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(09/25/06 2:40am)
The debate over debates continues in the closely watched 9th District congressional race, with one date now officially cancelled.\nDavid Smith, general manager for Indiana 9 WVHF in Jeffersonville, Ind., sent out an e-mail to all three candidates last week informing them that all plans for a debate there had been cancelled because of scheduling conflicts.\nThe Jeffersonville debate was originally scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 1, but Rep. Mike Sodrel, R-9th, would not commit, in case Congress is in session and he could not make it, Sodrel campaign spokesman Cam Savage said.\n"Majority Leader (John Boehner) told us to be prepared to work," Savage said. "They usually end up trying to work around the clock to finish up (the session)."\nWVHF attempted to move the debate to Oct. 15, but that date was unavailable. Democratic challenger Baron Hill's campaign accused Sodrel of trying to avoid another debate.\n"According to the majority leader, the session is targeted to end Friday," Hill spokeswoman Melanie Morris said. "He said it could go into Friday, but that's rare. We're disappointed. We don't understand why (Sodrel) used this excuse unless he's trying to avoid the debate."\nInstead of a debate, Hill and Libertarian candidate Eric Schansberg are considering a town hall-style meeting Oct. 1 in New Albany.\nSchansberg said in an e-mail that he is willing to speak at the meeting or any other debate to which he is invited.\nSavage said Sodrel is considering proposals to debate on local radio station WGCL, as well as an invitation to debate in Jasper, Ind., Nov. 1.\nThis is the third time Hill and Sodrel have faced off for the 9th District seat. Hill was the district's congressman from 1998 until 2004, when Sodrel defeated him by fewer than 1,500 votes.
(09/23/06 12:23am)
The IU board of trustees will hold its regularly scheduled meeting today in the Indiana Memorial Union.\nResidential Programs and Services requests the board to approve a $9.2 million plan to install air conditioning in Forest Quad, according to the agenda.\nThe proposed construction would also remove asbestos present in student rooms in Forest.\nAsbestos was used for insulation in most buildings built before 1980, so it is present in Forest, Briscoe and McNutt Quads and in Tulip Tree Apartments.\nIntact asbestos poses no health risks, but inhaling the damaged fibers can harm the lungs many years after exposure. It has been recognized as a carcinogen and is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency.\nThis semester, resident assistants began warning students living in dorms of the possible asbestos risk, though there is no immediate danger to students as long as they do not damage the asbestos present in their ceilings.\nRPS plannings renovations of the four buildings within the next 10 years that should remove all the asbestos, RPS Executive Director Pat Connor said in an August interview.\nRPS is also requesting approval of a $3 million renovation project for the bathrooms on the four floors of the Bocobo wing of McNutt and the three floors of the Elkin wing of Teter Quad. The renovations will include improvements to shower stalls so residents will have more privacy.\nTrustees will also vote on a $55 million plan to improve and build several athletic facilities on campus.\nThe athletics department has proposed a Memorial Stadium North End Zone Project that will connect the east and west stands of the stadium with a four-story complex featuring new offices, a strength training room and an IU Hall of Fame.\nThe department is also requesting funds for a men's and women's basketball practice facility to be located just southeast of Assembly Hall and a new baseball and softball complex.\nWhile presenting the designs to the trustees Wednesday afternoon several IU coaches spoke in support of the projects. Both head football coach Terry Hoeppner and head basketball coach Kelvin Sampson said the facilities were needed to improve recruitment.\n"Our athletics facilities are probably the worst in the Big Ten," Director of Athletics Rick Greenspan said at Wednesday's meeting. "It's my view that we simply must correct that fundamental deficiency if we're going to keep the outstanding coaches that we have, if we're going to achieve the level of success to which we aspire, and, frankly, if we're going to provide an environment that's conducive to our fans."\nThe meeting is scheduled to begin at 1:45 p.m. in the Frangipani Room of the IMU and is open to the public.
(09/21/06 12:13pm)
It's no secret that I'm a huge gamer.\nAnd it's also no secret that I prefer what Nintendo and Microsoft have done with the original Xbox and Gamecube over what Sony has done.\nThe Xbox has some great exclusive action in the "Halo" and "Project Gotham Racing" series. Nintendo has the best, most creative programmers on the planet and a truly legendary library of games based on Mario and "The Legend of Zelda."\nThe Playstation 2 has a controller that I can never figure out because buttons are supposed to be labeled with letters, not symbols. With all the pink triangles and green squares, I feel like I'm digging through a box of Lucky Charms searching for a toy instead of playing a game.\nI will say this, though: "Metal Gear Solid 2" and "Final Fantasy X" are some fine movies. Notice I said movies, not games. The gameplay in recent iterations of the MGS and FF series is about as deep as navigating through DVD menus.\nWhile the PS2 is the only system I really dislike in the current generation of console gaming, it looks as if I might actually hate all of the next-gen systems equally.\nI know, I know. The dawn of a new generation is always supposed to wow us gamers with amazing new graphics and concepts that could have never been done on past consoles, but a recent round of announcements has made me sour on all three consoles for various reasons.\nAs revealed at the big annual electronics show E3 earlier this year, if you want a PS3 this holiday, it's going to set you back at least $500. That's just for the basic 20-gig hard drive model. If you want to go all out with the 60-gig HDMI enabled behemoth, it will set you back an extra $100.\nI have said many times that the blu-ray disc drive Sony is shoving into these things and forcing on the public is unnecessary, at this point (it's also one of the reasons it costs so damn much). But earlier this month, Sony announced that, because of all the fancy unnecessary technology in their big silver box, it's only shipping 400,000 units to the United States at the Nov. 17 launch.\nIf previous console launch shortages are any indication, don't be surprised if these suckers are going for $2,000 on ebay this Christmas. But look on the upside: If you're smart and pre-order a few now, you'll be able to pay off all your student loans by the end of the year!\nOn the Nintendo Wii front, I'm well past the funny name and the dozens of urine jokes. In fact, I kinda like the name. And pee jokes will never be as funny as poop jokes. Possibly because of the PS3's high price point, though, Nintendo announced last week their console with the motion-sensitive controller will launch Nov. 19 for $250.\nIt's true that's the cheapest of any next-gen console, but considering that by Nintendo's own admission the Wii is only a little more powerful than a current-gen Xbox, (which you can find new for about $150), $100 for a cool new controller seems a little steep.\nAnd if Nintendo really isn't trying to compete with Sony and Microsoft as it's said before, launching two days after the PS3 is a funny way of showing it.\nFinally, there's the Xbox 360 to consider. I bought an Xbox 360 this past summer, and with its kick ass online service, it may be my favorite system ever. But I hear rumors on the "Internets" that Microsoft is planning on shipping an updated version of the console with an HD-DVD drive built in.\nNow, I'm not exactly a technophobe. I know high definition is the future, and we'll be viewing everything in HD in a few years. It looks amazing, but it's also really, really expensive right now. And I'll be damned if I'm going to upgrade my 360 or buy the already announced external drive to play "Halo 4" on HD-DVD when I can't even afford an HDTV to really take advantage of it.\nGaming is one of my pastimes, but if this keeps up, even the cheapest new technology is enough to bust the bank.\nI'm about ready to just say screw the next generation altogether. I'm gonna go track down an NES and hook that up to my 15-inch standard definition TV and just kick it old school.\nAnyone with me?
