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(11/08/05 5:48am)
Bills in the U.S. House and Senate could cut as much as $15 billion from federally subsidized student loans in an effort to reduce spending. \nThe House could meet as soon as this week to vote on a version of the bill, which is expected to reduce federal entitlement spending by $50 billion, including student loan subsidies. \nSubsidized student loans, such as Stafford loans, are interest-free and given to students on the basis of financial need.\nNearly two weeks ago, the House Committee for Education and the Workforce passed a bill which would cut $14.5 billion in programs over five years. Most cuts come through a reduction in federal subsidies to private loan providers. The loan providers would also receive a 9.5 percent drop in returns from student loans.\nThe committee bill also decreases the fees students pay for loans, from 4 percent to 1 percent, and increases the student loan limits for first- and second-year students, from $2,625 to $3,500 and $3,500 to $4,500, respectively. Graduate student borrowing limits will increase from $10,000 to $12,000.\nThe education committee's proposals are expected to be included in the larger House Deficit Reduction Package, although the bill is not complete, and it is still unclear what it will entail. \nCam Savage, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Mike Sodrel, R-Ind., who represents the Bloomington area, said the congressman will not make a decision on how he will vote on the bill until it is formally submitted to the House floor and all of its contents are known. But he said the bill, with the education committee's proposals, would likely have only a minimal effect on students. \n"The individual student is going to see very little change at all here," Savage said. "What it's going to do is allow lenders to increase loan limits and reduce some loan fees. The individual student is not going to see much of an impact here."\nYet critics say the changes could negatively affect students if fewer loan providers remain in the business or if those providers pass fees onto students themselves. \nBill Ehrich, associate director for client services at the Office of Student Financial Assistance at IU, said with changes in subsidized loans under the proposed legislation, banks would get less of a subsidy but would still want to keep the same profit levels. The difference would likely be made up by students and would make college less accessible, he said. \n"Bankers aren't going to lose money," he said. "They're going to be less and less willingly to make deals that benefit students."\nOn Thursday, the Senate passed the Deficit Reduction Act, which will cut $35 billion over five years to a variety of programs, including higher education. The Senate bill would also reduce fees students pay for loans to 2 percent and would make cuts in subsidiaries to government loan providers, although the bill calls for the creation of an $8.25 billion increase to Pell Grant recipients. \nThe Pell Grant increases are unlikely to pass when the Senate and House come together, though, said Susan L. Pugh, associate vice chancellor for enrollment services at IU. \n"I don't think anybody is going to pass additional money right now because they have to have a way to pay for it," she said. \nStudents have organized campaigns to fight possible cuts in aid, said Christine Jack, public relations coordinator for the Indiana Public Interest Research Group.\n"It's a hard issue for everyone to understand," she said. "Education should be affordable for everyone. No one should cut financial aid out of anyone's life because everyone needs it." \nINPIRG held action rallies to raise awareness of student debts and campaigns to oppose the congressional bills, Jack said. \nBut University officials say the bills are still far from being completed, with multiple changes expected before any legislation reaches President Bush's desk. \n"When you're dealing with Congress nothing is sure until you see the final bill," Ehrich said. "I've been around long enough that I don't get wildly excited at this point"
(11/02/05 5:29am)
IU President Adam Herbert defended his decision to continue the search for a new Bloomington chancellor Tuesday, a day after he announced he would not choose any of the three finalists for the position. \nSpeaking to the Bloomington Faculty Council Tuesday afternoon, Herbert said the University was looking to find a candidate who was a strong leader, capable of propelling the University forward, yet he provided few details on what specific traits were lacking from the finalists. \n"We are committed to serving the University and we're not going to make decisions that are haphazard and we're not going to make decisions that are not within our understanding of the best interests of the University," he said. \nIU spokesman Larry MacIntyre said all candidates were qualified, but none were the "perfect fit" for the University. \n"He's looking for someone that he believes will be able to handle every aspect of the job," MacIntyre said. "It's a leadership job. It requires extensive background of academic experience. It requires someone who can communicate. Most of all it requires someone who will be a good leader."\nTrevor Brown, chairperson of the chancellor search committee and former journalism dean, could not offer reasons why the finalists were not chosen, and said he knew of no changes being made in the criteria for applicants. \n"Our understanding of what we're supposed to be looking for is essentially the same," he said. "It's certainly our hope that we can attract very good candidates ... Whether we can be successful is another matter." \nTed Miller, Bloomington Faculty Council president, said he believes a permanent leader is needed to solve many of the issues facing IUB. \n"The campus leadership has been either temporary or interim or not of long standing for quite a few years now and I think people are thinking that sooner or later this is going to start to have a negative impact on the campus," he said. \nJohn Carini, an associate professor in physics and co-chair of the Educational Policies Committee for the BFC, said a fundamental problem facing Bloomington is determining its place within the larger IU system. \n"We don't have a chancellor and that hurts in trying to define your role," he said. \nDuring the meetings, some council members suggested that the job be broken into two parts, with one person serving as chancellor and another as vice president for academic affairs. \nBut Brown said he's not sure breaking the job apart would make it easier to find qualified candidates.\n"Because it's challenging doesn't mean that people won't go for these kind of jobs," he said. "I don't think it automatically follows that if we split it into two jobs we would find it easier to find candidates of the experience and qualifications were looking for."\nThe search committee will meet soon -- possibly next week -- to continue the search process, Brown said. A candidate is expected to be named after the spring semester.
