They'll put a spell on you
WE SAY: Watch out for these spooky specimen this Hallow's Eve
879 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
WE SAY: Watch out for these spooky specimen this Hallow's Eve
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Parents of children in an Alabama elementary school district were surprised when their children brought home permission slips, checking whether the school could physically discipline their children.Interestingly enough, there’s no law prohibiting corporal punishment in Alabama and there isn’t one in Indiana either. That made us think of what other goofy legal situations leave American citizens scratching their heads. Mississippi SlaveryThough this is no longer the case, you likely didn’t know slavery wasn’t made illegal in Mississippi until February 2013.It seems the state accidentally forgot to pass the law that explicitly said you couldn’t own another person. It’s scary to think when employees in Mississippi complained about their “slave-driver” bosses, they weren’t far off-base.No vomiting in a taxiIf you want to get home from the Chicago night scene, you better be ready to hold down your dinner.If you throw up in the back of a taxi, a law passed in 2012 demands a fine of $50.Of course, you could also save money by either walking home or opening the window. The law apparently doesn’t prohibit puking on the car next to you.Sunday Liquor SalesIt’s a rite of passage for a 21-year-old to walk into a grocery store trying to purchase alcohol, just to discover that it’s Sunday.You can’t do that in Indiana.Since just after prohibition, liquor sales have been illegal on Sundays for religious reasons. Though the law is outdated and rather senseless, it still prevents any and all Indiana natives from getting their alcohol on God’s day.So you better stock up on Saturday if you want to get your drink on for the Colts’ game.Foreign InfluenceAmericans aren’t the only ones who face ridiculous restrictions.Other countries boast all sorts of crazy laws, including not feeding the birds in Venice, not running out of gas in Germany and not chewing gum in Singapore. So before you sign up to study abroad, make sure you check your destination’s laws. We would hate to see you spanked when you get home.— opinion@idsnews.comFollow the Opinion Desk on Twitter @ids_opinion.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IDS Editorial Board is firmly on the train train, so we were thrilled to hear Amtrak’s service between Indianapolis and Chicago has been extended for at least another year.In 2008, the federal government stopped subsidizing Amtrak routes shorter than 750 miles, including the Indy-Chicago route.This left it up to state and local government to foot the bill for the trains to stay on track. This year, northern Indiana communities decided the service was important enough to continue funding, but there is no guarantee for next year.State and local subsidies keep the trains running five days a week, ensuring at least 550 jobs and creating a Midwest regional network.Both considerations are important for bolstering the anemic Indiana economy.But Indiana shouldn’t just feebly continue existing services. We should be working hard to expand them.Trains are a vital form of transportation and an important facet of state infrastructure.Cars and buses have been shown to expose commuters to more pollutants than rail travel.Trains also have a smaller carbon footprint than their gas-guzzling counterparts.More train routes would both create jobs and help workers commute to the jobs they already have. Stops in small towns could produce an economic boom. Where there are train stations there are often shops and restaurants to service weary travelers. But Indiana can’t conduct a train revolution all on its own.The federal government needs to lead the way.It’s embarrassing that the U.S. hasn’t harnessed high-speed rail in any meaningful capacity.Doing so would reduce our dependence on oil, assuage our environmental woes and help connect a country that has become increasingly disparate in recent years.Ending subsidies for train routes less than 750 miles is a step in the wrong direction.If we can’t send a clear message that trains are here to stay, their demise will be a self-fulfilling prophecy.Hesitant to become reliant on routes that may not be there next year, Hoosiers in transit will increasingly use other forms of transport.With fewer passengers, progress in building up train infrastructure could be permanently derailed.This is upsetting because we want more people to choo-choose choo-choos for their next trip.Only 3,100 people ride the Indy-Chicago route each month, meaning most Hoosiers have probably never ridden on a train — at least with any frequency.Besides the Amtrak route, there is only one other train service in Indiana. For anyone who hasn’t ridden a train, you are missing out.Trains might be slower. They might be more expensive.But members of the Editorial Board can attest that trips on Amtrak, and trains generally, were some of the best we’ve ever had.Commuters don’t have to keep their hands at 10 and 2 with their eyes on the road.Trains leave them free to read a book, play a video game or chat up their neighbor.For lengthier trips, passengers don’t have to worry about getting felt up by the TSA or yelled at by exhausted airport officials.Think of all the cornfields you could study as your train cruises across the scenic Indiana countryside.Indiana needs to train-sition to a train-friendly state.We think we can, we think we can, we think we can fund more trains.— opinion@idsnews.comFollow the Opinion Desk on Twitter @ids_opinion.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Federal Appeals Court Judge Richard Posner claims he made a mistake upholding the constitutionality of Indiana’s voter ID laws.He claims there wasn’t enough information presented during the trial of the case, but now that he has learned more about the issues, he believes Indiana’s voter ID laws are wrong and unconstitutional. Indiana’s voter ID laws state you must have a government issued ID that contains a photo, your legal name and an expiration date. Our issues with this don’t stem from the voter ID laws but from judges and judicial proceedings.It is ingrained into our minds as Americans to trust the judicial system and its rulings.Judges are meant to be unbiased, apolitical and steadfast in upholding the Constitution, which holds our nation together. But this unwavering faith and lack of questioning given to the judicial process has led some courts astray. Posner, in recognizing his mistake, is a rarity.His reason for this anomaly is “we did not have enough information. ... We judges and lawyers, we don’t know enough about the subject matters that we regulate, right?