(09/21/06 4:10am)
Representatives of the athletics department presented a $55 million plan for new and upgraded facilities to the board of trustees Wednesday afternoon.\nThe proposed project calls for a massive new addition to the north end zone of Memorial Stadium, the creation of the Indiana Basketball Development Center and the construction of the Hoosier Baseball and Softball Complex.\n"You wanted to see us strengthen our winning tradition across all sports. ... Our goal is that IU will be excellent in all that we do," IU President Adam Herbert told the trustees. "If we have the kinds of aspirations you articulated, we must have high-quality facilities. We must have very strong external support. We must have new athletics-driven resources."\nAn expected $45 million will come from athletics department revenue, while $10 million to fund the project is coming from private gifts.
(09/21/06 4:00am)
It's no secret that I'm a huge gamer.\nAnd it's also no secret that I prefer what Nintendo and Microsoft have done with the original Xbox and Gamecube over what Sony has done.\nThe Xbox has some great exclusive action in the "Halo" and "Project Gotham Racing" series. Nintendo has the best, most creative programmers on the planet and a truly legendary library of games based on Mario and "The Legend of Zelda."\nThe Playstation 2 has a controller that I can never figure out because buttons are supposed to be labeled with letters, not symbols. With all the pink triangles and green squares, I feel like I'm digging through a box of Lucky Charms searching for a toy instead of playing a game.\nI will say this, though: "Metal Gear Solid 2" and "Final Fantasy X" are some fine movies. Notice I said movies, not games. The gameplay in recent iterations of the MGS and FF series is about as deep as navigating through DVD menus.\nWhile the PS2 is the only system I really dislike in the current generation of console gaming, it looks as if I might actually hate all of the next-gen systems equally.\nI know, I know. The dawn of a new generation is always supposed to wow us gamers with amazing new graphics and concepts that could have never been done on past consoles, but a recent round of announcements has made me sour on all three consoles for various reasons.\nAs revealed at the big annual electronics show E3 earlier this year, if you want a PS3 this holiday, it's going to set you back at least $500. That's just for the basic 20-gig hard drive model. If you want to go all out with the 60-gig HDMI enabled behemoth, it will set you back an extra $100.\nI have said many times that the blu-ray disc drive Sony is shoving into these things and forcing on the public is unnecessary, at this point (it's also one of the reasons it costs so damn much). But earlier this month, Sony announced that, because of all the fancy unnecessary technology in their big silver box, it's only shipping 400,000 units to the United States at the Nov. 17 launch.\nIf previous console launch shortages are any indication, don't be surprised if these suckers are going for $2,000 on ebay this Christmas. But look on the upside: If you're smart and pre-order a few now, you'll be able to pay off all your student loans by the end of the year!\nOn the Nintendo Wii front, I'm well past the funny name and the dozens of urine jokes. In fact, I kinda like the name. And pee jokes will never be as funny as poop jokes. Possibly because of the PS3's high price point, though, Nintendo announced last week their console with the motion-sensitive controller will launch Nov. 19 for $250.\nIt's true that's the cheapest of any next-gen console, but considering that by Nintendo's own admission the Wii is only a little more powerful than a current-gen Xbox, (which you can find new for about $150), $100 for a cool new controller seems a little steep.\nAnd if Nintendo really isn't trying to compete with Sony and Microsoft as it's said before, launching two days after the PS3 is a funny way of showing it.\nFinally, there's the Xbox 360 to consider. I bought an Xbox 360 this past summer, and with its kick ass online service, it may be my favorite system ever. But I hear rumors on the "Internets" that Microsoft is planning on shipping an updated version of the console with an HD-DVD drive built in.\nNow, I'm not exactly a technophobe. I know high definition is the future, and we'll be viewing everything in HD in a few years. It looks amazing, but it's also really, really expensive right now. And I'll be damned if I'm going to upgrade my 360 or buy the already announced external drive to play "Halo 4" on HD-DVD when I can't even afford an HDTV to really take advantage of it.\nGaming is one of my pastimes, but if this keeps up, even the cheapest new technology is enough to bust the bank.\nI'm about ready to just say screw the next generation altogether. I'm gonna go track down an NES and hook that up to my 15-inch standard definition TV and just kick it old school.\nAnyone with me?
