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(12/09/10 4:42am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>As students wrap up their fall semester tests and projects, IU Student Association is planning for next semester. For congress, winter break will give several committees time to tackle issues they plan to address in the spring, said Vice President for Congress and senior Jennie Peterson.Peterson said the Health and Safety and Student Rights committees will examine the idea of a medical amnesty program. A sort of ticket-free guarantee would be given to individuals who seek medical assistance for a friend who has been drinking, even if they themselves are underage and have been drinking.Similar programs have been adopted elsewhere in the Big Ten, Peterson said, and IUSA would like to bring one to IU.“We’re just looking into all different avenues and possibilities before we pick the one that we think would be best to propose,” Peterson said. Since some members of congress will be studying abroad in the fall, the Rules and Membership committees will be seeking and vetting candidates to fill their vacant spots. Finally, the Educational Affairs committee is looking into the registration process to determine if providing direct links for book costs, professors’ profiles, grade distributions and links to outside sources like CourseRank would be feasible. “We’re seeing if there’s any way we can make it a little more student-user friendly,” Peterson said. President and senior Michael Coleman has given initiative teams several tasks for winter break as well. One area of focus will be the bike rental program, which IUSA has been trying to launch for at least the past two terms. Coleman said IUSA is also looking at e-textbook options presented from a variety of sources and will endorse the one it believes would be best for IU. “It’s going to be a battle for which department gets IUSA’s approval on that,” Coleman said. Chief of Staff and junior Neil Kelty said the administration will be focused on finishing up initiatives and recapping the semester in the form of reports and debriefs. Kelty said the Transportation team will work with congress to finalize the GPS bus tracker contract. GPS bus tracking was installed this semester and is accessible from computers and smart phones.In the same vein, Kelty said another project slated for next semester will involve installing large-screen televisions in heavily trafficked student areas. These screens would include bus-tracking information but would also display computer availability in designated spaces.Kelty said it’s important for IUSA members to rest but also to continue planning through the break. He said there is normally a rush to finish up initiatives in the spring, especially when seniors become determined to leave their mark on campus and when election campaigns start to make the end of a term more visible.“It’s an opportunity to set the stage for the rest of the semester,” Kelty said, adding that it is important to maintain focus during any break from school. “If you don’t plan during these off times, you won’t get anything done during the year.”
(12/03/10 3:36am)
Every year, two students are selected as funding directors for the IU
Student Association Funding Board to assist campus groups in applying
for student government funds.
(11/30/10 5:49am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>When someone mentions “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” Meredith Alexander’s eyes light up. A 21-year-old junior, an IU Police Department officer and a criminal justice and sociology major, she said quite simply “I am Olivia Benson,” who is a character on the TV show. But there are things that set Meredith apart from other student officers.She’s a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority and a volunteer with IU Dance Marathon. She was once a Riley kid herself.And in a time when binge drinking is on the rise around the nation, Meredith rides the line between the party culture and law enforcement. Every day, Meredith said, is a choice and a chance. ***It started in eighth grade. She was hooked on “Special Victims Unit.” Her parents were pretty sure she’d grow out of it. She didn’t. So the decision to come to IU was an easy one, she said. No other university in the country has a program where students can become officers before graduation, according to IUPD.They live in the residence halls, patrol the campus in shifts and wander the madness of the tailgating fields. On occasion, they are called on to literally tackle fellow students or mediate roommate arguments. The first week of freshman year, Meredith marched up to the IUPD station and picked up an application. Months later she was accepted. She spent last year as a cadet and all of last summer in the police academy. Now she works nearly full time as an officer.Meredith said it’s all she’s ever wanted.***The night was grey, the air filled with mist. Hand on her belt, Meredith walked down a hill into the sloping field behind McNutt Quad.“See, now that it’s rained, you can’t hear me walking,” she said. She came here to “see what she can smell.” As she checked each copse of trees and each small valley for pot-smoking freshmen, she seemed self assured, if not completely at ease being on patrol alone.She said it’s hard to turn the cop switch off. She needs to stay alert, always expected to be serving and protecting. ***The officers met at the station at 5:30 p.m., took roll call, hopped in their personal vehicles and drove straight to Gresham Food Court, where they took their dinner break “just to get it out of the way.” She sat with the guys. There were four of them at the table, fully dressed in uniform with guns on their belts. The other cafeteria-goers were staring slightly.Meredith admitted it can sometimes be difficult.“People are sometimes more intimidated by the uniform. But I’m still the same person as when I’m in my Pi Phi clothes.”While the guys grabbed food, she pulled out a picture from a weekend of bike training. Two oblong purple splotches mark her thigh. She fell off the bike and onto her gun. ***She walked straight to McNutt, where she’s assigned to rounds. It’s rainy, and no one will want to smoke tonight, she said. It should be quiet.“I’m actually a lot smaller underneath this,” she said, indicating her Kevlar and polyester uniform. At 5’4”, she works out twice a day to make sure she’s as ready as her male counterparts. She runs, swims and lifts weights at the Student Recreational Sports Center. “If I’m training every day and I have the mindset that I’m gonna win, well...” she said, “I’m gonna win.” Lt. Greg Butler, training coordinator for IUPD, said IU’s program is different from others in the nation.The program has existed since 1972. Its original intent was to professionalize the field of law enforcement, Butler said, while bridging the gap between students and officers.“For the longest time, you had the ‘us versus them’ mentality,” Butler said. Butler said officers also have to understand the responsibility that comes with service.“If they engage with someone off the street who’s doing something they shouldn’t be doing, they have to act as a police officer,” Butler said. That might mean they have to arrest a sorority sister, a classmate or a friend.