“And that if the lawyers had provided us with a lot of information about the abuse of voter identification laws, this case would have been decided differently.”We commend Posner for admitting his mistake and being honest about why the decision was wrong.The idea of judges being wrong, though, is worrisome.The lack of information is troubling, too.In court, all the facts are supposed to be presented during the course of the trial.It’s lawyers’ and judges’ jobs to be the most knowledgeable on the issues at hand and to relate that information back to how it effects the people and the Constitution. If judges and lawyers can’t get that most vital and basic aspect of information-gathering right, the judicial process loses its importance and its merit. Whether you agree or disagree with Indiana’s voter ID laws, this case calls inquiry to all other cases that were decided by a panel of judges.This case could just be the tip of the iceberg.Getting a case like this wrong puts critical rulings into question such as Obamacare, Shelby County v. Holder or Roe v. Wade. While court cases have been overturned in the past, many more have set precedents for future cases and laws.And, unfortunately, Indiana’s mistaken ruling on the constitutionality of voter ID laws has set a precedent for the country, as Texas and North Carolina are currently trying to determine the same thing.Let’s just hope the judges on those cases are more informed about the issues at hand.— opinion@idsnews.comFollow the Opinion Desk on Twitter @ids_opinion.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Assembly Hall seats 17,472 people.The number of students enrolled at IU this fall is about 2 1/2 times the maximum capacity of this venue. Even when it feels as if everyone goes to Hoosier home basketball games, it’s simply not true.There are plenty of students who are supposedly missing out.A similar misconception occurs with drinking.Sure, we hear our peers talking about alcoholic escapades day in and day out. Alcohol is new to most of us, and it is a huge aspect of the social scene at many Big Ten schools.Still, not every person who lives in Collins LLC is a Harry-Potter-loving, hula-hooping hipster. Not every fraternity member finishes every sentence with “bro.” And not every IU student is a thirsty binge-drinker.Some students choose a social life without alcohol. There are several staff members on the Editorial Board who don’t drink. This is not a problem.There is a problem, though, with the way we separate ourselves as drinkers and non-drinkers.Each side is often characterized by the other with outrageous stereotypes.In the eyes of non-drinkers, those who drink are wild and out of control. These degenerates don’t value their education, their health, their safety or their future.They are irresponsible drunken sluts and man-whores who don’t care about anything more than instant gratification.In the eyes of drinkers, those who abstain from alcohol are prissy and weird. These nerds are nothing but abnormal, stuck up and flaky. Instead of living life how they should be in college, all they want is straight As, a PG-rated relationship and sleep.These strong biases for and against alcohol consumption instill fear.Drinking is sold as the normal thing to do, the fun thing to do, and if you don’t do it you’re lame.To avoid looking like a dweeb, new drinkers often test their limits among their peers, challenging one another to see who can go further.Unfortunately, in the United States there isn’t a drinking age that allows young adults to get an idea of their limits before coming to college, so, binge drinking at a party with acquaintances who may not be trusted friends is a reality.Studies have shown that people our age are highly influenced by peers when it comes to drinking.Whether the people we are around are best friends or distant acquaintances, popular or unpopular, we are likely to drink if they do, too.It’s important that we learn our limits with people we trust. That being said, the intoxicated person is not the only one to blame when something goes awry.About 1,700 college students die every year from alcohol-related injuries, and thousands more sustain non-fatal injuries caused by drinking. By pushing others away for their drinking decisions, we shrink our support systems.Both sides of the issue can be more understanding and less judgmental.All of us, no matter our opinions of drinking, are responsible as bystanders to look out for one another.Recent tragedies at IU and across the country don’t allow for any alternative.— opinion@idsnews.comFollow the Opinion Desk on Twitter @ids_opinion.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Mental health needs to be a top concern on college campuses. It’s a necessity that universities across the nation must consider in order to appeal to prospective and current students. Which is why it’s disappointing to see IU is not among the top 30 schools given the mental health care seal of approval by the Jed Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing suicide among college students throughout the country.From incoming freshman new to the collegiate lifestyle to outgoing seniors about to face the trials of the “real world,” college has the potential to be the most stressful years of your life. Given the endless amount of responsibilities college students have in school, jobs and their newfound independence from their families, it’s no surprise that most mental health issues come to light between the ages of 18 and 25.Now, this is not to say that IU doesn’t have a workable mental health care system in place. Counseling and Psychological Services at the IU Health Center offer two free sessions a semester to students who have paid their health fee.The IU Student Association created Culture of Care to highlight the encouragement of safety and security for the Bloomington community in regard to issues like sexual assault, drug or alcohol abuse and mental health issues.But this simply is not enough.While the two free CAPS sessions are a solid start, it’s a little naive to assume two sessions is sufficient in helping someone going through a hard time regarding his or her mental state. It also seems like an easy marketing tool for CAPS. A way to show they’re doing a little something as opposed to nothing.The truth is many college students already struggle enough financially and cannot afford weekly counseling.It may come at a cost to the school, but CAPS and IU need to reevaluate the ways in which they can treat IU students without burdening finances any further. Similarly, IUSA’s Culture of Care is a great movement that needs to be expanded. We can’t just have one Culture of Care Week a year. Every week needs to be Culture of Care Week at IU.IU needs to constantly educate students about recognizing mental health issues, the dangers of sexual assault and drug or alcohol abuse.The ability to identify these problems is the first step in treating the issue, not merely subsidizing the symptoms.The Editorial Board believes IU has the means to achieve the Jed Foundation’s seal of approval for mental health.IU is already off to a concrete start. It’s just going to take the continuous and joint efforts of the administration, CAPS and IUSA to make our school a top choice for mental health care.