(09/21/06 3:34am)
The board of trustees was presented with an update of presidential priorities and accountability developments at its annual retreat Wednesday morning.\nVictor M. H. Borden, associate vice president of University planning, institutional research and accountability, showed the trustees a revised framework of the president's responsibilities that combined many of the duties into a shorter, more cohesive document.\n"One criticism of higher education is that it tries to be everything to everyone," Borden said. "This is an attempt to par that down."\nThe revised framework emphasizes the president's duty to expand the visibility of the IU campus and improve the quality of academic programs.\nIU President Adam Herbert said the updated priorities should enhance the "culture of accountability" he has tried to create on campus. He also said he hopes it will better satisfy faculty members who have recently expressed concern that in the eyes of the public, IU is on the decline as an institution.\n"I don't think that's a view held around the country," Herbert said. "But I think it's important to develop benchmarks to have an idea of the evolving place of the Bloomington campus and its peers."\nTrustee Thomas Riley initially expressed concerns about the new goals but said he hopes they lead to a brighter future for the University.\n"We should be dynamic towards improvement," he said. "We shouldn't be dynamic towards the status quo"
(09/20/06 4:49am)
The cost of an IU education could increase at a faster rate, said Interim Provost Michael McRobbie.\nIn the Provost's Report on the State of Academic Affairs at IU-Bloomington at the bi-weekly Bloomington Faculty Council meeting, McRobbie spoke on the importance of keeping top faculty at IU but said their salaries would be paid with higher tuition fees for students.\n"We must always remember other institutions want our best faculty and will pay more," he told the crowd of more than 100 faculty members gathered in the law school's Moot Court Room Tuesday afternoon.\nMcRobbie did not give an exact amount for a future tuition increase, only saying it needs to be "greater than 4.9 percent," which was the tuition cap imposed by the Indiana General Assembly for the 2006-07 school year.\nIU Student Association President Betsy Henke said IUSA understands the University needs to offer faculty members competitive wages but hoped IU would look for additional money from other sources.\n"We hope the administration looks for more creative ways to fund the growing needs of IU," she said. "The state is in a better financial situation, and I think this is an opportunity to capitalize on that to meet some of our needs."\nMcRobbie also spoke about the importance of creating more research space in order to keep more faculty members at IU. He mentioned Simon Hall, which is due to be completed by next summer, and several other life science buildings that will hopefully break ground next year if funding is approved by the General Assembly.\nMcRobbie announced the formation of a task force to review the use of older buildings currently occupied by administrative offices such as Franklin Hall. Depending on the findings of that task force, he said such buildings could be converted for academic and research purposes.\nThis was the first time McRobbie addressed the state of academic affairs to the BFC, following a restructuring of Bloomington's administration in January.\n"I think this is a sign of change, one that will no doubt lead us to having a greater campus-level focus on the academic portion of this campus," BFC President Ted Miller said in his introduction of the provost.\nIn his speech, McRobbie mentioned the draft report of a panel appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Education that referred to higher education as an "increasingly risk-averse, frequently self-satisfied and expensive enterprise" in need of reform and emphasized the importance of meeting these high goals so that IU doesn't get left behind.\n"We cannot stand still because our critics and competitors are not standing still," McRobbie said.\nSince the board of trustees approved higher admissions standards that will go into effect with the incoming class of 2011, McRobbie said University officials must recruit more aggressively in high schools around the state.\n"We are in a battle for brains," he said. "We want IU to be the institution of choice for outstanding Indiana students."\nOnce those high school students arrive at IU, they might find the curriculum more broad than it is today. McRobbie emphasized the need for more general education requirements that would make it easier for students to change majors but still keep the length of their stay at IU to four years or less.\n"Such curriculum is a way to ensure all students receive the liberal education this University represents," he said.
(09/19/06 12:27pm)
While the IU Student Association continues to lobby the administration for a more active role in choosing the University's next president, students at Purdue are much more pleased with their role in choosing that college's next leader.\nPurdue announced last week the creation of a 14-member presidential search committee to seek out a replacement for Martin C. Jischke, who has served as Purdue's president for six years and will step down in 2007. \nPurdue's committee is comprised of five members of the board of trustees, compared to two on the IU committee. The Purdue committee also features a student member from the flagship West Lafayette campus -- a move many students at IU-Bloomington wish the 13-member IU committee would make as well.\n"We are very lucky to have a student on the committee," said Purdue Student Government Vice President Mary Koehn. \nPSG President Jonathan Foltz is serving as the student member of the committee.\nPurdue administers three satellite campuses, opposed to IU's eight.\n"(Foltz) is an elected member of student government, so clearly he represents the students well," said Jeanne Norberg, director of Purdue's News Service. "We always try to include students in any major decision like this."\nAnother key difference in the search for a successor at Purdue is that Jischke is personally holding forums around the state asking the Purdue constituency what initiatives they would like his successor to continue.\nAt a forum to discuss the search for IU's next president on Friday, many faculty members and alumni used Jischke as an example of what they would like to see in the University's next leader.\nIUSA has lobbied the presidential search committee to include a representative from the Bloomington campus because of the IU president's special duties on the Bloomington campus, but that request has repeatedly been ignored.\n"The difference between the IU and Purdue searches is that (the West Lafayette) campus doesn't have a vested interest in the next president," IUSA president Betsy Henke said. "The IU president acts as CEO of this campus, not just president of the University."\nIUSA has repeatedly criticized the choice of IU-South Bend graduate student Michael Renfrow as the only student member of the committee because of his lack of involvement on the Bloomington campus.\nTrustee Sue Talbot, who chairs the IU committee, has said that it is having enough trouble finding times to meet and more members would only complicate scheduling. She has also said that the more members there are, the more confidentiality issues arise.\nHenke said that more students are becoming aware of the lack of a Bloomington representative in choosing IU's next president and have been petitioning IUSA to do more.\n"We need to have a say in picking the person who's going to run our campus," she said.\nIU President Adam Herbert has said he will retire, at the latest, when his contract runs out in 2008, but he could step down earlier if a replacement is found before then.\nIvy Tech is also searching for a new president, but the details of its search have not yet been announced.
(09/19/06 4:21am)
Rain kept many people away from Democracy Plaza's first event Monday afternoon, but the group's president still has high hopes for the organization's future.\nDemocracy Plaza, an organization in its first semester on the Bloomington campus, aims to increase civil involvement and discussion of social issues among college students.\n"We envision promoting a free and fair environment for students to express political, social, economic ideas or whatever else is on their mind," said graduate student Rodney Cobb, the president of the organization.\nThe first planned event, the Constitution Day panel with professor of law Kevin D. Brown and Chairman of the political science department and professor Jeff Isaac, failed to draw more than a handful of students and faculty.\nIsaac discussed the meaning of Constitution Day while Brown criticized the document's effects on minorities.\nBrown said when legislators genuinely attempt to help minorities, those laws are too often struck down by other courts as unconstitutional.\n"It's prohibitive to the political process," he said.\nThe lecture was moved off the south lawn of the Herman B Wells Library and inside the building because of rain, which also ensured a smaller crowd, but Cobb said he still intends to move forward with bigger plans for Democracy Plaza.\nBy the end of the semester he said he hopes to have dry erase boards posted in several residence halls, the Indiana Memorial Union, the Wells library and other locations that will pose a question about current issues for students to either respond to verbally or in writing. \nCobb said he and other students started a similar program in 2004 at IU-Purdue University Indianapolis that has been successful. What began with four chalkboards there quickly grew to 16 and eventually a permanent space on the IUPUI campus.\nCobb admits the possibility for people to vandalize or write inappropriate things on the board is high, but says if threats are discovered on the boards, they'll be reported to the IU Police Department to investigate.\nHe also said that if someone were to use profanity to attack an issue, representatives from Democracy Plaza would use it as an opportunity to educate them and ask them why they feel that way.\nCurrently Cobb is in negotiations with the University as to how exactly the program will work.\n"The University in a kind of roundabout way has steered discussion to Dunn Meadow so that they can keep it in a contained area," he said. "I think they're kind of freaking out, like 'Can we control this?"
