. \nThe IU community came together to celebrate the event, which was organized by the Indian Student Association and sponsored through funds provided by the IU Student Association and its Commitment to Assist Student Initiatives. \nPromoted to provide "a kaleidoscope of Indian culture," the evening included performances ranging from traditional Rajasthani folk dances, with one dancer furiously swirling red powder while spinning in circles, to a 1980s Hindi dance medley and an Indo-Western fusion, which served as the finale. \nDuring the first act, a vocal duet showed the range of genres, with seniors Mallika Singh and Omar Khan shifting from \nChristina Aguilera's "Beautiful" to a classical Indian song and, later, to Destiny Child's "Soldier." The Indo-Western fusion, featuring up to 20 performers on stage at one time, included members from IU's Sequel hip-hop dance team, and took two months to plan.\n"It's like fast ballet to slow music and we never really moved like that before," said senior Melissa Gholston, a Sequel captain. "For me it was challenging because I've never done ballet before, I was strictly hip-hop."\nIntermixed between the dance and vocal acts were presentations from the ISA and related groups, including the Association for India's Development, and frequent skits between the emcees who portrayed Bollywood movies and their common plots where men chase after women. \n"It's different from other things I've gone to," said sophomore Faye Parmer, who attended Diwali for the first time during the weekend. "The music, the costumes are so colorful you can tell it comes from a rich cultural tradition." \nISA President Karan Chaudhri said this year's event was the largest in recent memory, with a diverse audience of an estimated 750 people, some of whom were forced to stand around the sides of the auditorium. \nFor Dr. Kupusamy Umapathy, a nephrologist from Munster, Ind., who attended IU's event for the first time with his son, freshman Arun Umapathy, Diwali is an event with deep sentimental value. \nAs a boy growing up in India, he remembers when his village would come together to pray and worship, prepare sweets and join for an evening meal following a day of fasting. Now, 23 years after moving to the United States, the event still holds similar meaning. \n"All of the effects combined kind of lift your spirit," he said. "It's kind of a nostalgic feel and everybody's happy, that's the bottom line"
(11/14/05 5:27am)
Health benefits for graduate student employees could change next year, following IU President Adam Herbert's October directive to consider adding dental insurance to the current program.\nWhile a decision won't be made until spring, graduate students are currently organizing efforts to promote awareness on the issue, which will be reviewed by the Student Academic Appointee Health Insurance Committee and passed to IU-Bloomington Interim Chancellor Ken Gros Louis for the final decision. \nCurrently, IU and Penn State University are the only two schools in the Big Ten that do not offer dental insurance to graduate student employees. \nEach year, the SAA Health Insurance Committee meets to review health insurance benefits that are offered to graduate students.\nNeil Theobald, head of the committee and vice chancellor for budget and administration, said last year the University's basic health care package increased by $422,000. Instead of changing coverage, Theobald said the University chose to pay for the increases in full and also provided salary increases to graduate students, totaling $1 million overall. \nHe said the committee would receive quotes from insurance providers in the spring to \ndetermine the cost of dental insurance, but said it was premature to predict any type of decision at this point. \n"We have to set priorities just like any budget we've got," he said. "You can either raise the revenue somewhere or cut expenses somewhere else."\nRepresentatives from graduate student organizations, though, say they would not be willing to take cuts to current health benefit plans to receive dental insurance. But they might be willing to accept smaller salary increases.\nEric Zeemering, moderator of the Graduate Professional Student Organization, points to results from an online survey his organization administered in May as evidence that graduate students would mostly be willing to give up a small percentage raise if it meant they would receive dental insurance. \nAccording to the survey, 56.1 percent of people said they would give up a $360 raise, or a 3-percent increase, to receive dental coverage. Seventy-six percent of respondents said they would prefer dental insurance instead of a raise of $240, or a 2-percent increase over the current average salary of $12,000 per year. Zeemering said 2,460 (out of about 8,200 graduate students) took part in the survey, \n"From the survey the GPSO conducted with the graduate school it seems pretty clear that dental insurance is the highest priority," he said. \nAnother graduate group, the Graduate Employee Organization, sent a petition to Herbert in September with 1,000 signatures from current faculty members, staff, graduate and undergraduate students advocating dental insurance for graduate students. \nUrsula McTaggart, co-coordinator on the steering committee for GEO, said her organization is pleased with the administration's response to the petition, which granted GEO a seat on the health benefits committee. But, she said, the University could still do more to help graduate students.\nShe specifically pointed to benefits in place at other schools, such as the University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin, where graduate students have extensive benefits coverage, including dental insurance, "good grievance procedures" and child-care stipends. She said the GEO is currently considering forming a union as a way to strengthen its efforts to develop a collective bargaining agreement that could bring more changes.