— opinion@idsnews.comFollow the Opinion Desk on Twitter @ids_opinion.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Visit any college campus and you’ll likely find a carefully crafted collection of brochures showcasing the wondrous diversity that exists at that institution.But the idealistic image colleges put forward of students of every imaginable background hanging out together is often not based in reality.There will be instances of intolerance on most college campuses. But what’s more important is how universities choose to act in the face of those events. Last week, University of Mississippi football players attended “The Laramie Project,” a play chronicling the murder of Matthew Shepard, a student brutally beaten, tortured and left to die on a fence because of his sexual orientation. In the midst of the performance, about 20 of the players verbally attacked the actors on stage with gays slurs, homophobic epithets and laughter.Ole Miss now has an opportunity to send a message that says this sort of intolerance has no place in Oxford, Miss., and that college campuses will continue to serve as the progressive grounds for fostering understanding they’ve represented for decades.Anything less will constitute the condoning of bigotry on Ole Miss’s campus and reaffirm the popular belief that Mississippi continues to be the same backward state that saw the deployment of federal troops to address unimaginable violence in the face of its integration in 1962.Several university officials, including members of the athletic department, have officially apologized for the incident. The football players themselves were forced to issue apologies, though based on reports of the incident, it’s uncertain whether they actually know why they were prompted to do so. Several officials have stated this should serve as an “educating moment” for the players and the university as a whole. Ole Miss’s own Bias Incident Response Team has recommended education instead of punishment for those involved. The Editorial Board disagrees with that finding.We believe both punishment and education should equally factor into the reprimand of the students. The players should be held accountable, whether that means taking them off the field, fines, mandatory volunteer work with GLBT youth or releasing the names of those involved.If Ole Miss doesn’t move to appropriately reprimand its student athletes, it will be sending a message that the university sees more merit in its football program than in basic human civility. A status quo of that nature would be dangerous. Because, after all, it’s that same absence of respect for basic human civility that caused the vicious murder of Matthew Shepard in the first place. — opinion@idsnews.comFollow the Opinion Desk on Twitter @IDS_Opinion.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The federal government has been shut down for more than a week because our representatives bargain as well as toddlers. Here are some of the programs that are casualties of the Republican temper tantrum. National parks and monumentsAll national parks, monuments and museums will close due to the government shutdown and will remain closed until it lifts.This, of course, is setting off a string of furloughs and hurt feelings because 800,000 government employees will go without pay until the shutdown ends.It is estimated that communities around Yellowstone, like Gardiner, Mont., which relies heavily on tourism, could lose up to $30 million depending on the duration of the shutdown.Head startHead Start serves low-income children and their families, providing health and wellness education and access to other community resources. It also allows parents time to work or look for work. It acts as a special kind of preschool that aims to close the gap between poor and wealthy students on the first day of kindergarten.Though Indiana Head Start won’t be affected unless the shutdown continues into November, about 19,000 children in classrooms across the country have suffered because our representatives wanted to make a political statement.For the past week, these children have gone without child care, without health care and in some cases, without proper nutrition.WICThe supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children stopped receiving funding last Tuesday. The USDA estimated that WIC could make its remaining funds last about a week. So, right about now, more than 8.9 million mothers nationwide living at or below the poverty line are losing vouchers for healthy food and infant formula, access to nutrition education and other health care resources. WIC usually serves about 53 percent of infants in the U.S. Now, none of those infants have access to WIC’s support.Grocery stores are also worried they won’t be reimbursed for the WIC vouchers they accept, meaning that soon, some stores might choose not to accept them.But congress is still in sessionMany are up in arms, with good reason, about the continued payment of Congress members. On average, they make $174,000 a year and will receive paychecks throughout the shutdown.Per the 27th Amendment, no changes can be made to Congress’s salary in a non-election season. However, many Congress members recognize the injustice of the situation — the furloughing of more than 800,000 workers and the damage done to areas affected economically by the shutdown. They are sending their checks to charities or not-for-profit organizations. Let’s hope some of this good will translate into better policies that will put our government back in business.