“If they become discretionary to that degree, they won’t be in this field very long,” Butler said. While arrest policies haven’t changed dramatically in the last few years, Butler said the department has seen an increase in cases of extreme alcohol consumption. Blood alcohol contents between .15 and .2, for instance, when the legal limit is .08. Past that limit, an individual is considered to have participated in binge drinking. The proportion of students who frequently binge drink jumped 16 percent between 1993 and 2001, and there is no indication that it has fallen since then, according to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.What’s more, the study found that fraternity and sorority members are more likely to drink, binge drink, drink and drive, use marijuana or cocaine or smoke than non-greeks. Butler said he’s seen first hand the effect of the trend toward binge drinking. “We take almost as many to the hospital as we do to jail,” Butler said. ***“It’s good to take yourself out of being Greek for a second,” Meredith said as she stood on patrol outside of McNutt. “Some people know there’s a Pi Phi cop,” she said. For the most part though, she says she tries to avoid conflicts of interest. Sometimes sisters will ask her about a ticket they were served during a tailgate. Sometimes they want her to explain what her co-workers were thinking. And she isn’t allowed to bring her gun into the house. She said at 21, she likes to go out and have fun. Yet it seems that she sacrifices much more. She said during dinner, she had to text a guy she likes and tell him no, she can’t go out this weekend, she’ll be working.During Homecoming week, when some students spent nearly every night crowding houses to party, she worked a five-hour weeknight shift. She planned to take someone’s Homecoming football game shift, and she acknowledged that walking through the liquor-soaked tailgating fields, she might have to arrest someone she knew.Her roommate and sorority sister junior Allison Schmid said she thinks Meredith has to work hard to keep a steady balance. “She doesn’t get to go out and do a lot of the other stuff we get to do.” Schmid said she wishes people understood better the time Meredith puts into the force, the reason she might show up to dinner in uniform before running back out for rounds. But Meredith maintains that it’s worth it. Every party she skips, every date she misses, is another couple hours she is working toward her goal. “Sometimes I’d just rather be doing this because I love it so much,” she said.Editor's Note: The comments on this story have been turned off because of their harmful nature. Contact editor@idsnews.com if you'd like your opinion to be heard.
(11/18/10 5:15am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IUSA bike rental program, a platform initiative for at least the last two IUSA administrations, will not be implemented before the end of iUnity’s term, IUSA Chief of Staff Neil Kelty said.The program was also proposed by the Btown IUSA ticket during the 2009 election. The program plan involved purchasing a fleet of bikes that could be rented at one location, ridden through campus and returned at the same or a different location. Kelty said a bike rental program exists at the University of Minnesota, but the structure is different from that of Btown’s or iUnity’s plan.After the Btown ticket failed to fully implement the plan during its one year term, the iUnity ticket adopted the program. The iUnity ticket then established a bike initiative task force to address the project.Kelty said the earliest the program could come to campus would be summer 2011. However, a pilot program could start this spring with the company IUSA has chosen to bring “a few bikes on campus to show around.”IUSA elections, which take place in March, will bring a new administration taking office in April, but Kelty said there should be retention from year to year between administrations.“It is important to have students who are in this organization for four or five years because it is really hard to get things done in this University,” Kelty said.IUSA Vice President for Administration Peter SerVaas, who served as the Btown administration’s president, was the first to attempt to implement the bike initiative. SerVaas said platform initiatives touted during the IUSA election — including programs such as the bike rental program — should not be viewed as promises.“That’s not a guarantee to get it done in one year,” SerVaas said. “That’s a guarantee to work their hardest to get it done.”IUSA platforms have recently involved major initiatives, such as fall break, bus tracking and bringing down the textbook costs.Kelty said the startup budget for the bike rental program currently stands at $60,000, which is not part of IUSA’s current budget and will have to be approved by congress before the funds can be used. Much of the funding for the program will come from money left over from last year’s budget cuts, Kelty said.Kelty said about 80 percent of that money will be spent on the bikes themselves, which will cost about $1,000 each. The program will be student-run, Kelty said, with students managing the service similarly to a work-study program.“The best thing we’re really happy about with this program is that it should be self-sustainable,” Kelty said. After startup costs, Kelty said he hopes the program will be billable as a subscription fee to students through the bursar.According to a press release in September, IUSA has received permission from the Department of Transportation to put seven to 10 bike stand locations on campus, which have yet to be determined.“We’re not certain as to how many locations we are going to have, but we’re thinking between seven to 10,” Eshaan Arora, IUSA co-chief of bike rental, said in a press release.
(11/17/10 2:59am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU Student Association is attempting to address campus safety concerns online. The student government has created an e-mail account that answers questions and concerns from students.IUsafety@indiana.edu is maintained by IUSA’s Campus Safety task force, a division of student government created to deal with campus safety issues — ranging from traffic and pedestrian concerns to nighttime issues.The e-mail address has been available as a resource for students to communicate specific safety problems to IUSA since early October. Chief of the IUSA campus safety task force Scott Williamson said IUSA can direct concerns to the administration.“We are in a good position to take those questions to the people in the University who can address them,” Williamson said.The e-mail address also serves the task force by providing ideas for improvements.“We have 40,000 students on campus and many more faculty on staff. The more we can get all of those groups involved, the easier the solutions become,” IUSA Chief of Staff Neil Kelty said in a press release.Since its establishment, Williamson said only a few students have used the account to express concerns. Rather than traffic safety, Williamson said most messages dealt with residence hall safety and lighting on North Jordan Avenue. The e-mail account is part of IUSA’s overall response to rising campus concern about student safety. The issue has also been addressed in various ways by IU’s administration. Several pedestrian accidents, including the death of a student hit by a car on Fee Lane, prompted Provost Karen Hanson to establish the Bloomington Campus Safety Task Force last November.The task force made several recommendations, including the implementation of several new island-model crosswalks across campus.Williamson said students also expressed concerns regarding sexual assault on campus, but IUSA hopes to receive more e-mails in the future.Junior Chris Pennington said he hasn’t yet heard of the e-mail account.“There needs to be more awareness,” Pennington said.Sophomore Kent Parton said he’d be willing to use the account to express concerns.“If there was something that stood out as a potential danger and I thought I would be helping someone, I would ask,” Parton said.