(10/31/05 4:18am)
After a three-day campaign across campus, the Pakistani Student Association said it has raised $4,500 for victims of the Oct. 8 earthquake in South Asia.\nThe money, which was collected at five campus locations Oct. 24 through Wednesday, represents 45 percent of the $10,000 goal the PSA set for the campaign. \nHassan Raza, the PSA earthquake committee chair, said his organization is pleased with the response and is also aware that previous natural disasters, including December's tsunami in Southeast Asia and Hurricane Katrina, might have caused people to give less money to the fund-raiser. \n"People have already exhausted their pockets," he said. \nTo date, 80,000 people have died as a result of the quake, and an additional 3.3 million have been left homeless, according to Associated Press reports. During the weekend, U.N. officials reaffirmed the need for supplies and funds in order to continue relief efforts in the region, which is surrounded by the Himalayan Mountains, the AP reported.\nOther organizations are also contributing, Raza said, including the Asian Student Union, which has pledged all of its profits from its sporting events, and the Indian Student Association, which has offered to help the PSA plan a Pakistani cuisine fund-raising dinner in the future. For its part, Dean of Students Richard McKaig said the administration helped with publicity for last week's campaign. He said the University pointed the PSA toward groups on campus available to help, such as the Leo R. Dowling International Center, but it did not donate cash directly, following University policy. \n"I don't know of any major additional efforts on behalf of the University," he said. \nRaza said he would like to see more from the University, including an official public statement or heightened efforts to publicize future events to the student body, possibly through the University's main Web site. \n"We bring in the fees, we're bringing the cultures and traditions and IU promotes itself based on the fact that IU has people like us as international students," Raza said. "They were contacted, and it would be great if they helped us out"
(10/28/05 5:17am)
IU student Eric Gunther likes the freedom that comes with flying airplanes: the bright orange colors that reflect off campus buildings during sunset, the lack of traffic, the speed and the ability to shave hours off travel time.\nAnd he's started a club to find other people who share the same passion for aviation. \nKnown as the Flying Hoosiers, his newly formed group offers both licensed pilots and flying enthusiasts a chance to learn more about aviation, and to even take the controls of a small plane for themselves. \n"Anybody who has an interest in flying (can join)," Gunther said. "The club can offer you as much or as little as you want." \nGunther, a junior majoring in entrepreneurship and marketing, said he has always been fascinated by aviation. When he was younger, he remembers playing with toy model airplanes and video games involving flying. When his father renewed his pilot's license earlier this year and began to consider purchasing his own plane, Gunther saw an opportunity. Last November he started working toward his own pilot's license at the Monroe County airport, and received it in July. \nBecoming licensed requires 40 to 50 hours of in-air flight time, said Bob Burke, president of BMG Aviation, a full service base operator at the Monroe County Airport, which offers a flight school and general aviation services. Students must take 15 hours of dual instruction for about $100 an hour, Burke said, and can then take solo flights for $70 or more per hour, depending on the aircraft. Oral, written and practical exams must also be passed before someone can receive a license, Gunther said. \n"It's an expensive hobby, but it's worth every penny," he said. "It's really, really neat to be in control of an airplane instead of just sitting in a back seat. You're in total control of what happens, where you're \ngoing, how the airplane is flying. You can bank it all the way to the left, you can bank it all the way to right, you can do whatever you want." \nThe club, now made up of 20 members, seven of whom are licensed pilots, meets about once or twice a month for administrative and instructional meetings and also comes together at the Monroe County airport for "fly days," Gunther said. \nDuring meetings, instructors from BMG Aviation are planning to teach members skills like navigation, reading a map, planning a "cross-country" trip -- where a plane takes off in one airport and lands in another -- as well as the physical dynamics of aviation and the onboard systems of an aircraft, he said. \nThe club will assist members in becoming licensed by referring them to flight instructors and informing them of requirements, but will also give non-pilot members the chance to fly, using a system where the license holder will be the "pilot-in-command," but will allow the non-pilot to make turns and other small moves, Gunther said. One member of the group, junior Kristen Olson, took her first trip in a small Cessna 150 plane in early September, when she flew over campus with Gunther. She said she's been hooked ever since. \n"It's a totally different experience," she said. "The first time I was up there, it just kind of clicked with me, and it was definitely something I wanted to pursue." \nShe said she plans to attend the instructional meetings on campus, offered through the club, and hopes to begin taking private flight lessons next year.