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>We don’t usually consider middle school to be a breeding ground for mental health problems, but that could easily be because we’ve all blocked it out. St. Mary’s College, the sister school to Notre Dame, performed a first-of-its-kind study evaluating the mental health of middle school girls.The study found girls lag significantly behind boys. More than one-third of the Indiana girls between sixth and 10th grade feel sad and/or hopeless.In eighth grade, one-fifth of the girls have seriously considered suicide, and 11.5 percent have attempted to take their own lives.But mental health problems don’t end with girls.The Mental Health Center of America Greater Indianapolis fielded 110 calls from young men and women ages 10 to 19 who mentioned having thoughts of suicide. This number continues to rise. Clearly, we have a problem.Given that a large percentage of the people who participated in the study and made the calls were in middle school, there is an indicator young people are starting to reach out for help.The fact that girls are taking the brunt of the damage is hardly surprising. In the name of gender equality, girls’ mentalities and development are treated like boys’.What most don’t realize is that young girls interact viciously with each other.Women are biologically prone to see each other as competition — throw in some hormones and a few awkward growth spurts and you’ve got a veritable molotov cocktail of mental instability.The fact that 42 percent of the calls fielded from the suicide hot line are from boys only indicates that the problem goes beyond girls.One quick week of sex education and a few golden rule lectures so guidance counselors can pat themselves on the back and say the problem is fixed are grossly insufficient.Mental health is something that must be addressed at a young age. The alternative is dealing with the crime, depression and unhappiness that manifest from unaddressed mental health problems.In Indiana, a lack of awareness is putting our middle-schoolers in danger.Kids need to be educated and guided through the beginning stages of puberty. It’s the time when they are most emotionally vulnerable and left to their own devices that they could seriously injure themselves.If we begin to confront mental health issues at the start, we can solve major cultural issues. We can save lives.— opinion@idsnews.comFollow the Opinion Desk on Twitter @ids_opinion.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Like many employers, IU is stuck between a rock and a hard place, and no amount of health care — no matter how affordable — can help.IU has announced that thousands of part-time workers will have their weekly hours reduced to 29 hours or fewer in order to avoid additional costs to insure employees under the Affordable Care Act.To comply with the Affordable Care Act, the University is required to offer health care benefits to any employee averaging more than 29 hours per week.Mark Land, IU associate vice president of public affairs and government relations, has said IU already spends more than $200 million on health care, and insuring a single employee is a multi-thousand-dollar investment.Not only have many part-time workers seen hours cut, but 50 Physical Plant employees will be laid off.Luckily, these employees will still have jobs if they choose to transition to a company called Manpower. This employer offers benefits including health and dental plans as well as paid holidays.While this solution works for the 50 employees currently in limbo, the University will continue running into these kinds of problems as it grows and develops. Outsourcing more and more of its workforce is not practical.Instead, the University should reevaluate its policy in accordance with the Affordable Care Act.Currently, IU recommends a strict 29-hour weekly limit to departments with part-time employees — a limit that is to be self-monitored by each employee in the case of multiple University jobs.This policy is unrealistic.The Affordable Care Act accounts for varying hour restrictions on employees depending on the measurement period.This period of determining whether an employee is full-time or part-time is not a single week, a two-week pay period, or even 30 days.The minimum measurement period is three months.Setting a weekly limit of 29 hours hurts workers who are already working an average of 29 hours or fewer, but occasionally or seasonally working 30 or more hours in a given week.Land said that in the case of the Physical Plant employees, some weeks they work 40 hours, while during others they do not work at all.It is fairly clear that if an employee worked a 40-hour week followed by a zero-hour week, the average would be 20 hours per week for that pay period.As students, we all know that some weeks are busier than others, and this is no different for employees all across campus.If this much variability is occurring, IU must widen the measurement period. The current weekly limit is not an average, and it is not practical.Under the Affordable Care Act, this measurement period can be up to 12 months with an optional administrative period that may be enacted should a large employer like IU see fit.This would not only be beneficial to Physical Plant workers whose hours vary over the year, but also to part-time workers across the University who may not work during the summer months or may only work one semester.IU professors ask students every week to do hundreds of pages of reading.We only ask that administrators do their homework, too.— opinion@idsnews.comFollow the Opinion Desk on Twitter @ids_opinion.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Time to get our douchebag stamps out and ready to go. Alabama is at it again.Another black girl had been blocked from joining one of the many charming greek houses University of Alabama has to offer.Sisters were psyched to welcome a black pledge into the fold, but it seems that after alumnae stepped in, her bid was mysteriously dropped. This may not come as a surprise — it’s Alabama, after all. It’s not exactly known for its racial tolerance.But when compared with nearby big universities, UA’s greek integration rate is particularly low and disappointing. It’s been 10 years since the last black girl was accepted into a UA sorority. Carla Ferguson made history in 2003 because she was the first African American girl to pledge a traditionally white sorority and get in. We think it’s time for change, and people and sisters of several UA sororities agree.There is no reason this girl didn’t make the cut. She was perfect. The salutatorian of her class, she graduated from high school with a 4.3 grade point average, was a loyal volunteer and had good connections with the university.She was getting an A+ in Greek Pledging 101, but her race kept her from graduating.Somewhere behind closed doors is a cult of middle-aged women snickering over bottles of wine as they shatter the dreams of black girls across campus.Thankfully, the active members of the sorority asked questions this time.Though one sorority sister expressed the fear of consequence in being the house to take a black girl, the willingness of various sisters to speak to the Crimson White, UA’s student paper, brought this travesty to light. These women took ownership of their sorority and told the old biddies that resorting to old racist tropes won’t be the norm any longer. They’re now one step closer to becoming the house they want to be.Because of the publicity this story received, UA has pledged to end the segregated sorority system. The woman in question still won’t be joining the sorority in Alabama, but hopefully she will be the last girl turned away because of her color.All historic institutions have something to learn from the action these southern belles took, especially greek houses at IU that have checkered pasts when it comes to racial inclusion and sensitivity.If you want to be in a sorority that accepts people of all races, make one. If you want to be involved in an organization that doesn’t discriminate against people for matters as trivial as skin color, join one. If you don’t want to go down in history being associated with Alpha Omega Racist, get out.Stand up for your beliefs. We haven’t gotten where we are by staying silent.