(11/10/10 5:29am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>As Hoosiers review the results of the midterm elections, IU administrators and IU Student Association members are bidding to be a site for a 2012 presidential debate.The University has been working to secure a presidential debate since the 2008 election, IUSA Chief of Internal Affairs and sophomore Barrett Tenbarge said. By preparing for this election cycle well in advance, IU should have a fighting chance, Tenbarge said.“It would be really a transformational academic experience for the students,” Tenbarge said. Tenbarge and representatives from the Office of the President and the IU Auditorium, where the event would be, laid out a rough idea of a bid proposal. This will not be finalized until the Commission on Presidential Debates releases specific criteria for applicants Jan. 3, 2011.After the criteria are released, IU will respond with a document specifying ways in which it will meet the demands of the event. Commissioners will tour campus, and IU will know by November 2011 whether it has been chosen as a debate site.Since a bid was already drawn up in 2008, only minor changes will need to be made before submitting a new proposal.IU Auditorium Director Doug Booher said the event itself will take place in the auditorium. Media camps, meeting rooms and hotel accommodations will be set up in other locations such as the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation and the Indiana Memorial Union.“We know that pulling off a presidential debate and hosting it well takes a collective effort of the entire campus,” Booher said. Tenbarge said he hopes the idea of building a College of Arts and Sciences themester around political action, policy and media in fall 2012 will be discussed.“There’s literally a way for every major and every school to get involved in a really substantial way, which would be a really neat experience for students,” Tenbarge said.Justin Kingsolver, junior, president of the IU College Republicans and Indiana Daily Student columnist, said the debate could spark students’ political interest during an election year. After low voter turnout during the midterm election, the debate could also help students stay engaged until the presidential election. “I can’t think of something that would get students more politically excited and engaged and activated than having candidates talk to us,” Kingsolver said.Kingsolver also pointed out a debate would bring media outlets from around the country to Bloomington. This could bring national attention to campus and improve IU’s image.Kingsolver said he is confident any shortfalls seen in the last proposal can be corrected in a 2012 bid.“It’s the perfect time for IU,” he said.
(11/08/10 4:41am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The winners of this year’s first-ever fall 2010 Energy Challenge are Willkie Quad, the School of Public and Environmental Affairs and Alpha Omicron Pi sorority.Overall, the University saved more than $61,799 and avoided creating 842,116.54 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions by participating in the challenge.AOPi used 23 percent less energy and water than its expected use, while Willkie and SPEA each used 24 percent less than expected. Each winning building received a traveling trophy as a reward.AOPi’s environmental chairwoman and sophomore Laurel Crutchfield said while some members of the sorority were unaware of the competition, the sorority’s house mother played a huge role in helping win the challenge.“She just did little things for the entire month,” Crutchfield said.While the sorority’s house mother turned off lights and switched to energy-efficient light bulbs during the challenge, Crutchfield said she always tries to emphasize recycling and turning off lights around the house. Crutchfield also said other aspects of the house, such as motion-detecting lights, help the members save energy on a regular basis. McKenzie Beverage, coordinator of this year’s challenge, said the original challenge began in 2008 as the capstone project for a graduate student in the School of Informatics and Computing.“The idea was to instill a sense of conservation in students that don’t have immediate control over their environment, and who also don’t get things like a monthly bill at the end of the month,” Beverage said.The project was originally a website launched to show students electricity and water usage around campus. But in 2008, the project was taken over by the IU Office of Sustainability. Beverage said it first stretched only to dorms and then grew to include greek houses and academic buildings.To monitor each academic and residence hall building, an IU Physical Plant utility employee read participating buildings’ electricity and water meters several times a week. Greek houses released their Duke Energy Corporation readings.The information was then entered into the Energy Challenge website and calculated to see the greatest percent decrease in per capita electricity and water consumption of each participating building.Beverage said that the competition makes students aware of their energy consumption, while the website shows them ways to conserve.The first energy challenge took place in spring 2008 and again in spring 2009 and 2010, with tweaks made each year. This semester, Read Center, McNutt Quad and Briscoe Quad were put into their own categories of competition, which only measured water. However, a leak in Read Center and construction in Briscoe and McNutt quads skewed the water readings in those buildings.Ellen Hacker, Willkie center secretary, said the building achieved its win by turning off lights. She said they stopped short of plunging the building into darkness but tried to keep lights at a low level.“The energy challenge is really an educational tool, and it’s a platform for raising awareness,” Beverage said.