\n"It's so cool, it's unique, it's not something that everybody can do," said freshman Serena Olson, the club's vice president, now working toward her license. \nAs the organization grows in the future, Gunther said he would like to see a day in when the club can embark on a partial Big Ten tour, visiting Purdue, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin -- all by plane. \nIn the meantime, though, he said he's just enjoying the thrill of taking to the sky for himself. \n"It's like, 'Oh, by the way, I'm a pilot,'" Gunter said. "Somehow that always comes out in the first five minutes of talking to someone"
(10/27/05 5:04am)
The spirit of a girl has been seen at Read Center. Lights have gone off at La Casa. Screams have been heard at the Career Development Center. \nNobody can confirm if they're true, but a select number of academic buildings, residence halls and green spaces on campus are reportedly home to ghosts. \nTo tell the histories of these stories, just four days before Halloween, the Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology will hold its annual campus ghost walk tonight, beginning at McNutt Quad and ending at the Career Development Center on North Jordan Avenue. Another walk, starting at the Department of Folklore at 504 N. Fess Ave. and covering the south end of campus, will be held Friday evening. \n"People are curious about the stories from the area," said Rhonda Dass, an organizer of the event and graduate student in the department. "It's nice to know those little tidbits about the school you attend or your own community."\nThe guided walk, now in its fifth year, takes participants around campus, mixing in ghost stories and folklore legends at appropriate stops along the way. \nAt the Career Development Center, Director Patrick Donahue will describe the spooky details of the building's 100-year history, which previously served as a fraternity and even earlier, a private doctor's residence.\nQuoting legends, Donahue said a contractor at the turn of the century is rumored to have shot himself in the basement of the house after realizing the debts associated with construction. Another legend describes the death of a 17-year-old girl who supposedly died after receiving an illegal abortion from her doctor. The doctor was put in jail and is said to have hanged himself in the stairwell of the building after receiving bond. \nDonahue said in the past staff members have heard the cry of a nonexistent baby and have felt a cold hand touch their backs as they climbed the stairs. Both events were attributed to the deaths in the house. \n"We don't believe in them but we are certainly cautious in our beliefs, especially around the time of Halloween," he said. \nAt the La Casa Latino Cultural Center, staffers have reportedly seen a woman turn on lights after the building was closed for the night and have heard a typewriter move, even when it was unplugged. \nLillian Casillas, director of the center, said some staffers are afraid of the mysterious woman, while others hope to see her. \n"I have people who want to see her because they're curious," she said. "Whether she's real or not, I don't know, but she is a part of the history of La Casa." \nDass said one of the more famous ghosts, a woman in a yellow dress, is said to have been killed by her boyfriend near Read Center, where her spirit has remained ever since. \nShe said there's no way to prove if the stories are true, but that's what makes them interesting.\n"It's an incredible amount of knowledge passed on about the area through these stories," she said. "And most of all, it's really fun"
(10/26/05 4:50am)
It might have been more than 50 years since Rosa Parks first stepped onto the American political landscape, but local students, professors and leaders say her legacy will continue for years to come. \nParks, who is widely credited with helping propel the civil rights movement forward by refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Ala., bus in 1955, died in Detroit Monday at the age of 92. \n"Rosa Parks was a very likable, congenial, middle-class, fair, educated woman who until her death inspired all of us," said Alvin Chambliss, a visiting professor in the School of Education and the Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies. Chambliss is considered one of the last original civil rights attorneys alive today. \nHe said the courage and selflessness of Parks' actions, which prompted a 381-day bus boycott, along with leadership shown by Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., among others, helped define his current goals.