— opinion@idsnews.comFollow the Opinion Desk on Twitter @ids_opinion.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Miley Cyrus isn’t the only one coming in like a wrecking ball.The IU Foundation wants to expand the Maurer School of Law, and in doing so, it will demolish Phi Gamma Delta’s house on Third Street.The saying “bros before hoes” seems applicable to the way the Foundation is handling the situation — except in this case, the hoes are historic houses.The Foundation plans to move the fraternity, commonly known as Fiji, to a property on Eighth Street and Woodlawn Avenue in the historic University Courts district.There are 15 buildings within one block of the proposed site that are on the State Register of Historic Places.Six houses on the National Register of Historic Places would be demolished to make room for Fiji’s new frat castle.Such historic structures and districts are regulated by the Bloomington Historic Preservation Commission.Property owners in historic districts must have any exterior changes approved by the Commission.IU, however, is somehow exempt from this requirement and thus it can destroy any property it deems unnecessary.Historic preservation is not just about keeping buildings around for the sake of keeping them around but a proven method of economic development.For example, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has used its Main Street program to bolster economies of communities nationwide for the last three decades.The IDS Editorial Board has a hard time believing that demolishing these houses and destroying the character of the University Courts district is the only option for the IU Foundation.It seems that this plan is a power play from Foundation members to express IU’s omnipotence over the town it calls home.Bloomington is not designed to operate with school and community segregation.The city of Bloomington and IU must work in tandem in order to foster a congruent community between the two entities. This includes respecting these historic properties. Even on a larger scale, a cohabitation of the space not only makes sense but is the clear choice.Bloomington’s major highways diverge at 17th Street, allowing the downtown area to remain walkable and accessible from much of the surrounding area, including academic buildings and residence halls.Sure, IU’s campus is signified by the Sample Gates, but the design of the town and the campus hardly suggest a gated boundary between the two.The residential houses in University Courts mingle with IU offices and even a residence hall.IU and Bloomington remain two communities that occupy a common space. One foster the other’s personality and vice versa.Dropping a fraternity house into this environment will completely change the character of this historic district, further reinforcing a differentiation between what belongs to students and what belongs to Bloomington. — opinion@idsnews.comFollow the IDS Editorial Board on Twitter @ids_opinion.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Inspired by Vladmir Putin’s OpEd in the New York Times, the following is an imagined letter to the IDS from North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un.***MESSAGE FROM: KIM JONG UNSENT TO: IDS Honorable propaganda distributor:Seeing as the corrupt American news machine is finally willing to publish authoritarian perspectives, I humbly request my comments on the Syrian crisis be considered. Thank you very much for opening your poisoned American minds to my glorious truth,Kim Jong-Un, Supreme LeaderATTACHMENT I categorically disagree with what the Noble Vladmir Putin urged in his Op-Ed published in the New York Times.America must not engage in diplomacy with the Syrian government. Diplomacy is an opportunity only for trickery and lies — unless there is an honorable sports star that can be dealt with directly.Dennis Rodman and I have developed a very close friendship since his first trip to my great country. This is a most promising example from which America can learn.If talks with Syrian sports stars are not fruitful, the American government must threaten to use nuclear intercontinental missiles. Sir President Obama and Mr. Honorable Secretary of State John Kerry were following the noble and truthful path in their desire to bomb first and talk later.Though this tactic proved unpopular with the American people, your country can easily silence dissenters with hard labor or capital punishment.Stupid American people, refusing to thrust the full force of your might against the Syrian threat to American legitimacy.Even if your puny American missiles do not successfully launch, even if they cannot reach even the outermost Syrian border, the threat alone is sufficient.Wild threats will show your strength and resolve in the international community and stave off any attempts at face-to-face negotiation.Face-to-face negotiation must be avoided at all costs, as it is an opportunity for foreign ideas to poison the purity of your nation.Belief in exceptionalism is not dangerous. To the contrary, it is vital.Following the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea’s much-revered and successful juche ideology, America must strive to be self-reliant and independent.This means eradicating any foreign influences, ignoring foreign concerns and shunning international organizations like the United Nation. Any country that threatens the survival of your state must be destroyed.Take the advice of a noble leader like me. Isolate yourselves from the international community.And Sir President Obama — I greatly admire your thirst for bloodshed. Dennis has been helping me with my “jump shot.” I understand you, too, have a deep enjoyment of the basketball.Let us have a “pick-up” game. Or else.— opinion@indiana.eduFollow the IDS Editorial Board on Twitter @ids_opinion.