(09/18/06 4:06am)
After handing out a one-page document detailing the desired characteristics of IU's next president, trustee Sue Talbot, chair of the presidential search committee, gave an even more concise description of what it's searching for: "God on a good day."\nEven that might not be enough to satisfy all of the different groups on IU's eight campuses.\nMore than 80 members of the IU community, mostly faculty and alumni, turned out for the 9 a.m. Friday forum in the Indiana Memorial Union to discuss the search for the next IU president, but there was little consensus on what exactly they wanted from a new leader.\nSome faculty members expressed interest in a president from outside academia who would run the University more like a business. Others said it was important that whoever replaces current IU President Adam Herbert have strong academic \ncredentials.\nFollowing faculty criticism after failing to name a Bloomington chancellor at the conclusion of a lengthy search last year, Herbert announced he will retire when his contract runs out in 2008.\nIn June he said he will step down earlier if a replacement is found.\nVirgil Scudder, who graduated from IU in 1958 and serves on the dean's advisory board, suggested that IU needed a president similar to U.S. President Ronald Reagan.\n"The people he surrounded himself with he could truly rely on," Scudder said. "We need a president with the capacity to work with and inspire other people."\nFaculty members were also divided on what Herbert \nadministration policies should carry over to the next \npresident.\nAssociate professor of telecommunications Herb Terry called Herbert's vision of mission differentiation, or the policy of enumerating the purpose for each campus, a "great accomplishment" while others hoped it would be abandoned.\nMany of those in attendance invoked the name of Herman B Wells as an example of what an IU president should be like. Wells, who served as IU's 11th president from 1938 until 1962, was praised by those in attendance for his easy accessibility, strong presence on campus and the academic growth he oversaw on the Bloomington campus.\n"We had a great president many years ago, but I think he's been romanticized in a lot of ways," philosophy professor Mike Morgan said.\nMorgan and other faculty members said they thought the public views IU as being on a "downward slope" and said they hope any new president would improve IU's image.\n"There are few people talking privately who would not admit in the past few years we've been on a slide," said business professor Harv Hegarty.\nBy the end of the two forums Friday, there were few certainties in what the IU community wants in the next president, though Talbot said the committee could focus on well-established administrators at other colleges.\n"We'll probably have to pry someone out of a job they're very comfortable in," she said.\nSo far the presidential search committee has held five open forums, two in Bloomington, two in Indianapolis and one in Richmond, Ind.\nTalbot said the committee plans to hold 30 to 40 forums around the state throughout the coming months and will return to the Bloomington campus if asked.\nThe next step, she said, will be to review all of the comments from the forums to look for the "nearest fit" for the next president of IU.\nThe committee met for the first time Wednesday. The date of its next meeting is not yet known.
(09/18/06 4:06am)
The IU Student Association publicly called for more student representation on the presidential search committee Friday.\nThough the 13-member presidential search committee contains one student member -- graduate student Michael Renfrow from the IU South Bend campus -- some students on the Bloomington campus said they think it is important to include a student from IU's flagship campus because of the new duties of the IU president.\nFollowing a restructuring of the IU administration earlier this year, the president of the University now not only presides over all eight IU campuses but also has more specific responsibilities in Bloomington.\n"This is the same thing as only consulting a Bloomington student to select a new chancellor of IU Southeast," IUSA President Betsy Henke said. "The IU president is something like the CEO of the Bloomington campus."\nMore than a dozen students showed up to the Friday afternoon forum, whereas the morning meeting was made up mostly of \nfaculty and alumni.\nStudent leaders from the Bloomington campus have repeatedly met with trustee Sue Talbot, chair of the search committee, urging her to include a student representative from the Bloomington campus on the committee.\nShe has refused the request and reminded students that Bloomington will have a say in the final decision of the president since student trustee Casey Cox completed his undergraduate degree at IU-Bloomington and is currently enrolled as a law student here. Cox is also a former IUSA president.\nThe current IUSA administration has criticized Cox, who was appointed trustee by the governor, for caring more about the concerns of Hoosier taxpayers than Bloomington students.\n"I'm on the side of the University, which includes students," Cox said at Friday's meeting when an IUSA member questioned him about his loyalty. "I have a strong bias towards students, and I am sensitive to student issues."\nIUSA representatives also made the suggestion that if a student from the flagship campus can't be added to the search committee, a student advisory committee made up of representatives from all IU campuses be formed.\nWhen IUSA representative Lindsay Kerrigan asked Talbot why there was not a Bloomington student on the committee at the morning forum, Talbot only thanked her for her comment and moved on to other questions.\nAt the second meeting, Talbot took the question head on.\n"It's a confidentiality issue," she said. "We can't have all these dossiers of information floating around."\nHowever, when the faculty voiced a similar wish for a say in the search for the next president, a faculty advisory committee was formed to aid in the search for current IU President Adam Herbert's successor.\nSenior Rodney Cobb, who served on a search committee at IUPUI, advocated more student committee members as well.\n"The system is too diverse for just one voice," he said. "There's no way one student sitting on the committee can incorporate all student ideas."\nCobb noted, though, that when he served on the IUPUI committee he often had trouble getting faculty members on the committee to listen to him.\nIUSA representatives don't just see the lack of student involvement in the search as bad for the Bloomington campus, but think it sets a dangerous precedent for the future of student government.\n"We're viewed as having a lot of power," Henke said. "Trustees have told us many times that we're one of the most powerful student governments. This really knocks us down"
(09/15/06 4:18am)
Enrollment on the Bloomington campus is up on the whole, but the number of black students in this year's freshman class has dropped significantly, according to figures IU released Thursday.\nThe 7,259 members of this year's freshman class make the largest incoming class ever, topping the 2002 record of 7,080. Last year's freshman class comprised 6,949 students.\nThe number of minority students enrolled in this year's freshman class is up overall, but the number of black students dropped from 412 students to 345.\n"Last year we had a big increase in the number of African-American students enrolled," said IU Director of Media Relations Larry MacIntyre. "We were unable to sustain that, but this is the third largest class ever."\nBlack students enrolled as freshmen in 2006 have an average SAT score 27 points higher than last year.\nEnrollment for other minority groups is up. Asian-American enrollment rose from 237 students to 277, Hispanic enrollment increased from 146 students to 166, and American Indian enrollment rose from 19 students to 23.\nIn May, the IU board of trustees unanimously passed an initiative to double the number of minority students enrolled at IU by the start of the 2013-14 school year, according to a May 8 Indiana Daily Student article. \n"Across the board we are reaching out to a large number of minority students," MacIntyre said. "Our goal is to find students who might think they can't go to IU, who don't think they have the money or don't think they can meet the admissions standards and get them earlier prepared for IU."