\n"Rosa Parks and others ... they died and they gave their life that (the) white supremacist would be defeated," he said. "I'm going to give the rest of my life trying to reinvent American democracy." \nOyibo Afoaku, the director of the Neal-Marshall Black Cultural Center at IU, said Rosa Parks' message of equality has helped eliminate many injustices, although she said there is still a need for improvement today. Specifically, she said poverty, as well as the continuing problems of age, sex and racial discrimination, directly collide with Parks' hope for a unified America. \n"Rosa Parks means equality for all, justice for all, one America for everyone, respect for each other and democracy itself," she said. "We can never achieve a perfect or utopian society. But we can still make some progress."\nAfoaku said students have a vested interest in learning about Parks because some of their own ancestors and parents were subjected to the discrimination Parks tried to eliminate, like those who were forced to stand in the back of churches or avoid certain restaurants. \nValerie Grim, chair of the department of African American and African Diaspora Studies, said her hometown, in racially-segregated Sunflower County, Miss., helped her better understand the difficulties that come with defying societal norms. Rosa Parks, she said, is more than an icon, but a social institution. \n"Rosa Parks taught me that the price of liberty is worth paying," she said. "Her passing provides an opportunity for women around the world to stand up and say, 'I can't take this anymore.'" \nFor students, Parks' passing is both sad and motivational. \n"To have a hero among people is outstanding. We're losing members of that seemingly elite group of people who gained us so many rights," said Courtney Williams, president of IU's Black Student Union. "It should inspire people to remember that as long as you have the cause and passion to do what you want to do, you can start anything"
(10/24/05 5:26am)
IU's Pakistani Student Association and other groups will begin a fund-raising effort today to raise money for victims of the earthquakes in South Asia.\nThe movement comes more than two weeks after the 7.6-magnitude quake left an estimated 79,000 people dead and millions more homeless, according to The Associated Press.\nThrough Wednesday, the PSA, along with the volunteers from the Leo R. Dowling International Center, the Kelley School of Business' Civic Leadership Development Program and the Beta Alpha Psi accounting fraternity will be manning five stations throughout campus with the goal of raising $10,000. \nOrganizers say the money is desperately needed in the northern Kashmir region of Pakistan, where some say relief has not come quickly enough. \n"The situation out there, in reality, is worse than anything we've seen in our time," said Hassan Raza, the PSA earthquake committee chair. "The lack of response in the international community is going to cause the death toll to rise much quicker and much larger than it is right now."\nRaza, an Master's of Business Administration student whose family still lives in Islamabad, Pakistan, said $10,000 could make a significant difference in the lives of victims, with every dollar providing three to four meals for a victim. \n"We have so many students on campus," said Sara Qurashi, co-president of the PSA. "If we all came together we could do so much." \nThe affected region, surrounded by the Himalayan Mountains, will be especially vulnerable during the upcoming winter, Raza said. Rain is falling now, he said, and snow and colder temperatures are likely in the upcoming weeks. \n"The hope's dying down because the winter's going to hit that region," he said. "There are still areas where victims haven't been reached since Oct. 8. If you talk to people back home, they'll tell you that these people are going to be buried in the snow."\nThe relief effort comes a little more than a month after the campus gathered together to support fund-raising efforts for victims of Hurricane Katrina, when volunteers sold wristbands and Mardi Gras beads, held concerts and supported efforts through residence halls. Reaction after December's tsunami in Southeast Asia included a Web page (www.indiana.edu/~tsunami) highlighting relief activities, forums, lectures, benefit concerts, a can drive and fund-raising dinners. \nRaza said the PSA's event, to his knowledge, is the first fund-raising attempt for earthquake victims. \n"This is the first and probably the only one because, as far as I know, no organization is actually doing anything other than this event," he said. "We have to create the awareness as opposed to people already knowing about it."\nJunior Catie Eggert, co-president of the Volunteer Students Bureau, which was a major organizing force behind the Katrina relief, said her organization is not currently involved with any relief efforts. \n"We just didn't have a big response coming from our members who wanted to be involved," she said. "Doing the Katrina stuff was so overwhelming we just wanted to step back a little bit."\nDonations from the PSA's drive will be given to the Edhi Foundation, a Pakistan-based nonprofit relief organization, and to the Pakistani President's Earthquake Relief Fund.