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>New students getting accepted to IU are about to wake up with fewer scholarship dollars being thrown their way.Upon admission to the University, all students are assessed to receive an automatic scholarship based on their high school academic performance. Next year the benchmarks for receiving this money will be raised. To receive the money, a student needs a 3.7 high school grade point average and a 27 ACT or 1220 SAT score. The money available will vary between $1,000 and $11,000 per year depending on the level of merit and whether or not a student is an Indiana resident.The previous standards, which were announced in 2009, included several tiers of scholarships ranging from $2,000 a year to $9,000 a year. The IU Excellence scholarship, awarding a total of $36,000 to students with an ACT score over 30 and a GPA of 3.8 or above, was the highest automatic award possible to Indiana residents, while the IU Distinction scholarship gave the same awards for out-of-state students.The requirements of a student receiving a scholarship in the future are also relatively steep.An individual must maintain a GPA of more than 3.0 to continue to renew their scholarship, demonstrating a desire by the University for those individuals to maintain the academic excellence that got them the money in the first place.These scholarship changes represent an understanding of the type of student arriving at Indiana.The caliber of student is changing, so, too, must the scholarships. It demonstrates a level of attention and responsibility by the University to change the way its business is conducted based on the products it is receiving.The bigger issue at hand, however, is what is being done with the money that most likely will not be going to the merit-based receiving group. If the standard for scholarships goes up, it is reasonable to believe that the number of recipients will also go down, effectively signaling a drop in the total scholarship dollars given to students based upon their high school performance. That being said, the money that isn’t going to the students who just missed the merit cut-off needs to go somewhere. The University should not just absorb these funds. That money needs to go toward helping students in need.College is an economic investment that, in today’s fiscal climate, is stressful. For more and more people, it is perceived as an investment not worth making.While less money needs to be given for students based upon their academic performance, more needs to be given to those with a financial need. The money that is being saved by trimming the merit benchmarks can and should go straight into making the college experience less of a financial burden for as many individuals as is possible.The University, by tweaking the way that scholarship money is being distributed, is doing its due diligence to ensure that the financial assistance being given to University students is maximizing the benefits for those to whom it is given. The obligation continues, though, for the school to ensure that the money doesn’t just disappear. IU has a responsibility to help more, not fewer, students pay for college.Follow the Editorial Board on Twitter @ids_opinion.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>If you have a public Twitter at this point, you’re a brave — or stupid — soul.We’re a few years deep into this grand social experiment we’re calling Twitter, and it’s clear we’re all going to mess up at some point.The latest victim to social media stupidity is now-former Ball State Student Body President Malachi Randolph, who “was stressed and frustrated with his boss, who is Asian.” A lot of us are stressed. A lot of us get frustrated with our bosses. Many of us may even have bosses who are Asian.But a lot of us probably view our bosses as our bosses, and when we get frustrated with them, it’s usually not because they’re of Asian descent.That wasn’t true for young Malachi.Randolph, stressed and frustrated, took to his Twitter to expound so eloquently that “It’s so hard not to let national pride turn into arrogance, when arguing with a Chinese person #Americaisbest.”“I hate when Chinese people make me write emails in Asian speak. They think they know English better than me #childish,” he continued, apparently without any sense of irony.Randolph has since resigned in disgrace, presumably to have an awkward conversation with his boss, “who is Asian.” Now, here’s the thing — people, immature college students included, are allowed to say whatever they want on Twitter. They just need to be prepared to face the real world repercussions. Back in the day, you had to speculate what skeletons might hang in peoples’ closets, or what their dark side was. Today, thanks to Twitter, they broadcast and hashtag it for us.Anthony Weiner tweets pictures of his Anthony Weiner. Do you remember back in the good old days when we had to actually do the investigative work on sex scandals ourselves?Imagine the Lewinsky memes we missed out on.Or Marilyn Monroe subtweeting JFK about his poor performance in bed — in the middle of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Imagine the gold we could have seen on our Twitter feeds. “Thirteen Days? More like thirteen seconds.” — @realmarilynBenedict Arnold would have gotten drunk one night and retweeted King George III and saved us all a lot of pain and feelings of betrayal and heartache.One of the Roman Senators would have probably accidentally mentioned they were trying to kill Caesar, and Brutus would have been at the very least unfollowed.We could have stopped Chris Brown from ever happening.Randolph — and whoever else — is allowed to think, and for the most part, say whatever he want. But social networking, when unlocked and open, makes the private become public. And, as it should be, Randolph didn’t face any legal or academic repercussions. We just all know he’s a giant tool, and that’s what’s great about Twitter.— opinion@idsnews.comFollow the Opinion Desk on Twitter @ids_opinion.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>For more than two years, a group of 70 or so homeless Indianapolis residents lived in a tent city underneath a downtown bridge. The community — known by its residents as Irish Hill — was the city’s largest homeless community.All of that changed Aug. 26, when its tenants were evicted. Residents of the area had complained ceaselessly that the tents were an eyesore, and the owner of the bridge had been unable to inspect it for safety for more than a year.But the homeless Hoosiers don’t believe they got a fair shake.Maurice Young, the camp’s de facto leader who was arrested Monday for refusing to leave the camp, argued, “I think it’s important we make this stand because in the past, it’s always been this game of ‘hide the homeless’ and that needs to come to an end.”Although we’re sympathetic to the city’s reasons for clearing the camp, we’re also sympathetic to Young and the four non-homeless advocates arrested with him. Indianapolis has about 1,600 homeless citizens. Bloomington has about 250. These citizens deserve more than to be “hidden” while the area lobbies for another Super Bowl. The good news is that Indianapolis — and homeless advocates — made a good faith effort to find programs to help the homeless. The bad news is that the programs were only moderately effective.The