(11/07/10 6:35pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The winners of this year’s first-ever fall 2010 Energy Challenge are Willkie Quad, the School of Public and Environmental Affairs and Alpha Omicron Pi. AOPi used 23 percent less energy and water than their expected use, while Willkie and SPEA each used 24 percent less than expected. Each winning building received a traveling trophy as a reward.The contest pits residence halls, academic buildings and greek houses against one another to see which building in each category uses the least water and electricity. To monitor each building, an IU Physical Plant utility employee read participating buildings’ electricity and water meters several times a week.The information was then entered into the Energy Challenge website and calculated to see the greatest percent decrease in per capita electricity and water consumption of each participating building.For more information, visit energychallenge.indiana.edu and read Monday’s edition of the Indiana Daily Student.— Claire Wiseman
(11/03/10 4:51am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After the polls closed in Indiana, U.S. Congressman Brad Ellsworth’s loss seemed imminent. However, Democratic supporters at the Marriott in downtown Indianapolis remained hopeful. “I’m going to stay optimistic and say it’s still early,” supporter Kevin Fyffe said around 7:25 p.m. Others had already given in to the idea that Ellsworth had lost his U.S. Senate candidacy to Republican Dan Coats. “I think we did as well as we could have, considering the opponent had a lot of money and a lot of name recognition coming into the race,” Ellsworth supporter Emily Bantz said. Silvia Leahu-Aluas expressed disappointment with Sen. Evan Bayh’s decision not to run for re-election this midterm. “We’re mostly disappointed with Evan Bayh creating a difficult situation,” Leahu-Aluas said.After being welcomed to the stage with resounding cheers, Ellsworth officially conceded just after 8 p.m. In his speech, the outgoing congressman, who has represented Indiana’s 8th District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2007, thanked his supporters and staff. “Please don’t ever be disillusioned that you got involved,” Ellsworth said. He said he was proud of the campaign and had no regrets. Ellsworth went on to say that his interactions with Indiana voters during the campaign process renewed his faith in the country’s future. “We have good, generous people in this state,” Ellsworth said.Ellsworth urged students across Indiana to remain involved and stay informed. Ellsworth said understanding the policies of each candidate, not just of their party, will remain an important step for student voters.Sen. Evan Bayh, who attended the event, said he believes the midterm election results are indicative of national trends.“Tonight reflects some broad trends sweeping the country, particularly the fact that the unemployment rate in Indiana is over 10 percent,” Bayh said.Bayh is Indiana’s current U.S. Senator and former Indiana state governor. Coats and Ellsworth ran for his seat during this year’s midterm elections when Bayh announced several months ago that he would not be running for re-election.Bayh said he hopes those in office will continue to cross party lines in an effort to effect positive change. Supporter Joanne Sanders said she was disappointed by the election’s final results. “It’s unfortunate that the state of Indiana does not have Democratic representation,” Sanders said. Ellsworth said his next move is uncertain, but he is sure that he will return home to a dog who will have to be bribed after his absence and a yard that will need to be raked. Before serving in Congress, Ellsworth worked for 24 years in Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s office, where he served two terms as sheriff.Coats represented Indiana’s 4th Congressional District in the House of Representatives from 1981 to 1989. From 1989 to 1999, Coats served as Indiana’s U.S. Senator before becoming the U.S. Ambassador to Germany from 2001 to 2005.
(11/03/10 2:54am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The city of Bloomington is considering narrowing the crosswalk recently installed between the Herman B Wells Library and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs on 10th Street. Director of Public Works Susie Johnson said the island model crosswalk has been successful in slowing cars down, an intended function of its design. However, she said there is a perception among drivers that the space might be too narrow.“We are considering some modifications, but nothing is finalized yet,” Johnson said. The city installed the crosswalks this summer after the Bloomington Traffic Safety Task Force identified the area as one in need of a crossing point. The task force was created in September 2009 by Provost and Executive Vice President Karen Hanson following the death of pedestrian Peter Duong. Duong was fatally hit by a car while crossing Fee Lane. Hanson charged the task force with examining pedestrian safety across campus. The group eventually recommended, among other things, the implementation of a new crosswalk model to create a barrier between cars and those crossing the street. Junior Scott Williamson represented the IU Student Association on the task force. He said the island model serves several important purposes.“It also slows the driver down, because whenever you put infrastructure in the middle of the street it forces drivers to slow down,” he said.Senior Abhishek Naheta said he’s experienced the crosswalk both as a pedestrian and as a driver.“I feel it’s better for people, but for the cars it’s worse,” Naheta said.Naheta said he feels the crosswalk creates a narrow pathway, which tends to jam up the intersection. Island crosswalks first went up on Fee Lane last year. The city also identified five other locations where crosswalks should be implemented, according to the task force’s report.Williamson said the city addressed the specifics of the model when it installed the crosswalk this summer. The University did not pay for any of the crosswalk construction because the streets are owned by the city, Williamson said. Johnson said snowplows will be able to fit through the narrower space created by the crosswalk, provided they drive slowly. The city is still considering modifications, but they would be implemented to benefit drivers who perceive the crosswalk as narrow. “We’re continuing to analyze the effectiveness of the traffic island,” Johnson said.Johnson said the city has not yet determined who will pay for any modifications. Williamson said on the whole, he thinks the 10th Street crosswalk has been effective.“Obviously it’s slowed down the traffic on 10th Street, but it’s a small price to pay when you consider that before, all the students using it were literally dodging traffic,” Williamson said.
(10/26/10 3:57am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>“Pakistan, Pakistan. Isn’t that where Borat’s from, right? That dude is hilarious!”Members of the IU Student Association and its coalition partners point out just how little students understand about the flood crisis in Pakistan in a video created to promote the upcoming event IU Helps Pakistan. In July, Pakistan experienced heavy flooding that left more than 20 million injured or homeless and more than a million homes destroyed. U.S. donations have been slow to accumulate, said Rishibha Chadha, IUSA’s chief of coalitions. IU Helps Pakistan will attempt to meet the need caused by the devastating floods in Pakistan with an outdoor fundraiser that will take place in Dunn Meadow on Oct. 28. The carnival themed event will cost $3. For the price of entry, attendees will receive one voucher for food and one voucher for a carnival game. The event will feature food provided by ethnic restaurants, such as Amol India and Taste of India, and franchise restaurants such as Panda Express and Chipotle. Attendees will see booths displaying information about the floods and relief efforts, and will have the opportunity to play traditional Pakistani games. All proceeds will benefit the Pakistan-based Edhi foundation.“We thought it would be more relevant to donate to a Pakistani organization,” Chadha said. Chadha explained that after examining several possible recipients for the fundraiser, the Edhi foundation was chosen because of its reputation in Pakistan, its knowledge of the area and the fact that unlike some better-known world organizations, it operates without administrative costs. This allows the foundation to allocate 100 percent of its profits directly where aid is needed most. Chadha said the event began as an effort to raise awareness of the crisis in Pakistan by selling wristbands on campus. But Chadha said she thought more needed to be done. “The size of the disaster should be proportionate to the size of the event,” Chadha said.With that in mind, the effort began to involve more student groups and grew into a larger benefit.The event now involves the efforts of the Muslim Student Union, Pakistani Student Association, Sigma Beta Rho and Kelley Management Skills Development Group. The video created to promote the event is a great example of the combined efforts of a variety of student groups, IUSA President Michael Coleman said. “Most of the people aren’t involved in IUSA, they’re involved with different groups across campus,” he said.The video includes short blurbs from representatives of Straight No Chaser, Alpha Phi Omega, Kelley Management Skills Development Group and professors from the Kelley School of Business and the College of Arts and Sciences. Walter Ballard is the face of the “Borat” comment at the beginning of the video. Ballard is also IUSA’s director of athletic affairs. Ballard said he was “oblivious to how much damage and destruction” had been caused by the floods before he stepped in to fill a vacant spot in the video.“If you have the capability to help, you should help,” Ballard said.