\nMacIntyre said the program is specifically targeting inner-city high school students in Gary and Indianapolis.\nThis year's freshman class also has the highest average SAT score of any recent class. On average, students this year had an SAT score of 1,121 -- 10 points higher than last year, while the average national SAT score dropped seven points this year, according to The College Board, which administers the test.\nThere are also more valedictorians and National Merit Scholars in this year's freshman class. The number of valedictorians rose from 116 in 2005 to 123 this year, according to a press release. The number of National Merit Scholars increased from 52 to 63 for the incoming class.\nMacIntyre said this is in line with IU's plans to raise admissions standards over the next few years.\n"A student who won admission here two years ago might not be admitted today," he said.\nStill, raising admissions standards will not conflict with IU's goal of doubling minority enrollment. Traditionally minorities tend to score lower on standardized tests, according to several national studies.\n"SAT scores are a factor but not the deciding factor," MacIntyre said. "For minority students, the most important thing is not necessarily SAT scores, but how well they'll do at IU, if they take the classes in Core 40 and if they get good grades in high school"
(09/15/06 4:11am)
Professors might be divided on it, but students seem to approve of Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia anyone can edit.\nThough few faculty members said they would discourage their students from using Wikipedia altogether, many take issue with students citing Wikipedia articles in academic papers.\nIn an unscientific survey of 222 IU faculty members conducted by the Indiana Daily Student, 44 percent of faculty members said that even if they have issues with the Web site, they at least allow students to cite Wikipedia articles in work they turn in, compared to 35 percent who expressly disallow it. \nAn additional 5 percent said whether they allowed students to cite Wikipedia depended on the assignment or class level the professors were teaching. \nFinally, 16 percent of those responding to the survey said they either did not have a classroom policy on Wikipedia or it did not apply to what they taught.\n"Wikipedia seems pretty accurate," freshman Sam Lerner said. "In high school I used it a lot, and I still use it here. As long as you cite something I feel it's OK."\nMany professors surveyed said they do not allow students to cite Wikipedia because they feel any encyclopedia is not in-depth enough for college research.\nJunior Jeff Barrows shares some of that sentiment.\n"It seems pretty accurate," he said. "I've (cited) it with no problems, but some of the info does seem kind of broad."\nWikipedia, one of the top 20 most visited Web sites according to Alexa.com, has gained so much popularity since going online in 2001 that some feel it is making online research more difficult.\n"It's usually the only thing that pops up on Google when you type in some things," junior Sam Winter said.\nFreshman Nel Zayas said while she uses Wikipedia for a lot of background info, she would be wary of citing it in a paper.\n"I don't think I'd say I wouldn't believe something on there, but I don't think I'd cite it because anyone can edit it," she said.\nSenior Elana Habib tried to cite Wikipedia in a paper for her African politics paper, but her professor wouldn't accept the source.\n"I don't think I'd try citing it again unless they stopped letting anyone edit it," she said.\nInstead of completely banning students from citing Wikipedia in their work, some professors said because of the volatile nature of the Web site, it's important for students to use their own judgment in what to use or not use as a source.\n"Part of the university experience faculty provide students is affording them the opportunity of discerning the difference between good and bad information," professor of theatre and drama Murray McGibbon said in an e-mail. "Wikipedia may very well have contributors who are more knowledgeable on a topic than so-called 'academic' experts. Students need to evaluate the information they discover, so I would think that Wikipedia might be a useful tool in this process ... Why should established printed encyclopedias be lorded over a community-based knowledge storehouse like Wikipedia? I know several well-known local academics who shop at Wal-Mart; incognito! So there"
(09/14/06 4:08am)
With more than 1.3 million articles and counting, Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, provides a wealth of information. But because that information can be changed at anytime by anyone, many faculty members believe it has no place in the classroom.\nIn a July episode of the satirical news show "The Colbert Report," Stephen Colbert showed viewers just how easy it is to manipulate Wikipedia entries when he changed the article on African elephants to say their numbers had tripled in the past six months and urged viewers to do so as well.\nIn the segment, Colbert coined the term "wikiality," or reality decided by democratic vote.\n"Together we can create a reality that we can all agree on -- the reality we just agreed on," Colbert said in the segment.\nSince the show aired, new or unregistered users have not been allowed to edit Wikipedia's elephant page.\n"I would not allow Wikipedia to be (cited in a paper), as it has been tainted," clinical assistant professor of optometry Dr. Susan Kovacich said in an e-mail. "Unless, of course, all the tainted info comes from Stephen Colbert."\nIn an unscientific survey of 222 IU faculty members conducted by the Indiana Daily Student, 44 percent of faculty members said that even if they have issues with the Web site, they at least allow students to cite Wikipedia articles in work they turn in, compared to 35 percent who expressly disallow it.\nAn additional 5 percent said whether they allowed students to cite Wikipedia depended on the assignment or class level the professors were teaching. Finally, 16 percent of those responding to the survey said they either did not have a classroom policy on Wikipedia or it did not apply to what they taught.\nSeveral faculty members referenced the Colbert episode and "wikiality" when replying to the survey.\nAssociate professor of informatics L. Jean Camp allows students to cite Wikipedia in papers but will take off points for it.\n"Wikipedia does have weaknesses, particularly on contested topics," Camp said in an e-mail. "Imagine doing research on the decline of elephants since the 'Colbert Report' Wikipedia episode! \n"On a more serious note, the neutrality and viewpoint of some articles varies day to day. It is a fact that there were no weapons of mass destruction found in Iraq after the 2003 invasion. Whether or not one reads this in the Wikipedia entry on the current conflagration depends on the day you read it." \nStill, Camp said Wikipedia is not the worst citation she has ever seen in a paper.\n"The worst reference I have ever seen consisted entirely of a domain name: CNN.com," she said. "There was no title, no date, nothing except a pointer to an entire cable network's Web site."\nEven professors who didn't mention Colbert often mentioned the concept behind "wikiality" as one of the reasons they distrusted Wikipedia.\n"The idea that just anybody can write on a subject really flies in the face of what a university is all about -- expertise," Italian professor Peter Bondanella said in an e-mail. "Expertise is not a democratic quality."\nOther faculty members expressed displeasure with online information sources in general.\n"I do not allow students to cite any online source that is not peer-reviewed to assure quality of the information," assistant professor of anthropology Frederika Kaestle said in an e-mail. "I also do not allow the use of online sources that are highly ephemeral, as that defeats the purpose of citations."