problem, according to Christy Shephard, executive director of the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention in Indianapolis, is that many homeless people have mental health issues.When the city offered them housing assistance, many refused. The numbers vary by source — the Indianapolis Department of Public Works claims that 50 people took advantage of shelter and housing options, while Shephard says that number is 25. The rest merely went to other tent cities around town.Our point is that homelessness is a tough nut to crack because it leans so heavily on the complex issues of poverty, mental health, personal responsibility and property rights. If we as a nation knew what to do about homelessness, we wouldn’t be having this discussion.So, we’re not here to prescribe policies to Indianapolis or to judge the steps taken. We’re merely asking city officials from Indianapolis to Bloomington to keep in mind that keeping your city pretty should come second to treating its citizens fairly.So, when, over the summer, Bloomington officials mandated that nobody was allowed on the grounds of Courthouse square after 10 p.m., we hope that wasn’t a cosmetic choice. We hope Bloomington continues to offer housing options to its homeless population. And we hope that as Indianapolis lobbies for another Super Bowl, it doesn’t resort to hiding its homeless. They deserve better. — opinion@idsnews.comFollow the Opinion Board on Twitter @ids_opinion.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>When it comes to legislation, nothing catches our attention quite like hotly contested social issues. Abortion has become infamous as a source of intense friction between political parties, so when Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against the state of Indiana on unconstitutionality grounds, it joins a long line of cases throughout our nation’s history that have attempted to establish common political ground on abortion. The law, approved by the state legislature and signed by Governor Mike Pence in April, demands surgical standards of non-surgical centers that simply administer the abortion pill. Standards include separate recovery, procedure and scrub rooms, as well as wider hallways. Features that, conveniently, the Lafayette clinic doesn’t possess. These requirements are so superficial that the law’s targeting of this particular clinic is transparent. If that irrelevant red tape wasn’t blatant enough, the law also dictates that other pharmacies, clinics and offices in Indiana are exempt as long as neither their surgical procedures nor prescribed medication are related to abortion in any way.Naturally, compromises must be made. The ACLU has every right to act on behalf of Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky and retaliate against a law that does more harm than good. But an abortion is an invasive procedure, be it surgical or non-surgical via the pill, and these facilities should be under frequent inspection to ensure they’re providing safe, responsible, constructive care to those who seek it.Still, the notion that a pharmacy should be equipped with the technology to perform surgeries is irrational. The unreasonable nature of this legislation points to an alternate agenda for those who supported the bill. Are wider hallways necessary for filling prescriptions? Only if those prescriptions are for the abortion pill, says Act 371. The Planned Parenthood in Bloomington offers these services and more, according to their website. In their 2011-12 Annual Report they disclose that only 3 percent of the patients they attended to sought abortion services — the majority were STD testing, cancer screenings and contraception. These are all vital health services, and it is disturbing to discover that the Indiana legislature seeks to temporarily deny women access to that health care while Planned Parenthood clinics are closed for construction so post-op rooms can be added and hallways can be widened on a facility that doesn’t perform surgery.Or worse, these changes can’t be made and Planned Parenthood is forced out of Lafayette.Sharon Negele, R-District 13, who sponsored the bill, argues that it seeks to “safeguard women’s health.” But if no surgeries are being performed, how will wider hallways and post-op recovery rooms aid women seeking adequate healthcare? The only thing this arbitrary mandate safeguards is Indiana’s ability to hinder medical practices they deem immoral and block women, especially underprivileged women, from getting safe and necessary healthcare. Act 371 is a law applied arbitrarily to target the Lafayette clinic and hinder its attempts to serve the women of central Indiana. We can only hope that the ACLU and PPINK will be successful in their endeavors to debunk this superficial injustice and keep the women of Lafayette informed, safe and in the pink. — opinion@idsnews.comFollow the Opinion Desk on Twitter @ids_opinion.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Prison is not a place that the everyday average American knows much about.Though the notion that our citizens are oblivious when it comes to poor prison conditions becomes a bit hazy when you consider how many of us are actually incarcerated.In 2008, America had 5 percent of the world’s population and 25 percent of its prisoners. That’s 1 in every 4 prisoners in the entire world locked up in American prisons. Subsequently, with so many of our citizens behind bars, a question must be asked. How should we treat convicted individuals? The bottom line is that felons are still people. Just because a jury or judge hands down a conviction does not mean their status as a person is revoked or lessened. No person gets to decide to what degree you are still worthy of basic respect.Chelsea Manning, a former member of the US Army, will serve 35 years in prison for acts of espionage and stealing government property, among other convictions. Manning is transgendered and wishes to begin living her life as a woman. But when she begins serving her time, the Army will refuse Manning hormone therapy treatment.The Army’s mistreatment of Manning delves even farther into accepted mistreatment of transgendered people in society. People don’t understand Manning’s need to change gender, because most of us will never know the agony she feels in a physically male body. But it isn’t just military jail where inmates are being unfairly treated. The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana is suing the Vigo County Jail for failing to comply with a settlement reached in 2002 to restrict the jail’s overcrowding population. The jail is currently holding 293 inmates as opposed to the 268 agreed to in the settlement. The ACLU is also threatening action against the Porter County jail regarding issues of overcrowding. Sheriff David Lain said he hopes to add 11 jail officers in next year’s budget, most of whom would be used to staff a third pod in the jail that’s currently unused.It isn’t even that jails don’t have the adequate space to house Indiana inmates. The problem is our jails are too short staffed to facilitate the space we already have. Perhaps if we spent less time and money convicting minor offenses like marijuana possession and instead hired new officers, we could create jobs and more thoroughly run prisons. Crime and punishment is an important function of our society. It safekeeps our citizens and attempts to rehabilitate prisoners back into society. We can’t hope to accomplish that goal while jails at all levels of government receive minimal funding and continue to treat their inhabitants as less than human.— opinion@idsnews.comYou can follow the Opinion Desk on Twitter @IDS_Opinion