(10/20/10 4:43am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Bloomington Faculty Council passed a resolution Tuesday, first addressed by the IU Student Association, to approve a new academic calendar that will include several major changes.Starting in fall of 2012, students will not attend class on Labor Day, during one Friday in the seventh or eighth week of classes or during the week of Thanksgiving. Fall break will not take place, however, during Halloween weekend. Final dates have yet to be set.To compensate for these missed days, fall semester classes will begin on a Monday one week earlier than on the current calendar. The summer session will consist of three four-week modules, reducing the summer session from 14 to 12 weeks and requiring some summer classes to be restructured.According to the proposal, “this longer hiatus will allow greater opportunities to perform maintenance on instructional facilities, and is sufficient for the many activities scheduled for the weeks just prior to the fall semester.”However, some faculty members during the meeting expressed concern that a shorter session would negatively affect research and academic travel opportunities.Thomas Gieryn, vice provost for faculty and academic affairs, said the proposal was a compromise between all parties involved.“There is no proposal that could satisfy all constituents,” Gieryn said.Gieryn said he helped develop the calendar proposal, along with the BFC calendar committee and members of IUSA. Gieryn said the calendar committee worked to consider the opinions of a wide range of faculty.IUSA Chief of Fall Break and junior Katie Tetrick spoke during the meeting in favor of the proposal. Both Tetrick and IUSA President Michael Coleman worked with the BFC’s calendar committee to develop the proposal during the summer.Tetrick said she wanted to emphasize that instead of using the fall break Friday to sleep in, the weekend could become a service opportunity for students.“Many students might see this day as a chance to get involved on campus or within the greater Bloomington community,” Tetrick said.Tetrick also pointed out the break from classes could help decrease student stress by breaking up the traditional 13 week block of classes.After the bill was passed — with five dissenting votes — Coleman said he was pleased with the BFC’s decision.“I’m overwhelmed with the amount of people who supported it,” Coleman said.Gieryn said he also supported the decision.“I think the proposed calendar allows us to teach more effectively and for students to learn more effectively,” he said.During the council meeting, members also heard a presentation from the Ad hoc Subcommittee on IU’s Health Engagement Program Initiative, a program beginning in 2011. Another presentation was also made by the General Education Committee Co-chairs and professors Sonya Stephens and Munirpallam Venkataramanan.
(10/19/10 1:46am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>When local gardener George E. Archer left his entire estate to the Hilltop Garden and Nature Center, he said his gift would “help boys and girls,” according to a press release written after his death. Archer had lived alone for much of his life and made a living by landscaping and gardening for others. In his will, Archer stipulated that the money be given to IU and used to support the Hilltop center. But a recent name change and revised mission statement have put the distributors of Archer’s gift in hot water. The IU Foundation is suing the George E. Archer Foundation, previously known as the Hilltop Educational Foundation, for $600,000 in grant money.Distributed through the IU Foundation in 2008, the money Archer left behind was originally given to the Hilltop Educational Foundation.It was the Hilltop center’s largest gift to date, IU Foundation spokesperson Barbara Coffman said. Two years ago, the Hilltop Educational Foundation served as “an advisory, advocacy and fundraising organization for Hilltop,” according to a press release from 2008. It established the George E. Archer Fund to help finance youth gardening programs at the Hilltop center. Now, the George E. Archer Foundation has created a new set of goals. According to their website, “the George E. Archer Foundation is expanding its mission — to help boys and girls learn about gardening — at an exciting and promising moment.” Archer’s will stipulated that his gift be used only at the Hilltop center, said Philippa Guthrie, IU Foundation vice president and general counsel. The Archer Foundation expansion includes providing grants to projects outside of Bloomington. “Obviously that doesn’t seem consistent with his will as we read it,” Guthrie said. Guthrie said the decision to pursue a lawsuit came after attempts to contact the Archer foundation through letters and meetings. Protecting donor intent is the IU Foundation’s main purpose, especially when the donor has passed away, he said. “We certainly don’t like filing legal action, but the donor is not here anymore, and it was entrusted to us,” Guthrie said. Joe O’Connor, outside council for the IU Foundation, said the IU Foundation has also filed a request for an injunction to stop the Archer Foundation from using the funds until the case is decided. The court has not yet responded to this request, O’Connor said.“We’re just wanting to see that the integrity of Mr. Archer’s fund is preserved,” O’Connor said. The George E. Archer Foundation refused to comment.