(10/21/05 4:54am)
When Joe Link first came to IU four years ago, he remembered feeling anxious, physically and financially overwhelmed and unconnected to the University. He was taking on multiple roles, acting as both student and instructor. \nLike many graduate students, Link, a doctoral candidate in history and the philosophy of education, was stressed. To address these issues, common to many graduate students, the Graduate Professional Student Organization will be offering a week of events starting Monday, titled "Graduate Survival Week." \nThe first-ever series of lectures and social functions begins with a presentation on debt management techniques, and will be followed by lectures on stress, relationships and diversity and a mixer held at the Jungle Room Bar & Grill.\n"Indiana is a great place for graduate education, but sometimes topics about surviving graduate school are not addressed in the normal course of education," said Eric Zeemering, a GPSO moderator and fifth-year doctoral political science candidate. "An important part of what we do is to provide programming for professional and graduate students on topics relevant to their lives that they may not receive through other sources through the University."\nDennis Crowe, assistant vice president of consumer lending for the IU Credit Union and a presenter at Monday's lecture on debt management, said he plans to offer tips on managing credit card debts and repaying student loans through the emphasis of fiscal responsibility. \n"I try to bring realistic, down to earth, 'this is life' situations," he said. "If you graduate (and) you start out making 60, 70, 80 thousand, that's fine and good, (but) don't overspend your earning capacity."\nOther events focus on the mental and psychological needs of graduate students. \nChris Meno, a psychologist and outreach coordinator with IU's Counseling and Psychological Services, said her presentation Tuesday will offer solutions to the commonly-discussed problems of anxiety and loneliness that plague graduate students.\n"I think many graduate students, in some point in their career, feel overwhelmed," she said. "It's very easy to let your academic load take over your life so that you no longer make time to exercise, to eat well, to spend time with friends. \n"I think the number one thing is to create a balance between their coursework and their life," she said. \nLink acknowledges the programs cannot eliminate hardships, but he says it can help unite graduate students. \n"Even if we can't solve problems," he said, "the message is there that other people are there and sympathetic"
(10/20/05 5:43am)
The awards keep piling up for IU alumnus and former 9-11 Commission vice chairman Lee Hamilton, who was recently named "Citizen of the Year" and will be presented with the Freedom from Fear award this weekend.\nHamilton, current director of IU's Center on Congress, received the "Citizen of the Year" award from the National Conference on Citizenship, a federally chartered nonprofit, nonpartisan agency, which presented the award at its 2005 conference held Sept. 19 in Washington, D.C. The organization attempts to engage citizens of all ages in democracy, said John Bridgeland, the chair of the advisory board for the group.\nThe Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute will present Hamilton and his colleague, 9-11 Commission Chair Thomas Kean, with the Freedom from Fear award Saturday.\nPrevious recipients of Roosevelt Institute awards include U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, Nelson Mandela and Bob Dole, among others.\n"I think he really is one of the preeminent public citizens today in America," said Edward Carmines, IU political science professor and director of research at the Center on Congress. "Most of what he does has no remuneration to him. He's just an outstanding public citizen."\nJohn Bridgeland, chair of the advisory board for the NCoC, said the group gave Hamilton the award because of his involvement with the 9-11 Commission, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the IU Center for Congress, an organization that promotes understanding and involvement of Congress.\n"There's a special place in his heart for the 'Citizen of the Year' award," said Phil Duncan, the Washington-based outreach specialist for the IU Center on Congress. "Being recognized ... is a signal honor for someone who puts as much stock as he does in the importance of individuals driving our democratic system." \nDavid Woolner, executive director of the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute, said Hamilton's service to the country makes him an ideal candidate for the Freedom from Fear award.\n"His involvement in leadership in 9-11 Commission was outstanding, the pinnacle of a long and distinguished career. We're delighted he's accepted this award," he said. \nFormer president Bill Clinton and former television news anchor Tom Brokaw will also be receiving awards during Saturday's events, Woolner said. \nHamilton, who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives in Indiana's Ninth District from 1965 to 1999, is director of the Woodrow Wilson Center, a nonpartisan group which studies national and international issues and policies. He was also vice chairman of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, commonly known as the 9-11 Commission.\n"I see these (awards) as recognition of the work of the 9-11 Commission. I don't look at them personally," Hamilton said. "I'm very pleased with the honor ... but I think it has to be seen as an award to the entire 9-11 Commission."\nHamilton said he is pleased that many of the commission's recommendations have been implemented, particularly in the intelligence community, though there is still more to be done.\nParticularly, he said the federal government needs to allocate homeland security funding on the basis of vulnerability, not politics, in order to protect the most at-risk areas of the country. He also said better communication technology is needed for authorities, so police and firefighters can communicate with each other during emergencies. The government also needs to develop a "unified command system so that when the emergency first responders come to a scene somebody's in charge," he said. \nHamilton said he hopes more changes can be made this year, sooner rather than later. \n"I've been very pleased with the work on the 9-11 Commission ... but we've got a lot to do here," he said. "When (Hurricane) Katrina hit, I thought we would be better prepared, and I was disappointed. We can do better"