\nOther professors were wary of Wikipedia because it lacks the same peer-reviewing procedures as academic journals.\n"Good sources need good gatekeepers, peer review, editors and fact checkers," history professor David Ransel said in an e-mail. "I wrote a book many years ago about a major Russian political figure. The Wikipedia article on this person says that he died in Italy. The person in question not only did not die in Italy -- he died in St. Petersburg -- but he had never set foot in Italy!" \nStill more faculty members said they did not accept Wikipedia citations because they did not consider any encyclopedia an acceptable source.\n"The real issue is that encyclopedias of any kind are not the proper source for papers at the university level," assistant professor of political science Brian Rathbun said in an e-mail. "The point is to dig deeper. Wikipedia is a starting point for further research at best." \nSeeing an increase in the number of Wikipedia citations in student papers, Alan Liu, an English professor at the University of California at Santa Barbara, has developed a policy for appropriate use of Wikipedia as a source.\n"(A) Wikipedia citation can be an appropriate convenience when the point being supported is minor, noncontroversial or also supported by other evidence," according to Liu's policy. "In addition, Wikipedia is an appropriate source for some extremely recent topics (especially in popular culture or technology) for which it provides the sole or best available synthetic, analytical or historical discussion"
(09/14/06 4:04am)
The Presidential Search Committee met for the first time Wednesday on the IU Purdue University-Indianapolis campus.\nThe profiles of potential candidates were discussed and Shelly W. Storbeck, the committee's consultant from Edward W. Kelley and Partners, outlined the search criteria, said Trustee Sue Talbot, who is chairing the committee.\nThe committee is searching for a candidate with "demonstrated understanding of the academic enterprise and experience in articulating and defending academic values" and "proven managerial experience with a large and diverse staff of a complex academic enterprise," among several other qualities, according to a position announcement the committee released after the meeting.\nTalbot declined to announce a time table for when the new president might be named.\n"We will be establishing a time table that will include whatever we need to ensure the very best fit for Indiana University," she said in an e-mail. "We will search until we find the right candidate for this job."\nTalbot and the trustees will conduct two open forums Friday on the Bloomington campus for public input regarding the search for the next president. The forums will be held from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Redbud Room of the Indiana Memorial Union.\nCurrent IU President Adam Herbert said in June he would consider stepping down before his contract runs out in 2008 if a replacement is found before then.\n"Presidential searches are very difficult," Herbert said in a June 29 Indiana Daily Student article. "What this is essentially doing is giving the board two years of total flexibility to choose the next president for Indiana University, and I just think that's the optimal situation for the institution"
(09/14/06 3:14am)
A WISH-TV poll released Tuesday night shows Democratic candidate Baron Hill taking a slight lead in the closely-watched 9th District race.\nThe telephone poll of 400 likely voters conducted Sept. 5-8 found 46 percent supported Hill, while 40 percent supported incumbent Rep. Mike Sodrel, R-9th, according to The Associated Press.\n14 percent were undecided. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus five percentage points. Libertarian candidate Eric Schansberg was not included in the poll.\n"Baron Hill has traveled through southern Indiana day-in and day-out and this only confirms what he has heard -- that 9th District voters are hungry for a change," Hill spokeswoman Abby Curran said.\nThe poll found strong support for candidates within their own party -- 85 percent of Democrats backed Hill and 76 percent of Republicans backed Sodrel. Hill scored better with independents; 52 percent of whom said they supported Hill, compared to 29 percent for Sodrel.\nSodrel's campaign downplayed the importance of the poll Wednesday.\n"It has a high margin of error, and if it was automated it's not very reliable at all," Sodrel spokesman Cam Savage said. "This is early in the race before a lot of grassroots work has begun ... The only poll that we really care about is the one at the end."\nSchansberg said he was "disappointed" the poll didn't ask voters about his candidacy.\n"I hope they didn't include me because they're outside of the district, and they're not aware of the interest my candidacy is generating in the media here," he said. \nHill announced Tuesday that he will participate in a two-issue debate focusing on energy and education Oct. 1 on the IU-Southeast campus. \nSchansberg, who is an economics professor on the campus, has signed on for the debate as well.\nSavage said Sodrel has not yet agreed to the debate because he is unsure if Congress will be out of session in time for him to attend. He also said the format is not yet finalized.\nThe format for the debates has been a point of contention between Hill and Sodrel this election. Hill has pushed for a series of hour-long debates that focus on one or two issues. Sodrel prefers multi-issue debates such as the one held at IU's WTIU studios Aug. 31.\nSchansberg has proposed a compromise of three single-issue debates and a final multi-issue debate which Hill has publicly accepted.\nWhen Hill and Sodrel previously faced off for the 9th District seat in 2002 and 2004 there was only one debate each election.\n"Already we've done as many debates as Hill gave us in '02 and '04," Savage said.\nHill was the district's representative from 1998 until 2004, when Sodrel defeated Hill for the seat by fewer than 1,500 votes.
(09/13/06 2:56pm)
Wikipedia prides itself on being the free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit. \nBecause it's so easily accessed and covers such a wide range of topics -- 1.3 million and growing -- Wikipedia has become a major resource for college students.\nThat's a trend that has some faculty members making Wikipedia a core part of their curriculum and others denouncing it as the ultimate proof that the Internet is full of unreliable information.\nThe English-language version of Wikipedia was founded in January 2001 by Jim Wales, who dropped out of the doctoral program at the Kelley School of Business in the mid-1990s.\nIn the past five-and-a-half years, Wikipedia has grown to become one of the top 20 most-visited Web sites, according to Alexa. \nFew IU faculty members surveyed for this article completely dismissed the relevance of Wikipedia or had major issues with students at least consulting the Web site to become familiar with a term or concept.\nWikipedia becomes an issue in the classroom when students attempt to cite it in their work, professors said.\n"I would consider Wikipedia to be fundamentally an entertainment Web site -- similar to, say, CNN and its wildly unhelpful representation of 'news'," assistant professor of history Konstantin Dierks wrote in an e-mail.\nDierks' view might actually be the minority at IU. In an unscientific survey of IU faculty members conducted by the Indiana Daily Student, 44 percent of faculty members said that even if they have issues with the Web site, they at least allow students to cite Wikipedia articles in work they turn in, compared to 35 percent who expressly disallow it. \nAn additional 5 percent said whether they allowed students to cite Wikipedia depended on the assignment or class level they were teaching. Finally, 16 percent of those responding to the survey said they either did not have a classroom policy on Wikipedia or it did not apply to what they taught.\nWhile casually researching one of his favorite NHL teams, the Edmonton Oilers, David Rubenstein, a professor in the Kelley School of Business, became convinced Wikipedia can offer students unique information.