(10/14/10 4:49am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>On Sept. 21, IU Student Association Congress accepted a new $97,996 operating budget for the 2010-11 school year. IUSA’s operating budget comes directly from money collected by student fees.The new budget includes several changes, including one more executive stipend, parking passes, a new phone system and a room for an executive adviser. It also includes cuts in the areas of advertising and elections allocations. The budget was approved on a vote of 31 to 1. Chief of Staff StipendThe iUnity administration’s operational budget includes a $2,500 stipend for Chief of Staff Neil Kelty. Vice President for Administration Peter SerVaas said this change came on the heels of failures in last year’s administration, of which SerVaas was president.“There was a stipend and chief of staff position until last year,” SerVaas said. “I ignorantly thought that for some different reasons, we didn’t want to put it in our administration.” The 2008-09 administration’s budget totaled $82,800 and included a $500 stipend for the chief of staff position. Treasurer Sierra Hsieh said the increased stipend reflects iUnity’s growth.“Neil does have a much bigger responsibility in that regard than previous chiefs of staff,” Hsieh said. SerVaas said because IUSA’s staff has grown, Kelty’s position helps the administration run smoothly. “The only person who’s in this office more than me and (President) Mike (Coleman) is Neil Kelty,” SerVaas said.Both the iUnity and Kirkwood tickets included a chief of staff in their campaign team, but only the four executive spots appeared on the ballot. Kelty said he believes the chief of staff stipend will ensure he treats the position as a job.“That stipend makes sure the person is accountable to Congress,” Kelty said. The executive stipend must meet several qualifications, according to IUSA’s bylaws.It must be submitted to the congressional finance committee for approval, and the committee must make a recommendation for approval in February. CutsWhile the operating budget total is roughly the same as the previous $97,198 budget, it includes cuts in some smaller areas. Task force/archives is allotted $7,000 on the most recent budget, but was given $29,000 in the 2009-10 operating budget. Money budgeted for IUSA departments has decreased as well. Funding board’s office budget decreased from $2,000 to $500, and Congress’s budget decreased from $1,000 to $500. The elections department funding decreased from $750 to $500. Hsieh said these allocations help cover the department’s rent within the office, phone bills, printing needs and other office necessities. Phone SystemLast year, the Btown administration cut costs by more than $3,000 by eliminating an intricate and under-utilized phone system from its office in the student activities tower of the Indiana Memorial Union. This year, the budget allows nearly the same amount to be spent on phones as did last year’s budget, but the costs have been divided in a different way. Part of the phone budget is spent on a small number of office phones.The rest of the phone budget is spent on data plans for smart phones used by seven members of the executive team. These data plans total $30 per month for each of the four executives: the chief of internal affairs, the chief of external affairs and the chief of staff, Hsieh said. Parking PassesThis year, the budget for executive parking passes totals $2,292.20. This is a $406 increase from last year’s budget. This year’s budget covers the cost of two summer A passes, three academic year A passes, two DP passes, two E passes and three C passes.Last year’s budget included two summer A passes, two academic A passes, two DP passes, two E passes and three C passes.The 2008-09 budget included three A passes, two DP passes, two E passes and one C pass, totaling $1,639. There were no summer passes issued.“It was necessary for them to have it over the summer so they can make it to the meetings and be at the same places that presidents and directors are,” Hsieh said. Executive support The budget includes a $16,000 “executive support” provision.This position is defined in the budget as “a type of Executive Support position that will aid the IUSA administration and provide continuity in an organization that inherently lacks it.”SerVaas said the idea for this position also came from his experiences in the last administration. After eliminating almost $26,000 traditionally paid to an executive secretary, SerVaas said he recognized the need for more executive support.SerVaas said he has spoken with other Big Ten schools that have this support position. SerVaas said this person would ideally help future executives understand the student government process and ensure continuity.
(10/07/10 1:53am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>When freshman Emily Edkins’ Kelley Living-Learning Center liaison approached her about joining IU Student Association Congress, Edkins jumped at the opportunity. After applying, Edkins interviewed and was approved to fill one of the nine congressional seats left vacant after March’s IUSA election.During the election cycle, some congressional candidates represented the University Division or schools they have since left. As those students matriculated to other schools, their eligibility to represent specific constituencies was withdrawn. In some instances, elected representatives didn’t wish to serve in congress at all, and that’s where Edkins entered.Along with eight other students, Edkins was sworn in Sept. 21. She and the other new members will represent McNutt Quad, Collins LLC, Foster Quad, Eigenmann Hall, off-campus constituencies, the School of Library and Information Science and the School of Social Work.Edkins, representing McNutt Quad, said she is quickly learning her way around congressional meetings. “I’ve definitely been very impressed by the level of professionalism and the high level of groups we’re working with,” Edkins said.Edkins said she hopes her work on the finance committee will tie into her business major. One of her goals, she said, is to write or co-author a few bills. “You have to take the initiative in congress,” she said. Freshman Alexis Foglia, a Foster representative, is also new to congress.“It was an opportunity that presented itself to me, and I jumped on it and wanted to take advantage of it,” Foglia said. Foglia said she thinks the freshmen perspective is an important one within congress, especially because new students often live in residence halls and deal with campus concerns on a daily basis.“We’re the ones who are confronted with a majority of the issues IUSA addresses,” Foglia said. Foglia also said she is constantly thinking of issues she wants to address, even as she continues to adjust to life on campus. Co-Director of Congressional Affairs and junior Farihah Hossain said including freshmen was an important part of IUSA’s strategy when filling vacant seats. Hossain said the organization looked to residence hall leaders and professors when seeking out qualified candidates. Now that the spots have been filled, Hossain said she is enjoying the opportunity to help new members learn the ropes in congress. Hossain was involved in congress her sophomore year as speaker of the house. She said her involvement gave her an inside perspective on student leadership. “I never realized there was so much stuff that went on in student government before I joined,” Hossain said. Hossain is no longer a member of congress, but helps the iUnity executive administration deal with congressional issues and is present at all congress meetings.“From what I see, I have a lot of faith in this year’s congress,” Hossain said.