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Prison is not a place that the everyday average American knows much about.Though the notion that our citizens are oblivious when it comes to poor prison conditions becomes a bit hazy when you consider how many of us are actually incarcerated.In 2008, America had 5 percent of the world’s population and 25 percent of its prisoners. That’s 1 in every 4 prisoners in the entire world locked up in American prisons. Subsequently, with so many of our citizens behind bars, a question must be asked. How should we treat convicted individuals? The bottom line is that felons are still people. Just because a jury or judge hands down a conviction does not mean their status as a person is revoked or lessened. No person gets to decide to what degree you are still worthy of basic respect.Chelsea Manning, a former member of the US Army, will serve 35 years in prison for acts of espionage and stealing government property, among other convictions. Manning is transgendered and wishes to begin living her life as a woman. But when she begins serving her time, the Army will refuse Manning hormone therapy treatment.The Army’s mistreatment of Manning delves even farther into accepted mistreatment of transgendered people in society. People don’t understand Manning’s need to change gender, because most of us will never know the agony she feels in a physically male body. But it isn’t just military jail where inmates are being unfairly treated. The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana is suing the Vigo County Jail for failing to comply with a settlement reached in 2002 to restrict the jail’s overcrowding population. The jail is currently holding 293 inmates as opposed to the 268 agreed to in the settlement. The ACLU is also threatening action against the Porter County jail regarding issues of overcrowding. Sheriff David Lain said he hopes to add 11 jail officers in next year’s budget, most of whom would be used to staff a third pod in the jail that’s currently unused.It isn’t even that jails don’t have the adequate space to house Indiana inmates. The problem is our jails are too short staffed to facilitate the space we already have. Perhaps if we spent less time and money convicting minor offenses like marijuana possession and instead hired new officers, we could create jobs and more thoroughly run prisons. Crime and punishment is an important function of our society. It safekeeps our citizens and attempts to rehabilitate prisoners back into society. We can’t hope to accomplish that goal while jails at all levels of government receive minimal funding and continue to treat their inhabitants as less than human.— opinion@idsnews.comYou can follow the Opinion Desk on Twitter @IDS_Opinion.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Public libraries don’t exactly scream controversy worthy of protest. After all, their quiet halls and reading corners offer solace to readers of all ages. But after decades of attempts at censorship and bans on books, you would think individuals or groups have given up trying to remove literature deemed “uncouth” from the shelves.An Indianapolis woman is attempting to do just that after her 9-year-old grandson inadvertently checked out “Night Games” by Crystal Jordan from the West Indianapolis Branch Library. The book in question is, unsurprisingly, erotic and sexually graphic in nature. Although it’s unconfirmed at this point, no one would be stunned to learn the cover probably features Fabio and his long, silky locks gripping a damsel in some strong yet graceful pose.But like I said, that’s just an educated guess.The point is this most likely isn’t a book most parents and guardians would want their young children checking out from the library to read by flashlight under the covers.Unfortunately, instead of exercising their power and responsibility as caretakers and deciding for themselves what their children should or should not read, too many adults take it up with the powers and attempt to ban the book for everyone.Because surely if one child is barred from reading a piece of literature, every child should face the same fate, right?This case in Indianapolis is one occurrence, but how often do we hear of the classic works of literature being banned from American bookshelves?The American Library Association holds a Banned Books Week. This year’s is next month, Sept. 22-28. Last year, Banned Books Week celebrated its 30th anniversary. It has grown into a first-rate example of the backlash censorship can create, and the community it fosters to protect freedom of speech and the First Amendment of the Constitution.Famous authors like Stephen Chbosky, the writer of the frequently banned “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” join together with private individuals in a “Virtual Read-Out!” celebrating the importance of expressing and sharing ideas through literature. The ALA also keeps a list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books by Decade. From 2000 through 2009, the Harry Potter series by noted British goddess J.K. Rowling topped the list. It is downright ironic the most challenged book series of the last 10 years is likely the reason a majority of young readers pick up books in the first place. Although it’s unlikely Crystal Jordan’s “Night Games” is comparable to the Harry Potter series or any other challenged piece of classic literature, the principle remains the same. To ban one book from the shelves is to ban any book from the shelves. The library is a public domain in which any reader should be allowed to explore its halls and discover the joy and creativity reading can foster.Although some literature may not yet be appropriate for some young readers, that level of maturity is up to parents and guardians to determine in the privacy of their homes and not in the halls of our public libraries. You can ban whatever you like in your house, but leave the public library alone.— Opinion@idsnews.comFollow the Opinion Desk on Twitter @IDS_Opinion.