\n"Here was a team that didn't have a lot of talent but went to the Stanley Cup Finals," he said. "I thought 'What is the secret to their success?' I thought, maybe it was their management, so I looked up their coach, Craig MacTavish and found out he had spent time in jail because he had struck and killed a woman while drunk driving ... I had never heard that before. I don't think I could find that anywhere else in the world."\nEven though he allows students to cite Wikipedia in assignments, Rubenstein warns that he doesn't see it as the final authority on a topic.\nMany other faculty members said they allow Wikipedia to be cited but never as the only source.\n"For every paper, students have a minimum number of scholarly (peer-reviewed) references that they must utilize. Wikipedia doesn't count as one of these, but they can use it, and cite it, to get a first look at a concept on which they are writing," assistant professor of social work Sabrina Williamson Sullenberg said in an e-mail.\nAssistant professor of fine arts Julie Van Voorhis allows students to cite Wikipedia as long as they can support the information.\n"I allow it, with a caveat -- the information cited must be correct, and the burden of proof for the accuracy of the information is with the student," she said in an e-mail. "Wikipedia is uneven, but does contain some interesting articles. Besides, in our digital/Web-oriented age, the ability to assess the validity and usefulness of Web resources is an important life skill."\nWhether or not they allow Wikipedia citations, many professors voiced concerns with the overall accuracy of Wikipedia articles. Those concerns might not be entirely warranted, though.\nIn December 2005, the science journal, Nature, chose 50 entries on various scientific topics from Wikipedia and Encyclopedia Britannica to be peer-reviewed by an expert in the field. The study found that on average, Wikipedia articles contain 3.9 errors per article while Britannica articles contain 2.9 and concluded that "Wikipedia comes close to Britannica in terms of the accuracy of its science entries."\nBut it's not just students citing Wikipedia in their papers. According to Wikipedia, in 2005, 57 academic articles were published that cited an entry from the Web site.\nChristian Sandvig is an assistant professor of speech communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Later this year, he is due to publish an article titled "The Structural Problems of the Internet for Cultural Policy," in which he cites the "slashdot effect" entry in Wikipedia as "an excellent overview" on the topic.\nThe slashdot effect is when a larger Web site links to a smaller one, causing it to slow down or even shut down for a period because of the excessive traffic.\n"I think this was a special case," Sandvig said. "The paper is about communications technology, so I think it's appropriate. I think it's different than if (the paper) was a biography of an English king."\nSandvig said he feels the article is accurate because of his expertise with the topic and that if the Wikipedia article is tampered with, it will be quickly fixed, but he still warns students about the site's credibility.\n"I tell them to picture some fish," he said. "There's a larger fish eating a smaller fish, and that one's eating a smaller fish and so on. Those are all different sources. Wikipedia is the smallest one, and the biggest is a peer-reviewed journal"
(09/13/06 2:50am)
Star Wars fans will always debate whether Han or Greedo shoots first, but there will never be any argument as to who were the first people in Bloomington to get their hands on the unaltered original trilogy DVDs.\nMore than a dozen Star Wars fans waited outside Best Buy on Monday night to get their hands on Episodes IV-VI in their original theatrical form and the new video game "Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy." Bloomington's Best Buy was one of select store locations to release the DVDs. The Hoosier Alliance, the official Bloomington Star Wars fan club, coordinated the event with Best Buy.\n"We were the first ones here," said Bloomington resident Bryan Kiefer as the clock approached 11 p.m. "We got here at 7 because we thought it would be crazier like two years ago."\nWhen the original trilogy ("A New Hope," "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi") was first released as a box set on DVD in September 2004, more than 200 people waited outside of Best Buy for it, according to a Sept. 24, 2004, Indiana Daily Student article.\nThe unaltered versions of those three films still hold a special place in the hearts of hardcore Star Wars fans who grew up in the 1970s and '80s with the movies. \nMany fans were angered when in 1997 George Lucas released a special edition of the trilogy with new footage, music and improved special effects.\n"People grew up with Han shooting first and a pasty old white guy as Luke's father at the end," said Chris Miller, who drove from Louisville to wait outside Best Buy. "You grow up and you feel cheated when someone comes along and tells you that's not the way it is."\nOne of the more controversial changes to "A New Hope" was a scene where Han Solo is confronted by a bounty hunter named Greedo inside of a bar. In the 1977 version of the film, Solo fatally shoots Greedo, but in the special edition, Greedo fires at Solo before Solo kills him.\nIn the 2004 DVD release, Lucas continued to change the trilogy. At the end of the 1983 and 1997 editions of "Return of the Jedi," a ghostly Anakin Skywalker, played by middle-aged actor Sebastian Shaw, appears to his son Luke.\nIn the DVD edition, Shaw was digitally removed and 25-year-old Hayden Christensen, who played Anakin in the prequels, was inserted in his place.\n"If they were going to change it, they should have done it with Obi-Wan and Yoda younger too," said Russell Thomas, wearing a purple cloak like the emperor from "Revenge of the Sith" and holding a lightsaber. Russell also drove up from Louisville for the event.\nThis is also the first time the original Star Wars DVDs have been released individually in any form. As of Tuesday, Best Buy was selling each movie for $19.99 or the set of three with an exclusive tin for $69.99.\nEric Stuckey, president of the Hoosier Alliance, said he only planned to purchase "Return of the Jedi" now for the original music.\n"There's a big question of whether to buy this or wait," he said. "There are rumors on the Internet of a big boxed set next year with all six movies and even more footage. Usually you can trust that"
(09/12/06 10:27pm)
Virtually no one disputes that two planes crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.\nIt's everything that occurred before and after the event that's open to debate for some.\nLeading the discussion of alternative theories about what happened that sunny September morning is a group that calls itself Scholars for 9-11 Truth.\nScholars for 9-11 Truth is a "nonpartisan association of faculty, students and scholars, in fields as diverse as history, science, military affairs, psychology and philosophy, dedicated to exposing falsehoods and to revealing truths behind 9-11," according to the group's Web site.\nThe group was founded in December 2005 by James H. Fetzer, a professor emeritus of philosophy at the University of Minnesota at Duluth and former Marine Corps officer.\n"The greatest thing an academic fears is being embarrassed," Fetzer said. "Most faculty I run into say they'd never run the risk of doing something like this. These are people who are putting all their chips in the pot here because they care about truth, science and country." \nBased on his own research and the research of other members of Scholars for 9-11 Truth, Fetzer has come up with a far-reaching alternative theory of the events that made up the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.\nFirst, he said it was not the impact of two Boeing 767s that brought down the two towers.\n"The World Trade Center was designed to withstand the impact of a Boeing 707," he said. "That's very comparable proportionally to a 767."\nFetzer said he believes the fires in the towers did not burn hot enough or long enough to bring down the towers.\nInstead, he proposes that a group, apparently working for the U.S. government, set up explosive charges in the buildings several weeks before Sept. 11, and it was those charges that brought down the towers.