\n"We have seen around the country that the only way these changes can be made is when a collective bargaining union comes in and demands that changes be made," she said, also noting the inherent problems in the university system where graduate students are overworked and underpaid. "It's graduate students all around the country trying to deal with this larger structural problem of graduate student exploitation." \nFor his part, Gros Louis said he would have to see the committee's decisions before he could make a decision himself because of the varying degrees of dental insurance coverage. A plan could entail the University paying the full amount, the students paying the full amount, or a split, although he acknowledged that "the money is very tight."\nMcTaggart said she would like to see a plan where graduate students get free or nearly free dental examinations twice each year, something she said is a fairly standard practice at other universities. Zeemering said survey results show that graduate students are "clearly willing to pay a little bit in addition to the University in order to obtain that benefit."\nIf plans in the future don't provide dental insurance, graduate students say IU would be less attractive for the most qualified graduate students.\nWith less capable graduate students, Zeemering said the research capacity of the University could suffer, as well as the education given to undergraduates. Yet he took caution in sounding critical of the University.\n"I think the University administration is making a diligent effort to make dental insurance a reality," he said. "The challenge really is finding the money"
(11/11/05 4:49am)
There will be live singing, dancing, skits and authentic Indian food this weekend, as the Indian Student Association celebrates Diwali, a holiday that commemorates the Indian New Year and the annual fall harvest. \nCelebrated by an estimated 1 billion people worldwide, Diwali, also known as a festival of lights, is typically a five-day event in India -- a time when citizens exchange gifts, hold dinners, shoot firecrackers and light candles as a representation of ancient leaders' triumphs of good over evil. \nIn Bloomington, the ISA's event, to be held Saturday at the Jackson Creek Middle School, will include 11 performances, incorporating a mixture of ancient Indian dance forms and modern Bollywood melodies. Karan Chaudhri, ISA president, said about 20 students will perform in the dance and musical performances, with other emcees acting out a series of parodies of famous Indian and Hindi movies between acts. A free dinner, catered by Indianapolis' Indian Garden restaurant, will follow at evening's end. \nOrganizers say the event, which is expected to draw around 600 people, is a relaxed way to build understanding of another culture and its beliefs and practices. \n"It's a significant holiday celebrated by one-fifth of the world's (population), but a lot of people don't know about it," Chaudhri said. "A lot of people are surprised with how large of scale the show is."\nArun Bhattacharyya, vice president of the ISA, said he was also pleased the organization's Diwali festivities allowed people from different nationalities to come together to share in a common experience, with the event bringing a diverse group of performers and audience members.\n"It's a joyous event and people who go there really enjoy themselves," said Chapla Verma, a proposal writer for the Asian Cultural Center, who has celebrated the event in India and also attended previous Diwali events through the ISA. \n"Coming to college is about learning about people and different cultures and religions," Chaudri said. "I guess it will open up people's eyes to the world out there"
(11/10/05 5:26am)
The Pakistani Student Association has surpassed its goal of raising $10,000 for victims of the Oct. 8 earthquakes in South Asia, thanks to a $5,000 donation from a local resident.\nThe gift, which comes two weeks after the PSA held a three-day fund-raising drive across campus, is the largest single donation to date, said Hassan Raza, chairman for the campaign. It brings the total amount raised to $10,800. \n"I was shocked looking at the amount of zeros on the check," he said. "I was shocked to see that someone would be so generous as far as giving a donation to people in another country."\nThe donor, a 41-year-old Brown County resident who wished to remain anonymous, said the images of suffering and the threat of more deaths from the upcoming Himalayan winter prompted her to give to the campaign. \n"I think there's something about the vision of people in these small mountainous communities who had so little and lost that and now with little time have a harsh winter to face," she said. "I have traveled in some impoverished countries and have a bit of an understanding ... of what poverty looks like, and it's not pretty."\nShe also expressed concern about the lack of action from international countries and nongovernmental organizations. \n"I can't imagine that most people could not give more if they understood that there's a possibility of so many people freezing from death or going hungry," she said, also admitting the number of other natural disasters this year. "I realize that the scope of the problem is huge, but my hope is that that money will help make at least some people's lives more manageable and provide them with an opportunity to start over again." \nThe money from the PSA's campaign will be sent to the Edhi Foundation, a Pakistani-based nonprofit organization, and the Pakistani President's Relief Fund, Raza said. Other events are planned for the future, such as a fund-raising dinner, although no date has been set at this point.