(10/05/10 3:50am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Watch CBS’s Hawaii Five-O next Monday, and you might see a few familiar faces. Voting ended yesterday for CBS’s Hawaii Five-O Marching Band Mania Contest, and the IU Marching Hundred are still in competition for a $25,000 reward. The Marching Hundred expects to be notified of their status by the end of the week. The contest included submissions from 41 university bands across 33 states. The wining entry will win not only a cash reward for their band program, but also airtime during the Oct. 11 episode of the show. Participants were invited to submit a video showing their own interpretation of the show’s award-winning theme song. “It was just really fun to play my mellophone in my swimsuit, which I’ve never done before,” sophomore Paul Reinhart said. The Marching Hundred’s two minute video is laced with Hawaiian flare. Band members and RedSteppers morph into beach wear halfway through the performance, and the RedSteppers perform a surf-style dance to the music.Despite the lighthearted atmosphere of the video, Reinhart said he thought the band’s submission was a cut above.“Our’s stands out, primarily because of the music,” Reinhart said. Reinhart said it was also nice to step outside the realm of normal performance. “It was really fun to actually have some competition because typically the college bands are just about supporting the football team and entertainment,” he said.Senior and drum major Tonya Mitchell said the experience meant more than the potential for extra cash. “It kind of unifies the marching band world,” Mitchell said. With so many bands submitting videos, Mitchell said, the contest is a great way for Marching Hundred musicians to see the performances of bands across the country. “It was a nice break from just constantly marching around on the field,” Mitchell said. The band now performs Hawaii Five-O at football games, adding a new song and new formations to their repertoire. Mitchell said this makes the experience worthwhile even if the band doesn’t win. For band director Dave Woodley, the experience was a rewarding one. “It was just fun for everybody to participate as a team, to do this very unique thing as one big group,” he said. Woodley said a win in the contest would mean good things for the Marching Hundred. The majority of the money would go into purchasing new band instruments, but a portion would be used to throw the band a party during their road trip to Washington, D.C. for the Penn State-IU football game. Woodley said he plans to continue to participate in similar contests, as long as the band has enough time in its busy schedule. “The kids here are so talented and they’re such good students that we can put anything together musically in short period of time,” Woodley said.
(10/05/10 3:45am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Attempt number three at creating a Sustainability Fund will require 10,000 student signatures in one semester.This year, through a partnership with IU Student Association, members of the Student Sustainability Council hope to collect enough signatures to place a voluntary donation for the fund on IU’s class registration website.Previously known as the Green Initiative Fund, the Student Sustainability Council represents “green” student interests to the Office of Sustainability and promotes communication between student groups. Members of the council are students who represent a variety of campus groups.All proceeds would benefit Student Sustainability Council initiatives, said Jacob Bower-Bir, graduate student and Student Sustainability Council co-chairman. Bower-Bir said donations would allow the sustainability council to expand and pursue projects such a solar panels and bike rack installation on campus.“The student population in general is contributing to what is probably the single most important problem of our generation, and of course future generations, given the nature of the problem,” he said.Bower-Bir said the council also hopes to give students an opportunity to express dissent for the fund through forums and in other public venues.Freshman Anne McDougall said she hadn’t yet heard of the Sustainability Fund campaign.“I’m not sure how effective the check box might be, since in general opting out gets more people than opting in,” McDougall said. However, McDougall said she thought sustainability was an important campus issue.Bower-Bir said he hopes that making the Sustainability Fund an IUSA platform issue will help launch the initiative in a more effective way. The two groups have encountered problems in the past, Bower-Bir said, because the B-town administration chose to pursue the issue without Student Sustainability Council support.However, Bower-Bir said current IUSA President and senior Michael Coleman has done a “tremendous job” of rectifying the situation and respecting the council.“The new IUSA administration is certainly more amenable to this issue than in the past,” he said.IUSA Chief of Sustainability and junior Ian Kaelble said the signature campaign and fund will allow students to show support for campus sustainability projects.“It shows that the student body cares about making IU a more sustainable place,” Kaelble said.Kaelble said volunteers will be collecting signatures Mondays and Thursdays outside Ballantine Hall, as well as visiting residence halls and greek houses.Kaelble said a new electronic signature collection system — currently awaiting approval by the registrar — could also help the project succeed.If accepted, a portion of the signatures would still have to be physically collected by volunteers, Kaelble said.“The key to getting signatures is just the fact that people know what’s going on,” Kaelble said.
(09/17/10 1:28am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>During the March IU Student Association election, the winning iUnity ticket ran on a platform of five initiatives.Senior and IUSA Vice President for Administration Peter SerVaas said the initiatives often take time to complete and should be seen as goals the administration will work diligently to finish throughout the semester.“Initiatives are initiatives. They aren’t promises, and they aren’t things that are going to be done tomorrow,” SerVaas said.He also said the administration will work as hard as possible to ensure progress is made. Junior and Chief of Staff Neil Kelty said the administration has seen success largely due to a restructuring of IUSA’s administration. The organization’s staff has nearly doubled since iUnity took office, and he is demanding more work from that larger staff.“Better accountability helps keep other people in check,” Kelty said.Here’s an update on IUSA’s initiative progress. FALL BREAKThis initiative has been an issue of contention for at least three IUSA election cycles. However, this administration has made strides in developing a proposal that went before the Calendar Committee and was endorsed by IUSA Congress at its meeting Sept. 7. The proposal calls for a school year that begins one week earlier. Students would get one Friday off in October for fall break. Additionally, there would be no classes on Labor Day and Thanksgiving break would be extended to nine days. The proposal will be heard by the Bloomington Faculty Council Tuesday.BIKE RENTALThe initiative has been on IUSA’s platform since SerVaas’ Btown administration took office in 2009. SerVaas said the bike program is still in the works. Recent developments include a structured cost-model and plans to partner with campus groups to build components of the project. If it is put into place, the bike program will be billable to students’ bursar accounts. It would also allow checkout with a student ID. SUSTAINABILITYiUnity’s campaign platform contained a “signature campaign” to add the Sustainability & Green Initiative Fund to the list of add-on donations available during course registration. That addition will require 10,000 student signatures on a petition. Kelty said the iUnity administration is in the midst of developing a program that will allow signatures to be collected online, something he said would make their goal more achievable. Kelty said he hopes to have the fund in place by the end of the fall semester. CAMPUS SAFETYIn the wake of traffic-related accidents, iUnity pledged to improve pedestrian safety. IUSA contributed to the report submitted by the Campus Traffic Safety Task Force. The task force was created by Provost and Executive Vice President Karen Hanson on Sept. 18, 2009, and it added a crosswalk on 10th Street between the Herman B Wells Library and School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Kelty said they want to remain flexible in their plans as they move forward but will look toward improving pedestrian safety on North Jordan Avenue.“Something needs to be done up on that area of campus,” Kelty said. TRANSPORTATIONiUnity, Kelty said, has deemed their transportation initiative a success. The launch of an IUmobile feature allows students to track en route campus buses in real time and meets one of iUnity platform goals. The next phase of the plan involves installing the application on large screens displayed in heavily-trafficked student areas. Sophomore Victoire Iradukunda uses the application on her iPhone and said she thinks the application is useful and only wishes it would have been available last year as well. “Since I was a freshman, it would have been a great help,” she said.