\n"There were unusual security lapses two weeks before," he said. "(Government officials) shut down sections of the building and shut down cameras under the pretext of upgrading communication cables. That had never happened before."\nFetzer's theories don't end with what happened in New York. He said he believes United Airlines Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania was not brought down by passengers attacking the hijackers, but rather by jet fighters scrambling to thwart the aircraft from attacking a landmark.\nHe also proposes that it was either a missile or a smaller plane that crashed into the Pentagon.\n"There's no wreckage from a Boeing 757 there," Fetzer said. "No fuselage or seats or bodies were ever found there. In the tapes released by the Pentagon, you can't see a 757 in the video tapes, and (the plane) is 71 feet high."\nHe also says the Boeing 757 is not physically capable of hitting the Pentagon in the way that it did.\nMarc Bogonovich is a graduate student in the biology department and a student member of Scholars for 9-11 Truth. He does not share all of Fetzer's beliefs about what happened Sept. 11 but said he thinks that there are enough inconsistencies about the attacks that more research needs to be done.\n"I think it's best to say I honestly don't know," he said. "I don't know what happened. It would be unexpected to me if the government was not complicit in the events, though. Though it wouldn't shake my world if it wasn't."\nHe said students sometimes approach him after class because of his involvement with the group.\n"Students come up to me, and they're aware of my involvement," he said. "They tend to be sympathetic to the 9/11 truth movement. ... I'm surprised there's not more members at IU."\nThe number of people who believe the government had something to do with the Sept. 11 attacks is significant. A Scripps Howard/Ohio University poll of 1,010 adults this summer found 36 percent of respondents suspected the government planned the attacks or allowed them to happen.\nBut why would the government go to such lengths and kill more than 3,000 people? Fetzer said he believes it helped grease the wheels of a new U.S. foreign policy strategy in the Middle East.\n"There's a huge number of reasons," he said. "It was important for the president to move the Patriot Act through without Congress reading it. It gave the administration the chance to launch offensives in Iraq and Afghanistan, to build an oil pipeline through Afghanistan and use Iraq as a base in the Mideast."\nFetzer readily admits that his ideas and research make up a conspiracy theory, a label many researchers dread, but he said his theory is no less credible than the one presented by the government.\n"The government offers its own theory that's a conspiracy theory in which 19 Islamic fascists outsmarted the best defense system in the world under the direction of a guy in a cave in Afghanistan," he said.\nSome academics believe Sept. 11 conspiracy theories do not deserve the kind of attention they are receiving.\n"There is a long and deep tradition of conspiracy theories in American politics, and this is the latest incarnation," political science professor Russell Hanson said in an e-mail interview. "That angle, and not the veracity of claims, is being played in the 'mainstream media.' Personally, I don't place much stock in the theory, and I don't know anyone who does."\nIU India Studies Director Sumit Ganguly views conspiracy theories as a defense mechanism to help people deal with traumatic world events.\n"As a general rule, I am disinclined to believe conspiracy theories which seem to abound in American political life when catastrophic events (occur), such as the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor or the assassination of President Kennedy," he said in an e-mail interview. "These events are so troubling that many individuals take refuge in conspiratorial beliefs to explain them."\nUniversities are beginning to strike back at professors who hold controversial views about Sept. 11. Last week Brigham Young University put Steven E. Jones, cochair of Scholars for 9-11 Truth, on paid leave.\nA spokeswoman for Brigham Young University told the Chronicle of Higher Education the decision was based on the "increasingly speculative and accusatory nature of statements being made by Dr. Jones regarding the collapse of the World Trade Center," as well as concerns that his work was not being published in the proper venues.\nStill, Fetzer said he believes the work he and other members are doing is worth the risk of losing their careers.\n"We are honoring the victims of 9/11 in the highest possible form by caring enough to ask how they died and why they died," he said.
(09/11/06 5:29pm)
Democratic candidate for the 9th Congressional District Baron Hill charged Friday that his opponent, Rep. Mike Sodrel, R-9th, is running an ad violating the clean-campaign pledge they both signed last month.\nThe ad, which is currently only running on Louisville TV, shows Sodrel on the campaign trail while a voice-over claims Sodrel ran for Congress "to stop career politicians like Baron Hill from shipping our jobs overseas."\nThe commercial concludes with the line "liberal Baron Hill has gone Washington -- literally. He stayed there and went to work for a big lobbying firm."\nFlanked by more than a dozen supporters holding campaign signs, Hill took issue with both comments at a press conference Friday afternoon on the steps of the Monroe County Courthouse.\n"I don't know what he's talking about," Hill said. "I've \nnever sent one job overseas."\nHill claims the ad violates part of a clean-campaign pledge both candidates signed last month that bars "unfair, or misleading attacks upon the character of an opponent."\nThe pledge was drafted by the Monroe County Religious Leaders.\n"Misrepresenting the truth is not what politics is about," Hill said. "The people of southern Indiana deserve better than this."\nHill said though he did work for a Washington lobbying firm after losing the 9th Congressional District race in 2004, he was not a registered lobbyist, which he said the ad infers.\n"I worked for a lobbying business representing clients in southern Indiana," he said. "I was never a registered lobbyist."\nSodrel spokesman Cam Savage defended the ad, saying it was not negative and the statements in the ad are based in fact.\nAs evidence of "Hill shipping our jobs overseas," Savage cited Hill's vote in 2001 to normalize trade relations with China.\nSavage also criticized Hill's position with a lobbying firm.\n"Baron Hill says special interest groups are a problem in Washington, yet he went to work for a special interest lobbying firm," Savage said. "It's hypocritical. He wants people to forget his record."\nSavage said Sodrel's campaign has endured much worse than the ad running on Louisville TV.\n"I don't see this as an attack ad compared to what the liberal allies of Baron Hill such as moveon.org have been doing to Mike Sodrel for 18 months now," he said. "They have been making automated phone calls, some of which are misleading and others that are flat-out false."\nSince negative attacks are subjective, it is difficult to clearly say if an ad goes over the line, said political science professor Russell Hanson.\n"Clean campaign promises are nice, but that means different things to different candidates," he said.\nHanson said he wasn't sure of the reasoning behind Hill's press conference Friday.\n"I'm not sure what Hill hopes to gain, besides putting Sodrel on the defensive," he said.\nThis could also be a sign the closely watched race is about to heat up.\n"Both sides are going to do what they can to point out what they think is false about the other candidate," Hanson said. "If you want to consider that negative campaigning, we'll probably see more of it."\nThis is the third time Hill and Sodrel have faced off for the 9th District seat. Hill was the district's representative from 1998 until 2004, when Sodrel defeated Hill for the seat by fewer than 1,500 votes.\nLibertarian candidate and economics professor at IU-Southeast Eric Schansberg is also running for the seat.