(09/14/10 1:44am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>What is IUSA?IU Student Association is your student government. According to the organization’s 2002 constitution, “The Indiana University Student Association will work to protect student rights, enrich student life and improve Indiana University.”IUSA consists of three branches. The legislative branch consists of a 62 seat congress of students representing academic and residential areas. The judicial branch consists of eleven justices, appointed by the president and approved by congress. The executive branch is comprised of four positions: president, vice president for administration, vice president for congress and treasurer.The IUSA office is located in the Indiana Memorial Union student activities tower, room 387. Elections take place in March. Executives and congressional representatives run as part of a ticket, similar to a political party, on a platform of issues. Current executives were members of iUnity. Their platform consisted of plans to implement a GPS bus-tracking system, bring a bike rental program to campus, lobby for a fall break, put into place the Green Initiative Fund and increase pedestrian safety. All of these initiatives have seen progress but remain in the works, except for the bus-tracking system which has already seen success in the implementation of the DoubleMap Bus Tracker.Who’s Who in IUSA?President: Senior Michael ColemanColeman is a previous Residence Halls Association vice president of internal affairs and member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. Coleman is chief executive officer of IUSA and represents the student body to outside groups. He has the power to reach binding agreements with other organizations, provided the agreement is approved by a two-thirds vote from Congress. Vice President for Administration: Senior Peter SerVaas SerVaas is a student in the Kelley Scholars Program and has been involved in the Investment Banking Workshop. He is a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. SerVaas was IUSA president of the Btown administration during the 2009-2010 term. SerVaas’s duties as vice president include assisting the president and coordinating administrative activities within the executive branch.Vice President for Congress: Senior Jen PetersonPeterson is also a student in the Kelley School of Business and a member of Alpha Gamma Delta sorority. She previously served as a representative in the IUSA congress. Peterson’s duties include running congressional meetings and casting the deciding vote during a tie. She also delivers congressional decisions to the president. Treasurer: Junior Sierra HsiehAlso a student in the Kelley School of Business, Hsieh was previously involved in IUSA as a freshman consul and director of textbook policy for the Btown administration. Hsieh’s duties as treasurer include keeping accounts up to date, paying bills incurred by IUSA and managing revenue.
(09/13/10 4:07am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>When J Thomas Forbes, or J.T., reflects on his time as an IU student, a variety of leadership positions pepper his description of the usual classes and clubs.In fact, it’s hard to imagine Forbes leading in a bigger way.As student body president from 1988 to 1989 and student trustee from 1993 to 1995, Forbes represented his fellow Hoosiers to the community and administration. Now, he brings that experience to the position of executive director of the IU Alumni Association. The announcement was made in May, and J.T. assumed his role June 1.“I really come into this role with a deep commitment to the understanding of the power of student leadership,” Forbes said.While balancing roles as a student and leader, Forbes earned a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1990 and a master’s degree in public affairs and nonprofit management in 1996. Prior to his return to IU, Forbes worked for Cummins Inc. of Columbus, Ind. solving problems related to human capital development and bilateral trade issues.Forbes said his experience as student body president was formative, and he hopes to advance and support a similar experience for current students. “Indiana University is unique in the degree with which it treats student leaders as peers and colleagues,” Forbes said.As president, Forbes was involved in negotiating the deal that brought the Student Recreational Sports Center to IU. He said other facts of student life that are often taken for granted — the fact that a student serves on the board of trustees, for example — are the result of student leadership working to advance student interests.“A lot of the things that student government works on today take years to develop,” Forbes said.Now, he said, he is working to strengthen the bonds between the University and its alumni.Current IUSA President and senior Michael Coleman said he’s still experiencing the learning curve associated with taking on the presidency. He said there is more he’d like to accomplish while in office to leave a positive legacy.“I have a chance to make sure that change can happen,” Coleman said.Luke Fields, student body president from 2008 to 2009, said he understands why student leadership would inspire and prepare Forbes to return to his alma mater.“The biggest thing that happened having been president was, at least with this institution, you come to learn how a really large organization works,” Fields said. At the same time, Fields said, understanding comes with a huge commitment. “It was closer to a full-time job than a part-time job,” he said.Fields said his time at IU left a lasting impression and a responsibility he wants to live up to.“It’s an institution that gets under your skin, and it becomes much more difficult to forget about or to want to forget about,” he said. Fields said for him, the biggest lesson was one of responsibility to the people and the place that gave him so much. He said it’s a responsibility he’s happy to carry.“You kind of incur a debt to the institution,” Forbes said. “Because people invested in you, you have to give back.”